"Hahaha! A bastard is always a bastard!" Suddenly, two figures strode in through the doors. "Everyone else gets rainbows when they pay respects, but you? You get blasted by lightning!"
The two who entered were Princess Quinn Xiao and her fiancé, Darren Xuan.
Quinn Xiao strutted up to Sean Shaw, chin lifted high and eyes full of disgust. "See, Sean Shaw, you shouldn't even exist!"
Sean Shaw stared back at her, icy and unflinching.
"Why are you staring at me? Careful, or the Holy Lord's lightning will zap you dead again!" Quinn Xiao shoved Sean Shaw. "Move it!"
But her hand was instantly grabbed by someone else.
It was Lucia Lu.
Lucia Lu caught Quinn Xiao's wrist and stepped in front of Sean Shaw, shielding him.
"Lucia Lu, what do you think you're doing?" Quinn Xiao snapped.
"Your Highness, Sean is just a small immortal. Why stoop to his level?"
"What? Small immortal?" Quinn Xiao scoffed, shooting Sean Shaw a mocking look, then glancing at the pale-faced Adrian Drake. "You mean Sean Shaw is just some nobody?"
"Isn't he?" Lucia Lu replied, all innocence.
"Uh, actually, Sean's real name is Sean Shaw. He... he's the Fifth Highness." Adrian Drake blurted out, figuring honesty was safer than getting smacked.
The three Lu siblings stared at the still-smoldering Sean Shaw, jaws dropping.
"I swear I didn't mean to trick you guys, there's a whole messy story! Seriously, can we talk on the ship?" Adrian Drake pleaded, looking desperate.
"What's so complicated?" Quinn Xiao sneered. "He's just a bastard! Hidden away because he's too embarrassing to show in public."
"Princess, please don't say that." Adrian Drake's face turned cold. "The Fifth Highness is His Majesty the Celestial Emperor's own son. If you call him a bastard, who are you really insulting?"
"You—"
"Enough!" Darren Xuan gently stopped the princess from blowing up. "We're standing in front of the Holy Lord and Emperor Evan Xiao's memorial tablets. Show some respect."
Quinn Xiao sucked in a breath and shot Sean Shaw a sideways glare, but at least she kept her mouth shut.
Adrian Drake hustled the still-frosty Sean Shaw out of the hall.
The group headed back to the ship.
Adrian Drake dragged Sean Shaw into a cabin. When they came out, Sean's scorched Celestial Robe had been swapped for a stunning Divine Robe.
Ryan Lu gasped, hand clamped over his mouth. "How can anyone look that good? Even as a guy, I can't look away..."
Sean Shaw shot a look straight at Lucia Lu, noticing she was staring right back. His ears went pink, but he didn't say a word.
Adrian Drake hurried after them, explaining, "About the Fifth Highness—I swear I didn't mean to keep it from you!"
It's just... his personality. He hates crowds, always holed up in the Celestial Emperor's private domain, cultivating. Never goes anywhere.
His Majesty forced me to drag him out for some fresh air, but Sean didn't want to attract attention, so we lied and said he was my relative...
"Oh... I always thought the Fifth Highness didn't look like some small-time immortal from the lower realms," Ryan Lu said.
Luna Lian nodded. "Still, it's weird. At the Radiant Palace, there were tons of guests from Drake Abyss. How come no one recognized the Fifth Highness?"
Adrian Drake shrugged. "He's even more mysterious than our senior sister!"
He's lived in the Celestial Emperor's domain since he was a kid—a thousand years and never left!
Now that he's grown up, his looks have changed so much, almost nobody in Drake Abyss can recognize him.
If His Majesty didn't occasionally drag me in to keep him company, folks outside would probably forget the Fifth Highness even exists!
"Whoa! A thousand years without leaving?" Ryan Lu gawked. "Didn't you get bored out of your mind?"
Sean Shaw: "No."
"You just spent all that time cultivating?"
Sean Shaw: "Mm."
"No wonder you barely talk. The real miracle is you can speak at all!"
...