Li Aili had another dream, in which a platinum-gold dragon with blue eyes looked at her with pity.

He didn't say anything, just looked at her with pity.

Li Aili felt a chill run down her spine from being stared at, and then she woke up with a start.

She sat up abruptly.

"Ellie." Her boyfriend's voice came from the dragon gemstone necklace around her neck.

Li Aili was chained by the ankles and locked in a pure gold wire cage.

She seemed to be in a cave, a very luxurious cave... well, it was definitely a cave.

“Ellie.” The Duke’s voice came from the necklace around his neck.

With a 'clatter,' Li Aili stood up, causing the chains on her ankles to rattle.

"...Ellie, what's that sound over there?" the man asked calmly.

Li Aili quickly explained, "We're attending a local festival, and they gave us 'festival jewelry.' Haha, these things rattle and rattle when they're moved, which is really annoying~"

Duke: "That sounds interesting. Shall I go take a look now?"

Li Aili refused sharply, "No! Absolutely not!"

She looked down and fumbled around, only to find that the belt she had made to carry the alchemical potion was gone.

Very well, bird demons, you'd better not drink my potion like alcohol.

Fortunately, the gold ring on her little finger is still there.

This relieved her.

"I mean, you're so busy, I'll come with you when I have time!"

Duke: "..."

"Clatter, clatter," Li Aili kept searching, so much so that the chains kept rattling.

The Duke asked casually, "My dear, what are you doing?"

All Li Aili could think about was how to unlock the chains.

"Um, I'm thinking about how to untie my feet... and untie the 'jewelry' they gave me."

Ah, you know, the locals are very hospitable; they even insisted on taking me to their grand ceremony.

It also came with a set of local-style jewelry, but the jewelry made a lot of noise when it was moved, which affected movement and was a bit annoying.

The Duke said, "Close your eyes, and I will open them for you."

Unable to remove the shackles, Li Aili sat down on the ground in despair and said speechlessly to her boyfriend on the other end of the phone, "Honey, you're so funny."

The Duke's low voice came through, "Why not give it a try?"

Anyway, Li Aili simply closed her eyes, pinched the shackles on her ankles with her fingers, and said, "If you can unlock them from a distance of 108,000 miles away, I'll drink a week's worth of shrinking potions."

Then, with a 'click', the chains on her feet miraculously opened.

Just as she was staring blankly at the shackles that had been pried open on her hands, a thin, long 'black shadow' quietly slipped back into the shadow beneath her feet.

Li Aili: "..."

A man's voice came from inside the dragon gemstone necklace, "I heard a sound. Was that ornament taken off?"

Li Aili tossed away the evidence in her hand without changing her expression and said calmly, "No, darling, you misheard."

“I don’t think it’s that annoying anymore, so I’ve decided to keep it with me.”

Duke: "..."

Li Aili immediately twisted the spatial ring on her thumb.

The portal to the alchemy shop appeared, and Li Aili hurriedly pushed the door open and entered, but no one could see her 'shadow' at all, as she was 'rejected' by the portal.

Upon entering the alchemy room, Li Aili went straight to the 'preservation box', took out a batch of magical plants, and brought them to the workbench.

"Heh heh... 'Little birds,' you forced me to do this!"

"'Little bird'?" The Duke's voice came from the necklace.

Li Aili carried the magical plant and ran to the production table.

"Ah~ there's a flock of 'birds' over here, they love sparkly things (help, she's running out of ideas!)...and then they ganged up and stole Assange's...uh, stole Assange's jewelry! Yes, I've decided to teach these 'bandit birds' a lesson."

Duke: "…………"

Perhaps because it was too 'shocking', some discordant voices inadvertently leaked out from the Duke's side.

Suddenly, a shrill scream came from the dragon gem necklace.

Disorganized background noise, clashing weapons, shouts of battle...

Startled, Li Aili's hand trembled, and she almost shoved the grinding mortar into the crucible used for refining the medicine.

Immediately following was a muffled sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh, 'thud'.

The world fell silent again, and Li Aili poured the 'Shadow Mushroom' powder, the main ingredient of the 'Invisibility Potion,' into the crucible.

While busy making alchemical potions, Li Aili took a moment to ask, "What was that sound just now?"

The Duke said, "We were at war, and we didn't control the area well just now."

Li Aili paused in stirring the crucible, "..."

"How about... we talk later?"

Duke: "It's alright."

Li Aili: "..."

The Duke changed the subject, "What are you doing?"

Li Aili: "To concoct a potion."

The Duke said, "Ellie, use the spatial ring I gave you. It will be much more convenient when you're on an adventure."

Li Aili's eyes darted around, and she gave a vague reply, "Oh, I know. By the way, where are you hitting?"

The Duke said calmly, "Illy."

Li Aili: "..."

So, did that bishop who was thinking about 'tearing down the door' at the end of the year... not escape this calamity after all?

And that city lord who was so angry he wanted to ring the doorbell from his bed... he probably won't have to live in fear anymore.

Despite the God of Light's mercy, the two of them ultimately could not escape this calamity.

Li Aili poured the prepared medicine into the medicine bottle.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!