Chapter 265: The Sixth Prince is Dying

“Compensation!”

The Fire Kingdom Emperor snorted coldly. “The Fire Kingdom doesn’t have holy water. How can we compensate?”

“That depends on Your Majesty’s sincerity. Otherwise, you could hand over the Prince Yanling. If not, our Earth Kingdom will definitely not let this matter rest.”

Taoist Tianlin glared, “What kind of attitude is this? You’re acting so arrogantly in front of our Fire Kingdom Emperor!”

“Taoist, we are not here to curry favor or make ourselves look good. We are here to settle accounts. If you want to tear relations, just consider today as if we were never here.”

“You!”

At this moment, being betrayed by the Earth Kingdom was definitely not a good thing.

“Tianlin, come here.” The Fire Kingdom Emperor’s face was cold.

The Fire Kingdom Emperor whispered, “Is there a way to resolve the issue with the Earth Kingdom’s holy water?”

“This… I have no solution, but I do have one method that might work.”

“Speak.”

“Seek the help of the national deity. The Earth Kingdom’s holy water is not an ordinary item, and it cannot be resolved by us mere mortals. Only by inviting the national deity to purify the tainted energy with divine power can it be resolved.”

The Fire Kingdom Emperor’s eyes darkened. “The national deity… sigh. Inviting the national deity is not easy. I went to the temple and knelt for seven days and nights last year, but I couldn’t invite the national deity.”

Last year, even after kneeling for three days and nights, the national deity did not descend.

Handing over Yan Ling would be like giving the Fire Kingdom’s face to the Earth Kingdom and letting them slap it around. That was absolutely impossible.

To avoid further trouble, he would kneel for seven days and nights.

“Tell the Earth Kingdom Emperor that in ten days, I will give them an answer.”

The Hu brothers agreed and turned to leave.

After sending off the two envoys, the Fire Kingdom Emperor could no longer sit still.

Yang Lei stammered, “Your Majesty…”

“Don’t call me ‘Your Majesty’. You and Li Chunfeng are equally foolish! You went to the Tiansheng Dynasty and didn’t bring back any results. You two are really something!”

When Li Chunfeng came back the first time, the Golden Dragon Beast no longer appeared, making it seem like winter in the spring, completely out of touch with the world.

Yang Lei was even worse, directly messing up the Earth Kingdom’s holy water.

“I will make sure you idiots drive me mad! We haven’t even conquered the Tiansheng Dynasty, and our own affairs are in such a mess.” The Fire Kingdom Emperor was nearly driven to madness.

But he did not know that a big pit was waiting for him ahead.

—

On the other side.

Three days later, the Tiansheng Emperor and his entourage arrived in Lingnan.

At the gates of Lingnan City, soldiers were stationed. When they saw the carriages, they immediately stood on the city walls, waving small red flags to warn them. “This road is closed, this city is sealed, please detour!”

“Open the gates, the Tiansheng Emperor is coming—” Di Zian held a token and stood under the city gate.

General Lei, stationed at the gate, saw the dazzling golden token, which seemed to blind his eyes.

“What did that person say?” General Lei was somewhat skeptical.

One of his subordinates replied, “Reporting to General, they say the Emperor’s carriage is just outside the city.”

“The Emperor? The Emperor has arrived?” General Lei was so shocked he fell to the ground.

“General Lei, what’s the matter? Why are you so flustered?” Lin Xuanzhi arrived and saw General Lei in a panic.

“Lord Lin, the Emperor has come, our Emperor has come.”

Lin Xuanzhi was stunned. “Quick, open the city gates and welcome His Majesty!”

“But the situation inside the city…” General Lei shook his head and sighed. Although they were excited by the Emperor’s arrival, they were also worried.

Lingnan City was a place everyone avoided. They had no way out and had vowed to hold their ground, living or dying with the people.

The city gates opened, and the tyrant’s carriage entered. He tightly held Ah Bao in his arms.

As the carriage curtains were lifted, Ah Bao saw the scene inside the city.

Dark clouds loomed overhead, and black mist filled the sky.

Every household in the city had tightly closed their doors, and the streets were deserted.

Desolate and silent, with a deathly stillness.

Ah Bao pursed her lips and kept a stiff expression. The situation in Lingnan City was far more severe than she had imagined.

At the end of the street, she finally heard someone softly humming a lullaby. She saw an elderly blind woman, holding a child who was already darkened and unrecognizable, gently rocking him to ‘sleep’.

“My child, be good, sleep now. When you’re asleep, it won’t hurt anymore…”

The Tiansheng Emperor’s eyes darkened. As an emperor, seeing the people displaced and suffering from the epidemic deeply touched his cold royal heart.

“Stop.” The Tiansheng Emperor spoke.

Lin Xuanzhi, who was driving the carriage, was defying the Tiansheng Emperor’s orders for the first time. “Your Majesty, we cannot stop.”

“Lin Xuanzhi, I just promoted you from a minor official to a third-grade officer. You dare to defy the imperial decree?”

“Your Majesty, I know what you want to do. You cannot approach them. That child who is almost a ‘mummy’ is infected with the plague. Initially, there is high fever, then coughing, and finally, rapid breathing leading to suffocation.

And it’s highly contagious from person to person, often infecting entire families.

Once infected with the plague, if not treated in time, it leads to death. In the end, many times we find a room full of corpses, many of them already dried out.

This phenomenon is just the tip of the iceberg. Even if we stop the carriage and you get out to see them, it won’t change anything and will only put you in danger. I will not let you get out!”

Lingnan City, with more than half its population dead or injured, was turning into a ghost city if things continued like this.

Lin Xuanzhi’s words were shocking, but those who had lived through it felt the torment even more, and the reality was far more dangerous than described.

The Tiansheng Emperor rarely calmed down. “Have we found the source of the plague?”

Lin Xuanzhi shook his head and remained silent. “Your Majesty, since you’ve just arrived, let me and General Lei take you to see the Sixth Prince first.”

“And my eldest brother?” Di Zian asked from inside the carriage.

Lin Xuanzhi hesitated and sighed. “We’ll talk about it when we meet him.”

There was more to his words.

The Tiansheng Emperor’s heart skipped a beat. “What happened to the Eldest Prince?”

Lin Xuanzhi did not continue.

Soon, they arrived at the meeting point, General Lei’s residence, the only safe place in Lingnan City at the moment.

However, even the safety of this place was only temporary.

“Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother!” Di Zian jumped out of the carriage and ran into the residence, but along the way, he didn’t see Di Chenyu coming out.

Di Zian felt an ominous premonition in his heart.

Ah Bao stood in front of the General’s residence, observing the deathly atmosphere, [The path is covered in death, soul-reaping flowers are blooming, the reaper is coming! How could it be this serious? Could it be that my Sixth Brother is going to die?]

Di Zian stumbled and fell to the ground.

The tyrant, hearing her thoughts, immediately carried Ah Bao and strode into the General’s residence. “Where is the Sixth Prince?”

Lin Xuanzhi, covered in cold sweat, knelt on the ground. “Your Majesty, I am at fault. The Sixth Prince contracted the plague while trying to save me. Now… now…”

—