The Dragon's Flower

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Happy Lunar New Year everyone!


XH 79 - You are the perfect match for me

A four-seater carriage surrounded by four armed guards at each corner was heading down on a secluded path straight to the South Guilin Village. In just less than an hour, the carriage would reach the village.

After the carriage passed by a certain path, a soldier dressed in a different uniform darted out of his hiding place and quickly went back to the base to report. The soldier stopped before a tall, bulky man dressed in impressive armor and saluted.

"General! A carriage with the Third Prince's crest had just passed by! There are four soldiers and one horse rider at sight!"

General Tang Jiang nodded solemnly. "Return to your post and continue watching."

"Yes, General!"

General Tang quickly marched towards a small white tent that was roughly set up in the middle of a thick forest just this morning. He did not enter and stood outside. With a cupped fist, he informed the person inside of his arrival.

"Prince, Tang Jiang is here to report!"

After a moment, a voice from the tent said, "Speak."

"There's a sighting of a carriage with the Third Prince's crest heading to South Guilin Village."

A handsome man dressed in white armor was seated inside the tent, facing a Go board. One of his hands that were holding onto a white chess piece halted momentarily before continued its path and placed it on the Go board.

Seated on the opposite side of the board was a beautiful woman dressed in red, who smiled when she saw where her fiancé had placed his next move. Her red, juicy lips were extremely eye-catching on her small and fair-skinned face.

"Find out who's inside the carriage without being noticed."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

For years, the idea of building the South Guilin Village was suggested by Long Qian was a thorn on the Second Prince's side. The thorn grew when some of his men that he had personally picked and trained choose to join South Guilin Village to guard the border.

He had sent some of his men in as a spy but they never report back. They would either lost contact or choose to loyally guard the border. Threatening them with their family members' lives did not work as the soldiers were allowed to bring their family members to live in the village.

The Second Prince had tried many plans but never succeeds in unearthing the true purpose of the South Guilin Village's existence.

It was two days ago when one of the spy he had sent to infiltrate South Guilin Village sent back a letter. He was suspicious of the information's authenticity, but this was a rare chance to finally figure out what was going on inside the village.

The attractive woman stretched out her slender fingers with nails painted in bright red and picked up a black chess piece from the wooden bowl. With one move, it stops the white pieces to spread its territory.

"What would you do?" Liu Chu Chu lazily stretched out her body, seizing the handsome man's heated eyes onto her seductive body. She has such an innocent face yet possess a body that could easily seduce any hot-blooded men and Long Shan was not an exception.

But as a man that loves cultivation, he could still resist his fiancée's womanly appeal when it's necessary.

"Do what?" the Second Prince asked and swiftly surrounded two black chess pieces in a single move.

Liu Chu Chu's fox eyes narrowed as her brightly painted red lips formed a distracting pout. She placed a black piece on the board to divert Long Shan's attention before replying.

"Will you take this chance to kill your brother?"

Long Shan easily saw through her distraction and countered it with a move. "There's no need to kill him yet."

Liu Chu Chu raised an eyebrow and sat up straight. "So your word of declaration to eliminate the royal bloodline is just a lie."

Long Shan frowned. "Long Zhu is still useful. It will be a waste to kill him early when being alive would let the old Long feel safe with his throne."

"Is that the same excuse when you let Long Lian live as well?" Liu Chu Chu asked with a mocking tone.

Long Shan eyes turned cold. "You don't believe me?"

Liu Chu Chu sighed dramatically and returned a move before standing up from her seat and placed herself on her fiancé's lap. "I believe you, but I also believe your heart will influence your decision."

Long Shan wrapped his arms around his fiancée's waist. "I never let my feelings for you influence the game."

Liu Chu Chu frowned and it took her a moment to understand what he meant. She looked at the chessboard and found that Long Shan had finished his move and from the big picture, she was losing.

After letting out an amused chuckle, she laid her head onto his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat, no longer interested in playing Go. 

"You are the perfect match for me."

The Second Prince did not smile from her admission but his eyes were softer. "You are perfect for me as well."

"Your Highness!" General Tang interrupted their sweet moment, and a hint of frustration flashed past the Second Prince's eyes.

The Second Prince's voice was a touch cooler when he asked, "What did you find out?"

"It's a maid of the Third Prince's inside the carriage!"

"Oh? Is that the same maid that your spy reported?" Liu Chu Chu asked.

The Second Prince had not hidden anything from her, even letting her help him. He loves seeing his fiancée in action.

The Second Prince did not attend the Third Prince's birthday banquet and choose to investigate the South Guilin Village instead. It was only a few hours ago when one of his spies reported that a maid had tried to kill the Third Prince's personal maid.

Heavy footsteps approached their tent before coming to a halt. Due to the near distance, the golden couple could hear what the soldier said to General Tang.

"General! A man with the special name plate asks for an audience!"

Long Shan stood up after removing Liu Chu Chu from his lap.

"I'm interested in this matter," Liu Chu Chu explained when the Second Prince raised an eyebrow at her following him. 

Long Shan smiled and entwined his and her fingers together. It was one of the few things his little fox had done to show her affection and he grew to like it.

"Your Highness!" General Tang and the soldier saluted when the golden couple stepped out of the tent.

"That person is being held captive?"

"Yes, prince! This is the plate." The soldier held up a simple silver plate on his hands.

Long Shan picked up the plate to examine it. "This is the correct one."

He had given his spies a special plate with the letter 'luck' on it to prove their identity but to those that had not seen the plate before, they would assume that it was just an ordinary plate.

"Tang Jiang, you will be in charge of questioning him."

"I obey!" General Tang bowed before marched to where the spy was held.

The spy was sitting inside a metal cage specially made for prisoners, sealing their cultivation and usage of any fourth rank artifact and lower.

General Tang dismissed everyone from the vicinity and approached the cage himself.

The spy raised his head upon sensing his presence and his whole demeanor brightens. "General!"

General Tang Jiang nodded in greeting. He recognized the spy, one of the most loyal soldiers of the Second Prince.

"Why did you lose contact for a year?" General Tang asked, straight to the point to save time.

"The security is too tight, and I can't find an opportunity to send out a message. But you need to hurry! Just a few hours ago, I heard the news that the Third Prince had sent a maid that betrayed him to the South Guilin Village to be interrogated."

"Your letter from two days ago suggested us to send some men to pretend to be the Third Prince's guards and enter the village. The inspection is tight and it will be easy for the guards to discover our men. Are you here to lure us into a trap?"

The spy shakes his head fiercely. "No General! I swear I'm helping His Highness! I found out that the guards at the gate will not be able to identify the Third Prince guards as they are the new recruits sent to the village to guard the border!"

General Tang narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. This was indeed a good opportunity to send some of their men into the village. The gate guards have no records of the newcomers and all they had to do was to send their own men whose identity was not known to any party.

"Please, believe me, General Tang! I would never harm the Second Prince. He had saved me from hell and gave me a new life. I'm not ungrateful bastard!"

The spy's earnest and fierce eyes made up General Tang's mind.

"I will inform His Highness."