The Prince Leng Mansion was massive. The walls were made up of dark-brown stones that appeared extremely sturdy. There was also a faint glow around these stones. Dull windows were scattered thinly around the walls in a seemingly perfect symmetry. A moderate gate with a heavy metal door could be seen, which appeared to be the only way to get inside the mansion.
The guards saw Luo Cheng coming towards them and bowed their heads. Luo Cheng acknowledged their bow and continued to walk ahead.
A guard spoke out loud, "Open the gate. Its young lord Cheng."
The metal door creaked loudly as it slowly opened up. Luo Cheng walked inside without even saying a word.
After he was gone, the metallic door was closed and the guards began to gossip amongst themselves. "Didn't young lord Cheng go out with a carriage and his personal guards? But he returned alone..."
"It's clear that they died. Maybe they remained behind so that young lord Cheng could safely escape."
"With his personal guards gone, young lord's life will probably get more difficult in the mansion." A guard signed out after saying that.
"Shhh... Lets not talk about such things. If someone snitches on us, we might find ourselves in the gallows."
"Tch. Aren't you too much of a coward? Here are all our people, no one will snitch on us here."
Although one of the guards did say that, the other guards turned quiet, and this banter came to an end soon enough.
Meanwhile, Luo Cheng had already entered the mansion. As he walked towards his father's meeting hall, he saw 4 individuals walking towards him in a straight line.
Luo Cheng knew all four of them. One of them was his foster brother Zhou Feng, while the three women around him were his playmates.
Zhou Feng, the third son of Prince Zhou Leng could be considered quite talented compared to the past Luo Cheng. Having reached the 1st Star of the True Qi Realm. As long as he spent a good time cultivating, his Qi shouldn't take too long before breaking through to the 2nd Star of True Qi Realm.
"Well-well, what do we have here? Oh, look, it's my useless little brother." A mocking voice was let out by Zhou Feng as he gazed at Luo Cheng.
The girls around him giggled as they heard Zhou Fengs words. One of them spoke with an enchanting voice, " Milord, you need to be gentler with young lord Cheng or else, his fragile heart would break."
"You are right my dear. So what happened? You went to the Bloodstone forest, didn't you? And you even brought along those pieces of trash with you. Don't tell me they turned into Demonic Beast food."
Luo Cheng remained entirely calm as he continued walking. It was as if he didn't even hear Zhou Feng and was directly ignoring his words.
"Hey you! Young Lord Feng is talking to you! Answer him!" One of the girls next to Zhou Feng shouted at Luo Cheng with a sharp tone.
Luo Cheng once again ignored their words as passing wind.
Zhou Feng clenched his fists and suddenly grabbed Luo Cheng's robes, "Do you treat me as thin air?! Answer me!"
"I've got some important information to pass on to father. But if you think your questions are more important i could stay and satisfy your curiosity." Luo Cheng replied with a slight smirk visible on his face.
Zhou Feng paused for a moment once he heard his words. He looked into Luo Cheng's eyes for a couple of seconds before releasing his robes.
"Touching you will get my hands dirty. Now Scram!" Zhou Feng shouted at Luo Cheng loudly. Luo Cheng turned his head and just walked off.
The three women once again latched onto Zhou Feng and seemed to continue their talk from before.
Luo Cheng walked towards the meeting hall within the mansion that was quite some distance away from the entrance. As he walked, Luo Chengs only impression of the place was that it was large and dark. All the buildings were extremely tall, to the extent that even though the long, winding passageway was illuminated, it couldn't cast light on every single corner. It left silhouettes looming across the mansion amidst the swaying shadows and pitch darkness that normal sight couldn't pierce through.
At the centre of the mansion was an outdoor area he'd passed before, with the vegetation casting flickering shadows that messed further with his vision and caused him to tense up involuntarily.
A faint odour seemed to be diffused throughout the mansion, lingering behind and clinging onto him with every step he took. Oddly, it made him feel comfortable from the depths of his bloodline, a comfort that he couldn't express in words.
The meeting hall he walked to wasn't the largest in the Leng Mansion, but it's size was still befitting of even a prince. The hall was fifteen metres tall, extremely lofty and gloomy inspite of the torches lining the walls. Their light could hardly illuminate the mural on the domed roof. The seats were on both sides of the hall and at the very end, where his adoptive father, Prince Zhou Leng sat.
Prince Zhou Leng was an oddly charismatic man, with a smile on his face. His long hair was combed back so neatly that not a single strand was loose, forming an indispensable part of his face along side his mustache.
There was a noticeable mark on his face, crossing his left eye which he got from battling a low level Demon Overlord comparable to a human 3 Star Spiritual Grandmaster Realm Cultivator, a demonic beast with a higher cultivation realm than him.
Luo Cheng bowed respectfully immediately he entered the hall, "Greetings Father."
Prince Leng nodded his head, "Sit." He said and then continued, "I heard you met with an accident on your way to Bloodstone Forest."
Luo Cheng merely nodded his head and didn't say a word. He could tell that Prince Leng was using a narrative tone, and that sentence didn't need to be answered.
Prince Leng smiled. "You're quite fortunate to be a member of the Zhou Imperial Family... You're also quite unfortunate, for the very same reason. Now what information where you going to pass on to me?" Prince Leng's gaze was as clear as water, few could look him in the eye. Yet, Luo Cheng held his head up high and didn't retreat even by the slightest bit.
"I saw members of the Divine Dao Alliance searching for something in the Bloodstone Forest so i followed after them quietly. They found the Tomb of a Purple Cloak Rune Master." Luo Cheng said calmly.
A surprised expression appeared on Prince Leng's face as he asked, "Who led their search?"
"It was a blue robed person with a hood over his head, so i couldn't see his face. But Elder Xiao Li from the Xiao Clan of the Divine Dao Alliance was present as well."
"A blue robed person, could it be..." Prince Leng murmured to himself, then he said. "You have done well by reporting to me. You should retire to your room, you've had a rough day."
"Yes Father." Luo Cheng bowed and withdrew from the hall.
As soon as Luo Cheng left the hall, Prince Leng spoke, "Ye Guhan, take the Blood Soul Guards with you to the Bloodstone Forest. Make sure no one from the Divine Dao Alliance comes out alive, then station some guards at the tomb's entrance."
"Yes your Highness." A voice spoke out from the shadows and the hall became quiet once again.
'No one takes what belongs to the Great Zhou Empire.' Prince Leng thought as he stood up from his seat.