Chapter 22 The True Terror is Unawareness

The Crown Prince lightly swirled the teacup in his hand, indifferently watching a few tea leaves floating in the tea, completely ignoring the old woman's words.

The old woman snorted coldly, looking absolutely confident, "Do you think that if he leaves the Ye estate, we won't be able to touch him?"

The Ye Family's wealth was renowned and its members capable of appearing under the clear blue sky, clearly, they were not of ordinary status and were unconcerned whether they had to be within the estate to take action against someone.

But to the arrogant and impolite old woman, as well as her pride in the Ye Family, they admittedly meant nothing in the eyes of the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was not a sage nor a fairy, he was a god, and the future Emperor of the Divine Domain. Outside the Divine Domain, he was a heavenly deity, a holy monarch of the celestial realm, a successor of the supreme celestial clan's bloodline, and one of the future supreme deities.

As noble as he, the only reason he would personally attend to such a trivial matter was merely because he happened to come across it, was somewhat bored, and just happened to be waiting for a hypothesis to be confirmed.

That hypothesis he had just sent Fang Gang to test out.

"If someone could indeed take his life, it would save me quite a bit of trouble."

The Crown Prince said this very calmly. Even though the Ye Family's actions were like clamoring for attention and humiliating themselves, he remained indifferent to everything, his calmness bordering on coldness.

True superiority comes devoid of emotion, for when all things under heaven are beneath one's feet, impartiality prevails. Indifferent to kindness and cruelty alike.

His words were spoken nonchalantly but rang with a terrifying implication that sent shivers down the spines of the Ye family's members.

In their eyes, Lin Suqing was merely a mortal. Now that a high deity had mentioned him in such a way, could it be that this mortal's incompetence was all an illusion?

Yes, they were frightened.

Because from the Crown Prince's words, they inferred two things. They heard the importance he placed on the mortal's life and death, indicating that he genuinely cared.

Moreover, even if he did not care, they would not be able to claim that mortal's life, realizing that they wouldn't be able to take the life of a mere mortal.

The old woman trembled, aghast! Could it be that they had walked right into a trap?

They had guessed wrong, but it did not matter if they guessed right or wrong, as they were not supposed to guess in the first place.

The Crown Prince set down his cup and, with a relaxed flick of his fan, casually said, "However the matter unfurls, I give you a chance to confess truthfully."

They could speculate however they wanted; he did not care. He had merely stumbled upon this affair, felt slightly bored, and was again waiting for a verification.

Though he seemed indifferent, his presence was as oppressive as Mount Tai, intimidating everyone in the Ye Family, causing them to huddle together involuntarily, cowering behind the old woman.

Upon realizing this, the old woman forcefully stomped her cane without showing fear and scolded, "Hmph, I don't care whom you claim to be, whether a deity or specter, you can't act wantonly in my Ye estate!"

Her bravery was actually a facade, as she even heard a tremble in her own voice.

No sooner had the old woman's words fallen than a scream erupted behind her.

A concubine went pale with shock, crying in panic, "Old Madam, my body is burning up, it feels like there's a raging fire consuming me, save me! Save me! Save me!"

The horrified concubine looked around helplessly for help, but no one dared approach her, fearing her strange affliction might spread to them. Thus, before the openly watching crowd, she turned into a wisp of smoke that dissipated in the broad daylight.

Gone without a trace.

The old woman and all the ladies present were stunned, unaware of what had befallen the concubine, but they knew it was terrifying, a terrifying beyond struggle, where once it befell them, only death, real death, would follow.

The Ye Family's young master, who had been sitting solemnly cross-legged on the bed, was jolted by the concubine's pitiful scream and the other women's panic, and involuntarily opened his eyes, witnessing the concubine vanish into thin air, and turned pale, "This..."

The Crown Prince glanced back at him, and that look filled with cold light terrified the young master. He quickly shut his eyes, resolving henceforth, no matter what happened, to stay out of the matter, "Amitabha..."

The old woman's feigned calm and authority were hard to maintain, and she felt her knees going weak.

"Who on Earth are you! What kind of sorcery are you wielding!"

The sudden display of power caught everyone unprepared—impossible to prevent, impossible to stop. Fear was inevitable.

Unperturbed, the Crown Prince nonchalantly tapped his folding fan on his palm, offhandedly remarking, "It must be the playful beast I keep, perhaps at the moment digging up your bones for fun."

He spoke so carelessly, as though remarking on a pleasant day suited for a walk.

But the women of the Ye estate were instantly filled with dread.

Their bones were all buried on the hillside outside the estate, some moved there only later. But regardless of when they were buried there, they now faced the threat of being unearthed.

If their graves were dug up in the blazing sunlight, wouldn't they be exposed to the harsh sun and wait to be reduced to ashes?

That was true death! The group of terrified ghostly women desperately begged the old woman to find a way to save them. But the old woman was clearly frightened too, her hand on her cane trembling uncontrollably.

"Who will be next? It's not me, right? Please, let it not be me!"

"Not me, please God, let it not be me!"

"Old Madam, it's not dark yet; we are not like those servants, we can't leave the Ye Family estate. Please, think of something..."

The Old Madam herself had also started panicking, as no one knew who might be next—it could very well be her.

"Ah!"

Another scream suddenly shattered the silence, startling everyone. They saw yet another concubine experiencing the same terrifying ordeal as before.

Due to her body burning in agony, she rolled on the ground non-stop, screaming for help.

"Old Madam, save me! Save me! Ah!!! Save..." Before she could finish her sentence, she vanished in the blink of an eye, even faster than the previous ones had dissipated.

Fear spread through the Ye Family estate like a tide, assaulting the hearts of everyone there—though it might be inaccurate to call them people anymore.

Nervousness and terror spread uncontrollably. They dared not scream or cry out loudly to the Old Madam for help, and they even refrained from speaking softly. They feared that any slight noise might disturb that individual's mood, and then they might be next.

...

...

The day gradually turned to dusk, unnoticed.

Within the anxious Ye Family estate, Lin Suqing, who was on his way to Sidian County, idly twirled a foxtail grass in his hand. The road was scarcely populated; after leaving the city gates, it was all rural paths. Wild mountains and forests surrounded them, with the occasional dilapidated hut and many overgrown fields due to neglect.

Lin Suqing, not knowing the direction to Sidian County, simply followed his instincts. At crossroads, he chose his path based on intuition alone. If his gut told him left, he went left; if it said right, he went right.

Throughout his journey, he hadn't met a single passerby who could confirm if he was going in the right direction.

As he was idly pondering, he actually came upon a passerby.

"Hey, uncle," he dropped the foxtail grass and hurriedly intercepted a farmer carrying a hoe.

The farmer was startled by him, but Lin Suqing quickly put on a disarming smile and asked, "Excuse me, is this the way to Sidian County?"

The farmer, sizing him up and seeing his fine clothes, grew fearful and hence, stuttered in his response.

"Yes, it's, it's this way." The farmer hastily fled, as if afraid of inviting trouble.

Perhaps it was because rural people had not seen such an elegantly dressed young master before; his clothes were indeed striking and imposing. Lin Suqing paid it no mind, assuming the farmer was simply unused to seeing strangers and was a bit scared.

Since he'd stumbled upon the right path by accident, he decided to continue moving forward. The task had to be hastened.

The further he went, the more farmers he encountered returning from the fields. Whenever he approached them to ask directions, they invariably responded with trembling voices, "Yes, this is the road. Just keep going straight ahead."

It seemed everyone grew fearful after taking him in. Were the villagers naturally so fearful of strangers?

Guided by his intuition, he chose his path at many forks in the road and, incredibly, remained on the correct path the entire time. Lin Suqing suddenly realized that this might be related to the Mi Gu branch he was wearing. Just before leaving, Mi Gu had specifically mentioned that as long as he wore it, he would never lose his way.

It truly was effective. He had to praise the Mi Gu branch for its great usefulness and miraculous effects, far surpassing the navigational devices of his original world by millions of times.

...

With no fear of losing his way, he hesitated no more and thus quickened his pace.

Since the area was remote and devoid of places to stay, he was particularly mindful of the time, occasionally looking up to observe the changes in the sky.

He had left just before sunset; the sun had been shining brightly moments ago, but now it had sunk low in the sky. It seemed like in just the blink of an eye, the day had rapidly darkened.

The surroundings remained unchanged; it was as if he could never reach the end of this path. Not knowing how long he had walked, the sky had turned dusky.

Suddenly, he came upon an old woman with a pale, sickly complexion, whose eyesight also appeared poor.

As Lin Suqing passed by, she stared at him for a long time, making him stop involuntarily and glance down at himself.

After a moment, the old woman earnestly advised him, "Young master, it's getting dark, and you stand out too much. Do not continue on this night's road."

Lin Suqing instinctively examined himself again, puzzled. Did standing out have anything to do with traveling at night? Or was there a threat of robbers ahead, and his Crescent Moon Robe made him look wealthy?

However, when he looked up, the old woman was already gone, with only a dead leaf drifting in the wind. He couldn't help but feel astonished...that old woman's pace was too fast...

It was just the beginning of night, and a breeze passed through, transforming the previously sweltering summer night into a chillingly cold one.

Unaware of how long the road to Sidian County was or how many more miles lay ahead,

he looked up at the gathered night sky, feeling somewhat hollow with the evening breeze—traveling by night in the wilderness, might he encounter something unclean?

Thinking thus, a chill ran down his spine, involuntary. He gathered his robe again and again, clutching his arms around himself as he deeply felt the evening wind was excessively chilly.