There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

"Why are you keeping me in suspense..." His wife gave him a disgruntled look, then gently pulled Minasha into her arms and said, "Come on, sit here with Mommy, so your bottom won't hurt."

"Well......"

The carriage continued to bump along the road, and Mina sat obediently in her mother's lap. The constant jolting of the carriage made her feel as if her body was about to fall apart.

"Daddy's going to take you to a very big place~" the mother said softly, holding Minasha in her arms.

“It’s a very, very big place,” Minasha’s father added.

He looked at his wife and children with a gentle expression. This man, who had spent most of his life traveling for business, was finally going to find a place where he could live in peace.

Perhaps it was a gift from the goddess of fate, but after marrying Minasha's mother, Minasha's father's business became much better than before. This was partly due to his increased efforts after marriage, but more importantly, it was due to luck.

Oh... and there's also the encouragement and support from his wife. Minasha's mother also has a very unique perspective, and she's much better at managing finances than he is.

Finding such a smart and virtuous wife and having a lovely and well-behaved daughter is perhaps the greatest fortune of his life. Soon, his family will become official residents of the capital of Vanhustan and will no longer need to wander in the wilderness for a living.

Minasha will attend classes at a beautiful and clean college, and his wife will enjoy an elegant and comfortable life...

Just as Minasha's father was lost in his pleasant fantasy, the carriage suddenly began to shake violently, and a loud shout of battle came from outside the carriage.

------------

Chapter 582: A Life Without Light

"What happened?!" Minasha's father took a deep breath to calm himself down before asking the coachman outside the carriage.

"Reporting to you, sir, it's a band of mountain bandits. Although there are many of them, their equipment is very poor. The guards will handle them." The coachman, a seasoned veteran, spoke after carefully observing the situation for a while.

"Phew, that's good." Minasha's father breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the driver's words.

He was a wandering merchant who had been traveling for many years. He was no stranger to encountering bandits and other such situations in the wild and had plenty of experience in dealing with them. However, unlike usual, this time he was very close to happiness, which is why he lost his composure in the chaos.

However, he had calmed down by now. They were just a group of poorly equipped bandits; there was nothing to be afraid of. The guards would take care of everything for him.

Just as he was thinking this, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the carriage, and a sound of the ground shaking suddenly rang out.

"Damn it, these bandits aren't here for us at all. They were chased here by monsters and are trying to divert their firepower!" The coachman, who had followed Minasha's father for many years, said hastily as he looked at the scene in the distance.

"What kind of monster is it?"

Minasha's father leaned out of the carriage and looked in the direction from which the tremors were coming from; his expression suddenly changed.

"Let's go!" Minasha's father roared.

In the distance were five enormous, earth-yellow monsters. They possessed armor formed from thick rock and were able to dig and move through the earth. Because their tribes could even shake mountains when they gathered together, they were called Mountain-Shaking Beasts.

While individual Mountain Shakers are not particularly strong, when they move in groups, they can use the power of earth elements to tear the earth apart. Combined with their immense strength and thick shells, almost no one on land can rival them.

Even without Minasha's father speaking, the experienced guards and coachmen had already planned to retreat upon seeing the Mountain-Shaking Beast in the distance. However, these bandits were determined to drag them down with them, holding the group back tightly and preventing them from retreating.

Normally, the guards wouldn't need much effort to deal with these bandits, but there was no time for them to fight leisurely; they had to leave quickly.

Finally, under the reluctant gaze of Minasha's father, the five Mountain Shakers slowly and heavily arrived at the scene of the battle.

"Roar!!"

A terrifying roar resounded, and a large amount of earth element was mobilized, causing rocks on both sides of the road to break apart and roll down the mountainside as if a mountain had collapsed.

"No!" Minasha's father looked at the scene before him in despair. Just when his life was about to take a turn for the better, countless rocks rolled down the mountain, burying all the beautiful visions in his heart.

........

In the pitch-black environment, young Minasha slowly opened her eyes. In the darkness where she couldn't see her own hand in front of her face, Minasha felt a warm liquid.

“Mom?” Minasha said, her voice trembling slightly, a sense of unknown fear gripping her heart.

"I'm here." Her mother's weak voice rang out as she gently embraced Minasha, the wound on her forehead from the falling rubble seemingly healing slowly.

"Where's Daddy?" Minasha asked again.

“Dad’s here…” Minasha’s father’s weak voice rang out. His legs were buried under the rubble and he couldn’t feel anything. But he was lucky, because the coachman was completely covered in rubble.

Knowing that her parents were with her, Minasha's fear lessened somewhat.

"It's so dark here, I can't see anything..." Minasha said after a long silence.

"Phew... Minasha, be good, can you sit here by yourself for a while? Mommy needs to go see Daddy." Minasha's mother said after taking a deep breath.

"Hmm." Minasha nodded gently, without asking why she couldn't come along.

The mother and father often spent time alone together. Having read many books, Mina knew that this was private time alone, and even a child should not disturb them.

Although Minasha didn't know why she couldn't disturb them, since that's what the book said, she would understand her father and mother, even though it was dark and she was scared.

A short while later, Minasha's mother returned, carrying a dusty bag.

She found this in the wreckage of the carriage; it contained some fruits, vegetables, and bread.

The caravan had a special wagon for storing food, but that wagon was too far from theirs to be buried together.

The husband's legs were trapped and he couldn't move. His daughter was also trapped with them under the rubble in the wilderness, and there was no way anyone would come to rescue them.

Minasha's mother knew very well that they had to save themselves, a fact she, as a former powerful female mercenary warrior, was quite familiar with.

That's true, but... the current situation is no less severe than the biggest crisis she's ever faced, and is even more despairing. It's the kind of situation where all you can do is wait to die.

But her husband and daughter are still here, she can't just give up like this!

After placing the food beside her daughter and instructing her to eat sparingly, Minasha's mother drew her longsword and began tentatively digging in the cave. She had to be careful; one wrong move could cause the entire rubble to collapse.

And so began a life buried under rubble, where no light could be seen at all.

The sensible Minasha has been traveling with her parents for many years, so she naturally doesn't pick and choose her food or waste it. She is also well aware of her current situation, so she cherishes the little food left.

Meanwhile, Minasha's mother was constantly searching for a direction to dig, trying to find a way out from here.

As for Minasha's father, he lay quietly on the ground, occasionally talking to his daughter to relieve her psychological stress. He did not intend to eat any food, but planned to leave all the food for his daughter and wife.

In his view, with his legs already buried, he was the least likely to leave. He had given up the will to live, but at least... he hoped that his daughter and wife could leave this place.

However, Minasha did not think that way. She insisted that her father eat some fruit or vegetables, and if he did not eat them, she would not eat them either.

Having no other option, after discovering that his daughter would actually refuse to eat anything to coerce him, Minasha's father ate some insignificant green leaves.

Minasha's mother also needs to eat in order to recover the strength she expended while digging.

Five days passed in this way, underground, buried under rubble...

There was still no light to be seen.

------------

Chapter 583: The Weeping Man's Lucky Coin

“Dad, I’m hungry…” Minasha, who was starving, said to her father, who was lying not far in front of her, as she sat in the dark.

“Hang in there, Minasha. You are just as strong as your mother, so you must hang in there, okay…” The man said in a hoarse voice when he heard his daughter’s words, even though he was so tired that it was difficult for him to speak.

“Yes, I know…” Minasha nodded. She just wanted to hear her father’s voice so that she could know he was right beside her even when she couldn’t see anything.

Suddenly, Minasha thought of something. She carefully approached her father, slowly extended her soft hand, and gently placed it on his chest.

“…” Minasha’s father noticed Minasha’s movements. A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in his cloudy eyes. He then laboriously raised his right hand and grasped his daughter’s soft little hand.

“I want to rest for a bit…” Minasha’s father said softly, looking towards Minasha in the darkness by touch, and said, “Can I hold your hand a little longer…?”

Before Minasha could speak, the man slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

“Dad?” Mina looked at her father with some worry. In the books she had read, many characters said they were going to take a nap, but then they never woke up again.

Fortunately, her father was still breathing faintly. Minasha could feel the faint tactile sensation of his heart beating in her palm, which she placed on his chest.

This put Minasha at ease.

"rustle......."

The sound of flowing sand came from an unknown source. Minasha suddenly remembered something and carefully took out a gleaming gold coin from her pocket.

This was a gift from her father for her birthday last year; it was a special coin made of pure gold and commissioned by a craftsman.

The coin's obverse is engraved with an ancient Elvish symbol representing good fortune, while the reverse features a gently swaying four-leaf clover. Tossing the coin into the air will increase one's luck, whether it's the four-leaf clover on the obverse or the ancient Elvish symbol on the reverse.

Of course, this is what Minasha's father said; in reality, the gold coin had no effect whatsoever.

"Clang clang clang..."

The gold coin fell to the ground with a crisp sound, and Minasha followed the sound to locate where the coin had fallen.

A cool metallic touch came from her fingertips. Before Minasha could pick up the gold coin, the sound of the flowing sand suddenly increased, accompanied by the sound of some gravel being moved.

"It seems to be right here. Hey, is anyone there?!" A young man's voice rang out from above the rubble.

Almost the instant she heard the young man's voice, Minasha's heart began to pound faster. Her lips parted in excitement, and she uttered, "There's...there's someone..."

Her voice trembled with a hint of a sob; in the underground where no hope could be seen, Minasha stretched out her helpless hand.

"Is anyone outside?!" Minasha's mother also heard the young man's voice. She looked up, suppressing her excitement, and said, "Please, kind person, save us! We've been locked up here for a long time, and we have a six-year-old daughter."

"I will rescue you!" The young man said, his expression also showing some excitement after hearing the voice from the rubble.

"Hurry up and come here, I've found the person!" the young man said to his entourage.

As the digging sounds grew clearer, dazzling sunlight shone through the rubble. Minasha stared intently at the blinding sunlight, and in it, she saw shimmering golden hair and a pair of bright, azure eyes.

.......

The world of memories ended when Minasha met the young king. Lu Qing really didn't expect that the king and queen's first meeting would be under such circumstances.

Furthermore, the queen wasn't from a noble family; she was merely the daughter of a fortunate, wandering merchant family. Besides that, the most intriguing point is...

In the world of memories, Minasha was six years old, while the king who appeared before Lu Qing after digging through the rubble was already a tall young man in armor.

How many years apart are the queen and the king?

Unfortunately, no one can answer this question anymore. The Queen's world of memories has come to an end for now. If she wants to see more memories, she must put her soul into the Queen's mask.

When she came to her senses, she was back in the real world, clutching the queen's mask tightly in her hand.

【The Mask of the Lamenter】

The rescued souls will spontaneously gather around the fire, for it is their light; the moment the fire goes out, their faith collapses as well.

Development progress: 25%