Chapter 1262: Rules for Raising a Loyal Dog 26

Xu Huaiyu also received the news that his cousin wanted to go out and play.

Normally he would insist on tagging along, acting coquettish, but now everything is different.

Xu Huaiyu propped his chin, "Brother Zhenghong, when can you return to your body?"

Zhou Zhihong stood behind him; hearing this, his expression grew somewhat forlorn and he shook his head.

"I don't know. Brother Chen said he also has no way; the time hasn't come yet."

As for exactly when to wait, Jin Chen didn't say anything either.

Xu Huaiyu sighed, then lifted a smile, "It's fine; as long as I can still see you, I can wait however long."

"Young Master."

The servant outside replied, "That demon is causing trouble again, and says if you don't let him out, he'll…… he'll hang himself."

Xu Huaiyu: "……"

"How does he have so much energy day after day?"

Xu Huaiyu rose glumly, involuntarily making a suggestion, "Brother Zhenghong, if he really hanged himself, would you then be able to come back?"

Zhou Zhihong considered the possibility, "Not necessarily… but there's some risk."

If he and that demon both died at the same time, it would be awful.

Xu Huaiyu rushed to the side courtyard; before even entering, he heard loud cursing from inside.

He put on a cold face and ordered the servant to kick the door open.

"What demonic nonsense are you up to again?"

Zhou Zhihong was even angrier inside, "Xu Huaiyu, what exactly do you want?! You said you'd marry me, then locked me up here and don't care about anything!"

Xu Huaiyu snorted, "Who said I want to marry you?"

He flicked his sleeves, smiling brightly, but his eyes were vicious.

"I've already invited the best Daoist priest; as long as he drives away this demon, Brother Zhenghong can return to his body."

Seeing Zhou Zhihong's face turn pale, Xu Huaiyu's tone grew icier, "And you'll become a lonely wandering ghost, unable to return to your so‑called modern world."

"You…… you know."

Zhou Zhihong couldn't hide his inner panic, feeling his soul laid bare, "Impossible…… how could you know!"

Xu Huaiyu rolled his eyes, "You think you hid it well? Just stay put and enjoy your last days as a human; the Daoist priest will come tomorrow."

"Impossible! I'm the chosen protagonist! You can't treat me like this……"

"You'll all incur heavenly punishment! I am the protagonist of this world!"

Zhou Zhihong had gone somewhat mad, firmly believing this was merely a test of himself, a heavenly trial for this protagonist; he struggled desperately but couldn't even escape the little courtyard.

But to others, these words were just the demon's ravings.

Xu Huaiyu summoned a servant and instructed, "Send someone again to urge the Daoist priest; make sure he arrives tomorrow."

"Yes."

"By the way, send someone to the prince's mansion to see your cousin; I've sent over some rare treasures I recently obtained, and ask if he can get a few more immortal herbs."

Inside the prince's mansion, Jin Chen heard the servant's plea and felt a bit embarrassed, shifting his gaze.

"Damn it, where am I supposed to find another identical weed?"

"…… go tell your young master: say the immortal herb is rare; if everyone could see what they shouldn't, wouldn't the world fall into chaos?"

Jin Chen kept ladling hot soup over his mother's tablet, spouting nonsense while sounding especially profound and inscrutable.

"Furthermore, it's not that it can't be seen; the time just hasn't come. Let your young master wait in peace—once the Heir Apparent returns from his outing in a few days, perhaps the demon will disappear then."

The servant suddenly understood, then ran over to tell Xu Huaiyu exactly what Jin Chen had said.

"Your cousin makes sense," Xu Huaiyu believed wholeheartedly, "I should be patiently waiting."

——

The next day, early morning…… actually not very early, after all, even if Jin Chen talked big, he's still someone who struggles to get out of bed.

Only at the fourth ke of the si hour did the carriage and retinue finally depart the prince's mansion under Xu Wangyue's seeing‑off.

"In the end, he has to go out for training." The steward followed behind Xu Wangyue to advise, "Madam, there's no need to worry excessively."

Xu Wangyue sighed softly, "I only wish Chen'er could be safe and sound."

Even if he never becomes emperor, the Xu family's wealth is enough for Jin Chen to squander a lifetime.

Yajiu rode his horse at the rear of the retinue, not daring to move forward.

But after just two days he had grown noticeably thinner, his aura ever colder; the guards traveling with him knew something was off, yet none dared to speak.

In the lead carriage, Jin Chen lay sprawled, boredly flipping through storybooks.

A few seconds later he tossed it aside with a slap.

"Not interesting."

"Really not interesting."

"These storybooks all follow the same few tropes."

"Big Tiger! Come in and play chess with this Heir Apparent!"

Big Tiger sat in front of the carriage with the coachman; hearing this, he shifted back, lifted the curtain, and said, "Young Master, you've always known I only have three‑legged‑cat kung fu."

"Why not… let Yajiu keep you company; he knows how to play chess."

Jin Chen raised an eyebrow, popped a pastry into his mouth, "I'd rather not."

"Little swindler, he still hasn't let go of his anger."

"It's been two days already, and I don't know if he'll ever come over to beg for mercy."

"Alright then, Young Master, where are we headed?"

Big Tiger was still doubtful, "You haven't even said where we're going."

Jin Chen thought for a moment, "Let's go to Wu Commandery Yuhang County first."

"Okay."

——

But fortune was not on their side.

Perhaps Jin Chen's carriage was too luxurious, with many guards and attendants nearby; at a glance it was clear they had wealth to exploit.

Just after leaving Wanling City, before they even got on the official road, a band of mountain bandits blocked their way on the Shan Lin roadside.

However, the rule for this trip was that they must not reveal Jin Chen's identity as Heir Apparent.

"This road was opened by my grandfather! If you want to get through, hand over some money for the brothers to buy their lives!"

"Exactly! Hahaha, is the person inside a young master or a miss? Why don't you come out and play with the brothers!"

A dozen or so mountain bandits raised their sabers to block the road, spewing vulgar insults, and even dared to speak rudely to Jin Chen inside the carriage.

They completely disregarded these guards; based on experience, the guards of wealthy noble families are all soft‑lived cowards!

"Impudent! How dare you show disrespect to the Heir… young master!"

Da Hu ordered, "Kill them!"

As the words fell, blades clashed; Jin Chen lifted the side curtain to watch the fight, propping his chin and finding it quite entertaining.

Until Yajiu appeared, ending the battle with extreme speed.

He had been holding in his anger; this band of mountain bandits had run straight into the blade, and were slaughtered to the last man.

"Whoa——"

The black horse's forehooves lifted; Yajiu tied his hair high, it flew as he pulled the reins, sat steady on the horse, his long sword hanging at his side as drops of blood fell.

His expression turned cold as he scanned the last three bandits and raised his sword again.

"Young hero, spare my life!!"

The bandit dropped to his knees, begging for mercy, kowtowing nonstop with tears and snot streaming, "I won't block the road… I won't block the road anymore! Please spare me!"

"Can't let him go!" the civilians rescued by the guards shouted, "Young hero! You don't know—those bandits are terribly wicked, taking advantage of the fact that this place belongs neither to Wanling City nor to the official road, they act with impunity, often killing and robbing passersby, truly evil to the core!"

"Yajiu, kill them."

Yajiu glanced back, somewhat startled; the carriage curtain hadn't opened, but he truly heard his master call his name again.

"Yes."

Unable to suppress the stirring in his heart, when he looked back again his sword rose and fell in just a few breaths, and then the head hit the ground with blood spraying.

Yajiu leapt off his horse, and as he landed he happened to see the curtain lifted, locking eyes with Jin Chen inside the carriage.

Suddenly his eyes reddened, the icy killing intent vanished in an instant, and he stared straight at him.

As if he had suffered a great injustice.

Jin Chen raised an eyebrow, his voice showing no fluctuation, utterly different from his usual tone that was always laced with indulgence.

"Come in."

Yajiu clenched his fist, hoping his master had forgiven him, yet fearing he wanted to drive him away and not take him along.

Da Hu's eyes were sharp; he hurriedly said, "Let the young master rest a while, and have someone help me clean up the corpse so we don't frighten passersby."