02 The Prince’s Heartless Demise

In a dim and cluttered cave, lay a boy who looked to be only in his early teens. The boy wore a bright yellow brocade robe, dirty and lying on the cold ground. The noble garment was wrinkled and in some places already torn. If someone were to come by at this moment, they would see that the boy had no breath left, and his whole body was beginning to stiffen.

Time slowly passed, and when night fell, the boy lying on the ground’s fingers twitched slightly, as if it were just an illusion. But after a while, his entire palm began to tremble gently. Then, after a bit more time, the boy’s delicate brows furrowed lightly, and his tightly closed eyes suddenly opened. Those eyes, like glazed ink and jade, seemed to glimpse through the fleeting shadows of the world, seeing through worldly splendor and experiencing the desolation of humanity—sparse shadows, slanting light, and shimmering waves.

Shang Wuxin looked up at the mottled cave ceiling above his head. After a long while, he felt his body slowly warming up and struggled to sit up, surveying his surroundings. His entire demeanor was indifferent and casual.

Shang Wuxin stretched out his palm and looked at his small hand. These hands were delicate and small, clearly those of a wealthy young master who never did manual labor.

“Heh…” Shang Wuxin let out a light laugh, then uncontrollably burst into wild laughter. “Hehehehehe…” His voice carried an indescribable sadness and arrogance, echoing repeatedly in the dark cave, creating a very eerie atmosphere.

Shang Wuxin laughed for a long time before stopping, looking at the void of darkness with self-mockery. She actually hadn’t died? As expected, even hell itself seemed unreachable. Was it because she had killed too many or sinned too much? But it didn’t matter anymore. Now that she was still alive, that was enough. In this life, she would live freely as she pleased!

Shang Wuxin examined his own body. Although he couldn’t see his face, his body was very thin. Although he was already fifteen years old, he looked only about eleven or twelve. He knew that the owner of this body was the Crown Prince of the Shang Kingdom, a position that seemed very powerful. But unfortunately, this Shang Wuxin had been plagued by illness and a weak body since birth, and he was extremely timid, always being teased by other princes and others, then would only hide away and cry in grievance.

Shang Wuxin suddenly touched his chest and felt that his chest was very flat. He was somewhat surprised—could it be that he had really become a man? Then his hand reached down but found nothing there, realizing that this Crown Prince was actually a woman.

A woman who should have been a princess but disguised herself as a man and became the Crown Prince—there must be many secrets unknown to the original self! Shang Wuxin sorted through many memories in his mind and also understood why he had died this time.

Although Shang Wuxin was the Crown Prince, he was just a powerless and insignificant figure. Not only that, even the emperor seemed to dislike this son and paid him no attention. But if that was the case, why was Shang Wuxin allowed to sit on the throne of Crown Prince?

Because Shang Wuxin was a woman, she was constantly afraid and hated her male identity. So all along, Shang Wuxin had been hiding inside the Crown Prince’s residence, never coming out. But this time, after being persuaded for a long time by a eunuch in her residence to go out and see the world, she unexpectedly ran into some noble sons of officials as soon as she stepped outside. These young nobles shamelessly mocked and humiliated Shang Wuxin, and she didn’t even dare to get angry. She could only cry and sob as she returned to the Crown Prince’s residence.

After returning to the Crown Prince’s residence, Shang Wuxin locked himself in his room, refusing to eat or drink, and was gloomy all day. At this time, a first-class maidservant in the Crown Prince’s residence, who was one of the closest attendants, persuaded Shang Wuxin, saying that there was a very effective wishing tree in the valley behind the imperial tomb. If one made a wish there, their dreams would come true. Naive Shang Wuxin truly believed her and secretly went to this valley. However, he was frightened by various fierce beasts and poisonous snakes and fled, ending up in this valley. By coincidence, he was poisoned and died on the spot, ushering in a brand new soul for Shang Wuxin.

Shang Wuxin touched this brand-new cheek, sighing silently in her heart. This Shang Wuxin was really foolish! This maid must have been planted in the Crown Prince’s mansion by someone else. With such an easy lure, Shang Wuxin was so easily deceived and even lost her life. Shang Wuxin wanted to regain her identity as a woman so badly, wanted to be like a woman who supports her husband and educates her children. It was better to die; otherwise, with Shang Wuxin’s personality, she would suffer sooner or later.

After lying down for a long time, Shang Wuxin sorted through many things in her mind. Although her head was still dizzy and many of her memories were confused, this did not hinder Shang Wuxin’s determined heart. Memories could be gradually picked up later, but now, saving her life was the priority.

“Damn it!” Shang Wuxin cursed softly. She originally thought that after transmigrating, all her martial arts skills would disappear and she would have to start over. But when she stood up and used her internal energy throughout her body, she realized that the original Shang Wuxin did have martial arts skills, and they were not weak. With such high martial arts skills, she was still bullied like this and only knew how to run away when encountering beasts. Shang Wuxin felt no sympathy for her original self from the bottom of her heart. In the law of the jungle, if this Shang Wuxin were just an ordinary girl, it would be one thing, but she was not only a child of the royal palace but also a crown prince. It was a miracle she had survived with such a personality.