Chapter Seven: Greetings from Twelfth Sister
Although Bai Yu's presence could not provide any shelter for the time being, it gave Shang Jiuya a glimmer of hope for "possibility" amidst the boundless cold and darkness.
However, the chilling reality did not ease in the slightest. She remained trapped in the Purple Light Palace, eating suspicious and cold food, enduring omnipresent surveillance, each sound of footsteps outside the palace sending shivers down her spine. She tried to recall the fragmented information Bai Yu had whispered that day, attempting to match those names and faces with the maids and guards coming and going in the palace. Each confirmation deepened the chill in her heart.
This Purple Light Palace was indeed like a sieve that leaked air from all sides.
She became even more silent and reclusive, spending most of her time curled up on the soft couch by the window, like a truly sick and powerless puppet.
Two more days passed in this state of extreme oppression and vigilance.
That afternoon, Shang Jiuya was forcing herself to take a short nap in hopes of recovering some energy when a sound different from usual came from outside the palace. A voice carrying a charming laugh came from afar.
Shang Jiuya's heart skipped a beat, and she instantly snapped back to reality, sitting up straight on alert.
Could it be another one of Guan Shanyue's people? Or... someone else?
Before she could guess, the guards at the gate didn't seem to object much, and the palace door was pushed open with a rather forceful force.
A slender, petite figure, accompanied by a sweet, fragrant breeze, gracefully entered.
The newcomer wore a vibrant crimson palace gown, the hem embroidered with large, eerily shaped, intertwined demonic flowers in silver thread. Her jet-black hair was styled elegantly, adorned with several shimmering hairpins that jingled with each step. Her features were exquisitely beautiful, with willow-leaf eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and rosy lips, yet a hint of spoiled arrogance lingered in her expression.
Shang Jiuya's fragmented memories surged rapidly, piecing together a name—Shiyi Niang, the original owner's twelfth sister.
That youngest sister, who was spoiled and willful, skilled in illusion magic, and... harbored inexplicable jealousy towards the original owner because of her name and ranking.
Shiyi Niang entered the hall, her gaze sweeping around as if appraising an object, finally settling on the slender Shang Jiuya sitting on the soft couch. A smile played on her red lips. "Oh, Shiyi Sister~" she said sweetly, her voice trailing off, "I've come to see you. I heard you were ill the other day? Why are you still occupying this Purple Light Hall looking so sickly? Is this Demon Lord's seat comfortable for you?"
As she spoke, she walked unceremoniously to a comfortable and luxurious chair and sat down. She picked up a strangely colored purple fruit from the fruit plate on the small table next to her and played with it, but her eyes never left Shang Jiuya. The malice in her eyes was almost undisguised.
Shang Jiuya's heart tightened slightly. Here comes another problem.
She tried her best to maintain a calm demeanor, even managing a weak smile, mimicking the timid tone the original owner might have: "Thank you for your concern, Twelfth Sister... I... am just still a little weak, I'll be fine after a few days of rest."
"Take care of yourself?" Eleventh Sister scoffed, casually tossing the fruit back onto the plate with a soft thud. "Eleventh Sister, your health isn't up to the task of bestowing the Demon Lord's position. It would be better to relinquish it sooner rather than later, allowing someone of virtue to take it. Otherwise... if something 'accident' happens again, wouldn't the demon realm become a laughingstock?"
She emphasized the word "accident".
Shang Jiuya lowered her eyelids, concealing the coldness in her eyes, and said in a low voice, "Sister is joking... This was decided by the elders together, and it is not something you or I can interfere with."
"The elders?" Eleventh Sister curled her lip, seemingly quite disdainful, then, as if remembering something, a boastful expression appeared on her face. "Speaking of which, Sixth Brother got a new gadget the other day, a bone flute taken from the jaw of a deep-sea demon dragon. Playing it can arouse inner demons, it's incredibly powerful! Sixth Brother was the first to show it to me~ He even said that I'm more suitable to play with such a demonic artifact than some useless people who occupy positions without doing their jobs~"
The "sixth brother" she mentioned was naturally the violent and warlike "Seventh Mu." She was openly showing off that she was more favored by her brother, while simultaneously belittling Shang Jiuya.
Shang Jiuya listened silently, her fingertips digging slightly into her palm. Shiyi Niang's purpose was far more than just showing off and mocking.
Sure enough, Eleventh Sister changed the subject, her gaze becoming even more "concerned," "Speaking of which, Eleventh Sister, I heard that you were particularly timid when you were little. Once, you were so frightened by a low-level nightmare beast in the Demon Palace's back garden that you wet your pants on the spot and ran crying to find Father. But Father was busy and didn't have time to pay attention to you. You were carried back by the patrolling guards. Is that true?"
After she finished speaking, she covered her lips with her hand and giggled.
Shang Jiuya's face paled even more instantly. This fragment of memory was deeply hidden by the original owner; it was an extremely unbearable childhood humiliation. For Shiyi Niang to bring it up now was clearly an attempt to tear open her wounds, to see her lose her composure, to see her humiliated!
Just as Shang Jiuya was feeling her blood rushing to her head and her breathing becoming slightly rapid from this sudden humiliation, she suddenly noticed that Shiyi Niang's fingers, which were seemingly casually playing with the magic crystal hairpin, moved extremely slightly.
Alarm bells rang in Shang Jiuya's mind; Shiyi Niang's greatest skill was illusion.
Almost simultaneously, Shang Jiuya caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of the tea cup that the maid had just served her on the small table beside her. Underneath the clear water, something seemed to be wriggling. Then, several fat, greasy black worms suddenly emerged from the bottom of the cup and began to writhe and roll wildly on the surface of the water.
The scene was extremely disgusting and realistic; you could even smell a faint fishy stench.
If the original owner were here, she would probably have screamed in terror and knocked over her water glass.
Shang Jiuya's scalp tingled, and her stomach churned; she almost jumped up immediately.
But at this critical moment—
Bai Yu!
She suddenly remembered what Bai Yu had said in a low voice while kneeling on the ground that day: "The Twelfth Prince is arrogant and spoiled. He loves to see people lose their composure and make a fool of themselves, and he especially likes to use trivial illusions to play tricks on people. I once spilled a cup of tea in front of her that was turned into blood by an illusion, and she mocked and whipped me severely in public..."
It was an illusion, just the lowest level, a scare tactic. She remembered that Rong Jiang in "The Road to the Underworld" was also skilled in illusions, and Rong Jiang had said that low-level illusions were merely deceiving people's senses and did not actually exist.
This can't be real!
The thought instantly suppressed her instinctive fear and nausea. She clenched her teeth, forcing her body, which was about to spring back up, to sit up again. She struggled to look away from the violently "wriggling" tea and instead looked at Eleventh Sister, who was watching her with anticipation and a wicked sense of amusement.
Shang Jiuya picked up another empty cup beside her, her fingers trembling slightly from the force, but her voice tried her best to maintain an extremely calm tone, even carrying a hint of weak doubt:
"Oh? Is that so? I... don't quite remember."
She seemed completely oblivious to the horrible "insect water," even slightly furrowing her brow and giving Eleven a tired, perfunctory smile: "Perhaps I was too young to understand. It's kind of you to remember it so clearly, little sister."
She paused, as if she were genuinely thirsty, and very naturally gestured to the maid standing beside her with her empty cup: "The tea is cold, bring me another cup." Throughout the entire process, her eyes never once glanced at the cup of water that had been enchanted.
The mischievous, expectant smile on Shiyi Niang's face instantly froze.
She stared wide-eyed in disbelief at Shang Jiuya's overly calm profile, then at the still-moving teacup, a hint of astonishment and confusion flashing in her eyes.
Although her illusion magic wasn't top-notch, it was always effective against her eleventh sister, whose spiritual power was weak! How could it be... that she didn't see it? Or... was she really so ill that her eyesight had deteriorated?
The maid was also taken aback, clearly not expecting that His Majesty would ignore the obviously strange water. But she quickly realized what was wrong, stepped forward, took away the "insect water," and served a new one.
Shiyi Niang's smile became somewhat forced, and her eyes turned cold. She felt like she had punched cotton; the expected fun hadn't materialized, and instead, she looked like a boring clown.
She looked Shang Jiuya up and down a few times, seemingly trying to find any flaw in her feigned composure on her pale face, but in the end she only saw an infuriating calm.
"Hmph." Feeling bored, she stood up sullenly, not even bothering with formalities. "It seems that my illness has made you quite dull. Well then, take good care of yourself. I hope your body can hold out for a while."
After saying that, she snorted coldly and turned away.
The palace doors slammed shut behind her.
Only after confirming that Shiyi Niang was really gone did Shang Jiuya's tense back suddenly relax. She felt completely exhausted and slumped back into the soft cushions, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest.
She stared intently at the newly poured teacup for a long time before she dared to confirm that there was really nothing in it.
That was a close call...
If Bai Yu hadn't revealed Shiyi Niang's fetishes and methods beforehand, she would definitely have fallen for it. At that time, she would not only have made a fool of herself, satisfying Shiyi Niang's perverse tastes, but she would also have exposed her weakness and gullibility, attracting even more terrifying tests and attacks.
The information provided by Bai Yu saved her at a crucial moment.
Shang Jiuya slowly closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the cold air.
In this cold, demonic palace, information is the weapon.
This was the first time she had realized it so clearly.
Bai Yu is her first, and currently only, source of information.
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