The next day, on the streets of Lin Qi Royal City.
Unlike the sinister sewers during the last escape, this time Yao Xing sat in a magnificent royal carriage, beside her the poised eldest princess, Huan.
Outside the window, fully armed guards rode tall horses, their neat, uniform hoofbeats like a tightly paced funeral march.
“Since I promised to take you sightseeing, let’s start at the most renowned establishment in Lin Qi, the White Tower Eatery.”
Huan’s voice was soft, as if planning an outing with a longtime friend.
Yao Xing propped her cheek on one hand, lazily gazing at the commoners kneeling before the carriage outside.
‘So this is what she calls “sightseeing”? Bringing a whole squad of special forces to eat street food?’
The affection system didn’t ping a notification, just like the eldest princess’s smile—no oddities to pick out, but no genuine emotion either.
On the third floor of the White Tower Eatery, by the window.
The table was laden with rare delicacies unique to this other world: a shimmering emerald cold soup, fire-scaled fish exuding the aroma of wine, and plates of desserts so exquisite it was a pity to touch them.
The surrounding guards stood expressionless, hands resting on their sword hilts, their gazes like torches scrutinizing every waiter who served.
“Please, help yourself, Brave One.”
Huan elegantly picked up a silver fork, tasted a small piece of the fish first, then smiled and looked at Yao Xing.
‘Is she testing the poison for me on the spot?’
Yao Xing didn’t stand on ceremony.
She grabbed a roasted crispy fowl leg and took a big bite.
“Not bad.”
Hearing the compliment, Huan’s hand holding the fork paused slightly, but she didn’t respond, only lowering her gaze with a smile.
[Passerby A Affection +1]
[Passerby B Affection -1]
As she chewed the meat, Yao Xing stared at the system screen flickering over the heads of the other diners.
Most people harbored silent displeasure—a mix of full reverence and cold indifference toward the royal family.
“Brave One, your impression of Lin Qi seems to be somewhat mistaken.”
Huan set down her utensils, her clear eyes meeting Yao Xing’s.
“Although Father is strict, all he seeks is to keep the lively atmosphere of this city from being extinguished by the flames of the Demon King’s army.”
Yao Xing took a sip of sweet syrup, wiped her mouth, and suddenly lowered her voice to ask: “But I’m not from Lin Qi.”
The air froze instantly.
The breathing of the surrounding guards seemed to grow heavier.
Huan’s expression didn’t break.
She just turned her head to look at the bustling street outside the window, her tone as usual: “I understand… That’s why I—”
She wanted to continue, but when her peripheral vision inadvertently caught the guards beside her, she had no choice but to silently end the topic.
Yao Xing understood and nodded in acknowledgment.
‘I’ll have to find a time with… no one else.’
Just as the two were at a stalemate, a sudden commotion erupted from downstairs in the eatery.
Immediately after, a figure exuding a violent aura directly pushed open the door on the third floor.
It was the crazy second princess from last night, Yue.
She wasn’t holding a long blade or an iron fan, but instead carried a blood-soaked cloth bundle, which she threw directly onto the center of the table between Yao Xing and Huan.
The bundle came undone, revealing a royal medal with bite marks and a broken iron chain.
“Sister, bringing this fake Brave One out to eat and drink—Father won’t be happy!”
Yue’s gaze was fixed on Yao Xing, her tongue licking her dry lips, revealing an extremely dangerous smile.
Huan let out a deep sigh and looked at the guards.
“How could you leak our movements?”
The guards didn’t answer, knowing someone among them had made a mistake.
“Yue, go back.”
“No!”
Watching the two princesses argue, the guards felt as if a blade was already at their throats, death imminent.
But Huan just smiled and whispered, “What am I supposed to do with the guards, letting the Second Princess make a scene in public?”
At the hint, the guards rushed to dissuade the second princess.
Then Huan nodded at Yao Xing, placing a stack of gold coins on the table.
Crash!
Huan cleanly smashed the window, grabbed Yao Xing’s hand, and jumped out.
“Hey—!”
The speed of the fall was so fast that Yao Xing could only flail her limbs wildly.
In her panic, she was caught in a princess carry upon landing.
Before she could even think, Huan continued to flee with her.
“Wait, wait a minute… Where are we going?!”
“Is this physique even reasonable? Are you really a princess?!”
Huan’s lips curled upward, and she only quickened her pace.
“I promised I would answer any of your questions, so naturally I won’t let you suffer under the guards’ surveillance!”
Yao Xing still didn’t understand.
“But your sister—”
Huan leaped onto the roof tiles.
“I lured her here on purpose!”
‘This eldest princess’s intelligence, emotional quotient, even her attack power—all maxed out, huh…’
Yao Xing was tucked under Huan’s arm, the wind whistling in her ears, the street scenes flashing backward like a revolving lantern.
Before the shards of the broken window had even hit the ground, they had already crossed three blocks.
‘Using her own sister as bait to shake off her personal guards…’
Finally, Huan stopped at the top of an abandoned bell tower in a remote area.
She gently set Yao Xing down, elegantly brushed non-existent dust off her clothes, and aside from being slightly out of breath, still looked like the dignified eldest princess.
“Whew… Alright, Brave One, there are no eyes or ears of Father here, and no one else.”
“This is my favorite secret base from when I was little.”
Huan turned around, her back to the setting sun, the golden afterglow gilding a sacred outline around her.
But her next words were so cold that Yao Xing shivered.
“Just as you said earlier, you’re not from Lin Qi, not even from this world. So you must be thinking—why should you die for this decaying kingdom that has nothing to do with you, right?”
Yao Xing rubbed her aching waist and sneered.
“Looks like Your Highness the Eldest Princess isn’t going to keep up the ‘protecting the lively atmosphere’ act?”
“Those words were meant for the guards.”
Huan curled her lips in self-mockery.
“Let me be honest. The barrier protecting Lin Qi is on the verge of collapse, and the Seven Generals of the Demon King have set their sights on this place. If it breaks, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
She stepped closer, looking straight into Yao Xing’s eyes.
“I don’t ask you to sacrifice yourself. On the contrary, I’m very willing to help you escape. But I have one request.”
“Could you… slay the Demon King?”
Yao Xing scratched her head, and Huan sat down beside her, continuing.
“To be honest… I don’t want to be bound by the throne. Rather than becoming king, I hope all nations can be in harmony.”
“Our common enemy as humans should be the Demon King, not each other. All countries summon brave ones, and a brave one’s sole mission should be to slay the Demon King… But now, the word ‘brave one’ has become a reserve war tool for the nations…”
Yao Xing shook her head.
“But with me alone, can I really oppose the Demon King?”
She spread her hands in self-deprecation, the cold feeling of being pierced through the abdomen by an iron fan in her previous life flashing through her mind.
“Even facing your sister, I’m completely powerless. The title ‘Brave One’ right now feels more like a marked sacrificial offering than a savior’s medal. To be honest, I’m terrified of death.”
Yao Xing’s confession was blunt and explicit.
Years of reading web novels had taught her that those who always talk about righteousness and morality are usually the first to die.
Listening to this “cowardly” confession, Huan didn’t show any contempt.
Instead, she nodded as if she had expected it.
She raised Yao Xing’s palm.
“Brave One, it seems you truly don’t understand the true value of the words ‘Brave One.'”
Yao Xing frowned. “Huh?”
“Locking you up in the kingdom is the most wasteful thing to do.”
Huan stood up, the wind on the bell tower messing up her hair, her tone becoming resolute and fervent: “Souls that cross the void are reconstructed by the laws of this world the moment they arrive. In other words, your bones, muscles, and even neural reflex speed will rise to an extraordinary level in a short time. So even without deliberate training, your physical condition is already several times tougher than that of the most elite knights.”
She walked back to Yao Xing and gently held her seemingly delicate hands.
“As for combat power… every brave one awakens a special power called ‘乄’. It is a power that transcends magic, a power of rules. The reason you feel weak is that everyone in this palace wants to suppress your awakening so you’ll obediently do as you’re told.”
Yao Xing stared blankly at her own hands.
‘乄? A power of rules?’
‘Could it be that my [Affection System] and [Bad End Rewind] are this so-called 乄?’
“If you can truly master this power, you won’t be without a chance even against the Seven Generals of the Demon King.”
Huan’s eyes held a desperate resolve as if betting everything on one throw.
“I’ll plead with Father to convince him to exile you. In exchange, please become a true ‘Brave One,’ not someone’s ‘weapon.'”
Hearing this, Yao Xing fell into a long silence.
The sunset outside the bell tower had completely sunk below the horizon, and night arrived as promised.
‘A brave one, huh…’
‘But if I don’t go slay the Demon King, in this world full of lunatics, I’ll eventually meet a second, a third Bad End. Rather than waiting to be stabbed to death, I might as well…’
Yao Xing took a deep breath, her gaze crossing the bell tower to the pitch-black wilderness in the distance.
“How are you going to help me? Right now, my status is that of a ‘house arrested’ brave one. Even this meal was thanks to you ‘escaping prison’ with me.”
Huan caught the loosening in Yao Xing’s tone and finally revealed a genuinely heartfelt smile.
“Trust me. I have a trump card. And I am the eldest princess of Lin Qi. Father won’t do anything to me.”
Yao Xing looked into Huan’s hopeful eyes and smiled helplessly to herself.
‘This princess is quite the idealist, huh…’