Proofreader: Papatonks
Whoosh~
Nine old men landed, sporting cruel looks at the trio. Among them, one guy with scattered hair, the strongest, stepped up and spat, “Humph, you must have a death wish to destroy Crown Prince’s manor. Where is His Highness?”
Ugh!
Tuoba Liufeng’s heart sank, feeling sweat trickling down his spine. Just this guy alone was enough to deal with them, a peak Radiant Stage expert.
In a couple of years he should be a true Ethereal Stage expert as well, becoming one of the empire’s legends, one of the best.
With him here, the three had no chance of getting away. Tuoba Liufeng sighed at the grim outlook, his hopes gone.
[I wonder if Zhuo Fan’s sudden arrival was a blessing or a curse.]
His sister was free of the crown prince for now since Zhuo Fan’s intervention, but now the Touba family would be killed because of his aggressive handling of the crown prince. They might even be labeled as traitors.
Touba Lian’er understood they were in serious danger and her eyes still gave contemplative look to a somewhat oblivious Zhuo Fan.
“I asked you a question. Where’s His Highness?” Seeing them silent, the old man roared.
Tuoba Liufeng shook, finding speaking difficult.
Touba Lian’er pointed to where the crown prince was lying with a cold face, “Over there. I onder if you still recognize him.”
“T-that’s Crown Prince?”
They all gasped at the sobbing, gruesome mish-mash of features that barely hinted at what once was.
Their elegant and handsome crown prince was now reduced to this… thing. Those eyes were swollen out of their sockets, the nose more twisted than a ravine, and the former spotless denture turned into a bloody hole.
The only reason they even noticed him was because Touba Lian’er pointed out.
Stunned seeing a face only a mother could love, the old man roared, “It’s Crown Prince’s signature feature. How, who, what gave you the nerve to harm the Crown Prince like this? You’re done for!”
Whoosh~
The old man’s anger exploded, “Talk, who did this? I’ll peel his skin and crush his bones. It’ll be ages before I’m through with him!”
Tuoba Liufeng panicked under the nine’s auras. Zhuo Fan was still in his own world, contemplating more important stuff.
“Venerables, I did it. If you want to kill someone, kill me!” Lian’er scrounged up her courage and declared.
Tuoba Liufeng cried, “Sister…”
“It’s fine.”
Lian’er cut him off, “This is all my fault. Tianyu used to say women were deadly and now I have to admit they were right. If it weren’t for me, the Touba family would never have ended up like this. It’s all my fault and I should settle it…”
Lian’er spoke with sadness and despair. Tuoba Liufeng’s clenched fists shook, feeling utterly useless.
Lian’er wanted to use her life to settle it all and save the Touba family. No, the family was already finished. She was giving him and Zhuo Fan the chance to get away.
But how could her brother just let his sister take the blame…
Tuoba Liufeng roared at Zhuo Fan, “Zhuo Fan, you bastard, is that how a man behaves, letting a woman take the fall for you?”
“Brother!” Lian’er cried out, having made up her mind. So why was her brother dragging Zhuo Fan into this?
Tuoba Liufeng was firm when he saw Lian’er’s despair. Harming the crown prince was a heavy crime, akin to assassinating a royal member, or rebelling. He could not let it hang over Lian’er’s head. All of this happened because Zhuo Fan showed up.
The nine venerables finally noticed Zhuo Fan that they ignored since he looked so quiet to the side.
The nine people tensed. contemporary romance
[8th layer Radiant Stage! He does have the power!]
The leading elder squinted and snickered, “I see what’s going on. You’re the one who made a mess of Crown Prince’s manor. Ha-ha-ha, I knew it was odd for a girl to admit it. When the guard reported to us, he said that none of them could fight back. How could a wee girl be so tough? Seeing your high cultivation, it all makes sense. If we nine hadn’t come, none in the Crown Prince manor would be able to hold you, ha-ha-ha…”
Zhuo Fan’s mind was still processing.
The leading elder took it for cowardice and mocked, “Ha-ha-ha, here I thought you had guts when attacking Crown Prince but now I see you’re full of it. It’s understandable, as not even an 8th layer Radiant Stage cultivator can escape from us nine. Being scared is normal. But to have a girl take the blame for you, talk about useless, ha-ha-ha…”
The other eight looked at Zhuo Fan with the same disdain as their leader.
“Sir Zhuo, I brought the snow lotus seeds!”
A whoop of joy sounded in the distance. Sixth prince skipped over to Zhuo Fan in excitement.
Zhuo Fan woke up at last, staring only at the sixth prince’s figure, “Took you long enough. Hurry up and throw them in. I want to see just how fancy this thing is.”
Ugh!
The mockery was stuck in the nine elders’ throat seeing him ignore them. The two soon joined and started throwing seeds into the lake while watching for any signs. The elders’ faces sank.
[For god’s sake, here we thought he was scared when in fact he didn’t give a damn about us. He’s toying with us!]
“Boy, don’t think that your high cultivation is enough to do what you want in Quanrong. You ruined Crown Prince manor and I’ll have you pay for that…”
“Sixth prince, I heard this is eye candy. Isn’t that so average?”
“Uhm, Sir Zhuo, this is a true marvel, I promise. It’s a true rare spectacle in this world that won’t disappoint, he-he-he…”
“Oh, I’m relieved. Let’s just watch…”
Zhuo Fan and sixth prince were curious about the lake, even ignoring the elder’s raving curses.
Blatant disregard, that was what this was.
The old man’s face twitched as he barked, “Let’s get this damn faker, men. I want him dead!”
“Yes, sir!”
The other elders bowed and shot for Zhuo Fan. Their mighty auras, filled with bloodthirst, covered the sky.
Lian’er cried, “Look out, Zhuo Fan!”
“Oh no, the bloodthirst is affecting the lake and it’s too scared to react.” The sixth prince shivered and cried.
Zhuo Fan’s face twitched and his face sank. Turning around, and seeing the incoming eight elders, he roared, “Damn geezers, stop bothering me!”
Hu~
A mighty gale shot out that went through the eight elders.
The old men lost their lives before even knowing what happened, slumping to the ground like a ton of bricks.
Tuoba Liufeng and Lian’er were shellshocked.
[W-what was that?]
Bang!
A crisp sound echoed and the leading elder felt his legs soften, kneeling on the ground. He was in the lead when the gale had struck him as well. Now he looked deathly pale and overcome with horror, “N-no way! T-that’s soul impact! An Ethereal Stage expert?!”
Zhuo Fan went back to his problem, the lake. He asked, “Sixth prince, now it’s quiet. Will it show up?”
“Yeah, soon.” Sixth prince grinned.
The two looked like they came to sightsee. They were calm and the mood was calm too, finally.
Only Tuoba Liufeng, Lian’er and the surviving elder looked at Zhuo Fan with fear.
[This guy is even more terrible than before!]
All kinds of thoughts ran through Tuoba Liufeng’s mind…
done.co