“Ye, Ye Dui…” The priest Huka stared in astonishment at the young man before him, so taken aback that for a moment he did not know what to say.
It took several seconds for him to finally grasp what was happening. His aged, gaunt face changed abruptly, and he moved quickly to flee, a cry of alarm escaping his lips.
However, an icy wall appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
Through the ice wall, he could see the garden scenery on the other side. The wall was like a crystal mirror. After pounding on it a few times without breaking it, he turned in panic and saw that the former Ganong attendants had all changed their appearances. Among them, a young girl had a massive grimoire, as tall as a person, floating before her.
“[Ice Queen’s Frozen Castle], the strongest advanced ice magic for confinement, defence, and barriers. From outside, the castle’s presence cannot be seen. Within the castle’s coverage, we are as if invisible. In this frozen castle, we can do anything without worry, as it even isolates sound from the outside.” Posley quickly explained the spell she had cast.
As she said, the spot in the aerial garden where they had all stood was now empty. Only by looking closely could one see a faint, blurry shadow of ice. The frozen castle was a terrifying confinement barrier that also refracted light, like a magical cloak of invisibility, completely hiding the figures and sounds of those enveloped within.
“This spell is amazing. I want to try it next time,” Ye Dui said with an interested smile.
Posley’s small face wrinkled slightly. She knew the spell had already appeared in Ye Dui’s grimoire spell list.
Ye Dui looked at the terrified priest Huka with a friendly smile. Huka pounded the ice crystal wall a few more times, confirming he could not break it with his own strength. His body trembling, he turned to Ye Dui and his group. Priest Huka had some combat ability and was even a spirit summoner, but he clearly recognised that he could not defeat Ye Dui with his power. Though it was his first time seeing Ye Dui, he already felt a profound sense of awe towards him.
That feeling was called reverence.
So he made a wise choice. With a thud, he knelt on the ground, hands placed on the floor with palms up, a gesture of complete submission in the secret realm world. In a fearful voice, he said, “Lord Ye Dui, please spare me. I, I am willing to serve you…”
Though he tried to mask himself with the confidence of a high priest among the divine people, only he knew that the successive blows earlier had filled him with unspeakable fear of Ye Dui. Now, seeing Ye Dui in person, how could he muster any will to resist?
“So straightforward?” Ye Dui shook his head in slight disappointment and walked up to Huka. “Pity your spirit god will not agree, and I do not need your verbal service.” With that, he cast [Daze] to stun Priest Huka directly, then turned to Xilaisi.
Xilaisi nodded, pulled out a black grimoire from her bosom, and began preparing to release the black firefly.
The eldest prince’s face darkened as he walked up to Ye Dui. “President Ye Dui, I wish to leave for a moment.”
“You want to find the ninth prince?” Ye Dui knew exactly what the eldest prince intended.
The eldest prince nodded. “There are some things I want to make clear.”
Ye Dui fell silent, flipping through his grimoire to probe the eldest prince’s memory world. The eldest prince had submitted to Jacob, and Ye Dui did not want to lose this prince. He worried the prince might side with his son’s faction.
But soon Ye Dui dispelled his doubts. In the eldest prince’s memory world, he saw only anger, confusion, and a strong urge to confront the ninth prince, to question him sternly and teach his son a harsh lesson. The prince would never betray Ye Dui to join his son’s side. So Ye Dui nodded. “Be careful.”
“Do not worry about me.” Seeing Ye Dui’s approval, the eldest prince nodded in thanks. He then asked Ye Dui to help disguise him as a divine attendant before quietly following the direction in which Xueyi and the ninth prince had left earlier.
“Ye Dui, are you not worried?” Daibi asked Ye Dui. “The ninth prince is the eldest prince’s son, after all. What if the eldest prince is swayed by his son and betrays us?”
“The eldest prince will not. His will is firm, and the ninth prince is his son. He came with us precisely to deal with the ninth prince himself. He does not want his son to die by our hands. If possible, he even hopes to persuade his son to turn back.” Ye Dui explained.
Yet, recalling the encounter with the ninth prince in Clown Town, Ye Dui knew the fellow had deep schemes and a very firm will. The eldest prince would surely fail. Ye Dui merely wanted to give the eldest prince a chance. If he failed, then it would fall to Ye Dui to deal with the ninth prince.
During this conversation, Xilaisi had planted the black firefly in Priest Huka’s consciousness. Huka became Xilaisi’s puppet, staggering to his feet. Ye Dui invaded Huka’s memories, searching for useful information. Moments later, he had Posley dispel the frozen castle spell and directed Xilaisi to control Huka towards the house of Selti.
Ye Dui and the others resumed their disguises as divine attendants.
…
The eldest prince moved cautiously through the temple, dodging two patrolling temple guards on the way. Xueyi seemed still annoyed from her earlier argument with Priest Huka, muttering complaints. The ninth prince gently comforted her, giving the impression of calm, soothing water that put one at ease.
But the eldest prince knew what lay beneath that serene facade.
After winding their way about, the ninth prince and Xueyi arrived outside a room in the temple, likely the ninth prince’s quarters. He smiled and refused Xueyi’s request to sit in his room, turning to leave. The eldest prince caught the disappointment on Xueyi’s face.
He knew something of this second daughter of the Moon Gem family. She was even more scheming than her sister, and more ruthless. It seemed after discarding the sixth prince, she now favoured the ninth prince and chose to support him as emperor.
Hiding at the corridor’s bend, the eldest prince saw Xueyi leave. The ninth prince then summoned a cleaning attendant and whispered something in his ear. The attendant’s face showed surprise as he hurried off, while the ninth prince pushed open the room door and entered.
The eldest prince waited a moment before stepping forward and gently pushing open the door.
He was prepared for battle, having calculated all possible surprises. He still wore the disguise of a divine attendant and had ready a set of excuses if anyone else was in the ninth prince’s room.
Yet, soon he found his caution unnecessary.
The simple room was filled with the temple city’s unique decorative style. Facing the door was a stone table with two wooden chairs. On the table sat coarse porcelain cups. The ninth prince had his back to the door, pouring water into a teacup. Amid the sound of running water, he said, “I did not expect to meet you under these circumstances. This is not at all like what I first imagined.” He turned, holding the teacup, and said respectfully to the eldest prince, “Father, are you thirsty?”
The eldest prince’s body trembled slightly. He still wore the divine attendant disguise, yet somehow his son had seen through it. Hearing the ninth prince’s words, he closed the door behind him, dropped the disguise, and said sternly, “You deceived even me!”
“Father, you are called the Prince of Mercy, and you truly deserve the title. If I did not deceive you, you would never strike at Ye Dui with lethal intent. In Clown Town, I already judged that Ye Dui would be the greatest threat to the throne.” The ninth prince handed the cup to the eldest prince and said softly.
“I have no interest in the throne.” The eldest prince said gravely, hesitating a moment before taking the cup from his son.
“But I do.” The ninth prince smiled. “Everything I have done is to make you emperor of the empire.”
“Then you would be my heir. I have only you as a son. After I die, you can inherit the throne!” The eldest prince said coldly. “You only want to become emperor yourself!”
“I do not deny it. I very much want to become emperor.” The ninth prince said candidly.
“Even at the cost of deceiving me!” The eldest prince said angrily.
The ninth prince smiled faintly and said nothing, but his eyes held a strange glint.
The eldest prince breathed heavily. The man before him was his son, familiar yet strangely distant. He sat on the wooden chair and suddenly thought of something puzzling. He asked, “How did you recognise me?”
“The magic seal ring.” The ninth prince smiled and pulled a ring-shaped object from his bosom. “It only works between blood relatives. I needed to know all of Father’s actions in the secret realm world.”
The eldest prince’s face showed slight shock. He did not know his son had such a thing. This magical artefact that worked only between blood kin required a magic array inscribed in the body to function, but in his memories, he had never received such an inscription.
Then he thought of something more important. “When we appeared above the aerial garden, you already knew it was me?”
The ninth prince nodded with a smile.
“You, you…” The eldest prince grew furious, suddenly recalling how the ninth prince had earlier summoned an attendant and told him something. The eldest prince had not paid it much mind then, but now it seemed the ninth prince had revealed Ye Dui and the others’ whereabouts!
Ye Dui and his group were in danger now!
“The strongest and most terrifying warrior in Divine People City will await them at the house of Selti.” The ninth prince seemed to read the eldest prince’s thoughts and said, “Ye Dui is a man who surprises me greatly. I did not expect him to sneak into Divine People City, but his goal is not hard to guess. Having united the three tribes, he must have obtained the three necromantic relics. His appearance here targets the headless knight’s skull, does it not, Father? Am I right?”
Through some means, the ninth prince seemed to know much about the headless knight and the necromantic relics.
The eldest prince said nothing coldly, rising abruptly from the chair to leave at once and warn Ye Dui of the trap. But as he stood, his body swayed involuntarily. His face filled with alarm as he looked at his palm. He had not drunk a sip from the cup the ninth prince handed him, but the spot where he had gripped it was now a patch of blue.
His fingers had gone stiff and numb, and the sensation was spreading rapidly through his body.
“Father, how I wish you would support me, show some ambition for the throne. Then I would not need to go to such lengths.” The ninth prince smiled as he watched the eldest prince slump back into the seat. When the eldest prince had said “even at the cost of deceiving me” earlier, the ninth prince had smiled silently, that smile meaning: For the throne, what is deceiving you compared to all else?
“I never imagined I would have a son like you!” The eldest prince felt his body going rapidly numb. His face ashen, he shouted furiously at the ninth prince, “You… you even want to kill me? How will you explain this to your mother!”
“Oh, Father.” The ninth prince laughed lightly and walked up to the eldest prince. “The one who secretly inscribed the magic seal ring array on you, gave me this poison that activates on touch, and helped conceal my faked death, who do you think it was?”
The eldest prince was speechless with grief for a moment.
…
“Having a wife and son like that is truly a tragedy of life.” Led by Priest Huka, Ye Dui and his group had arrived before the house of Selti. Ye Dui’s eyes had been fixed on his grimoire. He suddenly could not help sighing.
After upgrading his iPad, the browser gained a [Bookmarks] feature. No matter the distance, he could enter the eldest prince’s memory world at any time to view what he had experienced or was experiencing.
Though he knew the eldest prince would not betray him, Ye Dui still felt somewhat uneasy and had been checking the articles formed in the eldest prince’s memory site, probing all his actions.
The scene of the eldest prince being subdued by the ninth prince’s poison, Ye Dui had seen in full detail through the memory site.
“The ninth prince is so ruthless?” Daibi said with some disdain, then showed a trace of worry. “What about the eldest prince?”
“He is in some danger, but he seems to have an ace up his sleeve… We have never seen the eldest prince’s guardian spirit, and it appears very powerful. For now, no need to worry about him.” Ye Dui explained. He looked at the ancient stone door of the house of Selti before saying to his companions, “It is said the strongest and most feared warrior in Divine People City awaits us inside.”
“Let me handle it.” Posley said at once.
“Better me. I have some abilities I want to test.” Ye Dui shook his head.
Daibi refused. “There must be traps inside. Let Gilga handle it, it is safer.”
Seeing the three argue, Green could not help shouting, “Can you not respect other people’s traps a bit… How about you play rock-paper-scissors to decide who goes?”
