East Palace Assassin

In Shouxian Palace, Di Xin went over the events of the past two days one by one in his bedroom.

He checked for any oversights or omissions, trying his best to put himself in Zhao Gongming's and Yang Jian's shoes, and guess their next moves from their perspective.

During this 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 came together to visit.

Di Xin didn't want to drag them into trouble, so he had an eunuch say he was asleep and sent the three consorts back.

Thinking about the many treasures hidden in the System space, Di Xin could basically conclude that today's probing would not be the last.

But what other methods would they use to test him?

As Di Xin was contemplating the various possible scenarios, an eunuch suddenly rushed into Shouxian Palace, heading straight for Di Xin's chambers.

"Great King, Great King... It's bad! An assassin has broken into the East Palace!"

The eunuch shouted urgently.

"An assassin? The East Palace guards and Imperial Guards are protecting the Crown Prince and apprehending the assassin."

Upon hearing this, Di Xin leaped from his couch.

He had a hunch that this was likely another test from those Daoist cultivators.

Otherwise, why would the Crown Prince, who hadn't provoked anyone, be attacked without reason?

He only had two sons. Besides Crown Prince Yin Jiao, there was the Second Prince Yin Hong. Both sons were born to Empress Jiang, full brothers. He himself was in his prime, so there was no talk of succession disputes.

As for Wu Geng, the other son of King Zhou he knew from his past life, he simply didn't exist here. Perhaps he was fictional, or not yet born.

As the eunuch walked out with Di Xin, he replied, "Reporting to the Great King, General Fang has personally led men to the East Palace to guard. Fearing it might be a feint by the assassins, most of the Imperial Guards are protecting the royal chambers and other palaces to ensure the safety of the Great King and the consorts."

"Fetch my General-Slaying Saber?"

Di Xin roared upon hearing this, reacting as a father should.

However, he absolutely could not use his Magic Power.

The Crown Prince, a child of over ten years old, hadn't provoked anyone, and the sudden appearance of an assassin was already a strange matter.

The Royal Palace covered a vast area. From Shouxian Palace to the East Palace was over a mile. Along the way, Imperial Guards were rushing towards the East Palace in an endless stream.

Fang Xiang, also a Hall-Guarding General and brother of Fang Bi, also brought men to protect King Zhou. The entire Royal Palace was in chaos due to the assassin.

Di Xin strode towards the East Palace. In no time, he approached it. The Imperial Guards there were a sea of people, surrounding the palace gate.

Many injured Imperial Guards were being carried out by their comrades.

"Who can tell me how many assassins there were?"

Di Xin asked with a frown, "Where is the Crown Prince now?"

Hearing King Zhou's voice, Fang Bi pushed through the crowd and emerged. "Great King, only one assassin has been found so far. That assassin has taken His Highness the Crown Prince hostage. We are hesitant to act for fear of harming His Highness."

Before King Zhou could react, chaos erupted at the East Palace gate. Many Imperial Guards and East Palace guards retreated. Then, through the gaps in the crowd, King Zhou saw a powerfully built man holding Yin Jiao under his arm, advancing step by step.

The contrast in their builds was stark. Yin Jiao appeared extremely frail, while the burly man looked like he could snap the Crown Prince in half with a single squeeze.

Although the Imperial Guards were all skilled, and many archers had drawn their bows and aimed at the man, none dared to use brute force.

"My saber!"

At this moment, anger flashed across Di Xin's face. He roared, snatched his General-Slaying Saber from the shoulders of two eunuchs, gripped it in his right hand, and held it reversed, the tip pointing towards the assassin as he approached.

"Hmph, the Yin Shang Royal Palace is nothing special. Do you nameless rats think you can stop me?"

The burly man sneered, suddenly leaped into the air, and slowly flew towards the ground, holding the Crown Prince. Then, he changed direction and flew towards the outside of the Royal Palace.

His speed was not fast, nor was his altitude high. However, the Imperial Guards and East Palace guards present were ordinary mortals and had no ability to fly. They could only watch helplessly as the man flew away with the Crown Prince, unable to do anything.

Di Xin's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared intently at the assassin's bare arm. A large opening had been cut in his sleeve, revealing his bronze-colored skin.

But Di Xin wasn't looking at his skin color, but at the patterns carved on it.

Perhaps the previous Di Xin would have thought they were mere patterns, but after studying the Puppet Dao Arts, he no longer thought so.

Because he now knew that these patterns had another name: Rune.

A puppet!

From the location and type of the runes, Di Xin immediately recognized that this burly man was not a real person, but a mid-level puppet.

Mid-level puppets in human form had another name: Yellow Turban Warrior.

However, this assassin was not wearing yellow clothes or a yellow turban, but all black, cleverly fitting his assassin's identity.

I wonder which Daoist cultivator sent him?

Di Xin snatched the bow and arrows from a nearby archer, aimed at the burly man, and drew the bowstring taut.

Seeing this, the burly man let out a scoff, completely unfazed, and continued to fly further away.

Ultimately, King Zhou slowly lowered his bow.

Without using Magic Power, he wasn't confident he could avoid harming Yin Jiao.

Furthermore, an arrow shot with ordinary brute force would pose no threat to such a powerful mid-level puppet.

Finally, under everyone's watchful eyes, the assassin, carrying Yin Jiao, gradually became a small black dot and disappeared from sight.

Di Xin snapped his bow in half with a crack and roared, "Quickly deliver this King's decree! Summon Grand Tutor Wen Zhong to return to the capital immediately!"

"Post royal edicts, recruiting talented individuals from across the land to contribute to the nation and protect the Royal Palace!"

"Strengthen defenses! The Royal Palace will be under martial law day and night starting immediately!"

"Send people to investigate the Crown Prince's whereabouts in the direction the assassin fled. Whoever can rescue the Crown Prince will be rewarded with one hundred thousand gold!"

With each decree issued, an Eunuch would immediately acknowledge and depart to carry it out.

"Great King, Fang Bi is guilty!"

"Great King, your subject Fang Xiang has failed his duty!"

As Di Xin finished giving his orders, Fang Bi and Fang Xiang, along with the commander of the East Palace guards, hurriedly knelt down in fear and begged for punishment.

In broad daylight, assassins had broken into the Royal Palace and abducted His Highness the Crown Prince right under their noses. They knew they were inexcusable.

It wasn't just them who knelt; even the other Imperial Guards and East Palace guards began to kneel. The Eunuchs couldn't stand still either and soon knelt down as well.

Di Xin watched them silently for a moment, then sighed, "You may all rise. This matter is not your fault. That assassin was no ordinary person; he could fly. Even I arrived and was still helpless."

Everyone's minds finally settled, and they thanked him for his grace before rising.

"Great King, Jiao'er, he..."

At this moment, Empress Jiang, along with the two consorts from the West Palace and Xinqing Palace, arrived in a hurry under the escort of the Imperial Guards.