Wen Ze clicked his tongue lightly, moved the blade away from Yan Li's feet, and then played with it in his hand: "This is what the warrior himself agreed to. I didn't force you."
Yan Li looked at the man's sanctimonious appearance and almost ground her teeth to powder, but she still nodded hurriedly: "Of course, it is my blessing to serve the lord."
She felt her face was about to freeze from smiling, and she secretly made up her mind that once she rescued the princess, she would run as fast as she could.
Walking is still a bit slow; if she could fly, she wouldn't need to run at all.
Wen Ze seemed to have truly believed him. He sheathed his dagger, looked at Yan Li, and gave a faint smile: "I still don't know what you call me?"
"Yan Li." There was no need for Yan Li to hide her name, so she naturally told him the truth.
But if she knew that a contract could be made based on just a name, she wouldn't think that way.
Even in the darkest of times that followed, she deeply regretted her honesty at that moment.
Wen Ze lifted Yan Li off the crystal coffin. "Remember my name, Wen Ze Ansel. We'll be together forever from now on."
"If you ever dare to betray me in the future, I will make you wish you were dead."
The sudden threat made Yan Li's legs go weak, and she almost lost her balance. After regaining her composure, she...
"Rest assured, my lord, I will not break my promise, even for the sake of the princess."
Wen Ze: Another princess? Why do you keep mentioning her? What's so great about a dead person?
"You came here seeking the princess, but in the end, it's nothing more than for the treasures in the castle. As the lord, I have as many of those things as I want. Why don't you abandon her and come to me instead?"
Wen Ze's gaze was extremely calm, as if he were simply speaking the most ordinary words to Yan Li, asking about the weather today.
While Yan Li appeared calm on the surface, her heart had already stopped. Worldly desires were nothing more than poison that would lead her into the abyss, and she would never fall for them.
She was the bravest, most upright, and most resourceful warrior.
“I, Yan Li, am a warrior. Saving the princess is my mission. Why would I do it for material possessions?”
Yan Li's rationality prevailed, but it wasn't the answer Wen Ze wanted.
"Since you came for the princess, you should also know that the princess's crystal coffin can only be opened at midnight, right?"
Yan Li nodded.
“Then Ah Yan can go downstairs and look for her himself before midnight. It’s perfect timing, I also want to know which princess has won Ah Yan’s favor so much.”
"It's something that would make Ah Yan risk everything to save him."
Wen Ze pulled his robes tighter, but the smile didn't reach his eyes; he seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.
Yan Li was completely dumbfounded.
She heard every word Wen Ze said clearly, but her mind seemed unable to understand human speech.
What do you mean, "which princess"?
Isn't there only one princess?
Yan Li finally couldn't hold back any longer. She raised her hand, her fingers trembling, and pointed to the only crystal coffin in the room, voicing the biggest question she had posed since arriving at the castle:
"Isn't the princess lying in this crystal coffin?"
Yan Li's exaggerated expression amused Wen Ze, who kindly grasped the trembling fingers outstretched in the air and pulled them effortlessly into his arms.
"Of course not."
Yan Li finally stood in front of the crystal coffin she had longed for. The moment Wen Ze pushed open the lid of the crystal coffin, she was stunned.
The crystal coffin is empty!
“Ah Yan may have misunderstood. The princess you so desperately want to save isn’t in this crystal coffin.”
Yan Li was stunned, standing blankly in front of the crystal coffin, not even knowing when Wen Ze had released her, only muttering to herself, "Then why is there a crystal coffin here?"
She was puzzled.
She even felt like swearing.
No, she wants to kill someone now.
Her princess, her very grand princess, is gone!
Wen Ze seemed oblivious to Yan Li's loss of control, and instead patiently explained, "This is my bed."
"If you wish, from today onwards, Ayan may sleep here with me."
"If you like, I can also arrange for the butler to put one in your room."
Yan Li: What living person would want to sleep in a coffin?
The world has finally turned upside down.
A little bounce is good, a little bounce is good.
"No need. I came here to find the princess. Since her crystal coffin is not here, I will go downstairs to look for her."
Yan Li spoke with great decisiveness, but her body seemed to have been on the move for several days.
She felt no different from a human corpse, and without giving Wen Ze a chance to stop her, she stormed out the door...
Um?
Why can't I open the door?
An ominous premonition lingered in Yan Li's heart. Just as she was facing away from Wen Ze, sweating profusely, and struggling to pry open the door, Wen Ze coughed lightly.
"Ah Yan, don't be anxious, the princess won't run away."
Yan Li ignored her and continued to pry open the door: Of course she knew the princess wouldn't run away, but she was afraid she would be stuffed into that coffin and dressed up as the princess!
"This door can only be opened by pulling it from both sides at the same time."
Wen Ze, out of kindness, didn't leave Yan Li to continue living in fear. He kindly reminded her and even demonstrated it for her.
Yan Li: Did she misunderstand?
The main hall on the first floor of the castle.
The butler was completely bewildered when he saw Yan Li safely come downstairs: This time, she didn't lose any hands or feet.
When did their lord become so good-natured?
"housekeeper?"
The butler snapped out of his daze, looked at Yan Li who had already walked up to him, and forced a smile: "What are your orders, Miss Yan?"
Yan Li: "I want to know how many princesses live in this castle."
She still harbored a sliver of hope, believing that Wen Ze was deceiving her.
Upon hearing this, the butler was stunned for a long time, clearly not expecting that Yan Li would know the biggest secret in the castle.
"The lord's willingness to tell Miss Yan the secrets of the castle shows that his trust in her far exceeds that of the other warriors who have come to explore the castle."
Yan Li: "..."
That is, according to the agreement, she had to stay in the castle. Even if she wanted to tell others about this secret, she would have to wait for the next lucky person to come and find the princess.
Seeing that Yan Li did not reply, the butler did not feel embarrassed at all. He simply turned to the side, stroked his non-existent beard, and said quietly:
“Miss Yan, to be honest, there are actually thirteen princesses in the castle.”
"To break the evil witch's curse, Miss Yan must find the real princess and awaken her with a kiss of true love at midnight."
"And each princess's crystal coffin can only be opened once every two weeks."
“But if Miss Yan still cannot distinguish the real princess after the crystal coffin has been opened once, she will lose the qualification to awaken the princess and will no longer have the ability to break the curse.”
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