Hot-blooded and Reckless

The Eternal Physique. It was renowned as one of the three most famous physiques in this world. As its name suggested, the Eternal Physique’s most striking features were its extended lifespan and perpetual youth. Beyond that, it granted innate knowledge and controllable physical development. The former meant that from birth, individuals with the Eternal Physique possessed common sense and essential knowledge that ordinary people would spend years acquiring. The latter signified their ability to freely alter their apparent age, even possessing formidable combat capabilities from the moment they were born. Considering these two aspects, it was clear that an individual with the Eternal Physique could live independently like an adult from birth. Given that Saintess Hai Zhu had maintained her youthful appearance for a decade, rumors circulated that she possessed the ‘Eternal Physique.’ Some even boldly speculated that Hai Zhu was merely ten years old. Regrettably, the truth was that Hai Zhu was not a person at all, but a doll. This was precisely why she had retained the appearance of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old for ten years. Naturally, Xie Shenhong was not so foolish as to miss Lyte’s ulterior motive, which was to gauge whether Xie Shenhong knew the truth about Hai Zhu. He immediately scoffed, saying:

“Even if that were true, how could you guarantee the facts wouldn’t be the opposite of what you imagine? What if Lady Hai Zhu is actually a sixty or seventy-year-old grandmother, with grandchildren nearly your age?”

“That’s impossible, isn’t it?” Lyte, who had clearly never considered such a notion, looked utterly dumbfounded.

“How could it be impossible? You wouldn’t believe how many forty or fifty-year-old aunties are pretending to be young among the recently popular virtual streamers…” Xie Shenhong testified, speaking from his experience as the chief technical officer and owner of a streaming platform.

“Shenhong, do you have someone you like? Is it a man or a woman?” Lyte suddenly asked.

At this question, Xie Shenhong’s heart began to pound wildly.

‘Had his ability to transform into Hai Zhu been exposed?’

‘Or was this still merely a test?’

‘Surely Lyte wasn’t asking if he had feelings for him?’

‘No, that was actually possible.’

‘From a certain perspective, he was indeed hindering Lyte’s affections for someone else.’

After much deliberation, Xie Shenhong gravely stated, “Lyte, my orientation is perfectly normal.”

“So, you like girls, then?”

“And so?”

“Well, you’ll need to be careful when chatting with girls in the future; what you just said could really upset them.”

Xie Shenhong paused for a moment, then realized that Lyte was actually worried he wouldn’t find a girlfriend!

‘Damn it, he had been fighting a mental battle with thin air for so long!’

“I would never say such things when I’m interacting with girls.”

Constantly reminding himself to be friendly towards Lyte, Xie Shenhong struggled to utter words that sounded relatively calm.

“That’s good then.” Lyte adopted a relieved expression, much like an old father.

Lyte might have been reassured, but Xie Shenhong, recalling their earlier conversation, asked with a touch of apprehension:

“Speaking of which… you don’t actually harbor any strange intentions towards Lady Hai Zhu, do you? Like, planning to win her over?”

“Of course not! As a knight, how could I possibly disturb Lady Hai Zhu over such uncertain feelings?”

Lyte had cleverly expressed his loyalty.

Xie Shenhong couldn’t help but sigh with relief inwardly.

After he transformed into a doll, his personality had become somewhat abnormal.

If Lyte had truly confessed to him in that state, all to gather intelligence for the kingdom… he dared not imagine what might have transpired.

“That’s good then, let’s head back to the classroom.”

To prevent Lyte from reconsidering, Xie Shenhong decided to redirect his attention back to their studies.

“Mm.”

However, Xie Shenhong either failed to notice, or deliberately overlooked, the caveat in Lyte’s statement: ‘provided the nature of the feelings is uncertain’… for once they were certain, it would be an entirely different matter.

****

In the blink of an eye, it was already past lunch break.

Xie Shenhong was about to follow Lyte out for patrol duty, just as they had done yesterday, when unexpectedly—

“Another day, perhaps. I have some matters to attend to today, so you should stay at school and train diligently. Don’t go wandering off.”

With Lyte’s words betraying such obvious subterfuge, Xie Shenhong naturally had no intention of meekly complying.

As soon as Lyte left the school, Xie Shenhong also slipped out after him.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Lyte unleashed a Gold-tier acceleration spell, vanishing from sight in an instant.

Coupling this with the events of yesterday, Xie Shenhong deduced that Lyte was heading for a secret rendezvous with other imperial spies.

He immediately sought out an unpopulated restroom and transformed into Xie Hai Zhu.

Using the three-dimensional real-time map in her mind, she quickly pinpointed Lyte’s location.

‘What is this guy up to?’

Teleporting to a nearby spot and reverting to Xie Shenhong, he gazed at Lyte, who was not far away, with a puzzled expression.

The imagined scenario of Lyte hiding in a dark room, whispering conspiratorially with someone, did not materialize.

Instead, Lyte was openly walking down the main street, brazenly emitting a strong magical aura.

‘Could it be… this guy is using himself as bait?’

Seeing how passersby, upon sensing the aura, instinctively steered clear, this was the only explanation Xie Shenhong could conceive.

Yet, it was also the most illogical one.

Lyte, who should have been aligning with imperial spies, was instead provoking them?

Could it even be that Lyte’s repeated warnings for him not to follow were actually to prevent him from getting caught in the crossfire?

‘How could that be!’

Xie Shenhong refused to believe it.

He was far more inclined to believe this was simply another one of Lyte’s theatrical displays.

He was determined to expose Lyte.

After waiting for a moment, until enough time had passed that his sudden appearance wouldn’t be attributed to teleportation, Xie Shenhong walked towards Lyte.

“Shenhong, what are you doing here?” Lyte’s expression instantly shifted, and his magical aura receded. “Didn’t I tell you I had something to do?”

‘He’s quite a good actor.’

Xie Shenhong sneered inwardly, yet on the surface, he displayed a look of concern.

“It’s precisely because I knew you had important matters that I came.”

“It’s nothing significant; you should hurry back to your training.”

“Is that so… Am I truly so unworthy of your trust?” Xie Shenhong lowered his head, feigning dejection.

“I didn’t say that!” Lyte exclaimed, flustered.

Xie Shenhong wasn’t sure if Lyte was playing along or genuinely naive, but with someone cooperating, he decided to continue the act.

“Then why would you exclude me when you have something important to do?” Xie Shenhong asked, on the verge of tears.

Lyte couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“I understand. I’ll tell you why.”

Xie Shenhong silently walked to his side, awaiting Lyte’s performance.

In his estimation, the best excuse Lyte could possibly concoct would be that he had received a dangerous mission, perhaps investigating the Society of Patriotic Warriors or something similar…

“Actually… I am an imperial.”

‘…’

Xie Shenhong froze for a considerable moment before he could process the statement.

‘Huh?’

‘What are you talking about, you idiot?’

‘Why would you suddenly expose your own secret?’

“Although I no longer wish to have any ties with the Empire, they aren’t willing to let me go. Last night, they even sent an assassin to attack me. I fear they might have accomplices and could target those close to me, so I had no choice but to come out into the open and lure them in…”

Xie Shenhong suddenly recalled a saying: a clever lie is seventy percent truth and thirty percent fabrication.

Lyte was clearly employing this tactic.

His identity as the heinous imperial spy, the mastermind behind the kingdom’s destruction, was undeniable.

However, there was no rule stating that the Empire’s internal structure was a monolithic entity.

At least two factions within the Empire would desire Lyte to die in a foreign land or directly at the hands of the kingdom.

After all, Lyte was merely the Third Prince.

Towards these hostile imperial factions, Lyte would naturally show no mercy, and he wouldn’t even hesitate to exploit their deaths to gain the kingdom’s trust.

Having grasped the intricate web of interests, Xie Shenhong quickly feigned concern, asking:

“This is far too dangerous; couldn’t you report it to Sister Yun or Lady Hai Zhu for them to handle?”

Yet, Xie Shenhong didn’t believe Lyte would actually do that, as Duanmu Yun would surely order them to capture the culprits alive.

With live captives, Lyte’s identity as a spy could no longer be concealed.

Even if Lyte managed to fabricate a plausible excuse, he would undoubtedly face suspicion, so to eliminate all traces, he would have no choice but to…

“I’ve already reported it to Commander Duanmu, and I’m fully in charge of this matter.”

‘Argh, Sister Yun, what have you done!’

Xie Shenhong couldn’t help but roar inwardly.