Chapter 136:
Extra 2
The Strange Amnesiac Adventures of His Highness the Crown Prince (Part Two)
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 state.
This 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.