Asking for Someone

Many masked figures in black suddenly broke into the hunting grounds, chasing down and attacking everyone they came across.

Although no one died, quite a few people suffered minor injuries and were badly frightened.

"Guards! Assassins!"

The screams rising one after another drew everyone's attention, and soon caught the Eighth Prince's attention as well.

The Eighth Prince, Xie Tingchun, had been in an excellent mood, humming a little tune as he hunted and waited for word that his subordinates' assassination attempt had succeeded.

Many unfamiliar killers had appeared on the hunting grounds. This was beyond his control, and the situation was slipping further and further out of his hands.

Sensing something unusual, the Eighth Prince frowned and demanded, "What's going on? I never deployed these people. Who disobeyed my orders and made a move?"

He had only sent a dozen or so men to lie in ambush. How had so many more suddenly appeared?

Every one of them charged onto the hunting grounds and began indiscriminately chasing people down, running into quite a few of them.

The Eighth Prince broke into a cold sweat. If anything happened to so many people at the Spring Hunt he was hosting, those brothers of his would bring accusations against him before their imperial father.

Ever since several princes had died in the struggle for the throne, the old emperor had been unwilling to see them possess too many means that could threaten him.

The Shadow Guards came to report that the assassination had failed.

The deathsworn had acted according to plan, sneaking in to assassinate "Xie Huizhou." Who could have known he would suddenly erupt like a reincarnated god of war, cutting down a man with every stroke as he ran straight toward the hunting grounds?

Such an enormous contrast from a sickly invalid left them dumbfounded.

Ninth Prince, and you said you didn't know martial arts!

They had been preparing to charge in and assassinate Xie Huizhou according to plan when these suddenly appearing killers disrupted everything.

People of unknown identities had broken in!

"You useless fools! You ruined such a perfect opportunity and caused this enormous mess." The Eighth Prince's expression grew darker as he listened to their explanation, unable to believe a word of it. "My ninth brother gets breathless after running a few steps. A useless wretch like him somehow became an unrivaled martial artist and defeated every one of you?"

The image of Xie Huizhou coughing while killing people was too much for him to imagine.

A Shadow Guard said, "Master, men sent by someone else have infiltrated the grounds. We don't know whether their plot will affect you. How should we deal with this first?"

The Eighth Prince's heart sank. The Imperial Preceptor and the Capital City's powerful officials and dignitaries were all here. If they were injured by mistake, they would very likely blame him.

Someone was deliberately framing him. Whose work was this?

The Eighth Prince went through the brothers competing most fiercely with him for the throne. Every one of them was a suspect.

Before he could think any further, the men masquerading as his forces began pursuing the Eighth Prince himself.

"Hurry and stop them. Don't let them hurt the honored guests here."

The Eighth Prince was doing everything he could to win them over. If this drove a wedge between them, his losses would be tremendous.

"Yes."

The Shadow Guards charged toward the killers scattering in every direction.

Xie Huizhou, who had set all of this in motion, was sitting on the highest branch of a tree, secretly observing. Resting his face on his hand, he quietly watched everything unfold, a faint smile appearing on his gentle, refined face.

"They took the bait."

These killers who had suddenly broken in were his men. His aim was to muddy the waters and blow things up, while having them chase the Eighth Prince around to give him a fright.

He had also added an instruction at the last minute. After the Imperial Preceptor arrived, he told his subordinates to lure the Eighth Prince's men toward Zhang Lanhe.

Once he ran off, Zhang Lanhe would be in a foul mood and would certainly strike hard. He could kill with a borrowed blade while his own men took the opportunity to escape.

"How entertaining. They wanted to kill me, only to become trapped prey themselves." Xie Huizhou watched with relish. As he lowered his gaze and smiled at the chaos beneath the tree, he looked as though he were reading a book. No one would have imagined that he was the one fanning the flames.

Xie Huizhou looked frail and scholarly, but he had a playful heart. He was a chaos-loving spectator who enjoyed secretly fanning the flames and watching other people's towers collapse.

If they died on his doorstep, he enjoyed watching.

He suddenly looked into the distance. "Isn't that the Imperial Preceptor? Is he venting his anger here because he can't find me?"

Zhang Lanhe's silver hair appeared in Xie Huizhou's field of vision. The sword in his hand was covered in blood, which dripped from its blade onto the ground. The blood spattered on his face did not make him look disheveled; instead, it made him look even more like a mountain spirit that had taken human form.

He walked forward step by step, sword in hand, exuding an invisible pressure.

Xie Huizhou seemed to see a white snake slithering through the woods, tracking its prey. The image reflected in his mind was steeped in mystery.

"That's a wonderful image. I should paint it." For some inexplicable reason, Xie Huizhou felt that the scene had a peculiar sanctity that made him unable to resist painting it. "He really doesn't seem like an Imperial Preceptor who quietly stays put and prays for blessings. That's not his true nature."

He was a beast hidden beneath human skin.

Following Xie Huizhou's trail all the way here, Zhang Lanhe came face-to-face with the Eighth Prince's Shadow Guards.

He began killing.

Xie Huizhou watched heads fall without so much as blinking. "The Imperial Preceptor has started. That's about enough. Withdraw."

After spending so long in this world, Xie Huizhou had finally grown accustomed to seeing dead people without being afraid.

He knew all too well that Zhang Lanhe killed without blinking. He could not let his own men die here.

Only after his men withdrew one after another did Xie Huizhou resume his own identity, pretending that the assassination attempt had frightened him into hiding for a long time before returning to the tents.

His pale face looked even more haggard, but there were no wounds on him, and his hair was only a little disheveled.

"I was scared to death. I thought I was going to die here."

Stirring up these muddy waters was such fun.

Seeing Xie Huizhou completely unharmed, the Eighth Prince grew angrier the more he thought about it. "You! And you said you didn't know martial arts? You're quite the actor. It seems I underestimated you."

He had been careless. His impression of Xie Huizhou's poor health had prejudiced him into thinking that, faced with so many deathsworn, Xie Huizhou would be powerless to fight back and could only await slaughter.

Killing a prince no one valued should have taken no effort at all.

Xie Huizhou assumed a gentle expression, looking like a startled fawn. "What is this about, brother? I was merely frightened by the murderous bandits."

Anyone who did not know better would have thought the Eighth Prince was bullying him.

The Eighth Prince felt inexplicably stifled. "Keep pretending. Once I catch you out, I'll show everyone exactly what sort of person the Ninth Prince is."

"Do your best."

Just then, Zhang Lanhe arrived carrying a collection of heads belonging to the Eighth Prince's Shadow Guards, his expression frighteningly cold.

The moment he saw the Eighth Prince, he came straight over.

The Eighth Prince's heart lurched.

Seeing the Imperial Preceptor's terrible expression, the Eighth Prince grew anxious and hurried over to greet him, hoping not to leave too poor an impression.

The Imperial Preceptor, Zhang Lanhe, readily held grudges and dredged up old grievances. How many people he resented could live comfortably? He truly did not want to offend him.

With great courtesy, the Eighth Prince welcomed Zhang Lanhe into the tent, poured him tea, and offered his thanks. "Thank you for coming to our rescue, Imperial Preceptor. It was my negligence that allowed these villains to break in. Without you, I wouldn't have known what to do today."

Several Shadow Guards the Eighth Prince had painstakingly trained had been maneuvered into dying at Zhang Lanhe's hands. Even as he grieved the loss of several trusted men, he still had to thank Zhang Lanhe.

He felt so aggrieved.

He should have checked the almanac before making his move, to see whether today was an inauspicious day to go out. Why had none of the previous Spring Hunts suffered so many serious incidents, yet so much went wrong when it was his turn?

His advisers were all useless too. They had failed to foresee any of this trouble. All the silver he had spent supporting them had been wasted.

The moment Zhang Lanhe saw the Eighth Prince, he remembered that the Shadow Guard had said he belonged to the Eighth Prince, and jealousy soured his heart.

"Your Highness is blessed with good fortune."

Why hadn't those bandits killed the Eighth Prince while they were at it? Then I could have taken away the person I wanted with every justification.

What a pity. The Eighth Prince was still alive, being an eyesore.

The Eighth Prince asked, "May I ask what brings you to see me, Imperial Preceptor?"

Feeling that Zhang Lanhe had ill intentions, the Eighth Prince stopped offering flattering words and asked his purpose outright.

"I have come to ask Your Highness for someone."