The Demon Prince

Outside the door, Li Wangshu immediately pushed the door open and came in; she had obviously been waiting outside.

Her eyes first fell on Xiao Xingyue, and only when she saw that he was still sitting did her expression soften somewhat:

"Mother, I..."

Consort Shu looked at her and said, "Come back to the palace with me."

Li Wangshu became anxious: "But he's injured."

Consort Shu didn't give her a chance to continue being stubborn: "Let's go."

This time, the tone was very strong, and Li Wangshu was stunned.

Xiao Xingyue waved her hand and said, "Go back. If you stay here, I'll have to spend more time comforting you."

Li Wangshu's eyes reddened: "Who needs your coaxing!"

Consort Shu took her away.

The main hall of the Prince's Mansion fell silent once again.

As Xiao Xingyue watched the mother and daughter walk away, the smile on his face faded slightly. "Jiang Shuying didn't want Li Wangshu to stay because she didn't want her daughter to take risks with me."

This matter has already involved the imperial examinations, the Hanlin Academy, the Jiang family of Jiangnan, and may even have reached the emperor's doorstep.

"If Li Wangshu stays in the Prince's mansion, he'll only get dragged deeper into trouble, but I'm fine; I was already in the abyss anyway."

Xiao Xingyue chuckled self-deprecatingly, then called out, "Manfu, Yuanbao, Feng Lie."

The three left and ran in, with Chen Manfu leading the way: "This old servant is here."

Feng Lie followed behind, while Zhao Yuanbao carried the account book, his face tense.

Xiao Xingyue began, "Feng Lie, investigate the assassins' origins, route, weapons, footwork, and old wounds on the corpses from last night..."

Feng Lie clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes."

Xiao Xingyue looked at Chen Manfu:

"Investigate the source of the poison."

Chen Manfu nodded: "This old servant will go right away."

Xiao Xingyue then looked at Zhao Yuanbao:

"Take men and keep an eye on the Hanlin Academy, especially the officials Xie Yuheng is close to. Record who goes out in the middle of the night, who goes to the pharmacy, who goes to the gambling den, who meets with guests... write it all down."

Zhao Yuanbao swallowed.

Chen Manfu couldn't help but ask:

"Is the Crown Prince trying to set things right and restore order to the court?"

Xiao Xingyue looked serious:

"Wrong! It's an opportunity to form cliques and pursue personal gain... to make the Jiang family of Jiangnan and the Hanlin Academy work for me!"

Chen Manfu quickly pulled Yuanbao and Feng Lie away, shushing them before they left, "Young Master, could you please not say such things so loudly next time?"

"roll!"

The three quickened their pace.

After everyone left, only Xiao Xingyue remained in the hall.

He looked down at his palm; the knuckles were distinct, and the skin was white and clean, but the blood of Shen Yan and the assassins had not yet been washed away.

Kyoto is a dangerous place, a den of dragons and tigers. Any big shot could easily send out a group of skilled assassins.

If Li Shunhua and Qin Zhenyue hadn't arrived at the right time, and if Shen Yan hadn't blocked the knife for him, his life would be in serious danger...

"Ultimately, I'm still too weak. A third-rank skill might be respectable to ordinary people, but on the chessboard of Kyoto, I'm at best a piece that can bounce around. I must quickly improve my cultivation level. I need to practice the second level of the Holy Dragon Technique!"

Xiao Xingyue clenched his fists, regaining his fighting spirit.

……

Back in the inner courtyard.

After Li Wangshu was taken away by Consort Shu, the place became unusually quiet, with little chatter.

Raindrops still clung to the leaves of the trees in the courtyard. When the wind blew, the water droplets fell and pattered on the stone table.

Xiao Xingyue had just pushed open the door when he suddenly stopped.

He looked up and saw a figure sitting on the roof ridge, dressed in black, carrying a long spear, his hair ribbon fluttering in the wind, looking dashing and heroic.

Li Shunhua looked down at him, and in the lingering darkness, her face showed a hint of awkwardness than usual.

Xiao Xingyue chuckled: "Eighth Princess, why do you always like to sneak over the wall to find me late at night?"

Li Shunhua jumped off the roof, landing silently. She then placed her gun aside.

"I'm here to protect you because I'm afraid you'll be assassinated again and implicate my grandfather."

Xiao Xingyue looked at her and said, "Tell the truth."

Li Shunhua's face immediately turned uncomfortable, and she turned her head away:

"After passing on the Holy Dragon Technique to you... I need to start practicing it again, otherwise my grandfather and father will eventually notice that my cultivation level has regressed, but I... can't quite grasp that feeling anymore."

Xiao Xingyue crossed his arms over his chest, looking disgusted. "What do you mean? You want to cultivate with me?"

Li Shunhua nearly drew her gun: "You wish! Are you going to practice or not? Seeing how badly you were beaten last night, you probably won't even make it to the second level, right? I can help you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Xingyue had already grabbed her wrist.

Li Shunhua was startled: "What are you doing?"

Xiao Xingyue pulled the person into the house: "Practice your skills! Such a good thing, delaying even a moment is disrespectful to the Holy Dragon Skill."

"Xiao Xingyue!"

The door slammed shut.

Only the sound of the wind could be heard in the courtyard, and the candlelight inside the house flickered all night.

……

Just before dawn, the birds chirped twice in the courtyard, and Zhao Yuanbao, carrying a letter, hurriedly ran into the inner courtyard:

"Your Highness! A messenger has been sent from the Beitang Prefecture!"

He had just finished shouting when the door opened, but instead of Xiao Xingyue, it was Li Shunhua who came out, supporting her waist.

Zhao Yuanbao's pupils contracted, and he immediately covered his eyes and knelt down with a thud:

"I didn't see anything! Don't kill me!"

Li Shunhua's ears burned instantly. She gritted her teeth, turned around, and shouted into the inner room:

"Xiao Xingyue! You'd better explain this to your people!"

If you dare to go out and talk nonsense, I'll rip out your tongues!

Xiao Xingyue's lazy voice came from inside the house:

"Did you hear that? Hachiko is going to pull out his tongue."

Zhao Yuanbao knelt even lower:

"I went blind last night and deaf this morning; I know nothing."

Li Shunhua snorted coldly, picked up her spear, and scaled the wall to leave.

Only after the footsteps had faded into the distance did Zhao Yuanbao cautiously raise his head.

Just as he was about to enter the house, a suction force suddenly locked him in.

"Hey hey hey!"

Zhao Yuanbao was dragged into the house, and the door closed by itself.

Xiao Xingyue sat cross-legged on the couch, palms facing outwards, his aura flowing around him, much stronger than the night before.

Zhao Yuanbao lay on the ground, his eyes wide open.

"Young Master, what kind of martial art are you using?"

Xiao Xingyue withdrew his hand, and the teacup on the table swayed gently before being pulled into his hand by an invisible force.

The second level of the Holy Dragon Skill is the Dragon-Capturing Technique.

Xiao Xingyue took a sip of cold tea: "It's alright."

Zhao Yuanbao's face lit up with surprise:

"How come the young master's martial arts are so amazing?"

Xiao Xingyue glanced at him:

"Or do you think I practiced with Li Shunhua all night for nothing?"

Zhao Yuanbao's expression became complex, first shock, then admiration, and finally, deep sorrow:

"Young Master, are you really only practicing martial arts? The Eighth Princess is so beautiful, you're wasting her."

Xiao Xingyue raised his hand and sucked, sending the shoehorn flying into his palm:

"Let's get down to business."

Zhao Yuanbao immediately picked up the letter and handed it over with both hands:

"The Beitang Prefecture sent someone to tell you that the Seventh Princess requests your presence, saying it's to compensate you for the medicine-making."

Xiao Xingyue opened the letter, glanced at it, and thought, "That old fox Beitang Jimin and that little fox Li Miaoqing, they really dare to send him to the pharmacy?"

Good, excellent! He's exactly looking for ways to improve his strength. He should learn as much as he can in medicine, elixirs, and poison techniques.

Xiao Xingyue stood up and stretched his wrists:

"Alchemy is great! This young master loves learning the most."