Chapter 42 · Volume 1

The Witch in Rapunzel (35)

The live stream was already green with envy.
【Ahhhhh! On what grounds?! Why do they get to eat burgers given by Lady Witch?!】
【I'm so jealous, seriously. I wish I could swap souls with Chen Lin right now.】
【Wang Tao, you lucky bastard! Do you have any idea how many people dream of having that cup of cola?】
【Lady Witch dotes on her lackeys so much. I want to be a useless sidekick too.】
【Is it too late to sign up to be Lady Witch's dog?】
【Chen Lin's live stream has already exploded. Everyone is begging her for a bite.】
【Wang Tao's live stream is going crazy too. Someone is offering 100 points just to buy the empty cola cup.】
【100? You rich folks are truly insane.】
【Lmao. Outside, the King is about to be finished. Underground, the dark wizard is sealed. The Queen and her daughter just got their revenge, and Lady Witch is sitting on the lawn eating malatang.】
【I declare malatang to be the ultimate winner of this dungeon.】
Chen Lin and Wang Tao's live streams were in a similar state.
The bullet chat was filled with wails.
Some were envious.
Others were jealous.
Chen Lin had originally felt quite sad, but with the bullet chat making such a fuss, her tears were almost sucked right back in.
Wang Tao took a bite of his burger, his expression instantly going blank.
It had been too long since he last ate one.
It was really just an ordinary burger.
But in a horror dungeon, its ordinariness made it feel like a miracle on Earth.
The three of them sat on the lawn of the old western garden, eating their food.
From time to time, the shrill wails of the black rat drifted up from the underground entrance.
Even though it was muted, the agony squeezed from its soul still managed to faintly leak through.
Chewing on her burger, Chen Lin paused when she heard the noise.
Wang Tao also silently looked at Cen Yao.
Cen Yao was lowering her head to pick up a wide glass noodle, her expression completely serene.
“Eat.”
The two of them immediately lowered their heads.
Okay.
Eating.
Don't ask.
If anyone asked, that rat deserved it.
By the time she was halfway through her malatang, the sky had completely darkened.
A breeze picked up in the old western garden.
Cen Yao drank the last drop of soup, narrowing her eyes in satisfaction.
The depleted magic in her body was slowly recovering bit by bit.
Although it wasn't fully restored yet, she no longer felt as drained as she had this afternoon.
Before long, the Queen emerged from the secret passage, holding the Little Princess.
A thick scent of blood clung to them.
The Little Princess was leaning against the Queen's chest, no longer crying.
She was very quiet, her blue eyes wet, looking as if she had finally awakened from a very, very long nightmare.
The redness in the depths of the Queen's eyes had faded considerably.
However, the sinister energy around her was fluctuating violently.
It was clear that the "reckoning" just now had taken a heavy toll on her.
Cen Yao put away the round table and chairs, then pulled out two bottles of calming potion and handed them over.
“Drink it.”
Without hesitation, the Queen took one of the bottles.
Cen Yao used magic to dissolve the other bottle into a faint mist of light, feeding it to the Little Princess.
Once the calming potion entered her system, the surging sinister energy around the Queen gradually stabilized.
The Little Princess also let out a tiny yawn and snuggled deeper into the Queen's arms.
Cen Yao looked at them.
“Let's go.”
“To find the King.”
The Queen's grip on the Little Princess tightened slightly.
The King was the ultimate culprit behind all of this.
He was the one who stole the rainbow flower.
He was the one who listened to the wizard's slanderous whispers.
He was the one who caused the Queen's death.
He was also the one who handed the Little Princess over to the dark wizard.
This debt had to be settled.
Cen Yao led them through the palace.
The palace was unusually quiet tonight.
Perhaps terrified by the chaos of the past few days, the servants and soldiers had all hidden away early.
Only the swaying wall lamps remained in the corridors, casting patches of uneasy shadows.
The King was huddled in the innermost bedchamber.
The doors were heavily guarded.
But before the guards could even see who was approaching, Cen Yao raised her hand and cast a wide-range Sleeping Spell on them.
Thud, thud, thud.
Men collapsed all over the floor.
Wang Tao's eyelids twitched at the sight.
Chen Lin whispered, “So practiced.”
Cen Yao pretended not to hear.
She walked to the bedchamber door but did not enter.
Instead, she stepped aside to clear the way and looked at the Queen and the Little Princess.
“Go ahead on your own.”
The Queen looked up at her.
Cen Yao said calmly, “There is nothing and no one left in the palace who can suppress you now.”
“He is just a king.”
“Nothing to worry about.”
Dealing with him would be incredibly easy.
The Queen remained silent for a moment, then phased through the door with the Little Princess in her arms.
The bedchamber fell quiet for a brief moment.
Soon, the King's voice rang out, cracking with sheer terror.
“N-No... Impossible!”
“How are you here?!”
“Guards! Guards!”
“Someone, come quickly!”
No one answered him.
In the next second, the sound of a heavy object crashing down echoed from inside the room.
Followed by the King's heart-wrenching wails.
“Ahhh—”
“Stay back!”
“I am the King! I am your husband! I am your father!”
“Lillian! I am your father!”
The only response he received was a whisper from the Queen, so quiet it was barely audible.
“You don't deserve to be.”
Then came even more agonizing screams.
Standing outside the door, Chen Lin and Wang Tao's faces turned slightly pale.
But no one pitied the King.
A man who could harm his own wife and child to such an extent deserved every bit of it.
Leaning against the wall, Cen Yao listened to the commotion inside and suddenly remembered that the time to leave the dungeon was fast approaching.
She looked at Chen Lin and Wang Tao.
“What are your quests?”
The two of them froze for a moment.
Then, they quickly realized what she meant.
The boss was about to give them the answers!
If they hesitated at a time like this, they might as well just delete their accounts and start over.
Chen Lin quickly said, “Find the King's treasure.”
Wang Tao nodded. “Yes, both of us have the same quest.”
The King's treasure.
Cen Yao arched an eyebrow.
Wasn't that essentially the same thing as the Witch's treasure?
It was just that the phrasing "the King's treasure" carried a more greedy undertone.
Regardless of whether there was a dark wizard or how many things had happened afterward, at his core, what the King always craved was the benefits brought by the rainbow flower.
Immortality.
Eternal youth.
Absolute power forever.
And now, the purest power of the rainbow flower resided within the Queen and the Little Princess.
Quite fitting.
It partially overlapped with her own quest.
Cen Yao nodded.
“Once they come out, you can submit your quests.”
Chen Lin and Wang Tao both froze in unison.
“Huh?”
Cen Yao glanced at them and sighed.
How did she end up with such slow-witted underlings the first time she took on lackeys?
How on earth would they survive without her?
“The King's treasures are the Queen and the Little Princess.”
Specifically, the Queen and the Little Princess after their resentment and hatred were cleansed.
In this state, their souls were pure, and the power of the rainbow flower was at its most pristine.
Chen Lin suddenly realized.
“Oh, oh! Thank you, boss!”
She paused, then looked at Cen Yao with some worry.
“But what about you?”
Cen Yao was actually having a bit of a headache too.
Her main quest was to bring back the Witch's treasure.
In other words, she had to take both the Queen and the Little Princess back to the high tower.
But here lay the problem.
If she took them both away, what would happen to this kingdom?
Once the King fell, if the Queen and the Little Princess disappeared as well, wouldn't the kingdom descend into utter chaos?
Cen Yao leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.
“Don't worry about me.”
“I know what to do.”
Seeing her say this, Chen Lin and Wang Tao did not dare to ask further.
The noises inside the bedchamber grew weaker and weaker.
The King's pleas went from screams at the beginning, to weeping, and finally to muffled, incoherent whimpers.
Cen Yao did not go inside to look.
She wasn't interested.
Instead, she was pondering her own quest.
She could technically take the Queen and the Little Princess back to the high tower first, submit her quest, and then send them back.
But that would be a nightmare.
The amount of time and magic wasted on the road alone would be immense, and she simply didn't have enough time.
More importantly, the Queen and the Little Princess were currently in soul form.
Could ghosts rule a kingdom?
Could other people even see ghosts?
Apparently not.
Hiss~
In that case, she couldn't just simply take them to the high tower.
She would also have to craft controllable bodies for them.
Good grief.
Was the game really milking her for all she's worth?
Cen Yao rubbed her temples with a deadpan expression.
But on second thought, once they were equipped with bodies, wouldn't they be able to walk back to the palace on their own?
On the journey back from the high tower, they would happen to pass through many towns in the kingdom.
The Queen would be able to see the kingdom with her own eyes.
She could observe the lives of the commoners, look at the nobility, and witness the hidden rot festering under the King's rule.
In the process, she could also win the hearts of the people.
By the time she returned to the palace to ascend the throne, everything would proceed much more smoothly.
Killing three birds with one stone.
Cen Yao slowly opened her eyes.
She was simply too clever! (✿◡‿◡)
However, all of this would depend on whether the Queen and the Little Princess were actually willing to rule this kingdom.
Before long, the bedchamber door opened.
The Queen walked out, carrying the Little Princess.
The sinister energy around her was very heavy, but it was no longer out of control.
The Little Princess leaned on her shoulder, quiet as if asleep.
There was no longer any sound coming from the King inside the room.
At the same time, a faint white light enveloped Chen Lin and Wang Tao.
Their quest notifications had arrived.
They exchanged a glance and immediately submitted their quests as Cen Yao had advised.
Chen Lin's eyes were still slightly red.
“Thank you, boss.”
Wang Tao also said earnestly, “If not for you, we definitely wouldn't have survived.”
Cen Yao waved her hand.
“Don't talk about things you shouldn't once you get out.”
The two of them immediately nodded.
“We understand.”
“We get it.”
The white light brightened.
Chen Lin and Wang Tao's figures soon vanished from the corridor.
Before leaving, the two of them bowed deeply and solemnly toward Cen Yao.
Cen Yao watched them depart, then turned her gaze to the Queen.
“I have an idea.”
The Queen listened quietly.

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