Chinese GL

Shen Ni takes Bian Jin home (by promising that she knows how to get Bian Jin to talk, as the royal interrogators have been stymied so far), arranges for her to be bathed (she would do it herself, but she remembers 'that thing that happened' between them and she doesn't want Bian Jin to overthink things), and starts fixing her.

We get a few details about their past. Bian Jin, who is seven years older, found Shen Ni seemingly abandoned as a baby within the territory of their sect, and she half-raises Shen Ni from childhood. Bian Jin was the one who gave Shen Ni her name and also the nickname A-Yao (meaning 'rock', as in the movement, because Shen Ni as a child insisted on being held and rocked by Bian Jin all the time.

We meet Li Chu, aka Prince Wei, the emperor's despicable brother. He gleefully tells Shen Ni of his plans to ask the emperor to grant him Bian Jin (whom he's always envied and resented) as a concubine. I hate him already.

We learn that everyone in the empire (world?) is basically cybernetically enhanced to a greater or lesser degree.

We meet the emperor, Li Ruoyuan, who is of course female. There's some weirdness going on that I'm sure is going to be discussed later. Li Ruoyuan's voice and physique are described using quite girlish/childish terms, but refers to Li Chu as her younger brother — and he's 30 years old. Some sort of cybernetic body? Is Ning Yuan setting out to give us fair trade lolicon??

Shen Ni and Li Ruoyuan discuss Bian Jin's apparent memory loss: the only answer the royal interrogators got from her was 'I don't remember'.

Li Ruoyuan wonders if this could be the work of the very dangerous (digital) virus known as Black Box, which appears to be behind the enemy that Bian Jin was initially sent to fight. We learn that the virus appears to have been temporarily eliminated by Shen Ni, but the two of them are still very wary.

Shen Ni mentions Li Chu's plans to take Bian Jin as a concubine, which Li Ruoyuan shakes her head over. Then Shen Ni says, 'Your Majesty, your humble servant would seek a boon from you.'