Chapter Thirty-Two: Carving Out One’s Own Future

“Whoa—this mocking function really works!” Linley couldn’t help but press the embrace button; the mech immediately spread its arms and hugged the tree man tightly.

“What’s…what’s happening…” The tree man was stunned. Somehow, the mech’s embrace felt inexplicably warm.

Linley impatiently pressed the self-destruct button.

Boom!!

A massive explosion erupted over the lake in Snow City. The people of Snow City stared wide-eyed, utterly shocked at Linley’s decisive sacrifice—“His Highness the Prince is truly magnificent!”

“My son!” Winnie’s face changed drastically by the lakeside. Oh heavens, he really pressed it! Because of budget constraints, she had removed the mech’s safety protocols.

Caught in the explosion, Linley’s world spun wildly. When he came to, he was standing in a noisy plaza.

“Students, the finals have finally arrived—we’ve selected over a thousand varieties of fruit from all over, and after a month of scrutiny, only two remain!” In the center of the plaza stood a familiar woman, addressing the crowd.

“This is the final round of evaluation. The victor will become the exclusive fruit supplier for the five academies of Snow City and receive a reward of five thousand gold coins!”

Winnie walked to the left side of the plaza, where two stalls of fruit awaited.

“The judge for this round will be none other than the beautiful and wise, Snow City’s greatest priestess, forever young Winnie—myself! Rest assured, I shall be vigilant and select the best fruit supplier!”

“Woohoo!” The plaza erupted in cheers.

“Winnie, enough with the chatter, just eat already!”

“We don’t trust you as a judge for anything else, but we believe in your taste for food!”

“Rest easy, gourmet Winnie won’t let us down!”

Winnie picked up an apple from the left stall. “First, I’ll taste the fruit from the anonymous Mr. A, code-named ‘Snow City’s Beauty Comes from My Blossoms.’ It’s said Mr. A is of noble birth, so surely he’s brought us something exceptional.”

Elegantly, she took a bite.

“Mmm, the taste… let me chew… ugh…” Winnie suddenly began to vomit in front of everyone.

She spit out the apple, gulped down several glasses of water to rinse her mouth.

“Heavens, this apple is so foul it made me retch—it’s a new low in my life, eliminated, absolutely eliminated!”

The plaza was in uproar.

“No way, is it really that bad?”

“But the previous judges said it was delicious!”

“Believe me or not!” Winnie raised her hand, holding the apple, and strode toward the Lady Paladin nearby. “I want the lovely Lady Bai, whose beauty and wisdom pale in comparison to mine, to testify!”

The crowd buzzed.

“Lady Bai is straightforward; she’s been rivals with Winnie since childhood—she won’t fake it.”

“That’s right, Lady Bai is noble of character; she miraculously awakened to become the first elven paladin, all to protect citizens under Winnie’s charge!”

“She’s the undisputed goddess of justice!”

All eyes shifted to the paladin. She accepted the apple, took a bite.

She didn’t comment on the taste; instead, her face turned green and she collapsed.

“What happened?” Chaos broke out in the plaza. Winnie cradled the paladin, crying out to the sky. “Heavens, this apple was so awful it made Lady Bai faint!”

No doubt, today’s winner is code-named ‘About to Marry the King,’ the anonymous Ms. W. She will become Snow City’s exclusive fruit supplier and receive the five thousand gold coin reward!”

“That Ms. W is you, isn’t it!” Linley, watching from the sidelines, cried out, smacking his forehead. Just where was this place?

His vision blurred, and suddenly he was in a laboratory. An elderly man with a head full of white hair was digging out a bath.

“Damn it, how could this be? Impossible, impossible! How could my fruit taste so terrible…”

The old man poured a green potion into the bath. “Something must have gone wrong. I, a distinguished botanist, entered anonymously—how could I be so insulted by that woman?”

He began to study new fruit varieties.

Time passed; after years of research, the old man created fruit that could be freely flavored.

“Haha, I’ve done it! This is my greatest creation—they’ll make that vile woman admit my prowess!”

Ecstatic, he donned his favorite clothes and summoned several fist-sized fruits from the bath.

“My children, let’s go show that malicious woman what you’re made of. She surely will…”

Suddenly, a shoe landed on his head.

He collapsed, his little fruits gathered around him, crying.

“Why must it happen now…” The old man reached desperately toward the sky, then, full of regret, departed this world.

Having watched the entire scene in bewilderment, Linley finally understood. This must be the skeleton’s memory.

So its obsession was fruit? Are you kidding? It sought Winnie only to prove its greatness, not for revenge?

“Crazy!” Linley shouted, and in his rage, consciousness faded.

Dawn approached, Snow City steeped in sorrow.

Several royal mages, newly arrived, hung funeral wreaths at the castle gates.

“May your virtues shine for generations… May your love endure through the ages… Your presence remains, your spirit lives on… We bid a tearful farewell to the young prince—imagine, his own elegy left behind for himself!”

“He sacrificed himself for Snow City; his death was meaningful!”

“So touching!”

“Touching, my foot! I’m not dead yet!”

With red-rimmed eyes, Linley suddenly poked his head out the window, grabbed stones, and hurled them furiously at the mages. “Go renovate my castle already—don’t rush to mourn me!”

“Well, you’re almost gone anyway!” The mages, gleeful, watched Linley’s bandaged form.

Never had they seen Linley so miserable. Hearing of last night’s events, their delight soared, and they crafted wreaths at dawn.

Linley, furious, spread his arms. “The sea is boundless…”

“Don’t, Your Highness!”

“We’ll start renovating at once!”

Sensing danger, the mages bolted, vanishing without a trace.

The castle echoed with rumbling sounds as mages cast spells to redecorate—according to Linley’s blueprint.

“Linley, calm yourself.” Lin Wen gently stroked Linley’s head. “You knew it would self-destruct, why did you press it?”

“How was I supposed to know it didn’t have a safety mechanism!” Linley regretted deeply. He’d thought, no matter how mischievous Winnie was, she wouldn’t risk his life. Caught up in the moment, he pressed it—only to end up bandaged like a mummy.

“Where’s Mother?” Linley gritted his teeth. Why was she gone when he woke?

“The headmasters are interrogating her. They’re quite angry.” Lin Wen replied. Winnie was in trouble—when the headmasters learned she’d resurrected the skeleton and caused such chaos, they hauled her in for questioning.

The king knew as well. Bigger trouble awaited Winnie; Lin Wen hoped she’d learn her lesson this time.

Yet the incident had made Linley more famous. Overnight, the elves were so moved by his actions that he became Snow City’s hero. The chapel was packed with people praying for him.

Of course, Lin Wen knew Linley’s decision to self-destruct wasn’t deeply considered—he just thought it would be fun.

But some still held hope…

“Master, why did you chase the skeleton?”

The leopard, always by Linley’s side, asked. As long as Lin Wen stayed in Snow City, it wouldn’t leave Linley.

The leopard was curious about Linley’s true motive. If it was for Snow City, then self-destruct or not, he was a true hero.

“Ah, that…” Linley’s regret was palpable. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bothered. I was worried the skeleton would find its nemesis, and the feather I just got would have to be returned.”

The leopard was speechless. Yet this was the Linley it knew; if he suddenly acted out of pure justice, it wouldn’t seem like him.

Lin Wen chuckled, watching Linley. “That skeleton isn’t dead yet.”

“What?” Linley’s eyes widened. “Where is it?”

“The headmasters are purifying it, probably in the hall,” said Lin Wen.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier!” Linley rushed toward the castle hall.

The skeleton had gone to such lengths to prove itself to Winnie; Linley wanted to tell it the truth behind that contest—Winnie had definitely lined her own pockets.

He arrived just as Winnie and several headmasters formed a circle, chanting spells. The skeleton in the center shone with white light and began to fade.

“Hey, wait, I have something to tell you!” he shouted.

The skeleton looked up. “Young prince, my apologies for mistaking you for a necromancer.”

The fire in its eyes softened; all its anger had vanished upon learning Linley used cultivation powers.

“You will surely fulfill the forest elves’ hopes.” Seeing its shining body, the skeleton realized it was about to disappear. It pointed at Linley. “This is a blessing for the day you break the cage.”

A beam of white light shot from its fingertip and pierced Linley’s forehead. The headmasters did not intervene, knowing it was indeed a blessing.

The skeleton vanished, bones clattering to the floor.

Linley touched his forehead. “What’s the point of breaking the cage? Why did it leave so quickly?”

The leopard sneered. “You all treat the planet as a cage…”

It didn’t finish, for Lin Wen’s icy killing intent locked onto it.

“You traitors, won’t even tell him the truth!” he growled in beast tongue. Lin Wen smiled coldly. Five hundred years had passed, and these self-proclaimed righteous primitive elves, with their twisted rhetoric, had only grown more stubborn.

“Who betrayed whom?” Lin Wen replied in beast tongue. “He will learn everything. The King of the Forest Elves will forge his own future, and you have no say!”

The leopard was stunned. Wait… was the crown prince going to give the elven throne to Linley?

Was he mad? Love for his brother was one thing, but this was too much!