On the Ark.

"How could this happen..." Ying Li murmured.

She already guessed who was inside the panda suit. Despite having warned them countless times, the person still came here.

You're insane! Why did you even come over here?! Are you really courting death?!

Right now, Ying Li really wanted to grab Lin Ye by the collar and shout out the question she'd just asked. But she couldn't even find Lin Ye anywhere. She was terrified he'd do something foolish, because at this point, she had no way to stop him. All she could do was pray silently, praying that Lin Ye had already left the venue.

"Your Highness," Elder Li stepped forward at the opportune moment and said in a low voice, "It is your turn to make your appearance."

Ying Li gritted her teeth, took a deep breath to calm herself down, and then followed Old Li up to the stands.

A burst of applause erupted from the audience. Ying Jie and Hao Guangzhuqing on stage were all smiles as they looked at her, but those smiles didn't make Ying Li feel any warmth; they only made her feel unfamiliar. However, there was nothing she could do. Ying Li could only force a smile that was equally emotionless and strained, and then, dressed in her finest attire, she appeared before the crowd.

……

"Her Highness actually went up on stage." The Iron-Eating Beast glared at Ying Li on the stage and said in a low voice, "I, Lin, did not succeed."

"Where did Dr. Lin go?" Grani asked anxiously.

At this moment, Ying Jie, standing on the stands, was reading a prepared speech with a beaming smile. The speech was a mixture of humor, a brother's care for his sister, reluctance to part with her upcoming marriage, and anticipation for a bright future—all these emotions were, of course, feigned by Ying Jie. But Ying Jie believed he could perfectly control these emotions; it was an essential skill for a qualified crown prince, and he poured almost all his energy into it.

So he didn't notice that a panda doll was slowly approaching from backstage, like a responsible mascot, swaying back and forth with a bouquet of flowers in its hand.

"That's Doctor Lin?!" Grani noticed the panda man behind Ying Jie, his mouth slightly agape, his face full of disbelief. "Why is he there?!"

The iron-eating beast was also surprised: "Did he go to the wrong place?"

“Rather than saying he went to the wrong place,” Warfarin’s lips twitched slightly, “I just want to know what he was doing there?”

Not only did the audience notice the panda man, but those on stage did too. Besides Ying Jie, who was completely absorbed in the performance, Hao Guangzhuqing also noticed the panda man standing behind him, but he didn't think much of it, assuming it was just a tradition of Yan Kingdom.

When Ying Li saw the panda man behind her, she immediately felt terrible.

He came; he still came.

Ying Li had no idea what Lin Ye was thinking. Feeling the gaze directed at her from behind, Ying Li froze, even trembling slightly with tension. She knew very well what it would mean if Lin Ye showed up at this moment. The dead prince would not be acknowledged, and even if the emperor were here, Lin Ye would only be sent to hell once again.

Please, Yingzhen. Please, please leave quickly!

I don't want to lose you a second time!

Ying Li screamed in her heart.

The panda standing behind her remained unmoved, its dark eyes reflecting Ying Jie's silhouette.

……

"Strange," Old Li murmured backstage. "Is there a part of the ceremony where the mascot presents the bouquet? I don't remember it."

Chen stared intently at the panda man. She didn't know his identity because Ying Li hadn't told her, so she assumed he was trying to disrupt the scene. Although she didn't know how he had gotten up there, she still gripped the hilt of Chi Xiao's sword, intending to draw it and rush forward to protect Ying Li should anything happen.

The atmosphere at the scene became eerie.

Most people don't know what the panda man does, and those who do know him are mostly terrified.

Except for the Messiah and the year.

Messiah maintained a smile throughout, as if watching a play.

Nian finally finished the snack in his hand, looked up at the crowd in the stands, wagged his tail, and then slowly lifted his foot.

Ying Jie's speech finally reached its climax.

He turned around "emotionally," intending to give Ying Li another heartfelt speech, deepening the sibling bond he had cultivated over the years. However, just a second before he turned, the panda man stepped forward and pulled Ying Li behind him. So when Ying Jie turned around, he didn't see Ying Li, but instead was met with a huge panda face, and couldn't help but freeze in shock.

In that instant of hesitation, the panda raised its paw.

Then it was smeared hard on his face.

"I've put up with you for a long time," the panda said angrily.

Before Ying Jie could react, he kicked him again, sending him flying off the stands.

Finally, to everyone's astonishment, the panda man turned around, picked up Ying Li, and ran away.

Chapter 581 The Criminal is a Panda Without Pants

It all happened so suddenly that most people hadn't even reacted when Ying Jie was kicked off the stands and Ying Li was carried away by the panda man. Most were bewildered, thinking it was all part of the planned plot, until they saw Ying Jie staggering and nearly falling off the stage, his expression shifting from shock to anger, and only then did they realize something was wrong.

"Damn it!" Ying Jie roared, "What are you all standing there for? Chase after them!"

The Imperial Guards at the scene had already given chase.

It's not fair to blame their slow reaction; rather, it's because the vast venue only had about a dozen Imperial Guards on duty for security and guard. The rest were waiting outside, as this was, after all, Her Highness's wedding day, and too much fighting was undesirable. Moreover, due to the limited number of personnel, the three hundred Imperial Guards stationed there adopted a strategy of tight defense on the outside and loose defense on the inside.

In other words, it was about preventing suspicious individuals from entering the venue, not preventing suspicious individuals from entering the venue... The mascot slapped the second prince of Yan Kingdom and then ran away with the princess. After all, even the elite troops of Yan Kingdom couldn't have imagined such a plot development. However, their professionalism was evident after the incident; before Ying Jie could even give an order, they had already given chase.

“卧槽卧槽卧槽。”食铁兽双手捂着面颊，做出了一个类似于表情包的动作，来表明她内心的震惊，“竟然还有这种操作的吗？！大庭广众之下揍皇子！简直……哎，话说林某人也是皇子啊，也就是皇子之间战斗吗？爱了爱了……”

Compared to the Iron-Eating Beast who was making sarcastic remarks from the sidelines, Grani was much more straightforward. Seeing the Imperial Guards chasing after Lin Ye, she immediately stood up from her chair: "Let's go help Doctor Lin!"

Warfarin gritted her teeth and said, "How the hell can we help him? We've provided him with countless solutions, and he still manages to create one on the spot! Beating up a prince and kidnapping a princess in public—does he really think the Yan Kingdom's royal family is just sitting around doing nothing?!"

Despite her outbursts, Warfarin stood up, ready to help, as Lin Ye was now her top priority. However, she had no idea how to break through the encirclement of so many Imperial Guards and could only hope that the deity sitting beside her could lend a hand.

But what Warfarin didn't notice was that as the Imperial Guards charged towards Lin Ye, Nian, who had just been eating snacks, lifted his foot and tapped the ground lightly, so lightly that it was almost inaudible. But a few seconds later, the venue suddenly shook violently.

The Imperial Guards, who were chasing Lin Ye, immediately stopped.

"An earthquake?!" Ying Jie exclaimed in shock. "How could there be an earthquake?!"

The guests at the event were also taken aback.

After a loud shout of "Earthquake!", the guests in the venue immediately became restless, like birds startled on branches.

The tremors were so severe that the entire venue was shaking precariously, seemingly on the verge of collapse. Seeing this, even though Ying Jie desperately wanted to capture Lin Ye and tear him to pieces, he had no choice but to shout for the Imperial Guards to stop chasing Lin Ye and instead evacuate the guests from the venue.

However, Lin Ye's crisis was not over, because there was still someone closely following behind him.

"You scoundrel!" Chen shouted, "Put His Highness down!"

Just as Lin Ye was about to explain, Ying Li, snapping out of her daze, slapped his hood and said angrily, "Ying Zhen, what are you doing! Put me down!"

Lin Ye asked in a low voice, "So you're finally willing to admit that I'm your brother?"

Ying Li gritted her teeth: "What nonsense are you spouting?! My brother is dead! You're just a third-rate doctor from Ursus! What gives you the right to impersonate my brother? Do you know what crime that is? Doing this kind of thing is punishable by death!"

Lin Ye didn't speak; he was speechless. This damned suit was just too heavy. Running in it was an absolute nightmare! He was completely out of breath, and Chen was chasing him. Continuing to run was definitely not an option, especially with the earthquake happening right now. Although he didn't know why it suddenly started, at least it delayed the Imperial Guards, giving him a chance to rest.

So he stopped and gestured for Chen behind him to stop.

Chen immediately stopped, after all, Ying Li was still on Lin Ye's body, and she thought Lin Ye was going to use Ying Li as a hostage to threaten him.

"You bastard!" Chen gripped the hilt of Chixiao tightly. "How dare you lay a hand on His Highness! You're asking for trouble!"

Given the distance between Lin Ye and her, Chen was confident that as long as she drew Chixiao, she could finish off Lin Ye immediately, thus freeing Ying Li from danger. However, for some reason, Chixiao seemed glued to its sheath, tightly bound. Although Chen could draw it without hesitation, she would struggle to control the force, and accidentally injuring Ying Li would be disastrous. Therefore, the situation remained temporarily deadlocked.

Then Lin Ye started to take off his pants... no, his lower body hood. The heavy hood made it impossible for him to run, and he was so tired that he could barely speak. This meant he couldn't explain to Chen, so he had to take off the hood to let Chen know who he was.

However, with only half of the leather cloak on her lower body removed, Ying Li was suddenly slammed to the ground, her beautiful eyes glaring angrily at Lin Ye.

"You're a complete lunatic!" Ying Li said through gritted teeth.

Lin Ye said with difficulty, "I feel fine."

"Why did you do this?!" Ying Li asked. "Didn't you consider the consequences at all?"

"Actually, there were other options. We thought about it all night last night," Lin Ye said breathlessly. "But I think what we did just now was the best. He hit you for the sake of the royal family's reputation, so I hit him in front of everyone. That's called an eye for an eye."

Ying Li was stunned.

She stared blankly at the adorable panda costume in front of her, then her whole body trembled, and her voice choked with emotion: "You really are... an idiot."

This scene left Chen, who was watching from the sidelines, somewhat bewildered.

What's going on? How did the hostage-taker end up being taken hostage by the hostage-taker? And the hostage-taker is clearly quite agitated.

Before Chen could figure out what was going on, two more Imperial Guards ran out from the other side of the corridor.

"There they are!" the Imperial Guards shouted. "Don't you dare run away, you scoundrels!"

There's no time to explain.

Lin Ye didn't bother to remove the half-finished suit anymore; he picked up Ying Li again and ran away.

Upon seeing this, the Imperial Guards began communicating loudly over the radio.

"The criminal is leading Her Highness the Princess away from the third floor! Requesting backup... What, the criminal's characteristics?" The Imperial Guard, staring at that alluring backside, roared, "The criminal is a panda without pants! I repeat, the criminal is a panda without pants! Requesting interception, requesting interception!"

Chapter 582 Call Me Brother (4K)

After the earthquake stopped, Ying Jie, standing on the high platform, looked at the cracked venue with eyes full of anger.

It's over, everything is over.

The first task the emperor had given him—the engagement ceremony, which had been in preparation for months—was practically ruined. The tsunami, which hadn't been predicted by the Imperial Observatory, the sudden earthquake, and that troublemaker who appeared out of nowhere—these successive mishaps made Ying Jie suspicious that someone was targeting him.

But what kind of person could instruct the Imperial Observatory to deal with him?

Ying Jie narrowed his eyes slightly.

The answer isn't hard to guess, since he only has one opponent: his elder brother, the eldest prince of Yan, who is increasingly neglected by the emperor. If it were the eldest prince, he would be perfectly capable of secretly instructing the Imperial Observatory to conceal the natural disaster. This would ruin the grand event he had been preparing for months to showcase Yan to the world, thus damaging his reputation.

Because it is a natural disaster, not a human, that is responsible, there is no way to investigate, since no one can control a natural disaster.

That's great! That's amazing! You truly deserve to be my brother!

Ying Jie gripped the hilt of the Mikami-giri tightly, his teeth almost grinding to powder.

This put immense pressure on Haoguang Zhuqing, who was standing behind Ying Jie. As the most powerful race in Yan Kingdom, the Dragon Clan naturally possessed an aura of dominance over other races. Their innate sense of oppression was unmatched even by the Sarkaz from the West, who lived by fighting. This was the reason why they had been able to rule Yan Kingdom for thousands of years.

At this moment, an Imperial Guard walked over, bowed his head, and said to Ying Jie, "Your Highness, the guests at the venue have almost all left. Please leave here as soon as possible to prevent aftershocks."

Ying Jie didn't even glance at the Imperial Guard, and asked directly, "Did you catch that guy just now?"

"Not yet," the Imperial Guard said in a low voice. "Her Highness the Princess hasn't either..."

"I only care about that guy," Ying Jie said. "How much time has passed, and you still haven't caught him?!"

"Because we are severely short-handed," the Imperial Guard said. "As per your previous instructions, most of us went to assist the guests in evacuating, and the earthquake has made the venue very unstable, so..."

"I don't want to hear excuses!" Ying Jie said through gritted teeth. "I want you to bring that person to me within ten minutes!"

“Yes, Your Highness.” The Imperial Guard asked, “But what about the civilians in the South District? The patrol officers have all been transferred to the North and East Districts for disaster relief, and now that the North and East Districts have been separated from Luo City, the patrol officers won’t be able to return anytime soon. Therefore, the South District doesn’t have enough manpower to evacuate the people…”