Trapped Together in the Underground Chamber

But it’s easy enough to guess—she must be sending Brandon Xiao to win over the dragon lords and stir up a power struggle.

Sure enough, Brandon Xiao shook his head. "Don’t say things like that! Sean’s position as Crown Prince was chosen by the Heavenly Dao—we can’t go against Heaven’s will."

"But—"

"I know you. You must have done something wrong first, and that’s why she treated you that way. Isn’t that so?"

Princess Quinn Xiao bit her lip. "Big Brother! Why do you always take their side? I’m your real sister—same parents and everything!"

Brandon Xiao let out a small sigh and said, "Go home."

Then he disappeared.

Princess Quinn Xiao, still fuming, sulked all the way back to her palace.

Lily Bai also returned to the Crown Prince’s palace.

Then she handed the Signet Ring back to Ezra Cloud.

"Thank you, Your Highness, Crown Princess!" Ezra Cloud grinned. "Our Crown Princess is so mighty!"

Lily Bai asked, "Is this Signet Ring really so important to you? You wouldn’t trade it for three other relics?"

"It’s about a friend’s heartfelt gift!" Ezra said. "To me, nothing’s more valuable than sincerity!"

Lily Bai raised an eyebrow. "A girlfriend, huh?"

"No!" Ezra hurried to explain. "It’s a guy! Just like me—a Goldenreed spirit."

"There’s writing on it!" Lily Bai said. "What does it say? Let me see."

Inside the Signet Ring, a character was engraved. Lily Bai took it and looked—there was the word "Miao."

"Is that his name?" Lily Bai asked.

"No! My friend said the ring already had that character when it reached him."

Suddenly, Lily Bai felt a twinge of suspicion. "Really? Did he ever say how he got the ring?"

"Nope..."

Lily Bai said, "Can you lend it to me for a bit?"

"Sure! Use it however you like," Darren Xuan replied.

So Lily Bai took the Signet Ring and cast a spell on it.

Seeing the character "Miao" inside, plus Princess Quinn Xiao’s earlier reaction, she suddenly felt this item looked familiar.

It looked just like the Signet Ring Darren Xuan used to wear.

With magic, you could track down its owner.

Lily Bai tried it, following its trail out of Drake Abyss and flying down to the lower realm.

The trail led, once again, to the underground chamber beneath Evercrest Immortal Mountain.

Lily Bai turned invisible and slipped inside.

Then she saw Darren Xuan.

He was sitting cross-legged in the stone chamber, a crystal ball placed before him.

As if he already knew someone had arrived, he looked up toward where Lily Bai was standing and said, "You’re here?"

Lily Bai stayed silent—her Invisibility Technique shouldn’t be detectable by anyone.

"Lucy Luan, show yourself. I already know you’re here," he said again.

Lily Bai revealed herself, puzzled. "No one’s ever seen through my Invisibility Technique before. How did you do it?"

He pointed to the crystal ball in front of him. "This can sense when the Signet Ring gets close."

"But how did you know it was me?"

"Intuition."

Lily Bai: "Heh... For the past hundred years, everyone’s tried everything—scouring heaven and earth—and still couldn’t find you. Yet today, I found you so easily. So... did you lure me here on purpose?"

"You’re still as sharp as ever," Darren Xuan said. "I did lure you here on purpose."

"Why? What do you want—are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Darren Xuan gave a little laugh. "Of course not. Look at the exit."

Lily Bai glanced back and saw the deadly light.

Lily Bai couldn’t help but laugh. "If you want to trap me, trapping just me would be enough—why trap yourself in here too?"

Darren Xuan said, "I was worried you’d get bored all alone in here."