Chapter 418: Animalistic Movements
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Stop!" After walking for 15 minutes, Fang Zhengzhi could not take it any longer.
"What's wrong? I want to see the King and my third brother, why should we stop?" Princess Shan Yu frowned and looked at Fang Zhengzhi in doubt.
"I think that we should change our clothes." Fang Zhengzhi replied.
"Change? Why?"
"Your highness... just think about it. We may not have faced any problems thus far... but, we have to stop everytime we meet a squad of guards. This is delaying us, and also reveals your identity to the world. We could change and conceal ourselves..." Fang Zhengzhi explained.
"Mm, that makes sense!" Princess Shan Yu interrupted. Then, she surveyed the surroundings before rushing into a dark corner.
Fang Zhengzhi was confused.
There was no one there. Why would Princess Shan Yu go there? Did she just ditch him? How was he going to get out?
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Princess Shan Yu's voice.
"You, and you, take off your clothes!"
"Yes, your highness!"
Before long, Princess Shan Yu came out of the shadows.
She held two sets of rattan armor in her hands.
"The clothes are here." Princess Shan Yu threw a set to Fang Zhengzhi, visibly proud of herself.
Fang Zhengzhi was unsettled by what he just saw. He knew exactly what had happened.
The royal palace!
Other than the patrolling guards, they had men hiding in the shadows as an ambush.
Danger was everywhere.
Hang on... if the locations of these ambushes had not changed, does it mean that... the royal city is still controlled by the Southern Region?
Fang Zhengzhi's eyelids twitched. He felt that there was a good chance this place was not run over by the Demons just yet.
But...
If it really was in the Southern Region's control, why did the King and the Crown Prince not take this opportunity to escape? If they could enter so easily, it would not be difficult for the royal family to escape.
Something was wrong.
Something was definitely wrong!
Fang Zhengzhi felt that there was something wrong, but he could not pinpoint what the problem was. He would just have to figure it out as he went along.
He found a secluded spot and put on the rattan armor. Then he heaved a sigh of relief. With this armor, there would be fewer confrontations.
Everything was simple from that point onwards.
With Princess Shan Yu to guide him along, they managed to enter the palace complex without any incidents. Then, they made their way to a humongous door.
This was a door adorned with gold and jewels. The gold and jewels combined to create a beautiful work of art.
They could hear the sounds of drums from inside.
Six heavily armored guards stood at the door. Each one of them was hulking in size and had skin as dark as ink.
The picture on the door was that of a beast.
It looked like a lion, but it had a pair of wings. Furthermore, it also had a pair of horns on its head.
There were complicated patterns on each of the horns.
Cloud Pattern!
By now, Fang Zhengzhi had seen the cloud pattern umpteen times. He had seen it first on the wall in The Vast World...
Then again on Wu Feng's Jade Flute...
After that, he had seen it on Princess Shan Yu before seeing it on the horns of the beast. This piqued his curiosity.
The Cloud Pattern...
What was it?
Fang Zhengzhi wanted to ask Princess Shan Yu about it. After all, she had it on her body. However, at that very moment, the sound of the drums stopped.
Then, they heard the sounds of tables and chairs crashing. An angry voice could be heard from inside.
"Rebel, stop what you're doing!"
Fang Zhengzhi's eyes twitched.
Rebel?
From the exquisite decorations on the door, he was sure that the person inside was either the King or the Crown Prince.
That meant that the 'rebel' could only be one person.
It seems like...
There was trouble!
Fang Zhengzhi's heart fluttered. Could the Crown Prince be taking this opportunity to rebel? This was something that had happened before in history.
They would ally themselves with outsiders to claim the throne.
Could this be what was happening?
Fang Zhengzhi wanted to go and take a look, but he knew that he had to keep his cool, so he did not spring into action. He chose to wait for the six guards to charge in first.
However...
The guards did not even blink when they heard the commotion. It was almost as if they didn't hear the noises inside.
Something was wrong...
If there was a rebel inside, the guards should be charging in to protect the King!
Why weren't they moving?
Could it be...
These were the Crown Prince's men?!
Fang Zhengzhi knew that this was the only possibility. However, this had terrifying implications.
If the guards were loyal to the Crown Prince...
This rebellion was likely to succeed.
"Father!"
Murphy's Law was at it once again.
Fang Zhengzhi was deciding between siding with the King and coming to his aid, or siding with the Crown Prince and going with the flow when Princess Shan Yu's voice rang out.
Red lights beamed from her body.
The expression of the guards changed instantly as they looked at the Princess in shock.
"Princess!"
"It's the Princess!"
"Greetings, your highness!"
The guards looked at each other, then whispered. However, none of them knelt in respect.
"Move aside!" Princess Shan Yu ordered.
"Erm..."
The guards' expressions were conflicted as they stood their ground.
"I said, move aside!" Princess Shan Yu raged.
"Forgive us, your highness. The Crown Prince has ordered us not to let anyone through!" One of the guards replied respectfully.
"Third brother is in there! This is the King's court, why is he not in his own residence trying to formulate a plan? What is he doing here?" Princess Shan Yu frowned anxiously.
"This... I do not know." The guards looked at each other and grit their teeth.
"Rubbish, who else is in there?"
"I do not know."
"You don't know? Or you're not saying? Stand aside, I'm going in!" Princess Shan Yu shook her head at the guards, her eyes glimmering icily.
"Please forgive us." The guards grit their teeth.
"How dare you! I would like to see how many of you dare to stop me!" Princess Shan Yu's body exploded with red light as she hollered.
Fang Zhengzhi had seen Princess Shan Yu get angry before. He had even experienced it for himself.
But this time...
It felt different...
Previously, her anger had stemmed from an inability to contain her anger. This time, she was showing her dominance.
A dominance that came from her position as a Princess.
As a princess of the Southern Region, she could accept that an outsider might challenge her authority, but she would never allow a guard to do the same.
The red light enveloped her body as the dense cloud patterns showed on her skin.
At the same time, a wave of heat could be felt. It was a unique aura.
It was rhythmic...
Almost like a heartbeat.
Animalistic.
That was the only word Fang Zhengzhi could use to describe it. Her eyes were fixed on the six guards in front of her, her legs slightly bent, ready to pounce.
Coupled with the red light and cloud pattern...
She looked like a leopard hunting for prey.
The six guards paled when they saw this, their hands trembling.
They looked like they were experiencing some sort of emotional struggle.
"This is your last chance, step aside!" Princess Shan Yu bellowed once again. This time, her voice seemed to come from deep within her body.
Fang Zhengzhi recalled that General Tai had done something similar during his duel with Fang Zhengzhi.
This time, Princess Shan Yu had the same animalistic growl.
But...
Unlike General Tai, Princess Shan Yu's body did not change.
Did the Cloud Pattern have a role to play in this?