Chapter 513: A Big Fish
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
Before the final person could even blink his eyes, his seven comrades had already all died and he was frightened to the point he went blank. Before he could let out a shriek, the cold metal of a blade touched his neck and a chilly voice sounded by his ears, "Where is DongFang XingChen?"
With eyes wide open in shock and fear, the person stammered, "Crown… crown pri...ince is… cham…" He was afraid to the point he could not even speak properly.
"Point me in a direction! I promise to spare your life!" Ling Tian coldly said.
With a pale countenance, that person pointed towards a direction while trembling and felt a warmth in his crotch. He had actually lost control of both front and back from extreme shock. Ling Tian frowned with disgust and with a light chop, that person went unconscious. He then lay on the ground like a fallen pillar with a pair of soiled pants.
The instant he fell down, Ling Tian's figure sped away swiftly with his whereabouts unknown.
DongFang XingChen felt that his luck was truly fantastic.
The recently idle crown prince was tired of the 'boring' and 'depressing' life of bantering with his little maids in the palace. After pleading to his imperial father again and again, he finally got the permission to come out hunting. However, his imperial father had given him a curfew and didn't allow him to go too far away…
But how could these rules truly restrict the crown prince? The moment he left the palace, he was like a little bird set free from his cage. After entering the forest, he had actually met with such a miraculous encounter!
Fated individual? For him to meet with such a miraculous encounter after leaving the palace, how could he not be the fated individual?!
Seeing the jade green light shooting to the sky, the almost two hundred guards who were following the crown prince were dumbfounded. A group of experienced and knowledgeable experts had also come to the conclusion that there certainly must have been a mystical treasure being born into the world. They all praised the crown prince for being blessed by the heavens that he was able to obtain such a mystical treasure just by coming out for a spin. He was truly the heavenly son of a dragon and had a limitless future…
After a round of flattery from his subordinates, DongFang XingChen was flattered to the point he went dizzy. However, this did not prevent him from coming up with an intricate plan to obtain the treasure. He immediately ordered his troops to split themselves up into ten groups and surround the mountain from all directions before marching their way up the mountain in unison. Not a single suspicious individual could be allowed to leave. DongFang XingChen would rather kill the innocent than allow the news of him obtaining the treasure to spread out…
However, the old and wise leader of the guards, DongFang Hen, felt that there was something fishy about the matter and tried to stop DongFang XingChen, only to be mercilessly reprimanded by DongFang XingChen. Thus, he had no choice but to shut his mouth and obediently follow orders.
Finally, this crown prince had actually become a foot soldier himself, and under the protection of numerous experts, he excitedly charged up the mountain. As he got closer and closer to the final destination, DongFang XingChen's heart began pounding faster and faster.
"Stop!" DongFang Hen who was in the lead waved his hands with a solemn look on his face, "Protect the crown prince! There is a bloody smell coming from nearby! There must definitely be casualties."
The surrounding experts spread out in all directions. Every individual took care of a single direction and surrounded DongFang XingChen in the middle.
There was indeed a thick bloody smell!
Furthermore, it wasn't coming from a single direction. While the bloody smell was extremely light in the beginning, it grew thicker and thicker and was coming from all directions. At the very end, the whole atmosphere was filled with a thick and dense bloody smell as though they had entered a slaughterhouse! However, from the beginning to the end, not a single cry or miserable moan sounded and everything happened without a single sound.
Isn't the situation too weird?! A noiseless silence!
However, such a silence placed everyone on edge.
"DongFang Hen… err no, uncle, could our men have been killed?" DongFang XingChen's face turned pale and his body curled up into a ball. His originally arrogant eyes were now cowering in fear. As the crown prince of an empire, even a small open wound would be an extremely huge affair. How would the usually pampered crown prince experience the bloody smell of a battlefield?
The leader of his guards, DongFang Hen, was also the personal guard of his imperial father. He originally intended to call DongFang Hen by his name but after realizing that his own life is probably going to be dependant on DongFang Hen's protection, he quickly changed the way he addressed DongFang Hen and called him 'uncle' instead.
DongFang Hen's expression remained unchanged and completely did not look like he was overwhelmed by favor. In fact, he did not even give a glance to DongFang XingChen. As a martial arts expert, he could instinctively feel that they had already entered into an extremely dangerous situation! It was as though the other party's target was their crown prince!
"We really should not have come out today." DongFang Hen sighed, "Crown Prince your highness, if we are able to return alive, it is best for you to not be so willful in the future."
DongFang XingChen was immediately displeased and frowned, "Commander DongFang Hen, what do you mean by that? Do you think that I wanted to be trapped in such a dangerous situation?"
DongFang Hen looked at the crown prince calmly before shaking his head and replying with a sigh, "Crown Prince your highness, I have visited this mountain many times before and such an oddity had never happened before. In fact, normally not even animals can be seen. However, why would such an odd occurrence appear the moment crown prince your highness came out hunting? Isn't it too much of a coincidence? Shouldn't we think through things carefully? This subordinate has previously warned your highness already but…"
DongFang XingChen was stunned for a moment and asked doubtfully, "You are trying to say that this is a trap the enemy has set to target me?"
"Perhaps it may not be an enemy." DongFang Hen replied slowly, "Crown Prince coming out hunting is something that was only decided at the very last minute and not many people were aware of it. Apart from the few people in the palace who has contact with the crown prince residence, there aren't any other outsiders who know about Crown Prince's excursion. Thus, the ones laying the trap may not be an enemy but perhaps… someone from the family."
"My imperial father only has a single son and there shouldn't be any internal strife for my title. Who could it be?" DongFang XingChen fell into deep thought and suddenly grew violent, "Regardless of who he is, I will definitely execute his whole family the moment I investigate who the culprit is!"
"Haiz!" DongFang Hen let out a sigh without saying anything. After going to such lengths to plan out such an elaborate scheme, how would they allow failure and allow you to return alive?
Why?!
"Family Head JingTian is in the same camp as my imperial father, but the fractures in the family have been getting more and more severe over the years. DongFang JingLei's strength has been growing over the years and he seems to have the intention of taking over as Family Head. In the past few years, both imperial father and Family Head JingTian have been suppressing him severely and he would definitely have hatred in his heart. Could it be that… this whole event was engineered by DongFang JingLei? Could it be that he wants to revolt?" DongFang XingChen muttered.
"It still isn't certain if he is the one behind the scenes." DongFang JingLei was naturally loyal to the imperial family and Family Head JingTian. Regardless of the reason, this reclusive expert of the DongFang Family chose to add fuel to the fire. "It is said that second master DongFang has recently returned from Western Han but never returned home and chose to linger around here instead. Of course, this isn't sufficient to prove that he is the person behind all of this and we will have to investigate the matter further."
"What is there to investigate?!" DongFang XingChen cursed, "We are in Eastern Zhao! Apart from DongFang JingLei, who else will have the ability to set up such an elaborate scheme? Who else would be able to plant spies within the imperial palace and crown prince residence to keep track of my whereabouts? Even within the group that we have brought out this time, one of his spies must definitely be present. If not, how would he be able to grasp such accurate information about my route? DongFang JingLei! If I am able to return alive, I will definitely wipe out your whole family and rip you into shreds!"
Coincidentally or not, Ling Tian who was hiding nearby could not help but be stupefied. In truth, he had only arrived recently and did not hear the whole conversation. He only heard the last segment of their conversation and almost burst out into laughter upon hearing it. Just when he was being frustrated about how he could frame DongFang JingLei, this crown prince had already come to a conclusion on his own and he did not even have to do anything. To think that this pail of sh*t had been poured accurately on DongFang JingLei's head. Even if DongFang JingLei wanted to prove his innocence after this, it would be an almost impossible task. However, it seems like I must still add some fire to this event. Ling Tian rubbed his cheeks and snickered in his heart…
Previously, Ling Tian had used his speed to wipe out more than six enemy teams and more than a hundred people must have died under his Heaven Splitter. The reason why he placed DongFang XingChen's team at the very end was because this team was the most careful, moved the slowest and was also the strongest. In order to prevent anyone from escaping and alerting the enemy, Ling Tian naturally had to leave this scrumptious meal until the very end.
After this round of fighting, Ling Tian was surprised to realize that his speed had increased even further and he was almost able to come and go like an undetectable shadow. As compared to before he was injured, while his speed did not truly double, it increased greatly. At Ling Tian's level, it was extremely difficult for him to increase his speed by even a little bit. While Ling Tian's swift improvement in his strength and speed may be exceeded in future, it was definitely unprecedented! Especially with the Heaven Splitter in his hands, it was akin to adding wings to a tiger! Despite his injuries being only 80% recovered, the strength that he had now was no less than his prime in the past! This was an unbelievable miracle!
While Ling Tian didn't know why this was the case, he knew that the mysterious energy of the jade pendant must have definitely caused a huge effect on his body!
"Who? Come out!" From not too far away, a scream could be heard from the pond.