Chapter 198 Kunpeng

Chapter 198: Kun Peng

He could hear the young crown prince's incoherent anguish, the terror within it not feigned.

Zhou Zhan, seeing that he still showed no reaction, reached the peak of his terror.

He whirled around toward those guards, hoarsely ordered: "Get out! All of you, get out! Get that knife out of here!!"

Zhou Zhan's fingers trembled slightly as he finally reached out tentatively, gripping the corner of Cheng Ge's sleeve with extreme care.

The fabric was cool, bearing faint creases from their earlier struggle, yet it seemed to be the only driftwood he could grasp at this moment.

"Muyu..." he choked out, his voice choked, heavily nasal, and nearly shattered pleading, softly calling the other by his courtesy name.

He seemed to have shed all the majesty of a crown prince, leaving only a frantic, helpless figure.

Cheng Ge's footsteps stopped, but he did not turn back, standing there silently.

After a long while, Cheng Ge finally spoke in a low voice, his tone steady yet carrying a power that pierced the heart.

"The *Nanhua Classic* says: When the spring dries up, fish gather on dry land, moistening each other with their breath and moisture—it would be better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes."

He paused, glancing at the sky outside, his voice clear in the silent hall.

"Fish trapped in a dry rut may have a moment's warmth, but it cannot last.

Forcing mutual survival for a moment is but a shared road to death, adding only suffering... better to release them into the rivers and lakes, each to find their own freedom."

Zhou Zhan's fingers jerked violently, his gaze falling on Cheng Ge, opening his mouth but unable to speak.

"Your Highness is about to soar across the nine heavens like the Kun Peng; your eyes should behold the vastness of the Northern Abyss and the distance of the Southern Abyss, the thousand-mile rivers and mountains, the millions of people.

Not to be trapped in a corner, clinging to the gain or loss of a single fish, missing the opportune moment. I am but a shallow sandbank you may happen upon on your journey. A shallow sandbank cannot keep the Kun Peng, nor should it."

As the words fell, Cheng Ge's wrist moved slightly, and the corner of his sleeve that Zhou Zhan had been gripping was deftly pulled back.

There was no hesitation in the motion, completely severing the last thread of connection.

Zhou Zhan's hand came away empty, the faint warmth instantly gone, and his heart seemed to fall into a bottomless icy abyss.

Cheng Ge said no more, not even turning back to glance at the pale-faced Crown Prince.

He walked straight to the palace gate——

This time, the surrounding guards exchanged glances, but none dared step forward to stop him.

Inside the empty hall, only Zhou Zhan remained, the words of Cheng Ge echoing in his ears.

He stared at his own empty palm, then at the tightly closed palace door.

The fierce emotions in his eyes gradually faded, leaving only a vast, almost dazed emptiness.

Cheng Ge had not harshly rebuked his delusions, but used the gentlest words to define this obsessive love that the world forbids as the futile struggle of fish in a dry rut.

This made him feel a more complete powerlessness and despair than any blunt refusal.

All his struggles and stubbornness, before that vastness of rivers and lakes and the Kun Peng's soaring ambition, seemed so small, ridiculous, and... untimely.

The candlelight in the hall flickered faintly; the sunlight stretched his shadow long, making him appear even more solitary and cold.

————

Cheng Ge, in his crimson robes, walked steadily among the vermilion palace walls and the carved beams and painted rafters of the corridors.

As light and shadows shifted, his steps showed no trace of panic; his robes moved slightly, his bearing calm.

The sunlight elongated his shadow, cast onto the clean palace bricks, each step perfectly measured.

Passing eunuchs and maids all lowered their heads to give way, their eyes falling on his calm profile, showing even more respect.

Thus he walked unhurriedly, passing through one palace gate after another, crossing layer after layer of hall shadows.

Turning a corner at a silent, deserted section of palace wall, the road ahead opened up.

Cheng Ge's footsteps suddenly halted. He slowly turned his head, gazing toward the Eastern Palace.

"Holy shit!!!!" Cheng Ge let out a low roar without warning.

Instantly, as if a hot iron had seared the sole of his foot, without warning he took off at a sprint, tearing down the palace road.

The hem of his official robe flapped wildly with his running steps, whistling and nearly tangling around his legs.

The wind roared past his ears, and his brain seemed to explode into a pot of seafood congee.

I'm screwed! I'm screwed! I'm screwed!!!

The roar inside finally broke its cage, frantically scrolling through his mind.

Damn, I didn't expect Zhou Zhan to be gay!!!

What's worse—if you like men, just like men! For fuck's sake, don't go after me?!

I'm straight! I want to marry a wife, have kids, carry on the family line!!!

At this thought, he felt a sudden tightening in his backside; his feet moved even faster.

Wind and snow can weigh me down for years, but a man weighing me down? No way!

Fuck! Cheng Ge cursed under his breath, the wings of his official hat shaking violently, his figure nearly blurring as he ran.

He thought if that Dog Emperor found out, he would definitely think Cheng Ge had deliberately seduced and led the crown prince astray!

Then, forget any bright future or glorious ancestors—tomorrow there would be two of Cheng Ge's heads displayed at the execution grounds!

Resign! Must resign! Whoever wants this shitty official post, take it! I'm not serving anymore!

Cheng Ge cursed all the way, panicking and flustered, his sleeve nearly flying off.

His mind was filled with a scrolling barrage of "I'm screwed, I'll lose my head, nine generations exterminated."

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he zipped back to the street where his own mansion stood.

Desperate to get through the gate, hide in his own courtyard, and hopefully flee immediately.

Yet just as one foot landed on the stone steps before the gate, a familiar figure was standing imposingly at the gate.

Cheng Ge's brain let out a "buzz," as if struck by a heavy hammer, and darkness fell before his eyes.

What the fuck?! Why is Zhou Yinyun here?!

What kind of cursed day is this?! Just got rid of one menace, and now there's another one waiting to collect a debt?!

Before he could finish cursing in his mind, his body moved before his brain could catch up.

Cheng Ge slammed on the brakes, spun around abruptly, hoping to pretend he hadn't seen Zhou and get the hell out of there!

Unfortunately, fate had other plans—

His sneaky figure, as he turned, immediately caught Zhou Yinyun's attention.

"Cheng Muyu!" Zhou Yinyun's voice wasn't loud, but it cut right through to Cheng Ge's ears.