Even in the carriage on her way back, Jin Li was already impatiently thumbing through the books.
The night deepened. Back in her bedchamber, she continued turning pages, searching for the information Qi Yuan needed.
"Your Majesty, it is already the hour of the tiger. You ought to rest," cautioned a maidservant dressed in a pale yellow palace gown. "If Your Majesty's royal health suffers, this servant could never bear the blame."
Without looking up, Jin Li merely hummed in acknowledgment.
Duke Yu Residence possessed extensive records regarding the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground. Jin Li was searching for the answers Qi Yuan had requested while also gathering any other details concerning the forbidden ground so she could share them and be of help to him.
"Finally found it!" Jin Li's eyes lit up. "All garment demons share a single collective existence, linked in mind and awareness—yet every night, this connection weakens drastically!"
Armed with this information, she hastily brought out the Exquisite Jade Tide and relayed it to Qi Yuan.
At the same time, she also sent along the other records she had compiled about the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground.
After sending everything, she felt a surge of excitement. However, as she read further in the books, a puzzled expression crossed her face.
*The ancient records state that nowadays, only bridal gown monsters exist within the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground.*
*How strange. Then what is the undergarment monster Qi Yuan mentioned?*
*Could it be that new garment monsters have been born in the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground?*
Jin Li was perplexed.
Still, once the guards she had dispatched returned, she could ask them and find out the truth.
She wondered whether those guards would manage to meet Qi Yuan.
And what Qi Yuan... actually looked like.
Jin Li could not help feeling curious.
Setting the book aside, a wave of deep exhaustion washed over her. She was thoroughly drained, and her long legs and delicate jade feet ached.
The lingering strain of kneeling for three shichen had yet to fully fade.
***
Sunlight washed over Qi Yuan's body, warm and lazy.
Having just crawled out of the dirt pit, he still carried the earthy scent of soil on his clothes.
He glanced up at the sun. "So round. Just like a Golden Core."
As usual, he opened the chat interface.
In the chat box, many messages from Jin Li awaited him.
He read through them one by one.
"Sure enough, three mediocre minds beat one mastermind. Asking Jin Li for help really paid off."
From Jin Li, he had obtained truly useful information.
"So garment demons really are linked together. But at night, that connection weakens dramatically. That's my window of opportunity!"
"Still, with broad daylight right now, it's not a good time to test it out. I'll have to wait until dark."
Qi Yuan continued reading the messages below.
Jin Li had not only answered his question, but she had also marked out several hazardous zones, detailed the distribution of powerful garment demons, and more.
"She really is so... wifely—wait, no, attentive and considerate," Qi Yuan muttered to himself, correcting his phrasing when he caught the slip. After all, in his previous life, that first term had somehow taken on a slightly negative connotation.
"I have to wait until nightfall to grind mobs. How boring."
With nothing better to do, Qi Yuan sent Jin Li a flurry of messages.
Even if Jin Li might be offline and unable to reply right away, it hardly mattered.
He rambled on to himself:
"The scenery here really is beautiful, though the garment demons are a bit creepy—way scarier than horror movies on TV.
"If I weren't already Level 82, I might actually have been spooked.
"Too bad I can't take photos. Otherwise, I could take a picture of this place to show you. It'd probably give you quite a fright."
As Qi Yuan sent the message, a sudden thought struck him. "Hey, what do you look like?"
If the game supported photos, maybe he could see what his female internet friend looked like.
Unfortunately, this game couldn't send images, nor did it support video calls.
Qi Yuan had assumed Jin Li would take a while to reply, but the moment he sent his message, a response from her popped up.
"I... look decent enough."
On the other end, Jin Li was far from calm. Her emotional state was rippling even more violently than when she had just confronted Chancellor Sima Ting.
"I look decent too. How about we meet up in real life sometime?" Qi Yuan had a very favorable impression of Jin Li.
Back when he was critically ill and living all alone, Jin Li was the only one who chatted with him.
Her personality and temperament matched Qi Yuan quite well. Simply put, they got along great, and he hadn't found a single trait in her that he disliked.
Sitting on a red sandalwood chair as a faint, delicate fragrance drifted through the air, Jin Li stared at the words inside the Exquisite Jade Tide. After gazing at them for a long while, she replied in all solemnity, "All right!"
Seeing this, Qi Yuan broke into a smile. "By the way, are you on a different map than me?
"Right now, the only maps unlocked for me are the Four Forbidden Grounds and Two Perils.
"I can only stay here and can't leave."
*Map?*
*Four Forbidden Grounds and Two Perils?*
*Isn't it just One Peril?*
"Right, you're probably not grinding mobs; you must be playing through the story quests, right? What identity do you have there, and what challenge are you facing? Tell me about it—maybe I can give you some advice," Qi Yuan asked kindly before Jin Li could even respond.
In the imperial hall, Jin Li felt a bit dizzy.
She knew Qi Yuan always spoke in weird, enigmatic ways.
*The challenge he mentioned? My identity?*
*Is he asking about my true identity in the real world?*
Originally, since they had merely crossed paths by chance, she had never fully disclosed who she was.
As the sovereign of Southern Qian, her status was exceptional, so she had previously kept it hidden from him.
Now, however...
"I am... the Empress of Southern Qian," Jin Li replied, no longer concealing her identity.
"Whoa! Your story character is that impressive? An empress!
"No way, now I definitely have to meet you in person. In all my life, I've never even met a town mayor, let alone an empress—that's crazy rare."
Reading this, Jin Li was caught between tears and laughter.
"What's your current quest?" Qi Yuan followed up.
*Quest?*
Jin Li had grown accustomed to Qi Yuan's peculiar way of speaking, and she roughly understood his meaning. "As the Empress of Southern Qian, internally, Chancellor Sima Ting covets the throne; externally, the Northern Han Court constantly encroaches; and demon beasts frequently attack and pillage our cities."
"So, your main objective right now is to take out Sima Ting, secure the throne, and then wipe out the rest of the enemies?"
Seeing Qi Yuan state it so casually, Jin Li felt a small tremor of shock.
She had thought about these momentous goals, but how could they possibly be achieved?
Just maintaining peace was already an uphill battle.
Even if Qi Yuan were a supreme sovereign who held the means to enter the Xuanyuan Forbidden Ground and could roam the Robe and Crown Forbidden Ground freely, even a sovereign like that could never accomplish everything he had just described.
"Sigh, I don't know what level those NPCs you're facing are, or whether hacking at them with a sword would kill them," Qi Yuan said. Then he asked, "Have you ever read the great man's dragon-slaying art?
"It's a truly magnificent book.
"The great man was incredible. If you could grasp even a fraction of his teachings, a situation like yours would be child's play."
"I haven't read it. A dragon-slaying art? It must be extremely precious, right?" Hearing those three words, Jin Li assumed it had to be a priceless treasure.
And according to Qi Yuan, comprehending this dragon-slaying art would solve her crisis in an instant.
A book penned by such a great figure had to be worth its weight in gold.
"It's not expensive. Just a few hundred coins? You could buy a copy for the price of a hundred jin of grain.
"Too bad I never read it myself. Otherwise, I'd bullshit my way through teaching it to you, and we could spark a... transformation across the game world."
Perhaps because the other word felt too heavy, he substituted it with 'transformation.'
Hearing this, Jin Li was dumbfounded.
Such an invaluable book... was worth only a hundred jin of grain?
Chapter 17