The Shrimp Soldier had been no saint to begin with, so Su Jiu felt not a shred of guilt about killing him.
If they had let the Shrimp Soldier escape, the fact that the two of them had been there would probably have been exposed very soon.
And she still had things to do. For now, she could not confront the Queen directly.
After leaving that crystalline region, the two of them headed straight for the area where the merfolk lived.
But before they could reach the palace, a group of merfolk stopped them and very respectfully escorted them back inside.
The palace was quiet and deserted. Neither Xia Jue nor Qi Song was there, and even the Eldest Princess was absent from the hall. Only the Queen remained, with her younger daughter standing beside her.
The little princess was undoubtedly delighted to see Chu Luohen, but she soon noticed Su Jiu beside him.
The smile on the little princess's face stiffened for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.
She simply clung to Chu Luohen, asking why he had taken three years to return.
A trace of helplessness flashed through the Queen's eyes as she watched her younger daughter.
The two briefly explained what had happened over the past three years, then asked about the others.
Only then, from the Queen, did Su Jiu learn that her Senior Brother had left after Qi Song entered seclusion, as though he had already guessed that she would remain in seclusion for a long time.
The revelation that Qi Song had gone to study Curse Arts with the Eldest Princess also left Su Jiu somewhat stunned.
All this time, although Qi Song had never explained his reason for traveling with her, he had owed her nothing.
Yet now, despite knowing that practicing