338: Chapter 338 Cleverness Backfires

The Yao sovereign sat on the main throne, appearing as steady as a rock.

But the various Yao saw a dark red mark.

It was not an ordinary wound, but a kind of Death Qi that penetrated to the bone and struck directly at his Lifespan.

The atmosphere in the great hall had completely changed.

The members of the Yao Race who were preparing to enter the water on the shore all froze in place.

Some had not yet managed to enter the water, while others already had one foot inside the pool.

At this moment, they were all as if nailed to the spot, watching with pale faces as the blood-red color spread rapidly.

"The... the Yao sovereign was assassinated?"

"Who did this?"

"Who dares to make a move in the Dragon Palace?"

Just as the commotion began, an aged and heavy voice came from the depths of the Heavenly Pool, carrying a suppressed rage that had reached its limit.

"Bring... bring the three Medicinal Pills offered by the Fox Clan..."

It was the voice of the old Dragon.

His aura was significantly weaker than before, as if most of his vitality had been drained from within by something.

Several Dragon guards immediately flew in, and a moment later, they brought out a jade box.

It was exactly the three longevity pills that Jiuer had offered.

The Dragon guard carefully opened the jade box, yet the medicinal aura drifting from within was not as rich as before.

A sour, astringent scent, the kind only medicinal materials stored for too long would have, permeated the air.

The three Medicinal Pills lay quietly in the box; the pill patterns on their surfaces were still clear, but they had already lost that previous vibrant luster.

An elderly Dragon Clan apothecary leaned in for a closer look, then pinched a bit of powder with his fingertips and sniffed it, his expression changing abruptly.

"Exalted One! These Medicinal Pills..."

His voice was trembling. "These three are all waste pills! The outside was coated with a layer of medicinal aura using an extremely sophisticated method, making people mistake them for ninth-grade longevity pills, but in reality, the medicinal power inside has long since dissipated, leaving only an empty shell."

The entire venue was in an uproar.

"The Fox Clan offered False Cores?"

"No wonder they left so quickly!"

"They came to assassinate from the very beginning!"

Zhu Yin did not know when he had arrived in the crowd; his face still bore tear stains, but in the moment he lowered his head, the corner of his mouth curled up.

When he raised his head, he had already put on an expression of heartbreaking grief, walking quickly to the old Dragon, his voice choking with just the right amount of emotion.

"Father! I felt there was something wrong with the Fox Clan at the time! How could remnants of a clan destroyed for many years suddenly offer such precious Medicinal Pills? It was my lack of vigilance that I failed to stop them in time..."

He paused, then added as if unintentionally, "And it just so happened that at that time, Eldest Brother personally let them leave..."

"If it weren't for Eldest Brother letting them leave the banquet, they wouldn't have had any chance to make a move."

Zhu Qing's face turned livid instantly.

He turned his head sharply to look at Zhu Yin, his gaze like two poison-tipped blades.

"You—!"

Just as he was about to retort, the old Dragon slowly raised his hand.

That hand was covered in scales and wrinkles; the movement was very slow, yet it made both brothers shut their mouths simultaneously.

The old Dragon did not look at either of them, but swept his gaze over the two with those cloudy yet still sharp eyes.

"Have you made enough trouble?"

"Both of you, stay quiet for me."

He did not expose them, nor did he favor anyone; he simply flicked his hand.

Two pale golden pillars of light descended from the sky, trapping Zhu Qing and Zhu Yin in place respectively.

Those pillars of light were not sealing their cultivation, but were merely temporary restraining barriers that isolated them from the outside world.

Zhu Qing gritted his teeth, his gaze nailed firmly onto Zhu Yin.

Zhu Yin's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to calmness.

He had underestimated the old Dragon.

Even if heavily injured and dying, this old thing who had lived for over ten thousand years was still not someone he could easily fool.

The old Dragon ignored them further and, dragging that body which had begun to emit an aura of decay, walked slowly toward the direction of the treasure vault.

Inside there, there were things that would allow him to linger on in his dying breath.

King Peng sat in his own seat, his wine cup having been set down at some unknown time.

He had originally not wanted to get involved.

He chose to stay on the shore because he felt he saw the situation clearly; as long as he didn't enter the fray himself, he wouldn't be dragged into the center of the vortex.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt that he might be too clever by half.

Although the old Dragon was heavily injured, that aura still pressed down on the entire Heavenly Pool, making it feel heavy.

Although Zhu Qing and Zhu Yin were temporarily suppressed, the things hidden in those eyes were far less simple than they appeared on the surface.

And he, a King Peng watched by all sides, sitting here now, appeared exceptionally conspicuous instead.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up and cupped his hands in the direction of the old Dragon.

"Exalted One, this King is willing to act on your behalf to track down the whereabouts of the Fox Clan. They should not have escaped far yet."

The old Dragon paused his steps and looked back at him.

There was no obvious emotion in those cloudy eyes, only a faint remark: "Go."

King Peng felt as if he had been granted a reprieve; he turned quickly and left the main venue with a few trusted aides.

After walking out of the Dragon Palace's perimeter, he felt a thin layer of sweat seeping out from his back.

He landed on an isolated reef, not in a hurry to set off to chase anyone.

Instead, he stood there, his gaze piercing through the night, looking toward the depths of the Dragon Palace.

A moment later, he whispered to himself.

"The Yao sovereign is about to perish... This might be the Peng Clan's opportunity..."

He did not move again, but simply stood there, watching all directions and listening to everything, waiting for an opportunity.

When the old Dragon had walked completely away, within the pillar of light, Zhu Qing turned around.

Across that pale golden barrier, he looked at Zhu Yin as if looking at a complete stranger.

"It was you, right?"

"Do you know what you have done?"

His voice was very low, yet it carried a killing intent that was almost overflowing.

Zhu Yin leaned against the inside of the pillar of light, as if he could not feel that killing intent.

He raised his hand, wiped away a non-existent bloodstain from the corner of his mouth, and his tone was filled with helplessness.

"Brother, it wasn't me."

"Brother, you can't blame me for this. The opportunity was right there, I couldn't not seize it."

Zhu Qing did not speak again.

He took a step forward, his whole body crashing against the inner wall of the pillar of light, his fist passing through the gap in the barrier, smashing straight toward Zhu Yin's face.

Zhu Yin tilted his head to dodge, but Zhu Qing's fist was too fast, so fast that he only had time to dodge by half an inch.

That punch grazed his cheekbone; although the force had been weakened by the pillar of light, it still left a dark red bruise on his cheek.

Zhu Yin took a step back, licked the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, and chuckled.

The laughter was very soft, as if helpless, and also as if fearless.

"Such a fast fist."

He said, "If you had used this strength in front of Father, perhaps he could have lived a few more years."

Zhu Qing did not reply, and smashed another punch over.

This time Zhu Yin did not dodge.

He raised his hand to catch that punch, his five fingers tightening as if gripping a stone.

The two men's hands remained deadlocked in mid-air for a moment, their gazes meeting—one burning with killing intent, the other calm as if nothing had happened.

A moment later, Zhu Yin released his hand and retreated back to the inside of the pillar of light.

"Don't waste your effort. It's useless to hit me now."

He said, "The situation outside is already in chaos, and neither you nor I can get out. What's most important now is to think about how to make Father believe that this matter has nothing to do with you and me."

Zhu Qing looked at him without speaking.

But he did not make another move.

He simply turned around, with his back to Zhu Yin, and sat down again.

The sound of water droplets inside the pillar of light continued, drop by drop, like a ticking countdown clock.

No one saw the slight, imperceptible anxiety in Zhu Yin's lowered eyelids.

His original plan had been completely disrupted by this move from the old Dragon.

He had framed Zhu Qing for the crime, but he had not expected the old Dragon to detain both of them together.

This meant that the secret arrangements he had made on the periphery of the treasure vault might no longer be able to be triggered on time.

He could only wait.

Wait for Zhu Qing to lower his guard, or wait for the people outside to make the first move.

As for that scale—

He gently rubbed the warm scale in his sleeve, silently calculating the time in his heart.

As long as Wan Qiba did not fail, he still had a chance to turn the tables.