That night.
"Master, that wretched emperor won't let you leave the palace. He clearly wants to imprison you!"
Qinggeng flapped his wings indignantly.
He was the spirit pet Xiao Yu had kept on Spirit Mountain in his previous life.
Unwilling to part with his master, he had followed him into the mortal realm.
He assumed human form and walked behind Xiao Yu. "Master, shall I take you out of the palace right now?"
"Don't rush."
Xiao Yu held him back and said,
"That wretched emperor still hasn't entirely let down his guard against Father. He won't do anything to me for now."
"But Master, if you hadn't sacrificed yourself to turn back time... that wretched emperor would already be dead! How dare he treat you this way!"
Qinggeng couldn't swallow his anger.
His master had been just one step away from ascending to immortality, yet these mortals had dragged him down and reduced him to a mortal himself...
"The only people I ever wanted to save were Father, Mother, and the others," Xiao Yu said. "Saving that wretched emperor was merely incidental."
At the thought of his parents, tenderness and devotion unconsciously softened his expression.
His father and mother deserved to live out their natural lifespans.
Xiao Yu's gaze shifted slightly, his fingers tapping the armrest of his wheelchair.
The wretched emperor had said the crown prince was about his age and told him to stay with him for the time being.
There was just one problem.
Which way was the Eastern Palace again?
The eunuch who had brought him had vanished halfway there.
He wanted to ask someone for directions, but everyone avoided him the moment they saw him.
Was he really that frightening?
Crash-
An abrupt noise suddenly rang out in the darkness.
Qinggeng immediately stepped in front of Xiao Yu. "Master, be careful!"
Xiao Yu paused.
A moment later, his lips curved upward. "Qinggeng, push me over there. Let's have a look."
"Master!"
Always indulged, Qinggeng could never hide his temper. He stamped his foot in agitation.
Who deliberately headed toward danger?
"Qinggeng, I may have lost my cultivation, but I'm not completely helpless."
He wasn't in a wheelchair because of any disability. His body simply hadn't recovered from the effects of the Heaven and Earth Mirror turning back time.
Xiao Yu brushed his sleeve lightly. "Come on. Let's see what's happening."
Qinggeng was speechless.
His master had changed.
In his previous life, he had cared only about cultivation and never concerned himself with the outside world.
Why had becoming mortal made him so curious?
Unwilling to defy his master's wishes, he could only push the wheelchair forward.
"Pah! You little bastard! You're nothing but a hostage now!"
"Do you still think you're some high and mighty prince?"
"Show me some respect next time you see me, or don't blame me for getting rough!"
Several young men in guards' uniforms were gleefully kicking an eighty- or ninety-year-old child to the ground.
The child wore tattered clothes and was little more than skin and bones, yet he was stubborn. Even after several kicks, he never begged for mercy.
The guard leading them, Li Chunlai, couldn't resist landing another vicious kick.
He spat, "Remember, crushing you is as easy as crushing an ant!"
His master had just taken his anger out on him...
Sure enough, after this beating, he felt much better.
The boy's silence only egged Li Chunlai on.
He planted his foot on the boy, grinding his face into the dirt!
With a savage grin, he said, "You little bastard! Since you're being so obedient, I'll give you a chance."
"Kneel, kowtow three times, and call me your lord like a good boy. Then I'll spare you today. How's that?"
The other guards chimed in. "We're being generous enough to let you off. Hurry up and kowtow!"
"Get on with it!"
As they spoke, Qi Yunheng suffered several more senseless kicks!
He concealed the darkness in his eyes and clenched his fists.
Just as he was about to act, a youthful voice, still tinged with childish innocence, suddenly came from above-
"Well, well. How very imposing you gentlemen are!"
Qi Yunheng opened his eyes slightly, and a figure dressed in blue-green entered his sight.
A child.
A child about his age, yet utterly unlike his own filthy self in his shabby clothes.
Dressed in brocade and adorned with gold and silver, fair and delicate, he was clearly a child who had grown up showered with affection...
He lowered his eyes and silently withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at the child.
This boy belonged to a different world from a filthy Southern Zhao native like him.
Looking at the pitiful child on the ground, Xiao Yu's eyes flickered with sympathy.
Tsk! Whether it's the Cultivation Realm or the mortal realm, there are always scum who throw their weight around by relying on powerful backers.
Utterly heartless! How can they bring themselves to kick such a young child...?
Qi Yunheng's lashes stirred.
Li Chunlai looked at Xiao Yu, surprise flashing in his eyes.
An unfamiliar face...
He suddenly recalled the recent palace rumors that the Prince of the Southern Garrison's heir would soon enter the palace as a hostage.
Afraid the boy might suddenly report him to Emperor Yuan of Jin, he panicked. Then he remembered who stood behind him, and his fear vanished.
Especially since the boy before him was nothing but a cripple in a wheelchair.
A trace of contempt flashed in Li Chunlai's eyes.
"So you're Young Lord Xiao. Forgive my discourtesy!"
Xiao Yu didn't answer him. He only looked at the child on the ground.
Seeing this, Li Chunlai explained, "You may not know, Young Lord, but this is the hostage Southern Zhao sent three years ago when they sued for peace."
He paused and glanced at Xiao Yu.
Then he continued, "As a member of the Prince of the Southern Garrison's household, you must know that Southern Zhao repeatedly invaded our Jin Kingdom and harmed our people! Surely there's nothing wrong with us teaching this Southern Zhao native a lesson?"
Well, well! He's even trying to stir up hostility!
If you want to teach Southern Zhao a lesson, go enlist at the Southern Border. You'll have plenty of chances! Dressing up bullying the weak as something so righteous-what a piece of work...
Speaking of this Southern Zhao hostage, I think his name was... Zhao Yunheng!
A prince born after the king of Southern Zhao forcibly took a woman from the Southern Border more than a decade ago.
He was constantly bullied in Southern Zhao because of his bloodline!
Only when Father and the others beat Southern Zhao badly enough to make them seek peace did the King of Southern Zhao remember this neglected son. He couldn't bear to send any of the sons he actually loved.
At first, Zhao Yunheng didn't want to leave his mother. Then the king of Southern Zhao promised to treat her well if he agreed to come to the Jin Kingdom...
Unfortunately, the king of Southern Zhao was a bastard!
The moment Zhao Yunheng left the city with the envoys, the king casually handed his mother over to his officials... who ultimately abused her to death!
Qi Yunheng's pupils trembled violently as he stared fixedly at Xiao Yu.
Why did he know all this?!
Had he been reborn too?
Zhao Yunheng suffered endless bullying after coming to the Jin Kingdom as well. He never dared fight back or answer insults, afraid Jin would make trouble for Southern Zhao and implicate his mother. Little did he know she had already been murdered...
Xiao Yu looked at Qi Yunheng on the ground, his eyes filling with even more sympathy.
Turning to Li Chunlai, he asked coolly, "Did His Majesty authorize you to treat a hostage like this behind his back?"
Li Chunlai trembled slightly.
He instinctively glanced around. Seeing no one else nearby, he relaxed.
With disdain, he said, "There's no need to use His Majesty to intimidate us, Young Lord. You can barely protect yourself right now. You'd best stay out of other people's business!"
"And what if I insist on intervening?" Xiao Yu asked mildly.
Behind him, Qinggeng immediately fixed the men opposite them with a murderous glare. One word from his master, and he would tear these mortals apart with his bare hands.
Li Chunlai hesitated.
He still didn't know His Majesty's attitude toward this Young Lord Xiao, and the Prince of the Southern Garrison commanded a powerful army...
He couldn't afford to fall out with Young Lord Xiao yet, lest he ruin his master's plans.
Li Chunlai glanced at Qi Yunheng on the ground.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "...Fine. For your sake, Young Lord Xiao, we'll spare this filthy Southern Zhao native today!"
There would be plenty of chances to teach this little bastard a lesson later.
He beckoned to the others, and they disappeared together into the darkness.
Xiao Yu signaled for Qinggeng to push him over to Qi Yunheng.
He extended his hand. "Can you still stand?"
Qi Yunheng silently put away the poisoned needle hidden in his sleeve, scrambled up from the ground, and brushed his hand aside.
He shot him a cold glance. "Mind your own business!"
Xiao Yu wasn't angry. He quietly withdrew his hand.
Looking at him, he suddenly said, "You're the first person who's ever dared speak to me like that!"
Qi Yunheng snorted coldly.
What an idiot.
Without sparing him another glance, he turned to leave.
Watching his retreating back, Xiao Yu felt a little puzzled.
He asked Qinggeng behind him, "Is he playing hard to get with me?"
Qi Yunheng's foot slipped.
He turned around furiously. "Hard to get, my-"
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.
He had already been seventeen when he died in his previous life. Adding the three years since his rebirth...
He was already twenty...
A grown man.
Why was he arguing with a little brat?
He thought of Li Chunlai and those other bullies who relied on their powerful backers.
His gaze turned icy.
In this life, he would spare none of those who had hurt him or his mother.
Watching him storm off, Xiao Yu asked Qinggeng again, "Was he angry?"
"Master, that brat doesn't know what's good for him. Shall I..." Qinggeng drew a hand across his neck.
Xiao Yu tapped his fingers lightly.
"Qinggeng... I'm not so petty that I have to teach someone a lesson just because he talks back to me-"
"Which palace are you from, child? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
A woman's gentle voice sounded.
Xiao Yu abruptly looked up.
A beautiful woman who appeared to be in her early thirties was walking toward him.
At the sight of Xiao Yu, radiant and graceful as a jade tree, she froze.
If her child were still here, he would surely have been just as endearing.
Then she noticed his difficulty walking. She paused, a trace of heartache flashing in her eyes.
So young, and already so unfortunate...
An older palace attendant caught up from behind.
"Your Highness, Consort Wan," she said to the woman, "it's late. You should return and rest."
At her words, Xiao Yu paused, his eyes flickering.
Consort Wan? The mad consort whose son died young, who became ill from missing him and often wanders around looking for him in the middle of the night?
Consort Wan's lips twitched.
I'm not mad...
My son didn't die young, either... He must still be alive. I can feel it.
Come to think of it, Consort Wan had a rough life too. She was originally the crown princess back when that wretched emperor was still the crown prince.
After he ascended the throne, the empress dowager repeatedly obstructed her appointment as empress. Still, she and that wretched emperor treated each other with respect and were deeply in love.
Shock flashed in Consort Wan's eyes.
Why could I hear him when he hadn't opened his mouth?
Was I hearing his thoughts?
[But the foolish emperor was suspicious by nature. Egged on by others, he repeatedly suspected that Consort Wan still could not let go of her childhood sweetheart.]
[Consort Wan was never good at explaining herself, and over time, a rift grew between them.]
[After Consort Wan became pregnant, she grew even more distant from the foolish emperor and devoted herself entirely to her child, which displeased him even more.]
[In the end, he actually took her son away while she lay unconscious after giving birth and lied to Consort Wan, telling her the boy had died in infancy...]
[If I told her now that her son was in the Eastern Palace, that the crown prince was her son, would she believe me?]
After hearing his thoughts, Consort Wan staggered back two steps in shock, her eyes wide.
Her son really was alive.
The crown prince was her son.
His Majesty had kept mother and son from seeing each other.
His Majesty had been so cruel to her.
Xiao Yu lifted his gaze.
When he saw her suddenly staring at him with tears streaming down her face, he panicked.
Then he suddenly remembered a line his master had given him.
Parting his thin lips, he said, "Very good! Woman, you've succeeded in capturing my attention."
Consort Wan: "??"
Before you continue