The Crown Prince I’m Raising Has Turned Evil - Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Will You Stay By My Side?
Amidst the harsh and cruel frosty wind, with a body full of wounds, Qin Jue barely managed to climb out of the prison van.
His left arm drooped to the side. The parts where the sleeves are torn show the edge of a deep red wound. The fingers on his right hand were bent at a weird angle, evidently a sign that they were brutally broken one by one.
If that was not enough, his prison attire was close to that of rags, showing a purple-ish black color. One couldn’t have imagined the clothes were once white. Under the prison attire were layers of newer wounds over older wounds created by various torture devices. If it wasn’t wintertime, he would have died long ago by infections…
Even though Qin Jue was in this state, the people that tortured him weren’t much better off either. Not far off in the snowy field laid more than a hundred guards that were howling in pain.
The guards floundered around like struggling insects, their hands desperately scratching all over their skin, almost to the point of skinning themselves alive!
This scene looks as if it was taken straight from hell, yet when Qin Jue saw it, he simply smiled. After getting off the van, he began using his left hand to bend his right fingers back in place. At the same time, he looked around in search of someone.
Suddenly, his dark pupils focused onto something and his smile deepened. Alongside the cracking sound of fingers popping back into place, he made his way towards that person.
“S…Stay…Stay Away!!” said the only person wearing an official’s uniform. He’s also the person in charge of escorting the Prince to exile. With his face covered in blood, the official tried to flee. Yet due to the itchy feeling and loss of strength from the poison, he couldn’t even get off the ground.
“Are you afraid?” Qin Jue asked, soon approaching before him.
His close proximity only frightened the official even more!
“Your highness, your highness please forgive me! I was forced! It’s Imperial Concubine Hui! She came to find me, s-saying you know where the treasure from the time of the country’s formation is. She wanted me to force it out of you, that’s why I tor…I don’t dare defy her orders! I was really forced!”
He pushed all the responsibilities on someone else, but in his mind, he knew that if it wasn’t for their greed, who would’ve been able to force them? After all, these were the guards that were specifically appointed by the Emperor to escort Qin Jue to exile!
Originally, he just wanted to interrogate to get the treasure’s location out of Qin Jue and not hurt him so as to not go against the royal decree. Because if they did manage to learn the treasure’s location, then it would’ve been a bonus for their efforts!
But Qin Jue kept his mouth shut tight and they learned that no matter how they interrogated him, he couldn’t retaliate, something soon sparked inside their minds…
Perhaps it was the harsh road conditions, or the violent urges bottled up that couldn’t be contained once started, the punishments that were inflicted on Qin Jue became increasingly frequent and increasingly cruel!
Every time, they would torture Qin Jue until his last breath and then remember to use medicine to keep him alive. If this continues, it wouldn’t be long until Qin Jue ended up dead in their hands.
But what they didn’t expect was that after a month, not only did Qin Jue survive, but he also kept the medicine they treated him with, turned it into poison, and fed it to all of the guards… They thought he was just a weak and naive kid who will go crazy in this environment sooner or later. Yet not only did he keep his sanity, he also even found a way to retaliate! Would they call this being resilient or was he just plain frightening?
Moreover, if he was already this cruel with his own body, what would he be doing to the officials now that he’s in control?
Listening to the official’s ‘excuse’, Qin Jue smiled even deeper, as if he heard a funny joke.
“Forced? Unable to disobey? But this whole way here…you looked like you were having the time of your life.”
From the cracking of his fingers to the spikes piercing his body, it must have been fun to torture someone that used to be of a higher position. So fun that every time they picked up the knife, their face morphed into a crazed twisted smile…
Hearing his words, the official’s eyes opened widely! Before he could say anything else, Qin Jue had already stuffed a pill inside his mouth, pressing down on his face, and forcing him to swallow!
The official began to struggle, but Qin Jue had already used an energy power-up poison beforehand. Because of the power-up effect, the poisoned official was no match for Qin Jue.
Soon, a rather odd smell emitted from the official’s body. As if bewitched, that smell caused the other guards to gather around his body, and then devour his body and blood uncontrollably!
The other guards discovered that as long as they have a drink of the official’s blood, the itch will subside! Consequently, more and more guards began to surround him, holding him down firmly on the ground and preventing him from moving…
Upon hearing the screeching and howling sound, Qin Jue laughed. He looked at this group of humans who looked even more monstrous than before, then went to sit down at the side, waiting for them to regain consciousness.
After the guards regained consciousness from drinking the officials’ blood, they all broke down, realizing what they had done!
A majority of the guards were vomiting but a few of them pulled their knives out and aimed it at Qin Jue!
The approaching knife was too fast for Qin Jue as he received another wound, wincing in pain.
“Do you really think it’s all over?” He asked.
His question stopped the attacking guards in their tracks.
He continued, “This poison is named Erosion of the Bone, it will activate every other month. If…cough cough…if you are obedient…and escort me to Xiang City, then I’ll give you the antidote. If you aren’t…then we’ll all die together.”
It’s not that Qin Jue doesn’t want to slaughter every one of these people here, but his body was already at its limit, only functioning off of the power-up poison. That’s why he has to use these guards, as they are his only option.
Everyone fell silent ー only the sound of hands tightening around the hilt of the knife could be heard.
Out of fear for their own lives, even if they hated Qin Jue to death right now, they couldn’t lay their hands on him!
But are Qin Jue’s words really to be believed? What if he doesn’t give them the antidote after arriving at Xiang City?
But regardless of whether Qin Jue planned on giving them the antidote or not, isn’t obeying him right now the only option? The effect the poison left on them was so frightening that even if they were to die, they wouldn’t want to experience it again…
Having their weakness held onto by Qin Jue, the guards slowly backed off. However, amongst the crowd, one guard gritted their teeth and rushed forward.
He held onto Qin Jue and yelled, “Liar! You would rather we die immediately! Why would you be so kind as to give us an antidote? Unless you hand over a part of the antidote right now, I won’t believe you!”
His words and actions were as if he spoke for the rest of the guards, but in reality, after he finished, he lowered his voice so only Qin Jue could hear.
“…Looks like I underestimated you. Who would’ve thought you could still retaliate in a situation like this. But this is as far as you’ll go! Even if I was to die, I won’t let you go back and put Mistress Hui in danger! Rest in peace!”
As he spoke, the hand hidden under his sleeves grabbed and tightened around Qin Jue’s neck, attempting to “accidentally” kill him before others could react.
His grip was so powerful that not a sound escaped from Qin Jue’s throat. However, Qin Jue’s reaction was fast, with a turn of his left hand, drew out a poison needle concealed in his body.
Little did he know, it was at this moment that his power-up poison suddenly stopped working!
His heart palpitated! A suffocating sense of powerlessness spread through his bones as he lost control and let the needle drop to the ground.
His pupils shrank, wanting to recover the needle, but his consciousness began wavering under the drawbacks of the poison…
––Is this heaven’s will?
No matter how much he struggles, is death inevitable?
How frustrating…Even after using all his strength surviving this far, living until now…
Suddenly! A loud “clang” of swords was heard. Then, a bloody red splat flicked onto his cheeks, leaving a trail of warmth as it rolled down.
Then, the exhilarating breath of fresh air rushed in. The guard who was holding him now laid on the ground with his torso separate from his legs. Behind him stood a boy wearing light green clothing with a sword in his left hand. Seeing that Qin Jue’s still alive, the boy relaxed and let out a big breath!
“Thank heavens, Your Highness is still alive!”
Qin Jue began coughing violently. At the same time, the running sound of horses grew closer! Immediately following a “neigh”, the horse carriage came rushing in, forcing the guards to flee to the side.
The horse was also very spiritual. After rushing in, it stopped right beside Qin Jue as a clear and melodious voice of a young man came from within the carriage.
“Your Highness, I finally found you!”
This familiar voice slightly stunned Qin Jue. He stopped his coughing and lifted his head laboriously towards the carriage, just in time to see Xie Lin Lang lift the curtains with her fan and look his way.
As they made eye contact, Xie Lin Lang let out a smile, leaned forward, and stepped out of the carriage…
…The moment she walked out, it was as if the feeling of light was seeping out, causing the snow on the ground to glisten and bringing life to the atmosphere.
Seeing Qin Jue staring blankly at her, she took a few steps towards him. Taking in a deep breath, she extended her hand to him…
“Your Highness, I have come to pick you up. From here on, will you stay by my side?”
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