Entering the Underground Palace, Ye Piaoling was stunned by the scene before her.
In front of her stood rows of thick, towering iron bars, reaching dozens of feet high.
Behind those bars lay coiled a massive, ferocious dragon!
The dragon was pitch black all over, currently asleep, its body coiled into a towering, enormous mass.
Pointing at the dragon, Ye Piaoling politely asked, “May I ask, is this the ‘little animal’ you said needed me to wake it up?”
Di Xiulan nodded.
Ye Piaoling sniffed the air. “Why do I smell blood?”
Di Xiulan: “This little creature has devoured countless living beings, its killing too heavy, hence the bloody aura.”
Ye Piaoling: “Oh…”
Staring at the mountain-like, man-eating dragon, Ye Piaoling only wanted to say: Sorry to bother you.
Di Xiulan: “Wake it, and I will grant your wish.”
“Your Highness, for such an underworldly creature, I truly don’t know how to wake it,” Ye Piaoling told him honestly. “It’s getting late. If you have no other business, I’ll head back now.”
Di Xiulan said calmly, “Only by waking it can you leave intact.”
Intact…
Hearing that word, Ye Piaoling felt her whole being go numb.
She couldn’t help but ask, “What if I can never wake it? Will you chop me into pieces?”
“Not necessarily,” Di Xiulan’s tone was lazy and gentle. “How many pieces would be more interesting depends on my mood.”
“Damn, is he that perverted?” Ye Piaoling cursed under her breath. “Your grandpa!”
“Hmm?” Di Xiulan turned his gaze toward her.
A cold, sinister glint flashed in his deep eyes.
Ye Piaoling immediately forced a smile and said, “How is your grandpa’s health? I’ll visit him when I have time.”
“…”
Di Xiulan snorted with a laugh, then turned and left with a flick of his sleeve.
Standing alone in the dark, empty Underground Palace, facing the dragon, Ye Piaoling sighed.
After thinking for a moment, she walked over to the Shadow Guard stationed at the palace entrance. “Brother, could you please inform His Highness that waking the dragon requires some props. Can he provide them?”
The Shadow Guard relayed her request to Di Xiulan.
Di Xiulan said, “Give her whatever she asks for.”
The Shadow Guard acknowledged the order and left.
Following Ye Piaoling’s requests, he prepared everything one by one.
…
Night fell.
Di Xiulan set down a scroll of ancient texts and asked Liang Yun, “What did she ask for?”
Liang Yun replied, “She asked for a bed, a set of pillows and bedding, and a late-night snack.”
“And then?”
“Then she ate the snack, got into bed, covered herself with the blanket, and closed her eyes.”
“…”
Meanwhile, Ye Piaoling had already fallen asleep.
She quickly realized that Di Xiulan hadn’t given her a time limit. Since she had to lie low wherever she was, and since she couldn’t leave intact for the time being, she might as well stay here temporarily.
It wasn’t bad here—food and drink were provided. Although it felt a bit like quarantine with limited freedom, at least it was safe, with no need to worry about assassins coming for her life.
As for the dragon not far away, rather than barging into its cage to wake it and risk being crunched as a snack, she might as well sleep outside the cage alongside it!
Sleep—everything is possible in dreams…
Early the next morning.
Liang Yun reported to Di Xiulan again:
“Master, she asked for breakfast.”
At noon.
“Master, she asked for lunch.”
In the evening.
“Master, she asked for dinner.”
“…”
Di Xiulan: “It sounds like she’s living quite comfortably.”
Liang Yun: “My lord, she doesn’t seem capable of awakening the evil dragon. She only consumes provisions.”
Liang Yun couldn’t help but ask: “My lord, perhaps we should release her? Keeping her locked up like this seems rather pointless.”
And we have to send someone to deliver her meals every day—what a nuisance…
Di Xiulan said calmly, “Keep her confined.”
He wanted to see how long she could remain comfortable, locked away in the pitch-dark Underground Palace.
As night fell, Liang Yun came to report again: “My lord.”
Di Xiulan: “Is she asking for a midnight snack again?”
Liang Yun: “She requested two young Shadow Guards, specifically emphasizing that they should be clever, quick-witted, young, and physically fit.”
“…”
With a “thud,” Di Xiulan tossed the ancient book in his hand onto the table.
A faint, cold smile brushed his thin lips.
“She’s truly becoming more and more outrageous.”
Di Xiulan arrived at the Prisoner Dragon Underground Palace.
From a distance, he saw Ye Piaoling and two Shadow Guards sitting on the ground, forming a circle, holding some paper cards in their hands.
“Double Joker!!”
Ye Piaoling roared, slamming two cards down heavily.
The two Shadow Guards immediately wore expressions of shock and heartache.
Ye Piaoling: “You lost again! Hurry up and hand over the money!”
The two Shadow Guards looked pained, reluctantly pulling out bits of silver from their pockets…
Life in isolation was truly boring. After much persuasion, Ye Piaoling had managed to get the Silly System to give her a deck of playing cards, and she taught the two Shadow Guards how to play “Landlord.”
The two Shadow Guards knew she was carrying out a task assigned by the prince, so they obeyed her every word and diligently learned to play cards.
In less than half an hour, they had already lost quite a bit of money…
“I’ve been thinking,” the man’s voice drifted over calmly. “It’s not a solution to keep you here, feeding you for nothing.”
The two Shadow Guards jumped up in fright: “We pay our respects to our lord.”
Ye Piaoling, busy stuffing all the silver into her pocket, said, “Your Highness, what did you just say?”
Di Xiulan said leisurely, “I’ll give you three more days. If you still haven’t completed the task by then, there will be no use in keeping you around.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Piaoling fell into deep thought.
Di Xiulan: “Are you thinking about how to complete the task?”
Ye Piaoling: “No, I’m thinking about what I should eat if I only have three days left to live.”
…
As they left the Underground Palace, Liang Yun couldn’t help but say, “My lord, I think that Miss Ye truly excels only at eating and sleeping. She savors every meal with great relish, and her sleep quality is exceptionally good…”
Even with her life hanging by a thread, she still eats and drinks as usual, letting nothing weigh on her mind.
Liang Yun couldn’t help but admire her a little, sighing, “Even though you’ve given her only three days left, she still insists on doing nothing.”
“Not necessarily.”
Di Xiulan curled his lips and said nonchalantly, “Soon, she will give me a surprise.”