Chapter 136: Extra 2 The Strange Amnesiac Adventures of His Highness the Crown P

IT WAS THE MAN in red who had toasted him from afar earlier—and he’d sat down so casually right in front of Xie Lian.

Xie Lian blinked, and it took him a moment to be certain that this man was really talking to him. He immediately got ahold of himself—he couldn’t allow this man’s powerful presence to shake him.

Maintaining his calm, he politely replied, “Unfortunately, I abstain from alcohol. It seems I won’t be able to treat you to a cup.”

The man in red laughed aloud and got even more comfortable in his seat. “Is that right?” he said. “But, Daozhang, your face seems gripped by distress. Surely liquor would be helpful.”

“My lord must be mistaken,” Xie Lian stated without further reaction.

Although the most important precept of his cultivation method had been broken, he knew he mustn’t abandon his work and give up on the other, lesser precepts.

He had been distant and mild this whole time, but the man clearly had no intention of leaving. Instead, it seemed like he’d settled in.

“If Daozhang won’t treat me, then shall I help myself?”

Xie Lian glanced at him, then looked around. Weird—it wasn’t like there weren’t empty seats around, so why did he have to sit at his table to drink? There was no reason to refuse him this, however, so Xie Lian replied, “Go ahead.”

The man gave a lazy wave. The waiter at this restaurant had never encountered a patron of this caliber, and, hardly daring to breathe, he hurriedly brought over a flagon and cup and wiped the table vigorously for fear of mistreating the guest.

Seeing how relaxed and comfortable this man in red appeared as he drank by himself, Xie Lian couldn’t resist asking, “Does my lord ask everyone to treat you to a cup of wine when meeting for the first time?”

“Hmm? Oh, no,” the man said, grinning. “To tell you the truth, Daozhang, most people usually never even get to see my face.”

His tone was rather arrogant, but Xie Lian didn’t find it unpleasant.

They sat together, each in their own world. Xie Lian kept his eyes staring elsewhere, trying to appear wholly calm. After a while, the man spoke up once more.

With a hand still propping up his cheek, he said, “Might I ask your name, Daozhang? What shall I call you?”

Xie Lian made up a surname without much thought and replied, “My surname is Hua.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “Oh…Hua-daozhang.”

“What shall I call you, my lord?” Xie Lian asked.

“You can simply call me San Lang, Daozhang,” the man said.

Xie Lian could tell he didn’t want to give his real identity, and he wasn’t going to force the issue. He thought for a moment but couldn’t recall any notable characters who were ranked third in their family, so he stopped trying to figure it out.

Suddenly, he noticed that a lock of San Lang’s jet-black hair next to his cheek was tied into a thin braid. A red coral pearl was fastened at the end of it.

The bead was small and softly lustrous; it was clearly worth a hefty fortune. But Xie Lian had the nagging feeling he’d seen it somewhere before—maybe in his bedchamber, amidst the other gems and precious stones that were scattered all over the floor? He couldn’t be sure.

San Lang noticed his stare. “You like this?” Raising his long, slender, fair fingers, he gently caught the coral pearl and gave it a squeeze.

As Xie Lian watched him, for some reason he felt a sudden pinch on his chest—as if he’d also just been squeezed…somewhere. He jerked backward, a large movement that attracted the attention of several nearby patrons.

San Lang nonchalantly looked up and asked, sounding shocked, “Daozhang, what’s the matter?”

He extended a hand as though to offer assistance. But of course Xie Lian didn’t take it, and he quickly sat back down properly.

“No—it’s nothing. That bead…”

“Oh.” The smile playing on San Lang’s lips was undiminished. “This bead?”

He started toying with the brilliant coral pearl with increased fervor and continued with a smile, “This was a gift from my beloved spouse. What do you think of it, Daozhang?”

“…Uh—” Xie Lian was gagged into momentary silence. “It’s…very nice, very nice.”

He had no idea what he was saying, none at all. The hands he’d settled on his lap were clenched into fists, and he felt like he was sitting on needles.

This stranger in red was clearly just playing with that pretty, delicate bead—it was a simple act. And yet Xie Lian could sense an undercurrent of lasciviousness. It was like the jewel he held between his fingers and rubbed so slowly, so gently, wasn’t a red pearl at all but some sensitive part of his body. Xie Lian felt his face grow inexplicably hot, and his breathing turned harsh. He was in a miserable stateThis wasn’t normal. This was definitely not normal.

As handsome as this man in red—this “San Lang”—was, there was an inexplicable evil aura that surged around him and made Xie Lian want to shudder. Alarms blared in his head, and he forced himself to calm, steadying his breathing.

Staring dauntlessly at the man, he asked, “May I ask for what purpose my lord has approached me?”

San Lang flashed a smile. “Why so cautious? It wasn’t for any particular reason. I was simply enchanted by your striking grace and couldn’t resist coming over. That’s all,” he explained unhurriedly. “Please forgive me if I have offended you in any way, Daozhang.”

“…”

Xie Lian turned his eyes away, not knowing whether to believe him. He was beginning to regret letting this man sit across from him and cause such confusion in his mind.

The songstress had packed up. She gave a bow to the crowd and flashed Xie Lian a sweet smile before gracefully making her exit. With her gone, there was no reason for Xie Lian to stay either.

“Farewell. Take your time and enjoy your wine, my lord,” he said as he rose to his feet. “At your leisure.”

He had intended for his parting words to come out sharply, but they were nonetheless delivered with courtesy when they reached the tip of his tongue. Not daring to look at the man in red a moment more, Xie Lian practically ran down the stairs.

He wandered the streets randomly for a while and only breathed a sigh of relief when he was sure no one had followed him. But when he stopped to rest, he felt lost.

His clothes were gone. His belongings were gone. His sword was gone. His servants were gone. Even his spiritual power was gone. Not once in his seventeen years of life had he ever found himself like this—completely adrift with no idea what to do.

Xie Lian shook off those thoughts and stopped a passerby to ask where he was. The passerby answered his question, but it was a place Xie Lian had never heard of.

“Might I ask how far the royal capital is from here? And in which direction it is located?” he asked.

He didn’t specify that he was referring to the royal capital of Xianle.

“The royal capital? We’re south of the capital. And gosh, plenty far from it!” the passerby replied.

As Xie Lian had suspected. The local dialect and style of architecture were unfamiliar and a little strange; they weren’t much like those of the capital or the regions nearby. He had already guessed that this must be a very faraway place. Why would the perpetrator bring him all the way here?

Xie Lian walked for a while longer before he came upon a new struggle: he was hungry.

But as mentioned previously, all of his belongings were gone—including his money. Any tokens he could have used to prove his identity as a crown prince had also vanished without a trace. He had come up empty earlier when he tried to rummage in his clothing for gold foil to offer the Lord of Soil and Ground, and the tiny number of coins he’d scrounged everywhere for had been spent on a seat at the teahouse, where he’d stayed for a while…but all for nothing, as he couldn’t stand the stains in the teacup and didn’t drink even a sip. His stomach had remained empty.

Truly, a hero could be defeated by a penny.

Just as he was frowning over this difficulty, he noticed something shimmering on the ground ahead, beside a loose brick.

Xie Lian went over and crouched down to flip the brick over. How curious—to his shock, some pieces of gold foil had been dropped on the ground in this dingy little alley!

In addition to gold foil, there were also pieces of silver foil and some miscellaneous coins. Finding money on the ground in broad daylight, a free lunch falling in his lap—he honestly couldn’t tell if this was good luck or bad.

Xie Lian’s first reaction after collecting the pile of money was to wonder if this had been dropped by some unsuspecting person, so he walked out of the alley and called out to the passersby on the street.

“Excuse me, did anyone drop their money?”

Most people shook their heads, but there was an idle good-for-nothing lout who came over looking sheepish, saying “I did! I did!” When Xie Lian asked him to confirm how much he dropped, however, he hemmed and hawed and ran off amidst a laughing crowd.

Xie Lian stood there and waited patiently, worried that the rightful owner would come back in search of his lost money, yet no such person approached even after he waited for nearly two hours. His hunger was becoming more and more apparent, and after a long time, he let out a sigh.

He glanced at the money in his sleeve. Why don’t I just borrow a bit of it and return it ten times over afterward? he thought.

There was no other option at this point. Thus, after waiting another incense time, he bought a steamed bun at a streetside stall.

Xie Lian had never eaten steamed buns before, never mind ones made with such crude dough—it looked so big and stupid and bland. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to use too much of the money he’d found; it’d be terrible if it turned out to be someone’s emergency fund, so he only used the bare minimum.

It certainly was a novelty to have such a humongous steamed bun in his hand for the first time in his life. He walked past the alley and came to a smaller, quieter street. Just as he was about to take a bite of the bun, however, a hand suddenly swiped it from him.

It was a fantastic steal—Xie Lian had only paused for a moment, then the bun was gone. When he turned his head, the one standing next to him was the man in red from the teahouse!

Xie Lian was stunned speechless. He had never expected this man to follow him all the way here—or to steal his steamed bun! He was dumbfounded for a while before it occurred to him to reclaim it.

“Give that back!” he cried as he jumped.

His grab was extremely fast, but the man was faster—not to mention taller—so the attack was swiftly dodged.

“Don’t eat this,” the man said. Then he took a bite out of the bun, leaving a gap behind.

Now Xie Lian couldn’t eat that bun even if he wanted to—there was no way that an esteemed crown prince could eat a steamed bun that someone else had taken a bite out of.

Eyes wide, he exclaimed, “You—!” He was left momentarily stumped, then griped angrily, “Why are you like this?”

And to think he had assumed the man was a rare character, someone worthy of befriending. It turned out he was a capricious lout!

Their two figures, one red and one white, moved so fast it dazzled the eyes—no one would believe such an exciting fight was over a steamed bun. Although Xie Lian vaguely suspected that he could be faster, fast enough to keep up with this San Lang, there was something he was missing, something he wasn’t quite grasping, and his limbs weren’t really obeying his control. Moreover, he had spent the entire day tired, annoyed, confused, and achy all over.

Distracted by his fury, he twisted his foot and fell. A quiet yelp of pain escaped through the cracks of his teeth.

It hurt.

An unspeakable pain was spreading from an unspeakable place. This pain had already been there, but it wasn’t obvious—the injury had been carefully tended to at some point, and Xie Lian had tried to ignore it. However, his face changed instantly after the fall, and San Lang’s face changed too as he immediately bent down to catch his arm.

“Ge—” he blurted, but quickly cut himself off and said instead, “Are you all right?”

Mortified, Xie Lian desperately wanted to dig a hole and bury his head in it. “Please don’t refer to me by any random address!” he exclaimed with a burning face, yanking his hand back. “And don’t grab me like that either!”

San Lang let him go, but the gesture was only for show, as he swiftly clutched Xie Lian’s shoulder instead.

“How are you? Does it hurt anywhere?”

He sounded genuinely, deeply concerned. “One does not slap the face of the smiling,” or so they say; by all rights, Xie Lian should have been grateful for the kindness. But when he thought of where it hurt and why, he was both embarrassed and upset, and the frustrations he’d pent up all day finally spilled over. He slapped San Lang’s hand away and scrambled to his feet on his own.

“…I don’t hurt anywhere—I don’t hurt at all!”

He turned and tried to run off, but the man behind him caught his wrist and he couldn’t struggle free no matter how he tried. Unable to endure it any longer, Xie Lian whipped around, his eyes round with rage—yet he was met with the sight of San Lang gazing deeply at him.

San Lang let out a soft sigh. “It’s my fault, Daozhang. The blame for everything lies with me alone, so please accept my apology and don’t be angry with me anymore. How about this: won’t you let me treat you to another drink to make it up to you?”

For some reason, whenever Xie Lian saw this man’s face, his heart fluttered. He wasn’t used to the feeling, and it only made him want to run.

“I don’t need you to take me anywhere. I never drink! Let me go, now!”

“Okay, okay, okay,” said San Lang. “No drinks. How about a meal, then? Surely you must be hungry?”

Xie Lian was so mad. What was that tone? He was practically cooing to him like he was placating a child. He’d never suffered such humiliation before.

“I don’t need you to take me out to eat either. I’m not hungry. Please watch your tongue and show some respect!”

But the awkward thing was, as soon as he’d spoken, a weak protest grumbled from his stomach. Xie Lian froze, then grew even angrier, so angry that his face turned red. Even his speech started to stutter.

“You…you…why are you pestering me? Stop pestering me!”

However, San Lang only stared hard at him. “Daozhang, you didn’t notice?”

His sudden severe expression had Xie Lian asking, “Notice what?”

“There’s an evil creature on you,” San Lang said.

Xie Lian was shocked. Without warning, his wrist went slack and that wristband-like silk bandage slithered down his hand like a white snake. It raised itself up to eye level with him, and then—it lunged!

The man in red caught it in an instant before its strike could land.

“See?”

“…”

The white silk band squirmed like a choked venomous snake—it was creepy. And this monster had been hiding on him all this time! Xie Lian understood at last.

He blinked, then said, “So…you approached me because you detected this evil creature hiding on me?”

San Lang’s expression had gone much more serious and severe. “Yes. This creature is quite strange, which was why I was keeping an eye on it. Thank goodness it didn’t hurt you.”

Now the truth was out—it was clear that San Lang had approached him out of goodwill. Recalling how rude he had been to this gentleman, pulling faces and slapping his hand away, made Xie Lian embarrassed.

He bent forward into a solemn bow. “Thank you very much, sir. I was mistaken earlier.”

Before he could fully bend at the waist, San Lang stopped him. “Please. It was nothing.”

Xie Lian looked up, feeling somewhat confused. He got the impression that although this man in red appeared wholly serious, his eye was full of smiles. He figured that it was because he’d shown the man the absolute state of disarray he was in, and also his uncouth behavior… It was a little embarrassing.

Though, it was strange. Xie Lian was far more restrained and dignified than most others his age, yet the mere sight of this man rendered him restless and agitated.

San Lang didn’t seem to notice his discomfort, though, and said, “Since all is resolved, then I shall be on my way. Daozhang, shall I see you next time?”

“Yes, see you next time,” Xie Lian replied without thinking.

San Lang waved, then turned around and left. Despite himself, Xie Lian followed for a few steps.

Maybe it was because he really didn’t know where to go, or maybe because his mind was addled, but Xie Lian only snapped out of it when San Lang looked back. He was startled out of his reverie and stopped abruptly, pretending to look elsewhere. But it was already too late.

The light laughter from up ahead embarrassed Xie Lian so badly that his earlobes turned red. He forced himself to look again, and San Lang was standing there with his arms crossed.

“Let’s not wait for next time,” San Lang said with a chuckle. “I think the time is now. What do you think? Is Daozhang finally willing to have a drink with me?”

***

They returned to the same magnificent restaurant from before.

The man in red with whom Xie Lian had just become acquainted was very generous, and he ordered an entire tableful of the best dishes the restaurant had to offer. Surprisingly, the restaurant’s fare wasn’t any lower quality than imperial cuisine, and many of the dishes were novel recipes that Xie Lian had never seen or tasted before. Ravenous, he ate and ate, and it was some time before he realized San Lang had been watching him unblinking the entire time with his hand propping up one cheek. That gaze almost made Xie Lian feel like he was the dish being eaten.

“…”

His intense regard made Xie Lian jittery again, like he was sitting on needles. Once he was sure he hadn’t forgotten his manners due to hunger, he placed his chopsticks down and softly cleared his throat.

“…Excuse me.”

“Hmm? What needs to be excused? Don’t mind me,” said San Lang. “Please, continue.”

Then, he took out the steamed bun they’d fought over earlier and, without batting an eye, started eating it. Now Xie Lian only felt more embarrassed.

Shifting straighter in his seat, he glanced at the white silk band and decided it was time to discuss serious business.

“Why would this evil creature hide on my person? I’m shocked that I didn’t notice its existence. It was almost as if…”

As if he had been carrying it with him for so long that he’d gotten used to it being there.

The white silk band kept swinging its head and wagging its tail like it was trying to swim over to him. Had it not been kept firmly in place by San Lang, it probably would’ve already wrapped Xie Lian up like a zongzi. It seemed…rather enamored with him.

San Lang pinned it to the table with a chopstick, denying it any chance to tackle Xie Lian. “Seems like this evil creature has some very bad habits, hm? It needs to be trained,” he said with a smile.

“Rather than train it, let’s first figure out exactly where it came from,” Xie Lian said.

The two of them chatted about this, that, and everything. Xie Lian had grown up in the Palace of Xianle and then cultivated at the Royal Cultivation Hall. He had never met anyone so interesting and so knowledgeable. As he listened to San Lang talk, Xie Lian’s eyes were bright and a broad smile painted his face, and he could almost toss all his troubles to the back of his mind. It was a long while before he remembered that he was in the middle of a bizarre maelstrom.

He straightened his expression and said, “San Lang, can I ask you about someone?”

San Lang threw the white silk band to the ground and did something that made it too weak to jump back up. “Who?”

“It’s like this,” Xie Lian said. “I’m looking for someone named Hua Cheng.”

When he heard the name, San Lang quirked an eyebrow. “Hmm. Can I ask what you hope to achieve by finding him?”

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Xie Lian said earnestly. Judging by the man’s tone, he clearly knew who Hua Cheng was, so he added, “Maybe you think I’m lying to you, but it’s true—I don’t know what I hope to achieve by finding him. When I woke up today, I found myself in a very strange state.”

He told the whole story in one breath, leaving out the unspeakable, mortifying details.

“So this man might be a key figure in what happened,” Xie Lian finished. “San Lang, if you know who he is, would you please tell me more, if you don’t mind?”

“Ah, it’s not a matter of whether I mind,” San Lang chuckled. “Daozhang, of course I’ll help you—it already feels like we’ve known each other forever. As for Hua Cheng…”

Xie Lian listened intently, all his attention on the man before him. “Yes?”

“He’s a madman.”

“How is he mad?”

San Lang poured a cup of wine, then picked it up. “He’s a devotee.”

“Whose?”

“The Crown Prince of Xianle.”

Cough, cough, cough. Xie Lian quickly swallowed the tea in his mouth before he started sputtering. “Wait a sec, hang on. I…the Crown Prince of Xianle hasn’t even become a god yet, so how could he be a devotee?”

“He will be, though, sooner or later,” San Lang replied, nonchalant. “Besides, there’s nothing to being a god, really. If you say you’re a god, then you’re a god. If you say you aren’t, then you aren’t. He considers the crown prince a god, and that’s all there is to it.”

“That’s too random!” Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but after a pause, he asked quietly, “…Does he really believe His Highness will become a god for certain?”

“He doesn’t believe,” San Lang said slowly, then his lips widened into a grin. “He knows.”

Xie Lian grinned back, but he thought to himself, Then I mustn’t let him down.

He crossed his arms and asked, “So where can I meet this Hua Cheng?”

“Do you really want to meet him, Daozhang?” asked San Lang.

“I do.”

San Lang didn’t seem to agree with that course of action. “But Hua Cheng is an awful person.”

Xie Lian furrowed his brows. “Awful? How so?”

He refused to believe that someone who was so sure he would become a god was a bad person.

“Well…” San Lang started.

Just then, Xie Lian noticed something. Up until now, he’d been very cautious of San Lang, so he hadn’t really looked straight at him. But now that they’d interacted for a while and gotten to know each other, he was finally relaxing a little and let his eyes wander.

One of San Lang’s arms was slung across the railing, his finger tapping on it idly. They were long, slender digits, and the third was tied with a thin red string—a bright red affinity knot.

Xie Lian immediately recalled the chaotic images that flashed through his mind when the songstress sang—two hands with fingers tightly interwoven beneath satin curtains.

Upon the top hand in that image, there was a red string just like that.

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