Rita had originally planned to use [Phantom Shift] to escape, but Maple Cang's persistence thwarted her.
Maple Cang questioned, "Was it over that Mahjong tile that you fought him?"
Rita glanced at the powdered remains of the fake tile on the floor, her voice low. "Yes. We both thought it was real. I didn't have time to grab it."
Maple Cang nodded as if she believed her, but then she abruptly locked eyes with Rita and asked, "Why is your outfit made of Seasonal Satin, a fabric commonly used by Oak Owls, instead of the Moon Silk typical of Moonfoxes?"
Rita averted her gaze, hesitating for a few seconds before sighing in defeat. She confessed, "Because I can disguise myself as an Oak Owl with a skill... I was caught earlier because of this disguise, which left me no choice but to silence him."
Maple Cang didn't ask her to contact Mistblade, nor did she press further. Instead, she asked another question. "How many tiles have you collected for Mistblade?"
Rita boldly replied, "Seven."
That number stunned Maple Cang into silence. She eventually asked, "Why not work for me instead?"
Rita glanced at her tails and looked back at Maple Cang with an expression that screamed, What do you think?
Not wanting the moment to grow awkward, Rita tilted her chin and delivered her line with conviction: "I would rather die than betray the Mistblade Moon Emperor!"
Maple Cang cleared her throat, seemingly embarrassed, and nodded. "Good."
But before Rita could even exhale, Maple Cang flared her radiant wings, sending a sharp seed hurtling toward Rita's ear. Rita immediately healed herself with [Emerald Feast] while teleporting to dodge the projectile.
She quickly used [Feeling Blessed] to adjust Maple Cang's luck and then activated [I Want This, This, and That] repeatedly. However, she was struck mid-action by one of Maple Cang's devastatingly fast skills before she could even attempt to evade.
Her [Flame Ring] activated automatically, triggering its [This Is Royalty] passive, which shielded her from the fatal blow.
Unlike her encounter with Mistblade, where she held strategic value, "Mistveil" was nothing to Maple Cang. There would be no negotiations or reparations sought from Mistblade—it would only result in ridicule. Maple Cang's attacks were aimed to kill.
Rita now fully understood the vast disparity between the 12 Holy Clans and Blue Star players. Despite her 70+-level equivalent stats, she couldn't withstand even a single hit.
Desperation rising, Rita flung nearly 100 fake Mahjong tiles across the room, each scattering to various corners. Among them, she gripped a genuine tile tightly in her palm.
Sensing the presence of the real tile, Maple Cang ceased her direct assault, opting for a widespread area-of-effect attack to identify the genuine article while attempting to obliterate Mistveil in the process.
Rita tried [I Want This, This, and That] a few more times, but each attempt failed. Clearly, not all royals were as unlucky as Mistblade.
As the fake Mahjong tiles began to crack under Maple Cang's power, Rita prepared to flee. However, she caught sight of a nearby shelf whose protective barrier had been shattered by the residual force of Maple Cang's skills. Scattered on the ground were several Skill Books.
In that instant, greed tipped the scale against caution.
Teleporting to the shelf to evade a massive wind blade, Rita instinctively grabbed two of the most appealing Skill Books. As she bent down, she concealed the real Mahjong tile and equipped her Pocket Watch once more.
[Wrathful Moon]: [Walk Through Time and Space]!
A brilliant idea struck her—escape not by fleeing the present, but by returning to the past.
Looking Maple Cang straight in the eye, Rita selected a point in time three hours earlier—when she was still at the library.
As light enveloped her, she saw Maple Cang's expression shift from realization to rage. Even her blazing wings seemed to bristle with fury.
In her final moments in this timeline, Rita raised her right hand, forming a gesture with her index and middle fingers lightly tapping her right earlobe. This was a sign of reverence that Moonfox royals received during worship.
She was certain Maple Cang would recognize it—or, at the very least, investigate its meaning.
The light faded, and the chaotic shop was gone. The body, Maple Cang, and the barriers had disappeared, replaced by a quiet, orderly store. Standing behind the counter was the Oak Owl shopkeeper, staring at her in startled suspicion.
Rita wasted no time. She used [Phantom Shift] to teleport away, leaving Everbright City behind. She didn't return to Yaslan City either—her "Mistveil" identity was undoubtedly now a wanted figure. Moreover, her red-glowing "criminal" status barred her from entering any Oak Owls city or using their teleportation arrays.
She couldn't resume her small Oak Owl disguise, either. The Bear Cookies charm had betrayed her once, and she still didn't understand why. For now, she needed to distance herself from Maple Cang, eventually reaching the unexplored edges of the map before shifting into her bird form and flying toward a small, isolated floating island.
Mid-flight, the timeline returned to the present. Rita glanced back at the floating island where Vanilla's shop had been. A massive acorn-shaped projection now enveloped the entire island, undoubtedly Maple Cang's handiwork.
As she pondered her next move, a voice echoed in her mind.
Nivalis: "When are you coming home? I'm on my third midnight snack, and the cats have been fed way too much."
Rita: "Something came up. I can't return yet. By the way, do you know anyone in the Oak Owls named Maple Cang?"
Nivalis: "Maple Cang? Cang as in 'all living things'?"
Rita: "You know her?"
Nivalis: "Of course! She's the most gifted descendant of the Maple line, one of the three royal branches of the Oak Owls. When I was born, she even sent a gift to commemorate the occasion. Now that the current Maple Emperor has passed, she's the undisputed heir. Unlike Peach or Pine, there's no competition in her line—it's guaranteed she'll take the throne."
Rita froze. This is bad.