Chapter 597: Terrible and Unbearable Sight

Shi Kun's face twitched. He managed to force a smile: "Brother Zu has already achieved perfection. I couldn't possibly surpass that, so I won't make a fool of myself."

Zu An sneered: "What? Is Young Master Shi trying to go back on his word? You just swore a heavenly oath."

Shi Kun was on the verge of tears. He never imagined he'd end up shooting himself in the foot. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream; he couldn't believe the Crown Prince had accurately thrown all four flying daggers.

The Crown Prince, standing nearby, was also beaming with excitement: "Exactly, exactly! Hurry up and go! It's rare for me to be in such good form; I want to savor this feeling."

After all, he was just a human. Zu An hadn't controlled him with the jade *cong* for very long, and it was a miracle he'd managed to throw the daggers at all. By then, the Crown Prince had returned to his normal state. Just moments ago, he had felt completely dazed, somehow hitting all four targets consecutively. He felt an emptiness inside and wanted to try again to clearly experience it and enjoy himself properly.

Shi Kun stared at the Crown Prince, bewildered and suspicious. A moment ago, the man had seemed unfathomable; now he seemed like an idiot again. Was he encouraging him like this because he planned to take the opportunity to teach him a lesson?

Then, a different thought struck him. "Wait, no, that's not right. I've been with the Crown Prince for so long; even if I haven't earned merit, I've certainly put in effort. I should be much closer to him than that Zu An. Surely, the Crown Prince intends to give me an out. Later, he'll also hit four apples, resulting in a draw, and everyone will be happy." With that thought, a heavy weight was lifted from his heart.

Zu An grew a little impatient: "Young Master Shi, if you're not going to compete, just admit defeat. Come over here, lie down, lick my foot, and then bark like a dog." The thought of a grown man licking his foot was disgusting. Was he a pervert for proposing such a bet? Yet, to see him bark like a dog, he would reluctantly allow it.

Shi Kun, believing he had seen through the Crown Prince's intentions, could no longer tolerate such insults. He flared up in anger: "You scoundrel, do you think I'll lose to you? Bring it on!"

Rage value from Shi Kun: 999!

He walked directly to the wall, spreading his arms wide: "Alright, put the apples up for me. The Crown Prince is unerringly accurate; how could I possibly be worried?" He even specifically buttered up the Crown Prince again, just to be completely safe.

"Of course, how could I miss?" The Crown Prince's eyes were already small, and combined with his plump face, they almost disappeared as he smiled, hearing such flattery.

Eunuch Xu and Eunuch He, standing nearby, felt their eyelids twitch, wondering if the Crown Prince wasn't afraid those young eunuchs he had stabbed to death with flying daggers years ago would come looking for him in the middle of the night, speaking like that.

After the apples were set in place, the Crown Prince suddenly mused: "I just hit four out of four. Hitting another four times won't truly show my skill. How about I blindfold myself and try a blind shot?"

Shi Kun was nearly scared out of his wits. He quickly said: "Crown Prince, please understand. Zu An and I made a bet, and the terms of the bet must be fair. Perhaps you can try blindfolded shots another day."

Eunuch Xu and Eunuch He cursed inwardly, thinking that if that son of a bitch spoke like this, they would be the ones to suffer if the Crown Prince got a whim in the future. Unfortunately, they were merely low-ranking eunuchs, while Shi Kun was the son of the Grand Marshal, a highly respected figure. They dared not offend him and could only mentally mark this down for later.

"Oh, really?" The Crown Prince seemed a bit deflated. "Alright then, I'll begin. Hmm, I'll start by aiming for the one on your head."

Shi Kun was speechless. He weakly reminded: "Crown Prince, it's the apple on top of my head, not my head itself."

The Crown Prince's eyes widened: "Of course I know that! Do you take me for a fool? If you say one more word, I'll shoot your head directly later."

Shi Kun quickly offered a placating smile: "This humble subject wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare." But in his heart, he grumbled endlessly that given this guy's past performance, it would be better if he aimed directly for his head; then he probably wouldn't hit it. However, having just witnessed his miraculous unerring accuracy, he dared not voice such thoughts aloud.

Only then did the Crown Prince nod with satisfaction, holding the flying dagger and aiming it around. Shi Kun's heart pounded. The Crown Prince hadn't acted like this when he threw the daggers earlier; each throw then had been clean and decisive. Now, this prolonged aiming felt incredibly unreliable. He fixed his gaze on the other man's hand, his heart trembling with its every movement. This feeling of waiting for execution was simply unbearable; it would be better if he just got it over with.

As if hearing his unspoken plea, the Crown Prince finally made his move. The thrown dagger flew crookedly, completely lacking its previous grace.

Shi Kun looked utterly bewildered: "???" *Didn't you say you'd shoot the apple on my head? Why are you aiming downwards? Had you changed your mind and decided to shoot the one between my legs? But the angle was wrong; it was a bit too high. It wouldn't hit the apple, but rather his vital spot three inches below the navel.* The reason he could have so many thoughts was primarily that the Crown Prince's thrown dagger was moving too slowly. After all, he was a Sixth-Rank master and could clearly see the trajectory of the flying object.

The surrounding eunuchs and guards nodded in unison, thinking this was the Crown Prince's normal level – or rather, an extraordinary performance for him, with an error of only a few feet. Usually, when he threw daggers, they might land several *zhang* away from the target.

Shi Kun, meanwhile, was drenched in cold sweat, wondering what he should do, what he should do. *Was the Crown Prince using this to punish him? If it were just an ordinary flying dagger, he might grit his teeth and let him punish him to vent his anger. But this Immortal Slaying Dagger damaged the soul; if he got hit, he'd be crippled, especially if it hit a man's most vital spot! Not only would he become a cripple in cultivation, but he wouldn't even be a man anymore?*

As the dagger was about to strike him, he finally made his decision. Enough! Preserving his strength was paramount, for this was a world of cultivation where one's ultimate status depended on one's power.

So he moved, reaching out and directly catching the dagger by its handle. The tip was less than an inch from his vital spot. He secretly let out a sigh of relief, quickly pondering what to do next. Zu An wouldn't let him off easily. Would he really have to kneel and lick his shoes?

Before Zu An could speak, the Crown Prince preemptively protested: "Shi Kun, what are you doing? Why did you suddenly move? All the apples on you fell to the ground! Do you think I can't shoot straight?"

Shi Kun was on the verge of cursing out loud, thinking the Crown Prince couldn't shoot for crap, and he'd almost become Eunuch Shi. Just as he was about to speak, the nearby door was suddenly pushed open. A sharp cry rang out: "Are you involving the Crown Prince in your nonsense again?!"

A beautiful woman stood at the doorway, glaring angrily at everyone in the room. It was none other than Crown Princess Bi Linglong, whom they had met once before.

Bi Linglong was born into the Bi family, one of the top clans in the Great Zhou Dynasty. She was beautiful, capable, and always proud and ambitious, unlike most women. Though young, she possessed extraordinary insight and strong ambitions. Marrying the Crown Prince, and eventually becoming empress, was supposed to be the most satisfying destiny. Yet, her husband was a fool. Every time she saw her husband's idiotic appearance, she felt a surge of anger. But what could she do? She was already married. She could only try her best to urge the Crown Prince to study. If his cultivation talent was poor, then learning to handle government affairs would be just as good. Anyway, at his status, he wouldn't need to personally take action. Even if she took ten thousand steps back, even if he couldn't learn to handle government affairs, it would be good enough if he could just learn to act a little more like a normal person.

But this foolish husband never gave her a moment's peace. Yesterday, his conversation with a frog by the pond had become the laughingstock of all the noble families in the capital. Today, she had originally instructed the Crown Prince's tutor to assign him homework for self-reflection. However, her maid reported that the Crown Prince seemed to be playing games with some attendants in the study.

This was outrageous! She instantly bristled with fury, storming over and pushing the door open without even knocking. She couldn't openly scold the Crown Prince, so she vented her anger on the others. She had decided that today she would thoroughly deal with the people around the Crown Prince, to see who would dare to accompany him in his foolishness again.

In the past, the Crown Prince and his attendants would have immediately apologized to her. But now, these people acted as if they hadn't seen her, all uniformly looking behind the door. She frowned, bewildered, and turned to look. She saw Shi Kun standing pale-faced behind the door, both hands gripping a flying dagger that was embedded in his lower body. Blood was visibly seeping between his legs, quickly staining a large area red.

Bi Linglong was utterly dumbfounded. What exactly were these people playing at? Stabbing themselves? And *there*?