Chapter 146: Terror in the Secret Chamber, Miasma of the Pink Butterflies

Logically speaking, as the Crown Prince who shoulders imperial fortune second only to the Emperor, he should be immune to all poisons and impervious to all spells, with a physical body nourished by national destiny to a degree that even Han Chong envied. He ought not to suffer from any ailments at all.

"Haha, General Han, please take a seat. I have heard of you for a long time. You rose from humble beginnings, slaying demons and ghosts all along the way, and successively cracking major cases in Yunzhou and Qiongzhou. Furthermore, you turned the tide in the northwestern battlefield with your own strength. Among us brothers, your exploits are already known to everyone."

"Your Highness flatters me too much. This subordinate merely acted out of sheer luck. I wonder what orders Your Highness has in summoning me here tonight?"

"Naturally, there are matters to discuss. In a secret chamber within my palace, the sounds of a female ghost weeping are constantly heard, but many of my guards are cowardly and afraid to go and exorcise the spirit, which truly worries me. I have heard that General Han stands out among the various roaming cavalry generals, so I wish to ask General Han to investigate this matter personally. I wonder if the General dares to take on this task?"

"Your Highness must be joking. The Crown Prince's palace is heavily guarded, and furthermore protected by the national fortune of Great Feng. How could any vicious ghost possibly survive here?"

Han Chong thought to himself whether the former was trying to lure him into a trap.

"A joke? Do you think I look like I am joking? Or perhaps General Han sees a ghost and dares not catch it, merely seeking a false reputation? If that is the case, I shall inform the Three Chief Ministries, and General Han will likely find it difficult to escape the charge of occupying a post while derelict in duty."

Han Chong's heart tightened. The Crown Prince changed his face faster than turning a book; it turned out he was waiting for him right here. Indeed, it was impossible to guard against every scheme.

"Since Your Highness has given the order, this subordinate shall investigate." Whether it was merely searching for a ghost in a secret chamber or facing an army of thousands, he was completely fearless, and stood up to accept the command.

"Good! Follow me, then."

Han Chong followed him to the back of the hall. An attendant gently turned a small tripod resting on a table, and the floor split open to reveal a stone door, exposing a downward-sloping secret passage into which they stepped.

It was entirely normal for princes and royalty to build secret chambers in their mansions, but a secret chamber as resplendent, magnificent, and vast as this truly opened one's eyes.

However, Han Chong had no time to appreciate it. His gaze carefully scanned for any potential dangers.

When they reached a hall at the very end, the Crown Prince ahead suddenly whirled around. A golden dragon coiled around his arm, and he viciously slapped a palm down toward Han Chong!

Though Han Chong had been on guard for a long time, he was still inwardly startled. As the dignified Crown Prince of Great Feng, he had actually lowered his status and struck with his own hands, which came as a great surprise.

Han Chong retreated backward to dodge the blow, but a golden cage descended from the sky, trapping him inside and continuously shrinking.

"Crown Prince, why are you doing this?"

"Hehe, you brat! Last time you ruined my grand plan, and this time you dared to trouble me again. If I do not eliminate you, sooner or later you will become a grave threat in my heart!"

The man with three moles also emerged from a side corner. The two of them looked at Han Chong trapped inside the cage and smiled at each other.

Han Chong attempted to use earth-escaping techniques, but was interrupted by the golden light covering the cage. He punched the cage, but it was forged from an unknown material, exceptionally hard, and shattering it proved extremely difficult.

Just as he was about to invoke the Dark Moon Treasure Mirror to break the fortune-suppressing enchantment enveloping the golden cage, he saw the man with three moles flip his hand and hurl a pink pellet straight at him.

With a soft bang, the pink pellet transformed into a cloud of substantive pink mist that tightly wrapped around Han Chong inside the golden cage, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Crimson Luan Pink Miasma he had once used against the Demon Sovereign residing in his mind.

"Wahahaha, kid, retribution is truly swift! I never expected you would fall victim to this trick as well. This item is undoubtedly an aphrodisiac poison, though it is rather peculiar that there are no beautiful women around in a place like this."

The Demon Sovereign gave a start, gloating and laughing weirdly in the depths of his mind.

Feeling the pink mist penetrate his body through every pore, Han Chong hurriedly mobilized his merit to resist it, but to no avail.

When he invoked the blood dragon's power, it acted like pouring oil on fire, making his entire body unbearably hot and restless.

"Shut your mouth and hurry up and think of a way! If this continues, I am afraid Han will lose his life right here!"

"Hehe, kid, don't you have numerous secret arts? How did you sink so low as to beg this Sovereign?"

"If you won't help, fine, then we can just wait here to die together!" Han Chong snorted angrily, relying on his medical arts and ingestion arts to barely resist the invasion of the pink mist.

Not far outside the cage, the man with three moles and the Crown Prince stood with arms crossed, smiling as they watched Han Chong struggle in every possible way.

When the pink mist gradually dissolved into Han Chong's skin, the Crown Prince pointed at the golden cage, removed it, and pulled out a golden rope to bind and drag him in a certain direction.

Finally, they emerged above ground, dumped Han Chong into an exquisitely magnificent palace, and untied him.

A scorching wave of lust burned fiercely, and Han Chong gradually lost his mind to infoxication, retaining only a sliver of sobriety that could plunge into oblivion at any moment. Meanwhile, the Demon Sovereign was leaping up and down within Han Chong's niwan palace, carefully observing the outside world in search of something.

As Han Chong stumbled blindly around, he finally spotted a woman dressed in golden court attire sitting alone in an empty room. She looked in startled dismay at the silver-armored general who had broken in like a drunkard, and let out a terrified scream.

"Tsk tsk, truly a beauty. I didn't expect the Crown Prince of this Great Feng dynasty to be so willing to invest heavily, but it's a pity you, Han boy, have no blessing to enjoy it."

The Demon Sovereign shook his head and sighed, then his gaze turned fierce, and he launched another fierce assault upon Han Chong's soul. No matter how formidable the lust-inducing drug was, it could hardly suppress the threat of soul injury. Han Chong jolted awake instantly, cold sweat pouring all over his body.

Fortunately, the Demon Sovereign had acted in time; otherwise, he would have committed an irreparable mistake.

Just at that moment, chaotic noises came from outside the hall, as if many people were rushing toward this chamber.

Han Chong hurriedly sought out a back window, leaped through it, and stealthily made his way back toward the front hall.

Back in the bedchamber, the Crown Prince led numerous subordinates and officials rushing in, but failed to find Han Chong's figure.

"My beloved consort, what happened just now? Why did you scream?" The Crown Prince's heart skipped a beat; the plan had clearly failed.

"Just a moment ago, a silver-armored general broke into the palace while drunk with illicit intentions, and then he escaped!" the richly dressed woman pointed toward the direction of the back hall.

"What! In broad daylight under the bright sun, such a lewd thief actually broke into the East Palace with the intent to commit outrages against the Crown Prince's consort? Is there no rule of law left?"

An elderly official with a white beard, majestic demeanor, purple robes, and jade belt said indignantly.

The rest of the high-ranking officials found it equally hard to believe, while the soldiers behind them searched everywhere in the palace but found nothing at all.

The man with three moles and the Crown Prince exchanged glances, burning with irritation, and had no choice but to dismiss the high-ranking officials.

When the two of them returned to the front hall, they discovered that Han Chong was sitting leisurely in the hall sipping tea. They were instantly filled with towering rage, but unable to vent it further, they could only order him to leave.

...

"Preposterous! That kid clearly inhaled the pink butterfly miasma; why on earth did he manage to stay sober and escape?"

"Indeed, it is truly bizarre! This should have been a foolproof scheme to utterly ruin that Han boy's reputation and ensure he could never turn his fortunes around. Where on earth did things go wrong? Had we known this earlier, we should have just killed him right there in the secret chamber!" The man with three moles beat his chest in frustration and racked his brains.

The news that the Crown Prince's consort had been molested by a mysterious general who broke into the palace spread throughout the imperial court within a single day, and all the vassal princes burst into hearty laughter.

They thought to themselves that this time the Crown Prince had truly tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait; after placing such a heavy bet, Han Chong had still managed to escape, making a laughingstock of himself instead.