The Invincible Supreme Medical God

Chapter 716 - 420: Underestimated Oneself_2

"I will trouble your servant to escort me out of the castle," Yan Xiaobao bowed to Xiao Ye and said. The Prince nodded in acknowledgment. "Please don’t forget my invitation," he urged. "Come back anytime, and you can even bring your friends. Perhaps we might discover a way to reconcile the descendants of the Wang Family and Deng Clan." He said. Yan Xiaobao nodded but said nothing, for he knew reconciliation was impossible. This world could hardly contain Wang Julong, Deng Wu, and the Third Prince, Ye Ye.

The servant led the way through the massive castle. His footsteps were silent, his breathing barely perceptible; even a King-level expert like Yan Xiaobao could not hear any sound from him. The servant’s eerie quiet as he moved was terrifying to such an extent that Yan Xiaobao couldn’t help but suspect whether he truly was a frail and unassuming servant. The lack of sound heightened Yan Xiaobao’s vigilance, yet despite his internal unease, he betrayed none of it. He continued to follow leisurely, surveying his surroundings as though curious about them, pretending not to detect the servant’s peculiarities. Mentally, he had already noted everything to ask Gao Yan about what he knew regarding Shao Ye’s personal servants, who were reputed to be no more than disciple-level experts.

When Yan Xiaobao once again stepped onto the bustling roads, the sun had begun sinking behind the city walls, leaving the castle behind. Although the castle was filled with guards, servants, and nobles, it was nothing compared to the busy streets of the city. Merchants, citizens, nobles, and servants hurried to complete their daily tasks or head home after a long day’s work. Yan Xiaobao waded through the crowd, heading straight to his own mansion. Though he wished to speak with Gao Yan, he couldn’t shake the faint sense of being followed. Even if it was merely a product of his own paranoia, he dared not take any risks. Upon returning home, he went straight to his room and took a bath. Later, he began cultivating. For the entire night and into the following morning, he planned to continue cultivating before his conversations with Deng Wu and Wang Julong. If he had time afterward, he also wanted to meet Gao Yan to try and gather more information.

As conflicting thoughts distracted him on his way back, his mind grew heavy with how badly his friend had been harmed by the Third Prince. Yan Xiaobao arrived at the mansion and retreated directly to his room. Sitting on his bed for hours, he contemplated the day’s events with frustration in his heart. Though he had visited the Prince, he still hadn’t uncovered the latter’s weaknesses. Staring out the window, he watched the moon rise into the night sky and sighed deeply. Setting aside all the concerns he had to address and the pain he knew his friends were currently enduring, he opened the window. Sitting on the floor, he calmed his mind and cleared his thoughts as the last rays of sunlight slowly transformed into moonlight. Remaining motionless, he took a deep breath and let his thoughts fade into nothingness, achieving inner peace while focusing only on absorbing the essence of heaven and earth.

The next day, he woke early, sunlight streaming through the open window into Yan Xiaobao’s room. As the sun appeared, the young man paused his cultivation. After sitting through the night, he stood and stretched his stiff body. He had a full schedule today, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake the sensation of being watched. This presence had lingered since the previous day, and he couldn’t help but wonder whether it was merely paranoia or if the Prince had sent a formidable expert—someone even stronger than Yan Xiaobao and Lan Feng—to observe them. Such experts were not easy to find, but if anyone in the Sun Kingdom could produce one, it would undoubtedly be the Third Prince.

"There’s nothing you can do about it," Lan Feng sighed deeply. "All you can do is be extraordinarily cautious when speaking with friends or visiting the Black Lion Team." Even the bird felt as though it was being watched, though it could have simply been influenced by the shared emotions of the two. Perhaps Lan Feng merely sensed the impression from Yan Xiaobao’s heart.

As he pondered this elusive observer more deeply, Yan Xiaobao concluded that Lan Feng was right—there was nothing he could do for now except keep the warning in mind. As he moved through the mansion, the presence didn’t fade; instead, it grew stronger the further he got from his room. By now, he was almost certain someone was surveilling him.

When Yan Xiaobao entered the room, he glanced around and was suddenly struck by the thought that he hadn’t seen Sha Yun in some time. In the past, Sha Yun would always cling to him—either tightly grasping his arm or wrapping her tail around him, refusing to let him move alone—but oddly, after a few years away, Sha Yun’s demeanor seemed entirely different. She no longer went out of her way to follow him. She didn’t feel the need to keep him within her sight at all times, nor did she try to force herself into his space. Thinking it over, perhaps she was deliberately avoiding him. Yan Xiaobao wasn’t sure why she was doing this. "Perhaps she was hurt when I greeted Wang Julong," he pondered to himself. But he knew that, while he had never openly expressed his feelings before, Sha Yun had never realized who he truly liked. Still, she had always fought for opportunities to be close to him. Now it seemed she had given up.

Not only was Sha Yun avoiding Yan Xiaobao, but she was rarely ever home. When he looked toward the room belonging to Sha Yun, he realized he didn’t even know why she hadn’t come back. She hadn’t told him anything. She had simply vanished from his sight, leaving the young man alone for so long that he hadn’t truly thought about why he hadn’t seen her. Until this morning, he hadn’t considered her strange behavior.

"Next time I see her, I should talk to her," he muttered to himself, frowning. "I feel bad for not loving her, but I can’t truly change my emotions," he continued, though he knew deep down it was impossible. Yet he felt a pang of ache within, especially because he understood all too well the difficulty of living with unrequited love. He had experienced it firsthand.

"I’ll try to talk to her. If she wishes to be alone, I’ll give her space," he told himself with a nod. Though he didn’t love Sha Yun, he deeply valued her friendship. If she needed time alone, he would step back, yet he still wanted to hear it from her directly. He worried about what was consuming her time. "A face I rarely see anymore," he remarked with a laugh as he sat down. "I’ve been studying the techniques we discussed last time, and I must admit the ability to perform this was truly surprising. Cultivators must divide their thoughts repeatedly. They must shatter their souls and place tiny fragments within each body," he continued, his eyes alight with wonder. Yan Xiaobao couldn’t help but feel grateful that his old friend hadn’t mentioned any names. Though Gao Yan wasn’t acquainted with An Hee, whether the Third Prince was aware of the latter was an entirely different question.

"Sounds promising," Yan Xiaobao nodded in agreement. "Continue your investigations; I’m sure it will benefit you as well," he said, his tone serious. Deng Wu’s expression likewise grew solemn as he nodded. "It has already helped me control the soul shadow’s technique. I can now share my thoughts in three separate ways, but to go further, I need to ascend levels. I am completely incapable of shattering my soul. To achieve that, I would need the strength of a Saint-level cultivator." As he spoke about the technique he’d been researching, Deng Wu’s eyes glimmered with light.

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