Chapter 1442: Codex Pen
After the applause, Xu Huo and those noble girls slowly descended back to the ground, and then the other guests demanded to see a second magic trick.
"The second magic trick is space teleportation," Xu Huo said, walking to the front and addressing the King. "However, performing this trick requires the permission of the King and Queen, allowing me to move freely within the castle. Otherwise, the desired effect cannot be achieved. For safety's sake, the King may dispatch a guard to follow me."
"Doing so would be disrespectful to the visiting artisan from afar," the Queen interjected.
"The Queen is right," the King nodded in agreement, then said to Xu Huo, "I permit you to enter any place except the Rose Garden. But how will you demonstrate space teleportation?"
"I originally intended to invite a guest to accompany me, but I realized that space teleportation cannot set a destination, and randomly taking someone walking through the castle would be impolite... I wonder if the King would be willing to personally experience space teleportation?"
The guests fell silent, completely taken aback that he would invite the King.
"Hahaha!" The King laughed at this moment. "The Queen and Lady Leah specially held this banquet to cheer me up—how could I not enjoy myself to the fullest? Mr. Sunflower Number One, you wouldn't take me into that mysterious kingdom from my dreams, would you?"
Xu Huo smiled. "Perhaps Your Highness is fated to encounter that mysterious kingdom?"
"Such a wondrous thing as space teleportation—I'd like to experience it too. Brother King, why not take me along?" A man of similar age and appearance to the King stepped forward and introduced himself. "I am the King's cousin, Duke Mick. Your space teleportation can't only carry one person, can it?"
Xu Huo smiled without speaking, and after the King nodded, he said to the two, "There may be slight dizziness during the process. Please do not be alarmed."
He had already released his Spiritual Realm in advance. Reaching his hand forward, he grasped the handle of a pre-prepared prop door and gently pushed it open, saying to them, "Please."
People always hesitate when facing the unknown, but soon the Duke blocked the King, who wanted to go first, and stepped through the door ahead of him.
Xu Huo wasn't sure if the people of Gem City could be affected by Spiritual Interference, so he layered Spatial Evolution power on top and directly used his Spiritual Realm to open a passage and leave the banquet hall.
After the King and the Duke emerged, they arrived in a lounge.
For the two of them, it felt like their vision blurred for a moment, and then they were in a different place.
Seeing the scene in the room, both were astonished. The Duke even walked to the door, pushed against the wall, and opened the lounge door to confirm what they were seeing was real.
"What a miraculous technique!" the Duke exclaimed in shock. "I've never seen such a magic trick before!"
"But this lounge is right next to the banquet hall—the distance isn't far. You could easily bring us here. Thinking about it that way, it's not really something incomprehensible."
It was clear the Duke had a strong desire to explore, so Xu Huo took them to the small hall where the King received guests. While using a Holographic Projection to play a "film" for them, he took the opportunity to slip into the adjacent study.
Unfortunately, not a single item in this study was a prop, including that codex.
Upstairs was the King's bedroom. He scanned the room, his gaze pausing on a hair comb inlaid with blue gemstones placed by the bedside. He picked it up:
[Congratulations to player Passerby A for finding a C-grade ownerless prop.]
[Peaceful Slumber: This is a comb that can soothe the mind. Using it to comb your hair can quickly eliminate all negative emotions, allowing one to swiftly enter a comfortable, pleasant sleeping environment.]
[It is a relaxing prop, but sometimes it also becomes a sharp weapon for smashing and beating a spouse. Its previous owner used it to scrape off all of her husband's skin. Therefore, when the holder harbors intense hatred for a certain person, it transforms into a weapon to assist in committing violence.]
Xu Huo put the comb down and turned to open the dressing room.
A peculiar Spatial Ray in the corner caught his attention. He opened the bottommost box in the wardrobe and pulled out a pink feather quill.
[Codex Pen: A B-grade prop capable of writing laws and making them take effect in the shortest possible time, provided that the laws you set are generally recognized by the people within the law's effective range.]
[But please note, it is only responsible for writing the laws and does not bear the responsibility for actual implementation.]
This was indeed a prop perfectly suited to Gem City. The citizens and the castle staff had an extremely high level of recognition for the King's Codex. Even if some of the laws written in it were overly strict or strange, as long as they appeared in that book, anyone who saw them would default to accepting them as new laws.
And Gem City's crime rules perfectly maximized the effectiveness of this quill. In another place, the laws written by the feather quill would be mere text, lacking such strong binding force.
Overall, it was an interesting prop. Xu Huo placed it next to the codex in the study before returning to the King.
The King had just experienced something wondrous. In a daze, he seemed to have seen the magical kingdom Xu Huo described, but before he could clearly see it or formally step into it, everything before his eyes dissipated like mist.
"That mysterious place truly exists!" the King exclaimed, immediately saying to Xu Huo, "I want to see it again."
The Duke, who had only experienced the dizziness, was very curious and also wanted to see what the King had seen, so he echoed the request for Xu Huo to take them on another space teleportation.
This time, Xu Huo went to the Queen's bedroom.
The King and Queen didn't seem to be players—at least on the surface. If they had some special disguise skill, that would be another matter.
Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that they were like the people of Gem City, and that maid named Xiao Si might be like the Painting Woman, not belonging to any player, acting purely on her own will, protecting the Queen voluntarily.
Earlier, when Xu Huo had mentioned moving around the castle, Lady Leah had specifically said the Queen's bedroom was off-limits. Perhaps it was worth a try.
As expected, Xiao Si was guarding the Queen's bedroom. When Xu Huo approached, she became alert. Her gaze swept around the room, and then her body suddenly trembled. A layer of something like skin began to peel away from her limbs—though it came off along with her clothes and shoes, looking somewhat like a layer of paint peeling off.
This detached, flat Xiao Si fell to the ground and quickly stood up again, inflating like a balloon, becoming a new Xiao Si.
The two Xiao Sis shifted positions and then lunged toward the wall where Xu Huo was hiding!
Under normal circumstances, prop people are unaffected by Spiritual Interference, and of course, they shouldn't be able to touch Xu Huo hidden within the wall. But unexpectedly, when the two collided, they created ripples within the Spiritual Realm.
(End of Chapter)