The coachman drove the carriage all the way to the castle gate, where they were stopped by the guards.

"Only invited guests are allowed to enter," the leading officer said in a stern voice.

"Of course, of course, sir. People as uncouth as us are certainly not qualified to enter the princess's castle."

The coachman smiled obsequiously, bowed his back, and gently lifted the curtain to remind Xiao Cheng, who was sitting inside, "My lord, we have arrived."

Xiao Cheng nodded slowly, rolled up her oversized sleeves, and glanced at the time on her wrist.

7:50.

It happened a little earlier than she expected.

"Thank you." She jumped out of the car, dodging the driver's hastily outstretched arm, and gently patted his shoulder with her other hand.

As they passed each other, the coachman asked in an extremely low voice, "My lord, are you sure you don't want to know?"

Xiao Cheng paused slightly, then tilted her head, feigning confusion, "Know what? Is there anything I absolutely need to know right now?"

The driver's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he reminded her urgently, "It's that stone..."

"Ah, I don't understand what you're talking about." Xiao Cheng's lips curled up slightly, revealing a playful smile. "There's no need to tell me the secret, although before this... this secret can hardly be called a secret anymore."

Having said that, she left the coachman who was standing there dumbfounded and walked into the castle without looking back.

The soldiers watched her figure disappear into the distance.

"What a dignified nobleman! No wonder he is Her Highness the Princess's honored guest." The officer's face showed admiration as he stared blankly in the direction she had left.

Xiao Cheng walked through the castle, looking around with a sense of novelty. Under her feet was extremely soft grass, the scent of grass and flowers mingling together, filling her sense of smell.

In the distance, a large open space was fenced off with fine wire mesh, where all sorts of animals were kept. Each one looked strange and peculiar, like a bizarre hybrid, and almost none of them were familiar to the eye or whose names one could recall.

Several maids in gray dresses gathered outside the barbed wire fence, working together to support an extremely long and thick steel fork. A large chunk of raw, fatty meat was stuck in the fork's tip, dripping blood and emitting a strong, pungent stench.

The animals, keenly sensing the scent of flesh and blood, swarmed around, letting out low growls, and eagerly eyeing the fork suspended in the air.

"Stop teasing them, hurry up and feed them. We still have banquet business to attend to after that," one of the older maids, wearing a headscarf, urged.

“There’s still time. We only need to clean up the damaged collectibles each time, so it’s okay if it’s a little late, right?” another young maid with double braids retorted, clearly disagreeing with the headscarf woman’s arrangement.

"My God, how could you have such a terrible thought? That was a task assigned to us by the princess! How dare you disobey the princess's orders?!"

The woman in the headscarf suddenly became extremely agitated. A hint of fear appeared on her face, and then, as if she had thought of something extremely terrifying, her whole body began to tremble violently involuntarily.

With her trembling movements, they lost their grip on the overly heavy steel forks. First, the piece of meat they were picking up fell off the fork tip. Before it even hit the ground, a sleek, oily animal leaped up and swallowed it whole.

Immediately afterwards, there was a muffled thud.

The steel fork fell to the ground, its sharp tip still bearing traces of blood, shimmering with a faint, dark red glow, before piercing the beast with a soft thud.

Fresh blood gushed out instantly.

The beast died silently, and the other animals swarmed over like locusts, fighting and scrambling until only a gruesome skeleton remained.

The maids were utterly terrified, standing frozen in place for a long time, almost unable to stand.

"My God... what have I done..." The woman in the headscarf covered her face in anguish, her shoulders trembling as she sobbed softly.

"No...no, there might still be a way to turn things around," Shuangmahua said resolutely. "It's just us here, as long as no one sees us..."

Before she could even speak, she caught sight of Xiao Cheng in the distance.

Double Twist: "..."

Xiao Cheng: "..."

The two looked at each other with a slightly awkward expression.

Immediately afterwards, the twin-braided maid suddenly flew into a rage, reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a gleaming kitchen knife. Then, like a transformed cheetah, she roared and pounced on Xiao Cheng, brandishing the knife.

Xiao Cheng: "..." What kind of violent maid is this?!

The ill-fitting outer robe severely limited her performance. There was no time to fight, and with eight o'clock fast approaching, Xiao Cheng grabbed the hem of her robe, turned around, and ran away.

The two men with twisted hairs glared menacingly from behind, brandishing their cleavers and relentlessly pursuing the pursuers. The distance between them was rapidly closing, and they were sure they would catch up soon.

At the same time, Xiao Cheng finally saw the half-open, gilded door leading to the banquet hall not far away.

She quickened her pace again, and before the maid could throw the knife at her, she nimbly sidestepped and slipped through the narrow crack in the door.

A crisp thud came from behind.

Half of the cleaver's blade was deeply embedded in the door panel. Turning to look outside, one could see Shuang Mahua standing not far away, his face gloomy and his eyes sinister, staring intently at them.

She wished she could just barge in, grab Xiao Cheng, and grind her to dust.

"Damn it, it's such a waste of talent to be a maid." Xiao Cheng was covered in sweat, cursed under her breath, and hurriedly straightened her outer robe.

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