"Imperial Grandfather, you are blocking my way." The little guy lifted his face and said ferociously, "You need to let me walk past for me to roast it. You have been blocking since just now, can't you let me eat in peace?"
The Retired Emperor pointed at him and yelled, "You, you, you!"
"I want to start a fire." The little guy bent down and asked, "Imperial Grandfather, fetch me some firewood. Pick the wood from the fruit tree, as any food roasted by the fruit tree wood will be delicious. That's what Third Aunt told me."
The Retired Emperor was fuming. "How dare you command me to fetch firewood! You little rascal! Where is the Third Prince?! Why is he not here yet?!"
"You told Third Brother?!" The little one swiftly stood upright and yanked on the Fire Qilin's tail. His short legs were shaking as he prepared to make his escape!
However, before he managed to make a run, a deep voice emerged from behind him, "Where are you dragging the Qilin? Huh?"
The little guy was petrified and turned around to look at Baili Jia Jue.
The Fire Qilin let a long deep sigh of relief. It used telepathy to communicate with Baili Jia Jue, "Master, you have finally come. The Little Seventh Prince is too strong, I am unable to set myself free. Please ask him to loosen his grip on my tail this instance!"
Baili Jia Jue slowly shifted his gaze to the Fire Qilin. He did not reply to its request, and instead, he chuckled and said, "If you want to eat, then let's eat it here."
"Really?!" The little guy's eyes suddenly glimmered with excitement!
What is going on here?!
The Master would never allow the Little Seventh Prince to eat it, right?
Even though its thick skin made it harder to be roasted by fire, but it would be an embarrassment if the other mythical beasts witnessed this scene!!
Since its master was not going to rescue it, it had no choice but to rescue itself!
"Don't run!" The little one dragged its tail to haul it back. He confidently said, "Third Brother said to eat it here!"
As the Fire Qilin was being dragged, everything around them was trembling.
Helian Wei Wei observed the Little Seventh Prince's movements and frowned. Even though she knew how strong the Little Seventh Prince was, but she felt that there was something fishy about his ability to capture the Fire Qilin all by himself.
Chapter 545 - The Soul Fragments
The Fire Qilin had stopped moving. It had exerted a third of its full strength.
Still, it was unable to free itself from the clutches of Little Seventh Prince.
What is happening here?
The Fire Qilin subconsciously turned its head toward Baili Jia Jue, "Master…"
Baili Jia Jue raised his hands, ordering it to stop speaking.
The little one used his hands to tie the Fire Qilin and put it aside, then shuffled toward the dried fruit tree wood and carried them over. He hesitated, then moved closer to the Fire Qilin, taking a bite of its flesh!
The Fire Qilin's body jerked all of a sudden!
It shut both of its eyes, resisting the immense pain shooting through its body!
It immediately turned around and established telepathy with Baili Jia Jue, "Master, my body felt pain just now. Logically not only human beings, but even if the mythological beasts bite me, I will not feel any pain at all."
The skin of a Qilin was so thick, not even knives or bullets could penetrate it. This was a well-known fact.
However, the little one in front of it was able to bite through its skin, causing it to feel pain… This was pretty rare!
"This is disgusting!" The little one spat two mouthfuls out.
Helian Wei Wei slowly walked over to the Little Seventh Prince. She laughed sinisterly and said, "If you eat it raw, then, of course, it tastes disgusting. You need to season it."
"Third Aunt, please cook it for me to eat." After the little one said this, he immediately went and clung onto Baili Jia Jue's leg. "Third Brother, may I borrow Third Aunt for a moment? I want to have a taste of the flesh of a Qilin!"
Baili Jia Jue looked down and glanced at the little one. He spoke mellowly, "If you want to eat the Qilin's flesh, you'll have to dance for one day. It is your call whether you want to eat the Qilin's flesh or not."
When he heard the word 'dance', his little hands instinctively moved to cover up his pants, his head shook like a drum-shaped rattle. "Third Brother, you can't always ask me to dance! That's not right! "
"Do you want to eat it or not?" Baili Jia Jue ignored the little one's plea, then he extended his hand and lifted the little one up.
The little one was starting to panic, his short legs were swaying back and forth. He pursed his lips together, refraining himself from talking.
Baili Jia Jue hoisted him up until he could see eye to eye with the little one, then said to him in a flat tone, "If you choose not to eat the Fire Qilin, then I will reward you with 10 meat buns."
"I want to eat 20 meat buns. 10 is too few!" The little one's eyes started to gleam.
Baili Jia Jue chuckled, "You are still haggling with me? Fine then, you might as well just dance."
"15 meat buns!" The little one pouted as he spoke, "Third Brother, no less than that!"
Baili Jia Jue turned toward Eunuch Sun and commanded him, "Go and get 15 meat buns for him."
"Yes, Your Highness!" Eunuch Sun looked at the ground in silence. If he knew that all it took was meat buns to resolve the situation, he would not have wasted half of the day trying out ways to stop the Little Seventh Prince!
The little one felt that he had gotten something he d.e.s.i.r.ed as he raised his fingers and started counting. "Third Brother! For the 15 meat buns, I will eat three per day, so that it will last me five days. I just bit the flesh of the Fire Qilin and it was not delicious at all!"
Fire Qilin thought to himself. How dare he insult me!!!
"Its body with hard skin is never tasty, to begin with," Baili Jia Jue said flatly.
Fire Qilin was rendered speechless.
"However," Baili Jia Jue lowered his gaze and continued talking, "Keep this in mind. You are not allowed to simply eat whatever that belongs to me as you please."
When he heard this, the Retired Emperor was slightly gratified. He felt that the Third Prince had used the right way to educate the child!
The little one wrinkled his tiny eyebrows. "Then how about Imperial Grandfather's?"
"That's up to you," Baili Jia Jue replied to the little one with only these few words, then he carried the Fire Qilin and went off.
The Retired Emperor's roar could be heard vaguely, "Do not get in my way! No matter what, I must teach these two fellas a lesson today!"
"Third Aunt, Imperial Grandfather is more grouchy recently." The little one took a bite of the meat bun. "We have become obedient, and yet he is still in a bad mood."
Helian Wei Wei pinched his face. "If you are truly behaving obediently, do tell Third Aunt how you were able to drag the Fire Qilin over here."
"Using my hands." The little one's mouth was stuffed with meat buns.
Helian Wei Wei used her handkerchief to wipe the edge of his mouth. "Little Seven, please restrain your strength in the future, especially when there are guests around, do you understand?"
The little one paused what he was doing and raised his head to glance at Third Brother.
Baili Jia Jue looked at him and replied with a nod.
"I understand!" The little one said with a domineering expression, "I can knock down any opponents without exerting all of my strength. Let me know if anybody comes after you Third Aunt! If you want to eat fish, do tell me as well! Recently, I have been practicing how to fish! I have caught all of Eunuch Sun's favorite fish from the pond!"
Helian Wei Wei remained silent. She recalled that Eunuch Sun did not know about this matter; if he knew, he would not have stopped the Retired Emperor...
The Fire Qilin was standing behind Baili Jia Jue and Helian Wei Wei. It retracted its gaze from the little one
and lifted its head up to look into Baili Jia Jue's eyes. "Master, I am absolutely sure that the Little Seventh Prince is no ordinary human being."
"A person born in a Royal Family can never be an ordinary human being." Baili Jia Jue was playing with the silver ring on his finger. Wrapped within the shadows, his eyes gleamed like gold. "Get a few mythological beasts to follow Little Seven. Protect him at all costs."
The Fire Qilin looked into the eyes of its master, its heart throbbed as it answered, "Yes."
Why is this happening?
Some of the Soul Fragments were clearly still missing.
This can't be!
It must immediately put in more effort to search for the Soul Fragments. Otherwise, the master's soul would be incomplete, and his transformation into a demon would be completed.
If that happened... not a soul would be able to stop him!
"Make a trip to Chaoyang Palace," Baili Jia Jue voice boomed once again.
The Fire Qilin squinted. "Master, have you noticed it as well?"
"The scent of blood is very pungent, so of course, I've noticed it." Baili Jia Jue licked his thin lips with the tip of his tongue. His face showed traces of devilish traits. "Please bring the news back to me."
"Yes!"
In the evening, the sun had just set.
Helian Wei Wei was drinking tea leisurely with Little Seven. They saw two palace maids walking out from Chaoyang Palace, their eyes wandering around as if they were fearful of something. As they were walking, they kept looking backward after every three steps.
The Imperial Palace had set up rules and regulations about how the palace maids should walk and how they should bow when meeting their master. All these were written in the rules.
However, they seemed to be terrified of something to the point that they seemed to have forgotten about the rules.
"Eunuch Sun." Helian Wei Wei retracted her sight. She put her teacup on the table and asked, "What's wrong with the palace maids?"
Eunuch Sun poured her some more tea and lowered his voice, "Princess Consort, these few days, you were away from the palace. Hence, you may not be familiar with the recent happenings of the palace. Not long ago, there were palace maids found dead. The cause of their deaths is still unknown. Furthermore, the way they were murdered was pretty bizarre."
"Bizarre?" Helian Wei Wei paused, "How so?"
Eunuch Sun hesitated before continuing, "All of the murdered palace maids had their blood drained from their bodies. After that, their bodies were thrown into the river. We do not know who is behind this cruel act. Initially, the Retired Emperor did not pay much attention to it. After all, the palace is a very big place, nobody would find out about three palace maids being murdered. But later, someone discovered eight corpses by the river. After that, this matter became the talk of the palace. The murderer is still unknown and the way they were murdered is extremely brutal; it's terrifying. As a matter of fact, the elders advised the Retired Emperor to request eminent monks to recite the scriptures, so that the people can continue their daily lives in peace."
Chapter 546 - The Determination To End Wei Wei
"These elders are not making any sense. After so many men were killed, will reading the scripture be of any use?" Yuan Ming's voice of mockery rang out.
Helian Wei Wei, however, curved her lips upward. "It may not be helpful to apprehend the murderer. But, it works for a possessed person like me."
All of a sudden, Yuan Ming narrowed his eyes. "It looks like we share the same idea. The elders most probably hired these eminent monks to manage you."
Helian Wei Wei acknowledged him before she lifted the teacup and lay back on the chair. Then, she asked Eunuch Sun in an indifferent tone, "Has The Retired Emperor agreed to it?"
"He has agreed." Eunuch Sun chuckled, " The elders sounded confident, leaving the Retired Emperor with no reason to ban their ideas. Princess Consort, you know how things are. As long as the old officials are content with their lot, the Retired Emperor cannot be bothered to discuss with them further."
Helian Wei Wei nodded, "Yes, he should agree to them." If he rejects their idea, he will put the people in doubt and we'll end up in a bad situation.
"The Retired Emperor has requested me to notify Princess Consort to not get confused when you hear the Buddhaghosa. I heard that they have the intention to recite the scripture for the entire day. But, I don't know if it's effective." Eunuch Sun heaved a sigh before he continued, "We met the deceased maids before. It's such a shame that they were all of a young age when they died."
Helian Wei Wei tapped the edge of the cup rhythmically with her forefinger. This was her habit when she cogitated. "According to you, the bodies were discovered in the river. I have been living in the palace for a long time. Why haven't I noticed any river within the imperial palace's compound?"
"The place is secluded. Only those who have resided in the palace for some years have knowledge about the river," said Eunuch Sun. He looked around before he proceeded, "It is right behind the Cold Palace. Speaking of that, it's strange because the river started off as a puddle derived from the moat. Nobody can explain why the water level continues to rise and eventually it forms a river. However, if the water level had not risen, we would've discovered the bodies much later. This is such a fortunate coincidence. I guess this is all destined!"
Upon hearing this, Helian Wei Wei put on a meaningful smile, "Yes. It's really a fortunate coincidence."
"Hmm?" Eunuch Sun was not an astute person. Although he failed to analyze the case, he detected the change in Helian Wei Wei's intonation. Realizing something was going on, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Princess Consort, are you hinting that the issue is not that simple?"
Helian Wei Wei put down the teacup in her hand and answered, "Eunuch Sun, do you remember the task that the Retired Emperor assigned to His Highness and I when we visited Fuping?"
"Yes, I remember," Eunuch Sun immediately replied. "There is a large area in Fuping, which is suitable for plantation. However, there had been a severe drought at Fuping that significantly affected the production of the crops. For some time, the Retire Emperor was agonizing over the climate crisis at Fuping. Fortunately, Princess Consort and His Highness visited Fuping personally and solved the problem."
Helian Wei Wei gave a half-hearted laugh, "Fuping was not the only area that is affected by the drought. It has been a while since the last rain fell on the Capital too. This is all due to the change of season. Don't you find it strange, Eunuch Sun? It was raining last month and the water level of the puddle did not rise at all. However, this month, after more than 10 days of dryness, the water level rose notably. Do you not find this unusual?"
Eunuch Sun was surprised by the statement. Then, he stood up abruptly while his face appeared fl.u.s.tered, "Princess Consort…"
"Eunuch Sun," Helian Wei Wei interrupted him before he could finish his words, "Eunuch Sun, please forget about what I've just said. If the rising water level is not a result of the rain, there is probably a flaw in the management of the moat. Without an order from the superior, no one will have the audacity to disturb the moat."
Eunuch Sun's fingers trembled gently. "This is not a minor issue."
"Yes, it's not a minor issue," Helian Wei Wei took a sip of tea and continued, "And that's why you should keep it to yourself."
Eunuch Sun glanced at Helian Wei Wei before he dropped his gaze and said, " I understand."
The moat was an area managed by the Emperor's most trusted aide.
That was an area where even the Retired Emperor could not interfere in spite of his status.
But, why did the problem only occur to the moat?
"When will the eminent monks arrive?" Helian Wei Wei chuckled before she swiftly changed the topic, apparently trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Eventually, Eunuch Sun halted his racing thoughts and replied, "I reckon that they will be here tomorrow at noon. It's not easy to invite these many reputable eminent monks and the people of th
e palace need more time to prepare for their arrival."
"You're right." Helian Wei Wei lowered her gaze and took another sip of tea before she painted a frigid grin on her lips.
Knowing that he was invisible to Eunuch Sun, Yuan Ming approached Helian Wei Wei and whispered to her ears with a wicked smile on his face, "They have prepared thoroughly. It looks like they are determined to end you."
"Elder Yun's death has perturbed them." Helian Wei Wei gazed into the distance and proceeded, "Their heightened anxiety is a clear sign of their fear. My grandfather was a military man, but his death has remained a mystery until today. But now, the identity of the culprit is rather obvious."
Yuan Ming raised his eyebrows and continued to laugh, "I was only able to reach you because of the intense grudge within you that awakened me. After Madam Su's death, your conscienceless father was butchered by Prime Minister Su and his body was left lying on the roadside. Subsequently, you managed to retrieve the ownership of the Helian family. But, due to our ongoing contract, I will not be able to leave before you successfully achieve your goal."
"This matter has always been complicated." Helian Wei Wei played with the teacup in her hands as she continued, "Otherwise, I would not have kept the Su family for long."
Yuan Ming shrugged. "Well, you're not wrong. With your current capability, you may be able to fight against them separately. However, once they join forces, it'll be very tough for you. Before this, your presence has always been considerably inconspicuous. They have not been keeping an eye on you. However, now they are initiating the attack. Do you really think that you can withstand it?"
"How long do you think I can last tomorrow?" Helian Wei Wei asked Yuan Ming in return.
Yuan Ming stretched his back. "You are now a different woman compared to the girl you were on your wedding day. If it isn't for the potent resentment that is lurking around the Palace, the scriptures will not be able to affect you. But, I'm concerned because of your frequent dreams lately and your soul is no longer stable like before. If it is not too powerful, you might be able to hold it together for an hour."
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