Chapter 16

Outside the Han palace gates, soldiers' corpses littered the ground; Han Fei hurriedly helped up a panting wounded soldier, urgently asking about Tian Ze's whereabouts. However, the soldier's breath was heavy; under his questioning, the soldier's eyes rolled back and he lost all color. Seeing this, Zhou Shuo sighed—such is the tragedy of the insignificant.

"Someone like Tian Ze wouldn't leave traces while fleeing." Wei Zhuang stood among the corpses, sword in hand, his expression icy.

"Oh, I forgot to say—next time you run into that guy, be careful; his strength is not weak. He retreated suddenly today because he's feeling unwell, and I can sense he hid much of his power in our fight." Zhou Shuo looked at Wei Zhuang standing motionless among the corpses and said, "Tian Ze is definitely not someone you can easily dismiss."

"Feeling unwell?" Wei Zhuang turned his head to stare at Zhou Shuo, his gaze showing extraordinary sharpness.

"Yes, although he shouted fiercely, he never unleashed his full power, nor dared to overuse his strength. It seems someone is controlling him, so at first he couldn't casually agree to become mutually beneficial friends. Moreover, he seized Han Fei's sister, giving him two cards now—this is likely a tacit understanding of another sort." Zhou Shuo looked at Han Fei; from his reaction one could see he cared deeply for his sister.

"Such a tacit understanding..." Han Fei clenched his fists; his close sister had become part of this tacit understanding—this is the price of the royal power game.

"This is the price of revealing one's weakness too early." Wei Zhuang looked at the weak Han Fei and let out a cold snort.

"Have you investigated Hong Lian?" Han Fei, hearing the unpleasant words, instantly lifted his head to look at Wei Zhuang, asking in a tone not quite accusatory. Facing his question, Wei Zhuang's indifferent gaze drifted slightly.

"Such a matter probably doesn't need investigation." Zi Nu stood aside, looking at Wei Zhuang's eyes, and couldn't help but say, "The imperial family is the most ruthless, yet Han Fei, as a prince of Han, has been on extremely good terms with his sister Hong Lian since childhood."

Zhou Shuo stood aside, watching Zi Nu defend Wei Zhuang and the somewhat guilty Wei Zhuang. He pondered a moment and realized something astonishing: Wei Zhuang said he discovered Tian Ze in the Crown Prince's residence, having the Corpse-controlling Demon use witchcraft to torture a vulture for a confession. That means he, Tian Ze, and the Demon were all in the Crown Prince's residence at the same time, but Tian Ze and the Demon were driven out from here, and he only just managed to arrive. Where had he been during that interval?

Just as Zhou Shuo was thinking, a handsome youth in blue-white robes suddenly rushed over, telling Han Fei, "The situation at the royal palace is dire." Han Fei had to leave with him, while Zhou Shuo accompanied Zi Nu and Wei Zhuang out of the palace gate, returning to Zi Lan Xuan.

"I need to go somewhere." Wei Zhuang turned midway, tossed out that sentence, and left on his own, leaving only Zhou Shuo and Zi Nu to walk alone.

"By the way, did Elder Brother Wei Zhuang go see Han Fei's sister earlier, which is why he was late?" Zhou Shuo watched Wei Zhuang leave and couldn't help asking Zi Nu, "Wei Zhuang's gaze toward Han Fei earlier was evasive; they were being held in the Cold Palace—there's no reason Hong Lian would be captured there. The only possibility is that someone led her to the Cold Palace, and that person is Wei Zhuang—sounds like a plot twist, right?"

"You figured it out?" Zi Nu raised her delicate brows.

"I'm not Han Fei's orthopedics buddy." Zhou Shuo looked at Zi Nu's reaction and could tell it was likely an accident caused by Wei Zhuang; he had gone to check on Han Fei's sister's place. Han Fei is extremely clever, and earlier he was anxious and confused, so he didn't notice Wei Zhuang's oddness.

"What's orthopedics?" Zi Nu understood Zhou Shuo's meaning; Han Fei indeed was worried sick, and that was probably just an accident, but she seemed to have heard a term she hadn't before.

"It means an elder brother who loves his sister extremely." Zhou Shuo looked at Zi Nu's bewildered expression and gave an explanation without changing his tone.

"You really like martial arts secret manuals, right?" Zi Nu looked at Zhou Shuo's serious expression, not imagining anything else—who knows where this guy gets his strange ideas—but she was concerned about something else.

"Huh, what's up?" Zhou Shuo looked at Zi Nu, who suddenly brought up the question, nodded, and felt a bit confused—why ask this all of a sudden?

"I'll give you a secret manual; you'd better not spread this around carelessly." Zi Nu narrowed her eyes; this was just an accident, but it could become a rift between Wei Zhuang and Han Fei.

"I don't remember anything that happened today, but my luck is great—I actually picked up a secret manual; it seems I'll have to go out more often at night." Zhou Shuo looked at Zi Nu, who had her big eyes narrowed, and unconsciously lifted his head to gaze at the night sky of Xin Zheng. "Hmm, indeed it's a bright, round moon; if only those pesky clouds weren't in the way."

"Hmph." Zi Nu looked at the guy with his head raised to the sky, an oily-smirky face, and couldn't help but chuckle—this guy was quite amusing.

"Speaking of Han Fei's intellect, who knows when he'll figure this out? You'd better find a way to rescue his sister quickly, lest trouble linger." Zhou Shuo looked at the smiling Zi Nu and said, "In fact, although I can promise not to tell, I might not be able to keep it from Han Fei—there are no impermeable walls in the world, especially since Han Fei's sister is a girl; falling into enemy hands could be unimaginable."

"We've naturally considered that." Zi Nu glanced sideways at the earnestly advising guy, feeling a bit amused—this guy was quite kind-hearted, interesting—but having said that, what kind of martial art did he just use?

"Zhou, Zhou Shuo, may I ask you what martial art you just used?" Zi Nu looked at the easygoing man, weighed it in her mind, then lightly parted her lips to ask.

"You mean the Qi Spirit Golden Elixir? That's not a martial art; it's an esoteric technique, a method of manifesting the spirit soul into a tangible object." Zhou Shuo gazed at the clear night sky with a few clouds, feeling the beauty beside him, his mind wandering a bit, and he explained nonchalantly.

"Manifesting the spirit soul into a physical object?" Zi Nu felt a bit dazed and confused—spirit soul, manifestation, physical object—what kind of circle is this? If it's an esoteric technique, then it's not surprising.

"Exactly, the human body is a shell, and what drives action inside is the spirit soul. Those of us cultivating this path seek to have the spirit soul act apart from the body; since the spirit soul lacks substance, it needs something to rely on." Zhou Shuo looked at the girl, whose expression was a mix of realization and confusion, quickly explained again, then felt a bit embarrassed.

"Actually, the spirit soul can rely on many things—even water and soil can manifest it—but my cultivation isn't sufficient, so I can only use the Qi Spirit Golden Elixir."

"You don't need to tell me all that." Zi Nu looked at the guy spilling beans like that, and pursed her lips.

"Um, that... these are just scraps, not important." Zhou Shuo looked at the girl with pursed lips, his face flushing, and he could hardly restrain his wandering thoughts.

"But then again, you guys—Han Fei's situation is likely to become quite delicate."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Zi Nu, hearing the shift, couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Tian Ze holds the Crown Prince, launches a night raid on the palace, and then something else suddenly happens there—who exactly is the target among the Crown Prince, the Han King, Tian Ze, or those behind him is hard to say." Zhou Shuo reined in his wandering thoughts and focused on analyzing the situation. As the former Crown Prince of Bai Yue, Tian Ze's capture of the Han Crown Prince looks like revenge, but in fact it has already stirred up factional strife within Han.

"This..." Zi Nu narrowed her eyes, instantly forming a plan in her mind, and couldn't help but be startled.

Within the Han court there are four factions. The strongest is the General's Manor, led by General Ji Wuye, a strong supporter of the Crown Prince's residence. Second is the Fourth Prince Han Yu, Han Fei's fourth brother, renowned for his virtue, who will not ignore the heir's position. Third is Han Fei himself. Lastly is Chancellor Zhang Kai Di; however, this heir-apparent struggle will not threaten him for now.

Tian Ze was once captured by the Blood-Cloth Marquis Bai Yi Fei; this escape of his was also at Bai Yi Fei's behest. Bai Yi Fei is a member of the General's Manor lineage; this time he released Tian Ze and had him abduct the Crown Prince. This was originally thought to be a plot aimed at Han Fei, but upon reflection, perhaps its true aim was the Han King—if the Han King died, the Crown Prince backed by the General's Manor could immediately ascend the throne, and who in Han could then stand against Ji Wuye.

"That move by the General's Manor is really enough..." Zi Nu couldn't help but gasp; although the current Han King is muddled, he can still exercise authority, but once he dies and the Crown Prince controlled by the General's Manor takes the throne, Han Fei would truly have no capacity to fight the General's Manor—this is akin to draining the pond to catch the fish.

"Power struggles have always been like this." Zhou Shuo without hesitation said the General's Manor is now playing the game of abducting the Crown Prince; the target appears aimed at Han Fei, but there's an eighty percent chance it's actually aimed at the Han King. Han Fei stands in a most awkward position: the Crown Prince is bound by the General's Manor, which he cannot rescue; the Han King is a prerequisite for him to contend with Ji Wuye, and now he has lost his own sister—because Tian Ze refuses to accept the General's Manor's control, he's caught in the middle, likely to have his head swell a size.

"You sure know a lot about Han!" Zi Nu looked at the unhesitating Zhou Shuo, her face showing a half-smile; this guy seems uninterested in Han affairs, yet he understands the situation quite well.

"I'm staying here temporarily; how could I not find out clearly? If I went to other countries, I might not be able to explain this so clearly." Zhou Shuo saw Zi Nu's half-smile, felt a bit embarrassed, and thought, "I can know all this because I have some anime-like ability; if I went to Qi or Zhao, I probably wouldn't have such understanding and thoroughness."

"We've arrived at Zi Lan Xuan—come on, go inside! I'll give you what you want; by the way, is your hidden injury okay?" Zi Nu looked at the embarrassed Zhou Shuo, also feeling a bit unsure; after she came to her senses and glanced at the road, the two had unknowingly returned to Zi Lan Xuan.

"Actually it's not a big deal—my spirit soul suffered some shock; taking some calming and soul-stabilizing medicine, resting a few days will fix it." Zhou Shuo heard Zi Nu mention his injury, felt a bit embarrassed, and thought it really wasn't a major issue.

"Calming and soul-stabilizing medicine—from the incense shop?" Zi Nu looked at the guy who said it wasn't a big deal and just needed a few days' rest, and raised her brows slightly.

"Fine, fine." Zhou Shuo felt a bit muddled; the restless thoughts he had just suppressed leapt up again.