Mushroom Man

"what?"

The unexpected success left Ah Hong and Ah Lan, who were prepared to sacrifice themselves, completely taken aback.

By this time, Ao Miaoyin had recovered from her shock.

She cautiously activated the sound-sensing mushroom, attempting to probe the blood shadow.

However, no matter how she searched, she found no signs of life among the ice shards.

"Just die like that?"

Ao Miaoyin frowned slightly, but her vigilance did not lessen.

Everyone knows that a fourth-level mushroom master could not possibly die so easily.

Therefore, there must be something strange about this, and we must not take it lightly.

Ah Hong and Ah Lan exchanged a glance, then mustered their courage and gradually approached the ice shards.

Seeing this, Ao Miaoyin opened her mouth, wanting to speak up and stop her.

Given the current situation, regardless of whether Xiao Chusheng is dead or not, the best option is to leave this place and call the King to handle the matter.

However, before she could even speak, Ah Hong and Ah Lan exclaimed in surprise.

"Princess, it seems that the villain left a letter."

letter?
Upon hearing this, Ao Miaoyin was taken aback and quickly looked in the direction of the sound.

Then they saw that among the ice shards that Xiao Chusheng had turned into after his death, there was a letter hidden.

The blood-written words on it were still wet, and it seemed to be writing something.

Ah Hong and Ah Lan were extremely bold. Regardless of whether there were any tricks up their sleeves, they simply picked it up.

They looked closely and their expressions changed slightly.

"Princess, look!"

"This seems to have been left for you by that scoundrel..."

Was it specially left for me?

Ao Miaoyin was completely baffled.

She had no connection with that villain, so why would he come to her in this way specifically to leave her a letter?

Unable to resist her curiosity, Ao Miaoyin immediately took the letter handed to her by Ah Hong and Ah Lan and glanced at it.

There was a line of blood-written words on it: "Princess Miaoyin, receive."

The handwriting looked extremely familiar, giving Ao Miaoyin a strange sense of déjà vu.

"This is……"

"Wait, isn't this Huang'er's handwriting?"

Looking at the blood-written words, Ao Miaoyin pondered for a moment and recognized that they were written by Huang'er.

A chill ran through her as she felt a bad premonition.

With trembling hands, Ao Miaoyin quickly opened the letter, wanting to see what was written inside.

However, it doesn’t matter if you don’t look at it, but once you do, you will be shocked!
Before Ao Miaoyin could even read what was written in the letter, a slender white finger fell out.

The owner of this finger is, of course, none other than Huang'er.

Huang'er's finger was not cleanly severed, as if it had been forcibly torn off.

Its flesh was mangled and bloody, with even tendons still attached, giving one a chilling feeling just by looking at it.

"This……"

The moment Ao Miaoyin saw the finger, her vision went black.

Fortunately, the medicinal diet had overdrawn his lifespan, and the life force that had been forcibly elevated was still there.

That's why Ao Miaoyin didn't faint on the spot.

Otherwise, such a huge visual impact would be difficult for even an ordinary person to accept, let alone the frail and sickly Ao Miaoyin.

This is like someone suddenly receiving a finger from a relative one day; it's a clear indication that something bad has happened to that person.

In this situation, it's clear that no one can remain calm.

If Ao Miaoyin had only a bad feeling when she first saw the words in blood, then she had only a bad feeling.

Now that she saw this severed finger, her bad premonition had become extremely strong.

Ao Miaoyin forced herself not to look at Huang'er's fingers, and instead looked at the letter with trembling eyes.

[Hehe, Princess Miaoyin must have already seen the gift I brought you by now, right?]

[That's right, that's the little thing on your personal maid, Huang'er.]

[However, please rest assured, Princess, Huang'er is still alive and well in my care.]

Whether Huang'er will survive depends on whether the princess wants her to live.

I have already learned from Huang'er that the princess has banished her from the West Palace and stripped her of her status as a maid.

However, I have heard that the princess is a gentle and kind person.

Therefore, I want to see if the princess will choose to save his life because of the long-standing bond between master and servant.

If the princess wishes to save her life, then I can do her a favor and give her a chance.

"If the princess can do me a small favor, I will release Huang'er as promised..."

The blood-stained letter on the first page ends abruptly here.

Ao Miaoyin was breathing rapidly, her emotions were in turmoil, and she was extremely unsettled by this.

She became even more agitated when she saw that Huang'er was still alive and that the villain had intentionally let Huang'er go.

Under these circumstances, the chronic illness that Ao Miaoyin had managed to suppress by overdrawing her lifespan began to ache again.

However, at this moment, Ao Miaoyin had no time to think about anything else.

She quickly turned to the second page of the blood-stained letter, wanting to see what the villain wanted in order to let Huang'er go.

Upon seeing this, Ao Miaoyin's brows furrowed, and her expression shifted repeatedly. "To be honest, I came to your Dragon Palace specifically to borrow a suitable 'weapon.'"

[And that 'weapon' was neither copper, iron, nor steel; it could be a mushroom, or it could be some kind of deadly technique.]

I do not know what it looks like, but I do know that it can transform people into dragons; it is a method of dragon transformation.

[Now I know that the Dragon Transformation Technique resides within your father, the Silver Dragon King!]

Therefore, I would like to ask Princess Miaoyin to help me obtain the Dragon Transformation Technique from the Silver Dragon King.

I can give Princess Miaoyin two days.

[Two days later, the princess may come to the Imperial Garden to conduct the transaction in person.]

[If I can obtain the Dragon Transformation Technique, Huang'er will naturally be safe and sound, and will return it as promised.]

[But what if the princess fails to obtain the Dragon Transformation Technique, or leaks this information to the Silver Dragon King, causing him to ruin the deal...]

[Then, when the time comes, the princess will probably only see Huang'er's corpse.]

Dragon Transformation Technique...

My father actually possesses the technique to transform into a dragon...

Upon seeing this, Ao Miaoyin's heart was already filled with turbulent waves that had not subsided for a long time.

Although she didn't know how this villain learned that her father possessed the Dragon Transformation Technique, his certainty meant he must have some concrete evidence.

Otherwise, these villains wouldn't risk being beaten to death and come to the Dragon Palace to die one by one.

Why do these villains want the Dragon Transformation Technique?

'Do those villains also want to become dragon people?'

'But if it were just that, wouldn't it be enough to escalate the conflict and make it a life-or-death struggle?'

Ao Miaoyin's thoughts were in complete disarray, and she couldn't figure it out at all.

Although she couldn't figure out the key to it, she knew that the matter was far from simple.

Those villains are so reckless and blatant in their plot to seize the Dragon Transformation Technique from my father, it's definitely not just about becoming a dragon.

There must be something fishy going on here. If the villains really get the Dragon Transformation Technique, it could very well cause harm to the Dragon Palace.

Almost instinctively, Ao Miaoyin did not want to agree to the villain's condition.

But if they don't agree, Huang'er will obviously not survive...

Moreover, the villains blocked all escape routes in the letter.

She made it clear that she could not tell her father about this, or else he would kill her.

What should we do with her?

Ao Miaoyin was at a loss, her thoughts in disarray.

At this moment, the torment in her heart was beyond words.

Her guilt towards Huang'er made it impossible for her to stand by and watch Huang'er be killed by villains because of her.

But agreeing to the evil man's request would mean deceiving her father.

Putting aside the question of whether she might deceive her father...

What reason could she possibly have to persuade her father to hand over the Dragon Transformation Technique?
Even the King was unwilling to reveal the Dragon Transformation Technique to a good man like Young Master Wu.

If she hadn't asked him, her father probably wouldn't have told her even if the Dragon Transformation Technique existed.

Under these circumstances, how could she possibly obtain the Dragon Transformation Technique from her father without exposing the transaction?

Just as Ao Miaoyin was completely at a loss and didn't know what to do...

Out of the corner of her eye, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of the back of the blood-stained letter.

It was only then that Ao Miaoyin realized that there were also writings on the back of the blood letter.

And what she described above are precisely the problems that are currently troubling her.

Clearly, that villain had already anticipated that she might not be able to obtain the Dragon Transformation Technique from her father...

I am not one to force others to do things against their will.

The Silver Dragon King places great importance on the Dragon Transformation Technique; even if the princess were to request it, she would likely return empty-handed.

[Considering that the princess asked the Silver Dragon King for the dragon transformation technique, he would likely give her an excuse, refusing her request on the grounds that he did not possess the technique.]

Therefore, I would like to offer the princess a small assistance.

[If, as I have said, the Silver Dragon King chooses to stall the princess and refuses to hand over the Dragon Transformation Technique...]

Then, Princess, all you need to do at that time is say...

After reading the blood-stained letter, Ao Miaoyin's face had already lost all color.

At that moment, she felt a chill run down her spine and her scalp tingle.

Who exactly are these thugs?

How did they learn so many secrets about the Dragon Palace?
These villains came prepared; their intrusion into the Dragon Palace was not an accident, but a long-planned scheme.

Could it be that the Dragon Palace has already been exposed to those humans with ulterior motives without anyone noticing?
"No, no, I must go see my father immediately."

Ao Miaoyin clutched the blood-stained letter; having read its contents, she had no other choice.

Whether it was agreeing to the villain's demands and running off to deceive her father into giving her the Dragon Transformation Technique, or choosing to tell her father everything for the sake of the Dragon Palace, she remained silent.

Ao Miaoyin didn't have much time left, and she couldn't afford to hesitate any longer.

She must see her father immediately!
Thinking of this, Ao Miaoyin disregarded the pain in her body and immediately forced herself to go straight to her father's residence.

When Ah Hong and Ah Lan saw their princess and read the blood-stained letter left by the villain, they immediately ran to see the Silver Dragon King, unaware that a major incident had occurred.

Fearing something might happen to the princess on the way, they followed her without hesitation.

And after they left...

Wu Liang, who was far away at Peach Blossom Residence and seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, slightly opened his eyes.

"Miss Miaoyin, please don't disappoint me..." (End of Chapter)