Chapter Forty-Seven: Is It Appropriate for You to Disturb Someone’s Ancestral Grave?

"What did you say?"
Nighttime in Gran City, June stared at the guards in disbelief. "Mushroom poisoning?"

"Yes, Lord," the night elf guard replied solemnly. "He caught our bird and then made soup with poisonous mushrooms!"

June recovered from his shock. "What about the remaining female elf?"

"She escaped," the guard answered. "We're still searching."

June was satisfied. Based on the earlier reports, the female elf was merely a subordinate—far less important than the young man they had captured.

"Have you interrogated him yet? Is he really the young prince of the forest elves?" June pressed.

The answer disappointed him somewhat—the youth didn't refuse to admit it; rather, he was too straightforward. Before the guards even began questioning, the boy had already declared himself.

His directness made June suspicious. What prince would have so little backbone? Still, he wasn't worried; he had another way to confirm the boy’s identity.

"The capital has sent a grand mage for inspection. She should arrive tomorrow," June ordered. "Have him guarded strictly, and… do not harm him for now. I’ll let the grand mage verify his identity personally."

No one knew what the young prince of the forest elves looked like, but the night elves’ grand mage had accompanied the queen to the forest elves’ royal palace years ago. She ought to recognize the prince, and even if his appearance had changed, nothing would escape her eyes.

"If he’s really the prince, that would be perfect..." June mused. The Twin Moons Wheel had just changed hands, and the grand mage longed to prove her worth to the new king—this young prince could be the best gift he could offer her.

In the dungeon, Linley had been shackled with magic-dampening chains and locked in the innermost cell.

"This is odd..."

Six elf guards stood watch at the cell door, but Linley paid them little attention.

He couldn’t understand why he’d been poisoned—it made no sense! Mushrooms with bright colors were supposed to be poisonous; ordinary ones were safe, weren’t they? The mushrooms he'd picked looked perfectly normal, so how could they be toxic?

Past experience had led him astray!

"Never mind, I’ll remember next time." Linley quickly set the issue aside, and with curiosity, examined his surroundings. "So this is the dungeon!"

So dark! He had never seen a room so pitch-black, not even a lamp. How foolish these night elves were—if he escaped, they wouldn’t even know in such darkness.

"How can I make my escape stylish?" Linley pondered, while in the forest, Eve and the leopard had just finished eating medicinal herbs.

"Finally, the poison is gone." Eve lifted her lantern, feeling her strength return. "No pursuers nearby."

The leopard had also eaten the herbs, but it was thoroughly displeased.

"Why didn’t you rescue the young master?" it demanded of Eve. When the night elves found them earlier, Eve had dragged the leopard away, leaving Linley to be captured.

"Would I not have saved him if I could?" Eve answered calmly. She knew Linley’s safety was more important than her own; if possible, she would risk her life for him.

But that didn’t mean blind loyalty. She had been poisoned and was no match for the night elves. If she hadn’t fled, they would both be locked up now. So she made the decision to escape with the still-mobile leopard.

"We’ll sneak into Gran City soon, find a chance to break into the dungeon and rescue him. That way, our chances are higher."

Eve had carefully planned it out. If they were captured together, there would be no hope of escape. But if she could get inside, hand Linley the antidote, and use his teleportation skill to flee, all three might be saved.

"Don’t worry, I know exactly where the prince is," Eve pointed at the lantern. She was a starcaster, trained in astrology—finding directions and people was child’s play for her. "My powers are strongest at night. When the time comes, we’ll rush in and lift his magic restraints—"

The leopard was skeptical. "Can you really do it?"

Eve nodded. "I am a major promoted out of turn, after all."

She had learned many useful spells on the battlefield. Though she couldn’t pull off Linley’s feats—like teleporting over two thousand kilometers—breaking into the dungeon wasn’t particularly difficult for her.

The leopard relaxed.

"You needn’t worry about the young master," it suddenly changed its tone. "I think he was captured on purpose."

Eve was stunned. "What?"

"The young master isn’t so fragile. In a few years, he’ll be able to wrestle dragons." The leopard’s voice brimmed with pride—it had witnessed Linley’s growth firsthand. Apart from dragons, few creatures could match him for physical strength.

That was why the king had trusted Linley to venture out.

"Those poisonous mushrooms—at most, they’ll paralyze him for five or six minutes..." the leopard said, convinced that Linley would have shaken off the toxins before arriving in Gran City.

But Eve was unconvinced. "Then why didn’t he escape?"

The leopard thought for a moment. "Probably to dig for treasure."

It knew Linley well. If Linley discovered there were valuables in the night elves’ city, he would absolutely want to dig them up.

"He’s insane. Did he let himself be escorted into that city just to sneak out and search for treasure?" Eve felt dizzy, almost cursed aloud. "Does he think all night elves are fools and idiots? Don’t they know how to restrict his magic?"

The leopard shook its head. "They can’t."

"What?"

"The young master practices cultivation. Though true essence is similar to magic, there’s currently nothing that can prevent him from casting spells."

Eve was shaken, then turned toward Gran City. "I believe you."

She sensed Linley’s position suddenly change.

"Haha, I knew you’d be useful!" Linley, shovel in hand, dug in a cemetery. The shovel he’d brought from the castle—already proving its worth. "Those idiot guards probably haven’t noticed. Once I dig up the treasure, should I return to the dungeon to tease them?"

"And that girl named Eve is too clever—she might figure out I used teleportation to escape. That wouldn’t be good, wouldn’t be fun!"

"Why wouldn’t it be fun?"

"Stupid! Once a clever person catches you in a lie, it’s harder to fool them in the future."

Linley turned, then froze.

In the darkness, Eve stood there, her smile never reaching her eyes.

"Young master, she can teleport as well..." The leopard poked its head out from behind Eve. "She heard everything you just said."

Linley scratched his head, then pretended not to see them, turning back to dig.

"I’m busy. Don’t disturb me."

The leopard glanced at the tombstone.

"But young master, this cemetery is the ancestral graveyard of Gran City’s lords..."

"Are you sure you should be digging up their ancestors’ graves?"