Chapter 230 - 217: Hundred Years of Pain; Thousand Years of Suffering
Since the robe was already being worn, there was definitely no way it could be burnt now, lest Xie Lian got burnt along with it. Xie Lian suggested, "I'll just keep the robe on me for now. It's not like it can suck my blood, and Ling Wen shouldn't be able to give any more commands either."
A draft of blue smokey mist blew by, and where Ling Wen was standing had now only a blue daruma doll, its expression very serious, and there even seemed to be scrolls in its arms. Xie Lian picked it up and tucked it away in his robes and the two left this side chamber, sneaking into the main hall.
It wasn't his imagination; the main hall of the Palace of Ling Wen appeared to be much gloomier than before, and the mountains of scrolls of reports piled high from the ground up looked to be perilous and dangerous, like it would collapse at any given moment and crush the people below to death. The two didn't run into any guards as they sprinted straight for a set of crimson doors in the deep heart of the palace.
Before they even got close Xie Lian heard a trembling, shocked voice, "...How is this possible? How could this be?"
It was Guoshi! Could someone have gotten to him before they did? Xie Lian instantly kicked the door down and growled, "LET HIM GO!"
Sure enough, it wasn't only Guoshi alone inside the chamber. After the door was kicked down, everyone turned their heads to look at the new intruders. The shock on Guoshi's face still hadn't faded, "...Your Highness?"
"..."
"..."
Guoshi didn't look up for more than a moment before his head lowered again, "You just wait a sec – How could this be, what kind of luck is this?!"
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were both speechless.
Within the chamber, Guoshi and three others formed a full table and were just in the middle of a heated game of cards, their passion and obsession blinding them from their surroundings. While it's said it was three other 'people', they weren't actually alive, and were roughly crafted paper dolls very crudely made. Who knows what kind of bizarre spell was casted for them to move and could even play cards. As for Guoshi, his exclamations just now were only his lament after getting his hand of cards.