Chapter 64 There is an Assassin
Xia Feng raised his eyes calmly but suddenly froze. He keenly sensed that something was wrong with Li Siwen.
It was a state he recognized all too well—slightly sluggish movements, dull and lifeless eyes. It reminded him of how Mu Qingtong had controlled his body earlier, as if invisible puppet strings were tugging at his limbs and torso.
Xia Feng scanned the crowd until his gaze met the golden eyes of the woman sitting in the corner.
Clearly, this was the work of the Witch of Destruction.
However, based on his understanding of Mu Qingtong, she rarely used spirit weapons lightly. Deploying them usually signaled lethal intent—unless under exceptional circumstances.
The reason was simple: anyone who witnessed the power of her spirit weapons had to die.
Evidently, Li Siwen must have said something that sealed his own fate.
But given the current situation, it seemed difficult for Mu Qingtong to eliminate Li Siwen discreetly.
Xia Feng stared at the center of the venue and grinned. "In that case, I'll help you."
Xia Feng believed in settling grudges swiftly.
With time, place, and opportunity aligned, hesitation was pointless.
Just do it.
With a thought, the cold figure under the candlelight seemed to twist. In Xia Feng's perception, a blood-red mist surged through the shadows, swiftly reaching the feet of a noble standing diagonally opposite him in the corner.
The noble stood at the rear of the crowd gathered in the center. A mass of overlapping figures provided cover—until suddenly—
The blood beast materialized at Li Siwen's feet in an instant.
"Your Highness, do you think my proposal is feasible?" A man stepped forward, smiling obsequiously. "If Your Highness approves, I can begin tomorrow."
"Your Highness? Your Highness?" Someone moved closer.
"Ugh—" Li Siwen jerked his head up, his face instantly veined with crimson, his expression grotesque, his eyes bulging as if about to burst.
The blood beast's invasion jolted him awake from his dazed state. He tried to scream for help but found his vocal cords still paralyzed, his body immobile.
"Ugh…" His facial muscles twitched uncontrollably. Fear trembled through his body, his vision clouded with a hazy red film.
What is this?! He couldn't comprehend what was happening. In his panic, he caught sight of Xia Feng and Mu Qingtong behind the crowd.
Xia Feng stood outside the corridor to his left, silently watching him with a smile.
Mu Qingtong sat on the sofa in the far-right corner, also smiling as she observed him.
"!!!" Li Siwen saw the mockery in their eyes. How could this be happening?!
"Your Highness?!"
"Quick—fetch Lord Wang Jue!"
As soon as the man shouted, Li Siwen suddenly let out a choked roar. An excruciating pain tore through his soul. Twin trails of blood spilled from his eye sockets as he collapsed to his knees.
Amid the crowd's horrified screams, his consciousness spun into darkness. He slumped to the floor, vacant eyes fixed on the ornate chandelier above.
Until his dying breath, he never understood why Xia Feng hadn't perished!
Only one realization struck him—Xia Feng and Mu Qingtong had killed him through some horrifying means, and he hadn't even been given a chance to expose them.
"How… could this happen?" His final thoughts dissolved into despair and regret.
As Li Siwen's breath stilled, the venue plunged into momentary silence before erupting into terrified shrieks.
"Your Highness!"
The cries were anguished.
The abrupt turn of events threw the gathering into chaos. Xia Feng wove through the panicked crowd, returning to Mu Qingtong's side with a faint smile as he took his seat.
Mu Qingtong studied him with her striking eyes, her slightly narrowed gaze betraying surprise and curiosity.
Xia Feng knew what she was asking: How did you do that?
Xia Feng raised his eyebrows and blinked, smiling without a word.
Mu Qingtong understood his meaning: Hey, I won't tell you. Are you angry? Are you angry~?
"Dead… He's really dead." Mushroom stared blankly at the scene, her mind dazed as she murmured subconsciously, "He's actually dead."
Her trembling voice carried a mix of confusion, excitement, and pleasure.
The Hydrangea family had always been chaotic. After Wang Jue and his cousin bore Li Siwen, he took up with his elder sister-in-law and fathered a second son. Years later, he became infatuated with the sole daughter of a fallen noble, making her a princess and siring a daughter—Li Hongdou.
Mushroom recalled a time when she had been happy as a child. But from the day her mother was "forced to commit suicide," she quickly saw the world's darkest truths.
Her two brothers despised her, and Wang Jue turned a blind eye to their bullying, enabling their cruelty.
Growing up in such an oppressive, loveless family—some explode in silence, while others perish in silence.
Mushroom had chosen to explode. Just… a little. A very little.
She moved out of the Prince's mansion, changed her surname, and refused to use the Prince's money. (Her mother's inheritance was enough to last several lifetimes.) Yet it was futile. As long as Hydrangea blood flowed in her veins, she could never escape this family she loathed.
She often grew timid, fantasizing about the deaths of these so-called relatives—but only in her mind.
Faced with their torment, she never dared to resist. That was why she hated herself.
Now, watching Li Siwen die before her eyes, an unfamiliar pleasure surged in her heart.
Good riddance. Her eyes darkened with vicious glee. Second Brother is dead. If only Eldest Brother were next… Then there'd be just one left—
"Lord Prince!" The crowd bowed respectfully.
The Prince and Princess had arrived.
As usual, the Princess stood three meters apart from everyone, while the Prince loomed over Li Siwen's corpse, his face stormy.
Wei Shutong withdrew his hand from the corpse's forehead and announced gravely, "This was caused by blood beast erosion—a rapid-onset blood beast disease. There's no trace of evil spirit liquid, meaning the attacking blood beast was so concentrated that it devoured His Highness's soul before symptoms could manifest. Only an empty shell remains."
In short, Li Siwen's soul had been annihilated.
"The oddity is that residual blood beast mist should linger, yet only its scent remains. This implies the assassin can control and retrieve the blood beast." Wei Shutong's deduction sent shockwaves through the room.
"Nonsense, Wei Shutong!"
"Are you suggesting His Highness's assassin was the Pixiu Disaster?!" The nobles frowned in disbelief.
It was common knowledge that blood beasts were a byproduct of evil forces—something only the Pixiu Disaster could freely manipulate.
If such a monstrosity had infiltrated Area 51, the entire district would've become a blood beast hellscape. It wouldn't have come solely to assassinate an apprentice spiritualist.
"Whoever it is, the assassin remains here." Zhao Jie's gaze turned icy as he barked orders: "Guards, seal the venue! No one leaves until the killer is found!"
"Unnecessary."
The Prince raised a hand, his voice eerily calm. "This King already knows who it is."
Silence fell.
Xia Feng and Mu Qingtong exchanged a glance, unfazed. They waited to hear whom the Prince would name.
(End of Chapter)