The next day.
Yesterday's matches were so thrilling that martial artists and tourists alike were left buzzing with excitement. So today, for the advancement rounds, everyone lined up early to snag a good spot for watching.
Early that morning, Ivy Shen and Lucian Vane hurried to the venue. Wind had returned smoothly last night and said he'd be competing again today, but Ivy had a task for him to investigate, so she sent him off early.
Today, she received word that Silver Consort would be presenting the ten-thousand-tael gold prize on behalf of the Crown Prince for everyone to view.
Her move instantly won over a ton of supporters. First, her martial arts are unbeatable; second, the Crown Prince trusted her with such a heavy responsibility, which proves just how important she is—and that the Crown Prince is totally on her side.
Time ticked by, everyone waiting eagerly for Silver Consort to appear, and for her to bring out that chest of ten thousand taels in gold.
Ivy fanned herself absentmindedly, glancing at the surging crowd around her, feeling stifled and restless inside.
"She's here, she's here—look, Silver Consort is coming!" someone shouted. The crowd watched as Silver Consort, her long black hair gleaming, curled her lips in a wicked smile and strode forward. Behind her, four men carried a black wooden chest, step by step onto the stage.
-----
"Your Highness, please go back! The king and queen are really worried about you," said a strangely dressed man standing beside Caleb Miles.
Hearing this, Caleb Miles frowned and said, "Charlie Qiao, you know what I really want. I want freedom. I'm not going back."
"Your Highness, you're putting me in a tough spot here."
"You and I grew up together—no one understands me better than you. Do you really think I'd be happy back there? That place isn't mine. Prince, heir, hope of the nation—none of that matters to me. I just want a normal, carefree life," Caleb said, looking at Charlie.
Charlie Qiao was the only friend he'd had since childhood, and Caleb treasured that bond. But friendship alone wasn't enough to make him go back.
"Your Highness, the king and queen really do worry about you. They're always trying to find out where you are," Charlie sighed. He'd known since they were little that Caleb hated palace life, but as the crown prince, taking the throne was his destiny.
"I know."
Seeing this, Charlie stepped up and sighed again, "Your Highness, let me be blunt. I know your lifelong dream is freedom, but the king and queen have huge hopes for you. They want you to lead the kingdom to prosperity."
"Really? Well, I'm just not interested," Caleb replied, full of disdain.
"Your Highness..."
"Charlie, if you still consider me a friend, please drop it. You know I'm not cut out to be king. Besides, the king and queen are still young—there's no need to rush the throne."
"You were born to be an emperor. Even if the king and queen are healthy, you'll have to take the throne one day."
"Born for the throne? Emperor by fate?" Caleb Miles gave a bitter laugh, then shot Charlie Qiao a mocking look. "I'm not even their real son, am I? Just like my birth mother, I only want a free life out there. That's what they want—not me. Definitely not me!"
"Your Highness..."
"Enough. If you bring this up again, just leave," Caleb snapped, clearly annoyed and done with the topic.
Seeing this, Charlie knew there was no point arguing. He pulled out a small white medicine bottle, opened it, and poured out a pill for Caleb. "Take this."
"What's this?" Caleb frowned at the pill, suspicious.
"Relax, I'm not trying to hurt you, and I'm definitely not dragging you home. Besides, my martial arts aren't even half as good as yours," Charlie said with a smile, placing the pill in Caleb's hand.
Trusting Charlie completely, Caleb swallowed the pill without hesitation. They'd grown up together, and even if Charlie wanted him to be king, he always treated Caleb with genuine care—so taking the pill didn't need any more reason.
Watching Caleb swallow the pill, Charlie smiled gently. "Do you know why I suddenly came looking for you?"
"Huh?"
"It's the queen—she's been worried sick about you. When she heard you'd come to the martial conference, she sent people to track you down. I've been searching everywhere, and luckily I found you today," Charlie said with a relieved sigh.
Seeing Charlie's serious expression, Caleb couldn't help asking, "Is something wrong? You wouldn't come all this way just to drag me home."
"Yeah." Charlie nodded and continued, "You know that in Endless Indulgence Kingdom's Hell Valley, there's a black flower that only blooms once every fifty years. It's insanely potent— the queen used it to make all kinds of poisons, including one called Invisible Venom."
"Invisible Venom?" Caleb picked up his tea and asked, curious.
"Yeah. It's colorless, odorless, and crazy strong. Most people can't even tell they're breathing it in, but if you inhale it for half a stick of incense, every living thing will die—even the flowers and grass will wither," Charlie explained seriously.
"What?" Caleb was shocked. He'd seen those weird black flowers before, but the queen always kept him away, warning they were toxic. He never imagined the poison made from them could be this deadly.
"Actually, the queen never wanted to make this poison. But I heard the Crown Prince of the Soaring Phoenix Realm came to her ahead of time and asked for it, so she helped him out. He wanted to bring it to the martial conference to wipe out everyone here," Charlie said calmly.
*Crash!* Caleb's cup slipped from his hand, shattering on the floor.
"Your Highness..."
"What did you say? He wants to kill everyone here?" Caleb's voice was full of disbelief.
"Yeah, I just happened to overhear the Crown Prince talking about it in the throne room that day," Charlie replied, still a bit confused.
"Are they crazy? Have they lost their minds? They're actually teaming up with that murderous maniac? When did Endless Indulgence Kingdom ever have to fear him?" Caleb shouted, his voice breaking with anger.
Seeing this, Charlie quickly explained, "Endless Indulgence never cooperates with other kingdoms or accepts their demands. But the Crown Prince of the Soaring Phoenix Realm brought a miracle medicine that can cure the queen. You know about her illness..." He trailed off. The queen's strange disease meant if she didn't sleep with the king a dozen times a day, she'd cough blood and couldn't eat—she might even die. Nothing else had ever worked, but the Crown Prince's medicine actually kept it under control.
Hearing that, Caleb froze. He knew all about the queen's illness—and that it was the reason outsiders gossiped, calling Endless Indulgence Kingdom a nation of perverts.
"Don't be like that, Your Highness. The king only agreed because he couldn't bear to see the queen suffer," Charlie said. In Endless Indulgence, it was common knowledge that the king loved only the queen—she was the only consort in the whole palace.
"The antidote—you just gave me the antidote, didn't you? Give it here!" Caleb suddenly snatched the bottle from Charlie and opened it, only to frown. "Why are there so few pills?"
Charlie's startled by Caleb's urgency, but explains, "Actually, Invisible Venom didn't have an antidote at first. But the Crown Prince wanted to protect a few people, so the queen killed her fifty-year-old snow ermine—the one she'd been feeding special recipes all its life. Its blood was the only thing that could make the antidote, but there was only one ermine, so they managed to make just two bottles. The Crown Prince took one, and the queen kept the other. Good thing she did, or we'd be in real trouble now."
"Where did that monster put the poison on Mount Hua?" Caleb's mind went straight to Ivy Shen, then to all the innocent people present, horrified at Song Zhijue's plan to wipe everyone out.
"Uh... I think I heard it was... Oh, right! It's dusted all over the gold. Once the chest is opened, everyone will breathe it in and drop dead in moments."
Hearing that, Caleb's heart skipped a beat. He panicked, then bolted for the door—everyone was talking about Silver Consort opening the gold early today. If that's true, then...
"Your Highness! Your Highness—" Charlie rushed after him, but by the time he got outside, Caleb had already vanished down the road.
"Xiner, Xiner—" Caleb sprinted toward the arena, clutching the bottle of antidote. He couldn't let anything happen to her. No way!
****** Scene Break ******
PS: Caleb's identity is finally out, but there are still a lot of mysteries left! One is far away, one is right here—will things turn around? Want to know more? Tune in tomorrow for the next chapter~ Pfft~~~