246: royal family

Ling Qi stared at her reflection in the mirror.

The clan mark shimmered with a faint dark gold light, appearing no different from an ordinary Six-Tailed Demon Fox.

Flame patterns coiled around her tails, the tips curling like banners, as if concealing the secret code: "The clan soul shall not be extinguished."

She pressed her fingertips against her lips and let out a laugh, her tone laced with thorns.

"Hundreds of years, and in the end, I've become a commander with no troops."

"This royal clan mark is more like a joke."

With a "bang," the curtains were swept into ash by a gust of energy.

Shang Wan Ning walked in wearing high heels, her black slit cheongsam sweeping across the threshold, the collarbone exposed by the neckline looking colder and paler than usual.

"You didn't even call me when you broke through."

She raised her hand to press against Ling Qi's nape, ice dew congealing at her fingertips.

"If the spiritual energy hadn't made my hair tremble, I wouldn't have known my Secretary-General was working so hard."

The reprimand died in her throat.

Shang Wan Ning looked at that faint dark gold light, her pupils constricting sharply.

In the ancient scrolls of the Zi Wei Palace's Forbidden Library—this pattern had once been stained by the snow of Buzhou Mountain, protecting the sword of the Demon high-ranking officials as they repelled a seventh-rank deity.

"Your Majesty recognizes it?"

Ling Qi gripped her wrist, but was surprised to find spiritual energy flowing like a river into the sea, drilling into her body through their touching skin.

Her ear tips burned.

At that moment, the dull pain from when her collarbone had been bitten suddenly washed over her.

Shang Wan Ning countered by pressing her against the vanity, the mirror reflecting their two overlapping shadows.

Water droplets from Ling Qi's hair fell onto the back of her hand, making her fingertips tremble with the cold.

Then, she traced the crescent-shaped tooth mark on the other's collarbone.

"Half a scroll is missing from the Forbidden Library."

Shang Wan Ning's voice was low, the tail of her words brushing against the Secretary-General's ear tip.

"Starting tomorrow, you may study any forbidden books in Zi Wei Palace; I will grant you the corresponding permissions."

"Once you've looked into it, I will know... how to protect you."

Ling Qi curled her lips into a smile: "It's not as serious as Your Majesty says."

Shang Wan Ning reached out and tapped the edge of the vanity.

"The Demon is about to open, so it's inevitable that I would overthink."

She lowered her eyes to straighten Ling Qi's messy hair, her fingertips brushing against the other's jaw.

"Since taking charge of the Underworld, my sixth sense has never been wrong."

"I know."

Ling Qi felt a warmth in her heart and gently held that mischievous hand.

"But we are meant to support each other."

The corners of Shang Wan Ning's eyes twitched.

This person now always loved to look at her with such warm and tender eyes.

[That's way too foul!!!]

Like an impenetrable mist, wrapped around the hook she had used to provoke her upon their first meeting, luring her from sinking into desire to falling in love for real.

"Perhaps breaking through to the sixth rank and revealing the clan mark is a warning from the Heavenly Dao..."

Ling Qi tilted her face up, the corners of her eyes still wet with the moisture from her breakthrough, "Are there members of my clan in the Demon? Your Majesty should be happy for me."

"AQi, don't be reckless."

Shang Wan Ning raised an eyebrow and poked her forehead with her index finger.

"The Source Realm and the Demon's Demon clan have long been at odds; those filthy things that claim to be orthodox..."

She suddenly gripped the other's wrist tightly, her chin resting on top of Ling Qi's head, rolling it back and forth.

"The Six-Tailed Demon Fox clan was once a fanatical follower of the Zhulong's orthodox bloodline. If they fall into the hands of those cross-breeds..."

Shang Wan Ning couldn't bring herself to say the "cruel" words that followed, leaving it at that.

"Your Majesty, this Subordinate wants to enter the Demon to investigate. I will be careful."

She grasped Shang Wan Ning's hand in return and pressed it against her chest.

"Besides, with Your Majesty's divine mark, how could anything happen to me!"

"If things don't look right, I will naturally run."

Shang Wan Ning stared at the hope in her eyes, suddenly recalling the line in the Forbidden Library's ancient scroll: "When the Six-Tailed meets its master, a Soul Contract is formed."

Her fingertips pressed over the beating pulse on Ling Qi's wrist, and she let out a low laugh, her tone laced with coldness.

"Hmph ╯^╰!"

Shang the Tsundere was a bit unhappy.

Thus, she made a few domineering remarks.

"Naturally. If you dare to die in the Demon, I will grind that hellhole into dust."

"Along with your three souls and five spirits, and your bones, I will lock them all in Zi Wei Palace, where you will only be able to look at me and accompany me for all eternity."

Ling Qi saw that Shang Wan Ning had started making threats again, and knew that the matter of leading the trip to the Demon was settled.

Although the Empress's domineering CEO speech was quite cliché, she couldn't help but love it because it was said by the person she loved!

Even if the words were full of tsundere attitude, Ling Qi still felt sweet inside, as if coated in honey.

Shang Wan Ning's face flushed red instantly; she pulled a purple object from her sleeve and shoved it into Ling Qi's hand with a helpless expression.

"Let's make this clear first: I am not a pervert."

Ling Qi was stunned.

The object felt cool and smooth in her hand; why did the texture feel so familiar?

A thought flashed through her mind— "Why does this look a bit like panties?"

"It's Sister Meng's style; she loves wearing purple ice-silk underwear."

There was no helping it, after all, the three of them had played the "three-person bed escape" game.

They had helped each other take off their gear countless times.

This detail was practically engraved in her DNA!!!

Shang Wan Ning's ear tips were so red they were practically dripping blood, as if the object had thorns.

"Starting tomorrow, I will go into seclusion to absorb the reincarnation fragments."

She stared at the corner of the ceiling, changing the subject.

"Hmm~ breaking through to the eighth rank will take at least three years, so Secretary-General, don't rush to take people in."

"At least wait until Sister Meng comes out of seclusion and breaks through to the seventh rank before going."

Ling Qi pinched the purple ice-silk, holding back a laugh, and deliberately wrapped it around her middle finger.

"Understood, is Your Majesty afraid I'll get myself killed?"

"Pah, pah, pah, stop saying such unlucky things."

Shang Wan Ning turned around abruptly, her hair sweeping across the vanity and causing the mirror to shake slightly.

"Sister Meng's 'Space Anchor' requires a spiritual object as a guide, and this in your hand..."

She paused, silencing the second half of her sentence.

"In any case, when she comes out of seclusion, follow what I say and use your ability—hold the panties high, and at the same time, shout 'Fragrant, fragrant, fragrant' at the top of your lungs."

"Then, no matter how far apart you are, you will be able to successfully summon Sister Meng."

"If you encounter danger, just..."

"Run." Ling Qi finished for her.

She waved the purple object in her hand, "If I can't beat them, I'll summon Sister Meng; if that doesn't work, I'll hide back in the Netherworld."

Shang Wan Ning's ear tips twitched, and finally, unable to bear it any longer, she flicked her sleeves and left.

Before leaving, she threw back a muffled, "Scum Ling Qi, you only know how to bully me."

She paused at the threshold: "The spiritual vein in the third-floor secret chamber of Zi Wei Palace is the purest. If... if my spiritual power goes berserk during the breakthrough, tell people not to get too close."

"Alright~"

A cold wind stirred up a faint scent of lilies.

Ling Qi watched the black figure disappear at the end of the corridor.

She touched her heart; it felt warm.

[I wonder if Lady Meng Jiang knows that A Ning has a habit of collecting original-scent items?]

Ling Qi shook her head with a smile.

Her gaze landed on the "panties" in her hand, and suddenly, a bright idea occurred to her.

She folded the panties and carefully stored them in her Storage Ring.

Afterward, she began to prepare for the matters of entering the Demon.

...Yao Zui Cliff, territory of the Yin Jiao Clan.

"Brother Xuan, I can't enjoy eating melon in peace. Guarding this place, I'm so bored."

Hei Jing smiled helplessly.

The technical ghost messengers from the Research Institute were very capable, having built Underworld network signal stations everywhere.