The bullet screen fell silent once more.
The orb was also dazed.
Cen Yao did not explain further.
She stretched lazily.
“Alright, it's getting late. Bye-bye, I'm going to rest.”
With that, she ruthlessly shut off the bullet screen.
The viewers in the livestream room stared at a black screen.
Only Lady Witch's casual parting words before closing the bullet screen continued to echo wildly in their minds.
Destroying the masterpiece they are most proud of.
That did not sound like any ordinary plan.
It sounded like someone was about to have a very bad day.
Silence returned to the bell tower.
Cen Yao cleaned up the food on the table, then raised her hand and tapped.
Under the influence of her magic, the rocking chair emitted a soft rustling sound of leaves and branches rubbing together.
Vines sprouted from the legs of the chair, intertwining and spreading out, quickly weaving into a soft vine bed.
The leaves unfurled on their own to pad the bottom, feeling even softer than a regular mattress.
Cen Yao pulled a thin quilt out of thin air.
It was a temporary fabric she had condensed using lifestyle magic; it wouldn't last very long, but it was enough for a night's sleep.
She curled up, burying herself comfortably under the covers.
Moonlight spilled in through the broken window of the bell tower, landing on the hem of her purple witch's robe, as if draping a layer of light silver mist over the starlight patterns.
The Queen in the bottle remained as quiet as a mouse.
Outside the bell tower, the occasional sound of soldiers running around could still be heard.
At some point, the distant wails of the baby had faded away.
Cen Yao closed her eyes.
This night was a rare, dreamless sleep.
The next morning.
Clang—
The deep, ancient toll of a bell echoed from the depths of the palace.
Cen Yao was practically startled awake by the very first toll.
She opened her eyes and stared blankly at the dust-covered stone ceiling of the bell tower.
Before she could fully wake up, the baby's crying rang out again.
“Wahhh...”
“Wahhh...”
Cen Yao: “...”
She lay expressionlessly on the vine bed, blinking slowly only after a few seconds had passed.
So early in the morning.
Crying again?
She slowly sat up, a few strands of her hair sticking up messily from sleep.
“Mmh...”
She looked down at the glass bottle at her waist.
The Queen was curled up in the bottle, dead quiet, without even a trace of black mist rising from her.
Cen Yao fell silent for a moment and came to a conclusion.
It seemed the Little Princess was not a ghost.
After all, what kind of ghost would dare to come out to forage so early in the morning?
Didn't she see how well-behaved the actual ghost of the Queen was?
So the Little Princess was no ordinary ghost.
At least, not entirely.
Cen Yao ran a hand through her hair and got out of bed, resigned to her fate.
“Sigh.”
She raised her hand and summoned a handful of fresh water.
The transparent stream condensed in midair like an obedient little snake, wrapping around her wrist once before splitting into several smaller streams to deftly wash her face and rinse her mouth.
Even though she knew the Cleaning Spell.
A single spell could make her feel brand new from head to toe.
But Cen Yao always felt that things like brushing her teeth and washing her face were more reassuring when done manually.
No matter how convenient the Cleaning Spell was, it couldn't provide the sense of security that came from a toothbrush scrubbing against her teeth.
After washing up, she bought a breakfast from the System Mall.
Soup dumplings.
Soy milk.
Fried dough sticks.
The freshly steamed soup dumplings had thin skins and generous fillings; biting into one released a hot broth that lightly numbed the tip of her tongue.
The soy milk was just the right level of sweetness, and the fried dough sticks were so crispy that a gentle snap produced a satisfying crunch.
Sitting on the edge of the vine bed, Cen Yao felt her mood finally being salvaged a bit by the breakfast.
She casually opened the bullet screen.
【Good morning, Lady Witch! Let me tell you about different types of dates: red dates, honey dates, and a date with a beauty like you!】
【I woke up to find a wet spot on my pillow. It's not because I cried in my dream, but because the dream was too sweet and made me drool—because I dreamed of you.】
【Good morning, Lady Witch! I'm not slick-tongued like them. I'll just say sincerely: today is another day my heart beats for you!】
【If your heart didn't beat, you'd be dead. Stop dragging our Lady Witch into this.】
【Morning, Lady Witch! You're having a Chinese breakfast today? It looks delicious.】
【The soup dumplings look so good! Please stop talking about it, I'm already looking up delivery.】
【Delivery? Ever since the Horror Game descended, half the shops on my street have closed down.】
【I declare that this livestream channel has officially been renamed to "Late Night Food Porn and Morning Food Porn."】
...
Cen Yao took a sip of her soy milk and couldn't help but chuckle.
These people were truly frighteningly energetic so early in the morning.
After finishing her breakfast, she removed the temporary Protection Spell in the bell tower.
Step one for today.
Catch the Little Princess first.
To be precise, she needed to restrain that polluted Little Princess first.
After eating two magic-restoring meals and sleeping through the night, the magic within Cen Yao's body was now so abundant it was practically overflowing.
With a gentle wave of her wand, she cast the Shielding Spell, the Lightweight Spell, and the Protection Spell on herself in succession.
Then, she unfurled her wings and flew out of the broken window of the bell tower.
The palace in the early morning looked much more normal than it did at night.
The white-gold palace was bathed in the faint morning light, dewdrops clung to the rose petals, the fountains sprayed clear water once more, and servants hurried through the corridors with their heads bowed, as if the chaos of the previous night had never happened.
Only the scorched vines in the corners of the palace walls, the newly reinforced locks on the greenhouse, and the dark circles under the eyes of the patrolling guards proved that the palace had indeed been in complete turmoil all night.
Cen Yao flew leisurely above the palace.
The baby's crying was still ongoing.
Following the sound, she flew past two side halls. Just as she landed on top of a floral corridor, she heard a terrified scream not far away.
“Chen Lin, get out of the way!”
Cen Yao looked down.
At the end of the corridor, a young woman dressed in a palace maid's uniform sat slumped on the ground. Her face was deathly pale, and she was clutching a broken candlestick in her hand.
In front of her, the pale, bluish-white Little Princess was on all fours, crawling along the ground like a patch of shadow. With her bloodshot little mouth wide open, she lunged straight for the woman's neck.
Another young man's feet were tangled in several bizarre rose vines. He was struggling desperately, his eyes red with panic.
Before Cen Yao's brain could make a conscious decision, her body had already moved.
A wind blade shot out from the tip of her wand, accurately striking the side of the Little Princess.
Bang!
The Little Princess was sent flying, crashing heavily into the flower bushes.
A swath of flower branches snapped.
Cen Yao: “...”
She looked down at her right hand holding the wand.
After a moment, she raised her left hand and lightly slapped the back of her right hand.
Stop moving on your own.
She had originally come to catch the Little Princess.
Not to alert the enemy ahead of time.
But since she had already struck, there was no point in overthinking it.
Not far away, Chen Lin and Wang Tao stared blankly at the purple-robed Witch who had suddenly appeared.
The eyes of both players grew wider than saucers.
Especially Chen Lin.
Having just been pulled back from the brink of death, she had yet to process what had happened.
It wasn't until Cen Yao looked at them that she jolted awake, hurriedly speaking.
“I-I'm sorry!”
Cen Yao: “?”
Rate on N.U.
