Chapter 57: Chapter 55: Is the Princely Heir Coming Back?

That night, the moon shone clear and bright.

Under the veil of night, the moon cast its silvery light, painting the entire earth with a pale silver hue. The clouds at the horizon were swept away by a fierce aura, carrying bursts of Qi, and with brilliant tails of light, it shot towards the distance at great speed.

Cheng Guang stood at the attic, watching the stir in the distance for a while. Even though he was not close to that place and was quite far from it, he could still feel the terrifying aura emanating from there.

If he had been in the vicinity, even just being affected by the aftereffects would have left him, if not dead, then crippled.

Qian Siyuan, standing beside Cheng Guang, also watched the disturbance in the distance for a moment. Seeing that things were starting to calm down, he turned to Cheng Guang with a gentle smile and said,

“Princely Heir, I will take this Fox Devil back to the Bureau of the Lamp for detention. You can conduct the interrogation later.”

Cheng Guang nodded without objection. Glancing at Bai Shuxuan and Hong Zhu, who lay limp on the ground like they were dead, he didn’t say anything and stood up to prepare to return to the mansion.

With this matter resolved, he didn’t feel any pressure.

Cheng Guang planned to return to the mansion to collect his rewards and see what uses the newly acquired Breaking Ban Pill might have.

As for Bai Shuxuan, he wouldn’t be able to stir up much trouble in the short term.

If it weren’t for the fact that he wanted to see if he could extract some value from Bai Shuxuan, he suspected that Bai Shuxuan might have already been killed by Qian Siyuan’s palm.

After a brief chat with Qian Siyuan, Cheng Guang left and returned to Duke Zhen’s Mansion.

Back in the Million Specie Garden, he found Qing Luan still sitting quietly in the garden, staring at the moon in the sky, momentarily lost in thought.

She seemed deeply worried and troubled.

When Cheng Guang approached, Qing Luan did not react for a while, her moment of distraction lasting even longer than the last time.

It was not until Cheng Guang came close and gently tapped her shoulder that Qing Luan suddenly startled and turned her head quickly, only then realizing that Cheng Guang had returned.

Seeing Cheng Guang’s return, Qing Luan was first delighted, but then her beautiful face became slightly solemn. She took a deep breath and said,

“Princely Heir, there is trouble.”

“The real Princely Heir… he’s coming back…”

Upon hearing Qing Luan’s words, Cheng Guang’s eyes narrowed slightly, his joy from the mission completion completely dissipated at that moment.

Cheng Guang knew that the Princely Heir mentioned by Qing Luan was indeed the true Princely Heir.

The Princely Heir had sneaked out to avoid Cheng Zhihai’s control and secretly brought himself to Duke Zhen’s Mansion to act as a substitute.

According to the normal historical trajectory, his identity as a coachman would have certainly been exposed by now. However, due to his own variable from crossing over, not only had his identity as a coachman not been exposed, but he had also solidified his identity as the Princely Heir.

This had led to Cheng Zhihai not following the original historical trajectory by sending people out to find the true Princely Heir and forcefully bringing him back.

And the Princely Heir, who had been playing outside, also realized that Cheng Zhihai had not sent anyone after him, perhaps bored from staying out and therefore thinking of returning to the mansion.

Once the real Princely Heir returned, his own identity would inevitably be exposed.

Even though he possessed the pure bloodline of the Great Xia royal family with a face identical to the real Princely Heir and strengths that were superior, there was not a single aspect in which he was inferior.

But an impersonator is an impersonator after all.

Cheng Guang had been carefully planning and diligently cultivating to prepare for this day’s arrival.

However, Cheng Guang had not expected the true Princely Heir to come back so soon.

Cheng Guang suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and began to comfort Qing Luan, who was somewhat panicked, “Don’t worry, how did he contact you?”

Qing Luan replied, “The Princely Heir left me a jade stone before he left, to be used as a one-time Different Treasure. When the jade stone broke, it meant the Princely Heir was returning.”

“I don’t know his exact itinerary, but I think he’ll be back to the mansion in not many days.”

As Qing Luan spoke, her attractive brows furrowed again, momentarily unsure how to deal with the real Princely Heir.

If he returned, their current situation would definitely be exposed.

Qing Luan, for having been defiled, would at the very least be discarded.

And Cheng Guang would definitely be executed by dismemberment for occupying the nest of a magpie, a fate that couldn’t be considered an exaggeration.

Light glinted in Cheng Guang’s eyes, but unlike Qing Luan, he was not in a state of panic inside; he had anticipated that such a day would come.

Now, he only had two paths to choose from.

The first was to kill the Princely Heir before he returned to the mansion.

The second was to slip away with his accomplices before the Princely Heir returned to the mansion.

The first option was exceedingly difficult for Cheng Guang to accomplish, as he had no clue about the Princely Heir’s whereabouts and was unable to dispatch anyone from the mansion to investigate. After all, the two of them shared identical appearances. Once it was discovered that there were two individuals with the same face, it would only hasten the Princely Heir’s return.

And if he were to try to assassinate the Princely Heir himself, it would be a fool’s errand. All his actions were under the surveillance of Cheng Zhihai. Perhaps Cheng Zhihai viewed this as concern, but for Cheng Guang at this moment, it was the biggest obstacle.

No matter what he did, he was unable to evade Cheng Zhihai’s watchful eyes.

As for the second path, it seemed very difficult as well, but it was not entirely without a solution.

Cheng Guang thought of Bai Shuxuan.

Previously, Bai Shuxuan had produced a stone covered with lightning patterns, which, according to Qian Siyuan, could break open the Border Area and allow an escape back to the Devil Region.

Even if the Lightning-Patterned Stone could only be used once and had been discarded after Bai Shuxuan’s usage.

But Cheng Guang did not believe that Bai Shuxuan, as the Saintess of the Green Hill Fox Tribe, had only one method of escape.

If it came down to it, he would rely on Bai Shuxuan’s methods to flee the Four Directions Mortal World and distance himself from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

At this point, Cheng Guang was more inclined to choose the path of slipping away.

After all, even standing next to the real Princely Heir, no matter how similar they appeared, a comparison would eventually reveal the truth.

Thoughts churned in Cheng Guang’s mind. He patted Qing Luan’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, leave this matter to me. I’ll try to see if I can take care of this Princely Heir. If not, then we’ll make a run for it.”

Qing Luan, however, was worried and didn’t know what to say. Touching her hair lightly, she felt that whether it was dealing with the Princely Heir or making a run for it, both options were fraught with difficulties.

But at this moment, she had few other options and could only trust in Cheng Guang.

“Right now in the mansion, you are the true Princely Heir. Even if he… wants to prove himself as the real one, it won’t be easy…”

“We should plan early, whether we decide to go or stay.”

After Qing Luan finished speaking, she hurriedly left.

Cheng Guang sat in the courtyard for a while, his gaze fixed on the bright moon above. After a moment, he stood up and returned to his bedroom.

“Claim the reward!”

Cheng Guang sat inside the house and spoke to the system internally.

As his words fell, streams of golden light converged before his eyes, sparkling and condensing into a round pill.

Cheng Guang held the pill in his hands.

A system message appeared in his mind.

[Breaking Ban Pill: Upon consumption, it can shield all banning effects for a period, allowing one to act freely without influence from any bans.]

Grasping the Breaking Ban Pill in his hands, Cheng Guang’s gaze lowered, confirming his suspicion that the pill was indeed to shield against bans, allowing him to act uninhibited by them.

For a time, Cheng Guang wasn’t sure what use the Breaking Ban Pill would have for him, so he simply stored it and sat quietly on the bed, waiting for the Midnight System to issue a task.

At times like these, Cheng Guang looked forward more to the intelligence revealed in the system’s task prompts than the rewards given by the system.

Cheng Guang sat still as time passed by the minute and the second.

Midnight.

An ice-cold voice, devoid of any emotion, suddenly rang in Cheng Guang’s mind.