I walk sideways in the game world

Prince Jin's expression suddenly changed, and he hurried away. The atmosphere in the square suddenly became solemn. The guards' whispers were like a gust of cold wind, blowing away the hope that had once filled the air. Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin looked at each other, a sense of foreboding rising in their hearts.

"What happened?" Charlene grabbed a passing maid and asked anxiously.

The maid glanced at them timidly and whispered, "Something happened in the palace..."

Before the maid could finish, the crowd in the square suddenly erupted in a commotion, people moving out of the way as if a ferocious beast was about to descend. Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin looked warily in the direction of the surging crowd, only to see a group of soldiers rushing out of the palace with great momentum, led by none other than the gloomy Prince Jin.

Prince Jin's gaze swept through the crowd like a blade, finally landing on Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin. He strode up to them and said in a cold tone, "Follow me!"

Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin were held hostage by soldiers and taken deep into the palace. Prince Jin remained silent, his expression terribly gloomy, making the two even more uneasy.

After walking through a long corridor, they came to a gorgeously decorated room. The room was filled with a strange fragrance and the walls were covered with exquisite murals, but all of this could not dispel the oppressive atmosphere in the room.

Prince Jin turned around abruptly, pointed at a mural in the center of the room, and shouted angrily, "Look, what is this!"

Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin followed Prince Jin's finger and saw a mural depicting a solemn sacrificial scene. In the center, a priest in gorgeous attire, holding a scepter, prayed to the sun in the sky, while at his feet, a group of devout believers knelt in worship.

"This...is there any problem with this?" Ren Xiaoyao asked in confusion.

Prince Jin gritted his teeth and said, "The problem? This mural depicts the most important sacrificial ceremony in our country, and you actually stepped on it!"

Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin then realized that the place where they had just stood was exactly where the believers were standing at the feet of the priest in the mural. It suddenly dawned on them that they had inadvertently violated this country's taboo.

"We didn't know..." Xia Lin wanted to explain, but was interrupted angrily by Prince Jin.

"Don't know? Where are you from? Doesn't your country have laws and beliefs?" Prince Jin was furious, his eyes filled with offended anger and a hint of imperceptible fear.

At this moment, a cold voice came from outside the door: "Stop!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a woman in a snow-white dress with a delicate face slowly approaching. She exuded an icy aura, as if she had walked out of the snow-capped mountains.

"Snow Priestess!" When Prince Jin saw the person coming, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.

The Snow Girl walked up to Prince Jin, her eyes fell on the mural, and she said calmly, "Leave this matter to me."

The arrival of the Snow Priestess was like a gust of cold wind that blew away the tense atmosphere in the room. Although Prince Jin was unwilling to accept this, he did not dare to act rashly in front of the Snow Priestess and could only step aside respectfully.

The Snow Priestess turned her gaze towards Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin. Her eyes were sharp, as if she could see through people's hearts. "You know, cultures are like rivers, each with its own source and direction. Forced integration will only lead to disaster."

Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin realized the seriousness of the situation and sincerely apologized to the Snow Priestess, expressing their willingness to learn and respect local cultural customs. The Snow Priestess nodded and took them to the city library, which housed books on the history, culture, and religion of the foreign city-state.

Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin eagerly studied and were surprised to find that this seemingly closed city-state had a long and unique cultural tradition. They began to try to live like the locals, learning their language, etiquette, and tasting their food.

At the same time, Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin also tried to introduce their own culture to the locals. They brought stories, songs, and dances from their hometowns, vividly showcasing the world they came from. Gradually, some locals began to take a liking to them, and they were willing to try to understand and accept these outsiders.

However, not everyone welcomed Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin's arrival. Some extremists in the city-state, clinging to traditional values and expressing hostility towards anything foreign, spread rumors about them, attempting to incite hatred among the locals.

"They are heretics and will bring disaster to our city-state!" A man in black stood in the square, shouting at the top of his lungs, his words inciting the emotions of the people around him.

"Yes, drive them away! Drive them away!" Some people were bewitched by the words of the man in black and started shouting loudly.

A figure quietly left the crowd, quickly walking towards the edge of the city-state, where a greater conspiracy was brewing...

The black-clad man's words were like a stone dropped into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand ripples. More and more residents were incited, and the atmosphere in the square was tense. Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin were shocked by this sudden hostility, realizing that a cultural clash was about to erupt.

"We must stop them!" Charlene said anxiously, "but we can't hurt them. They've been bewitched..."

"I know." Ren Xiaoyao looked around calmly, trying to find the man in black who spread the rumor. But the man in black had already disappeared into the crowd without a trace.

Back at the library, the Snow Priestess was already waiting. She handed Ren Xiaoyao an ancient scroll and said, "This is the chronicle of the city-state. Perhaps you can find the answer in it."

Ren Xiaoyao took the scroll and read it carefully. It recorded that the city-state had once suffered an invasion from an external force, which brought great disaster to the city-state. From then on, the city-state implemented a closed policy, refusing any outsiders to enter.

"So that's how it is," Ren Xiaoyao suddenly realized, "Those extremists are afraid that history will repeat itself, so they are rejecting us so much."

"But isolation isn't the solution," Charlene said worriedly. "A prolonged lockdown will only make the city-state more vulnerable."

Ren Xiaoyao nodded in agreement and decided to find those extremists and untie the knot in their hearts. A few days later, when Ren Xiaoyao was out, he accidentally discovered that the man in black who spread rumors in the square sneaked into an abandoned temple.

"Could that be their secret base?" Ren Xiaoyao's heart moved. He immediately returned to the library and told Xia Lin and the Snow Priestess about his discovery.

"There is no time to lose, we must act immediately!" The Snow Priestess made a prompt decision.

As night fell, Ren Xiaoyao, Xia Lin, and the Snow Priestess quietly infiltrated the abandoned temple. The interior was eerie and dark, with strange symbols painted on the walls. Cautiously advancing, the trio finally discovered the Man in Black and his accomplices in a secret room.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into our forbidden area!" the man in black shouted sternly.

"We are here to stop you from making mistakes," Ren Xiaoyao said firmly, "Isolation will only bring greater disaster. Only by opening your hearts can you truly protect your city-state."

The man in black sneered, "Stop talking nonsense! You outsiders, don't even think about ruining our plan!"

With that, the man in black launched an attack on Ren Xiaoyao and the others, and a fierce battle was imminent. Ren Xiaoyao's eyes glared, and he drew his longsword from his waist... Ren Xiaoyao's eyes glared, and he drew his longsword from his waist. The blade flashed through the air like a silver snake, heading straight for the man in black's face. The man in black had clearly not anticipated Ren Xiaoyao's formidable strength, and hurriedly raised his scimitar to block. The swords clashed, sparks flew, and the man in black was shocked and retreated repeatedly.

Xia Lin and the Snow Priestess also joined the fray, tangling with the other black-clad men. For a moment, the temple was ablaze with the sounds of swords and sabers, and the air was filled with shouts of killing. Ren Xiaoyao, nimble and skillful with his swordsmanship, weaved effortlessly among the black-clad men, his every strike leaving a trail of blood. Like a tiger descending from the mountains, he was unstoppable, quickly defeating the black-clad men.

Seeing the situation was not good, the leader of the men in black thought of retreating. He made a feint and turned to flee. Ren Xiaoyao would not let him escape so easily. He flashed and chased after him like a shadow. The two of them, one chasing and the other fleeing, soon reached the top of the temple.

"You can't escape!" Ren Xiaoyao shouted sternly, pointing the long sword in his hand directly at the throat of the leader of the men in black.

The leader of the men in black knew there was no way to escape. A trace of despair flashed in his eyes. He suddenly looked up to the sky and roared, "You outsiders, one day, you will pay the price for what you did today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the leader of the men in black leaped down from the temple. Ren Xiaoyao walked to the edge of the temple and looked down, only to see that the leader of the men in black had been smashed to pieces.

Having dealt with the extremists, Ren Xiaoyao and Xia Lin returned to the foreign city-state, brimming with triumph. At the city gate, a resplendent carriage had been waiting for a long time, its curtains slowly opening...