The Mad King's Heir

AN: I had a great Birthday. Thank you so much for the birthday wishes. Happy reading.

Yu Wen recalled walking down the dark stairs, his senses on high alert. He didn’t know what to expect. All he knew was that he had to find his father. The further he walked, the brighter the lights, giving him a sense of ease.

Just then, he heard his father’s voice. Elated, he called out, "Father," and ran down the stairs. His father’s voice turned hysterical, his words incoherent. Hearing this, he became worried and ran even faster, missing his footing. Yu Wen rolled down the steep stairs, twisting his ankle in the process.

When he reached the bottom, he grunted in pain. He was covered in bruises, and his skin was scraped with some injuries that were bleeding. But he couldn’t care less about himself. He struggled to get up, and a sharp pain shot up from his ankle. Gritting his teeth, he walked into a narrow passage.

Suddenly, a tall shadow loomed over him. His entire body tensed up as an icy chill coursed through him. It was like he was in the presence of a dangerous creature. His instincts to fight were ignited. It was either kill or be killed. He looked up, and when he met Li Mingze’s bloodshot eyes, he trembled involuntarily.

Li Mingze grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him into the main hall. Yu Wen struggled with all his might, but the man didn’t loosen his grip. He flung Yu Wen his strength unrestrained. Yu Wen hit the pillar with a loud bang, knocking the air out of his lungs. A crack formed on the pillar, showing how much force had been used.

Yu Hu was kneeling a few feet over, coughing up blood. When he saw Yu Wen, his body visibly trembled. He called out, "Yu Wen!" his voice tremulous.

Li Mingze looked at Yu Hu with a sinister smile. He picked up the sword he had dropped and walked towards Yu Wen, saying, "A son for a son."

The man’s eyes widened in horror. He crawled over his arms and legs, restrained as he pleaded with the crazed lunatic. "Take me, Mingze, I beg you. Just take me! My son had nothing to do with it! MINGZE NO!"

His smile brimming with cruelty, he raised the sword and stabbed Yu Wen’s abdomen. Yu Wen remembered feeling a sudden cold intrusion pierce his flesh. He cried out in agony, the searing and deep pain tearing through him. He could faintly hear his father’s desperate pleas in the background.

Unsatisfied with the pain he inflicted, Li Mingze twisted the blade, and Yu Wen saw a white light flash in his eyes. In his anguish, he turned to look at his father, wondering why he wasn’t doing something. Why wasn’t he saving him? But instead of his father’s gaze, he met Li Jun’s. Li Jun met his gaze, and for a couple of seconds, they just looked at each other. Yu Wen saw him as his only hope, the only lifeline that could pull him out of the abyss threatening to swallow him.

Li Mingze pulled the blade from his flesh and picked him up before throwing him like a rag doll. Yu Wen’s head hit the corner of a stone altar, and his vision went dark. From then on, there were bits and pieces he could remember.

What happened when he was knocked out was now playing in the damaged surveillance footage. He saw Li Mingze walk towards him with murderous intent, the sword dragging on the ground. His father tried to crawl over, begging for Li Mingze to kill him, not his son.

Li Jun, who had been standing there watching, suddenly moved. He ran over to his father and hugged him from behind. He whispered something Yu Wen couldn’t hear. The man’s footsteps stopped, and he turned around, looking at his son.

Everyone knew that Li Mingze spoiled Li Jun and treated him like the most precious treasure in his life, so what happened next came as a shock to him. He gripped Li Jun’s hair painfully and pulled him towards Yu Hu.

Li Mingze put the blade in his hands and said, "Traitors to the empire must be killed. Do what must be done." Li Jun’s fingers trembled, and so did the sword. He shook his head, no, refusing to do it.

His father stood behind him and put his hands over Li Jun’s, steadying the sword while saying, "You are the future Imperial King of Aurelia. It is your duty to protect the people, to protect the crown. Do it... DO IT!"

Li Jun looked at Yu Hu, the tip of the blade at his throat, but shook his head no. "Don’t make me do this, father. I am begging you," he whispered, his voice cracked.

Leaning close to his ear and his face pressing against Li Jun’s, Li Mingze said, "He came to kidnap you and deliver you into Helion’s hands. He deserves to die for such a treasonous crime. An Imperial King should never be soft-hearted, otherwise they will think you are weak. They will walk all over you... take advantage of you. Don’t you see what father is trying to teach you?"

His chest heaving and his hands still shaking, Li Jun nodded. The Yu Wen, watching the footage, narrowed his eyes as he clutched his chest. The pain was like having his heart ripped out of his body.

Li Mingze’s lips curled, seeing his son being so obedient. He pointed at Yu Hu’s chest and said, "Stab right there."

Li Jun took a step and braced himself. He raised the sword, but instead of stabbing him, he threw it and bolted away with fear and desperation in his eyes. Caught off guard, Li Mingze yelled, "Li Jun!" before taking out his plasma whip. With no ounce of fatherly affection, he cracked it, striking Li Jun’s back.

The first strike burned his skin, and the second tore deeper, making him scream in pain. His legs buckled, and he fell forward, collapsing to the floor. The burning ache tore through his body as he lay on the ground, as though passed out.

Li Mingze, enraged by his son’s insubordination, picked up the sword while yelling at Yu Hu. "You see how benevolent he is? You came to kidnap him and hand him over to the enemy, but he is still so kind, refusing to fucking kill you," he said, his eyes like those of a raving lunatic.