Chapter 43: Living is more painful than dying!

Mo Liuli had been trapped in the stone coffin in total darkness for an indeterminate amount of time, unable to calculate how long had passed until she finally discovered the secret technique to break free.

The room was completely empty and square, with stone walls offering no visible exit. After emerging from the coffin, she found herself trapped within the chamber itself.

"Do not panic! Do not panic! Losing your composure will only hinder your observation."

Mo Liuli paced around the chamber again and again, unable to find the seam or mechanism. Feeling restless and agitated, she patted her chest to soothe herself.

Calming her heart, Mo Liuli set aside her concern for Long'er for the moment and began to inspect the mirror-smooth stone room with even greater scrutiny than before. She tapped every few inches, pressing her ear against the surface to listen. She repeated this for nearly five hours before she detected a slight anomaly.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

Mo Liuli tapped the wall again. The sound from this small section was slightly duller than the others—a difference so minute that it would have been impossible to discern without meticulous study.

"This small circle is definitely hollow. But in a wall that is perfectly seamless, how could a mechanism be concealed?"

Mo Liuli began to explore the wall using the principles of the Five Elements. It was not until her fifth attempt that she triggered a change.

*Click, click!*

A faint sound of shifting stone emanated from the left side of the coffin. Slowly, a small fissure appeared. Mo Liuli pressed her thumb firmly against the hollow point and pushed thirty-two times until the small gap widened into an opening large enough for a cat to pass through.

Mo Liuli narrowed her eyes, quickly withdrew her hand, and rushed to the gap. She curled her body into a ball, contorting herself unnaturally as she rolled through the opening. She felt immensely grateful for the memories that had flooded back while in the coffin, which had allowed her to recall the art of bone-shrinking.

As soon as she caught a whiff of fresh air, Mo Liuli straightened her body and stood up, tilting her neck until her bones cracked with a rhythmic pop.

Mo Liuli scanned her new surroundings warily. Finding the area devoid of people, she felt a slight sense of relief, yet she dared not be careless. After a rough survey of the layout, she spotted a tightly shut door to the east and hurried toward it, pressing her ear against the wood.

Huan Lan had locked her away and gone somewhere, but her greatest worry was Long'er. Although she had a contract with him and could sense that he was unharmed, she remained anxious. Huan Lan was a cunning and meticulous person, and there was no telling what devious methods she might employ to deal with the young dragon.

After listening for a while and hearing no movement, Mo Liuli gave the door a tentative push. It creaked, slowly swinging open.

Seeing the vaguely opulent architecture outside, Mo Liuli froze. It seemed the old man had truly brought her into the Huan Lan Imperial Palace.

What struck her as strange was the absence of patrol guards in this area. She was unfamiliar with the palace layout, and given its vastness, where should she go to find Long'er?

As she struggled with the thought, the face of the scumbag Crown Prince flashed through her mind. The palace was heavily guarded, and Huan Lan’s current status was unclear. It seemed the Crown Prince was the easiest point of entry.

Reviewing the secret manuals while in the coffin had significantly improved her skills. When she encountered ordinary guards, they couldn't even catch a glimpse of her, feeling only a gust of wind as she passed.

The corps of animated corpses raised by Huan Lan had been deployed to the perimeter of the palace, sealing it off tightly, while those with higher combat strength were assigned to guard the major checkpoints. This left the Crown Prince’s quarters and the inner palace guarded only by low-level soldiers, which greatly facilitated Mo Liuli’s movements.

Mo Liuli investigated along the way, successfully evading several patrol checkpoints by concealing her presence until she finally reached the Crown Prince’s residence.

"Heh... what a truly insignificant piece of scum!" Mo Liuli couldn't help but sneer at the sight of the low-level guards protecting the heir to the throne. In truth, it wasn't that the guards were exceptionally weak, but as a Summoner, Mo Liuli simply held no regard for such low-tier soldiers.

The Huan Lan Continent had been forcibly consolidated into an independent nation by Huan Lan herself. News of Mo Liuli’s disappearance had spread like wildfire, and the first trouble it stirred up was from the Protector Rao in Wu City. It was unclear who had leaked the news that Mo Liuli had been personally brought back to the palace by the Empress, Huan Lan Jing. It was precisely because of this that Mo Liuli was able to escape the secret chamber without running into Huan Lan.

Mo Liuli flashed into the Crown Prince’s palace and leaped onto a roof beam, where she grew still and carefully observed her surroundings.

"Oh, Your Highness, don't be so impatient! You have only just recovered, take it slow..."

Before Mo Liuli could fully assess the situation, she heard a coquettish, suggestive voice that made her skin crawl. Looking down, she saw two figures rolling on the grand bed. The man was frantically trying to undress, while the woman already had her bodice half-open, her fair figure partially visible.

What shocked Mo Liuli was the woman’s face—it looked somewhat familiar. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the second daughter of the Mo family, Mo Siyu!

Tsk, tsk, tsk! Thinking of the rumors she had heard from Qiu Xue, she could hardly resist applauding.

Back when Mo Siyu had rushed back from the Demonic Cultivation Academy, while Mo Liuli was being slandered and reviled by thousands as a loose woman lacking virtue, Siyu had quietly left home and returned to the academy. Mo Liuli would bet her life that Siyu had played a hand in those rumors.

Before, when she lacked memories and had no Long'er, she could remain indifferent and brush it off. But things were different now; she had her memories, her burdens, and her loved ones. She would no longer tolerate those who had harmed her.

The scumbag Crown Prince was a piece of trash, entangled in scandals involving her reputation and having an unclear relationship with Mo Ruyan. And now, Mo Siyu—the supposedly "good seed" of the Mo family—was acting shamelessly, sneaking into the Huan Lan palace to hook up with this scumbag. How could she not applaud such a spectacle?

Recalling the pathetic sight of the Crown Prince hanging outside the Chunnuan Pavilion, Mo Liuli curled her lips into a smile and continued to watch.

On the grand bed, Huan Lan Haoyang made several attempts, only to remain limp and ineffective. Mo Siyu, who had been thoroughly aroused by the Crown Prince’s advances, waited with closed eyes for a pleasure that never came. Confused, she opened her eyes to see Huan Lan Haoyang drenched in cold sweat, looking limp and uninterested. Feeling as though she had swallowed a fly, she asked with a grimace, "Your Highness, what is wrong? Is Siyu not beautiful enough?"

Mo Siyu dared not speak plainly and could only ask euphemistically. Judging by his state, the Crown Prince was clearly suffering from impotence. He was still so young; if this were to...

Mo Siyu dared not let her thoughts wander further. She had only just seduced the Crown Prince and was counting on climbing to the rank of concubine and eventually becoming the Empress. This…

From her vantage point on the beam, Mo Liuli saw everything clearly. Watching the scumbag Crown Prince go limp after only a few moments of exertion, she laughed inwardly, nearly letting out a cackle.

"It seems the lesson Qiu Xue gave him was truly ruthless! He didn't cut it off, but merely left him craving what he cannot have. For a man so addicted to debauchery, this is a fate worse than death! Haha!"