Chapter 61: The Hourglass of Truth

Anna said the princess hadn’t told the four of them that I’m from the Black Feather clan.

That’s only natural, of course, since I’m the only key in the whole world.

But then again, in any era, spies are bound to exist. How can I be sure none of these four is a spy?

If one of them were an agent sent by someone, and they grabbed me in the middle of the night, I’d lose more than I’d gain.

If I reveal on my own that I’m Black Feather, then these four people’s brains would only produce two possible outcomes!

1. Oh, so that’s how it is;

2. Really? I don’t believe it;

3. Half-believing, half-doubting;

4. Oh?! Is that so? Then I have to tell XXX about this as fast as possible.

The first three are all the same type: normal people. And if someone falls into the fourth category, then something is definitely fishy!

Anna’s lie-breaking magic eye lets her not only know what others are thinking, but also see what they plan to do.

So I put my hands on my hips and said smugly, “Actually, I’m from the Black Feather clan. All I have to do is touch the door and I can open the secret chamber.”

After hearing this, they all showed shocked expressions.

“Black Feather clan?” Except for the fatty, the other three said with surprise almost in unison.

“Hoho! So that’s it. The Count is actually Black Feather clan. Then opening the ruins is like opening the back door of your own home, right? Haha, then why aren’t we leaving?” The round, chubby man chuckled as if he had guessed it all along. (Just being simple-minded and easygoing.)

“You talk too much!” Langbo said coldly.

The fatty: “Hey, what’s wrong? If you’re not going to walk fast, then you’ll walk slowly?”

“I can’t communicate with you!”

That one fat and one skinny pair seemed to get along quite well, I thought blankly, feeling a little envious.

“But Count, why are you telling us such an important secret?” The old man asked with a grave face.

Luo Shi wasn’t stupid. It seemed he had noticed the trap I was setting.

“Sigh… as expected, the older the ginger, the spicier. But! My acting skills weren’t honed in a day either.”

I first put on a sad and worried expression, shaking my head as I said, “Sigh, because I don’t want to die.”

Then I frowned slightly, pressed my hand against my tall chest, and said with a disdainful, high-and-mighty air: “The last time I went to the ruins, it was because those people completely failed to understand my importance, so not one of them protected me! I ended up with a broken arm and leg, and almost died.”

The whole performance perfectly displayed the ugly face of a medieval power holder, while still retaining the adorableness of a child.

Just like a pampered princess commanding her subordinates on the battlefield: Protect me! All of you must protect me!

The old man Luo Shi nodded, with his weathered but wise eyes, and said with a serious face full of effort: “Rest assured, Count, we will do our utmost and never let you suffer a single bit of harm.”

I also nodded in satisfaction, acting spoiled.

At that moment, Sun Yanwei suddenly said, “Haha, so even you’re afraid of death! Don’t worry, Count, I, Sun Yanwei, will absolutely not let you get hurt in the slightest! Hahaha.”

The aloof Langbo, beside him, pressed two fingers to his forehead with a look of utter disgust and extreme helplessness as he shook his head. “Apologies, Count, this one doesn’t know how to talk. Please don’t take offense. But we will definitely protect you from any harm, that’s for certain.”

After hearing Sun Yanwei’s uninhibited words, I was originally a bit angry. How could someone talk to the Count like that? But I unexpectedly took a liking to this fatty. He’s round and chubby, and both his tone and expression give a warm, friendly vibe. Especially when paired with the aloof handsome guy next to him, it was just too comedic. I just hope this fatty doesn’t end up like those cannon fodder in horror movies, dying right after entering a place.

I stared at the people in front of me and said to Anna in my heart, ‘Well? Can you tell who’s the problem?’

She didn’t reply, so I continued acting cute. Like an artist who just got signed, I bowed deeply to the four of them and said: “Then I really have to trouble you all. I’ve been weak since childhood, so please, really, really, I’m counting on you.”

“Hey hey hey! Count, you don’t have to do that.” The girl called Yu Qingzhu said while walking toward Jiushi. Others might not notice, but Anna immediately realized that this person intended to abduct Jiushi.

At that moment, a flash of cyan lightning shot out from behind me. Slap! It struck directly onto Yu Qingzhu’s staff.

At the same time, I was pulled by magic I had long become accustomed to, directly into Anna’s arms.

“Oho, I didn’t expect this! Princess, you know, we might have caught a big fish this time!” Anna’s expression completely changed, and she stared at the frozen Yu Qingzhu with fury.

“Hey! Marquess, what is the meaning of this?” The fatty shifted his body and instantly blocked in front of Yu Qingzhu. His speed was comparable to Princess Qiaolu! (Anyway, I can’t see anything; these people’s movements look like teleportation to me.)

“Sun Yanwei, get out of the way!” Anna shouted with murderous intent.

“Marquess, isn’t it bad to start fighting among ourselves before we even set off?” The old man Luo Shi also stepped forward to shield Yu Qingzhu.

“That’s right, Marquess. Why did you attack me? Princess, you say something.” Yu Qingzhu said innocently.

“Anna, what is the meaning of this?” The princess said flatly.

“Heh, you bunch of people, move aside!” Anna waved her hand, and from the ground suddenly shot out countless spiderwebs made of black-purple sticky fibers, sticking all three archaeologists (except the aloof man) to it. (Langbo looked on coldly, standing by with his hands folded, so Anna didn’t bother with him.)

Yu Qingzhu, Luo Shi, and Sun Yanwei were stuck fast to the spiderweb. Not only that, Luo Shi and Sun Yanwei’s mouths were directly wrapped with thick spider silk, unable to speak, only able to emit muffled hums through their noses.

“Marquess! What exactly do you mean? Let us go!” Yu Qingzhu struggled angrily, while cold sweat kept pouring down her temples.

“Anna? What exactly are you trying to do?!” The princess still said flatly, smirking, and placed the giant sword against Anna’s fair neck.

“Princess, put the sword down. I’m doing this for the safety of our Huaying City.” Anna was also smirking as she said this.

These two’s acting is too shabby! They’re obviously performing! Your voices are completely off, but at least make your expressions look convincing!

On that side, Anna pulled out an hourglass wrapped in a golden ring from a magic circle. She smirked, staring at the only Yu Qingzhu whose mouth wasn’t covered on the spiderweb: “Hey, Yu Qingzhu, do you know what this is?”

Seeing the hourglass, Yu Qingzhu immediately exclaimed, “This? Could it be the Hourglass of Truth? That’s impossible. Shouldn’t this be in your prime minister’s hands?”

Seeing that Yu Qingzhu understood what she was holding, the malice in Anna’s smile deepened, involuntarily reminding me of that night…

It seemed she heard my thoughts, because the arm holding me trembled slightly, and she continued to Yu Qingzhu: “You don’t need to worry about that. Right now, you just need to answer me one question. Are you part of the Witch Cult?”

The moment Anna said this, everyone present fell silent, and Yu Qingzhu’s face showed extreme conflict.

The Hourglass of Truth, a treasure newly discovered in the Mengnan ruins. It can determine whether anyone nearby is lying. If a lie is told, the sand in the hourglass will fall.

Initially, Anna used it to confess to me in the carriage, saying she would love only me in this life. The sand in the upper half didn’t fall at all. At that moment, I felt like I was about to ascend to heaven from happiness! But at the same time, I was still afraid that in this unfamiliar world, someone (other than Anna) might harm me.

So I also had a flash of inspiration and proposed this scheme to Anna: use the hourglass to identify any disloyal people.

After all, for the vanguard archaeological team of the Black Feather clan, if there were a traitor among the top members, I wouldn’t be able to stay safely in Huaying City for long. So I asked Anna to use this Hourglass of Truth to catch a traitor once and for all.

Although Anna’s lie-breaking magic eye could directly read minds, this was something no one except the royal families of Huaying City knew. Anna didn’t want these archaeological team members to know either, so the hourglass was necessary.

This was the whole story of the ‘scheme,’ but I completely didn’t understand why everyone froze when the Witch Cult was mentioned.

Over there, Yu Qingzhu hesitated, then, with a cold sweat and a fake smile, pretended to be baffled and said, “Huh? Witch Cult? How could I possibly be…” Before she could finish, I saw the sand in Anna’s hourglass pour down all at once.

“Tsk!” Yu Qingzhu clicked her tongue hard. “I didn’t think it was real.”

Flames surrounded her body, burning through the spiderweb, and rings of fire magic circles appeared around her, continuously charging her up.

In an instant, a sea of fire swept toward Anna and me, scaring me into clinging tightly to Anna’s arm.

Just as the sea of fire was about to swallow us, it was suddenly drawn apart, turning into thin strands of flowing fire, pulled by some force to the other side.

I looked over and saw that it was the princess’s two giant swords devouring the flames. The rolling inferno was like being sucked into a bottomless abyss, all swallowed by the princess’s lava greatsword.

Goodness, so the princess drew her sword to eat fire? That was beyond my expectations.

But the fire was gone, and Yu Qingzhu was also gone. In the moment the sea of fire blocked our view, Yu Qingzhu had taken off running.

However, how could Yu Qingzhu possibly be a match for Anna? When the sea of fire that blocked my view was sucked away, I was shocked to see in the distance a crystal-like piece of ice floating in the air, and inside it was frozen the fleeing Yu Qingzhu.

The eight corners of the floating ice crystal spun ice-colored magic arrays, and the block of ice slowly landed, while the old man Luo Shi and the fatty were also released back to the ground.

The aloof man who had been lazing around all along showed a sad expression and said half-mockingly, “So the two of you… sigh…”

“What is going on? How could Qingzhu be a member of the Witch Cult?” Luo Shi sat down on the ground with an expression like the end of the world, covering his face and sighing.

Yu Qingzhu was one of his disciples and the one he had the most hopes for to succeed him. But… in an instant, the truth shattered Luo Shi’s dream.

“Sigh–” The fatty also deflated like a punctured ball, standing there without a word. This man who always wore a smile, as if he would never be sad, was now feeling dejected.

The princess, Anna, and I all stood in place. I didn’t know what the others were thinking, but at that moment I was really awkward. I absolutely hadn’t done anything wrong, but why did I feel a sense of guilt…

“Princess! It is because I failed to discipline my disciple properly. I am willing to accept punishment!” Luo Shi said with extreme sorrow.

“Sigh, what does your disciple have to do with you? Don’t sigh and moan here. Get moving right now.” The princess said as she picked up the big tiger again.

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