Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

Looking at the solemnness on Diana's face as she spoke those words, Harper couldn't help but be amused.
"You want to take me as your master?" with a burst of crisp laughter, Harper asked. "But why?"
"I want to learn how to refine medicine from you!" Diana replied earnestly. Impressed by Harper's depth of knowledge about
medicines, she felt that she still had a long way to go to get close to the proficiency that Harper had mastered. Also, she knew
that Harper could be able to activate the Holy Article of the South Kingdom. Hence, there was no doubt that she could learn a lot
from her.
"I see. But I won't accept you as my disciple," Harper refused without hesitation. She was aware that sooner or later, the South
Kingdom and the Bright Dynasty would start a war. If she took Diana as her disciple, she was sure to fall into a dilemma.
Even after being refused by Harper, Diana mumbled confidently, "Whether you agree or not, I will follow you from now on!"
Harper laughed as she heard that but refrained from reacting to Diana's words. She smirked in her heart thinking that at the
moment it was still uncertain whether they could get out of the swamp and reach the Phoenix City safely and how the people
would react if they saw them come out of the Labyrinth Swamp. Just like that, as one thought led to another, Harper started
imagining the possible reactions from the people of the Phoenix City. Would there be fear in their eyes for Harper and her
followers? Or would there be applause for them?
"Growl!" All of a sudden, the silence of the Labyrinth Swamp was shattered by a roar that could be heard at a distance. The roar
reverberated in the whole swamp, making the ground tremble. Harper furrowed her brows and exclaimed, "What is it this time?"
Diana hid behind Harper automatically. With a trembling voice, she remarked, "I am telling you, it's not a good thing. I have heard
of a Holy Beast that stays in this Labyrinth Swamp. It is terribly ferocious, to say the least. Every time someone commits a crime

in the South Kingdom, he will be thrown into this swamp to feed the Holy Beast. But I have also heard that unless the Holy Beast
is summoned, it does not come out." Harper turned to Diana with a frown and sneered. "No, it has been summoned! Did you
forget how we entered this swamp?" "Of course! How could I forget that? You brought me here!" Diana snapped back. Had it not
been for Harper who pulled her into the swamp, Diana would still be the princess of the South Kingdom and live a luxurious life.

instead of being so miserable. Harper gave her a cold look at her and said, "If I didn't take you away, you would have been dead
by now. Even then, it was none other than me who would have been blamed for your murder. Either way, I had to bear the brunt
for whatever happened to you. Hence, I don't mind taking you along with me."
The smile on Diana's face faded, giving way to a ghastly expression. The ground under their feet started to shake vehemently.
Feeling a stagger, Diana was about to fall on the ground. Harper hastened to grab her immediately and pulled her back. "Be
careful!" Harper shrieked. Diana was still in a state of shock. She regained her composure and stabilized herself on the ground
and said, "That thing seems to be coming towards us." She looked at Harper with a desperate look. Her face had become pale
as if all the blood had been sucked out of her face. "Yeah, I felt it." In an instant, the whole forest seemed to be collapsing in front
of their eyes. All the poisonous insects and snakes retreated. Every living thing in the vicinity was shaken and petrified. Harper
waved her hand and said, "Everyone, just get
dispersed right now and protect yourself."
"No, Your Highness, we can't leave you alone. We must protect you!"
Harper screwed her eyes and replied coldly, "Trust me; I will be very glad if you don't cause me any trouble." The expression on
everyone's face froze at what she said. Indeed, they had been more of a trouble for her. Ever since they entered the swamp, it
was Harper who had been exhausting her spiritual power to protect the secret guards. Now, after getting such a strict instruction
from Harper, they could not make out whether they should hide separately, or guard Harper until their death.
"The task of the secret guards is to obey orders!" Howard reasoned in a low voice. "Everybody, scatter away. Hide yourself. Don't

make trouble for Harper." After that, Howard was the first one to separate from the group and hide. The guards followed suit
instantly as they realized that he was right. "Your Highness, please call us whenever you need us," the leader of the guards said
before he left. "Take her away!" Harper said as she pushed Diana towards a guard. The guard caught Diana and disappeared
from the vicinity, leaving the entire space for Harper. With a violent tremor, the menacing beast showed up out of nowhere and
stopped in front of

Harper. The reverberation of its appearance not only shook the ground but also created a whirlwind. The strong wind blew into
Harper's hair, turning it into a mess, and also made her clothes fly!
"Howl!" The beast roared as it stared at Harper. The latter looked like a tiny ant in front of the beast, as if the beast could finish
her off with just a pat on her. It stretched out its claws and blew it hard on Harper to finish her off. Yet, when its claws ended up
crashing with the enchanted barrier that was protecting Harper, its mighty blow could not even make the least impact on the
barrier.
The beast attacked once again, applying a bigger force, but still could not break the enchanted barrier. It got furious and went on
pouncing its claws ferociously again and again. But all this hardly made any difference. Its forceful impact could tremble the
barrier little but failed to breach it in any way. This left the beast rather confused. It poked the barrier with its claw and realized
that it couldn't break it at all. Then it looked at the person standing inside the barrier with her arms folded in front of her chest,
looking right into its eyes with a cold expression.
Harper gauged at the ferocious beasts standing in front of her. It had purple skin and an appearance that was a mix of a lion,
tiger, leopard, and a super large fox. It was a weirdo that displayed the traits of all the four animals.
"Who are you?" Harper asked. She looked into its eyes without the slightest traits of being intimidated. She was rather curious to
know about this mixed breed. She knew that she was too small to combat with such a huge animal. Hence, she adopted
nonchalance as a way of self-defense. She sat down on the ground in a relaxed manner, popping the energy pills into her mouth,
as if she was least bothered about the intimating gestures of the beast. The pills helped to replenish her physical strength, while
her casual attitude made the beast rather baffled.
How could an entity as tiny as this petty human not be intimidated in the presence of such as menacing beast! The beast opened
its bell-like eyes and fixed its attention on the pills, while its mouth was drooling all the time.