The Second Prince’s Secret

A spoon filled with hot porridge was brought to Dan Fusheng’s lips.

He turned his head slightly. “I won’t eat anything you feed me.”

Si Chen looked toward Chen Gui and Jade Mastiff. They both turned their heads away, clearly having no intention of helping.

Jade Mastiff knew exactly what Dan Fusheng was up to; he wouldn’t interrupt the Demon Lord’s mischievous antics. As for Chen Gui, he knew what Dan Fusheng would do to him if he took over the task, and he had no desire to be teased and tormented.

“Have you had enough?” Si Chen couldn’t tolerate it any longer. He had just received news that the authorities had apprehended all the disciples of the Qian Yu Sect near Holy City on the grounds that they intended to disrupt the unity of the races.

His disciples were locked up in a detention center, yet they had done nothing!

It was Dan Fusheng who had struck first; it was Dan Fusheng who had “killed” their disciple first—or so it appeared.

Si Chen gripped the spoon tightly, truly wanting to smash the bowl of hot porridge into the demon’s face.

“You say I have nothing to do with your disciple, yet you refuse to let your disciple come see me,” Dan Fusheng choked out softly.

Si Chen repeated through gritted teeth, “He’s in a detention center. I can’t call him out.”

Dan Fusheng didn’t say whether he believed it or not. He simply lowered his gaze to his pale, slender hands and let out a helpless, bitter laugh.

‘What the hell is he laughing at?!’ Si Chen wondered.

“I just looked in the mirror,” Dan Fusheng raised his head, sighing softly. “With a face like mine, you’re secretly in love with me too, aren’t you?”

“Huh?” Si Chen was utterly bewildered.

Chen Gui and Jade Mastiff instinctively took a step back in unison.

“I previously thought you liked your disciple; I was wrong,” Dan Fusheng said, touching his own face. “You must like me. You’re jealous of your disciple because I’ve grown to look like this.”

Dan Fusheng was indeed handsome. Although Si Chen didn’t know if the claims about Dan Fusheng possessing an ancient demon god bloodline were true, his appearance was certainly more captivating than that of other pure-blooded demons.

“It’s only natural to like me with a face like this,” Dan Fusheng choked. “I understand you, but I will never forgive you!”

“We’re not that close! It’s just that my disciple hit you with his car!” Si Chen said, his face devoid of expression.

Dan Fusheng thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t believe you. You’re lying to me.”

Si Chen: “…”

“I won’t eat your food. Just let me starve to death,” Dan Fusheng turned his head away.

‘If only this demon truly could starve to death,’ Si Chen thought.

Dan Fusheng was in a private room; the hospital dared not place other patients with him. Si Chen looked at Chen Gui and Jade Mastiff for help again.

Chen Gui had pulled out a thick notebook—the Records of the Five Nations. Jade Mastiff also seemed curious about its contents. To accommodate the fox, Chen Gui pulled up a chair, sat down, and flipped open the cover.

Jade Mastiff sat beside Chen Gui, and upon seeing the words in the notebook, he couldn’t resist reaching out to touch the page. Chen Gui gently moved the fox’s paw away.

“True Monarch Yaoling?” Si Chen couldn’t help but call out.

“Hello,” Chen Gui nodded at him, then went back to reading.

Si Chen pointed to Dan Fusheng on the hospital bed. “He is the Demon Lord Dan Fusheng, right?”

“Yes,” Chen Gui continued to nod.

“Has he lost his memory?”

“No.” Chen Gui would not help Dan Fusheng in his deception.

Si Chen looked back at Dan Fusheng, who sat there with an innocent, “wronged” expression. Si Chen’s gaze grew sharper.

Dan Fusheng pondered for a moment, then let out a soft “Ah.” He slowly reached out, wrapped an arm around Si Chen’s shoulder, and rested his head on the man’s chest. “Is this what you wanted?”

Si Chen: “Ah?!”

Suddenly, a voice rang out from across the room. “Junior Brother! This is the main entrance of the Yu Kingdom! See?”

Si Chen initially thought Dan Fusheng was speaking, but he quickly realized the sound wasn’t coming from the person clinging to him. He turned his head.

Chen Gui held a thin jade tablet, and before him, a cloud of mist had appeared, bearing a recorded image. It was a “video” transmitted from a thousand years ago.

The owner of the recording rambled on, introducing the architecture of the Yu Kingdom’s city gate in detail. After finishing, he sighed helplessly. “Your Senior Brother here has been kicked out.”

“I clearly said I was True Monarch You Qing’s disciple, and I even showed them the token, but they still kicked me out,” the person in the recording kept sighing. “But I met a friend!”

At this point, Chen Gui shifted his gaze to the modern Si Chen.

The image flickered, and the person who left the recording finally revealed his true appearance. It was Dan Fusheng, only he looked much younger and more naive.

Beside the young Dan Fusheng stood another person—a man clumsily disguised as a woman. The man wore a clashing red and green straight-hemmed robe, his face caked with thick layers of powder. His makeup was smudged and his clothes were tattered, yet he smiled brilliantly, waving his hand. “Hello, Junior Brother!”

Even a low-level cultivator could see through such a disguise; the powder could not conceal the man’s true features. This man in the recording looked identical to the Si Chen currently in the room.

“I wasn’t mistaken,” Chen Gui said.

The Dan Fusheng in the recording continued the introduction. “This is the Second Prince of the Yu Kingdom, Si Chen.”

“A pleasure to meet you!” the man called Si Chen clasped his fists in greeting. He even tried to perform a traditional Yu Kingdom dance for Dan Fusheng’s junior brother, while the young Dan Fusheng clapped along.

Si Chen instinctively reached up to touch his face, feeling cold sweat trickle down his spine. ‘Second Prince of the Yu Kingdom? Si Chen? The same face?!’

“I later interacted with that Second Prince,” Chen Gui said, standing up. “The aura of this Si Chen is very similar to the Second Prince.”

“What do you mean?!” Si Chen demanded.

“Your surname is Si?” Chen Gui asked, not directly answering the man’s confusion.

Si Chen nodded.

“The royal surname of the Yu Kingdom is Si, but they don’t rely on bloodline for succession. That Second Prince changed his surname to Si only after confirming his position as Crown Prince.”

“You should be the reincarnation of the Second Prince, but…” Chen Gui had noticed something amiss the moment he saw Si Chen. He knew Dan Fusheng must have noticed it too.

“The Second Prince has been dead for nearly two thousand years. You shouldn’t resemble him so closely. Reincarnation takes thousands of years; the soul should have been humans, demons, beasts, or even plants by now,” Chen Gui rose, pointing at Si Chen’s chest. “Yet I feel the Second Prince’s seven corporeal souls are still present.”

After a person dies, the seven corporeal souls (po) dissipate, and the three ethereal souls (hun) separate. The Second Prince’s corporeal souls should not have remained intact until now.

“And by such a coincidence, you also inherited the surname Si and consider yourself a descendant of the Yu Kingdom’s royal family. It seems this plan was prepared much earlier than I imagined.”

Dan Fusheng was still clinging to Si Chen, blinking innocently. Chen Gui asked him, “Don’t you have anything to say?”

“So, am I the stand-in, or is he the stand-in?” Dan Fusheng asked, still fully immersed in his “wronged lover” drama.

Chen Gui fell silent, sat back down, and continued reading the travelogue.

“True Monarch Yaoling!” Si Chen yelled.

“I can’t do anything about him,” Chen Gui replied. Having reunited with Dan Fusheng, he realized he still couldn’t win against the Demon Lord’s schemes, so he wouldn’t act rashly. “You’ll have to manage on your own.”

Chen Gui activated another recorded image on the jade tablet. It showed Dan Fusheng and the old Si Chen again. Their relationship looked genuinely close; Dan Fusheng was showing various treasures in the prince’s manor to the camera.

Chen Gui watched the Second Prince in the recording spouting nonsense and suddenly said, “His personality has changed.”

That Second Prince was clearly of the same ilk as Dan Fusheng—they chatted about gossip and secrets, never anything serious. However, the silver-haired Si Chen in the hospital room was clearly a stern, serious person.

Dan Fusheng finally released Si Chen, lay back down on the bed, pulled up the covers, and turned over to sleep.

Si Chen felt bewildered, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

[Do you have the courage to kill him again?] A voice echoed in Dan Fusheng’s ear—it wasn’t Si Chen’s, but something deeper.

Dan Fusheng sighed lightly. ‘He’s gone too far.’

Si Chen’s trembling spread throughout his entire body. Noticing the abnormality, Chen Gui put away the book and stood up to check on him.

Si Chen looked at his own shaking hands and unconsciously opened his mouth. “Turn around.”

Si Chen was weeping, yet his face looked utterly confused, as if he didn’t understand why he was crying. But his tone of voice was exceptionally mournful. “Look at me.”

“Old friend.”

“Dan Fusheng!!”

“Look at me!”

Dan Fusheng turned around, staring at Si Chen with an expressionless face.

“We… made a promise,” Si Chen said. He clearly didn’t know what words would escape his mouth next; his conscious expression didn’t match his intense, inherited emotions.

“I’ll send Bai Yu a message and have them take this stitched-together monster away to be destroyed,” Dan Fusheng said, pulling out his phone. He was no longer in the mood for games.

“You’re going to kill me again?!”

“You’re already dead. I don’t know how you became… like this.” Dan Fusheng scrutinized Si Chen’s body. “You’re too abnormal. Abnormal things are best destroyed as early as possible.”

“Indeed… ha ha ha! Indeed, demons are heartless!”

Dan Fusheng raised his phone to record. “Keep going. I’ll film this as evidence to send to the authorities.”

Si Chen looked coldly at Dan Fusheng.

Dan Fusheng maintained a sharp smile. “Don’t be like that. Be a little more lively—I’m recording.”

Jade Mastiff’s ears suddenly emerged from his head, and his fur bristled. He had been with Dan Fusheng for a long time and could tell the Demon Lord was genuinely angry.

“Smile for the camera,” Dan Fusheng’s smile widened. “Ah… it’s a pity I’m a law-abiding citizen now.”

“Otherwise, I would personally make your soul scatter, utterly and completely.” Dan Fusheng hadn’t felt anger in such a long time; it was quite novel. “Come on~ say ‘cheese’~”