Chapter 771: Chapter 23 Royal Family Scandal (2)_3

Even if the people of the Country were generous enough to give him one, could he really take it back? To put the beautiful doll in his house for viewing? Just thinking about it felt silly… The doll, imbued with spirit, wouldn’t want to stay in his shabby house, would it? Why wouldn’t they hold tea parties in the museum instead?

Some people and some things are simply not meant to be together, their meeting is nothing more than an insignificant brief interlude in life. Just like right now, his stroll through the museum with Alandia was, to outsiders, akin to that of amiable friends, but he knew in his heart that he was of no significance to the Dawn Knight. They were connected merely by the thin thread of duty, their interaction would last only one or two months, or even shorter.

When Gongsun Ce boarded the plane back to the City of the Sky, that line that should not have existed was completely severed, and it would be very difficult for him to have any further contact with her, and Alandia would forget the black-clad clown and return to her real life. She remained the radiant Knight of the Country, and he returned to the City of the Sky as a prisoner.

“I’ve noticed you’ve fallen into a strangely sentimental mood,” Alandia said.

“Yeah, I’m sad at the thought of not seeing you again…” Gongsun Ce startled, “Bullshit, there’s nothing, you heard wrong!”

A rare look of confusion crossed Alandia’s eyes.

“I think what you are trying to say is—”

Gongsun Ce frantically waved his hands: “Nothing! Absolutely! Nothing!! Let’s focus on the task at hand, where is Kerky?!”

“The apprentices often gather on the third floor.”

He followed the Dawn Knight up the stairs, stealing one last reluctant glance before ascending. The dolls slowly turned their heads at the edge of the cabinet, their unfeeling eyes meeting his gaze.

“…!”

Gongsun Ce almost thought he was hallucinating, but he then realized it was not his imagination. Because the dolls had really turned around, and all the tourists from around the world had disappeared. The previously crowded museum halls were now completely empty in an instant!

“Alandia!”

“Stay calm, it’s the effect of a Barrier.”

Some incomprehensible power had activated, seemingly pulling the tourists into another space and leaving the two on the stairs alone. However, the museum without people was filled with sounds, as new “living creatures” had appeared: dolls opened the glass cabinets and walked on the smooth marble floors; armors drew their Longswords and patrolled the halls majestically; scrolls spoke the stories they contained, as characters in the paintings opened their lips and sang out loud.

In the blink of an eye, everything in the museum “came to life,” as if countless spirits had possessed these ancient artifacts and taken them as their new bodies. Gongsun Ce quickly recovered, and, hand on the stair railing, said with a forced smile, “Great, the old fool is at it again?”

A marble sculpture stepped down from its plinth and carelessly ripped a Country flag to use as its underpants. The pale stony figure lifted its chin, emitting a sound reminiscent of a middle-aged man: “This museum does not welcome Superpower Users.”

“Superpower Users don’t welcome you either, you old relic,” Gongsun Ce retorted sharply.

“Three years have passed, and now you’ve learned to ‘talk,’ lad?” the sculpture said, “Pity you still have that coarse Ustus accent, just like the brats of the Otimis family.”

Gongsun Ce clenched his fists tightly: “I’ve learned quite a few elegant curses from him. Wanna hear?”

“Please calm down, gentlemen,” Alandia intervened, standing beside the young man, “Mr. Gongsun, venting negative emotions is not helpful for negotiation. Mr. Loninles, you shouldn’t be angry with the young man.”

“I don’t think so.” An old man’s voice came from above the staircase, rough and low, with the self-important air characteristic of old intellectuals, one could tell he had a terrible temperament just by listening.

At the top of the museum’s second-floor staircase, stood a short old man. His entire body was hidden within a shabby gray robe, supported by a thick wooden stick that could be used as a bludgeon. Gongsun Ce could barely glimpse his face from the side of the hood, with wrinkles deep as ravines, sharp, critical eyes, and sparse beard hanging from the chin like a goat’s.

Gongsun Ce recognized that face; they had met many times. Because he was the first Governor of the City of the Sky, the notoriously stupid old Loninles Ricklu.

“Do you know what the privilege of being an old man is, Helaisen?” Loninles said, “Pointing fingers, giving orders, being imposing. I will rage when I want to, raise hell whenever I feel like it because I’ve eaten bread for fifty years more than you, whatever I say, you must respect!”

“I don’t think that’s quite right,” Alandia said.

“This guy’s a piece of shit,” Gongsun Ce said.

Loninles narrowed his eyes, revealing a dangerous smile.

“You seem to have not understood what’s called respect.”

Gongsun Ce sneered, “I respect old people, not undead things.”

“And I hate brats the most… especially ones as ignorant as you!”

Loninles slammed his staff onto the ground, and the painted figures and sculptures in the museum let out piercing screams simultaneously. The long staircase inverted like a wave, sliding the two back towards the first floor. The armors, cast hundreds or even thousands of years ago, drew their swords as if possessed by spirits and stood in unison; a 3-meter-tall stone sculpture took the lead, swinging a punch at Gongsun Ce. These revived objects seemed to have gained sentience, targeting him as their enemy!

The Superpower User didn’t care for historical artifacts and cultural heritage; his Telekinesis instantly flung the stone sculpture toward the second floor. He shouted angrily, “Don’t interfere, Dawn Knight! This is personal vengeance!!”

“Stay out of it, Helaisen!” Loninles roared, “I’m going to teach this brat a deep lesson!”

Knight Alandia looked back and forth between them and rarely sighed. She conjured a wooden chair to sit in and a book in her hand.

“Please, keep it to a reasonable limit…”

A precious blue and white Mystic Bird patterned elephant ear vase whizzed through the air, nearly shattered by the aftermath of the Telekinesis. Alandia had to divert some of her strength to protect the artifacts, and with resignation, she said, “Mind the artifacts.”