Chapter 57
Xiaoxiao felt that since the crown prince had acted righteously to rescue them, coldly rejecting his hospitality would be lacking in chivalric spirit.
As the saying goes, “Life is meant for joyous drinking when wine is present.” Moreover, she felt that sharing a cup of wine with the crown prince would surely lead to hearing some interesting stories.
With this thought, she turned to Wei Jie and said, “Since the crown prince has extended such a warm invitation, we might as well have a drink before leaving.”
Wei Jie smiled and picked up the wine jug the crown prince had just set down, giving it a sniff. “The Western Phoenix Wine from Yongcheng? It smells like a thirty-year-old vintage!”
The crown prince let out a hearty laugh, “You have a discerning nose, my friend. This wine was indeed buried for thirty years, finally meeting a true connoisseur worthy of its lingering fragrance.”
The bonds between men can sometimes be kindled faster than the raging fire between lovers.
After Wei Jie casually loosened his collar and took a seat opposite the crown prince, the two exchanged a few cups of wine. Suddenly, they seemed like old friends, pouring for each other without any sense of unfamiliarity.
Crown Prince Xia Chenghong had not indulged in such an unrestrained drinking session in a long time. With an open-hearted laugh, he clinked cups with Wei Jie before beckoning them to help themselves to the dishes and more wine.
The three of them, brought together by chance, were worlds apart in status. In theory, sitting together to drink should have been an awkward affair.
Yet the three of them were somewhat unconventional in nature, allowing these unrelated individuals to sit together, pushing cups and making toasts as if they were close relatives.
The crown prince repeatedly topped up Wei Jie’s cup, who did not stand on ceremony as he drained each one.
The crown prince observed the young man and woman. Although the latter wore heavy makeup, her refined features were still visible. As for the man, the beast-like patterns only added to his wild charm.
If they were assassins, they certainly did not dress the part by forgoing masks and disguises, instead donning such conspicuous attire to infiltrate the manor.
The crown prince smiled and casually asked, “May I inquire as to how my imperial uncle offended you both, prompting your attempt on his life?”
Xiaoxiao sampled a piece of sweet and sour fish, squinting in relish as she said, “It was not an assassination attempt. We merely came to reclaim something he had stolen from us. We are not villainous demons, Your Highness. As for you, you do not seem the type to be wary of others. Yet you did not drink the wine he had drugged?”
Seeing the crown prince raise his brows, Xiaoxiao recounted witnessing the “Seven Day Drunkenness” pill being slipped into his wine.
The crown prince gave a wry smile but did not answer that question. Instead, he said, “If I may ask, are you not Cui Xiaoxiao of the Lingshan Talisman Sect and Wei Jie of the Mount Qilao Alliance?”
Xiaoxiao knew their wanted portraits had been widely circulated, but for the crown prince to still recognize them in their current appearances was impressive!
However, if they admitted their identities, would this crown prince be alarmed and overturn the table?
Thus, Xiaoxiao nodded in candid acknowledgment.
Upon hearing this, the crown prince smiled again but asked probingly, “Then… were the villagers in those villages truly killed by your hands?”
Xiaoxiao had lost her appetite. She set down her chopsticks and honestly said, “If we were truly responsible, we would have fled instead of walking into this trap in Luoyi City. If I told you that those bloody cases were committed by your imperial uncle’s men to frame us, would you believe me, Your Highness?”
The crown prince, Xia Chenghong, looked at Wei Jie and said with firm conviction, “I believe in the character of the Alliance, and in the grandson praised by the Alliance’s elderly matriarch. You are not the kind of person who could commit such bloody atrocities!”
Wei Jie raised his brows, not expecting the crown prince to suddenly mention his grandmother.
The crown prince smiled faintly with a tinge of reminiscence, “Your grandmother was renowned for her beauty in her youth and was acquainted with my late father, the emperor. The private relations between the Xia and Wei families have never been severed over these hundred years. Your situation was mentioned by your grandmother in letters to my father. On this visit, I also received my father’s instructions – if I encountered any difficulties, I could seek assistance from the Alliance…”
As he spoke, the crown prince retrieved a pendant bearing the Alliance’s demon-subduing insignia from his lapel, comparing it to the one on the handle of the whip coiled around Wei Jie’s waist.
Xiaoxiao then realized that the crown prince had not recognized their true appearances but had identified them through Wei Jie’s Alliance insignia.
It turned out the Alliance’s elderly matriarch had such close ties with the current emperor. According to the crown prince, when she was traveling in her youth, the matriarch had once saved the emperor’s life, thus renewing the longstanding bond between the Xia and Wei families.
Today, when Xiaoxiao and Wei Jie had stumbled into the crown prince’s chambers, he had seen the Alliance’s insignia and deduced their identities, prompting him to rescue them from the Prince Can’s Manor.
As for why the crown prince was wary of the Prince Can, it was also related to the Alliance’s matriarch.
Crown Prince Xia Chenghong let out a sigh, “Before I came here, your grandmother had mentioned that the Prince Can’s Manor harbored venomous creatures. However, in my memory, my younger imperial uncle was never so cunning and scheming. After arriving in Luoyi City, not only have my doubts not been resolved, but they have only grown deeper… You ask why I am cautious of my own uncle? Because… he is not the Prince Can!”
Regarding this point, Xiaoxiao and Wei Jie had already guessed as much. It seemed that during the crown prince’s visit to the manor, his seemingly casual reminiscing about childhood actually carried profound meaning, causing the false Prince Can some discomfort in responding.
Hearing this, Xiaoxiao could not help but ask, “If he is not your imperial uncle, then who is he? And how dare he so brazenly impersonate a member of the imperial clan?”
Crown Prince Xia Chenghong gave another wry smile before slowly speaking, “While one’s appearance can change with age, certain physical details remain unalterable. The Prince Can and I were very close in our youth, like brothers despite our differences in status. I remember my own mischievousness – I once took him tree-climbing and catching cicadas, only for a branch to injure the back of his ear, causing profuse bleeding. Fearing my imperial grandfather’s reprimand, I had the eunuchs secretly stop the bleeding. Afterward, he was left with a protruding scar behind his ear. But when I saw the Prince Can this time, the area behind his ear was smooth, without any scarring. Instead, there was a red mole on the back of one earlobe… I have only ever seen such a distinctive mole on one other person in my life…”
Xiaoxiao was engrossed in listening but saw the crown prince suddenly pause, so she asked, “Who was it?”
The crown prince seemed deep in thought, occasionally shaking his head as if perplexed, or frowning in puzzlement.
Finally, he seemed to abandon untangling the doubts in his mind. He dipped his hand in the wine, casually picked up a decorative jade ax, and slowly wrote the words “ear city” on the blade’s surface before wiping it clean.
Xiaoxiao frowned, momentarily confused by the crown prince’s enigmatic actions.
However, Wei Jie’s brow slightly furrowed, as if he had immediately understood the crown prince’s meaning.
“This… can it be true? But that person is no longer around?”
The crown prince knew Wei Jie had grasped his implication and let out a wry, soft laugh, “I, too, doubted my own suspicion. But that mole was too distinctive, like a reclining Buddha, and not at all common. As cultivators, you must be well-versed in many supernatural abilities. I wonder if there might be a way to return from the dead?”
Xiaoxiao and Wei Jie exchanged a glance but remained silent.
In the past few days, they had encountered quite a few individuals who had seemingly returned from the dead. That Wei Di and Wan Lianshi, for instance, seemed to be individuals who should have perished but had instead changed their appearances to continue living in this world. Based on the conversation between Wan Lianshi and Qin He, it appeared the Prince Can possessed the ability to borrow life forces from others!
So after pondering for a moment, Xiaoxiao said, “Your Highness’s suspicion is reasonable. If a person can borrow life from elsewhere, then he would be the king of the underworld realm, even more esteemed than… an emperor. The network of power and influence in his hands would be more formidable than an emperor’s!”
The crown prince did not take offense at Xiaoxiao’s irreverent words, only giving a bitter smile, “In truth, my father the emperor has long been stripped of his authority. Neither he nor I can act as we wish when governing. The elderly ministers left behind by the late emperor rigidly control court affairs, leaving my father as a mere puppet on the throne, without true agency! However, this lingering doubt in my mind is too shocking to be voiced without evidence, lest it provoke unimaginable upheaval across the realm.”
Wei Jie, having drained another jug of wine, said, “After partaking of such an exquisite brew today, it is only natural to alleviate Your Highness’s troubles. Allow me to confirm the Prince Can’s true identity before informing you. However, this place is perilous, and the Prince Can has many eyes and ears. Since you have provided us shelter today, I fear you may also become implicated. Please take utmost care, Your Highness!”
The crown prince smiled faintly, “In the eyes of others, I have always been seen as a debauched wastrel. Such a worthless individual is unlikely to warrant much scrutiny or scheming. Rest assured, I will exercise prudence.”
Thus, Wei Jie and Cui Xiaoxiao hastily parted ways with the crown prince under the moonlight.
According to Wanlian Master’s intentions, the slander against Cui Xiaoxiao had not gone far enough, and they still planned to slaughter the village where Xiaoxiao and her companions had sought refuge.
Now, there was no time to waste. They needed to immediately return and capture the hidden mastermind in the act!
However, on their way back, Xiaoxiao suddenly came to a realization and paused in her steps, murmuring, “He wrote something on the ax blade… a character like ‘ye,’ which is the character for ‘grandfather’?”
Although literate, Xiaoxiao’s foundation came from her mother’s teachings, making her slightly slower than Wei Jie at deciphering such wordplay.
Wei Jie made a gesture for silence before silently nodding his head in affirmation.
In the northern regions, the term “grandfather” referred to one’s paternal grandfather’s father.
In other words, the crown prince suspected that the Prince Can was his own imperial grandfather – the late Emperor Xia Yuansong, who had passed away over twenty years ago?
But the Prince Can appeared to be no more than thirty years old, while the late Emperor Xia Yuansong had been in his nineties when he passed!
No wonder the crown prince had seemed hesitant earlier, unable to fully convince even himself!
However, if this were true, it would explain the various mysteries surrounding the Prince Can.
The original Prince Can had indeed been sickly from a young age. His initial enfeoffment to the Luoyi territory had been arranged by the late Emperor Xia Yuansong himself.
Xiaoxiao boldly speculated that the true Prince Can must have perished prematurely. Through some unknown means, Xia Yuansong had managed to regress from an elderly, decrepit state back to youthful vigor, then assumed his young son’s identity to continue living as an idle monarch in Luoyi, thereby evading the destiny recorded in the Book of Life and Death.
But while the people of Luoyi might not recognize the Prince Can, there would certainly be a significant difference between a youth in his teens and a man in his twenties or thirties.
This drastic disparity in the false Prince Can’s appearance and age compared to the original must have been the reason for his decade-long seclusion after arriving in his territory.
After over ten years had passed, this imposter could then attribute any changes in his appearance to the naturally transformative effects of reaching adulthood, surely having made meticulous preparations to avoid arousing suspicion.
However, the crown prince’s sudden visit had caught the Prince Can somewhat off guard. After all, the crown prince was intimately familiar with both his imperial grandfather and the young Prince Can.
Yet this crown prince was quite the sly one, able to detect the discrepancies.
Xiaoxiao had initially assumed this Prince Can’s goal was to seize the imperial throne. But if he truly was Xia Yuansong, then the emperor’s throne would have been something he had already cast aside.
So what exactly was this Xia Yuansong seeking? Could it be the eternal life and youth that all emperors coveted?
With this thought, Xiaoxiao spoke up, “Wan Lianshi said this Prince Can can borrow life forces to extend his own… Since he was originally an elderly man nearing the end of his life, whose life force did he borrow?”
Wei Jie had also been pondering this and said indifferently, “Destined longevity is already predetermined. If he greedily desired more, he must have taken it from others… If I’m not mistaken, the true Prince Can has likely already been filially sacrificed by his covetous father…”
Xiaoxiao blinked slowly before taking a deep breath.
She had long heard of the depravities within imperial palaces but also knew that even vicious tigers do not consume their own cubs. If Wei Jie’s speculation was accurate, then this Xia Yuansong, in his pursuit of immortality, had truly reached the realm of demonic possession by using his own son’s life force to extend his own!
Thinking of this, and recalling the Prince Can’s seemingly cultured and mild smile, Xiaoxiao felt a wave of nausea.
The two of them had caused an uproar in the king’s manor that night, yet it had yielded some gains. Xiaoxiao had thoroughly suppressed Wanlian Master’s arrogance, and together with Wei Jie, they had severely wounded him, clearing the Lingshan Talisman Sect’s name.
Moreover, they had become acquainted with the crown prince and glimpsed the Prince Can’s secrets.
However, they did not know the current state of the village where they had been temporarily residing, where Tang Youshu, Yu Ling’er, and the others remained.
If they encountered the men dispatched by Wanlian Master, the fox tribe would fare better, but her master Tang Youshu would be defenseless!
Thinking of this, Xiaoxiao could not help but quicken her pace. Unfortunately, her lightness skill was not even worth mentioning, so if she wanted to move faster, she would need Wei Jie to carry her as they advanced.
The aphrodisiac’s effects had greatly diminished upon encountering the cool night air. However, when Xiaoxiao was carried on Wei Jie’s back, pressed against him and inhaling his masculine scent, she could not help but nuzzle her face against his back…
Wei Jie could not resist arching his brow. Halting his steps, he turned his head to ask, “Do you want… um…”
Before he could finish speaking, Xiaoxiao’s soft hand covered his mouth.
Of course, Xiaoxiao was aware of her current lack of restraint!
However, enduring the lascivious insect’s venom was torment enough – she had no desire to hear her disciple utter any lewd remarks!
Thus, Xiaoxiao nuzzled her cheek against her disciple’s face and neck while closing her eyes, softly murmuring, “I’ll be fine in a bit, no more nonsense!”
With his mouth covered by her hand, Wei Jie could not remind his master that her words sounded like those of a shameless patron frequenting brothels, arrogantly proclaiming, “I’ve paid, so I’ll play as I please,” ready to hike up his trousers and depart after a mere cup of tea.
However, he also knew they could not afford any further delays. Taking a deep breath, he endured his master’s occasional fidgeting and continued their hurried journey.
The drug’s effects on him were not as profound as on Xiaoxiao, and being of part fox demoness bloodline, he naturally had greater resistance to such aphrodisiacal effects compared to ordinary people.
However, he knew that back in the secret passage, he had nearly lost control of himself.
The young lady he carried on his back seemed to possess some bewitching power, like a potent aphrodisiac personalized solely for him – once its effects took hold, it burned with an unquenchable fire, defying any remedy…
Fortunately, as he rushed forward with the night wind breezing past, the insatiable Xiaoxiao gradually returned to her normal self after sampling enough of her disciple’s “delicacies.”
When the two of them finally returned to the village, they saw from a distance that it remained shrouded in darkness.
Xiaoxiao and Wei Jie exchanged a glance, deciding to promptly enter the village.
But just as they were about to step forward, two figures resembling tree barks suddenly materialized from the large trees beside them, crossing their swords against the pair’s necks in a cold voice, “Don’t move!”
Xiaoxiao and Wei Jie looked at each other, then towards the new arrivals. Several more people wearing bark-patterned clothing revealed themselves from their concealment.
The leader, wearing a bark mask and speaking in a feminine voice, pressed her blade against Xiaoxiao’s neck and said coldly, “May I ask where the two of you are hurriedly headed at this late hour?”
Xiaoxiao found the voice familiar but couldn’t immediately place it. She replied, “We are from a village in the mountains and were planning to return home to rest. Are you valiant ones intending to demand a toll for passage?”
The woman let out a cold laugh as she appraised them, “And what business are you in that requires returning so late? “
Xiaoxiao knew her current heavily made-up appearance, coupled with Wei Jie’s unwashed tiger-patterned body paint, did not resemble decent folks. So she smiled apologetically, “There was a courtesan parade in the city, and my third martial aunt’s second cousin from the opera troupe was shorthanded, so my brother and I went to lend a hand and earn some pocket money… Here, take this purse of coins, valiant ones.”
As Xiaoxiao smiled and spoke, Wei Jie suddenly struck from behind, swiftly knocking out a few of the men holding blades to his neck.
At the same time, Xiaoxiao deftly slapped a immobilization talisman onto the woman’s neck.
In an instant, the situation reversed – instead of being the waylaid, it was now the Talisman Sect’s master and disciple holding the woman at blade-point.
Frightened yet unable to move, she cried out, “What… what do you want to do?”
Xiaoxiao did not waste words. She stepped forward and removed the woman’s bark mask. Upon seeing the familiar face, her eyes widened in surprise.
For this woman was none other than Ling Zhishan, the future Palace Master of the Twin Manifestation Palace from two hundred years later!
She was Qin Lingxiao’s martial sister disciple. It was her later arrival with the demonic bead “Resentment” that had inadvertently caused Xiaoxiao and Qin Lingxiao to be sent back two hundred years into the past when the two beads merged with the divine statue.
Now, seeing Ling Zhishan’s familiar face, Xiaoxiao was momentarily uncertain if she was reuniting with an acquaintance from two hundred years later or encountering the younger Ling Zhishan from two centuries past.
However, observing Ling Zhishan’s slightly more youthful features and her expression of panicked immobility, Xiaoxiao deduced that this was likely the original Ling Zhishan from two hundred years ago.
Wei Jie, unaware of Xiaoxiao’s realization, had sealed the accupoint of the few men he had knocked out and asked if they were Wan Lianshi’s people.
The men, indignant yet unable to speak, shook their heads vigorously.
Ling Zhishan also hurriedly explained, “This young lady, we are not bad people. Have you not heard of Wonderful Immortal Mountain? I am Ling Zhishan, daughter of the late Mountain Master. We are cultivators of the orthodox path. We only stopped you because it was so late, suspecting you might be those two bloodsucking fiends from the Talisman Sect.”
After hearing this, Xiaoxiao merely let out an “oh” before finding a rock to sit on, her mind sorting through the intricate web of relationships.
If what she said was true, then the future Palace Master of the Twin Manifestation Palace was actually the daughter of one of the Four Great Sect’s late Mountain Masters!
According to the original trajectory, people had believed Wei Jie was responsible for killing the Mountain Master of Wonderful Immortal Mountain.
In other words, Ling Zhishan, like Qin Lingxiao, had concealed her identity when joining Wei Jie’s sect to avenge her father’s death through bitter perseverance.
In this altered timeline, although the Mountain Master of Wonderful Immortal Mountain had still perished due to being overly possessed by a puppeteer talisman, everyone now knew it was the murderous deed of the traitorous father-daughter duo Wei Di and his child, acting on the Prince Can’s orders – unrelated to Xiaoxiao or Wei Jie.
So why was this woman still so insistent on pursuing a grievance against the Lingshan Talisman Sect?
Hearing Xiaoxiao’s query, Ling Zhishan was not surprised. As a cultivator, she had naturally heard about the Wonderful Immortal Mountain’s late Mountain Master’s tragic demise.
Unable to move, she could only honestly answer, “Although Wei Jie and Cui Xiaoxiao were not involved in my father’s death, they have become demonized and harmed others, warranting elimination by the orthodox path. I have brought my disciples to apprehend them – what is wrong with that? May I ask who you two are? Can you release us?”
It turned out that after the Wonderful Immortal Mountain’s late Mountain Master had passed away, a heated succession battle had erupted for the new leadership.
Several of the late master’s senior martial brothers vied for the position, while his devoted disciples rallied behind his sole daughter Ling Zhishan’s candidacy.
Unfortunately, Ling Zhishan’s relatively shallow cultivation bases made her a target of disdain from her martial uncles. Knowing she needed a significant accomplishment to assert her authority, Ling Zhishan had led her followers away from the sect.
It was then that they came across official notices with the crown prince’s seal, declaring a substantial reward for anyone capable of apprehending the two demonic fiends.
Ling Zhishan felt that capturing these two would be a suitable feat to prove her worth. Thus, she had her people lie in wait outside the village.
After hearing the full story, Xiaoxiao nodded in understanding before exchanging a glance with Wei Jie.
This woman had outright declared her intent to apprehend them – if they tried to conceal their identities, it would be somewhat dishonorable…
Thus, Xiaoxiao looked around before washing her face in a nearby stream, then passed a damp cloth to Wei Jie.
Once the master and disciple had cleansed themselves of their heavy makeup and body paint, revealing their true appearances, one of Ling Zhishan’s disciples exclaimed in shock, “Little Martial Sister, they… they are Cui Xiaoxiao and Wei Jie of the Talisman Sect!”
Ling Zhishan was taken aback, not expecting to have conversed with the very demonized duo she had intended to capture.
As her gaze shifted from Xiaoxiao’s beautiful, lively features to the tall, imposing man beside her, she found herself utterly enchanted…
With the tiger stripes and body paint washed away, the man revealed a chiseled, alluringly handsome visage.
The wild, demonic aura exuded by his now loose, cascading hair only heightened his untamed charm.