30-Minute Head Action

“Crown Prince, where shall we rest tonight?” Bai Shaolin rode his horse up to Crown Prince Shang Wuxin’s side, asking with eyes full of admiration. Since the incident at the inn a few days ago, the Crown Prince had become like a deity in their eyes. They didn’t know if the Crown Prince possessed martial arts skills, but with his wisdom alone, no one could match him.

Shang Wuxin looked at the layers of mountains and forests ahead, reaching out to rub his temples. The recent days of traveling had indeed taken a toll on his body. His body was originally weak, and with the toxins inside, even though he had been diligently training in martial arts during this time, it still couldn’t make up for his physical deficiencies. As a result, his mood had become irritable over the past two days, and his head felt vaguely uncomfortable.

Huan Mo Che looked at the Crown Prince, who seemed somewhat unwell. His palm twitched slightly as he wanted to step forward and massage the Crown Prince’s forehead, but thinking of the Crown Prince’s usually cold personality and his vague dislike towards him, Huan Mo Che had to suppress his feelings. The more he spent time with the Crown Prince, the more he wanted to get close to him, a desire he couldn’t control.

“Is the Crown Prince unwell?” Leng Yu Feng asked with some concern. This question immediately put Huan Mo Che on high alert. It seemed his friend had been paying too much attention to the Crown Prince lately. Huan Mo Che hadn’t even figured out his own feelings towards the Crown Prince, and now his friend was getting involved. He felt things were becoming increasingly complicated.

After Leng Yu Feng’s question, everyone noticed the Crown Prince’s overly pale complexion. Although the Crown Prince’s face had never looked very good—like a delicate, pale youth—it had never been this pale. The soldiers who had followed the Crown Prince all this time regarded him as their pillar of strength, and now everyone was worried.

Shang Wu Xin casually withdrew his fingers and then ordered, “Rest here! We set off at night. There will definitely be a fierce battle tonight. Everyone, hold tight for me. If anyone loses their life, it will be a disgrace to me!” After saying this, he dismounted and flew up to a branch of a tree, closing his eyes to rest.

After a while, Shang Wuxin felt that two people were sitting beside him, and without even guessing, he knew exactly who they were. These days, the two had been like loyal and responsible subordinates, always protecting him by his side.

Huan Mo Che thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and reached out his fingers to massage the Crown Prince. Although he had never done such a thing before, he was confident he could do it well. However, just as Huan Mo Che’s hand approached Shang Wuxin’s cheek, only a fist’s distance away, Shang Wuxin suddenly opened his eyes. His right hand quickly struck out, grabbing Huan Mo Che’s hand, ready to break his fingers. But he found that Huan Mo Che did not resist and allowed his strength to be applied. Shang Wuxin suddenly withdrew his hand and saw those beautiful peach blossom eyes.

Shang Wuxin’s gaze did not waver from those peach blossom eyes, then he said coldly, “From now on, do not casually approach this palace. If I hurt you, don’t blame me for not warning you!” If Huan Mo Che had resisted just now, he would have really struck hard.

Leng Yufeng and Huan Mo Che both clearly understood that the Crown Prince was warning them. Their expressions remained unchanged, but their hearts felt bitter. They stayed by the Crown Prince’s side as if nothing had happened, resting quietly. Only when they were near the Crown Prince, inhaling that faint, subtle fragrance, did they feel their hearts calm.

Night slowly fell. When the sky had completely darkened, Shang Wuxin opened those eyes shimmering with flowing light, captivating Leng Yufeng and Huan Mochen, who had woken up early, as they gazed obsessively at those eyes. Even though those eyes were unbearably cold, they evoked a moth-to-flame, self-destructive fascination.

“Are you all ready?” Shang Wuxin’s cold voice sounded even chillier in the dark night, making one’s hearing feel a shiver. In fact, Shang Wuxin hadn’t really been unable to sleep; he was just closing his eyes and emptying his mind.

“Yes, all ready!” Leng Yufeng said. He understood the prince’s purpose in doing this but still felt reluctant in his heart. However, Leng Yufeng also thought that this was actually the right thing to do. Let’s see if leaving the prince would make that feeling disappear.

“Phantom Gongzi should come along too; it will be safer that way!” Shang Wuxin instructed, or perhaps was just dismissing him.

“No!” Leng Yufeng and Huan Moche said simultaneously, then both realized they might have been too agitated. Huan Moche instantly restored his gentle, breezy smile. “Yufeng, you took so many people this time, and there are too few soldiers around the Crown Prince. Since I am the Crown Prince’s tutor, I have the responsibility to protect him!”

It turned out that Shang Wuxin had instructed Leng Yufeng to take most of the soldiers and supplies to leave by another route. They were to gather outside the city suffering famine in the south. Shang Wuxin’s arrangement was not only to ensure safety but also because she had other matters to attend to, so she wanted to divert Huan Moche.

“Crown Prince, Moche is not one to speak out of turn, and neither am I! We will not become the Crown Prince’s enemies, so the Crown Prince should keep Moche by his side for his own safety!” Leng Yufeng said seriously. This was the resolute and decisive general-like demeanor of Leng Yufeng.

Shang Wuxin’s eyes shifted to look at the two, then she nodded and said to Leng Yufeng, “Be careful on the road!”

Leng Yufeng’s previously calm heart became fiery because of the prince’s usual instructions. The prince always managed to unsettle him without trying. Leng Yufeng immediately turned around, leading the soldiers and supplies down another path, not even bidding the prince farewell.

“Damn it!” Leng Yufeng said frustratedly after walking for a while.

“General, what’s wrong? What happened?” A burly man beside Leng Yufeng asked. This man was named He Lanjin, Leng Yufeng’s deputy general and a loyal subordinate who usually followed Leng Yufeng, and of course, this time was no exception.

“Nothing!” Leng Yufeng replied seriously. Actually, he realized that after traveling so far, he had forgotten to bid farewell to the Crown Prince. Thinking that he hadn’t even said that, Leng Yufeng felt how foolish he was.

“Strange…” He Lanjin muttered quietly. He had followed the general since childhood. At first, he was just a servant by the general’s side. Because of the general, he learned to read and write and then went to the battlefield, becoming a deputy general. But after so many years with the general, who had always been mature and serious from a young age, recently He Lanjin clearly felt something different about him. He couldn’t say exactly what was different, just that it felt very strange.

After Leng Yufeng left with most of the food and over two thousand soldiers, Shang Wuxin also led the remaining soldiers along the previously planned route.

“This road was opened by me, this tree was planted by me; if you want to pass, pay the toll!” Suddenly, many burly men jumped out from the middle of the road. Their eyes turned to the food in the carriage behind, the greed in their gaze unmistakably clear.

Shang Wuxin listened to such robbery words and suddenly laughed. This faint smile, in the scorching summer, was like a spring breeze blowing, like gentle rain nourishing everything, easily stirring Huan Mo Che’s heartstrings. He wanted the prince’s face to always hold such a smile, even if it meant exchanging everything for it.

“You’re very amusing!” Shang Wuxin looked at the robber who had just said that. The robber was bald and chubby, reminding Shang Wuxin of the physique of the eunuch Hai, appearing very simple and honest but deliberately putting on a fierce expression.

The mountain bandits were somewhat confused. They were clearly here to rob, right? So why was this little master, who looked unnaturally beautiful and unreal, not only unafraid but also saying such strange things?

“Hurry! Leave the food, and I’ll spare your lives!” the mountain bandit snarled.

Unfortunately, as soon as he finished speaking, Shang Wuxin took out a dagger, threw it directly, and stabbed it into the bandit’s throat, killing him instantly!