Chapter 23: The Vengeful Ghost Claims a Life

Good heavens, what kind of unearthly, terrifying method was that?

Not only did he kill in an instant, but the corpse could vanish into thin air!

This absolutely terrifying technique was a match for their master.

"Get up. Don't be so stupid in the future." The man did not turn around, his tone filled with blatant disdain.

Seeing someone kill with the speed of the wind and yet not flee, but instead sit stupidly in a tree—was he waiting to be caught?

Zhu Yan calmed his emotions. Just as he stood up, he heard the rustling of footsteps.

"Master, Young Master Han has arrived."

Han Zhao followed the current to arrive. Even under the cover of night, his prisoner's garb could not hide his elegant, scholarly demeanor.

"How is it?"

Han Zhao bowed toward the shadows. "Everything is peaceful for now. Gu Lao can eat, drink, and frolic; his health is quite good. However... yesterday, Gu Lao suddenly contacted someone, and his words seemed quite fawning."

Han Zhao paused, seemingly waiting for the other to ask a question.

However, instead of a response, he heard a laugh as light as a falling feather.

Han Zhao gave Zhu Yan, who was standing to the side, a look of utter confusion, only to receive a sharp, piercing glare in return.

Uh... what was with this "unfathomable yet impressive" vibe?

"Is the area ahead Heng County?"

Han Zhao nodded repeatedly.

"I heard that bandits have been rampant near Heng County lately. Zhao, you must be careful." The man stood in the shadows, lightly rubbing his palms together.

Several dark figures darted out from behind the trees, handing over several packages in quick succession, stuffing them all into Han Zhao's arms.

"Uh..." Han Zhao was pleasantly surprised. "Are these emergency supplies prepared for this humble official by His Highness?"

His Highness still cares for me deeply, *sob*.

"No."

Han Zhao felt his excitement was wasted! His beaming face instantly fell.

"My travel expenses."

"Huh?"

"I am entrusting them to your care for now." The man slowly turned around, his phoenix eyes lifting slightly, a faint, elusive smile playing on his lips.

"We will regroup in a few days when we reach Heng County."

Han Zhao felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him.

What? This man was planning to go to the Far North exile grounds with them?

"Then, then the... the court..." Han Zhao stammered. He wanted to ask what would happen to the affairs of the imperial court.

The other man gave him a gentle smile, but it was so cold it felt like a bucket of ice water being poured over him.

"The Heavenly Fire is coming. Who can care about anyone else now? Naturally, the best course of action is for everyone to save their own lives."

"Rest assured, those who are meant to die will die. Not a single one will survive."

Han Zhao felt a chill from head to toe. He didn't even know how he made it back; he returned to the camp like a walking corpse.

Seeing him return, his younger brother Han Li hurried forward to take the pile of bundles from his arms. "Why are there so many things? What did His Highness say?"

Han Zhao pulled his brother down to sit. After glancing around and seeing that everyone had fallen asleep and no one was watching, he took a deep breath. "This world... it might truly fall into chaos. A-Li, prepare yourself!"

On the other side, Zhu Yan followed behind his master in silence, not daring to lift his head even an inch.

He only knew that if his master remained silent, he must not chatter, otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died...

A dark shadow suddenly landed in front of the two, cupping their hands in salute. "Your Highness, the person is over there."

"Mhm. Let's go take a look."

Zhu Yan didn't know what they were going to see, so he silently followed behind them up the mountain.

Looking up, he saw many dark shadows on the mountain peak; several people were standing by the pool.

With his keen eyesight, he could vaguely see a woman submerged in the pool, her hair disheveled, looking like a madwoman.

Seeing the newcomers, the woman struggled violently and screamed, "Crown Prince, you dare—you dare kidnap me from the palace in the middle of the night? Are you not afraid His Majesty will punish you?"

With a single look from the man, someone by the pool kicked the woman deep into the water, causing her to gulp down a mouthful of water with a "glug-glug-glug" sound.

"Ugh, ahhh, ahhh..."

Following behind his master, Zhu Yan didn't dare even breathe loudly.

This was Noble Lady He, the most favored person in the palace recently; the Emperor intended to promote her to Imperial Noble Consort. Rumors were even spreading inside and outside the court that once Noble Lady He gave birth to another son, she could even become the Empress.

"Become Empress?" Xiao Jinzhi's smile deepened, tender and lingering. "Do you even deserve to be compared to my mother?"

"I had no intention of entangling myself with you, but you insist on jumping around all day, causing me nothing but annoyance."

The Crown Prince reached out and took the sword handed to him by Zhu Yan, using the hilt to press against the woman's head, pushing her inch by inch into the water.

"Do you realize how truly annoying you all are? I don't have enough time to bicker with a bunch of clowns like you all day."

"Do you people have nothing better to do?"

He curled his slender fingers. "Bring them up."

A group of men, women, young, and old were escorted forward by a dozen black-clad secret guards, all of them bound hand and foot, weeping and wailing in terror.

Noble Lady He stared at the crowd by the pool with eyes nearly bursting from rage, screaming in terror, "Mother! Father! Eldest Brother! Nephew..."

"Xiao Jinzhi, Xiao Jinzhi, are you mad? You can't do this! Xiao Jinzhi!" Noble Lady He shrieked, splashing frantically in the pool. "I was wrong, Your Highness, I was wrong! I won't fight for it anymore, I won't dare compete with you! Please spare my family, spare them!"

The Crown Prince narrowed his phoenix eyes, watching her with an icy gaze. "With just you? You think you're worthy of competing with me?"

"Every one of you thinks you can cling to power without paying any price. Acting with impunity in the capital all day long, unchecked." The Crown Prince took a deep breath and lightly flicked his finger. "Kill them all."

As soon as the words fell, the secret guards swiftly drew their blades, cleanly carving bloody lines across the necks of the He family members.

Bodies fell to the ground, their life force vanishing in an instant.

Soaked in the cold pool water, Noble Lady He shuddered violently and let out a piercing, high-pitched scream.

She splashed the water desperately, her voice rising in a scream, "Xiao Jinzhi, you monster, you're not human! No wonder your Imperial Father dislikes you so much, no wonder he sent you to Yan as a hostage from a young age! You should never have come back! You should have died out there, just like your slut of a mother, buried underground forever!"

Two heavy slaps from the secret guards silenced her shrill insults.

The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, showing no sign of being offended, only watching her with a smile. "Rest assured, the Emperor will die, and everything in Yan will die too. They will all go down to accompany you and your son."

"No..." Noble Lady He let out a cry of despair. "You can't kill my Nan'er, he is also your brother, no..."

The Crown Prince wiped his hands and turned away, gesturing for the guards to deal with the woman.

"Your Highness, Prince Cheng has been making some movements in Wanzhou these past few days."

"It doesn't matter." The Crown Prince waved a slender finger, a faint smile on his lips. "In the wasteland, if he wants to fight, let him."

*

Before three o'clock the next day, while the group of exiles were still in a daze of sleep, they were startled awake by a miserable howl.

Xin Nian was currently sleeping with a cloth covering her face; partly to prevent mosquito bites, and partly to block the light for easier sleep.

Tucking the fine cotton cloth into her bosom, Xin Nian sat up holding her mother's hand, her lips curling into an interested smile.

She saw Mao Hu-zi rolling and crawling toward them as if he had seen a ghost, wailing loudly.