I'm Not a Sorceress

Thwack! Thwack!

The two men collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Phew." Jiang Yun looked at the two fallen men and felt a weight lift from his heart.

He quickly dragged them into the woodshed.

He changed into one of the guards' uniforms and took that man's waist token.

After straightening his clothes and making sure nothing looked out of place, he pushed open the woodshed door and walked out.

The prince's estate was indeed enormous, and servants hurried past from time to time.

But none of them paid Jiang Yun any attention.

Keeping his head down, Jiang Yun searched for the estate's exit.

After wandering around for quite a while,

he finally found the main gate.

Four guards stood watch in front of it. Jiang Yun hurried toward the gate.

Suddenly, a voice rang out behind him. "Stop!"

Jiang Yun froze slightly and looked back. A man who was clearly the guards' captain was walking over.

He was in his thirties. Frowning, he asked, "Whom do you serve?"

Jiang Yun's mind raced. How could he know who worked where in the prince's estate?

He forced a smile. "I'm assigned to guard the dungeon."

"From the rear estate?"

"Right, I..." As the man spoke, he suddenly drew his sword and lunged at Jiang Yun, shouting, "Something's wrong with this man!"

The guards at the gate instantly drew their swords and closed in.

"If you're from the rear estate, why are you leaving through the front gate instead of the back?"

Jiang Yun slapped his forehead. "Sir, I must have remembered wrong. I'm from the front estate."

"I'm the commander of the front estate. How come I don't know you?"

"Get him! Seize him!"

At his shout, more and more guards rushed over.

Soon, more than twenty men had arrived, surrounding Jiang Yun on all sides.

Armed with weapons, they charged at him.

Jiang Yun drew a deep breath, stepped through the Seven Star Ridge Step, and chanted, "The boundless heavens are the source of all qi. Through countless kalpas of cultivation, I attest to my divine powers. Within and beyond the Three Realms, the Dao alone reigns supreme. Golden light envelops my body, shielding me from harm."

In an instant, brilliant golden light blazed from his body. A powerful wave of Magic Power spread out from him in every direction.

The dazzling light sent the guards stumbling backward.

"What... what is this?"

The guards stared, dumbstruck and terrified, but none dared approach.

Seizing his chance, Jiang Yun charged straight out of the prince's estate without hesitation.

"After him! Go after him!" the commander shouted at his men.

"Captain, that man knows magic. If we chase him, we'll be asking for death..."

The commander snapped, "What are you afraid of? If you let him get away, the prince will hold us responsible..."

"Captain, why aren't you chasing him, then?"

The commander was immediately at a loss for words. He was a mere mortal. How could he fight someone who knew magic?

He glanced around. No one else had arrived yet.

"Quick! Everyone, lie down!"

They all promptly hit the ground. Before long, other guards came running at the commotion.

"What happened?"

Clutching his chest, the commander bit his tongue, spat out a mouthful of blood, and said, "We just encountered a master of magic."

"With a single move, he gravely wounded more than twenty of us."

"Terrifying beyond belief!"

A thick stench of blood hung over the prince's bedchamber.

Tang Wanxin sat beside the bed, carefully replacing Xiao Yukang's heart with an assortment of knives in hand.

Sweat covered her forehead.

When she had conducted experiments before, she had used ordinary people she'd captured.

She had cut them open with nothing but brute force.

But now she was replacing Prince Xiao Yukang's heart. She didn't dare make the slightest mistake.

At last, the new heart began to beat.

She let out a long breath of relief.

Xiao Jingyuan, standing beside her, also brightened. "Miss Tang, your hands truly work miracles. You're so skilled at replacing a heart."

"If this technique succeeds, I'll report it to His Majesty. He'll surely be overjoyed..."

But before he could finish, Xiao Yukang suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood from the bed.

The heart was beating at a strange pace, too.

Tang Wanxin's expression changed. She knew this scene well: rejection.

"Quick, find another heart!"

At her words, Xiao Jingyuan's face changed. He hurriedly drew his sword and left the bedchamber.

Many of Xiao Yukang's personal guards, along with his children and concubines, stood outside the bedchamber.

They all knew something was wrong with the prince's health and had come early to prepare to mourn him.

"Eldest Brother, how is Father?" A seventeen-year-old youth stepped forward, anxiously asking.

Xiao Jingyuan drew a deep breath. "Father asked me to pass on a message. Come with me."

The youth's face lit up, and he hurried after him.

Even on his deathbed, Father was thinking of him. Perhaps he was about to leave him a generous share of his estate.

Xiao Jingyuan gave a glance to several personal guards.

They swiftly followed.

Soon, a fresh heart was brought to the bedchamber, and Tang Wanxin continued the procedure.

After it was implanted, the rejection began again. Sweat ran down Tang Wanxin's forehead. "This one won't work either?"

Xiao Jingyuan took a deep breath, his eyes bloodshot. "I understand."

With that, he left the room and found another younger brother.

Again and again.

By nightfall,

all seven of Xiao Jingyuan's younger brothers were dead.

This was the last heart.

With trembling hands, Tang Wanxin replaced Xiao Yukang's heart with it.

But before long, rejection set in again.

"Heir Apparent, it... it still isn't working." Tang Wanxin trembled all over.

At that moment, Xiao Yukang, lying in bed, managed to lift a trembling hand and point at Xiao Jingyuan.

"Jingyuan, you've always been the one I loved most."

"Give your heart to Father, too."

Xiao Jingyuan drew a deep breath and took out an exquisite, jewel-inlaid dagger. Then, without warning, he struck, driving it into Xiao Yukang's beating heart.

Blood gushed everywhere, and Xiao Yukang's hand fell limp.

Xiao Jingyuan drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, "The prince succumbed to a serious illness. He passed away. Understand?"

Tang Wanxin was completely stunned.

This was patricide!

It didn't matter that Xiao Yukang had been on the verge of death.

His final breath hadn't left him yet. If Xiao Jingyuan killed him, it was patricide.

In Great Zhou, even a commoner who murdered his father would face the death penalty.

And Xiao Yukang was a prince.

Tang Wanxin's eyes widened. She nodded again and again. "Rest assured, Heir Apparent. I understand. The prince died of a serious illness. I saw it with my own eyes."

"No, no, I didn't see anything."

With a wet squelch,

Xiao Jingyuan's dagger plunged into Tang Wanxin's heart.

Tang Wanxin stared down in disbelief at the dagger lodged in her chest. She opened her mouth, but blood spilled from it. "H-Heir Apparent, you..."

"You sorceress! You've taken so many lives. Did you really think this heir apparent would let you go?" Xiao Jingyuan's eyes were bloodshot.

Thud.

Tang Wanxin fell to the ground, her body trembling uncontrollably as she muttered, "I'm not a sorceress."

"This is an Immortal Technique to heal the sick and save lives."

"It's an Immortal Technique."

"An Immortal Technique."