Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 278 Prince
After the head was severed, what spurted out from the neck was not blood, but a gel-like substance.

What's even more bizarre is that this substance seemed to be active at the same time, even peeking out from the wound—then, it suddenly transformed into a sharp tooth, heading straight for Zhou You's face!

But before Zhou You could draw his sword and strike, the member of the Evil Suppression Division stepped forward, drew his qi into a talisman, and used his newly recovered magic power to freeze the thing.

—All of this happened in the blink of an eye, so fast that even Wang Chengen himself didn't have time to react.

He stared blankly at his headless corpse, his face still bearing the shock, anger, and fear of his dying moments. After a long while, he finally managed to utter a single sentence.

"why?"

But the people from the Exorcism Bureau ignored him. Instead, they used their magic to force the gel-like substance back into the corpse, and then set it on fire, burning it completely to ashes.

Then, this person spoke to Wang Chengen—not as an answer, but in a tone of admiration.

"The Substitution Technique of the Thick Earth Sect is truly formidable. It can completely transform a person's appearance, and the victim may not even be aware of it, let alone others."

However, before he could finish speaking, Wang Chengen's avatar finally realized something, his face showed a look of horror, and then he roared on the spot.

"This is impossible, absolutely impossible! I haven't even taken a single pill, how could I have become like this? Impossible, this must be a dream."

However, the young man from the Evil Suppression Division simply squatted down, looked at Wang Chengen's head, and replied calmly.

"Do you really think the Thick Earth Sect, and the one behind it, intend to treat you like a treasure? Do you really think that the furnace you've refined is some legendary elixir of immortality?"

Wang Chengen wanted to say something more, but was immediately interrupted by the young man.

"Actually, they are all just consumables. Those Taoist disciples, servants, victims are, you are too, and even the Celestial Masters in your sect are the same. For 'that one,' there is only one thing that is truly cherished—his own life."

Wang Chengen mumbled something, as if he wanted to say something, but the young man had already lost interest and stood up, then kicked his head into the remaining flames, burning it all to ashes.

Only then did Zhou You speak.

"You just killed him so cleanly and neatly? Didn't you plan to get any confessions or anything?"

"So that this king-killer will know." Seeing Zhou You's expression about to change, the young man wisely changed his words. "So that this brave warrior will know that during my previous investigations, I had gathered most of the information. Today I've only come to confirm it. By the way, it's been so long since I gave you a proper introduction; it has been truly impolite."

As he spoke, the man cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

“Zhenxie Sidaoqi, Pingdan, Tao Le’an.”

I'm guessing it's just another alias used to change identities.

However, Zhou You didn't seem to mind, and simply clasped his hands in return.

"Zhou You, you can just call me Taoist Zhou."

But just as the two were about to say something, a person suddenly came running over from the side, tumbling and crawling, and hugged the young man's leg, crying and pleading.

"Lord of the Exorcism Bureau! Lord of the Exorcism Bureau!! My second brother seems to be dying. I know you have many magical methods, please lend a hand and save him. My brother and I will serve you like slaves from now on. Please forgive us for taking a bullet for you before!"

Zhou You looked up and realized that half of the shorter man's face had been dissolved away, and now he was barely breathing and probably wouldn't survive.

The young man named Tao Le'an shook his head upon seeing this and said...

"Putting aside the fact that our Zhenxie Division has a grudge against your Sixteen Outlaws—besides, even if I wanted to save them, I can't squeeze out any magic power from my body right now, so I'm powerless to do anything."

The tall man froze, then crawled back to the short man's side and began to wail loudly.

"Brother, I've wronged you! You shouldn't have come; you only did it for me, for the sake of the boss. Fine, I'll give you my life today, and we'll meet again on the road to the underworld for a drink."

After saying this, the tall man picked up his Guan Dao (a type of halberd) and was about to slit his own throat—but it was immediately deflected by a sword.

"Step aside."

Zhou You slapped the tall man, who was also exhausted, aside with his sword hilt. Then he took the wine gourd from his waist, opened the lid, shook it, and forced the short man to drink a few mouthfuls.

"I helped you two because I saw that the murderous aura on you brothers came from fighting with others, and there was no resentment from innocent people. But in the end, this thing is just a life-sustaining device. Whether you live or die afterward depends entirely on your own fate."

The tall man knelt down and kowtowed on the spot, but Zhou You ignored him—and just as he turned around, the fat merchant approached again.

"I never imagined you, young man, possessed such skill. My admiration for you is as boundless as a surging river."

"Alright, alright, did you all learn your flattery skills from the same master? You can't even change them a little." After seeing the merchant's true colors, Zhou You was too lazy to be polite anymore and just said casually, "Just say what you want to say, no need to beat around the bush."

The fat businessman remained calm, still wearing that ingratiating smile.

"Well, it's really nothing. The main thing is that my mission this time was a failure—of course, you have to accept the consequences of your bet, that's the way of the world, and I have to admit defeat. But if I've offended so many forces at the same time..."

At this point, Tao Le'an interjected.

"Alright, considering you intervened earlier, I'll talk to the three families and make sure you won't face any punishment."

The fat merchant breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Then I won't bother you any longer," and very tactfully dragged the two brothers away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Thus, in this vast alchemy room, only Zhou You and Tao Le'an remained alive.

After a long pause, Zhou You finally spoke first.

"I say, since you've switched identities with this child, where did the original owner go?"

"You're asking this as your first question? I thought it was nothing serious, and I would just tell you directly, Master."

The young man scratched his head and then said.

"The original owner of this kid has a similar temper to the one I played. I was afraid he would cause trouble, so I had my men take him away from Songzhou and go to the General Headquarters for protection. Anyway, he doesn't have any relatives, and those people in the village are always thinking about kidnapping him to claim credit. This is the most suitable decision for him."

Zhou You nodded, and then said.

"So, the next question is, can you explain to me what exactly happened?" The other person sighed softly and then said.

"This is a long story, but it can be summed up in just a few sentences."

"—The Thick Earth Sect wants to use human lives to create the elixir of immortality and awaken the Thick Earth Goddess whose origins are unknown. Behind them is a member of the royal family—a prince."

Zhou You had anticipated this, but he continued to ask questions.

"...But that doesn't make sense either. The prince is indeed second only to the emperor, but the problem is that killing the Ear Cavalry is tantamount to directly slapping the emperor in the face. This is no longer the era where the emperor loses his power and his servants become the masters. What ability does he have to dare to do something that is almost tantamount to open rebellion?"

Tao Le'an smiled wryly upon hearing this.

"What the Taoist priest said is absolutely right. Even if a prince had several times the courage, he wouldn't dare to do such a thing. But the problem is that the person who caused this trouble is no ordinary person."

".What's the meaning?"

"It's very simple, because this prince is not from the emperor's generation at all, but is the brother of the founding emperor who established this dynasty."

Zhou You was taken aback.

"What did you say? Emperor Taizu? No, although I'm new here, I know that Emperor Taizu established the dynasty over two hundred years ago. How could he have lived that long?"

The other person shook his head.

“Daoist, you are wrong. This person can indeed live for so long. This prince calls himself the Hidden Prince. Few people among the common people know him, but he has indeed lived for more than two hundred years. In such a long time, his power has spread throughout the court and the country. Let alone killing our mere Daoist cavalry of the Zhenxie Division, it would not be difficult for him to kill the current emperor. Or rather, in recent years, he may have already done the deposed emperor.”

"However, over the years, he has become indifferent to power and such things, and now he focuses on only one thing."

"That is, how to achieve immortality."
-
Songzhou.

A very large mansion.

The mansion had no plaques, but it was painted in vermilion and had golden glazed tiles. Looking around, one could see continuous walls, bluestone paving, and even the decorations were painted with gold thread. The pillars were as thick as a person's embrace—and its appearance even resembled that of an emperor.

Within this extremely extravagant courtyard lies a pool of emerald green water, surrounded by artificial hills and craggy rocks, making it seem as if one is not in a mansion, but rather in a beautiful mountain landscape.

And similarly, these things also used the tribute from the imperial court.

An elderly man, his face showing signs of age, sat on the opposite bank of the lake, gazing at the breathtaking scenery and slowly sipping his wine.

Judging from his appearance, it was difficult to even tell his age. His whole body was covered with wrinkles like tree bark, and his skin seemed to be only a thin layer attached to his bones. You could even see the bluish-gray blood vessels and veins directly through it.

Rather than a person, it's more like an old tree that has become a spirit.

However, right beside this old man, there were many beautiful women with graceful figures, around sixteen or seventeen years old, serving him.

Not far away, several children who looked like grandchildren were playing—and further away, several people dressed in official robes were kneeling, their bodies trembling.

The old man laboriously tilted his head back, opened his toothless mouth, and swallowed a grape that a beautiful woman had gently peeled and seeded. Then, another beautiful woman used her slender arm as a rag to wipe the juice from the corner of his mouth. Finally, he tilted his head back and looked around with his cloudy eyes.

After a good dozen or so breaths, the camera finally focused on the group of children playing.

The old man gave a rare, kind smile, beckoned one of the chubby-faced children to come over.

"Um... Your name is Wan'er, right? Come here, come to Grandpa, let Grandpa take a good look at you."

The child who was playing paused for a moment, but still followed the teachings he had always received, put down the ball in his hand, and ran over.

"Wan'er greets Your Highness. May I ask what Your Highness's orders are?"

Hearing that childlike yet mature tone, the old man, who was called a prince, laughed even more heartily.

"Don't be like that. I don't need so many formalities here. I've said from the beginning that you should just make yourself at home—I'm asking you, who is your father?"

Even so, the child still returned the greeting with utmost respect.

"Your Highness, my father is Xu Jin, the governor of Songzhou."

"Xu Jin? Very well, I remember he was a Jinshi in the ninth year of the Tian Shi era, right? How many years has it been? In the blink of an eye, he has become the ruler of a continent. He is quite a talent, young and accomplished. I am ashamed of my own inferiority."

Very ordinary, even boastful words.

However, a middle-aged man kneeling in the distance was trembling more and more violently, and he looked like he was about to collapse to the ground.

As the old man praised the child, he placed his withered hand on the child's head—then stroked downwards, across the respectful yet still somewhat timid face, finally resting on the neck.

Then, he said with emotion.

"How wonderful! Such a beautiful age, only six or seven years old, just beginning to grow up, with even more promising years ahead of you. Especially with a governor as your father, your future is limitless. If the opportunity arises in the future, you might even try for one of the Three Dukes positions."

Upon hearing this, the dignified-looking middle-aged man, who clearly held a high position for a long time, stood up several times, his mouth trembling, as if he wanted to say something—but the moment he saw the old man's face, he couldn't help but kneel down again, pressing his forehead against the cold blue stone, and praying incessantly to the gods and Buddhas in the sky.

Please, I beg you all, protect my son, please don't let it happen.
Perhaps some deity finally heard his prayer. After praising him, the old man didn't say another word. He just touched and pinched the child's round, chubby face as if it were a rare treat.

The child might have felt some pain and instinctively wanted to dodge, but remembering his father's instructions before he left, and having been raised with strict discipline since childhood, he stood there and forced himself to endure it.

After an unknown amount of time, the old man, as if finally exhausted, put his hand on the child's shoulder.

"Good, good, good, really good! Look at that skin, it's so tender it's practically dripping with moisture! Not to mention how adorable they are. Every time I see these children, it reminds me of my own youth. Back then, I was just as vibrant and promising, with a bright future ahead of me."

The old man slowly lowered his head—just when everyone thought they were about to get through this ordeal, his hand suddenly slid to the child's neck.

"But now I'm so old. No matter how many methods I use to prolong my life, I've eventually reached my end. So every time I see these little ones, I can't help but..."

"—You want to destroy them, huh?"

(End of this chapter)