Chapter 19: Sleeping in the Same Bed

Darkness shrouded the entire side hall, with only the occasional drifting cloud outside the window allowing a few faint strands of starlight to briefly spill inside.

On the jade bed, it was so quiet that the sound of their breathing could be heard.

Ji Linglong’s gaze was fixed on Lu Ning.

“A’Ning, you must know more about the Divine Phoenix Nirvana Tribulation, right?”

The teasing tone in Ji Linglong’s voice had vanished, replaced by an unprecedented gravity.

Lu Ning’s heart stirred. She knew her bait had successfully piqued the other’s curiosity.

But she couldn’t make it too obvious.

She turned over, facing away from Ji Linglong, and spoke in a tired, distant tone, “Your Highness, I’m just a maid you captured. As for what you said, it’s just nonsense I read in some old miscellaneous book. It’s not to be taken seriously.”

Lu Ning put on an “I don’t know anything, don’t ask me” attitude.

This kind of feigned reluctance worked best against smart and suspicious people like Ji Linglong.

The moment Lu Ning finished speaking, a warm arm wrapped around her from behind, pulling her entirely into a tight embrace.

Ji Linglong’s body pressed firmly against her back, the astonishing warmth and softness coming through the thin fabric, making Lu Ning’s body freeze on the spot.

“Nonsense?”

Ji Linglong’s breath brushed Lu Ning’s ear, carrying a scorching heat.

“A’Ning, do you take this princess for a three-year-old child?”

“Taiyin Divine Water, the mutual aid of yin and yang—such words could only be spoken by someone deeply familiar with the ‘Nine Heavens Divine Phoenix Sutra.’”

“You’d better be honest—where exactly did you learn all this?”

Ji Linglong’s arm tightened even more, a pressure unique to a cultivator at the Grand Ascension stage faintly emanating from her.

Lu Ning cursed silently in her heart.

[What’s with this woman? She turns hostile so quickly? Wasn’t she normal just a moment ago? Not even giving me a chance to bargain?]

She knew she had to come up with a reasonable explanation, or there would be no peace tonight.

“Your Highness…”

Lu Ning’s voice quivered slightly, sounding as if she’d been frightened.

“I… I really just saw it on a very old beast-hide scroll. It was a notebook left behind by an ascended ancestor of my Heavenly Demon Sect, recording many ancient secrets…”

She shifted the blame to a nonexistent “ascended ancestor.”

Such a story—half true, half false—was the hardest to verify.

After listening, Ji Linglong fell silent.

The Heavenly Demon Sect’s foundation was unfathomable; it wasn’t impossible they’d produced an ascended ancestor.

If it was a notebook from ancient times, recording some secrets of the Divine Phoenix Clan, it was plausible.

Her arm around Lu Ning loosened a little.

“What else was written in that notebook?”

Ji Linglong pressed.

“No… nothing…”

Lu Ning quickly shook her head.

“That notebook was incomplete to begin with. The part about the Divine Phoenix was just a few sentences. I only read it as a story back then. I don’t remember much…”

Lu Ning knew she couldn’t say too much now.

The easier something was to obtain, the less it was worth.

She had to make Ji Linglong understand how precious the information she held was—only then would her bargaining chip grow.

“Don’t remember clearly?”

Ji Linglong let out a cold laugh.

Of course she didn’t believe Lu Ning’s story.

This woman was as slippery as a loach.

But she wasn’t in a hurry.

She had the person in her grasp now; there was plenty of time and plenty of ways to get everything she knew out of her.

“If you don’t remember, then let this princess help jog your memory.”

With those words, Ji Linglong’s hand that had been wrapped around Lu Ning’s waist began to wander upwards.

Lu Ning’s body trembled violently.

“Your Highness! What… what are you doing!”

“What am I doing?”

A wicked curve appeared at the corner of Ji Linglong’s mouth.

“Naturally, I’m helping A’Ning…‘remember’ a bit.”

“Mm…”

Lu Ning let out a suppressed groan.

“Seems your body is quite honest, A’Ning.”

“Do you remember now?”

Her voice was like a devil’s whisper.

“No… I don’t…”

Lu Ning gritted her teeth, squeezing out the words with difficulty.

She couldn’t yield.

If she gave in, she would completely lose her leverage in negotiating with Ji Linglong.

“Such a stubborn mouth.”

Ji Linglong snorted softly, as if she found this method a bit dull.

She withdrew her hand but still maintained her embrace of Lu Ning from behind.

“Rest.”

She spoke lightly.

“At dawn, the war chariot will reach Tiandu. There will be plenty of time for you to think then.”

Lu Ning dared not move, letting herself be held like that.

The warmth and faint fragrance from the body behind her made her feel restless all over.

[What is this supposed to be?]

[Is this woman treating me as a pillow?]

[Still, the more she cares about that ‘Divine Phoenix Nirvana Tribulation,’ the bigger my bargaining chip becomes.]

As her thoughts wandered, Lu Ning’s consciousness grew hazy.

The constant tension and humiliation over these past days had already left her exhausted.

Once she was certain Ji Linglong really just wanted to hold her and sleep, and had no further intentions, she finally couldn’t fight off her drowsiness and drifted off into a deep sleep.

In the darkness, Ji Linglong slowly opened her eyes.

She looked down at Lu Ning, who was already breathing steadily in her arms, and a complicated light flickered in her golden phoenix eyes.

She could sense that Lu Ning was truly asleep.

Right before her eyes, this once overbearing demon had actually fallen asleep completely defenseless.

Ji Linglong gently caressed Lu Ning’s cheek.

The delicate touch made her a bit reluctant to let go.

“Lu Ning, oh Lu Ning…”

She muttered softly.

“How many more secrets are you still hiding?”

“Don’t worry. Sooner or later, this princess will dig them all out.”

She pulled Lu Ning closer into her embrace, found a more comfortable position, and closed her eyes as well.

…

The next morning.

As the first rays of dawn shone through the window into the side hall, Lu Ning slowly awoke.

The moment she opened her eyes, she met a pair of golden phoenix eyes filled with laughter.

Ji Linglong was lying on her side, propping up her head with one hand, watching her with great interest.

“You’re awake?”

Only then did Lu Ning realize she had, at some point, turned over in her sleep.

Her whole body was nearly curled up in Ji Linglong’s arms, the two of them facing each other in an excessively intimate posture.

Her face flushed bright red. She hurriedly scrambled back with both hands and feet, trying to put some distance between them.

But with a thud, she forgot she was sleeping at the edge of the bed and tumbled straight off the jade bed.

Although the floor was covered with a thick carpet, she still ended up dizzy from the fall.

“Pfft.”

A repressed laugh came from overhead.

Ji Linglong propped herself up, leisurely looking at Lu Ning sprawled on the floor, her eyes full of mockery.

“A’Ning, are you paying your respects with a grand kowtow to this princess? There’s really no need to be so courteous.”

Lu Ning was both embarrassed and annoyed.

She climbed up from the carpet, standing to the side with her head lowered, not daring to look at her.

“All right, stop standing there like a statue.”

Ji Linglong sat up on the couch, stretching lazily.

Her perfect curves were accentuated beneath her sleeping robes.

“Come dress this princess.”

“Yes.”

Lu Ning answered softly, walking to the clothes rack at the side and taking down the ornate palace attire that had already been prepared.

At that moment, the golden war chariot suddenly jolted, then came to a smooth halt.

“Your Highness, we’ve arrived at the imperial city—Tiandu.”

A guard’s respectful report sounded from outside the side hall.

A glint flashed in Ji Linglong’s eyes.

She looked at Lu Ning, her lips curving into a meaningful smile.

“A’Ning, welcome to… your new home.”