He repeatedly instructed Feng Xin to stay behind and guard the king and queen, and then he left the shabby house. He kept looking back as he walked, his heart pounding. After walking a long way and confirming that Feng Xin had not caught up, he finally felt relieved.
After calming himself down and walking for more than ten miles, Xie Lian finally found a place he thought was suitable - a mountain road in a remote and desolate area.
Seeing no one around, Xie Lian covered his face with a white silk scarf, wrapping it tightly. He leaped up a tree, hiding his form, holding his breath and concentrating. Then, he waited for passersby to pass by.
Yes, his “method” is the so-called “robbing the rich to help the poor”.
In the past, Xie Lian had only heard of such stories of chivalrous thieves robbing homes and giving to the poor in storytelling and tales. He had never done it himself, nor had he ever considered doing it. Because, he had always believed: no matter how it was embellished, no matter how justifiable the purpose, robbery was robbery, and theft was theft. Otherwise, with Xie Lian's skills, let alone climbing walls and stealing a few items, he could easily kill all the guards and empty the treasury.
But at this point, there was really no other way. If anything, "robbing" was slightly better than "stealing," probably because the former was more "aboveboard." After a long struggle, Xie Lian finally slapped his former self, intent on robbing others' wealth to help his own poverty.
This is the fastest way!
Xie Lian squatted on a tree. The moon was dark and the wind was strong. The surroundings were quiet and deserted, but his heart was pounding wildly.
Even when he was hunting the most ferocious monsters, he had never been so nervous. He took out a cold and hard steamed bun from his sleeve, his hands trembling slightly.
If you are still picky about food, it only means that you are not really hungry. After Xie Lian understood this, he suddenly got used to the taste of steamed buns.
Winter was approaching, and the nights were bitterly cold. Xie Lian munched on a cold steamed bun, his breath suffusing with puffs of white air. Unwilling to be seen, he hadn't considered a crowded place, choosing instead a secluded spot. He waited for two full hours before a pedestrian slowly approached the end of the mountain path.
Xie Lian perked up, stuffing the steamed bun in two or three bites. He stared at the pedestrian who was slowly approaching and found that it was an old man.
Such an old man, though well-dressed and likely wealthy, was certainly not one Xie Lian considered. It wasn't clear if he was disappointed or relieved, but he decisively ignored him, letting him pass and waiting for the next person.
An hour later, Xie Lian squatted until his feet were numb and his lower body was almost stiff, and finally the second person arrived. He saw that person was also walking very slowly, and thought to himself, "Could it be another old man?"
When the man slowly approached, he realized that he was not an old man, but a young man.
The young man looked honest and kind, his face beaming with smiles. He walked so slowly because he was carrying a heavy bag of rice. Xie Lian's palms were sweating, and he thought to himself, "...Should I do it?"
After hesitating for a moment, he gave up.
The reason for giving up was that the young man's clothes were ragged, and his straw sandals were worn, exposing his toes, a clear sign of his family's poverty. He was so happy because he finally had a bag of rice to eat. Perhaps his family had been starving for days, and perhaps he had sold his only cow to buy this bag of rice. If it was robbed, wouldn't he be desperate?
Xie Lian thought about it a lot, and then he thought that maybe he could just ask for half the rice, but by then the young man had already walked away. So, Xie Lian decisively stopped thinking about it and continued to wait for the next one.
He crouched there, waiting anxiously, for several hours, from dusk to dawn. During that time, about a dozen people passed by on the mountain path. Every time Xie Lian wanted to take action, he let them go, citing various reasons as to why it wasn't appropriate. He thought several times, "Forget it! Let's just go back!" No other bandit would rob like him; it would be a miracle if he could get anything. However, the thought of returning home and having no medicine or food left made him feel compelled to continue waiting.
After most of the day, finally, the last passerby came from afar on the mountain path.
He was a middle-aged man, dressed in fancy clothes. He was either rich or noble. He had a ferocious and greasy look, which made people feel disgusted. He didn't look like a good person at first glance.
However, as the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover. Xie Lian couldn't help but wonder, "What if this guy just looks menacing but is actually a good person? Even if he's rich, does that mean he deserves to be robbed?"
Just as he was struggling to overcome the obstacle in his heart, a sudden rumbling sound in his stomach woke him up. Xie Lian sighed inwardly and said, "Forget it, I can't care less. It's just you!"
Having made up his mind, he jumped down from the tree and said, "Stop!"
A masked man suddenly appeared in the street. The man was startled and asked cautiously, "Who are you? What are you trying to do hiding here with your face covered?!"
Xie Lian steeled himself and said, “…hand…hand…” He was still feeling a bit stuck, and he stumbled several times before finally shouting out those words—“Hand over the money you have on you!”
The man's mouth dropped open, and he leaped three feet high, yelling, "Help! Help! Robbers!" He then took off running. Xie Lian was actually more worried about him yelling and attracting others than him escaping. While it was unlikely that anyone would be attracted here in the wilderness, and even if they were, he could easily escape, he still felt guilty, so he immediately shouted, "Stop! Stop yelling!"
The man didn't listen, and as he fled, he ran into the woods, letting out a scream of "Ouch!" Xie Lian was worried that there might be a wild animal in the woods that might attack the man, so he hurriedly shouted, "Wait! Be careful!..." But when he chased in and took a look, he was stunned, his face turning pale!
There were actually several people standing in the woods, all looking towards him. Xie Lian took a closer look and realized something was wrong; these weren't people at all. The middle-aged man didn't seem to notice them at all, still frantic and flustered. Furthermore, several of them looked very familiar to Xie Lian.
Of course they looked familiar. He had seen many of them before in Xianjing, some from the Upper Heaven and some from the Lower Heaven. They were all priests!
The man screamed because he fell down. He was holding a bunch of amulets in his hand and kept muttering, "Great Immortals! Come and save me! Save me!" And the "Great Immortals" he was shouting at really came as he wished.
At this moment, several pairs of priests' eyes were fixed on Xie Lian, rendering him unable to move. Seeing the masked robber frozen in place, he quickly scrambled to his feet and took off. Xie Lian couldn't even take a step to chase him. His entire body was frozen, covered in cold sweat, and filled with fear.
Yes, fear.
He only hoped that the white silk would cover his face tightly enough so that the young priests he had dealt with in the past would not recognize him. However, the opposite happened. One of the priests looked at him and said in surprise, "...Isn't this... His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
“…”
Another priest was even more shocked and said, "Ah, it really is! Why is His Royal Highness here? And why is he dressed like this?"
Xie Lian’s heart sank lower and lower, almost sinking into the earth.
"That guy just now was yelling 'Help', 'Robbery', 'Robber'? There were robbers chasing him? And the robber was... His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?!"
"Oh my God! His Highness the Crown Prince...would actually do such a thing?!"
Hearing these words, Xie Lian nearly fainted on the spot. After an unknown amount of time, he finally uttered a hoarse voice, "I..."
He wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in his throat. The priests' expressions were all very subtle. After a while, one of them patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's okay, it's okay, Your Highness. We understand."
Xie Lian was hit a few times by him. It wasn’t heavy at all, but he almost lost his balance. He said again, “I…”
The priest laughed a few times and said, "You must have had a very difficult time, so you're like this. I understand. Don't worry, we won't tell anyone else."
This was exactly what Xie Lian found difficult to say. After the other person had spoken first, he had no idea what to say next. After a long pause, he muttered, "...Okay, thank you. Then, I... I'll go back. Back."
He didn't know how he left. Anyway, when he woke up, he was standing on the deserted mountain road again. He was awakened by the cold winter night wind.
Only then did Xie Lian finally realize how horrible the thing that had just happened was.
He, Xie Lian, Prince Xianle—a robber?!
Why did it turn out like this?!
At this moment, Xie Lian was filled with regret. He must have been crazy to have thought of robbing people before, and it had gotten so out of control. Why was it so unfortunate that he didn't accomplish anything and was caught red-handed?!
Xie Lian had never encountered anything like this before. He had no idea what to do. His entire body was burning with fever, his mind a blur. He buried his face in his hands. If he could turn back time, he would even be willing to trade several years of his lifespan and cultivation for it. Just as he was feeling frustrated, he suddenly caught sight of a blurry white figure in front of him. Startled, he looked up sharply and asked, "Who?!"
As soon as he looked up, the figure disappeared in an instant, and Xie Lian broke out in a cold sweat again.
Although he didn't see the man's face, he always felt that the man looked like he was wearing a mask!
However, after scanning the area, he saw no sign of anyone. Xie Lian couldn't help but suspect that the figure he had just seen was just an illusion caused by his panic. Regardless, he didn't dare to linger here any longer and hurried down the mountain.
After returning, Feng Xin had been waiting for him for most of the day. As soon as he saw him, he asked, "Your Highness, where have you been? What solution have you come up with?"
Xie Lian didn't dare tell him. He couldn't tell anyone, least of all Feng Xin. Xie Lian couldn't imagine what Feng Xin, who had always believed in his unparalleled virtue, would think when he found out his method was actually robbery. He just wanted to keep this secret forever, let it rot in his stomach. So, Xie Lian said vaguely, "No."
Feng Xin was stunned and asked, "Ah? Then what were you doing out for so long?"
Xie Lian was a little dazed and said, "Don't ask. I didn't do anything."
Feng Xin was very puzzled, but Xie Lian refused to say anything no matter how hard he pressed him. As an attendant, he couldn't ask any more questions, so he could only whisper, "Then why don't we go out and perform tomorrow?"
Xie Lian said, "I'm not going out."
He was now completely confused, his mind filled with incredible worries: What if he happened to run into that middle-aged man? What if he was already on a city-wide wanted list? Feng Xin also noticed that he looked a little off and said, "Are you tired? How about this, Your Highness, don't go out. I'll go out alone. You just focus on your cultivation."
However, he didn't know that Xie Lian had no intention of even practicing anymore.
Originally, Xie Lian was devoted to cultivation, because only in this way could he have the opportunity to return to heaven, but now, he has also developed a fear of returning to heaven.
Even though those junior priests said they wouldn't tell anyone, would they really? Would the news of today's incident have spread throughout the Heavenly Court?
The thought of such a possibility practically took Xie Lian's breath away. He absolutely could not endure being branded with such a stain, being pointed at and criticized by the entire Heaven and Earth, and even the entire human world!
Tired and exhausted, Xie Lian drifted off to sleep. It wasn't a restful sleep, as he tossed and turned, had nightmares of some unknown kind, and suddenly woke up. Looking out the window, it was already dark.
Feng Xin wasn't there, having gone out to perform alone. He hadn't returned yet. From the next room, he could hear the low coughs and voices of the King and Queen. Xie Lian lay on the ground, and upon regaining consciousness, he couldn't help but imagine what would happen if this story got out and his parents found out. He wondered how incredulous they would be. The King would probably fly into a rage, coughing up blood and calling him a disgrace to Xianle. The Queen certainly wouldn't scold him, but she would be heartbroken because her beloved child had brought shame upon them.
Thinking of this, Xie Lian began to have difficulty breathing again. He had to find a place to be alone and quiet, so he rolled over from the straw mat, rushed out, and ran aimlessly for more than ten miles in the biting cold wind.
He didn't dare to stay where there were people, because he always felt that others were staring at him, examining how miserable he was. It was not until he ran to a cemetery and there was no one around that he finally stopped.
This night was even colder than the previous one. Arriving here, Xie Lian realized his cheeks and hands were frozen solid, and his body was shivering slightly. It wasn't just the cold; perhaps it was also fear. Xie Lian involuntarily hugged his arms, exhaled a few breaths, and then turned his gaze to find two jars of wine placed before a tombstone.
Apparently, the owner of this tombstone was a wine lover, so after his death, people visiting his grave brought him wine. Xie Lian squatted down. He had never drunk alcohol before, but he had heard that it warmed the body and helped one forget things. After a pause, he suddenly picked up the jar, uncorked it, and gulped it down.
This wine wasn't great; it was cheap and large, and the flavor was quite strong. Xie Lian took a few large gulps, which made him cough violently, but it did seem to warm him up a bit. So, Xie Lian wiped his cheeks, sat down on the ground, picked up the jar, and continued to drink it in big gulps.
In a trance, he seemed to see a small, faint will-o'-the-wisp flying out from nowhere, circling him in a hurry. Xie Lian was so absorbed in his drinking that he pretended not to notice. The will-o'-the-wisp seemed to be desperately trying to get closer to him, but because it was a fire of nothingness, every time it tried to meet him, it would simply pass through, never being able to touch him.
After finishing the entire jar, Xie Lian was already feeling dizzy. Through his bleary eyes, he watched it flying around. It was truly pitiful, yet also truly amusing. He couldn't help but burst out laughing. He propped his elbows on the edge of the jar and asked, "What are you doing?"
The ball of ghost fire suddenly condensed in mid-air.
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