Chapter 1439: Reasonable Demands
Lunch was very sumptuous, and there were also maids who came to sneak a peek under the pretext of serving the meal, quietly asking if they were really going to perform magic in the castle, only to be shooed away by the housekeeper.
In the middle of the meal, the maid Xiao Si left for a while. Yan Jiayu ate as she spoke, "How many Xiao Sis have you run into? I've met three in this short time."
"Two," Xu Huo said. "She should have a cloning ability, not just a trick to confuse people."
Yan Jiayu nodded, "I figured that out too. I wonder if their strength is the same. If her clones still maintain high combat power, it'll be hard for players to get out once they're in."
"Have you figured out a reasonable way to enter the castle rooms?"
Finding items inside the castle definitely wouldn't be possible by just wandering around outside the doors like this.
"But taking the items would make us criminals, and then we won't be able to clear the instance."
"Before the magic show, I'll ask for permission to enter the castle rooms," Xu Huo said. "After the show, I'll request the item from the King."
"That method works too," Yan Jiayu lowered her voice. "I asked around with the servants. Ever since the King fell ill, the Queen has been handling all castle affairs. She has the same authority as the King in the castle, and everyone accepts it. If the King doesn't work out, we can try approaching the Queen. It can't be that both of them are players."
"If they really both are, then forget what I said."
Xu Huo smiled faintly and quickly brought up the mine matter. "If making an open request doesn't work, we'll have to try Moon City."
Yan Jiayu had no objections. The stolen gem was hard to find, but the one that was borrowed was in Moon City. Stealing it back from Moon City and returning it to Gem City should be feasible, right?
"Gem City and Moon City might not have good relations. Maybe committing a crime in Moon City won't be pursued by Gem City."
Whether their relations were good or not was unknown, but the laws were certainly different. And many players would probably think the same way. If they got nothing in Gem City, they would quickly turn to Moon City.
An hour after lunch, a maid came to take them to see Lady Liya.
This beautiful woman was lying sideways on the sofa, her voluptuous body sinking into the soft cushions made of fox fur, exuding a lazy aura. When Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu entered, she only lifted her eyelids and said with a smile, "You're quite handsome."
That was all she said. She ate a cherry and casually asked, "What kind of performances can you do?"
Following the list from yesterday, Xu Huo reported it to her, but Lady Liya said, "That's not enough. Show me your best tricks. If you can make the Queen happy, you can have anything you want."
"Even the treasures in the castle?" Yan Jiayu couldn't help asking.
Lady Liya lifted her head slightly and looked at her carefully. "Young and ambitious."
"As long as you can make the Queen smile, a few treasures are nothing." Lady Liya said with a hint of melancholy, then added after a pause, "But the things in the castle belong to the Queen and the King, so you need their consent."
"First, tell me about your specialty."
With the prop person Xiao Si present, Xu Huo wasn't sure how much this lady knew about what players could do, so he chose Super Evolution Power, claiming he could instantly teleport people within a certain range, even through walls. However, this kind of magic couldn't last too long, as it would be too easy to expose.
Lady Liya became a bit interested. Propping her chin on her hand, she said with intrigue, "So you can come and go freely in the castle?"
Xu Huo smiled. "It's not real wall-phasing after all. To enter a room, I still have to use the door. The rest is just a magician's bread-and-butter skill."
Lady Liya wasn't interested in the principle but really wanted to see this performance, so she asked him to demonstrate on the spot.
"This magic looks more realistic at night," Xu Huo politely declined. "Besides, this is the King's castle. I dare not wander around recklessly."
Lady Liya didn't press him but said as if to herself, "I really should inform the Queen. After all, it's the King's castle."
As she spoke, she stood up and went straight out through a small door at the back. Judging by the footsteps, there was a small compartment behind the door, followed by another door opening. After two walls, the sound of her movements faded.
Soon, another Xiao Si came out from the small door and said to Xu Huo and the others, "Lady Liya has prepared a banquet for the Queen tonight. You can perform in the middle of the show. The Queen has also allowed you to enter the castle rooms during your magic performance and has promised that if your performance is very impressive, you may claim one treasure as a reward, but you are not allowed to ask for maids."
"Praise the kind Queen." Xu Huo slightly bowed.
Tonight's matter was settled. Next was their preparation time. The guards would also inspect the tools they brought in one by one. Most of the tools were just for show and wouldn't be used, so the inspection didn't matter. But since they were to meet the King and Queen, their clothes and shoes also had to be changed.
Xu Huo refused the maid's offer to take their old clothes for washing and ironing, instead locking them in the box they had brought.
"Is there a performance secret in your clothes?" the maid suddenly realized, then slowly lowered her voice as Xu Huo raised his finger to his lips in a "shush" gesture. She pursed her lips and smiled shyly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure this door is locked properly later."
"Thank you." Xu Huo smiled.
The maid's cheeks flushed slightly as she left, even sneaking a look back at him at the door.
Yan Jiayu asked in confusion, "Why was she winking at you?"
"Probably dry eyes," Xu Huo said.
Yan Jiayu wore an expression that said "I suspect you're lying to me but I have no proof," but then she heard the maid who had just left talking to others about how handsome Xu Huo was, and she finally understood. "Oh, it's courtship."
Xu Huo was speechless and shifted the topic to Duan Cheng and Li Kun. "They should have entered the castle by now. We need to warn them in advance to avoid any accidents tonight."
If another theft incident occurred, the performance would definitely be ruined.
"That's simple. I'll go talk to them," Yan Jiayu said.
"I'll go," Xu Huo said. "I need you to distract the guards. Prepare more props."
Yan Jiayu nodded and confidently handed the task over to him.
Xu Huo went to the back kitchen. There was also a kitchen in the side tower, already preparing food for the evening. Although Duan Cheng and Li Kun had successfully delivered the items, the guards didn't allow them to move around freely and made it clear they were to leave after one meal.
By the time Xu Huo arrived, the two had already lost their patience.
(Chapter End)