The Weak Prince Is A Cultivation God
Chapter 28: Into The Dark

Chapter 28: Into The Dark

[All Previous Quests Have Been Completed Successfully]

[You Have Unlocked: Solaris Bloodline]

[You Have Received: The Devil’s Lie (B-Grade)]

[Rewards have been added to Sub-Space]

[New Quest Issued]

[Escape The Imperial City]

Leave The Imperial City Alive and Uncaptured

Reward: Script of Godly Alchemy ]

Lan stared at the notifications, his breath caught in his throat.

The Script of Godly Alchemy...

It was a manual, no, far more than that. In his former life, wars were fought over it. Entire empires burned because of it. It was said the one who mastered its final form could transmute even fate itself.

And now? It was promised to him. For doing what he was already planning.

Was that not...too easy?

His fingers trembled slightly, but what truly caught his breath was the line before it.

The Devil’s Lie.

A weapon so dangerous and mysterious that even at the height of his former power, he had feared it. He hadn’t earned it back then— just survived it. Now the system offered it to him... like a gift.

Was this fair? What was the true price?

"Want me to get you some sheets and covers so you can sleep at the window?" Iris’s voice broke the tension like new wind through fog.

Lan blinked, then looked up. She crouched on the angled stone roof outside his chamber window, half her face shadowed by the moonlight, her cloak fluttering.

He gave a crooked grin, then climbed out after her, bracing his hands on the ledge and pushing himself onto the slanted tiles. He crouched beside her.

"Sorry," he said, breath fogging in the cool night air. "I was distracted."

Iris arched a brow. "You’ve got that face again."

"What face?"

"Forget it," she turned.

"So tell me... what exactly is the situation?" Lan scanned the rooftops.

Chimneys puffed smoke in the distance. Lamps flickered like stars in alley mouths far below. Even now, the capital didn’t yet rest.

"Whatever you used against Corvin made more noise than you can handle," Iris replied. "It was felt throughout the city and even drew the attention of my father. Expectedly they’d be interested in seeing who caused such a ruckus."

She didn’t look at him when she spoke. Her eyes were scanning shadows, gauging every rooftop ledge and guard patrol light.

"The imperial court may have no plans to harm or punish you—might even want to just satisfy their curiosity," she continued, "but they’re not the only ones. You might have to face either of my brothers, who might swiftly end your life if you don’t throw yourself in submission. And worse... there’s Duke Gallingher. A grieving father who would stop at nothing to make sure you’re dead."

Lan exhaled. "Seems I’ve caught the attention of bad eyes... and made even worse enemies."

"Well yeah," she said simply, adjusting the strap of her cloak. "But it’s part of the job."

Lan chuckled. "If this is the job, the benefits better be divine."

"Only if you survive long enough," Iris replied.

She rose and leapt to the next roof without another word, landing in a crouch. Lan followed, his boots silent on stone. They moved across the top of the city like ghosts—vaulting gables, slipping between chimney stacks, crouching low whenever a torchlight passed beneath.

They passed the outer wings of the palace, then into the merchant district. The night carried voices. Gossip.

"Did you hear what happened at the imperial banquet?"

"Aye. They say a lightning bolt fell from the sky itself!"

"They say it was cast by one of the guests—one of the princess’s picks."

"Someone said it was the Solaris prince!"

"No way. That one’s a cripple, isn’t he? Couldn’t summon a mana thread if his life depended on it."

Lan smirked dry and angrily beneath his hood as they slipped past.

"I hate this city," he muttered.

"Good," Iris said. "You’ll be more motivated to leave."

But then—

"Stop! Identify yourself!"

A voice from below. A torchlight flashing upward. Another shout.

"Up there!"

Three guards spotted them from the far end of the alley.

"Move!" Iris hissed.

Lan didn’t need the encouragement.

They bolted across the rooftop, tiles slipping underfoot. The guards shouted and split into two groups—one trying to follow along the roofs, the others ducking into the alley below.

Lan and Iris dropped down from a ledge, hit the ground, rolled, then vanished into a web of narrow paths. The guards followed, boots clanging against cobblestones.

Iris grabbed Lan’s arm, yanking him left.

"This way!"

Through a broken archway.

Then right, into the side of a crumbling chapel. Then a straight run through a long, dark corridor where they slid beneath a collapsed beam.

Voices chased behind them.

They burst out into the lower west quarter—a place of broken music and swaying lanterns. Lanterns painted crimson with the glow of lust.

The brothel district.

"Blend in!" Iris snapped.

Lan straightened his back and dropped his hood. Iris threw her cloak over one shoulder, adjusted her sash, and leaned in close, looping her arm through his. Their pace slowed, their eyes scanning the crowd without turning their heads. _{fre(e)webnove.l.c.om}

Music clanged from a nearby den. Laughter rolled like it were thunder. Drunks swayed past, arms slung around waistlines they’d never afford in daylight. Perfumed air clung insistently around them.

A group of guards shoved through the crowd.

"You seen anyone suspicious?"

"Only you, handsome," a woman in scarlet giggled, leaning against the armored man. He tried to push her aside.

Another guard was grabbed by a staggering drunk who slurred something about a debt owed and a goat.

Lan and Iris slipped deeper into the crowd, bumping shoulders with strangers. A whore pinched Lan’s cheek.

"You’re cute, prince."

Lan froze. His heart stuttered.

She winked. "Don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t tell."

He kept walking.

"Do I look like a prince?" he muttered under his breath.

"Unfortunately," Iris whispered back. "Try slouching."

They passed the entrance of the Red Siren, where two half-naked men danced on columns and a woman sang with a voice like soft cloth dragged over knife.

Another patrol passed. They waited until the crowd shifted, then melted into the street beyond.

They ducked into a quiet alley behind a shuttered tavern. Iris put a hand on the wall, breathing steady. Lan listened for footsteps. None.

Silence.

They were clear. For now.

Lan leaned back, catching his breath. "Odd for a princess to be this good at sneaking around,"

Iris gave him a wicked smile, turned, and vaulted up a nearby crate to reach another rooftop.

"Keep up. We’re not out yet."

Lan sighed. Then followed.