"How did you come to run away, brother Huan?" Alex asked the 2nd prince. "I'm surprised you were able to get away from your father when you were right there in the palace. He let you go without taking back the sword?"
"I… I didn't have the sword with me at that point," the 2nd prince answered Alex. He stared as Alex put more ingredients into the cauldron, but his gaze was distant. He was remembering the past.
"My mother's death was kept from me for months. I wasn't even aware she was meaning to break through," the 2nd prince said. "So when I was told about what had happened, I left for the palace immediately. I would only come to later realize that I had left my storage bag with Hannah, the one that held the sword."
Alex could see the story coming together. The 2nd prince went back to the palace to mourn for his mother's death and after a while was told to bring the sword. He decided not to and ran away, taking Hannah along with him.
He let the 2nd prince tell the story himself and focused on the pill for the moment. It was soon going to be time to either form it or put the mushroom in, depending on the level of energy inside.
"And I just knew I couldn't help him," the 2nd prince said.
Alex looked back at the prince once he was sure he hadn't made any mistake with the pill. "Are you hiding something?" he asked the 2nd prince.
"What do you mean?" the 2nd prince asked, his expression showing an alarmed look.
Alex was sure that he was hiding something and didn't want to say it. Alex wondered what it could be. After thinking for a moment, he decided to do something that was either incredibly genius or incredibly stupid.
To get their trust completely, he decided to tell them what he knew.
He spread his spiritual sense to see if anyone was listening in the room. Once he was certain they were the only ones, he spoke.
"I'm about to tell you something that I fear only the Dragon Emperor and a few others know about. I'm not sure if even the Crown Prince knows of this," Alex said.
Both Zhan Luoyang and Long Huan looked curious. "What is it?" the 2nd prince asked.
"The Azure Dragon is dead," Alex said, letting the weight of the words settle on the two.
Slowly, Zhan Luoyang's eyes went wide in surprise and fear. She was shocked and wanted to question him. However, Alex looked at the 2nd prince and saw his face open wide in surprise.
"You knew about this, didn't you?" Alex asked the 2nd prince.
Long Huan immediately closed his mouth and gulped. "How… how did you know?" he asked.
"It's true?" Zhan Luoyang couldn't believe it.
"It is," Alex said. "I knew before I even came to the Eastern Continent. I cannot tell you how exactly though. That's my secret for now. The question is how do you know?"
Storm gathered in the room, causing the two others from Alex to crawl back a bit. They did not want to get hit by those strikes.
"So, are you going to answer me?" Alex asked and a lightning strike fell on the cauldron. The 2nd prince flinched in surprise, having not been aware that this was going to happen.
Zhan Luoyang on the other hand had been ready for this.
The lightning strike's glow vanished and the 2nd prince saw Alex staring at him, waiting for an answer.
"I… I didn't know exactly that was the case," the 2nd prince said. "I knew for certain much later. What had tipped me off was that on the last day I met with Father, the time when he asked me for the sword, he started talking about the Azure Dragon in the past tense."
"I was confused at first and thought it was because he was drunk. He had let himself get drunk due to his sadness and in that moment he revealed a bit more than he intended."
"Talking about how mother's death had been unavoidable and how many deaths had already paved his path to Immortality. He is going mad, and I don't know why," the 2nd prince sounded sad.
Another lightning strike struck the cauldron.
Zhan Luoyang gulped in fear. "I thought you told me everything before," she said to the 2nd prince.
"I couldn't tell you this. For your own sake," he said. 'I couldn't even tell brother this."
Alex slowly nodded. "So you told your father you were going to get your sword and ran away," he said.
"No, not exactly," the 2nd prince said. "I really did go back to get the sword. It was after I talked with Hannah about what had happened that she told to me wait and contemplate on what I should do."
"Father sent legionnaires after me just because I was taking some time. That was when I truly knew I had to stop him from getting the sword. He was getting mad, I swear."
Alex nodded slowly. He started considering if he should reveal more information and use that to pry out other information he could be hiding. A question came to his mind at the time.
"What reason could the Dragon Emperor have to take his army to the Azure Dragon's realm?" Alex asked the two.
"What do you mean?" the 2nd prince asked. "It was for mother's defense, while she broke through."
"Defense from what?" Alex asked.
"I mean… anything?" the 2nd prince said. "I don't know what goes on during breaking through to Immortality, so they were taking precautions."
"And that just so happens to be the same day the Azure Dragon died?" Alex asked.
"What?" Zhan Luoyang asked.
"What are you implying, Alex?" the 2nd prince asked with a frown. "Are you saying that my Father was responsible for the Azure Dragon's death?"
Another lightning bolt fell on the cauldron.
Alex seemed to sit straighter all of a sudden as his serious gaze fell on the 2nd prince. "That is exactly what I'm implying," he said.
"This is nonsense," the 2nd prince cried out. "My father wouldn't…" He trailed off. As hard as it was, he could see the possibilities.
"That can't be true," Zhan Luoyang said. "Even if it was, His Majesty the Azure Dragon is so much stronger than any Saint cultivator. He would easily win against anyone."
"The Azure Dragon couldn't fight back due to the constraints of this world. If he tried to, lightning would fall from the sky, destroying him," Alex said, turning his head toward Long Huan. "Lightning that one could easily mistake for someone else breaking through to the Immortal realm."
The shock seemed to fill the 2nd prince's eyes. "That's... that can't be."
Another lightning bolt fell into the cauldron. That made it 4.
"That is indeed the case," Alex said. 'At least I believe it to be. You're free to ignore my beliefs."
That would be hard for them certainly.
Alex prepared for another lightning bolt to drop and blocked it. That was 5.
The storm grew thicker and the lightning bolt stronger. There were 4 more to go until the pill was finally made.
