"Your eyes somehow remind me of someone."

"Thank you," Fu Xie Lan replied simply and quickly left the place.

​​

Shen Zue suddenly snapped out of his words. Why would he say such a thing to a man?

Seeing Xie Lan walk away and disappear from his sight, the man looked at the necklace pendant in his palm, gripped it tightly, and started to walk away from the place.

.

.

.

The orange light that spread across the horizon began to dim, a sign that darkness was about to come.

Gu Yi hasn't come back yet, Fu Xie Lan can only hope, wherever the man is, he is fine.

'Miss,' Hao called in her mind.

'Do you have anything to say?' asked Fu Xie Lan.

'While you sleep earlier, I noticed a lot of people with roses tattoo on their bodies,' said Hao jumping from the girl's shoulder to the table and sitting there. As if he was about to say something serious.

'Is it true?'

'Where?' the girl asked again.

'In this palace, Miss.'

'I know, I mean around where did you see it?'

'The whole palace, Miss,' Hao said making the girl stunned.

'You mean everyone in this palace has a mark like that?' asked Fu Xie Lan.

'As far as I can see, I found such a sign, Miss,' Hao replied.

'Why not just use Miss's power? To be sure. If you don't believe me.'

'You know about my eyes?'

'I am a magic beast spirit that has made a contract with you. Of course, I know all about you, Miss,' Hao replied.

'Okay, I trust you,' said Fu Xie Lan.

'That means the people down there and in this pavilion have it too?'

'Right. Except for Miss and your friends, Miss,' Hao explained to the girl.

'Do you know since when they had that mark?' asked Fu Xie Lan after a few minutes of silence.

'Since entering the gates of the royal palace, Miss,' Hao replied.

Hearing the little creature's words, Fu Xie Lan was so sure that the mastermind behind all the events in this palace was not a human.

It means she has to be more alert and careful if she wants to act.

.

.

.

Immediately Fu Xie Lan got ready, and the next minute she stepped into Xue Ning's room.

"What's wrong Xie Lan?" Xue Ning asked when she saw the girl suddenly in front of her room.

"I want to ask you something," said Fu Xie Lan with her eyes scanning Xue Ning's room.

"Ah, she's my roommate," Xue Ning said as she followed the girl's gaze.

"By the way, the tattoo on Lady's neck is very beautiful," said Fu Xie Lan to Xue Ning's roommate.

The girl frowned, rubbing her neck. "Tatto? What do you mean? I've never had anything like that," replied the woman.

"Forget it, Lady. Maybe it's my eyes that are the problem," said Fu Xie Lan.

As for Xue Ning, that girl had wanted to ask the same thing as Fu Xie Lan but didn't know what to say so she just kept it quiet. And after hearing the two people's conversation, instead of feeling represented by Fu Xie Lan's question, she was confused.

"Alright, come on Xue Ning."

"I'll say goodbye," said Fu Xie Lan again and immediately left the room.

"I'm sorry," said Xue Ning to her roommate

The girl then followed Fu Xie Lan to the room Wan Lie and Ju Xian was in.

.

.

.

And here they were, in Wan Lie and Ju Xian's room.

"What is it, Xie Lan?" Wan Lie asked seriously.

"I want to ask you something," said Fu Xie Lan while looking out the window. There might still be some time before the welcoming party begins.

"Whatever it is Xie Lan," Wan Lie replied.

"But before that. I want to tell you the truth about me," Fu Xie Lan said and managed to make a frown on the foreheads of the three people in front of her.

The girl then told all about her identity as the eldest princess of the Zu kingdom, and about the black rose mark on the bodies of everyone in the palace.

"S-so you are the daughter of a traitor from the story that spread in that society, Xie Lan?" Xue Ning asked in disbelief at what she heard.

Immediately Wan Lie and Ju Xian glared at the girl.

"I-I mean you're the princess..."

"Yes, that's me."

Ju Xian who heard this gaped. So the figure he had thought of as a man was a woman? And she is a half-human? But why didn't he feel the human scent from Fu Xie Lan's body at all?

"I'm sure this isn't the only thing you want to say, Xie Lan," said Wan Lie.

The girl nodded.

"Have you ever heard of mind magic?"

Xue Ning and Wan Lie exchanged glances, while Ju Xian, the man didn't respond.

"I heard about it when I was at Xie Lan's Phoenix academy. At that time there was Wan Lie and you too. Remember the pury test incident?" Xue Ning said.

"I mean, apart from that place, or do you guys know something about mind magic? Like how to break the magic?" asked Fu Xie Lan.

"Is something bothering you, Xie Lan?" Xue Ning asked in confusion.

Ju Xian was standing still on the spot as if he was contemplating something.

"Mind magic is characterized by the presence of symbols on the victim's body. Whether it's a plant or animal symbol, it depends on who uses the magic," Ju Xian suddenly spoke making the three people turn their heads towards him.

"You know something about that magic?"

"Not many. But I read about it somewhere when I was still living in my Village," Ju Xian replied.

"If a group of people gets hit by that magic, then they won't be able to see each other's marks."

Fu Xie Lan was more and more certain of her conjecture.

"Is that all?" she asked then.

Ju Xian nodded in approval.

Fu Xie Lan was silent for a moment. No wonder the person she saw in the royal kitchen at that time did not notice the marks on their bodies that were faint. And Xue Ning's roommate also didn't notice the tattoo on her neck.

"The current emperor is not my father," said Fu Xie Lan after a few seconds of silence.

Connecting all the events that happened in the palace. Fu Xie Lan concluded.

"Could it be...." Xue Ning said as if surprised by the answer she found.

"Right. Everyone in the palace is currently affected by the magic," explained Fu Xie Lan.

"Did it have something to do with the sting in the hall that time?" Xue Ning asked.

"I don't know, there's still a lot of confusion. But one thing is for sure," Fu Xie Lan replied.

"Remember the ball of light that you saw back then?"

The three nodded.

"That is no ordinary light. It is a new soul."

"I still can't find the connection between the all, Xie Lan, New soul? What does that mean? And what does that have to do with mind magic?" Xue Ning asked.