The large palanquin lifted and changed direction. Sunlight flickered across the curtain. Yin Zhi Shu leaned against the wall of the carriage, deep in thought. He had no suspicion toward Lu Zhi Yan at all— he had seen with his own eyes how close the young prince had come to death. Besides, Lu Zhi Yan only had a few men with him. It was obvious the ambush was a surprise to them. One of Lu Zhi Yan’s men was even lying at his feet moments before, barely clinging to life.

What was occupying his mind was the dream he had just had. He thought of Dong Ruan, and a faint smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of his mouth— At the end of this year, after the third anniversary of his brother’s death, he would make his move. When he ascended the throne, no matter what those imperial censors would say, he was going to marry Dong Ruan. In fact, if Ah Ruan had not said she felt apologetic towards his brother and insisted on observing the three years of mourning before she was willing to discuss their relationship, he would have already deposed the emperor and taken the throne himself. 

But it is not too late now….

The large palaquin suddenly stopped. Outside, his guard captain said, “Your Highness, we have reached the Flower Goddess Temple…that group of people…”

The smile on Yin Zhi Shu’s face disappeared as he lifted the curtain and asked, “What happened?”

The guard captain said, “We caught up to them, but those assassins had already run off…” Then he saw Lu Zhi Yan stagger over, his clothes torn and hanging in pieces, looking very disheveled, but he was still smiling. Handing the sword in his hand over to a subordinate, Lu Zhi Yan cupped his hands towards Yin Zhi Shu but did not try to walk any closer, “Many thanks for Your Highness’ help. If it weren’t for your men coming after us, those bastards would have fought me to death. But now, it’s my turn to fight them to death.” 

Those who could get close to Yin Zhi Shu’s palaquin were all his closest confidants, so Yin Zhi Shu didn’t try to hide their connections, but said after staring at him for a few moments, “Young Prince is in trouble, it is only right that we extend our help. Is Your Highness alright?” 

“Not alright.” Lu Zhi Yan’s answer surprised Yin Zhi Shu, but then he immediately waved his hand, “Your Highness still needs to rush to the palace this morning to celebrate His Majesty’s birthday, right?” You don’t need to worry about my affairs. Leave a few guards to help me out a bit. I’ll visit you this evening and explain everything.” 

He then turned without any hesitation and walked toward the dilapidated Flower Goddess Temple, calling to his men as he went, “Come, let me see your wounds. Let’s find out what these guys’ fighting methods are.” 

Yin Zhi Shu had originally intended to do just as Lu Zhi Yan had said— leave a few men behind to wrap things up and be on his way. However, upon hearing Lu Zhi Yan’s words to his men, something stirred in his mind, and he secretly regretted that he hadn’t thought of it before. Last time, assassins had infiltrated his manor, but they ran off without killing anyone, then promptly killed themselves. Even though a few of the servants were hurt but no one thought to examine their wounds. Now that he thought about it, certain martial sects, especially the sects that specialize in swords, the wounds they leave, are quite unique. For example, the swords of the Ling Mountain Sword Sect were extremely narrow, and they preferred to strike with the blade held vertically, thus the wounds from their swords are narrow on the sides and wider in the middle, forming a ridge on the flesh, very easy to identify. Yin Zhi Shu was fond of martial arts and especially enjoyed studying various schools of martial arts. Now that he had been reminded of this, he felt it necessary to go take a look and identify the opponent’s style.

He immediately got out of the palaquin and said with a smile, “Young Prince has suffered such serious injuries here. How can I abandon you? Let’s go and see what kind of medicine is needed so I can supply them.”

Lu Zhi Yan grinned, “That would be great! To be honest, when I was being chased, I deliberately headed for Your Highness’ direction. Otherwise, who else would come to my aid? One can indeed count on Your Highness.” 

His forthright frankness dispelled Yin Zhi Shu’s last lingering doubts, and he said with a laugh, “I was wondering how it was so coincidental. Turns out, it was you who was deliberately causing trouble for me!” The two looked at each other and laughed, and entered the Flower Goddess Temple arm in arm. 

The Flower Goddess Temple used to be bustling with patrons, but in the past two years, due to the rerouting of Panlong Street, the temple was no longer part of the busy section of the city and had become somewhat deserted. It was not a big temple. One could see nearly everything inside and outside at a glance, so there was little fear of hidden dangers. Even so, Yin Zhi Shu’s guards still rushed in first, thoroughly searched every corner of the temple before returning, and gave Yin Zhi Shu a nod.

“Your Highness is sure cautious.” Lu Zhi Yan chuckled. Yin Zhi Shu shook his head forlornly and sighed, “Troubled times…” As he spoke, he bent down to examine the wounds on Lu Zhi Yan’s men. The wounds were narrow at the front and rounder at the back. Yin Zhi Shu let out a soft “Eh?” and said, “These wounds are quite unique…” but he couldn’t think of anything else to add at the moment. 

Suddenly, a figure flashed by, and the sound of hurried horse hooves came from outside the door. Yin Zhi Shu’s guard captain went out to meet them and then brought in a person. Lu Zhi Yan stood up abruptly and exclaimed, “Old Qi, why are you here?” 

The man appeared to be one of Yin Zhi Shu’s men. He was covered in sweat from running and didn’t even have the time to bow as he blurted out in a hurry, “Master, hurry back! Our residence has been ransacked. We don’t know what’s missing. You will have to come check yourself.” 

Lu Zhi Yan’s expression changed. He turned, saluted Yin Zhi Shu, but Yin Zhi Shu was already waving his hand and said, “Go quickly, young prince. I must be on my way as well.” 

He knew that someone of Lu Zhi Yan’s status, even if he was currently far away at a foreign empire, would still regularly receive a flow of documents. Many of them would be highly confidential and can not fall into outsiders’ hands. Now that his place was ransacked, he naturally had to rush back immediately. 

“Bastards! If I catch them, I will flay them alive!” Lu Zhi Yan stomped and cursed, then hurried off with his men. Watching his rather beleaguered departing figure, Yin Zhi Shu frowned and thought that things really are very tumultuous lately. Then he remembered he needed to hurry to the palace. Just as he stood up, there was suddenly a noise above his head. 

He looked up with a start and saw three figures floating down from the dusty ceiling above, like falling leaves. 

The three men arrived abruptly. His guards shouted angrily and rushed forward to surround them, all pointing their swords at the three men. 

But Yin Zhi Shu suddenly said, “Wait!”

He raised his palm and stared intently at the three people opposite him. Although the three men were all of similar height and looked imposing, giving off an extraordinary presence, Yin Zhi Shu’s eyes were only on the man standing in the middle. 

The man was tall and lean, with thick, sharply defined eyebrows. He wore a purple-gold brocade robe with a careless looseness, the front hanging open, revealing his smooth, full, pale honey-colored skin. His eyes, when seen from the front, had a fantastical amber color. But if you saw his eyes from the side, then they were a mysterious violet, dazzling like a multicolored gemstone as they moved. Framed by those striking eyes, his features somehow did not pale in comparison. The features were bold and dynamic, making one think of wide open horizons, of soaring and sweeping landscapes, of an endless, rough-blue sky. 

A man born with a singular, alluring charm. 

Legend has it that there was a person who was described this way. 

But this person should be thousands of miles away. Why would this person show up here…

Yet who else but him would have such an elegant and effortless demeanor? 

Even as thoughts were flashing like lightning inside Yin Zhi Shu’s mind the other man was already saying with a laugh, “I have long heard of the Regent of Xilian dominating this corner of the world with great might. Now that I see you…” 

He narrowed his eyes and didn’t finish the sentence, but judging by his expression, anyone would guess that he wasn’t impressed. Faces around them darkened, then he continued, “You truly do dominate the land.” 

This startled everyone, never expecting that he would abruptly circle back to the same phrase. They were just about to soften their expression, but then they saw the smirk on the man’s face as his eyes glanced Yin Zhi Shu up and down. They immediately felt that the man’s words were even more unpleasant than if he had said something derogatory. 

“How dare you!” a guard shouted angrily. 

　All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com  　

Related Posts