Melody Wood smiled and said, "Of course I know my brother's temperament. When I saw you so beautiful, yet about to marry my brother, I thought you were after his status. But now it seems that's not the case. Sorry about that."
"It's good you keep thinking that way." Lynn Lin was secretly pleased to be called so beautiful.
"You could have just refused. Why did you come to Wood Imperial City? This isn't a place you belong." Melody asked.
"I wish I could, but my master forced me to come." Lynn said helplessly.
"Oh? So that's how it is. What about your close bodyguard? Where did you find him?" Melody Wood laughed, asking.
"You mean Evan Yang? Why are you asking about him?" Lynn Lin was puzzled why Melody was interested in Evan.
"Evan Yang? So that's his name. No reason, just thought he seemed special, so I asked. No other intentions." Melody replied.
"Special? He really is special." Lynn Lin laughed.
The two started chatting. Lynn, who had been bored alone, felt much better having someone to talk to. Meanwhile, Evan Yang was in a space—more precisely, a confusing forest filled everywhere with trees.
It was a dense, primeval forest, where fierce beasts could appear at any moment.
But Evan Yang was prepared, so even fierce beasts were no threat to him.
At this moment, Evan Yang calmed down and checked the space. He discovered it was truly vast—his divine sense couldn't cover it. There were many people nearby, all heading forward, since the exit was ahead and the most chaotic spot. In order to compete for first place, fighting was inevitable, so some had already started battling.
Just as Evan was wondering when to head for the exit, several people who were hostile toward him approached.
Those people weren't far from Evan, so it was easy to spot them. When they saw him, they immediately ran over. The others in the dense forest only saw trees or other competitors, so naturally didn't notice what was happening in this corner.
"You three, following me—what's your business?" Evan Yang asked with a smile.
"We just don't like you, so of course we want to teach you a lesson," one said. The other two also grinned at Evan.
Evan looked at the three. He saw that their strength was only Emperor Realm, but according to Prince Adrian's plan, they were more than enough to deal with him.
So the three came over, never considering that Evan could escape from the hands of three Emperor Realm cultivators.
"Teach me a lesson? That depends whether you're qualified. Don't forget, there are plenty of spirit beasts here. Be careful—if you run into danger, don't blame me," Evan Yang said with a laugh.
"Danger? You'll die first, then we'll leave," one laughed.
Evan Yang smiled. "Oh really? Then be careful, there seems to be a bug at your feet."
The bug suddenly bit the man's foot. Startled, he looked down and saw it was just a tiny spider, so he sneered, "Just a little spider, what's the big deal?"
He lifted his foot to stomp it, but the bug vanished. The three exchanged puzzled looks, but the man who'd been bitten suddenly collapsed, convulsing on the ground. The other two were shocked.
Evan Yang chuckled. "I told you, there are lots of scary things here. You didn't take it seriously, and now look what happened."
"Damn it, the prince never told us there were such terrifying bugs here, only spirit beasts," one exclaimed. The other quickly took out some white powder and rubbed it on himself, saying, "Young Master gave us this powder—it's supposed to keep the spirit beasts away."
Hearing this, Evan realized it was all Prince Adrian's doing, and the powder was meant to ward off spirit beasts. But it was useless against his bug.
So before long, the other two were poisoned and collapsed too. All three lay on the ground, and Evan sighed, "I warned you, but you wouldn't listen. Now you see your mistake."
Seeing the three fall, Evan knew he'd dealt with Prince Adrian's tailers. He got up and headed for the exit. Along the way, he ran into many people, but seeing his low cultivation, they ignored him.
This way, Evan easily reached the outer edge of the exit. There, a huge battle was raging—a chaotic melee. Anyone who tried to approach the exit first would be beaten down.
Evan stood at the back, letting them fight it out. Time ticked by.
Many on the field were already badly injured and withdrew one by one. The last victor laughed heartily and tried to walk out, but was blocked by a group of wounded people.
Another chaotic melee broke out. In the end, no one dared approach the exit. Evan Yang judged the timing was right—since they wouldn't go, he'd just walk over himself. Seeing his low cultivation, everyone thought he was courting death and assumed someone would stop him.
But everyone thought that way, so in the end, no one stopped Evan. When they realized what had happened, Evan sighed, "Everyone underestimated me." Then he stepped through the exit.
A simple contest ended just like that. When everyone saw Evan Yang emerge first, they looked at each other, unable to believe it.
Lynn Lin had been chatting with Melody Wood. When she saw Evan walk out, she stared in disbelief. She had thought Evan would be ambushed by Prince Adrian's men, but hadn't expected him to come out first.
Prince Adrian was stunned, but quickly calmed down, wanting to figure out what had happened.
Soon, others emerged from the tunnel. Knowing they couldn't compete for first anymore, they gave up and walked out, each bearing different wounds. Only Evan Yang was completely unscathed.
Seeing his three men hadn't returned, Adrian frowned, suspecting something had happened. If he weren't busy hosting, he'd surely investigate thoroughly.
"Didn't expect Evan Yang, the close bodyguard, to take first place," Prince Adrian said with a smile.
"What can I say, just lucky. Everyone was being so modest, so I just walked over," Evan Yang replied with a smile. The other contestants' faces turned green.
Prince Adrian paused, then smiled. "No matter what, you took first place—so this is for you."
A box appeared in front of Evan Yang. Curious, he took it. As Adrian handed it over, he secretly laughed, 'This thing is valuable. Giving it to you doesn't mean you'll be able to keep it. That's what they call 'danger comes with wealth.''
Prince Adrian, already plotting against Evan, smiled and said, "This is the Wood God Pill, crafted by our household God. It contains immense energy."
When people around heard what was in the box, they were frustrated not to have won it. Greed flashed in their eyes. Evan knew this was trouble—having such a thing would definitely make others wary of him.
"Thank you," Evan Yang said gratefully.
Evan put the item away and returned to his seat. That marked the end of the contest. Lynn Lin wanted to bombard him with questions, but Evan said, "Let's head back."
Melody Wood wasn't surprised Evan came out first. She just smiled. Seeing her smile, Evan felt as if she'd seen through him. As he was about to leave with Lynn, Melody voice-transmitted, "Tonight, meet at the usual place."
This made Evan even more certain Melody had discovered something. When he looked back at her, she was already gone.
"What are you looking at?" Lynn Lin asked curiously when she saw Evan's gaze.
"Nothing. Let's just go back," Evan Yang replied.
As they left, people around cast strange looks. If it weren't for everyone knowing Prince Adrian was marrying that woman, they'd have secretly included her in their calculations too.
After everyone left, Prince Adrian entered the barrier, searching for a while before finally finding the three corpses. Seeing them, he recalled the incident where servants and guards were bitten by bugs.
"Could it be they were bitten by bugs too?" Prince Adrian wondered. He brought the three corpses back, then returned to his room and called Master Quentin Green.
"How is it?" Master Quentin Green asked when Adrian returned.
"I don't know, take a look first," Adrian said.
The three corpses were laid out. Seeing they were all poisoned the same way, Master Quentin Green wondered, "How did the bugs get inside the barrier too?"
"There are only two possibilities: either the bugs slipped in when the barrier was set up, or Evan Yang is the bug's master and can bring it wherever he wants," Adrian said.
"Looks like your analysis is correct. Evan Yang is getting stranger and stranger," Master Quentin Green said. After repeated analysis, he was now sure Evan was connected to the bug.
"So what do we do now?" Adrian asked.
"The bug is extremely dangerous. We need to find an antidote first, in case Evan uses it against us. I've already invited my senior brother, a detoxification expert—he could arrive as early as tomorrow," Master Quentin Green said.
Prince Adrian smiled after hearing Master Quentin Green's words. "That's great news."
At that moment, a guard outside said, "Second Prince, the Second Lord is looking for you."
"My father wants to see me? What's up?" Prince Adrian opened the door, curious.
"I don't know. He just told me to pass the message," the guard replied.
"Alright, I'll be right there," Prince Adrian said. After the guard left, Master Quentin Green asked suspiciously, "Why does the Second Lord want to see you now?"
"No idea. I'll be back soon," Adrian replied, then hurried off. He wouldn't dare ignore his father's orders.
Soon, he arrived at a pavilion. Inside, he saw a man standing with his back to him.
"Father, I'm here," Prince Adrian said.
"Sit down," the man said.
Prince Adrian sat down, curious, and asked, "Father, why did you call for me?"