Chapter 12: Someone much scarier

....

Xu Shan stood at the entrance of his Palace, watching the battle, looking a bit bored. In fact, it was wrong to even call it a battle. The people that Chen Rouyin brought with her were being dominated by his Royal Guards. 

It was as if the people she brought were kids who were trying to stop an elephant with bare hands. It didn't take long before almost all of them were killed by his guards, leaving only Chen Rouyin, whose face was ashen now!

Since she hadn't met Xu Shan and only heard rumors about him, she never truly imagined just how scary that guy could be. 

Since Xu Shan didn't go against the Four Great Families in the past, she thought that he was still considerate about their strength and wasn't going to take any drastic steps, even if she went a little overboard. 

She didn't realize that the reason Xu Shan didn't go against the four major clans wasn't because he was worried about them! Instead, it was because the four great clans always avoided him as if he was a walking plague. Let alone offending him; they even avoided the area he went to!

Now that all her guards were killed, Chen Rouyin stopped resisting. Her sword dropped to the ground as she clenched her fists tightly, looking at the bodies of her people all around her. 

She had already realized that she couldn't get back to her clan tonight. She could only surrender if she didn't want to die! She couldn't help but feel a gut-wrenching regret over his decision to come here and be forceful!

Now that all the people she brought with her were dead, she naturally didn't have any witnesses that could prove that Xu Shan took the lead to attack them first. She wasn't stupid enough to think about his guards siding with her. It was clear that they were going to lie for the Prince if it came to that. 

Her body was visibly trembling. It was unclear if it was because she was scared or because she was angry. 

"Tie her hands and keep an eye on her," Xu Shan told his guards before shifting his attention to Zi Huang. "Come with me."

Zi Huang nodded and followed after the Third Prince. He naturally didn't find anything different about him. On the other hand, the other guards tied the hands of Chen Rouyin, who had stopped resisting. 

Xu Shan stopped inside the castle, facing Zi Huang. From here, no other guards could hear what he was about to say.

"I want you to personally take Chen Rouyin to the Royal Palace. However, escorting her is only secondary. Your primary purpose is to bring something back! I want you to tell Father that I want an Aura Ring urgently."

"An Aura Ring?" Zi Huang clearly understood what that ring was. However, he also knew that there were only two such rings with the Eternal Dynasty Royal Family.

The rings were very precious as they were made from a special gem that was almost impossible to find. The ring could help a person hide from all sorts of probing! Its main purpose was to help a person hide. Even though the ring didn't turn a person invisible, if one wore the ring, no one could trace them no matter which treasure was used!

Zi Huang couldn't help but wonder why the Third Prince was asking for that ring. Was he trying to use it on the Saintess to ensure the Celestial Palace couldn't trace her? Even though he had his suspicions, he couldn't ask any questions. 

Even though the ring was precious, he was sure that the Eternal Emperor was going to hand over a ring from the treasury since it was the Third Prince who was asking for it. 

Zi Huang told the guards to increase the mansion's security until he returned. 

After preparing everything, he left with Chen Rouyin, who was glaring at Xu Shan. If looks could kill, the Xu Shan would've already been dead!

Xu Shan didn't care about Chen Rouyin. His mind was already in chaos because of everything he experienced today regarding the subtle change in his personality... Especially the strange inner feeling. 

Chen Rouyin was insignificant to the Third Prince, and it was the same for him. He was sure that his father was going to let her live. However, the Chen Clan would've had to bleed a lot for that. 

Xu Shan didn't care about that though. It was for his father and the Chen Clan to worry about. 

He also had another reason for going with this plan as well. Chen Rouyin came to his Palace and was caught attempting to assassinate him. The news was going to spread sooner or later. 

He was sure that many people were going to see through his tricks, and that's precisely what he wanted! He made it so obvious intentionally!

This way, even if the people from the Celestial Palace came to investigate their Saintess' disappearance from this city, they weren't going to dare investigate his Palace, worried that he was going to accuse them as well. 

Even the Celestial Palace would've had to be careful and not get caught in an accusation like that. This was another layer of protection he cast for himself. 

After telling the guards to clean up the Entrance of his Palace, he entered the Castle and went back to his room. 

….

The Third Prince's room was completely silent. The Saintess was still unconscious on the bed. However, her face was starting to regain some color, as if it wasn't going to be long before she woke up. 

"If you're still wondering if you should kill her or not, I suggest you don't." 

While Xu Shan was gazing at the girl on the bed, the mysterious dark-haired woman approached. 

She had stayed inside the room and hadn't left. Even though Xu Shan wondered if she really was the spirit of the Book of Desires, he couldn't find an answer. 

"Why do you say so?" He still remembered that when the dark-haired woman first appeared, she told him that killing the Saintess was the best solution. 

He couldn't help but wonder just what happened in the last half an hour for her to change her mind. 

"Just a thought." The dark-haired woman smiled, not saying much. It was clear that she knew something but wasn't willing to tell him. 

Xu Shan frowned, silently gazing at the girl on the bed. The identity of the Saintess was special. It was also clear that she had many secrets. In fact, even Xu Shan wasn't sure if he should kill her or not.

He had a feeling that the death of the Third Prince was what allowed him to take possession of this body. 

Initially, he thought that the Third Prince died because the Book of Desires killed him to make room for his soul. However, he also couldn't ignore the possibility that he died because of the Saintess. 

He already knew that the dark-haired woman wasn't going to tell him which of the two possibilities was the truth. 

"Why is my personality changing?" 

For the time being, he ignored the Saintess and focused on the main topic that had been plaguing his mind. He could feel that his personality had changed, and it changed very abruptly. 

He was still Xu Shan from the earth. However, at the same time, he felt as if he was someone else as well! Someone much more dangerous and scary than the previous Third Prince could ever hope to be!