The slime had no fondness for Shana.
He had seen many people like her, who clearly knew nothing yet speculated about others with the worst thoughts.
Remembering the rumors in the capital, the slime felt indignant.
Perhaps it was because he had heard too many hostile words back in the palace, that the third prince wanted peace and quiet in the dungeon.
These days, for some reason, the third prince wasn't in a good mood.
And now, Shana had walked into trouble.
But—
The slime glanced at Yu Xiaoxiao, hoping she wouldn't be implicated.
The green, sticky figure walked ahead, with Shana reluctantly following.
This was the second time Yu Xiaoxiao had seen the third prince.
She didn't know what to say, and walked nervously at the back. This time, without being reminded by the slime, she extinguished the crystal lamp herself.
Darkness is most frightening to people.
Shana's body began to tremble slowly. The slime walked past her and came to Yu Xiaoxiao, handing her a wooden staff.
"Step carefully as you walk."
The stone steps were not uniform, and Yu Xiaoxiao took each step cautiously.
When she reached the highest point, Shana could hardly stand steady.
Slime spoke, "Master, they're here."
After speaking, Slime withdrew.
Shana stood side by side with Yu Xiaoxiao in front of the stone gate, unable to see anything. Yu Xiaoxiao lowered her eyelids, wishing she hadn't asked too much today.
"Prince Lo...Prince Lord." Shana stammered, "I was just talking nonsense earlier! I'm sorry, please forgive me!"
The girl immediately prostrated herself, devoutly praying that the fierce Third Prince would let her go.
"Come in." In the darkness, a hoarse voice slowly sounded.
Two simple words, but with an irresistible authority.
The Third Prince had been raised in the deep palace, and few had seen him. All information about him was well protected by the royal family.
However, there were rumors that his appearance was extremely ugly, so he never showed himself.
Shana took step by step forward.
The stone gate was open.
The girl entered the cave, and a cold wind hit her.
Yu Xiaoxiao stood outside the door, unable to see anything, only able to hear Shana's footsteps.
Her heart almost rose to her throat, thinking of the many people who had died mysteriously before. Could it be—
Contemplating, a faint light gradually appeared in her field of vision.
It was a very faint white light, outlining a huge circle that was elusive.
Nothing in the surroundings could be seen.
Yu Xiaoxiao's gaze seemed to be fixed, staring at it intently.
Soon, she saw the figure of the magical girl.
The Third Prince's voice came again - "Go in and pray for the empire."
His voice carried a kind of magic that was irresistible. Shana seemed to have lost her soul, nodding and slowly walking into the circle of light.
Her purple robe was blown by the wind, and the girl's hands were clasped in front of her chest, softly reciting, "I bloom in the darkness, like a flower in the dawn..."
The girl's body began to slowly disappear.
Yu Xiaoxiao widened her eyes, in just a few seconds, the circle of light in front of her was empty.
The white, sacred circle of light suddenly became terrifying.
It was like a fierce beast hidden in the dark, faintly revealing its claws and teeth.
She slowly covered her mouth with her hands because, remembering Slime's words, she did not make a sound.
A living girl disappeared right in front of her.
Not a sudden disappearance, but slowly disintegrating inch by inch.
Fear was written all over Yu Xiaoxiao's face, and she suddenly closed her eyes, refusing to look at the devouring circle of light.
"Scared?" The hoarse voice resounded again.
Yu Xiaoxiao's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she had lost the ability to speak.
The stone gate opened, the huge circle of light gradually shrank, and after the light faded, it turned into a dried-up magic array.
Now, you couldn't see anything at all.
Yu Xiaoxiao could feel that she was very close to the stone gate. She couldn't see anything, yet she had seen the tragic scene of the girl's disappearance.
This world is full of danger.
She wanted to run—but her rational mind told her that if she didn't obey the Third Prince, she would have already fallen from a great height and been broken to pieces!
"What did you see?" he asked.
Yu Xiaoxiao's voice trembled, "I-I didn't see anything!"
"If someone asks you what happened today, how will you answer?"
"I don't know..." Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head repeatedly, "I don't know anything!"
"Hmm." The person in the darkness seemed quite satisfied with the answer.
His voice carried a hint of weariness. "In the future, if you have any questions, come to me directly."
"None." Yu Xiaoxiao lowered her head. "I won't have any more questions!"
Ask? She didn't dare to ask.
This world was completely unfamiliar to her.
As long as she could get paid on time, it would be fine.
She finally completely understood the saying, "Trouble comes from the mouth." The internal affairs of the royal family were not something an ordinary person like her could casually inquire about.
After a while, Slime came.
It specifically brought Yu Xiaoxiao back.
Walking halfway, Slime saw her face turn pale and comforted her, "I was really scared, but seeing you safe and sound means that the master has acknowledged your identity."
"Identity...?"
"Personal cook!" Slime explained, "Although the master's temper is not that gentle, he is very indulgent towards his own people."
"..."
Not that gentle? What an understatement.
"Xiaoxiao, just consider today as if nothing happened, and continue cooking in the future," Slime was afraid she would leave and stuck to her side the entire time.
Yu Xiaoxiao had experienced too much today, everything happened so suddenly that she had not processed it yet.
Not far away, there were three figures standing there.
- They were Sha'na's companions.
The man in the black robe stood in the middle, his face dark, and the two teammates beside him looked bewildered.
The short-haired girl held a wand and nervously asked, "Where's Sha'na? Didn't she come back with you?"
Yu Xiaoxiao remained silent.
The girl's eyes lost the last trace of hope that was there a moment ago.
She murmured, "Is she being punished...?"
Another young man's gaze flickered, he lowered his head, not daring to say a word.
Slime didn't know how to answer either, it pulled at Yu Xiaoxiao's clothes and said, "Let's go."
Her legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.
Yu Xiaoxiao almost forgot how to walk and could only move step by step away from them.
The three people stood still, the man in the black robe looked in the direction Yu Xiaoxiao came from - a dark, seemingly endless tunnel, like an abyss.
A chill flashed in his eyes, he lowered his head and slowly put on a large hat.
After walking for a while, Yu Xiaoxiao murmured, "If I hadn't asked so much, maybe this wouldn't have happened."
Slime said, "Don't think like that. In the Kalia Empire, everyone knows that the underground city is the Third Prince's territory. No one would openly criticize the Third Prince here, but she thought she was smart and set up a barrier to avoid being overheard, ridiculous. This basic level of magic doesn't mean anything to the master."
"Most importantly, if she had only said some defamatory words about the master, the master wouldn't have bothered. But she just had to mention the master's - mother."
"Touching a nerve, being eaten by the enraged master, this is her own doing."
"Besides, she is connected to the Second Prince."
- Eaten?
Yu Xiaoxiao looked at Slime with lingering fear, did it not know about it either?
Instead of being angry and eating people, it was more like the strange halo needed a living sacrifice.
He wasn't furious, nor was he hungry, it seemed like he was performing some kind of important ritual...
Anyway, she wouldn't talk about this, because she was convinced that once the news was leaked, the next person standing in the halo praying would be herself.