CHAPTER 41

The Missing Crown Prince

LUO FAN

“Stop the nonsense,” Ruan Yanjun scolded. “Just tell him already.”

We were back at the same table as yesterday. The flies had returned, and, as before, my uncle seemed unbothered, swatting them away lazily while sipping his tea. Whether there was another fly in his drink, I didn’t want to find out.

My uncle sighed and placed something on the table in front of me. It looked like a golden token, and it was surprisingly heavy when I picked it up.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It’s the token of Crown Prince Wei Xiaoli, proof of his rightful claim to the throne.”

I frowned. “Then why are you showing it to me?”

“I’m giving it back to you.”

I stiffened, overwhelmed with confusion but too shocked to fully process it. The truth had begun to dawn on me, but I was reluctant to acknowledge it. My uncle must have seen the question written on my face.

“A-Fan, the story of your childhood isn’t as simple as you think.”

A sudden fear gripped me. Many times, I had been asking Ruan Yanjun about the things that he knew that I didn’t know, yet now, faced with answers, I wasn’t sure if I still wanted to hear them.

But I couldn’t run from this. Whatever the truth was, I had to confront it.

“Yesterday, I told you about your father,” my uncle continued. “But we were talking about two different persons. The man you knew as your father was the chief eunuch of the former Emperor Xin. He was castrated at the age of twelve as a requirement to becoming a eunuch, so he couldn’t possibly have been your biological father.”

My fingers clenched on my lap.

Why hasn’t anyone told me this?

“So who are my biological parents?” I asked.

“You are the son… of Emperor Xin. You are Wei Xiaoli.”

I froze, stunned, unable to form words.

“On the night of the assassination, the former emperor knew his fate was sealed, and he knew they wouldn’t spare you. So he ordered his most loyal servant to take you away and raise you as his own. That servant was the man you knew as your father, Luo Zhong.”

I sat there in silence, my mind reeling. Everyone’s eyes were on me, waiting for my reaction.

“Was it the current emperor who killed my father?” I finally managed to ask.

“Yes.”

“His own brother?”

“That’s right.”

“And my master – did he know?”

“Your master and the current emperor are close. They’re equally complicit.”

A sharp pang filled my chest. It was hard for me to believe that the master I thought had the purest of souls had spilled the blood of his own brother.

I lowered my head, fighting the tears welling in my eyes.

“After that, your adoptive father founded a secret group. Their goal was to someday overthrow the emperor and restore you to your rightful place. Unfortunately, he died before he could see his dream realized. But your Uncle Xiao, who loved you dearly, didn’t give up. He smuggled you into the capital and brought you to Frost Mountain, hoping your former master would agree to raise you. Trusting that you were in safe hands, the Silverblades pressed forward with their mission. Before they could complete their plan, however, Prince Jiayi learned of your true identity from a spy and informed the emperor about it. As your blood relative—and perhaps out of some lingering guilt over his brother’s death—the emperor chose not to act against you directly. Instead, he ordered your master to halt your training, probably to keep you from becoming a future threat.”

“So my master had known my identity all along?”

“Yes, but he never spoke of it.”

I remember when Jiayi had suddenly started hating me. That was six years ago. He used to not mind that I was getting ahead of him in training, but from then on, he became very jealous of me and hated the very sight of me. He probably saw me as a threat to his future throne.

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“They thought they did not have to do anything as long as they kept you contained,” my uncle continued. “But who would have expected that you have been training secretly behind their backs. So when news broke that you have achieved the seventh level, they realized it was time to neautralize you before you became a formidable foe.”

“Is the emperor aware of the existence of this group?”

“He is, of course, that is why we are being hunted, and they are still searching for our hidden weapons.”

I tightened my grip on the token.

Wei Xiaoli. Could that really be me—the crown prince, long thought dead?

“And my mother?” I asked.

“Empress Yuhua,” my uncle replied. “She died only months before your father was assassinated.”

I lowered my eyes, fingers tightening around the fabric of my robe. The weight of the revelation pressed down on me, so overwhelming that it hardly felt real.

“Excuse me,” I murmured, leaving the token on the table as I stood. “I need time to process all this.” Without waiting for a response, I turned and quickly left the dining hall.

Ruan Yanjun caught up with me just outside my room, gripping my wrist. “A-Fan, why is this so difficult for you to accept?”

“How long have you known about this?” I asked, still upset that he’d kept this from me.

He looked at me, unyielding. “I told you, A-Fan. There’s a reason why I searched for you, why I protected you, why I keep trying to keep you alive.”

Realization hit like a storm. “So this is why you’ve allied with these rebels—you want me to take the throne. You think that, as emperor, I’d be a tool for your ambitions – to dominate another empire?”

A faint smirk crossed his lips. “Now you’re starting to understand. But using you and dominating an empire isn’t my endgame. Expanding my sect’s reach westward is. Once I control the West, conquering the North will follow. The East I’ll leave for the light sects to thrive. We’ll let rival sects exist, just enough for a little competition, otherwise, life would be boring.”

I exhaled, feeling the weight of his ambition bearing down on me. This man was ready to topple an empire to rule the continent. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Lord Ruan, but I have no desire to claim the throne.”

A dark look flickered in his eyes. “Are you saying you won’t seek vengeance against your uncle? After he killed your parents, stripped you of your cultivation, and left you for dead? Doesn’t your blood cry out for retribution?”

“I do hate them,” I said softly, “but revenge won’t bring my parents back.”

“What about justice?” he pressed. “Your parents are likely watching over you, hoping—begging—that you’ll seek justice for their deaths. Is this what you’d tell them, that their lives meant nothing to you? Your father was the greatest emperor this empire has ever known. He gave everything for his people, only to be betrayed and slandered by his own brothers. Will you just stand by and let his name remain tarnished? Will you walk away and disappoint him?”

I pulled my hand free, trying to keep calm. “Vengeance won’t undo the past. Justice will come in time.” I turned and entered my room.

But he followed me inside, refusing to let it go. “And who do you expect will deliver this justice? The gods?” He smirked. “Tell me, A-Fan, where were your gods when you were betrayed by your own master, when you were tortured, when your cultivation was nullified, when you were poisoned and left to die on the street? Where were they?”

“They sent three people to help me,” I replied quietly. “A man named Li Yao, Jinjing... and you.”

For a moment, he was speechless. But then his face twisted into a humorless laugh, and suddenly, his hand shot out, wrapping around my throat. He lifted me off the ground with ease, his grip cutting off my air. If he wanted to, he could just snap my neck and I’d be dead in an instant.

I could only watch as the blood-red fury glinted in his eyes.

“You really think I’m a pawn of your gods?” he growled, his voice like a blade. “No one orders Ruan Yanjun. I act of my own will. Your gods don’t control me.” His grip tightened, and I struggled for breath, feeling the world darken around me. “If you believe they’ve kept you safe through me, then let’s end it here. Call on them, then, if they can save you from this devil.”

His grip around my neck tightened, and my hand instinctively reached up to grasp his, but it was useless. Blood pooled in my head, heat building unbearably. I was desperate for air, but the harder I fought for it, the more it slipped away.

My vision blurred, my mind teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.

Then, all at once, the pressure released, and I collapsed to the floor, gasping and coughing as precious air filled my lungs. It took a long moment for my head to clear, and when I finally looked up, I found him was standing over me, watching in silence. I was almost grateful my vision was still hazy. I didn’t want to see the expression I knew must be on his face, one that could only belong to the devil himself.

“You’re right,” I whispered. “The gods would never send a devil for me. You’re just a devil who’s chosen to use me for your own selfish ends. But I will say this to you again. Even if you kill me, I will never become emperor.”

I thought that would be the end for me. I was ready to die, knowing I had stood my ground, upheld my principles. If he couldn’t accept that, he’d surely see no further use in me and simply dispose of me.

But to my surprise, he did none of that.

“Get up,” he scolded. “A crown prince does not lie helplessly on the ground.”

“I’m not the crown prince.”

“If you are really that brave to dare to provoke me to kill you, then do so while standing on your two feet.”

I struggled to stand up while I was still trying to regulate my breathing.

He smirked. “Now I’m going to prove to you again that your gods has long abandoned you and won’t be coming for your rescue.”

Before I could react, he seized me, one arm pressing me tightly to his chest, the other gripping the back of my head with relentless force. In a single, brutal motion, he crushed his mouth against mine. Shock flooded my system as I tried to wrench free, twisting my arms to strike, but his grip restrained me effortlessly. When I attempted to knee him, I lost balance, and we stumbled onto the bed.

My heart pounded as I realized my mistake. The bed trapped me in place, making escape even more impossible. He easily pinned me down, his weight rendering me powerless beneath him. His legs locked mine, immobilizing any further resistance.

Helpless in his grip, I felt him consume me with rough, punishing kisses, each one a vent for his rage. He bit down on my lower lip so hard that I tasted blood.

As my body struggled for air, my vision began to dim, panic creeping in. I fought harder, desperate to stay conscious, knowing that once I lost awareness, he’d have complete control. He seemed intent on humiliating me, breaking me down completely to prove his point—that he was no divine instrument, but a devil following his own twisted will.

Then, with a savage force, he pried my mouth open and thrust his tongue inside. A strange energy coursed down my throat, its foreign presence chilling me to the bone. I had no idea what he was doing, but an overwhelming fear surged through me.

I wanted to tell him I believed him—that I understood—but it was too late. My voice failed, my body froze, and my mind began to fade. I realized with horror that he had paralyzed me completely.