CH 64

norsen rushed into the courtyard anxiously, disregarding everything. before pei xia could even throw a question at him, seeing him like this, an ominous premonition intensified in his heart.

he didn’t care about playing any face-slapping games with the second prince, directly asking, “has ribe been captured?”

the second prince, with a hint of panic, replied, “ribe is missing. i asked many people, but no one has seen her!”

“when did she go missing?”

“at noon, i went to the restaurant where she works to find her. the boss said she didn’t come to work.” norsen grabbed his hair in distress, looking at lucifer as if seeking help. “i asked the city guards and found no trace of a slave trafficking team. there might still be a chance if the slave traffickers took her. but if demons took her, it’s bad!”

at this thought, he shuddered. “what to do, what to do? ribe is in danger!”

lucifer raised his hand, a faint glow soothing norsen’s excitement, making him calmer. “if it’s the work of demons, there should still be a demonic presence at the scene. we can go there to track it.”

norsen was overjoyed, “really? that’s great! i’ll take you there right away!”

the group didn’t hesitate and went straight to the house where ribe was staying. lucifer stood outside the house, gently shaking his head, “the demonic presence has almost disappeared, we can’t track it.”

however, pei xia knew the demon’s headquarters location. worried about ribe’s safety, he hoped to rescue her quickly and suggested, “your grace, second prince, since demons have taken so many girls, they must have common characteristics. we can check the records to find clues and maybe deduce their whereabouts.”

“good, i’ll go get the records!”

pei xia twitched at the corner of his mouth, hastily stopping, “that’s too time-consuming. let’s go there together.”

he then looked at lucifer beside him, “your grace, what do you think?”

lucifer always maintained a perfect image as the holy son in public. he usually smiled, expressing concern and care appropriately when something went wrong.

“alright, let’s do as you say.”

they again rode in the second prince’s carriage towards the palace. the archives were in the palace’s council chamber. on the way, they encountered nord, who came out looking for norsen.

“norsen! i’ve heard about ribe’s situation. stay calm!”

norsen pressed his lips, “brother, right now, i just want to find her!”

nord sighed, not stopping him, “alright then, i’ll join you.”

with two princes leading the way, they encountered no hindrance. pei xia and lucifer smoothly entered the palace. the brothers led the way.

norsen muttered to himself, “ribe will be fine; she must have just lost her way. even if it’s a slave trafficking team…”

pei xia couldn’t bear to tell him that ribe had been captured by a slave trafficking team once before. with her cautious nature, she probably wouldn’t be caught a second time.

but with demons, it was uncertain.

nord patted his brother’s shoulder, “miss ribe will be fine. she’s waiting for you to rescue her.”

norsen raised both hands, covering his face, feeling somewhat on the verge of collapse. “actually, in spring this year, when i went to the rabbit tribe to find her, others said that when she and several other girls in the tribe disappeared at the same time, i already guessed what had happened. she finally came back, and i wanted to stay by her side to protect her, but why can’t i do it!”

nord sighed, “miss ribe is a fortunate person. this time, the goddess will protect her as well.”

after saying this, he turned his head to glance at lucifer beside him and added, “the god of light will also protect her.”

pei xia nodded inwardly. regardless of whether the god of light would bless ribe, with lucifer here, the plans of the wolf emperor and the demons would surely be thwarted!

as they entered the interior of the palace, lucifer suddenly stopped.

pei xia, knowing what he was going to ask, inquired, “what’s the matter, your grace?”

the palace, illuminated by torches, wasn’t dark. the warm firelight shone on the ground, casting a dancing halo. in the vast and magnificent buildings, the beautiful holy son closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly towards the direction of the moon.

he seemed lost in thought, and after a moment, he brushed the golden strands falling on his forehead behind his ear and said, “i sense the demonic presence, very strong, being blocked by a barrier just below this land.”

“it’s impossible!” norsen exclaimed in shock. this was the palace!

not only the residents of the wolf royal family but also people from the other three royal families lived here. in such a situation, how could demons hide here without being discovered?

facing others’ skepticism, lucifer, with his good temper, didn’t argue with them. or perhaps, his temperament had always been good. in his eyes, everyone was the same; he could see through them at a glance. regardless of joy, anger, sorrow, or joy, everything was so uninteresting, except for pei xia. pei xia always managed to successfully irritate him.

lucifer calmly looked towards the depths of the night and said, “you’ll know when you go and see.”

pei xia had already positioned himself between the two, just in case norsen, in his excitement, accidentally offended lucifer. in pei xia’s eyes, the prince was just a joke. even if he were an emperor, he couldn’t bully lucifer!

the person who bullied lucifer the most will receive his anger, without any other thoughts!

nord grabbed his brother’s arm, nodding gently. “norsen, since you chose to seek the holy son’s help, you have to trust him.”

norsen nodded uneasily.

afterward, lucifer headed towards the place with the strongest demonic presence. the massive palace, now quiet with the onset of night, stood in the vast and sparsely populated grassland, and even this palace was no exception.

due to the current emperor’s lack of interest in indulgence, the palace was empty, with only guards and patrolling soldiers appearing.

with the assistance of the two princes, they reached a place deep within the palace without encountering any obstacles.

this was where their father rested!

the resting chamber of the orc emperor!

norsen clenched his fists, the fur on his tail bristling. “how is it possible to be here? could dad also be captured by demons? no, dad is so powerful; it can’t be!”

at this point, even nord had some doubts about lucifer: “your excellency, are you really sure?”

lucifer nodded, “yes, right beneath this palace. your highnesses, if possible, please lead us in.”

pei xia’s hand was already on the hilt of his sword, ready for combat at any moment. “in my homeland, there’s a saying: ‘since you’ve come, you might as well take a look.’ it means that if you’ve already come all this way, not checking it out would be a loss.”

nord found the statement reasonable. “in that case, we’ll follow your lead.”

in any case, the holy son of light would definitely not collude with demons. fighting alongside him was the safest option.

the four approached the entrance to the emperor’s resting chamber, where silent guards stood, holding their weapons to block the way.

“sorry, your highnesses. his majesty has given orders that tonight, no one is allowed to enter,” one guard stated firmly.

this attitude was forcing people to overthink, and norsen’s temper flared up instantly. a whole night of anxiety, fear, and suspicion converged into explosive anger. “move aside! we are the emperor’s sons. what’s not allowed when visiting our own father?”

“sorry, your highness, this is his majesty’s order,” the guard insisted, maintaining a resolute attitude.

“you!” norsen angrily reached for his sword.

in the next moment, the four guards collapsed softly to the ground. pei xia took a step forward, instinctively capturing each one silently and placing them on the ground without making a sound.

lucifer smiled at the bewildered princes and said, “the demonic presence is getting stronger. i apologize, but i thought continuing to linger here would be a waste of time, so i took the liberty.”

it turned out to be lucifer’s doing.

norsen nodded awkwardly, “then let’s go in.”

“yes, let’s go in.”

entering, however, didn’t mean they would immediately reach the wolf emperor. inside the palace, only a few moonlight stones emitted a faint cold light. other than that, it was surprisingly empty.

in the silent environment, their footsteps became increasingly pronounced, as if echoes were emerging.

“is anyone here?” norsen called softly a couple of times, receiving no response.

lucifer suddenly stopped, looking down at the carpet beneath his feet. “right beneath this land.”

pei xia knew that the demon altar was underground, accessible through a secret passage. however, he didn’t know the location of the passage.

“is it here? there must be a secret passage to go underground!”

nord and norsen also began to help search. they examined wall hangings, bookshelves, and under the bed, but found nothing.

after some thought, lucifer took a few steps back, bent down, and lifted the carpet at his feet. right where he had been standing, there was a concealed and flat iron plate.

everyone: “…” so it really is underneath!

“your grace, it will be dangerous from here on. please get behind me,” peixia stepped forward, wanting to take the lead in exploring the way.

nord stopped him, “no, lord pei xia, let norsen and me be at the forefront. anyway, we are the emperor’s sons. if our father is in danger, we have no reason to hide behind others and wait for rescue.”

for father, for ribe. norsen drew his sword with determination, his face resolute. “i will kill all the demons!”

the two princes were determined, and pei xia couldn’t find a reason to refuse, so he nodded and walked behind lucifer.

“since the two highnesses decided to lead the way, let me cover the rear.”

lucifer turned back and smiled at peixia, “pei xia, stay safe.”

“yes, your grace!”

in front of others, pei xia always liked to address lucifer as your grace. it was a habit and a form of respect.

the iron plate on the ground was pulled open, revealing a staircase leading deep into the earth. nord took the lead, followed by norsen, lucifer, and pei xia in that order. they descended the stairs.

the staircase was cramped and dark, creating a psychologically oppressive atmosphere. pei xia could clearly hear nord and norsen’s slightly irregular breathing due to the tense and fearful environment.

however, lucifer seemed unaffected by these factors; he remained composed.

after navigating the steep and lengthy stairs, they entered a much more spacious corridor. upon arrival, everyone visibly breathed a sigh of relief because the ceiling here was embedded with dimly shining moonlight stones.

although the light was still not bright enough, it eased the tension in everyone’s hearts.

worried about being discovered by demons, lucifer didn’t use light magic to create a light source; they proceeded in this dimly lit environment.

as they walked, nord stopped at a corner, suddenly tensing his body, and then slowly took two steps back.

“what’s wrong, brother?” norsen asked in a hushed voice.

nord gestured for everyone to move back a bit and whispered, “there are people ahead, blocking the way. they’re not moving, and from their clothes, it seems like the former attendants of the palace.”

lucifer’s voice remained calm, “they’re being controlled by demons.”

“what should we do?”

“don’t worry. putting them to sleep should suffice.”

with lucifer’s assurance, they gathered their courage and rushed around the corner. indeed, there were many people standing blankly in the corridor. when they saw the four approaching, they all turned their heads, raised the weapons in their hands, and without a word, prepared to attack.

nord and norsen stood at the forefront, blocking this group of puppets. lucifer, despite the risk of being discovered by demons, emitted a gentle and sacred light from his hand.

the light flowed like a river, washing over nord and norsen, and then completely engulfing the puppets in front of them. the light continued to flow to the end of the corridor, stopping precisely, and lucifer used earth magic to construct a dam at the end of the river of light, containing the glow and preventing it from spreading to the next corridor.

under the soothing warmth of the holy light, the grotesque expressions on the puppets disappeared, revealing serene sleeping faces as one by one, they collapsed to the ground.

however, pei xia didn’t completely let his guard down.

suddenly, lucifer stepped on a stone, his body swaying a bit, and pei xia instinctively reached out to support him.

lucifer turned around and smiled enticingly at him, “forgot what i said or do you really want me to rely on you like this?”

pei xia felt a bit embarrassed, “it’s a habit.”

almost forgot, lucifer mentioned that he used to pretend to be fragile, meaning he isn’t actually that delicate.

“no worries.”

lucifer/pei xia: since you want to hug, come on then. / i’ll remember that!

as lucifer fell backward, pei xia withdrew his hand.

with a thud, pei xia was left in a daze.

even lucifer, lying on the ground, was stunned.