"You fight because you must win." He said. Luo He smiled faintly afterward.
"Not for me?" Luo He shrugged lightly.
A long silence followed. And somehow that answer felt more terrifying than arrogance.
Because he truly meant it. Luo He turned his gaze toward the palace gardens beyond the open window while speaking casually, as though discussing weather instead of imperial succession.
"If you win," he said calmly. "Then what truly changes?" He said mockingly. The question itself sounded mocking. Not just because of the words, but because of how little concern existed behind Luo He's face when he told them.
Luo He glanced sideways toward the Crown Prince again, his expression relaxed beneath the lantern light. "You already oppose me openly," Luo He continued evenly.
"You already scheme against me behind closed doors. You already sent men after my family." Luo He continued. Each sentence landed calmly. Methodically. Like crimes being recited before an execution decree.
The Crown Prince's expression barely shifted. Only his eyes hardened slightly.
Then Luo He smiled faintly afterward.
"So you are going to kill me eventually," he said casually. "Very well." He gave a small shrug.
"Even if you become Emperor, how much worse could things truly become?"
Silence settled across the chamber afterward. Heavy silence. The kind that made even servants outside the room lower their breathing instinctively.
The Crown Prince stared at him without speaking. And then Luo He smiled again.
Cold this time. Not playful. Not amused. Just certain. "I do not believe," he said quietly. "That there will ever come a point where I cannot stop you."
He said with absolute confidence. The words were not loud. They carried no dramatic fury. No threat. No emotion.
And somehow that made them infinitely more dangerous.
Because it sounded less like confidence and more like an accepted law of reality inside Luo He's mind. Even Ning Jia glanced toward him silently afterward.
For the first time that evening, even she felt the full weight behind his calmness.
There was no arrogance in his voice now. No performance. Only certainty.
The Crown Prince slowly turned his gaze back toward the dark palace gardens outside the window. The distant lantern lights reflected faintly across his eyes while the cold night wind drifted through the chamber.
Then finally he laughed. Softly. Quietly. Almost tired. "You truly are insane." The Crown Prince muttered. Luo He nodded once without hesitation. "Yes." He said.
No denial. No shame. No attempt to soften it. Just acceptance. And for the first time that night the Crown Prince became genuinely uncertain.
Whether Luo He's madness was his greatest weakness, or the most terrifying strength he possessed.
With that, Luo He finally ended the conversation. "I will not join you," he said firmly. Then his smile widened slightly afterward. "As a matter of fact," he tilted his head just slightly while looking directly into the Crown Prince's eyes.
"I will probably kill you soon enough." The words should have sounded hostile.
Threatening. Dangerous. Yet somehow, Luo He said them while laughing softly beneath his breath.
As though discussing an amusing future inconvenience rather than openly declaring another imperial prince a dead man. "Emperor or not," he continued casually.
"You are already dead man, Brother." No rage existed behind the statement. No hatred. No emotional outburst. And that was exactly what made it unsettling.
Because Luo He did not sound like a man making threats.
He sounded like a man calmly acknowledging an outcome he already considered inevitable. The Crown Prince's expression finally darkened completely afterward.
Even Ning Jia glanced sideways toward Luo He briefly. Not because the words shocked her but because of how naturally he spoke them.
As though telling someone they would eventually die at his hands was no different from commenting on gossip or weather. The chamber itself seemed colder afterward.
The lantern flames flickered softly in the silence while distant night wind drifted through the palace windows. For several moments, nobody spoke.
Then Luo He gave a polite smile almost absurdly out of place for the former conversation they had just finished. "Well then," he said lightly. "This meeting was productive." He said casually.
With that, Luo He finally turned to leave.
But the Crown Prince had not taken his words lightly at all. The moment Luo He's back faced him, the Crown Prince's expression darkened completely.
Whatever amusement had existed moments earlier vanished beneath cold calculation. "Kill him," he ordered coldly.
The command spreading through the chamber instantly.
Several hidden guards moved at once from the surrounding corridors, their footsteps echoing sharply against the palace stone floors as steel left its sheathes in unison.
Yet instead of panicking, Luo He immediately ran straight toward Ning Jia and grabbed her dramatically around the waist. "Princess," he declared loudly.
"These horrible men are trying to harm me." Even now he sounded offended rather than frightened. Ning Jia looked down at him with visible skepticism.
"You are hiding behind me." She asked sarcasticly.
"Yes. Didn't you promise to protect me." Luo He admitted shamelessly. Despite herself, Ning Jia almost laughed. But the incoming guards killed whatever humor remained. Her expression sharpened instantly afterward.
Steel rang through the chamber. Without hesitation, she drew her sword. At nearly the same moment, the two female guards carrying the Black Cloud Shuttle also unsheathed their blades, stepping into formation immediately.
The three women formed a defensive ring around Luo He almost naturally, shielding him from every direction while incoming palace guards rapidly closed the distance. Meanwhile Luo He himself still had not even drawn his sword.
The first wave arrived. Ning Jia moved first. A flash of silver cut through the corridor like lightning itself. One guard collapsed before he even understood what happened. Then another. Then another.
Her swordsmanship was terrifyingly direct. No wasted movements. No flourish. Only speed and lethal precision.
Within moments, seven guards already lay scattered across the palace floor while the remaining soldiers hesitated instinctively.
Blood spread slowly beneath overturned lantern light. But everyone present understood the real problem immediately. More were coming. Far more.
The entire inner palace would soon respond once alarm signals spread fully through the compound. They did not have time for prolonged battle. "Move!" Ning Jia shouted sharply.
The group immediately began retreating through the outer corridor passages while more armored footsteps echoed from distant intersections ahead.
Then suddenly Luo He pointed toward the massive black-wrapped object nearby. "Do not leave it behind," he said quickly. "That is our route of escape." He said urgently.
The two female guards immediately turned and rushed toward the Black Cloud Shuttle again, intending to lift it.
But before either could reach it fully
the shuttle moved by itself.
The enormous object rose slightly from the ground with a deep metallic vibration beneath the black cloth wrapping. It immediately shot forward under Luo He's controlling gaze.
The nearby guards froze in shock. Even Ning Jia looked genuinely surprised.
Then finally for the first time since the fighting began Luo He drew his sword.
The sound of the blade leaving its sheath was strangely soft compared to the chaos around them. One clean motion.
Black light flashed through the air. The old blood-stained black wrappings split apart instantly beneath the strike.
Layers of torn cloth slid slowly from the structure beneath. At last, the Black Cloud Shuttle revealed itself completely. Its sleek frame gleamed under the light.
A black surface flowing like polished obsidian. Pink-red copper plates lined the underside, while intricate golden engravings stretched across its sides in elegant patterns. The sight of it left both friend and foe utterly mesmerized.
The four moved immediately. Steel clashed somewhere deeper within the palace while alarm bells had already begun spreading through the inner districts.
More guards were arriving by the second. Entire corridor formations were sealing shut behind them as the imperial compound slowly transformed into a prison.
Luo He sprinted ahead without hesitation while the Black Cloud Shuttle floated beside them, spiritual power resonating beneath its dark surface. Gold lines across its frame glowed faintly beneath the night sky.
The two female guards climbed aboard first, still gripping bloodstained swords while scanning the surrounding rooftops carefully for incoming archers.
Luo He stepped onto the shuttle immediately afterward. But Ning Jia stopped. She remained standing upon the palace stone path while deep cold eminated from her.
Her pale blue robes glowed beneath the golden lantern light. Luo He looked back instantly. "Princess." He said affectionately. She did not move.