LUO YAN stared at the guy steadily holding him from the back. He was wearing all black, the design was like that of a ninja or something. The lower half of his face was covered. Only that familiar cold eyes were seen. Despite those eyes being pure black instead of the familiar blue or even the light amethyst of his real gave avatar, Luo Yan knew that this guy was most likely Shen Ji Yun.
Just looked at those eyes with almost no emotion in them. Not to mention that voice. Even if he was given the role of an NPC with completely different facial features, Luo Yan was sure he wouldn"t be wrong. He wondered why. When did he become so familiar with this awkward expressionless guy that he could recognize him just by his eyes and voice?
He hadn"t had time to think of the answer because Shen Ji Yun carefully held his stabbed arm.
"This might hurt a bit," he whispered.
Before Luo Yan could ask what he meant, Shen Ji Yun removed the dagger piercing his arm as fast as he could. Then he took out a handkerchief out of nowhere and tied it to his wounded arm.
"Thank you," he whispered back.
Then Luo Yan glanced at the collapsed old prince. There was blood at the corner of his mouth. But there weren"t any obvious external wounds on him. Luo Yan"s best guessed was that the old prince was poisoned.
After realizing that, he heard a notification sound and a screen appeared in front of him.
[Mystery: Who poisoned Prince Lin Rong and why?]
"Guards! Don"t let anyone leave the banquet!" shouted by the younger son of Prince Lin Rong. "Someone here is definitely responsible for what happened to my father!"
Just as he said that, the guards immediately surrounded the banquet area.
"Second Master Lin, are you suspecting us? Do you think we could do something like this to Prince Lin Rong?" one of the guests said.
"That"s right! We"re not even near him when it happened!" another one said.
"The most suspicious people here are those dancers!"
Different opinions from the guests filled the place, almost drowning the sound in the area.
"Silence!" shouted the crown prince. The whole place immediately quieted. "Go and get the G.o.dly doctor for my uncle," he said to no one.
Then a black clad person wearing the same style of clothing as Shen Ji Yun appeared. "Yes, Your Highness." And then immediately disappeared again.
"Don"t worry, cousin, the man known as the G.o.dly doctor traveled with me here. This prince has no doubt that he could easily heal uncle," the crown prince said to the eldest son of Prince Lin Rong. "So please, take uncle to his courtyard and wait for the doctor there."
The crown prince"s older cousin seemed relieved when he heard that. "T-that"s good." Then he called for the guards. "Go and take my father to his courtyard."
Two guards brought something almost similar to a stretcher and gently put the old prince there. When they left, the crown prince turned to Luo Yan. Or rather, to Shen Ji Yun who was still holding him from behind.
"Di Yi, tell this prince what exactly just happened," he commanded.
"Back to Your Highness, the smoke was caused by the three small b.a.l.l.s thrown by one of the dancers. With the main seats surrounded by smoke, one of them tried to throw a dagger to Your Highness. This guard tried to intercept, but this woman here was one step faster than me. She probably saw the dagger and used her body to s.h.i.+eld you from the it."
Luo Yan winced when he heard Shen Ji Yun referring to him as "this woman" without even a change in the tone of his voice. d.a.m.n. With his thick face, he shouldn"t really be that embarra.s.sed. But for some reason, he truly was. Now that he thought about it, being seen by a friend dressed like this, how could he possibly not? He"s even more tempted now to beat the c.r.a.p out of the King. If not for his birthday event, he wouldn"t be crossdressing right now.
Then he heard that familiar notification sound and a screen appeared in front of him again.
[Mystery: Who wanted to harm the crown prince and why?]
That was two times in a row already. So was this how they would recognize the mysteries they needed to solve? Well, that"s kind of convenient.
The crown prince finally glanced at Luo Yan before returning his gaze to Shen Ji Yun. "This prince understands. Then go and take this young lady to this prince"s courtyard. This prince will talk to her later." Then he said to the guards, "Detain everyone from Yuexing Pavilion."
"Yes, Your Highness," replied the guards.
"No, please, Your Highness, we didn"t know anything about this," one of the girls pleaded.
"Y-yes, Your Highness, please…"
Luo Yan no longer heard what"s next because Shen Ji Yun already lifted him up. Actually carrying him princess style! He thought his embarra.s.sment wouldn"t get any bigger, but no, right at this moment, it just did. Shen Ji Yun ran out of the banquet area while carrying him in his arms, carefully not letting anything collide with Luo Yan"s wounded arm.
"You don"t need to carry me, I can still walk," he said. When he didn"t receive any reply, he raised his head. He only saw Shen Ji Yun staring straight ahead. "Brother Ji Yun?"
This time, Shen Ji Yun gazed down. When their gazes collided once again, Shen Ji Yun immediately looked away as if burned or something. "En," he simply said.
That"s it? He wasn"t even surprised that he recognized him? "Brother Ji Yun, you can put me down."
"It"s faster this way."
"But—"
He didn"t manage to continue what he"s saying because of the pain from the stab wound on his arm. He felt that his whole body was slowly becoming weak. He checked his Status Window and saw that his HP was slowly decreasing. He even started to feel dizzy.
Shen Ji Yun quickly noticed that. "What"s wrong? Does it hurt?" This time, his cold voice was layered with worry.
"My HP is decreasing."
After he said that, Shen Ji Yun dashed forward, almost moving as fast as the wind. Soon, they arrived at a big courtyard. Just one look and one could tell that it"s grander than other courtyards in the manor. That"s probably why it was given to the crown prince as a temporary residence while he"s here.
Guards were about to stop Shen Ji Yun but once they saw the jade card hanging on his belt, they let them enter. It"s probably a sign given by the crown prince and only people he trusted could have it.
Shen Ji Yun brought him to one of the empty rooms and then gently put him down on the bed. He removed the mask covering the lower part of his face, revealing a face that was seven or eight points similar to his original face.
"What role was given to you, Brother Ji Yun?" Luo Yan asked, staring at Shen Ji Yun"s face that was familiar yet not. Although there was a bit of difference on how he usually looked, but because of his inherent temperament, no one would mistake him for anyone else.
"I"m one of the crown prince"s dark guards," Shen Ji Yun answered.
Dark guards? If Luo Yan remembered correctly, those were elite secret force. They protected their masters in the shadows and do everything their masters ordered.
"How do you feel?" Shen Ji Yun asked.
Although his voice was filled with worry, he was still not looking at Luo Yan. Something that Luo Yan found very novel.
"I"m dizzy," he said honestly. "And I think my HP is still decreasing."
"Just wait a bit. I"ll bring that G.o.dly doctor here to cure you."
But before Shen Ji Yun could leave, Luo Yan heard another notification sound. Then a screen appeared in front of him.
[Mystery: What truly happened to the manor"s second young miss?]