The Trembling Mother Box

After the female guard tidied up and left the small dark room, Xi Nian leaned alone on the relatively clean bed, clutching his aunt's Star-Spangled Tiara tightly. The flickering, clear, and cold firelight shone upon him.

The tiara, of course, could not be returned. After all, returning it would be an insult to Diana's aunt.

However, this tiara was truly too heavy.

In every aspect, it was the most precious thing in this world, immeasurable by value.

"Can I bear it?"

Xi Nian lay on the bed for a long time, finally sighing. He put the tiara back on his head and got up to leave the room.

Even without claustrophobia, it was too stuffy here. He wanted to go out and get some fresh air.

However, halfway to the door, Xi Nian remembered that the female general Antiope had instructed the female guards on duty at the door not to let him wander around.

Now, he could completely understand why Antiope's attitude towards him was so hostile.

If someone dared to plot against Diana's aunt, Xi Nian's attitude would be a hundred times worse! And if he had known the significance behind his aunt possessing the tiara in advance, Xi Nian would never have let his aunt wear it on her head!

If he had forcefully gone out for a stroll as a prince, the female guards probably wouldn't have dared to stop him, but Xi Nian didn't want to make things difficult for them, so he turned back in the corridor.

He returned to his room door.

Xi Nian suddenly stopped, looking towards the depths of the ancient building's corridor. At the end, there was a faint light, and a subtle breeze came through the dark passage.

Since he wasn't allowed to wander outside, it shouldn't matter if he walked around inside, right?

Xi Nian shrugged.

Besides, didn't the female guard just say that as long as he didn't take any items from inside out, there would be no problem?

Xi Nian didn't overthink it and continued walking deeper into the ancient building without stopping.

"These walls are really thick..." Xi Nian became increasingly surprised the further he walked into the corridor.

Apart from his duty room, this ancient circular building had almost no other rooms. It was all solid brick walls, with only a not-so-wide corridor leading to the interior.

Can you imagine?

From the design perspective, this circular building was like a sealed Poké Ball. Once the corridor was closed, no one could get out of it.

"Perhaps only in a three-in-one state could one forcibly break out if trapped inside..." Xi Nian mused, suddenly thinking of the Essence Devourer Beast. His aunt had said it was inconvenient to bring it to Themyscira, so she had entrusted it to a friend with pet-raising experience for a few days.

That friend's name seemed to be "Barry Allen"?

Xi Nian soon reached the deepest part of the building. The moment he exited the corridor, the scene before him opened up!

Inside was a very spacious, retro hall.

The walls of the hall were carved with strange stone reliefs and ancient Greek writing, as if recording an unknown, ancient history of the old gods. Between the star-shaped metal railings on the top floor, light, cool breezes, and air permeated. Faint beams of dust-visible light shone down, subtly illuminating the stone altar in the center of the ancient building's main hall.

Above the two-meter-high stone altar, a mysterious cube-shaped object was placed, resembling a rusty metal box.

The iron box had been placed here for who knows how long. Faint light, floating dust, and even time itself lay still beside it.

"Is this what has been guarded for over a thousand years?" Xi Nian was momentarily stunned.

He finally understood why no one had been able to touch it for a thousand years.

Putting aside the Zeus barrier inherent to Themyscira and the rotating guards of the Amazons, just looking at its pathetic appearance—

Who would want this broken box?

Of course, it might be a hidden divine artifact.

Xi Nian didn't intend to investigate it. He stood in front of the stone altar and began doing his middle-school chest-expansion exercises.

Taking a deep breath, the air in the deepest hall connected with the outside, and Xi Nian felt much more comfortable.

However, suddenly!

His peripheral vision seemed to catch something.

Xi Nian stopped his movements, his surprised gaze falling on the iron box on top of the stone altar.

Just now.

Did that thing move?

Themyscira, Amazon Royal Palace.

The palace was magnificent. Any furnishing or decoration inside, including the golden chairs and beaded curtains still in use, would be highly sought after by collectors if placed outside.

"Mother." Diana walked into the palace and crouched down by a chair.

On the golden chair, a dignified woman who bore some resemblance to Diana, with a youthful face and body, wearing a golden tiara—Queen Hippolyta—couldn't help but show a genuinely excited smile.

Hippolyta reached forward, gently touching Diana's face with her palm. "Child, you've suffered alone out there."

"No," Diana gently shook her head, holding her mother's hand. "Mother, I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

"I know, of course. After all, you are the only daughter of me, the Queen of the Amazons!" Hippolyta smiled and nodded, then suddenly paused, looking at Diana's forehead. "Diana, your Star-Spangled Tiara?"

"Mother, I was just about to tell you about this. I didn't come back alone this time."

Diana's face held a blissful smile as she said with utmost seriousness and pride, "I gave it to someone, a human!"

Inside the main hall of the ancient structure.

Xi Nian stared blankly at the iron box. Hadn't the female guard just said this thing hadn't moved in a thousand years?

Why did he just see the iron box give a slight shake?!

Was it his eyes playing tricks on him?

That was a possibility.

Xi Nian had only caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. It was likely interference from the light and shadows that made him think the box had moved.

To confirm.

Xi Nian held his breath and moved closer to the stone altar.

As he got within three meters, Xi Nian could see more clearly. The iron box on the stone altar bore strange patterns, like stars, or perhaps the sun. An extremely thick layer of dust had accumulated on the box's surface.

The beam of light from the ceiling of the building bathed him.

Xi Nian subconsciously reached out towards the iron box on the stone altar, intending to wipe away the dust on its surface.

His fingers approached, bit by bit.

A moment before his fingertips were about to touch the box, Xi Nian hastily withdrew his hand.

What am I doing? Casually touching other people's things is not a good habit!

However.

Looking at the dust covering the box, Xi Nian confirmed that he had indeed been mistaken—if the box had truly shaken, some of the dust would surely have been dislodged.

"Forget it, let's go back."

Xi Nian gave up on investigating the darn box and turned to leave the main hall of the building.

Xi Nian didn't notice.

As soon as he left the main hall and entered the corridor.

The iron box placed on the stone altar inexplicably vibrated slightly several times, shaking off a considerable amount of dust. Before the dislodged dust could hit the ground, it mysteriously vanished into the space within the hall.

The box trembled as if it had a life of its own!

As if fearing or being terrified of something.

This trembling soon subsided, returning to the stillness it had maintained for a thousand years.

It continued to lie dormant, waiting for an opportunity!