Mysterious Figure

Xue Xing jolted upright, gasping for breath.

His vision blurred for a moment.

The familiar bedside.

The familiar bed curtains.

This was the bedchamber of the Prince's Residence.

Xue Xing stiffly raised a hand and touched his neck.

He was alive.

He was really still alive.

Memories surged back into his mind like a tide.

The front courtyard of the Crown Prince's Residence.

Severed limbs scattered across the ground.

Withered Bone's head, sent flying by a bolt of purple lightning.

And the black rift that had torn through the night sky, along with the ghastly pale hand reaching out from it.

Xue Xing shuddered, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"Since you're awake, straighten yourself up."

A voice suddenly came from the corner.

Cold as ice.

Xue Xing screamed in fright and rolled straight off the couch.

Scrambling on hands and knees, he cowered beside a bedpost, staring in terror toward the source of the voice.

Someone sat in the shadows.

Their face could not be seen.

Only a ghastly pale hand rested casually on the armrest of the chair.

It was this very hand that had forcibly dragged him into the spatial rift during that hopeless situation at the Crown Prince's Residence and brought him back to the Prince's Residence.

Xue Xing dropped to both knees, smashing his forehead heavily against the tiled floor.

"Thank you, Senior, for saving my life! Thank you, Senior!"

"A life-saving debt must be repaid a hundredfold! Should Senior ever have any orders, everyone in the Prince's Residence will brave death without hesitation!"

The person in the shadows gave a cold laugh.

"Repay it a hundredfold? With the look of a terrified stray dog like you?"

Xue Xing trembled from head to toe, not daring to raise his head.

"This prince... this prince suffered a tremendous shock tonight. That six-year-old child beside Xue Qinghe isn't human at all! He's a monster!"

"Withered Bone was an eighty-ninth-rank Soul Douluo! He had even unleashed his ultimate move, yet that little demon cut him down with a single sword!"

"Three thousand dead men! Slaughtered clean in less than half an hour!"

Xue Xing spoke incoherently, his voice on the verge of tears.

"We lost. We lost everything!"

"Once the charge of rebellion falls on us, Xue Qinghe will surely seize the opportunity, and the Emperor will never spare the Prince's Residence!"

The pale fingers lightly tapped the armrest.

"Put on your court robes. Do whatever you should be doing."

Xue Xing froze, then abruptly looked up.

His face was filled with disbelief.

"Court robes?"

"You can't, Senior! Going to court at a time like this is no different from walking into a trap!"

"Xue Qinghe must already have entered the palace to see His Majesty. The corpses filling that courtyard are irrefutable evidence!"

"The City Defense Army also saw this prince lead troops into the Crown Prince's Residence. Who among the civil and military officials doesn't know that this prince and the Crown Prince are at odds?"

"If I attend court now, not only will the ministers condemn me, Xue Qinghe will attack me on the spot and demand my life!"

The person in the shadows stood.

Step by step, they walked before Xue Xing.

The pale hand seized Xue Xing by the throat and lifted him up.

Xue Xing's feet left the floor. His face turned crimson as he desperately clawed at those fingers, which were like iron pincers.

"If you don't want to die, shut up and listen."

The hand released him.

Xue Xing crashed to the floor, coughing violently.

"Were the names of the Prince's Residence carved onto those dead men?"

Xue Xing clutched his throat and shook his head with difficulty.

"No... no. They were all bandits and desperadoes secretly recruited at great expense. Their identities can't be traced."

"What about those Soul Saints? Did they sign contracts of servitude?"

"No. They were merely promised rewards after the deed was done."

"And Withered Bone?"

"Not even ashes remain."

"When the City Defense Army arrived, what did they see?"

Xue Xing thought back.

"They only saw corpses everywhere. This prince had only just entered the courtyard at the time."

The person in the shadows looked down at him from above.

"Since nothing was left behind, where is this irrefutable evidence?"

"In matters where the dead cannot testify, everything depends on what people say."

"If Xue Qinghe says you rebelled, does that make you a rebel?"

Xue Xing finally caught his breath.

"But... but the motive is far too obvious. Everyone in Heaven Dou City knows..."

"Knows what? That you led troops there to rescue the Crown Prince?"

"Rescue him?"

Xue Xing's eyes were full of confusion.

"You are the Emperor's younger brother. Upon hearing that there was a disturbance near the Crown Prince's Residence in Heaven Dou City, you were overcome with alarm."

"Fearing that the Crown Prince's Residence had come under attack, you mobilized the elite of the City Defense Army overnight and rushed there to protect it."

"You arrived a step too late. The rebels had already been completely wiped out by the retainers of the Crown Prince's Residence."

"That is what happened tonight. Do you understand?"

Xue Xing's mind raced.

"But Xue Qinghe won't believe it, and neither will that monstrous child."

"They saw this prince blow the bone whistle and summon Withered Bone with their own eyes!"

The pale fingers gripped Xue Xing's chin.

"Does it matter whether Xue Qinghe believes it?"

"At court, who has the final say?"

"The Emperor."

"Does the Emperor need you to rebel?"

"After that farce at the Royal Academy, the Emperor was dissatisfied with you. He stripped you of your authority."

"But that was merely a warning within the imperial family."

"What about now? The Crown Prince's Residence has recruited a six-year-old child."

"One person who crushed all the Heaven Dou-level elites of the Royal Academy."

"And tonight, in less than half an hour, he silently slaughtered three thousand dead men by himself."

"Even an eighty-ninth-rank evil soul master died on the spot."

"With such strength and such methods, who in all of Heaven Dou City could restrain him?"

Xue Xing's eyes widened further and further.

Following that line of thought, his heartbeat began to quicken.

"A six-year-old child who kills Soul Douluos as easily as slaughtering dogs. If the Emperor learns of this, what will he think?"

"The Emperor will think: with such a capable person in the Crown Prince's Residence, must the Crown Prince still wait for him to grow old? Could he storm the imperial palace at any moment and force the Emperor to abdicate?"

"That's right! What the Emperor fears most is power slipping from his grasp!" A glint flashed through Xue Xing's eyes. "The Emperor already had doubts about the deaths of the First Prince and Second Prince. Now that the Crown Prince's Residence possesses such terrifying strength, the Emperor will have to sleep with one eye open!"

"Therefore, the Emperor will not only refrain from killing you, he will support you. He will use your Prince's Residence to blunt the edge of the Crown Prince's Residence."

The person in the shadows released him.

"So you aren't hopelessly stupid after all."

"The art of an emperor lies in balance."

"If the charge of rebellion is confirmed and the Prince's Residence falls, who in court will still be able to keep the Crown Prince in check?"

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has always been on good terms with the Crown Prince. By then, whom in the entire Heaven Dou Empire will the Emperor still be able to command?"

Xue Xing climbed to his feet.

He dusted off his court robes.

The fear in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by the shrewdness and calculation common to politicians.

"Not only will the Emperor refuse to punish me, he will do everything possible to suppress this matter."

"As long as the dead cannot testify, as long as this prince insists that I went there to rescue the Crown Prince."

"The Emperor will definitely go along with it and label those dead men as bandits from outside the city."

"He may even reward this prince to placate the Prince's Residence, so I can continue to make things difficult for Xue Qinghe at court."

The pale hand withdrew into its sleeve once more.

"Looks like there's no need to teach you."

Xue Xing gave a deep bow.

"Thank you, Senior, for clearing away my confusion! Had Senior not exposed the truth with a single word, this prince might have lost his composure and caused a great disaster."

"May I know Senior's esteemed name? Once this prince has established himself at court, I will certainly..."

"Put away those little schemes of yours."

The voice in the shadows interrupted Xue Xing's attempt to ingratiate himself.

"The game in Heaven Dou City has only just begun. For now, you piece cannot be taken."

"Pretend nothing happened. As usual, attend court on time."

"If you reveal even the slightest flaw at court and give Xue Qinghe something to use against you..."

An icy killing intent instantly engulfed the bedchamber.

"There will be no need for that monstrous child to act. I can snap your neck whenever I please."

"This prince understands! I would never dare ruin Senior's great plan!"

Xue Xing hurriedly promised.

When he raised his head again, the shadows were already empty.

It was as though that person had vanished into thin air.

Xue Xing stood where he was and took several deep breaths.

Then he walked to the bronze mirror.

He looked at the pale, haggard face reflected within it.

He forcefully slapped both cheeks.

He kneaded his stiff facial muscles.

The expression in the mirror changed.

It returned to its usual overbearing, arrogant look.

His eyes became sharp and cold.

"Servants!"

The door was pushed open.

Two personal maidservants entered with basins of water and jade towels, lowering their heads nervously.

"Your Highness."

Xue Xing spread his arms.

"Dress me. Bring my court robes."

He changed into a luxurious four-clawed python robe.

He adjusted his crown.

He fastened his jade belt.

Everything was put in order.

Xue Xing turned and strode toward the door.

Outside, the sky was already bright.

"Prepare the carriage. We are going to the palace."

The steward hurried forward, looking somewhat flustered.

"Your Highness, word came from the City Defense Army that the Western City Camp last night..."

"You saw nothing last night."

Xue Xing coldly swept his gaze over the steward.

The steward's scalp went numb under that stare. He immediately sealed his lips and lowered his head.

"This old servant spoke out of turn. This old servant was on duty in the residence all night and saw nothing."

Xue Xing withdrew his gaze in satisfaction.

"To the imperial palace."

The whip cracked.

The carriage headed toward Heaven Dou Imperial City.