Upon hearing this sound, Zu An's heart stirred. It was the sound of an ocarina, and only Shang Liuyu possessed such superb skill and rich emotion.

Sure enough, after passing through a coral forest, the view suddenly opened up before us.

A beautiful woman sat on a windowsill not far away, wearing a blue dress woven from the scales of the extremely rare Xuan Guang Qing Gu beast and the silk spun by the Ni Guang Shuang Hua silkworm. It was decorated with beautiful coral and inlaid with crystal clear pearls.

She has a refined and elegant demeanor, and seems somewhat detached from the world.

What's even more striking are her delicate, snow-white ankles. Though barefoot, they are spotless, as if the very essence of heaven and earth has given birth to that perfect, easily grasped curve. Her dainty toes are exceptionally exquisite and beautiful.

For some reason, the word "ice cream" suddenly popped into Zuan's mind.

Is this a natural talent of the mermaid race? They are born without feet, but once they undergo the difficult transformation, their feet become exceptionally beautiful.

Shang Hongyu's feet are also beautiful; he played with them all night yesterday.

But Shang Liuyu's feet are even more beautiful, as if they were the most perfect work of art in the world.

The sound of the xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument) stopped abruptly, clearly indicating that Shang Liuyu had also noticed the arrival of the group.

Seemingly sensing Zuan's gaze, she subconsciously bent her knees slightly and curled up, tucking her beautiful feet into her skirt, a faint hint of disgust flashing in her beautiful eyes.

"You don't need to waste your time. I will not tell you the whereabouts of the crown," Shang Liuyu said calmly. Even though she was somewhat displeased and disgusted, her voice was still beautiful and pleasant.

At this moment, Kachir laughed and said, "Third Princess, you are overthinking it. Today, the Dragon King and Queen have come to visit you."

Upon hearing the first part of the sentence, Shang Liuyu remained calm and composed, but upon hearing about her sister's news, she subconsciously sat up straight.

Shang Hongyu stepped out from behind Zu An, her eyes instantly turning red as she looked at the other woman: "Little sister, you've suffered so much..."

"Sister!" Shang Liuyu's originally calm expression became more emotional, and her eyes welled up with tears. The two sisters quickly hugged each other.

"Sister, were you captured by them too?" Shang Liuyu asked worriedly as she wiped away the tears from her sister's eyes.

There's really no need to ask anymore; the situation is already quite obvious.

As expected, Kachir said, "The Queen has agreed to cooperate with us. Why doesn't the Third Princess abandon the darkness and embrace the light sooner?"

"What is darkness, and what is light?" Shang Liuyu sneered.

Kalchi's expression changed: "Don't be so ungrateful! If it weren't for the Dragon King and Queen, do you think you could still be playing music here so leisurely these days?"

Shang Liuyu ignored Zu An beside her and instead took Shang Hongyu's hand, saying, "Sister, you've really worked hard."

In her mind, all of this must be thanks to her older sister. In this place surrounded by wolves, she didn't know what price she would have to pay.

Shang Hongyu shook her head slightly: "It's not hard work, not hard work at all."

She was telling the truth. With Zuan around, she really didn't have a hard time at all; on the contrary, she was exceptionally happy.

However, to Shang Liuyu, these words sounded like her sister had sacrificed a lot to protect her, but didn't want her to worry, so she pretended to be strong and said this. Shang Liuyu felt even more grief-stricken and her eyes welled up with tears.

Shang Hongyu turned to Zu An and the other two and said, "I want to have a few words with my sister alone."

Kachiel snorted coldly: "It's the same to say it here."

They clearly disagreed with letting the two of them be alone together.

At this moment, Zu'an spoke up: "These sisters are reunited, and they must have a lot to say in private. Let them catch up first, and then we can talk about serious matters later."

Kachiel hesitated for a moment before reluctantly agreeing: "Alright, since the Dragon King has said so, then you can stay for a while."

Shang Liuyu gave a cold laugh, clearly not taking the Dragon King he was talking about seriously.

Kachir frowned, and after going outside to the courtyard with Zaun, he whispered to Zaun, "The effect doesn't seem to be very good."

All of this was, of course, a performance by him and Zuan, but Shang Liuyu didn't seem to be very good at it.

Zu An smiled and said, "Don't rush. All of this is to leave a foreshadowing, so that Shang Liuyu will realize later that I have been protecting her both openly and secretly all along."

Kachir nodded: "Indeed, I was too hasty. Now it depends on whether the Queen can convince the Third Princess."

After speaking, he spread his divine sense, which covered the entire courtyard. No one inside could hide their words or actions from his detection.

This is why he felt truly at ease coming out. The two people inside probably didn't expect his strength to have reached such a level, and he took this opportunity to see if they were hiding anything from him.

Shang Hongyu led her younger sister into the inner hall. Shang Liuyu suddenly asked curiously, "Sister, why are your lips swollen? And your voice seems a little hoarse too."

Shang Hongyu was thinking about how to tell her sister, but when she heard this, her face turned bright red: "It's nothing, I probably didn't sleep well last night."

Kachir, standing outside the courtyard, couldn't help but glance at Zaun, giving him a strange thumbs-up.

Zu An smiled smugly, but felt extremely embarrassed inside.

Feeling guilty, Shang Hongyu worried that her sister would continue to press her for answers, so she helped her sister tidy her hair and changed the subject: "Little sister, are you alright?"

"No, I was only captured a few days ago. At first, the fake Dragon King intended to interrogate me, but someone came to deliver a message, and he left in a hurry after hearing it. He must have been held up by something and hadn't had time to deal with me yet," Shang Liuyu said calmly, as if these dangers had nothing to do with her.

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