Volume 13, Chapter 861 – Big Sister, Let Me Give You a Necklace

“Stop, stop, stop…! I’m awake… I’m awake… I’m up, okay!”

Qi Huang jolted in fright and hurriedly scrambled up from the bed.

“Hmph! Keep pretending, why don’t you? Why’d you stop all of a sudden?”

The Queen of the Underworld stepped in front of Qi Huang, towering over her with a sharp tone.

“N-no-no…”

Qi Huang awkwardly twisted the fabric of her sleeve.

“This queen is truly curious. You’re just a doppelgänger, so where did the blood tears on your face come from? From the main body?”

The Queen of the Underworld was the first to speak.

Qi Huang didn’t answer. No matter what, she couldn’t let main body body get dragged into this.

“Silence is fine. The blood tears on your face are inherited from the Demon Ancestor, you should know what that means. And you should also understand that to us ghostfolk who carry the Demon Ancestor’s blood, you’re a delectable meal. Draining your blood would let us claim those blood tears for ourselves.”

The Queen of the Underworld threatened coldly.

“Can you… not suck my blood?”

Qi Huang cautiously tested the waters.

“Answer one question of mine, and I’ll decide whether I’ll drink your blood or not.”

The Queen of the Underworld made her demand.

“Ask anything you like.”

Qi Huang obediently complied. After all, when you’re under another’s roof, you have to lower your head.

“Why does your Divine Sense aura resemble that of our Nine Nether Demon Cat clan so much?”

The Queen’s phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly.

“Nine Nether Demon Cats?”

Qi Huang froze, then looked the mother and daughter pair up and down. A moment later, realization dawned on her. Her mind spun rapidly as she began calculating how to handle this situation.

‘They probably think I’m a disguised Nine Nether Demon Cat or that I carry their bloodline. That’s the only reason they didn’t immediately strike me down.’

Qi Huang quickly grasped the situation and understood the danger she was in.

‘If they’re holding back out of kinship, then I have only two choices if I want to survive: either pretend to be a Nine Nether Demon Cat, or claim I have one in my lineage.’

She quickly came up with a plan, but the more she thought about it, the harder it was to decide. The Queen of the Underworld was unfathomable, there was no way to be sure she could be fooled. If her lie was exposed, she’d be doomed.

‘Forget it. I’ll just tell the truth. At least that way there’s a sliver of hope. Besides, I’ve actually done the Nine Nether Demon Cats a favor.’

Qi Huang wrestled with the idea for a long while but ultimately decided to go with honesty.

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“What is it? Got some kind of shameful secret you can’t say?”

The Queen of the Underworld’s patience was beginning to wear thin.

“It’s like this…”

Qi Huang kept it brief, and quickly explained her relationship with the Nine Nether Demon Cats on Lishui Planet.

“So you’re not one of the Nine Nether Demon Cat clan, nor do you carry their blood. Your soul was altered by that one named Mimi?”

The Queen’s gaze turned visibly colder.

“Yes!”

Qi Huang braced herself and answered firmly.

“At least you’re honest. Had you lied, I would’ve seen through it immediately, and you wouldn’t even get the chance to explain.”

The Queen of the Underworld sneered. “However, honesty alone won’t save your life.”

“Mother, even though she isn’t one of us, she’s our benefactor. We can’t kill her.”

The cat-eared loli, Qianqian, quickly interjected to plead on Qi Huang’s behalf.

“She only helped the Nine Nether Demon Cats of Lishui Planet.”

The Queen’s phoenix eyes gleamed with killing intent. Her entire presence radiated menace, like a beast staring down its prey.

Qi Huang’s heart thudded violently, loud enough that she could hear it in her ears. She knew full well that if this woman made a move, she wouldn’t survive.

“Didn’t you say that all Nine Nether Demon Cats across the worlds come from the same ancestor? The ones on Lishui Planet are our kin too, how does that not make her our benefactor?”

Qianqian tugged at her mother’s sleeve, pleading earnestly.

At these words, a flicker of emotion crossed the Queen’s face. She stared at Qi Huang with an unwilling expression. “Since you saved our kin, as a royal of the Nine Nether Demon Cat clan, I can’t repay kindness with betrayal. You should thank your own compassion.”

“Sigh…”

Qi Huang let out a long breath, and only when her nerves relaxed did she realize she was drenched in cold sweat.

“But how do you prove your story is true?”

The Queen suddenly shifted her tone and questioned sternly.

Qi Huang paused for a moment, then replied, “You should understand the gravity of this matter. Mimi wouldn’t have helped me if she didn’t trust me absolutely.”

“Mother, I think she’s telling the truth. That Sister Mimi must’ve known that altering a soul aura for a human would render our stealth abilities ineffective against her. She wouldn’t risk the safety of our whole race.”

The cat-eared loli chimed in again.

“No. I need to verify it myself.”

The Queen remained unmoved.

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“And how do you plan on verifying it?”

Qi Huang’s expression turned wary.

“You should know that zombies can read memories. Let me drink your blood, truth or lies will be exposed instantly.”

The Queen’s eyes burned with intensity.

“No way. If you do that, I’ll have no secrets left.”

Qi Huang shook her head firmly.

“So you’d rather keep your secrets than stay alive?”

The Queen bore down on her.

“Wait, let’s talk this through!”

Qi Huang backed away again and again.

“Mother, why don’t we go to Lishui Planet and verify it there?”

Qianqian suggested.

“No way!”

Qi Huang rejected the idea immediately. That was her hometown, no way she’d lead wolves to the door.

“My sweet daughter, you see? It’s not that your mother is cruel, she just doesn’t know how to appreciate kindness.”

The Queen extended a sharp, clawed finger, and a wave of murderous pressure burst out of her like a breached dam.

“Wait! I have another way to prove it!”

At death’s door, Qi Huang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and quickly took out a Shadow-Retaining Mirror from her spatial ring.

“Is that… a Shadow-Retaining Mirror?”

The Queen gave it a quick glance.

“You recognize this? Great, makes it easier.”

Qi Huang let out a slight sigh of relief and began operating the mirror. Soon, scenes of her spending time with the Nine Nether Demon Cats of Lishui Planet began playing, including moments of her saving them.

“ Big Sister wasn’t lying after all. She’s so kind.”

Qianqian’s face lit up with admiration.

“Now do you believe me?”

Qi Huang asked the Queen with nervous anticipation.

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The Queen stared at Qi Huang for a long moment. The claws on her hand slowly retracted. “Seems you really aren’t meant to die yet, finding even this kind of evidence.”

Qi Huang collapsed onto the bed, drained of strength.

“Don’t celebrate too early. I said I won’t kill you, but I never said I’d let you go.”

The Queen’s tone shifted again.

“What do you want then?”

Qi Huang’s heart leapt back into her throat.

“You should understand how important those blood tears are to me. From this moment on, you’ll serve as my daughter’s personal maid and stay in the Queen’s Palace. Without my permission, you are not to take a single step outside. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being merciless.”

The Queen warned sternly.

“Yes…”

Qi Huang weakly accepted her fate. ‘So she’s not going to kill me, but won’t let me go either. Great… I’m basically a songbird in a gilded cage now.’

“Qianqian, keep a close watch on her for me. Don’t let her out of your sight for even a moment. And don’t let anyone know her identity, understood?”

The Queen instructed her daughter again.

“Yes, Mother!”

Qianqian nodded dutifully.

“Once I collect all thirty-two heart fragments, I’ll become the second Demon Ancestor. When that time comes, immortals, the Heavenly Dao… none of them will matter to me.”

The Queen of the Underworld declared confidently.

After that, Qi Huang followed the cat-eared loli obediently out of the Queen’s bedchamber and headed toward the princess’s quarters.

Looking up at the perpetually dark sky, Qi Huang felt a heavy pressure in her chest. She didn’t have much time left. If she stayed imprisoned here, it’d be no different from waiting to die.

“Big Sister, don’t be disheartened. With how temperamental my mother is, the fact that you’re alive is already a miracle.”

Qianqian tried to comfort her.

Qi Huang blinked, and the gloom on her face faded considerably. ‘That’s true. If I hadn’t had that connection with the Nine Nether Demon Cats, I’d already be a dried-out corpse. What more could I ask for? They say surviving great calamities brings great fortune. I’ll find a way out of this.’

“And it’s not so bad here, is it? As long as you behave, my mother won’t give you trouble.”

Qianqian skipped ahead happily, clearly in high spirits.

‘Got it! The Queen needs to collect heart fragments. She won’t stay on this planet forever. And while this little loli is powerful, she doesn’t seem that bright. Should be easy to trick her.’

Qi Huang’s eyes lit up. Escaping might not be as hard as she thought.

“Big Sister, since it’s our first meeting, here’s a gift from me.”

Qianqian suddenly pulled out a beautiful ruby butterfly necklace and handed it to her.

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“You’re too kind.”

Qi Huang’s eyes sparkled and she quickly accepted it. Any fool could see that necklace was valuable.

“Try it on! If it doesn’t fit, I’ll get you another.”

Qianqian offered with excitement.

“It fits, of course it fits!”

Qi Huang, afraid Qianqian might change her mind, hurriedly put on the ruby necklace and tucked the pendant into the deep valley between her two peaks.

“Not bad… looks like a perfect fit.”

Qianqian studied her and nodded like a little adult.

“Right? I think it suits me too.”

Qi Huang admired herself in the Shadow-Retaining Mirror, full of vanity.

The two chatted and laughed all the way to the princess’s chambers, and Qi Huang had almost forgotten she was a prisoner, until it was time to bathe.

Qi Huang stripped off her clothes, intending to take off the necklace before getting into the bath. But strangely, she couldn’t unfasten the clasp no matter what she tried.

“That’s odd!”

Puzzled, Qi Huang dressed again and went outside to find Qianqian.

“Big Sister, why are you taking it off?”

Qianqian asked innocently.

“Can’t you see? I’m about to take a bath!”

Qi Huang replied helplessly.

“You can wear it while bathing too. It’s not some cheap trinket, it won’t lose color.”

Qianqian explained earnestly.

“But I can’t wear this thing for the rest of my life, can I?”

Qi Huang said, drained.

“But I want Big Sister to wear it forever. Otherwise, what if you run away?”

Qianqian replied innocently.

“Wha… what?”

Qi Huang shuddered slightly, a chill creeping up her spine.