Time flows differently in the mountains; the turning of the seasons goes unnoticed.
Jia Ma Empire, Imperial Palace
The palace, usually a bastion of quiet order, was bustling with activity today. Soldiers and maids hurried back and forth, their faces alight with excitement. For once, no one scolded them for their haste.
They were preparing for the First Princess's coming-of-age ceremony, scheduled for the following day. For the servants, it was a rare and joyous occasion, the kind they might only witness a few times in their lives.
But the First Princess herself, the very center of the celebration, sat alone in a pavilion, lost in thought. There was no trace of happiness on her face.
On one hand, she knew the ceremony meant shouldering even greater responsibilities. On the other, her mind was haunted by memories of the past.
She still remembered it so clearly—the day the boy had stood before her, his face a mask of impatience as he was forced to accept her request.
And now... the ceremony was upon her, but where was the boy?
With such a heavy weight on her heart, how could she possibly be happy? She was filled only with an infinite, quiet melancholy.
Yao Ye had even considered canceling the ceremony, but her station forbade such a willful act. She was not a girl from an ordinary family; she represented the entire royal family. The coming-of-age ceremony not only had to be held, it had to be held with the utmost grandeur.
"That brat... he's still alive, isn't he?"
Even Jia Xingtian had come to accept the "fact" of the boy's death. She was the only one who still clung to a sliver of hope. But after countless talks with the old emperor, and as the months bled into a year, even Yao Ye's resolve had begun to waver.
She let out a long, slow breath, a sound that carried all the unspoken sorrows of a young girl's heart.
The Magical Beast Mountains
A year had passed since the great hunt. The outskirts near Magical Beast Town, once nearly stripped of all low-level beasts, had begun to heal. The land, once desolate, had slowly returned to its former state. Anyone unaware of the incident would never guess the slaughter that had taken place.
On a bright, sunny morning, deep within the territory of the Rank 3 beasts, ripples disturbed the surface of a calm, secluded lake, scaring away a few lucky creatures that had been sneaking a drink.
The next moment, a handsome young man leaped from the water. In the full light of day, he proceeded to strip off all his clothes.
Circulating his Dou Qi, he evaporated the moisture from his skin and pulled on a fresh set of robes. They were already too tight. Though only a year had passed, his body had grown as if three or four had gone by.
He cast one final look at the place that had been his prison for a year, then took out a strange-looking Red-Ice Snake puppet. Its tail was broken, and its body looked like it had been pieced together from scraps.
"I have to thank you," Chen Guan said to the puppet. "Because of you, I was given this opportunity."
With a light kick, the puppet made a soft clacking sound and dove back into the lake.
Chen Guan nodded in satisfaction. Though the puppet wasn't much to look at—and half its tail had been roasted by him in a fit of pique—it was the first finished product he had created after becoming a Third-Rank Puppet Master. It possessed the strength of a Two-Star Da Dou Shi, more than enough to guard the stone chamber at the bottom of the lake.
He had collected his master's remains, but this place held a heavy weight of gratitude. Chen Guan didn't want it to be disturbed.
With that final task complete, he wasted no more time. After getting his bearings, he shot off towards the outer edges of the mountains.
It's been a year. Sister Yao Ye probably thinks I've been eaten by some beast by now. If I remember correctly, her coming-of-age ceremony is tomorrow.
I hope I can make it in time!
Ignoring any beasts that might cross his path, Chen Guan raced on at full speed. His newfound strength gave him all the confidence he needed. He effortlessly dispatched a pair of Fire Foxes who had been... diligently working to create the next generation. From beginning to end, the two unfortunate beasts maintained their rather peculiar postures.
Soon, Chen Guan had left the Magical Beast Mountains behind. He paused, then decided to make a quick stop at the Ten Thousand Medicine House. After all, he and the Little Fairy Doctor were friends, and she had likely worried about him. It was only right to let her know he was safe. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes.
As luck would have it, she had gone into the mountains with the Pavilion's herb-gathering team that very day.
He did, however, run into Manager Chang. From him, Chen Guan learned that the businesses he had set up were thriving. The Ten Thousand Medicine House had profited immensely, and in a show of gratitude, Manager Chang even offered to lower the unit price of their shared venture. Chen Guan accepted without hesitation. Why refuse a freebie? He knew what the manager was after, but it didn't matter.
What truly surprised him was that the royal family hadn't terminated their deal, even after he had been missing for a year.
The royal family is really quite decent!
"That's all for now," Chen Guan said, "but I'll have to trouble Manager Chang to give these to the Little Fairy Doctor when she returns."
He produced the two Fire Foxes that had voluntarily crashed into his sword in a brazen attempt to frame him, along with a cookbook detailing fifteen different ways to prepare them. It was a testament to his unique friendship with Xiao Yixian.
Manager Chang agreed, though the look in his eyes was decidedly strange.
That night, when Xiao Yixian returned to find two Fire Foxes frozen in a bizarre pose, she was so bewildered she couldn't sleep. What on earth is he trying to imply?
Meanwhile, Chen Guan traveled on, enduring countless odd stares. He finally arrived outside the Imperial Capital near noon the next day. He had been running nonstop for a full day and night, pushing himself to the limit, yet he didn't feel tired at all. His backside, however, was incredibly sore.
He was, after all, riding on the neck of a Rank 6 puppet.
To passersby, it was just a strange but amusing sight. Only Chen Guan understood the terrifying power of the puppet beneath him. It was no exaggeration to say that with this puppet at his side, he could walk through the entire Jia Ma Empire without fear.
The only drawback? The puppet couldn't fly.
His master, Shu Tianhe, had refined it with a single purpose in mind: to test his successor. He hadn't considered any other uses, so he had cut a few corners, leading to this odd limitation.
But its inability to fly didn't mean it was weak. Chen Guan had tested it several times in the stone chamber. It could jump astonishingly high, slamming its head into the ceiling with the force of a battering ram, yet it remained completely unharmed. The quality was superb.
For this reason, Chen Guan had given it a special name.
"Iron Egg, let's go!"
***
(End of Chapter)
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