Chapter Thirty-Six: Not Only Riding Me, But Wanting to Sleep With Me

“Holy Mother, please bless the prince and grant him a swift recovery.”

Inside the grand cathedral, the girl joined many other elves in prayer for Lindley, who lay in the castle.

“Sis, sis… Grandpa’s here!” At noon, Big Elephant came running in. The girl turned her head. “Grandfather?” she called.

The Chief Mage entered the cathedral, surrounded by a crowd. The girl, delighted, threw herself into his arms. “Grandfather, is His Highness the Prince well again? Can I go see him?”

The congregation in the cathedral also turned their eyes toward them.

“His Highness…” The Chief Mage looked into his granddaughter’s expectant eyes and felt a strong urge to tell her everything. But to obtain the cultivation technique, he had to go along with Lindley’s game and couldn’t reveal the prince’s recovery.

Even to his own granddaughter, he had to deceive.

“In truth, His Highness has been cursed by the dark magic of an evil wraith…”

“What!”

“How could this happen?”

A commotion swept through the cathedral.

The Chief Mage put on a look of deep sorrow. “The young prince has fallen into a deep sleep. To break the curse, a kind-hearted maiden must journey to the castle…”

Thus, a legend began to spread throughout the world: the young prince of the Forest Elves had battled to the death against the undead to save his people, and, in its dying breath, the evil spirit cast an eternal slumber upon him. Only the kindest and bravest maiden could awaken the sleeping prince with a kiss.

Within a year, this tale had traveled across the entire world, drawing countless girls who wished to save the prince.

On the very day this legend was born, the people of Snow City did not fully believe it. But by evening, the castle on the mountain was shrouded in thick vines, its paths overgrown with brambles—the elves began to believe the curse was real.

That evening, inside the castle, the royal mages cast spells to decorate the halls with all manner of dangerous plants. Apart from the quarters occupied by the queen and the mages, the rest of the castle was transformed into a perilous jungle.

From the outside, the place truly appeared to be a castle cursed by the wilds.

“If it’s to be a 50-50 split, the entry fee should be at least a hundred gold coins!” In the castle, Lindley was bargaining with Winnie. “I am a prince, after all! A low price doesn’t befit my status!”

“No way! You think everyone’s as rich as you?” Winnie refused flatly. This game was different from the gem business—the gems had targeted nobles, but this game would be most profitable with as many participants as possible.

“Ten gold coins, not a coin more! Any higher, and people will see through our charade!”

As she spoke, the nearby royal mages all nodded in agreement.

“That’s right, ten gold is already a lot!”

“If you ask me, we shouldn’t even charge a single coin!”

The mages didn’t approve of charging an entry fee, but neither Winnie nor Lindley was willing to give up, especially Winnie. Though she had resisted Lindley’s sleeping game at first, she agreed at once when she heard there would be a game involved.

“If a girl isn’t willing to pay even ten gold coins, she definitely doesn’t truly wish to save Lindley.” Her reasoning was clear and persuasive.

Of course, the method of collecting the coins would be disguised—selling maps of the castle, providing trial information, and so on. With Winnie’s cunning, the girls would hardly notice anything amiss.

After much debate, Lindley, who had little understanding of prices, was persuaded.

“Ten gold coins it is.”

Winnie had a point—if the price were too high, it would arouse suspicion.

But Lindley was not one to let himself lose out. After finishing his negotiations with Winnie, he immediately sought out Lady White, the Paladin.

Lady White was leading her horse out of the castle, preparing to leave.

“Are you leaving, sister?” Lindley ran over and asked.

Hearing him address her as “sister,” Lady White was thoroughly delighted.

“There’s a war to fight—I can’t stay here forever.” She bent down and stroked Lindley’s head. “If Winnie bullies you again, tell the other headmistresses and have them let me know. I’ll come back and teach her a lesson!”

Lady White had grown quite fond of Lindley. She knew all about his sleeping game and the so-called contest, but she chalked it up to childish play.

Lindley blinked. “Sister, before you go, could you give me some pocket money?”

Even if he was to sleep, he would never forget about his allowance.

The other headmistresses had indeed mentioned this to Lady White. “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”

“I can’t sleep without pocket money,” Lindley replied.

Lady White burst out laughing. This child was so innocent and adorable! But since he was still a child, it was only natural for him to want an allowance.

“How much do you want?”

“Twenty gold coins a month. Give me half a year’s worth first,” Lindley said.

Lady White was taken aback. Twenty gold coins meant little to her, but for a child, what could he need so much money for?

Lindley continued, “The old Windwalker gave me that much.”

Of course, this was a lie—Lady White was the first person Lindley had hit up for pocket money.

But hearing that the old lady had given him twenty gold, Lady White unhesitatingly handed over the same amount.

Lindley then went to the other headmistresses and used the same tactic. Though not as wealthy as Lady White, upon hearing what the others had given, they handed over the same sum without protest.

“Adults are truly fascinating beings. Just tell them what others have given, and they’ll never shortchange you,” Lindley thought gleefully, counting his gold coins. The resentment of never getting enough pocket money in his previous life seemed to fade away.

The leopard looked on, exasperated. “Aren’t you afraid they’ll find out you’re tricking them?”

“It’s nothing,” Lindley replied carelessly. “Even if they find out, they’ll keep giving me the same anyway.”

After all, they were adults—adults with status. How could they be stingy?

Satisfied, Lindley returned to his chamber to complete one last task: writing out the introductory method for cultivation—the technique to transform magical energy into true qi and circulate it.

He had long since mastered the transformation himself but had struggled to find a way for others to store and circulate true qi.

Now, he understood. The last reinforcement with true qi had inspired him.

The part of him least harmed by true qi was his bones. Elf bones were special—they functioned much like meridians in the cultivation world. True qi flowed more easily through bone, could be transmitted throughout the body, and caused no harm.

Lindley had even confirmed this by picking up a skeleton. A skeleton’s bones perfectly supported the flow of true qi. With his theory confirmed, the rest was simple. He just needed to modify the existing magic array slightly.

Of course, this was but the first step. Understanding the importance of bones only gave other elves a starting point in their cultivation journey.

“There, it’s done!”

In the middle of the night, Lindley finished writing the cultivation entry method.

“Give this to the mages,” he instructed a maid, who took the manuscript away. Then he turned to the other two maids and five creatures in the room. “I’m going to sleep now. You must protect me well.”

The two maids and four fruits nodded. The maids would guard Lindley closely, while the four fruits would arrange many plants outside the room—they were an important part of the coming trials.

The blessing the skeleton had given Lindley was, in fact, a means of controlling these four fruits. Upon learning Lindley’s identity, the fruits happily agreed to serve as his followers.

There was also a leopard with a role to play, though it had no intention of doing so.

Once Lindley fell asleep, the leopard quietly began to slip away.

“Where are you going?” the maids asked curiously.

“To the bathroom,” the leopard replied. The eldest prince was still at the palace—this was its best chance to escape. If it didn’t leave now, things would become troublesome when the prince returned.

“Once this little one falls asleep, there’s no one to protect me.”

The leopard cast one last glance at Lindley and turned to go—but found itself unable to move. Something felt odd about its tail. Looking back, it discovered Lindley, deep in slumber, was clutching its tail.

“When did he grab my tail?” The leopard was alarmed. It turned to pull its tail free and, after some effort, finally succeeded—only to find itself somehow being used as Lindley’s pillow.

“Heavens, how did this happen!” It struggled frantically. Lindley frowned in his sleep.

“Quiet!” A fist landed squarely on the leopard’s head. Dizzy, it collapsed.

“He’s not content with riding me—now he wants to sleep on me too!”

This was the last thought that crossed the leopard’s mind.