The Little Prince was stripping off his clothes to climb into a bucket when he heard Zi Xiao’s words and stumbled straight into the water.
"Right," Dugu Qianye thought for a mont, it did seem to be the case. If she had been cautious of Zi Xiao from the beginning, he wouldn’t have a chance by now; always spouting that she had so responsibility to him.
Hearing their conversation, the Little Prince used his Spiritual Power to construct a wall around the bucket, just tall enough to block their view.
Dugu Qianye said, "Since there’s nothing else to do now, I’ll ask the questions."
After waiting for three seconds without any response, Dugu Qianye took it as his silent consent and asked, "What is your na?"
"Di Wu Yan."
"Where is this?"
"The City of Darkness."
The City of Darkness? What an odd na, Dugu Qianye thought. Then she continued, "Which county does it belong to?"
This ti Di Wu Yan did not respond; it was only after a while that he said, "The City of Darkness doesn’t belong to any county. This is the Abandoned Realm."
"Huh?" Dugu Qianye was surprised and said, "I have indeed never heard of the City of Darkness, and I have not heard of the Abandoned Realm either. How can I not know of such a big place?"
"Because the people of the outside world simply do not know about the Abandoned Realm," ca Di Wu Yan’s voice, with a suppressed pain.
"Why did they say we were looking for you the mont they saw us?" Dugu Qianye asked further.
"Because everyone here is local; no one from the outside can get in. Except for those people," said Di Wu Yan.
"Uh, can you explain that?" Dugu Qianye asked. What Abandoned Realm, what about foreigners not being able to enter, the more she heard, the more confused she beca. Could this place be even more chaotic than Chang Ying’s City of Turmoil, scaring everyone else away from entering?
Di Wu Yan’s silence lasted even longer this ti, and just as Dugu Qianye was about to urge him again, Di Wu Yan spoke up and told of events not even the older generation outside knew.
In ancient tis, Di Wu was a major force under Yong Xing. Although part of Yong Xing’s faction, Di Wu did not agree with Yong Xing’s thods; however, at that ti, the family leaders were followers of Yong Xing, so Di Wu family was considered to be on Yong Xing’s side.
After the Creator God’s death, a great war broke out between the factions of Yong Xing and Rong Xiu. All the leaders of the Di Wu family died in battle, leaving the younger generation to side with Rong Xiu. Unfortunately, Rong Xiu’s faction was defeated. Yong Xing had planned to exterminate the entire Di Wu family. Still, the older generation of Di Wu had made many contributions to Yong Xing and also had so connections with the Creator God, so Yong Xing found a realm and drew boundaries, moving everyone and every Spiritual Beast here and then isolating them, never to leave this place again.
Moreover, because of their betrayal, they were cursed not to attack others. Once they left the City of Darkness, they couldn’t be healed by others outside.
"But once you return to the City of Darkness, all your injuries heal automatically, don’t they?" Dugu Qianye said.
Although surprised by Dugu Qianye’s words, Di Wu still nodded. The process of recounting was long, and Di Wu asked Zi Xiao for a set of clean clothes, sitting face to face with them.
The neatly dressed Di Wu looked handso, although not as enchantingly beautiful as Zi Xiao, but still quite attractive. Dressed in purple, he exuded a different aura.
"So the elixirs I gave you on the road had no effect, but you healed automatically once we were back in the City of Darkness?" Dugu Qianye asked.
Di Wu nodded and said, "Yes. Although they were not effective, they at least preserved my life; otherwise, I might have died out there."
"Then, why do they call you the Little Prince, and why are you labeled a traitor?" Dugu Qianye continued to inquire.
"Because we can only live forever in darkness, we are also known as the Dark Clan. Everyone here is a descendant of those from the past, each of us carrying a curse. As the population grew over ti, the direct descendants of the initial settlers were revered as kings, with the title passed down from generation to generation."
"My father is the current king. I have an older brother who is less talented than I am. Fearing that my father would pass down the throne to upon his death, he sched and accused of being a traitor attempting to collude with outsiders, to replace and enslave the citizens of our city. Although the Dark Clan cannot leave and is confined here, each individual is highly talented. If soone were to gain control over us..."
Dugu Qianye understood; no wonder those people appeared so strong! But knowing they couldn’t lay a hand on her, she felt sowhat relieved.
"Because our ancestors betrayed once before, if we attempt to leave again, more severe punishnt and difficulties will befall us. Therefore, everyone loathes this truth deeply."
"What about the Enforcent Team? It seems they can lay hands on us." Dugu Qianye recalled the Vice Commander’s words, that the Enforcent Team could deal with them, and asked.
"The Enforcent Team is a branch of the Royal Guard. They are specifically in charge of punishnts and were established by our ancestor who spent his entire life’s energy to create an altar. As long as one undergoes a ritual at that altar, the curse in their body can be lifted. Since its power has weakened greatly now, only one person can enter every few decades or centuries. The guards are all very powerful, so if anyone makes a mistake and resists, the guard will execute the punishnt."
"The curse has been lifted? Your ancestor was that impressive!" Dugu Qianye exclaid.
"Indeed, our ancestor was extrely powerful. He was adept in the Divination Technique and had prophesied before his death that there will be one from our lineage to lead us out of the Abandoned Realm and let us live anew in the light. Everyone has been waiting for that person to appear, but so far, the most we’ve had was a four-lineage individual, so we still live in the dark world. Nevertheless, we still believe that person will appear!"
"Which lineage do you belong to?" Dugu Qianye asked.
Di Wu bashfully admitted, "I am only of the three-lineage, not the one who can lead everyone into the light. Later, my great-great-great-grandfather said that perhaps that person would co from outside, so he used his own life to open a passage to the outside world. Only the current king at that ti knew of this passage. It just never occurred to that my brother, overhearing my father and mother’s conversation, would learn about this place and secretly sneak out to make contact with people from the outside, forming so so-called alliances. They promised him if he helped them obtain the power of the Dark Clan, they would take him to live outside, offering many tempting conditions."
"What about your punishnt?" Dugu Qianye asked.
"Because soone snuck out, each ti he left, ten people would inexplicably die in particularly grueso ways. So people started suspecting soone had escaped. I never doubted my brother initially, but once when I happened to pass by the entrance to the passage, I saw him bringing outsiders into our realm!" Di Wu said, his voice filled with emotion, "Even though those outsiders didn’t stay long and left soon after, many died that ti. Hence, everyone beca even more convinced that there was an escapee."
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