Chapter Twenty-Four: There is only one possibility left...

"Your Highness, I apologize for my lack of a formal welcome. It is a grave sin for me to keep you waiting..."

At the docks, Yuchi Hong, a man known for his iron-blooded, hardened demeanor, was now smiling like a merchant peddling his wares. Facing the Third Prince, Li Yu, who held the Imperial Edict, he maintained a posture of extreme humility.

"The Yuchi family certainly wields great power," Li Yu remarked, standing at the prow of his ship with a mocking smile. "Even an Imperial Edict cannot bypass your family's soldiers."

Yuchi Hong’s eyelids twitched. The boy was young, but his words were venomous. He was truly a wolf cub.

"Your Highness jests. These soldiers are merely following orders to seal the docks; they are abiding by military discipline. The Yuchi family has never dared to forget the rules established by His Majesty in the North, nor have our soldiers. His Majesty is wise and brilliant; he understands the importance of military discipline. If any person could simply wave a so-called Imperial Edict to dismiss guards, the Northern Territory would have been lost long ago."

"General, you may look like a warrior, but your tongue is far slicker than those civil officials," Li Yu laughed sharply. "Are you implying that I am faking the Imperial Edict?"

"I would not dare," Yuchi Hong said, bowing quickly. "Your subordinate is merely emphasizing that a soldier’s duty is to follow military discipline. While the act of blocking your path just now may have been an offense, it was not improper."

"Insolent!" The Northern Territory Governor’s face turned livid as he bellowed. He had heard that the Yuchi family was unruly, but he never expected it to reach such lengths. He wondered what His Majesty was thinking; to coddle such arrogant and stubborn warriors was baffling.

Faced with the Governor, a man of higher rank than himself, Yuchi Hong did not even care to glance at him. Had it not been for the Imperial order, that Governor—a man sent from the outside—would not have been able to bring a single soldier into the North Sea without the Yuchi family’s permission!

"The Yuchi family is indeed overbearing," Li Yu said, his smile vanishing as he raised the Edict. "Now, my Imperial Father has issued a decree to open the gates of North Sea City and welcome back the Crown Prince. Tell me, will your Yuchi family accept this decree or not?"

"I cannot accept it," Yuchi Hong replied, shaking his head flatly.

"You..." Li Yu was stunned. He had expected the man to offer excuses, but he never imagined such blatant defiance. "Are you resisting the Imperial decree?"

"I would not dare," Yuchi Hong sighed. "Your Highness, there is truly a reason for this..."

Li Yu waved his hand dismissively. "Regardless of the reason, the decree has been issued. General Yuchi, open the gates immediately and return the Crown Prince to us. Otherwise... you shall be charged with treason!"

He had come to corner his older brother, and he would not grant the other party time to stall.

Yuchi Hong had spent years bleeding and fighting in the Northern Territory; he would not be easily intimidated by the words of a yellow-haired boy. Charging the Yuchi family with treason was not a decision a mere prince could make on his own.

"Your subordinate has heard that you personally requested this Imperial Edict, Your Highness?"

Li Yu frowned. "I am merely concerned for my brother’s safety."

"I can certainly understand your concern for your brother, Your Highness. I only ask one thing..." Yuchi Hong stepped forward, his expression darkening instantly. "The gates of North Sea City can be opened, but it will be because you, Your Highness, forced us to do so. Once they are open, whatever consequences follow, as the one who enforced this order, are you prepared to bear them all?"

"What do you mean by that?" Li Yu’s expression shifted.

"I mean exactly what I said," Yuchi Hong pointed behind him. "What is happening inside North Sea City is enough to shake the very foundations of the nation. You may use the Imperial Edict to force the gates open, but I have advised against it repeatedly. If you insist on forcing your way in, the Yuchi family will not be able to shoulder the consequences. I am merely offering you a reminder, Your Highness. Please, think carefully!"

Li Yu was silent.

*So it is true!*

Seeing Li Yu’s grim expression, now devoid of its earlier bravado, Yuchi Hong felt a slight sense of relief.

Chen Xiao and the others had returned with at least one useful piece of intelligence: the Third Prince, Li Yu, was not the mastermind behind the Crown Prince’s current plight. His aggressive posturing was merely an attempt to kick a man while he was down.

Since he was not the mastermind, Yuchi Hong decided to follow Master Luo's advice and gamble on the fact that the Prince lacked sufficient information. He did not know the true situation inside the city, and therefore, he would not dare to risk his own life.

"The General certainly knows how to bluff," Li Yu said, his face dark and devoid of his earlier ease. People said the second master of the Yuchi family was a brute, but it appeared otherwise. Beneath this warrior’s skin hid a cunning and treacherous mind.

"I am not bluffing, Your Highness. I am stating the facts!"

"Is that so?" Li Yu asked coldly. "I know my brother, the Crown Prince, came to assist with the epidemic. Now that North Sea City is sealed, does that mean the epidemic has spiraled out of control? If you will not let me in, how am I to know the Crown Prince’s condition?"

"We never said you could not enter, Your Highness," Master Luo’s voice sounded calmly from behind.

Li Yu looked over and took the initiative to offer a respectful bow. "Master Luo..."

The strategist of the Northern Territory—the man whose role had been vital in the Emperor’s invincible campaigns in the North. Even the Emperor treated him with great respect. He was the most difficult member of the Yuchi household to deal with, perhaps even more troublesome than the family head, Yuchi Peng.

"Your Highness is too kind," Master Luo returned the bow, his tone remaining indifferent. "It is only natural for you to be concerned for your brother. It is no lie that the Crown Prince is unable to leave the city; the Yuchi family lacks the audacity to fabricate such things. If you do not believe us, you may enter the city to confirm, but your army cannot follow. The epidemic inside is out of control. If too many enter and spread the contagion to the rest of the Northern Territory or beyond, the Yuchi family would be unable to atone for such a sin, even in death!"

Li Yu’s smile vanished completely as he stared fixedly at the man. He could guess the situation inside, and the man’s reasoning was sound; a large army would indeed risk spreading the disease. The option to enter alone to confirm the Prince's condition was there, but did he dare?

If he entered without the protection of his army, Li Yu did not believe the Yuchi family would hesitate to act against him. If the Crown Prince’s condition was truly dire, the Yuchi family would have been pushed to the edge, and it would not be strange for them to do anything.

"That is also true..." Master Luo said with a smile. "How could we let you take such a risk? I see the Governor has arrived as well. Why don't we let the Governor enter the city first to assess the situation before we make any further decisions?"

The Governor, standing to the side, felt his face turn black. He had sensed that this trip would end with him being the scapegoat, and his intuition had been correct!

***

Inside North Sea City:

Zhang Rui and his party, led by Yuchi family guards, hurried to the Crown Prince’s villa. After passing through layers of verification, Zhang Rui finally laid eyes on the Crown Prince, whose tragic, premature death he had written himself.

The Prince’s face was twisted, his skin rubbed raw and bloodied from his own frantic struggle. He looked more like a malevolent spirit than a royal heir.

Zhang Rui felt a complex mix of emotions. The heir whose position he had written as the most secure had lost his life early for the sake of the plot, and now, he, the culprit, had to rely on that same person to save his own neck. It was truly a twist of fate.

"Why has the Crown Prince’s condition worsened so rapidly?" Chen Xiao’s expression changed. The Prince had been fine before he left, and the epidemic had never progressed this quickly before.

"I fear it is the result of the forbidden art," one of the sorcerers guarding the Prince sighed. "Borrowing life from the heavens always carries side effects. With his body already weakened and then infected by the epidemic, it is a miracle he has held on this long. We just don't understand—after the last experience, we were doubly cautious. Everything the Prince touched was checked repeatedly. Why did he still..."

"Because the way this epidemic spreads is highly unusual," Chen Xiao sighed. Who could have known that this plague would spread in such a bizarre manner?

He quickly explained the method of transmission that Zhang Rui had mentioned earlier.

The group listened in horror. Such a bizarre way for an epidemic to spread?

"So that is it!" Master Luo, who had hurried back from the docks, realized with a start. He walked up to Zhang Rui and bowed. "No wonder... we exhausted every means to stop the plague, but it was because the method of spread was so outlandish. If only you had come to North Sea sooner, Master Zhang."

"I am ashamed..."

"Master Zhang, since you know the origin of this thing, is there a cure?" Yuchi Hong, who had followed him back, asked urgently.

It was not just the Crown Prince; more than half of the Yuchi family had been infected by this accursed plague, his own father and eldest brother included. Hearing that someone truly understood the origin of the disease filled him with hope.

"There is only one way to cure it: destroy the source," Zhang Rui said, looking at him. "The source of this plague is an evil entity. Find it, and everything can be resolved."

"An evil entity?" Master Luo nodded. "We thought of that before; it must be the work of some sorcerer. But the forbidden art has been used, and everyone in the city is dead, save for the Yuchi family and a few allied families. We have checked the background of every living soul; we simply cannot find anyone suspicious!"

Yuchi Hong added, "When we tallied the bodies in North Sea, we did find some strangers, but they were already dead. Is it possible that the epidemic can continue even if the sorcerer is dead?"

"It cannot," Zhang Rui shook his head. "Something like this requires a medium, so there must be a practitioner. If you have truly sealed the city airtight, then he must still be inside North Sea City."

"That is impossible," Yuchi Hong frowned deeply. "We have searched every inch of North Sea City. If it were a living person, we would have dug them out even if they were buried three feet under!"

"Then there is only one possibility," Zhang Rui said, looking at everyone. "The host of the source is someone within the Yuchi estate!!!"