CHAPTER 9

The Dying Crown Prince

LUO FAN

I kept my surprise and amazement to myself as I silently followed Lord Lan.

Just judging by the heavily-guarded gate, the majestic palaces that we passed by, the high walls that surrounded the area, and the amount of guards scattered around, I knew that we had just entered the Imperial Palace of Xianru Empire.

I had no doubt that Lord Lan was a powerful person, but I had not expected that he was that omnipotent and very well-regarded that the imperial guards kept their heads low as he walked past them.

After witnessing this, I would not wonder if he turned out to be a member of the royal court or a royal himself.

We went straight to a certain palace, unhindered by anything or anyone along the way. The guards immediately opened the gate for us and the servants lined up in the courtyard to greet us.

I felt uncomfortable with all the courtesies, even if they weren’t intended for me. I tried to return their greetings with a bow, but the subject of courtesies himself never even bothered to regard them.

“My lord.” A man wearing a tall head cap rushed before Lord Lan and bowed his head. “I apologize for not meeting you at the gate. Your visit is sudden and unexpected.”

“Is the crown prince awake?” Lord Lan asked, his tone sounded like he was the emperor himself.

“I’m afraid His Highness has not wakened up since three days ago, my lord.”

“I’ll go see him.”

The man in a head cap, who I assumed was a high-ranked eunuch, led the way to the door and I again followed them.

I was still in a state of disbelief.

The crown prince is the sick man that Lord Lan was talking about? The man that I need to check on?

Am I even qualified?

Suddenly, I was anxious. I had heard of imperial physicians being executed just because they failed to cure a member of the royal family.

I was in a dilemma. If Lord Lan had told me earlier that the man I was going to see was the Crown Prince of Xianru, I probably would not have agreed to come along.

There were about half a dozen people inside the room of the crown prince. They were discussing something amongst themselves, but the moment Lord Lan walked in, they all formed a single line and bowed before him.

“Any progress?” Lord Lan asked.

“I’m afraid there’s no accurate conclusion yet, my lord,” one of them replied.

Lord Lan sighed and disappeared behind a tall rectangular object that I supposed was a dividing screen. A moment later, he walked out of the shadow and approached me.

“This is Priest Luo of the Yinhaimen sect. I brought him here to check on the crown prince.”

Yinhaimen sect? Where did that come from?

The six people, who I supposed were imperial physicians, turned their heads towards me.

“Forgive me, my lord, but I’ve never heard of that sect before,” one said.

“Look it up if you wish,” Lord Lan replied sternly. “I’ve no time to explain.”

The physicians did not dare say another word, but I was too aware of the murmurs they made. They were not pleased that an unknown priest from an unknown sect, not to mention blind, would dare touch the crown prince, but in Lord Lan’s presence, nobody dared to voice out their objection.

Lord Lan led me behind the screen where I found a tall figure lying on the bed. This must be the Crown Prince of Xianru. Unfortunately, I could not see his face. It would have been easier for me to diagnose him if I could see more details. All I was sure about was that he was too thin his frame looked like he had no flesh left in his body.

“Meet your patient,” Lord Lan said. “Prince Sheng, the crown prince of Xianru Empire.”

I held my breath. Even if I already knew the person’s identity, hearing those words from Lord Lan heightened my anxiety.

“The whole empire is expecting much from you. You’re now the last resort… and the only hope.”

My fingers trembled and I had to swallow hard so I could breathe again. This man had tricked me into coming here, but it was my fault for not asking relevant questions as to the identity of my patient.

Under the watchful eyes of the six physicians, the eunuch, the crown prince’s bodyguard, and Lord Lan, I made a thorough examination of the crown prince. Being a priest, although I had not opted to learn Healing, I knew basic diagnostic procedures. But I had only done it a couple of times. Most of my knowledge about the procedure was only through books.

Regardless, I knew the body’s anatomy too well, so it should not be too difficult to put my readings into actual use.

I was right. The crown prince was but skin and bones. His body was so dehydrated that he felt like a wrinkled, old man.

His condition had indeed some similarities with mine, but he was in a far worse state. His pulse was now so faint he was very close to dying.

But I would not say that in front of these people, not especially in front of Lord Lan who was probably hoping for a miracle from a former Divine Mage.

“Priest Luo.” One of the physicians handed me a booklet. “This book contains all the symptoms of His Highness, starting from the onset of the illness until today. Why don’t you take a look at it? You might find it useful.”

I was not sure if the physician was insulting me. Certainly, he must have already noticed that I could not see and he wanted to rub salt on that matter, as if to emphasize to everyone else that I was blind.

I looked at the physician and nodded politely. “Do you mind if I borrow it?”

“I’m afraid we only have one copy and we can’t let the information leave the palace. Why don’t you read it now and make a list of those things that you deem important?”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

I was unable to utter a word. This man was indeed mocking me.

Lord Lan must have heard the disguised innocent offense and approached the physician. He stood too close before the lanky man and looked down at him. “You dare insult Priest Luo in my presence?”

The physician took a step back and quickly went down on his knees. “I had no such intention, my lord. I spoke too carelessly. Forgive this lowly physician.”

I was left confounded. I could not believe that even an imperial physician would get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness before Lord Lan.

Just who exactly is Lord Lan in the empire of Xianru? Is he the emperor himself? The one they called Emperor Yin?

However, they addressed him as ‘lord’ and not ‘His Majesty’, so perhaps I was mistaken.

Lord Lan sighed and grabbed the booklet from my hand. He tossed it back to the physician who was still on his knees. “After Priest Luo finished his business here, I’m taking that booklet. So while you still have time, make your own copy.”

“Yes, my lord,” the physician replied.

“Get up and start writing.”

The physician quickly rose to his feet and dashed to the corner where the table was.

Lord Lan looked at me. “Continue what you’re doing,” he said in a gentle voice and stepped aside.

I was still in a state of bemusement that I had to discreetly massage my fingers to soften them before I was able to move again.

I continued examining the crown prince until I got a thorough clinical image of his physical condition. As for other symptoms, I had to trust the content of that booklet.

What I needed now were specimens from the patient, but I could not just take anything from the crown prince’s body without risking my neck.

Caught in a dilemma, I approached Lord Lan. “My lord, I need a few things from His Highness if you don’t mind.”

“Name them.”

“A few strands of hair, including the root, a small piece of his nail, and a few drops of blood.”

Without saying a word, he shrugged as if my request was too easy. He approached the crown prince and untied his hair. Just behind the prince’s ear, he plucked a few strands of his royal hair as if he were simply pulling weeds from the ground.

I heard several gasps inside the room, including mine.

My deceased master was a prince himself, so I knew that doing such a thing to a member of the royal family was considered a contemptuous offense that warranted death.

But Lord Lan acted like he was the authority himself and immune to any punishment. He even raised the strands of hair in his hand for me as if I could see it. “Is this enough?”

It was a struggle for me to close my mouth and nod. “It is more than enough, my lord,” I replied, even if I had no idea how many strands of hair he had. If he had at least three, that should be enough.

He placed the strands of hair on a plate that the eunuch held before him. “I need a clean knife.”

A physician handed him a small knife.

Lord Lan took the crown prince’s hand and again, right before everyone’s wide-open eyes, he made a small cut on the prince’s fingertip while a physician held a tiny cup underneath it to catch the dripping blood.

Next, he recklessly cut a piece of the crown prince’s nail. At that time, it did not shock the onlookers that much anymore for they had already seen the worst that one could do against a royal prince.

The eunuch carefully packed the specimens inside a small lacquered box and handed it to me.

“Thank you,” I nodded politely.

Having finished my business with the crown prince, Lord Lan ushered me out of the palace and back to the waiting carriage. I thought it would be a long ride once again, but after just half an hour, the carriage stopped.

When I stepped out, I found myself standing in the front yard of a big mansion, adorned by gardens of flowers and small trees.

It was unfortunate that they only came in one color in my eyes—black.

“This is my official residence in the capital,” he said and walked ahead of me.

I nodded and followed him. It was only then that I noticed that there were people standing before the door.

“Welcome back, my lord,” the people said in chorus.

It was already late in the afternoon. With my body’s condition, I was already exhausted. Lord Lan noticed it and ordered his servants to take me to my room to rest.

I immediately fell asleep. The bed was so soft it felt so comfortable I slept through the rest of the afternoon until a servant came to wake me up.

“His lordship is waiting for you to join him for dinner,” he said.

I was more tired than hungry I would not have minded skipping dinner and just sleep until morning, but I must pay respect to my benefactor.

I straightened my clothes and combed my hair before I walked out of the room and followed the servant to the dining hall.

I found the master of the house already seated at the table, his chin resting on his palm while he waited. Although he was idle, I did not sense any traces of impatience from him.

While I approached him, he remained still. This was the same exact demeanor he had presented when I met him at the restaurant the night before.

I cupped my hands and lowered my head. “I apologize for keeping his lordship waiting.”

He sighed and gestured for me to sit on the chair from across him. “Did you rest well?” he asked after I settled down.

“I did, my lord.”

“Did you find the room to your liking? There’s a bigger room with a private courtyard if you prefer that, but it’s quite far from here I’m concerned I may not be able to protect you personally if you’re that far.”

“I’m quite content with the room you have generously provided for me, my lord. I can’t ask for more.”

He nodded. “That’s good.” He turned to the female servants behind him and made signs with his hand that only they could understand. A moment later, two women brought in a tall vessel and two cups.

Lord Lan poured wine into the two cups and handed one to me. Immediately, I caught a whiff of its sweet aroma, an assurance of its fine quality.

“I’ve set up a laboratory for your use,” he said after taking a sip from his cup of wine. “You may go check it out tomorrow to see what else is lacking. Make a list of everything that you need and I’ll provide them.”

“Lord Lan is indeed very generous.”

“It’s not entirely for you. This is also for the crown prince.”

I nodded.

Of course. What made me think that he was doing this for me?

I wanted to ask him what his position was in the palace, why he seemed untouchable that everyone feared him, and why the crown prince’s life mattered a lot to him. However, I wasn’t sure if I was in a position to ask.

I should just wait for him to tell me.

Unlike with Jinjing where I could speak my mind freely and we could even sit as close to each other should we want to, without the added malice, that was not the case with Lord Lan.

My relationship with Jinjing had gone to a point where we no longer minded physical boundaries, even if we were of opposite genders. Probably because she was easy to get along with.

But with this man, I barely knew him. He would not even properly introduce himself to me, and throughout our six-hour journey earlier, he had never mentioned anything about himself. He only talked about the history of Xianru and how it had prospered from a purely agricultural region to a flourishing empire.

His knowledge of the empire and its political system was vast. He even used some terminologies that I could not comprehend. I could tell he was extremely well-educated.

I had some education myself, but the totality of my knowledge would never be worthy of comparison to his.

More servants arrived and filled the table with a variety of food but I just stared at them. I had not even touched the wine yet.

The amount of food they had prepared was excessive for only two people. For someone like me who was raised in a temple, such exorbitance was unacceptable, especially considering that there were a lot of people who could not eat even once a day.

“Is the food not to your liking?” he asked.

I glanced at him and shook my head. I could not possibly tell him about what I think and offend his hospitality. “I’m just overwhelmed. I can’t decide which one to try first.”

“You’re a priest. Your diet usually comprises simple foods. Start with this.” He reached across the table and placed something in my bowl. When the aroma reached my nose, I figured it was a steamed fish.

“Thank you, my lord,” I said and started to eat. This one was tastier compared to the ones that I and Jinjing used to buy from the market.

“There’s not much fish from where you came from, is there?” he asked as he probably noticed my smile.

“Kan Empire is close to a desert and surrounded by mountains. Fish is regarded as a lucrative food. Even wealthy people cannot simply get their hands on them whenever they please.”

“While here in Xianru, surrounded by ocean at the south and a great river at the north, there’s an abundance of that all over the empire, to the point that their sight and smell becomes sickening.”

“Lord Lan seems to hold some enmity against fish,” I humored.

“That’s true.”

My face suddenly turned serious.

I did not expect that.

“I don’t usually allow fish on my table. I only made an exception just now because I wanted you to try the delicacies of the capital city.”

“Lord Lan is very considerate.” I was honestly touched that he even tolerated the smell of something he resented for me. The more that I doubted if this was really the Ruan Yanjun that I had heard about—the heartless and remorseless murderous Devil of the South.

He sighed. “Do not think so kindly of me. I am not what you think I am… I give you a piece of advice. If you want to make it in the secular world, do not be deceived by small acts of kindness. Most of the time, they’re not real. Their real intention is to make you put your guard down, and then devour you the moment you least expect it.”

I was speechless. In just over two months, I had already gotten my fair share of evil in the secular world, but Lord Lan made it sound like people were even more wicked than I realized.