Chapter 149: Single Horn and Double Horns

The two men below looked at the young man wearing a python robe seated in the high position, a trace of contempt flashing across their faces. This young man was none other than the Crown Prince Regent of the Great Liang Dynasty.

Earlier, the Emperor had dispatched the Marquis of Wu'an to the southern territories to suppress a rebellion. Afterwards, feeling uneasy, the Emperor issued an imperial decree sending the Crown Prince to the southern territories to oversee the army and rally the remaining forces of the southern court. He was instructed to ensure that the southern territories were not lost and to act according to circumstances as they arose.

The Marquis of Wu'an had mobilized his army with decisive and swift action. Upon receiving the command, he departed via waterways at maximum speed, causing all spirits and demons along the route to flee and keep their distance. Within just a few days, he reached the southern territories, rapidly formulated a strategy, split his forces into two routes to conquer cities and subdue territories, and finally rendezvoused before the prefectural city at the tri-border junction.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prince, upon receiving his secret orders and leading a group of experts, also set out by water. However, along the riverbanks ahead, the people saw the grand army of the Marquis of Wu'an and fled in all directions, their whereabouts unknown. Thus, the Crown Prince witnessed no chaos whatsoever along his journey; instead, he traveled leisurely, sightseeing and stopping along the way until he finally reached the borders of the southern territories.

Because there were very few demons along the way, he reported to the Emperor that peace reigned throughout the land and that the memorial reports from various regions in the court were exaggerated. As a result, an atmosphere of mutual suspicion formed within the imperial court. Coupled with the Emperor's trust in the State Preceptor Cihang Pudu, policies shifted, and political struggles heavily implicated a great many people.

When the Crown Prince had just arrived at Dongting Lake, the Golden Dragon had already taken control of the lake with the assistance of Prime Minister Turtle. Operating with practiced familiarity, the Golden Dragon first secured military power and then issued commands to all subordinate regions of Dongting Lake to restore order, gather displaced refugees, and resume production.

Although the prawn soldiers and crab generals possessed humble magical powers, they were nonetheless cultivating beings, and they worked with great efficiency. Within just a few hours, every single water vein throughout Dongting Lake had been duly notified. Because it was done with great fanfare, even those with ulterior motives found it difficult to resist and were forced to suppress their alternative plans.

Consequently, by the time the Crown Prince arrived at Dongting Lake, the thick, billowing mists had long since vanished, and every region was bustling with renovation work. Believing that the southern territories were equally peaceful, he imagined that if he used this single imperial decree to take over the south, the entire region would fall squarely into his grasp.

Yet, upon making inquiries, people only knew of the Dongting Lake Water Mansion and had no inkling of what the imperial court was.

Only then did the Crown Prince grow anxious. Cut off from reliable information, he somehow made his way to the prefectural city, only to find that it had been occupied by a combination of hidden imperial court factions and several demonic forces.

After arriving at the prefectural city, through unknown means, he managed to seat himself in the primary host's chair.

Down below, the two young men exchanged glances and communicated using divine sense.

Judging by their appearances, one was dressed in a shining moonlight-white robe, with a long, horse-like face and a single white jade-like horn growing from his head. At his waist hung a magic treasure shaped like a horseshoe.

The other youth bore a thirty-percent resemblance to the horse-faced youth. Although his face was similarly horse-like, he had a pair of antlers on his head and wore a dazzlingly bright white robe.

The Crown Prince looked toward the antlered youth several times, but the dazzling light forced him to squint his eyes, unable to stare directly.

At that moment, the antlered youth transmitted his voice to the single-horned youth: "Elder brother, how did this absolute idiot end up sitting in that seat, barking orders at us brothers? Shall I drag him outside and slaughter him?"

"Second brother, don't act rashly. This was agreed upon by the Three-Cave Daoist, who said we should let the imperial court bear the brunt at the front while we wave flags and shout encouragement from behind. If he manages to take the southern territories, we will supplant him; if he fails, we run," the single-horned youth replied via voice transmission to the dual-horned youth.

"Oh, so it was the Three-Cave Daoist who said so." The dual-horned youth's horse-like face immediately fell. The Three-Cave Daoist was their benefactor; although they felt some misgivings about his words, they generally did not oppose him.

"The Three-Cave Daoist is simply too cowardly. If you ask me, we should just kill him and be done with it. Even if we fail, given our speed, who could possibly catch us if we run?" the dual-horned youth transmitted.

"Humph!" The single-horned youth let out a cold snort toward the antlered youth and continued, "Second brother, don't forget who picked us up, raised us, and taught us the Dao of cultivation. Although the Three-Cave Daoist is not our biological father, he has treated us better than any father could. If you speak like that again, even though you are my brother, don't blame me for being unpolite to you."

The antlered youth said with a wronged expression, "I didn't say much, why scold me? I know he treats us well, but why won't he let us call him father or master, but instead the Three-Cave Daoist?"

"Sigh!" The single-horned youth sighed and said, "Let's not pry into his affairs. Although he prefers to keep some distance from us, there are reasons for it. When we encounter this knot in his heart in the future, we can talk about it then."

"Sigh!" The antlered youth also sighed and said, "Back then, among the herd of deer, because I looked like a horse, I was treated as an oddity and driven out. And you, elder brother, among the unicorns, because you looked like a horse, you were also driven out. If not for you, elder brother, I would have died long ago; and if not for the Three-Cave Daoist, who knows if we'd be dead or alive? Are our divinations this time really accurate?"

The single-horned youth thought about this as well. Looking at their own peculiar appearances, they knew their father must have been a horse, though deep down they fiercely rejected the notion and dared not admit it.

Hearing his second brother ask about their divination—one of them excelled at controlling moonlight, the other at sunlight, and with the help of the Three-Cave Daoist, they had invented a joint combat technique which they subsequently modified to run calculations through the interplay of yin and yang, enabling them to divine the past, future, and even affinities—he pondered.

Their greatest concern was the Three-Cave Daoist. When they divined everything concerning him, they discovered a lingering knot in his heart and foresaw that at this very place and moment, the Three-Cave Daoist would encounter an opportunity to attain the Dao. Thus, putting their heads together, the two brothers had cajoled the Three-Cave Daoist into coming here.

Hearing his younger brother's question, although he was the elder brother, his own heart lacked certainty and he felt somewhat hesitant. Seeing the deeply worried look on the antlered youth's face, unable to bear crushing his spirits, he gave a solemn-sounding voice transmission: "Don't worry, it'll be fine. We must trust our own calculation method; there is absolutely no problem. Just wait and see!"

Seeing his confident demeanor, the antlered youth's wavering heart settled, and he said, "Alright then, we'll just wait for this stroke of destiny."

With that, he shifted into a more comfortable posture and leaned back against the chair.

At that moment, the Crown Prince sitting in the high position watched these two demons making eyes at each other for quite a while, seemingly completely ignoring him, and grew so angry that embarrassment turned into rage.

"Crack!" He struck the armrest fiercely with his hand, stood up, and shouted loudly, "This Crown Prince is asking you a question! Did you hear me or not?"

The single-horned youth was originally about to stand up and reply out of politeness when he heard the dual-horned youth say lazily, "Oh, what did the Crown Prince just say? Repeat it."

The single-horned youth shook his head helplessly and remained seated.

The Crown Prince felt a sensation of being played for a fool, and rage burned within his breast. Glaring at the two demons below, he thought to himself: *Once I bring the southern territories into my grasp, you two will be the very first I use to sacrifice to the banners.*

Suppressing the fury raging in his heart, he enunciated clearly and loudly, "Where has that rabbit spirit gone?"

"Courting death!" The two of them sprang to their feet instantly. The dual-horned youth whipped out the fork-like weapon at his waist, his hand radiating intense heat, and let out a fierce roar as he lunged forward, clearly intending to deliver a fatal blow.

When the single-horned youth saw this, although he had been somewhat displeased that the Crown Prince called the Three-Cave Daoist a rabbit spirit, and had originally intended to teach the Prince a lesson himself, seeing his younger brother ready to strike a lethal blow, he hurriedly grabbed him back, shouting, "Second brother, don't kill him! Doing so will ruin the Three-Cave Daoist's opportunity of destiny!"

"Clatter!" Frightened out of his wits, the Crown Prince tumbled back into his chair, his face turning pale with extreme terror as the chair clattered loudly against the floor. Stammering, he cried out, "Y-y-you... what are you trying to do? I am... I am the Crown Prince!"