Текст книги "Благословение Небожителей. Том 6 (ЛП)"

Автор книги: Мосян Тунсю

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Текущая страница: 7 (всего у книги 20 страниц) [доступный отрывок для чтения: 8 страниц]

Just then, a voice came from the road ahead. “Kids, kids, wanna buy one?”

The voice was extremely old and raspy, and it was laced with eerie ghost qi. Xie Lian instinctively knew something wasn’t right. He looked over to see two children with lanterns in their hands stopped by the roadside. They were staring at something with curiosity—and fear.

Someone was seated in the darkness in front of them. He seemed to be an old man, unkempt and dressed in black robes that allowed him to blend in with the equally black night. With an unlit lantern in his hand, he beckoned the two children in a shady manner.

“My lanterns are very different from the ordinary lanterns you’re holding, I tell ya. These are rare treasures; if you make a wish on them, it’s guaranteed to come true.”

The two small children seemed doubtful. “R-really?”

“Of course,” the old man said. “Look.”

The lantern in his hand was clearly not lit, but it glowed just then with an ominous red light. There were over a dozen other lanterns on the ground next to him, and they began to flicker haunting green. It was a terribly eerie sight.

The two small children were amazed, but Xie Lian knew exactly what he was looking at. Rare treasures? That was clearly phosphorescence from the souls of the dead!

A little ghost’s soul must have been sealed into that lantern for it to glow with such a peculiar, ominous light. As for the old man, he had to be some sketchy scam cultivator who had captured those unlucky wandering spirits from somewhere and sealed them into the lanterns. The two children didn’t know about those sorts of tricks and clapped in delight, wanting to buy the lanterns.

Xie Lian quickly rushed over. “Don’t buy them. He’s lying to you.”

The old man glared. “What’re you talking about, boy?!”

“These lanterns aren’t treasures–they’re wicked contraptions,” Xie Lian stated plainly. “There are ghosts sealed inside them, and the spirits will cling to you if you bring one home to play with.”

When the children heard that they were ghosts, they didn’t dare linger. They ran away, wailing as they went.

The old man leapt to his feet, yelling angrily, “You dare ruin my business?!”

“How could you run such a business? Even adults who bought your wicked lanterns would fall into great misfortune—and you sell them to ignorant children? Vengeful ghosts could cling to them,” Xie Lian lectured. “And wouldn’t that be a great wrong? If you must sell such things, you should sell them in a specialized market.”

“You make it sound so easy. Where would I even find a ‘specialized market’ to sell things like this?” the old man rebuked him. “Everyone just sets up shop randomly on the roadside!”

He gathered up his supremely ugly, poorly made lanterns, preparing to leave with a huff.

“Wait!” Xie Lian hastily called out.

“What? What do you want?” the old man said gruffly. “Are you going to buy?”

“Unbelievable! Do you actually plan to try to sell them somewhere else? Where did the ghosts in your lanterns come from?”

“I caught them on the barren battlefield. They’re everywhere,” the old man replied.

Then they were the wandering souls of deceased soldiers? Once he heard that, it was impossible for Xie Lian to leave the matter alone.

“Stop selling them. Today is Zhongyuan! It won’t be a laughing matter if you stir something up. Besides, those are the heroic souls of warriors—how can you sell them like trinkets?” Xie Lian admonished solemnly.

“When people die, they become nothing but wisps. Who cares if they’re heroic souls?” the old man said. “My own old bones are more important. We all gotta make a living, so what am I gonna do if you don’t let me sell? Be homeless? If you’re so passionate about this, why don’t you buy them all, huh?”

“You…” In the end, Xie Lian admitted defeat. “Fine. I’ll buy.”

He reached into his pockets and scoured every corner, digging out a few pennies.

“Is this enough?”

The old man glanced at the money and exclaimed, “Of course not! How could that pittance be enough?!”

Xie Lian didn’t know what over a dozen lanterns would normally cost; he’d never looked at the price when he purchased things in the past. However, his woeful situation was providing him a chance to learn how to bargain the hard way.

“Your lanterns aren’t pretty or well made, and they’re very unlucky. You might as well sell them to me for cheap.”

“They’re already priced this low, and you’re offering less?” the old man argued. “I’ve never met anyone as broke as you—how embarrassing!”

Xie Lian could feel shame dig into his skin at those words.

“I’m a crown prince, I’m telling you. Never in my life has anyone called me broke.”

He regretted his words as soon as he spoke them. However, the old man didn’t take him seriously at all and laughed.

“If you’re the crown prince, then I’m the good ol’ Emperor!”

Xie Lian was relieved at his reaction but also felt a little awkward. Though at that point, what did he have to lose?

“Will you sell? This is all the money I’ve got,” he said plainly.

After much haggling, they finally completed the transaction, and Xie Lian used that pathetically sad bit of money to buy over a dozen ghost lanterns. He brought the lanterns to the riverside. The old man ran off in a flash the moment he got the money, while Xie Lian sat down by the shore and began to untie each red knot wrapping the lanterns. He released all the little ghosts sealed inside and performed a simple service for them.

Haunting wisps of ghost fire floated from the lanterns. All of these souls were newly coalesced ghosts who had passed away very recently. They were bleary and unfocused, with no clear consciousnesses of their own, and were very feeble still—which was why the old man had captured them so easily. When they were released from the cramped lanterns, they all swarmed around Xie Lian, circling him affectionately and even nuzzling him every so often.

Xie Lian rose to his feet and urged softly, “Go on. Go.”

Aided by the gentle push of Xie Lian’s hand, the spirits rose higher and higher, floating toward the horizon and gradually dissipating. This was known as “spirits returning to the world”—they had moved on and were no more.

Xie Lian gazed at the starry sky for a long time before he heard a tiny voice calling out from behind him.

“Your Highness…”

Xie Lian blinked and turned to look for the source of the voice. Only then did he notice that one tiny ball of ghost fire had remained with him—it hadn’t climbed into the sky, nor dissipated into embers.

This little ghost seemed stronger than the others. Not only did it possess its own consciousness, it could also speak.

Xie Lian walked over, bewildered. “Were you the one calling me just now? You…recognize me?”

The little ball of ghost fire became quite lively upon being noticed, jumping up and down. Judging by its voice, it seemed to be a young man like Xie Lian.

“Of course I recognize you!”

Xie Lian only felt more awkward when he remembered that he was covered in mud and looked so strange. He clenched his hand and pressed his fist against his lips. He really didn’t want to admit to his identity and thought to instead tell the ghost fire that it was mistaken. A moment later, he schooled his expression.

“Why did you stay? Didn’t I send you off? Did I miss a step, maybe?”

If he hadn’t missed a step during the service, why would one of them still be there?

The nameless ghost floated before him, not too close, not too far. “No. You’ve done nothing wrong. I didn’t want to leave, that’s all,” it answered.

“Do you have an unfulfilled wish or some attachment?” Xie Lian mused.

“Yes,” the nameless ghost replied.

“Then why don’t you tell me what it is?” Xie Lian asked. “If it’s not too difficult, I’ll do my best to help you.”

Behind the nameless ghost, three thousand lanterns flowed languidly through the night. The nameless ghost said, “I have a beloved who is still in this world.”

After some silence, Xie Lian said, “I see. Is it your wife?”

“No, Your Highness. We were never married.”

“Ah.”

“In fact, I might not even be remembered,” the nameless ghost said. “We never really talked.”

You never really talked? Xie Lian thought. Then how did this person become the “beloved” that tied your spirit to the world? What beauty they must possess.

Humming for a moment, Xie Lian said, “So then, what is your wish?”

“I want to protect them,” the nameless ghost answered.

Usually, such a spirit’s wish would be something like “I want to tell her I love her,” or “I want to spend some romantic time with her,” or occasionally something more frightening like “I want her to accompany me down below.” A wish to protect someone was quite rare, and Xie Lian was a little stunned.

“But you no longer belong to this world.”

“What of it?” the nameless ghost replied.

“If you force your soul to remain, you won’t be able to rest in peace,” Xie Lian said.

The nameless ghost didn’t seem to care. “I’m willing to never rest in peace.”

This wandering wisp of a spirit was surprisingly stubborn. Such a willful spirit was typically extremely dangerous, but for some reason, Xie Lian didn’t sense any murderous intent from it. So he wasn’t concerned.

“If your beloved knew you couldn’t rest in peace because of them, they might feel troubled and guilty,” Xie Lian continued.

The nameless ghost hesitated for a moment but replied, “Then I just won’t let them know why I haven’t left.”

“If you meet too often, they’ll find out sooner or later,” Xie Lian said.

“Then I won’t let them know I’m protecting them either,” the nameless ghost replied.

Something stirred within Xie Lian’s heart. He could tell that this young man’s love wasn’t just talk.

The lanterns had contained wandering spirits that the old man had captured from the barren battlefield, so the one before him now must have been a young warrior.

“The war separated you from your beloved… I’m sorry I didn’t win,” Xie Lian said quietly.

However, the nameless ghost declared, “To die in battle for you is my greatest honor.”

Xie Lian was stunned.

“To die in battle for the crown prince is the greatest honor for a Xianle soldier,” was a slogan that some general from Xianle had taught the troops. They used it to hype them up for the fight, proclaiming that if they died, they would’ve died for a purpose, and in death they would pass on to the immortal realm. That was, of course, a lie. Yet even though this young soldier had passed away and his soul had been set adrift in the Mortal Realm, he still remembered the phrase so clearly—and said it with such solemnity and sincerity.

Xie Lian felt the rims of his eyes grow hot, and his vision went blurry.

“I’m sorry,” he replied. “Forget me.”

The nameless ghost’s flickering flames flared brighter. “I won’t forget. Your Highness, I am forever your most devoted believer.”

Xie Lian forced down a sob. “…I’ve already lost all my believers. Believing in me won’t do you any good; it might even bring disaster. Did you know? Even my friend has left me.”

The nameless ghost declared as if swearing an oath, “I won’t.”

“You will,” Xie Lian said.

The ghost was insistent. “Believe me, Your Highness.”

“I don’t,” Xie Lian said.

He no longer believed in anyone, especially himself.

Chapter 96:

Hero Defeated by a Penny

FLEEING BEFORE THE ENTIRE CITY was locked down for a thorough search, Xie Lian and company traveled through the night and arrived at another city. Xie Lian once again settled the king and queen in a safe hideout, then he and Feng Xin went out to earn money. However, those who couldn’t earn much in one city wouldn’t magically be luckier in a new one.

Like always, they worked a full day’s labor for meager pay, but the once-inseparable trio were now suddenly missing one member, and the remaining two were having a hard time getting used to it. Mu Qing had always been responsible for looking after the money purse, and he had constantly kept track of their finances. Now that Mu Qing had left, Xie Lian had no choice but to keep the money on himself, as Feng Xin had admitted upfront that he might lose it by accident. Every time he counted that sad bit of money, he really couldn’t believe it was all he’d earned after a hard day’s labor. In his old life, he’d given alms to beggars that were more than this.

With Mu Qing gone, they had also lost the one who brought food to the king and queen, so Xie Lian had to personally deliver all sorts of daily necessities to their hiding place with the help of Feng Xin. The queen was very happy that she got to see her son so frequently, and when she was happy, she cooked. That day, she once again dragged Xie Lian and Feng Xin to the table to try her soup.

“You both need to fatten up! Look how thin you’ve become.”

Feng Xin was streaming cold sweat, and he bounced back to his feet the moment his butt touched the bench. He waved both hands and assured her, “No, no, no, Your Majesty, your humble servant Feng Xin doesn’t dare—I absolutely mustn’t!”

“What’s there to be afraid of, child?” the queen chided pleasantly. “Come, sit down.”

How could Feng Xin tell her? He simply didn’t dare, and the queen delivered the fruits of her labor after he forced himself to sit down. Xie Lian sat at the head of the table, and Feng Xin took a sharp breath before removing the pot cover. When the two of them saw what was in the pot, their expressions turned ghastly.

“This chicken…died a tragic death,” Xie Lian said under his breath.

Feng Xin’s lips trembled. “Your Highness, you didn’t see right. There’s no chicken in this.”

Xie Lian was flummoxed. “…Then what’s that thing floating in there that looks like a dead chicken?”

“I think it’s thick soup…but the shape is a little off,” Feng Xin replied.

The two spent a long time studying the pot’s contents but still couldn’t figure it out. The queen ladled a full bowl for Xie Lian, and Feng Xin hurried to serve himself. When the queen went to the back of the cottage to find the king, they instantly dumped the soup from their bowls and pretended to wipe their mouths, looking as if they had slurped it down in one gulp and enjoyed it so much that they couldn’t get enough.

“I’m full, I’m full.”

The queen was delighted at the sight. “Was it good?”

“It was, it was!” Xie Lian praised hollowly.

“If it’s good, then have some more!” the queen said happily.

Xie Lian almost sputtered a mouthful of the soup he hadn’t eaten and raised his handkerchief to pretend he was wiping at his lips.

The queen seemed to hesitate before she said, “My son, I want to ask you a question. Please don’t blame your mom for being nosy.”

Xie Lian stiffened and placed the handkerchief down. “What is it? Please ask.”

The queen sat down next to him. “Where is that child, Mu Qing? Why hasn’t he stopped by in the past few days?”

He knew it.

Xie Lian’s heart squeezed tighter at the mention of Mu Qing. “Oh, I gave him some tasks to do, so he’s set off elsewhere.”

The queen seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and gave him a nod. “When will he be back?”

“He may need to be gone for a long time… He won’t be back anytime soon,” Xie Lian replied.

The queen seemed troubled by this news, and Xie Lian noticed.

“Is something the matter?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” the queen instantly replied.

Feng Xin had the sharper eye, and he spoke up. “Your Majesty, what’s wrong with your hands?”

Hands?

Xie Lian looked and was shocked at the sight.

His mother’s delicate, exquisitely maintained, upper-class hands looked awful. They were scraped and peeling at the knuckles, with faint traces of blood. Xie Lian stood up abruptly and grabbed her hands.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing! I just washed some clothes and blankets, but I’m not very good at it,” the queen quickly explained.

“Why are you doing the washing yourself?” Xie Lian blurted. “You could’ve…”

But he didn’t know how to finish that sentence. Could’ve what? Could’ve had the palace attendants do the washing? Could’ve had Mu Qing do the washing? None of that was possible now.

Mu Qing had acted as their personal attendant on their never-ending road to escape, and his duties had included taking care of all personal necessities—including caring for the needs of Xie Lian, the king, and the queen. With him gone, there was no one to attend to all the mundane daily tasks.

No one to cook, no one to wash, no one to fold the blankets. The simple days of the past suddenly became difficult. Xie Lian could endure it, as there were far too many other things to worry about. But his mother had always lived a comfortable, luxurious life—when had she ever performed such crude labor? But how would it get done if the queen didn’t handle that work herself?

After some silence, Xie Lian said, “Don’t let this trouble you. I’ll take care of the washing.”

The queen smiled. “No need. You just take care of yourself. I’ve never done laundry nor cooked before, but I have nothing but free time every day, and doing the chores myself is quite fun. Especially since you both enjoyed the meal—that makes me quite happy.”

The pot of soup had been stirred by his mother’s battered hands, but they hadn’t drunk a drop and poured it away on the sly. Xie Lian and Feng Xin exchanged a look, and both felt rather horrid.

Just then, the queen added, “Oh yes, there was another thing. Is there any way you can bring some medicine back tomorrow?”

Xie Lian’s eyes widened slightly. “Medicine? What kind of medicine?”

The queen’s face was troubled, and she sighed. “I’m not quite sure. Why don’t you go to the pharmacy and inquire about what kind of medicine should be taken when someone is coughing up blood?”

“Coughing up blood?!” Xie Lian was shocked. “Who’s coughing up blood? You? Father? Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

He had raised his voice, and the queen immediately hushed him. “Speak quietly!”

However, it was too late—an outraged voice came from the back of the cottage. “I told you not to run your mouth!”

It was the king. Now that he had already overheard them, the queen didn’t worry about hushing anymore and called out toward the back room, “It won’t do if this keeps up!”

Xie Lian walked straight into the back room and saw the king huddled on a bed of ragged blankets. He hadn’t seen his father closely in a while, and observing now, he looked quite ill; his cheeks were sunken, and the ghastly gloom of the room made him appear even more sickly. He had no royal aura at all—he was nothing more than a defeated, scruffy old man.

Xie Lian didn’t even need to check his pulse to know that he must have been ill for some time now and that it was serious. The suffocating, musty air of sickness permeated the entire room. Recalling that the queen had said one of his symptoms was “coughing up blood,” he raised his voice in distress.

“What’s going on here?!”

The king steeled his expression. “What’s with that tone?”

The queen and Feng Xin entered the room as well.

“Who cares what tone I’m using?! Why didn’t you say something sooner if you’re sick?” Xie Lian admonished.

“Are you lecturing your king?” he angrily replied. “What your king does and does not say at any given time is not for you to dictate!”

He was still carrying on with that tough posturing, even now. Xie Lian was in disbelief.

“You’re unbelievable! Are you still throwing your title’s weight around at a time like this?”

The king was outraged. “Get the hell out! Now!”

The queen and Feng Xin immediately dragged Xie Lian out of the room, and the queen begged, “My son! Don’t be like this. He’s your father, and he’s ill. Take a step back.”

First on the run, and now there was an illness to manage—it was like adding ice to snow. Xie Lian buried his face in his hands.

“Mother! Why didn’t either of you say anything sooner? If you had, the illness wouldn’t have progressed to coughing up blood! Do you know how hard that is to cure?”

In their current situation, it was impossible!

The queen’s reply was both dismayed and aggrieved. “We…we didn’t know that it’d worsen like this.”

“Yeah. Besides, we’ve been dodging Yong’an pursuit this entire way. There was no time to stop,” Feng Xin added.

Xie Lian pulled his face from his hands. “I’ll take him to a doctor in the city right now.”

“No need!” the king shouted from within the room.

Xie Lian looked back and was just about to rebuke him with, “I’m the one who makes the decisions right now,” but Feng Xin responded first. “Your Highness, you’ll be noticed for sure if you take His Majesty to a doctor in the city.”

Xie Lian instantly froze.

The queen spoke up. “That’s what we were afraid of, which is why we didn’t say anything over the past few days. My son, why don’t you just…think of a way to bring back some medicine?”

The king started coughing violently again, and the queen went into the back to look after him. Xie Lian was dazed for a good moment, then he turned and went into another room.

“Your Highness! What will you do?” Feng Xin called out.

Xie Lian didn’t answer, just started rummaging through all the shelves and chests in the cottage.

“What are you looking for?” Feng Xin asked.

Xie Lian didn’t respond. A moment later, he dug out something from the bottom of a chest—an ancient sword.

When he saw what Xie Lian had retrieved, Feng Xin asked, “What are you doing with Hongjing?”

Xie Lian was quiet for a long moment before he replied, “I’m going to pawn it.”

“You can’t!” Feng Xin cried in shock.

Xie Lian slammed the chest shut heavily. “I’ve already pawned so many swords. This is just one more.”

By this point, he had pawned over half of his beloved sword collection to make enough money for the carriages and bribes at checkpoints they’d needed for their journey. And since they couldn’t go inside the large, bustling pawn shops, they’d sometimes wind up blackmailed by shady merchants who had determined their identities, and they were forced to sell at a painful bargain.

“It’s not the same!” Feng Xin exclaimed. “Don’t you really like that sword? Otherwise, why wouldn’t you have pawned it already instead of stuffing it in the bottom of a chest? And the Emperor gave it to you—it won’t sound good if word gets out!”

“No matter how much I like it, it’s still not as important as a life,” Xie Lian said wearily. “Let’s just go.”

The two made their way to the city with the sword, both looking downtrodden. When they arrived at the pawn shop, Xie Lian stopped and glanced at Hongjing in his hand.

Feng Xin peered at him. “Why don’t we forget about pawning it? Let’s try…let’s try to think of another way…”

Xie Lian shook his head. “It’s too late. Besides, we don’t know if there is any other way that will get us enough money.”

No mortal would be a match for them if they stole, snatched, or employed other such trickery, and money would pour in much faster. But things were so difficult precisely because they had to uphold their moral compasses and adhere to the ethics of mortals, earning their money honestly.

Having made up his mind, Xie Lian said, “This has to be pawned. Once it’s done, we’ll go buy medicine.”

Despite his words, his feet still didn’t move.

Feng Xin knew he was reluctant to let go—this was Xie Lian’s last sword. So he said, “Let’s look around some more.”

Suddenly, a clamor erupted on one end of the street; there was shouting and yelling, and someone cried out.

“Who’s causing trouble?!”

“The audacity!”

“Catch him! Catch him!”

The two were both startled, and Xie Lian instantly ducked to the side of the road in alarm. “Who?!”

Feng Xin cautiously went over to check, returning only after he was sure of their safety. “It’s nothing! Don’t worry! It has nothing to do with us. It’s not Yong’an soldiers or anyone else who’s looking for us.”

Only then did Xie Lian’s tension ease. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure,” Feng Xin said. “It looks like a fight between some irate servants. Want to go see?”

“Let’s go,” Xie Lian said. “Hopefully it’s not some local tyrant.”

The two went over to watch. They saw two men brawling at the center of a crowd of onlookers, and the audience was cheering.

Feng Xin tapped the shoulder of a passerby who was enjoying the show. “Hey, buddy, what’s going on here?”

The passerby chuckled. “You don’t know? This is too exciting! The servant is beating the master!”

What an affair! Xie Lian was speechless. “How come? And why the cheering?”

“Of course we’re going to cheer!” the passerby said. “That master is no good! His servant followed him since he was young and was very loyal, but the master only knew how to exploit him! He paid him badly and worked him to the bone, pushing him around all day. The servant couldn’t take it anymore, and so you see, you see! Now they’re fighting!”

Sure enough, the one throwing all the punches was cursing as he did, yelling accusations and declarations alike. “I’ve had it with you for ages! Why don’t you think about what you’ve really given me?! My family’s so poor that we can barely eat, but you still lord over me, acting all high and mighty! From today onward, I ain’t your dog no more!” The master was hugging his head and screaming as he was beaten, all while the crowd cheered.

Their shouts made Xie Lian’s heart lurch in waves, and chills shook his body. He unconsciously stole a glance at Feng Xin.

Feng Xin didn’t notice his strange behavior at all, and when he heard those terrible deeds, he commented offhandedly, “I see, then that master really is no good. No wonder the servant is rebelling.”

He didn’t mean anything by it, but Xie Lian’s heart dropped, and he gripped Hongjing tighter.

After much headache, Hongjing was pawned and the two finally had money. They immediately went to find a doctor and purchased dozens of different medicinal herbs to take back.

Medicinal herbs used to treat illnesses that made one cough up blood were expensive and needed to be bought in large quantities. It wasn’t a matter of one or two doses over a couple of days, and they would need to keep a close watch on how his father responded to the treatment.

That evening, Feng Xin unwrapped a few packets of herbs and started boiling down the medicine outside the cottage, fanning wildly at the flames with a torn cattail leaf fan. As for Xie Lian, he was once again rummaging through the shelves and chests all over the house. After a while, he finally fumbled out a soft, shimmering golden belt.

Xie Lian originally had several golden belts, but they had met the same end as the swords—all pawned off aside from this last one. Xie Lian had wanted to keep it as a souvenir, but today he decided to use it for something else.

Feng Xin happened to look up at him just then. “Your Highness, what are you doing with that belt? You’re not thinking of pawning it too, are you?”

Xie Lian walked over and handed the golden belt to him.

Feng Xin’s eyes bulged with bewilderment. “What are you doing, giving this to me? Your Highness, did you accidentally lock your brain inside when you shut that chest just now?!”

Xie Lian was briefly speechless until he remembered that a gift of a golden belt had a special meaning in the Upper Court, and his expression instantly darkened. “You’re overthinking it—I don’t mean it that way at all. Just take it like it’s ordinary gold!”

He shoved it on him, and Feng Xin glared back, shimmering golden belt draped around his shoulders.

“No. You still gotta tell me why you’re stuffing me with gold out of nowhere.”

“Just take it as long-overdue pay,” Xie Lian said.

Feng Xin was confused. “No, but…what’s with you all of a sudden? Why are you talking about pay at a time like this? You’d be better off pawning this to buy more medicine for His Majesty. Or it’s fine if you don’t pawn it—keep it for yourself. That belt is something only a heavenly official can own.”

At the mention of medicine, Xie Lian looked back toward the cottage, where the king and queen were resting.

“I can think of other ways to get the medicine,” he replied, “so just take it.”

Xie Lian was determined to give, and Feng Xin couldn’t understand why. Although he was confused, he also found it kind of funny for some reason. He shrugged, then picked up the ragged fan and continued to fan the flames to boil down the medicine solution.

“Fine then. I’ll keep it for you for now. Whenever you want it back, just let me know.”

Xie Lian shook his head. “I won’t ask for it back. You can do with it as you will.”

Their pockets were a little fuller after pawning Hongjing, and they finally managed to have a few good meals. Since the queen’s skills were so shocking, Xie Lian stated that he would take over the chore of cooking and politely asked his mother to look after his father and absolutely not enter the kitchen. Xie Lian didn’t have much experience, but it was as the saying went—even if he’d never eaten pig trotters, he’d seen pigs walk. His creations were mostly edible, so the party was saved from further dietary issues.

After he fought with the king that day, Xie Lian regretted what he’d said, but he couldn’t swallow his pride. Instead, he silently did his utmost to care for him. A patient who was coughing up blood couldn’t be allowed to suffer any cold, so he got more blankets and small heaters for him.

The Yong’an soldiers were cracking down hard in their attempts to catch the escaped Xianle royalty, and soon this city also heightened its security. They had finally settled in, but now they had to leave again.

Xie Lian had already lost count of how many cities he had passed while on the run with his parents in tow—and, to be honest, everything that he’d seen on the road was much more peaceful than he’d initially imagined. The only city that had met a tragic fate was the royal capital of Xianle; nowhere else seemed to have been affected that severely.

After all, the king, the crown prince, the royal capital, the nobility—all were extremely remote concepts to regular civilians. The change in ruler didn’t seem like it made much difference, especially since the new king wasn’t a tyrant and hadn’t passed any particularly strict decrees after he ascended the throne. There were no further laments, and the matter was simply a new topic for lively after-dinner conversations.

“I worked this plot of land when the king was named Xie; I still work the same plot of land now that the king is named Lang!” Xie Lian heard someone say, and they weren’t wrong. But strangely, everyone’s feelings were oddly unified when it came to the storied crown prince who went from invincible to losing every battle—it was as though they’d suddenly become hardcore Xianle patriots whenever his name was mentioned. This puzzled him and also made him resentful.