Elsewhere in the secret realm.
Ye Jing stood atop a boulder, holding a palm-sized compass.
Its needle spun across the dial as though it had gone mad, pointing nowhere reliably.
"Could it be broken?"
He frowned and tapped it.
This compass had been specially made for this secret realm, a small home-field advantage for the imperial family that could track the approximate whereabouts of specific people.
The person he was tracking was, naturally, his younger cousin, Si Chen.
Yet more than four hours had passed since they entered.
Following the compass, they had crossed forests, climbed mountains, and waded through water.
Every time they seemed about to close in, the compass went mad.
Chen Xiao was crouching beside a stream washing his hands. At that, he looked up. "That brat Si Chen... was he born a loach?"
The round little chubby boy from their childhood had grown into a handsome young man with broad shoulders and a wide back, though that reckless streak still lingered in his features.
Lin Qing He stood beside Ye Jing, her pale yellow fighting clothes setting off skin fairer than snow.
Watching the wildly spinning needle, she could not help murmuring, "How can anyone be this slippery? Every time, we're just that little bit short..."
She remembered how Si Chen had looked as a child, standing there quietly, seeming so well-behaved.
How had he become so good at running?
Ye Jing rubbed between his brows.
He had brought only Lin Qing He, Chen Xiao, and four imperial shadow guards whom he trusted absolutely and who knew some of the inside story.
Their group was not weak within the secret realm, but they could not run roughshod over everyone, either.
He had to find Si Chen as soon as possible.
"Your Highness, shall we keep pursuing?"