Lin Xiaoyu reeled, inspecting Cao’s body again before stroking his jaw in thought.

  At thirty-six, his short beard lent his square face a stern, dignified air. Not strikingly handsome—just regur features—but his piercing eyes and robust, towering frame set him apart, exuding a regal presence, like a dragon in a deep pool or a tiger on a ridge.

  “Someone’s after the ‘Dragon Blood Pearl,’” he sighed at st. “Who’s still chasing a relic lost for over a decade?” Abruptly turning, he fixed the ethereal white-robed elder with a gre. “Besides Cao, who else might know where it is?”

  The elder pondered. “Perhaps only Eunuch Jiang.”

  “Guards! Fetch Eunuch Jiang to the pace at once!” As Lin Xiaoyu’s words fell, a voice called from beyond the door, “Your Highness, Mage Tianxiang has returned.”

  “Bring him in quickly.”

  Moments ter, a gaunt old man in teal robes and white socks entered, bowing to Lin Xiaoyu and the elder. Head lowered in shame, he said, “Master, Your Highness, Tianxiang failed—couldn’t retrieve it and lost all six undead I took.”

  Both started. The elder pressed, displeased, “Lost to whom?”

  “He called himself a bard—Xia Feng.”

  At the same moment, in a desote corner of the imperial city’s cold pace, old Eunuch Jiang was flung into a forsaken hall.

  His dim eyes took a while to make out the pale-faced bck-robed figure before him. Startled, he struggled to rise, voice stern but shaky. “W-who are you? How dare… how dare you trespass in the imperial city?”

  The figure smiled faintly. “I’m a messenger of the god—so I roam the pace freely.”

  The eunuch’s mouth gaped. “W-what do you want?”

  “I seek a lost relic of Eastern Xuan—the ‘Dragon Blood Pearl,’ vanished over a decade ago!”

  “Dragon Blood Pearl!” Panic seized him. “I-I don’t know—let me go!”

  “Must I turn you into a fool too?” The figure’s cold smile widened. “At your age, sudden senility wouldn’t shock anyone.”

  His dark eyes shimmered faintly, locking onto the eunuch’s. At first, Jiang resisted, but his gaze soon clouded, vitality fading as his mind’s gates creaked open, secrets spilling into the figure’s grasp…

  …The pace bzed with fire—screams of maids and rebel shouts echoing. In a resplendent hall, a young man in dragon robes, face ashen, trembled as he opened a brocade box on the dragon desk, revealing a vivid red pearl.

  A frantic Eunuch Jiang cradled a wailing infant beside it, while a pale Compiler Cao stood awkwardly on the other side.

  The robed man’s face twisted in anguish. Shaking, he took the red pearl, hesitated, then gritted his teeth, pried open the infant’s mouth, and slipped it in. It melted instantly, absorbed into her body.

  “Your Majesty…” A blood-soaked general, horrified, dropped to his knees.

  Tears streamed down the man’s face as he clutched the child tightly, murmuring, “Forgive your father, little one. The ‘Dragon Blood Pearl’ can’t escape mystic prying—only in your blood can it stay safe from schemers.”

  Reluctantly, he handed her to the kneeling general. “Take her to Eastern Ling City—to Lord Aberd. Please!”

  Weeping, the general strapped the infant to his back, bowed thrice, and strode off resolute…

  “So… that’s it!” The figure withdrew his gaze, a faint smile curling his lips.

  In moments, sweat beaded his face, his already pale, gaunt features turning wraithlike, as if he’d just fought a fierce battle.

  Before him, Eunuch Jiang slumped, vacant-eyed, drooling—a true imbecile now.

  When Jiang was carried to King Lie’s pace, the white-robed elder sighed at a gnce. “We’re too te—he’s been hit with ‘Mind Peering.’ His secrets are gone.”

  “Any word on Princess Yaoji?” Lin Xiaoyu barked outside. A general rushed in, reporting, “Scouts say Eastern Ling’s Artillery Corps, escorting her, was ambushed by Gray Wolves in Dayao Mountains—nearly wiped out. Commander Yang Hao’s dead; Princess Yaoji and Deputy Axel are missing.”

  “Send my Tiger Guard at once—search Dayao Mountains for her. We must find her first, no matter what!”

  “The first snow of 2002 came ter than usual, the No. 2 bus at the eighth floor whisking away the st falling yellow leaf…” Nearing Jin City, Xia Feng’s spirits lifted, his bardic nature bursting forth as he chanted to the wilds.

  His “poem” entranced them until he finished, earning appuse. Ji Xuanxuan sighed wistfully, “It’s lovely but cryptic—what’s 2002? What’s a bus?”

  Xia Feng grinned zily. “Stuff from the heavens—no wonder it’s gibberish here.”

  “Heavens?” They gaped. Ji Xuanxuan scoffed, “He’s bluffing—stick leeks up his nose and he’s an elephant; spout nonsense and he’s a god?”

  Xia Feng smiled knowingly. “Tell you truth, you call it lies; spin lies, you take it as truth. Fine—keep me as your bard.”

  As they bantered, a swift horse galloped toward them, silent despite its pace—a marvel. Odder still was its rider: a bck-robed figure, cloak billowing, hood shadowing his face like a grim reaper from lore.

  Seeing no sign of slowing, they parted to the road’s sides, letting him pass.

  “Who’s Princess Yaoji?” he shouted from afar. Instinctively, she replied, “I am.”

  Her words barely out, the horse charged her, unsckened.

  Before anyone reacted, as their paths crossed, he snatched her waist, hoisting her onto his saddle. A kick to the fnks, and the horse bolted at unimaginable speed, a white arrow streaking opposite their route.

  “Stop!” “Release her!” Xia Feng and Axel yelled, spurring their mounts in pursuit. But the white horse, even burdened by two, outpaced theirs by leagues.

  They whipped their steeds frantically, yet watched helplessly as it shrank into the distance, vanishing from sight.

  Chasing further yielded no trace. Facing forked paths, they exchanged grim looks—pursuit was futile. They turned back to regroup with Ji Xuanxuan and Lady Yan.

  After debate, they resolved to seek King Lie’s aid in Jin City.

  Xia Feng, having vowed to Axel to deliver Yaoji safely, felt her snatch—right before Jin City’s gates—sting his pride and honor. He couldn’t let it slide.

  Cursing his luck inwardly, he swore: I won’t rest till I bring her back!

  “Your Highness! I’ve failed—someone took the princess. Punish me!” Rushing into Jin City, Axel parted from Lady Yan and hastened to King Lie, recounting Yaoji’s abduction in detail.

  Lin Xiaoyu’s face darkened, fury simmering, but he didn’t erupt. Raising a hand coolly, he said, “It’s not your fault—I underestimated them.”

  Spotting Xia Feng and Ji Xuanxuan with Axel, he frowned. “Who are they?”

  Sensing Lin Xiaoyu’s commanding aura, Xia Feng pegged him as a power pyer. Better not cross a petty man than a noble, he mused, toning down his usual nonchance to salute—future favors might hinge on this.

  “Xia Feng, the bard Xia Feng?” Lin Xiaoyu’s expression shifted at his name, sizing him up before ughing heartily. “You aided me by guarding Yaoji—I won’t shortchange you. Guards! Rewards!”

  Soon, an attendant brought a tray den with gold and silver, its vishness stunning even Axel and Ji Xuanxuan, born to wealth.

  Xia Feng barely gnced at it, saluting zily. “I failed to get her to Jin City—I’m ashamed enough without rewards.”

  His indifference threw Lin Xiaoyu off—he didn’t know Xia Feng, raised in riches, had seen it all. Frowning at the refusal, he said, “What I give never comes back.”

  Sensing displeasure, Xia Feng relented inwardly—free stuff’s free stuff—and saluted. “Then thanks, Your Highness.”

  Lin Xiaoyu’s face eased. “No need for thanks—finding her still needs your help. Rest up; I’ll summon you at any news.”

  The trio bowed out, led to guest quarters by an attendant. When they’d gone, Lin Xiaoyu asked the elder, “What do you make of him?”