Chapter 60: The Four Archaeologists

Night fell, and a silver moon hung in the sky. We stopped.

Getting off the carriage, I realized it wasn’t a horse-drawn carriage at all. It was four separate carriages floating in the air!

“Oh, this was found in your last ruin. The instruction manual says it’s called a floating carriage,” Anna explained beside me.

“Heh… floating carriage… instruction manual…” I wore a twisted smile, accepting the bizarre setting of my race.

At that moment, four people in silver-gray scholar robes walked up to me.

“Greetings, my lords! You must be the Count. I am Luo Shi. I’m honored to join this archaeological expedition. Please take care of me.”

This old man, over 1.8 meters tall, was bowing and scraping before me. I was at a loss, so I hurried forward to support him and said with a smile plastered on my face: “Please, please, don’t do that. Just treat me like an ordinary child.”

“As the rumors say, you truly act beyond ordinary people. Then I’ll oblige,” the old man replied.

“Count, I’m Yu Qingzhu.” A girl with a pineapple hairstyle, holding her staff upside down, walked over happily.

“I’m Langbo.” He was an aloof young man, his brows filled with coldness.

“I’m Sun Yanwei.” A round, cheerful fat man said, clutching a magic book at his side.

“Hello, I’m Jiushi. Thank you for your hard work,” I answered instinctively.

“Hahaha, introductions are done? Then let’s go down now! I’m about to burst from the trip. Hurry, hurry!” The princess, in crimson armor, bounced over from the air. The two giant cleavers were still on her back.

Her face was splattered with blood, and she was dragging a large tiger.

Its bluish-white fur was stained with blood, and a pair of ivory-like fangs stuck out of its mouth. Was this a saber-toothed tiger?

[This is a middle-aged Blue-edge Saber-toothed Tiger, about Level 5, Stage 1.] Anna explained in my mind.

“Princess? It’s already night. Why not head out tomorrow morning?” the aloof young man suggested.

“Eh! But I’ve finally found a midnight snack, so let’s go today.” The princess twisted her body, throwing a royal tantrum.

Wait! Did they catch this tiger in the short time after we got off the carriage? And can you even eat this tiger? Fine, I won’t complain about that. Just looking at this Princess Qiaolu, with a bloodthirsty face and blood stains, making such a cute gesture, I was already at a loss.

This isn’t acting cute and spoiled! This is a threat!

“Pfft!” Anna suddenly laughed.

I said, “Hey! Stop laughing. What about the thing I told you in the carriage? Don’t forget!”

Anna replied in my mind, [Oh, I remember. Go ahead and ask.]

“Wait, Princess. You decide when we leave, but before that, I have some questions for these four archaeologists.”

“Oh, fine. Go ahead.” The princess agreed.

“May I ask if you four were personally chosen by the princess? I haven’t seen you before. During the time at Mengnan Forest, I met all the archaeologists, but I have no impression of you four.” I put my little hands over my mouth, pretending to be curious.

“Haha, of course you wouldn’t know us, Count. We are the vanguard archaeological team, responsible for finding ancient ruins. After the Mengnan ruins were discovered, we went to other places. If not for the princess coming to pick us up, we probably wouldn’t have made it back to Huaying City so soon. Haha, it’s just that I’m too fat, and the princess’s beast can’t quite handle me, hehehe.” The round fat man grinned.

“Oh, is that so?” I said cutely, looking at them with ill intent. (Fortunately, my eyes were covered by a translucent ribbon, so there was no worry they’d see my expression.)

[Jiushi’s adult-like expression completely attracted the attention of the four archaeologists. At this moment, they hadn’t noticed that Anna was watching them with her Lie-Breaking Eye.]

“So, the princess only brought you four here because she especially trusts your abilities? But I’m really scared. Last time in that ruin, I not only broke my leg, but also my arm. So, what are your levels?”

“Haha, Count, you don’t need to worry. I’m at Blue Sky (Level 4), Stage 3,” the old man said. “Yu Qingzhu also rose to Blue Sky, Stage 2 a week ago. Langbo is also Blue Sky, Stage 2. As for the fat one, hehe, he’s the highest among us, Blue Sky, Stage 5.”

Actually, their levels weren’t what I cared about. I asked that just to make them think I was only worried about my own safety. But this fat guy… I thought he was just a background character. How is he this strong?!

“Wow! You’re all so strong! Actually… I don’t even have a single stage of Star Crossing Heaven (Level 1), and I can’t even use magic…” I squirmed, acting jealous and weak, my two index fingers tapping together. “But now that I know you’re all so powerful, I’m relieved.” I pressed my palms together and smiled, making them think I was reassured.

“What? Count, you don’t know magic? Then how did you open the Black Feather Ruins?”

‘Hehe, took the bait, took the bait!’

‘Just as Anna said, the princess didn’t tell them about my Black Feather clan identity. She only said I had the magic to open doors.’

[At the same time, the princess sensed trouble. Because Jiushi’s ‘Black Feather clan identity’ had become a top-secret in Huaying City after the Mengnan ruins were deciphered. This absolutely couldn’t be known to anyone outside the royal family.] [That included the earlier interrogation of Jiushi in the main hall, where all non-important officials present, such as guards and soldiers, had their memories erased.]

But Jiushi in front of her clearly intended to expose this highest secret himself! The princess wanted to step forward and stop him, to not let him continue!

[Princess, don’t worry. This is just a trick. Just watch.] Anna suddenly said directly in Qiaolu’s mind.

The princess looked at Anna in surprise, realizing that the Lie-Breaking Eye, which should have been sealed, had been unsealed. The purple eyes, rippling with a starry purple sea, were staring fixedly at the four archaeologists.

‘Anna?! Your eyes?’ The princess showed a surprised expression.

‘That’s right, it’s already unsealed, hehe.’ Anna said proudly, but her gaze remained on them.

‘Oh~~ it’s because of Jiushi, right? That’s why you’re so attached to him today.’ ‘Hehehe, found out?’ Anna blushed and said happily.

[Because Qiaolu wore a heart-protecting spirit stone, Anna couldn’t read her mind. So at this moment, Qiaolu and Anna were communicating through ‘telepathy’.] [On the other side, Jiushi, still acting cute, was plotting how to uncover clues among these four archaeologists.]

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