That newly opened cavern was, in fact, the true Ancient Music Cavern!
It held the totem, the secret of the ceremonial music!
Because this ceremonial music was the most sacred music of the Earth King religion, one that could never be destroyed, the Nanzhao royal family had been forced to build two walls to seal it away entirely.
They never imagined that the Second Beast Young Master, in kicking the beastfolk clan leader, would end up shattering this wall—and even less that the second wall would collapse right along with it.
Consort Qin truly deserved punishment for bringing so many outsiders through the cavern. If anything had been discovered because of this, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Struck by the Prince of Nanzhao’s outburst, Consort Qin cowered back in fear—never before had His Majesty been so harsh with her, and in front of everyone, no less. This wasn’t even her fault—whatever scheme the Second Beast Young Master had planned against Jun Beiyue and the others was his own business; why should these women have gotten dragged into the excitement?
It was all because of that wretched Chu Feiyan stirring up trouble in the first place. At this thought, Consort Qin immediately shot Chu Feiyan a venomous glare, a flash of malice crossing her eyes.
What a Chu Feiyan—all of this was her doing. Originally, once the Prince of Nanzhao had confined her, Consort Qin had planned to simply let the matter drop and stop bothering with her. But now, she was determined to make her suffer thoroughly for this.
Utterly bewitched by Jun Beiyue, Chu Feiyan had only just now begun to come back to herself, entirely unaware that Consort Qin’s gaze behind her had been murderous enough to kill.
Consort Qin knew the Prince of Nanzhao’s temperament all too well—even nursing a stomach full of grievances, she didn’t dare argue back. Arguing would only cost the Prince of Nanzhao face.
Sure enough, the Prince of Nanzhao merely snapped at her once, giving her no chance to explain herself, and turned instead toward the Empress of Eastern Qin and the others, saying flatly, “Empress of Eastern Qin, everyone, this cavern has fallen into disrepair over the years and collapsed—my apologies for giving you all such a fright. Consort Qin, hurry and take everyone out to rest properly.” The Prince of Nanzhao spoke with genuine seriousness.
Consort Qin, quick on the uptake, immediately understood and hurried to lead the Empress of Eastern Qin and the others away. Seeing the Second Beast Young Master’s condition, the Empress of Eastern Qin and Xuanyuan Zhaoxi had already lost all hope, and with no excuse left to stay and meddle in Nanzhao’s internal affairs, they had no choice but to follow Consort Qin out.
Chu Feiyan watched, dazed, seeing Jun Beiyue pull Ziqing into his embrace, and understood at once—Han Ziqing was certainly staying behind.
She couldn’t help wanting to speak up, but just then, Consort Qin seized her arm from behind, gripping hard, and murmured coldly, “Consort Yan, are you not leaving? Do you want to provoke His Majesty’s wrath?”
Chu Feiyan, wincing in pain, nearly cried out, but instinctively covered her mouth, not daring to delay any further.
Yelu Qianqian pouted, glancing between Ziqing and Situ Haonan, clearly wanting to stay too—she knew the real show was only just beginning.
Unfortunately, Consort Qin urged her on. “Princess Qianqian, hurry and keep up. It’s dark in the cavern—you don’t want to get lost.”
Yelu Qianqian had no choice but to leave, though she knew Ziqing and the others surely had countless secrets she wished she could truly be part of. Unfortunately…
She shook her head helplessly, sighing. She supposed she’d just have to go back and get married after all.
Glancing once at how Jun Beiyue’s arm rested around Han Ziqing’s waist, Consort Qin, sharp as ever, made sure not to let Han Ziqing leave along with them either.
Once everyone had gone, the Prince of Nanzhao let out a deep breath, then suddenly kicked out viciously at the Second Beast Young Master. “You wretched creature, traitor! Traitor to Nanzhao!”
With Jun Beiyue and Situ Haonan both present for this, there was absolutely no way he could let them leave now.
And besides, given the earlier misunderstanding, he still owed Jun Beiyue a proper explanation!
The Prince of Nanzhao’s fury stemmed from the Second Beast Young Master’s sheer audacity, and even more so from the fact that he’d exposed the secret right in front of these two outsiders, Jun Beiyue and Situ Haonan.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please calm your anger, let Guyi explain himself!”
“Your Majesty, this old servant refuses to believe Guyi could be so audacious—there must be some misunderstanding!”
…
The beastfolk clan leader pleaded over and over, genuinely unable to understand why his kind, upright son could have done something so treacherous—after all, even the three clan leaders hadn’t known the secret of the Ancient Music Cavern.
The secret of the Isolated Isle was held entirely by the royal family, passed down orally from generation to generation by the King of Nanzhao himself.
Only part of the secret was known to the three clan leaders together, likewise passed down orally from clan leader to clan leader.
Moha Guyi, though set to inherit his clan’s leadership, should have known nothing about any of this—how could he possibly have known the true Ancient Music Cavern lay behind that wall?
The beastfolk clan leader simply couldn’t believe it, certain there had to be some misunderstanding.
“Misunderstanding? We’ll soon see. Moha Guyi, speak!” the Prince of Nanzhao said coldly.
At this, Jun Beiyue, who had been idly toying with Ziqing’s long hair, finally looked over—today was precisely the day he intended to extract an explanation from Moha Guyi.
“Heh, an explanation—this king has plenty of things puzzling him already. If he doesn’t clarify things properly today, he won’t be leaving this place at all!” the Prince of Nanzhao said furiously, seating himself nearby as well.
The Medicine Clan leader and the merfolk clan leader had no intention of speaking up for the beastfolk clan—as the eldest, the Medicine Clan constantly watched the beastfolk clan’s movements, wary of being overtaken and losing their position as the leading clan. And as the youngest, the merfolk clan watched the beastfolk clan just as closely, always searching for a chance to surpass them.
Now, that chance had come.
“Moha Guyi, this old man bears you no grudge, but let me tell you—if you don’t give this old man a proper explanation today, the entire merfolk clan won’t let you off easily!” the merfolk clan leader warned, dressing himself as he spoke.
The beastfolk clan leader immediately grew frantic. “Speak up quickly! Whatever grievance you have, say it now—with His Majesty here, justice will surely be done!”
What could Moha Guyi possibly explain?
He understood clearly enough—the more he explained, the more opportunities he’d give Jun Beiyue to crush him utterly, beyond redemption.
Better not to explain at all. Just stall for time.
At the very least, he still held one trump card—letting the true mastermind behind all this come save him.
At this thought, Moha Guyi threw himself flat at the Prince of Nanzhao’s feet, saying absolutely nothing.
They waited a long while, pressed him repeatedly, but received no response at all.
Consumed with fury, the Prince of Nanzhao kicked him viciously. Moha Guyi immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, a flash of malice crossing his eyes before he seized the opportunity to feign unconsciousness.
“Useless creature!” the Prince of Nanzhao snapped again, raising his foot once more.
The beastfolk clan leader rushed forward at once, throwing his arms around the Prince of Nanzhao’s legs. “Your Majesty, this old servant begs you, spare his life. This old servant has only this one son—the beastfolk clan has only this one heir!”
“Your Majesty, please, take him back for now. Once he wakes, let this old servant interrogate him himself. This old servant guarantees the merfolk clan leader will receive a proper account, and Your Majesty the truth!”
…
The beastfolk clan leader, well advanced in years, wept bitterly, tears streaming down his face. The Prince of Nanzhao sighed repeatedly—with the man unconscious, there was no point in further interrogation now, so he had no choice but to relent.
“Someone, take him to the dungeon. No one is permitted to visit him without this king’s permission!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you!”
Jun Beiyue sneered coldly. The Second Beast Young Master really did have some tricks up his sleeve, feigning unconsciousness like that.
“He’ll have to be interrogated eventually. The merfolk clan leader has always been one to hold grudges—he won’t let this go so easily. You really do know how to pick your allies,” Ziqing murmured quietly. Jun Beiyue didn’t need to explain—she could already guess the truth of the matter.
“Prince Yao, Master Situ, this has truly… been quite embarrassing in front of you both. But given the gravity of this matter, concerning Nanzhao’s most sacred taboo, might I ask you both to… come to the palace, for a detailed discussion?” The Prince of Nanzhao’s tone was earnest, much like the attitude he’d shown before, when Jun Beiyue had first discovered the totem and been summoned into the palace for secret discussions.
Ziqing couldn’t help but feel a spark of amusement—another act was about to unfold, it seemed.
Jun Beiyue glanced at the dim cavern, about to speak, when Ziqing quickly stopped him, murmuring softly, “Don’t worry. I saw everything inside clearly.”