Chapter 162 - Bait (1/2)
Hei, together with Lian and his sisters, remained on the spot waiting for the arrival of the five people who showed up shortly after. However, when Hei was finally able to see who it was, he was amazed to see the Imperial Prince Long Tian leading his four subordinates.
The Imperial Prince frowned when he saw Hei and Lian and the miserable condition in which the bodies of the victims were. Immediately, his four subordinates positioned themselves in front of Long Tian and prepared to draw their weapons at the slightest hint of hostility from the young couple caught on the scene of the massacre.
”My name is Long Tian. I would like to know what happened here.”
The voice of the Imperial Prince was calm but contained an authority that only those with exceptional leadership skills possessed. His gaze contained no trace of disgust or apprehension for the crime committed there. And this was true even when there were two possible suspects in front of him.
”My name is Hei while she is Lian. We don't know what happened. One of my companions is a beast tamer and has a spirit beast with a great sense of smell. Concerned about the smell of human blood, we came to investigate and found this scene.”
Hei replied with a calm, equal to that of the Imperial Prince. Although he was facing one of the sons of the Sun Emperor and one of the possible candidates as the next emperor, he wasn't at all intimidated. This reaction surprised Long Tian as he didn't expect such calm.
”One of your companions, you say? So it's not just you two. Do you mind staying still while I examine bodies? If it were for me, there would be no problems, but my companions are very protective of me. If you were to move even a few centimeters, they could consider it as an attempt to attack me.”
Imperial Prince Long Tian approached the bodies without waiting for Hei and Lian's response. His subordinates moved accordingly but continued to keep their gaze fixed on the young couple.
'The bodies have stab wounds. It is certainly the work of humans, but the state of the bodies makes it seem like a crime dictated by feelings, probably a strong hatred. It isn't yet possible to exclude that it is the work of a hired assassin among the students. However, the victims are all from common origins; it wouldn't make sense for the hired assassin to risk his life just to kill people he could easily kill outside the academy.'
When Long Tian finished analyzing the state of the victims, he turned back to Hei.
”You said that you two came across this scene only because the smell of blood drew you. Considering that you didn't run away even though you knew we were coming and the spirit core of the spirit beast is still inside, I want to believe you. Nonetheless, I cannot completely exclude you from the list of suspects. Therefore I would like you to cooperate with my men and me to find the real culprit.”
”Cooperate? What do you mean by that?”
”You are a beast tamer as well, aren't you? If it were hatred against a specific person, then only one of the bodies would have numerous stab wounds. Yet all the victims were tortured, especially the spirit beast. Whoever is responsible is likely to possess a strong hatred for the spirit beasts and anyone who deals with them.”
When the Imperial Prince finished speaking, Hei was surprised. Ye and Xing were hidden in his long, thick hair and were concealing their spirit power. Therefore it wasn't possible to notice them from the position in which the Imperial Prince was. The only explanation was that.
”You already knew who we were. Isn't that right, Imperial Prince Long Tian?”
Seeing that Hei possessed a strong intellect and quickly came to the right conclusion, Long Tian smiled and didn't deny the fact. ”Call me, Long Tian. In any case, yes, it's true. The first two martial artists from the Forgotten Ocean. Just this inspires a strong curiosity in others. If it weren't for the incident with Feng Gengxin, you probably would have been approached by many people. But apparently, most of our classmates are afraid of offending a member of one of the Eight Big Families, although Feng Gengxin is not at all to be feared.”
”I understand. But you still haven't answered my question. What exactly do you mean by collaborating with the investigation? ”
”Simple. Be the bait to attract the real culprits and, at the same time, prove your innocence. As a member of the Imperial Family, I cannot let the murder crime go unpunished when the Academy itself has banned it. After all, the orders given by the Academy are orders imposed by the Empire. To transgress them means to throw mud on the authority of the Imperial Family. Besides, I think, as a beast tamer, it is in your best interest to collaborate, isn't it?”
To Long Tian's question, Hei didn't answer right away but pulled out Xing and Ye first, placing them on the ground. ”Alright. But I'd like to bury these people first. The Academy hasn't imposed rules regarding the recovery of dead students, and I think nobody would like to keep the bodies of people they don't know in their space ring. Consequently, I think a burial, even if it is far from their homes, is appropriate.”
This time it was Hei who didn't give the Imperial Prince time to respond and proceeded with the excavation operations with Ye and Xing. Lian instead remained close to them, ready to act if needed.
As Hei proceeded to bury the bodies of the victims, Long Tian remained in respectful silence as he watched the burial operations. It was when Hei was done that he started talking again. ”You are a strange person. You are certainly interesting. We will follow you from afar, and I advise you to advise your other companions to do the same. After all, if we want to lure the culprit out, the bait can't be too big and risky.”
At that point, Long Tian turned and started guiding his companions away from there. However, shortly afterward, the sound of something being launched resounded. Without batting an eyelid, Long Tian reached out behind him. When he grabbed the object, he realized what it was.
”You forgot this. I hope it will convince you to kill one less spirit beast for the trial.” Hei said before leaving that place with his little sisters and Lian.
When the Imperial Prince was alone with his four companions, he burst out laughing. ”Really, really interesting. I'm curious to see his fighting skills.”
*
It was late afternoon, and the sun had already started to set. All around dwelled a state of apparent calm. The diurnal creatures were returning to their lairs to make room for the nocturnal ones who instead were ready to start their day. At an unspecified point in the immense forest, a young couple was strolling through the thick vegetation.
'Big Brother.' (Xing)
'Yes, I know. We are being followed.'
'They are getting closer. I'm counting fifteen. No, it's twenty.' (Ye)
Hearing that number, Hei's expression darkened. The number of enemies was higher than he had expected. Although he didn't know the strength of the enemies or that of the Imperial Prince and his entourage, he was still numerically at a disadvantage.
'Lian, get ready. We still don't know if the Imperial Prince will come to help us. If this happens, we will run away at full speed. Even if they are more than us, we are in the middle of a forest. I am confident in being able to outrun them.' Hei sent a spirit message to Lian to prevent the conversation from being heard.