Chapter 12
Right now, His Highness had his eyes closed, and the carriage was moving so smoothly. If he rested for a little while, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?
As he thought this, Shen Yin felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
Just after Shen Yin lowered his head and slowly closed his eyes, Chu Moli, who had been sitting upright with his eyes shut, suddenly opened them.
Lowering his gaze, Chu Moli looked at the shadow guard kneeling on the floor with his head drooping. In the end, he kindly chose not to wake him.
He was a benevolent master. He wouldn’t be so inhumane.
Looking at Shen Yin, Chu Moli recalled the scene from earlierāthe moment Shen Yin had taken a blade to the abdomen and coughed up blood.
The movements had been too smooth. Too practiced.
It made it seem as though he had fooled plenty of people with that trick before.
It was difficult not to question the true strength of the shadow guard before him.
His dark eyes remained calm as he studied Shen Yin. Without his folding fan in hand, Chu Moli unconsciously tapped his right index finger against his knee.
He was wondering whether he should personally test Shadow One’s abilities.
“Ugh…”
Just as he was considering when to do it, he heard a muffled groan.
Looking down, he saw the previously sleeping Shen Yin now supporting himself with one arm, kneeling and bent over on the floor of the carriage. His entire body trembled violently.
Large drops of sweat splattered onto the wooden floorboards.
One hand clutched his chest, his face deathly pale.
“Urgh…”
Everything hurt.
Especially his heart.
Only then did Shen Yin remember that it seemed to have been three months since he had last taken the medicine.
But according to the schedule, there should still be a few days left before the three-month deadline.
Why was it flaring up now?
Raising his head, his face pale as paper and veins bulging across his forehead, he said,
“Master… the medicine.”
Chu Moli frowned.
He could already tell that Shen Yin’s poison was acting up.
Every shadow guard entering the Shadow Guard Camp was forced to consume a specially prepared poison. Every three months, Chu Moli would distribute the antidote personally.
However, there were still five days left before the next scheduled dose.
Which meant he wasn’t carrying any antidote with him.
Shen Yin’s expression twisted in agony, his eyes beginning to lose focus.
“Please… grant me the medicine, Master.”
“The three-month period has not yet arrived. I do not have the antidote with me.”
Hearing this, despair flooded Shen Yin’s face.
He slammed his forehead heavily against the carriage floor.
The poison was called Wang Yue.
When it activated, it felt like ten thousand arrows piercing the heart while the skull itself split apart with pain.
Yet it kept the victim fully conscious.
Fainting was impossible.
With the agony in his head becoming unbearable, Shen Yin could only repeatedly smash his forehead against the floorboards in an attempt to distract himself.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The sounds echoed clearly within the carriage.
Merely hearing them was enough to make one’s heart sink.
Chapter 10: The Crown Prince’s Beloved
At this moment, without the temporary antidote that could ease his suffering, Shen Yin could only resort to self-harm to make the pain more bearable.
He raised his head once more and hurled it downward with ruthless force.
Instead of striking the floor, however, he hit a warm hand.
Enduring the pain, Shen Yin glanced up at the Crown Prince seated above him. Then he quickly lowered his head and bowed.
“This subordinate knows his mistake. Please forgive me, Master.”
The moment he finished speaking, he raised his head again and smashed downward.
Once more, he collided with that same warm hand.
This time, however, as Shen Yin shifted slightly, preparing to apologize again, a sharp pain struck the back of his neck.
Looking up, he met Chu Moli’s dark eyes.
His voice trembled from the pain.
“Master?”
A trace of surprise flashed through Chu Moli’s eyes.
Then he raised his hand and delivered another heavy chop to the back of Shen Yin’s neck.
This time Shen Yin only managed to lift his eyelids slightly before darkness overtook him.
He lost consciousness.
Looking at Shen Yin curled into a ball at his feet, his body still twisted from pain, Chu Moli’s eyes flickered.
It seemed there was no need to find an opportunity to test Shadow One’s strength after all.
As the carriage continued forward, the curtains occasionally fluttered in the wind.
Through the gaps, Chu Moli could see that they had already entered the main street outside the Crown Prince’s residence.
A short while later, the carriage finally stopped.
The coachman’s voice came from outside.
“Your Highness, we’ve arrived at the Crown Prince’s Manor.”
Chu Moli stood and stepped out of the carriage.
“Good. Bring the one inside out and take him to the Shadow Guard Camp.”
The coachman bowed respectfully.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Lifting the curtain, he first grabbed Shen Yin’s legs and dragged him backward a short distance.
Then he seized Shen Yin by the belt.
With a slight exertion of strength, Shen Yin was hoisted effortlessly onto the coachman’s shoulder.
When Shen Yin opened his eyes again, he vaguely saw someone sitting beside his bed.
Judging from the silhouette, the figure looked familiar.
“Chief Shadow Guard?”
The moment the words left his mouth, the figure turned around.
The response struck like a thunderbolt, nearly causing Shen Yin to leap off the bed.
“It is I.”
Shen Yin’s eyes flew open.
Before he even saw the person’s face clearly, the familiar voice had already identified him.
Immediately, Shen Yin knelt upright on the bed, raised his hands, lowered his head, and respectfully saluted.
“This subordinate, Shen Yin, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Why are you so agitated?”
As he spoke, Chu Moli extended a pill toward him.
“The antidote.”
Shen Yin hurriedly accepted it with both hands.
“Yes. Thank you, Your Highness.”
Without delay, he stuffed the pill into his mouth.
Only after swallowing the antidote did he finally feel much better.
Well…
Except for the stab wound in his abdomen.
Looking down at the injury, Shen Yin felt puzzled.
He clearly remembered avoiding his vital organs when he had been stabbed.
The wound shouldn’t have been that serious.
So why did it feel as though someone had stepped on it several times while he was unconscious?
Thinking this, Shen Yin secretly glanced at the Crown Prince, who had already risen from beside the bed.
He remembered that it was the Crown Prince who had knocked him unconscious.
Could it be…
Had His Highness taken advantage of him while he was out?
The thought had barely formed when Shen Yin immediately shook his head and dismissed it.
A dignified Crown Prince…
Surely he wouldn’t do something like that.
