Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

Nightmare World.

Five hundred li away from the battlefield—

A cabin in the woods.

Shen Ye and Prince Norton appeared in the cabin at the same time.

Prince Norton immediately fell to the ground.

Shen Ye caught him in time and helped him up, settling him on a large sofa.

—The two of them had arrived directly in the house's study.

Prince Norton, shivering, took a notebook out of his embrace, placed it on the broad wooden desk meant for working, and started writing something swiftly with a pen.

"Your Highness, with your injuries, you should rest first, stop studying," Shen Ye said.

"I need to send orders quickly—if the troops receive my commands and know I'm not dead, their morale won't falter," Prince Norton insisted, continuing to write something.

I get it.

The guy is remote working.

Shen Ye didn't disturb him further, turned around, and left the study, scanning the entire cabin.

It was truly worth the inspection.

Before long, Shen Ye laid out several bottles of wine in the living room and neatly arranged some well-preserved marching rations.

The so-called marching rations were nothing but some oatcakes.

However, Shen Ye also found some potatoes, corn, cured meat, and hard rock salt in the kitchen.

These would be enough.

Back when he lived alone, he often had to take care of himself.

Especially during the New Year.

Then there were times of sickness.

Shen Ye shook his head, stopping the memories.

Fortunately, the kitchen still had cooking utensils.

"Quite good, dinner is settled for today."

He muttered quietly to himself.

After Prince Norton finished writing the military commands, he suddenly smelled a rich fragrance coming from the kitchen.

"Hey, Peiqi, what are you doing?"

"Cooking."

The voice of Shen Ye came from the kitchen.

"Don't we have rations?" Prince Norton asked in surprise.

"Your Highness, I want something hot to eat."

"Hot? Why?"

"Who eats rations for fun—they're tough as nails, cold, and taste awful. According to the tradition of my hometown, even in the worst times, we should make a bowl of hot soup, right?"

Shen Ye stewed the cured meat with potatoes, and went outside to gather some wild vegetables. Since the meat was salty, he used a little less salt, and finally cut the corn into small pieces to throw into the pot.

A pot of steaming hearty mixed vegetable soup was ready.

The wine was opened, poured to the brim.

The bowl was brought to the table.

Prince Norton, looking at the coarse food before him and smelling its fragrance, suddenly felt hungry.

"Peiqi, what's your dream? To become a chef?"

He joked with a smile.

Perhaps it was the weakness and hunger, or perhaps it was the feeling of surviving a close call—

The food tasted delicious.

It was even more flavorful than many delicacies from the royal court.

"No, I'd rather eat ready-made food," Shen Ye said.

"I see you're quite skilled with various cooking tools, have you often cooked before?"

"Yes, I've cooked enough. When I make my fortune, I definitely want to find a woman who truly loves me to marry, so she can cook for me every day."

"You can't always let others do things for you, though."

"I'll take care of all other household chores, and I'll be the one making money."

"That's not bad—But considering how young you are, focusing on settling down seems a bit premature."

"It's just a beautiful wish."

The two of them finished their lively meal.

Prince Norton put down his utensils and went back to the study to continue with his remote work.

Shen Ye washed all the pots and pans, then went to check on the study.

"Your Highness, why don't you call the guards to protect you?" Shen Ye asked curiously.

"I was injured because there was a traitor—but I haven't identified that person yet, so I can't let my whereabouts be known easily—I need to wait for my injuries to heal," Prince Norton explained earnestly.

A pendant that radiated golden light hung around his neck.

With that pendant, his complexion was already much better than before.

"Your Highness, I'll take a look around to get familiar with the surroundings," Shen Ye said.

"Go ahead," Prince Norton said.

Shen Ye turned and left the study, passed through the living room, opened the door, and stepped out.

The plants in the woods were thriving.

What once were footpaths were now obscured by vines and spider webs, nearly impassable.

Shen Ye nodded slightly.

This place is decent, good for staying a while longer.

Should I go back and check it out?

With a silent incantation of "door," he stepped back into the Main World.

In the safehouse deep in the woods.

Prince Norton continued to immerse in his work.

He wrote two lines on the paper:

"I picked it out randomly."

"I'm going to take a look around and get familiar with the surroundings."

—Those were the two sentences Shen Ye had said.

Prince Norton looked at the two lines, deep in contemplation.

"He told me a lie... yet he truly saved me..."

"This Peiqi is really odd."

The Prince shook his head, returning to his work.

Meanwhile.

Main World.

A stream.

Splash—

Wooden Man was pulled up.

"Thanks for taking that exam for me, how's it going now?" Shen Ye squatted on a rock and asked.

"Continuing...," Wooden Man articulated with difficulty.

"Has anyone come?" Shen Ye asked again.

"Many," Wooden Man said.

Shen Ye was somewhat surprised.

"Can you tell me who they were?" he asked.

"..." Wooden Man.

```

Forget it.

It's just a Wooden Man, not a surveillance camera.

Moreover, even if there were cameras, I don't know any of those people.

But it's not good when there are too many people.

— Could it be that everyone likes to gather by the stream?

I'll let you have it!

I'm going to find a quieter place!

Shen Ye collected the Wooden Man and turned to run towards the mountain forest.

At the foot of a remote and steep cliff, he stopped and placed his hand on the solid mountainside.

"Hmm, there are quite a few trees here, but no beasts and no water—"

"This time, there probably won't be anyone else coming."

Shen Ye nodded in satisfaction.

The playing card in his pocket trembled slightly.

Shen Ye took it out, only to see a line of small text appearing on the card:

"The second day is imminent, and the examinees will face various terrifying monsters."

Strange howls sounded from all around.

Monsters?

— I won't serve such beings!

Shen Ye positioned the Wooden Man in a corner against the mountain wall and was about to leave.

Suddenly.

There was a faint noise not far away.

Shen Ye immediately went on alert.

"Who's there!"

He shouted.

Rustle... Rustle...

Footsteps sounded, gradually moving towards his position.

"Don't, don't hit me, I've come to surrender."

A nervous male voice rang out.

With every step he took, he stomped hard on the ground, creating a deliberate noise.

— As if afraid that Shen Ye would misunderstand.

After a few breaths.

A skinny, pale-faced young man appeared in front of Shen Ye.

"I don't know you! Who are you?"

Shen Ye asked warily.

The young man, already trembling, shuddered when Shen Ye shouted at him and immediately knelt on the ground.

"Don't kill me."

He sobbed softly, hands clasped together, pleading:

"I was part of the group that tracked you, but I swear now—I've given up, and I'll never dare to mess with you again."

"Please, don't kill me!"

Shen Ye was taken aback.

Had the word about Xiao Mengyu killing several people with a single sword spread?

That's not right...

There had been no one else present at that time.

"Let's hear it, why have you had such a drastic change?"

Shen Ye asked.

He stepped back slightly, leaning against the mountainside, ready to leave immediately if anything seemed off.

As he was asked, the fragile young man's emotions completely collapsed.

He knelt on the ground, crying bitterly and whimpering:

"My friends are all dead..."

"About a dozen buddies, we had agreed to hunt you down together, to share the reward."

"Just a second ago everyone was joking and laughing, and the next second they were dead, their heads cut off, without any chance to fight back."

"Please spare me... I don't have the strength to kill you, my family bought my spot in the exam."

Shen Ye listened quietly, carefully observing the surroundings.

Everything was normal.

It didn't seem like a Trap.

So, just who was it, that killed more than a dozen Scion of the Noble Family all at once?

"Did you see who did it?" Shen Ye asked.

"No, I just went to the restroom, and when I came back, everyone was dead! I know you have a master supporting you—even the proctor has been fooled by you—please, spare me! I will never dare to be your enemy again!" the young man begged desperately.

— The guy was scared out of his wits.

Well, anyone would go mad if a dozen of their companions were killed.

"...You can go." Shen Ye said.

"You're letting me go?" the young man was overjoyed.

"Uh-huh."

The young man got up, his face showing the relief of a narrow escape, stumbled a few steps, and ran off quickly into the distance.

In just a few breaths, he had run out of sight.

Shen Ye, however, fell into deep thought.

Who was it?

First of all, it definitely wasn't the Shen Family.

Xiao Mengyu?

I've had many encounters with her and have some understanding of her abilities.

It wasn't her.

Besides, she had been weakened after releasing that move and was only now starting to recover a bit.

Then who could it be?

Shen Ye felt somewhat at a loss.

If it was someone who had fooled the proctor...

Zhao Yibing and her servant?

No.

She wanted to kill me, not help me.

Who could it be then?

Suddenly, the roars of monsters from all around interrupted Shen Ye's train of thought.

Forget it.

Anyway, let's get through this night first.

He pressed his hand against the mountainside.

"Door!"

A door appeared on the mountainside.

Shen Ye opened the door and stepped through.

The door vanished.

```