Chapter Thirteen: The Confrontation

Who exactly is that kid...?

At this moment, an old man was trailing far behind Zhang Rui and his group. If Zhang Rui were to look back, he would recognize him immediately—the same old fishmonger who had previously deceived him.

The old man’s gaze toward Zhang Rui was a mixture of caution and a hint of greed.

That kid had taken his live fish into a dark alley and emerged with a baby in tow. Ever since, the kid had chosen to travel only through dark alleys. Each time he came out, the baby seemed to have grown taller; now the child appeared to be seven or eight years old. Meanwhile, the kid himself had transformed from a weak and pale youth to someone brimming with robust vitality.

There was a great secret hidden within this boy.

But the old man dared not act rashly, for he was not the only one who had noticed the boy. Many had attempted to secretly follow him into the alley. In the Painted City, it was forbidden for people to engage in combat with one another—a rule said to have been established by a great figure a thousand years ago, with the threat that violators would be attacked by all. Yet in the empty alleys, where no one was watching, it was a different matter altogether.

Every person who tried to quietly follow the boy into the alley never came back out. The old man knew this kid was no ordinary person. Now, with a growing crowd surrounding him, the situation had become even more complicated. There was no way the old man could overcome them by force alone, but perhaps if he offered something in exchange...

The elderly man watched Zhang Rui from afar, caught in a dilemma.

Meanwhile, Zhang Rui was completely unaware of the old man trailing behind him. He focused intently on the scholar named Chen Xiao, who was revealing intelligence.

“The Crown Prince was sent by imperial decree to the Northern Sea for disaster relief. The emperor is aged, and the Crown Prince’s position is secure. Everyone knows that the throne transition is imminent in these years. Sending the Crown Prince to provide aid is also a way to gain popular support. The Northern Sea is the stronghold of the Crown Prince’s maternal family. Along the route, General Long personally escorts him. In theory, nothing should go wrong.”

Zhang Rui nodded slightly upon hearing this, as it largely aligned with the story in his novel.

The Crown Prince’s maternal clan wielded military power. His maternal uncle, Wei Chi Peng, was the commander of the Northern Sea garrison and a court-appointed rear general, already ranked as a second-grade martial officer.

The Wei family had governed the Northern Sea for many years, operating like an iron fortress from top to bottom. Even the founding emperor of the Great Jin dynasty had been unable to conquer the Northern Sea by force and had to win over the Wei family. For a thousand years, the Wei family had held key positions in the imperial court, making them a powerful local clan. The current emperor chose not to alienate the Wei family of the Northern Sea but instead married a Wei daughter as empress. Now, the Crown Prince, as the legitimate heir and nephew of the Wei family head, should be well supported. With the Wei family’s backing, the Northern Sea relief mission should be foolproof.

Yet unexpectedly...

Zhang Rui pricked up his ears at this point, eager to hear how this differed from his original novel. Although the main plot remained the same, the details would surely diverge given the different world framework.

In the original novel, the epidemic in the Northern Sea exceeded everyone’s expectations. The Crown Prince had been strictly protected—the food, clothing, and living quarters were all carefully controlled—but he still contracted the illness. The emperor suspected deliberate sabotage of the Crown Prince’s meals. At that time, the Wei family, including General Wei Chi Peng himself, also fell ill and died. Many believed the epidemic was simply too severe, but the emperor’s relentless investigation led to the downfall of many officials and eventually sparked rebellion.

Here... it should be different from that world devoid of ghosts and spirits.

“That epidemic was beyond imagination. The Crown Prince contracted it on the second day after arriving in the Northern Sea!”

“Hm?” Zhang Rui was momentarily stunned, thinking: Is it really just the epidemic? Why is it the same as the original? Here, after all, there are sorcerers and such—could he really have died of infection?

“How could such carelessness happen? The Crown Prince’s identity is precious. Shouldn’t he have been isolated as much as possible during the journey?”

“The Crown Prince’s itinerary was meticulously planned. Every detail was accounted for. Even the combs used by his serving maids were checked daily by sorcerers. The separate residence assigned to the Crown Prince was inspected every hour by sorcerers. Food and clothing were even more tightly controlled. In theory, there was no way the Crown Prince should have been infected. Before we arrived, although the epidemic was severe, the fatality rate was not high. The imperial physicians dispatched had already successfully treated hundreds of severe cases!”

“The illness is different?” Zhang Rui immediately realized the truth: the Crown Prince’s death was no accident—it was caused by human intervention.

“Completely different...” Chen Xiao’s voice dropped. “After the Crown Prince’s arrival, the epidemic raging through the city was unlike before. The fatality rate soared, as did the infection rate. The situation, once under control, collapsed instantly. Even the city’s soldiers lost nearly half their number. If not for the Wei family’s thousand-year rule and great prestige in the Northern Sea, the city would have descended into chaos long ago.”

“And then?” Zhang Rui frowned, sensing the situation was more complex than it seemed.

“That’s the situation now. The Crown Prince has contracted a serious illness and is on the brink of death. The Northern Sea incident requires finding the mastermind behind it as soon as possible...”

“You’re lying...” Zhang Rui interrupted firmly. “If it were only this situation, you should have evacuated the Crown Prince immediately.”

“Evacuating mid-journey is even more dangerous. If even the Wei family couldn’t protect the Crown Prince, then the return trip to the capital would be even less secure,” Chen Xiao hurriedly explained.

“Nonsense!” Zhang Rui’s face darkened. “The Crown Prince is the heir apparent of the realm. If the situation were truly so perilous, the emperor would dispatch troops to ensure his safe return. You said the deceased Master Tian’s dossier indicated he came from Jiangnan. If he traveled so far to send a message to the emperor, the Crown Prince would have been brought back already!”

Chen Xiao glanced at Zhang Rui quietly. “Master Tian misread the situation. The gentleman is not only warm-hearted but also very sharp-minded.”

This was no foolish county magistrate. Someone of this age with such insight must have a remarkable background.

“Sir, you’d better tell the truth...” Zhang Rui said coldly. “If you have no sincerity, then there’s no need to continue. I never cooperate with those lacking sincerity. You won’t even know how you’ll die!”

“Lord Zhang, you flatter me...” Chen Xiao hesitated briefly, glanced around, then pulled Zhang Rui into a slightly more secluded alley. The surrounding guards, seeing this, understood the gentleman intended to speak honestly and tried to dissuade him. “Sir... this...”

“Given the current situation, it won’t remain a secret for long!” Chen Xiao looked at the guards sternly. “I know General Long warned you, but you must understand this: if we cannot rescue the Crown Prince at once, everything will be in vain.”

The guards were at a loss for words. Master Tian was already dead. Their mission had essentially failed. Would a mysterious county magistrate really be of any use now?

“Speak...” Zhang Rui said without looking around once inside the alley. “With her here, those painted demons won’t dare approach.”

“Lord Zhang, your niece is truly extraordinary!” Chen Xiao glanced at the little girl. He had suspected from the start this girl might rival Qin Fang in skill. Such a formidable protector meant this county magistrate was no ordinary man. Whether he was an enemy was a gamble, but now, they were trapped in a desperate situation.

“Time is pressing. Sir, please get to the point.” Zhang Rui said quietly.

Chen Xiao nodded and delivered the next line, making Zhang Rui’s heart skip a beat:

“The Crown Prince, in fact, already died once before!”

“Died... once before?” Zhang Rui did not hide his surprise. “What do you mean?”

Reading Zhang Rui’s expression, Chen Xiao silently judged: if this was an act, the performance was excellent. If not, then this man was likely not an opponent but potentially an invaluable ally.

“We used forbidden magic!”

“Forbidden magic?” Zhang Rui was puzzled at first but quickly grasped the meaning. This world had strange sorcerers and many supernatural means—things ordinary people could not accomplish. Among them was perhaps... resurrection.

Yet in every novel, such acts came with severe consequences.

“What were the consequences?” Zhang Rui asked directly.

“The lives of everyone in the Northern Sea city...”

“What?” Even prepared as he was, Zhang Rui was shocked by the price. Were these people mad?

“The Crown Prince’s status is precious; his fate carries power beyond ordinary men. Altering the Crown Prince’s fate costs far more than changing that of a commoner. We didn’t anticipate such a heavy price. Once the forbidden magic was invoked, the entire city’s population, already weakened, was harvested by the spell. It was too late to withdraw.”

Zhang Rui stared at Chen Xiao for a long time before regaining his composure, his eyes clouded with complexity. “It seems... you have no way out.”

He finally understood: he had provoked a group of desperate madmen.

Even if the forbidden magic wasn’t expected to kill everyone in the city, it surely took many lives. To these people, the lives of ordinary folk were meaningless.

“Indeed!” Chen Xiao looked at Zhang Rui solemnly. “We have no retreat. Lord Zhang, you must decide now: will you help us or kill us?”

The guards behind them watched the unperturbed little girl warily, ready to act.

They wondered why Chen Xiao was willing to take such a risk to recruit Zhang Rui. Even from an objective, neutral standpoint, no one would willingly wade into such a mess. Now that it had come to this, if Zhang Rui didn’t want to get involved, the best course would be to kill them all—after all, this was within the Painted City, and such actions would leave no trace.

Chen Xiao ignored his men’s doubts and fixed his gaze on Zhang Rui.

Ten years ago, a powerful seer had calculated Chen Xiao’s fate. If he sought revenge, his only path was to align with the Crown Prince. But if he did, he would face a great calamity ten years later; surviving it would grant unstoppable fortune and a chance for revenge, while failure would doom his entire clan.

The seer’s “great calamity” was surely this very event. Chen Xiao had a strong premonition that Zhang Rui was the noble person the seer had spoken of.