"What happened? Can you not keep up with a kid?" When Xiao Lan had decided to take a walk outside the city, he had expected to have a good and relaxing time.
The young prince had confidence in their guards, every last one of them trained to perform their best and taught cultivation from a young age. However, once the present situation had escalated and Fu Hua had betrayed them, the guards had to be changed in a hurry.
The present cast of guards was not that impressive and honestly, Xiao Lan blamed his brother for this. Appointment of the royal guards was something his brother took under his wing. This was one of the few jobs Xiao Lan thought he could handle.
But apparently, it was too much for his poor brother to handle. Really, the main reason Xiao Lan had taken over these suits for his brother was that he was not really suited for these roles.
He pitted his brother who had to sit on the emperor's throne from a young age and had to look after everything. As soon as Xiao Lan had been old enough, he had taken over as much as he could to help his brother out.
Of course, Fu Hua had helped him a lot in this regard. The other had never really liked his brother. In other words, his brother was a 'Sly snake' but Xiao Lan knew his brother better.
His brother was just a little dump and served better as a decoy on the throne. It would have been better if Xiao Lan ran the nation and not his brother. This also served as a distraction for Xian Lan in a way.
"Your h-highness please slow down. I'm not sure the emperor or other members of the royal family would appreciate it if you stirred up trouble. You are an esteemed guest after all" Xiao Lan paused, remembering his current position.
Since his thoughts tended to occupy his head at times, he had forgotten that he was under an alias currently. He was a distant relative of his mother here for studies. Since his mother was originally from another kingdom, it was easy enough to maintain.
It also served as a reason he looked similar to his adult form.
"I'm sorry but can you pick up the pace. This place is making me uncomfortable" Xiao Lan had not paid attention to his surroundings at all but the air seemed thicker somehow.
The party had not noticed that they had left the respectable circle of the society long ago. Xiao Lan knew that the guard had been too scared to call him out at first but had finally gathered the courage to do so.
Had it been Fu Hua, the other would have started to complain long ago and dragged Xiao Lan out of his thoughts. The other would have also known that this place was a little weird.
But the other was not here which was a good thing, Xiao Lan reminded himself.
"This place seemed the same to me as the one we just passed. Oh, I'm sorry I spoke carelessly. I didn't mean to contradict your words" the servant panicked once he spoke the first few words.
That had been a careless action on his part, his words unfiltered. Working with nobles was tricky since one could not be sure when they might take offence. When he had worked in the embassy before, he had seen many servants losing their job because of a careless comment.
He had fortunately survived long enough to be promoted to the royal palace. In a way, Fu Hua's betrayal had been a boon for him since his working conditions instantly got better.
He wondered if his good luck had finally run dry now. This kid did not look angry with him but he did not look happy as well. The guard could not read that look at all.
"I did not expect you to notice. Even I didn't notice till now and I have a far higher cultivation base than you. We shall go a little deeper to check the situation" the prince walked off, not noticing the stiff guard.
A cultivator! This child was a cultivator which was a big deal. Cultivators were rare but most of them were from scholarly and noble households. Some common folks made it into the academy sometimes but it was a 1 in 5000 chance.
Slaves? There were only a handful of exceptions in their case. But after Fu Hua, that expectation was toned down to 0. Even if the slave showed exceptional talent, the chances of cultivation for him was 0.
"Are you not going to follow? I will not hesitate to leave you behind" the guard jolted, his body breaking out into a sweat. The child was serious about going forward and he seriously believed something was wrong here.
"Maybe we should get external help? I'm not sure if you can handle this thing on your own or not" the acidic glare on that childish face should have been comical but it was terrifying.
Those eyes burned into his very soul and they froze his insides all at the same time. The child was terrifying and the guard could not look away.
"Do not question what I can or cannot do. Just decide if you are going to follow after me or not" the teen did not provide the other with enough time to think. With hurried and wide footsteps, he covered a significant distance in a short while.
The frozen guard finally moved after the kid, the fear of the glaring eyes replaced by the punishment he would be faced with should something happen to the kid.
"There are people here other than us. Do you think they are here for the same reason as us?" the guard could not help but point out the hazy silhouette in the distance. What he was suggesting to the other was clear - they should seek help.
Xiao Lan understood the reason behind the hesitation. One of them was a child and the other a common person. As such, there was not much they could do by themselves. He understood that, he really did.
But his mind still did not like the fact that he had been questioned on authority.
Also, the noble symbol that the party carried was visible on the nearest guard and it belonged to noble Lee. By reports, he knew that noble Lee was looking into dark magic and related matters.
If he was here that likely meant this place had something to do with dark magic. This was a point of interest to Xiao Lan because of Fu Hua. The other had liked to read and experiment with other unorthodox mentors of magic, even when warned against.
But Xiao Lan should not think about that right now. He should let the dead lay dead while he focused on the present.
Anyway, the point was that noble Lee was not someone who could be trusted to handle such cases and Xiao Lan was afraid if he allowed this one case then crucial information would be missed.
Since he had an opportunity, he could look into things himself before noble Lee did. That way he would know if noble Lee was about to hide any crucial information.
"No need to inform them we are here. We will just have a quick look and then leave" the guard wanted to disagree but he could not actually make himself voice that. His charge was getting more and more on the verge of snapping.
The guard was actually scared for his life and job now. In his line of work, it was better to stay quiet and node along. If the superior was happy then the servant would be happy too.
And besides, it was only for a short while and only a look. There was no harm in allowing this much freedom to the kid and make him happy.
Lastly, the kid did not look like he would listen to his guard anyway so he had no choice at all.
Xiao Lan gave the party one last look from afar before hurried away. Whatever happened here, he must make sure noble Lee was not able to see his face at all. Out of everyone, noble Lee had the best chance to burst his bubble.
None of the guards had ever seen him as a kid before so his identity was safe but noble Lee was stupid enough to guess.
As Xiao Lan moved forward, the demonic aura got thicker. He looked up but the sun was no longer visible over the smoke and the surroundings made various unrecognisable noises.
It was not a normal place at all since he had seen such a condensed demonic aura before Xiao Lan could tell. This was a ritual ground for something bigger than a mere demonic practitioner.
He needed to get to the bottom of this case before the demonic miasma bleeds out to the surrounding residential parts.
The sacrificial array used was right in the middle of the aura and he needed to break it apart and clean it before it opened completely.