The next day, Dean's Office
"Outrageous! This is utterly lawless!"
Prince Xue Xing trembled with rage as he slammed the note onto the table.
"Xue Beng, a living, breathing person, was actually kidnapped inside the academy, right under everyone's noses! If word gets out, where will Heaven Dou Royal Academy's reputation go?!"
The three Commissioners, Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin, stood solemnly to one side.
"Prince, please calm down. The urgent matter is how we should handle this."
Meng Shenji tried to soothe him.
"Handle it? How are we supposed to handle it?!"
Xue Xing glared at him. "Chief Meng Shenji! Is this the academy you manage? A prince was kidnapped from the academy itself. You cannot escape responsibility!"
"You jest, Prince. We are merely three old men responsible for overseeing instruction. The academy's management has always depended on the Dean's excellent leadership."
Meng Shenji was not about to take the blame.
"Indeed, Your Highness. Before the Dean returned, the academy had always been peaceful. Why has it become like this lately?"
Bai Baoshan added blandly, then turned toward the man beside him.
"Zhi Lin, what do you think?"
Zhi Lin hurriedly waved his hands. "Don't ask me. I don't know anything. In any case, it definitely isn't the Dean's fault. Definitely not!"
"You people!"
Xue Xing's face turned livid.
Xue Xing's face was ashen.
Wasn't it Prince Xue Xing himself?
They were clearly insulting him in a roundabout way!
In truth, the three Commissioners were not particularly fond of Xue Beng, this prince.
After all, there was still the wise and approachable Crown Prince Xue Qinghe above him. Whether the arrogant and overbearing Fourth Prince existed or not made little difference.
If this had not happened inside the academy, where news of it would damage the academy's reputation, they might even have applauded.
"Your Highness, there are two priorities now. First, find and rescue the Fourth Prince. Second, prepare the ransom and prevent the kidnappers from killing him."
Meng Shenji cut off the argument.
"I have already asked Mister Dugu to search for traces. As for the ransom..."
Xue Xing forcibly suppressed his anger. "Five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins can be gathered quickly if we grit our teeth, but Whale Rubber and a Soul Tool capable of storing living creatures cannot be obtained so quickly."
He frowned deeply. "I can understand why the kidnappers want five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, but what do they need so much Whale Rubber for? And they specifically demanded a Soul Tool that can hold living creatures..."
Zhi Lin coughed. "According to ancient records, Whale Rubber has certain special effects in that regard. The kidnappers may have a considerable need for it."
"What worries me more is the adjective the kidnappers used to describe the Fourth Prince."
Meng Shenji pointed at the first two words on the note, his expression grave.
"If the kidnappers have interests beyond merely seeking money... if the Fourth Prince is not rescued quickly, then, well, that part of him may not be safe."
"No! Absolutely not!"
Xue Xing cried out.
If Xue Beng was kidnapped and suffered some special accident, then once that news spread, his already slim hope of competing for the throne would be cut in half again!
His already poor reputation would become even more notorious!
At that moment, Dugu Bo pushed open the door and entered.
"Mister Dugu, did you find any clues?"
Xue Xing asked anxiously.
Dugu Bo shook his head. "The kidnappers have an ability to conceal their aura. I did not sense any unusual aura."
"Even you couldn't find them..."
Xue Xing's face went ashen.
Though Dugu Bo was famed for poison, after possessing the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, his sense of smell was extremely sharp. If even he could not find them, then no one likely could!
"However, it wasn't entirely fruitless."
Dugu Bo changed tack. "Based on the traces at the scene, the kidnappers should be highly skilled in earth escape techniques."
Xue Xing asked, "Then what should we do?"
Dugu Bo said, "Send people to search everywhere for the Fourth Prince and prepare the ransom. At the same time, gather Spirit Masters skilled in sensing and digging... then wait for the kidnappers' next instructions."
Three days later, a new note was found at the academy gates:
[Are the things ready? If they are, go to the third jar in West Alley of Heaven Dou City and retrieve the clue from underneath it.
Attention! Go only after everything is ready, or I cannot guarantee the Fourth Prince's safety!]
Three days later, the guards moved the jar and found another note pressed beneath it:
[Congratulations. You are one step closer to finding the adorable prince. Tomorrow, in the valley twenty li north of the city, there is a burrow beneath a huge rock. Throw the things in and move away.]
Xue Xing led people there and immediately had Spirit Masters track the burrow, only to find another note:
[So many people looking for me? How lively. Should we make things even livelier? Tomorrow, go another ten li north by yourself. There is a huge rock beside a giant tree. Leave the things there.]
The handwriting on the note was messy, its tone mocking and full of ridicule.
Yet when Xue Xing went there, he received yet another new note.
After several exchanges, there was still no sign of the kidnappers or Xue Beng.
[So many people have come looking for me. I am truly flattered.]
When they received this note, Xue Xing and the others finally realized—the kidnappers knew their movements!
Even though the guards and Dugu Bo had stayed far away these times, they had still been discovered.
The final note appeared in Xue Xing's Dean's Office—
[Last chance. You alone. Twenty li west of the city. Throw the things beneath the rock halfway up the mountain. Understand?]
"Damn it."
Xue Xing's face was livid, but he had no other choice.
He could no longer keep Xue Beng's disappearance hidden!
The next day, he alone brought the Soul Tool filled with ransom to the designated location and tossed it into a bottomless burrow.
The burrow was deep and dark, and no one knew where it led.
A hundred meters underground, Zygarde had been waiting for a long time.
After briefly checking that there were no problems, it picked up the Soul Tool and silently departed through another tunnel it had dug long ago.
Almost at the same time, in a woodshed within a courtyard somewhere in Heaven Dou City, the unconscious Xue Beng was successfully found by Dugu Bo.
His clothes were disheveled, his entire body reeked, he was covered in bruises, and several words had been written on him:
[Goods returned. Thank you for your patronage.]
By the time Xue Xing rushed over after receiving the news, Xue Beng had just awakened. His eyes were vacant, and he knew nothing when questioned. He only remembered being knocked unconscious. He had no memory at all of what happened afterward, only that his entire body hurt.
Although an examination found that Xue Beng had suffered no serious harm apart from being covered in bruises.
The Fourth Prince's warmhearted character was deeply imprinted upon everyone who knew the truth.
Edge of Sunset Forest
"Do you need me to take you away quickly?"
Zygarde asked as soon as it returned.
"Run? Why would I run?"
"The one who kidnapped the Fourth Prince was the mysterious Sichuan Opera Master, whom even Dugu Bo could not see through. What did that have to do with a tiny Spirit Master like me?"
Bai Mu played with the Storage Soul Tool, a faint smile at the corner of his lips.
It was an inconspicuous black ring with roughly thirty cubic meters of space inside, capable of storing living creatures.
It was filled with glittering coins and all kinds of Whale Rubber.
"What a pity... that old man returned early. Otherwise, I could have taken everything in one sweep."
Bai Mu glanced toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well with some regret.
After finding Xue Beng, Dugu Bo had not lingered. He returned directly to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, ruining Bai Mu's plan to take all the Immortal Herbs there in one go.
The good news, however, was that through Z-Cell surveillance, Bai Mu learned that although Dugu Bo felt the Medicinal Garden seemed to be missing something, he did not become overly suspicious due to his confidence in his Poison Array.
These Immortal Herbs were merely being left there for now.
Whenever he needed them in the future, he could simply come take them while Dugu Bo was absent.
"The interest has been collected."
Bai Mu put away the ring and looked into the distance. "Next... let's find somewhere to properly digest these resources!"
As long as he absorbed all the Whale Rubber to strengthen his physique, absorbing a Thousand-Year Spirit Ring afterward would definitely not be a problem!
"Xiao Ruan, let's go."
"Woof~"
One person and one dog vanished into Sunset Forest.
Before you continue