Chapter 376: The Crown Prince Returns

Even though Ren Yidao has returned safely at this moment, the seeds of suspicion have already been sown.

Just as the situation in Demon Emperor City was on the verge of erupting, and people in the shadows were preparing to flip the table and force a coup...

The Crown Prince and his party suddenly returned!

With this, the entire city was choked up.

It was quite like that stifling feeling of being on the verge of release, just as a play was reaching its climax and about to erupt... when suddenly, one was interrupted.

Why the hell couldn't you have come a little earlier!

Couldn't you have been just a bit earlier?

If only the Crown Prince and the others could have appeared sooner, they wouldn't have to be so miserable!

However, although the Crown Prince and his party had returned, they were not unscathed; in fact, they could even be described as miserable.

The four guards were covered in wounds of all sizes, their armor was mostly shattered, and they were stained with blood—a wretched sight of those returning from a flight for their lives.

Yet, despite their disheveled appearance, their momentum was extremely high, showing a great difference from the past.

In the past, although they held the title of heaven-gifted geniuses, in the eyes of many high-ranking members of the Demon Race, they were still just children.

Even though there were frequent sparring matches between the heaven-gifted geniuses, that was nothing more than playing house, or at most, a game between children.

But now it was different; their temperament had changed, and they possessed true presence.

Genuine momentum.

They had transformed.

Like returning warriors, although their bodies were weathered by the elements, their spirits had reached their peak!

The wounds on Cang Lan and the others were naturally not fake; they were genuine, fresh injuries.

But they were not left behind from fighting the six-headed snake-lizard, nor were they self-inflicted.

The one who left these wounds on them was none other than His Highness the Crown Prince, the only one among the five who was completely unscathed.

And the one who should have been protected by them had become the perpetrator who harmed them...

However, Ren Yidao expressed disagreement with this.

He preferred to call his behavior "affection" and "encouragement," or if combined, "loving lashes."

"I am merely loving them fiercely!"

During the time spent waiting for the right moment, Ren Yidao did not let them idle, giving the four of them a cordial "one-on-four" lesson.

Ren Yidao let Cang Lan and the others attack together, without restricting them from using any means, no matter how despicable the schemes they employed.

At the same time, he set great restrictions on himself, using no Daoist Art and only using a short sword throughout.

As long as Cang Lan and the others could hit him once, they would be considered the victors.

With the growth of one and the decline of the other, coupled with a huge numerical advantage, from the paper data, the four had a great chance of winning.

Under this absolute disadvantage, the final result of the battle was also very obvious.

A brutal, one-sided slaughter.

Hmm.

It was just that the winners were not Cang Lan and the others, but Ren Yidao, who appeared to have lost all his advantages.

None of the four escaped unscathed, all looking miserable, while Ren Yidao was perfectly fine, not even his hairstyle was ruffled.

Ren Yidao was uninjured, naturally not because the four guards dared not strike, but because they never had the chance to touch the hem of his clothes...

In the eyes of those four, without joking, Ren Yidao was simply like a monster.

He was faster than Cang Lan, stronger than Luzhi, had sharper senses than Mo Qi, and could be even more seductive—uh, more supportive—than Qingteng.

Four heaven-gifted geniuses with extreme builds could not surpass the opponent in any single ability, and were cruelly crushed several times over by a well-rounded, hexagonal warrior.

Crushing back and forth~

Tirelessly.

Not only that, the external injuries of Cang Lan and the others were merely superficial; although miserable, Ren Yidao did not truly strike to kill, and as long as they were treated in time, they would not suffer any lasting ailments.

But the serious injuries they truly suffered... were all in their hearts.

That short sword!!!

It was simply the source of all evil!

Whenever the four recalled the various events from before, they could never get around that short sword that made their souls tremble.

In their eyes, that was already the most terrifying and cruel thing in this world!

Too terrifying.

Clearly, they would be recalling this terrifying weapon in their dreams for a long time to come.

It was not just an endless broadcast of their dark history, but also accompanied by Ren Yidao's cordial wake-up services, preventing them from fainting under mental collapse.

If only they could have fainted, then they wouldn't have to recall it over and over again...

It truly almost drove them to a breakdown.

At this moment, seeing the gates of Demon Emperor City, the excitement on their faces was not fake; it was truly the relief and emotion of having escaped death.

"Finally, we can run away from the Crown Prince!!!"

At this moment, even Qingteng, who always wanted to cling to Ren Yidao, stayed far away from him, wishing she could run away... uh, if she had legs.

Ren Yidao also saw their almost uncontrollable emotions, smiled to himself, and turned to bow seriously to the four:

"Thank you four for protecting me with your lives along the way. We are safe now, you don't need to guard me anymore; hurry off and get some good rest."

Cang Lan and the others: "..."

They remained silent and said nothing, but their eyes seemed to have said everything.

What did you say?. JPG

What did we save you from with our lives?

Just us?

Luzhi reacted the fastest, being the first to grasp Ren Yidao's meaning; he stepped forward and bowed to him on behalf of the others.

"Many thanks, Your Highness! Then we shall take our leave first. If Your Highness has any needs, we will certainly arrive immediately."

After saying this, he didn't give the others a chance to speak, grabbing Mo Qi with one hand and dragging Qingteng with the other, hoisting the two of them up like pieces of luggage.

With a dead dog on his left and a dead snake on his right, he strode away.

"..."

Canglan did not follow Luzhi's pace, but remained where she was, frowning as she glanced at Ren Yidao.

She was questioning Ren Yidao.

After sending us away, where are you going? What are you going to do?

"Heh."

Seeing her like this, Ren Yidao chuckled, offered no explanation, and shook his head with a smile: "Go on, go back and get some good rest."

He gently patted Canglan on the shoulder, injecting a strand of pure spiritual energy into her body to nourish that fragile heart of hers, which had been wounded by dark history more times than she could count.

"Don't worry about me."

Pfft!

Canglan moved her shoulder, dodging Ren Yidao's hand, rolled her eyes dramatically, and turned to leave, looking puffed up with anger.

She walked away quickly, and only a mutter of "Who's worried about you..." drifted quietly into Ren Yidao's ears on the wind.

Heh.

"Still a tsundere."

Ren Yidao watched Canglan disappear from his field of vision with a beaming smile, laughing to himself:

"Though, it feels a bit different from a tsundere; this should count as the domestication process of a wild wolf... *cough*."

Perhaps Canglan herself hadn't even noticed how much her attitude toward Ren Yidao had changed compared to the very beginning.

"Alright, since they've all left, I can proceed according to plan."

Ren Yidao swept his gaze around; although he felt many gazes from both the light and the shadows, not a single person came forward to greet him.

Logically speaking, this was very unusual.

Ren Yidao was the Demon Nation Crown Prince, and anyone with eyes could see that he had encountered misfortune on this trip, yet at this moment, not a single person came out to offer comfort?

Is this reasonable?

Very unreasonable!

This unusual development revealed a very critical signal to Ren Yidao.

Something must have gone wrong in this Demon Emperor City.

No one was willing to be the first to stick their head out at a time like this!

Not even the Demon Emperor Party was willing.

Although sending charcoal in snowy weather could earn the Crown Prince's friendship, that small benefit was far from enough compared to the potential downsides one might have to bear!

At this moment, the Crown Prince was the target of public criticism; anyone who came forward would be implicated by him.

"Heh..."

Ren Yidao felt the oppressive atmosphere of the coming storm and laughed to himself,

"Looks like it's just as I thought."

Ren Yidao restrained his smile, his expression turning serious, with a deeply hidden killing intent showing in his eyes.

Looking around and confirming once more that no one would come forward, he sneered and then began to walk with long strides.

By rights, having encountered such a major problem and meeting with misfortune on the road, he, as the Crown Prince, should have gone to pay his respects to the Demon Emperor Huang Huang first.

To pour out his grievances to the Demon Emperor, recount the bumps and stumbles encountered along the way, and finally request that she step forward to punish the culprit.

But Ren Yidao did not.

He did not head toward the Demon Imperial Palace, but went straight to the National Teacher's Mansion!

Why go here first?

Amidst the confused gazes of everyone, Ren Yidao arrived alone outside the National Teacher's Mansion.

He did not mind the two nervous guards standing watch at the gate, nor did he enter, simply stopping right outside the door.

Ren Yidao knelt on one knee right there outside the mansion, bowing his arrogant head deeply.

!!!

In the eyes of countless people whose jaws had dropped, Ren Yidao finished this action, stood up immediately, silently performed the disciple's salute once more, and then, without saying a word, turned and left without hesitation.

From the time he arrived at the National Teacher's Mansion to when he prepared to leave after the salute, it hadn't even taken half an incense stick's time.

Yet these few simple actions stirred up monstrous waves in the hearts of who knows how many people.

In the Crown Prince's heart, the National Teacher's status was higher than the Demon Emperor's? And he even acknowledged him as his master?

And just as Ren Yidao was preparing to leave, the aged voice of the National Teacher came from within the long-silent National Teacher's Mansion:

"Your Highness, please stay."

"Since you have come, why not enter for a chat?"

Not knowing what his state of mind was, the National Teacher did not let him leave, ultimately speaking up to invite him inside.

Hearing this, Ren Yidao hesitated on the surface; he subconsciously looked to one side first, but quickly reacted and turned his head back nonchalantly.

"Many thanks for the invitation, National Teacher."

He nodded, held his head high, and strode into the National Teacher's Mansion.

As the guards of the National Teacher's Mansion closed the gate, his figure disappeared completely.

But even though Ren Yidao's figure could no longer be seen, the details displayed by his actions just now had caused who knows how many people's eyes to widen.

Although the National Teacher is nominally the teacher of the Crown Prince, there are very few Crown Princes who truly perform the rites of a disciple toward the National Teacher.

Moreover, there is a very thought-provoking detail: the direction the Crown Prince subconsciously looked toward... was the Demon Imperial Palace!

What has His Majesty the Demon Emperor done?

Recalling the previous rumors, many people began to ponder.

Could it be true?

After entering the National Teacher's Mansion, before the National Teacher could even speak, Ren Yidao's words caused the old man's pupils to shrink slightly.

After entering the National Teacher's room, Ren Yidao knelt on one knee again, cupped his fists in gratitude, and said in a deep voice:

"Many thanks to the National Teacher for intervening to save me!"

National Teacher:?

"Our party suffered several ambushes outside the city; if it weren't for the arrangements made by the National Teacher, I... I fear I would have died long ago."

National Teacher: Hm?

Help? Who?

What help did I arrange?

How come I don't know about it!!?

Although the National Teacher was full of doubts inside, on the surface, he still maintained an inscrutable appearance.

"Your Highness is too polite; why speak such distant words to me?"

"Hehe, it is better than anything that you have returned safely."

While the National Teacher spoke vague, non-committal words to stall for time, he was brainstorming in his mind, quickly thinking about what had happened.

"The Crown Prince was indeed ambushed, but the perpetrators did not succeed; someone intervened to stop them."

"The Crown Prince believes I arranged the rescuers, so who does he consider to be the mastermind behind the attack?"

"The Demon Emperor; the Crown Prince believes the Demon Emperor feels uneasy about his existence and thus decided to secretly eliminate him."

After clarifying the situation before him, the National Teacher's eyes lit up.

A good opportunity.

Regardless of how the Crown Prince came to this misunderstanding, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; let him continue to misunderstand!

"However, there is still one question: who exactly arranged the rescue party in secret?"

"Was it arranged by that fellow True Person He? Did he worry that he would be suspected if something happened to the Crown Prince, so he specifically arranged for help in secret?"

It might not be one hundred percent accurate, but this possibility is indeed the highest.

"I must find a chance later to tip off that Evil Dao, telling him not to talk nonsense... No, there's no need; even if he admits it, I can just say I was the one who told him to arrange it."

Once this thought emerged, the National Teacher felt everything suddenly become clear, and all problems were solved.

"Hehe, thinking about it this way, it doesn't matter who is behind the assassin; no matter who he is, he is a puppet of the Demon Emperor."

This pot of filth must be dumped on the Demon Emperor's head no matter what!

The National Teacher made up his mind and beckoned to Ren Yidao, signaling him to sit by his side.

"Does Your Highness feel aggrieved now?"

"... No."

"Hehe, since Your Highness is unwilling to say, then this old man will believe it as such."

The National Teacher shook his head, like a kind old man caring for a junior, patted Ren Yidao's shoulder gently, and said softly:

"This old man understands the resentment in Your Highness's heart, but this matter cannot be rushed."

"If one cannot endure small things, one will spoil great plans."

"If Your Highness cannot hold back from seeking revenge at this moment, I fear it will ruin the great cause of the future!"

Ren Yidao's lips moved, wanting to retort, but in the end, he honestly lowered his head and said in a deep voice:

"I ask the National Teacher to instruct me!"

Haha.

The National Teacher stroked his beard, stared at the Crown Prince, and said slowly:

"This old man has a brilliant plan here that can allow Your Highness to gain the greatest benefit."

"Listen to what I have to say..."

One hour later.

The Crown Prince walked out of the National Teacher's Mansion, bowed three more times before the door, and left respectfully.

Then...

He still did not go to the Demon Imperial Palace, but instead detoured to the Xianyun Small Building where True Person He resided!