"Please sit down." Madam Mo composed herself and returned the gold leaf to Linlang.
Linlang shifted her feet and sat on the edge of the chair so she could get up at any time. When she spoke, she even used polite language.
Why did you help me?
Madam Mo picked up the broken teacup from the ground, looked up at the light snowflakes outside the window, and said, "Could you tell me what kind of person gave you this gold leaf?"
Linlang's answer was vague: "It's fine, it's just that we're not particularly close."
"I'm not very familiar with you, yet I'm giving you this prop. I suppose you can't be too bad, and I should be able to trust you."
Upon hearing the word "item," Linlang instinctively held her breath. Would people in the dungeon world even know about items?
"What if... I'm not trustworthy?"
"Then I'll kill you."
Madam Mo smiled through her ashen face as she carefully placed the broken porcelain shards aside, her hands trembling slightly as they were exposed to the sunlight.
Linlang could hardly help but imagine a dying vampire who, in order to drink blood, would do everything in his power to appear harmless, even exposing himself to the sunlight to gain the trust of his prey.
Her current appearance has nothing to do with the elegance and gentleness the Queen displayed before entering; she looks far more dangerous than the Queen.
"Did I scare you?" Her face relaxed, and she didn't seem so frightening anymore. "I just hope you deserve it."
This seems like a blatant threat...
Linlang understood. This was a gentle knife, seemingly easy to talk to, but actually not easy to fool at all. Her approachability was a facade, a lure. Madam Mo was most likely a cold-hearted person.
That's really strange.
Why did she suddenly think of Shi Jinzhe?
He always makes Sheikh play the bad cop while he plays the good cop, and his occasional cold demeanor reveals his self-destructive tendencies, which are willing to risk everything.
And since she cares so much about Jin Yezi, is it because she met Jin Zhe? Do they have a relationship?
"Do you want to hear a story?"
Madam Mo suddenly asked.
Linlang blinked. Was she about to provide a clue?
She said politely, "Please go ahead."
Seeing how honest she was, Madam Mo chuckled and said, "This castle was once the Queen's residence, where she and her second husband lived. She lived here for almost ten years. When you sneaked into the castle, did you see a portrait in the clock tower?"
"...Yes, a bearded man, dressed in gold and silver."
"That was the former king, the queen's father. There are many cuts in the painting, aren't there?"
"Um."
Lady Mo said, "The portrait was given to the Queen by the Duke. At that time, she was not yet the Queen. She had just lost her first husband and was ordered by the King to marry into the kingdom. Because of the special location of Frozen Harbor, once it was controlled by someone, it would be equivalent to the entire kingdom's lifeline being controlled by someone else. So she married into the kingdom with a mission."
The Queen disliked the Duke, and the Duke disliked the King; having spent so much time together, constantly disliking each other, they actually started to find some common ground.
Linlang understood. "They all disliked the king, so the portrait was used by the Duke to vent his anger on the Queen, right?"
"Yes, they are more like friends across generations than husband and wife after a few years together."
Linlang: "You know a lot about these things."
Madam Mo: "Of course."
She learned these things when she came to this world to explore the mission. No one among the later players knew more about the Queen than she did.
Linlang: "Can I ask you a question?"
"Ask away."
"The frozen harbor is freezing cold, and due to the weather, it doesn't seem like a strategic location. Can you tell me why it's important?"
“Not counting Gaoya Mountain and the Thorn Land, this is the closest place to the westernmost dead city. It used to be another country, a country with a different belief than this one. They worshipped the god of harvest and rain.”
Madam Mo's gaze lingered as she recalled, "There are two gods in this world. The Queen's country mainly worships the god of war and glory. Conflicts between countries are inseparable from their beliefs. Countries that worship different gods often go to war. The Dead City and the Frozen Harbor have been fighting for many years."
Linlang listened quietly, as if she were listening to a story.
"Faith is merely a spiritual crutch for most people. The gods have not shown special favor to any particular group. If the rains are good this year, people will think it is because their sincerity has moved the gods. If the harvest is poor next year, people will think it is because the people in power have angered the heavens and they are being punished by the gods. But in reality, the gods have done nothing."
"In countries that believe in the god of war and glory, winning is attributed to divine intervention, while defeat is attributed to divine displeasure. It must be because they did something wrong. In short, winning and losing are both the will of the gods and have nothing to do with humanity itself."
Linlang commented: "It's like burying one's head in the sand, deceiving oneself."
"It's one thing to deceive oneself, but what's truly worrisome is to also try to deceive others,"
Madam Mo stirred her spoon and said calmly, "It was God who gave them the order to fight for land and power, it was God who made them win over more believers. War, heavy taxes, harsh laws, the gods did nothing but become their excuse for greed."
"Suddenly one day, a unique voice appeared in the ears of the deity, and for the first time since she became conscious, she tasted joy."
Madam Mo drank the cold tea. "So the gods made an exception for her and granted her the true wish in her heart."
Linlang: "Is this person... the Queen?"
"You are very smart."
"I just heard you say that the Queen deceived her, you mean the gods, right? Did she give up on herself because she was deceived and felt that humans could not be trusted?"
Madam Mo shook her head: "It's not that simple."
"What is that?"
"Little friend, you don't want me to tell you all the answers, do you?"
Linlang coughed awkwardly, "What do you want me to do?"
"Take me to the land of thorns."
"ah?"
Madam Mo stood up: "Let's take action now."
"But your body... can you handle it?"
"That's why I asked you to take me there. You figure something out."
Linlang finally realized that she seemed to have boarded a pirate ship.
Taking a sick person to rebel the city amidst wind and snow...
This is really difficult.
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