"Tell Me Where It Hurts"

A crucial plot point he had forgotten!

An accident would happen at this ball.

Someone had neglected their duty, allowing the magical beasts kept in the Imperial Palace forest grounds to escape.

Noah, having been reborn, naturally knew about this. Yet he had not warned anyone to take precautions in advance, instead letting it happen.

Because in this accident, he was supposed to be injured while protecting the Crown Prince and be brought into the Imperial Palace to recover.

But now, his plan had fallen through. The magical beast that had attacked the Crown Prince had already been slain by Izel in a single stroke.

Shi Sheng had no time to think. He had to find his mother quickly.

The Imperial Palace guards soon arrived and desperately subdued the rampaging magical beasts.

Shi Sheng pushed through the panicked crowd, searching for Mother Shi. Seeing that his second brother was temporarily safe, Yumian gripped his dagger and quickly followed Shi Sheng.

In fact, they had already put some distance between themselves and the nearest magical beast.

But at one moment, Shi Sheng suddenly caught a strange scent.

Yumian smelled it too. He had not paid it any mind at first, but then a fierce gust suddenly swept in from behind him!

A magical beast that had already been subdued by the guards suddenly went mad again, breaking free of its restraints in an instant.

Strangely, it bypassed everyone in the hall and lunged straight at Yumian!

Before Yumian could strike with his dagger, a force beside him suddenly shoved him away from beneath the beast's claws.

"...Shi Yi!"

The faint smell of blood spread through the air. Yumian's mind exploded, and his heart nearly stopped.

When Shi Sheng had pushed Yumian away, the magical beast's claw had struck his neck, blood instantly staining half his shoulder red.

But he did not even have time to feel the pain. Drawn by the scent of blood, the beast seemed to shift its target from Yumian to him.

Shi Sheng clutched his neck and rolled forward, narrowly avoiding the beast's massive paw as it came down again.

He had never been good at physical activity to begin with. Faced with such a vicious magical beast, he could only dodge on instinct.

"Shi Yi!"

Yumian rushed over and drove his dagger into the back of the beast's head.

But the attack did almost nothing to the enormous creature, which continued its savage assault on Shi Sheng.

Mother Shi burst through the crowd, and at the sight of this, she let out a shrill scream.

Izel pulled his curved blade from the eyes of the dead magical beast and hurled it forward with all his strength.

Yumian lunged forward to save Shi Sheng, only to be shielded behind him instead.

The magical beast's enormous claw swept straight down. Shi Sheng shielded Yumian with his body and could only close his eyes instinctively.

A flash of swordlight was faster than Izel's curved blade.

The beast's roar abruptly ceased.

Warm blood splashed across Shi Sheng's body.

With a thunderous crash, the magical beast collapsed.

A hand yanked Shi Sheng over, and he fell into a cold embrace.

Only then did Shi Sheng sluggishly feel the pain. He looked up at the person before him in confusion.

For that instant, it felt as though he had returned to many years ago. On a battlefield piled with corpses, that person had likewise saved him from danger, standing against the light.

His lips parted, but he could not make a sound.

Never before had he felt such regret.

The Omega was covered in blood from the waist down, his face pale and his eyes brimming with tears. Elaine had never been so flustered before. He immediately picked Shi Sheng up.

Shi Sheng instinctively grabbed Elaine's hand. He had little strength left, like a dying little beast.

Elaine saw the Omega's trembling lips form words.

He understood.

Shi Sheng was silently calling his name.

"Don't be afraid. You'll be fine." Elaine lowered his head and pressed his forehead to Shi Sheng's, then carried him quickly outside.

"Alrid, call a doctor!"

Shi Sheng's vision blurred, and he seemed to see many faces.

His mother, tears filling her eyes, stumbled toward him.

Noah stood where he was, his expression complicated and dazed.

Izel left the Crown Prince's side and followed.

Yumian hurried after them. The face that was usually so wilful and carefree was now filled with panic.

Something suddenly flashed through Shi Sheng's muddled mind.

From Elaine's arms, he reached out toward Yumian.

Yumian froze, not understanding what he meant.

Unable to speak, Shi Sheng forced a meaningless syllable from his throat.

But Elaine seemed to understand. In a low voice, he called to Yumian, "Your hand. Give it to him."

Yumian instinctively held out his hand.

Shi Sheng's blurred gaze struggled to focus on Yumian's wrist.

Yumian... cufflink...

The cufflink... find it... otherwise... it'll be dangerous...

Thinking this, Shi Sheng struggled anxiously.

Elaine pressed his palm over the bleeding wound at Shi Sheng's neck, holding him firmly in his arms as he carried him onto the aircraft. He comforted him softly:

"You'll be fine. Be good."

How strange. Elaine could always calm him down.

The strength drained from his entire body, and Shi Sheng finally lost consciousness.

Yumian stood outside the aircraft. Looking down, he discovered that the cufflink on his left sleeve had somehow fallen off.

He understood then. Shi Sheng had been warning him.

Thinking of tonight's accident, Yumian knew that the cufflink, lost somewhere unknown, was likely a hidden danger.

He turned to go back, but Izel stopped him.

"Go back and rest." The smile had vanished from Izel's face. "I'll help you find it."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and walked back into the Imperial Palace, disappearing from Yumian's sight.