A shrill, agonizing scream echoed continuously through the air, while the shadow guards remained completely motionless.
They were already accustomed to such gruesome and horrifying sights.
What truly astonished them inwardly was the sight of a refined and delicate young fellow stroking the face of their king with his bare hands.
And their king did not blast him away at all, simply allowing the hands to roam all over him.
Could this be real?
What on earth was wrong with their great king today?
Did he not always forbid anyone from touching him?
Back then, the prime minister's eldest miss merely tugged at the corner of his robe, and he used his inner Qi and spiritual power to send her flying.
That poor young lady had only wanted to get a little closer to him, yet she ended up injured so severely she could not get out of bed for three months.
Then there was Miss Yunxiao of the Fengbao Pavilion, whose cultivation was superior even to theirs, and whose beauty surpassed that of celestials—calling her the number one beauty of the Fengxu Continent was no exaggeration.
She was devoted to the king and worked solely for him, yet to this day she had not even touched the hem of his sleeve.Their Prince was not only a mysterious and bloodthirsty madman whose true face remained unknown, but he was also Prince Xu, the only full brother of the current emperor of the Fengxu Kingdom on the Fengxu Continent.
Young, handsome, and decorated with numerous military achievements, even if he was somewhat cold and unapproachable, there were still countless daughters of noble families and wealthy heiresses who desperately wanted to marry into the Prince's Manor.
Yet their Prince, already in his thirties, had not yet taken a single wife or concubine, nor did he even have a single maid of the bedchamber. There were even rumors buzzing through the streets that Prince Xu of the Fengxu Kingdom was a homosexual.
Naturally, they did not believe this, because the Prince kept his distance from women, and he was equally averse to men getting close to him.
Even they, as his personal shadow guards, had to stay at least three meters away from him; otherwise, the slightest carelessness would subject them to extreme training beyond ordinary human endurance.
"Wonderful, Lienze, is it really you?" she murmured softly with deep affection, her slender hand tracing the cold mask along its rigid facial contours, wanting to lift it away yet hesitating out of a sudden reluctance.
Those crimson phoenix eyes, etched so deeply in her memory—could this truly be her Di Lienze?The same eyes, the same powerful, unapproachable aura.
Yet he had a cascade of soft, long silver hair, and instead of a faint, tranquil medicinal fragrance, the air around him was as cold and biting as frost.
If he is not Di Lienze, Lan Qinghuan, what will you do?
After hesitating for a long time, she finally decided not to overthink it. Whether he was Di Lienze or not, she wanted to see the face of the owner of those crimson eyes.
So her delicate hand reached into the strands of hair at the back of his head, and the cold dark-iron mask fell onto the hard marble floor, producing a humming vibration that echoed throughout the palace-like Lingdan Pavilion.
It was a face engraved deep in her soul's memory, vividly familiar and unforgettable—a resolute yet warm, jade-like fair face.
Slender, dazzling crimson phoenix eyes, a high and straight nose, and thin, cool yet plump and moist lips.
Though his cold face lacked any of the familiar expressions she knew, this face was still as breathtakingly beautiful, as captivating, and as unforgettable as ever.
"That's wonderful, Lienze, it really is you... Rulai kept his promise after all, and he was finally willing to let you come find me.
That's wonderful, we can finally be together openly and honorably." Overjoyed, the nearly twenty-year-old Lan Qinghuan, standing at one meter seventy-two, stood on tiptoe, rested her hands on Xiye's tall and broad shoulders, and wrapped her arms around his slender neck.
A passionate kiss pressed against his cool, thin lips.
The shadow guards, who remained unfazed through countless storms, all dropped their jaws in utter shock.
Not only did their king allow this fellow to remove his mysterious mask, but he also allowed him to touch his lips.
Their king did not push him away, nor did he order them to chop off his hands. Instead, their king wrapped his arms around him in return, kissing him with a look of infatuation and intoxication.
Good heavens, their king really... really was a cut-sleeve.
All the shadow guards shuddered in unison.A burning warmth filled him, as if something within his body was about to break out of its shell, while the memories in his mind were in complete chaos.
A thought rapidly formed in his mind, exceptionally clear and unshakeably certain.
Hold her close, embrace her tightly; he could not afford to lose her again.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, racking his brains to figure out what was happening, he found that everything dissolved back into a blur.
It was like facing the vast, boundless ocean, never truly knowing what lay hidden in the depths.
This woman was extraordinary; she could make his heart beat wildly.
She could make his body, usually as cold as millennium-old ice, blaze with heat.
She was like an enticing poppy flower, luring people in, addictive the moment one tasted her.
He did not want such feelings; he only wanted to find himself.
Only by constantly growing stronger and expanding his territory would he have the sufficient capability to search for his scattered soul.
He only remembered that he was one of the incarnations of the Heavenly Tribulation. The mission of the Heavenly Tribulation was to destroy heaven and earth, and his own mission was to grow ever stronger, find his other two souls, and then retrieve the body sealed away by the joint efforts of those so-called heavenly gods. He would unite the three souls, restore the power of a God Descender, and fulfill his mission.
"Eldest Miss Lan, please conduct yourself with dignity!
In a month, you will be Xuan'er's Princess Consort. Please do not harbor thoughts of other men!
Xuan'er is an outstanding man, so I hope Eldest Miss Lan will cherish this blessing..." Releasing Lan Qinghuan, whose face was flushed with embarrassment, and stepping back several meters, Xiye picked up the mask that had fallen to the ground and put it back on, transforming once again into a cold, ruthless, bloodthirsty fiend.
"Di Lienze, you want me to marry Feng Jingxuan?
Do you not remember me? You said we would never forget each other..." Only moments ago he had held her so tightly, as if he wished to melt her into his very bones and blood, yet in the blink of an eye, he was telling her to marry another.
After kissing her, he was asking her to conduct herself with dignity? How hurtful; could this person truly be her Lienze?
Lan Qinghuan wanted to tell herself it could not be, but he was undeniably the exact same person...
"I am no Lienze. Lan Qinghuan, didn't I tell you to remember that my name is Xiye?
Furthermore, I am Prince Xu of Fengxu Kingdom, and Xuan'er is my own nephew. I hope that in the future you will address me as the Nineteenth Imperial Uncle, just as he does..." Dominant, arrogant, and coldly unfamiliar—at least in Lan Qinghuan's memory, Di Lienze had never shown such a side.
To others, Di Lienze was always courteous and refined, and toward her, he was exceptionally considerate and understanding.
Xiye? It was a very familiar name, yet he clearly possessed the appearance of Di Lienze.
Moreover, the moment he embraced and kissed her, she felt certain he was Di Lienze.
Fine, very well. As long as Rulai had brought him here, perhaps some mistake had occurred along the way, but she believed that if Di Lienze loved her, he would not forget her.
"Lienze, no matter why you cannot remember me, one month from now I will be married into the Prince Xuan Estate.
If you remember me, you must come looking for me... Lan Qinghuan only wishes to marry Di Lienze in this lifetime..." He did not remember her; he refused to admit he was Di Lienze, yet he clearly was.
She would come looking for him again; she would make him remember her.
"Of course, this Prince will certainly attend the wedding of Eldest Miss Lan and Xuan'er.
Yemei, escort Eldest Miss Lan back to her estate..." She had said she only wanted to marry Di Lienze—why did hearing that she was determined to marry someone else send such a wave of panic through him?
And why was he inexplicably angry? Was it because she had failed to remember his name?
They had met only a few hours ago; could it be that because she helped him, he had fallen for her?
Yet he was merely a wisp of a remnant soul; did he even have a heart?
Holding the Soul Breath Grass, Yemei doubted whether something was wrong with her ears. Did the Prince just say she was to escort Eldest Miss Lan back to her estate?
Lan Qinghuan? That mad, foolish, notoriously useless eldest miss across the entire Fengxu Continent?
Where was she? Why didn't she see her!
And had the Prince lost his mind? She was the only female among the Prince's Estate's shadow guards; having her escort Lan Qinghuan back wouldn't that completely expose her identity?