Chapter 181: The Great Mage of O Village, L Bo (3)

""This is my home now, come in!""

The house was shabby, but magic runes were carved all around. The rabbit seemed to sense something and suddenly cried out, ""Jingwen, where are you? Why does this place feel so weird!""

Sang Chu took a few steps away and replied softly, ""I'm in the house of a high-ranking summoner. This place is a bit unusual. You stay put for now, I'll go take a look. I've left the rabbit and the others with you, so you should be safe for the night.""

Just then, L was already walking toward Sang Chu, frowning. ""Why aren't you coming in?""

Right under L's nose, Sang Chu casually put her hands behind her back and, without anyone noticing, tossed all the used-up cards and some other things out. Then she turned to L with a bright smile:

""I just wanted to take a look at the magic in this old house. I didn't expect that, though it looks rundown, the magic here is actually quite new, and it seems to be the work of a master. I wonder if you could explain it to me? I'm really curious about these spells.""

L was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, ""My lady, this magic was all set up by the high mage of our village. I don't know any powerful spells myself, you're joking with me. Come in quickly, it's cold outside.""

""Alright.""

The servant cards Sang Chu had thrown out were swept away by some magical force in a place she couldn't see, but she didn't notice. The rabbit, however, sniffed out something and, grabbing a few cards in its mouth, darted out the door.

As soon as the magic was triggered, L immediately noticed and turned to look at Sang Chu, a half-smile on his face. ""I didn't expect Her Highness to have something that could control earth spirits, and even make them obey you?""

Hearing L call her ""Your Highness,"" Sang Jingwen hurried over to Sang Chu's side, looking anxious. Sang Chu reached out to comfort him, then smiled at L.

""I didn't expect that, just to catch a little witch, the high mage would be summoned. I wonder how much Pei Qi paid you? I'll double it—how about that?""

L hadn't expected Sang Chu to see through him, and his old eyes glared fiercely at her. ""How did Your Highness recognize me?""

""Since you know I can make earth spirits obey, you should also know I have more than one trump card. Isn't it only natural that I know who you are?""

L suddenly thought of the witch who wasn't with the group. ""Was it that person just now?""

Knowing he hadn't recognized Sai He and the others, Sang Chu was secretly pleased. That pill really worked—it even fooled a high mage.

""Let's not talk in circles. I do have a question, though. I wonder if the high mage can answer it for me?""

L glanced at her, wary of the earth spirits outside, but didn't dare act rashly. He simply sat down and looked at her. ""Please, Your Highness, ask away.""

""I know Pei Qi is plotting against me, but with his abilities, he shouldn't be able to summon a high mage just to deal with a minor witch like me. So, I want to know, who is really after me?""

L replied evasively, ""How should I know? Maybe Your Highness just has too many enemies?""

Sang Chu walked over to the sofa and smiled. ""Is that so? Then I must be quite something. But I heard that the Lord of Lexin City is planning to hold a grand rose festival. I wonder where those roses came from? You wouldn't happen to know, would you?""

L's eyes stared coldly at Sang Chu, but she didn't care and kept smiling, feeling like she was teasing him. ""It's not so rare for the Lord of Lexin City to have roses, is it? Am I wrong to guess that you supplied them?""

Sang Chu smiled at L, as if probing. ""High mage, you and Pei Qi are enemies, right? He's after my life, and someone wants to use me as bait. That's fine, I don't mind being a pawn. But since Pei Qi is dead, I suppose this plot is over. So, high mage, your goal must be related to the roses, right? You want to get them before the Lord of Lexin City does?""

L realized he was being led by the nose, but didn't care. All he wanted was the roses. ""Since Your Highness already knows, why not be generous and hand them over?""

Sang Chu said, ""Roses aren't such a big deal to me. Besides, you're a black mage—you can't grow flowers in the sun. So, you need me to cultivate them for you, right? But I'm not one to be threatened. If you want something from me, you have to ask nicely.""

""What do you want, then?""

""Nothing much, just the roses. I don't really care about them. As long as I have the seeds, I can give you as many as you want. But these seeds are very rare, and I don't have many left. I already gave most of them to someone else in exchange for help. The roses I have now are all that's left. I can give them all to you, but the Lord of Lexin City—the leader of your Black Mage Alliance—won't let you go so easily, will he? Carrying so many roses alone is dangerous.""

Sang Chu spoke slowly, and L didn't notice the trap in her words. He replied directly, ""I'm not afraid of him! However many you have, I can take them all!""

Sang Jingwen was stunned beside her, thinking, Is this guy an idiot? Didn't he just admit that the Lord of Lexin City is the mastermind behind the Black Mages?

Sang Chu turned her hand and took out a small pouch. ""I only have a few left, but I think I'm worth more than a few roses, right? High mage, how about spending the night here?""

L immediately put away the roses and said, ""Don't worry, Your Highness. The monsters outside won't dare come near. Just rest here for the night.""

After speaking, he turned and left, muttering under his breath: ""Isn't he an idiot?""

Lu Min L: ""He really thinks highly of himself, Ah Chu. What should I do next?""

""Don't rush, hide from the monsters first. The rabbit is outside with the earth spirits, so it's fine. I'll check out what's harming the village and deal with it. When Sai He and the others get back, we'll talk.""

Sang Jingwen: ""Be careful out there.""

Sang Chu: ""I've already sent the rabbit in. I have about three months left, so I want to see if I can contract L. With him, my journey will be much safer. But I don't have any high-level cards on me right now, so I'll have to wait for Sai He."""

"Here is a fluent, natural English translation of your provided Chinese text (with some garbled characters interpreted as best as possible from context):

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**Chapter 182: The Great Magic—O Village L Wave 4**

Everyone stared at Sang Chu in shock. Yi Ping exclaimed, “You’re really something! He could probably kill me with just one hand!”

Five witches! He’s even stronger than those three witches from before, almost took down a man-eating vine by himself.

Seeing Yi Ping’s expression, Sang Chu laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not that scary!”

After everyone finished chatting around the fire, Sang Chu stood up and said, “Let’s get ready, everyone. We’ll be heading out soon!”

“Yeah, the fire’s already burning. Let’s warm up a bit.”

Sang Jingwen moved closer to the fire for warmth, while Sang Chu went off to take care of something.

...

Meanwhile—

After L got the rose, she was pondering over it when a sudden cold wind swept by.

“Huh?”

“Is this the rose? I haven’t seen one in a long time.”

A man dressed in white, his robes trailing on the snow, stepped out from the blizzard. His features were as if carved from ice and jade, and he was intoxicated by the rose, greedily inhaling its scent.

As the magic in the rose gradually faded, L shouted angrily, “Who are you?! Let me go!”

The man in white looked up at him, his eyes flashing with a cold light. In that instant, L felt as if he’d lost all will, like a puppet.

“Is the rose yours?”

Like a marionette, L stiffly replied, “It was given to me by someone named Sang Chu.”

“Sang Chu?”

The man in white waved his hand, and the snow instantly swept L away, leaving him lying on the ground like a wisp of cotton.

By the time Mu Xue sensed something was wrong, it was already too late. She tried to speak, but her whole body was immobilized.

“Brother? Xiao Xue?”

The person sitting next to her suddenly stopped moving. Sang Chu immediately sensed something was wrong.

Suddenly, he felt someone behind him. As he turned, he found himself completely paralyzed. “Who are you?”

Isn’t this the monster from outside? How did it get in?

The man in white was very tall, at least as tall as Sang Chu’s most dangerous enemy. He tossed Yi Ping and Sang Jingwen, who were sitting on the sand, to the ground, then sat down himself.

“Are you Sang Chu?”

Realizing that resistance was futile, Sang Chu replied, “Yes. Are you looking for me?”

“I want flowers. Lots and lots of roses.”

Sang Chu stared at him. This man seemed obsessed with flowers.

“Are you the Lord of Lixin City?”

Hearing this, the man in white straightened his back and sneered, “I’m not some minor character who can’t show his face in public.”

Suddenly, his expression changed. In a flash, he appeared beside Xiang, sniffing her for a long moment before pulling back and frowning. “Strange. You have a strong trace of my cold curse on you, yet you’re still alive?”

Curse?

Wait, this man is...!!!

Sang Chu swallowed hard. “The Demon King?”

Xue You (Snow Ghost) let out a cold laugh, his icy hand slowly reaching for Sang Chu’s neck. “Do you know why my cold curse doesn’t kill people?”

“N-no, I don’t.”

The chill from his hand spread from Sang Chu’s neck throughout his body. His blood seemed to freeze, and he shivered uncontrollably.

Xue You said, “Go to the underworld and find the answer yourself.”

His voice was slow and calm, but the cold was overwhelming. The entire space was filled with ice and snow. The temperature plummeted, and even the fire was instantly covered in frost.

With the last of his strength, Sang Chu managed to release Xiang Granny from her seal. “Please, Granny Xiang, help me! I didn’t hurt him!”

It was Xiang Granny’s first time seeing the true form of the Snow Demon King. She hurriedly knelt and pleaded, “Demon King, my master never harmed me. The blood on her that carries the cold curse was stolen from your palace to save me. If you’re angry because of the blood on her, you can use your magic to see the truth for yourself.”

Xue You looked at Xiang, who was unaffected by the cold curse, and frowned slightly. “You’re a merfolk?”

“Yes. My master gave me a special pill so I could walk freely on land and hide my tail without any side effects.”

Xue You glanced at her, waved his hand, and the ice and snow instantly vanished. Sang Chu, barely surviving, clutched his neck and curled up on the ground, shivering from the cold.

“Demon King, I swear my master never harmed the merfolk.”

Xue You said, “Then break the contract.”

“Alright.”

Sang Chu didn’t say much, simply agreed, and immediately released Na from the contract. As soon as Na was free, she saw the imposing man and hurriedly hid behind Sang Chu, clutching her tightly.

“Sang Sang, what happened? Are you abandoning me?”

Normally, Sang Chu wouldn’t release her like this. She gently patted Na’s hand and said, “It’s okay. Once our contract is broken, you’ll be free.”

Na’s eyes widened, tears welling up. “Sang Sang, you don’t want me anymore? I’m useful, really! If you want, you can drink my blood. My blood...”

Before she could finish, Xue You yanked Na over, glaring at her in disgust. “You’re a noble merfolk, yet you beg a human witch so pathetically! Don’t you have any dignity?”

“I don’t!”

Na didn’t know where she found the courage, but she clung tightly to Sang Chu’s arm and refused to let go.

“When I was being abused by those monsters, I lost all dignity. If Sang Sang hadn’t saved me, I don’t know how much longer I would have been trapped. You know nothing, so don’t judge my choices or my life. I don’t need dignity—I just want to stay with Sang Sang. With her, I don’t have to be afraid. I can do what I like, walk in the sunlight openly. These are things I never had before, and I don’t want to lose them!”

Xiang Granny added, “Demon King, the merfolk are not what they once were. My magic is weak, I can’t even protect myself. The merfolk disappeared a hundred years ago. Now, we can only hide in the deep sea, but even there, the high-level witches hunt us. If not for my master, I wouldn’t have survived. The few merfolk left are all here, and we followed our master willingly. Please don’t blame her.”

Xue You’s eyes flickered, and his voice unconsciously softened a bit. “The merfolk... are gone?”

Xiang Granny didn’t know what relationship Xue You had with the merfolk, but it seemed he truly didn’t wish them harm.

“Yes, they disappeared a hundred years ago.”

Without another word, Xue You turned into a swirl of frost and vanished on the spot. The cold spell ended instantly.

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Let me know if you need any more chapters or have specific requests for names or terminology!"