Breaking Army - Chapter 10

Don’t the storybooks in the mortal realm always say that the first love of teenage boys and girls is a playful, adorable thing? Why was it that after Xiao Chen took a trip to the mortal world, the first youth he met loved with such a heavy heart?

Xiang Zhi, your storybooks are outdated.

For some reason, Xiao Chen found himself unable to bear the boy’s gaze. It wasn’t fear, but an indescribable feeling. Unable to help himself, he reached out and flicked his finger against Mu Qing’s forehead, rewarding him with a sharp tap.

Mu Qing clutched his forehead in confusion, and the heavy light in his eyes instantly scattered. Xiao Chen finally felt comfortable and adopted the tone of an elder. “How long have you even lived to be talking about ‘the luck of a lifetime’ or ‘endless nights’? Don’t scare yourself. And another thing, stop offering up your life so easily,” Xiao Chen said, “If he truly cares for you, he would surely want you to cherish yourself.”

Mu Qing’s eyes trembled. He slowly lowered his head to hide his expression and gestured with his hands: “What brother says is true.”

Their attention shifted from the heavy topic back to the food. Usually, after discussing something so somber, one needed a distraction. Xiao Chen personally finished off the two lotus-leaf chickens they had bought outside. Most of the beef and squirrel fish on the plates also ended up in his stomach. Mu Qing was still holding a bowl of soup, sipping it slowly. Xiao Chen asked, “You’re at the age where you’re still growing, why are you eating so little?”

Mu Qing swallowed his soup and put down the spoon before he could respond with his hands: “It is already enough.”

Mu Qing’s portion was what a normal person would eat. It wasn’t that he ate too little, it was that Xiao Chen really ate too much.

After finishing his meal, Xiao Chen stood up lazily. The food at the inn was mediocre, but the room was quite nice. After sleeping in the wild for several days, he could finally lie down indoors. “I’ll head back to the room first. Take your time.”

Mu Qing watched him leave. Once Xiao Chen was gone, he put down his chopsticks and stopped eating as well. Earlier, when he went to the innkeeper to pay the bill, the people in the hall had noticed he was mute due to his way of communicating with Xiao Chen. Their gossiping words reached Mu Qing’s ears without missing a syllable, though this time, no one was foolish enough to step forward and pick a fight.

If there was no trouble, it counted as peace. He could treat the idle chatter as if he hadn’t heard it. Just as he thought this, a woman walked gracefully up to him and smiled. “Young master, was that your older brother sitting with you just now?”

The woman was dressed sharply, like someone from the martial world, yet her face didn’t lack charm. She wasn’t shy and asked directly, “I wonder if he is married? Ah, I see it is inconvenient for you and I don’t know sign language, just nod or shake your head.”

Many people turned their gazes toward them. The woman waited expectantly, only to receive a nod from Mu Qing.

“He’s already married?” The woman sighed in disappointment. “Alas, we met too late!”

Someone laughed loudly, “If you want to marry him that badly, go ask if you can be a concubine! Hahaha!”

“What do you know?” The woman twirled a lock of her hair and swayed her hips. “Someone like that must be paired with someone equally remarkable. Since he already has the best, would he even spare a thought for anyone else?”

She looked toward the empty staircase with longing. “Unless what binds him is a mere marriage contract rather than his heart. But he looked so carefree, not like someone forced into a marriage.”

Bound by a marriage contract rather than his heart… She was right. What Xiao Chen couldn’t let go of would never be a forced restraint, it had to be something he chose to keep in his heart. Mu Qing’s grip on his cup tightened. He stared blankly at the table for a long while before silently raising the cup and draining the cold tea within.

Gou Chen and Tai Bai arrived at the Heavenly Realm together. Although there were only two of them, the Heavens treated them with great importance. After meeting the Heavenly Emperor, they were led by the two princes to the cave dwelling where Xiao Chen had previously stayed.

They immediately spotted Xiang Zhi and Geng Xie in the crowd. Given the circumstances, they naturally pretended not to see them.

Xiao Chen had chosen a random, secluded cave in the Heavens. Before he was poisoned, not even the Star Lords knew the exact location of his dwelling. After the poisoning, everyone had actually come to investigate, this visit was simply to see if anything had been overlooked.

The layout of the cave was very simple: a bed, a chessboard, and a desk. A few forgotten scrolls lay on the table. When he had nothing to do, Xiao Chen would play chess against himself, acting as both the black and white pieces. In the eyes of most, his life in seclusion was incredibly dull and tedious. One would have to be exceptionally detached to endure such boredom day after day.

This time, Xiao Chen had only stayed for three years before something major happened, he ended up poisoned with a lethal toxin.

The poison was violent and intended to kill instantly, it wasn’t a slow-acting one. By the time he realized he was poisoned, Xiao Chen hadn’t touched any food for over half a month, so the poison couldn’t have been ingested. There were no windows in the cave, so if it were a poisonous mist, it could only have come from the entrance.

To be able to approach the cave without being noticed by Xiao Chen, the culprit must have had significant skill. They had also checked the plants outside the cave but found no traces of toxicity, the deed was done flawlessly.

Tai Bai had not been here before. This time, he brought tools for a divination ritual. Xiang Zhi felt an itch to help, but his current identity was not that of a “Star Lord.” Therefore, while the Star Lords were investigating, he had to stay obediently among the group of celestial officials and wait.

The divination methods of the Star Lords didn’t matter if outsiders saw them, as they couldn’t be replicated anyway. Gou Chen and Tai Bai set up the formation, and after a while, they looked at each other and shook their heads.

The Second Prince, Cheng Feng, gestured to the civil officials behind him. They entered the cave to conduct their own search. Naturally, Xiang Zhi went in as well. Among the scrolls Xiao Chen had left behind were the storybooks Xiang Zhi had given him in the past, his personal collection! Since nothing had been found on the scrolls anyway, there was no need to leave them there. He bundled them up, carried them to Gou Chen, and bowed respectfully. “Prince Gou Chen, these scrolls belong to His Highness Po Jun. Do you think they need to be taken away?”

Tai Bai could hardly suppress a smile. Gou Chen waved his hand, stowing all the scrolls away, and nodded. “Thank you for your trouble.”

Cheng Feng saw him approaching the Star Lord and thought he had discovered something, only to find it was a trivial matter. Was he trying to curry favor with the Star Lord with such small actions? You work for the Heavens, your future has nothing to do with the Star Realm, he thought. He couldn’t help but say, “Someone will clean up the items. You are here to solve a case, get back to your work!”

Xiang Zhi withdrew his hand. “Oh.”

Cheng Feng turned to Gou Chen and Tai Bai and said solemnly, “Please forgive him, Star Lords. This minor official lacks etiquette, but he does have some talent and might be of help.”

Gou Chen gave him a brief glance and nodded slightly. Tai Bai smiled. “The Heavens have been so diligent this time, we appreciate the effort.”

“His Highness Po Jun fought for the peace of the three realms, which is why we have the tranquility we enjoy today.” Speaking of this, Cheng Feng rubbed his nose sheepishly. “Actually, I admire His Highness’s martial skills greatly. If we clear this up early, we can give His Highness the justice he deserves.”

Many people hated Xiao Chen, but many also admired and were grateful to him. Especially after his exploits on the battlefield were embellished and spread, many warriors who hadn’t witnessed it personally wished they could have served by his side. During the pacification of the rebellion, the Heavenly Emperor and Crown Prince Ci Shu stayed in the Palace while Cheng Feng led the celestial troops to the front lines. He had seen Xiao Chen’s skills with his own eyes, and a single battle had left the boy completely convinced. Unfortunately, as the commander of the celestial army, he couldn’t just abandon his troops to become Xiao Chen’s foot soldier.

Ci Shu said, “As Cheng Feng said, we are very grateful to His Highness Po Jun. Doing our best is only our duty, we wouldn’t dare take credit for it.”

The group searched for a while but still found nothing. Xiang Zhi even chipped off some pieces of the rock at the cave entrance to take back for testing. The Star Lords would stay in the Heavens for a day. The Heavenly Emperor attended the welcome banquet, though he had gradually stopped managing affairs, leaving most things to his two sons. He only appeared for major formal occasions.

Xiang Zhi and Geng Xie held low ranks and couldn’t attend the banquet. After the banquet ended and Geng Xie’s shift was over, he avoided the others and slipped toward where Gou Chen and Tai Bai were staying.

When he climbed in through the window, he found that Xiang Zhi had already arrived. All three were in the room. Gou Chen simply nodded when he saw him enter, and Geng Xie found a place to sit, as there was never any need for formalities between them.

Xiang Zhi dutifully took out the Star Map, but Tai Bai waved his hand, not in a hurry to take it. “You’ve been in the Heavens for a few days, have you found anything?”

Xiang Zhi said sheepishly, “Nothing for now.”

Logically, the current Tai Bai was younger than him, but he always instinctively treated Tai Bai as a senior. The original Tai Bai Star Lord had sacrificed himself for the seal, his soul returning to the universe. After a Star Lord dies, their destiny star might give birth to a new Star Lord with the same appearance and even a similar temperament, but even if the exterior was identical, the person was no longer the same.

“I think the Crown Prince of the Heavens, Ci Shu, knows something,” Geng Xie said, “It’s just that he won’t say it easily.”

Tai Bai pondered, “The Crown Prince of the Heavens, eh…”

Xiang Zhi asked keenly, “Why?”

Gou Chen spoke slowly, “We have a new discovery. In the poisoned blood Xiao Chen left behind, we finally found a component called ‘Xiangsi’.”

“Xiangsi, a plant of the Heavenly Realm. It takes a hundred years to become a tree, a hundred years to bloom, and once the flowers fade, it bears seeds called Xiangsi seeds.” Xiang Zhi recited the information as if reading from a textbook. He searched his memory carefully. “But the Xiangsi plant is non-toxic from top to bottom. No book has ever recorded that it can be mixed with other things to create a poison. Other than the romantic meaning lovers give it, it has no medicinal value.”

“Yet Xiangsi was found in the poison Xiao Chen was given. A poison that even Xiao Chen couldn’t resist couldn’t have been put together randomly,” Geng Xie said. “A product of the Heavens… Among those who want Xiao Chen dead, the Demon Realm has the most, but the Heavens and the Ghost Realm have some as well, though the numbers are fewer.”

“You said the Crown Prince looks like he knows something,” Gou Chen said. “We cannot divine even a shadow of the culprit, which means this matter involves a great deal. Therefore”

Geng Xie understood. “Therefore, Xiang Zhi and I can continue to stay here and keep investigating.”

Gou Chen gave a silent nod of agreement. “Some things are inconvenient to investigate openly, and one might not find the truth that way regardless.”

“Keep the Star Map for now, it might still come in handy.” This was also the reason Tai Bai didn’t immediately have Xiang Zhi return the item.

Xiang Zhi tucked the map away again. “I will definitely take good care of it.”

Tai Bai sighed, “Don’t go stealing it again next time.”

Xiang Zhi nodded earnestly, though how honest that promise was… no one could say for sure, not even himself.

“What about the Second Prince?”

“Him?” Xiang Zhi curled his lip. “He’s a straightforward guy. He doesn’t look like someone who can hide many secrets. His admiration for Xiao Chen is written all over his face. He truly wants to solve the case, but I haven’t seen any other signs from him.”

Gou Chen warned, “We will be heading back soon. Remember, your own safety comes first. Do not be reckless. Also, avoid getting entangled in major karmic cycles. You know the reasons, but given your personalities, I have to remind you.”

Geng Xie leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed, his posture as lazy as could be. “Of course. If we get caught in a major karmic cycle, we won’t be able to return to the Star Realm until it’s resolved. We aren’t Xiao Chen, we can’t handle such heavy burdens of karma. Don’t worry.”

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