The person in the shadows clearly did not belong to Mu Yunfei. To be able to infiltrate the Eastern Palace under the noses of so many guards suggested a level of skill that was nothing short of extraordinary.
Xiao Biehe was certainly not on Mu Yunfei’s side; therefore, whoever had entered the palace or whatever was about to happen had nothing to do with him.
Xiao Biehe withdrew his gaze.
Mu Yunfei, unaware of Lu Guanyan’s presence, reached out his hand again with practiced gentlemanly grace. “Young General, are you unwell? You seem unsteady on your feet. Let me help you.”
Xiao Biehe stood his ground. His expression had returned to its usual mask of calm. Even in agony, he stood ramrod straight. His thin frame exuded a sense of cold detachment. “I am fine,” he said.
Mu Yunfei, acting as if he hadn’t heard, suddenly hooked his arm around Xiao Biehe’s slender shoulder and pulled him into his chest.
Lacking his inner strength and caught off guard, Biehe fell into the Prince’s embrace and was swept off his feet into a horizontal carry. Mu Yunfei began walking toward the inner chambers of the Eastern Palace.
Xiao Biehe’s brow furrowed. He didn’t struggle much, not because he accepted the situation, but because the intense pain in his legs flared up when Mu Yunfei gripped him, nearly causing him to lose consciousness. He took a sharp, deep breath.
Recalling the Prince’s earlier words, Biehe realized the symptoms in his body were becoming more pronounced. Mu Yunfei had given him more than just Muscle-Weakening Powder.
If he resisted now, the effects of the drug would only spread faster. Without his internal energy to suppress it, his best option was to stay still and wait for an opportunity to escape. Surely, Mu Yunfei wouldn’t try to… consummate things right here and now.
When Xiao Biehe first received the marriage decree at fifteen, he had thought about how to handle this. Back then, he didn’t know the Emperor and Prince wanted him dead, yet the thought had always made his skin crawl.
Mu Yunfei used to visit the General’s Manor frequently as a child. Despite the beautiful gardens, he always sought out Xiao Biehe in his dilapidated, remote courtyard. Later, when Biehe moved to the military camps, Mu Yunfei followed, even living there for two years. He was three years older and half a head taller, yet he followed Biehe everywhere.
When asked why, Mu Yunfei had said he wanted to be his friend and protect him. Xiao Biehe, who was solitary by nature, eventually considered him his only friend.
But it was only a friendship. Xiao Biehe could share hardships with him, drink in secret to hide from his father, and even risk his life multiple times to protect the Emperor’s reign. But he could not offer more.
Beyond his naturally aloof personality, his father’s constant warnings rang in his ears: The Prince is the sovereign; you are the subject. As a Xiao, you must serve the imperial family for life and never defy them.
Receiving that decree at fifteen had been a shock. Nothing had ever felt as heavy or as “burning” as that scroll. From then on, he hadn’t known how to face his friend. He felt Mu Yunfei had deceived him, and the friendship died.
Now, he realized there was no need to maintain appearances anymore. A person’s murderous intent cannot be hidden forever. If the Emperor set the wedding for next March, he didn’t intend for Biehe to survive past that date.
Inside the palace, a row of young men walked out. Every one of them was dressed in snow-white robes, with a cinnabar mole between their brows. They were pale, slender, and dressed thinly. From the side, they all looked eerily like Xiao Biehe.
Mu Yunfei was a madman, he had kept a harem of male favorites in the Eastern Palace and made them up to look like Biehe.
Seeing Biehe’s expression change, Mu Yunfei didn’t feel guilty; instead, his smile grew colder. He leaned into Biehe’s neck and whispered, “See? These are proof of my love. When you aren’t by my side, I go mad. My heart and eyes are full of you. Why can’t your heart hold me?”
Xiao Biehe turned his face away. “We are not the same kind of people.”
Mu Yunfei’s expression shifted instantly to one of terrifying malice. He threw Biehe onto the bed. “Is that so? Then who are you like? Can he save you? You’re smart, you must see that my father wants to kill you and your father. If you submit to me today, I promise to save you and the entire General’s Manor. How about it?”
The air in the room was stifling, heated by the winter floor-warming system. Mu Yunfei had also inhaled a bit of the drug. Looking at the real person instead of the thousands of cheap substitutes, his desire flared. He glanced at the kneeling favorites and roared, “Get out! All of you!”
As they fled, Mu Yunfei shouted to the guards outside: “Watch every corner! Do not let so much as an ant leave the Eastern Palace today, or I will have all your heads!”
Up on the roof, Lu Guanyan shifted his position. He felt that the view from afar wasn’t satisfying enough. Like a ghost, he flitted past the guards and sat lazily on the roof of the main hall, resting his head on his hand.
How interesting, he thought. Is the immortal really going to be defiled by this piece of filth today?
Lu Guanyan had a hundred ways to kill Mu Yunfei before the Prince even realized he was there. But he didn’t want too, yet. That would be boring. He wanted to watch “dogs biting dogs” and see these tiresome people die slowly and painfully. Watching the world’s purest genius fall and be dragged into the mud was a rare entertainment.
Inside, the bed curtains were pulled. Mu Yunfei pressed down on Biehe, reaching for his belt. He never intended to give Biehe a choice. Even if Biehe submitted, the General’s Manor was doomed. Mu Yunfei simply enjoyed toyed with people giving them hope and a choice, only to crush them himself later.
Suddenly, the person on the bed, who had seemingly lost all strength struck.
Mu Yunfei fought back in shock, but Xiao Biehe had already vaulted off the bed and through the curtains. Though Mu Yunfei’s martial arts were inferior to Biehe’s, he managed to wound the weakened General before Biehe smashed through a window and escaped.
“Lock down the palace!” Mu Yunfei roared, his voice trembling with fury. “Capture him! If he escapes, I’ll have your heads!”
Xiao Biehe didn’t intend to stay and fight. He forced his internal energy to surge, clearing the effects of the weakness powder through sheer force of will, despite the damage it did to his meridians. He leaped over the high palace walls and vanished.
Inside the Eastern Palace, Mu Yunfei walked out, his face dark with murderous intent. “He escaped?”
The guards knelt, silent in terror. Mu Yunfei stepped forward, his boots heavy on the stone, and drew a guard’s sword. With one swift stroke, the guard’s head rolled across the floor. He moved to the second man.
“Your Highness, spare—”
The man didn’t finish. Blood sprayed as a second head joined the first. By the time he was done, every guard on duty that day had been decapitated by the Prince’s own hand. The front courtyard was soaked in blood.
Xiao Qingqu entered the Eastern Palace just as the slaughter ended. He nearly fell to his knees in fear. He knew he was special to the Prince only because he was the best at imitating Xiao Biehe’s manners and appearance. He was the one who could provide Mu Yunfei with the comfort and submission Biehe never would.
Mu Yunfei, still fueled by the drugs and the rage of Biehe’s escape, looked at Qingqu. “Come here,” he commanded coldly.
Qingqu saw the blood and the heads. He knew exactly what had happened. Suppressing his jealousy, he put on a snow-white veil to hide his face and perfect the illusion and walked toward the Prince.
Mu Yunfei was rough. Qingqu cried from the pain, but he continued to please him. Mu Yunfei gripped his chin, his eyes cold. “You are nothing compared to Xiao Biehe. No matter how you dress, you can’t match a single hair on his head.”
Qingqu smiled through his tears. “But I am the one who listens. The real Xiao Biehe would never lie beneath you, would he?”
On the roof, Lu Guanyan found the scene tedious. The Eastern Palace smelled of “filth” now. He left, following the scent of the “immortal.”
He found Xiao Biehe in a dire state. The pain in his legs had finally rendered him unable to walk. Forcing his energy earlier had caused his blood to flow backward and his internal organs to suffer. He coughed up blood and collapsed in a deserted alley.
A group of local beggars began to circle him. They recognized him the invincible War God of Great Liang. Seeing such a person the most beautiful man in the land helpless before them, they shared a lecherous grin.
“It’s the Young General! The first beauty of Liang! We’re in luck… shall we have a taste?”
The beggars, young and old, swarmed toward the unconscious man like wolves. Their filthy eyes were already tearing at his clean robes in their minds.
Xiao Biehe, ever alert even in unconsciousness, forced his eyes open as they approached and spat out more blood.
Suddenly, a youth in vibrant red descended from the sky. He blocked their path and gripped the head of the man in the lead.
“Who are you to him?” the beggar leader growled, annoyed.
The youth narrowed his deep blue eyes. “An enemy?” he mused.
The beggar laughed, showing yellow teeth. “Little brother, why not join us? Look at him… don’t you want a try?”
The youth’s voice turned cold and sharp. The pressure in the alley became suffocating. “I don’t like to share.”
With a sickening pop, the beggar’s head exploded under the youth’s grip.
Lu Guanyan wiped his hands in disgust. The remaining beggars turned to flee, but a silent wind swept through the alley. Before they could even see him move, every single one of them fell dead with snapped necks.
Lu Guanyan crouched beside the “immortal.” He reached out to touch his face but stopped, realizing his own hands were now “smelly” from the beggars.
Sensing no more malice, Xiao Biehe closed his eyes and drifted back into a deep, pale unconsciousness.