Chapter 268 - 266. Going To The Cursed Land I

Third-person POV

'Safe!' Bing Wen gave a hand signal to the twins that hid behind the trees beside his.

Then three little shadows passed the intense watch of the guards like nothing. Just by this, it could be seen how well trained the three children were. A guard felt a vague presence not far from his current position. He whipped his head to look his behind but what he saw was only the tree leaves and bushes that swayed lightly because of the breeze.

Nevertheless, he didn't just shrug it off like nothing. He called one of his fellow guards to watch over his back while he cautiously approaching the bushes. His hand was exuding with Qi and a sword soundlessly summoned into his hand in a blink of an eye.

He stopped right behind the bushes that the presence was last seen and slowly raised his sword above his head. Then, he twisted his ankle and spun around to face the behind of the bushes. Yet, only a dark-furred hare greeted him with grasses in its tiny mouth. The guard exhaled and retracted his sword. Nonetheless, he scanned his surroundings once again before he walked away with a grim expression on his face.

Three pairs of eyes were watching closely every movement that the guard made, they didn't dare to make even the slightest movement or else their location would be exposed in an instant. Even if the guard that approached them just didn't have a remarkable status or rank but his power shouldn't look down upon.

After they ensured that the guard was no longer within a 10-meter radius, they took off deeper into the dark forest without thinking any further about the threats that coming towards them.

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"Shang Tang, how is it going?" Meiyun called Di Shang and asked worriedly.

Di Shang gave Meiyun a reassuring smile and took her slender hands with his rough hands, "Although we haven't found the people that are tailing us along the way, I had made sure to keep both the prince and the princess and our son safe and sound."

"That is good to hear, I really hope nothing happens on this trip." Meiyun uttered while stroking her bulging abdomen.

Di Shang understood her worries and hoped for the same, "I will protect all of you so don't worry."

"En, then I will go check them in their tent. I am afraid those stubborn kids will do something weird." Meiyun patted Di Shang's hands and headed towards the tent where the three kids supposed to stay at.

At first, Meiyun didn't feel any suspicion towards what the three kids would do but after standing a foot away from the tent, she realized how ignorant she was. There was little rustling and moving sounds coming out from the tent which indicate there was someone in the tent.

Yet, the sound was repetitive and the presence of the three kids was extremely weak compared to their usual overflowing Qi. Meiyun roughly slid the curtain to the side and almost dropped to the ground when she only saw a simple mechanism making the stepping and rustling sound.

Seeing Meiyun suddenly went weak on her legs, the guards sprinted to her side and witnessed what Meiyun was seeing. Meiyun swiftly regained her composure and shouted.

"Deploy all soldiers! Find the His Highness Prince Zhang and Her Highness Princess Rong at all cost! Kill any suspicious person that you met! Go!" Meiyun commanded the soldiers with her roaring voice.

Di Shang appeared beside her a few seconds later after he heard Meiyun's roar, "Are the kids gone?"

"Unfortunately yes, we have to find them right now!" Meiyun gripped on Di Shang's sleeve.

Di Shang firmly nodded his head and whistled to call his magical beast. And in a blink of an eye, an enormous sized horse appeared beside him and without wasting any time he placed Meiyun on the horse in one swoop.

With that, they took off to look for Zhang Wei, Rong Ai, and Bing Wen.

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"Hey, do you think this is the right way?" Rong Ai furrowed her brow as she looked around just to find trees surrounding them.

Not even a single sound of animal or water flowing to be heard. It was as if the forest was dead. Zhang Wei took his little sister's hand and Bing Wen's hand and pulled them closer to him.

"I am not sure but according to the map that I saw in Imperial Father's study room, this is the fastest route to reach the Cursed Land." Zhang Wei clenched his jaw and his grip on their hands tightened.

"You sneaked into Imperial Father's study room?! What if you get punished?" Rong Ai asked worriedly.

"I am not caught furthermore, Imperial Father doesn't have the heart to punish us too hard." Zhang Wei replied with a nonchalant tone.

"Well, what you said is true but Auntie Meiyun and Auntie Huayun are merciless to us." Rong Ai reminded Zhang Wei, however, her voice didn't contain an ounce of worry for Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei didn't reply to her and kept walking while mulling over how much energy-draining training Meiyun would add on his daily routine. After walking for a quite while, Rong Ai's brows furrowed even further when she felt something eerie about the forest.

"Hey, I think we should go back." Rong Ai held her brother's hand tighter and tugged his hand to stop him from advancing even further into the dark forest.

"Don't be scared, I will protect you two." Zhang Wei said as he also noticed Bing Wen's hand slightly trembling.

"Do you really know the way? Do you steal Imperial Father's map?" Rong Ai inquired.

Zhang Wei was silent for a moment before he parted his thin lips, "I memorize it."

"What?" Rong Ai couldn't believe what Zhang Wei said.

"I said that I only memorize the map then I drew it on a paper based on my memory. Who would dare to steal something from that monster?" Zhang Wei mumbled the last few words as he was afraid that someone would hear him.

The twins' ability to memorize anything in a matter of second was well-known in the Royal Palace. However, in this kind of situation, even Rong Ai who knew Zhang Wei like her own self couldn't trust his incredible memory.

"What if you memorize it wrongly?" Rong Ai said with a visible suspicion in her soft voice.

Zhang Wei's body twitched and Rong Ai could feel the palm of Zhang Wei started to get sweaty. By Zhang Wei subtle yet obvious reaction, Rong Ai knew the exact answer without needing Zhang Wei to answer her question. Whenever Zhang Wei knew that he was wrong, he would avoid the question by pretending to be deaf.

Rong Ai could only sigh and glanced at the expressionless Bing Wen, "Ah Wen…"

Bing Wen turned his eyes to Rong Ai as his name was called, "Yes, Your Highness Princess Rong?"

"Are you scared?" Rong Ai asked concernedly.

Bing Wen bit his pale lips and shook his head. He wouldn't back down even if his masters told him to because he was going to be their bodyguard after he passed his examination. Rong Ai could only exhale inside her heart, although seeing the little Bing Wen trying to act tough was cute, but she also pitied him for having an exact mindset as his mother, Meiyun.

'There is a saying that says, "Loyalty kills"' Rong Ai mumbled in her heart.

(A/N: I made that up)

While Rong Ai was in a daze, Zhang Wei's sudden stop surprised her. Bing Wen and her halted on their track as they looked at Zhang Wei with weird eyes.

"Ah Wei?" Rong Ai called his name suspiciously.

"Shhh…" Zhang Wei shushed Rong Ai and slowly bent his knees to crouch down onto the ground.

Bing Wen and Rong Ai followed along by crouching down and turned around with their back facing each other so that they could protect each other. Then the heard a faint rustling sounds coming towards them.

"Be ready." Zhang Wei muttered under his breath as he clenched his fist to summon his weapon as well as Bing Wen.

Rong Ai shut her eyes and activated her inner sight to examine their surroundings. She gave Bing Wen and Zhang Wei hand signals without taking her eyes off the suspicious people that were currently hiding behind trees.

Zhang Wei and Bing Wen watched Rong Ai's hand signals closely as it was telling the number and the location of the suspicious group of people.

The forest was dead silence when none of them seems to make any move. The group of people that followed the three kids looked at each other in confusion. They clearly saw the tracks that the kids left unknowingly and the tracks ended right where they were hiding right now.

They frowned deeply as they thought that it was a huge mistake to underestimate the kids even though they look harmless and innocent on the outside. At this moment, no one dares to make a single movement.

Unfortunately, a sound that was inevitably produced by Zhang Wei's empty stomach caused their hiding spot to be exposed. The other side of the group immediately made their first move by launching themselves towards the bushes where the three of them were hiding in.

Zhang Wei clicked his tongue then a halberd that was glowing with purple light materialized in his hand. With a single step, he shifted from his previous position to standing in front of the focused Rong Ai.

A loud clang sounded out through the forest as Zhang Wei's halberd clashed with two swords. The force caused Zhang Wei to took a few steps back and almost bumped Rong Ai. Although his slender arms were trembling from fighting back the power of two a.d.u.l.ts, the fire in his eyes never wavered.

Then two arrows brushed past both sides of his head and aimed directly at their head, one shot two kills. But more and more people came out from their hiding spot and rushed towards them with swords in their hands. Out of nowhere, roots shot out from the ground and swirled around the ankles of the attackers.

The attackers were pulled to the ground by their ankle and another wave of roots bound their limbs so they won't be able to move around. The ground shook tremendously and instantly buried the attackers with layers of dirt.

Zhang Wei and Bing Wen glanced at Rong Ai's reddish-golden eyes that were radiating menacing aura.

"Behind!" Rong Ai warned.