Chapter 63
Chapter 63
It had been two full hours since Zhiyu wrapped Shengsheng in her arms and refused to let go.
Her behavior reached new heights when the emperor of Zhen sent over an endless stream of rewards.
The old emperor knew his business. Gifts for a woman ought to be jewelry, dresses, and other things girls liked. He did not slight Shengsheng merely because she looked like a little child.
Heaven knew what nonsense that scoundrel Weiqing had told him. The emperor actually believed Shengsheng was Weiqing’s long-lost illegitimate daughter.
She yawned and shifted her head, which was bristling with hairpins and jewels.
Zhiyu set down the toy in her hands. “Shengsheng, Shengsheng, are you sleepy?”
Shengsheng nodded furiously and extended a friendly invitation. “Shall we take an afternoon nap?”
Zhiyu immediately carried her to bed.
Before long, the woman who had promised to tell Shengsheng a story until she fell asleep had talked herself into slumber instead.
“Xiaoyu?”
A tiny snore answered.
Shengsheng scrambled out of bed.
Nice work, Shengsheng. No one does it better.
She carefully put on her shoes and picked her way across the wreckage. From the scattered jewelry, she selected several pieces she had already marked as the most expensive, gathered them in her skirt, and slipped out.
She made straight for her old room.
Sure enough, no one guarded it. The door was not even locked.
After entering, she placed the jewelry on the bed, climbed onto a stool, and checked the windowsill.
As expected, Pecky had not returned since fleeing that night.
Shengsheng pouted in disappointment, then crawled beneath the bed.
And froze.
What the ever-loving hell? Where was her stuff?
Where had that enormous bundle gone?
Only one thought entered her mind.
She had been robbed.
What blind thief had dared target a former Magical Girl?
She crawled out, covered in dust, and angrily called for A-Pang.
A-Pang emerged from her sleeve. Ever since she had shrunk, they had relocated their base of operations.
*What else does the magic world have? I’m going to catch the thief who stole my things!*
Her fury startled A-Pang. They spun several circles in place, then clapped their paws as though they had found the perfect answer.
*I found something suitable, Shengsheng, but it comes as a package deal.*
*Your service is certainly thorough. You even have bundles now,* Shengsheng marveled with complicated feelings.
A-Pang scratched their head bashfully. *The Host is our god, after all.*
*So, do you confirm the exchange for Iron Head and Search a Thousand Miles?*
Shengsheng did not understand why catching a thief required Iron Head, but she still confirmed without hesitation.
*Exchange successful. Picture the object you wish to find, and the ability will activate.*
Shengsheng mentally reconstructed every treasure in her missing bundle.
The very next instant–
Her tiny body shot skyward like a sword!
Roof tiles shattered, rousing Jian Zhang from his guard post above.
He snapped alert and looked toward the noise.
Then his gaze met Shengsheng’s as she burst through the roof, hair full of broken tile and face caught between shock and utter despair.
She streaked past him and soared into the sky.
Jian looked down at the new hole in the roof.
What in heaven’s name had he just witnessed?
As Shengsheng hurtled through the air at terrifying speed, she finally understood why the package included Iron Head.
Without that damned Iron Head, the thief would soon have found a headless corpse instead of Shengsheng.
The memory of Jian Zhang flashing past drove her anguish to its peak.
“The. Host. Is. Your. God?” she ground out through clenched teeth as she flew.
What a god she was. The service had granted her divinity one moment, and sent her straight to heaven the next.
*Don’t worry, Shengsheng. A lifetime passes very quickly,* A-Pang said weakly, hoping to comfort her.
If Shengsheng had not been airborne, she would have slapped them into next week.
Fine, she was flying. But why could she not control the direction?
An unidentified object loomed ahead. Unable to dodge, she flew straight into it and found her head completely covered.
Shengsheng went silent.
Below the path she had just crossed, a child ran happily with a kite string in hand. Without warning, the line lost all its weight.
He turned and stared blankly at the dangling string.
Where had his freshly painted Guanyin kite gone?
* * *
The palace servants were busy at work when a commotion erupted outside.
Everyone loved a spectacle. They dropped their tasks and rushed out to see what novelty had arrived.
No sooner had they crossed the threshold than a voice cried out with hysterical excitement.
“Guanyin has manifested!”
“Look! Guanyin has manifested!”
The crowd had time for only one glimpse of something streaking through the sky before every eye bulged like a brass bell.
Good heavens. Was that not the very Guanyin they worshiped each day?
Thus, when Weiqing finished discussing official business with his father and stepped outside, he witnessed the most absurd scene he had encountered in twenty-three years of palace life.
“Guanyin Bodhisattva, please bless this servant so she may leave the palace soon!”
“Great Guanyin, please let this servant’s elderly mother recover quickly!”
“Bodhisattva, look at me! Bless me to climb into the Crown Prince’s bed tonight and become his consort in one glorious leap!”
Weiqing’s face darkened.
Leaving aside whether they had all gone mad, the first two wishes were perfectly ordinary. Did the last woman have a death wish?
He took a deep breath to steady himself. “Go. Arrest every last one of them!”
No one answered.
Weiqing turned and met the eyes of a eunuch kneeling on the ground, hands clasped and lips moving in fervent prayer.
The eunuch gave a strained laugh and scrambled upright.
“Outrageous! You are disrupting order in the imperial palace! All of you, get up!”
A vein throbbed on Weiqing’s forehead.
Could this kingdom still be saved?
Even Fusheng had never witnessed a scene so spectacularly legendary.
When Weiqing came to find him with a pounding headache, Fusheng had placed a couch outside the palace gate. Reclining upon it, he rolled a grape between his fingers and enjoyed the show.
Weiqing had just opened his mouth to mock him when a figure flashed into view.
Jian Zhang appeared before them wearing an expression of terror, bewilderment, and complete helplessness.
“Y-Your… Your Highness. Miss Shengsheng, she…”
At Shengsheng’s name, both men’s lazy expressions vanished. They turned on him in unison.
“What has she done now?”
Jian looked ready to weep. Near collapse, he cried,
“Her venerable self flew away!”