Chapter 313 Nightmare

"Ping... cough... King Ping!"

Lin Kui's shouting brought Xiao Beiheng back to reality from nothingness.

His eyes regained focus, and he noticed that his right hand had been pinching Lin Kui's neck. Lin Kui's face had turned purple, and his two hands were desperately twisting his right hand.

Xiao Beiheng seemed to wake up from a dream, loosened his hand, took a step back, and said, "I didn't mean it."

Lin Kui covered his throat with both hands, knelt on the ground and coughed for a long time before he caught his breath. He looked up and said, "Prince Ping, your face was so scary just now. I don't know where your eyes were looking, like you were followed by a demon."

Hearing Lin Kui's description, Xiao Beiheng couldn't help but feel horrified.

After only three days of good sleep, had the evil spirit that had left returned to find him? Otherwise, why would he suddenly grab Lin Kui's neck without realizing it?

In order to conceal his inner panic, he turned his back to Lin Kui and said coldly:

"Didn't you say that His Majesty would definitely choose me as the Crown Prince?"

He still remembered what Lin Kui had said to him that day. Lin Kui said that the word "ping'an" (peace) came first and "an" (safety) came second, implying that he was the candidate for the crown prince.

Lin Kui straightened his collar, stood up and said, "Prince Ping, although I cannot see the contents of His Majesty's decree, I believe that the crown prince His Majesty will definitely choose Prince Ping."

"Why would Father do this?" Xiao Beiheng replied impatiently, "Why didn't he just declare me the Crown Prince?"

Lin Kui said, "Prince Ping has always been shrewd and decisive. This matter is not difficult to figure out. It's mainly because you are too concerned and confused. As an outsider, I can see it clearly. Your Majesty is strong and healthy, so it's not too late to wait ten or eight years before appointing a crown prince. He issued this decree purely to silence the ministers. This way, no one can discuss this matter anymore."

Lin Kui thought this was a brilliant move. With the decree appointing the crown prince clearly displayed in the Zhaixing Tower, no minister could accuse the emperor of not appointing a crown prince. Furthermore, the emperor didn't clearly announce the crown prince, which delighted one son and frustrated the other.

Xiao Beiheng was so upset that he couldn't listen to Lin Kui's words at all. He waved Lin Kui away irritably and sat down in a chair in a daze.

If Emperor Ming of Qi wanted to make him the crown prince, he should have said so directly. Although this move appeased the ministers, it made his mood plummet from the peak to the bottom of the valley.

Perhaps Emperor Ming of Qi was afraid he would learn that Xiao Zhuo was the crown prince? After all, Emperor Ming had long considered Xiao Zhuo superior to him. The Hua Duoduo incident was, at best, a father's concern for his son. More likely, Emperor Ming of Qi had already decided to make Xiao Zhuo the crown prince and didn't want to discourage him on other matters.

It was reasonable to think this way, and it instantly overturned all his previous judgments.

At some point, he felt cold sweat soaking his back.

He had a father who was the emperor, and a beautiful and intelligent wife. He followed his father in his conquests, conquering the entire Yan State. Naturally, he became the crown prince, and then the emperor. Everything was fine.

He was the true son of Emperor Ming of Qi. What was Xiao Zhuo? Twenty years had passed, and he suddenly appeared, recognizing Emperor Ming of Qi as his son, and then snatching away everything that belonged to him? It was because of Xiao Zhuo that Emperor Ming of Qi thought he was inferior to Xiao Zhuo, and it was because of Xiao Zhuo that he lost his position as crown prince...

And there was Shen Yuexi. She repeatedly stopped him from hunting down Xiao Zhuo. If it weren't for her and Su Mo's trick the last time, he could have captured Shengjing before Emperor Qi Ming received the white silk.

Are you kidding? There's no way he'd let that happen.

He sat there until the lights were turned on, and no one dared to disturb him.

He wanted to talk to Su Mo, but Su Mo had already left Anzhou for Shengjing. As the Minister of Six Ministries, Lin Kui had to assist Emperor Ming of Qi in handling government affairs and could not stay by his side as before.

Xiao Beiheng ate something casually and went back to his room to lie down on the bed.

As soon as he closed his eyes, Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi would appear before him. Xiao Zhuo was still wearing the prince's attire, and both of them looked at him with mocking eyes that would not go away no matter how hard he tried. If he forced his eyes closed again, the dead Leng Shuang, Xiao Kai, and the boy from Beidi who used his brother's body to block his arrows... Every dead person kept appearing in his mind.

He tossed and turned but couldn't fall asleep, so he lay in bed until four o'clock in the morning. He simply got up, dressed, and went for a walk in the back garden of the palace in the dark.

How happy you were in the morning is how bad you are now.

He was absolutely certain that the evil spirit that had haunted him for years had returned, this time even more powerful. The reason he was like this was because of that evil spirit.

Xiao Beiheng grasped the hilt of the Yanque sword in his hand and pulled out the sword with a "clang".

Yan Que emitted a sharp cold light, which seemed to illuminate the things around him even in the dark night.

He swung his sword downwards, chopping off a corner of the stone table beside him as easily as cutting tofu. The broken stone fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The sword is a weapon of murder, but the magic weapon can ward off evil.

After chopping off the corner of the table, he felt better and put the sword back into its sheath.

Perhaps he was being overly concerned. Just as Lin Kui had said, perhaps Emperor Ming of Qi intended to appoint him as Crown Prince.

Thinking back to the time he spent with Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi on Qixi Festival, Xiao Zhuo's smile, Shen Yuexi's happiness, it wasn't fake. They truly treated him like a younger brother. And from beginning to end, Xiao Zhuo hadn't shown any intention of competing with him for the position of Crown Prince, not even a hint. Instead, Xiao Zhuo's priority was more like ensuring Shen Yuexi's happiness.

Xiao Zhuo is his brother and Shen Yuexi is his sister-in-law. This is an unchangeable fact.

Xiao Beiheng shook his head, suppressed the hatred boiling in his heart, and said, "Someone come."

A maid holding a lantern immediately appeared, dispelling the darkness from the garden. She bowed and said, "Prince Ping, what do you want me to do for you?"

For years, Xiao Beiheng had often gotten up in the middle of the night for a stroll, a habit known to everyone in the palace. If Xiao Beiheng got up for a stroll, all the servants would get up and wait for his call, or at worst, dress and go to bed. If no one answered Xiao Beiheng's call in time, they would face brutal punishment.

"Quickly send someone to Shengjing to invite Master Hua Xian over. Let's set off now."

In Xiao Beiheng's opinion, perhaps he was being too sensitive about the Crown Prince's situation. It was more urgent to resolve the evil spirit that was haunting him first; he didn't want to be plagued by nightmares all the time.

The maid agreed and was about to turn around when Xiao Beiheng stopped her and said, "Don't let anyone know about this, no matter who it is. Do you understand?"

From Shen Yuexi's specific decision to save Hua Duoduo, he could sense that she valued him greatly. Although he didn't know the reason, he didn't want to create any further complications, so it was best to keep this a secret from Shen Yuexi. Emperor Ming of Qi hated sorcerers, and if he knew, it would be even worse. As for Su Mo, she was still on her way to Shengjing, so there was no need to tell her specifically.

The maidservant said repeatedly, "Prince Ping, I have made a note of this. I will go and tell them to leave at night."

After the maid left, Xiao Beiheng stretched his muscles. Before Hua Duoduo came, he couldn't sleep anyway, so he might as well practice archery.

He ordered people to bring bows and arrows, light torches in the back garden, and set up targets.

He possessed a miraculous archery skill that could hit the target from a hundred paces away. To maintain this level of skill, he needed constant practice. Diligence is the root of success, while idleness leads to failure. Perhaps one day, this unwavering archery skill would save his life.