What was wrong with the young prince of Prince Yao’s household?
Could it be that they had been on Gu Mo’s side all along?
So it turned out Prince Yao had taken sides within the Beast Clan too!
The crowd below buzzed with discussion, while up on the high platform, the Prince of Nanzhao’s face turned a shade of green. Having already lost the bet put him in a foul mood, and seeing Xiong Xiaobao make such a show of it, he wished he could clap a hand over the boy’s mouth.
“Prince of Nanzhao, we won!”
“Ha, I just knew my daddy would win!”
Xiong Xiaobao couldn’t have been happier, sprawled against Jun Beiyue’s shoulder, beaming brilliantly at the Prince of Nanzhao.
What could the Prince of Nanzhao do but put on a show of good grace and force himself to smile along with Xiong Xiaobao?
Xiong Xiaobao was only three or four years old—was he really going to get angry at a three- or four-year-old child?
“Yes, indeed, your daddy is very impressive,” the Prince of Nanzhao said, his heart aching fit to burst, forcing out a smile all the same.
But rather than quitting while ahead, Xiong Xiaobao pushed his luck even further, happily switching to a different phrasing entirely, filled with delight. “You lost!”
Er…
True enough, his father had won, which in other words meant the Prince of Nanzhao had lost. But Xiong Xiaobao—the old emperor could get away with pulling rank on the young, but how could you, a child, pull rank on the old? Hadn’t your father ever taught you that pointing at a king’s nose and declaring “you lost” could get your head chopped off? Think of the awkward position you’re putting a sovereign ruler in, in front of so many ministers and servants!
Xiong Xiaobao’s answer would have been: well, who told the Prince of Nanzhao to copy Mommy’s tone and make that kind of hostage joke in the first place?
Any grudge against Mommy, Xiong Bao would avenge.
Any loss Mommy suffered, Xiong Bao would pay back in kind.
“You lost, ha ha ha!”
Xiong Xiaobao’s delight could only be described as positively giddy, his radiant smile seeming to say to the Prince of Nanzhao, “Go ahead and get mad, if you dare. The white jade xiao is right here in my pocket, and I’m just not going to tell you!”
The Prince of Nanzhao seethed inside, but since he had no idea of the truth, he simply felt thoroughly wronged.
As for Ziqing and the others, who knew exactly where the white jade xiao had ended up, watching Xiong Xiaobao act like such a little rascal, they couldn’t help rolling their eyes.
Baili Xiaosheng especially—she had always thought Xiong Xiaobao resembled neither his father nor his mother, but now she felt this little brat was practically a scheming hybrid of Ziqing and Prince Yao combined. Anyone who crossed him wouldn’t even know how they’d ended up destroyed!
The Prince of Nanzhao should probably be grateful he’d lost—otherwise, leaving such a little devil beside the Nanzhao prince, heaven only knew whether the roof of the Nanzhao royal palace might end up blown clean off.
Seeing the Prince of Nanzhao’s expression growing increasingly hard to control, Jun Beiyue finally spoke up. “Xiong Bao, mind your manners.”
Finally given a way to save face, the Prince of Nanzhao took a quiet deep breath and laughed graciously. “No matter, children speak without filter. Besides, what he said was true enough. Ha, this king honors his bets. Once the ceremony concludes, I will have the physicians accompany you into the water.”
Jun Beiyue nodded. “Much obliged.”
Meanwhile, on the stage, Sheng Zimo and Gu Mo Baochuan had already begun their match. Just as everyone had predicted, Gu Mo Baochuan was simply no match at all for Sheng Zimo—whether in the speed of taming a beast or the precision of controlling it, Gu Mo Baochuan lagged far, far behind!
At that moment, both facing an untamed beast, Gu Mo Baochuan kept murmuring strange notes under her breath, trying to communicate with the creature, but to no avail—the beast paid her no attention whatsoever, treating her as though she weren’t even there. Sheng Zimo, watching from the side, let Gu Mo Baochuan struggle for a full quarter hour before he lightly raised the Phoenix-tail Sheng to his lips, and the beast, which had been lazily crouched on the ground, instantly leapt to its feet.
At once, the entire arena erupted in astonished gasps, many people rising straight from their seats.
Those who understood music and knew how sound could control beasts could tell at once that Sheng Zimo had used only three notes to capture the beast’s attention.
To tame an unfamiliar wild beast, even someone at the level of a clan head would need at least five notes!
The calmest person of all was the head of the Sheng Clan, who seemed to have everything already figured out, wearing a faint smile, entirely unruffled.
“This young man has some real skill,” Ziqing murmured. Though she didn’t like Sheng Zimo, she didn’t underestimate his ability either.
“There’s no suspense left in the outcome,” Jun Beiyue said flatly.
“I heard he’s the son of a secondary concubine in the Sheng household—the only illegitimate son within the Beast Clan to be given proper cultivation,” Ziqing added.
“He has excellent control over that sheng—he must have kept it in hand since he was very young,” Baili Xiaosheng chimed in as well.
“Quite something, for an illegitimate son to end up with the Phoenix-tail Sheng,” Jue Mingzi said with suspicion.
Yet just as everyone was busy discussing this, Xiong Xiaobao spoke up pitifully, looking utterly innocent. “Mommy, I really, really want to enter the Beast Arts Tournament—what do I do? If I entered, I’d definitely be even more impressive than him!”
If he entered, he’d absolutely outshine Sheng Zimo—he wouldn’t even need three notes, just one would do.
The word “obey”—that’s a single sound, isn’t it?
The moment Xiong Xiaobao said this, everyone froze instantly, while the Prince of Nanzhao beside them burst out laughing. “Young Prince, that’s a very dangerous thing to do. If you can’t suppress the beast, it’ll eat you in one bite.”
“Oh…” Xiong Xiaobao responded with a long, thoughtful sound, turning to look at his father and mother, only to see both their faces had gone pale.
Xiong Xiaobao sighed inwardly—who could understand his sorrow, carrying such great skill yet unable to use it!
Just as he was sighing, Jun Beiyue reached over and pressed his small head against his chest.
On the stage, Sheng Zimo had already won the first round, with the second already underway. The turn of events with the Xiao Clan had greatly shortened what might otherwise have been a three- or four-day-long selection process.
It was still morning; at this rate, they might well be able to open the heavenly lake by afternoon.
Qinji, who had remained silent by the Prince of Nanzhao’s side the entire time, finally spoke up. “Your Highness, this concubine feels a bit weary—might I be permitted to return to my chambers for a brief rest?”
The Prince of Nanzhao, already in a sour mood, said nothing more, simply waving her off.
The moment Qinji was out of everyone’s sight, she dashed straight down toward the pavilion below. In the guest room downstairs, several guards had already been waiting for quite some time.
“Well? Have you found him?” Qinji asked urgently the moment she entered.
“Reporting to Your Highness, we’ve searched everywhere we could think of, but…” Before he could finish, Qinji cut him off furiously. “A bunch of useless fools! Have you asked the Dream Clan’s people?”
That the Dream Clan’s people had vanished so thoroughly had, in fact, been Meng Wanyue’s idea for Xuanyuan Lige—but it was Qinji who had carried it out.
Naturally, she knew exactly where the Dream Clan’s people were.
This reminded the guard, and the lead among them quickly said, “This subordinate understands. I’ll see to it right away!”
Qinji said nothing more, leaning against the wall, her fine brows knit tight, an unease deep within her heart continuing to spread.
Young Master Xuanyuan never asked anyone for help! Whatever could have happened to him?
He had simply vanished…
In the cave, Meng Duo’er kept anxious watch over Baili Weisheng, growing more panicked the longer she waited.
Waiting like this wasn’t a solution either—the smell of blood was so strong that once it spread, it would surely draw people here.
“No, we have to leave!” At last, she gritted her teeth and made her decision.
But just as she was about to pull Baili Weisheng up, he suddenly murmured something…