Unyielding Bone of Dust

He asked without changing his demeanor, "Disaster or auspicious omen, how can one discern."

Sure enough, with this question from the Crown Prince, all the Elders were taken aback, unable to respond for a long time.

It was the Elder holding the luminous magic wand who reacted first, gravely saying, "To respond to Your Highness, unprecedented events and people bring either disaster or misfortune."

Zhui Feng sighed silently in his heart. He asked himself: having known the Crown Prince for tens of thousands of years, although he wouldn't claim to understand him as well as the palm of his hand, he certainly knew him better than others by five or six parts. When the Crown Prince usually kept silent, all was well, but once he decided to "convince with reason," even if the Divine Holy Monarch from the Western Paradise was invited, he might not be able to persuade him.

Zhui Feng shook his head, thinking it better to silence those tiresome elders before they annoyed the Crown Prince further.

He stepped forward, saying courteously, "Zhui Feng is puzzled about one thing and kindly asks the Elders for enlightenment. I dare to ask, before the world saw the phoenix perching on the high branch for the first time, did it know that an auspicious sign had arrived? Before seeing the mysterious fish emitting light in the water for the first time, did it know that disaster would follow?"

"This..." The Elders looked at each other, none of them able to continue the conversation.

Zhui Feng glanced at Lin Suqing, who was still unconscious on the ground, and let out a long sigh in his heart—alas, I don't know why His Highness goes to such lengths to protect you, I just hope you won't be a disaster in the future, and that you won't waste His Highness's profound intentions. Of course, it could just be a moment of curiosity on a whim during the dull centuries...

He could only think this way for now, not daring to delve any deeper, fearing that by careless thought, he would recall those terrifying, unspeakable matters.

"Zhui Feng."

While Zhui Feng was distracted, he suddenly heard the Crown Prince call him and immediately sat up straight with a bark, waiting for orders.

The Crown Prince just glanced at Lin Suqing with a peripheral gaze and went on his way.

Zhui Feng understood immediately. With a bang, he exploded into a cloud of mist, and when it dispersed, he had transformed into a colossal dog eight feet tall. He gently took the back of Lin Suqing's clothes in his mouth, cautious not to jostle him too much and risk damaging him, lest he fail to honor those three or four drops of Divine Blood of the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, you have been newly established as the Crown Prince of Danxue Mountain, and even if you are reluctant a thousand times over, you are destined to inherit the throne. Do not act on a mere whim! You..." The Elder with the luminous wand wanted to further advise, but the moment the words left his mouth, he saw a flash of cold light in the Crown Prince's eyes, and he immediately fell silent as a cicada in winter, not daring to offer advice rashly...

That look from the Crown Prince just now made even Zhui Feng shiver uncontrollably. In the Three Realms, it was known to all that the Crown Prince had once slain a celestial god in a fit of anger...

Zhui Feng saw the persistent persuasion of the Elders was for the sake of Danxue Mountain's well-being and spoke on behalf of the Crown Prince, "Even the Star Lord of Destiny of the Southern Dipper is often unable to determine fate, and as unexpected events may occur in heaven, the Elders need not worry excessively. Please, disperse."

With that, he carried the unconscious Lin Suqing in his mouth, taking small steps to closely follow behind the Crown Prince.

Seeing the Crown Prince leave and the Elders no longer speaking, the crowd of minor demons and immortals, as the excitement had died down, also gradually dispersed.

Once the clouds once again enveloped the forest, only a few bewildered Elders remained beneath the tree shade. They looked at each other helplessly, both frustrated and unable to voice their vexation.

Despite their experiences with the Crown Prince's temperament on several occasions, they still couldn't grasp the slightest understanding of it.

...

Zhui Feng followed the Crown Prince with silent steps, sensing that he was preoccupied with thoughts he dared not inquire about.

As for the true reason behind the Crown Prince's actions—perhaps, when the opportunity arises in the future, he will tell him.

As the dog considered this, it lowered its gaze to look at Lin Suqing, whom it was carrying in its mouth, full of doubt. What exactly was this mortal...

Ever since the major incident at Danxue Mountain years ago, the Second Crown Prince had long given up on worldly matters and grown weary of everything. Yet now, for the sake of this foreign mortal, he had gone to the trouble of engaging in verbal sparring with the Elders.

What exactly was the Second Crown Prince plotting...

The dog tried to figure it out but the more it thought, the more muddled its mind became. It quickly shook its head, momentarily forgetting that the unconscious Lin Suqing was still hanging from its mouth, thus inadvertently causing him to be jolted about. Luckily, the garment he was wearing was sturdy enough to withstand the rough handling.

Along the way, they attracted countless mystical creatures and minor immortals, all wishing to catch a glimpse of the Divine Holy Monarch. Their hearts pounding, they hid in shadowy corners to peer out nervously.

Upon their arrival at the Crown Prince's mansion, two egrets flew in from either side of the mansion gates, landing gracefully to greet them. As they touched down, clouds of mist rose around their feet, which the wind quickly dispersed to reveal two armor-clad warriors, each over eight feet tall, dressed in bright silver and gold rhinoceros armor. They faced the Second Crown Prince, knelt on one knee, and bowed their heads in a fist-and-palm salute.

The Second Crown Prince snapped his folding fan shut and, with great interest, twirled it once before slipping it behind his back. He entered the mansion and commanded them, "Rise."

Following the Second Crown Prince into the mansion gates, the two warriors hastily knelt and turned around, cupping their fists in respect and sending him off without daring to lift their heads for a glance.

Only when the Second Crown Prince's figure had completely disappeared into the mansion did the two warriors smoothly stand up, stepping forward to approach the dog, and said with a fist-and-palm salute, "Zhui Feng, sir, please."

The dog looked down at the two of them and, loosening its grip, released Lin Suqing. The warriors immediately opened their arms to catch him. The dog then transformed back into its smaller form amid a mist of immortal fog, and left a message: "Take him to the Crown Prince's study," before vanishing without a trace.

...

Lin Suqing, having passed out, initially felt as if millions of insects were gnawing at him, causing a biting pain and unbearable itching. Despite his struggle, his body remained immobile, leaving him to endure the relentless prickly and itchy, painful and sour sensations spreading throughout his entire body.

However, after he drank three or four drops of the Second Crown Prince's Divine Blood, the painful itchiness was washed away, replaced by a myriad of jumbled sensations.

At first, there was an icy chill that raced through his blood vessels like a dragon-snake, fast and penetrating, making him shiver uncontrollably as if he were in a frigid cellar buried in ice and snow, his heart nearly freezing solid from the intense cold.

Just as his breathing seemed about to freeze completely, his entire body became unbearably hot, as if immersed in boiling oil, scalding him so intensely that even his eyeballs and nails felt swollen with acute pain, as if his blood vessels and entire body were about to burst.

Right after, the heart that had seemed like it would freeze solid began to beat wildly and chaotically, as though it were impatient to break free from the small confines of his chest. It was like a fish out of water, thrashing desperately within him, shaking his entire being.

In his mind, he forcefully tried to awaken himself, but his body seemed alien to him, more like he was an observer watching someone else's body lying still as if dead.

No matter how hard he tried, his body remained motionless, even the rhythm of his breathing was completely outside his control.

One moment his body was cold as frost in a cellar, the next hot as fire. He could hear and feel everything around him, and he could even make out every word of the conversation between the Elders and the Second Crown Prince, but he just couldn't wake up.

After about the time it takes to brew three or four cups of tea, he began to regain a vague sense of consciousness, without the tormenting hot and cold of earlier. He felt weak and limp all over, his joints especially soft and feeble, able to move slightly, but hardly able to shift his position.

He wanted to open his eyes to survey his surroundings, but despite his best efforts, he couldn't open them. On the rare occasions when he could barely pry them open a sliver, he could only see the scenery whizzing by as if he were being suspended in midair.

Then his head felt heavy, and he sank into a dark sleep.

...