Chapter Forty-Two: What Reward Do You Desire?

"Beyond this mage tower lies the prince's chamber."
An hour later, when the man in black uttered these words, the girls were left bewildered.
What just happened? How did they arrive so quickly? Was the castle’s challenge really this easy? They hadn’t done anything at all!
Indeed, they had done nothing, for the entire challenge had unfolded like this—

“Outside the castle gate is a labyrinth of poisonous briars. Be careful, those moving thorns can knock you out.”
“I’ll lead the way—charge!”
With a single dash, the man in black carved a straight path through the maze; the thorns pricking his body had no effect.
“This is the castle’s main entrance. The true trial lies before the staircase—several rooms in a row are…”
“Leap of Faith!”
He used a mighty leap to jump through a window on the second floor, then fashioned a rope from vines to pull the three girls up, bypassing several trials at once.
“The mages have set a protective barrier ahead, we…”
“Thunderous Fist!”
With a single punch, the man in black shattered the powerful shield.

Each time they encountered an obstacle, he easily resolved it, always employing the skills of a warrior—but with a force far beyond any warrior the girls had ever seen. As they neared their destination, the three girls still couldn’t believe it could be so effortless.

"Well, well... foolish little girls come to challenge us."

Four shadowy figures sat inside the mage tower. Their bodies resembled swirling smoke, yet radiated a commanding presence. The girls turned to their warrior companion; in previous trials, whenever enemies appeared, he had always settled matters with sheer strength.

But this time, the warrior fell silent, gazing intently at one of the four.
"Why is my brother here? This isn’t how it was supposed to go," thought Lin Lei. He knew he was no match for Lin Wen.

Lin Wen had also recognized Lin Lei. In fact, all the mages guarding the gate knew him—no one but Lin Lei could have reached this point so quickly.

"We’ll have to follow the rules."
With that thought, Lin Lei sat down across from one of the shadowy figures.
In front of the figure sat a chessboard; this challenge was a game, but the boards were unlike any the girls had ever seen. Each girl had to choose a type of game, and the difficulty was formidable—the success rate was less than ten percent.

Yet all these chess games had been copied by the mages from Lin Lei’s dreams—he was, in this world, the father of these four games. Defeating these old men should have been child’s play.
"I concede!"
Ten minutes later, Lin Lei admitted defeat.

He couldn’t accept it. How could this happen? Although he hadn’t learned much about chess in his previous life, he had played dozens of games—how could he lose to an old man?
"How much have you practiced?" Lin Lei gritted his teeth.

"I’ve played three thousand matches against others," replied the mage from the Wang family calmly. The Wang family mages were fond of chess, unlike Lin Lei, who found such things unbearably tedious.

"I give up too..."
Next, Annie conceded as well. She had chosen five-in-a-row, only to be thoroughly trounced.

"I concede!"
Soon after, one of the Wang family mages surrendered; the girl opposite him had a handful of money tokens—she was playing Monopoly, a game she had never lost.

Lin Lei looked over at Lin Wen and Eve, who were playing Go. Lin Lei knew little about Go, but Lin Wen was an expert; he would probably win soon.

Yet, surprisingly, after half an hour, Eve frowned and said, "I lost."

"No..." Lin Wen stared at the board for a long time. "You’re stronger than I am."

Lin Wen had won, but only by a slim margin. It was Eve’s first game; in the early stages, Lin Wen held a decisive advantage, but as the game progressed, he found himself on the defensive—this girl’s learning speed was astonishing.

If they played again, Lin Wen had no doubt he would lose.

For this reason, he acknowledged Eve’s success in the challenge, but he imposed a condition.

Lin Wen whispered something into Eve’s ear. She paused, then nodded.

"Congratulations, you two have passed," Lin Wen announced, rising to his feet. He looked at Eve and the girl. "But only one of you may wake the prince. You must eliminate one among yourselves for the final challenges."

Lin Lei quickly turned and left. Whoever continued with the trials didn’t matter to him; right now, he wanted to sleep.

Back in his bedroom, Lin Lei cast off his cloak and lay down on the bed.

"I must end this game today. If someone comes later, do not stab her with a dagger!"

He gave instructions to the maids. The castle’s hardest trial was the dream. According to the original design, the challenger had to enter a dream to rescue his soul, then awaken him with a kiss.

Five girls had entered the dream before, but four had failed. The sole success had been defeated upon waking by the witch disguised as Winnie—yet Winnie was away today. If Eve could clear the remaining challenges quickly, she might awaken Lin Lei before Winnie returned.

Lin Lei drifted off to sleep. Eve’s challenge seemed to take a long time; he dozed off, and in his haze felt something damp on the back of his hand.

"I’ve kissed him," someone said.

"What? I didn’t feel anyone kiss me!" Lin Lei was startled. He opened his eyes to see Eve moving his hand away from her lips. "Good evening, little prince."

By the bed stood another person, smiling broadly. Lin Lei glanced at him and instantly understood everything.

"Brother, this was your idea?"

Lin Wen nodded. Years ago, when spreading the tale of the Sleeping Prince, he had deliberately asked the mages to add a twist to the tale—the maiden would awaken the prince with a kiss. But the story never specified where the kiss should fall—it didn’t have to be the lips. Thus, even if Lin Lei was awakened by a kiss on the hand, the game was considered a success.

The other girls all intended to kiss him for real, but Eve was different. Lin Wen’s condition for her victory in Go was that she kiss the back of his hand.

Lin Lei felt he had been tricked, but he didn’t care much about the kiss. He quickly stood up, quite pleased.

He turned to Eve. "You have awakened me. I must reward you. What would you like?"

Eve thought for a moment. "Then... Your Highness, will you watch the sunrise with me?"

Lin Lei was taken aback. He hadn’t expected such a request, but memories soon surfaced.

"Ah, you were the one in the carriage three years ago!" He circled Eve twice. Lin Lei remembered her now, though her attire was very different—gone was the distinctive lantern she’d carried.

Eve, too, was pleased; the child she’d met three years ago was indeed the little prince—she had misjudged him after all.

And in these three years, the little prince had already grown up.