Chapter 1126 A Python


    Crystal''s POV:


    ‘What did it say?" Rufus asked, turning serious now. "I deleted it." I lied without missing a beat.


    That message was calling me out by my original name. Rufus must not see it, no matter what, or things would only get even moreplicated


    "Do you still remember what it said?" Rufus frowned, his eyes never leaving my face.


    I nodded. "I didn''t recognize the number, and I have no idea who the sender might be. But whoever it was, they knew my name and made some


    threats. They even mentioned Beryl."


    "Do you think you can recall the phone number?” Rufus asked, never doubting my words for one second. “I can have someone trace its IP address."


    "Yes, I remember." I had pored over that message repeatedlyst night, unable to sleep. Naturally, I hade to memerize the cursed number.


    I cited the numbers without batting an eye, only for Rufus to hold up his hand. "Too fast, I didn''t catch it." "Huh?" I frowned in confusion. This man had


    a photographic memory. How could he have missed a short series of digits?


    Nonplussed, Rufus took out his phone and handed it to me. "Add me on your contact list and send me the number."


    For one brief moment, I found myself at a loss. What was he up to? But our priority was to find Beryl, so I quickly swapped our contact details on our


    phones and sent him the mysterious number.


    Rufus then turned his back to me and made a few phone calls. When he faced me again, we finally had results. "The IP address was traced back to


    the imperial pce, and it wasst active in... the forbidden forest.”This belongs to N?velDrama.Org.


    His face turned dark as he spoke, and I knew that I mirrored his expression.


    "Let''s go there right now." Without a moment to lose, Rufus barked at his men, and we all headed to the forbidden forest.


    The ce was shrouded with a foreboding aura, just as it had always been.


    The only difference I could tell was


    that the woods seemed to be


    denser, anda veil of mist seemed to


    hover among the branches. Rufus’


    dividedhhis men into several groups


    before sending them out to search


    thesforest.


    =


    I was left with Rufus. We walked side by side, our senses keenly attuned to our surroundings.


    Perhaps Rufus and Beryl had a special connection, after all, because he strode straight into a certain direction like a homing missile set on its course.


    We went deeper into the woods, where the sky turned darker, and the ground beneath us was covered with thick moss so green, it was almost ck


    If we weren''t careful, the moss could swallow our feet whole.


    Twigs and vines intertwined on massive tree trunks in a strange, almost symmetrical pattern.


    Although it wasn''t my first timeing to the forbidden forest, I was still as creeped out as any neer would be.


    I sneaked a nce at Rufus. Sure enough, he was calm and focused, like he already knew where he was going


    Soon, the scenery around us became more familiar. I didn''t realize until then that Rufus had brought us to the spot where Noreen was buried; we just


    took a different path


    In the distance stood a tall, prominent tree, and I recognized it immediately. This was how Laura and I remembered the spot we chose to bury


    Noreen.


    Rufus turned to me and said, "Beryl is probably over there.”


    My heart sank. He moved forward, and I trailed behind him. My own intuition told me that Beryl was indeed there.


    My mind had gone nk, but I


    preferred it that way. I didn''t dare to


    think about anything else beyond


    finding ray daughter. My heart =


    pickedp its pace as we drew closer


    to thetree, until it was hammering


    socfast inside my chest that could


    Hardly breathe. Content biglongs to


    I couldn''t feel the ground beneath me. It felt as though I was floating, untethered to any semnce of reality.


    Then I saw Rufus’ men in my


    peripheral vision, springing out from


    the bushes to surround the tree. I ~


    balled mg hands into fists as Iid


    eyes oq her. Beryl''s tiny body was


    tied to Sthe upper part of the tree’ Ss


    trunk She was UNCONSCIOUS; her


    Head lolling limply to the side.


    Worse still, a t-headed python was resting in a nearby branch, its ck and red scales glistening in the dim light seeping through the branches.