CHAPTER 229: CHAPTER 150: QUESTIONS, ARRANGEMENTS, AND THE ESCAPE PLAN

"You say, Mom is an Exorcist?"

"Yeah, think carefully if it’s possible."

On a summer morning, white sheets fluttered in the warm breeze on the rooftop, kids rode bikes through the streets, and cicadas chirped wildly on the trees.

However... the atmosphere in the family living room was tense. Gu Wenyu silently switched on the indoor fan, while Su Zimai turned on the air conditioner; together they cooled down the room, their worries seemingly fading away with the summer heat.

Both had superhuman physiques, and neither the air conditioner nor the fan could make them catch a cold. Ji Minghuan thought this until Su Zimai sneezed right in front of him:

"Ah-choo!"

People buy a refrigerator and get a fan with it, but you made a pact with a Refrigerator Demon and didn’t get a cold-resistant body? Ji Minghuan was speechless.

Su Zimai rubbed her reddened nose and then turned to Ji Minghuan with doubt in her eyes: "Are you serious, Mom’s an Exorcist?"

"Yeah, of course I am serious. Don’t you think it’s highly possible?" Ji Minghuan said earnestly, "Since you’re an Exorcist, isn’t the likelihood that one of our parents is an Exorcist pretty high?"

He paused: "Dad, the useless muggle who only knows how to booze, let’s forget about him. Maybe Mom is actually an Exorcist?"

Su Zimai remained silent, her little brain was overloading, buzzing.

She hung her head, pondered for a while, then lifted it: "Impossible!"

"Why impossible, think about it again." Ji Minghuan continued to guide his sister, "Mom’s life habits, or certain unintentional details of behavior, could be similar to that of an Exorcist."

"I’m thinking, alright? Stop bothering me!" Su Zimai said, "Besides, even thinking won’t help. If Mom is really an Exorcist, why didn’t the leader tell me? He did investigate my background before I joined the Exorcist Association."

"Are you sure Mom is not from the Exorcist Association?"

"I said she’s not, and that’s it." Su Zimai frowned, "Ask again and I will kill myself."

"Oh, then I’ll kill myself."

"It’s me who’s going to kill myself, not you!" Su Zimai said angrily.

She suddenly recalled how Gu Wenyu accidentally fell off a pigeon the night before yesterday, almost performed a hundred-meter-high flying project for her; she was so anxious she cried, and Gu Wenyu even patted her head, making her embarrassingly lose face in front of her brother.

Su Zimai’s cheeks visibly reddened.

If this was in a kid-friendly cartoon, her head would already be steaming.

"Then sis, you’d better jump off a building and let me inherit your Celestial Driver, becoming a legendary Exorcist."

"Get lost! If I knew I wouldn’t have saved you last night; saving you only infuriated me, your wonderful sister!" Su Zimai frowned, yelling.

She got angrier the more she thought, even her ears reddened. She turned fiercely towards Gu Wenyu, flipped him off, and then used the remote to switch off the TV, heading to the staircase and onto the second floor, leaving only a cold back.

Ji Minghuan flopped backwards, lying lazily on the sofa, thinking it was only when his brother and dad were not home that they dared to talk so blatantly.

He leaned his head on the back of the sofa, staring at the ceiling absent-mindedly: "Sis said Ke Qirui had investigated our family background, but she said Mom wasn’t an Exorcist, right? So whether this new member being Mom is still up for discussion."

"Oh well, in a few days I’ll see this new member myself. I’ll witness whether she has anything to do with Mom. But if she really is Mom, won’t that mean brother loses his motivation to enter Rainbow Wings; I was hoping he’d help me get close to Urushibara Ryuri... Things just suddenly got complicated."

Thinking of this, Ji Minghuan sighed softly.

He thought, Mom, oh Mom, if it’s really you, you’d better hurry back and lie in the coffin. How can I continue living with you in this family?

Ji Minghuan placed his hands on his belly like he had just lost his mother, lying listlessly on the sofa, enjoying the air conditioner and fan for a bit, then slowly opened his mouth, sneezing: "Ah-choo--!"

"Crap... Infected by the Refrigerator Demon, why would I, a Dragon-level Superpower User, catch a cold?" He muttered while touching his nose, then slowly closed his eyes, synchronizing consciousness to the Third Body, Yaguba.

The little shark opened its eyes inside the crystal ball, gazing out at the bloody twilight.

In Whale Terrarium, the time is similar to Li Jing’s, it’s daytime outside. Precisely speaking, there is no daytime in the Box Garden World, only dusk, so for people living here, daytime equals dusk.

Right now, the Third Prince Cezar was in his bedroom, looking pale and weary. He held his pillow in a daze, like a delicate doll, snow-white hair falling low, hiding those piercing blue eyes.

Seeing that Cezar remained silent for a long time, the little shark inside the crystal ball didn’t bother him. Knowing that the butler Yikar had just been decapitated not long ago, and executed by the Second Prince Cosimo at that, Cezar’s heart must be heavy right now.

Having just lost the dearest person, and when that person was felled by another dear one, anyone would question existence, much more so Cezar, who was only a twelve-year-old child.

"Cezar, Cezar, without the butler, who will cook for you now?" the little shark asked.

Cezar said nothing.

"Why aren’t you talking to me?" The little shark puffed up its cheeks.

"Yaguba... Mother will come soon, remember to keep your mouth shut when she’s here," Cezar spoke softly, "If she finds out you can talk, she’ll surely tell Father bedridden in sickness, then Father will have you taken away from me."

"Of course, I definitely need to stay by your side, so those bad people can’t bully you."

"Thank you... Yaguba." Cezar’s voice was hoarse and weary, his eyes still somewhat swollen and red.

"Are you willing to believe now, your brother..." Yaguba hesitated.

Cezar interrupted him coldly, "Let’s not talk about that, can we?"

Yaguba silently nodded, flicking his tail to create splashes in the crystal ball.

Not long after, accompanied by a knocking sound, someone pushed open the bedroom door from outside. Through the glass of the crystal ball, the shark looked over and saw a young woman in a luxurious black and gold dress, carrying an air of elegance.

The queen of the Whale Terrarium, Carolina. Her long golden hair cascaded down to her waist, and her pupils were as blue as the ocean in the setting sun; at this moment, her expression showed slight concern.

It wasn’t until the queen’s visit that Cezar’s face showed a tinge of color, and the emptiness in his eyes regained a bit of sparkle.

"Mother..." He slowly raised his eyes from his knees, turning his head to look at Carolina.

Carolina dragged her long skirt over, glanced at the Nobel Shark in the crystal ball, and then turned to Cezar, "Cezar, are you alright? The attendants told me you didn’t leave the castle all day and refused to eat."

"I’m fine, Mother." Cezar said softly, "I’m just thinking... Why didn’t my brothers tell me before they killed Yikar... clearly, I know him the best. He was a very, very good person."

Carolina sat beside the bed, raised her hand, and gently stroked his white hair, "Good child, your father has arranged a new steward for you, who will replace Yikar tomorrow and take care of your living needs here."

Seeing Cezar remain silent, she paused and lowered her voice to continue, "Your father is ill and can’t protect you. Cezar, you must protect yourself, you need to be brave."

After saying this, Carolina rested her cheek on the top of Cezar’s head, gently caressing the back of his head.

Cezar was silent for a moment, "Mother, will Father contract the Black Death?"

Carolina was silent for a moment too, "Cezar, you don’t need to worry about these things, your father and I will get through it... Also, in a week, August 1st, your father has arranged something for you."

In the crystal ball, Yaguba, who was eavesdropping on the conversation between the two, was slightly stunned and brought up the main task.

[Main Task 2 (Second Stage): Protect the Third Prince "Cezar" from the assassination attempts by the First and Second Princes, ensuring the Third Prince "Cezar" successfully survives until August 1st.]

Yaguba stared at the black and blue interwoven text on the panel, thinking, "So it’s like this... no wonder he must be protected until August 1st."

Cezar slowly lifted his head, meeting Carolina’s loving gaze, "What has Father arranged for me?"

Carolina said, "Your father wants you to temporarily leave the Whale Terrarium."

"Why?" Cezar was taken aback.

Carolina leaned over and kissed his almost transparent white forehead softly, "Your father knows you’ve always wanted to see the outside world, so he wants to give you a chance. He also said that when you return from your experience outside, he will hand the throne over to you."

"But I don’t want the throne."

"You are a genius in the Whale Terrarium unseen for thousands of years, if not you, then who? You also know, your father loves you more than your two brothers."

Cezar was silent for a moment, "Mother, please tell Father that on August 1st, I will leave here to look for the legendary ’Holy Grail’ outside, I... will definitely bring back the antidote to cure Father’s disease."

A hint of smile appeared on the corners of Carolina’s mouth, both worried yet faintly tinged with pride.

"Mm, you must promise Mother to protect yourself outside." She said.

"I will."

"Oh, and... the King also said that at that time Li Qingping will accompany you out of here."

"Li Qingping?"

Cezar whispered, his dim eyes slightly lit.

"That’s right," Carolina smiled silently, "The King knows he’s your favorite Royal Court Team guard, and Li Qingping doesn’t like staying in the Terrarium, so... he must be very willing to take you out for a ride."

"Alright Mother, but... if Li Qingping is unwilling, please don’t force him, I can manage on my own."

Carolina nodded, lowered her eyelids and thought for a moment before saying, "Cezar, tomorrow there will be a celebration at the Royal Palace, members of the Royal Court Team will play a demonstration match. Mother will come to find you then, and you can accompany Mother to watch the match."

She paused, "Your two brothers will also come to watch. But Father is unwell, he won’t be able to come."

Upon hearing this, the little shark’s eyes brightened, secretly thinking, "A match of the Royal Court Team? Then I can see the strength of the other members of the Royal Court Team, compare them to Li Qingping, I’ll see their level at once."

"I will go, Mother." Cezar said softly, "But now I’m really tired... please let me rest alone for a while."

Carolina slowly released his head, slowly stood up from the bed, looked at him sideways, then dragged her train-like skirt, and walked away slowly.