A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 200: Parents' Past (Bonus Chapter for Donations)

[Host, don't just stand there like an idiot! Time's almost up, less than three minutes left!]

The system alert rang out, and Shen Tang quickly snapped out of her daze. Ignoring the other party's identity, she took out a sealing talisman from her spatial storage, walked over quickly, and affixed it to Xiao Jialan.

As for the blond man who appeared out of nowhere, Shen Tang didn't take him seriously at all.

Anyway, the mental illusions are all fake. The characters that appear here are just fantasies created by the master. They are all NPCs, so there's no need to care about them.

The blond man lowered his eyes to look at the sealing talisman that Shen Tang had taken out, a hint of surprise flashing across his noble and refined golden eyes.

Then, he turned to look at her and asked in a low voice, "Are you the female ruler that Jialan will marry in the future?"

Shen Tang's heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look at the man who had spoken in shock. Wasn't this guy an NPC? How could he be asking questions outside the main storyline?
"You...you can't be a real person, can you?"

Shen Tang already knew this when she entered the Snow Hidden Boat's mental illusion last time; the NPCs in the mental illusion only follow the plot.

Once they do something outside the plot, these NPCs start to freeze up, either talking nonsense or remaining silent like wooden figures, and they certainly won't take the initiative to ask about her identity.

Last time, Shen Tang used the original owner's body as a shell, but this time, she didn't even use a shell.

Logically, NPCs shouldn't talk to her, who is outside the storyline, unless the person in front of her is also a real person!

The blond man nodded, then looked down at the cub that had fallen asleep in his arms. A flicker of emotion crossed his eyes, making it impossible to discern what he was thinking.

After a moment of silence, he said in a low voice, "I am his father."

Shen Tang noticed that the blond man looked very similar to Jia Lan when she grew up, but their temperaments were completely different, so she didn't notice it at first.

"You...you're still alive?"

The man's handsome and dignified face exuded an imposing aura even without anger. Hearing her stammering words, he chuckled and said, "If I weren't alive, you wouldn't be seeing me today."

He said, "I came in as a spirit, just like you."

Shen Tang was even more surprised to hear this. Historically, only females with A-level mental strength could enter the mental illusion of beastmen. She had never heard of males having this ability.

Of course, merfolk also have mental abilities, but their mental power differs from that of females, leaning more towards offensive capabilities.

Unless, of course, this person possesses exceptional mental strength, enabling them to directly break through the mental illusion.

Who exactly is Jialan's biological father?

The two did look very similar, so Shen Tang didn't doubt their father-son relationship.

But her biological father is still alive, so why has Jialan never seen him, and why has no one ever mentioned his existence?

How did he find this place?
"What exactly is going on? You, and the curse within Jialan..." Shen Tang was in a state of utter confusion, unsure of how to begin.

The blond man seemed to sense her confusion and didn't rush to speak.

He stepped forward, extended a long, slender finger, and touched her brow.

Subsequently, a memory appeared in Shen Tang's mind, unfolding slowly like a movie.

……

The story takes place twenty years ago.

The most important festival in the sea country is the sacrificial and blessing ceremony.

During the ceremony, the beastmen held grand dances and sacrificial ceremonies, celebrating throughout the country, giving thanks for the bounty of the sea, thanking the ocean for providing them with abundant food, and praying to the legendary sea god for favorable weather, national peace and prosperity, and for lasting tranquility in the sea.

The sacrificial ceremony is held once every ten years.

At a ceremony, the newly enthroned Empress Garuda met the legendary high priest of the sea tribe and fell in love with him at first sight.

Legend has it that the high priest possessed mysterious and powerful abilities.

That was the first time the High Priest appeared before the world. He was dressed in an elaborate and magnificent platinum robe, had a head of vast golden hair, and his face was covered by a mask. He still amazed everyone present, including Garuda.

High Priest Lunas was the only golden-tailed mermaid in the deep sea. The queen, who was used to seeing all kinds of beauty, was instantly attracted by the dazzling, sun-like light that should not have appeared in the deep sea.

She immediately ordered him to remove his mask.

The imperial decree was obeyed without question.

The sea race's high priest, Lunas, removed his mask. Beneath it lay an even more handsome face, instantly captivating Garuda and stealing the queen's heart.

Garuda falls deeply in love with Lunas and pursues him relentlessly.

Priests could serve the sea people for their entire lives, and could not marry or have offspring.

But how could the burning passion in the Queen's heart be extinguished so easily?

By chance, Garuda, under the influence of alcohol, used tricks to force the high priest into a one-night stand.

After that, Lunas returned to the temple of priests, avoiding all contact with anyone and vowing never to step out again.

Their relationship was completely broken, to the point of no return.

After Garuda returned to the palace in despair, she unexpectedly became pregnant.

Garuda threatened the high priest with the promise of offspring to enter her harem. Lunas was already filled with remorse for what happened that night, and he felt even more disgusted with the empress who used such methods.

His family had held the position of priest for generations, so how could he possibly become a concubine in her harem?

Moreover, the priestly clan had difficulty conceiving, and Lunas did not believe Garuda's words. After rejecting her, he secluded himself to cultivate and never issued another decree.

This was a complete break with the Empress, a promise that they would never see each other again, life or death.

Enraged, Garuda abandoned her child in the cold palace after giving birth, ignoring her completely.

Moreover, the empress had many palaces and even more children. Over time, she completely forgot about the child she had abandoned in the cold palace.

It wasn't until three years later that Lunas emerged from seclusion.

He suddenly felt a calling from his bloodline and, for some reason, came to the palace, where he saw the pitiful cub in the cold palace, a little golden-haired mermaid who looked very much like him when he was a child.

He recognized the child; it was his child.

Lunas was shocked.

He saw the child abandoned in the cold palace, suffering abuse, and about to starve to death.

He immediately took the child and went to see the Queen in person, demanding that the child be taken away.

Garuda naturally disagreed.

This child is her own flesh and blood. Even though Lunas is the high priest of the sea tribe, he has no right to take the child away unless she agrees.

No one knows what kind of conversation the two had.

Later, the two reached an agreement.

Lunas promised to return to the palace every year after the child came of age.

However, the condition is that Garuda must take care of the child and ensure his safe and healthy growth.

Garuda was displeased that she did not get the conditions she wanted, but since she had finally waited for Lunas to see her, she had no choice but to agree to the conditions and agree to take the child to her side and raise him herself.

As Jialan grew older, he resembled his father more and more, with golden hair, an exquisitely beautiful face, and a pair of azure eyes just like the Empress's. Jialouluo's affection for him also grew day by day, and he even forgot the contents of the agreement, genuinely loving his son more and more.

Only a handful of people knew about what happened in the Cold Palace back then; it didn't spread outside.

Those who knew it gradually forgot about it over time.

Jialan became known to all the people as the Empress's most beloved prince.

Jialan was too young at the time and doesn't remember much about what happened in the Cold Palace.

But he wasn't entirely without memories.

Perhaps it was the body's defense mechanism that triggered him to bury this unbearable memory deep within his mind, forever "forgotten" in the deepest recesses of his mind.

That's why the scene of mental illusion appears.

Thank you to "Sad Happiness" for supporting Shushu and donating an extra chapter!
Good night~



(End of this chapter)