Chapter 247: The Prince's Strange Memory Drifting 2
He actually sat opposite him so casually.
Xie Lian blinked for a moment before he was sure that the man was really talking to him.
He reacted immediately, thinking that he must not be intimidated by this man's aura and fall into a disadvantage. He remained calm and said politely, "Unfortunately, I don't drink alcohol. I'm afraid I can't afford this drink."
The man in red laughed heartily, sat more casually, and said, "Is that so? This Taoist priest looks like he's worried and needs to drink to drown his sorrows."
Xie Lian said calmly, "Then I'm afraid you've made a mistake."
Although the biggest precept has been broken, you must never give up on yourself and ignore the other smaller precepts.
His expression remained indifferent, but the man showed no sign of retreating. Instead, he sat there and said, "Since the Taoist priest won't treat me, then I'll do as I please."
Xie Lian glanced at him, then looked around. It was strange. There were plenty of empty seats nearby, so why did he insist on sitting here and drinking? But there was no reason to refuse, so Xie Lian said, "Please."
The man waved lazily. The waiter, who had never seen such a stylish customer before, dared not say a word. He quickly served the wine jug and cups and wiped the table vigorously, fearing that he would be neglected.
Seeing the red-robed man calmly pouring his drink, Xie Lian couldn't help but wonder, "Don't tell me, sir, do you always ask anyone to buy you a drink the first time you meet them?"
The man smiled and said, "Huh? That won't happen. To be honest, ordinary people can't even see me."
The tone was rather arrogant, but Xie Lian didn't mind.
The two of them sat separately. Xie Lian kept looking away, appearing quite calm. After a while, the man spoke first.
He held his chin with one hand and asked, "What is your name, Taoist priest?"
Xie Lian made up a fake surname without hesitation: "No need to worry about your surname being Hua."
The man raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh—Master Hua."
Xie Lian asked, “What’s your name, sir?”
The man said, "Master, just call me Sanlang."
Xie Lian knew this man didn't want to reveal his true identity, so he didn't force him. After a moment's thought, he couldn't recall who ranked third, so he gave up the speculation. Then, he suddenly noticed that the man in red had a strand of black hair tied into a thin braid on one side of his face, topped with a red coral bead.
The pearl was lustrous and soft, small, yet its priceless value was evident at first glance. Yet Xie Lian felt as though he had seen it somewhere before, perhaps in his own bedroom, where pearls, jade, and gemstones littered the floor.
But he wasn't sure. Sanlang noticed his gaze and asked, "Do you like this?"
As he spoke, he raised a few slender white fingers, gently twisted the coral bead and squeezed it.
For some reason, as Xie Lian watched, he felt a sudden pain in his chest, as if something on his body was pinched, and he was thrown back violently.
This was a big move, and several guests nearby looked over. Sanlang raised his eyes nonchalantly and asked in surprise, "Master, what's wrong with you?"
He stretched out a hand, as if to help. Xie Lian, of course, didn't want him to help him. He quickly sat down and said, "No, nothing. That bead..."
"Oh." Sanlang said with a smile on his face, "This bead?"
He began to play with the bright and radiant coral bead in his hand more intensely, and said with a smile, "This is a gift from my beloved wife. What do you think, Taoist Priest?"
“…”
Xie Lian said, “Hmm…very good, very good.”
In fact, he didn't know what he was saying at all. His fingers on his legs were clenched tightly, and he felt very uncomfortable.
The strange man in red was clearly playing with the delicate bead. It was a simple action, but he could see some lewd intentions in it.
It was as if he was being held in the fingertips, kneading and rubbing it gently, rounding and flattening it, not the red bead, but some sensitive part of his body. Xie Lian inexplicably felt a fever on his face, his breathing became rapid, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.
This is not normal. This is definitely not normal.
The man in red, calling himself "San Lang," was handsome, but he exuded an uncanny aura that made him shudder. Xie Lian's heart was filled with alarm. He forced himself to calm his mind, his breathing even, and stared at him fearlessly. "Excuse me, sir," he asked, "what is your purpose in approaching me?"
Sanlang smiled and said slowly, "Why are you so alert? It's nothing. I was just impressed by the Taoist's elegance and couldn't help myself. If I've offended you, please forgive me."
“…”
Xie Lian, unsure whether to believe him or not, averted his gaze, secretly regretting that he shouldn't have let this person sit across from him, causing him such an upset. Just then, the singing girl finished her performance, bowed to the crowd, gave Xie Lian a charming smile, and then drifted off. With her gone, Xie Lian felt no need to keep her. He stood up and said, "Goodbye. Enjoy this cup slowly, sir."
He intended the last sentence to be a bit provocative, but he still said it politely. Xie Lian didn't dare to look at the man in red any longer. He almost flew down the stairs and walked around aimlessly for a while. When he was sure no one was following him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
But after stopping, I felt confused again.
His clothes were gone, his belongings were gone, his sword was gone, his attendants were gone, and his magical powers were gone.
In his seventeen years of life, he had never encountered such a helpless situation. Xie Lian shook his head and stopped a passerby to ask where he was. The passerby replied that Xie Lian had never heard of this place. He then asked, "How far is this place from the Imperial City? Where is it located in the Imperial City?"
He didn't mention the Xianle Imperial City, so the passerby asked, "Imperial City? This place is to the south of the Imperial City, so far away!"
As expected. The people's accents and architectural styles here were somewhat strange. It didn't seem like it was near the Imperial City, so he guessed it must be far away. He wondered what the purpose of the people who brought him here was.
After walking for a while, Xie Lian encountered a new problem.
He is hungry.
But, as I mentioned earlier, all his belongings were gone. The pendant that proved his princely status had vanished, and his earlier attempts to give the landowner a few gold leaves had yielded nothing. He sat in the teahouse for a while, spending the few coins he had scraped together, and because he couldn't stand the stale tea stains, he hadn't even taken a sip. Now, his stomach was still empty.
It's true that a penny can make a hero fall.
Just when he was frowning, he suddenly found that something seemed to have fallen next to a tile on the ground in front of him, and it was shining.
Xie Lian went up, squatted down, and was surprised.
There were actually a few gold leaves dropped on the ground in this small alley!
Besides the gold leaves, there were also silver leaves and some small change. He actually found money on the ground in broad daylight, like pie in the sky. I don't know whether to say he was unlucky or lucky.
After Xie Lian picked it up, his first reaction was to wonder if someone had accidentally dropped it. He walked out of the alley and asked the people on the street, "Excuse me, did anyone drop something here?"
Most people shook their heads. A lazy, lazy fellow came over with a smug look on his face and said, "I dropped it! I dropped it!" Xie Lian then asked, "How much did you drop?" They all stammered, unable to answer, and ran off amidst the laughter.
Xie Lian, fearing the owner might return looking for the lost items, stood there patiently, waiting. After nearly an hour, no one came looking, and growing hungrier, he sighed and glanced at the valuables in his sleeves, thinking, "How about borrowing a little for now, and returning it tenfold later?"
There was no other way, so after waiting for another stick of incense, he went to the street to buy a steamed bun.
Xie Lian had never eaten steamed buns before. He had never eaten these coarse-grain buns before. They looked large and dull, white and tasteless. But he didn't want to spend too much of his found property, lest it be used by someone else urgently, so he only took the minimum amount.
It was the first time in his life that he had received such a big steamed bun, and he was a little curious. He walked through the alley and came to a quieter street. Just as he was about to put the steamed bun into his mouth, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and took the bun away.
This method of taking it was miraculous. Xie Lian was stunned, his hands were empty. He turned around and saw that the man standing beside him was the man in red from the restaurant again!
Xie Lian was stunned.
I didn't expect that this guy would follow me here, and I didn't expect that he would actually steal my steamed buns!
After a long pause, he finally remembered to take it back and jumped up, saying, "Give it back to me!"
He grabbed it very quickly, but the man was even faster. He was also taller than him, so he dodged it and said, "Don't eat this."
As he said this, he took a bite of the bun, leaving a hole. Now, Xie Lian couldn't eat it even if he wanted to. As the crown prince, there was no way he was going to eat a bun that had been bitten. He opened his eyes wide and said, "You!"
After a pause, he said angrily, "Why are you like this?"
Fortunately, when he first saw him, he thought that this was a rare person and wanted to make friends with him, but he didn't expect that he was such a boring scoundrel!
The two figures, one red, one white, moved with dazzling speed. It was unbelievable that such a spectacular struggle and capture had been fought over a single steamed bun. Although Xie Lian vaguely felt that he could be even faster, fast enough to match San Lang's skill, he seemed to be missing a key point, and his hands and feet were not quite able to follow his will. Furthermore, he had been exhausted, annoyed, and confused all day, and his back and legs were aching. In his anger, he stumbled and fell to the ground, letting out a low cry of pain.
pain.
The unspeakable pain spread from the unspeakable part.
The pain was already there, but the wound had been carefully treated, and he had tried hard to ignore it, so it hadn't been noticeable. His face suddenly changed after the fall. Sanlang's face also changed, and he immediately leaned over and grabbed his arm, saying, "Brother..."
Then he immediately changed the subject and asked, "Are you okay?"
Xie Lian was utterly embarrassed, wishing he could dig a hole and bury his face in it. He desperately pulled his hand back, his face flushing red as he said, “Please don’t call me names, and don’t grab me like that!”
San Lang really let go of his arm, but only for a moment. He then grabbed his shoulder and asked, "What's wrong with you? Does it hurt?"
His tone was full of concern, not a hint of pretense. As the saying goes, one shouldn't strike a smiling face, and Xie Lian should have been grateful. But when he thought about where it hurt and why, he felt ashamed and annoyed, and the depression he'd felt all day welled up in his stomach. He slapped his hand away, scrambled to his feet, and said, "...I'm not hurting anywhere, not at all!" He turned and ran, but the man behind him grabbed his wrist again, unable to break free. Xie Lian could no longer endure it and spun around, his eyes wide with anger. He saw Sanlang staring at him and sighing softly, "Hey, Taoist priest, all my faults are mine. Don't be angry with me. Here, I'll take you for another drink to make amends."
For some reason, Xie Lian's heart began to tremble as soon as he saw this man's face. He was not used to this feeling and just wanted to escape quickly. He said, "I don't want you to take me with me. I never drink! Let me go now."
San Lang said, "Okay, okay, I won't drink. Then I'll take you to dinner. You must be hungry."
Xie Lian was furious. What kind of tone did this person use when talking to him? He was practically treating him like a child. He had never been humiliated like this before. He said, "I don't want you to take me out to eat either. I'm not hungry. Just be respectful!"
Embarrassingly, as soon as he finished speaking, a weak protest came from his stomach.
Xie Lian froze, becoming even angrier. His face flushed red with anger, and his words began to stutter. “You…you…you, why are you pestering me? Stop pestering me!”
Sanlang stared at him closely and said, "Master, haven't you noticed yet?"
Seeing his sudden serious expression, Xie Lian asked, "What did you find?"
Sanlang said, "There is something evil on you."
Xie Lian was startled. Suddenly, his wrist loosened, and the bandage around it slid down like a white snake, rising high in front of him before lunging towards him!
However, before it could pounce, the man in red grabbed it and said, "Look."
“…”
The piece of white silk was like a poisonous snake that he had pinched by the seven inches, twisting and turning, making people's scalp tingle.
There is such a monster hidden in him!
Xie Lian finally understood.
He blinked and said, "So... you approached me because you discovered this evil thing hidden in me?"
Sanlang's expression became increasingly serious. He said, "Well. This thing was quite strange, so I paid a little attention to it. Fortunately, it didn't hurt you."
The truth was out. Xie Lian thought about how he had been rude to this young man before, with his face and hands slapped. Now that the truth was out, he realized that he had approached him out of kindness. He felt deeply embarrassed and bowed to him earnestly, saying, "Thank you, sir. I misunderstood before."
Before he could bend over, Sanlang held him up and said, "No, no. It's just a small favor."
Looking up, Xie Lian felt slightly bewildered. He didn't know why, but he felt that while the man in red looked serious, a smile lingered in his eyes. He suspected he'd seen his entire mess and embarrassment, and felt a bit embarrassed.
It was strange to say; among his peers, Xie Lian was considered quite composed, yet the sight of this man had unnerved him, leaving him feeling uneasy. Sanlang, however, seemed oblivious to this, saying, "Now that it's resolved, I'll be leaving. Taoist Priest, see you later?"
Xie Lian subconsciously said, “Yeah, see you later.”
Sanlang waved his hand and turned away. Xie Lian couldn't help but follow him for a few steps.
Perhaps because he really didn't know where to go, or perhaps because he was completely confused, Sanlang turned around, and Xie Lian was startled. He finally came to his senses and quickly stopped, pretending to look away. However, it was too late.
A few chuckles came from the other side, and Xie Lian's earlobes turned red with embarrassment.
Gritting his teeth and looking over, Sanlang folded his arms and smiled, "I think we shouldn't wait until later. I think now is the time. What do you think? Taoist priest, are you willing to have a drink with me now?"
·
It is still the same magnificent restaurant.
The man in red, whom he had just met, was incredibly generous. He immediately filled the table with the best food and wine in the restaurant. It was surprisingly comparable to the imperial court's cuisine, and many of the dishes were so novel that Xie Lian had never seen them before. Hungrily, he ate until he realized Sanlang had been sitting across from him, his cheek resting on his hand, his eyes fixed on him. His gaze was as if he were treating him like a dish.
“…”
Xie Lian felt uneasy once again under this gaze. Making sure he hadn’t lost his composure over his eating habits due to hunger, he put down his chopsticks, coughed lightly, and said, “…Excuse me.”
Sanlang said, "Huh? What's so funny about this? Don't mind me. Please, please. Continue."
Then he took out the steamed bun that the two of them had been fighting over and began to eat it without changing his expression. Seeing this, Xie Lian became even more embarrassed.
He sat upright, looked at the white silk, and decided to get down to business. He said, "Why is this evil thing hiding on me? I didn't even notice its existence. It's like..." It was as if it had been hiding on him for a long time and he was used to it.
The white silk swam towards him, shaking its head and tail. If Sanlang hadn't held it firmly, it would have entangled him like a dumpling. It looked like... she liked him quite a bit.
San Lang used a chopstick to pin it down, preventing it from lunging at Xie Lian. He smiled and said, "It seems this evil creature has some very bad habits. It needs a good lesson."
Xie Lian said, “Rather than teaching it a lesson, let’s first investigate its origins.”
The two chatted for a while, discussing everything under the sun. Xie Lian, who had grown up in the Xianle Palace and later trained at the Imperial Monastery, had never met anyone so engaging and knowledgeable. His eyes lit up and his face lit up as he listened to Sanlang's words, almost forgetting all his worries. It took him a moment to remember that he was in the middle of a strange vortex. He said seriously, "Sanlang, can I ask you about someone?"
Sanlang threw the white silk onto the ground, somehow making it limp and unable to jump up, and asked, "Who?"
Xie Lian said, "It's like this. I'm looking for someone named Huacheng."
Hearing the name, Saburo raised an eyebrow.
He said, "Well. Can I ask, what do you want to do by looking for this person?"
Xie Lian said sincerely, “To be honest, I don’t know.”
Listening to Sanlang's tone, he guessed that he must know who Huacheng was, and added: "Maybe you think I'm hiding something from you, but it's true. I don't know what I can do by looking for him. When I woke up today, I found myself in a very strange situation."
He recounted the entire story in one breath, omitting only the embarrassing details. Finally, Xie Lian said, "So I think this person must be very important. If you know who he is, Sanlang, would you please tell me?"
Sanlang smiled and said, "Ah, it's not inconvenient at all. Taoist priest, we hit it off right away, so of course I have to help you. As for Huacheng..."
Xie Lian listened intently and asked, "How is it?"
Sanlang said, "He's a madman."
Xie Lian asked, “How crazy?”
Sanlang poured a glass of wine, held it in his hand, and said, "He is a believer."
"Whose followers?"
"Prince Xianle's."
“Cough cough cough——”
Xie Lian quickly swallowed a mouthful of tea before coughing it out. "Wait, wait. I—Xie Lian, the Prince of Xianle in my country—aren't even deified yet. Where do I get my followers from?"
Sanlang said nonchalantly, "He'll become a god sooner or later. Besides, gods are just like that. If you say he's a god, he's a god. If you say he's not, he's not. If he thinks he is, then that's it."
Xie Lian was both amused and annoyed, saying, "That's too casual!"
After a pause, he continued, "...But does he really believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will become a god?"
Sanlang said slowly: "It's not belief."
Then he smiled and said, "I firmly believe it."
Xie Lian also smiled, thinking to himself, "Then I will definitely not let this person down."
He also crossed his arms and said, "So, where can I meet this Hua Cheng?"
Sanlang said, "Master, do you really want to go see him?"
Xie Lian said, “Yes.”
Sanlang didn't seem to agree with his idea and said, "Huacheng is a very bad person."
Xie Lian frowned slightly and said, "Very bad? What's bad about it?"
He was reluctant to believe that a believer who firmly believed that he would become a god was a bad person. Sanlang said, "Well..."
At this moment, Xie Lian noticed something.
Before this, he had been very cautious and rarely looked directly at Saburo. Now that they had been together for a while and were somewhat familiar with each other, he relaxed a little and let his gaze go.
Saburo kept one hand on the railing, tapping it gently with his fingers. His five slender fingers were tied with a thin red thread on the third finger, like a bright knot of fate.
Xie Lian immediately recalled the chaotic scene upstairs when the singer sang: beneath the gauze curtain, two hands, fingers tightly intertwined.
The hand covering the upper part is tied with a red string like this.
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