The next moment, two waves of pressure at the Titled Douluo level descended abruptly. As the air swirled, two figures landed steadily on the ground.
They were none other than Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, who were responsible for guarding Qian Renxue.
The two men's gazes merely swept over Ye Yunxi, yet their hearts couldn't help but skip a beat. This woman was simply too beautiful.
Then Qian Renxue grabbed Ye Yunxi and took her back to the room to demand, "You have Twin Martial Souls. Why didn't you tell me?"
"There's nothing to tell. Kill me or punish me as you please." Ye Yunxi looked determined to keep her mouth shut.
Explain? How could she explain? Should she say she wasn't from this world and had a system bound to her that kept issuing ridiculous tasks from time to time?
Qian Renxue was already deep-minded and skilled at keeping others under her thumb. The more Ye Yunxi tried to explain, the more Qian Renxue would probably use it against her.
"You... You're going to be the death of me."
Qian Renxue was so angry that her fingertips trembled. She really wanted to pull Ye Yunxi over and give her a good scolding, just to show her that she had a temper too.
But when she looked at Ye Yunxi, she could only sigh helplessly and endure it in the end. If she scolded her, she'd have to coax her afterward.
"Stay here and reflect on what you've done." Qian Renxue tamped down her feelings and turned to leave.
Only after she had gone did Ye Yunxi breathe a sigh of relief. She secretly resolved that once she cultivated to the Titled Douluo level, she would make that woman taste what it was like to be punished.
Wasn't she getting a little too into playing the Crown Prince?
After a quiet moment, Ye Yunxi tentatively called in her mind, "System, are you still there?"
Silence. No one answered.
Ye Yunxi could only give up for the time being. As long as the system brought some good news the next time it appeared, that would be enough.
She lazily sank back onto the bed, letting drowsiness wash over her. Before long, she drifted into sleep.
As night deepened, the door was gently pushed open once more. This time, the footsteps were so light they were almost inaudible.
Qian Renxue quietly entered. Even in the dimness, her golden eyes clearly reflected the peaceful sleeping face of the person on the bed.
She gazed at her for a long while, a tenderness she had never quite examined stirring in her heart. When had it begun, this inability to look away from her?
"Never mind. I can't let her keep sleeping in the side hall."
She walked to the bed and gently nudged Ye Yunxi's shoulder. "Wake up. Go sleep in the main hall. Tomorrow, you'll come with me to the palace to meet my father."
Since she had given Ye Yunxi the title of Crown Princess, it wouldn't look right to leave her sleeping all alone in the side hall.
Besides... though they were both women, Qian Renxue couldn't help feeling sorry for her, curled up like that.
"I'm not going... I'm not going..." Ye Yunxi mumbled drowsily. She rolled over and buried half her face in the soft pillow, looking utterly unwilling to move even if thunder struck.
Qian Renxue froze for a moment, then shook her head with a laugh.
"I really can't do anything with you."
She bent down, slipped one arm beneath Ye Yunxi's neck and the other under her knees, and lifted her into her arms with little effort.
Ye Yunxi stirred unconsciously in her embrace, but in the end, sleepiness overcame her, and she soon grew still again.
Qian Renxue walked steadily toward the main hall. Moonlight spilled through the corridor windows, casting a hazy silver sheen over her shoulders. The person in her arms breathed softly, like a fox returning home after growing utterly exhausted.
Morning · Council Hall of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace
The hall was magnificent, its golden pillars coiled with dragons. Morning light poured through the tall windows, yet still could not dispel the solemn atmosphere.
Emperor Xue Ye sat upon the Nine-Dragon throne. His bright yellow dragon robe lent him a majestic air, though an imperceptible trace of illness lingered between his brows, and his face was somewhat pale.
In the seat of honor on the left side of the throne sat Yu Yuanzhen, sect master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
He wore a dark teal outfit and was built like a mountain. The faint aura of thunder rolled around him, and even sitting still, he exuded the domineering, intimidating pressure of a Beast Martial Soul.
On the right sat Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Dressed in white, he held a folding fan with a jade-bone handle. His manner was refined and gentle, a smile on his lips, as though he had merely come to attend an elegant conversation.
Standing quietly behind him were two elders, Bone Douluo Gu Rong and Sword Douluo Chen Xin. Though neither deliberately released his Soul Power, each possessed the imposing bearing of a grandmaster, deep and immovable as an abyss.
Representatives of the various powers also stood on either side of the hall. Yu Tianxin and Yu Tianheng, brothers of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, wore solemn expressions.
Several princes and high-ranking officials of the Heaven Dou Empire all bowed their heads in concentration.
The entire hall was shrouded in a grave atmosphere. Everyone was discussing preparations for the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament and how to consolidate the empire's young generation of Soul Masters.
Just as the discussion reached a crucial point, the long, shrill announcement of an attendant suddenly rang out from beyond the hall:
"His Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess have arrived!"
Before the voice had faded, Qian Renxue was already striding into the hall.
She wore a Crown Prince's python robe embroidered with gold. Her figure was upright, her steps unhurried, and she still maintained Xue Qinghe's handsome, composed appearance. Yet on closer inspection, one would notice several traces of an indescribable gentleness in her features that had not been there before.
And the moment the person behind her stepped through the hall's doors—
The entire Council Hall seemed to have been pressed into stillness by some invisible force.
Every sound cut off abruptly.
One after another, gazes were drawn toward her. Surprise, scrutiny, curiosity, distraction... all sorts of emotions surfaced across faces that were usually calm and unreadable.
Gently led by Qian Renxue, Ye Yunxi entered the hall, somewhat hesitant.
She was still wearing that shimmering Nine-Tailed Glazed Ru Skirt, its hem rippling softly with each step.
Her jet-black hair was loosely pinned up with a single translucent Glazed Hairpin. She had carefully hidden her sensitive fox ears in her hair, though a little tuft occasionally peeked out beside her temples.
The morning light fell just right on her face. Her skin was as white and lustrous as jade, and her peach-blossom eyes were clear and dewy. Yet under the attention of so many people, a trace of awkwardness and sleepy reluctance surfaced in them.
Her nine fox tails had been temporarily concealed by the system. Only the faintest soft curves could be glimpsed beneath the swaying hem of her skirt. Still, the innate, almost imperceptible allure she carried quietly rippled outward, lingering through the solemn hall.
At that very moment, the familiar mechanical voice caught Ye Yunxi completely off guard as it sounded in her mind:
[ Ding! Situational task triggered: Make at least three important people present in the Council Hall of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace lose themselves for more than three seconds. Task reward: 5000 Outfit Points, random Thousand-Year Soul Ring age +2000 years.]
Ye Yunxi's steps faltered almost imperceptibly.
Again?!
She instinctively shrank behind Qian Renxue, gently tugging at the sleeve of her python robe. She lifted her eyes in a pleading appeal, their watery sheen filled with helplessness and grievance.
"What's wrong?" Qian Renxue turned her head and asked quietly, feeling the slight tug at her sleeve.
"Your Highness... I'm scared." Ye Yunxi's voice was barely audible. "You know I... I have social anxiety."
Her eyes, their corners faintly red, gazed up as if she had suffered the worst injustice imaginable. Anyone who saw her would feel a pang of sympathy.
Qian Renxue froze, the tips of her ears growing faintly warm.
Who was it that acted all fierce in the Crown Prince's Mansion and bickered with her from time to time? And now she was putting on an innocent, helpless act?
"You..." She was briefly at a loss for words, both annoyed and amused. All she could do was scold her softly. "What kind of act are you putting on now?"
Ye Yunxi lowered her lashes, her heart already weeping rivers of tears.
This system... It had to sound off right now, of all times, and issue a task this deadly!