Xu Jingzhou had been forced into coming to the Eastern Palace.
Before being forcibly escorted there, he had been studying the jade ornament and the rose dew.
He had taken Gu Yun’s words to heart and intended to sell them. However, remembering a reward he had once received after conducting a ritual for an imperial relative, he became wary. At the time, the item had seemed utterly ordinary to him, yet it had turned out to be an article reserved for imperial use. The thought made him suspect that these two items might likewise belong exclusively to the imperial household.
As for the first item, he had seen influential nobles and officials using it openly, so it was unlikely to be reserved for the imperial family.
The second item, however, left him uncertain. After making discreet enquiries for quite some time, he finally learned that it really was an item for imperial use.
That had been a close call. His and his bro’s heads had come within a hair’s breadth of being separated from their necks.
Xu Jingzhou wiped the cold sweat from his brow, hid the rose dew beneath a loose floor tile under his bed where he kept his money and valuables, made sure it was secure from thieves, then left the temple carrying the jade ornament to sell it to an old acquaintance.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to be intercepted before he had even travelled half a mile from the temple.
Xu Jingzhou’s gaze darkened as he looked at the person blocking his path.
The man was tall and slender, dressed in plain blue robes. His entire face was concealed behind a simple mask, exposing only his eyes.
A robber? Xu Jingzhou thought. He sneered inwardly. You’ve picked the wrong target today.
Pressing the jade ornament hidden inside an inner pocket to make sure it would not fall out during any vigorous movement, he pasted on a false smile, pressed his palms together, and said, “Patron, would you kindly step aside? This humble monk is in a hurry.”
Chinese people believed in courtesy before force.
The man raised a hand.
A dangerous one, Xu Jingzhou thought. As the saying goes, dogs that bite don’t bark.
Rolling up his sleeves, he threw a punch.
“Since the patron refuses to speak civilly to this humble monk, this humble monk also happens to know a little martial arts!”
The punch landed squarely in the man’s stomach. The man let out a muffled groan and clutched the spot. Through gritted teeth, he said, “You bald donkey.”
Li Lan had merely intended to return the greeting out of courtesy. Instead, the other man had started babbling nonsense and attacked him. No wonder His Highness had warned him beforehand that the fellow was practically a wild man and told him to handle matters as he saw fit.
“Who are you calling a bald donkey?” Xu Jingzhou’s expression darkened.
Li Lan sneered. “Is there another monk here?”
Xu Jingzhou thought, Fuck. You’re asking for death.
He interlocked his fingers and cracked his knuckles loudly before stepping forward and throwing another punch.
Li Lan had been prepared. He dodged aside and swept a leg towards Xu Jingzhou’s feet.
Xu Jingzhou leapt neatly over it, grabbed a fallen branch from the roadside and brought it slashing down.
The land here, and the stretch beyond it, belonged to Cining Temple.
Not long ago, the monks had pruned the trees throughout the grounds. Unfortunately, the novice responsible for gathering firewood had been slacking off, collecting branches while playing around. As a result, plenty of fallen branches still littered the ground.
Some nearby villagers had secretly helped themselves to a few, but they feared being caught and only dared take a little at a time. At first glance, the place looked much as it always had.
The two exchanged several rounds. Neither gained the advantage.
Li Lan was inwardly startled. This bald donkey actually knows martial arts?
Although the man’s movements occasionally switched abruptly from recognisable Cining Temple staff techniques to incomprehensible boxing and kicking styles, there was no denying he could fight. Wasn’t he supposed to be a ritual specialist?
In Li Lan’s mind, ritual specialists were people who sang and danced for an hour before panting themselves breathless. Had the profession evolved this far?
Extraordinary.
If someone used ritual work as a pretext to infiltrate an enemy’s household, couldn’t they slaughter everyone inside And if they infiltrated the imperial palace…
At this point, Li Lan’s thoughts wandered.
Xu Jingzhou, however, became completely focused whenever he fought. He noticed the lapse instantly.
What an enormous weakness.
His lips curled upwards. Without hesitation, he employed the infamous Monkey Steals the Peach.
His attack struck directly at the opponent’s most vulnerable region.
Li Lan cried out in agony, doubled over like a prawn, and before he could recover, Xu Jingzhou launched a flying kick that sent him hurtling several metres through the air and crashing into a tree.
“Cough!” Li Lan slid to the ground. His mask fell away, and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.
Bracing himself against the earth, he rose slowly while clutching the injured area. Through strands of fallen hair, he stared at the bald donkey opposite him with a chilling expression.
Xu Jingzhou struck an impossibly dramatic pose. “As expected of me. Honestly, how can I be this handsome? The dream man who captivates countless young ladies! No, this won’t do. Even I’m being charmed by my own good looks!”
His expression became so exaggerated that it tugged at the bruise Li Lan had punched onto his face. His features twisted. “Hiss! Fuck, don’t tell me I’ve been disfigured. My beautiful face!”
Li Lan: “…” Mental.
The pain in Li Lan’s injured region finally eased a little. Wiping the blood from his lips with the back of his hand, he brushed aside his hair and drew a short blade from his boot.
Xu Jingzhou gave two cold laughs. He was thoroughly enraged now.
“I was willing to let you repent and leave it there. I was only planning to drag you to the yamen. But since you’re determined to get beaten, I’ll oblige! I’ll snap both your dog paws and see how you—”
He suddenly stopped. Looking carefully, he realised the thief looked familiar.
The man possessed an icy, indifferent face capable of freezing every living creature within a hundred miles.
Two small black moles sat on the left side of his forehead. His eyes were hooded, yet strikingly attractive. Whenever he raised them, the long lashes drooping at the outer corners cast bluish-grey shadows beneath them, giving him that damp, cool, hazy quality people online always compared to a rainy day.
Xu Jingzhou looked more closely.
It was no mistake. He had definitely seen this thief before. In fact, he remembered exactly where. He had seen him at Cining Temple.
At the time, the man had been standing behind the Crown Prince when the latter came searching for Gu Yun. However, because he had so little presence, standing there quietly like the Crown Prince’s shadow, Xu Jingzhou had only glanced at him once and promptly forgotten about him.
Xu Jingzhou: “…”
The Crown Prince’s people were unlikely to be robbers. The Eastern Palace could not possibly be so impoverished that its servants had to support themselves through highway robbery. If things had truly deteriorated to that point, the empire itself was probably finished.
So if he was not a robber, why had he come looking for him while hiding his face? Was it because of the two items Gu Yun had asked him to sell?
No. Gu Yun was not careless. If he had entrusted those items to Xu Jingzhou, he would certainly have considered the consequences beforehand and would never have placed either of them in danger.
As for the rose dew turning out to be an imperial product, that mistake was understandable. Had Xu Jingzhou not encountered such situations before, he too would have assumed it was merely an expensive perfume. After all, scented products were utterly commonplace in the modern world. If it was not because of those items, then why had the man come?
Not good. Very much not good. Xu Jingzhou inwardly cursed. Not knowing someone’s intentions was even worse than knowing them.
After a brief glance at Li Lan, he turned and ran without hesitation.
He had already beaten the man once. Given the circumstances, and given that he certainly did not believe the visitor had come bearing goodwill, running away was the wiser option.
He would not return to the temple. Instead, he would find somewhere to lie low and assess the situation before making further plans.
Unfortunately, he had only taken a few steps. “You can’t escape.”
The voice drifted lightly from behind him. “My lord’s men are stationed all around.”
What? Xu Jingzhou turned back in shock. The instant he did, sharp pain flared on both sides of his Adam’s apple.
A nerve seemed to fire. His heart rate plummeted. His vision darkened.
Xu Jingzhou: “…”
A hidden weapon. The bastard had used a hidden weapon. These shameless ancient people. One day he’d punch him so deeply into a wall that nobody would ever be able to pry him back out.
Assuming he survived today.
Sumimasen*, family and friends. I’m heading off first.
(*TN: means “excuse me” in Japanese.)
With that despairing thought, Xu Jingzhou rolled his eyes back and fainted.
Li Lan watched the man collapse stiffly to the ground and lowered his blade.
In truth, he had never used it. The knife had merely been a distraction. While drawing it, he had secretly picked up two small stones with his other hand. Thrown with precisely controlled force, the stones had struck both sides of the man’s Adam’s apple and rendered him unconscious.
Had His Highness not specifically requested a live bald donkey, Li Lan truly would have wanted to…
After taking a pain-relieving medicine and replacing his mask, Li Lan walked over. The bald donkey did not appear any older than he was. Yet somehow his hands were no fairer.
Li Lan planted a foot directly on his face.
One shoe print. Then another. Afterwards he casually smeared a handful of rotten leaves across the man’s face. Then, dragging him like a slaughtered pig, he hauled him towards the waiting carriage.
A sickly-looking man stood beside it. Glancing at Li Lan, he narrowed his eyes before shifting his gaze to the unconscious Xu Jingzhou.
“Is this monk unusually capable, or have you become lazy and neglected your martial arts training recently? Getting rusty, are we?”
“Yan Zhao, just do what His Highness ordered you to do. Keep sticking your nose into everything and one day you’ll end up brain-damaged.”
Li Lan raised his eyelids and shot him a cold look. Snatching away the whip, he climbed onto the driver’s seat and steered the carriage towards the Eastern Palace.
A short distance from the palace, he tidied his appearance, climbed into the carriage, threw the bald donkey onto a vegetable cart bound for the Eastern Palace kitchens, covered him with vegetables, and had the eunuch responsible for receiving produce bring him inside.
…
Unwilling to die, Xu Jingzhou struggled desperately through the darkness. How much time passed, he did not know. Then a sensation of falling overtook him.
His heart suddenly accelerated. At once, he broke free of the darkness. Slowly opening his eyes, he discovered he was still alive. However, his surroundings had changed.
He had been tied up and dumped in the corner of a small room.
Where was this? Judging by the elegant furnishings around him, had he already arrived at the Eastern Palace?
While pondering this question, he heard movement outside. Immediately alert, he looked towards the door.
It opened. Two people entered. Xu Jingzhou recognised them at once.
The Crown Prince. And the Crown Prince’s personal guard.
Following behind Chao Yan, Li Lan lowered his voice. “Your Highness, this monk possesses martial skills and is both treacherous and cunning. Under no circumstances should you untie him. Otherwise, the consequences may be difficult to predict.”
Xu Jingzhou: “…”
Xu Jingzhou glared at him furiously. You bastard. Settling personal scores, are you? If you’ve got the guts, let’s fight properly one-on-one.
Li Lan stood perfectly straight. Sensing the glare, he lowered his eyes and looked down at him from above.
