He concluded that he would have to make his move through Ni Shang. This woman had put on a well-behaved act the entire journey but had been hiding her true motives the entire time.

Xu Linghe strode out of the guest room and closely observed his surroundings. He found purple bloodstains on a patch of gra.s.s and dabbed at the blood with his fingers. He could still smell its faint scent and deduced that the fox spirit must have come by tonight. Had the Wolf King been on their tail the entire time?

Xu Linghe followed the scent of blood and walked along a narrow alley to find himself in a dilapidated hut filled with cobwebs. This was an abandoned house and it was very dark with the exception of a stream of moonlight that had entered through a crack in the collapsing roof. The dust was so thick that it covered the tip of his shoe and when he flicked his finger, dust swirled all around.

This house was in an extremely bad state and would have collapsed a long time ago if not for the pillars that still held it in place. There was nothing else inside other than thick layers of dust.

There was no trace of the fox spirit"s blood here. Xu Linghe searched every corner of the house but still did not see Di Qing. "Does the fox spirit deliberately lead me here?" Xu Linghe continued to make his way forward and only stopped when he arrived at an empty courtyard.

When he entered the backyard, it was as though he had entered a completely different place. Compared to the dilapidated house, there were not many courtyards in this courtyard house but they were all exquisite. There was a large pond in the eastern part of the courtyard and Xu Linghe walked along the pond toward one of the houses.

The door was shut tightly and Xu Linghe let himself in with a spell. The house was a little noisy and he could smell the scent of alcohol.

Xu Linghe pressed himself against the wall and moved cautiously. He drew closer to the source of the noise and was surprised when he saw the intoxicated men. These men looked clumsy and awkward so how could they be Di Qing"s kidnappers? Although the King of Jiangdu was not a highly-skilled martial artist, he would still be able to deal with a few gangsters. It was obvious that these people were only drinking here.

Xu Linghe closed the door and was about to leave when the door opened again and a man staggered out. He held his pants as he walked and was probably headed for the latrine.

The light was dim so Xu Linghe could only make a figure. That person fell onto the ground after taking a few steps.

Someone ran out of the house when he heard the commotion and quickly helped the drunk man to his feet. The man berated his comrade and said that they should not have had so much to drink tonight. Their master would have their heads if they spoiled his plans. The drunk man cursed and said that their master was too stingy to have only given them 100 taels of silver after kidnapping a woman. Did he expect them to live on air?

Xu Linghe realized that Di Li was kidnapped by these people, but why did the fox spirit lead him to this place? What was this fox spirit trying to do? She had almost been killed by the Wolf King at the inn the previous time.

"Could this be the Wolf King"s doing? Does the fox spirit lead him here out of spite in an attempt to ruin the Wolf King"s plans?"

"Why would the Wolf King want to kidnap Di Li? Is he embroiled in the power struggle in the capital city? Or does he do it under someone else"s orders, seeking some kind of benefit? Who is this master the drunk man referring to?"

Xu Linghe flicked his spiritual finger and the drunk man who just managed to rise to his feet found himself on the ground yet again. His hands were bound with Spirit Power, while the drinking continued in the house. His comrade who had helped him up earlier had snuck back into the house to resume drinking.

Xu Linghe dragged the drunk man to a remote area. After he found out where Di Li was held, he slapped the drunk man hard.

The drunk man"s eyes rolled and he fainted. Xu Linghe followed the drunk man"s directions and found himself in front of a pond of a courtyard. He flicked his finger and the water in the pond immediately disappeared along with the fish in it.

Everything he saw earlier had merely been an illusion. When a secret pa.s.sageway appeared at the bottom of the pond, Xu Linghe jumped into it and soon found Di Li.

Di Li lay on the ground in the damp hidden pa.s.sage. Her furry coat had collected a lot of dust and her face was covered by her hair.

Xu Linghe bent down and gently smoothed her fringe. He saw tears on her eyelashes and a bruise on her small face. He used his spiritual finger to brush at it and her beautiful features returned.

Xu Linghe carried Di Li in his arms, wanting to leave as soon as possible, but for some reason, Di Li suddenly started to struggle. She fell out of his arms and fell hard on the ground.

Di Li looked at Xu Linghe in a daze, her eyes filled with surprise and disbelief. She reached out to pinch Xu Linghe, then her eyes filled with tears. "It"s truly Brother Xu!"

Di Li grabbed Xu Linghe"s hand and jumped up, thrilled to see him. Xu Linghe looked at her and could only console her by gently patting her shoulders until she calmed down. The front part of his robes was soaked with her tears but Xu Linghe could only give her a hug. His embrace belonged to another woman and he had also given his heart to another woman. His heart could only contain the woman known as Jiang Wuyou.

Xu Linghe could only be a bystander, and could only accompany her just like a brother.

"Xiaoli, shall we get out of here?"

Xu Linghe took her hand and led her toward the exit. They had only taken a few steps before Di Li collapsed on the ground. Xu Linghe took a close look and saw that there was a wound on her calf that had opened up again when she walked. He brushed at the wound with his spiritual finger and a scab formed over her open wound, then new pink skin formed where her wound had been. Di Li ran over her new skin with her fingers, unable to believe what she had just witnessed. Xu Linghe patted her head and continued to make his way out but her hands slowly let go of his.

Di Li retreated a few steps and looked at Xu Linghe. He could not bear to look at the affection in her eyes and could only harden his heart. This was the only way he could be fair to Di Li and to himself as well.

"Brother Xu, could you carry me on your back? I"ve always hoped that you would give me a piggyback since I was a child and this privilege would belong to someone else next time."

Di Li asked in a choked voice. Xu Linghe could not do anything. He silently bent down and waited for Di Li to get on his back. This was how he would pay his final respects to this girl and to her pure love. He did not love her but he hoped that this girl would remain pure and beautiful. He hoped that this girl would learn how to live for herself and shine brightly for herself.

She placed her hands gently on Xu Linghe"s back and smiled. Her feelings died with every step he took and her love disappeared into the night. From this day onward, Brother Xu could only live in her dreams.

"Brother Xu."

She could not stop crying. After they walked past the alley, Xu Linghe guessed that the girl on his back had probably fallen asleep. He walked toward the inn.

He still had no news of Di Qing and had not expected this to happen when they were so close to the capital city. If anything happened to Di Qing, how was he going to explain himself in court?

He was perfectly fine but he had lost his royal highness. He could not figure out who could be behind this.

He was not even in the capital city and now faced this tricky situation. Someone was clearly trying to drag him down. First Di Li had been kidnapped, then Di Qing. "What is this person trying to do?"

It was already around 9 PM by the time he reached the inn and Di Li was fast asleep. Xu Linghe created a second spiritual barrier as a safety measure, which had a strong defensive ability against demons. He placed Di Li on her bed and tucked her in. He checked the surrounding area, then left her room.

Xu Linghe entered Di Qing"s room once more. There was a 10-meter distance from the guest room to the inner hall. Xu Linghe carefully searched the place but could not find a single clue. The inner hall was his only hope at this point. He walked toward the bed and saw that the bed was still in a mess. A corner of blanket had fallen to the floor. He lifted the blanket to check for suspicious items under the bed. When he looked inside, he found Ni Shang.

Xu Linghe lifted up the bed. Her clothes were disorderly and bruises had formed on her slender arms. There was no one other than Ni Shang under the bed. It seemed as though Ni Shang had been knocked unconscious, then thrown under the bed. Xu Linghe patted her face and it was a while before Ni Shang came to herself. When she saw that it was Xu Linghe, she was so frightened and tucked herself into a corner. Xu Linghe flung her outer garment at her and she quickly wrapped herself in it, then clambered onto her feet.

"Where is Di Qing? Where have you hidden him?"

Xu Linghe looked coldly at her. He did not like this woman at all and could not see what Di Qing saw in this woman.

Although the chill was not bone-chilling during the early winter, Di Qing was still not used to it. He had been kidnapped from his bed and was only clad in a thin robe. He was extremely uncomfortable to find himself lying in a heap of straw in a place that stank of mold.

He was first surprised to find himself in an iron cell, then he calmed down.

This was a cell used to hold convicts and from the rust on the iron, he could tell that this cell was extremely old.

Who could be so bold as to kidnap someone such as himself? Di Qing could not figure it out. He had always kept a low profile in Jiangdu and abided by his father"s teachings to handle matters tactfully. He had not offended the old-fashioned land-owning cla.s.s of the capital city and was on good terms with most of the younger generation.

He would not have come to the palace if not for the Holy Mother Empress"s birthday banquet this time. Under the elegant veneer of the capital lay murderous intentions. He could get himself killed if he was not careful.

Even though he was ambitious, he would not act rashly until he knew the time was ripe or the results could be disastrous. Di Qing was born as royalty and was well aware of this fact since young. "Could someone be using the Holy Mother Empress"s birthday banquet as a bait to capture all the descendants of the royal family in one shot?"

"Could it be the Emperor? Impossible, the Emperor can order my death for all sorts of reasons but he will never resort to kidnapping. If the Emperor truly wants to kill his subjects, I will not live to see tomorrow"s sun. But I do not think that the Emperor would resort to using such underhand methods."

"Who could it be then?" He was probably followed even before he arrived at the capital. The kidnapper must have known that he would want to spend the night here.

With the exception of those from the palace, only Xu Linghe and his confidants knew his schedule. Xu Linghe would never do such a thing, so the only suspect was Ni Shang. This woman did not behave in a suspicious manner throughout the journey either, so Di Qing sank deep into contemplation.

As he was deep in thought, the door opened and a man entered. Di Qing looked at the man a.s.sessingly and the man remained silent. He was clad in a dark brocade robe and a jade pendant was tied at his waist. Di Qing"s gaze moved up to the man"s face and saw that his features were covered by a mask. This man probably did not want to reveal his true ident.i.ty. Di Qing leaned against the straw and put his bare feet up as he looked at the masked man. The masked man was accompanied by a steward who was enraged by Di Qing"s att.i.tude. He lifted Di Qing and slammed him heavily against the floor. The steward was about to kick him when the masked man flung him several meters away. Up until his dying breath, the steward did not know where his fault lay. Di Qing looked coldly at the masked man and no one moved to speak. Di Qing gave off a powerful aura but that masked man"s aura seemed more powerful than his. From his observation earlier, Di Qing could tell that this man was shrewd and deep. He would use his aura to put pressure on Di Qing until he mentally broke down.

Tension crackled in the silent cell and Di Qing"s heart beat wildly. Under the firelight, the mask took on a savage look, and the masked man"s gaze was piercingly cold. Although Di Qing was slightly frightened by his gaze, he did not show it. He knew that his life was currently not in danger. If that person wanted to kill him, he would have done so long ago.

"You are the King of Jiangdu, Di Qing."

The masked man said with some contempt. Di Qing continued to lie in his heap of straw and did not respond. He felt that the man had deliberately asked him that question earlier. He was already a prisoner, so was there really a need to confirm his ident.i.ty?

"Since you don"t want to reveal your true ident.i.ty, I have nothing else to say."

Di Qing beat the dust off his body and rose to his feet. His feet started to tremble slightly after a few steps but he knew that he did not have a choice to retreat. He had to know the masked man"s motive.

He secretly gathered his Spirit Power as he approached the masked man. The masked man had already noticed his actions and could sense how powerful Di Qing"s Spirit Power was.

He was a little surprised that the King of Jiangdu knew the art of shape-shifting. This man was not as useless as how the public made him out to be.

The frivolous rake that the world saw him as was probably just a mask. The masked man did not move but Spirit Power gathered in his fingers. He waited for Di Qing to ambush him. He had the ability to control others and suddenly wanted to see what the King of Jiangdu would look like when he mentally collapsed and wanted to experience what it was like having a powerful man collapse at his feet.

However, this King of Jiangdu had spent twenty years behaving like a frivolous rake, which showed how shrewd and calculating he could be.

"I"m going to kill you."

Quick as a flash, Di Qing attacked the masked man. If he wanted to live today, then the masked man must die. Unfortunately, the masked man easily evaded his blow.

Sparks flew in the iron cell. Di Qing only wanted to kill this man. His ability to shape-shift was a fact that even Xu Linghe was unaware of. If word of this got to the palace and the Emperor discovered that he had this ability, what would he think? This could get him killed.

He attacked a few times but the masked man had easily evaded all his attacks. Di Qing grew anxious. The fact that this masked man had easily evaded all his attacks meant that his shape-shifting ability was extremely high.

Di Qing brushed his forehead with his spiritual finger and his celestial eye opened. Spirit Power instantly swarmed toward his forehead. This was Di Qing"s trump card. If he could not hit his target with this move, he would have to flee immediately.

He filled his hands with the spiritual Qi he extracted from the ground and wisps of spiritual Qi emerged from the ground and traveled from his arms to his cheeks before finally gathering at his forehead. A ray of lightning flashed down from the skies and he was enveloped in dazzling light.

Thick smoke filled the iron cell. The masked man did not expect the King of Jiangdu to have the ability to control thunder and lightning. The Spirit Power in his hand was equally powerful as it headed toward Di Qing"s head.

Everywhere Di Qing looked with his celestial eye was filled with thick smoke, and bright flashes of spirit light continued to charge at the masked man but the masked man easily overcame his attacks. It looked increasingly unlikely that he would win tonight.

Di Qing was injured by the masked man as he tried to dodge and collapsed onto the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. His robes were soon soaked with blood and he lay on the ground weakly with his eyes closed. His Spirit Power gradually started to disappear and the celestial eye on his forehead also dispersed.

Di Qing was only pretending to be weak, this was the only way if he wanted to escape with his life and if he wanted the masked man to let down his guard. Di Qing closed his eyes and held her breath. This might be his only chance.

The masked man was not after his life. He only had his own ability to blame for this. By showing his cards, he had ignited the masked man"s desire for victory.

His Spirit Power had threatened the masked man, which was why the masked man moved to kill him. Di Qing was done regretting his actions and he guessed the masked man might see through his acting but he was not too bothered at this point in time. He only wanted to live.

Footsteps drew closer and Di Qing kept his eyes tightly shut and held his breath. He hoped that he did not reveal any flaws in his acting. Experts in shape-shifting would be able to tell once they saw anything suspicious. The masked man was so close that Di Qing could smell the odd smell that he gave off.

This was the smell of the underworld and only originated from one source. Unfortunately, this place was completely cut off from the Human Realm, or Di Qing would have loved to pay it a visit. He could even use it as a chance to understand where the man came from.

He heard the masked man sigh in the silence. Di Qing waited and hoped that the masked man would draw closer. He only had one chance and his only chance at surviving depended on whether he could hit his target. Di Qing summoned his Spirit Power and the Spirit Power in his body gathered toward his forehead. He sensed someone bend down and a.s.sess his current state.

Immediately, his celestial eye opened and a bolt of lightning shot toward the masked man. It charged at him so quickly that he could not dodge it. The masked man was extremely annoyed at himself when green smoke spewed from his body. Di Qing used this chance to slip past the cell and disappeared into the night. This was the most humiliating escape he had ever pulled off and he finally realized the principle of how tolerance would only invite more bullying to the weak but was a means of survival for the strong.

"You let him off too easily."

Hong Yu, the Wolf King, looked at the masked man in confusion. They had spent so much effort in capturing him only for him to escape. This was allowing a tiger to head back to its mountain and might bode potential disaster for them in the future.

The masked man ignored this wolf spirit. This wolf spirit would never understand the enjoyment of struggles in the Human Realm!

Di Qing shivered as the night wind blew across the streets. He stumbled his way back to the inn.

Whatever happened tonight made Di Qing even more determined. He should thank the masked man for he showed him that he was nothing after he left Jiangdu.

He touched his chest and felt a throbbing pain there but he knew that he could not collapse.

There were too many people waiting for him. Blood soaked his clothes but he could not be bothered and continued to make his way forward. He was exhausted and all he wanted to do was to lie in his soft bed. He stumbled on the uneven road and fell a couple of times, which brought on bouts of giddiness.

The innkeeper was shocked by his appearance and Xu Linghe rushed to the front yard when he heard the commotion. He saw that a crowd had gathered by the door and a man had collapsed on the floor. His feet were bare and his face was blocked by the gathered crowd. Xu Linghe walked even faster and when one of the inn"s employees recognized Xu Linghe, he dragged him to the front. Xu Linghe then realized that Di Qing had been injured and after the crowd dispersed, Xu Linghe looked at Di Qing lying on the ground and his heart clenched. This was still the frivolous King of Jiangdu, Di Qing, but he was now covered in blood.

Xu Linghe felt the pulse of Di Qing and was relieved to sense the beat of his pulse. He carried Di Qing up to the second floor.

The moment the door opened, Xu Linghe glanced coldly at Ni Shang and she quickly moved aside and followed quietly behind him.

She had not expected Di Qing to end up this way. Her heart ached when she realized Di Qing was only in this state because she asked him to take her in. She did not want Di Qing to die, this only happened because she did not want to die. The Wolf King continued to come after her for the price to pay after betraying him was death.

Ni Shang entered the inner hall and looked at Di Qing"s naked upper body and the dent in his chest. She did not dare to look at Xu Linghe, afraid that he might sense something amiss.

Xu Linghe was kept busy healing Di Qing and did not notice her strange reaction. Time flew by.

Ni Shang could hear the sounds of bones joining together and after the bruise on Di Qing"s chest faded, she saw Xu Linghe visibly relax and knew that Di Qing was no longer in critical condition.

Xu Linghe stretched his sore arms. He glanced at Ni Shang, then left the inner hall.

He had truly been caught off-guard by the events tonight and wondered what awaited him in the capital...