CHAPTER 590: CHAPTER 363: THE CONDITIONS SET EARLIER_2

Looking at the other person, Li Meilin was startled. Upon seeing the young man waiting for her, she immediately became alert, her demeanor slightly defensive. Up until now, whenever Yan Xiaobao was with her, this young man always regarded her with disdain, clearly hostile. But here, he was waiting for her with a serious expression on his face. This immediately made Li Meilin uneasy. She had already prepared for a showdown between them within the Divine Domain.

"What are you doing here?" Li Meilin’s voice was filled with hostility. Although she had previously tried to get close to Yan Xiaobao, the results were not favorable. When she learned that the man did not take her seriously, she decided to gather information by other means.

"I don’t like you," Yan Xiaobao said softly, which made Li Meilin snort. She already knew that. "I don’t like you, but you’re the only other person within the Divine Domain," Yan Xiaobao continued. Li Meilin felt worried and anxious. For Yan Xiaobao to want to speak with her because she was human meant something bad had happened.

"Aren’t you going to invite me in?" Yan Xiaobao glanced around, observing the guards and other beasts walking around. With a bitter tone, he asked, "This isn’t something we should discuss outside the room."

At this suggestion, Li Meilin nodded. Although she was apprehensive, her concern grew even more. For Yan Xiaobao to treat her in this manner, it was clear that something was gravely wrong, leaving him with no choice but to seek her out.

Li Meilin opened the door, gesturing for Yan Xiaobao to follow her inside. The young man hurried in, and as the two sat in the room, neither said anything. Li Meilin was quietly waiting, as Yan Xiaobao appeared to be struggling with how to communicate the information he had acquired to her.

"You might already know, I’m half-human and half-beast," Yan Xiaobao began. This was his explanation for the human-like appearance he cultivated and the smell humans could not hide. "I live both like a beast and a human," he continued. He emphasized that he wanted Li Meilin to understand his dual nature and that the reason he was speaking to her stemmed from his humanity.

"Today, I accidentally overheard something I’m sure I shouldn’t have," he began before pausing slightly. The pause made Li Meilin’s heart beat with unease, and her concerned feelings deepened.

"I walked in on Wan Qiao and Mr. Pan. The two of them were discussing war. It seems they are planning to launch a war outside. I didn’t overhear which kingdom they intend to attack, but regardless of the target kingdom, trouble awaits us. You’re from Siban, I’m from Sun. No matter the kingdom they attack, there will be calamity."

Upon hearing these words, Li Meilin’s world seemed to crumble before her eyes. Her entire being spun for a moment. She quickly sat down, supporting her head with one hand, closing her eyes to suppress the nausea. Slowly, her eyes opened again, filled with resolute darkness.

"What do you plan to do about it?" she asked Yan Xiaobao. The young man shook his head with a sorrowful expression. "I intend to remain here until I reach a King-level, but I will try to speak with Wan Qiao to see if I can persuade her to let you leave. However, if I succeed, you must swear that you’ll inform the Sun Kingdom about this looming danger," said Yan Xiaobao, his gaze stern as he looked at Li Meilin.

The lady was silent for quite some time, considering whether to trust the young man. Deep down, she appreciated that he had informed her and was even willing to find a way for her to leave the Divine Domain. If he truly managed to secure her departure, she was bound to follow his demand and warn the Sun Kingdom of the danger. While she couldn’t interfere with the preparations of other kingdoms for war, she could, at the very least, issue a warning through this young man’s intervention.

"How would you convince Wan Qiao to let me leave this place?" Li Meilin inquired curiously, fixing her gaze on the young man before her. Yan Xiaobao remained silent for a moment, biting his lip as though contemplating various options. Finally, he opened his mouth and said, "I think I’ll tell her you’ve been stealthily gathering increasing amounts of information. I’ve overheard discussions about the war and will tell her you’d alert others ahead of time, making it harder for anyone to invade a kingdom that is already prepared." Yan Xiaobao spoke decisively. He nodded slowly, as if confirming that this was the best idea he could come up with. Even Li Meilin agreed that this plan was the most plausible way to escape the Divine Domain.

"I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Don’t pack or do anything that suggests you’ve heard anything—no sign we’ve met," Yan Xiaobao said as he swiftly left the room, leaving Li Meilin feeling uncertain.

Li Meilin was an emperor, someone who had spent her entire life in court and was accustomed to intrigue. Her instincts currently warned her that she was walking into a trap. However, even if she had been deceived, if this ended with her leaving the Divine Domain and being able to alert Siban about the danger, then so be it. She had no choice but to step into the trap laid out before her.

The woman sighed deeply, sitting down to comb her hair. Her sharp, vigilant eyes listened intently to every sound from passersby outside her room. Her ears strained to their utmost. She had a feeling Yan Xiaobao might return, but as night turned into dawn and sunlight penetrated her windows, the woman finally accepted that he wouldn’t come back to visit her or provide further information.

Unlike previous days, Li Meilin stayed inside her room. She did not venture out to gather information but instead sat at her desk, writing a document filled with the information she had collected during her time in the Divine Domain.

While Li Meilin was absorbed in writing, Yan Xiaobao once again headed to Wan Qiao’s room. There was a knock on the door, followed by a voice calling for him to enter. The young man stepped inside, only to be greeted by a sight he wasn’t expecting.

"What are you doing?" Yan Xiaobao asked as he picked up a piece of paper left to dry on her desk. Next to it was a stack of hundreds of similar papers. Her disheveled golden hair and eyes were solely focused on the documents before her. Hearing his voice, Wan Qiao looked up, a sour expression on her face.

"What am I doing?" Wan Qiao asked in a low voice. Yan Xiaobao instinctively stepped back, wondering if another slap was coming. "You told me you needed documents about every lord. Isn’t it obvious that I am writing the files you asked for?" she snapped, clearly upset. However, she remained seated. The only visible change in her was the glare in her eyes.

"Then why do you still come here?" Wan Qiao stood up, leaving the overflowing pile of documents behind her desk.

"Why have you come here?" Wan Qiao asked again, glaring at the young man as she began to slowly organize the papers on her desk.

"I spoke with Li Meilin," Yan Xiaobao said casually, his eyes wandering around the room for anything out of place. Despite the disarray, the desk before him remained central.

"I think I managed to convince her that she needs to return to the Siban Empire and warn them about the impending war. I also told her she should warn the Sun Kingdom," Yan Xiaobao continued, picking up a specific paper to quickly read it.

The paper in question detailed a lord Yan Xiaobao hadn’t noticed before. It described this lord as a two-winged spotted lion, notable for his remarkable offensive abilities and warlike personality. Reading the report made Yan Xiaobao smile at the thought of such a powerful expert aiding him in the upcoming war. However, he quickly placed the paper down upon noticing the pout on Wan Qiao’s face.

"So you’ve spoken to Li Meilin, and it went as you hoped? What’s next?" she sighed, waiting for Yan Xiaobao to continue. She didn’t have to wait long. "I told her I’d try to convince you to let her leave. That’s exactly what I’m here to do now. We need her to leave the Divine Domain and head to the Siban Empire. Ideally, you could assign one of your guards to fly her to the border between the Divine Domain and Siban. She can begin from there. She’ll likely need a month to reach the capital, which still gives them enough time to prepare for the war. I estimate we’ll need six months to train guards before starting the war," Yan Xiaobao said with a sigh, and the woman before him nodded. Having waited for over four thousand years, waiting an additional six months seemed trivial to her.

...