Xu Tiannan clutched his forehead and burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahahahaha!
I'm not dead! I'm still alive! I am the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire—who can kill me? Who dares kill me?!"
After enduring such a brush with death, his nerves had been stretched to the breaking point. Now, with Xu Tianyuan's arrival, all that tension finally snapped.
For the first time, Xu Tiannan felt the sky was so beautiful, the air so fresh.
But just as he reveled in his survival, blood welled up in his throat and choked him.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
He lowered his gaze to the gaping hole in his chest and the blood still pouring from his mangled lower body. The wounds were grievous—left untreated, he would bleed out before long.
He hastily retrieved a medicinal pill from his storage-type soul tool and shoved it into his mouth. The pill melted instantly, beginning to knit his broken body back together.
After swallowing the pill, Xu Tiannan's eyes shifted toward Juzi, the maid who had risked her life to shield him. There was a trace of gratitude in his expression.
When danger struck, the Contra he had bribed with heavy rewards abandoned him. The female Soul Sage he had shared his bed with fled without a second thought. Yet the maid he had barely paid attention to threw her life on the line to save him.
It left him shaken.
In the air, Xu Tianyuan glanced once toward the distant assassins fleeing at full speed, then down at the ravaged state of the Crown Prince. He let out a cold snort.
Chasing them could wait. Protecting the Crown Prince came first.
Xu Tiannan was now gravely injured, defenseless. If Xu Tianyuan left him, and another assassin struck, Xu Tiannan would surely die. Compared to a few assassins, the Crown Prince's life was far more important.
With a flash of movement, Xu Tianyuan's ninth-rank flying soul tool spread its wings, and in the blink of an eye, he descended beside Xu Tiannan.
As commander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Regiment, one of the empire's two great pillars, Xu Tianyuan was no ordinary ninth-rank powerhouse.
Xu Tiannan forced a smile and said, "Thank you, elder brother, for saving my life. I will not forget this debt."
Privately, however, he thought: If only Xu Tianyuan had arrived a minute or two earlier…
He quickly buried the thought. His crippling injuries were the fault of the five assassins, and the shadowy hand behind them—not Xu Tianyuan.
Xu Tianyuan's gaze flickered subtly toward the Crown Prince's ruined legs. With both legs gone, Xu Tiannan's position as heir will surely be shaken. Without ruthless methods and overwhelming strength, he may very well lose the succession altogether.
Yet none of this showed on his face. He remained as respectful as ever, treating Xu Tiannan no differently than before.
After all, nothing was certain yet. If he showed disrespect now and Xu Tiannan one day claimed the throne, the retribution would be inevitable.
Xu Tianyuan bowed slightly. "Your Highness exaggerates. Allow me to escort you back for treatment."
Xu Tiannan nodded, then gestured weakly toward Juzi. "Please, elder brother, save that maid as well."
Juzi was hanging on by a thread, each breath shallower than the last. Death was only minutes away.
Xu Tianyuan glanced at her in faint surprise but did not question it. He produced another pill from his storage soul tool and fed it to her, then placed a palm against her back, channeling soul power to aid its absorption.
Moments later, her breathing steadied. The crisis in her life had passed.
Relieved, Xu Tiannan offered Xu Tianyuan his thanks once more.
By now, the other members of the Imperial Dragon Regiment had caught up.
Most bore the blood of the royal family. When their eyes fell on the Crown Prince, legless and mutilated, their faces paled. Unlike Xu Tianyuan, they lacked the control to mask their emotions.
If the heir to the throne is a cripple with no legs… would that not tarnish the dignity of the imperial family?
They glanced at each other but held their tongues.
Xu Tiannan noticed. His heart sank. And this was without them knowing about the even greater loss—that he could no longer fulfill a man's role. That secret must never be revealed. If it is, the title of Crown Prince will surely be stripped from me.
Xu Tianyuan sighed inwardly at the sight of his juniors' open expressions. So shallow. Not one fit to accomplish great things.
Then he turned back to Xu Tiannan. And yet, even crippled, he keeps his composure. He truly has some steel in him.
Xu Tianyuan's voice boomed: "Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Regiment—form ranks! Escort the Crown Prince back to Mingdu!"
"Yes, Commander!!"
Thus, Xu Tiannan and Juzi were escorted safely back to Mingdu for treatment.
News of the Crown Prince's crippling spread swiftly throughout the capital.
It struck like a boulder cast into calm waters, sending waves crashing through the empire.
Emperor Xu Jing, upon hearing that his eldest son had been maimed in an assassination attempt, betrayed no emotion. His face remained calm, his voice steady. He merely issued a decree: dispatch a ninth-rank soul engineer to investigate.
Clearly, in his eyes, his sons were all mediocre. This was nothing to him. After all, he was the man who had once slaughtered the entire imperial palace to seize the throne. This? A mere trifle.
Meanwhile, within the hidden study of the Second Prince Xu Tianyu's manor.
The prince sat at the head, his expression shifting between relief and unease. His brows furrowed, caught between two conflicting tides.
The bad news: Xu Tiannan had survived. And with Father sending a ninth-rank soul engineer to investigate, guilt gnawed at him.
The good news: Xu Tiannan was crippled.
Song Zhan, seated nearby, spoke calmly: "Do not fret, Yu'er. His Majesty clearly does not regard this matter with weight. Otherwise, he would not have merely ordered an investigation."
Xu Tianyu nodded, his tension easing.
Indeed. If Father truly cared, evidence would not matter—any suspect would have been executed without hesitation. That would have been true concern.
The Wang Clan.
After lying dormant for half a month, Wang Chen heard the news of Xu Tiannan's crippling. His eyes gleamed with sharp light.
The time had come.
It was finally his turn to act…