Sir! Don't close the net!

This shows that my daughter is shedding this body that has been corrupted by them and becoming her true self again!

It seems that the Thorn King has been restricting his daughter's health, to the point that she is malnourished and sleeps all day long. According to the diary, the Thorn King's daughter was only a few years old and in the stage of growth. How could his daughter possibly survive with the Thorn King's actions?

Li Yili reached out and quickly flipped through the diary.

[1982]

My daughter no longer needs to eat.

[1984]

My daughter's body is still growing, but very slowly. Her thinking is also completely different from us poor, corrupt people. She is pure and innocent, just like we should be.

[1987]

[It's ridiculous that they think my daughter is a monster. The truly pathetic monsters are us, who have been corrupted! But this resistance is reasonable, because my daughter is approaching perfection.]

She will soon help us rid ourselves of our polluted bodies and lead our true selves out of the box they have prepared.

Li Yili gasped. The words on the last page of the diary seemed to be dragged by some force, pulling them in the same direction into a triangle, like an arrow.

And in the direction the arrow points, there is another door.

Chapter Eighty-Six: Ah Ha—

Which way does the door lead?

There are many possibilities. After all, this is a secret room. It could be an emergency refuge or simply a storage room, but Li Yili had an extremely strong premonition that "this door leads to the bedroom of the Thorn King's daughter."

Li Yili glanced at the king's diary in her hand again, hesitated for a long time, then closed the diary, stuffed it into her pocket, and braced herself to go there.

Fortunately, it was just an ordinary door, without any strange glow or bizarre inscriptions; it was simply a visible door, without even any mechanisms. This reassured Li Yili considerably, and she turned sideways to open the door.

It was pulled apart a little.

There were no swarms of bats rushing towards you, nor was there any chilly atmosphere; in fact, it was quite bright, because it was an open-air staircase. Dark green thorns were wrapped around the handrails on both sides of the staircase, much like the decorations in some botanical gardens on Earth.

Li Yili tested the stairs by stepping on them, and only stood on them after confirming that there were no problems.

Li Yili peered to the side, and the crisscrossing, enormous thorns gave him the illusion that the place wasn't very high, but the cold wind blowing in his face constantly reminded him to be careful of the slippery ground.

Li Yili shook his head, holding onto the thorn-entwined handrail, and climbed the stairs step by step. The spiraling stairs allowed him to look down over the entire Thorn City, but he couldn't see a single person. The only inhabitants of this city were the thorns themselves.

Just as Li Yili was about to make a few remarks, a very faint fragrance caught his attention. It smelled like some kind of flower. He looked around but couldn't find any trace of the flower. Li Yili took a few more steps up, and the fragrance became much stronger.

Li Yili looked up and saw a deep red door carved with roses at the end of the stairs, the fragrance seemingly emanating from there.

Li Yili glanced at the thorny handrails around her, then looked at the rose-covered door at the end, and couldn't help but sigh.

"A rose princess protected by thorns? How intriguing."

Li Yili took a deep breath, straightened his collar to make himself look more presentable, since he was about to go to Princess Eden's boudoir, or more accurately, the Empress of Eden, if we're talking about the timeline.

Li Yili did not believe the statement in the King of Thorns' diary that "my daughter no longer needs to eat." She believed that a person only needs to eat in one situation: when they are dead.

Even if the king is abnormal, there must be someone else who is normal, such as the Thorn Princess's biological mother or other relatives, maids, etc. The king can't possibly watch the Thorn Princess 24 hours a day, so there must be a chance for the Thorn Princess to eat something or find an opportunity to go to the toilet.

Li Yili raised her hand and pressed it against the rose door.

Or, on the day the Thorn King wrote, "My daughter no longer needs to eat," the Thorn Princess had already died, and what she called growth afterward was actually just the process of corpse decay. As for thoughts and such... the thoughts of a corpse are indeed hard to fathom.

That explains the current scent.

To mask the stench of the corpse, a lot of spices were sprinkled on it, and over the years, this Rose Princess has probably become quite pungent.

Li Yili paused as he pushed the door open, his expression gradually becoming conflicted. If he opened the door and saw a rotten corpse lying on the bed, he would probably be too scared to sleep at night.

"Excuse me—"

Li Yili carefully pushed open the rosewood door a crack, peeking into the princess's boudoir.

Because the one who built this apple tree was an ordinary king with all the flaws of kings, the princess's room was naturally high-end and classy, ​​with crystal and gold decorations everywhere.

Li Yili pushed the door open a little more and poked her head inside. The rich floral scent made her even more certain that the body of the Thorn Princess had been pickled.

Li Yili looked toward the source of the fragrance of flowers, where there was a large bed large enough for four or five adult men to lie on. Exquisite semi-transparent gauze hung down from the golden frame above, shrouding the person on the bed in mystery, making people want to lift the veil and see the true face.

But the thought of a marinated corpse lying on the bed made Li Yili feel that it was best to maintain a sense of respect for the mysterious.

Just as Li Yili was about to slowly explore the princess's boudoir to see if she could smash out any valuable equipment or money from the jar, a crisp spinning sound came from the other side of the princess's boudoir. Li Yili was startled and looked up, meeting a pair of eyes that were a gradient of gold and red.

Li Yili saw astonishment in those eyes that gradually changed from gold to red.

Abel Z. Morningstar, a candidate in the Crusade, wanted to reclaim something from the king, but instead found himself in the princess's boudoir.

The next second, those eyes, which were a gradient of gold and red, looked at the large bed.

Li Yili rushed towards the large bed. Abel was stunned at first, but he reacted immediately and took a step forward. As a chosen one of the gods, Abel's speed was beyond what Li Yili could match. However, Abel was far from the bed, while Li Yili was in the rose door directly opposite the bed, not far away. In addition, during Abel's moment of hesitation, Li Yili had already lifted the curtains first.

The moment the curtains were drawn back, long, silvery-white hair came into Li Yili's view. Her exquisite, doll-like face was like a work of art sculpted by a god. The gold ornaments scattered around her were like burial objects. But she was not dead. Her chest was still rising and falling very steadily, and her crystal lips were slightly parted. Like everyone else in this city, she was sleeping peacefully.

But what came to Li Yili's mind at that moment was not praise for the girl's beautiful appearance, but the diary written by the King of Thorns.

My daughter no longer needs to eat.

My daughter's body is still growing, but very slowly. Her thinking is also completely different from us poor, corrupt people. She is pure and innocent, just like we should be.

[It's ridiculous that they think my daughter is a monster. The truly pathetic monsters are us, the ones who have been corrupted! But this resistance is reasonable, because...]

My daughter is getting closer to perfection.

She will soon help us rid ourselves of our polluted bodies and lead our true selves out of the box they have prepared.

The sound of the curtains across the street being drawn brought Li Yili back to her senses, and she met those eyes that had changed from gold to red once again.

In that instant, Li Yili understood everything, and she and Abel reached out their hands at the same time.

Without a second thought, Li Yi pulled up Princess Thorn's slender body, wrapped her left arm around her waist, locked her throat with her right, and looked triumphantly at Abel.

"Aha—"

Abel, on the other hand, held aloft a golden spindle.

You guessed wrong!

Li Yili swallowed hard, just about to say a few words to ease the atmosphere, when a faint cracking sound came from the foot of the bed, making Abel and Li Yili feel a chill down their spines at the same time. They turned their heads and saw a withered figure sitting there, a dusty crown on his head silently proclaiming his identity.

King of Thorns.

Without a doubt, the Thorn King is the one who looks most like a corpse since they entered Thorn City; in fact, he is the very thing they see.

Did he... move just now?

Chapter 87 I went up and kicked him

For five minutes, a full five minutes, Li Yili continued to lock the Thorn Princess's throat, while Abel remained motionless, holding the golden spindle high. The only sound was the Thorn Princess's steady breathing.

Li Yili swallowed hard, staring intently at the withered Thorn King.

Without a doubt, this was a corpse. All the muscles were withered and brown, and there was no rise or fall of the chest. The reason it made a sound was probably because the body was dehydrated and had reached its limit after being bumped by the two of them. Perhaps the next second, the corpse of the Thorn King would perform a move that would cause it to scatter.

But Li Yili and Abel didn't dare to move at all, their bodies tense, as if the dried-up corpse would leap up and attack them at any moment.

Because they could clearly sense something watching them from between the dry, drooping strands of hair that resembled weeds.

"The future has been decided, sir. It seems we don't have any conflicts."

“Sir, the only ruler, the one you are holding by the throat is the princess of Eden. As an executive officer candidate of the Crusade, there is an absolutely irreconcilable conflict between us.”

"Is this your excuse for stealing the princess's things?"

Abel stared intently at the King of Thorns, without uttering a sound.

“Alright, the future is already decided, sir. I think we can each take a step back. I’ll put down the princess, and you can put down the golden spindle. You don’t want the situation to get any worse, do you? Let’s restore things to normal first, and then we can discuss things further.”

To show her sincerity, Li Yili released Princess Thorn's throat and gently laid her down on the bed.

Abel stared intently in the direction of the King of Thorns, hesitated for a moment, and then put down the golden spindle.

The chilling gaze that had been emanating from Abel and Li Yili gradually dissipated.

Just as Abel breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to discuss things further with Li Yili, Li Yili suddenly jumped onto the bed and lay down next to the Thorn Princess. Because the movement was too rough and the bed was very bouncy, the Thorn Princess's petite and delicate body even bounced upwards.

Li Yili's action nearly made Abel's heart explode. He quickly turned to look in the direction of the Thorn King, but the Thorn King did not react at all. However, Abel felt that the Thorn King's corpse was much more eerie than before, with an inexplicable... resentment.

But thinking about it, it's quite normal. After all, Li Yili slept next to the Thorn Princess in front of her own father, the Thorn King, and seemed to be planning to make advances.

"Don't make that face, Mr. The Future is Already Determined," Li Yili said, resting her chin on her left hand, turning her body to the side, and naturally pinching Princess Thorn's chin with her right hand, shaking it from side to side. "I'm just experimenting. Can't you see the diamond-like sparkle in my eyes?"

“I think the King of Thorns might be pleased, because sleeping next to his daughter is a man who has transcended vulgar interests and is focused on scientific research.”

Abel's breath hitched.

Of course not, but he also didn't see the slightest bit of desire. Li Yili's movements were very frivolous, but her eyes were like a dead lake, without a ripple.

As Li Yili himself said, he was just trying.

"And what was the result of that attempt?" Abel turned to look at the King of Thorns, his right hand, hanging at his sides, opening and closing repeatedly.

"Is this the golden spindle you want to recycle?" Li Yili pinched the Thorn Princess's chin, turning her face towards the golden spindle not far away. "I don't see anything special about it. If you let me touch it..."

Before Li Yili could finish speaking, Abel had already turned his head and looked over, his eyes incredibly sharp.

This was the most serious and unyielding look Abel had given so far.

Li Yili had no doubt that if he were to touch the golden spindle, Abel would not simply grab his wrist.

"Just kidding, look, both my hands are busy right now," Li Yili said, cupping the Thorn Princess's silvery-white hair in her left hand and pinching the Thorn Princess's face with her right, her face full of sincerity.

Abel's lips twitched violently; he wanted to retort, but recalling Li Yili's previous behavior, he abandoned the pointless act and pressed his left hand towards the gold spindle. "So, the result of the attempt..."

And the result?

"I think it's because of the gold spindle; maybe you shouldn't take it."

"it's out of the question."

"Then it'll be your problem if the old king gets so angry he comes back to life on the spot! You'll have to take responsibility for solving it!" Li Yili slowly lowered his left hand, which was holding his long, silvery-white hair, letting the smooth hair flow through his fingers.

Abel remained silent.

"Alright, so you mean it's time to start the fight? I'm fine with that!" Li Yili smiled brightly and gave Abel an OK sign. "But I hope that when you start the fight, you'll give me a chance to run away first, since I'm just an ordinary person."

After a moment of silence, Abel nodded. He had just opened his mouth, but before he could utter the first syllable, Li Yili suddenly stood up and kicked the Thorn King in the dry head. His silver hair flew up, and the Thorn Princess's body was also lifted up with him.

Li Yili sneered, then carried Princess Thorn's body out the door.

Abel was left alone, staring wide-eyed.