Chapter 300: The Deadly Formation

It seemed that Rong Qinglei truly had little interest in that position.

But the Emperor did not see things the same way.

By appointing Rong Qinglei as the crown prince, the Emperor had already dragged him into the center of this swirling conflict.

Yue Mingxuan knew very well that this was something Rong Qinglei had never wanted.

Yet there was nothing that could be done about it.

Rong Qinglei’s current situation was not something he could control on his own.

The position of crown prince was not something he could simply discard whenever he wished.

If he truly married Yue Mingxuan, it was even possible that the Emperor would ignore the rules of the court entirely and still insist on keeping him as crown prince.

After all, who could truly guess the Emperor’s intentions?

Rong Qinglei had no choice but to follow his imperial father’s will and taking things one step at a time according to the path that had already been laid out for him.

“Let’s go!” Rong Qinglei said as he deliberately sounding relaxed.

The weather that day was bright and pleasant with gentle winds and warm sunlight.

It was the perfect day for an outing.

“Look over there!” Yue Mingxuan pointed excitedly.

During the past few days, aside from yesterday when he had gone out with Rong Qinglei to eat, every time Yue Mingxuan left the residence it had been to visit the tomb of Consort Wanshu.

So being able to go out hunting like this made him extremely happy.

Seeing his excitement, Rong Qinglei felt deeply satisfied.

“Mm, slow down a little,” he said with a smile as he followed behind Yue Mingxuan.

Yue Mingxuan was so delighted that he paid no attention to what Rong Qinglei was doing behind him.

The two of them rode out on Rong Qinglei’s horse.

Although Rong Qinglei’s health had never been particularly good, he still owned his own horse.

As for the one Yue Mingxuan rode, it had been borrowed.

Rong Qinglei had deliberately chosen the most gentle and obedient pony in the palace for Yue Mingxuan to ride.

However, that horse had a twin brother who was known for having quite a violent temper.

Before leaving, Rong Qinglei had checked several times to make sure he had indeed chosen the calm and gentle one before leading it out.

Because of that, he had not worried in the slightest that Yue Mingxuan might run into trouble.

But what he had not expected was that the moment they entered the forest, the horse suddenly went mad.

It was as though some long-suppressed instinct had finally been released.

The horse charged wildly in every direction, dragging Yue Mingxuan along as it galloped recklessly through the woods.

At first, Yue Mingxuan did not realize anything was wrong.

But soon he began to sense that something was off.

It felt as if the horse was trying to take him somewhere.

Because of that, he did not scold or restrain it.

Instead, he allowed the horse to carry him wherever it wished to go.

After running wildly for quite a long time, the horse finally came to a halt.

Yue Mingxuan raised his head to look around, only to discover that he had no idea what place he had been brought to, nor did he know what might happen next.

“Where is this place?” Yue Mingxuan felt a trace of fear.

He truly did not recognize where he was. Yet deep down, he was not entirely terrified, because by now he possessed a certain level of ability to protect himself.

The scenery before him shifted several times becoming increasingly complex and confusing.

Only then did he realize that he had stepped into some kind of formation and most likely a technique from the art of Qimen Dunjia.

Qimen Dunjia again!

He instinctively began searching for the life gate, but under these circumstances it seemed extremely difficult to find.

Everything around him looked exactly the same.

Was there some other method to escape alive?

“Which way should I go…” Yue Mingxuan murmured helplessly and completely uncertain about what he ought to do.

The scenery before his eyes kept changing, leaving him deeply frustrated.

For now, the only thing he could do was remain unchanged and respond to the countless variations around him.

But what if those changes reached a point where he could no longer turn things back?

He truly had no idea what to do.

In the end, he simply lifted his head and chose a direction at random as he took a step forward.

At that exact moment, he suddenly felt someone grab him.

In the blink of an eye, he was pulled toward the opposite direction.

And that person… stepped into the gate in his place.

It was Rong Qinglei!

Yue Mingxuan immediately reached out to grab him, hoping his lightness skill might be enough to pull Rong Qinglei back.

But once that gate had opened, it could no longer be closed.

If no one entered it, the entire formation would transform into a deadly trap and no one inside would survive.

“No! Don’t… Don’t die!” Yue Mingxuan cried out.

It was the first time he had ever lost his composure like this. Yet there was nothing he could do.

He could only watch helplessly as Rong Qinglei stepped inside.

Yue Mingxuan’s lightness skill was not that strong, but Rong Qinglei’s clearly was.

He should have been able to escape.

The death gate… Once entered meant nine chances of death and only one chance of survival.

Yue Mingxuan had no idea whether Rong Qinglei would be fortunate enough to escape such a calamity.

All he could do was sit there in a daze on the ground, unable to say a single word.

Before entering the gate, Rong Qinglei had pushed him into another one.

This place was temporarily safe, but Yue Mingxuan had no way to leave it.

He had no idea when the formation might collapse.

If all eight gates closed completely, sooner or later he would die here as well.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep