June 12th, 8:42 AM
Wei Yang followed the small owl, running breathlessly. Finally, she stopped.
“Hey, owl, slow down… huff… huff… I’m exhausted.”
“But we must hurry!”
Wei Yang braced her hands on her knees, panting heavily.
“By the way… huff, I haven’t seen you before. Besides Xiao Jin, does Ah Li have other miniature monsters?”
“Now is not the time for that! Master discovered that the cube you brought is not a good thing, but she doesn’t know the specifics!”
Wei Yang keenly noticed the abnormality in its words.
“What did you say? What do you mean you can’t contact your companion?”
“Master had me and the little slime take turns monitoring Anna’s movements nearby to keep tabs on her at all times. But last night, when I went to take over the shift, I couldn’t find it!”
Hearing this, a sense of foreboding instantly rose in Wei Yang’s heart.
The fact that Anna had been quiet all this time made her even more vigilant. She clearly harbored ill intentions towards the princesses of Erzhou; nothing that happened would be surprising. The attack on Na Fu in the church last time had already proven that.
“Where is Anna now!?”
“I don’t know! Master has been incredibly busy, trying to contact the alchemist. Anna’s matter was temporarily set aside, and I didn’t continue monitoring. Later, after Master got information about the cube, she immediately went to Miss LuRan’s house to find you, so now we have no idea where Anna is!”
Wei Yang’s heart sank.
The greatest danger was Lulu. If she ran into Anna, it would be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den.
According to what Na Fu said earlier, Lulu was visiting the townspeople one by one to apologize. If the little slime’s disappearance last night was related to Anna—
In other words, Lulu was in danger now.
“This is bad… I don’t know if Galio is with her. I need to go to Anna’s house and see—”
Wei Yang was about to turn when the small owl hurriedly stopped her.
“But Master is waiting for you! The matter of that cube is very important!”
Wei Yang was instantly caught in a dilemma.
If what this owl said was true, and the cube was extremely dangerous, she really should go find Ah Li immediately. But on the other side was Lulu’s safety.
The small owl looked at her anxiously, a strange glint flashing in its eyes.
“Give the cube to me! I can take it to Master for you! You’ve seen Master’s research state; that thing absolutely cannot be left lying around!”
Wei Yang fell silent for a moment.
Give the cube away? If the other party’s words were false, then all of this could be a scam to “get the cube.”
She couldn’t fully trust this monster of unknown origin.
But she also didn’t have time to think it over. Even a second later, Lulu’s danger increased.
Seeing her hesitate, the small owl urged again:
“If you don’t trust me, then let’s go back together! Why worry about Miss Lulu? She’s so strong, no one except Master can hurt her!”
Wei Yang knew this, of course. But the premise was—that Lulu was willing to fight.
After these past few days together, Wei Yang knew that Lulu was actually a very gentle and sensitive girl. She wouldn’t easily attack ordinary people. And right now, she was feeling guilty for having threatened the townspeople in the past and was going door-to-door to apologize.
In such a state, she absolutely would not initiate a fight.
If someone deliberately attacked, she would instead be on the defensive.
Thinking this, Wei Yang finally made a decision.
“Sorry, I have to go first. I’ll keep the cube with me. It’s in my space, it won’t cause any trouble.”
After speaking, she immediately turned and rushed towards the direction of Anna’s house.
The small owl, however, did not give up and chased closely behind her.
“No! You can’t! Give the cube to me! This is Ah Li’s wish! This is for your own good!”
“Don’t bother me.”
Wei Yang’s voice turned cold.
“If you keep following, I’ll cut you down with one slash.”
The cube… the cube…
That noisy voice was unsettling her.
Wei Yang silently apologized to Ah Li in her heart, then raised her hand and swung—
A slash as precise as Excalibur cut through the air.
The small owl was instantly split in two, turning into particles of magic that dissipated into the air.
The world finally fell quiet.
That creature’s state had been bordering on madness, lowering Wei Yang’s trust in it to the minimum.
She didn’t stop.
She had to go faster, push out all her strength, and desperately rush over.
***
8:49 AM
Wei Yang finally reached her destination—near Anna’s house.
Leaning against a magic stone, she gasped violently, barely recovering some stamina. Then, dragging her nearly numb legs, she approached the seemingly unremarkable house step by step.
The door was closed.
Wei Yang didn’t hesitate, reaching out to push the door open.
Whatever the situation inside, she would drag Anna out first.
However, moments passed, and there was no movement from within.
Wei Yang frowned, her patience exhausted. She raised her hand and delivered another slash, directly breaking the door open, and quickly stepped inside.
The interior decoration was almost identical to Lu Ran’s house, just noticeably newer.
She quickly searched the entire house but found no trace of any living being.
Wei Yang sat on the soft bed, letting out a long sigh of relief, her taut nerves relaxing slightly.
“No one… Could it be Lulu hasn’t come yet? Or… was I overthinking things?”
She laughed at herself.
“Really, how could I so easily believe that owl. In the end, it’s also a monster, can’t trust it completely…”
Wei Yang rubbed her temples, feeling her thoughts were a bit muddled.
Perhaps it was just her own lingering unease that made her imagine the worst.
She stood up, ready to leave.
“Drip… drip…”
There was the sound of water.
Was the faucet not turned off properly?
“Drip… drip…”
No, the sound seemed to be coming from above.
“Drip… drip…”
Wei Yang slowly looked up.
Her pupils suddenly contracted.
A crimson red splattered into her field of vision.