Chapter 256: Who Sent All That Shiny Gold?

The wall lamps in the corridor burned quietly; their dusky yellow light slipped through the crack beneath the door.

Inside, the room was dark. The oil lamp on the desk had long gone out.

Using that faint spill of light, Luo Wei stepped in and looked around.

Aside from the built‑in fixtures, the place was bare.

“Senior Hessel?”

She called once. No answer.

She shut the door, drew her wand, and kindled a small flame.

In the flare of firelight, a thoroughly stripped dormitory leapt into view. Luo Wei was stunned.

The lace tablecloth that covered the desk—gone. The quills, mirror, ink, and oil lamp—gone. The wool cushion on the chair, the patterned carpet on the floor, the sheets and pillowcases on the bed—all gone!

Even the potted greenery by the window, the coat rack near the door, and the sheepskin boots beside the laundry basket had been cleaned out.

Seriously? She went out for one meal and got robbed?

Holding her wand, Luo Wei checked carefully. The floor had been swept immaculate; it was still damp in places, as if rinsed with a water spell.

The desk and stool bore a map of dings and dents. The torn cotton bedding had been removed. Scratches scored the bedboards. At least the bed hadn’t collapsed—

The thought had barely formed when her hip brushed the footboard. Boom—the wooden frame surrendered and fell apart into four jagged quarters.

Luo Wei: …

Senior really had a good heart—after collapsing the bed she’d bothered to prop the pieces back together.

If the bed was like that, then the chair…

She tapped it with her wand. Each leg shot off in a different direction, clattering away.

She gave the table a test shake. “Thump—” It caved in too.

Luo Wei stood in silence, contemplating one problem: where was she sleeping tonight?

All thoughts of war and upheaval fled her head.

She just wanted to know where Hessel’s dorm was.

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Near midnight, Luo Wei began another escape from the Academy.

This time her method was subtler: teleportation.

She had a teleportation array at Star Luo Residence; by carving a temporary teleportation rune here in the dorm she could slip past the Academy’s wards—no one the wiser—and reappear in her bedroom at Star Luo Residence.

The night air was cool. Star Luo Residence, sunk in sleep, lay peaceful and still. Wicker baskets hung under the eaves swayed in the breeze; the raven sprawled inside one lay on its back, limbs loose.

Luo Wei stood at the window. No light in the courtyard below. Rain whispered—fine drops pattering on the new apple leaves, the foliage hissing softly.

Knock, knock—

A sudden knocking sounded at the door.

Light, not loud—yet razor clear in the quiet.

At this hour, the only person alert enough to know she’d returned was probably Troy.

Luo Wei went over and opened it. As expected, a tall figure stood there.

Troy held up an oil lamp. Warm flame painted his face, lending a muted amber to the cold iron mask.

“Something wrong?” Luo Wei looked him over.

Cautious man—up in the middle of the night still masked and cloaked. If not for a few stray strands of red hair under the brim she’d think he hadn’t slept at all.

Troy raised the lamp toward her, voice low and rough. “Your Highness—the lamp.”

So he’d come to deliver a light.

Luo Wei accepted it and asked offhand, “Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”

“No.” He shook his head, then hesitated. “Except… the silkworms you had the workers raise all cocooned.”

“They’re called silkworms,” Luo Wei corrected. “Calling them worms sounds awful.”

“Right—silkworms.” He adjusted instantly. “They cocooned; the workers did as you said—put them into boiling water to soak. But…”

Luo Wei frowned. “But what?”

Troy, tactful: “They were very… resilient. They broke out of the cocoons and flew off.”

Luo Wei: ???

Silkworms broke out and flew?

She hadn’t misheard?

“Say that again.” Luo Wei seriously doubted her ears.

“The silkworms are highly heat‑resistant,” Troy explained. “No matter how they boiled them, they wouldn’t die. After a full day and night over a big fire, when they pulled them out and split the cocoons, the pupae were still alive.”

If boiling couldn’t kill them, how had Laura handled them before?

Oh—she remembered. Laura had handed over the cocoons without boiling them so she could collect the first batch of eggs.

If the moth chews through the cocoon, the silk filament breaks; the cocoon loses value because you can’t reel continuous thread.

Boiling cocoons kills the pupa and lets the shell absorb water and loosen for reeling.

Back when she’d snatched the silkworm babies from the Infernal Arachne, she’d noticed they were larger than the silkworms from her memory—but she hadn’t overthought it. Bigger or not, still silkworms… right?

She hadn’t expected them to be this tenacious—surviving scalding water.

Luo Wei pinched the bridge of her nose. “And the moths that emerged?”

Troy: “They flew into the mulberry grove. The workers are trying to catch them—afraid they’ll damage the tender buds on the saplings.”

“No need,” Luo Wei said. “Silkworm moths have no mouthparts, no stomach. They can’t feed. They only mate, lay eggs, then die.”

“Understood.” Troy nodded.

“They didn’t chew any mulberry leaves, did they?” Afraid of relying on assumptions, Luo Wei double‑checked.

Troy thought back, then shook his head. “No.”

“Good.” Luo Wei relaxed. She’d half feared these silkworms had mutated mouths. “Once I’m done with the tournament I’ll inspect the grove. For now, have the workers collect the eggs off the trees.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Alright—go get some rest.”

He inclined his head and returned to his room.

Luo Wei shut the door and carried the lamp to the bed.

While she was away, Chris had continued daily cleaning: the bedroom was spotless, no dust on furniture or headboard, and the sheets had been changed.

She set down the lamp, changed into sleepwear, and slid under the covers.

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Morning.

Before dawn she climbed out of bed and teleported back to her dorm ahead of the Academy bell.

A faint rustling sounded outside the door; through the gap she glimpsed a shadow.

The mute old woman who brought water wouldn’t come this early… would she?

She strode over and yanked the door open. “Who’s there!”

The shadow flicked down the corridor—so fast Luo Wei couldn’t even tell if it was male or female.

She was about to give chase when her toe nudged something.

Looking down, she found a bulging burlap sack.

She glanced toward the stairwell—the figure was gone.

She looked back at the sack, considered two seconds, crouched, and untied the rope.

The moment it opened, a blast of gold light almost blinded her.

A solid, full sack of gold coins. She lifted—dead heavy. Rough estimate: sixty or seventy jin.

Who was so generous—dropping off all that shiny gold at daybreak?

Thinking of last night’s “theft,” Luo Wei formed an answer.

Holy—don’t tell me that one night Hessel disappeared she was out stealing gold coins?

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