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In the carriage, Jin Li eagerly leafed through the books.

The night grew deeper. Even after returning to her bedchamber, she was still reading, searching for the information Qi Yuan needed.

"Your Majesty, it is already the Hour of the Tiger. You should retire. If your royal health suffers, this servant cannot bear the responsibility," the maid in a goose-yellow palace gown reminded her.

Jin Li did not even raise her head. "Mm."

Duke Yu's Residence possessed much information regarding the Attire Forbidden Area. Jin Li searched for the answers Qi Yuan had asked about while also gathering other information on the Attire Forbidden Area, hoping to share it with him and help him.

"I finally found it." Jin Li's eyes lit up. "All Attire Demons are one entity, sharing what they have with one another. But every night, this connection weakens drastically!"

Having obtained this information, she hurriedly took out the Exquisite Jade Tide and told Qi Yuan.

At the same time, she also sent Qi Yuan the information she had compiled about the Attire Forbidden Area.

After sending it all, she felt somewhat excited. Yet when she saw what the books recorded, a puzzled look appeared on her face.

"The ancient texts state that the present Attire Forbidden Area contains only the Wedding Dress Monster.

Strange. How was she to explain the Bodice Monster Qi Yuan mentioned?

Could it be that other Clothing Monsters had been born within the Attire Forbidden Area?"

Jin Li did not understand.

However, once the guards she had sent out earlier returned, she would be able to ask them what exactly had happened.

She wondered whether the guards had seen Qi Yuan.

What did Qi Yuan... look like?

Jin Li was a little curious.

Putting down the book, a heavy wave of exhaustion washed over her. She was tired, and her slender legs and exquisite jade feet were somewhat sore as well.

The aftereffects of kneeling for three hours had yet to fully fade.

Sunlight fell upon Qi Yuan's body, warm and languid.

Having just climbed out of a dirt pit, the scent of soil still clung to him.

He glanced up at the sun. "So round. Just like a Golden Core."

As usual, he opened the chat interface.

There were many messages from Jin Li in the chat window.

He read through them one by one.

"Sure enough, three cobblers with their wits together can match Zhuge Liang.

Asking Jin Li for help really worked."

From Jin Li, he had obtained useful information.

"So the Attire Demons really are connected. But when night falls, their connection weakens greatly. That is my opportunity."

"Still, it is broad daylight now, so it will not be easy to test. I will have to wait until night."

Qi Yuan continued reading the messages below.

Jin Li had not only provided what he had asked for, but also marked several dangerous areas and explained the distribution of powerful Attire Demons.

"She really is... virtuous and capable. No, she should be called thoughtful and considerate." Qi Yuan thought of something and immediately changed his wording.

After all, in his previous life, the term virtuous and capable had, to some extent, become a "derogatory term."

"I have to wait until dark to grind monsters. So boring."

With nothing to do, Qi Yuan sent Jin Li a whole string of messages.

Though Jin Li might not be online and could not reply immediately, it did not matter.

He kept talking to himself.

"The scenery here really is beautiful. It is just that the Attire Demons are a bit creepy, far scarier than ghost movies on television.

If I were not level 82, I might really have been frightened.

Too bad I cannot take photos. Otherwise, I could snap the scenery here and send it to you. It might give you quite a scare."

As Qi Yuan sent the messages, a thought suddenly struck him. "Hey, what do you look like?"

If he could take photos, perhaps he could even see what his female online friend looked like.

Unfortunately, this game could not send pictures or make video calls.

Qi Yuan had originally thought Jin Li would reply later, but unexpectedly, her message came through the moment he finished sending his.

"I... look all right."

On the other side, Jin Li's heart was anything but calm. Her emotions were in greater turmoil than when she had just met Grand Chancellor Sima Ting.

"I look all right too. How about we meet up sometime?" Qi Yuan had a rather favorable impression of Jin Li.

When he had been seriously ill, he had lived alone. The only person who chatted with him was Jin Li.

Moreover, Jin Li's personality and temperament suited Qi Yuan quite well. Put simply, they got along well, and he had not found anything about Jin Li that he disliked.

Jin Li sat on the Red Sandalwood Chair as a faint, refreshing fragrance drifted through the air. She stared at the words in the Exquisite Jade Tide for a long while before solemnly saying, "All right!"

Seeing this, Qi Yuan smiled as well. "Oh, right. Is the map you entered different from mine?

The only maps I have unlocked are the Four Forbidden Two Absolute.

I can only stay here. I cannot leave."

Maps?

Four Forbidden Two Absolute?

Was there not only one Absolute?

"Oh, right. You probably are not grinding monsters—you are following the game storyline, right?

What identity do you have here, and what difficulties have you encountered?

Tell me about them. Maybe I can give you some advice." Without waiting for Jin Li's answer, Qi Yuan kindly asked again.

Within the hall, Jin Li felt a little dazed.

She knew Qi Yuan spoke strangely, all mystical and muddled.

The difficulties and identity he mentioned—was he asking about her identity in reality?

She and Qi Yuan had met only by chance, so she had not completely revealed her identity.

After all, she was the ruler of the Nanqian Kingdom. Her status was special, and she had concealed it from Qi Yuan before.

Now...

"I am... the Empress of the Nanqian Kingdom." Jin Li no longer hid her identity.

"Wow? Your storyline character is that amazing? You are actually a female emperor!

No, then I have to meet you even more. I have lived this long and never even met a town mayor. A female emperor—that is truly a rare sight."

Jin Li did not know whether to laugh or cry at that.

"What is your current mission?" Qi Yuan continued asking.

Mission?

Jin Li had grown accustomed to Qi Yuan's strange manner of speaking and roughly understood what he meant. "As the Empress of the Nanqian Kingdom, I have Grand Chancellor Sima Ting within coveting my throne. Outside, the Northern Khan Royal Court harasses us, and demon beasts occasionally attack cities and seize land."

"So your main mission now is to kill Sima Ting, secure the throne, then wipe out the remaining enemies?"

Seeing Qi Yuan's casual words, Jin Li felt a small shock in her heart.

She had considered such matters, but how could they possibly be accomplished?

Maintaining peace would already be good enough.

Even though Qi Yuan was a Supreme Emperor, had mastered the method of entering the Xuanyuan Forbidden Area, and could venture through the Attire Forbidden Area—

Even such a Supreme Emperor could not accomplish what he had just described.

"Sigh, I wonder how high-level the game characters you have encountered are. Could you kill them with a sword?" Qi Yuan said. Then he asked, "Have you read the Great Man's Dragon-Slaying Art?

That is a truly great book.

The Great Man was incredible. If you grasp even a fraction of his true teachings, this situation will be child's play."

"I have not. Dragon-Slaying Art? It must be very precious, right?" Upon hearing those words, Jin Li felt that it had to be something extremely valuable.

According to Qi Yuan, once she comprehended the Dragon-Slaying Art, her problems could be resolved in an instant.

A book written by that Great Man must surely be worth a thousand gold pieces per page.

"Not expensive. Probably a few hundred coins? A hundred jin of grain could buy it.

Too bad I have not read it. Otherwise, I could fool my way through teaching you and stir up a... transformation in this game world."

Perhaps the other word was too weighty, so he used transformation instead.

Jin Li was stunned when she heard this.

Such a precious book was worth only a hundred jin of grain.