The Prince of Ren’s Mansion

Chapter 528: The Prince of Ren’s Mansion

When Li Huowang accepted the painting on the tray, he discovered it was a very detailed map of an architectural complex.

Every room’s layout and every room’s purpose were written clearly, and beneath them, in small red letters, were three words: The Prince of Ren’s Mansion.

“The Prince of Ren’s Mansion?” Li Huowang’s brow furrowed as he looked up at Ji Lin.

“The Prince of Ren is my second brother. Tread carefully. Rumor has it that his retainers include no small number of illicit cultivators. The rogue cultivator who killed my mother and my elder sister—he was one of the Prince of Ren’s retainers.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang immediately understood what he needed to do next. He said nothing, simply performed a Daoist salute toward Ji Lin, then took the map and left.

“Er Jiu, do well! If you help me ascend the throne, I swear I will not betray you!”

The imperial capital was vast, but finding the Prince of Ren’s Mansion was easy enough.

“A prince’s mansion not in his fief, but built inside the capital—that’s strange.” Li Huowang knelt on one knee atop a roof eave, silently staring at the massive plaque in the distance.

Suddenly, he spoke to himself again. “Mm, indeed. Perhaps the imperial family intended to raise vipers in a basket from the very start.”

As he spoke, the colored shadow of his body slowly sank into the roof tiles, while his invisible form began to creep toward the Prince of Ren’s Mansion.

The towering walls were no obstacle to Li Huowang now. Li Sui’s tentacles easily hooked over the ridge.

Li Huowang sensed several hidden sentry posts behind the wall immediately, but he did not slip away. Instead, he moved toward one of them.

One incense stick’s time later, Li Huowang stood atop a roof beam, looking down at the eunuch lying motionless by the window below.

The man stared fixedly through a small hole in the paper window, never taking his eyes off the outside. He was one of the Prince of Ren’s hidden sentries.

“Let’s test it on him.” Li Huowang said this to Zhuge Yuan in his heart, even as his hand gripped the hilt of the spine-sword.

“Strike!” Li Huowang swung the sword fiercely at the man below. A silent stroke of Great Qi’s history swept out.

But this time, that history did not cut the man into three pieces as it usually did. Instead, it completely covered him.

“Wait—it didn’t cover everything. Half of one hand is still in Great Liang.”

“Brother Li, swing once more. See if that man is still alive in Great Qi.” The ease had vanished from Zhuge Yuan’s face; he now looked extremely solemn.

This was the key to whether Li Huowang could counter the Dice.

“Li Sui. When I swing again, make sure you stick one of your eyeballs in to look. And remember to pull it out before the gap closes—don’t leave it in there.”

“Dad, I understand. Don’t worry.”

After carefully instructing Li Sui, Li Huowang gripped the spine-sword again and swung with all his strength. No sooner had the invisible rift between Great Qi and Great Liang appeared than a black shadow shot out from Li Huowang’s body, trailing afterimages as it flew inside.

Just before the rift vanished, Li Sui’s tentacle, with its eyeball wrapped around it, pulled back out.

“Dad, he’s in there. He’s still alive. He’s clutching his severed hand, opening the window and shouting something outside.”

“Excellent!” Li Huowang clenched his fist in excitement.

“This means this sword can’t just kill people—it can send them safely to Great Qi! Not just others. Used properly, it could even send me to Great Qi!”

“If that’s the case, then Zhuge Yuan’s plan can be put into action!”

Li Huowang practically trembled with eagerness, itching to go to Great Qi right that instant. But he forcibly restrained himself.

“I’m already here. I should deal with the Prince of Ren first. Neither side can be neglected. Otherwise, even if I find the Dice, without Ji Lin’s help, I won’t be able to get rid of him.” With this thought, Li Huowang drove the broad spine-sword back into its scabbard on his back and slipped out along the beam.

With Ji Lin’s map, navigating this maze-like mansion was no problem. He headed straight for the Prince of Ren’s bedchamber.

But when he arrived, he found it empty. The Prince of Ren wasn’t there.

“It’s late at night. Where could he have gone?” Li Huowang reopened the map, studied it for a moment, then put it away and crept eastward.

He searched several more locations without success, but eventually, he found him—by following the sound of opera.

On a magnificent, lantern-hung stage, opera after opera was being performed in turn. Each production involved over a hundred performers, any one of whom could have been a star on their own outside. This troupe was leagues beyond Lü Zhuangyuan’s Lü Family Troupe.

And all these troupes, coming and going, were performing for just one man below.

Li Huowang saw the Prince of Ren’s face for the first time. It was a middle-aged man with hollow features and pale lips. If not for the dragon robe, Li Huowang would never have guessed this was the man contending with Ji Lin for the throne.

The prince lay half-reclined against a plump woman, eyes slightly closed, three fingers adorned with ornate, gem-studded nail guards tapping rhythmically against his knee in time with the music.

Crouching in a tree branch, Li Huowang’s gaze shifted from the prince’s face to scan the people around him.

Li Huowang didn’t know what an “illicit cultivator retainer” was supposed to look like. At first glance, none of these people seemed like rogue cultivators.

“Take action here? No. The space is too open, and there are too many people. If the Prince of Ren’s retainers are hiding among the crowd, ambushing me would be far too easy.”

“Besides, I can’t fall for the same trick twice. Maybe this Prince of Ren, like the Grand Princess, is pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger.”

Thinking this, Li Huowang crouched silently, waiting for his chance.

An hour passed. The second watch of the night had come. Just as Li Huowang began to think the Prince of Ren planned to watch opera until dawn, the performance on stage finally stopped.

A grand twelve-man sedan chair was lifted, and the Prince of Ren, followed by a large retinue of eunuchs, headed toward his bedchamber.

Li Huowang followed all the way until the sedan was set down, still finding nothing unusual.

He refused to believe that someone bold enough to contend for the throne would have no defenses, especially after he had killed the Empress Dowager and the Grand Princess. He was on high alert.

As the Prince of Ren entered the bedchamber, the sea of people outside gradually dispersed.

Sensing an opportunity, Li Huowang slipped in cautiously.

To Li Huowang’s surprise, even inside the bedchamber where a man slept, the sound of opera had not ceased.

Following the sound, Li Huowang found the Prince of Ren lying sideways on his bed. Before the bed stood a woman performing an aria.

From her makeup, Li Huowang could tell she was a female role. A dan.

But although her face was painted with stage makeup, she wore absolutely nothing on her body.