Cake

Huangfu Ji stood there like a statue. If not for the violent rise and fall of his chest, others might truly have thought he was one.

Huangfu Ji was drenched in sweat. Although the person who had tried to assassinate him had already left, he was still shaken. He had not even heard Cheng Yao calling him.

When Cheng Yao's large hand landed on his shoulder, he reacted instantly. His right hand curled into a claw, golden Soul Power coating it as he lunged at Cheng Yao.

"Grand Duke, it's me." Cheng Yao caught Huangfu Ji's hand and hurriedly reminded him.

Panting heavily, Huangfu Ji saw that it was Cheng Yao and let out a long breath. The lingering terror immediately faded, replaced by a sense of safety.

At present, Liu Erlong and Zhao Yuan were not around. Cheng Yao was the only person he could trust.

"Uncle Cheng."

"Are you all right?" Cheng Yao hurriedly examined him.

Once he confirmed that Huangfu Ji was uninjured and that only the clothes over his chest had been cut, he relaxed considerably.

"I never expected him to dare send someone to attack you directly inside the academy during the break."

The "him" Cheng Yao referred to was naturally Prime Minister Yuan Hao. Aside from Yuan Hao, no one else in the entire Duchy had any reason to target Huangfu Ji.

The assassin had clearly come for Huangfu Ji. There was no need to guess that he had been sent by Yuan Hao.

"So what if we know he sent them? We didn't catch anyone, and we don't even know what the assassin looked like. There's no evidence." Huangfu Ji felt helpless. Since his rebirth, this had been the closest he had ever come to death.

He had nearly died before accomplishing anything.

"We can't just let this go." Cheng Yao considered mobilizing members of the Loyalty Faction to thoroughly investigate the matter. Perhaps they could use this assassination attempt to obtain evidence of Yuan Hao's crimes. Maybe they could bring Yuan Hao down ahead of time.

"No."

Huangfu Ji immediately rejected the idea.

"Let this matter end here. Even if someone investigates it, Yuan Hao should be the one to do it."

Cheng Yao did not understand. "Let Yuan Hao investigate? Isn't that like a thief crying thief?"

"Exactly. Now isn't the time to fight him to the death."

"So what if you find something?"

"The Duchy's military and political power is entirely in his hands. He controls a hundred thousand soldiers and more than a hundred Soul Masters. Forget anything else—can we mobilize the thirty thousand troops outside Qingyang City?"

If he could mobilize those thirty thousand troops outside the city, he would not merely be a Puppet.

Right now, he was only slightly better off than a Puppet. At least he could attend the Junior Soul Master Academy and cultivate. If this had been in the past, he would have wanted nothing more than to find a rope and hang himself indoors.

There were two reasons for letting Yuan Hao investigate the assassin. First, Huangfu Ji did not want to blow the matter up when he was still too weak. Second, it served as a warning to Yuan Hao—they already knew who had sent the assassin, so he should not act rashly again in the future.

After all, no one could guard against a thief every day for a thousand days.

Inside the study of Yuan Mansion.

Yuan Hao watched the black-clad man kneeling on one knee before him with a dark expression.

"What a useless fool. A dignified Soul Emperor, yet you failed to kill a one-ring Soul Master. Aren't you supposed to never miss, with every arrow hitting its mark?"

The black-clad man lowered his head without saying a word, but his clenched fists revealed his unwillingness.

"My lord, give me another chance. Next time, I will definitely kill Huangfu Ji."

Yuan Hao snorted coldly.

"You still think there'll be a next time?"

"I'm telling you, this failure is bound to make Cheng Yao and the others more vigilant. Their protection of Huangfu Ji will become even tighter. There won't be a second chance."

"Get out!"

The black-clad man rose and left the study with his head lowered.

Just after leaving the study, the black-clad man saw Yuan Ling approaching him.

Yuan Ling merely glanced at the man before letting out a disdainful laugh. He clearly knew that the assassination had failed. Ever since Huangfu Ji had beaten him badly, he had hated that Puppet Grand Duke and wished for Huangfu Ji to die as soon as possible.

The black-clad man looked back once, his eyes filled with unwillingness. But that unwillingness turned into a sigh, and he left Yuan Mansion.

The next day, news that Grand Duke Huangfu Ji had been assassinated at the academy quickly spread. Everyone immediately suspected Yuan Hao. After all, who else would do such a thing?

Naturally, Yuan Hao could not admit it. So he publicly flew into a rage and declared that the assassin would be thoroughly investigated. He acted quickly, immediately ordering the army to seal off Qingyang City and putting on a show of conducting a full investigation.

When Liu Erlong, who was at home, learned that Huangfu Ji had been assassinated, her heart leaped into her throat. But Qingyang City had already been sealed off, and she could not enter the city. All she could do was worry helplessly.

Only after learning that Huangfu Ji was unharmed and had merely been frightened did she finally let out a small sigh of relief.

While the city searched extensively for the assassin, Huangfu Ji cultivated diligently at the academy as though nothing had happened. Members of the Loyalty Faction also came to visit him, but he did not say much and simply told them to leave.

His Soul Power Level had now reached level seventeen. Within half a year, he would be able to break through to level twenty, at which point he could obtain his second Soul Ring.

However, the search for Whale Rubber was still going poorly. Ten-year and hundred-year Whale Rubber were easy to find, but thousand-year and ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber were difficult to come by. Cheng Yao had yet to gain anything.

Huangfu Ji was not in a hurry.

The army searched Qingyang City for three full days without catching the assassin. In the end, they could only give up, and Qingyang City returned to normal.

Another month later, the Empire directly held Yuan Hao accountable. A dignified Grand Duke Qingyang had been assassinated at the Junior Soul Master Academy in his own capital. As the regent Prime Minister, Yuan Hao could not escape blame.

Yuan Hao could only accept the Empire's censure.

But in reality, there was no substantial punishment.

The relationship between the Empire and its various subordinate states had become extremely delicate. Especially after Xue Ye ascended the throne, although he had continuously worked to revive the Empire, his control over the subordinate states had only grown weaker.

Yuan Hao was currently working to win over imperial ministers and nobles, including Prince Xue Xing, Emperor Xue Ye's younger brother.

The break passed in the blink of an eye.

On the day school resumed, Liu Erlong rushed to the academy impatiently.

Seeing Liu Erlong before him, panting and with beads of sweat still on her forehead, Huangfu Ji burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at? As your friend and classmate, I was worried when you were assassinated. I rushed here as soon as school started, and you're laughing at me." Liu Erlong planted her hands on her hips and glared at Huangfu Ji angrily.

Huangfu Ji put away his smile. He was quite happy about Liu Erlong's concern.

"You don't need to worry. See? I'm perfectly fine, lively as ever, and eating well."

"By the way, didn't you say you'd bring me the cake Aunt made? Where's the cake?"

Only then did Liu Erlong remember.

"Wait for me. I'll go get it."

With that, she ran toward the dormitory. When she returned, she held an exquisite cake in her hands, completely undamaged. She had clearly protected it with great care.

"Here. My mom made this especially for you."

When Liu Erlong had brought up the matter to her mother, Mother Liu had treated it as something very important. It could be said that this cake was the best one she had ever made in her life.

Huangfu Ji accepted the cake and thanked her, then walked with Liu Erlong to sit on a bench nearby.

Under Liu Erlong's expectant gaze, Huangfu Ji took a bite. Then his eyes lit up, as though he had tasted an incredible delicacy.