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Chapter 163: Chapter 97: If You Don’t Die, I Can’t Sleep

After hearing Zhao Qing’s report.

Zhao Huan’s anger had mostly subsided. With a grim expression, he asked, ”So, what’s your assessment?”

Zhao Qing looked toward Zhao Ci. ”I dare not jump to conclusions just yet, Your Highness. I must have the Tenth Prince recount his experience before I can attempt any speculation.”

Zhao Huan turned to him as well, asking with concern, ”Ci, what on earth did you encounter in there?”

”Well... it’s a long story!”

Zhao Ci subconsciously took a step toward Kan Luotang. ”If Miss Luotang hadn’t risked her life to save me, your son would likely be dead by now!”

Then, he recounted everything that had happened in the mountain ravine in great detail.

He held almost nothing back, save for the kill count from his ambush and the group battle, and the matter of his Celestial Demon Body.

He claimed that, with Kan Luotang’s guidance, he had ambushed and killed over seventy men. It was only then that the enemy managed to consolidate their defensive line and set the forest ablaze. Forced into a corner, the two of them had to fall back and fight desperately against the remaining men. They barely managed to kill a dozen more before their strength gave out. If Kan Luotang hadn’t thought on her feet and chosen to negotiate, he said, neither of them would have made it out alive.

”This...”

Zhao Huan was left a little dumbfounded.

Zhao Qing couldn’t help but blurt out, ”Your Highness, you’re quite the... I mean, is that really true?”

Zhao Ci said indignantly, ”If my mother consort hadn’t intervened to help, this First-Grade Flesh Soul of mine would have been reduced to dust. What is there to brag about? Steward Qing, you saw the bodies. Wasn’t every one of them killed by my Xiang Family Spear Technique?”

Zhao Qing drew a sharp breath.

’He might be right.’

He had indeed found as much when he inspected the bodies yesterday, but he truly couldn’t believe the battle had concluded in such a manner.

Yet Zhao Ci didn’t seem to be lying, and his return, grievously wounded and on the verge of death, didn’t seem feigned.

All the evidence supported Zhao Ci’s claims.

’A First-Grade Flesh Soul, combined with a proficient mastery of Xiang’s Spear Technique... is it really that terrifying?’

’Achieving proficiency at such a young age is already absurd.’

’What’s even more absurd is how he managed to execute Tyrant’s Tomb Sweeping and Overlord Dragon-piercing Spear so many times and still be standing here perfectly fine?’

’This Tenth Prince was becoming more and more heaven-defying.’

Zhao Huan’s eyes flickered. ”Ci is honest by nature. He wouldn’t lie about something like this. With the girl from the Kan Family helping him, it’s certainly possible he could accomplish such a feat.”

He had known about the First-Grade Flesh Soul for some time.

And even if his body had been shattered, Gu Xiangzhu had the means to save him.

But this proficient mastery of the Xiang Family Spear Technique...

’Isn’t his talent for cultivation a bit too terrifying?’

A sense of caution rose in his heart. He knew that if this was an internal power struggle within the Demon Sect, Gu Xiangzhu must have intervened for the sake of the Alchemy of Wine.

Still, the level of support Gu Xiangzhu was now giving Zhao Ci was pushing the limits of his tolerance.

The only good news was that Zhao Ci’s newfound strength was genuinely due to a burst of innate talent, not a result of Gu Xiangzhu’s efforts.

’No matter how skilled Gu Xiangzhu is...’

’...could she possibly teach him the Xiang Family Spear Technique?’

When it came to this son...

Zhao Huan’s feelings were a complicated mix. Initially, he had pushed Zhao Ci to join the princely contention merely as a way to chastise the Crown Prince and sow discord among the powers backing the various princes.

But now, it seemed he had made a grave miscalculation regarding his son’s true strength.

’Could such a drastic change be related to my true Princess Consort Jing?’

Zhao Huan was uncertain. He knew this development was more of a blessing than a curse, but for the moment, he couldn’t figure out what role to assign Zhao Ci going forward.

He set those thoughts aside for now.

He looked at Zhao Qing. ”What’s your take on it?”

Zhao Qing’s expression grew serious, his sharp brows furrowing. ”I believe the culprits’ attack on the Ninth Prince may have been a feint, a smokescreen. Their true target was most likely the Tenth Prince alone.

”The crucial part of their plan was likely figuring out how to separate the two Princes to restrict my movements. If we can uncover the mechanism behind that, we might be able to follow the trail straight to the mastermind.

”But what I don’t understand is why they would go to such great lengths. What could they possibly want from the Tenth Prince?”

’What could they want?’

’The Alchemy of Wine in his head, of course!’

Zhao Huan couldn’t say that, of course. The relationship between his ”family of three” was difficult for any outsider to comprehend.

At that very moment,

A Chief Constable knelt on one knee outside the Government Office. Seeing Zhao Huan seated on the main throne in his dragon robes, his voice trembled.

”A report!”

”Speak!” Zhao Huan commanded grimly.

The Chief Constable quickly gestured. Soon, men carried a stretcher into the Government Office. It was covered by a white sheet that revealed the distinct outline of a human body.

He lifted the white cloth and said, ”While taking inventory of the bodies, I discovered one was missing. After checking our records, we realized someone had disappeared. We initiated a city-wide search and finally located this man. He has since committed suicide, presumably out of guilt. We also found this on him.”

As he spoke, he respectfully held up a box.

Zhao Qing plucked the box from the air, opened it for inspection, and only after confirming it posed no danger did he present it to Zhao Huan.

Inside the box,

Lay a plump, white worm.

The worm was still squirming, but anyone with a discerning eye could tell it no longer possessed any Spiritual Wisdom.

Even without recognizing the creature’s species, one could deduce that it was the very thing used to control the hundred puppets.

And the dead man on the stretcher was most likely the one who had controlled this Gu Insect.

Zhao Huan narrowed his eyes, his gaze shifting to the body on the stretcher. ”Who was this man?”

”Well...”

The Chief Constable glanced cautiously at Zhang Delv, who had gone deathly pale. The color had drained from his face, and his forehead was slick with sweat.

He hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and saying, ”His name is Zhang Qi. He was a Junior Official at the County Government Office. He’s... he’s...”