Chapter 222 - 221: The Tragic Third Prince

Chapter 222: Chapter 221: The Tragic Third Prince

The news reached Wude Palace while the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, was having a meal.

When a Palace Attendant reported the news, trembling with fear, the jade chopsticks in his hand snapped in two with a CRACK.

"Who... who said that?"

Xia Wuchen roared, his face turning the color of pig’s liver.

The Palace Attendant was so frightened he collapsed to the floor. "Out... outside, everyone is talking about it. The news seems to have spread in an instant. Everyone inside and outside the Palace knows."

Xia Wuchen violently flipped the dining table, sending cups and plates shattering across the floor.

He rushed out of the hall. In the courtyard, he saw the Palace Maids and eunuchs all had their heads bowed, but he could see the poorly concealed strangeness in their eyes.

The Guards, who were usually so deferential to him, now had shifty eyes and didn’t dare meet his gaze. Their faces also wore odd expressions.

"What are you looking at? Get lost!" he roared hysterically.

But rumors were like a cancer clinging to the bone; they couldn’t be dispersed by mere shouting. Besides, this wasn’t a rumor. It was the truth.

In just half a day, even the Courtiers had begun to discuss it in private.

Some old Courtiers who had been firm supporters of the Third Prince even held secret meetings that very night to discuss whether they should switch their allegiance. After all, a Prince who couldn’t produce heirs had absolutely no chance of inheriting the throne.

Even the Third Prince Xia Wuchen’s mother, Consort Xian, hurried to Wude Palace. This middle-aged beauty, usually so graceful and noble, was now pale-faced.

As soon as she stepped out of her sedan chair, she grabbed Xia Wuchen’s arm and pulled him into a secret chamber. "My son, tell your mother, are the rumors outside true?"

"Mother, don’t listen to these rumors. Someone is deliberately trying to frame me." Xia Wuchen feigned composure, still trying to deny it.

But Consort Xian was no fool. She knew Xia Wuchen well and could already tell something from the look on his face.

She suddenly reached out and pressed her hand on Xia Wuchen’s lower abdomen. Qi and Blood Power surged forth. Xia Wuchen tried to pull away, but it was too late. Consort Xian’s Qi Blood had already probed his lower abdomen. The feeling of emptiness and weakness she found there made her expression change drastically.

"It... it’s all true!" She staggered backward, her eyes filled with despair.

Knowing he could no longer hide it, Xia Wuchen fell to his knees with a THUD. "Mother, save me! I... I was ambushed by that Thief Demon! I’ve spent all this time searching for famous doctors, but none of them can cure me."

The mother and son clung to each other, weeping bitterly, and only stopped after a long time.

Consort Xian wiped away her tears, a vicious glint in her eyes. "We absolutely cannot let that Thief Demon off easily. We must make him pay the price. Also, we must flatly deny this matter. When I return, I will have people secretly search for famous doctors and try to obtain some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. No matter what, I will have you cured."

The mother and son began to plot in secret. Consort Xian would use her influence, and Xia Wuchen, on his side, would continue to search for a treasure capable of repairing his Yang Meridian as quickly as possible.

After comforting Xia Wuchen for a while, Consort Xian pretended everything was normal and left Wude Palace. She even announced publicly that she had seen her son Xia Wuchen and that there was nothing seriously wrong—just some minor damage to his Yang Meridian that would be healed in a few months.

They claimed he hadn’t spoken up before because he found it embarrassing. With Consort Xian personally testifying, the unsubstantiated rumors immediately faltered.

With the mother and son working together to suppress them, the rumors quickly faded for the most part.

But how could Xia Wuyang let them get away with it so easily? Besides, how could this little punishment be enough?

「That night at midnight」, while the Third Prince Xia Wuchen was cultivating in his Practice Room, an invisible wave of Spirit power silently arrived. From behind layers of palace walls, Xia Wuyang easily activated his Soul Enchantment Technique.

"AH..."

In the Practice Room, Xia Wuchen, who was at a critical moment in his cultivation, was seized by violent tremors. The Qi Blood circulating within him suddenly went out of control.

The humiliating events of the day flashed through his mind again and again, making it impossible for him to control his thoughts.

The medicinal power of the Elixir he had taken collided with his chaotic Qi Blood, rampaging through his meridians. He tried to forcibly suppress it, but it was useless.

A tearing pain spread through his meridians, and a look of despair appeared on his face.

"PFFFT..."

He violently spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the floor of the Practice Room red. Xia Wuchen collapsed, feeling the Qi Blood throughout his body dissipate like a bursting dam as his meridians ruptured inch by inch.

What was even more terrifying was that not only was his Yang Meridian completely destroyed, but even his Root of Right and Wrong had shattered. There was basically no hope of repair.

The Third Prince Xia Wuchen struggled to get up but found he couldn’t even move a finger. Only his eyes could still move. He stared at the Luminous Pearl on the ceiling, his eyes filled with despair and confusion.

’I was just cultivating normally. How could the day’s events drive me to the point of Qigong Deviation? It’s not like I was trying to break through to a new realm.’

’Is my luck just that bad? Why else would one disaster after another befall me recently?’

’As for whether someone sabotaged me... I’m in this secret chamber, surrounded by barriers, and no one attacked me. It couldn’t have been an ambush.’

Seeing the Third Prince Xia Wuchen’s miserable state, Xia Wuyang finally nodded in satisfaction. He quietly left and returned to his own Practice Room in Wenhua Hall to continue his arduous cultivation.

’You refused the path to heaven and chose to break down the gates of Hell. Since Xia Wuchen is so eager to die, I’ll grant his wish early and let him endure a few more trials.’

After suffering such consecutive blows, he didn’t believe the Third Prince Xia Wuchen would still be fixated on Yun Liyue. Besides, Xia Wuchen was a cripple now. Even if he obtained the Sword Control Skill, he couldn’t cultivate it. Why would he still undertake such a risky venture?

Moreover, through the Soul Enchantment Technique, Xia Wuyang had already glimpsed his shallow thoughts. The Third Prince Xia Wuchen had indeed given up the idea of capturing Yun Liyue.

And even now, Xia Wuchen had no idea that the string of misfortunes he had suffered was all because he had done something he shouldn’t have.

Although the decision to capture Yun Liyue had just been made, and he hadn’t even found the right people for the job, the Third Prince Xia Wuchen never imagined that anyone would find out.

After all, only he and one trusted confidant knew about it. And that confidant hadn’t even acted yet before disaster struck him.

If the news had already gotten out, he might have suspected Yun Liyue was involved. But the news hadn’t spread; only two people knew. How could Yun Liyue possibly know? As for the Celestial Human suspected to be her backer, Elder Qing Yin, he couldn’t possibly be *that* powerful.

Thus, the Third Prince Xia Wuchen was crippled without ever knowing why. He didn’t even know he had been sabotaged, nor did he have any clue who was behind the rumors that he was a eunuch.

And so, in confusion and despair, he became a complete cripple, finally experiencing the pain Xia Wuyang had suffered back then.

No, Xia Wuyang’s pain back then probably didn’t compare to his. After all, at that time, Xia Wuyang was still lingering in the Middle Three Grades.

But the Third Prince Xia Wuchen had already cultivated to the Upper Three Grades, investing far more time and effort. On top of that, he had also been turned into a eunuch. The combination of blows was even more tragic than what Xia Wuyang had faced.

When the Third Prince Xia Wuchen had mocked Xia Wuyang all those years, he surely never imagined that one day he himself would end up in such a miserable state.