Persuading with Reason and Moving with Emotion

In the end, the two of them entered the Radiant Palace together.

Soren Lann greeted them in the grand hall.

He watched as Sean Shaw and Lily Bai walked in side by side, a gentle smile on his face.

Lily Bai let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He actually looks pretty good!

Better than she expected.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Crown Princess." Soren Lann bowed respectfully.

"Divine Lord, you may rise." Sean Shaw replied, putting on his best princely airs.

Lily Bai shot him a look—he was really getting the hang of this whole royal act.

Soren Lann smiled and invited them to sit.

"May I ask what brings Your Highness the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to the Lumina Realm today?" Divine Lord Soren Lann inquired.

Lily Bai explained their purpose for coming.

Soren Lann looked troubled. "If you were just asking for my personal opinion, I’d have no objection! But you both know about the massacre at the Radiant Palace... For the Lumina Realm, it’s a shameful memory. To be honest, if I simply agreed to this, I really don’t have the confidence to face the gods’ questions."

"We understand. Could you please summon the chiefs of the major Qilin clans? I’d like to try persuading them myself," Lily Bai said.

"How do you plan to persuade them?" Divine Lord Soren Lann asked.

Lily Bai replied, "With reason and emotion."

...

True to his word, Divine Lord Soren Lann gathered the chiefs of the major Qilin clans at the Radiant Palace.

None of the chiefs knew what was going on—they just stared curiously at Sean Shaw and Lily Bai.

Even Soren Lann didn’t know what they were up to; he just frowned and stayed silent.

"Everyone, here’s the situation." Lily Bai said with a troubled look. "Lately, I keep having dreams! I dreamed about Senior Bianca, who’s locked up beneath Heavenly Pool Mountain."

The gods instantly became alert, eyes wide with caution.

"In the dream, she told me I look exactly like her daughter!" Lily Bai touched her own face. "I heard her daughter was the Qilin Saint Maiden—everyone here knows her, right? Do I really look just like her daughter?"

"You really do." The Qilin clan chiefs agreed. "So what did she say to you?"

"She said... seeing me is like seeing her own daughter, and she wants to cherish me like one. Since she’s our White Clan’s ancestral founder, I get her status, but it’s hard to just turn down that kind of affection." Lily Bai said.

"So, Crown Princess, what are you really here to say today?" one Qilin clan chief asked, full of resistance and hostility.

"Please, hear me out." Lily Bai said. "Then she told me she really wants to come out and treat me as her own daughter, to enjoy family warmth together!"

Seeing that everyone was about to object, Lily Bai quickly raised her voice: "Of course I couldn’t agree, right? His Highness the Crown Prince told me she’s actually a Fiend! I’m terrified!"

"So why are you telling us all this?"

"Because... after I refused, she told me she might not have much time left! She just wants to spend her last days with her daughter." Lily Bai said. "I started to feel sorry for her, so I went to ask His Highness the Crown Prince for advice."

Lily Bai looked at Sean Shaw. "His Highness said that someone like her would never lie just for sympathy! He said she’s been locked up for a thousand years, and now that it’s the end, he agrees to let her out! Then I went to Southcourt Palace and asked Divine Lord Tanya Quinn—she agreed too."