CHAPTER 30
Sheng Qing followed the address on the invitation, but the further she walked, the more she felt something was wrong.
What kind-hearted person would choose to hold their wedding at the end of a deserted alley?
Could it be that Blake tampered with this card?
Sheng Qing picked up the black gold card and examined it carefully several times, but he couldn't see anything unusual about it.
Suddenly remembering Miss Mouse's identity, could this be a secret passage leading to Sky City?
The simplest way is to find Blake.
But since he was already there, Sheng Qing stubbornly began to seriously search for the mechanism to open the secret passage.
They say that hard work pays off, but perhaps Sheng Qinghua's efforts were not enough. She searched for more than an hour without any results, but she did manage to count how many bricks there were on the wall.
Just as I was feeling down, I suddenly heard voices approaching.
Sheng Qing looked around but found no suitable cover, so he had no choice but to summon the power of the earth element and suddenly disappear into the soil.
Does this mean we can't see anything at all?
Then the wood element was summoned, and a clump of weeds grew tightly against the corner of the wall.
Sheng Qing cautiously poked his eyes out of the soil and quietly observed.
Isn't that Qiu Zhishui? Sheng Qing spotted the woman he had met once before from afar.
At this moment, she was wearing a reserved smile, arm in arm with a male rat-man who had been completely transformed into a rat, and walking over surrounded by a group of cat-men.
The cat-man in the lead pulled an object emitting a green glow from his pocket and threw it into the void at the end of the path.
The object did not land, but floated in the air for a few seconds before disappearing into thin air, leaving a ring in mid-air.
After the group stepped inside, they disappeared from sight.
Is this some kind of special sacrificial ceremony? It's as if some unknown creature, after receiving offerings, opened a door to another dimension.
Sheng Qing stared in disbelief, then rushed in at the last second before the ring disappeared.
"Who are you?" A sharp shout rang in my ears the moment I passed through the ring.
Before Sheng Qing could even stand firmly, he was held down tightly by two fully armed ratmen.
What incredibly bad luck!
They intended to keep a low profile, but they were caught red-handed as soon as they arrived.
Faced with the choice between escaping by force and arguing rationally, Sheng Qing hesitated for less than a second.
Without a second thought, he summoned the power of the five elements and threw them out with a series of crackling sounds.
The rats had never seen such a strange move before, and were momentarily dazzled, allowing Sheng Qing to escape in the chaos.
The soil here is no different from the soil outside. In the blink of an eye, Sheng Qing crawled out of the soil and patted off the mud that had accidentally gotten on him.
Finding out about a Miss Mouse who is about to have a good thing happen is an incredibly easy thing.
Before Sheng Qing could even begin, the hospitable local rat-man launched into a long, embellished tale of Miss Sisi and Meng Yunxi.
Right, she should be called Princess Sissi.
The hero saves the damsel in distress, love at first sight, and the vow of marriage—it's all such a cliché plot. Who can tell what's real and what's fake?
The architecture and furnishings of Sky City differ from the more modern style of the Upper and Lower Towns. The overall style is closer to medieval Europe, with pointed arches and stained glass windows everywhere.
The wedding of Empress Sisi and Meng Yunxi will be held in three days at the Sky City Cathedral. Currently, the two are temporarily residing in Prague Castle, which is under the name of Empress Sisi.
Could this be considered a case of a husband gaining status through his wife?
However, what Sheng Qing couldn't understand was why the seemingly noble rat people were willing to give up the upper and lower city districts, which were clearly far more technologically advanced than Sky City.
In the blink of an eye, a Gothic building with its spires soaring into the clouds, surrounded by thorns and roses, came into view.
This ancient castle, which resembles a sharp sword reaching towards the sky, looks ancient yet exudes a simple and solemn atmosphere.
Dark green vines climbed the gray walls, but they looked quite stylish thanks to the careful tending of the craftsmen and gardeners.
Sheng Qing was so engrossed in watching that this might be one of the reasons.
Still planning to sneak in under the cover of darkness, Sheng Qing ate something quickly and then found a relatively secluded spot to stake out the place.
As night fell, Sheng Qing had learned almost everything about the castle's shift change patrol routine.
I patted my cheeks, which were a little sore from keeping a blank expression for so long, and then thought about what I was going to do next. Suddenly, I was wide awake and full of energy.
Using the art of earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of escape technique), Sheng Qing emerged from a garden somewhere in the castle.
The castle was brightly decorated, and all sorts of people were bustling about, busy preparing for the grand wedding that was about to take place.
He randomly knocked out a passing cat-man and took off its clothes to put on his own. Feeling uneasy, Sheng Qing summoned vines to tie the cat's limbs together and stuffed some scraps of clothing into its mouth before finally throwing it in a corner of the garden.
Why is their style of doing things getting darker and darker?
Sheng Qing shook his head and, pretending to be nonchalant, followed the crowd back to the reception room.
"What are you doing here instead of patrolling?" a stern voice rang out from behind.
Seriously? We haven't even started doing anything serious yet, and we've already been caught red-handed.
"Okay, okay." Sheng Qing replied in a muffled voice, not daring to turn around, and hurriedly walked towards the exit not far away.
"Stop!" The voice was accusatory. "Turn around!"
You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth.
Sheng Qing took a deep breath and turned around. A rat-man dressed in a similar uniform was staring at her warily.
"Why do you look so unfamiliar?" The ratman looked him up and down, then asked, "What's your name? Which squad are you in?"
"Reporting, sir, Second Squad, Sheng Zhong," Sheng Qing said, trying his best to suppress his tears, and made up a story in a serious tone.
"Is he new here today?" the ratman muttered to himself, stroking his chin.
"Yes, sir." Sheng Qing followed up.
The rat-man glanced around the reception room, seemingly searching for someone, and finally waved his hand dismissively: "Don't let me catch you slacking off again, or you'll be in big trouble."
Sheng Qing responded softly, then turned and quickly left.
After leaving the reception room and turning left into the corner, Sheng Qing finally managed to calm herself down after catching her breath several times.
Smoothing out non-existent wrinkles on her clothes, Sheng Qing casually pulled over a cat-like figure dressed in a somewhat feminine manner and inquired, "Is Mr. Meng still in the study? The captain sent me to deliver a message."
"The study?" The cat-man looked at Sheng Qing with a puzzled expression, then added, "Mr. Meng should be resting in his bedroom. Princess Sissi repeatedly told you not to bother him."
Huh? You're resting so early?
"Yes, yes, yes, but there was an emergency," Sheng Qing said with an embarrassed smile.
"No matter how urgent the matter, it won't do." The cat-like man was about to start scolding with a stern face when he suddenly glanced behind Sheng Qing and stopped himself.
Sheng Qing turned around and saw a rat-man in a different costume waving at the cat-man next to him.
The female cat-person didn't even glance at Sheng Qing, and hurriedly ran over.
Should she avoid bothering him or them? What if she encounters something inappropriate for children later? A strange thought flashed through Sheng Qing's mind.
No, no, that's not true.
The bedroom shouldn't be on the first floor. Sheng Qing withdrew her gaze and stepped onto the stairs to the second floor.
Could it be on the second floor? Or should we just search from the top floor down? Sheng Qing stepped aside to let a rat-man carrying an empty plate pass by.
Just as I was hesitating, a familiar voice came from behind me.
“Let me take you there,” said the female cat-person from before, her eyes gleaming. “We can only talk for a few minutes, otherwise I’ll get punished again.”
Sheng Qing put on a smile and thanked him repeatedly.
Having a poor sense of direction to begin with, and then being led around in circles by this female cat-person, Sheng Qing now can't even tell which way is north, south, east, or west.
Wanting to ask a question but afraid of accidentally revealing something, Sheng Qing obediently followed behind for about ten minutes before finally unable to resist asking.
"Aren't we there yet?"
"It'll be soon, it'll be soon." The female cat-person's tone carried a hint of anxiety.
Why is he even more anxious than me? Sheng Qing muttered to himself.
Something's not right! Sheng Qing suddenly became suspicious.
People passing by were giving him strange looks, and the cat-man leading the way was walking rather stiffly.
Sheng Qing stopped in his tracks, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.
"Why did you stop?" Not hearing any footsteps following, the female cat-person turned around and asked in confusion, her eyes darting around.
"Where are you taking me?" Sheng Qing asked, feigning alertness.
The atmosphere instantly froze.
After a while, several figures suddenly jumped out and surrounded Sheng Qing.
"So you finally figured it out?" The rat-man who had captured Sheng Qing in the reception room slowly emerged from the shadows, his mustache twitching, seemingly revealing a smug smile. "What exactly are you after Mr. Meng?"
What could my ulterior motives be? I just wanted to report on my work with him. Where can you find such a diligent employee?
"I mean no harm. I'm Mr. Meng's friend. You can just take me to see him." Sheng Qing said sincerely, raising her hands to indicate that she was not carrying any dangerous items.
Finding someone on your own would take forever. It's better to be honest and meet sooner.
"Do you think you can just see Mr. Meng whenever you want?" To her surprise, the other party didn't believe her and waved his hand. The cat people and rat people rushed forward and pinned Sheng Qing down.
Knowing it would end this way, I wish I had been caught from the start; perhaps I could have seen Meng Yunxi sooner. Sheng Qing sighed inwardly.
"You really don't plan to take me to see Meng Yunxi?" Sheng Qing noticed that the rat-man was walking in another direction, and the guards escorting him were leading him further and further astray. He hurriedly asked, "I really am his friend."
The ratman and the guards escorting them did not speak to each other.
Why don't we make a bigger scene?
Just as he was about to summon flames to scare the group, a familiar voice suddenly rang out again.
"What happened?"
"Your Highness, someone has trespassed. Your subordinate is about to take them away for questioning."
It's Princess Sissi! Our savior has arrived!
Sheng Qing was overjoyed and hurriedly explained loudly, "Princess Sissi, it's me. I'm not a suspicious person."
Miss Mouse, dressed in a gorgeous dress, finally turned her gaze to Sheng Qing, her brows furrowing as if she were trying hard to recall.
I simply cannot match the cat-person in front of me with someone from my memory.
"Black, the private room," Sheng Qing whispered.
"Oh, I remember now, you're Mr. Black's, uh, sister?" Miss Mouse suddenly realized, her face lighting up with surprise, and she gestured to the guard to let her go.
"Hehe, friend, just a regular friend," Sheng Qing said with a guilty smile.
"Why are you here alone? Didn't Mr. Black come with you?" Miss Mouse had already affectionately taken Sheng Qing's hand. "I remember sending you an invitation, but I didn't expect them to..."
The guard was about to say something, but was stopped by a look from Miss Mouse.
"It's not their fault, it's my fault for not explaining clearly," Sheng Qing said magnanimously, indicating that it was alright.
"By the way, I still don't know what to call you?" Miss Mouse asked curiously.
"Sheng Qing." He could have directly asked to see Meng Yunxi, but for some reason he was worried that it might expose his plan.
"Congratulations!" Sheng Qing decided to rephrase her question, "Where's the groom-to-be?"
Miss Mouse frowned slightly again, then sighed, "Yunxi, he should be resting in his room."
"Resting? What happened?" Sheng Qing asked, only realizing her tone was a little agitated.
"I feel like he's acting strange." Miss Mouse's eyes seemed to be covered by a layer of white mist.
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