[Vol. 8] Chapter 304: The Unwelcome Guest
Not wanting to keep thinking about the same problem, Violet shook her head and said,
“When you caught up, did you notice if that [Graeme]’s body had anything else with it?”
The dragon girl was slightly stunned.
“Something? Hmm… I didn’t really pay much attention. But that thing blew itself up into pieces. Even if there was something, it probably got destroyed too, right?”
“......”
No, it probably isn’t that simple. This whole thing was too strange. The enemy specially dug out the princess’s heart, was it really just to scare people?
Just like Rowan said, as someone who was not very strong and from no special race, Cheng’s body wasn’t that valuable. At most, her heart carried strong royal blood power. If we have to say, maybe it could be used as a medium or sacrifice in some special rituals. The blood and heart of a royal… could it be that old emperor playing tricks again?
In just one day, first the regent prince Xiluo was attacked, and now another princess of the empire was assassinated tonight. For outsiders who didn’t know the truth, they would almost certainly connect the two events, thinking this was some huge plot against the imperial family.
But Violet had already heard from Nitila about the full plan of the Sea Tribe Alliance. Tonight’s assassination of Princess Cheng definitely wasn’t their doing. The Sea Tribe Alliance had neither the ability nor the reason to sneak into the Swift Wind Sword Sect’s training grounds just to kill someone. That made the timing of these events even more suspicious.
Seeing the priestess staying silent and only thinking deeply, Xiao Guang couldn’t help but ask.
“Master, should we keep investigating? Since the real killer is probably still hiding somewhere in this place, there might still be some clues. As long as we—”
“…No need. Let’s go back and rest.”
“Eh? We’re not going to meet Bevis?”
Violet glanced at her, then only smiled faintly and shook her head.
“No rush. There’s still a lot of time before the Sea Alliance makes their move. With something so big happening tonight, many people here will be busy. Let’s not add to the chaos.”
“Some things… only show their true form after enough time has passed. If we rush too much, we won’t get anywhere. All we need to do is wait.”
…………………………………………
The next morning, when the sky was just getting light—
Violet was still lying comfortably in bed, sleeping soundly while hugging her dragon, when the sound of many footsteps came from outside, noisy and disturbing the morning peace.
The two girls opened their eyes almost at the same time. The dragon girl, forced awake, had a cold light flash in her golden eyes and was about to get up, but the priestess quickly shook her head at her, as if she had expected this already, and said calmly.
“Don’t be impatient. Let’s just wait and see.”
“…Fine. I’ll listen to you, Master.”
The girls quickly got up, put on proper clothes, and washed up a little. After opening the curtains, they saw a large number of heavily armed imperial guards surrounding the bamboo forest lodging area for travelers.
They were searching every house one by one. Violet and Xiao Guang had just put on their [Cognitive Obstruction Masks] when suddenly the heavy door of their room was banged on loudly, followed by the strict and powerful voice of a soldier shouting from outside.
“People inside, open the door now! The Imperial Guard is here to investigate!”
Hearing this voice, the priestess felt her heart move.
As expected, a princess is still a princess. No matter how ordinary she seemed, being killed in such a strange way was a huge event that shook the Imperial Capital. In just one night, the Imperial Guards had already tracked down this place.
If not for the fact that this was the Swift Wind Sword Sect, something the royal family had to show respect for, considering the Sword Saint’s face, those soldiers would not have just shouted outside. They would have broken down the door and rushed in already.
The Swift Wind Sword Sect surely had agents from the Empire’s Intelligence Bureau within. Most likely, last night, the Guards and the city defense troops already received word and sealed off the Sect completely. The four gates of the capital were probably closed at the first moment, and a large-scale search and investigation had already started across the entire city.
No matter who poured oil on this fire, it was now burning stronger and stronger.
“BANG! BANG! BANG!!!”
“Is anyone there? Open the door now! Those who resist the Guard will be treated as rebels! If you don’t open up, don’t blame us for being rude!”
When there was still no answer from inside, the soldiers outside grew more impatient. Their tone became rough and arrogant, full of superiority that made people frown.
It was no surprise. The Imperial Guard were the Emperor’s personal elite troops, defending the palace directly. Their strength was unmatched across the whole empire. Compared with the four great field armies of equal size, the Guard still held the advantage. What’s more, they had the Emperor’s special privilege, during missions, if someone blocked them or disobeyed, they could kill first and report later. In other words, they were like the Emperor’s will made flesh.
It might sound exaggerated, but they really would do it.
Inside, the two young women exchanged glances. When Violet nodded, the dragon girl walked forward with clear annoyance, opened the door casually, and just stared coldly at the people outside without saying a word, her aura carrying a faint hostility.
Outside stood several Imperial soldiers in mechanical armor, each holding a magic mirror. Alongside them were two Sect disciples with tired faces. The priestess quickly recognized them: they were part of the group that had followed the princess last night, blocking her and her companion at the lecture hall entrance.
It was clear the Guards had already investigated the princess’s movements in detail and were checking each person involved. Their most important targets, of course, were the last people she had met before her death, the two of them. The disciples had been brought here simply to identify their faces.
But unfortunately for them…
When the door suddenly opened and two stunningly beautiful girls appeared, the golden-haired one giving off a clear aura of power, the Guard captain froze. He had been ready to rush inside, but could only stop awkwardly, then glanced back at the two disciples.
“Is it them?”
The two disciples looked at each other, then stared at Violet with surprise. They clearly hadn’t expected such beautiful girls to be living here. But this was no time to admire beauty. Very quickly, they shook their heads.
“No.”
Hearing this, the priestess secretly laughed in her heart.
Of course they couldn’t recognize them. The [Cognitive Obstruction Mask] didn’t simply change a person’s face, it blurred others’ understanding of them at a deeper level.
To give a simple example, it was like in a game where the player’s ID and character appearance were changed randomly. Every time the mask was re-equipped, it automatically created a new “identity.” Even if those two had seen Violet and Xiao Guang’s “faces” last night, meeting them again this morning would make them think they were completely different people.
Unless someone was powerful enough to break through the mask’s barrier, or like Rowan, who had special ability, they would always appear as unrelated strangers, unnoticed and untraceable.