Volume 19, Chapter 169.1: The Crown Prince
“Kacha, kacha.” Golden handcuffs closed around Huo Yuhao’s wrists. A strong restraining force came from the handcuffs. It was obvious that the handcuffs were also a soul tool, and Huo Yuhao immediately felt that his soul power had been sealed.
Wang Shaojie walked in front of Huo Yuhao, his eyes held a blatant viciousness. He grabbed Huo Yuhao’s head and punched his stomach hard.
Huo Yuhao bent at the waist. The intense pain combined with cramps caused him to furrow his brows. A cold light flashed in his eyes.
If he wasn’t considering the bigger picture he would've turned violent. Did they really think these Class 6 handcuffs could stop him?
“Aren’t you great at fighting? I’ll let you taste the pleasure of Sun Moon’s Ten Great Tortures. Take him away.” Wang Shaojie revealed a delighted look on his face. He finally got his revenge.
He awakened only three days prior, but he still vividly recalled the pain that Huo Yuhao had inflicted on him. Fortunately, he didn’t sustain heavy injuries apart from an occasional trance that he would fall into.
After recuperating for two days, he felt much better. Only now he heard that Huo Yuhao, Ju Zi and Ke Ke had returned.
Xuan Ziwen had settled this matter already, and the imperial family willingly dropped the matter. They didn’t care much since Wang Shaojie wasn’t critically injured. However, Xuan Ziwen didn’t expect Wang Shaojie himself to be so vengeful, and not heed his advice. He still summoned the Royal Stewards over. They didn’t dare to make a move in his dormitory, instead waiting for Huo Yuhao to leave the room before capturing him.
Wang Shaojie hoped that Huo Yuhao would resist, because if he dared to attack the Royal Stewards no one would say anything if they killed him. However, Huo Yuhao didn’t act rashly. His wise choice left Wang Shaojie greatly disappointed.
Their leader stopped Wang Shaojie from hitting Huo Yuhao further. He said in a deep voice, “You can’t do this here. I’ll bring him back and deal with him. Don’t forget where we are.”
Wang Shaojie rubbed his palms together as he said, “Yes, elder cousin. You must be harsh on him, allow me to accompany you in this.”
The leader shook his head and replied, “No, you can’t. It’s better if you remain in the academy. In this way, you can deny any involvement in this matter. You’re not young anymore, why can’t you use your brain? Xuan Ziwen already pleaded for this guy’s case, and the matter was settled. Do you really want to get in trouble for getting involved? Just act like you don’t know what’s going on. We know what to do.”
“Alright.” Wang Shaojie was a little unconvinced, but he still agreed. After all, he wasn’t actually that dumb. After scanning his surroundings and ascertaining that no one was around, he scurried off.
Their leader came in front of Huo Yuhao and said, “I’m sorry, you can only blame your bad luck. You dared to touch a member of the imperial family? You’re from Shrek, aren’t you? We’ll have a nice little talk when we get back.”
Huo Yuhao could clearly sense his ill intentions from the tone of his voice. He knew that this person was much more powerful than Wang Shaojie. In his hands, he would probably suffer. But he had no urge to resist what may come.
“I just hope that you won’t regret doing this.”
One of the soul kings slapped Huo Yuhao’s face and said coldly, “You dare to be rude in front of the Royal Stewards? I guess you’re sick of living. Captain, you can just hand him to me when we get back.”
The leader waved him off and said, “Let’s go. We’ll talk when we get back.”
Two soul kings roughly pushed Huo Yuhao forward, and he cooperated with them, following along obediently. While he appeared indifferent, he wasn’t panicked at all.
The Royal Stewards were primarily in charge of supervising the members of the imperial family, and everything that happened in the imperial palace. Normally they didn’t interfere with matters outside of the imperial affairs. They were directly accountable to the Sun Moon Empire’s imperial clan after all. This captain of the Royal Stewards was called Xu Mochen. His father was a prince that controlled part of the imperial clan. Xu Mochen possessed a great deal of authority, and was also a direct descendant of the imperial family. Wang Shaojie was from a branch family of the imperial family, and he was only able to invite Xu Mochen to handle this, because he had ties with him.
Xu Mochen didn’t just become the captain of the Royal Stewards with his family connections, as his cultivation was rather good. Furthermore, he was a soul master who specialized in soul tools, but he wasn’t a soul engineer. His cultivation was strong because he possessed a very powerful martial soul inherited through the bloodline of direct descendants to the imperial family. He was one of the best among the Royal Stewards.
Xu Mochen was cautious when he realized that Huo Yuhao was very calm. After all, Huo Yuhao came from Shrek Academy.
When Wang Shaojie had found him, he had said that he was ambushed by a youth from Shrek Academy. He claimed that the youth was a spiritual-type soul master, and that he couldn’t unleash his powers since he was ambushed. He also mentioned that Huo Yuhao only had three soul rings.
Shrek Academy’s reputation was very influential in every empire. Xu Mochen had merely been curious when he made this trip. He wanted to see how outstanding a Shrek Academy student was. If not, he wouldn’t have bothered with Wang Shaojie’s matter.
Huo Yuhao appeared very young indeed. However, Xu Mochen could sense that he wasn’t that simple. He didn’t panic, not even in front of so many people. Although he did make some threats, he didn’t curse after he was hit by Wang Shaojie. He was very calm and composed. This surely meant that he had some form of backer.
As he thought till here, he developed another idea. He instructed one of his subordinates, “Go and inform the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy that we have a student called Huo Yuhao assisting us with an investigation.”
His subordinate was a little puzzled. However, he didn’t dare to question his orders, and went about doing what he was told.
Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “It’s always nice to make friends with intellectuals. How should I address you?”
Xu Mochen laughed. “Young man, it seems like you’re not anxious at all! However, you don’t belong to the Sun Moon Empire. No matter who your backer is, I can’t return empty-handed this time. You touched a member of the imperial family, and I must teach you a lesson for doing so. Let’s see whether your backer will get here quickly enough. If your backer arrives late though, don’t blame me if things get out of hand.”
Huo Yuhao continued to wear a smile on his face. “I can tell that you’re not that close to Wang Shaojie. It seems he’s not that important to the imperial family either. Why should you seek trouble for yourself? I’m not from the Sun Moon Empire, but I’m a very hot potato. It’s not too late to turn back.”
Xu Mochen’s expression turned abyssmal, and a vicious look flashed in his eyes. “I don’t need you to tell me what to do. Take him away. I want to see what kind of trouble I’ll get into.”
Huo Yuhao didn’t speak out further, and listened to Xu Mochen. He walked out of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy and got onto a luxurious horse-drawn cart. Then they proceeded towards the city center.
“What? Huo Yuhao was taken by the Royal Stewards?” Lin Jiayi was anxious when he heard the news.
“Bang!” He smashed his table. “Nonsense! The Royal Stewards dare to make an arrest in the academy without consulting us? What nonsense is this?”
The member of the Royal Stewards was unbothered by Lin Jiayi’s rage, like Wang Shaojie or Xu Mochen he was also a direct descendant or from a branch family of the imperial family. He snorted, “If you dare, you can talk to our captain. Anyway, I’ve already consulted with you, as ordered.” After he finished speaking, he turned around and left.
Lin Jiayi didn’t stop him. Huo Yuhao had already been captured; thus, there there was no point in messing with the messenger. He stood behind his desk and pondered for a brief moment. After that, he walked out of his office.
Jing Hongchen had once told him how important Huo Yuhao was. Informing him not to allow Huo Yuhao to suffer from any indignation or harm, apart from preventing him to learn anything substantial in the academy. It hasn’t been easy for him. He was a little enraged when he found out that Xuan Ziwen had sent Huo Yuhao out for training without informing him. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao returned safely.
But who knew that he would be captured the day after he returned? Wang Shaojie must be fooling around!
Lin Jiayi was a Class 8 soul engineer, but he couldn’t offend the Royal Stewards. After all, the Royal Stewards members all had complicated backgrounds. That was why he quickly rushed to the Illustrious Virtue Hall. He had to report this to Jing Hongchen right away. He knew that Jing Hongchen’s precious grandchildren were involved in this exchange.
“What? Huo Yuhao has been captured by the Royal Stewards?” Ju Zi exclaimed.
Ke Ke nodded and revealed a fearful expression. “It must be Wang Shaojie’s doing. I heard about it from an imperial family member in a lower grade. It’s true. Ju Zi, what do we do?”
Ju Zi’s eyes flashed with a cold light, “Royal Stewards? It would be Xu Mochen. Hmph, just a Xu Mochen. I’m going to make a trip.” As she spoke, she had already rushed out like a gust of wind. She immediately unleashed her flying-type soul tool and flew into the sky, leaving the dormitory. She flew towards the central area of the academy.
Illustrious Virtue Hall.
Jing Hongchen was admiring the hundred thousand year soul embryo quietly. He already had nine rings, and didn’t need it for himself, but his grandson needed it! Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were extremely precious to him. He had evem organized the exchange so that they could learn something from Shrek Academy. After all, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy couldn’t compare to Shrek Academy in terms of nurturing soul masters.
“Hallmaster.” Lin Jiayi rushed in hurriedly.
“Rascal! Why didn’t you knock!?” Jing Hongchen was furious.