Chapter 38

The sudden, forceful yank caused the Third Prince to stumble backward. Enraged, he whipped his head around, only to hear the whistle of air as a fist connected squarely with his face.

No one had anticipated this move from Xue Jinan.

"Hiss—" came the sharp intake of breath from the Fifth Prince.
"Ugh—" was the pained groan of the Third Prince.

The Third Prince instinctively released his whip, clutching his face as the momentum forced him to stagger back. He stared, momentarily stunned, at Xue Jinan, who had already discarded the whip.

A mere heartbeat later, he snapped back to reality. Bloodshot streaks surged into his eyes, and veins bulged along his neck, forehead, and arms. His expression twisted into one of horrific, unbridled fury as he hissed through gritted teeth, "Seventh! Brother! What do you think you are doing?!"

He lunged forward to grab Xue Jinan’s collar, but Xue Jinan, having anticipated the move, evaded him with ease. With a light tap of his toes, he glided back a full yard, his wrist flicking to unsheathe the Lotus Sword at his waist. A cold, sharp glint flashed through the air as the blade was held against the Third Prince’s throat.

Unexpectedly, the Third Prince showed no fear. He brazenly reached out and grabbed the blade with his bare hand. Skin split instantly under the steel, and blood gushed out between his fingers. Yet, as if oblivious to the pain, he tightened his grip and tugged, attempting to disarm his opponent with brute force.

Knowing his strength was inferior to the Third Prince’s, Xue Jinan did not attempt a contest of power. Instead, he flowed with the force, sliding into a low stance before twisting his body in mid-air. He landed a reverse kick, his body arching like a taut bow.

The Third Prince was, after all, made of flesh and blood; he was not immune to pain or injury. The blade, nearly twisted out of shape, sprang from his palm with a sharp "shoo" sound. He raised his arm to block the kick aimed at his jaw, then reached out with his other hand, vengefully intending to twist Xue Jinan’s leg like a rag.

Xue Jinan arched his waist and swept his sword back. The blood-stained blade hummed with lethal intent, aimed directly at the Third Prince’s head. The latter dared not be arrogant and leaned back to dodge. The force in his grip inevitably slackened, allowing Xue Jinan to break free. He stepped onto the Third Prince’s arm, performed a side flip, and sent a sweeping kick toward the Third Prince’s face.

Forced to drop to his knees to narrowly avoid the blow, the Third Prince watched as the strike whistled over his head. Xue Jinan planted one hand on the ground, performed a back handspring, and landed gracefully. He flicked the Lotus Sword, sending beads of blood flying, and the blade returned to its pristine, icy white luster.

Simultaneously, the Third Prince sprang back up from the ground like a carp, immediately adopting a fighting stance.

The entire exchange had taken place in a mere instant. Many had not even realized what was happening before the two stood in a standoff.

The Seventh Prince remained expressionless; had he not been holding the sword, one would never have guessed he had just been in a fight.

The Third Prince, however, wore a savage grin. He held his blood-stained fists up, beckoning with his fingers. "Seventh Brother, again!"

Though it didn't show, the Third Prince was actually not angry at all—well, he had been when he was first struck, but after this brief and intense exchange, all his rage had transformed into a surge of fighting spirit. He wanted nothing more than a hearty battle with Xue Jinan and no longer cared about the punch to his face.

The Third Prince even felt a sense of gratification: he was truly worthy of being the sibling he had acknowledged; he was indeed different from the others!

"Little Seven, let's go again, no internal energy this time!" the Third Prince called out.

"I refuse." Xue Jinan’s data analysis found no tactical advantage, so he declined cleanly, flicking his wrist to sheathe his sword.

The Third Prince pouted in dissatisfaction but said nothing more.

***

The Fourth Prince, who had been dragging his feet behind Xue Jinan, had been so dazed that he didn't realize until it was too late that the fearless Xue Jinan had charged ahead and begun fighting their Third Brother!

The Fourth Prince hurried over, but dared not get too close, avoiding the side of the Fifth Prince who was practically in the front row. Not wanting to be alone, he squeezed in next to the Eighth Prince, timidly shrinking behind his younger brother.

He had expected Xue Jinan’s martial prowess to be only slightly better than his own, and that he would surely be crushed by the Third Brother. He never imagined they would trade blows so evenly—with his own limited skill and insight, he couldn't even follow their movements, hearing only the whistle of fists and blades cutting through the air.

Yet, judging by the outcome, Xue Jinan was unscathed while the Third Brother’s hands were covered in blood. Was the Third Brother actually at a disadvantage?! His willow-leaf eyes widened into cat-like orbs in disbelief. Seeing that the Third Brother showed no sign of wanting to blame Xue Jinan for the beating, he poked his companion in shock.

The Eighth Prince, roused from his thoughts, understood immediately what the Fourth Prince was thinking. It was nothing more than, "How could the Third Brother, with his foul temper, just let this go? Has he been bewitched?"

The Eighth Prince hadn't expected this outcome either. Even though he considered himself to understand the Third Prince, he couldn't fathom his current state of mind. He kept his lips pressed thin and remained silent, his gaze fixed on Xue Jinan with a complex, unreadable expression.

The Fifth Prince was much simpler. Given his tireless dedication to secret training—even going so far as to forgo his medication—it was clear he had both talent and a passion for martial arts. He rarely had the chance to witness a high-level one-on-one duel like this.

For once, the Fifth Prince cleared his mind, his eyes following every movement. When it ended, he tapped his fingers, reviewing the fight in his head: *What would I have done if I were the Third Brother? What if I were the Seventh?*

The Fifth Prince stared unblinkingly at Xue Jinan, his thoughts racing.

Xue Jinan paid no attention to the gazes or thoughts of the three princes. He only looked at the miserable-looking young eunuch kneeling on the ground and asked the Third Prince, "Why did you hit him?"

At the mention of this, the Third Prince flared up again. He kicked the nearest eunuch to the ground and gestured toward them, filing a complaint to Xue Jinan instead. "Seventh Brother, this lot is selling off the imperial horses for their own profit. Their crimes are unforgivable!"

"No, that is absolutely not the case!!" The eunuchs of the Imperial Horse Bureau immediately fell to their knees. Seeing that Xue Jinan could hold his own and had just defended them against the Third Prince, they gathered the courage to cry out their grievances.

It turned out the Third Prince had looked around the stables and, finding no horse to his liking, questioned if they had sold off all the good ones, leaving only a pile of dregs. He hadn't bothered with words before deciding to beat them to death.

"We are wronged, Your Seventh Highness!" they wailed, their sharp voices twisting and turning like a folk song.

—In truth, the horses in the Imperial Horse Bureau were not as bad as the Third Prince claimed. Anyone selected for the imperial stables could hardly be considered inferior; it was just that the specific horse the Third Prince wanted was not among them.

As expected, the Third Prince sneered, "Dare to say you're wronged? That little wild horse with the 'Cloud-Treading-Snow' markings I saw earlier is gone. Do you dare say I’ve wronged you?"

The eunuch who had been beaten half-to-death seemed to finally regain his senses and struggled to explain, "Earlier... Consort De came and took a batch of fine horses... it is all recorded in the registry..."

"Why didn't you say that when I asked about the horses?" the Third Prince demanded irritably.

"This servant didn't... have the chance..."

Xue Jinan and the Fifth Prince detected the anomaly in the eunuch’s behavior almost simultaneously. The difference was that the Fifth Prince realized the eunuch was baiting the Third Prince, while Xue Jinan sensed an intense, malicious aura emanating from him—most of it directed at the Third Prince, with the rest radiating toward each of the princes present.

Xue Jinan felt it too, and he was the target second only to the Third Prince.

***

As the two were distracted by the eunuch, the provoked Third Prince jumped headfirst into the verbal trap. "You mean to say I beat you too quickly and didn't give you a chance to argue? You’re saying I’ve wronged you and forced a confession, that this is all my fault, is that what you mean?!"

The Third Prince, in a rage, clenched his fists and marched forward with a ghastly expression.

The eunuchs trembled and kowtowed, claiming they dared not. The Third Prince grinned, his face full of malice. "What else is there that you dare not do?"

Just then, the injured eunuch suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood. The crimson fluid splashed onto the bluestone floor, leaving a trail of mucus and tears, effectively cutting off the Third Prince’s words.

It was a perfect portrait of a bullying prince trampling on human life.

The Third Prince’s steps faltered, his temples throbbing. He looked at them with a murderous gaze, as if he wanted to devour them alive.

Honestly, the Third Prince wasn't afraid of killing someone; otherwise, he wouldn't have beaten the man within an inch of his life to begin with. In the end, eunuchs in the palace were cheap—what did a few deaths matter? But even the Third Prince wasn't so stupid as to not know that a justified execution and a senseless, violent killing were different things, just as killing one person was different from killing a group.

No matter how much he seethed, the Third Prince had to let it go for now.

"Fine, fine, fine! You are all very good!" His knuckles cracked as he squeezed his fists. He was so angry he laughed, repeating the word 'good' three times. "Bring the horse registry here. I will go to Consort De’s stables today and have a good look. If even one horse doesn't match—I will peel your skins off!"

Amidst the cacophony of heartbeats, Xue Jinan clearly heard several that were beating abnormally fast, including that of the eunuch who had spat blood.

It seemed the Third Prince’s claim about the stolen imperial horses was not without foundation; there must be a reason for it.

At first, Xue Jinan hadn't thought anything of it, assuming these people with racing hearts were simply guilty and afraid of being exposed.

Until the Third Prince pointed at the eunuch who had vomited blood and said, "You, take the ledger and lead the way."

"As you command," the eunuch replied, struggling to climb up from the ground, his body swaying.

His heartbeat, however, was steadily slowing down. There was no trace of panic or unease; instead, he sounded relieved, as if... he had completed a major step in a mission.

Xue Jinan listened to the stubborn rhythm of the eunuch’s heart and looked at his deathly pale face, tilting his head in confusion.

If the goal was simply to lure them to Consort De’s territory, all they had to do was mention that she had better horses; given the Third Prince’s temper, he would have gone on his own. If they wanted to investigate the sale of imperial horses, there were plenty of ways to do it—why go to the trouble of provoking the Third Prince into giving them such a beating?

It couldn't be that they enjoyed it, could it? —Well, although that wasn't impossible... perhaps, like Eunuch Wang Deming from the Imperial Kitchen, this one was a masochist.

Xue Jinan gave up on trying to understand humans, but he had to admit, his curiosity had truly been piqued.