Chapter 138

Chapter 138: You Hit My People, You Hit My Kids—How Could I Not Take Open Revenge

Sui Xuan Chu lifted a shaky hand under his uncle’s oppressive presence. “Uncle… I stayed close with my roommate. We worked together. We didn’t retreat.”

He swallowed, voice dropping. “That means I’m not… totally useless, right?”

By his uncle’s standards, he probably was useless.

But dragons had pride. A Crown Prince couldn’t be branded “useless trash” without at least trying to fight it.

Chong Ming flicked his gaze toward him, cold as a blade. “You’re even more useless.”

“As a Golden Dragon Imperial Clan bloodline, a 3S-rank lightning-element ability bordering on 4S, you let yourself get shredded by a few S-rank, SS-rank, and 3S-rank dragons—white dragon, blue dragon, flower dragon.”

“Scales torn. Blood everywhere.”

“If Jiang Tea Tea hadn’t landed tranquilizers to break you out and healed your wounds, you would’ve bled out and exposed your Crown Prince identity.”

“And the moment your identity was exposed, the bugs invading the academy would’ve swarmed you like mad.”

His voice never rose. It didn’t need to.

“So tell me. Are you still going to insist you aren’t useless?”

Sui Xuan Chu’s shoulders slumped. He stared at the floor like he was searching for a crack to crawl into.

If he found one, he was going to vanish. And unless his uncle begged, he wasn’t coming back out.

Chong Ming continued, merciless. “I’ll adjust your training plan. Starting tomorrow, you add two more hours of beast-form training every day.”

Sui Xuan Chu’s soul visibly left his body.

Jiang Tea Tea, watching him get skinned alive, almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

She cleared her throat. “Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming, from the sound of it… I should thank you for praising me?”

Chong Ming’s tone softened—only slightly. “You’re excellent. You don’t need to thank me.”

Then his eyes sharpened again. “Now I’m taking you to see the Insect Clan Crown Princess.”

Jiang Tea Tea blinked. “Why would I go see her?”

Chong Ming’s gaze dropped to the heart in Jiang Tea Tea’s hand. “You’ll bring that heart as a gift.”

“And you’ll beat her.”

Jiang Tea Tea stared. “Why would I beat her?”

Chong Ming’s voice turned darker. “Once signal restoration finished and the missing footage was recovered, I watched the bugs aim tranquilizer darts at your abdomen.”

Jiang Tea Tea’s eyes widened.

That was it?

Sui Xuan Chu said nothing, but inside he was screaming.

His uncle had changed. He really had.

So damn double standard.

While they spoke, Eldest Prince Agris—still imprisoned—was attacked.

A group of “Insect Clan operatives” stormed him, beating him until his skin split and blood soaked the floor. He was left barely alive.

Adjutant Ai arrived with a rescue team. Agris’s body was a mess—there wasn’t a single patch of unbroken skin left.

Fortunately, medical pods worked miracles.

Agris was thrown into one and sealed inside for treatment.

Adjutant Ai didn’t slow down.

With the footage of Agris’s beating in hand, he arrived at Crown Princess Asais’s hotel late at night.

It was after eleven.

Asais masked her surprise. Why was Chong Ming’s adjutant here at this hour?

Adjutant Ai bowed politely. “My apologies for disturbing you so late, Your Highness.”

Asais’s expression stayed smooth. “What brings you here, Adjutant Ai?”

Adjutant Ai opened his Lightbrain and played the video.

“Earlier tonight, Eldest Prince Agris was attacked by several Insect Clan operatives. Our response was delayed. He was seriously injured.”

“But please don’t worry. We’ve already placed him in a medical pod. His life is not in danger.”

Then Adjutant Ai looked up, his expression almost innocent. “However, after reviewing our surveillance, the attackers looked… familiar. Like people from your side.”

“Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming asked me to ask: did any of your people go out tonight?”

The footage was blurry by design, but the violence was clear—fists, kicks, ability strikes, Agris unable to fight back, blood everywhere.

Asais’s face tightened. “Those aren’t my people. Someone is disguising themselves as Insect Clan to sow discord between my imperial elder brother and me.”

The disguises looked close enough to be suspicious.

But her people knew she was trying to win General Atuya’s loyalty. None of them would be stupid enough to cripple Agris at this moment.

So the beating was almost certainly Chong Ming’s work—beat Agris, then blame her.

Adjutant Ai blinked. “If they aren’t your people, then whose are they? Which Insect Clan faction would do something this extreme?”

“They weren’t trying to injure him—they were trying to kill him. If our team hadn’t discovered it in time, Eldest Prince Agris would have died tonight.”

He paused, then delivered the real knife. “To catch the attackers, we’ve already sent this video to Eldest Prince Agris’s fiancée—General Atuya.”

“General Atuya knows the Insect Clan well. Perhaps she can identify which operatives did this, even from a blurry recording.”

“And I’ve heard General Atuya cares deeply for Eldest Prince Agris. I’m sure she’ll cooperate with our staff to find the attackers and avenge him.”

Asais’s brows snapped together. “You sent the video to General Atuya?”

Adjutant Ai nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Asais forced her anger down until her chest burned. “Leave the video with me. I want to examine it. I want to see who dared lay hands on my imperial elder brother.”

Adjutant Ai bowed. “Of course. I’ll forward the video to your escort officer. If you remember anything, contact me.”

“I won’t disturb your rest any further. Goodbye.”

Asais nodded stiffly and watched him leave.

The moment the door shut, she opened her Lightbrain and tried to call Atuya.

It didn’t connect.

She tried again.

And again.

Nothing.

Cold realization hit her.

Chong Ming had planted a communications expert nearby to jam her signal. He’d cut her off, preventing her from explaining to Atuya that the attackers weren’t her people.

If she couldn’t explain in time, Atuya would assume the beating was Asais’s order.

Chong Ming was trying to destroy Asais’s relationship with Atuya—making sure she could never win that general’s loyalty.

Asais’s fury spiked. She was about to call her escort officer—

When her escort officer stepped in from the next room, face pale. “Your Highness, something happened.”

Asais’s eyes narrowed. “What happened?”

“Wang Die was captured.”

Asais’s voice went flat. “By whom?”

“By Jiang Tea Tea.”

Asais’s expression turned vicious. “Don’t tell me I’m eyeing the Zhen Lin Empire’s Crown Prince, Chong Ming’s mate and cub, and that mutant 3S-rank healer—so Wang Die led operatives straight into the Royal Military Academy to capture people.”

The escort officer lowered his head. “Your Highness… please calm down.”

So it was true.

Asais’s hand shot out—smack.

The slap cracked across the escort officer’s face. “You idiots are brave.”

“You actually dared to infiltrate his royal academy under Chong Ming’s nose.”

“Did you think he was harmless?”

The escort officer dropped to his knees. “Your Highness, we only wanted to share your burden.”

“It should have been foolproof. We didn’t expect the mutant 3S healer Jiang Tea Tea to be that strong.”

“And the dragon beside her was near 4S-rank lightning-element ability. That’s why Wang Die failed.”

Asais didn’t stop at a slap.

She kicked him hard in the chest, sending him coughing blood. “Otto, Wang Die is my most trusted right hand.”

“Now he’s been captured.”

“If he’s captured, he has no path but death.”

“If he dies, it’s like you’ve cut off my arm. How am I supposed to deal with the bugs who oppose me after that?”

Otto lay facedown, trembling. “Your Highness, forgive me.”

Asais wanted to cut his head off.

So many operatives existed—yet they’d sent Wang Die.

Wang Die was her confidant. His phosphor dust and hypnosis were top-tier, unique. No other Wang Die could replace him.

And now he was in enemy hands.

Asais was still thinking, fury boiling, when someone knocked.

A subordinate entered. “Your Highness, Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming is here to see you. Do you wish to meet him?”

Asais’s brows drew tight. “Is he alone?”

“No. He brought the mutant 3S-rank healer Jiang Tea Tea, as well as several attendants.”

Asais’s hand dropped from her waist. “Bring him to the lounge. I’ll come.”

She didn’t bother changing.

After a brief pause in her room, she went to the lounge with several escort officers.

The hotel floor had everything—facilities, suites, and a lounge large enough to swallow a palace hall.

Jiang Tea Tea stood waiting, holding Wang Die’s beating heart.

Asais arrived.

With her disguise dropped, her hair was green, her eyes green. Her face stayed beautiful. Her figure stayed dangerously curvy, chest rising like waves.

Asais walked to Chong Ming first, extending her hand with a smile. “Commander-in-Chief, visiting me this late is unexpected. I didn’t even have time to properly wash and prepare. You don’t mind, do you?”

Chong Ming shook her hand briefly. “However you are is fine. I don’t mind. Your Highness need not overthink it.”

He released her hand.

Asais’s brows lifted. “If you don’t mind, then good. So why are you here so late?”

Chong Ming stepped aside, revealing Jiang Tea Tea behind him. “Today, at Healer Jiang’s school—the Royal Military Academy—there was an attack by Insect Clan operatives.”

“She extracted Wang Die’s heart. She’d like you to take a look and see if you recognize it. Whether it seems familiar.”

Asais’s pupils contracted sharply.

Her gaze locked on the bloody, beating heart in Jiang Tea Tea’s hand.

Wang Die’s heart.

Not only had he been captured—his heart had been torn out.

Her subordinates were all trash.

Jiang Tea Tea walked forward and held the heart out as if offering a gift. “Your Highness Asais. Does this heart look familiar?”

Asais kept her perfect, elegant smile. “That’s a bloody heart. How would I recognize it? How would it look familiar?”

“Commander-in-Chief… Healer Jiang… your joke is in very poor taste.”

Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “If you don’t recognize it, then I’ll crush it.”

“After all, the heart’s owner tried to hypnotize me.”

Asais scoffed. She gambled Jiang Tea Tea wouldn’t dare. “Crush it if you want. Why are you telling me—”

Crunch.

Jiang Tea Tea closed her hand.

A soft pop sounded.

The heart burst in her grip.

Asais stared at blood and pulp dripping between Jiang Tea Tea’s fingers. Her own fingers curled into fists.

“Healer Jiang,” Asais said tightly, “what a personality. How bloody.”

Jiang Tea Tea dropped the crushed heart to the floor and ground it under her heel. “Thanks.”

“Now—Your Highness—your subordinates tried to capture me tonight. How do you plan to settle that debt?”

Asais spread her hands, playing dumb. “Capture you? Healer Jiang, you must be misunderstanding. Who would send people to—”

Bang.

Jiang Tea Tea’s blood-smeared hand clamped around Asais’s throat and slammed her onto the lounge table.

Asais’s attendants surged forward, voices sharp with alarm and outrage.

“Commander-in-Chief! What are you allowing your person to do?”

“Healer Jiang! Who gave you the nerve to lay hands on our Crown Princess? Are you tired of living?”

“We protest! Commander-in-Chief, you must punish Jiang Tea Tea, or the Insect Clan will not let this go!”

Chong Ming stood in his immaculate uniform, face blank, like a man watching a play. “My person is doing nothing.”

He glanced at Asais’s attendants. “Did you see her do anything?”

The attendants he brought with him answered in unison, as if reciting. “Commander-in-Chief, we saw nothing.”

“We only saw Healer Jiang and Crown Princess Asais engaging in friendly exchange.”

Chong Ming nodded, as if deeply satisfied. “Exactly. So many clear eyes are watching. Don’t accuse my people at random.”

Asais’s face twisted, fury breaking through. “Chong Ming, you’re going too far—”

Jiang Tea Tea cut her off. “It’s not him bullying you. It’s me.”

“I’m taking revenge for what your people did tonight—breaking into the Royal Military Academy, trying to capture me, making me fall, shooting tranquilizers at me.”

Asais struggled, trying to speak. “You… I don’t—”

She didn’t get to finish.

Jiang Tea Tea lifted her by the throat and slammed her down again.

The table cracked with a hollow boom.

Asais’s head split. Blood ran over her face, turning beauty into something twisted and savage.

Her attendants screamed. “Your Highness!”

“Your Highness!”

Jiang Tea Tea lifted one finger and made a soft shushing sound. “Quiet.”

“If you get too loud, you’ll irritate me.”

“And if you irritate me, I might accidentally twist your Crown Princess’s neck off.”