Chapter 375: "Let Me Have a Taste?

Yu Zhizhi stood before Cang Lan, feeling a little surprised. In their interactions over the past two days, the Crown Prince had seemed very aloof, giving her no opportunity for any physical contact.

’How could he suddenly...’

The Lizard Servant outside the door saw this and quickly drew back. He had the vague sense that the relationship between Prince Canglan and Ms. Zhi Zhi had grown more intimate.

’This is definitely not the time for me to be here.’

Yu Zhizhi didn’t know what Cang Lan was going to do. She was a little scared, yet also a little expectant as she watched him slowly lift her wrist and press his ice-cold lips to it.

Ngh...

Her heart began to race.

Yu Zhizhi couldn’t help but turn her head to the side. ’Is Prince Canglan going to... kiss my wrist?’

Cang Lan held her slender, delicate wrist, his lips pressed against her skin. He could smell the faint scent of jasmine, which made him yearn for the aroma he remembered from the night before.

His golden-brown eyes slowly darkened. His lips, still pressed against her wrist, began to trail upward.

’—Here.’

Cang Lan clearly remembered the place where she had been scratched.

Even though the scratch was already gone.

"Let me have a taste?"

The man’s tone wasn’t a question so much as a murmur.

He slowly opened his mouth, revealing two sharp fangs—

Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the air outside, followed by a sound like an entire wall of glass shattering on the ground.

Cang Lan froze, glancing outside.

In an instant, it was as if all his rationality had returned.

He released her hand, rose to his feet, and walked outside.

Yu Zhizhi remained standing there, dazed.

She could still feel it... Cang Lan’s ice-cold lips gliding over her wrist, his warm breath, and the faint, tooth-like pressure against her pulse.

And then...

He had suddenly left.

’That noise just now... it wasn’t a hallucination, was it?’

’What happened?’

Yu Zhizhi quickly turned. Her ornate gown wasn’t suited for fast movement, so she had to gather her skirts to slowly descend the steps.

By the time she walked out of the main hall, the figure of the Big Tiger was long gone.

The noise from before still seemed to echo in her ears, yet everything outside was preternaturally calm.

Two palace maids waiting silently outside saw the Rabbit Clan Lady and hurried to greet her. "Ms. Zhi Zhi, you must be hungry. Your food is ready. Please return to your chambers to dine."

’I’ve only had a little to eat since I woke up.’

And Yu Zhizhi was, indeed, hungry.

She walked toward her residence.

On the way, she couldn’t help but ask, "Did you hear anything just now?"

"It was likely a mutated species or an intruder. The acoustics on the perimeter of the Extreme Ice Palace are very sensitive, which is why you could hear it so clearly. But it’s actually quite far from us, Ms. Zhi Zhi, so please don’t worry. With Prince Canglan here, the Extreme Ice Palace is perfectly safe."

One maid soothed her in a soft voice.

The other chimed in, "Yes, the Extreme Ice Palace is Prince Canglan’s domain. Anyone who comes here uninvited is guaranteed to leave their life behind."

’I see...’

’No wonder the sound seemed so close, yet everything was calm when I came outside.’

Yu Zhizhi returned to her chambers and had the maids help her change out of the formal court gown. She put on a lighter, more practical belted dress.

She sat down on a cushion and took a sip of the hot soup waiting on the low table.

After finishing her meal.

Yu Zhizhi sat down at her vanity, removed the jewels from her wrist, and placed them in a box.

She looked at the chain. It was originally snow-white, but now the snowflake charm was tinged with a faint crimson—perhaps from absorbing a bit of blood last night.

Yu Zhizhi put the bracelet back on.

’There’s something unsettling about the Crown Prince of Moonrise...’

’Even though I want to get closer to him, when I’m actually the focus of his attention, my scalp still prickles with fear.’

’Having the bracelet the Purple Fox gave me seems to help a little.’

"Ms. Zhi Zhi!"

The Lizard Servant came running frantically.

"The Little Octopus you brought with you seems to have slipped out!"

The Lizard knew how much the Rabbit Clan Lady from the Valoran Empire valued the little red pet she’d brought with her.

He didn’t dare to delay and came to report directly.

’If anything actually happened to that octopus, I couldn’t bear the responsibility!’

Yu Zhizhi quickly stood up and ran outside.

"Alpha, I’m going to the palace entrance."

The Lizard hurriedly followed. "We can go to the entrance, but Ms. Zhi Zhi, whatever you do, do not leave the palace grounds! It’s very dangerous!"

Yu Zhizhi’s mind was completely filled with thoughts of the Little Octopus.

’He must have slipped away trying to find me...’

’He probably went in the wrong direction.’

The Lizard Servant led Yu Zhizhi to the entrance of the Extreme Ice Palace. Outside, a group of soldiers in pitch-black armor were locked in a chaotic battle with the Palace Guards. Though the soldiers wore helmets, their eyes glowed red.

A behemoth suddenly appeared among the soldiers. It was as tall and broad as a mountain, like some kind of mutated Demon. It had a long, hard tail and wielded a giant axe that looked powerful enough to cleave the palace in two.

And on the head of this very Demon, Yu Zhizhi saw a splash of red.

’The Little Octopus?!’

She had no idea when the red Little Octopus had climbed up there, but it was perched on the Demon’s head like a hat, its little cheeks puffed out as if it were getting dizzy from being shaken around.

’I-I’m gonna be sick!’

’This big lug won’t stop moving. I really can’t take it anymore.’

’I was trying to find Tutu, but I got the wrong person. That little white thing wasn’t a rabbit at all, it was a chinchilla!’

The addition of the giant Demon gradually put the Palace Guards at a disadvantage.

The Lizard Servant quickly said, "Ms. Zhi Zhi, we have to go back!"

’It’s too dangerous to stand here. We could get caught in the fighting!’

"J-just a little longer..."

Yu Zhizhi watched the red Little Octopus, frantic with worry.

The giant Demon’s axe cut down a swath of Beastman guards. It threw its head back with a roar, then turned its gaze toward the palace entrance.

"DESTROY!!" Its eyes blazed with fire. "I SHALL DESTROY EVERYTHING!!"

’I knew it was dangerous outside the Extreme Ice Palace, but I never imagined a mutated species could be such a massive Demon.’

’It’s a good thing I wasn’t thrown out of the palace...’

The giant Demon attacked indiscriminately. It stared menacingly at the white figure at the entrance to the Extreme Ice Palace, raised its giant axe, and seemed to want to cleave the entrance apart!

A giant golden sword came flying through the air, plunging straight into the Demon’s thick arm!

The guards’ faces lit up with elation. "The Prince is here!!"

Yu Zhizhi stared, stunned as well.

High in the sky, a figure in golden armor stood silhouetted against the heavens. He looked down upon the giant Demon on the ground, his gaze as sharp as a falcon’s, filled with undeniable contempt, as if he were looking at a mere ant. "A fish that slipped through the net."

Cang Lan had rushed over from another battlefield. He had already dealt with the intruders there; only this one giant Demon had managed to escape.

The giant golden sword severed the Demon’s arm, then flew steadily back to hover vertically behind the man in the sky.

The Demon let out a scream of agony.

Cang Lan’s tone was icy. "Kneel!"