Chapter 20
As the voice fell.
The red cloth covering the woman’s eyes was also removed.
In the pitch-black room, it was still impossible to see one’s own hand.
But just by listening to this clear and melodious, extremely pleasant voice, one could judge that the owner of this voice must be a stunningly beautiful young girl.
The moment she heard this voice, the woman’s expression froze.
“???”
The next moment.
A glimmer of pearl light ignited in the dark room, and the owner of this pleasant voice finally appeared before the woman.
This was a young girl of unparalleled beauty, with a pair of bright eyes, as dazzling as stars, shining brilliantly. Her long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and she wore a bright yellow dress that remained spotless and pristine, even in the muddy and dim cave.
The girl’s lips were tender and pink, with a slight curve at the corners. Her gaze towards the woman carried a faint, almost imperceptible smile, making her appear even more noble and transcendent, a peerless beauty.
In the woman’s original expectations, what should have appeared before her was a burly middle-aged man, but she never expected it to be such a stunningly beautiful young girl.
Under the girl’s gaze, the woman couldn’t help but blush and avert her eyes, not daring to meet her gaze.
Just as she was feeling a bit shy.
The girl suddenly spoke:
“The Ninth Princess of the Xia Emperor, Xiao Minghuang, who you spoke of with such deep affection, vowing to hold hands and grow old together, swearing to marry none but her—that is me!”
Xiao Minghuang spoke without any particular expression, merely repeating the woman’s earlier words with clear and precise enunciation.
“What?!”
The woman suddenly looked up, her eyes wide with disbelief. If not for the ropes binding her entire body, she might have lunged at Xiao Minghuang, tearing open her clothes to check if there was truly a sesame seed-sized mole on her chest.
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
The woman twitched her lips, forcing a smile. “M-Miss, you must be joking. With your celestial beauty, like an immortal descended to earth, why would you impersonate someone else?”
In an instant, countless speculations flashed through her mind.
How could such a coincidence exist in the world? She had left the city for training, encountered a demonic cultivator, been captured, and then used the Ninth Princess’s name to intimidate her captors—only to run into the real princess herself?
Whether others believed it or not, she certainly didn’t.
Seeing the woman’s look of disbelief, Xiao Minghuang felt helpless.
After dealing with the Chief Chen, the woman had taken the initiative, speaking up first.
Curious, Xiao Minghuang had wanted to joke around with her, but she hadn’t expected the situation to spiral into such a convincing act.
“I really am the Ninth Princess, Xiao Minghuang, and I don’t have a mole on my chest.”
For the woman, whether the Ninth Princess had a mole on her chest was no longer important.
What truly mattered was the stunningly beautiful girl before her, who looked like a celestial being.
She appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, yet she had already reached the Qi Refining Realm—something unheard of in the Great Xia Empire!
Moreover, this girl had coincidentally saved her. What a wonderful twist of fate.
She couldn’t believe that such a beautiful, fairy-like girl could be some evil demonic cultivator.
From their earlier conversation, she could tell that the girl was still young and playful, otherwise she wouldn’t have pretended to be a demonic cultivator to scare her.
The woman curled her lips into a pitiful yet graceful smile, her voice soft and tearful.
“Miss, I’ve been captured by those villains and locked up for days. I’m so tired, hungry, and thirsty. Could you…”
Xiao Minghuang frowned slightly, wondering if the woman had some kind of mental issue. How else could she switch from being clever and composed to weak and helpless in the blink of an eye?
She sighed in resignation. This was all the result of her own playful nature.
If she had just untied the woman and revealed her identity from the start, there wouldn’t have been such a misunderstanding.
Moreover, the woman’s earlier demeanor showed that she was strong-willed, not the type of naive girl who could be easily convinced.
“Fine. Once we reach Beiyang City and meet the Beiyang City Lord, my identity will naturally be confirmed.”
Xiao Minghuang reached out to untie the woman, explaining:
“I really am the Ninth Princess, Xiao Minghuang. You can ask me anything about the Imperial City, and I’ll tell you.”
As the ropes loosened, the woman twisted her body and immediately fell into Xiao Minghuang’s arms, not bothering to ask anything about the Imperial City. Instead, she spoke in an extremely weak voice, pitifully saying:
“I’ve been tied up for so many days. I’m so tired and hungry. I can’t move.”
Feeling a soft and warm body suddenly nestled in her arms, Xiao Minghuang couldn’t help but slightly furrow her delicate brows. In all her years, aside from Ruoshui, she had never been this close to anyone else.
However, after being tied up for so many days, exhausted and hungry, it was only natural for her to feel completely weak and limp.
Xiao Minghuang didn’t push the other person away. Instead, she took out a water flask from her storage bag and handed it to the woman.
After some conversation, she learned that the woman’s name was Lin Wanqiu, the only daughter of the Beiyang City Lord.
Seven days ago, Lin Wanqiu received news that a spiritual herb had appeared in the wilderness forest, so she set out with a few guards.
After some exploration, they found the herb, but they were targeted by evil cultivators.
The guards all perished while protecting her.
Before being captured by the evil cultivators, she hid the herb in a secret location.
After capturing her, the evil cultivators, wanting to find the herb’s whereabouts, delayed harming her.
Earlier, when Xiao Minghuang pretended to be an evil cultivator and bargained with her, Lin Wanqiu had already grown suspicious. Why, after repeatedly pressing her for the herb’s location, did they suddenly stop mentioning it?
At first, she thought the chief of the stronghold didn’t know about the herb, but upon seeing Xiao Minghuang’s true face, she realized there was no chief at all.
Lin Wanqiu rested her head on Xiao Minghuang’s lap, her eyes half-closed, and softly said:
“You still haven’t told me your name.”
Xiao Minghuang sighed lightly, her eyes filled with sincerity.
“I really am the Ninth Princess, Xiao Minghuang!”
Lin Wanqiu blinked her beautiful eyes, staring into Xiao Minghuang’s pupils, trying to see something more in those bright eyes, but found nothing.
Xiao Minghuang felt a bit puzzled. Why was Lin Wanqiu staring at her so intently?
“Could this beautiful girl really be the Ninth Princess?”
A hint of confusion flashed in Lin Wanqiu’s eyes, disappearing as quickly as it came. At this point, it might be better to go along with it…
After a while, as if she had figured something out, she smiled sweetly:
“Then I’ll call you Miss Xiao!”
Seeing that the other still didn’t believe her, Xiao Minghuang slightly shook her head and stopped trying to explain. Once they reached Beiyang City and met the Beiyang City Lord, the truth would naturally come to light.
As they conversed, time flew by.
During their talk, Xiao Minghuang’s brows furrowed slightly as she asked:
“Miss Lin, do you know where the civilians captured by the evil cultivators are being held?”
Mentioning this, Lin Wanqiu’s expression turned unusually serious. Reluctantly, she climbed out of Xiao Minghuang’s warm embrace and said:
“Follow me.”
Next, Lin Wanqiu led her back to the stone building, where they found the imprisoned civilians in the back hall.
Two large cages held young women and children, respectively.
All of them were bound with ropes, their eyes covered with white cloth, their mouths gagged, and they lay motionless.
“Some might not have survived…”
Xiao Minghuang’s brows furrowed slightly as a golden light flickered at her fingertips, shattering the iron cage with a single strike.
Lin Wanqiu quickly stepped forward to untie the ropes binding the people.
After counting, they found that half of the captured civilians had already died.
Hearing this news, Lin Wanqiu’s already pale and thin face grew even darker.
“These are all citizens of my Beiyang City…”
The few survivors, trembling like sieves or frozen in place, had clearly suffered immense psychological trauma. Even if they spent the rest of their lives trying, they would find it difficult to recover.
PS: Delighted to have gained the favor of a big shot.
《Miss Aki Who Wants to Become an Adult》
Aki Koikawa, 19 years old, 150 cm tall, weighing 83 kg, always looks like a middle schooler.
With a sweet and adorable appearance and a gentle, kind personality, she is somewhat timid and cowardly.
Despite being a pure and soft character, she is determined to become an “adult” to meet her senior’s expectations.
She takes on various part-time jobs and deals with the relationships around her, including an underground singer who loves to drink heavily.
A sickly manga artist who stays cooped up in her room, and a mischievous little demon of a stepsister.
Before being taken by someone… strive to grow into a mature adult.
Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu
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