Mingdu, the imperial palace.
Xu Tianran slammed his hand down on the desk so hard that the heavy golden-thread nanmu desk split with a crack, yet he spared it no concern.
A report lay spread across the desk, listing the senior members of the Holy Spirit Cult who had left Mingdu-and even the entire Sun-Moon Empire-over the past half month. The sheer length of the list left him furious and chilled with fear, and beneath it was the number of cult members who had also departed.
Their numbers were enormous, and once they left, not a word was heard from them again. It looked as though they intended to withdraw from the Sun-Moon Empire altogether.
That damned Holy Spirit Cult! How dare they abandon me at a time like this?
Xu Tianran was furious and anxious. The Holy Spirit Cult was his greatest trump card, the reason he could still hold his position as Crown Prince securely.
Ju Zi stood beside him, attending to him. Seeing his fury and anxiety, she offered some comfort. "Your Highness, please do not grow so anxious that you harm your health. I think perhaps we could send someone to the Evil Demon Forest to ask. Things may not be as serious as we imagine."
Ordinarily, there would have been nothing wrong with Ju Zi's words.
But what an inherently suspicious man Xu Tianran was!
Not to mention that he had just suffered the worst betrayal of his life, leaving him too furious to think rationally. Ju Zi's mention of his "health" had also stabbed straight into a sore spot in his heart.
Xu Tianran abruptly raised his head and glared at Ju Zi. "Send someone to ask? Ask what? Why they left? Or whether they're coming back? If they want to come back, they'll