Survival

‘The descendant of the Heavenly King is under house arrest?’

Xie Shenhong was somewhat surprised.

The former Saintess Hai Zhu had always acted with decisive ruthlessness, nearly eradicating any nobles in the Divine United Empire who dared to resist her.

It was truly difficult to imagine her allowing the remnants of the Sakura Kingdom’s royal family to live.

Therefore, this must have been Nangong Yan’s or Duanmu Yun’s doing.

However, this seemed an entirely unnecessary act.

The Sakura Kingdom had long since fallen, and after five years, most of its populace no longer yearned for that ignorant and backward old nation.

The descendant of the Heavenly King, one could argue, no longer held any strategic value.

“Precisely,” Dongfang Qinglong confirmed.

“The rebels seek to locate the Heavenly King’s descendant, intending to rally under their banner.

While this itself is not particularly alarming, the empire clandestinely supporting them has significantly escalated its aid over the past two days.”

‘So that’s it.’

Xie Shenhong understood.

Because he had displayed the strength of a Martial Marquis while transformed into the Hai Zhu puppet, the empire no longer dared to act with the same impunity as in his previous life.

Instead, they were now diverting more resources to support the remnants of the Sakura Kingdom.

Unlike the imperials, the Kingdom imposed no restrictions on the former Sakura Kingdom’s populace; even the Vermillion Bird Array could not distinguish the rebels hidden among them.

“Is Crimson Hawk being recalled to lure the snake out of its hole?”

“Yes, and beyond that, all Seven Eastern Expedition Heroes will be returning as well.”

“This… are you not worried something might go wrong?”

The Seven Eastern Expedition Heroes were the seven most outstanding young talents on the Kingdom’s side during the One-Year War, widely regarded as the future pillars of the Kingdom.

Crimson Hawk was, without question, the leader of the Seven, but the others were also exceptionally brilliant youths.

Five out of the seven had already attained the Martial Marquis rank, holding crucial positions throughout the Kingdom.

Deploying such an all-star lineup to deal with a handful of stateless individuals, especially within the capital… it seemed excessive no matter how one considered it.

“For the long-term peace and stability of the Kingdom, this is absolutely necessary,” Dongfang Qinglong stated with solemnity.

‘No, there must be another objective…’

Xie Shenhong pondered this, yet chose not to voice his thoughts.

Though Dongfang Qinglong doted on him, he was not the type to confide everything, much like Duanmu Yun.

Furthermore, for reasons similar to those concerning Lyte, he never pressed family members on matters they preferred not to elaborate upon.

Nevertheless, he would still strive to offer assistance and counsel.

“Since the goal is to lure the snake out of its hole, why not use the Heavenly King’s descendant as bait?”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

Dongfang Qinglong offered a wry smile.

“Is it because affections have grown over time?”

Xie Shenhong couldn’t help but sigh.

Nangong Yan and Duanmu Yun cherished sentiment and righteousness, which were excellent qualities in family members.

However, as rulers, they seemed a touch too compassionate, lacking the necessary ruthlessness.

If his suspicions were correct, they likely hadn’t even imposed house arrest, simply allowing the Heavenly King’s descendant to live an ordinary life within the palace.

There was truly no accounting for them.

All he could do was exert his utmost effort to help them manage this affair properly.

This, he surmised, was also why Duanmu Yun had specifically instructed Dongfang Qinglong to keep him in the dark.

“Rest assured, I have no intention of trying to dissuade you.”

Perceiving his worries, Dongfang Qinglong smiled and handed him a stack of documents.

“These are the files for the Seven Eastern Expedition Heroes, excluding Crimson Hawk.

Lyte will soon become one of the capital’s lead officials, so I’d like you to support him diligently as his deputy.”

“I understand. I’ll be careful.”

Despite his words, Xie Shenhong was actually quite surprised.

In his memory, Dongfang Qinglong had been nothing short of excessively protective of him.

‘Is it because I can transform into Hai Zhu now?’

While he wasn’t particularly disappointed—Xie Shenhong never liked relying on others—the real issue was this:

“Keep up the good work,” Dongfang Qinglong said, glancing at his phone.

“Ah, it’s already this late. My apologies.”

“It’s fine, there’s still time.”

Dongfang Qinglong was referring to the Saintess’s procession, scheduled to take place an hour later.

This would be his first public appearance since transforming into the Hai Zhu puppet.

He felt a touch of nervousness, but it wasn’t enough to make Xie Shenhong back down.

Furthermore, as the duration of his transformation into the Hai Zhu puppet increased, so too would his daytime activity.

After all, he couldn’t possibly waste such precious transformation time on sleep, nor could he let it impact his evenings at home, causing Shen’ai worry.

However, that wasn’t the main point.

Just moments ago, he had noticed something.

Dongfang Qinglong harbored a strong anticipation for his transformation into Hai Zhu.

An extraordinary anticipation.

Then there was another matter he had observed during their constant companionship after escaping the capital in his previous life.

“Qinglong-ge, why do you always wear this white robe without ever changing it?”

“I change it often; it’s just that the styles are all identical.”

Although Dongfang Qinglong tried his best to conceal it, the flicker of panic in his eyes did not escape Xie Shenhong’s notice.

No.

Rather, he had already known the true answer in his previous life.

“This was given to me by someone else; it’s something incredibly important… she’s no longer with us, you see.”

At the time, Xie Shenhong had assumed Dongfang Qinglong was referring to a lover who had perished in the war of national subjugation.

Now, however, it seemed highly probable that he was speaking of the original Hai Zhu.

Perhaps realizing Xie Shenhong had seen through his lie, or perhaps out of guilt, Dongfang Qinglong immediately changed his explanation:

“My apologies, I misled you.

Actually, this white robe has attached magic that provides automatic cleaning and keeps me warm in winter and cool in summer.

For convenience, I’ve simply kept it on as an outer garment.”

“I see.”

Xie Shenhong was aware of the magic imbued in the white robe.

However, that wasn’t the answer he had hoped to hear.

Of course, he fully understood the reasons behind the differences between his past and current lives.

He also clearly remembered stating that he didn’t mind his family members keeping secrets.

But… could they please stop looking at him as if he were a stranger?

“Shenhong, what’s wrong?”

‘Ah, this isn’t good.’

‘I’ve made Qinglong-ge worried.’

‘Seriously, what am I doing?’

‘How can I be so weak?’

“I’m fine, just thinking about the procession.”

“Shenhong, relax.

There’s no need to be nervous.

All you have to do is smile and wave to the people.

If it’s too much, you can simply pretend they’re not even there…”

Dongfang Qinglong’s face was etched with worry.

It was as if he feared Xie Shenhong might suddenly declare he wouldn’t go through with it.

‘He’s right.’

His very purpose was to transform into the Saintess Hai Zhu, the one everyone watched and anticipated.

“Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

With that, Xie Shenhong managed a smile.

****

[Shenhong, are you still with President Dongfang?

Lady Hai Zhu’s procession is happening soon; would you like to come watch together?]

Immediately after leaving the lounge, Xie Shenhong received a message from Lyte.

[I won’t be going.

I’ll come train later instead.]

Having calmly sent his reply, Xie Shenhong let out a sigh of relief.

Just moments ago, he had nearly unleashed his frustration upon Lyte, who had unwittingly walked into his crosshairs.

That would have been truly terrible.

Fortunately, he was about to transform.

He would become that powerful, perfect being who would never feel disheartened by such trivial matters.

Xie Shenhong quietly made his way to an deserted corner, then vanished from the school.

“Huh?”

Coming to his senses, he found himself in the Crimson Knights’ Commander’s office.

Yes, this was indeed his destination… but why was he still in Xie Shenhong’s form?

No, why had he changed back?

Had the pocket watch’s transformation ability failed?

Wait, he had no memory of coming here.

So, had his Hai Zhu self caused trouble again?

‘Can I… not even control the puppet properly?’

Xie Shenhong’s despondency was not without cause.

Logically, he should still be himself after transforming into the puppet.

However, in reality, his personality underwent a drastic change after becoming the puppet.

That alone was acceptable.

Ever since he had witnessed the original Hai Zhu’s memories last week, his other self had begun using memory segmentation techniques to conceal information.

As a result, his mind now blacked out before and after transformations, as if he had developed a dissociative identity disorder.

The cause was most likely another negative effect of the golden pocket watch.

Yet, this could not be an excuse for his failures.

What’s more, if this continued, he might even be completely supplanted by the will of his other self.

Just as he was thinking this, the door suddenly opened.

Before Xie Shenhong could hide, he heard Duanmu Yun’s concerned voice:

“Shenhong, what’s wrong?”