Chapter 972: Chapter 972: Sleeping Beauty 6

Nobody paid attention to Tan Xiao.

The man in the hat urged his companions, “There are no vines in the room, but these people are asleep just like the soldiers outside. This suggests that the cause of the sleep might not only be the vines. Everyone, stay sharp and split up to search for the sword–the quicker the better. We shouldn’t stay in this place for long.”

Having said that, they spontaneously formed small groups of two or three and began to search everywhere.

Tan Xiao stood next to the sleeping Minister, spaced out for a while, scratched his head, and then also began to search.

The task was to find the King’s sword, not sleeping people; there was no need to make a big fuss over this.

Tan Xiao searched the banquet hall but found nothing.

The man in the hat’s group made no progress either.

“The food on the table has turned completely black. How long have these people been asleep?” A young man picked up a wine jug from the table and shook it gently. “Tsk, there’s still wine inside.”

Another tall man joked, “Why don’t you take a taste? It could be a fine vintage.”

“Hey, look at this woman, what do you think?” Someone mischievously pulled a richly dressed woman from the table. “She looks like a noblewoman and is sleeping so deeply; she wouldn’t know even if you did something to her!”

Everybody burst out laughing.

“You’ve got heavy taste! Look at this dust; they must have been asleep for at least a decade! A woman who hasn’t bathed in ten years is only appetizing to you!”

“Go fuck yourself!”

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!…”

The once silent banquet hall became lively with men telling raunchy jokes.

There were those who disdained such behavior, like the man in the hat and his companion.

“Have these people gone mad? In a place where heads could roll at any moment, and they still think about that kind of stuff,” a man with glasses said.

“Forget about them,” the man in the hat said coldly. “As long as we find the King’s sword, that’s enough. If some of them die, it means fewer people to share the reward with us later, right?”

The man with glasses laughed, “You’ve got a point.”

The man in the hat waved to the others, “Hey! We’ll go upstairs to check, you guys keep looking around here.”

Tan Xiao immediately raised his hand high, “I’ll go too!”

The man with glasses sneered, “Having followed us this whole way, aren’t you annoying enough?”

The man in the hat glanced at Tan Xiao, “Let him go. If something happens, he can be a useful sacrificial pawn.”

As if he hadn’t heard, Tan Xiao was already excitedly rushing towards the staircase.

…

The castle was large, and there were many rooms. Tan Xiao burst into one after another without finding any swords–either the rooms were empty, or they contained sleeping people.

After searching the second floor, he moved to the third.

After the third floor came the fourth.

Floor by floor, all the people they encountered were deeply asleep, thorny vines sealed the doors and windows, while sunlight sifted through like threaded beams, illuminating the dancing dust particles.

Maybe it was from fatigue, or perhaps drowsiness, but the man in the hat and his companions gradually felt weary.

Tan Xiao, leading the way, once again pushed open a door and barged in, causing a series of exclamations of “Ouch!” and “Wow!” from within.

The man with glasses said with a mix of envy and disgust, “That kid’s got too much energy.”

The man in the hat pinched the palm of his hand to keep himself as awake as possible, “…Maybe he’s not just energetic.”

“Huh?” The man with glasses looked at him, puzzled.

The man in the hat glanced at the marks pinched into his palm and muttered, “Maybe… it’s because he’s been in mazes more often, so he has a stronger resistance.”

The man with glasses was taken aback, “Him?”

Bang!

Tan Xiao pushed the other half of the door wide open and called out excitedly, “You guys come here! Quick, quick, quick! There’s something incredible in here!”

The man in the hat went straight ahead, “Let’s go, let’s see what he’s found.”