As the group of soldiers departed from the Heavenly Fragrance Building,
a room on the 28th floor, next to the corridor, had its window open. A woman in a black dress stood by the window, her enchanting face slightly lifted, watching the building across with a twinkle in her eye that was neither a smile nor a frown.
Across the building, a group of musicians and dancers lightly treaded along the corner of the corridor, swiftly descending the stairs. All but one golden gauze dancer departed from the group, heading up to the forbidden 31st floor, where Hu People guards stood watch in the corridors and stairwell entrances. The golden gauze dancer stopped in front of a room at a diagonal angle, looked around, then entered the room and closed the door behind her.
The woman in black saw the golden gauze dancer disappear, her pale purple pupils sparkling. She then raised her hand, which appeared especially pale under her black gauze dress, and gently blew a breath of white air towards her wrist.
The next second, the white air coalesced into a white butterfly, slightly larger than a fingertip, fluttering its wings as it landed on her wrist.
The woman in black gave her wrist a flick, and the white butterfly danced away, flying out the window and quickly reaching the 31st floor. It flitted between the guards, unnoticed, and arrived at the door of the room where the golden gauze dancer had vanished, then, as if passing through nothing, slipped inside.
As the white butterfly disappeared, the black-clad woman’s pale purple pupils began to flicker, and slowly a picture emerged in her eyes.
The image showed what seemed to be a storeroom, filled with miscellaneous items, Hu People’s musical instruments, and garments. In her view, the dancer she had been tracking walked into an open white wall.
As the wall began to close, the white butterfly flapped its wings silently and squeezed through the rapidly narrowing gap.
The scene followed the dancer as she traversed beyond the wall, revealing a grotto heaven filled with mechanical contrivances - a labyrinth of chambers that moved, creating a perception as if entering a dream space, where up was down and rooms shifted left and right. The dancer turned left and right, seemingly following a specific sequence through each room, with the wooden doors opening and closing as she approached.
The butterfly followed silently, but suddenly came to an abrupt halt, as if it had encountered an invisible wall.
Ahead, the Western Regions Dancer seemed to sense something and paused, then swiftly turned around, her beautiful eyes scanning behind her, only to find nothing.
The brow of the dancer enshrouded in golden gauze furrowed slightly, her confusion apparent as she clearly had heard something.
However, she quickly cast it aside as she thought of the conversation she had eavesdropped on in the Sky Character Room C, her heart tightened with urgency, without time to dwell, and swiftly disappeared into the next room.
On the other side, the image in the woman in black’s pupils faded, the pale purple glow dulling.
There were prohibitions in place, blocking her prying eyes!
To avoid raising suspicion, she withdrew her methods of her own accord.
But it was clear that whatever lay beyond that wall was of great importance.
Closing the window, the woman in black turned around, a teasing smile playing on her beguiling eyebrow, when suddenly an impatient voice rang out in the room,
"Are you really sure that dancer is the Maid of the Princess of Loulan who perished six years ago?"
Looking towards the source of the voice, one could see a towering man of nine feet tall, with pale golden hair and brows, his presence as dominating as that of the "Golden Lion," his gaze filled with solemnity.
"Of course, I saw the Princess often back then due to matters regarding the Holy Sect. One of the Maids by her side was indeed that woman!" The woman in black, with her pale purple pupils shining with a demonic glow, spoke in a meaningful tone, her lips curled in a mocking smile, "Six years have passed, and people who should have died are here. Surprising as it is, seems like some from the Holy Sect turned soft then and spared their lives."
Upon hearing this, the blond-haired Han straightened up, his eyes narrowing fiercely, a fervent light shining within, "Doesn’t that mean that the Princess of Loulan might still be alive?"
The woman in black raised an eyebrow noncommittally, "Who knows? A quick investigation will reveal all."
At that, impatience and irritation flickered across the eyes of the Golden Lion-like young man, "Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go now."
So saying, he walked towards the door.
The woman in black swayed, blocking the door, and frowned, "What’s the rush? We should go at night. With so many people around now, any disturbance might arise, especially since the Central Plains Court’s new Demon Suppression Envoy is about to arrive. This is not the Western Regions."
With that, her pale purple eyes evaluated him, her beautiful eyes sparkling with laughter, her laughter causing her treasures to sway provocatively before her, "Golden Lion, such haste—could it be you wish to capture the Princess of Loulan and present her to the Holy Daughter to win her favor? I advise you to save your efforts. Drop that insignificant thought. Even the Heir of Beiliang wishes for her affection, and you stand even less of a chance. Our esteemed Holy Daughter wouldn’t spare you a glance."
Upon hearing this, the face of the Golden Lion turned from pale to flushed, then anger overtook him, "Bullshit! The Holy Daughter is a snow lotus from Heaven Mountain, noble and pure. And what of the Heir of Beiliang? It’s all nonsense."
"You, though, You Lian, a member of the Holy Sect, have repeatedly shown irreverence to the Holy Daughter. What are you plotting?"
The Golden Lion gazed with intimidating lion-like eyes, his demeanor forceful yet inwardly timid and defensive.
"Hehe, what can I do? Had the Princess of Loulan not ’died’ back then, the Holy Daughter would not have had her turn. Now that the Princess of Loulan might be alive, discovered by you and me, that’s a major achievement I don’t intend to give up lightly!" said the woman in black, known as You Lian, who then smiled seductively, "If you truly wish to get close to the Holy Daughter through this, you’d best listen to me. After all, women understand women best. What did your heartfelt efforts get you before? Has the Holy Daughter ever spared you a glance?"