Saving a ghost was far more exhausting than fighting one. Saving a ghost child was even more exhausting than saving an adult ghost.
If anyone ever claimed again that a witch could solve everything with a simple wave of her wand, she would be the first to disagree.
The black core was still suspended in midair. Deprived of the nourishment from the Little Princess and the rainbow flower's power, the blood-vessel-like patterns on its surface began to rapidly wither.
Cen Yao raised her hand and sealed it inside a specially made alchemy box.
The moment the lid clicked shut, the dark wizard went completely mad. It struggled frantically in midair.
“Squeak! Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
Even though it was muted, everyone could see its utter breakdown from its twisted movements.
Its masterpiece was ruined. The pollution core it had spent so much effort constructing had been extracted.
The “miracle” it had prepared to offer to a higher existence had turned back into the soul of an ordinary baby. And all of this had unfolded right before its eyes.
Cen Yao tilted her head to look at it, her tone calm.
“Did you get a good look?”
The dark wizard froze.
Cen Yao slipped the alchemy box into her witch's robe.
“Your masterpiece is gone.”
The black rat looked as if it had been struck by lightning, freezing completely.
The live stream went silent for a few seconds. Then, the bullet chat exploded.
【Ahhh! It succeeded! It actually succeeded!】
【I'm crying so hard. I really cried when the Little Princess went back to normal just now.】
【Lady Witch is awesome!】
【That line, 'Your masterpiece is gone,' was so satisfying!】
【The dark wizard's mind completely shattered, hahahahaha.】
【Its expression just now was exactly like mine when my advisor told me my thesis—which I spent a month writing—was off-topic and sent it back for a rewrite.】
【The person above, that's such a vivid analogy.】
【When the Queen embraced the Little Princess, I really couldn't hold back my tears.】
【Who else cried watching a horror live stream? Raise your hand.】
【Lady Witch, let me say it again: you are my god!】
【Starting today, I declare Bling Bling as my one and only designated witch.】
The orb's notification also chimed in Cen Yao's mind.
【Ding! A total of 20,000,000 shock points have been earned this time.】
The breath Cen Yao had just let out almost got stuck in her throat again.
Twenty million.
She quietly looked down at her hands, which were still trembling slightly.
They should have told her earlier that the audience loved this kind of stuff. It was exhausting, but it was an absolute jackpot.
The orb was already spinning in circles with joy.
“Host! Twenty million! Twenty million!”
“We're rich again!”
Cen Yao calmly replied in her mind, “Don't get excited yet.”
The orb asked, “Why?”
Cen Yao glanced at the Queen, who was weeping as she held her child in the center of the array, and then at the dark wizard, who was sealed like a ball.
“Because the dungeon isn't over yet.”
Her main quest hadn't shown a completion prompt yet. This meant that the Witch's treasure had not been truly retrieved.
Cen Yao raised her eyes, looking up toward the ceiling of the secret chamber.
Today was the sixth day. There was only one day left until the Full Moon Feast.
And the King—who had stolen the rainbow flower, devoured the Queen, and allowed the dark wizard to pollute the Little Princess—had yet to pay the price he deserved.
...
Cen Yao looked at the black rat hanging in midair. After some thought, she decided she couldn't just take it with her.
It was too filthy, and it would be a hassle.
With its magic sealed and its body transformed into this grotesque, half-rat, half-ghost form, the dark wizard indeed seemed harmless now.
However, for this creature to have hidden in the dungeon for so long, manipulated the King, polluted the Little Princess, and brought the Queen to such a state, it was impossible for it to have no backup plans.
Cen Yao had no desire to carry a ticking time bomb with her.
She raised her hand, and a silver-white light glowed at the tip of her wand.
The black rat stiffened under the light, and terror finally surfaced in its dark red eyes.
“Squeak! Squeak, squeak!”
Cen Yao couldn't understand it, nor did she care to. Whatever it was squeaking, it was bound to be the same few curses.
She waved her wand, and the magic circle on the floor of the secret chamber lit up once more. This time, it was a sealing array.
Silver-white magic runes spread outward in concentric circles across the floor, climbing the walls and merging into the ceiling, eventually enveloping the entire secret chamber.
The residual bloodstains, the cracked stone crevices, and the sins the King had once hidden here were all suppressed bit by bit by the magic array.
Dragged by chains of light, the black rat was slowly pulled toward the deepest corner of the secret chamber.
It began to struggle frantically. Its four paws kicked wildly, its tail went rigid, and its mouth squeaked chaotically. But it was useless.
Cen Yao sealed it with extra care this time. She even thoughtfully placed a Backlash Curse on it.
If the dark wizard tried to break free, whatever strength it exerted would be returned to it tenfold.
Cen Yao watched as it was pinned bit by bit into the sealing array in the corner of the wall, her tone calm.
“You must remain here to atone for your sins.”
The black rat glared at her with deathly intensity.
Cen Yao lowered her eyes and took another look at the Queen and the Little Princess.
The Queen held the Little Princess close, her soul form pale, though the redness in her eyes hadn't completely faded. She hated this rat more than anyone.
Perhaps this creature would be useful in the future. Whether for interrogation, revenge, or using its residual traces of dark magic to uncover more hidden dangers.
Leaving it to the Queen was much more appropriate than destroying it outright.
Cen Yao retracted her wand. The final layer of light from the sealing array descended.
The black rat was trapped in the corner of the wall, looking like a black stain sewn into the stone wall with silver threads, with only its dark red eyes still able to roll around.
It had nowhere to escape. And no way to fight back.
Cen Yao looked at the Queen.
“I'll leave it to you.”
The Queen raised her head, the hatred in her eyes like frozen fire. She held the Little Princess tightly in her arms and whispered, “Thank you.”
Cen Yao said nothing more. Some grudges were not meant to be settled by outsiders.
She turned to look at Chen Lin and Wang Tao. The two of them were already crying like fools.
Chen Lin's eyes and nose were completely red, and she was clutching a handkerchief she had pulled out from who-knows-where.
Wang Tao was even more ridiculous. A grown man, his shoulders shaking with sobs, crying with a tragic intensity as if he had just been abandoned by the entire world.
Cen Yao fell silent for two seconds.
“We'll go upstairs and wait for you.”
Leaving behind those words, she led her two weeping temporary sidekicks out of the secret chamber, leaving the space to the Queen, her daughter, and the sealed dark wizard.
By the time they stepped out of the secret passage, the sun had already set.
The old western garden of the palace was enveloped in twilight.
Large patches of wild grass swayed gently in the evening breeze, black vines climbed over the ruined flower trellises, and the headless angel statue in the distance stood as quietly as ever.
A layer of dark red sunset glow burned along the horizon. It didn't look like a forbidden palace ground; instead, it resembled the final page of a discarded fairy tale.
Cen Yao stood on the lawn and let out a long breath.
She had been busy all day. She was exhausted.
From her first day in this dungeon until now, not a single day had been peaceful.
But at the thought of the twenty million shock points that had just been credited to her account, she felt like she could keep grinding.
And so, Cen Yao decided to reward herself.
With a wave of her hand, the vines on the lawn obediently grew and intertwined with one another, weaving a round table and three chairs.
After Cen Yao sat down, she generously purchased a bowl of magic-restoring malatang from the System Mall.
It cost ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine shock points! It was so expensive that her heart trembled when she placed the order.
But the moment the malatang appeared, its rich aroma instantly burst forth.
The bright red broth was flecked with oil droplets and sesame seeds.
Beef meatballs, fish tofu, wide glass noodles, enoki mushrooms, sliced fatty beef, lotus root slices, potato slices, green vegetables, and a large spoonful of chili oil were all packed steaming hot into the bowl.
Fragrant! It was absolutely mouthwatering!
“Om nom~” Cen Yao picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and felt her entire soul instantly healed.
She glanced at Chen Lin and Wang Tao, who were still standing nearby in a daze, and summoned two burgers and two cups of cola from the ordinary food items she had marked.
These weren't the restorative meals from the System Mall. They were just the flavor of a regular fast-food joint from the outside world.
They couldn't restore magic. And they wouldn't keep them full for long. But at least they could satisfy a craving.
Cen Yao pushed the food toward them.
“Eat.”
Chen Lin and Wang Tao froze.
Looking at the burgers and colas on the table, shock and a sense of being overwhelmed by favor welled up in their eyes almost simultaneously.
Chen Lin carefully took hers, her voice still a bit hoarse. “Thank you, boss.”
Wang Tao also hurriedly accepted his with both hands. “Thank you, boss! Thank you so much!”
In the Horror Game, it was impossible to eat food from the outside world.
They didn't dare to touch things in the dungeons randomly, and the System Mall was ridiculously expensive.
For rookie players like them, they had to save every bit they could, wishing they could split a single point into eight pieces to spend.
Who would have thought that one day they would be treated to burgers and cola by a big shot in a dungeon?
Cen Yao withdrew her hand with satisfaction.
She wasn't so wicked as to enjoy delicious food while making her sidekicks stand by and drool.
Of course, it was mostly because she was in a good mood today.
Rate on N.U.
