A Psychiatrist's Bizarre Game Journey / Dream of the Mist

The man paused upon seeing Zhou Ke'er's face, stunned for a moment, before seemingly realizing what she meant and stammering, "I remember now, you are... I remember you were from another squad, I remember your face very clearly... your name is... your name is..."

"Red Crane, my name is Red Crane, do you remember now?"

Zhou Ke'er answered very considerately. Seeing that the man subconsciously showed a puzzled expression upon hearing this, she quickly changed the subject to prevent him from continuing to dwell on his identity: "But that's not important. Don't you want to know why this just happened?!"

"!"

The young man nodded immediately, his hand trembling as he pointed to the mangled corpse of Commander Chen lying on the ground. He said to Zhou Ke'er, "You must give me a reasonable explanation! Otherwise..."

"It's very simple!"

With a serious and earnest expression (although her villainous female supporting character appearance made her look like she was plotting some kind of conspiracy when she got serious), Zhou Ke'er confidently stepped aside, "Because that Commander Chen... is a fake! He was impersonated by a villain! Did you come here with him? Why didn't you notice this on the way?"

"What?! It's fake? How is that possible?! What makes you think that?!"

Upon hearing this, the young man couldn't help but show a shocked expression and asked incredulously.

"Hmph, there are just too many flaws!"

Zhou Ke'er remained completely calm and explained without blushing or panting, "First of all, he didn't even recognize me, and under my misleading influence, he naturally called me by the wrong name. Secondly, he didn't even recognize the eldest daughter of the Prince of Zhenbei, nor the Crown Prince Shi An. That's really unbelievable, isn't it?"

Moreover...most importantly, when he learned that the injured and fallen man was Crown Prince Shi An, the son of the current emperor, he suddenly launched a violent attack, attempting to kill him and plotting rebellion—this could practically be considered treason!

At this point, Zhou Ke'er paused, glanced at the other person's blank expression, and then concluded, "You're saying that not only does he not recognize the person he should recognize, but he also dared to attack the Crown Prince? What else could he be but a fake spy? Or has he suddenly gone mad?!"

"this..."

The young man staggered back two steps, glancing at Shi An and Lengchitu in surprise, muttering something unintelligible.

"Huh?! No...you came with him, and...you don't seem to recognize us either?"

Zhou Ke'er narrowed her eyes, then suddenly turned the tables on him, accusing him of the opposite: "Could it be that you're also a fake spy?! I never imagined that the Prince of Yan's Guard had been infiltrated to such an extent... Just who are you?!"

"No...no! It's just that my official rank is too low, so I've never seen the Crown Prince's face. But I've heard about him before, and now that I've seen him, I think he's truly extraordinary and heroic!"

Upon hearing this, the young man frantically shook his head, denying it while trying to praise Shi An.

Shi An, lying on the ground, couldn't help but twitch his lips—he was already looking so pathetic, where did you get that heroic and extraordinary aura from?! And was he really that easily fooled? Are all the Yan Prince's guards brainless?!

However, he didn't intend to expose Zhou Ke'er's lie. After all, his life was still in Zhou Ke'er's hands, and he couldn't escape. Even if he told the truth to that guy, what difference would it make?

Should we let that guy get killed by Zhou Ke'er and Dio again? Even if he's lucky enough to escape, it won't help Shi An at all.

If Shi An cooperates with Zhou Ke'er's lie, at least Zhou Ke'er will not take action against him for the time being in order to maintain the credibility of the lie. This gives him time to recover his strength and recuperate, which is better than recklessly rushing in blindly.

Meanwhile, Song Yi, who was gradually becoming invisible, was completely confused about the current relationships on the field. At first, Shi An and Zhou Ke'er were at odds with him and Dio, then inexplicably Dio and Zhou Ke'er joined forces against Shi An, and now they've become a united front...

It's a complete mess...it's driving him crazy.

## Chapter 325 320. The Grand Imperial Examination (Thirty-Five)

"Alright, alright, do you think there's any point in flattering him here? The situation is urgent, there's no need for all this formalities... We have extremely important classified information, why don't you take us to the palace to see the Emperor right now!"

Zhou Ke'er casually interrupted the man's flattery of Shi An, who was lying on the ground in a disheveled state, and pressed him further.

To be honest, he didn't really believe that the other party would so easily believe the nonsense he had just made up, but whether the other party believed it or not... did it matter? It was just giving both parties a reasonable excuse. Actions are judged by deeds, not intentions. As long as the other party did what Zhou Ke'er asked, why should Zhou Ke'er care whether he believed it or not?

Hey... come to think of it, Zhou Ke'er still doesn't know this guy's name...

"This... but I am merely a deputy centurion of the Prince of Yan's Guard. How could I possibly be qualified to meet His Majesty? Let alone take you to meet His Majesty... At most, I can only report your situation to my superiors and let them decide what to do."

Upon hearing this, the man looked troubled and shook his head in refusal.

"Hey, are you misunderstanding something...? This is the Crown Prince, the Emperor's own son. Do you think you need to announce his arrival to see the Emperor?"

Zhou Ke'er pointed at Shi An, "Besides, he's so badly injured right now, shouldn't he go to the palace to have the imperial physician treat him? We just want you to escort us there, don't you understand that?!"

"Hmm...but what about the others..."

The man glanced at the others present with a troubled expression, his meaning clear.

“Hey, this is the eldest daughter of the Prince of Zhenbei. What’s wrong with her going to the palace with Shi An? This is an envoy sent by the Great Qin to pay homage. She was besieged by rebels and rioters on her way. Now that she has been rescued, she can continue her homage. What’s wrong with that? At worst, we can just tell that Song Yi not to go.”

Zhou Ke'er, looking completely unconcerned, pointed at the Cold Rabbit and Dior, explaining to the man.

"and you...."

"Is it wrong for me to be involved with the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince is taking me back to the palace to meet his family, do you have a problem with that?"

Zhou Ke'er made up a story offhand with a straight face.

Although Shi An was speechless, he did not refute her.

Left with no other option, the man had no choice but to lead Zhou Ke'er and her entourage toward the palace.

................................................

Meanwhile, inside the palace.

Zhang Buyan was thrown to the ground with his hair disheveled, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, and one of his legs was twisted at an eerie angle, clearly broken.

"Zhang Buyan...the Zhang family..."

A middle-aged man who looked elegant and spoke with an air of authority looked at Zhang Buyan on the ground, muttering to himself. His eyes were unfathomable, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The eunuch Li Yu, who had just saved the cold-cooked rabbit, stood respectfully behind the man with his head bowed, as if nothing had happened and he hadn't seen anything.

It was obvious that there was no need to guess; one could immediately discern the man's identity—the Emperor.

"Ah, Your Highness, do you still remember Empress Zhang by the Daming Lake?"

Blood trickled from the corner of Zhang Buyan's mouth as he looked at the man with a bitter smile, his hair disheveled and his appearance like that of a madman.

"Daming Lake? Where is that?"

The Emperor's eyes were unreadable, and he did not directly answer Zhang Buyan's question, but instead began to change the subject.

"...That's not important, I just said it offhand."

Zhang Buyan choked upon hearing this, his previous imposing manner weakening slightly. He forced himself to regain his composure, offering a perfunctory reply before looking directly at the emperor and asking, word by word, "However, I do see something, and it is truly disheartening... Your Highness would rather dwell on this non-existent Daming Lake, a place I casually uttered, than mention Empress Zhang, who once deeply loved you?! Indeed, the imperial family is the most ruthless..."

"Insolence! How dare you spout such nonsense?!"

Li Yu frowned and scolded Zhang Buyan.

The emperor, who was standing to the side, waved his hand at him, signaling Li Yu not to say anything more.

"Ha, I'm talking nonsense? Then answer me, why did Empress Zhang die suddenly from a cold not long after giving birth? And why did the child born to Empress Zhang disappear without a trace afterward, never appearing before the world?"

Zhang Buyan sneered, "And why... when the Qin delegation left the capital after their audience with the emperor, did they have an extra carriage? After so many years of investigation, I finally discovered a shocking secret a few days ago during negotiations with the Qin envoy... Coincidentally, in the same year Empress Zhang passed away, Qin gained a Han Chinese concubine..."

"boom!"

As Zhang Buyan finished speaking, a cracking sound, though not loud, was extremely jarring in the quiet room.

But the emperor's hand, which had been resting on the armrest of his chair, suddenly clenched, crushing a small piece of the armrest.

His expression was no longer solemn, but rather somewhat unpleasant. Although he had hidden it well, his eyes still revealed a hint of inner turmoil.

"Watch your words! Do you know what you're saying?!"

Even Li Yu, who had maintained a cold expression throughout his confrontation with Wei Mingquan, couldn't help but show a look of alarm. He first glanced at the emperor beside him, then hurriedly reprimanded Zhang Buyan, interrupting him.

"I didn't know what the purpose of this was until I met Wei Mingquan."

Zhang Buyan probably felt that he had no chance of escaping now, so he might as well take a gamble and tell them everything he knew to see if the other party would choose to kill him to silence him or if they had other tricks up their sleeve.

"you..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu's expression turned anxious, and he immediately wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the emperor beside him. Although the emperor's tone was still calm, it seemed as if he was trying his best to suppress and restrain something. He asked in a deep voice, "What do you know? There's no need to keep me in suspense. Tell me everything."

"What do I know?"

Zhang Buyan sneered: "I know everything! To seize the Qin Dynasty's century-old foundation without shedding a drop of blood, what a clever tactic! The next successor of the Qin Empire who is leading the Qin delegation to pay homage now, that must be you! Although I don't know exactly how you did it, but... sacrificing someone who deeply loves you to achieve such a despicable result, are you happy now?!"

## Chapter 326 321. The Grand Imperial Examination in the Capital (Thirty-Six)

Zhou Ke'er and the others followed behind the man—the man's name was Qi Yangjie, which Zhou Ke'er had just learned through her subtle questioning.

Zhou Ke'er seemed to understand why Qi Yangjie hadn't questioned her fabricated reasons at all. It was because... there wasn't the large group of Yan Wang Wei subordinates she had expected outside; he was the only one there. So, seeing that even his superior, Chen Baihu, had been taken down by Zhou Ke'er and her group, he probably didn't dare raise any objections.

However... it cannot be ruled out that he is still not giving up and is secretly plotting to harm Zhou Ke'er and the others, or leading them into some kind of trap.

But... after all, the palace is within sight. Although it's still a bit of a distance to get there, it's impossible for him to take us somewhere else, right?

"Da da da..."

The sound of horses' hooves gradually fading into the distance pulled Zhou Ke'er back to reality.

Several fine horses pulled a magnificent, exquisitely decorated carriage that passed by in the distance, seemingly heading towards the palace.

"That was the carriage of the head of the delegation sent by the Great Qin Kingdom. I heard that he is also the next successor of the Great Qin Empire."

Seeing the curious expressions on the faces of the people around him, Qi Yangjie explained before anyone could ask.

"..."

Zhou Ke'er glanced at Qi Yangjie without showing any emotion—even though there was a "Great Qin Envoy" Dio here, Qi Yangjie still acted as if he knew that Zhou Ke'er and the others couldn't possibly know who the vehicle belonged to, and subconsciously explained to everyone... Clearly, he didn't believe what Zhou Ke'er had just said at all.

"..."

Dior seemed to have noticed this as well, squinting and staring at the back of Qi Yangjie's head for a while, but ultimately said nothing.

"What are the Qin delegation doing at the palace at this hour? They couldn't have been summoned, could they? The Qin army was just attacking the capital..."

Seeing the atmosphere was somewhat silent and no one was asking the question, Cold Rabbit had no choice but to ask it herself.

"this..."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yangjie looked troubled and shook his head, saying, "I don't know either... I'm just a mere deputy centurion of the Yan Prince's Guard..."

Zhou Ke'er didn't intend to ask Qi Yangjie what was going on. After all, it was obvious that he couldn't possibly give a meaningful answer, so it was better not to waste her breath.

Besides, they're all going in eventually anyway, so once they're inside, they'll find out what that guy was up to. There's no rush to ask that question.

"!"

and many more...

Just then, a sudden, inexplicable flash of inspiration struck Zhou Ke'er, and a strange new conjecture popped into her mind:

Is it possible that... the emperor's intended reincarnation wasn't actually aimed at the Prince of Zhenbei, but rather at... the next successor of the Great Qin Empire? After all... compared to this kind of succession within one's own country, although immortality is achieved, it feels too limited in scope... if the real goal was to annex another powerful empire without bloodshed, then that would be more respectable.

However... sigh, that's obviously unlikely. After all, the emperor's avatar created through that technique... it's possible it went to become the Prince of Zhenbei, but to go to such a far place as Qin and become the successor of that country... that's too surreal and realistic. It seems highly improbable.