He glared at the jade goblet fiercely. The surface of the wine showed two bickering kids over a painting. Someone he wanted dead was stubbornly alive and even seemed to be glowing with health and vigour. And another who was supposed to be death came back to pass into the third round of the competition. His plans were going to be affected. This new development was among his calculations.

Xia Feng was supposed to be dead!

He had even hired a sorcerer from another kingdom to do the deed but he managed to stay alive.

And Xiao Lok was not exhibiting any of the signs she was supposed to show after consuming the tea he had given her for more than five months now. At this rate, his master was going to be furious with him. He did not like the idea of displeasing his master.

Dong Ran, the crown prince of East Mainland, sat with a scowl on his face. He did not like what he was seeing in his spying goblet. Though he was the crown prince, lately he had felt that his father was being too biased towards Dong Chen, he was not threatened by him, but he needed to clip his wings, just in case. Dong Chen had strong ties with Xia family, and he was intimidated by it. Dong Chen never showed any signs of greed towards the crown, but in the royal family no one can tell what someone actually wants or thinks. Everything can be a façade. On top of that, his father had been going against him in the court session and he found out that it was actually because of Dong Lok. Never had he thought that a weak and timid girl could come up with strategies for their father that always went against his wishes.

And he needed to remove both Xia Feng and Dong Lok, if he was ever going to be a king. He would have preferred to get rid of Xia Sheng more than Xia Feng, but his master had insisted that Xia Feng posed a greater danger to his position than Xia Sheng.

The goblet turned red as he was mulling over these bumps to his road to become a king. It meant that his master was calling him.

A hooded man appeared on the surface of the wine now.

“I see that you have failed in getting rid of the pests I asked you to.” A genderless voice came out from the goblet.

“Master, I don’t understand how two of my plans can fail both at the same time! Something is wrong here. Have we been discovered?”

“Fool! No one in this kingdom can figure out our plans. Use the vial of my blood to mix with anything the princess eats to hasten her poison, no one will find out the cause. And about Xia Feng, leave it to the competition; he will not come out alive.”

“Yes, master. I obey your will.”

“I will be coming soon once I handle some affairs here.”

The goblet turned to normal and their conversation ended.

Dong Ran smiled at the thought of finally achieving his dream of wearing the crown.

Bai Hua knew that blood was going to be shed soon and that Xia Feng and Dong Lok were going to play a big part in it. The outcome was going to decide the fate of this kingdom and also the fate of both Xia Feng and Dong Lok. His eyes were not wrong. Unwittingly he had danced right into the thick of the action. At this rate the Master of Stars will notice his presence in the mortal world.

He had tried not to mess with the fates of the mortals but he had already done so. Maybe Xia Feng and Dong Lok were fated to be saved, but the Master of the Stars didn’t know the saviour of these two mortals was going to be someone who did not even have a fate. They were so lucky to have been saved and preserved by Bai Hua.

Bai Hua spent his time in Prince Chen’s manor perturbed by the blood he had seen and also worried about the blood that Xia Feng had seen. Xia Feng had glimpsed a bloody battlefield, but he did not realised the implications of it. Dong Lok had painted the sea of poppies but she did not realise the future that she had painted with her brush.

Xia Feng and Dong Lok slept fitfully that night after they had bickered over the painting unaware that their lives were being plotted by someone who was very close to them.

The next day, Dong Lok was summoned by Dong Ran and she had to leave to visit the Crown Prince.

While Xia Feng decided to practice more in order to stay alive and protect his family if ever he was caught up in a battlefield like he saw yesterday.

Bai Hua was keen on the future of this tiny kingdom and so decided to watch the drama that was going to unfold soon. Conspiracy was thick in the air and it was going to explode soon. He can almost hear the tunes of blood in the air.