Faced with Dai Chengfeng, even though he didn't speak or show a fierce expression, but merely cast a calm glance—
In an instant, the crowd immediately parted to create a path, and no one dared to stand in his way.
"The students of your Tian Dou Imperial Academy are very well-mannered."
"What manners? They're clearly afraid of you…"
"Am I that scary?"
"Not really, but they're just afraid you'll eat them alive."
Dai Chengfeng, pulling Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling along, joked with the two girls as they quickly disappeared from sight.
After a long while—
The previously quiet crowd finally erupted into waves of astonishment and envy.
"Holy crap! Who is he?!"
"Yu Tianheng is the most talented student in our Tian Dou Imperial Academy!"
"But he was defeated in a single move—how insanely powerful is that?!"
"And not only that! He was also holding hands with Senior Dugu Yan and Classmate Ye Lingling… These two are famously untouchable beauties of our academy. I'm so jealous!"
"I'm feeling so envious…"
The crowd buzzed with chatter, but the focus of their attention, Dai Chengfeng, had already finished helping Dugu Yan complete her withdrawal procedures and left the Tian Dou Imperial Academy.
"Finally done. Next, we set off… back to Wu'an City!"
As Dai Chengfeng walked toward the Ye Family Clinic, he couldn't help but sigh lightly.
Meanwhile, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who had been released by Dai Chengfeng, silently followed behind him.
But when they thought about how they had just been led away by him in front of so many classmates, their eyes filled with inexplicable shyness.
At this moment!
From the corner of a nearby street, a disheveled, ragged figure crawled forward on his hands, dragging his legs behind him, excitedly scrambling toward Dai Chengfeng.
"Your Highness, I've… I've finally found you!"
He crawled and shouted excitedly as he moved.
By the time he reached Dai Chengfeng, his eyes were bloodshot, tears mixing with the dirt on his face.
'Wait, why does this line sound so familiar?'
Dai Chengfeng thought to himself, then looked at the person before him, his forehead instantly filling with exasperation. "Li Zhizhao…"
For a moment, Dai Chengfeng truly had no words.
My dear Miss Qian Renxue, are you here again?
Have you forgotten that just yesterday, you "accidentally" met me like this and said the exact same thing…
Only yesterday, you ran over; today, you're even more dedicated and decided to crawl instead?
Thinking this, a flicker of golden-blue light flashed in Dai Chengfeng's eyes as he scrutinized the person before him.
But to his surprise—
Even in the Mustard Seed Realm, the appearance of the person in front of him hadn't changed at all.
He was the real Li Zhizhao!
"It's been nearly three years since I left the Star Luo Empire—this is practically my first encounter with an old acquaintance in a foreign land…"
Dai Chengfeng burst out laughing, lifting the crawling Li Zhizhao up, and teasingly remarked, "Zhizhao, why did you crawl over? Are you so overwhelmed with excitement at seeing your Prince?"
But the next second,
Dai Chengfeng noticed that Li Zhizhao's legs were limp, trailing uselessly behind him, unable to support his body.
The fabric of his pants around his knees was torn to shreds, stained with spots of blood, clearly from crawling all the way here.
His legs… were broken?!
Seeing Dai Chengfeng's astonished and confused gaze fixed on his legs, Li Zhizhao shamefully whispered in a low voice,
"Your Highness, this subordinate is useless…"
Then, he strained to arch his back and curl up, trying to hide his legs so as not to offend his prince's eyes.
Even as fresh blood seeped out once more, completely soaking his pants at the knees, causing the veins on his forehead to bulge with pain, he remained silent.
Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan stood nearby, witnessing everything unfold.
Ye Lingling, always kind-hearted, couldn't bear to see Li Zhizhao in such a pitiful state. Her hands unconsciously clenched together tightly.
"To be injured like this… it must hurt so much…"
She murmured softly, her voice filled with sympathy.
A pink begonia flower appeared in her palm.
Though Dugu Yan was usually proud and unruly, she too bit her lip slightly at the scene.
Huff, huff, huff…
Dai Chengfeng took several deep breaths.
In his mind, he could still vaguely recall the spirited soldier he had first met—the one who had roared, 'Every hill can bury a loyal bone; there's no need for a horse's skin to wrap my corpse! Li Zhizhao, soldier of the Star Luo Empire, ready to die!'
But now, all that remained was a pathetic figure, his eyes filled with desolation.
Despite having endured two wars, Dai Chengfeng was no longer the same person who couldn't bear to see anyone die before him, clinging to modern ideals.
But!
Even a dog deserves respect because of its master, let alone Li Zhizhao, whom he had personally appointed as a thousand-man commander—a trusted subordinate…
And someone had actually broken his legs?!
Damn it!
Dai Chengfeng almost growled through gritted teeth, "Who did this to your legs? Was it… Xue Qinghe?!"
"No, no…"
Upon hearing this, Li Zhizhao hastily shook his head and waved his hands anxiously. "Your Highness, I originally came to Tian Dou City following Lord Zhu Yan's orders to deliver a secret letter to you."
"But who could have known that outside Tian Dou City, I was suddenly ambushed by…"
At this point, Li Zhizhao paused momentarily, a flicker of worry passing through his eyes.
Then he quickly amended, "I was ambushed by some unknown person. During the battle, my legs were accidentally struck by their soul skill. Fortunately, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's men happened to pass by and saved me."
"I originally thought that being captured by people from the Tian Dou Empire would mean a grim fate for me."
"Especially since it was that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, who holds a grudge against Your Highness… But…"
Here, Li Zhizhao shook his head, a look of disbelief flashing in his eyes. "This Crown Prince Xue Qinghe… didn't mistreat me at all. Instead, he allowed me to recuperate in his residence."
"Until today…"
"The Crown Prince suddenly informed me that Your Highness was currently at the Ye Family Clinic and then sent me here."
"Is that so?" Dai Chengfeng nodded slightly, a flicker of gratitude passing through his eyes. 'Never expected this side of you, Qian Renxue…'
However, soon after, a flash of murderous intent flickered in Dai Chengfeng's eyes.
Although Li Zhizhao had changed his story midway, Dai Chengfeng had already figured out who had ambushed him.
After all, if it wasn't the nearest "enemy" Qian Renxue, then aside from the person who had seized his Wu'an City—Dai Xuan—who else could it be?
Dai Mubai?
He himself had already fled in disgrace, too scared to stay in the Star Luo Empire. How could he have the heart to harm Li Zhizhao?
Dai Weisi?
Although Dai Chengfeng and Dai Weisi were rivals for the throne, Dai Chengfeng knew that despite his brother's harsh words, he had never truly intended to kill him.
Just then—
A pink glow enveloped Li Zhizhao's legs as Ye Lingling stepped in.
The Nine-Heart Begonia martial spirit, hailed as the number one healing martial spirit in the world and a miracle among martial spirits, lived up to its reputation.
Under the glow of this miraculous light, Li Zhizhao's eyes widened in astonishment, disbelief written all over his face.
His completely shattered leg bones seemed to regain the ability to self-heal. The broken parts began to mend slowly, and the previously limp legs gradually regained strength.
In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, his legs were fully healed.
Li Zhizhao stood up, feeling the return of strength to his legs, his eyes brimming with ecstatic joy.
"Your Highness, this… what is this?"
"Lingling's martial spirit is extremely unique. As long as there's a sliver of life left, it can heal."
Dai Chengfeng explained, offering a gentle smile to Ye Lingling, his admiration for bringing Ye Renxin and Ye Lingling back to the Star Luo Empire growing even stronger.
Li Zhizhao, overwhelmed with emotion, turned to Ye Lingling and dropped to his knees with a loud thud, bowing deeply.
When he raised his head, his eyes were filled with gratitude, his voice trembling slightly. "Miss Ye, I cannot thank you enough."
"In the future, if there's anything I, Li Zhizhao, can do for you, I'll brave fire and water without hesitation!"
Ye Lingling was startled by such a grand gesture and quickly sidestepped, her cheeks flushing slightly. She shook her head lightly. "Brother Li, please don't do this. If you want to thank anyone, thank Chengfeng."
"Besides, a doctor's compassion is natural. Being able to heal you makes me happy too."
As she spoke, she looked up at Dai Chengfeng, her eyes full of dependence.
Li Zhizhao nodded and quickly turned his gaze back to Dai Chengfeng.
However, before he could say anything, Dai Chengfeng had already helped him up again.
"You don't need to thank me."
"You're my subordinate. You were targeted because you were working for me—I should be apologizing to you."
"This subordinate doesn't dare!"
Li Zhizhao vigorously shook his head. "Serving Your Highness is an honor for me, Li Zhizhao!"
Dai Chengfeng smiled warmly and patted Li Zhizhao on the shoulder. "Let's go! Come home with me!"
"And then—"
"Tell them, my things aren't so easy to take!"
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