In an instant, the entire room fell silent, and everyone was stunned.
The enormous silver wolf that had been roaring, snarling, and crashing around in its cage for over half a month was now lying quietly on the ground… wagging its tail!
With its ears pressed to its head, it even looked a bit… obedient!
— Wait, obedient? The crown prince, who was always so steady and reserved, had never shown this kind of behavior even when fully conscious!
The guards looked bewildered, question marks written all over their faces.
The Queen was equally shocked. She glanced at Xu Yin, then at the silver wolf, and stammered, “It… it worked?”
The second prince rose as well, supporting the Queen with an impassive expression.
At first, You Yuan was in disbelief, then his face darkened.
He was hailed as a genius illusionist, yet he couldn’t do anything to the crown prince. But Xu Yin had calmed him down with just a few words?
This was a complete blow to his pride!
Unable to sit still, You Yuan stood up and said coldly, “It only looks calm right now. Just a moment ago, I also managed to quiet the crown prince temporarily, but when I tried to approach him, he immediately reverted to his former state!”
A court illusionist shook his head, countering excitedly, “There’s a difference. Young Master You, earlier when you tried to soothe the crown prince with words, you couldn’t get him to sit quietly at all—let alone get him to wag his tail!”
Since the day he’d fallen into this madness, the silver wolf had been constantly standing, his blood-red eyes either fixed on them in vigilance or roaring furiously, never resting for even a moment.
If this continued, even someone as strong as the crown prince would quickly reach his limit. This was also why the Queen was becoming increasingly anxious!
Hearing the court illusionist’s words, the Queen’s eyes reddened, and she nodded. You Yuan’s expression twisted with frustration—seriously, even under normal circumstances, it wasn’t easy to get the crown prince to wag his tail!
So, what exactly had Xu Yin done?!
He bit his lip and glared at Xu Yin.
The Queen looked at Xu Yin with hopeful eyes. “Xu Yin, could you… try touching Yuzhou?”
If they could just make contact with the silver wolf, they could start the treatment.
Xu Yin’s gaze circled the silver wolf.
The wolf kept his head slightly raised, watching him intently. His large, fluffy tail wagged back and forth, showing none of the ferocity he had displayed just moments ago.
Even Xu Yin hadn’t expected it to go this smoothly. Could it be that raising Xiao Hei had somehow given him an unexpected dog-training skill?
Xu Yin chuckled to himself.
He nodded at the Queen’s request and replied, “Alright.”
With that, he extended his hand.
Under everyone’s watchful, breath-held gaze, that slender, elegant hand reached toward the cage, fingertips moving past the bars.
Everyone’s hearts raced, and the guards tensed, ready to act in case the silver wolf suddenly went berserk again. If needed, they would have to save this seemingly delicate young man instantly to prevent the wolf from biting his hand right off.
…But as they watched in tense anticipation, the young man’s fingertips crossed the cage’s bars and touched the silver wolf’s soft fur.
The silver wolf stirred.
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.
Then the wolf closed his eyes, tilted his head, and gently nuzzled against the young man’s palm.
Xu Yin froze for a moment.
Everyone around them gasped—th-the crown prince hadn’t lashed out; he was… being affectionate? He was actually showing affection!
Even as a child, the crown prince had never shown this kind of tenderness, not even toward Her Majesty the Queen!
Xu Yin looked down at his hand.
Hmm, being nuzzled by a large, fluffy creature… felt surprisingly nice.
Unable to resist, he gave the silver wolf’s face a gentle rub, and the wolf nuzzled back a couple more times, completely docile.
Xu Yin moved on to ruffling the wolf’s head, and the wolf closed his eyes, tilting his head up, letting Xu Yin pet him as much as he wanted. His tail swished enthusiastically behind him, completely belying his wolfish nature.
At that moment, it was hard to tell whether they were more surprised or delighted. The Queen covered her mouth, while the court illusionist exclaimed excitedly, “We can start the treatment! As long as we can begin, we’re that much closer to success!”
Previously, their efforts had stalled because they couldn’t calm the crown prince down enough to proceed with treatment.
The court illusionists had given everything they had but still struggled to subdue the crown prince, causing treatment to be slow and inconsistent. But now, Xu Yin has completely calmed the crown prince. With the prince in this state, how could they possibly fail to heal him?
Off to the side, You Yuan watched as everyone looked at Xu Yin with excitement and admiration, clenching his teeth in secret.
Suddenly, his eyes flashed, and he quickly strode over to push Xu Yin aside, saying coldly, “Let me take over from here. Your treatment abilities are inadequate!”
Caught off guard, Xu Yin raised an eyebrow at the unexpected shove.
Inside the cage, the silver wolf’s ears perked up, and he opened his eyes, fixing You Yuan with a cold, blood-red stare.
Unaware, You Yuan rolled up his sleeves with a poised air. He spoke calmly, “Your Majesty, I’ll handle the treatment from here. Rest assured, I will surely—ah!”
Before he could finish, the silver wolf slammed into the cage bars with force, snapping at You Yuan. The wolf’s terrifying fangs came within inches of You Yuan’s hand, and he fell back, sitting down heavily on the floor in fright.
The silver wolf thrashed against the cage, snarling furiously at You Yuan, his behavior just as frenzied as before. The Queen staggered, nearly fainting from shock.
Xu Yin glanced at You Yuan, whose face had gone deathly pale, then walked to the cage and extended his hand.
“Young Master Xu!” the guards exclaimed.
Xu Yin was planning to reach out and touch the wolf directly without even saying a word of reassurance? That was way too risky!
Yet, the expected bloody scene didn’t happen.
The young man stretched out his hand and touched the silver wolf, who instantly froze, stopping his snarls.
The wolf panted, his blood-red eyes shifting to gaze at the young man.
Xu Yin gently patted his head and said softly, “Good boy, don’t do that. Sit down.”
…
The silver wolf closed his mouth and obediently sat on the ground, staring intently at Xu Yin, his ears twitching.
… He’d been soothed again!
Xu Yin was practically a calming charm for the crown prince!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
The Queen finally recovered, gasping for breath as tears nearly filled her eyes.
When You Yuan got up, looking like he was about to protest, the Queen snapped to attention, and immediately shouted to the guards, “Don’t let You Yuan near the cage! Pull him back! Now, now, now!”
You Yuan: “???”
By the time he came to his senses, You Yuan was already being dragged away by the guards as if he were some kind of plague.
You Yuan had never been treated this way before—his face turned green with frustration!
At this point, everyone finally dared to gather around the cage—because as long as Xu Yin was there, they felt safe.
Two court illusionists began discussing in hushed voices:
“Young Master Xu can approach the crown prince, but Young Master You can’t. Could it be that the crown prince only accepts Young Master Xu?”
“Quite possibly. Should we try approaching as well?”
“No, no, let’s not risk it,” the Queen interjected, her eyes red with concern. Turning to Xu Yin, she asked, “Xu Yin, could you try treating Yuzhou?”
The Queen had heard of Xu Yin before, but with You Yuan present, she had never expected Xu Yin to be of much help.
Yet reality was proving to be the complete opposite of her expectations!
Not only was You Yuan unable to calm her eldest son, Jun Yuzhou, but he even seemed to agitate him further.
And Xu Yin, the one they had initially overlooked, turned out to be the only one Yuzhou could tolerate and even be close to.
Was You Yuan really as remarkable as his reputation claimed?
And was Xu Yin, the often-overlooked child of the Xu family, really as unimpressive as everyone thought?
The Queen’s doubts deepened. She looked earnestly at Xu Yin and said, “Don’t worry too much about it. Why not give it a try and see what you can do?”
Xu Yin wasn’t particularly afraid; he’d just assumed that if all these skilled illusionists couldn’t manage it, he, a novice, probably wouldn’t succeed either.
But to his surprise, the crown prince seemed unexpectedly close to him.
Since that was the case, there was no harm in attempting to treat him.
With this in mind, Xu Yin said calmly, “I’ll give it a try.”
The Queen was slightly startled but then nodded.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t truly paid much attention to this young man until now.
In the Xu family, as long as You Yuan was around, he often overshadowed everyone else.
Yet at this moment, the young man in front of her appeared calm and composed, his actions steady and unhurried. Compared to You Yuan, who’d been either fleeing in panic or trying to claim credit, Xu Yin left her with a much better impression.
—She wasn’t oblivious to You Yuan’s attempt to steal the spotlight just now.
She’d seen this sort of thing many times. If You Yuan’s skills had genuinely been outstanding, it would’ve been understandable. But instead, after pushing Xu Yin aside, You Yuan failed to accomplish anything, only aggravating Yuzhou’s frenzy. Were it not for etiquette, the queen would have had the guards escort You Yuan out immediately.
Now, watching Xu Yin gently reach out to touch the silver wolf again, her gaze softened.
Xu Yin placed his hand lightly on the wolf’s head and closed his eyes to focus.
He approached it as though he were harnessing his water-element abilities, channeling the energy within him into a gentle stream—a technique he had long since mastered. He could even compress the flow to its most refined state, gradually guiding it toward his palm…
As the energy stream flowed from his palm into the silver wolf, Xu Yin became acutely aware of just how chaotic the wolf’s internal energy pathways were.
It was a complete mess.
He frowned slightly.
In the memories inherited from the original Xu Yin, there were encounters with patients suffering from energy disorders, but the crown prince’s condition was on an entirely different level. Could this really be due to illness?
The intensity of this turmoil was severe enough to put anyone in constant agony, bordering on madness. That he hadn’t succumbed outright was astonishing.
Xu Yin didn’t know the crown prince personally, nor what kind of person he was, but he couldn’t help feeling some sympathy.
To be trapped in this state for over half a month—enduring something akin to a living nightmare.
Coupled with physical injuries from his frantic struggles, his wounds had gone untreated for so long, making it likely that many had already become infected or festered.
In this condition, it was fair to say that there wasn’t a single part of the crown prince’s body left unscathed.
Xu Yin sighed softly, directing his energy stream into the prince’s body, pushing through the chaotic blocks of energy with a steady force, cleansing as he went.
Meanwhile, in reality, two court illusionists were trying to guide Xu Yin on what to do.
“The prince’s energy channels are extremely, extremely unstable. At first, you might struggle to get your energy to flow inside. Don’t panic, and don’t force it; you’re still inexperienced. Given the prince’s current state, trying to force a cleanse could end up hurting you instead.”
“Just do your best. Any progress, no matter how small, will help. Once the crown prince feels a bit better, we can take over.”
The two court illusionists, fully aware of how difficult the crown prince’s condition was to handle, made sure not to pressure Xu Yin too much. They were desperately trying to offer reassurance, hoping the young man wouldn’t be overwhelmed.
It was not uncommon for rookie illusionists to be frightened to tears by the chaotic energy of an agitated spirit, let alone one as chaotic as the crown prince’s.
The Queen understood the situation as well.
The court illusionists had expended tremendous effort, managing to subdue Yuzhou a few times in the past. However, during those rare moments of calm, when they attempted treatment, every illusionist was pale and drenched in sweat—yet the results were always minimal.
Yuzhou’s energy disturbance this time was especially violent, and the illusionists had made slow progress. How could they expect a young, inexperienced person like Xu Yin to succeed where they had failed?
