"Is Yao Xingning behind this?" He Lingchuan understood his predicament. "If I recall correctly, this young crown prince isn't very old, is he?"
"Indeed, he is only thirteen—the equivalent of a human toddler. He only learned to speak the human tongue last year."
*Committing such atrocities at that age?*
*Right, the Demon Emperor's offspring was never human in the first place.*
Fu Shanyue continued, "He has a violent temper and kills on a whim. The first Junior Preceptor the Emperor appointed to instruct him was a human—erudite and knowledgeable, but unversed in divine abilities or martial arts. In the end, the crown prince grew so irritated by his endless lecturing and nagging that he swallowed him whole. Scolding him proved useless, so out of desperation, the Emperor had to find a great demon to teach him instead. Only then did the fatal habit of eating tutors come to a halt."
Reasoning with a toddler was a fool's errand, and the crown prince was precisely at that stage.
"If Yao Xingning dropped a few poisoned whispers in his ear..."
He Lingchuan frowned. "What good does it do her to egg on the Crown Prince of Beijia to make trouble at Panshan Residence?"
"Just venting her spite." Fu Shanyue sneered at last. "Cen Boqing's conviction is already set in stone. It cannot be undone."
"Doing this only causes trouble for the Emperor as well," He Lingchuan pondered. "At a juncture like this, less trouble ought to be better than more. Isn't she afraid the Emperor will look upon her and the Minister of Agriculture's house with even greater displeasure?"
If the Emperor took a dislike to someone, that person was bound for ruin.
If the Emperor took a dislike to an entire clan, that family was doomed to a terrible fate.
"She is the scion of a prominent family; how could she not consider her clan?" As the daughter of a great aristocratic house, no matter how furious or grief-stricken she might be, could she truly lack even that much foresight? "In the Baishaqu County dungeon, I saw that Yao Xingning spoke with measured propriety and acted decisively. She didn't strike me as a woman who would lose her wits and throw a reckless tantrum."
Fu Shanyue gently swirled the fine wine in his cup. "You mean someone else is trying to scheme against me from behind the scenes?"
"Isn't that possible? Aren't you and I surrounded by enemies in Lingxu City?" He Lingchuan sighed. "A few days ago, we stayed at the posthouse, and it was blown up. We moved into Panshan Residence, and a calamity star came knocking on the door."
Even Fu Shanyue could not afford to touch this calamity star and had no choice but to hide here, drinking down his frustrations.
"It seems they have no intention of letting up." He had thought things through too simply before, assuming that by putting himself under the spotlight and drawing all eyes, those factions would not dare move against him for the time being, giving him time and space to maneuver.
Yet what the Crown Prince of Lingxu did served as a sharp wake-up call:
There would always be beings in Lingxu City who were completely unrestrained by rules and laws!
*Wasn't my vision too narrow?*
His grasp of the concept of "privilege" was simply far from profound enough; he would have to reflect on this thoroughly later.
His adversaries indeed dared not act openly themselves, but they could borrow a blade to do the killing.
Whether or not Fu Shanyue was cornered by the Crown Prince of Beijia at Panshan Residence, he would suffer a massive loss either way. How to defuse such a confrontation gave Fu Shanyue a splitting headache just thinking about it.
As for He Lingchuan... the Crown Prince of Beijia would likely have ordered his death on the spot.
Tonight's turn of events was truly a blunt blow to the head for He Lingchuan.
The two resumed eating and drinking.
He Lingchuan's mind soon steadied. Coming to Lingxu City meant braving turbulent waves; he had prepared himself for this long ago.
The trials ahead would only grow harder, and he had to tread with utmost caution.
Fu Shanyue's anger also subsided. Changing the subject entirely, he began chatting with He Lingchuan about recent amusing gossip around Lingxu City.
Whenever the conversation turned funny, both of them laughed heartily.
No matter how furious he became, it would not alter the broader situation. Why make life miserable for himself?
Never mind the crown prince of a vassal demon kingdom; sometimes even demon kings had to etch these two words into their hearts:
Accept fate!
Before long, however, the goshawk flew back to report:
"His Highness the Crown Prince of Beijia has set out to return to Tianxin Island. But before departing, he ordered his guards to slaughter more than a dozen servants and set fire to the estate!"
With a sharp crack, Fu Shanyue crushed his wine cup in his hand.
He Lingchuan also rose abruptly. "Let's head back."
***
Even before reaching Panshan Residence, He Lingchuan saw flames soaring into the night sky ahead, bathing the heavens in crimson.
The blaze was raging fiercely.
Panshan Residence and Lanshan Residence were ten li apart. Even though they had rushed back as fast as they could, the fire was now burning at its peak.
A dense throng of onlookers clogged the main gate. He Lingchuan patted the rock sheep beneath him; it took two strides, leaped into the air over the crowd's heads, and landed right before the entrance.
Fu Shanyue's guards were at the gates attempting to disperse the onlookers. Startled by the flying sheep dropping from the sky, they let out a breath of relief upon recognizing him.
"Lord He!"
Fu Shanyue was far less ceremonious, treading straight across the crowns of several rubberneckers' heads as he vaulted over. The moment his feet touched the ground, his gaze froze.
He had nearly a hundred guards stationed at an inn nearby. But after the Crown Prince of Beijia stormed into Panshan Residence, the goshawk had flown over with orders commanding them to hold their ground and make no reckless moves.
Even if the other side had fewer numbers, the Chiyan guards would suffer greatly should they clash with the Crown Prince of Beijia.
Yet as soon as the Crown Prince of Beijia left, they rushed over to fight the fire and carried the two corpses outside the gate back into the compound.
Even so, the area outside Panshan Residence's front gates was splattered and crisscrossed with dragged trails of blood, a truly harrowing sight.
No wonder the spectators could not be driven away.
Such a heinous incident occurring out in broad view was exceptionally rare in the main city.
After all, those who lived here were all wealthy or noble.
He Lingchuan urged his rock sheep through the gate at a gallop.
The Crown Prince of Beijia's guards had done their work thoroughly, torching every structure. The pavilions, halls, terraces, and verandas of Panshan Residence were all engulfed in raging fire.
By the time Fu Shanyue arrived, He Lingchuan had just burst out of a burning building, carrying two people under his arms.
They were alive, coughing incessantly.
The guards rushed in and out, managing to rescue five servants in total.
All the others were dead.
Upon questioning, He Lingchuan learned that these few had hidden away in corners instead of gathering in the main hall, thereby escaping the palace guards' blades.
The fire in two buildings had already been doused, but the remaining blaze was being pushed into the gardens by the north wind.
The most breathtaking aspect of Panshan Residence was its landscaped garden. Now, dozens of trees were also ablaze, crackling fiercely.
He Lingchuan slashed down two trees with his saber, barely creating a firebreak.
Fu Shanyue bellowed, "Everyone, fall back!"
The guards retreated swiftly.
Fu Shanyue then patted his chest, and a whirlwind burst from his necklace, spinning furiously around the burning buildings.
The winds were terrifyingly strong, as if a force-12 hurricane had risen on the spot, yet it remained confined within the perimeter of Panshan Residence.
It did not reveal its distinct form, but He Lingchuan knew it was the little Wind Demon.
The intense, freezing blast rapidly cooled the area while cutting off oxygen around the structures.
Within dozens of breaths, the fire died down noticeably.
A moment later, the open flames vanished.
Wind could feed fire, but it could also extinguish it. Everything had its counter.
Having completed its task, the Wind Demon flew back into Fu Shanyue.
The fire had been put out, leaving Panshan Residence a charred, desolate ruin.
The garden, painstakingly cultivated and refined over more than a century, was half destroyed.
He Lingchuan took a few steps, pushed aside several pieces of burnt wood, and sat on a large boulder in the garden, his fists slowly clenching.
Panshan Residence had been an immensely comfortable place to live, the ideal sanctuary he had dreamed of in his previous life.
With one fire, the Crown Prince of Beijia had reduced his past life's dream to ash.
All the black smoke and scorched timber felt like a silent mockery.
Fu Shanyue's face was dark as well, but he stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder. "We cannot let this go! You stay at an inn tonight. I will enter the palace under the cover of night to demand justice."
He turned to leave, but He Lingchuan stopped him. "Wait!"
"Hm?"
"Rushing there now is unwise." He Lingchuan looked up at him, eyes bloodshot—whether from the thick smoke or sheer fury, it was hard to tell—yet his voice was extraordinarily calm. "The deed is already done. We need to leave time for all parties to react."
"Leave time?" Fu Shanyue was taken aback.
"The residence of the Chiyan Crown Prince has been destroyed a second time. This news will spread throughout both the upper and lower main cities by noon tomorrow at the latest, and the scandal will be appalling," He Lingchuan said slowly. "Why not wait and see? If you rush to Tianxin Island right on the heels of the Crown Prince of Beijia, I fear..."
Fu Shanyue was an intelligent man; fury had merely clouded his reason. With He Lingchuan's reminder, he grasped the point at once:
"Indeed, this is not the right moment to go to Tianxin Island. Letting it simmer for a night won't hurt."
He was the aggrieved party and held the right to hold others accountable.
"Someone will definitely pay for this!" he said to reassure He Lingchuan. "Panshan Residence is ruined, but I will arrange another fine place for you to stay."
"No rush," He Lingchuan waved a hand. "Nineteen people died in this estate. Their families must be properly compensated."
"Naturally." Fu Shanyue dispatched several squads of guards to hire workers to clean up Panshan Residence and handle the funerals for the dead.
Then he waved his hand and told the rest of the guards, "Back to the inn. We will go up to Tianxin Island tomorrow!"
Suddenly, a roll of thunder tore across the night sky, rumbling without end.
The weather was turning.
He Lingchuan gazed up at the sky. Venerable Muling's first prophecy had come to pass, hadn't it?
If he had not left this morning, he likely would have been cornered at Panshan Residence by Crown Prince Huan.
No, that was not right. Someone had likely been certain he was inside the estate and called Crown Prince Huan to deal with him.
Against an utterly unreasonable powerhouse, what little leverage he had was worthless. As long as he encountered Crown Prince Huan face-to-face, regardless of the outcome, disaster would have struck.
A single line from Venerable Muling had allowed him to deftly sidestep a grave crisis.
It seemed that the prophecy this ancient figure had deliberately left for him truly warranted his deepest attention.
***
Thunder rumbled, and torrential rain suddenly poured down in the late hours of the night.
Tianxin Island.
A dozen-odd palace guards stood watch in the rain at Jinghong Crossing, having monitored passersby for the past three shichen. Water dripped from every one of them; their oiled cloaks could hardly keep out such a fierce downpour, soaking them through from skin to cloth.
The leader of the palace guards came over for the third time to ask, "Still not here? His Highness is growing impatient."
His subordinates shook their heads.
"Could he have slipped past already?"
One guard replied, "I have seen Crown Prince Yue no fewer than five times. I wouldn't mistake him. Besides, he wouldn't come alone; he would bring some men at least."
The Crown Prince of Chiyan was a figure of noble status, after all; how could he come and go through Jinghong Crossing entirely unescorted?
"He really hasn't come? Dawn is almost here."
The leader waited with mounting anxiety.
The Crown Prince of Beijia had ordered them to intercept Fu Shanyue here, specifically instructing that no matter how many men Fu Shanyue brought up, they were to beat them ruthlessly on sight!
He had burned down Fu Shanyue's house; Fu Shanyue would not dare confront him to his face, but he would definitely go behind his back to complain to his imperial father."
Chapter 588