The Celestial Empress saw how anxious he was and asked, "Do you really like her that much?"
Henry Xiao nodded, then knelt and pleaded, "Mother! Please, I beg you! She doesn't have the power to break the Tribulation Storm Array. Can you please drop that condition?"
The Celestial Empress looked at him, her expression shifting unpredictably.
"If you let me marry her, I can leave Drake Abyss. You can make me a Lord of Waters, or send me to some remote marsh to live in seclusion! I promise, I'll never let her trouble you!" Henry added.
The Celestial Empress was silent for a moment before saying, "Here's my offer: no matter what, you must capture Damian Black and utterly destroy him! Once he's dead, it won't matter whether Lily Bai is Lucy Luan... None of it will matter! I won't pursue it further, and you can marry her."
Henry was overjoyed at first, but then grew worried. "But how do we break the Tribulation Storm Array?"
"If the array can't be broken, then we have to lure him out instead," said the Celestial Empress.
"How do we lure him out?"
The Celestial Empress smiled faintly.
......
Lily Bai went home and forced herself to smile through a whole day with her family.
At night, she sat alone in her room, chin in hand, feeling completely stifled.
Eventually, she summoned Damian Black.
He was still dressed in his full Palace Guard armor—black with red trim.
Just like when she saw him today in Drake Abyss.
Lily Bai shot him a sideways look. "Why are you dressed like that?"
Trying to tempt me with your uniform?
Damian Black said nothing, just looked around the room.
It was a real princess bedroom—beautiful, lavish.
"Say something!"
"Did you call me out for something?"
"You're my spell. I can summon you whenever I want!" Lily Bai sneered.
Damian Black looked at her coolly.
How dense do you have to be to still think he's just a spell?
Suddenly, Lily Bai drew her Heavenly Blade and pressed it to his throat. "There are dark clouds over the palace that won't go away! Damian, if my White Clan is destroyed, it'll be your fault!"
Damian Black frowned. "I told you before, I never intended to hurt your family."
"Just because you don't intend to doesn't mean you won't!" Lily Bai jabbed the sword closer, her momentum fierce.
Damian Black stepped back.
"Don't back away! Come here!"
"Can you be reasonable?"
"Come. Here!"
Damian Black, a little helpless, stepped forward again until his neck touched the sword tip, leaving a thin red mark.
Lily Bai bit her lip and said, "My master did the calculations. The only way to break this curse is to marry into Drake Abyss!"
A political marriage...
Damian Black's eyes darkened.
"But I don't want to marry Henry Xiao!" Lily Bai shouted at him, distressed. "It's all because of you! If I hadn't met you, I could've married anyone!"
Damian Black's Adam's apple moved. He looked at her but said nothing.
"What am I supposed to do? Tell me, what should I do?" Lily Bai's eyes reddened, feeling wronged. "I don't want anything to happen to my family, but I also don't want to marry Henry Xiao!"
Suddenly, Damian Black grabbed her sword and tossed it aside.
He pulled her into his arms.
Lily Bai was stunned for a second, then started hitting him. "I want to kill you! If I kill you, maybe I'll never be able to summon you again! If I can't summon you, maybe I'll finally stop liking you!"
Damian Black stood like a tower, unmoving, letting her hit him.
"But I can't seem to do it..." Lily Bai looked at his face. "Damian, today I almost died at the hands of the Celestial Empress and Leo Li. Do you know what I was thinking at that moment?"