Jing He’s face turned even paler. This was clearly the disturbance he had prepared. He never would have thought that the explosion would be so loud or that it could shake the building this much though. His knowledge of formations was all theoretical. He had never used them this way so he had gotten frightened himself.
He slowly got to his feet, giving the God of Justice a worried look. He had thought he might cause them more work by having them need to investigate but … judging by the sound, it might be even more than that.
Li Yin glanced at him. Seeing his look, he felt a little helpless. This nephew of his best friend had been raised in a glasshouse and certainly couldn’t stand the stimulation. Obviously, he was frightened out of his wits. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. You are safe in the Court of Justice. I personally stay by your side to ensure that.”
Jing He took a faint breath and hastily shook his head. Naturally, he couldn’t let the God of Justice stay with him. If he did, he would never make it to the repository and all of this would have been for naught. “I was just spooked. It’s alright. The God of Justice should go and deal with whatever just happened. The officials need your leadership now.”
Li Yin shook his head. “There are senior officials to take charge. You are our crown prince. Nothing may happen to you.”
Hearing this response, Jing He started to feel anxious. It seemed like the God of Justice had made his decision and he really didn’t know how to talk him out of it. “I will go and hide so I am out of the way. I also know how to protect myself. The God of Justice need not —”
Before he finished speaking, a second explosion shook the building.
Jing He took a sharp breath. He should have expected this. There had been a few moments between the first bunch of arrays he pasted and the second one. Of course, there would be two explosions. Still, this was a chance. He reached out and touched the God of Justice’s arm. “I will hide. This sounded too serious for you not to go and see. At the first chance I get, I will flee and go to my uncle.”
Li Yin hesitated. The crown prince should never be alone at such a time. He was right that his presence might be necessary though. “I’ll find a pair of guards for you before I leave.”
Jing He took his hand back and nodded even though he wanted to go along. “A pair of guards is naturally a must. I won’t be willful. One of the officials can take charge of that though. Let’s go quickly.”
Li Yin finally nodded and led the way out of the study.
At this moment, one of the senior officials already rushed up to him. “It’s the prison. The inner wall was broken and several people have escaped.”
Li Yin’s expression froze and he turned to look at Jing He. He definitely couldn’t let him stay alone if any criminals had escaped.
Jing He could basically see his thoughts written on Li Yin’s face. He glanced in the other direction and motioned at an official still standing on his post, waiting for further instructions. “I will have him find me some guards. The God of Justice should hurry.”
Li Yin glanced over there and finally gave a somewhat dissatisfied hum. He would feel better if he could do this himself but his people were all very well trained. If the crown prince was handed over to any of them and then escorted out by several guards, it shouldn’t cause any issue. “Very well. Take a few more guards just to be safe.”
Jing He inclined his head and then hastily walked over to the official while Li Yin and the senior official rushed off. Of course, as soon as they were out of earshot, he heaved a sigh of relief. Now, his plan could still proceed.
He still walked up to the official just to not make him suspicious and inclined his head. “One of the senior officials just reported to the God of Justice that the explosion came from the prisons. I am afraid everyone will be needed there. Which direction should I go in to best evade the criminals that have fled?”
The official was startled but immediately pointed down the corridor in the direction leading away. “Should I escort you, Your Highness?”
Jing He shook his head. “That’s not necessary. I will go in that direction and keep out of harm’s way. As soon as there is an opportunity, I will make it out of the Court of Justice under the protection of the guards. You should help out with the actual issue.”
The official wanted to retort but at that moment, a gong already sounded, calling everyone to help deal with the situation. Finally, he nodded. “Your Highness should keep safe.”
“Naturally.”
Jing He watched him go and then walked down the corridor. Of course, he didn’t leave the Court of Justice. Instead, he walked further into the complex until he reached the innermost courtyard where the ascension platform was. He followed the small path at the side, lightening his steps. At the corner, he finally stopped and carefully glanced inside.
This was the courtyard where the repository stood. From here, he could see the red lacquered door leading into the building. He could also see the two officials still standing at the side, guarding the entrance.
Jing He hastily retreated, his brows furrowing. He probably should have expected this. The repository was a place that was well protected for a reason. Even if everybody else left, these two guards likely wouldn’t. But then, what should he do? He couldn’t give up when he was just one step short. He had to do something.
He opened the spatial bracelet on his wrist but he had already used up all the arrays when he walked past the prison. That was probably also why the explosion had been that big. He had overdone it in his fear that his disturbance might be too small to draw everyone over there.
What else could he do? He hadn’t planned for such a thing to happen and now, there was hardly any time to think this through. He needed to get them out of the way somehow but they probably wouldn’t even move if something happened next door. They would always stay there because guarding the repository was their main task and one that couldn’t be taken lightly. The only reason they would leave would be something happening at the repository itself.
Thinking of this, Jing He closed his eyes. If he walked out of this pathway, they would see him so he could never approach the building from this side. Outside, everything was chaotic so chances were he’d be seen if he tried to get close to it from another side. Also, he couldn’t very well cause a loud disturbance here or he would draw people over and definitely be discovered. Then everything else would be for naught. No, if he wanted to do something, it would have to be silent.
His face lit up just when the word ‘silent’ crossed his mind. Yes! Wasn’t there the possibility to cast an illusion? He had never done so but … he knew how to do it in theory and since his spiritual level was high, he could stand a chance. Anyway, he just needed to make two people believe to have seen something that would cause them to rush out for long enough to leave. Later, he could still think of something else.
He took a deep breath, making up his mind. He couldn’t think of an alternative right now and he didn’t have much time. He quietly mobilized his spiritual energy, took the now empty spatial bracelet from his wrist to use it as an anchor, and finally hid it at the side of the pathway before casting the illusion. Then, he hid himself.
The two guards suddenly heard a faint clinking. They immediately tensed, one hand reaching for their weapon while the other mobilized their spiritual energy. Their gaze brushed over the courtyard and finally spotted a figure on one of the roofs, inching toward the repository. The two of them exchanged a glance and then jumped up, confronting the intruder at once.
At the ground, Jing He watched as the illusory figure dashed in the other direction, trying to lure the two guards away. Unfortunately, only one of them followed. Furrowing his brows, Jing He hastily checked his body but he couldn’t find anything else that would do as the core of this illusion and he didn’t think he was strong enough to keep it up by himself.
He hesitated but finally took off the necklace he had once won at the Jiyi Festival while out with Qiu Ling. He didn’t care about the bracelet so using it didn’t mean much to him. This necklace was different. If it was lost, he would feel sad about it. Still, it was nothing compared to the endless relief he would feel when he could be sure that he could keep his body pure for Qiu Ling even in the mortal realm.
Putting behind his hesitancy, he hid the necklace in another spot and cast another illusion. Hopefully, he would have the chance to retrieve it later. He watched as the second guard cursed and chased after the perceived second intruder and then rushed to the door of the repository.
Of course, it was locked and he didn’t have the key to this building since there was only one of them and that was in the hands of the God of Justice. Still, his bloodline had a few perks, and being able to enter such buildings on his whim was one of them. He only lightly pressed his hand against the lock and the next moment, there was already a sound coming from inside. Then, the door to the place he had wanted to enter finally swung open.
