The Cold Crown Prince and the Maniac Tyrant - Chapter 4

A heart-stopping sense of dread suddenly flooded his mind.

Sang Wan felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him from the darkness. It was omnipresent, infiltrating every corner of his consciousness.

Not again!

This is just a dream, just a dream, just a dream.

Sang Wan kept repeating this to himself in his head. If you realize you’re dreaming, you can wake yourself up quickly. That was the rule of thumb Sang Wan had learned from years of suffering through nightmares.

As he lay on the bed, Sang Wan’s brows knit together unconsciously, his index finger twitching. He was on the verge of waking up.

But in the next second, he sank into an even deeper layer of the dream.

In the endless gloom, a pair of large, icy hands silently pressed against the slender neck of the person on the bed. With just a slight exertion of force, that fragile neck would snap in two.

The sight must have been exquisite.

The owner of those hands kept a smile on his lips the entire time, his fingers slowly tightening.

—Is this the protagonist, Beihai Zhao? The future ruler of the world? Falling in love with him would be an absolute steal.

—Wait? Why am I in a man’s body? How are two men supposed to fall in love?

—System, hurry up and switch me back into a woman’s body.

—I am a noble and unparalleled transmigrator, a true dragon among men! From the moment I arrived here, I am the only protagonist!

—The throne must be mine!

—What is Beihai Zhao? If he’s sensible, I’ll reluctantly take him on as my lackey!

—Damn, he’s a top-tier powerhouse! Why conquer the world when we could just be lovey-dovey for the rest of our lives?

—My bottom is already starving for it.

—Beihai Zhao, I’m coming!

—Beihai Zhao, I’ve worked hard to help you conquer the world; even if I have no merit, I’ve surely suffered enough.

—Cough, cough, why are you killing me!

—I just wanted to go home.

…

A faint moan escaped in the silent space. The person on the bed, deprived of oxygen, was forced to open his lips and gasp for air, like a fish drowning on land.

After enjoying the sight for a moment, he suddenly exerted force with his fingers, only to be blocked by an invisible barrier. He couldn’t advance even an inch.

“What? Did you send someone to ‘conquer’ me again?” A deep, raspy voice sounded.

He raised his head, revealing a grim, rugged face with extreme madness suppressed deep in his eyes.

System 996 popped out of Sang Wan’s body in a panic, exclaiming, “An adult tyrant? Where did this pop out from?”

A bug. A massive bug!

It broke down, running a comprehensive diagnostic. Where did it go wrong? No wonder the previous hosts failed their missions.

Their clumsy acting might have been enough to fool a child, but if they ran into an adult tyrant who was physically disguised as a child but mentally forged in bloodshed, it was no wonder all of them had been “carried away.”

The adult tyrant sneered. He simply sat on the bed and lightly stroked Sang Wan’s face with his fingers.

“Is this one here to fall in love with me?”

“Or is he here to make me his lackey?”

“Or is he here to disgust me?”

“Perhaps to be a ‘good’ friend?”

His tone was icy, devoid of warmth. He looked at Sang Wan, who slept soundly under the system’s protection, with unconcealed disgust and disdain.

System 996 finished its emergency scan without finding the source of the bug. Faced with the adult tyrant’s interrogation, it was silent for a moment. “You are the Child of Destiny of this world. Your journey dictates the path of the entire world; becoming the ruler of the world is your destiny.”

“So, this time, you’re relying on him?” The adult tyrant interrupted the system, his tone weary of the same old rhetoric. “Is he even worthy?”

System 996 thought, This time is different.

This time, it had observed and selected from over a billion people before bringing Sang Wan here.

First of all, he was a top student; secondly, he wasn’t obsessed with romance, and his desires and ambitions were low. It had high hopes for this host.

The adult tyrant chuckled playfully: “You can protect him once, but not a second time. After being summoned so many times, your energy must be running low. If he dies, can you still pull someone else here to restart this world?”

System 996 retorted stiffly: “I have plenty left.”

The adult tyrant sneered: “Really? Then I wish him luck. I hope he lasts a bit longer this time. When I come out next, I will surely kill him!”

As soon as he spoke, his form shrunk, turning back into the twelve-year-old Beihai Zhao.

The twelve-year-old Beihai Zhao snapped his eyes open. Seeing where he was standing, a trace of confusion flickered in his eyes. Why am I here?

He turned to stare at Sang Wan, his expression unreadable. He watched for a long time before finally lying back down on the daybed in the outer room.

Early the next morning, Sang Wan opened his eyes. Seeing the environment, which felt both strange and familiar, he felt a sense of inevitable disappointment.

“System, did Beihai Zhao do anything unusual last night?” Sang Wan asked, rolling his neck as he sat up. “I felt like I was being stared at by something terrifying all night long.”

System 996 patted its chest, assuring him: “No, host, don’t worry. I was watching the whole time.”

“Is that so?” Sang Wan asked softly in his mind.

Meng Tian, who had been eavesdropping on the movement inside, spoke up loudly from outside: “Your Highness, are you awake?”

Receiving the Crown Prince’s affirmation, Meng Tian ordered the servants to enter and attend to him.

Seeing who had entered, Sang Wan raised an eyebrow, a curve forming on his lips: “Oh, my new page boy has started his job already.”

The newly appointed little page boy, Beihai Zhao, kept a stern face, attending to Sang Wan’s grooming with practiced discipline.

Meng Tian, who had stepped in a moment later, thought the Prince was praising him. He started to smile but forcibly suppressed it: “I came early to train him, Your Highness. Since Nanzhao is from outside the palace, he doesn’t know the rules and certainly isn’t as capable as the internal palace servants. If he does anything wrong, please let me know, and I will be sure to give him a proper lesson.”

Lesson? Sang Wan liked that word. Opportunities to enjoy the service of this “limited edition” page boy, Beihai Zhao, wouldn’t be around forever.

However, when Beihai Zhao’s hands touched his hair, Sang Wan couldn’t help but feel his scalp tingle.

Those cool, thin fingers grazing the back of his neck felt like a venomous snake crawling over his skin—ready to snap his neck in the next second.

The little page boy is truly terrifying!

Sang Wan was so scared by his own imagination that he got goosebumps. Resisting the urge to flee, he let Beihai Zhao tie up his hair.

Once the golden crown of the Crown Prince was placed on his head, Sang Wan couldn’t wait to stand up and hurry outside: “Serve breakfast!”

Beihai Zhao followed a step behind, looking down at his own hands, puzzled: Is he afraid of me?

After finishing his morning meal, Sang Wan returned to his usual self, even feeling disgusted with his cowardice from half an hour ago.

The little protagonist is nothing to be afraid of!

Sang Wan took a leisurely stroll to digest his food before diving into the study.

The study was massive, spanning two floors with dozens of bookshelves arranged in an orderly fashion. Nearly a thousand books were categorized, which made Sang Wan’s heart race—he was an avid reader.

Sang Wan picked a few books at random and noticed the frayed edges—the sign of a book being read frequently. Some pages were filled with densely written notes and insights. It was clear the original Crown Prince had been a lover of books and had likely read everything here.

The little protagonist, Beihai Zhao, followed closely behind him, step for step.

System 996 scanned him several times, concluding: This is the real, authentic twelve-year-old Beihai Zhao.

So, what was that about the adult tyrant last night?

It was anxious, urging him: “Host, please hurry up and complete your mission. Teach Beihai Zhao well.”

Hurry and build up some rapport with the young Beihai Zhao, so that if the adult tyrant ever pops out again, he might show mercy in return for the kindness shown to his younger self.

Its energy was running low.

Sang Wan scanned the books. Whenever he saw a title that interested him, he had Beihai Zhao hold it, happily treasure-hunting.

In no time, Beihai Zhao was holding a dozen books, stacked so high he could barely see over them.

Hearing the system’s prodding, Sang Wan said nonchalantly: “What’s the rush?”

He didn’t know what happened last night, nor could he hear the system’s internal monologue, so he remained calm.

System 996 insisted: “Think about those 30 points of corruption.”

Sang Wan emphasized: “It’s only 9 points. The source of the first 21 points of corruption isn’t on me; that will resolve itself when he returns to the Beihai Kingdom later.”

System 996 didn’t know how to tell the host that the “Beihai Zhao” he was facing was more than just one person. It asked: “Then what is your plan?”

Sang Wan said: “First, stop rushing me.”

System 996 shut up, feeling frustrated.

Sigh, this book seems pretty interesting. Sang Wan pulled out Topography of the Land. He meant to have Beihai Zhao hold it, but turned to find him holding a stack taller than himself, wobbling as he walked. He decided to hold it himself and headed toward the desk by the window.

Beihai Zhao categorized the books he had been holding and placed them neatly on the desk. Sang Wan noticed this and was very pleased; he liked things to be tidy.

Sang Wan handed the Topography of the Land to Beihai Zhao: “Little page boy, read this to me. If you encounter a character you don’t know, ask me.”

Beihai Zhao paused at the title for a moment, opened the page, and began reading word by word.

Sang Wan reclined comfortably on the daybed by the window, closing his eyes to enjoy the protagonist’s audiobook service.

Wait.

Sang Wan snapped his eyes open. He suddenly remembered he had transmigrated from the modern world. What if Beihai Zhao asks about a character I don’t recognize?

On second thought, isn’t there a system? He relaxed and lay back down.

However, his persona as a “top student” absolutely could not fail.

Sang Wan said to the system in his heart: “Give me a complete guide to traditional archaic characters later. I need to study them too.”

System 996: “…”

As the drowsiness of spring set in, Sang Wan started to feel sleepy after a while. He shook his head—he couldn’t sleep. He decided to give himself something to do.

“Control your tempo when reading. It’s too fast, making it exhausting to listen to.”

Beihai Zhao paused and slowed down as requested.

“Now it’s too slow, I’m going to fall asleep.”

Beihai Zhao pursed his lips, raised his volume appropriately, and sped up his reading during certain dramatic passages.

“When reading, you need to master the rhythm. Put yourself in the author’s shoes; imagine the emotions behind the words, don’t just recite them dryly.”

Beihai Zhao exhaled silently and followed instructions.

“Pfft.”

Beihai Zhao cast a strange glance at Sang Wan, then lowered his head and continued reading as instructed.

“Hahaha, System, did you hear that? Even the protagonist has an ugly voice during puberty—coarse and raspy, like a duck.”

System 996: “…”

Perhaps the sunlight was too pleasant, or he had just gotten used to the “duck voice” after listening for so long. Amidst his haziness, Sang Wan couldn’t resist the call of sleep and drifted off. Before falling asleep, he made sure to order the system to keep a close eye on the protagonist.

Beihai Zhao watched the sleeping youth, his gaze flickering. Finally, he just lowered his voice.

When Sang Wan woke up, he found that Beihai Zhao had read halfway through the brick-thick Topography of the Land.

He stretched and asked the system: “How long did I sleep?”

System 996 replied: “One hour.”

I slept that long?

Sang Wan was surprised; no wonder he felt so refreshed. Back when he was a PhD student, he was lucky to get twenty minutes of shut-eye while cramming for experiments or papers before jumping back awake.

Living in ancient times really slows down the pace of life. My sleep quality is skyrocketing, this is great!

Sang Wan asked Beihai Zhao: “Let’s stop and rest for a bit. Were there any characters you didn’t recognize?”

Beihai Zhao shook his head and closed the book.

Sang Wan: “!!!!!!”

Sang Wan’s crisis alert went off instantly: “System! Give me that guide to traditional archaic characters, immediately, right now!”

System 996: “?”