Chapter Sixteen: The Witch's House

“What? Missing?” Lan Liu listened to his subordinate’s report with a sense of disbelief, as if he were hearing some outlandish tale.

“It’s absolutely true,” his subordinate replied, carefully choosing his words as he faced the young master.

“We were following your orders and were just about to give them some trouble when we saw a genuine member of the Snow Burial Society standing right there.” At this point, the subordinate couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

If they had truly staged a farce of the real confronting the impostors right there, they would have found themselves in a disaster they could not hope to contain.

“That’s why I told you to move faster, didn’t I? Useless, every last one of you.” Lan Liu’s temper began to fray.

If everything had gone according to plan, that stubborn girl who had been giving him attitude just this afternoon would now be standing obediently before him, awaiting his command.

“This is Leaf Night City, after all,” the subordinate reminded Lan Liu in a subdued tone.

Leaf Night City was perhaps the most unique place in the entire Leaf Night Empire—unique, indeed, even on a world scale.

After all, the Academy was here.

Lan Liu exhaled deeply. Beyond his anger, he had little else to feel about his subordinate’s argument.

The Lan family could, in truth, do as they pleased in almost every corner of the empire; they were, after all, the true masters of this land.

But Leaf Night City was the one exception.

“Explain to me exactly how they disappeared,” Lan Liu demanded.

“When I arrived, I saw Snow Burial Society members already disciplining them. I could only watch from afar, blending in as a bystander—I didn’t dare get close,” the subordinate explained, somewhat aggrieved. “It was raining, and I was too far away to hear their conversation clearly. But after a while, a figure in black suddenly appeared out of nowhere. As soon as that figure showed up, everyone present vanished without a trace.”

He knew his account sounded fantastical, but he had seen it with his own eyes. Whether Lan Liu believed him or not was out of his hands.

Lan Liu listened quietly, then after a moment’s thought, he asked, “Even the Snow Burial Society members vanished?”

“Yes,” the subordinate nodded. “Afterward I checked the scene—there was nothing left behind.”

“If I recall correctly, there are prohibitions against flight and teleportation within Leaf Night City,” Lan Liu said, fixing his subordinate with a gaze. “Even those ancient monsters of the Sky Realm cannot act with impunity here.”

“You remember correctly, young master. Those ancient restrictions were personally established by the Sage when the Academy was founded. That’s why I came to report—who could possibly ignore such prohibitions?” the subordinate replied in a low voice.

“But, young master, have you heard the legend?”

“That so-called Third Prince ghost?” Lan Liu recalled. “Isn’t that just an urban legend?”

“It seems now that perhaps it’s true,” the subordinate said solemnly.

…

…

“Where are we?” Liu Ru couldn’t help but ask.

The moment Su Ziye mentioned their lack of a place to stay, Liu Ru felt her body become inexplicably light, as if the earth’s pull had vanished and she was about to float away.

In the next instant, as she landed again, her surroundings had completely changed.

She now stood before snowy white walls, with a ceiling equally pristine above her. On the walls, white sconces burned with pure white magical flames, casting a gentle glow. Liu Ru looked around and immediately spotted the strange black-robed girl, whom One-Two-Four-Two had called the Third Prince, standing nearby.

At last, One-Two-Four-Two realized what was happening. She stared in disbelief at the black-robed girl. “Third Prince, could this be…?”

The black-robed Third Prince lowered her head, pulled out a writing slate, scribbled quickly, then turned it around for One-Two-Four-Two to see.

“My home.”

One-Two-Four-Two pressed her hand to her heart.

She realized she might be the very first person ever to set foot in the Third Prince’s abode.

No—she glanced at the other two. She was among the first group ever to come here.

One-Two-Four-Two silently corrected herself.

“There’s no need for you to do this,” One-Two-Four-Two tried to reason with the Third Prince, but Su Ziye had already stepped forward and offered a respectful salute. “Such kindness and generosity—I will never forget it.”

“Get out!” One-Two-Four-Two snapped, stepping protectively in front of the Third Prince as she glared at the boy. “I don’t know how you tricked her, but you can’t take advantage of her innocence and goodwill for your own ends.”

“Now, leave this place at once!”

She had instinctively issued an eviction.

But Su Ziye only smiled calmly at the girl in white. “Why don’t you look at your Third Prince?”

One-Two-Four-Two glanced back, just in time to see the Third Prince holding up a second slate.

“It’s all right.”

One-Two-Four-Two gazed at the black-robed girl, overwhelmed by a flood of emotions.

Clutching her head in anguish, she moaned, “Madam President, where are you? Can you please come save me and teach me what on earth I’m supposed to do?”

How could such a pure and kind child as the Third Prince possibly be made to live with two strangers of unknown background or purpose?

As One-Two-Four-Two was caught in her torment, a warm, gentle finger tapped her lightly on the forehead.

She looked up to see the black-robed girl holding a third writing slate.

“Please don’t tell anyone.”

Don’t tell anyone what? That the Third Prince lived here? Or that she had taken in these two mysterious strangers?

When One-Two-Four-Two looked at Su Ziye and Liu Ru again, her eyes were full of hostility.

At that moment, the black-robed girl quietly tugged at her sleeve.

One-Two-Four-Two turned to see her, and the girl silently held out her pinky.

Her pinky was white as jade, nearly translucent, as if it belonged to another world.

“A pinky promise?” One-Two-Four-Two managed a bitter smile.

She knew that if she made this promise, she must never reveal anything about this place—not even to her own president.

Perhaps a pinky promise had no binding force in itself, but if she broke her word to the Third Prince, this child before her would surely despise her.

Or rather, she would despise herself.

She let out a long sigh.

“Will I be allowed to come back in the future?” One-Two-Four-Two asked the Third Prince.

She couldn’t rest easy leaving the Third Prince alone with these two suspicious people; at the very least, she needed the chance to return and check up on her.

The Third Prince raised her head, meeting her gaze with eyes like burning red lotuses—pure and luminous.

“Yes,” the Third Prince agreed softly.

One-Two-Four-Two bit her lip lightly.

Then she reached out, solemnly linking her pinky with the girl’s.

“I will not tell anyone about this place,” she said to the Third Prince.

“I swear it by every snowflake that has ever fallen upon this land.”