Forensic Imperial Concubine

"Why? So many people have just come out of the swamp alive. They are standing right in front of you! Can't you see that?"
Harper pointed at Howard, Diana, and the secret guards. They all looked terrible, yet they had all managed to come out of the
swamp alive. And that in no way was a small achievement.
Hearing that, the woman was left aghast, speechless for a while. She kept staring at Harper with her eyes wide open and her jaw
dropped for a long time. Then she swallowed hard and exclaimed, "Woman, you are incorrigible. And even your husband
allowed you to get into the notorious swamp! He definitely doesn't care for you!" The woman heaved a sigh and shook her head
from side to side.
"I was forced into the swamp by the Holy Maiden and the king of South Kingdom. Matthew had been leading the army at the
Birch Pass. I asked you to come here because I want you to figure out a way to secretly take us out of Phoenix City. We have to
be very careful so that nobody comes to know about us. I want to reach the Birch Pass." Harper came straight to the point.
"Why don't you go inside to have a look? You have already arrived at the gate." Harper's deeds had always been a notch above
the normal people. And this time, she had created another benchmark for herself by traveling through the Labyrinth Swamp
along with fourteen people and without a single casualty. Now, she had entered yet another forbidden territory and even wanted
to sneak out of this place without anyone in the city coming to know about it. The woman was shocked. "Aren't you afraid..."
"No, I'll come back when I'm done with my work." Harper shook her head with the same firm look on her face. "Also, don't tell
anyone that I have crossed the Labyrinth Swamp!"
The woman looked helpless. After a while, she heaved a sigh and said, "Okay, it's up to you. Do you want me to find a place for
you to wash and change your clothes? Your clothes stink."
"Yes, yes, please... I want to get washed since a long time ago," said Diana. This was something she had been wanting to do for
a long time. Her face was completely smeared with mud. Seeing her condition, no one could say that she was a princess of
South Kingdom. And the woman's attention was on Harper. She did not pay much attention to Harper's companions. Hence, she
didn't even notice that Diana was from South Kingdom.
"Well, you all can go to my residence to freshen up. But it will be too dangerous if so many people enter my house at the same
time. Hence, my advice is that you break up into small groups and come in slowly at an interval. Later, we all can meet in the
courtyard."
"Okay!" Diana said, nodding her head.

The woman, then, turned to Harper and put one arm around her neck. She said, "You come with me. You have to tell me
everything that happened in the Labyrinth Swamp. What made you think that you could cross the swamp and reach Phoenix
City? Were you not scared of losing your life for even once? How could you do this? And how was it to be inside the swamp?
Have you met anything extremely terrible on the way? How are you feeling now? Have you resolved never to enter the swamp
ever in your life?"
"Yes it was certainly overwhelming. But I'll go inside the swamp once again after I finish my work. There are lots of spiritual herbs
inside it," Harper answered in a solemn tone with an absolute no-nonsense expression on her face.
Hearing Harper's reply, the woman was rendered speechless. She stared at Harper with her eyes wide open. Harper made it
sound as if the swamp was just another botanical garden to take a stroll and pick the medicinal herbs from it. The woman asked,
"Has the swamp become free and easy to enter?"
"No, it's not like that. But I think, I can manage to go in," Harper replied, sounding all the more confident. She pondered for a
while and recalled all the virtues she had with her that helped to protect her inside the swamp. She had the Sacred Seal to
protect her from the common poisonous animals which could not get close to her only because of that seal. And if she passed
through the swamp next time, she would become more confident. Now she knew all the pits and holes inside the swamp. Thus,
as long as she was careful not to fall into the swamp, she believed that she would be safe.
"I have heard that the Labyrinth Swamp is guarded by the Holy Beast. Have you encountered it?" asked the woman.
The very mention of the Holy Beast made Patrick stand up and expand its chest. It raised its head towards the sky as if trying to
say, 'Yes. I am the one you are talking about. Come to worship me.'
"No, I didn't," Harper said indifferently. Utterly disappointed, the Holy Beast almost fell off her arm. Harper picked it up hurriedly to
avoid its close contact with the ground.
"Really?" asked the woman. She could not believe what Harper said. Although the Holy Beast was only a hearsay, if anybody
ever entered the Labyrinth Swamp, he or she had not come out of it alive. Occasionally roar of some fierce beast could be heard
coming from the swamp. The old people explained that someone must have broken into the swamp and infuriated the Holy
Beast. The Holy Beast was punishing the sinner. But Harper said she didn't see it!
"I also heard there is a surge of ferocious beasts in the swamp. It's quite terrible. Wherever they go, they engulf everything that
comes in their way!"

"Yes. We experienced a surge of ants once, which was quite horrible. Indeed, it was quite a feat to survive the flood of ants."
Harper could still feel her heart tremble when she thought of the dense mass of ants crossing them. The flood of poisonous
insects seemed to be a usual occurrence at the swamp.
"Oh my God! How did you survive the surge of ants?" The more indifferent and cool Harper sounded in replying to the women's
questions, the more it was piquing her curiosity. Now the woman was getting increasingly desperate to see Harper naked, so as
to check what her body was made of. How could she bring so many people safely out of the swamp even after encountering a
surge of ants?
"Stop it now, Daphne!" Irked by her non-stop queries, Harper rolled her eyes at the woman. The woman who had just been
introduced as Daphne was the daughter of the old lord in Phoenix City. Daphne Feng and Harper were sworn sisters. The former
had a rather irritating personality that was despised by everyone. She always took pleasure in other's misfortune. If she found
that Harper was in trouble, she would first make fun of her before rescuing her.
"I'm just curious," Daphne Feng defended herself. She led Harper into her residence and asked the servants to prepare hot
water for her to take a bath. Giving Harper her clothes for changing, she said, "My brother keeps talking about you. Are you sure
you don't want to go to the lord's mansion even for once?"
"No. Please extend my greetings to them." Harper put Patrick down. Then she turned around and took a bath behind the screen.
When it heard the sound of the splashing water, Patrick's eyes lit up. It tip-toed towards the screen, careful not to be noticed by
anyone. However, it could not evade Daphne Feng's eyes who noticed it just in time. She had noticed earlier that the purple
beast followed Harper everywhere she went. Daphne Feng then squatted behind the little beast without making a noise and
poked its tiny head with her finger.
Much to her surprise, the little beast turned around like a human being, raising a finger to its mouth, and motioned for her not to
make a sound. The drooling look on its face immediately reminded her of a lustful man. She slapped on Patrick's head
immediately and it fell on the ground.
"Patrick, if you dare to act recklessly, you will not be able to take any pill," Harper cautioned the little beast from behind the
screen in a stern voice.
When the beast heard Harper's voice, the purple light instantly disappeared from its fingertip. It gave a ferocious glare at Daphne
Feng and ran around the corner of the wall. Daphne Feng didn't even know that she could almost have been killed by this beast.

She glanced at Patrick and couldn't help but be amused by its antics. She then turned to the screen and said, "Harper, your little
beast is rather lustful. I can't believe it wanted to come in and peeped at your bath!"
Harper didn't mind it and smiled. "It's just a beast. You don't need to take it to heart. Oh, the thing is, the political situation of the
south domain has changed. If everything goes well, the royal family will take control of the Birch Pass. I have got the Sacred
Seal of South Kingdom." Harper updated Daphne Feng.
"I see. Be careful when you go outside."