(MC POV)
On the way back, I bumped into the Third Prince who seemed to be looking for the washroom as well.
I had planned to just give him a nod and move on but he had stepped in front of me to block my way with a rather unnerving smile on his face.
"Master Lin eh? Enjoying yourself so far?" He asked.
I stopped in my tracks to look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Well, I can't say since I've not done anything much yet. Is there anything you require from me, your highness?"
He smirked at me, "Heh heh heh… You can pretend all you want, but I know your weakness now. You think no one would know eh? Well I do now and you're going to regret ever offending me!"
My raised eyebrow lifted even higher, "I have no idea what you are talking about, your highness. If you don't mind, I would like to get back to my disciples."
"Hahaha! Scared now aren't you?! I knew it! You're only strong when you have your disciples around, but you're pathetically weak when you aren't with them!"
What?
Where the hell did he get that idea from?
Is this guy really the secret leader of the Dark Sect or is this really just part of his ruse to throw me off guard?
Maybe he is just the victim of some guy's cruel prank?
I sighed, "Your highness, I can assure you that is most definitely not the case. Now please, excuse me."
I tried to step past him but he simply shifted himself to block me again, "Tut, tut, tut. I already told you Master Lin. No one gets away with throwing this prince's face and not getting any punishment for it!"
"I did not throw your face in anyway. You managed to do that yourself," I pointed out.
His face became red with anger as he pulled out the sword on his waist to swing at me.
His attack was so predictable that I had already moved out of the way even before the weapon was drawn.
"A Royal attacking a guest? What a scandal it will be if it gets out, don't you think?" I asked.
"Hmph! No one will know if you're gone!" He laughed.
At this point, I'm really doubting if he was still acting dumb.
I'm pretty sure that while the bout was going on, the Royal Family should have a way to see what was going on inside. Otherwise, they wouldn't have said I gave them a good show.
So the third prince should at least know I am still capable even without my disciples around. Unless he thinks it's because they were still physically near me so I am still strong while in the other world?
That still doesn't make sense since a quick search on his part would reveal I only started accepting disciples recently, so this hypothesis can't stand if I was still strong even before that.
Unless, of course, he never did bother to look me up which makes much more sense now that I think about it…
But that also means the probability of him being the leader of the Dark Sect leader is astronomically low, bringing the question of who are the people on the list of names that Dark Sect guy gave me?
While I was busy pondering these questions, I was still busy dodging all the slashes and stabs the third prince has been dishing out in an attempt to gut me.
"You! Stand still! This is cheating!" He whined, still trying and failing to cut me.
I got to give it to him, he's got perseverance, most would have given up a long time ago.
Still, this is getting a little ridiculous, I should just stop him now before he hurts himself.
Just when that thought crossed my mind, the prince stopped stabbing of his own accord out of the blue, his eyes widening as though he saw something horrific.
He turned his head at me, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. I was just about to ask him what was wrong with him when his body tensed up and his head slowly slid off his body to roll on to the floor.
The head rolled away for a distance, stopping when it hit the wall with a small bump.
I was in the midst of trying to comprehend what happened when a voice called out from the corridor, "Brother? Are you done yet? Sister is already here…"
The figure of the crown prince appeared, his eyes widening in shock when he saw the headless body of his brother.
As though on cue, the corpse fell onto the floor, a pool of blood forming under the decapitated neck.
"Ma… Master Lin? Wh… Why? Guards! GUARDS!!"
I raised my hand, "Wait, it wasn't me. He just died like tha--"
"GUARDS! RAISE THE ALARM!" He roared, unsheathing his own sword to point at me, his blade shaking in obvious fear.
"Calm down your highness," I tried to placate him. "I am not your enemy."
"You… You killed him because he offended you right?! Even… Even if my little brother is a good for nothing, killing a Royal is still a grave offence!"
"Like I said, your highness, I was not the one who killed him. Can you just calm do--"
"Lies! You're going to kill me too aren't you? Just to silence me about this? I won't go down without a fight!"
He raised his weapon and charged at me, roaring some sort of war cry. Are all the princes this stubborn?
I sidestepped his downward slash, widening the distance between us.
He charged again, aiming to stab me in my chest.
I dodged to the side once more just as a group of palace guards appeared, surprised by the scene before them.
Prince Bang Jia pointed his finger at me, "Guards! He killed the third prince! With my authority as Crown Prince, I convict Master Lin of murder! Arrest him!"
The guards all looked unsure of themselves before slowly pointing their weapons at me, though it was obvious from how their weapons were shaking that they were absolutely terrified as well.
"Come… Please come… Quietly… Master Lin…" The lead guard stuttered.
I sighed, "I'm telling you, I am not the one who killed him. If I wanted him dead I wouldn't even leave such a big evidence… You think I would leave his body for everyone to see if I wanted to kill him?"
"That… I'm sorry… Master Lin… Please just cooperate…" The guard cried.
I was going to try and deny my involvement again when an idea struck me. Since I might have been misled to believe the third prince to be the Dark Sect's leader, that means the real leader is still at large.
Everything that the Dark Sect guy had told me could have potentially been a lie. This might even be someone's plan to incriminate me knowing I would not kill the crown prince in retaliation. They might just refute every evidence I give and may even claim I fabricated my memories if I present that as evidence since well… I can actually do that.
But I bet that guy who gave me the list did not account for the possibility that I placed a tracking inscription on him, perhaps this might be a great chance for me to go find out what he's been up to?
Sounds like an idea.
I'll just let these guys think I did it, send a message to my disciples about what I intend to do, then pretend to go into hiding for this 'crime'.
That should put me out of the Dark Sect's sights for a while and give me the opportunity to see what they have planned exactly.
Yep, that settles it, I'll go with that.
I raised up my hands, "Oh no! You got me! Yep, I definitely killed the third prince since he's such a little bitch. But guess what?"
The crown prince gulped, his weapon still pointed at me, "Wh… What?"
I grinned at him, "You can't touch this~"
I disappeared from where I stood in a puff of smoke.
