In Shouxian Palace, Di Xin sat in his bedchamber and went over everything that had happened in the past two days.
He checked whether he had overlooked anything, trying as best he could to put himself in Zhao Gongming and Yang Jian's shoes and guess what they might do next.
During that time, Empress Jiang of the Central Palace, Consort Su of the West Palace, and Xinqing Palace Consort Yang heard that the Great King had been bitten by a dog and hurried over together to visit him.
Di Xin didn't want to drag them into this, so he had his attendants claim that he was asleep and sent the three consorts back.
Thinking of all the treasures hidden in his system space, Di Xin could be certain that today's test wouldn't be the last.
But what other methods might his opponent use to test him?
As Di Xin considered the various possibilities, an attendant suddenly rushed into Shouxian Palace and headed straight for his bedchamber.
"Great King, Great King... This is bad! An assassin has broken into the East Palace!"
The attendant cried out in alarm.
"An assassin? The East Palace guards and the Imperial Guards are protecting the Crown Prince. Capture the assassin!"
At the news, Di Xin leaped to his feet.
His instincts told him this was very likely another test by those members of the Daoist Sect.
Otherwise, the Crown Prince had done nothing to offend anyone. Why would an assassin suddenly target him?
He had only two sons: the Crown Prince, Yin Jiao, and his second son, Yin Hong. Both were Empress Jiang's sons, with the same father and mother. Di Xin was still in the prime of his life, so there was no question of a succession struggle.
As for Wu Geng, the other son of King Zhou whom he had known about in his previous life, he didn't exist here at all. Di Xin didn't know whether he had been made up or simply hadn't been born yet.
As he followed Di Xin outside, the attendant answered, "Your Majesty, General Fang has already taken men to the East Palace himself to protect it. We feared the assassin might be trying to lure the guards away, so most of the Imperial Guards are protecting your bedchamber and the other palaces to ensure your safety and that of the consorts."
"Bring me my General-Slaying Saber!"
At that, Di Xin roared, reacting as any father should.
But he absolutely couldn't use Magic Power. Absolutely not.
The Crown Prince was only a boy in his teens, and he had done nothing to provoke anyone. An assassin's sudden appearance was suspicious from the start.
The Royal Palace covered a vast area. Shouxian Palace was more than a mile from the East Palace, and Imperial Guards streamed past them, sprinting toward it.
Fang Xiang, another palace guard general and Fang Bi's brother, had also brought men to protect King Zhou. The entire Royal Palace had been thrown into chaos by the assassin.
Di Xin hurried toward the East Palace and soon drew near. A sea of Imperial Guards surrounded its gates.
Several wounded guards lay on the ground, being carried out by their companions.
"Who can tell me how many assassins there are?" Di Xin asked with a frown. "Where is the Crown Prince now?"
Hearing King Zhou's voice, Fang Bi shoved his way through the crowd. "Great King, so far we've found only one assassin. He has taken the Crown Prince hostage. We can't risk harming His Highness."
Before King Zhou could react, the East Palace gates erupted into chaos. The Imperial Guards and palace guards began retreating, and through a gap in the crowd, King Zhou saw a burly man holding Yin Jiao under his arm as he forced his way out, step by step.
The two were starkly different in size. Yin Jiao looked terribly frail, while the burly man seemed as though he could snap the Crown Prince in half with a single squeeze.
The Imperial Guards were all skilled fighters, and many archers had already drawn their bows and aimed at the man. Still, none dared charge him by force.
"Bring me the saber!"
Di Xin's face darkened with anger. He roared and snatched the General-Slaying Saber from the shoulders of two attendants, gripping it in his right hand with the blade pointed downward as he advanced on the assassin.
"Hmph. The Yin Shang Royal Palace is nothing special. You nameless nobodies think you can keep me here?"
The burly man sneered. Suddenly, he rose into the air, carrying the Crown Prince as he floated low above the ground. Then he changed direction and flew toward the edge of the Royal Palace.
He wasn't flying fast or very high, but the Imperial Guards and East Palace guards present were all ordinary mortals, incapable of flight. They could only watch helplessly as he carried the Crown Prince away.
Di Xin narrowed his eyes, staring at the burly man's bare arm. Someone had slashed a large hole in his sleeve, exposing the bronze-colored skin beneath.
But Di Xin wasn't looking at his skin. He was looking at the patterns carved into it.
Perhaps the old Di Xin would have thought they were just patterns, but after studying the Puppet Dao Arts, he knew better.
Those patterns had another name: sigils.
A puppet!
From the position and type of the sigils, Di Xin recognized at once that the burly man wasn't a real person. He was a mid-grade puppet.
A humanoid mid-grade puppet had another name: Yellow Turban Warrior.
But this assassin wore black, not yellow, and had no yellow turban. His attire was perfectly suited to his role.
Which member of the Daoist Sect had sent him?
Di Xin snatched a bow from a nearby archer, aimed at the burly man, and drew it until it was taut as a full moon.
Seeing this, the burly man scoffed and paid it no heed, continuing to fly away.
In the end, King Zhou slowly lowered the bow.
Without using Magic Power, he couldn't be sure he wouldn't hit Yin Jiao.
Besides, an arrow shot with ordinary strength posed no threat at all to a mid-grade puppet of such immense power.
As everyone watched helplessly, the assassin and Yin Jiao gradually dwindled to a tiny black speck and vanished from sight.
Di Xin snapped the bow in two and bellowed, "Send out my orders at once! Summon the Grand Tutor, Wen Zhong, and have him return to the capital immediately!"
"Post a royal proclamation! Seek capable people throughout the land to serve the kingdom and protect the Royal Palace!"
"Raise our defenses! Starting now, place the Royal Palace under strict guard day and night!"
"Send men in the direction the assassin went to search for the Crown Prince. Whoever brings him back safely will receive a hundred thousand in gold!"
Attendants acknowledged each order and hurried off to carry it out.
"Great King, Fang Bi is guilty!"
"Great King, I, Fang Xiang, failed in my duty!"
As soon as Di Xin had finished giving his orders, the brothers Fang Bi and Fang Xiang, along with the chief guard of the East Palace, hurriedly knelt and begged forgiveness.
In broad daylight, an assassin had entered the Royal Palace and abducted the Crown Prince right under their noses. They knew they could not escape blame.
The other Imperial Guards and East Palace guards also fell to their knees. Even the attendants couldn't remain standing, and soon a whole crowd had knelt.
Di Xin watched them silently for a moment, then sighed. "All of you, get up. You can't be blamed for this. The assassin wasn't an ordinary man. He could fly. Even I was helpless when I got here."
Only then did everyone regain their composure. They thanked him and got to their feet.
"Great King, Jiao'er..."
Just then, Empress Jiang, accompanied by Consort Su and Consort Yang of Xinqing Palace, hurried over under the protection of the Imperial Guards.
Before you continue