Bai Li sat alone in the office for a while, allowing her chaotic thoughts to finally settle.
She let out a soft sigh and straightened her slightly disheveled clothes before slowly pushing the door open and stepping out.
As soon as she exited, she saw Rongrong standing quietly by the door, looking as though she had been waiting for a long time.
“Madam, here.”
Rongrong immediately stepped forward and handed a clean, soft towel to Bai Li.
Bai Li froze for a moment, looking at her with confusion, completely unsure why Rongrong was acting this way.
It wasn’t until she saw Rongrong point a finger toward her own cheek that Bai Li reached up to touch her face.
A cold dampness met her fingertips.
It turned out that while she was lost in her thoughts inside the room, she had unconsciously shed tears. She hadn’t noticed at all.
Bai Li smiled bitterly to herself.
‘I am a man. Even if my body has changed like this, I shouldn’t be crying so easily.’
She took the towel and wiped the tear stains from her face with force.
Even though her cheeks stung slightly from the friction, she treated it as a punishment for her loss of composure.
Once she finished, she handed the towel back to Rongrong, her voice carrying a trace of hoarseness.
“Thank you…”
“It is my duty, Madam… Master Lu Erlu.”
Rongrong’s sudden change of address caused Bai Li to stiffen instantly. She snapped her head up, staring at the woman with wide, questioning eyes.
‘Does Rongrong know my true identity? Did Ziya tell her?’
Countless thoughts raced through Bai Li’s mind, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.
Rongrong seemed to sense her panic and quickly offered a gentle smile to soothe her.
“I shall continue to call you Madam. Could you come with me for a moment? That child Ziya needs some time to herself right now, so you should rest in a different room tonight, all right?”
“Oh… okay.”
Bai Li nodded absentmindedly.
Her mind was so full of questions that she didn’t have the energy to think about anything else.
“Follow me, please.”
Rongrong turned and re-entered the office. Though filled with doubt, Bai Li could only follow quickly behind.
She watched as Rongrong walked to the wall and reached out with her slender fingers to stroke a hanging picture frame.
Finding the right spot, she tilted it slightly.
A moment later, the faint sound of a mechanical click echoed through the room.
The furnace in the center of the office slowly split apart, sliding toward both sides.
A secret door appeared!
A dark, deep passage leading underground was revealed to Bai Li without warning.
This sudden development left Bai Li dumbfounded. She never would have imagined that beneath this seemingly ordinary office lay such a hidden, secret space.
Rongrong turned around and elegantly extended her right hand, making a gesture for Bai Li to enter.
Bai Li steadied her nerves. Although filled with curiosity and unease, she chose to trust Rongrong.
Without further hesitation, she stepped into the passage.
Rongrong picked up an oil lamp placed by the door and followed closely behind, heading deeper into the darkness.
*Tap, tap, tap.*
The sound of footsteps on the cold stone floor echoed continuously in the deep passage.
As they descended further, the echoes grew louder.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the two finally reached the end of the tunnel.
The sight before her left Bai Li completely jaw-dropped, frozen in place for a long time.
She had expected the basement to be dark, damp, and cramped, but the space before her was incredibly vast.
Even more shocking was the interior decoration, which was nothing short of magnificent.
“This… this is like a palace hidden inside another palace…”
Bai Li whispered to herself, her shock far beyond what words could describe.
“Of course it is. This used to be my office,” Rongrong said with a light chuckle, her tone tinged with a bit of pride.
“Master, could you please turn your head for a moment?”
Hearing this, Bai Li instinctively looked away. However, the scene she caught a glimpse of was… ‘awkward.’
Rongrong was hurriedly changing her clothes. Her wig and maid outfit weren’t fully removed yet, making her look both disheveled and rather cute.
Seeing Bai Li’s stiff expression, Rongrong couldn’t help but burst into laughter, her tone playful.
“Madam, could you turn back around? You turned too quickly.”
“Oh! Right! Sorry!”
Bai Li hurriedly turned her head back. She waited quietly for a moment until she heard Rongrong’s soft voice behind her, only then daring to turn again.
This time, she was completely stunned.
The woman standing before her had flowing, enchanting purple hair and a pair of seductive, heterochromatic purple eyes.
Her beauty was world-shaking, and she radiated a noble yet mysterious aura.
Even if Bai Li were turned to ash, she would never forget this face—it was the Queen of the Nightmare Race through the generations, Yan Xi.
The very woman who had been killed by the Hero on the battlefield ten years ago and buried by Bai Li’s own hands should have been long gone.
Yet, here she was, standing alive in front of her.
A massive wave of shock overwhelmed Bai Li, leaving her unable to speak for a long time.
“…Surprised? Unexpected? I’m still alive~”
Yan Xi blinked her eyes, her tone playful and lively, showing none of the sorrow one would expect from a deceased person.
Bai Li regained her senses, feeling a bout of dizziness. She squeezed out a few words, feeling caught between laughter and tears.
“Again…?”
“What? Is the surprise not enough?”
Yan Xi pouted her lips with feigned grievance.
“…Stop teasing me, Yan Xi. You should know how terrible my current situation is,” Bai Li said helplessly, rubbing her aching temples.
“Hehe, how boring, Madam.”
Yan Xi chuckled softly, her tone gradually becoming serious.
“However, in a strict sense, I am not exactly alive.”
“What do you mean?”
Bai Li asked immediately, her confusion deepening.
“The fact that I can speak to you now is actually thanks to you, Master Lu Erlu.”
Yan Xi began to recount a secret buried for ten years.
“When you buried my body, that spot happened to be the Graveyard of the Nightmare Ancestors.”
“Many people know that our Nightmare Clan can perform Dream Manipulation, but few know that we are also natural Spirit Mediums.”
“It was the souls of my ancestors that forcibly dragged me back from the underworld. They bound my soul to this Underground Palace, allowing me to exist in this form.”
Bai Li interrupted her, her voice full of disbelief.
“Wait, a soul? You’re saying you are currently just a Spirit Form?”
“Exactly.”
Yan Xi nodded slightly, a trace of loneliness flickering in her eyes.
“I can feel that if I leave this palace by more than 500 meters, my soul will instantly scatter, and I will vanish from this world forever. That is why for these ten years, I haven’t been able to achieve National Restoration or contact the outside world.”
“Then why can you still touch me? When you handed me the towel earlier, you were clearly solid…”
Bai Li was still full of doubt.
“Hmph~”
Yan Xi smiled mysteriously. In the next second, she suddenly reached out and swept her hand toward Bai Li’s forehead.
Bai Li didn’t even have time to react. She could only watch as the hand passed through her head without any resistance.
There was no pain, nor did it leave a mark.
“I can freely control whether I am tangible or not. The appearance you saw before was just an illusion I created using Magic.”
Bai Li stared blankly, ultimately forced to accept this absurd reality.
“Fine. Let’s get back to business. Yan Xi, you wouldn’t expose your identity so easily just to chat with me, right?”
“…Hehe, I really did just want to chat with you. Come, sit here.”
Yan Xi turned and sat in an extremely luxurious chair, gesturing for Bai Li to sit opposite her.
Bai Li complied, and a brief silence fell over the room.
Before long, Yan Xi spoke softly, her tone incredibly sincere.
“Thank you.”
This sudden gratitude left Bai Li bewildered. She looked at her with a face full of confusion.
“Why would Yan Xi suddenly thank her?”
“Don’t be confused. Ziya is of the Nightmare Imperial Family. You should already know who her mother is, right?”
Bai Li nodded slowly. “I know.”
“Then you should understand why I am thanking you.”
Yan Xi’s eyes softened significantly, filled with gratitude.
“Thank you very much for taking such good care of my daughter all these years. You taught her well. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a pure and upright Nightmare child.”
“Don’t say that…”
Bai Li lowered her head, her voice full of self-blame and guilt.
“If I had truly taught her well, I wouldn’t be in this position today, nor would I have turned myself into this state.”
“Well, actually, I think you look quite cute like this. But I respect your wishes.”
Yan Xi chuckled softly, then her tone shifted abruptly.
“However, I would like to make a deal with you…”
Bai Li looked up, her gaze calm.
“Oh? Let’s hear it.”
“You certainly get straight to the point. Then I won’t beat around the bush.”
Yan Xi sat up straight, her tone turning grave.
“I can completely solve the side effects of the Nightmare Transformation in your body. I can even help you use that power to become stronger.”
Bai Li’s heart stirred, but she remained calm.
“The condition?”
She knew better than anyone that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
“The condition is simple. You must help me—or rather, help the entire Demon Race—attack the Human Empire.”
“Forget it!”
Without a second thought, Bai Li refused immediately.
“Shh—I haven’t finished.”
Yan Xi quickly interrupted her, making a solemn promise.
“I guarantee you that the Human Empire will not be destroyed because of this, nor will we harm the common people.”
Hearing this, Bai Li fell into silence once more.
‘What would her choice be?’