It was night time when he woke up again, but Liang Taibai told Xiao Lin that three days had already passed. Xiao Lin was still very weak; it was much worse than the past few times. After getting up and walking a few steps, he felt that the fatigue had not recovered, and chose to obediently lie on the bed.
At some point, Ibeiya came over and took charge of taking care of him. Even though the embassy had their servants, they had all been removed from their posts by Liang Taibai due to safety concerns.
Ibeiya did not have the demeanor, but during the key moments of the city’s defense, many understood that her sudden appointment as the queen was not entirely legitimate, so they did not care too much. She had been obediently taking care of Xiao Lin by his side for two days. After all, no one would expect Luo Jianhui or any of the men to do it.
Not long after Xiao Lin woke up, Liang Taibai and Luo Jianhui came over, greeting Ibeiya. They did not ask the girl to leave, which counted as a show of trust in her. Liang Taibai immediately asked, “About that box. Do you know what was inside?”
Xiao Lin paused. He had asked Liang Taibai to investigate the box before he fainted. He felt a sense of unease, and shook his head before mentioning his promise to An Fumin.
Liang Taibai smiled bitterly and sighed. “It’s not your fault; that An Fumin is really too bold to dare to hide something like that from the academy.”
Xiao Lin hurriedly asked, “What was in the box? Was it stolen?”
“Yes, we found Sun Jia already injured when we arrived. That elf definitely had an accomplice. It’s a pity we arrived too late. After that, we interrogated Sun Jia for a long time, and she still wanted to hide it. If we hadn’t found more evidence…” Luo Jianhui’s face was cold; no matter if it was Sun Jia or An Fumin, he did not seem to like either of them.
“You still haven’t said what was in the box.” Xiao Lin’s face was impatient.
Luo Jianhui and Liang Taibai exchanged a look, falling into a short silence.
“I’ll go prepare some tea.” Ibeiya consciously made a move to leave.
Liang Taibai stopped her. “It’s fine, we might need your help with this. You should stay back and listen.”
“Stop putting on a show. Was there some legendary weapon in the box?” Xiao Lin guessed.
“No, all that was in the box were some useless ornaments, but that’s not the point; the box’s contents are not important.” Liang Taibai took a deep breath, smiling bitterly as he said, “The box is the important thing.”
Xiao Lin was frozen in shock. “Are you telling me that the box is some incredibly valuable artifact?” It was obvious that Sun Jia had lied to him. Sun Jia had said that the box contained something countless people wanted but would never get, which was why An Fumin got him to transport the thing. That was because any normal person would think that the box’s contents were the valuable thing, and ignore the box itself.
However, they outsmarted themselves in the end. Asabanor had obviously not been tricked by the two of them. Liang Taibai said that the box had already been stolen. Even though they were investigating the entire city, since the enemies dared to sneak in so boldly, they definitely had a way out. It would not be a stretch if they were no longer in the royal city.
“The origin of the box actually has something to do with Ibeiya.”
Ibeiya who had obediently sat by the side without saying anything suddenly revealed a confused expression. Liang Taibai said, “Have you ever heard of the Original Vessel?”
“Original Vessel?” Ibeiya nodded. “Father mentioned it to me before, but I’ve never seen what it looks like. Father told me it was lost a long time ago.”
“It’s something passed down within your St. Claude clan. According to our reports, the Original Vessel was lost a few decades ago. We helped to try and find it, to no avail. Now it seems like An Fumin had stolen it.”
Ibeiya could see the confused Xiao Lin, and explained, “The Original Vessel is an inheritance of our clan. I heard from my father that it’s been passed on since ancient times. I actually don’t know what use it has; father said it was just a vessel and did not have any amazing powers, nor was it a destructive weapon. It was just a useless vessel, which was why father did not care that much that it was lost.”
“We actually don’t know much about the Original Vessel. From the information we’ve gathered throughout Planet Norma, the vessel is used to keep and collect something. There are a lot of myths, and it is said that the vessel has existed since the birth of the world. After that, it went to the St. Claude clan during the dark ages. Truthfully, we all thought that it had more worth as a collectible than any practical usage, which was why we did not care about it too much these years.”
That was why Liang Taibai and Luo Jianhui smiled bitterly at each other. They naturally knew of it after working in the royal city for years, but had never felt like it was anything worth mentioning. However, Asabanor was not some idle collector who would put in so much effort for a useless box.
“Sun Jia did not know much of it either. Of course, we’re not sure if she’s faking it, and we might end up having to ask An Fumin when we head back. Ah, that cunning bastard, I really need to properly settle him this time!” Luo Jianhui was extremely angry about this.
“However, there is some good news. Your earlier guess was right.” Liang Taibai’s tone was a mix of awkwardness and happiness. “The rebels that besieged the city have left. These two days, we sent scouts to observe them. They were retreating very quickly, so it does not seem to be a trick. I think Asabanor made them retreat after getting what he wanted.”
Xiao Lin felt like it was strange. “The rebels have already taken over more than half the cities in this country. Why did they give up at the last moment? Were they afraid of Dawn Academy? I’m really curious as to their relationship with Asabanor; is it just cooperation? Or maybe Asabanor had already thoroughly seized control of the rebels.”
Liang Taibai smiled. “That’s no longer what we should worry about. Once you recover, we should pack up and head home.”
“Back to Dawn City? That’s quick!”
“The military will still garrison here as planned, but their task will be to rebuild the resurrection tower. This thing has caused such a mess, so we need to head back for a debrief.”
“What about Ibeiya?”
“That’s also what we wish to discuss with you. We hope Ibeiya will stay in the royal city.”
