Chapter 111: The Second Prince’s Astonishment and Fear
This embrace was simply too familiar to Jun Xiaomo, and she knew who it was without having to turn her head.
It’s martial brother Ye… She had initially intended to keep Ye Xiuwen in the dark about this matter. After all, given Ye Xiuwen’s character, he was bound to think of a way to prevent her from coming to this place.
However, she truly wished to obtain that stalk of Blackmoon Grass. She did not want Ye Xiuwen to wear that damned veiled conical hat for his entire life. She did not want him to look at others through a veil, and even received peculiar or even judgmental gazes from others for the rest of his life!
“Ungh…Pfft…” Jun Xiaomo spat out another mouthful of blood. Her true energy had been thoroughly suppressed, and she had no way of utilizing her mnemonics as per normal. As a result, her defensive capabilities had fallen, and the injuries she had sustained were far more severe than the second prince.
“Brother Yao treats others mercilessly. But, I’d never expected brother Yao to treat himself even more mercilessly.” The second prince slowly wiped off the traces of blood seeping out of his mouth as he mocked.
He had never been turned into such a sorry state by any of his preys before. This was the first time – and because of this, Jun Xiaomo had now thoroughly enraged him.
“Seems like your knight in shining armor had managed to arrive in the nick of time too.” The second prince grimaced as he glanced over at the man standing behind Jun Xiaomo, Ye Xiuwen. His eyes were now filled with a trace of hatred.
This trace of hatred had completely betrayed the second prince’s usual display of warm passion and lustfulness in those flirtatious eyes of his. This present look had exposed the second prince’s true, rotten core.
But this was also not something out of the blue. After all, who would ever expect a prince who grew up in the midst of strife and learning only to struggle for power to know what true warmth meant? The only warmth that the second prince knew was a mere pretense for the sole purpose of luring his targets into his inescapable traps.
Ye Xiuwen’s arms tightened, and a frigid shimmer flashed across his eyes, as though an extension of the dazzling gleam of his sword.
Even though Jun Xiaomo didn’t want to be the cause for Ye Xiuwen being thrown behind bars, she was nevertheless extremely comforted by the fact that Ye Xiuwen had arrived in the nick of time.
Jun Xiaomo felt that she had finally found a reliable bulwark she could entrust her life with. She slowly relaxed herself and slumped into Ye Xiuwen’s embrace.
“Brother Ye, later, I’m going to place a piece of Invisibility Talisman on each of us. This will make our escape much easier.” Jun Xiaomo’s eyelids drooped down as she whispered to Ye Xiuwen’s ears.
The reason why Jun Xiaomo had mentioned “later” was because her current injuries were too severe. Coupled with the effects of the Euphoria-Stimulating Incense, she did not even have the energy to retrieve these talismans from her Interspatial Ring right now.
The effects of the Euphoria-Stimulating Incense only continued to strengthen as it slowly took over her body. If not for the fact that her previous life’s experiences had fortified her soul and mental will to the extreme, then by now she might well have lost all her rationality and been reduced to nothing more than a beast during mating season.
Jun Xiaomo abhorred the fact that the second prince would do this to her. She knew how to dispel the effects of the Euphoria-Stimulating Incense. However, the preparation of the antidote was predicated on their escape from this courtyard and locating a safe place!
“Ungh…” Jun Xiaomo let out a groan as she furrowed her brows in discomfort.
“Don’t speak for now.” Ye Xiuwen murmured softly. His calm disposition concealed the roiling emotions in his heart right now.
The sight of the unconditional intimacy between these two people raised the second prince’s jealousy and hatred to its boiling point. As the heir to the Inferno Kingdom, he refused to believe that there would be any objects out of his reach.
And when he did encounter things that he could not in fact lay his hands upon, he would rather destroy them than let others have it. If he could not even do this, then he would explode in a fit of violent anger and lose his usual suave and magnanimous appearances.
“Ah, do you think you’ll still be able to get out safely?” The second prince coldly chuckled, “Yao Mo, you’ve ruined the heart of the formation array within this courtyard. Very soon, this prince’s guards are going to arrive. Once they arrive, you’ll be outnumbered and surrounded on all four sides. Even if you had wings and could fly, do you still think you’ll be able to escape?!”
“Rong Yebin, I don’t think I’ve ever offended you before. Why do you have to force me into a corner like this?!” Jun Xiaomo gnashed her teeth as she lambasted.
She could not be bothered to even feign civility now, and she directly referred to the second prince by his name.
“It’s simple. To this prince here, anyone who disobeys him must be destroyed.” The second prince laughed coldly and egotistically.
At this moment, Ye Xiuwen’s eyes had already grown so cold that they seemed to be covered with a layer of frost. He patted Jun Xiaomo’s back, retrieved a mat and gingerly placed Jun Xiaomo onto the mat.
“Brother Ye.” Jun Xiaomo lifted her head and gripped onto Ye Xiuwen’s hands worriedly.
Ye Xiuwen reassuringly patted the back of her hand, before he gently peeled off her grasp.
The second prince let out a sardonic laughter. He saw that this man before him was bracing himself for a battle with him right now!
Battle? So be it! Win or lose, the two of you are never leaving this prince’s residence today!
Just then, Ye Xiuwen made his move. His sword flickered quickly, and a frigid sword intent instantly carved a deep gash onto the second prince’s arm.
If not for the fact that the second prince had reflexively tilted his body, his arm might perhaps have already been sliced into two by now!
Fast! The second prince could not even tell when Ye Xiuwen had unsheathed his sword or made his move.
At this moment, the second prince raised his vigilance and retrieved his weapon of choice as well. He could not afford to be complacent any longer.
The second prince’s weapon was a Magic Enhancing Loop which had the ability of enhancing the strength of his spells by at least ten-fold, no less. At the same time, this Loop itself could even be used as an offensive weapon. The strength of this weapon was well apparent.
If the second prince had encountered just any normal cultivator at the twelfth level of Qi Mastery, he would have been able to dispose of his opponent with ease. Unfortunately, the one he had encountered right now was a man who had been appointed as the Chosen Disciple of the Frozen Sword Sect three years ago – Ye Xiuwen. To begin with, a sword cultivator’s combat abilities generally far exceeded that of any spell or magic-based cultivators. Furthermore, Ye Xiuwen had never skimped or slacked off on matters pertaining to his own cultivation before. Therefore, how could this second prince who only knew how to sit on his high horse, struggle for power and indulge in carnal pleasures compare with him?
Within moments, several wounds began to appear on the second prince’s body.
The second prince never wished for this to be a life-and-death duel. He only wanted to buy time to that his guards could arrive on time and deal with this situation. Furthermore, Qin Lingyu and the rest were even resting within his residence right now. It would be even better if they came over as well.
The second prince was not worried that Qin Lingyu and the others would stand on Ye Xiuwen’s side. This was because he could tell that there was a rift between Ye Xiuwen and the other Dawn Sect disciples – and there was even a bit of hostility between them. Apart from two disciples (Yi Hong and Di Yue) who formed part of Ye Xiuwen’s team, the others maintained nothing more than a lukewarm attitude towards Ye Xiuwen.
Therefore, he believed that these people would secretly be pleased to witness Ye Xiuwen and Yao Mo get tormented by them.
However, none of his guards arrived on the scene even after approximately half an incense of time. His surroundings were completely still and quiet, as though all of his guards had fallen asleep at the same time.
At this moment, a trace of macabre, vicious intent began to swell up in the second prince’s heart. He made a mental note that he was going to sternly punish these night guards of his once this incident blew over.
Then, just as the second prince was about to succumb to Ye Xiuwen’s relentless attacks, a set of footsteps ran helter-skelter towards the courtyard. The second prince’s heart immediately leapt with joy – he knew that his guards had finally arrived!
Jun Xiaomo had swallowed a recovery pill, and her spirits were beginning to recover slightly. She also heard the incoming footsteps, and she began to feel anxious and worried about the situation. She shifted her rigid and stiff hands, before finally managing to retrieve two Invisibility Talismans from her Interspatial Ring and hid them under her clothes.
“Brother Ye…” Jun Xiaomo called out. Even though her voice were weak and soft right now, Ye Xiuwen still managed to pick up on it.
With one slash of his Frostburn Sword, Ye Xiuwen cleaved into two the serpentine shaped fireball that had been sent his way by the second prince. Then, with one leap, he arrived at Jun Xiaomo’s side and half squatted as he checked on her condition.
He had thought that Yao Mo had called out to him because his condition had worsened.
In fact, the final slash sent out by Ye Xiuwen had travelled past the fireball and landed squarely on the second prince’s chest. This slash easily tore apart the second prince’s clothes and left a long, deep laceration underneath, causing the second prince to look down reflexively in pain. Just at this moment, the officer in charge of his guards finally arrived at the scene.
“Your--…Your Highness…” The officer presented himself in a sorry state, and his body’s condition was not much better than the second prince’s. His breathing was ragged, and he struggled to catch his breath as he reported, “First…First prince…”
“What do you mean the first prince?! Can you speak properly?!” The second prince was extremely anxious in his heart. The officer’s disposition and words left him with a bad premonition of what was to come.
“The…the first prince has fought his way into your residence alone!” Just as the officer finished speaking, two skulls were immediately sent flying his way from behind him, followed quickly by fresh blood that splattered all over the officer’s body. A cold chill went down the officer’s spine, and the shock momentarily numbed his bodily functions so much that the officer involuntarily discharged his bodily fluids there and then.
The two skulls landed just beside the second prince, and frozen expressions of abject dread could be seen on the faces of these decapitated heads. Evidently, these people had never expected to have perished in such a horrific manner.
“Oh…Oh god…” The officer had spent his days riding on the second prince’s coattail. He esteemed himself in the fact that he was a cultivator and thought that the second prince’s trust in him was a testament to his abilities. Therefore, he had always felt secure where he stood, with the backing of the second prince.
However, he had never had such a close shave with death before. He never expected that the first prince who had already disappeared without a trace for over one month would suddenly appear with such ferocious display of strength. Replete with that pair of bloodshot eyes, the first prince looked almost as though he was a demon that had just crawled up from the depths of hell.
The second prince’s eyes were filled with dread. He turned his attention to the commotion coming from behind the officer right now, and he saw a large group of guards fending off attacks as they sought to retreat in his direction. That large group of guards had formed a massive human circle around what was ostensibly their target, and the second prince could not see what went on in the middle of this dense circle of guards. However, what he could see was the fact that one headless body after another was being relentlessly thrown out of the circle of guards right now. This was a testament to the pure, brute strength of the opponent they were surrounding.
The second prince truly hoped that his ears had been wrong. He knew how formidable the first prince was, but he remained doubtful that the first prince could have caused such a horrific state of events.
What has the first prince been through over this last month? If the Grand Vizier doesn’t exit his closed-door cultivation soon, would we be able to subdue this demon?!
At this moment, sweat profusely seeped through the second prince’s clothes. He grabbed the officer’s collar anxiously and demanded a clarification, “Are you sure that that’s the first prince?!”
“I’m…I’m certain. This servant cannot possibly mistake the features on His Highness…” The officer pulled a long face as he responded with despondence. He was almost resigned to the fact that this might well be his final stand. At the same time, he did not dare to desert his position right now, because he knew that the second prince were backed by the powerful Grand Vizier of the Inferno Kingdom. If he were found to have deserted his post and something happened to the second prince, neither he nor his family would be able to live to tell the tale.
The second prince tossed the officer aside as he struggled to catch his breath.
Having deliberated for a moment, he kicked the officer as he instructed, “Go! Hurry up and call Qin Lingyu and the others over!”
“Mm, mm. Yes! Yes! There are still several experts residing here tonight!” The officer smacked his head as he hastily ran towards the direction of Qin Lingyu and the other disciples’ rooms. The officer tripped and fell several times as he struggled to find his footing – his legs had buckled under the immense threat and pressure of the first prince.