Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 203 : Flower Demons’ Lair (4)

Chapter 203: Chapter 203 : Flower Demons’ Lair (4)

In light of the tragedy, Xie Jianyu and Zhang Fengxi did not have much to talk about afterward. They split ways once they arrived at the Heavenly Realm, each of them had specific tasks to attend to.

To fulfill his promise to the Three-Eyed Realm Wanderer, Xie Jianyu took the Soul Gathering Lantern to the Tree Of Life and hung it on one of its branches. He did not forget to offer up a prayer for the broken soul’s peace, and at the same time for his mother’s return to the right path.

Dutiful as always, the Crown Prince then went to report the situation to his father, the Heavenly Emperor. It was close to dawn, just minutes after the ruler of the entire heaven emerged from his bed chamber.

At the end of Xie Jianyu’s report, the Emperor could not help but let out a deep sigh.

"A truly tragic ending for a prince of one of the nine palaces," he remarked. "What did you two do with his corpse?"

"Prince Zhang Fengxi offered to deliver Liu Wenyuan’s remains to Wuyang Palace. Considering their past entanglement with each other, it is proper."

"Hmmm."

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at his youngest son; his inquisitive gaze made Xie Jianyu’s skin crawl from anxiety.

"What about you?"

"..."

"Have you investigated his real intention toward you?"

Xie Jianyu hesitated to answer for a while, but he then gave a curt nod.

"Zhang Fengxi does not seem to harbor any ill intention."

Now that Liu Wenyuan passed away in such a tragic manner, Xie Jianyu did not think that it was the right time to question Zhang Fengxi’s motives at all. It had to wait, until Zhang Fengxi got over his loss.

"Is the wedding still going on as planned?"

Xie Jianyu’s eyelashes jerked violently from the question.

"I..."

He did not know.

Maybe not.

Auspicious date or not, it did not matter, really.

"Liu Wenyuan just passed away. It is best to pay respect to the dead and console the mourning parties before we move on with the wedding."

The Heavenly Emperor tapped his fingers lightly on the marriage proposal from Longjing Palace that was still sprawled on the desk.

"Understood. Father will agree to the proposal on your behalf, but suggest postponing the wedding for now. Longjing Palace shall come up with a new wedding date and you will be notified immediately."

"Thank you, Father."

Xie Jianyu excused himself and went back to his Fuxi Palace. As soon as he left the Golden Dragon Palace’s tall and mighty gate, his iron will crumbled. He had to hold on to Wangshu’s reins tightly in order not to fall down.

When the Crown Prince arrived at Fuxi Palace’s gate, he slid down his heavenly steed and fell to the ground.

"YOUR MAJESTY!!!"

The guards quickly left their station to help their master.

Xie Jianyu pressed a hand against his stomach and groaned.

"Dear heavens, YOUR MAJESTY!"

Mingyu and Qingyun almost lost their souls when they saw the state their master was in.

"Sssh..."

Sweat poured down Xie Jianyu’s forehead incessantly.

"Don’t make too much noise, you will wake up the entire palace..."

"But... but... but Your Majesty, what’s with these injuries???" Mingyu stuttered. She rarely experienced her master in such a dire state after completing a mission, so she was naturally shaken.

The beta maids stacked pillows in the entrance hall and the guards lowered Xie Jianyu on top of them.

The head servant ordered the servants to bring dividers to grant Xie Jianyu some privacy while the maids helped to take off his armor and robe.

"Ngh...!!!"

Xie Jianyu flinched from pain when the iron plate that protected his waistband was removed. Deeply embedded in a thin gap between two protective plates was an arrowhead.

Susu, the demoness, viciously stabbed Xie Jianyu before she escaped.

"Give me a cloth to bite in," he told Qingyun.

"Y-yes, Master!"

Xie Jianyu bit into the roll of cloth before he grabbed the tail of the arrowhead and pulled it out of his stomach with one crafty tug.

He must have passed out for some time due to the pain, because he was startled awake when the servants moved him to his bed chamber. They had already finished bandaging his stomach a while ago.

"M-master, does it hurt very much?" Mingyu used a warm cloth to wipe beads of sweat off Xie Jianyu’s face from time to time.

"It is a lot better now."

Xie Jianyu closed his eyes. A slight hum escaped his lips when he felt the soothing warmth against his forehead.

"Master, would you care to drink some water?"

Qingyun approached the bed with a bowl of water. The two maids helped Xie Jianyu into a sitting position so that he could drink.

Despite the many pillows they stacked behind his back, every single movement still caused Xie Jianyu a lot of pain.

"I am okay," he whispered when the two maids started sobbing.

"Go to sleep, the two of you. You haven’t slept the entire night."

Mingyu and Qingyun exchanged worried glances.

"But, Your Majesty..."

Xie Jianyu closed his eyes and said, "Go now. I wish to be alone."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Both maids performed a curtsy in front of Xie Jianyu before they left the bed chamber.

Xie Jianyu pressed a hand against his eyes and sighed. A single name floated to his mind.

Zhang Fengxi, what was he doing at the moment?

Was the alpha probably regretting his choice of pursuing him?

If he had stayed with Liu Wenyuan no matter what, the omega would not have met such a tragic end in the hands of the Flower Demons.

Xie Jianyu grabbed his bedsheet and squeezed it.

It’s alright, he told himself. Better end the relationship now before it started to bloom, and dig its roots deep into Xie Jianyu’s heart.

This small pain was incomparable to the massive one later, when Zhang Fengxi realized that he had never gotten over his love for Liu Wenyuan.

THUMP

Xie Jianyu’s fingers dug deeper into the bedsheet.

Hurts.

It hurts so much.

An indescribable pain ripped through his slender body, causing him to curl up on the bed in a fetal position.

"Ah..."

Xie Jianyu gasped for breath.

After some time, the pain was replaced by something else.

A scorching heat spread from the wound in his stomach, burning its way to his fingertips and scalp.

Oh, no.

A cold wave of dread washed over him, causing him to tremble with realization.

The arrowhead was laced with aphrodisiacs.