The crown prince's gaze landed on Zhang Lie. Not only had Zhang Lie not suffered any injuries, his clothes weren't dusty at all. He seemed like someone who had just taken a walk in a garden rather than having escaped a beast stampede.
This sort of situation made Zhang Lie seem even more inscrutable.
Just then, the general asked, "Crown prince, what happened to the rest of your retinue?"
As far as he could recall, the crown prince's party initially had almost a thousand members. Now, there were fewer than a hundred left.
The crown prince replied, "The beast stampede happened far too suddenly. In order to rush back as quickly as I could, I only brought a group of elites back with me. Along the way, we encountered two or three waves of fourth-level beasts, and we ended up losing quite a few members of our party."
The general sighed. "How unlucky!"
The crown prince asked in worry, "Is Father alright?"
The king of the realm's safety would determine whether he could become the next emperor. He thought that there was a very good chance that he would inherit the throne barring any mishap, but if something were to happen to the king of the realm now...
The ninth prince replied, "With the general guarding the camp, how could something have happened?"
"In that case, ninth brother, let's make sure that Father's alright ourselves."
"You've spoken my mind, eldest brother."
The two princes arrived at the entrance to the golden tent, whereupon they were admitted.
"Father, we apologize for coming to your assistance too late."
The king of the realm lay in his bed, weak and tired. "I'm perfectly fine—my life hasn't been threatened, and you've all done nothing wrong. Come, enter!"
The king of the realm's face looked particularly pallid and ashen. As the two princes entered, he began to cough wildly, as though he were truly not long for this world.
Zhang Lie coughed himself, inwardly muttering about the king of the realm's flair for the dramatic.
The first prince replied, "Out of concern for your safety, Father, we rushed back as soon as we could."
The king of the realm replied hoarsely, "It must have been a difficult journey for you both."
The crown prince's eyes flashed with anxiety and tears. "I was so worried for you, Father!"
Zhang Lie glared at the ninth prince.?Look at how good an actor your eldest brother is! He could easily have received an Oscar back on Earth—he's an actor in his bones, waylaid by the blood of royalty!
The ninth prince hurriedly stepped forward. "Father, I couldn't bear the thought of you being in danger."
Zhang Lie nodded.?Very good—at the very least, he could keep up with the crown prince.
"Now that I've confirmed that you're safe, Father, I'm very relieved." Suddenly, however, the crown prince clutched at his abdomen.
The general grew alarmed. "What's the matter, crown prince?"
The crown prince gritted out, "It's nothing. I was injured on the way back, but there were more important things to worry about at that point. With Father safe, though..."
"Eldest brother, let me help you bandage your wound!" the ninth prince offered.
"No, no, there's no need."
Zhang Lie smiled to himself. He stepped out of the golden tent and shouted, "Imperial physician! We need the imperial physician! The crown prince is about to succumb to his injuries!"
The crown prince's forehead beaded with sweat. "No, no, I'm quite alright. It's only a minor injury, and there's no need to make such a fuss."
The ninth prince advised, "No, eldest brother, you need to be more careful! These beasts are cunning and vile, and who knows what sorts of poison and disease they might carry?"
The crown prince realized that he had taken his acting a step too far, and the ninth prince and Zhang Lie were taking advantage of that opening.
The king of the realm sighed. "That the two of you could return so quickly is all I could ask for."
The king of the realm tried to smooth things over, his eyes betraying his words and revealing that he had seen through everything.
Nevertheless, it was too late. The imperial physician was already making his way over. After inspecting the crown prince's injuries, he was subject to a murderous glare from the crown prince.
He coughed and stammered, "The c-crown prince's injuries are r-rather serious..."
The crown prince was still looking at him expectantly, causing the imperial physician to suddenly change his stance. "...but thanks to his strength, vigor, and youthful physique, he's already starting to recover. I'll write him a prescription to speed up his recovery and prevent infection." contemporary romance
The king of the realm nodded slowly. "Very well."
Only then did the imperial physician, his forehead beading with sweat, retreat. He glared at Zhang Lie as he stepped out of the tent.
The king of the realm's gaze landed on Zhang Lie. "You did very well. Even the crown prince suffered serious injuries, while you managed to protect the ninth prince perfectly. A reward is due, I believe."
The ninth prince lifted a hand to his mouth to cover up his smile.
The crown prince bowed and interjected, "Father, perhaps we should deal with the beast stampede first?"
The king of the realm nodded.
The general asked, "Princes, the two of you returned from deep within the hunting grounds. Were you able to discover any reason for the stampede?"
The reason the general hadn't asked this question earlier was because he didn't expect the ninth prince to know anything. On the other hand, the crown prince, who had once quelled a rebellion, had some experience dealing with this sort of affair.
The crown prince shook his head. "All I can say is that this beast stampede happened so suddenly and in such great numbers that it was likely a manmade incident, but I have no proof of such."
The ninth prince added, "It was the Jinghun clan."
The king of the realm frowned. "The Jinghun clan!"
"Do you have any evidence, ninth brother?"
The ninth prince shook his head. "I learned of the matter and their involvement from my master."
The king of the realm turned to Zhang Lie. "Indeed?"
Zhang Lie bowed. "Your majesty, I am confident in my hypothesis."
"And what do these Jinghun have to do with the beast stampede?"
"They're able to control genetic lifeforms—the beasts that you refer to. The third- and fourth-level lifeforms I slew possessed crystalline growths that serve as evidence for their involvement."
The ninth prince took out a translucent shard of crystal, which he had claimed from the carcasses.
"These crystals were introduced into these lifeforms' bodies by the Jinghun, who subsequently induced their growth and masterminded this stampede."
The king of the realm asked, "Can we break them free of this compulsion?"
Zhang Lie shook his head. "Only the Jinghun clan can control these crystals. Unless you destroy the crystalline growth on these lifeforms' bodies or kill the lifeforms themselves, you can't break them free of the compulsion. Fortunately, the Jinghun can't control lifeforms that are too intelligent."
The crown prince understood the subtext behind Zhang Lie's words. "In that case, you suspect that there are Jinghun within the hunting grounds. Are you able to find them?"
Zhang Lie shook his head. "Unfortunately, that's outside of my abilities."
Zhang Lie wanted to watch the show unfold, after all.
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