Perfect

"Ah... on this trip, my fa... father specifically instructed me not to reveal my identity, lest it bring disaster..." The young master looked troubled.

But after a brief hesitation, he continued, "Fine! You and I are sworn friends who have faced death together. There's no harm in telling you!"

"I am the fifth son of the Great Liang imperial family, Ji Xuanyuan!"

Xiao Fan immediately dropped to one knee and put on a performance of utter shock. "Y-You're... the Fifth Prince!"

Seeing Xiao Fan's stunned expression, Ji Xuanyuan felt inexplicably pleased. With a faint smile, he helped Xiao Fan up. "All right. Since we're brothers, let us dispense with such worldly formalities."

Xiao Fan maintained his shocked look, appearing flattered beyond measure. "Your Highness is of noble status. How could someone like me dare to reach so high? Becoming brothers is absolutely out of the question!"

"Why is it out of the question? If I say you can, then you can!" Ji Xuanyuan was thoroughly pleased by the flattery, unable to suppress the grin at the corners of his mouth.

Xiao Fan was having just as hard a time keeping a straight face. In truth, he had long guessed the young master's identity with near certainty—if not a prince's heir, then an imperial prince.

Moreover, if he was an imperial prince, then he could almost certainly only be either the Third Prince or the Fifth Prince.

The reason was not difficult to guess. Emperor Hongwu had six sons in total. Five were already adults, while the Sixth Prince was still in swaddling clothes.

Of them, the First Prince was the current Crown Prince, master of the Eastern Palace. It was impossible for him to travel so casually, much less with guards of such mediocre caliber.

The Second Prince was frail and sickly. Rumor had it that he also suffered from hysteria and had been bedridden year-round.

The Fourth Prince held considerable power and prestige at court, standing toe-to-toe with the Crown Prince. Wherever he went, advisers swarmed around him, and he spent every day scheming in courtly struggles. How could he have the leisure to roam mountains and rivers?

That left only the notorious, flower-plucking wastrel Third Prince, and the Fifth Prince—the palace nobody, drifting like idle clouds and wild cranes.

After giving it some thought, Ji Xuanyuan said, "When we return to the capital, follow me. There's no need for you to remain a gray-clad agent of the Shadow Pivot Court. Publicly, you can serve as my personal guard in my residence. Privately, we will address each other as brothers."

"When the time comes, I'll find an opportunity to arrange a good position for you. What do you think?"

Xiao Fan's eyes grew moist. "Your Highness! From this day on, I, Xiao Fan, am yours in life—and even in death, I won't let you go!"

That was what he meant, but somehow, hearing it made Ji Xuanyuan feel a chill crawl over him...

At the central square of Cloud Hidden Village stood a cylindrical altar of crystalline scarlet. Pure white flames blazed upon it, radiating a holy yet gentle glow that protected the village from the threat of the night corrosion.

Beneath the altar lay three layers of Bureau of Celestial Observation formations inscribed into the bluestone ground, used to ward off wind and rain and protect the flame.

The villagers gathered around the square, bowing their heads devoutly as they prayed to the sacred fire.

Watching the scene from the window, Xiao Fan sighed. "Your Highness, look. That scarlet crystal wax pedestal has nearly burned away. At most, it can last another half month before the sacred fire goes out..."

At his words, Ji Xuanyuan leaned over to take a look as well, though he did not seem too concerned. "There is no need to worry. The Bureau of Celestial Observation will deliver new scarlet crystal wax when the time comes."

"Will they?" Xiao Fan questioned.

"What do you mean?" Ji Xuanyuan did not understand. Wasn't it the Bureau of Celestial Observation's routine duty to regularly distribute scarlet crystal wax throughout the inhabited areas of Great Liang and set up formations?

Xiao Fan shook his head with a bitter smile. "Your Highness lives in the capital, so perhaps you do not know. Under Great Liang law, the Bureau of Celestial Observation's scarlet crystal wax pedestals must be replaced regularly, and the remaining supply must never fall below two months' worth of use."

"Yet who knows when it began, but the supply of scarlet crystal wax stopped being so 'orderly.' Many remote villages have even lost their flame..."

"In a world like this, Your Highness should understand what it means to lose the sacred fire's protection."

Those words truly startled Ji Xuanyuan.

This young lord had been born and raised in the imperial palace. All he knew was that under his imperial father's wise rule, all under heaven submitted, the four directions were peaceful, and the people lived and worked in contentment. Everything was flourishing.

He had no conception whatsoever of the true conditions endured by ordinary people in many places beyond the capital—he could not even imagine them.

"How could this be? The Bureau of Celestial Observation is openly defying Great Liang law!" Ji Xuanyuan could not comprehend such a thing.

Xiao Fan had long expected Ji Xuanyuan's reaction and continued, "Does Your Highness know how valuable this scarlet crystal wax is?"

"Umm... is it very valuable?"

The question had clearly struck a blind spot in Ji Xuanyuan's understanding... The capital had an abundant supply of scarlet crystal wax. He had never needed to concern himself with such matters.

Xiao Fan raised a hand and held out two fingers. "On the black market, two hundred taels of silver can buy five taels of scarlet crystal wax powder."

"What?! Two hundred taels of silver for only five taels? And it's wax powder?"

The young master was shocked!

Ji Xuanyuan might not have known how valuable scarlet crystal wax was, but he knew what two hundred taels of silver represented. Even for someone as privileged as him, it was no small sum.

"As the saying goes, men die for wealth, birds die for food. Scarlet crystal wax is so expensive that one can well imagine the chain of interests behind it." Xiao Fan nodded slightly and added.

Ji Xuanyuan looked out at the square again, and a subtle change came over his eyes. "If what you say is true, then this wax will likely have a hard time reaching the people's hands..."

"But that is not right. The court strictly controls the scarlet crystal ore veins and forbids private sales. Is no one doing anything about it?"

Xiao Fan let out a long sigh. "That, I do not know."

"Never mind. We're only talking about it. Who could possibly change any of this? Your Highness should rest early."

With that, Xiao Fan sat cross-legged upon the bedding on the floor. Before midnight, he intended to circulate his cultivation for a while—improving his cultivation while incidentally filling his Calamity Corruption Value...

Calamity Corruption Value... +1... +1... +1...

Increasing his Calamity Corruption Value through cultivation was slow, but it was relatively safe and less likely to spiral out of control.

On the bed, Ji Xuanyuan rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought as he began muttering to himself.

"Then what will happen to these villagers..."

The more he thought, the more troubled he became. Suddenly, he slapped the table and rose to his feet. "No! I can't just watch them sit here waiting to die. They are citizens of Great Liang too!"

With that, he burst out the door...

Xiao Fan did not stop him, merely shaking his head lightly. "What a naïve kid..."

Close to midnight.

[Calamity Poison Value: 102/100]

After experiencing his Calamity Value overflowing last time, Xiao Fan had grown bolder and bolder. Before the points reset at midnight, he intended to raise the value as high as possible... every bit he could earn counted.

Sure enough, the surface of his skin began to burn, scales-like patterns forming across it—the sign of Calamity transformation!

No... I can't push my luck this hard. If this blows up in my face, that'll be awkward.

In the end, reason prevailed. He no longer dared to risk circulating his cultivation to increase his Calamity Value, instead keeping it steady at its current level.

Three... two... one...

[Midnight has arrived. Calamity Value has been cleared. Obtained 102 points of Pure Spiritual Essence.]

[Calamity Poison Value: 0/100]

As his Calamity Value cleared, the converted Spiritual Essence flowed into Xiao Fan's spiritual veins.

[Cultivation: Martial Path Qi Refinement Realm—Complete: 182/100]

"Qi Refinement is finally complete!"

It had originally taken only 100 points to reach completion, but since he had yet to meet the requirements for breaking through to the eighth rank, the excess points were of no use for now.