Chapter 45

"Can a soul fragment put people inside it? Is it that strange?"

The shadow sneered. "What's so hard about putting you inside? I can even attack you."

Hearing the threat in the shadow's tone, the two tactfully shut their mouths. In any case, they couldn't escape for now, so they could only wait and see what happened.

Along the way, the shadow let the two of them out several times to take care of food, drink, and other bodily needs. Each time, the shadow chose deserted wastelands or

towering mountains and steep ridges to let them out for some air. Lin Hanxuan weighed the gap in strength between the shadow and himself several times, and in the end did not try to escape. Yi Junze, on the other hand, shouted and made a fuss the whole way, desperately trying to find a chance to flee, but the shadow kept too close a watch, and he never succeeded.

"We're already within the borders of the Misera Empire, right?" Yi Junze asked. "Can you explain your purpose now?"

"Not my purpose. I do not have a purpose of my own," the shadow said. "It is Master's will. The Misera Empire needs His Highness's help."

"You call him His Highness?" Yi Junze asked curiously. "You know who he is?"

"You talk too much." The shadow spread out once more and covered the two of them, saying stiffly, "We'll arrive soon. This is the last stretch

of the road."

On the last stretch, the shadow seemed intent on preventing Lin Hanxuan and the others from memorizing the scenery along the way. Thick black fog surged up inside the shadow space, blocking

the two men's sight. But that could not stump Lin Hanxuan. After the Kun's training in his sea of consciousness, Lin Hanxuan was extremely sensitive to energy. To the north, there was a place where the energy was especially thin. It should be the Rotting Swamp; beside the Rotting Swamp, roughly where Dead City stood, the energy was actually especially dense.

Within a distance of less than a hundred li, the flow of energy showed a very peculiar balance, as if some kind of will were controlling it. Otherwise, logically speaking, this strange distribution of energy should have produced an energy storm.

Through this unusual method of positioning by energy, Lin Hanxuan discovered that he was at least three thousand li away from Dead City, and the distance was still rapidly increasing

as well.

"Master, this subordinate has invited His Highness here," the shadow said.

They had finally arrived! Lin Hanxuan and Yi Junze exchanged a glance.

"You've worked hard. My younger brother didn't resist too violently, did he?" a woman's voice asked.

The instant he heard those words, it was as if a peal of wild thunder had exploded out of nowhere in Lin Hanxuan's mind. His ears buzzed, and whatever the shadow said afterward, he

heard none of it at all.

Yi Junze looked at Lin Hanxuan in astonishment. Why was Lin Hanxuan's older sister still hiding in the Misera Empire? Had Fields not rescued her too

?

Suddenly, light appeared before their eyes. It turned out the shadow had released Lin Hanxuan and Yi Junze.

The two rubbed their eyes, and only then did they realize they were in a paradise on earth. Warm sunlight, a gentle breeze, and beside them

a murmuring stream winding past; across the stream stood a jade-green forest, where many unknown birds were singing merrily among the trees

; colorful butterflies danced among the flowers, and multicolored blossoms filled their vision, as if even each breath were full of fragrance. Beneath them lay soft green grass, carpeting

the entire paradise.

"Little brother, is it really you?" A beautiful woman called to Lin Hanxuan gently, tears already brimming over in her eyes, like broken-strung

pearls falling one by one onto the grass.

"Huh? You... who are you? Why do you say I'm your younger brother?" Lin Hanxuan asked in disbelief.

"Mm? So you don't know each other?" Yi Junze had already relaxed his guard, but when he heard Lin Hanxuan say he did not know the woman before him, he immediately

grew alert again and took out his feather fan.

Lin Hanxuan, however, vaguely felt that this woman was not deceiving him. It was just that he needed more proof before he could believe her.

"Little brother, more than ten years ago, Father went missing. Back then, you had only just been born not long before." She smiled somewhat bitterly. Presumably, that

was not a very pleasant memory.

She continued, "After Father disappeared, you were the Yang Family's only heir. First Madam... no, that hateful woman, for some unknown reason, actually found outsiders to kill you. Fortunately, before that, His Majesty Lei Ming had already sent guards to protect us nearby, so

Mother took us and escaped." At this point, her expression dimmed again, tears threatening to fall.

The shadow stood motionless at her side, without the slightest expression on its face.

"The assassins were pursuing us very closely at the time," she said again. "I still remember Mother discussing it with Uncle Mu and asking Uncle Mu to take you to Dead City

to hide for a while. The City Lord of Dead City, Fields, is the imperial family's son-in-law, and he has always been at odds with those great nobles. Only by asking him

did we have a thread of hope." As she spoke, she sat sideways on the grass, her bearing extremely elegant.

"Please stop for a moment," Yi Junze said. "I don't understand. If everything you said is true, why didn't you hide in the imperial capital? The imperial

family would definitely have done everything in its power to protect your Yang Family."

She froze, then tilted her head and thought for a while before saying, "I was still young at the time, so I don't know why Uncle Mu insisted

that we flee south. It seemed His Majesty was not in the imperial capital then. That woman's background was not simple, and the empire could not afford to offend her. This might also

was one of the reasons."

"Oh. I remember Prince Yang's lawful wife seemed to have Orc blood." Yi Junze sank into thought.

"She is indeed not human," she said. "But she isn't an Orc either. She's half Sea Clan."

"Big sister," Lin Hanxuan said, "let's not talk about that for now. I want to ask, you said I'm your own younger brother. What proof do you have

for that?" A real older sister had suddenly appeared.