Chapter 146: Welcome Back to the Palace, Third Prince
The two got out of the car. Hu Ao said in a deep voice, "You certainly kept me waiting."
Zelda offered words of apology, but his expression was anything but, as he breezily replied, "My sincerest apologies, Eldest Prince. My driver’s skills might be a bit lacking. I’ll have him go for retraining when we get back."
Hu Ao glanced at him, then his gaze swept over Hu Yan. Finally, he just snorted, "Let’s go in."
The Imperial Palace was vast and heavily guarded, and it also featured a massive estate.
No longer outside, Hu Ao dropped the pretense and strode ahead, with Hu Yan and Zelda following a step behind.
A guard saw Hu Ao and called out respectfully, "Eldest Prince, Master Sel."
But when he saw the person following close behind, his eyes widened in shock, and he stammered, "Th-Third Prince! Y-You’re not..."
"Third Prince?! The Third Prince isn’t dead?!"
Hearing the two words "Third Prince," the other guards all whipped their heads around. Technically, they were on duty and shouldn’t be looking around, but this was simply too shocking—the Third Prince, dead for several years, was alive!
How could they possibly focus on their duties? They all craned their necks toward the main gate, murmuring, "He really looks like the Third Prince!"
Another Beastman immediately cut him off, stating firmly, "It’s not that he *looks like* him. It *is* the Third Prince!"
"The Third Prince is alive! Now the Insect Clan will be afraid!"
To them, the Third Prince was an anchor. With him around, there was nothing he couldn’t handle.
They had refused to believe the news from the front lines that the Third Prince had been defeated and killed. Now, it was clear it had all been a lie!
Hu Yan smiled and nodded at him. "Perhaps the Beast God felt my mission wasn’t complete and decided not to take me yet."
The guard was still in disbelief. "Are you really here, in the flesh? This isn’t a hallucination, is it?"
Hu Yan used his spiritual power to form an arrow and presented it to the guard. "See if it hurts."
Seeing the immensely powerful spiritual power presented before him, feeling this overwhelming pressure... ’There’s no doubt about it! The Third Prince has returned!’
The guard performed a deep, formal salute and proclaimed, "We welcome the Third Prince back to the palace!"
Hearing their colleague’s respectful cry, the others began to whisper excitedly, "The Third Prince! It really is the Third Prince!"
Hu Ao watched this unfold, the sinister glint in his eyes deepening. The hand behind his back clenched into a fist. He turned and strode away.
Hu Yan gave a slight nod, his thin lips parting. "Rise."
With that, he too stepped inside.
Everywhere he passed, resounding cries of "We welcome the Third Prince back to the palace!" rang out.
In an instant, the entire Imperial Palace knew: the Third Prince had returned!
Zelda, at his side, couldn’t hide the smug look on his face. It was as if he were paying his respects. "Look how popular you are. Now that you’re back, I bet the Eldest Prince won’t be sleeping well at night. I just saw the look on his face. He’s probably so furious he’s about to grind his molars to dust."
After speaking, Zelda laughed smugly. "But hey, better him losing sleep over it than me, hahaha..."
"You have no idea how many times he tried to recruit the Sel family over these past few years. The only reason I refused was my firm belief that you were still alive. Otherwise, we’d be on opposite sides by now. So, don’t you think you should be a little nicer to me?"
Hu Yan suddenly stopped and stared at him with a serious expression. "Mm. I’ve always known."
Hu Yan’s sudden halt almost made Zelda crash into him. When he stopped and instinctively looked at Hu Yan, the intense look in his friend’s eyes sent goosebumps all over his skin. He couldn’t help but shiver. "Yeesh... what’s with that expression? And that tone? Just give me my friend back, this is terrifying!"
At that, Hu Yan couldn’t hold back a laugh.
Zelda stared, completely stunned, and blurted out, "You should smile at your little female more often. I guarantee she’ll like you best!"
Hu Yan: "..."
’It’s not like he was an entertainer who had to smile to curry favor.’
As they chatted, they arrived at the main palace building.
This palace was completely different from those of ancient times. It had the feel of a castle, but was distinct—far more magnificent and spectacular, and filled with smart technology.
News of their arrival had already been relayed to the Emperor within the palace.
The Emperor had been under immense pressure in recent years. The Insect Clan was constantly attacking, and other nations, upon hearing of Hu Yan’s death, had been eagerly probing their borders. As a result, though he was not yet sixty, his health had been failing steadily.
When Hu Ao came to ask him yesterday, he had already guessed that Hu Yan wasn’t dead, and had been up and waiting since early in the morning.
And just as he’d expected, news of Hu Yan’s arrival at the palace came before noon.
Before entering the hall, Hu Ao waited for Hu Yan and his companion to catch up before proceeding inside.
Hu Ao bowed respectfully. "Imperial Father."
Seeing that he had entered alone, the Emperor frowned slightly. "Hm? I was told Hu Yan had returned. Where is he?"
Before Hu Ao could answer, Hu Yan strode in, bowed, and called out, "Imperial Father."
Hu Yan and Zelda had spoken in unison, but the Emperor clearly only had eyes for Hu Yan.
The Emperor heard the voice first, and then he saw Hu Yan. The moment his gaze fell upon his son, the Emperor’s eyes grew red.
The Emperor took a few steps toward him, walking right past the Eldest Prince, Hu Ao, to stand before him. After looking Hu Yan over from head to toe, he gripped his son’s arms tightly and nodded, murmuring, "As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. As long as you’re safe. We’ll talk about the rest later."
Seeing his Imperial Father walk right past him to dote on Hu Yan, Hu Ao’s expression twisted.
’All day long, it’s been Hu Yan! Hu Yan! Everything is about Hu Yan!’
’If he was going to ’die,’ he should have just stayed dead!’
At that moment, Hu Ao’s killing intent toward Hu Yan reached an unprecedented peak.
Hu Yan sensed the killing intent and glanced at Hu Ao. His brother had wanted him dead for a long time now, but his spiritual power was inferior, and he couldn’t win in a physical fight. All he could do was resort to various low-brow schemes.
It seemed he hadn’t improved at all in the years Hu Yan had been away.
Hu Yan’s and Hu Ao’s gazes met, but only for an instant before Hu Ao looked away. At least until he could deal with Hu Yan for good, he couldn’t do anything disadvantageous in front of the Emperor.
The Emperor didn’t notice the exchange between the two of them. He just asked, "Have you fared well all these years you’ve been away?"
Hu Yan nodded. "Things were difficult at the start, but it’s been good since."
The Emperor nodded in relief. "That’s good. That sets my mind at ease a little."
Then he added, "I’ve informed your mother, the Empress. She’ll be over shortly. She misses you terribly. It’s been too long since you two have seen each other. I’ve had a family banquet prepared. Stay here in the palace tonight, alright?"