Bai Ligelin pushed aside the dense foliage before her, squinting as she gazed at Duke Ying’s mansion in the distance under the cover of night. She noticed many guards patrolling the perimeter with lanterns, but surprisingly, the spiritual energy net that once densely covered the mansion’s airspace had disappeared. She was taken aback by this unexpected change.
What could have happened at the mansion in just a few short days?
To sneak into the mansion undetected, she and Lu Li had racked their brains and prepared many countermeasures to deal with the intricate spiritual energy net. Now it seemed their efforts had been in vain.
Lu Li made a gesture towards her, and Bai Ligelin immediately understood, throwing out talismans. In an instant, tiny demons covered their bodies, concealing all traces of spiritual energy fluctuations.
“Rescuing them is our top priority. If we encounter that Duke, don’t engage in a hard fight. As long as the mountain is green, there will always be firewood to burn,” he whispered.
He had repeated this advice no less than ten times along the way. Bai Ligelin hadn’t realized before how nagging Lu Li could be. She threw out her treasure sword. Since demon riding was too conspicuous and would certainly be noticed, they had specifically switched to sword flying. They flew into the mansion at lightning speed, only to find it pitch black inside, with not a glimmer of light in the courtyard where Ji Tongzhou resided.
Unable to sense Ji Tongzhou’s spiritual energy fluctuations, could he be absent? Bai Ligelin’s heart tightened. If he wasn’t here, could it be that her sister and Ye Ye had been taken away as well?
Seeing a group of guards approaching with lanterns, Lu Li pulled her into the shadows of a tree and said, “We’re unfamiliar with the mansion’s layout. Ye Ye and the others are unlikely to be kept in guest rooms. It would be safer to capture a steward and question them.”
Bai Ligelin nodded silently. Truthfully, if she were alone, she would have been running around aimlessly like a headless fly. Having Lu Li here was much better; at least he was usually calm and rational.
She hadn’t expected Lu Li to accompany her all this time.
A few days ago, when they had fled the mansion in a sorry state, they didn’t dare to stop, flying hundreds of miles at full speed. Only when they felt no one was pursuing them did they find a secluded place to heal their wounds. Both were injured more severely than they had imagined, and the treatment web was excruciatingly slow in healing the areas burned by the black fire. It took several more days before they fully recovered.
Her mind was constantly preoccupied with Ye Ye and Bai Liyueyue, leaving no room to dwell on past grievances and entanglements with Lu Li. He, too, seemed to act as if nothing had happened, and they tacitly avoided mentioning anything. Perhaps for them, feigning ignorance was easier.
The night was deep, and the two had been waiting in the shadows for a long time. The patrolling guards had circled the mansion several times, but no steward was in sight. They had likely all gone to bed. Bai Ligelin grew impatient, worried about Ye Ye and the others, and fearing Ji Tongzhou might suddenly return. She threw out a talisman, and a small oriole demon fluttered its wings, flying high in circles, following the patrolling guards and singing like a bird.
The sudden appearance of an oriole singing in the dead of night was indeed eerie. As expected, the guards became agitated, and finally, a person who looked like a butler came out angrily, wearing an outer robe, and shouted, “What’s all this fuss about! If the bird is annoying, just chase it away! Look how scared you all are when the Duke isn’t even in the mansion!”
Bai Ligelin silently whistled, and the oriole demon immediately called out sweetly, slowly circling before flying off in another direction. The guards quickly gave chase, and as soon as they turned the corner, she flickered into motion, landing silently behind the butler and covering his mouth with her hand.
“If you want to end up like this, go ahead and scream,” she said, holding a stone in her palm. With a gentle squeeze, the stone crumbled to dust. The butler’s eyes immediately filled with terror, and he trembled so much he could barely stand, almost collapsing. When she released her hand, he couldn’t even whimper, only managing to kneel on the ground and kowtow frantically.
Bai Ligelin grabbed his hair and pulled him up, saying coldly, “Where are the people your Duke captured a few days ago? Take us to them!”
She gripped his wrist, injecting some spiritual energy into his meridians. For someone without spiritual roots, having spiritual energy forcibly enter the body was more painful than being flayed or pierced with needles. The butler was about to scream in agony, but Lu Li had already covered his mouth.
Following him through the twists and turns of the mansion, they eventually arrived at a dungeon. Lu Li first peered inside to assess the situation. The dungeon was guarded by many more sentries, and the light was too dim to make out if Ye Ye and the others were there. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly asked, “Where did your Duke go?”
The butler hung his head dejectedly and said in a low voice, “This lowly one truly doesn’t know… The Duke hasn’t been in a good mood these past few days. Last night he only said he was going out for a walk and hasn’t returned yet…”
Bai Ligelin let out a cold laugh. “Not in a good mood? How can someone without a conscience even have a bad mood?!”
The butler’s lips moved slightly as if wanting to argue, but in the end, he pressed his lips together in fear.
Lu Li asked again, “Who is being held in this dungeon?”
The butler hesitated, seemingly reluctant to speak. Seeing Bai Ligelin glaring at him fiercely, he had no choice but to say, “The Duke only recently returned. The dungeon held three people a few days ago. Later, one was taken away by an immortal from the Wuyue Court, and the other two have been missing for days. When we reported this to the Duke, he didn’t seem to react much, and this lowly one doesn’t know where they went. Also… Princess Lan Ya from Zhao Yang came to see the Duke some time ago, seemingly to plead for something, but the Duke had her tied up and ordered us to throw her into the dungeon…”
Princess Lan Ya was imprisoned in the dungeon by Ji Tongzhou?! Bai Ligelin wanted to laugh coldly. He had truly gone mad. She summoned vines to bind the butler from head to toe, even sealing his mouth to prevent him from shouting. The two quickly entered the dungeon. Upon seeing two strangers intrude, the guards immediately shouted and charged forward, only to find themselves instantly bound by vines, struggling in vain.
Bai Ligelin walked quickly past one cell after another. The butler hadn’t lied to her; the dungeon was empty. It wasn’t until they reached the last cell that they saw Princess Lan Ya, her face haggard, bound and suspended by dragon-binding chains. As their eyes met, Princess Lan Ya stared at them with uncertainty, then suddenly spoke, her voice dry and hoarse, “It’s you? How did you get here? Where’s the Duke? Is he not in the mansion?”
Bai Ligelin didn’t rush to answer, “He’s not here. Do you know where Ye Ye and the others are?”
She asked several times, but Princess Lan Ya remained silent, her expression strange, a mix of grief, anger, and despair.
After returning to Zhao Yang from the Duke’s mansion, she often overheard her father and others discussing these matters. It was impossible not to feel upset, but it wasn’t as painful as she had imagined. Her years of obsession and infatuation with the Duke had dissipated overnight, along with the fall of the Yue Kingdom.
Unexpectedly, the Dragon Throne encountered some obstacles, and Wu Gou not only withdrew his troops but also recalled many of the cultivator disciples he had sent out. This left the vassal states who had planned to rebel facing each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to do, only to be swept away one by one by the Yue Kingdom’s great army. Zhao Yang would inevitably be trampled under iron hooves sooner or later.
In desperation, she could only come to Ji Tongzhou again to plead, hoping he would remember their past relationship and spare Zhao Yang, restoring her to her former glory as a princess.
Princess Lan Ya’s face suddenly flushed, then quickly turned deathly pale.
She had thought the Duke wouldn’t want to see her, but to her surprise, he let her into the mansion smoothly. When she saw him, she dared not say anything, only kneeling to beg, humbly embracing his feet in submission.
“What are you begging for?” Ji Tongzhou had asked at the time.
Without thinking, she said many obedient and respectful words, just as she had done when she was young. She had never truly understood the Duke as a person. From childhood to adulthood, he had always been straightforward, without any scheming, an easy person to deal with, always courteous and respectful towards her. She had always thought she held some weight in his heart, but she was wrong.
She offered her chastity and dignity to this young Duke, and this time he didn’t refuse, accepting without hesitation. She still remembered the swaying of the luxurious canopy, the soft yet pale glow of candlelight. He was like a beast, like a man-eating demon, without any tenderness, causing her pain that made her want to scream.
He didn’t even want to see her face, covering it completely with clothing, as if venting his frustrations wildly. His throat murmured someone’s name indistinctly, but certainly not hers. At that moment, she immediately understood that in his heart, she held not even the slightest weight. There was no affection, there never had been.
The next day, she was bound with dragon-binding chains and sent to the dungeon. The Duke was unwilling to forgive traitors; he trampled on her dignity without mercy, yet gave her nothing in return.
Someone was calling her from outside the cell. Princess Lan Ya slowly came back to her senses to see the cell door being opened with an unlocking spell. Bai Ligelin was holding a short knife, measuring the dragon-binding chains, saying, “Forget it, let’s free you first! While Ji Tongzhou is away, you should leave quickly.”
Princess Lan Ya suddenly shouted harshly, “No, I won’t go! Don’t touch the dragon-binding chains!”
Bai Ligelin looked at her in surprise, “You want to continue being bound in the dungeon? That Ji Tongzhou has gone mad! If he cared about your past relationship, how could he imprison you like this!”
Princess Lan Ya just kept shouting hoarsely, “I won’t go! I’ll stay! The Duke will come to see me! He will come! He will forgive me one day!”
To think she would say he should forgive her! Had this princess lost her mind?!
Bai Ligelin withdrew her short knife. The princess had never been on good terms with them, and since she was so adamant about not being rescued, she couldn’t be bothered to interfere further.
“If you don’t want to leave, suit yourself. But first, tell me, where did Ye Ye and the others go? You should know, right?”
Princess Lan Ya said coldly, “I don’t know the lowborn people you speak of. There were two people here before, if that’s who you’re asking about, they’ve already been executed by the Duke.”
Bai Ligelin felt the world spinning, almost falling to the ground. Her shoulder was firmly supported by Lu Li, who held up her swaying body and frowned, saying, “Is this true? Speaking falsehoods is unbecoming of someone of noble birth.”
This stern rebuke seemed to soften Princess Lan Ya’s expression somewhat, and she added, “I am not speaking falsely. You can ask any of the guards here. Those two lowborns dared to attempt an assault on the Duke and have been executed by him.”