Read Novel Full Chapter 1533: Chapter 260: Beneath the Surface
Chapter 1533: Chapter 260: Beneath the Surface
The Royal Palace was still heavily guarded in the latter half of the night.
A figure was stealthily and cautiously moving through the palace… Yiben, the real Yiben.
He touched the back of his neck, feeling an intense pain—he couldn’t quite remember what had happened, only that after waking up, he found himself hiding in a large water jar. The fake princess, who had entered the palace with him, along with two other individuals, were nowhere to be seen.
What exactly happened?
Yiben was completely in the dark, but he vaguely felt he had missed out on many things—especially since the palace guards seemed extremely tight.
Fortunately, he was wearing a guard’s uniform at the moment.
“Stop!”
At that moment, a deep voice came from behind… Yiben was startled, and his body became stiff. He swallowed before slowly turning around.
Six royal guards, weapons in hand, were patrolling and happened upon him. They noticed Yiben’s suspicious demeanor.
Yiben, being quick-witted, placed his hands on his belt, pretending to fasten it, and put on a subservient smile.
The patrolling guards frowned, and the leader even angrily said, “Are you crazy? This is the Royal Palace!”
“In a hurry, in a hurry… I had no choice, brother,” Yiben looked aggrieved, “I’ve been restless all night… please understand?”
“Hmph!”
The lead guard, however, wasn’t convinced, waving his hand and commanded: “We’re patrolling in groups of six, yet you’re here alone, looking suspicious… I suspect you’re the monster in disguise! Arrest him!”
The Guard Commander drew his sword, and the remaining five guards brandished their weapons!
“Don’t come near me—!” Seeing the situation, Yiben knew there was no easy way out this time. He gritted his teeth and, mimicking the guards, reached for his waist, preparing to draw a weapon for a desperate struggle… only to find he had no weapon!
“Catch him!” The Guard Commander commanded with a wave of his hand!
The five guards charged at Yiben. Terrified, Yiben turned and fled… But unfamiliar with the palace, he quickly ended up in a dead-end.
Yiben paused, gritted his teeth, and, with no other choice, climbed desperately over the wall before the guards could catch up.
The guards stopped outside the wall, wearing expressions of strange confusion… the Guard Commander looked exasperated.
“This is…” One of the guards hesitantly looked at the Commander, “The former Empress’s residence… should we?”
“Damn it!” The Commander gritted his teeth, “Chase! We’re pursuing a criminal! Don’t be afraid… you go in first!”
The subordinates could only mutter to themselves: “…”
They ventured inside from another entry, treading cautiously into this palace filled with rumors—that the former Empress not only died here, but her resentful spirit lingered in the palace ever since.
…
…
Yiben didn’t climb over very well; he certainly wouldn’t try again, despite the clumsy fall and pain he endured!
“Ouch, ouch, ouch…”
Rubbing his back, Yiben awkwardly got up and surveyed his surroundings, which were pitch dark, lacking the usual brightness of the palace even at night, and filled with a cold, eerie chill.
Instinctively shivering, Yiben pressed his ear to the wall, listening to the movements of the guards outside.
When he heard frantic footsteps leaving, he finally sighed in slight relief.
“What is this place?”
The surrounding darkness was so overwhelming that he couldn’t see the path and had to fumble his way forward… The darkness easily incited fear, and as Yiben walked, he felt a creeping sensation, as if a pair of eyes were staring at him from behind.
He frequently glanced back, seemingly catching glimpses of a strange shadow passing before him, making him both startled and scared, utterly lost in the dark palace…
Just then, a flicker of firelight appeared ahead, and Yiben was overjoyed, quickly heading toward the source, only to encounter the guards and their leader who had been pursuing him.
Yiben cursed his luck, seeing the six guards seemingly spot him, furiously rushing at him, he sighed and decided not to run, resigning to be captured by them.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t outrun the guards, but having already been seen by them, there was no escape in this desert-surrounded City of the Sun with roaming monsters. Capture was inevitable… better to endure a few months behind bars!
The cost of living in the City of the Sun was outrageous, property prices astronomical, leaving young people with no prospects. Nowadays, the only path for them was prison life—free meals, a place to sleep, and friendly fellow inmates!
“My dear brothers! I’m wrong! I surrender! I willingly go to prison… is there a decent cell for me? Wow, no need to welcome me so warmly?”
The six guards, with no intention of stopping, rushed at Yiben like madmen, even pushing him aside… their faces etched with fear!
“What happened…” Pushed to the ground, Yiben rubbed his sore spots, hastily getting up, only to gasp in shock, “!!!”
He suddenly understood what the guards were so afraid of!
A towering figure appeared before him… gray, furry, with enormous tusks and blood-red eyes… and a face like that of a devil!
In the darkness, confronted by this terrifying creature, Yiben’s vision went black… and he immediately fainted out of fright.
Plop—!
The strange entity lowered its head, scrutinizing Yiben who lay motionless on the ground. After a while, seeing that Yiben displayed no reaction, it bent down, reached out its hand, and directly grabbed Yiben’s ankle, slowly dragging him deeper into the palace.
…
After six guards hurriedly ran out of the former Empress’s residence, they collectively breathed a sigh of relief, but their faces were still filled with fear.
“I told you… it’s really dangerous inside! Look, all these years, hardly anyone has been willing to enter, not even the Pharaoh himself, even the maids don’t want to come in for cleaning…”
“What… what do we do now? Will the Empress’s resentful spirit come after us… for intruding on her resting place like this?”
The leader of the guards spoke sternly: “Listen up, no one is allowed to speak of tonight’s events… If anyone dares to speak, don’t blame me for being unkind!”
As he spoke, the guard leader suddenly drew his sidearm sword from his side and slammed it fiercely into a roadside tree, the blade deeply embedded into the trunk… not shallow!
The guards immediately nodded, displaying a tight-lipped expression—after all, the Pharaoh had long ordered that without his permission, no one can intrude upon the former Empress’s residence… Previously, they were chasing someone, seeking merits, intending to claim they caught a suspect of being a monster outside afterward!
“Strange… weren’t the temple priests saying they’ve checked this place and found nothing? How is the former Empress’s ghost still here…”
“Shut up! I said, no one can speak of or mention this matter again… See my sword here in the trunk!” The guard leader pointed at the sword still lodged in the tree trunk!
Everyone fell silent, not daring to say anything more, and only then did the guard leader let these people split up to see… to see if anyone would discover their sneaking into the former Empress’s residence while he stood guard and watched here.
Actually, the sword lodged in the tree trunk couldn’t be… was stuck.
He glanced back at the pitch-black palace behind him, feeling as if the darkness before him was like the mouth of a massive, unfathomable monster, now wide open, devouring the palace.
Hmm… Why can’t it be pulled out?
…
…
Claudia paced back and forth uneasily within the true Princess’s chamber again, while outside, the White-robed Guards were still stationed, and their numbers were doubled compared to before.
Suddenly, the door opened, and a maid entered holding a tray… The tray didn’t have any food, just a bottle resembling a pitcher and a cup.
Claudia was about to speak, but her expression suddenly changed drastically because after the maid, another person also entered… the Empire’s High Priest, a man whose appearance mirrored her father’s, even sharing the same name!
The High Priest still donned a black robe, with no expression, impossible to tell what thoughts might lurk within him.
Claudia instinctively took two steps back, as the maid set down the items and was then directly called out by the High Priest… The room now only had Claudia and the High Priest remaining.
The High Priest said nothing, silently poured the contents from the bottle into the cup, and set it down, its meaning quite clear… He wanted Claudia to drink what was in the cup!
Claudia was startled, forcing a smile as she said, “This… What is this?”
“Something that can help you forget many worries,” the High Priest held his hands together within his ample sleeves, not approaching as he spoke indifferently, “Drinking it, you will live a completely different life… Soon, you won’t feel any sorrowful things. Come, drink it up.”
Within the High Priest’s eyes seemed to lie an incredulous magical power, rendering Claudia an ethereal sensation… feeling all thoughts and reactions sinking into a quagmire, she wanted to struggle, yet the dazed feeling grew stronger.
Claudia’s throat gently throbbed, realizing she had unknowingly approached the table, her hand already lifted a cup and was slowly bringing it closer to her mouth!
Claudia suddenly panicked… breaking into a cold sweat, her hand trembled, causing the cup to fall to the ground… The liquid spilled out was a light green substance, terrifying Claudia, who trembled as she said, “How could I be so careless… Sorry, High Priest, for disappointing you. But…but I believe I’m quite happy now, no need to drink something to feel happy… Haha, hah…”
She felt she could barely continue speaking, even wanting to turn and flee… but reality wouldn’t allow this!
Yet the High Priest showed no anger, quietly picking up the cup, refilling it with the light green liquid from the bottle, “It’s okay, there’s still plenty of it here… if you accidentally spill this one too, there’s still much more… more than enough.”
The High Priest this time directly handed the cup to Claudia’s front, and the disorienting feeling enveloped her again; instinctively she reached out to take it… her hand trembled as if in final resistance.
“Trust me, I won’t harm you… my Princess,” the High Priest softly spoke at this moment.
The gentle tone instantly overlapped with the figure of her father in Claudia’s memory, suddenly shattering her final rationality as her hand finally ceased trembling, firmly taking the cup, seemingly ready to drink it down.
The High Priest’s gaze grew increasingly tender… suddenly tensed!
Claudia, about to drink the liquid from the cup, abruptly hurled the cup at the High Priest!
Liquid scattered, splashing onto the High Priest’s black robe, instantly soaking a patch… The High Priest lowered his gaze to look at his soaked attire, leisurely exhaling, glancing at Claudia.
Claudia’s lips were now bleeding profusely… It was clear that to regain some clarity, she had fiercely bitten her own lips with the little remaining sanity.
“What drinking something that makes people forget happiness… seems like that wretched Sacred Water!” Claudia now burst out, face pale though she appeared relentless: “I saw with my own eyes, it was you… you transformed the true Princess Yamana into a monster… it was you! This isn’t any Sacred Water… it’s clearly poison!”
“Is that what you think?” The High Priest’s expression remained unperturbed.
“Secretly disguising yourself as a Princess to infiltrate the Royal Palace and intent to destroy the temple… these are all lies!” Claudia cried harshly: “I think you… you are the true monster! You want to use Sacred Water to make everyone in the city just like Princess Yamana… you, you Devil!”
Facing Claudia’s accusations, the High Priest opened his mouth, then unexpectedly broke into what seemed like a wry smile; his voice carried a touch of weariness as he slowly said, “I never realized, your imagination is this good… Claudia, what have you experienced these days?”
“My imagination good? Hmph, I’m just basing on… wait?” Claudia suddenly startled, the revelation sending her into a daze: “You… you called me what?”
Her name… How… how could he know it?