Crystal sat looking at the staircase that had been revealed in the wall, the dark passage leading down to the black market below. She continued eating the food Mari had brought, though her appetite was minimal. Still, she forced herself to consume what she could, knowing she needed strength for what was coming.
She also insisted that Mari eat as well. When the maid protested that she'd already eaten earlier, Crystal fixed her with a look that made it clear this wasn't a request. So Mari sat down and joined her lady, though she felt uncomfortable eating while Crystal was present—it wasn't proper for a servant to dine with her mistress.
The food was plentiful, far more than two people could finish in one sitting, so they ate slowly. The silence between them was comfortable at first, just the quiet sounds of eating and the occasional clink of utensils against plates.
As they ate, Mari looked at Crystal and finally voiced the question that had been bothering her.
"My lady, what are you doing here again in the black market?" Mari asked carefully. "Last time you came here, you spent a fortune to purchase some rare cultivation pills. And you gave them all to Prince Noah as a gift."
Mari's voice took on a slightly pained quality as she continued.
"Those pills could have helped you, my lady. Your cultivation has been stagnant for so long, and those pills were specifically designed to help with meridian blockages. But you just... gave them away."
Crystal paused in her eating, chopsticks hovering over her plate. She remembered that incident from her previous life. How eager she'd been to please Noah, how desperate to prove her devotion. She'd bankrupted a portion of her personal funds to buy those pills, thinking that such a generous gift would make him see her as valuable, as someone worth his attention.
He'd accepted them with barely a thank you, she recalled. Probably sold them or gave them to someone actually useful to his plans.
Crystal felt a flash of anger at her past self's foolishness, but she pushed it down. That was the past. Or rather, it was a future that would never happen now.
She changed her expression, schooling her features back to neutrality, and answered Mari with a question of her own.
"Mari, what realm are you in?"
The maid looked at her lady with a slightly confused expression, wondering what this had to do with anything. But she answered readily enough.
"I am in the Master Phase, my lady. I achieved breakthrough three years ago and have been consolidating my foundation since then."
Master Phase was the second of the five major cultivation phases, representing significant power. Mari was stronger than probably ninety percent of cultivators in the kingdom, which was why she served as Crystal's personal maid—she was both servant and bodyguard.
Crystal just nodded and went back to eating her food. After a few moments of silence, she looked back at Mari with an expression that was hard to read.
Then Crystal laughed a little. It wasn't a happy sound, more like someone who'd just appreciated a dark joke that only they understood.
"I will need your strength for something," Crystal said, her voice taking on a serious quality. "And I hope you will help me."
Mari immediately stood up, her chair scraping against the floor. She placed her hand over her chest in the traditional gesture of oath-taking, her posture straight and formal.
"My lady, I have served the Asura Clan since I was a child," Mari said with absolute conviction. "I have been by your side for years. Whatever you need, whatever you ask of me, I will do it. I swear this on my cultivation and my life."
Crystal smiled at this declaration, but there was a coldness in her eyes that Mari noticed despite her emotional moment. The maid was a Master Phase expert with years of combat experience—she'd learned to read people, to detect danger, to sense when something was wrong. And something about Crystal's eyes in that moment sent a chill down her spine.
Then Crystal said something in a cryptic tone that made Mari pause.
"Mari, what is a house?"
The question seemed to come from nowhere, nonsensical given their current situation. Mari blinked, uncertain how to respond.
Crystal continued before Mari could formulate an answer, her voice taking on a contemplative quality.
"It's a safe place. A safe haven for peace and quiet. A space where you can let your guard down, where you should be protected from the dangers of the outside world."
She paused, her smile growing slightly wider but no warmer.
"But what happens if bugs disturb that peace? If insects infest your home, crawling through the walls, contaminating the food, spreading disease, threatening the safety of everyone inside?"
Crystal's voice dropped to something colder, harder.
"You have to squash them before they become a problem. Before the infestation spreads. Before your safe haven becomes just as dangerous as the world outside."
After saying this, Crystal returned her attention to her food, calmly continuing to eat as if she'd just discussed the weather rather than something that sounded very much like a veiled threat or declaration of intent.
Mari stood there for a moment, her hand still over her chest, processing what she'd just heard. Then her body started to shake. Not from fear, exactly, but from the sudden comprehension of Crystal's words and what they might mean.
Bugs in the house. Threats inside the safe haven. Things that needed to be squashed before they became problems.
Crystal was talking about traitors within the Asura Clan. About people who'd infiltrated their family, their household, their sanctuary. About eliminating threats from the inside before they could do damage.
And somehow, Crystal knew about these threats. Despite being a 17-year-old girl with sealed cultivation, despite having been unconscious just days ago, she knew. She knew things she shouldn't be able to know, and she was planning to act on that knowledge.
Mari slowly sat back down, her mind reeling. Who was this person wearing Crystal's face?
Meanwhile, on the roof of the Enchanted Palace, Miralyn Valen stood looking out over the vast expanse of the capital city. Wind blew across the elevated position, making her purple hair flow around her like a living thing. The view from up here was spectacular—you could see the entire noble district, parts of the merchant quarters, even the distant walls that marked the city's boundaries.
She let out a big sigh, her breath misting slightly in the cool air.
In front of her stood several cloaked figures, their faces hidden, their postures suggesting they were awaiting orders or delivering reports. These were her people, agents loyal to her specifically rather than to House Valen or the kingdom in general.
One of them stepped forward and spoke, his voice low and deferential.
"My lady, we have news about Prince Makhail's forces. He's been recruiting more heavily than we anticipated, pulling in mercenaries and cultivators from outside the kingdom. His faction is growing stronger."
The man paused, then continued with a second piece of information.
"Also, it looks like several major sects will be interfering with the kingdom's political power soon. They've been sending emissaries to various noble houses, making offers, establishing connections. We're not sure of their ultimate goal yet, but they're definitely positioning themselves to influence upcoming events."
Miralyn continued looking out at the cold expanse of the city, her expression unreadable. After a moment, she gave her orders without turning around.
"Have this news delivered to the prince immediately. He needs to know about both developments."
She didn't need to specify which prince. There was only one prince who mattered to Miralyn, only one whose interests she served above all others.
Noah.
After a moment of silence, one of the men stood up from his kneeling position and asked another question.
"My lady, has Prince Noah sent any news recently? Any new orders for us?"
Miralyn finally turned to look at him, and her voice when she spoke was cold. Not angry, just empty of warmth, purely functional.
"He asked me to acquire the Spell Drug before the Crown Prince's banquet. He plans to make his move soon, and he'll need it for what comes next."
The Spell Drug was a rare and highly illegal substance, something that could only be obtained through black market channels. Its effects were insidious—it didn't kill or obviously harm its victim, but it made them suggestible, pliable, willing to believe and do things they normally wouldn't.
Perfect for manipulating people during important social events. Perfect for a prince looking to turn enemies into allies or neutralize potential threats without resorting to obvious violence.
With that statement delivered, Miralyn turned and left the roof, walking back toward the stairs that would take her to the lower levels. Her purple hair flowed behind her as she moved, and the cloaked figures waited until she'd disappeared before dispersing to carry out their various assignments.
Back in Crystal's private room, after she and Mari had finished their meal, they approached the revealed staircase together.
The stairs were long, descending far deeper than seemed reasonable given the building's external structure. But this was the Enchanted Palace—normal physics and geometry didn't always apply here.
Crystal and Mari walked down and down, their footsteps echoing in the enclosed space. The stairs seemed to go on forever, spiraling downward in a pattern that might have been disorienting if not for the subtle lighting that marked the way.
When they finally reached the bottom, what greeted them was remarkable.
An underground marketplace. Or, to be more precise, an underwater marketplace.
They stood at the edge of what should have been the bottom of the lake the Enchanted Palace floated on. Water was clearly visible above and around them, pressing against an invisible barrier. But a giant array formation prevented the water from entering the marketplace itself, holding back countless tons of liquid through pure cultivation engineering.
This explained why the Enchanted Palace had been built in a lake rather than on solid ground. It wasn't just for aesthetics or to create an impressive floating effect. It was because building underwater provided natural concealment and protection for the black market operations below.
The marketplace itself was extensive, sprawling out in multiple directions from the base of the stairs. Stalls and shops lined pathways that wound through the space like streets. Goods of every imaginable type were on display—some legal, many not. Weapons that should have been destroyed, pills made from forbidden ingredients, slaves chained and standing on auction platforms, stolen artifacts that noble houses would pay fortunes to recover.
Crystal and Mari walked around the market, taking in the sights. Everything and anything was for sale here, if you had the coin and knew who to ask.
But Crystal wasn't browsing aimlessly. She was looking for something specific.
After some time navigating the marketplace, they reached one of the main buildings—a larger, more permanent structure rather than a temporary stall. This was where the black market's more specialized services were offered.
A man greeted them at the entrance. He was well-dressed in dark colors, his posture suggesting both confidence and the ability to back up that confidence with violence if necessary. He looked at Crystal and Mari, though both were wearing masks now.
Before entering the black market proper, they'd been stopped and made to don masks. It was one of the fundamental rules—no one showed their face in the black market. Anonymity was guaranteed and required in equal measure. The masks they wore were simple but enchanted, making it impossible to identify the wearer through spiritual sense or cultivation aura detection.
Crystal, hidden behind her mask, smiled at the man. Her voice when she spoke was calm and businesslike.
"I would like to hire five trained assassins."
The request was delivered as casually as if she was ordering tea. The man didn't even blink—in the black market, assassination contracts were common enough that they barely registered as unusual.
But Mari, standing beside her lady, looked at Crystal with shock. She leaned close and whispered urgently in Crystal's ear, keeping her voice too low for the greeter to hear.
"My lady, you are the next leader of a military clan. The Asura Guards are one of the most feared fighting forces in the kingdom. Why would you need to buy assassins? If you need someone eliminated, our own people could handle it far more reliably."
Crystal turned slightly toward Mari, still smiling behind her mask. Her response was quiet but carried absolute certainty.
"I trust my money not to betray me, Mari. Not my family."
The implications of that statement were staggering. Crystal was saying that she didn't trust her own clan members to carry out what she needed done. That somewhere within the Asura household, there were people whose loyalty couldn't be relied upon.
More bugs in the house that needed to be squashed.
With that cryptic statement delivered, Crystal turned back to the greeter and followed him as he gestured for them to enter the building. Mari followed behind her lady, her mind churning with questions she didn't dare ask in this public space.
Unknown to both Crystal and Mari, two figures had noticed their interaction with the greeter and were now following them at a discrete distance. The figures moved through the marketplace crowd with practiced ease, keeping Crystal and Mari in sight while maintaining enough distance not to be obvious about their surveillance.
One leaned close to the other and whispered something too quiet to be overheard in the general marketplace noise.
Then both figures continued their pursuit, following Crystal and Mari into the building where specialized services—including assassination contracts—were negotiated and arranged.