The Imperial Preceptor said, "It's not that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince doesn't know this, but he doesn't know what to do."
Xie Lian bowed his head slightly and said, "He's a god. Naturally, he couldn't possibly tell his followers, 'I don't allow you to worship any god other than me.' I'm afraid he wouldn't even bother to make such a request."
The Imperial Master said, "You certainly understand him very well."
Xie Lian added, “However, it just so happens that at this crucial moment, he cannot afford to lose his followers and mana, otherwise it will affect the construction of Tongtian Bridge.”
The Imperial Preceptor said, "That's exactly what happened. Therefore, we four must explain the interests involved to the people of the country."
Xie Lian asked, “What was the result?”
Hua Cheng said, "It's not that bad."
The Imperial Master said, "Not really. At least not as good as we expected. Some citizens, worried about the bridge's failure, have somewhat relented, but a significant portion consider His Royal Highness's actions overbearing. It's understandable that when wishes go unfulfilled, they turn to other gods who can fulfill their wishes. They are free believers; they can believe whatever they please. It's only natural."
"It's not that he doesn't want to satisfy everyone, but he really..."
Xie Lian sighed and whispered, “…I have the will but not the strength.”
The Imperial Preceptor continued, "After the Crown Prince learned of this, he stopped us, saying that those who wanted to leave could leave, and that forcing them to stay wouldn't be true believers. Indeed, despite our repeated warnings, the believers' hearts had already dispersed. Even if they reluctantly returned, their sincerity wasn't strong enough, and their faith wasn't as strong as before; it was just a perfunctory gesture."
Xie Lian said, “He couldn’t get angry at his followers, nor was he willing to ask other priests for help.”
The Imperial Master said, "Even if he asked, the other priests wouldn't help him. If they were willing to help, they wouldn't have objected in the beginning, and they wouldn't have taken the opportunity to seduce his followers later."
"His Royal Highness has become increasingly silent. He single-handedly built and supported that bridge. I watch him every day, and although he says nothing, I can see the pain he endures. And this pain can only be borne by him alone. Even if the four of us wanted to help, we couldn't share much of it.
"Finally, after three years of struggling, the volcano is about to erupt.
"As soon as the news was released, people rushed to the bridge. The four of us guided the huge crowd while worrying about His Royal Highness, who was holding the bridge alone."
The Imperial Master sighed, "We never used to worry about him not being able to do something, but at that time, we actually started to worry about him."
"At first, the bridge was relatively stable. But as more and more people piled onto it and it took longer and longer to hold it up, His Highness's hands began to tremble and his face turned pale.
"No one else could see it, only we could. I felt it was bad, so I told people to wait, to give him some time, and not to rush towards him all at once. If you just give him a break, he will definitely save you all. But the volcano was about to erupt, and lives were in danger. No one was willing to wait, and everyone rushed to the bridge like crazy, even trampling people to death. We couldn't stop them!
"Finally, the thing we feared most happened.
"Over the past three years, due to the constant loss of believers, His Royal Highness's magical powers have long since declined. When tens of thousands of people rushed onto the bridge to celebrate their salvation and were joyfully heading towards heaven, the bridge broke."
Xie Lian held his breath.
The Imperial Master said, "The rainbow tore through the sky, and suddenly, tens of thousands of people, densely packed together, fell from the sky, screaming heartbreakingly as they fell into the sea of fire. Right before His Royal Highness's eyes, they were instantly burned to ashes!
"I was practically petrified, completely terrified to look at the Crown Prince's expression. There was no way to reach the target, no way to rescue the victims, no way to put out the fire. There was simply no way! Even more people, who hadn't made it out in time, were buried by the lava and sealed in by the ash. There were screams, cries, and curses. The scene was truly horrific... I've never seen anything more terrifying."
Xie Lian imagined it for a moment, a slight chill running down his spine. The Imperial Master continued.
"The bridge is broken. The people of Wuyong have gone crazy."
"They set fire to the Crown Prince's palace and temple, toppled his statue, stabbed his heart with a knife, and called him a useless thing, a worthless god. He was a god, and a god should be extremely powerful. A god cannot fail.
"But he failed. So, he can't sit on it anymore.
"The priests in heaven had been waiting for this moment. They said, 'We've told you long ago that this won't work. You've caused so much trouble, we have no choice but to ask you to leave.'
"And His Royal Highness asked a very stupid question. He asked: 'Why don't you help me?'
"Why would anyone help you for no reason? Besides, if he succeeds in helping the Wuyong Nation overcome this catastrophe, won't he be invincible in the Heaven Realm?
"So, it was a really stupid question. I think he knew that, but he asked it anyway.
“Of course no one answered him, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was demoted.
"He fell back into the mortal world, no longer a god, nor a prince. We followed him, all saying, 'You will definitely be able to ascend again,' so he began his cultivation all over again. But it was too difficult. You should understand."
Xie Lian certainly understood.
The higher you stand, the harder you fall. After falling from the sky to the earth, what greets him will be endless coldness and malice.
The Imperial Preceptor said, "The volcano continues to erupt, and Wuyong State has fallen into unprecedented desolation. Refugees, rebellions, and invasions are constant, and everyone is in a state of panic. Furthermore, their attitude towards His Royal Highness is completely different from before.
"Even so, His Royal Highness still wanted to help people. But, at this time, another incident happened.
“Many other priests began to grant favors.
"Although they were unwilling to stop the eruption, they were happy to offer small favors, such as herbs and food. This was because the Crown Prince had already been demoted, and what he could do was certainly far less than what these priests could.
"It's as if the Wuyong people have suddenly grasped at a lifeline, a reincarnated parent. Their followers are leaving at an even faster rate, and there aren't many left. All the praise and love that was once directed toward His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been transferred intact to other priests, leaving him with only hatred and disgust."
The Imperial Master closed his eyes and said, “We were really unwilling to accept that at that time.
"It's clear these priests didn't do much for them, only appearing after the disaster. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was the one who did the most. He gave it his all, and could have succeeded, just one step away! But why was he the only one doomed in the end? Why were those who gave the most ignored, while those who gave a little were gratefully acknowledged?
“That’s when I started to change my mind.
"I can't help but wonder, if His Royal Highness had chosen from the outset to pretend he didn't know about the future he foresaw in his dream, and had stood by and watched, saying, 'This is fate, and even the gods can do nothing about it,' and only offered a small reward after the volcano erupted, like the other priests did, people would surely have been filled with gratitude."
Hua Cheng said calmly, "Did you only think of it then? You should have thought of it from the beginning. If you cut a piece of flesh to save someone, they will be grateful. But the more you cut, the more they will want. In the end, even if you cut that person into pieces until only bones are left, they will not be satisfied."
The Imperial Master said, “I don’t dare to tell him these thoughts at all, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has become increasingly silent. I don’t know what he’s thinking, or whether he’s thinking the same things as me.
"Day after day, the volcano continued to erupt intermittently, and the entire Wuyong Kingdom was immersed in panic for a long time. No one knew how to stop it and end this nightmare.
"One day, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince suddenly told us that he had found a way to stop the volcano. But when he told us that, we had a big argument."
Hua Cheng said: "I guess that method is to sacrifice a living person."
The Imperial Preceptor said, "Yes. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he has selected a group of evil people who can be sacrificed and thrown into the copper furnace to calm the furnace's wrath.
"The four of us have different specific ideas, but overall, we're all against it. This kind of thing absolutely cannot be done. Your Highness didn't want Wu Yong to send troops to attack other countries because he didn't want to trade lives for lives. If we choose to sacrifice living people to the copper furnace now, what's the difference? It might even be worse. Some of the opposition was particularly fierce, and they directly argued with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
They argued so fiercely that they even came to blows. I was originally against it, but compared to the attacks from outside, our own arguments were even more unbearable. You know, the four of us have always supported His Royal Highness, and now we are his only support. But that time, not only did we get into a fight in the heat of the moment, but some people even told His Royal Highness that he had changed, that he had forgotten his original intentions, that he was no longer the Crown Prince he once was.
"Those words were so damning, I couldn't bear it. If even we stood against His Highness and accused him, there would be no one left in the world who would stand with him. So in the end, I didn't object. I just said, forget it, never mind any of this again, whether it's the heavens, the human world, or the refugees, just forget about it. I'm really exhausted."
"But no one listened to me. After a big argument, the other three people, except me, left."
Xie Lian shook his head, unsure what to say. However, leaving at this moment would undoubtedly make matters worse.
The Imperial Master said, "I was the only one who stayed. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said nothing, but simply asked me, 'Are you leaving or not?'
"Seeing the expression on His Highness's face when he asked me this question, I felt that even if he really threw someone into the copper furnace as a sacrifice, I would understand. I said, 'Your Highness, I will not leave.'
"His Royal Highness remained silent. He didn't mention the human sacrifice again. He changed his mind and set up an altar near the copper furnace. I joined him, enduring the insults and rocks of the refugees every day, practicing magic and trying to suppress the volcano's wrath.
"I thought the matter was over. But one day, I discovered something that horrified me.
At this point, the Imperial Master's expression turned terrifying, as if he were seeing that terrifying scene again. Xie Lian's heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand. He asked, "What's the matter?"
The Imperial Master said, "He...he suddenly covered his face."
“…”
The Imperial Preceptor said, "Your Highness is handsome and never hides his face. Nothing could possibly have caused him to be injured. I have never seen him like this in all these years, so I am very puzzled. I asked him, 'Your Highness, what happened to your face?' He said, 'I accidentally got burned by fire.'
"I had no idea where he'd been injured. He wouldn't let me see the wound, applying herbal remedies himself, and his movements had suddenly become erratic. All of this was unusual, but then something incredibly fortunate happened, temporarily diverting my attention—the volcano suddenly stopped erupting.
The copper furnace returned to its dead silence, gradually settling down, and for a long time it did not erupt again. Since His Royal Highness was the only one who had worked on this, many Wuyong people believed that he had suppressed the volcano, and some began to worship him again. His Royal Highness's path of cultivation also became smoother. At least, no one insulted or threw stones at him anymore, and people gradually smiled at him again.
“But I always felt something was wrong.
"A lot of things are wrong. Although my three friends have different personalities, I know them well enough. They wouldn't all just walk away and ignore me. Even if they were truly angry with His Royal Highness, they wouldn't be so angry with me as to not even hear from me.
"The most unusual thing was the Crown Prince's face. He kept covering it with something, first with rags, then a cloak, and later, a mask that he wore all day.
"Sometimes I even wonder if this person isn't the Crown Prince at all, but someone else pretending to be him, because his speech, actions, and even personality have all changed. Sometimes he's kind and amiable, and sometimes he flies into a rage. One time, he was alone in the room and smashed all the mirrors, leaving blood everywhere. Even more terrifying is that I often hear strange noises."
Xie Lian asked, “What’s that sound?”
The Imperial Preceptor said, "Sometimes, late at night, voices would be heard from the Crown Prince's room, as if several people were talking or arguing quietly. But when I went in, there was only one person in the room. After a few times, the Crown Prince told me not to enter his room anymore."
"One night, I heard the strange sound again, and this time, I found that it seemed to be the voices of my three friends!
"I couldn't help it any longer. I wondered if they had come back secretly. Why were they hiding this from me? So, I got up and ran to the Crown Prince's room.
"Strangely, there was really no one else in the room except His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, lying on the bed with his mask on. I stood and listened for a while, and then I realized that the sounds seemed to be coming from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
“To be precise, it came from under his mask.
"I slowly walked to the Crown Prince's bedside. The closer I got, the more convinced I was that the sound was coming from beneath the mask. Could it be that the Crown Prince was talking in his sleep? Was he missing his friends so much that he mimicked their voices in his dreams?
"I hesitated for a long time, and His Royal Highness didn't move. I thought he was asleep, so I gently removed the mask from his face, and then I saw something."
There was an unconcealable fear in the eyes of the Imperial Master.
He said, “I saw my three friends.
"It's either His Royal Highness the Crown Prince or them who's speaking. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's face is covered in scratches from sharp weapons, leaving his skin peeling and blood half-coagulated. Furthermore, three more faces have appeared, and their mouths are moving, opening and closing. They're their faces!!!"
Xie Lian shuddered and said, “He… threw the three servants who left him into the bronze furnace as well?”
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