"Use the time you're going to spend here wisely and think about your wrongdoings. I hope that you'll be a better person when you come out," The Crown Prince said to the Second Prince before he left.
Only the Second Prince remained inside the cell. Even the guards didn't go near him. They weren't sure if they should treat him as a Prince or as a prisoner now.
"Is the Second Prince really a prisoner now? Should we treat him like a Prince or as a prisoner?" One of the guards whispered to his partners.
"Even I'm not sure. This might be temporary after all. Let's treat him with respect, but don't give him any facilities inside the prison. Let him live the life of a prisoner for as long as he's inside," Another guard replied.
The other guards nodded their heads in affirmation at the suggestion and got back to guarding the place.
5 minutes had passed since the Crown Prince left the place when the Second Prince spoke, alerting the guards.
"Guards!" The Second Prince called out.
Everyone just looked at each other blankly.
"You go there,"
"No to go listen to him,"
"You're closest to him, so you go,"
They all kept telling each other since none of them wanted to deal with the Second Prince.
"Guards!" The Second Prince called out again.
"Stop wasting time! Let's all go together,"
They all decided to go together.
They all walked together and stood in front of the Prince's cell.
"Yes, Your Highness," They said.
"Is my brother gone?" The Second Prince asked.
"Ah, Yes. The Crown Prince has left this place," One of the guards replied.
"Oh, Good. Now open this cell for me. Let me leave this place," The Second Prince ordered the guards.
"T-this can't be done, Your Highness. It's the Crown Prince's orders. He ordered us that you are to be treated like a prisoner. We can't let you out," The guard said.
The Second Prince was stunned and couldn't find words to speak. He ultimately started laughing.
"Y... Good, very good. You passed!" The Second Prince said with a smile on his face, confusing the guards.
"We passed?" The guards let out in confusion.
"Yes. You passed. It was all a drama. I'm not actually a prisoner. This whole thing was like a test for you. We wanted to see your passion for your duty. You guys have passed with full marks. I'm so proud of you," He said as he glanced at them.
"This was a test?" The guards let out in shock.
" Yes. Now that you've passed, the test is over. You can let me out now," The Second Prince casually said. He looked as confident as he had always been.
"Ohh... so it was a test! I had a feeling that it was something like that. It was such a clever plan, Your Highness. Let me get you out now," One of the guards said as he stepped towards the cell in order to unlock it.
"Wait!" Another guard called out.
"What happened?"
The guards looked back in surprise.
"Don't open the cell," He said.
"Why not? The test is over. We can't let His Highness stay in the prison," The Guard let out.
All the other guards looked confused as well. They couldn't understand why that person had stopped him from bringing the Second Prince out.
"If you bring him out, we'll fail the test!" the man said.
"W-what? Haven't we already passed the test?" The guard inquired.
"I don't think we have! Can't you see, the Crown Prince told us that he's a prisoner. If you bring him out without the Crown Prince's orders, we'd fail the test,"
"You must realize that the Second Prince intentionally told us about the test. He wanted us to get him out. If we did as he said, we would fail. The Second Prince is role-playing a criminal. We can't listen to a criminal. If we do, we'd fail!" The man said as if he had discovered the secret.
"Ohhh, you're so clever. The test isn't over yet. Indeed, we can't let him out," All the order guards nodded their head.
"You idiots! I'm telling you that the test is over! Get me out now," The Crown Prince said.
"Sorry, Your Highness. But we won't fall for that. We fully intend to pass the test. Thank you for telling us about it though,"
All the guards thanked the Second Prince before they walked back to their post.
The Second Prince kept bellowing loudly as he tried to convince them, but the guards didn't listen to him.
Feeling defeated, he just walked back to a corner of the cell and sat down.
"Those idiots!" He cursed under his breath.
'Now how can I get the Ruler? I'd die if I can't go back with the Heavenly Ruler in 7 days. Why did my life have to be so bad,' He thought. He wanted to cry but no tears came out of his eyes.
'Oh right! He told me that he would hear me if I tried to spill his secret. It means that he can hear my words through the insect. I should inform him of what happened. At Least he wouldn't go crazy if I don't show up after 7 days,' He thought as he remembered the words of Long Chen.
He started looking towards his chest as he began talking.
"Hey, you. Can you listen? Well, I won't be able to get you the thing that you wanted. I tried, but I was caught by my brother. So please don't kill me when you don't find me after the 7th day. If you can hear me, please give me a signal through your insect," The Second Prince said softly.
He made sure to keep his voice low so that his voice doesn't reach the guards.
He waited for the signal after speaking, but he got none. He again repeated everything.
____________________________________
Long Chen was sitting inside his room and cultivating peacefully. Even though the Second Prince believed that Long Chen was able to hear him, in reality, he wasn't able to hear anything. He had just bluffed last time to frighten the Second Prince.
He spent 2 days straight in cultivation and didn't leave the room for even a second.
____________________________________
2 days had passed, and the Second Prince was still waiting for a hint from Long Chen confirming that he had received his message. He expected a shock on his heart like last time, but he got none.
He just couldn't help but wonder if Long Chen was actually able to hear him or was he just lying?
"Did he lie to me? He must have lied to me! He can't hear anything. Although I don't know about this Insect, it should be impossible that he could hear him from so far away. He must have lied," The Second Prince said in a low voice.
Even after saying that, he waited. He believed that if Long Chen was able to hear him, he would have given him a heart-wrenching pain by now. He had verified his notion that Long Chen couldn't hear him.
'It means that I don't have to worry anymore! I can just tell my brother and get out of this whole trouble! Brother and Father can think of a way to get this Insect out of my body,' The Second Prince thought as he excitedly stood up.
"Guards! Call my brother here! Tell him that I wish to meet him. I have something important to tell him!" The Second Prince let out loudly.
"Yes, your highness!"
One of the guards left the place in order to convey the message of the Second Prince to the Crown Prince.
"I can finally get out of this hell of a place! I'd be free. And when this Insect is out of my body, I'd get the boy imprisoned and torture him personally," The Second Prince said with a grin on his face.