What a huge blame to bear on his head, ah, the effect on his career!
Regardless, Nangong Yin was of the Royal Family, the Young Prince from the Jing Royal Mansion. Xiahou Lie had been negligent and allowed Nangong Yin to die right before his eyes, so this blame he was destined to shoulder, no matter what.
Moreover, it was the Demon Clan that "accidentally" killed Nangong Yin; one could not simply say that since the Demon Clan appeared within the borders of the Sky White Empire, it was the Sky White Empire’s responsibility to take the blame.
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if the Sky White Empire were to take some responsibility, Xiahou Lie was, after all, right there at the scene, by Nangong Yin’s side!
Hesitating in front of the door to the Eleventh Prince’s quarters, Xiahou Lie finally mustered the courage, knocked softly and said in a deep voice, "Eleventh Prince, your subordinate has something to report."
The door swung open automatically. The Eleventh Prince sat cross-legged on a cushion inside the room, surrounded by flames. It seemed he had always maintained a state of being engulfed in fiery flames, and it could even be said that his body had merged with the flames.
However, it appeared he still couldn’t properly control those flames; he needed the help of a woman in Purple Clothes to fully wield the power of the flames.
Xiahou Lie took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and his legs, heavy as if filled with lead, walked slowly into the chamber. Before he could speak, he fell to his knees with a "thud" in front of the Eleventh Prince and said with a grave tone, "Prince, your subordinate encountered an accident while receiving the Heir of Prince Jing."
"Is he dead?" The Eleventh Prince, without even opening his eyes, asked indifferently.
"Yes," replied Xiahou Lie with his head lowered, his expression filled with sorrow.
"How did he die?" the Eleventh Prince asked, his demeanor remaining unchanged, his voice devoid of any trace of emotion.
In the Emperor’s household, brothers might not necessarily share a deep bond, let alone cousins connected by blood.
Xiahou Lie took a deep breath and said gravely, "After the Cangqiong Sect handed over the Heir, a sudden uprising of demons occurred around the Sky White Imperial City. His Highness was, unfortunately, crushed to death on the spot by an unknown demon."
"A demonic beast uprising, I see," the Eleventh Prince acknowledged with a slight nod. "That will be all. Exit now and see to your duties."
"Prince, about the death of the Heir..." Xiahou Lie raised his head, looking tentatively at the Eleventh Prince, hesitating to continue.
"Regarding the death of my cousin, I will clarify matters with the Emperor. The Emperor is not yet senile; weighing the importance between a deceased Heir of Prince Jing and a General who has served the nation, I am confident the Emperor will know what matters more. As for Uncle Wang..." The Eleventh Prince slightly raised his head, his eyes flashing with a sharp gleam, and slowly said, "The Tianyang Empire does not yet revolve around his whims."
"Thank you, Prince," said Xiahou Lie as he hurriedly bowed his head, expressing his deep gratitude. This Eleventh Prince was decisive and acted with such resoluteness, and possessing extraordinary talents, he might, in the future, be the one with the best chance to become the Monarch of the Tianyang Empire.
"You may leave now," the Eleventh Prince said lightly, waving his hand.
"Your subordinate will take his leave."
Xiahou Lie exited the room slowly, his heavy heart finally easing.
Once Xiahou Lie was far enough away, the mysterious woman standing beside the Eleventh Prince couldn’t help but smile and said, "Prince, do you really believe this was just a coincidence?"
"Whether it’s a coincidence or not, there is no need for further inquiry into this affair," the Eleventh Prince replied.
The Eleventh Prince’s eyes flashed with shrewd spirit as he spoke indifferently, "Father Emperor sent me here, not solely for the trivial matter of the Heir of Prince Jing. In a few days, I will have completely tamed the Xuanhuang Flame. Now is not the time for unwarranted complications."
"That’s true." The woman in purple clothes chuckled lightly, "I have a premonition that the youth named Ling Feng seems inevitably tied to this matter. However, this youth also has connections with the Holy Land, so this time let’s just grant him a favor."
"Sooner or later, I too will set foot in that Holy Land. As for Ling Feng, he is not a concern."
The Eleventh Prince took a deep breath and slowly said, "Purple Garden, help me tame the Xuanhuang Flame first."
"All right then, I’m about to start. The process of taming the Xuanhuang Flame is excruciating, especially this final step. The Heart Refining Fire Tribulation is the most torturous. Prince, are you ready?"
Purple Garden raised her delicate hand, a seductive smile on her face.
The Eleventh Prince indeed had great determination, or else he would not have earned the favor of a great power, receiving the Xuanhuang Flame, ranked within the top thirty on the Abnormal Fire List, as his Primordial True Fire.
In an instant, the flames inside the Eleventh Prince burst forth violently. Purple Garden quickly mobilized her Yin Cold Power to neutralize the domineering Flame Power. Nevertheless, the temperature in the room remained terrifyingly high, with the walls showing signs of melting.
The Eleventh Prince’s face showed unbearable pain. The Heart Refining Fire Tribulation was the last hurdle to taming the Xuanhuang Flame. Once he survived this tribulation, he would truly control this Abnormal Fire and become the master of the Xuanhuang Flame.
On the other side, after Nangong Yin’s death, Ling Feng returned directly to the Heavenly Position Academy. As for the task of offering condolences to the Tianyang Empire’s Envoy Team, such a thing naturally fell to the seasoned ’actor’ Liu Hongzhang.
In the Sky Pavilion, Ling Feng had been waiting for a long time, but still, there was no sign of Despicable Donkey returning. As the sky gradually darkened, Ling Feng was almost unable to sit still.
Just as Ling Feng was about to go out and search for Despicable Donkey, the creature returned with Little Qiongqi.
However, Despicable Donkey was covered in scratches and bruises. Since Ling Feng had known it, he had never seen the black donkey in such a sorry state.
"Despicable Donkey, what happened to you? Did you run into another Divine Beast?"
Ling Feng looked in disbelief at Despicable Donkey, his body covered in claw and bite marks, clearly the work of a demon beast. Yet, how could an ordinary demon beast leave such marks on the body of a formidable being from the Demon Clan?
Despicable Donkey glared at Ling Feng irritably. This time, he had suffered a great loss. Not only had Little Qiongqi swallowed the remaining half of the Demon God Bone, but it had also gone berserk and given Despicable Donkey a beating.
And all of this, he naturally blamed on Ling Feng!
Ling Feng shrugged and, noticing the Little Qiongqi in Despicable Donkey’s embrace, his eyelids twitched, "That’s not right, how does it seem little guy has grown so much? Am I seeing things?"
"Sect Leader, you’re not seeing things. Little Qiongqi really has grown a lot!"
Su Hongxiu cautiously reached out and touched Little Qiongqi’s head. Thankfully, the little creature still recognized Su Hongxiu and did not reject her.
"Little maid, take good care of this little guy! Stinking brat, you come with this Divine Beast for a moment!"
Despicable Donkey rolled his eyes, stuffed Little Qiongqi into Su Hongxiu’s arms, then immediately dragged Ling Feng into the inner room and firmly shut the door behind them. That wasn’t all; he even set up a soundproof barrier.
Then, the creature stared at Ling Feng for quite a while before finally speaking, "Kid, spill it! Did you cuckold the Qiongqi Demon Emperor? Boy, you really have some nerve, daring to touch the spouse of the Demon Emperor!"