Stardust ore.
Although its purity wasn't high, it could still be used as the core for a disposable amulet.
She took it without hesitation.
Before leaving, she left a small line of text on a shield by the entrance of the armory.
“Borrowing some materials. Charge the interest to the King.”
By the time the soldiers finally broke free from the illusion and checked the armory, the head chamberlain responsible for inventory looked at the line of writing, his face turning from white to green, then from green to black.
“It's them again!”
“What do you mean, 'them again'?”
“They left writing at the greenhouse too!”
“Who on earth are they?”
“A wizard... This must be a wizard!”
Cen Yao had already flown far away.
The royal palace was destined to have no peace tonight.
Like a fleeting shadow, she darted between roofs, flower corridors, spires, and treetops.
One moment, she turned the stone tiles under the patrolling soldiers' feet into slippery ice.
The next, she made the palace fountains spew pink bubbles.
Then, she turned all the white roses in the flower corridor black, with the words “Return my treasure” automatically appearing on the petals.
Most ridiculously of all, as she passed the palace kitchen, she casually turned all the freshly baked bread into loaves that shouted, “The King is a thief!”
The kitchen instantly descended into chaos.
A plump chef held a tray in sheer terror.
“Shut up! Shut up!”
The bread shouted in unison, “The King is a thief!”
“Who taught you to speak??”
“The King is a thief!”
“Someone! Eat them!”
“The King is a thief!”
The chef had a breakdown.
The live stream viewers were also losing their minds.
【Help, my stomach hurts from laughing!】
【What kind of Witch gets revenge by making bread shout in the streets!】
【“The King is a thief! The King is a thief!” This bread is so professional.】
【Hahahahaha, everyone in the palace is working overtime tonight.】
【She's so wicked, but I love it.】
【Have you guys noticed? There are so many people in the palace, yet not a single one can catch her.】
【She can fly, hide, use illusions, perform alchemy, and even make bread shout insults. How are they supposed to catch her?】
【If the King can sleep tonight, he must have nerves of steel.】
Cen Yao indeed had no intention of letting the King sleep well.
After flying past the kitchen, she finally located the palace where the King resided.
That palace was situated slightly north of the center of the royal palace.
It was taller and more magnificent than the other palaces.
Its golden dome gleamed coldly under the moonlight. Two squads of guards patrolled the entrance in rotation, and long banners symbolizing royal power hung outside the hall.
The banners were embroidered with a crown, roses, and long golden hair.
Cen Yao looked at the lock of golden hair, her eyes growing a bit colder.
She didn't enter through the main entrance.
Instead, she circled to the back of the palace and slipped silently through a half-open window.
Candles flickered inside the room.
Heavy drapes hung down, the carpet was soft, and a faint scent of incense drifted in the air.
The King wasn't here.
But this was clearly his study.
Portraits of past kings hung on the walls, documents were piled on the desk, and a gold-trimmed goblet sat nearby.
Cen Yao landed on the carpet, her wings dissolving into a shower of light.
She scanned the desk.
Soon, she spotted several plans related to the full moon feast, as well as a patrol map of the old garden on the west side of the palace.
The map was pressed at the very bottom, its edges already slightly worn from being flipped through.
Cen Yao pulled it out and memorized the route.
As expected.
There was something wrong with the old garden on the west side.
She put the map back, and her gaze fell upon the candelabra in the center of the desk.
The candle flames burned quietly.
The orange light shone on the portrait of the King. The man in the portrait had a majestic face and a benevolent gaze, exactly as described in the rules at the city gates.
The King is kind and generous, and he deeply loves his wife and daughter.
Please believe every word the King says.
Cen Yao let out a soft laugh.
She raised her wand.
The candle flames instantly turned an eerie, ghostly green.
The temperature in the room plummeted.
The eyes of the portraits of the kings on the wall turned in unison, staring at the desk.
Cen Yao didn't use ink.
She used magic to write on a piece of parchment.
With every stroke she wrote, a dark red mark seeped onto the paper, as if something were slowly bleeding through from behind.
Finally, a line of text appeared on the parchment.
I have come to take back what is mine.
Are you ready?
After writing, Cen Yao waved her hand.
The parchment rolled itself up and, supported by a wisp of black mist, hovered slowly above the desk.
She thought for a moment, feeling it wasn't atmospheric enough.
So, she extinguished all the candles in the study at once, leaving only that single ghostly green flame.
Immediately after, the corners of the mouths on all the portraits on the wall slowly split open.
It wasn't a smile.
It looked more like they were being pulled apart by invisible threads, revealing stiff, eerie arches.
The window opened on its own without any wind.
The heavy curtains rose slowly.
The pages in the study rustled as they flipped, sounding like countless invisible hands searching for something.
When Cen Yao heard footsteps outside the door, she leaped lightly onto the top of the bookshelf, held her breath, and cast a Concealment Spell on herself.
The study door was pushed open.
A middle-aged man in a golden nightgown rushed inside.
He was slightly stout, his curly golden hair was neatly styled, but his face carried obvious anxiety.
Two attendants followed behind him.
“Your Majesty, the greenhouse and the armory...”
“Shut up!”
The King's voice trembled slightly.
He had clearly already heard about the chaos in the palace.
But the moment he stepped into the study, he froze in place.
The ghostly green candle flame cast its light upon his face, turning his usually majestic and benevolent features a sickly, pale green.
The portraits of past kings on the wall were all staring at him.
Every single face wore a bizarre smile.
On the desk, the parchment suspended in midair slowly unrolled.
The dark red handwriting seemed to come alive, squirming slowly across the paper.
I have come to take back what is mine.
Are you ready?
The King's pupils shrank.
In the next second, the gold-trimmed goblet exploded with a bang.
Shards flew in all directions.
The King shrieked, staggering backward and nearly falling over.
“She's here...”
“She's here!”
“The Witch is here!”
The two attendants turned pale with fright.
“Your Majesty!”
“Guards! Call the guards!”
Yet, the King seemed completely deaf to their words. He only stared fixedly at the parchment, his lips trembling, his voice cracking.
“Impossible... impossible...”
“How could she reach the palace so quickly?”
“How did she get in?”
“Where is she? Where is she!”
Sitting atop the bookshelf, Cen Yao watched the King's panic, and her mood improved slightly.
She didn't say a word.
She merely manipulated the parchment to float slowly in front of the King.
The dark red writing began to drip like blood.
One drop, two drops.
They fell onto the carpet and vanished.
A short, strange shriek escaped the King's throat.
He turned and fled.
His escape was utterly pathetic.
In his sheer panic, the hem of his nightgown tripped him, and he nearly crashed headfirst over the threshold.
The live stream chat was already bursting with laughter.
【Hahahahahahahahaha!】
【He ran! He actually ran!】
【The King: "I'm not being benevolent anymore, I'm getting the hell out of here first."】
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