Chapter 28: Danger Approaches [Long Chapter]

The next morning, dawn was just breaking.

Lu Ning was woken up early by Ji Linglong, who also removed her shackles.

Her Highness the Eldest Princess seemed to have an unusual enthusiasm for “dressing up”—she started fussing with great excitement before it was even fully light outside.

“A-Ning, come and try this on.”

Ji Linglong took out a shimmering, radiant palace dress from her wardrobe, which was akin to a miniature treasure vault.

It was a pale pink long gown woven from celestial silkworm silk, its hem embroidered with intricate phoenix totems in gold thread.

The wide, flowing sleeves overlapped layer upon layer, gleaming faintly in the morning light, exuding an ethereal aura.

Lu Ning looked at this outrageously gorgeous dress, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

She, a grown man in her twenties mentally, was supposed to wear this?

“Linglong-jie, isn’t… isn’t this a bit too fancy?”

Lu Ning made a last-ditch struggle.

“What’s wrong with that?”

Ji Linglong raised her brows.

“You are mine, so you should wear only the best.”

“Hurry up and change, let me see.”

Under Ji Linglong’s expectant gaze, Lu Ning finally admitted defeat.

She accepted the dress and walked behind the screen.

After she changed into the gown and dawdled out from behind the screen, Ji Linglong, who had been full of anticipation, was instantly stunned.

Lu Ning was already quite beautiful, with exquisite features and brows like a painting.

Now, dressed in an ethereal pink gown, that carefully suppressed feminine grace burst forth at once.

Her fair skin, set off by the pink attire, looked even more delicate and flawless.

A cool, aloof aura mixed with this soft and elegant attire created a wonderful contradiction, making her appear like an exiled immortal who had accidentally fallen into the mortal world, carrying a fragile air untouched by earthly dust—so lovely that one couldn’t help but feel pity.

“Beautiful…”

Ji Linglong was momentarily entranced, muttering to herself, her eyes shimmering with amazement.

“Truly beautiful.”

She strode over to Lu Ning, circled her, growing more satisfied the more she looked.

“I knew it, my A-Ning looks good in anything.”

Lu Ning was so uncomfortable under her burning gaze that she could only stand there awkwardly and let Ji Linglong look her over.

“No, just changing clothes isn’t enough.”

As if thinking of something, Ji Linglong pulled Lu Ning to sit before the dressing table.

The dressing table, carved from a whole block of warm jade, was laden with all sorts of exquisite hairpins and jewelry, dazzling and sparkling.

Ji Linglong began to comb Lu Ning’s long, jet-black hair.

Her movements were gentle, showing an unprecedented patience.

Lu Ning watched in the mirror as Ji Linglong worked with focused attention behind her, a strange feeling rising in her heart.

Not long ago, this was someone who had shouted to kill her, wishing to grind her bones to ashes—and now the change was so drastic.

“Linglong-jie, let me do it myself…” Lu Ning said, somewhat uneasy.

“Don’t move.”

Ji Linglong pressed down on her shoulders.

“This princess is doing your hair personally—what an honor, and you dare complain?”

Lu Ning had no choice but to shut her mouth.

Soon, under Ji Linglong’s deft hands, a complicated bun was formed.

But she didn’t stop there.

She picked up a pair of scissors and trimmed the locks of hair falling to either side of Lu Ning’s face, then tied them up with two pink silk ribbons.

Just like that, an adorable pair of twin ponytails was born.

Lu Ning stared at the mirror, petrified by the sight of herself with twin ponytails and a pink fairy dress.

Twin… twin ponytails?

She, a real man, had not only become a woman but now had to wear twin ponytails?

This was the ultimate humiliation!

“Pfft.”

Ji Linglong burst out laughing at Lu Ning’s look of utter despair.

“My A-Ning is just too cute.”

She pinched Lu Ning’s cheek, her eyes full of affection.

“Linglong-jie…” Lu Ning’s voice carried a trace of pleading.

“No.”

Ji Linglong didn’t even hesitate to refuse.

“Just like this, you’re not allowed to change.”

She loved seeing Lu Ning so obviously resistant yet forced to yield.

“All right, it’s almost time. I have to go to the Qilin Hall.”

Ji Linglong stood up, straightened her own palace attire, and once again locked the shackles on Lu Ning.

“A-Ning, be good and stay in Phoenix Palace. Don’t go anywhere.”

“When I get back from the banquet, I’ll take you to the imperial garden to watch the fireworks.”

Her tone was as if she were coaxing a child.

Lu Ning’s heart stirred, but on her face she put on a look of reluctant longing.

“Linglong-jie, can’t you really take me with you?”

She tugged at Ji Linglong’s sleeve and shook it gently, her voice soft and sweet.

“I’ll be scared if I’m here all alone.”

However, Ji Linglong just patted her head, a trace of amusement flickering in her eyes.

“Oh? Scared?”

“The mighty Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect, scared?”

Hearing this, Lu Ning’s expression froze.

“A-Ning, don’t try any tricks with me.”

Ji Linglong’s tone turned cold.

“I know exactly what’s on your mind.”

“Trying to use this chance to escape? Or to go find your precious disciple?”

Exposed, Lu Ning lowered her head and said no more.

“Hmph.”

Ji Linglong snorted coldly but wasn’t truly angry.

She leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on Lu Ning’s forehead.

“Wait for me obediently.”

“As long as you behave, I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

With that, she glanced at the delicate shackles on Lu Ning’s wrists and ankles, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes.

Lu Ning caught that hesitation keenly.

Here’s my chance!

“Linglong-jie…”

Lu Ning looked up, her eyes slightly red, big and watery, brimming with tears—pitiful as could be.

“These things… are so uncomfortable, can you unlock them for me…”

She shook her wrists, making the shackles jingle.

“Linglong-jie, just trust me this once, please? I promise I won’t run. I’ll wait right here for you to come back.”

She pushed her acting skills to the limit.

That look of frail helplessness could move even a heart of stone.

Ji Linglong gazed at her, and her internal defenses instantly wavered.

That’s right, she had no cultivation now, was deep inside Ji Linglong’s territory—where could she possibly run to?

Had she perhaps been too cautious?

“All right.”

After a struggle between caution and sympathy, Ji Linglong finally relented.

She took out a key from her robe and unlocked Lu Ning’s shackles herself.

“Click.”

The moment the shackles were opened, Lu Ning felt completely relaxed.

The suppressed true essence in her body began to flow joyfully once again.

“Thank you, Linglong-jie.”

Lu Ning dove into Ji Linglong’s embrace, her tone full of grateful emotion.

“Enough.”

Ji Linglong was a little flustered by the sudden affection, but her heart felt sweet.

It seemed her charm had indeed conquered this demon.

She patted Lu Ning on the back and spoke softly, “A-Ning, remember your promise.”

“Mm!”

Lu Ning nodded vigorously.

“I’m leaving now.”

Reluctantly, Ji Linglong released Lu Ning and turned to leave the hall.

However, just as she was about to step out the door, she paused.

She turned back, giving Lu Ning a deep look, a glint of cunning barely visible in her eyes.

Raising her right hand, golden light flashed at her fingertip, and a complex rune appeared out of thin air, merging silently into the doors of Phoenix Palace.

“A-Ning, stay put. Don’t try anything.”

“I’ll be back.”

With that, she left without further hesitation, her figure vanishing through the doors.

The heavy palace doors slowly closed.

The bedroom was once again enveloped in silence.

The obedient, reluctant expression on Lu Ning’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of relief.

“She’s finally gone.”

She let out a long breath, even the air seeming fresher now.

Freedom!

Even if only for a short while.

She stretched her wrists, long denied freedom, and felt that faint yet real power flowing within her.

Thanks to Ji Linglong’s relentless feeding of rare treasures these days, all her wounds were mostly healed.

Peering inward, she was delighted to find her cultivation had somehow risen to the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

She was only one step away from breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

“Ji Linglong, oh Ji Linglong, I really must thank you for your ‘generosity.’”

A smile curled at Lu Ning’s lips.

She knew she couldn’t stay here as a caged canary forever—she had to find a way to escape.

She walked to the palace doors and gave them an experimental push.

They didn’t budge an inch.

A mighty and mysterious force bounced her hand away from the door.

Lu Ning frowned.

She gathered her Foundation Establishment ninth layer true essence and tried brute-forcing the barrier.

Yet her strength was like an ant shaking a tree—it had no effect at all.

“Damn it!”

Lu Ning tried several more times, unwilling to give up, but the result was always the same.

The barrier Ji Linglong left was far stronger than she’d imagined.

With her current cultivation, it was impossible to break through.

Was she really going to be trapped here forever?

Lu Ning’s heart sank.

Just as despair set in…

A very faint cracking sound came from the palace door.

Lu Ning snapped her head up.

On the once-unbreakable golden barrier, a tiny fissure appeared.

In the next instant, the crack widened visibly to the naked eye.

A shadow, black as ink, slipped silently through the gap like a ghost.

It was a woman in black tight-fitting clothes, wearing a silver mask.

She held a dagger that glimmered with a cold, ghostly light.

An assassin!

Lu Ning’s mind went blank.

Without thinking, she threw both hands high in the air in a textbook gesture of surrender.

“Spare me, hero! I don’t know anything! I’m just passing through!”

The masked woman was clearly startled by this unexpected display.

She halted, sharp eyes scanning Lu Ning’s pink twin-tail outfit, then taking in the messy jade bed and the discarded shackles on the floor.

Finally, her gaze landed on Lu Ning as she spoke in a cold voice: “Who are you?”

“The Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect, captured by Her Highness the Eldest Princess—where is she?”