Chapter 247:Amnesia Extra, Part 2/4

The Curious Incident of His Royal Highness, the

Crown Prince’s Memory Having Wandered Away
2 - Big Grey Wolf Hua Picks Up Little White Rabbit
Lian and Coaxes Him into Turning in Circles

=-=-=

To think he had seated himself in front of him so

casually as he pleased.

Xie Lian blinked, and only ascertained after a good

while that the man was really talking to him.

He reacted immediately, telling himself that he

should allow his shock at this person’s manner to
place him at a disadvantage. Maintaining his
previous calm, he said courteously, “Alas, this
lowly person will not be drinking, and I am afraid
will not be able to treat you to this drink.”

The man dressed in red gave a laugh, and his

sitting posture became even more casual, as he
said, “Really? Looking at this daozhang’s
appearance, I think he has something troubling
him, and needs a drink to relieve him of his
troubles ah.”

Without changing his expression or inflection, Xie

Lian said, “Then I’m afraid your excellency is
mistaken.”

Even though the greatest taboo had been

committed, but this did not mean that he should
adopt a self-defeated attitude and be uncaring of
the other smaller taboos.

Even though his manner continued to be mild and

distant, the man did not show even a slightest
intention of retreating, but instead, as though
settling in for a while, said, “Since daozhang is not
willing to treat me, then, how about I help myself?”

Xie Lian studied him, then studied his

surroundings. Strange. It wasn’t as though there
weren’t any empty spaces around them, so why
did he have to sit here to drink wine? But as he
also did not have a reason to reject him, Xie Lian
said, “Please help yourself.”

And so, the other party waved his hand lazily.

Never before had the waiter seen such a stylish
person, and not daring to show any annoyance,
hurriedly served up a jar of wine and some wine
cups, and diligently wiped down the tabletop,
afraid of showing this person any disrespect.

Seeing how the man dressed in red was calm and

at ease, helping himself to the wine, Xie Lian could
no longer resist and said, “Could it be that your
excellency, when meeting anyone for the first
time, would ask that person to treat you to a
drink?”

Beaming, the man said, “Hn? Of course not. To be

frank with daozhang, the average person would
not even get to see my face.”

This tone of his, was quite arrogant. However, Xie

Lian did not find himself put off.

The two people sat in their seats. During this time,

Xie Lian continued to look somewhere else,
projecting a manner as though he was very calm.
After a while, it was still that man who first opened
his mouth to speak.

Propping a hand beneath his chin, he said, “What

is this daozhang’s surname, that I may address
you?”
WIthout thinking, Xie Lian came up with a fake
surname, “My surname is Hua.”

The man raised an eyebrow, and said, “Oh – Hua-

daozhang.” Xie Lian said, “How should I address
your excellency?”

That man said, “It’s fine if daozhang calls me San-

lang.”

Xie Lian sensed that this person was not willing to

reveal his true identity, and did not press. Having
thought for a while, he was unable to think of what
type of person would be arranged third in order,
and so decided not to waste effort speculating. At
this moment, he suddenly noticed that, on the side
of one cheek of the man in red, a lock of crow-
black hair had been plaited into a thin braid, with a
red coral bead at the end of the braid.

The bead was lustrous and gleaming, and

although small in size, one could tell from a look
that it was incredibly expensive. But Xie Lian could
not shake off the feeling that he had seen this
bean before somewhere, perhaps in his palace
chambers where jewels were strewn everywhere?

But he also could not be sure. Noticing his gaze,

San-lang said, “Do you like this?”
As he said this, he lifted his long, pale and elegant
fingers, lightly twisting that coral bead, pinching it.

For some unknown reason, as Xie Lian looked on,

a flash of pain suddenly bolted across his chest, as
though some part of his body was also being
pinched, and he jerked back violently.

This action was too large, and a number of guests

beside all turned to look this way. Casually and
unconcerned, San Lang lifted his gaze, and said,
surprised, “This daozhang, are you alright?”

He reached out a hand, as though intending to

help Xie Lian up. Of course, Xie Lian did not want
him to help him up, and hurriedly sat back
properly, saying, “It’s, it’s nothing. That bead......”

“Oh.” The hint of a smile at the corner of San-

lang’s lips did not lessen, and he said, “This bead?”

His hand playing even more with the brightly

coloured and beautiful bead, he said with a slight
smile, “This is a gift from my beloved wife. What
does daozhang think of it?”
“......”

Xie Lian said, “Uh...... It’s very good, very good.”

In fact, he had no idea what he was saying, and his

fingers gripped his thigh tightly. He felt restless,
unable to sit still.

This unfamiliar man dressed in red was clearly

playing with that cutely charming bead, an action
that could not be simpler, but Xie Lian was seeing
in it some hint of excessive lewdness.

It was as though the thing which was being

twisted by those fingertips, slowly massaged and
rubbed, kneaded and flattened, wasn’t the red
bead, but some part of his body that was sensitive.
Xie Lian’s face inexplicably grew hot, and his
breathing grew rapid, as he found it extremely
hard to bear.

This was not normal. This was definitely not

normal.

This man dressed in red, who called himself “San-

lang”, was very handsome, but for an inexplicable
reason, strongly gave off a fey, unearthly air,
making one shiver and tremble. Xie Lian’s internal
alarm bells were ringing loudly, and he forcibly
calmed himself down, his breaths evening out, as
he fixed his gaze on him with hardly a hint of fear,
and asked, “If I may ask, just why did your
excellency decide on your own to approach this
lowly person?”

San-lang gave a smile, and slowly said, “Why so

suspicious? It was no big deal. I merely noticed
daozhang’s elegance and charm, and it touched
my heart. I couldn’t resist. If I have offended,
please forgive me.”

“......”

Xie Lian did not know whether he should believe

him, and shifted away his gaze. He silently
regretted in his heart, he should not have let this
person sit across him, stirring up such messy and
troubled thoughts and feelings now. Just at that
moment, the song-girl wrapped up her shift,
bowed to the crowd, and gave Xie Lian a sweet
and charming smile, before drifting away. Now that
she had left, Xie Lian had no reason to remain
either, and he stood up, saying, “Farewell. Your
excellency, please take your time to drink.”
He had intended for this last sentence to carry a
hint of challenge, but the moment the words
reached his mouth, they still left his lips
courteously. Xie Lian did not dare look further at
the man dressed in red, and practically flew
downstairs, and after walking aimlessly for a while,
this way and that, he determined that no one was
following him, and finally released a breath.

But now that he had come to a standstill, he felt at

a loss once again.

His clothes had disappeared, his money and

possessions had disappeared, his sword had
disappeared, his attendants had also disappeared,
even his magic had disappeared.

In his seventeen years of living, never before had

he encountered such an unsolvable situation. Xie
Lian shook his head, and stopped a passer- by to
ask where this place was. The passer-by answered
with a place Xie Lian had never heard of, and he
asked again, “Then how far is it to the imperial
city? Which direction is the imperial city?”

He did not say that he was referring to the Xian Le

imperial city. The passer-by said, “Imperial City?
This place is to the south of the imperial city. The
imperial city is very far away!”

As expected. The accents of the people here, as

well as the architecture style, were all somewhat
strange. They did not appear as though to be from
somewhere near the imperial palace, and Xie Lian
had guessed that he must be very far away. What
the motives of the person who had brought him
here were, he did not know.

After walking further for a while, Xie Lian

encountered a new, difficult question.
He was hungry.

But, as said earlier, his money and possessions

had all disappeared. The accessories which could
be used to verify his status as the crown prince
had also disappeared, and he was unable to pull
out anything just now when he had wanted to give
the Ground a few pieces of gold leaves. Just
sitting for a while in the tea house, that one place
had already spent what little bit of coin he had
managed to find after rummaging left and right,
and furthermore, because he had been unable to
tolerate the old tea stain, he did not even drink a
mouthful of tea, and his stomach now continued to
be empty.
This was truly a case of being done in by a tiny
problem.

Just as he was frowning because of this difficulty,

he suddenly discovered that just further ahead,
beside one of the tiles on the ground, was
something shiny, as though someone had dropped
something there.

Xie Lian walked up, and crouched down, curious.

To think that, on the ground of this tumble-down

alley, were a few pieces of gold leaves!

Besides the gold leaves, there were also silver

leaves and a few bits of coin. To unexpectedly be
able to pick up money from the ground in broad
daylight, it was though food had fallen from the
sky, and Xie Lian did not know whether he should
consider his luck to be bad or good.

After Xie Lian had picked up the money, his first

reaction was to wonder whether had dropped this
money by accident, and so, he walked out of the
alley, and rushed up to the passers-by, asking,
“Excuse me, did anyone drop some money here?”
Most of the people shook their heads. Some lazy
louts shamelessly came over and said, “I dropped
it! I dropped it!” to which Lian asked, “How much
did you drop”. But all of them were unable to give
an answer, and ran away amidst surrounding
laughter.

Xie Lian was out of ideas. And so, after waiting for
the length of time of one incense stick, he walked
by the roadside to buy a mantou.

Xie Lian had never eaten a mantou before, more

so such a mantou made of coarse floor. It looked
large and clumsy, white and bland. But he did not
want to use any more of the money he had picked
up. After all, it would be terrible if it was money
which someone needed desperately, and so he
only took out the least amount of money
necessary.

It was the first time he held such a big mantou,

and it held some novelty for him. He crossed the
small street, and approaching a more deserted
alley. Just as he was about to bring the mantou to
his mouth, a hand suddenly reached out from
beside him, and grabbed the mantou away.
This act was truly extraordinary. Xie Lian was
startled, his hands already empty. He turned his
head to look. Unexpectedly, standing beside him,
was the man in red from the winehouse!

Xie Lian was shocked into stillness.

He did not think that this person would have

unexpectedly followed him here. Even more, he
did not think that he would have unexpectedly
snatched his mantou!

After remaining stunned for a good while, he

finally remembered that he wanted to take the
mantou back, and he jumped up, saying, “Give it
back!”

His actions to retrieve the mantou were extremely

quick, but the man’s movements were even
quicker. Plus the fact that he was taller, he dodged
in a flash, saying, “Don’t eat this.”

Even though he said this, he himself took a bite of

the mantou, leaving a mouthful missing. With this,
XIe Lian was unable to bear the idea of eating it
even if he had wanted to eat it. He was born as a
crown prince, and it was simply impossible for him
to bear eating a mantou which someone had taken
a bite of. His eyes widened, as he said, “You!”

After a pause, he angrily said, “Why are you doing

this?”

To think that when he first saw this person, he had

thought that he was someone rare, and had
wanted to befriend him. Never did he expect him
to be a frivolous rogue!

Two silhouettes, one red and one white, moving so

fast that they were blurs to the onlookers. No one
would have dared to believe that such an exciting
fight was over trying to snatch a mantou. Even
though Xie Lian faintly felt that his own speed
could be even faster, fast enough for him to be
able to catch up with this San-lang’s actions, but it
also did not feel as though it was guaranteed, and
his limbs did not seem quite willing to listen to his
commands. Furthermore, he had spent the whole
day feeling tired and frustrated and wary, and his
hips and legs hurt. Amidst his fury, his leg
unexpectedly twisted, and he fell to the ground. At
that moment, a low yelp of pain escaped out from
behind behind his gritted teeth.

Something hurt.
An indescribable pain, radiating from an
indescribable place.

This pain had already been present; it was just that

the wound had previously been tended to
carefully, plus he had exerted extreme effort to
ignore it deliberately, and so, it had not been
obvious all this while. But with this fall, his
expression changed in an instant. San-lang’s
expression changed too, and immediately bent
over and caught hold of his arm in a swift
movement, saying, “Ge......”

Then he immediately corrected his speech, saying,

“Are you alright”

Xie Lian felt extremely embarrassed, and greatly

wished that he could dig a whole in the ground to
bury his face in it. He desperately tried to pull back
his arm, and with his face a burning red, said,
“Please don’t address me as you wish, and please
don’t grab me like that!”

As expected, San-lang released his arm, but it was

only symbolic, because he switched to grabbing
Xie Lian’s shoulder, saying, “What’s wrong? Where
does it hurt?”
His tone was extremely concerned, and it did not
seem feigned. On the principle that one should not
return politeness with rudeness, Xie Lian should
have reacted with courtesy. However, the moment
he thought about where hurt, and why it hurt, he
felt both ashamed and frustrated, and a whole
day’s worth of grievances surged up to the fore. In
a single motion, he knocked away his hand, and
got up on his own in a flash, saying, “...... I don’t hurt
anywhere, not at all!” Having thrown this line down,
he turned and ran. But unexpectedly, the man
behind him caught hold of his wrist, and no matter
how he struggled, he was unable to struggle free.
Unable to bear it any longer, Xie Lian turned
around violently, his eyes wide and round in his
anger, to see that San- lang gazing at him, and
saying softly with a sigh, “Ai, this daozhang, even if
it is a thousand wrongs or ten thousand wrongs,
it’s all my fault, please don’t be angry with me
anymore.How about this, let me take you out again
for a drink, to make up for this.”

For reasons he could not explain, each time Xie

Lian looked at this person’s face, his heart would
beat erratically. He was very unused to this feeling,
and thinking only of making a quick escape, said,
“Who wants you to take them out, I don’t drink
wine! Hurry up and let me go.”
San-lang said, “Okay, alright, we won’t drink wine
Then let me take you out for a meal? You must be
hungry.”

Xie Lian was beside himself with anger. How dare

this person use this sort of tone to speak to him! It
was as though he was trying to coax Xie Lian like a
child! Never before had he experienced this sort of
humiliation, and he said, “I don’t want you to take
me out for a meal either. I’m not hungry. Show
more respect!”

Embarrassingly, he had barely finished speaking,

when his stomach made weak noises of protest.

Xie Lian’s body stiffened. He grew angrier, his face

turning red in his anger, and his voice began to
stutter, “You...... You....... You, why are you
bothering me? Stop bothering me anymore!”

But San-lang stared at him hard, saying,

“Daozhang, could it be that you still haven’t
discovered it?
Seeing that his expression had suddenly become
serious, Xie Lian said, “Discovered what?”

San-lang said, “There is a cursed object on your

body ah.”

Xie Lian froze. Suddenly, something on his wrist

loosened, and the bandage that had been wrapped
around his wrist glided down like a white snake,
rising up in front of him. The next moment, it dived
straight towards him!

But before it could touch him, the man in red

caught hold of it in a single motion, and said,
“Look.”

“......”

That piece of white silk was like a poisonous snake

of seven cubits length which had been caught,
twisting continuously. The sight gave one
goosebumps.

To think that such a creature was hiding on his

body! At this, Xie Lian finally understood. He
blinked, and said, “So...... the reason why you
approached me, was because you had discovered
that this cursed object was hiding on my body?”

San-lang’s expression grew more solemn, and he

said, “Hn. This thing was rather peculiar, and so, I
was slightly cautious. Fortunately, it did not hurt
you.”

The truth had been revealed. Thinking about how

he had indeed been uncourteous to this
gentleman previously, Xie Lian clutched at his face
and wrung his hands. Now that the truth was out,
that this person had approached him with good
intentions, Xie Lian felt extremely embarrassed. To
him, he gave a sombre bow, and said, “Many
thanks to your excellency. I was mistaken
previously.”

He waist had barely even vent when San-lang held

him up, saying, “Not at all, not at all. It was hardly
any effort.”

Raising his head, Xie Lian felt slightly troubled. For

some unknown reason, he kept feeling that, even
though this man dressed in red had an
appearance that was prim and proper, his brows
and the corners of his eyes seemed to hold a hint
of laughter. As expected, thinking about how the
other party had had a full view of his messy and
wretched behaviour, Xie Lian felt a bit awkward
and embarrassed.

Strange as it might sound, amongst his peers, Xie

Lian was already considered to be very mature.
Who knew that he would be unable to stay calm
the moment he looked at this man. This made him
rather uneasy. However, San-lang did not seem to
have noticed this, as he said, “Since this has been
resolved, then, I’ll head off. Daozhang, until we
meet again?”

Instinctively, Xie Lian said, “Hn, until we meet

again.”

San-lang waved his hand, and turned and left.

Unexpectedly, unable to help himself, Xie Lian
followed a few steps after him.

Perhaps it was because he just didn’t know where

he should be going, or perhaps because he was
still in a muddle. When San-lang looked back, Xie
Lian startled, and only then did he come to his
senses, hurriedly coming to a stop and pretending
to look in another direction. However, it was
already too late.
Light laughter came from that direction, and Xie
Lian could sense that even his earlobes had
turned red.

Stubbornly looking in his direction, San-lang

hugged his arms and laughed, saying, “Let’s not
wait for the next time we meet again. I feel that
now is the right time. How about it? Is daozhang
now willing to have a drink with me?”

They returned to that elegant tavern from before.

The man in red whom Xie Lian had only just

become acquainted with was extremely generous,
ordering a full table’s worth of the best dishes and
wine the tavern had to offer. Unexpectedly, not
only were the dishes not inferior to those served in
the royal palace, there were even many that had
been prepared in a manner that was extremely
novel, the likes of which Xie Lian had never seen
before. Famished, he ate and ate, only belatedly
realising that San-lang had been sitting across him
all this while with his cheek propped on his hand,
his gaze unwavering as he stared at him. That
gaze, was as though he regarded Xie Lian as his
meal.

“......”

As a result of being stared at by such a gaze, Xie

Lian once again felt restless and unable to sit still.
Convincing himself that he had not displayed poor
mealtime etiquette just now as a result of his
hunger, he put down his chopsticks, and coughed
lightly, saying, “...... I let you see something
embarrassing.”

San-lang said, “Hn? What so embarrassing about

this? Don’t mind me. Please, please. Continue.”

Following which, he took the mantou which the

two of them had fought over briefly, and without a
shift in his expression, bit into it. Seeing this, Xie
Lian felt even more as though he was in a difficult
position.

He smoothed his clothes and sat straighter, then

looked at the strip of white silk, deciding to talk
about this matter. He said, “Why would this cursed
object hide on my body? To think that I completely
failed to discover its existence, it’s simply as
though......” It was simply as though it was
something which he had worn on his person for a
very long while, and had grown accustomed to it.

That white silk constantly kept swimming towards

him, bobbing its head and tail. If not for the fact
that San-lang was keeping a firm grip on it, it was
likely that it would have long since wrapped him
up like a rice dumpling. Looking at it, it was as
though...... it liked him very much.

San-lang used a chopstick to pin it down to stop it

from diving towards Xie Lian, and said with a small
smile, “It looks like this cursed object has some
pretty bad habits, and is in need of a proper
teaching.”

Xie Lian said, “Rather than teaching it, it’d be

better if we look into its origins first.”

Both of them talked for a while about a great many

topics. Xie Lian had grown up in the Xian Le
imperial palace since a young age, and afterwards
cultivated in the royal temple. Until now, he never
before met someone who was such an interesting
conversationalist, someone who had seen and
encountered such a rich number of experiences.
As he listened to San-lang speak, his eyes grew
bright, and he could not stop smiling. He even
almost forgot all his cares. It was only after a long
while that he suddenly remembered one of the
weird mysteries before him, and said with a
straight face, “San-lang, can I ask if you have
heard of someone?”

San-lang tossed that piece of white silk to the

floor, using some unknown method to ensure that
it remained lying limply, unable to leap He said,
“Who.”

Xie Lian said, “It’s like this. I’m looking for

someone by the name of Hua Cheng.”

Hearing this name, San-lang’s eyebrow rose.

He said, “Hn. If I may ask, by looking for this

person, what do you plan on doing?”

Xie Lian said with sincerity, “To be honest with

you, I don’t know.”

Listening to San-lang’s tone, Xie Lian guessed that

San-lang definitely knew who Hua Cheng was, and
so he said again, “Perhaps you may be thinking
that I’m hiding something from you, but it’s the
truth, I too don’t know what finding him would
achieve. From the moment I woke up today, I
discovered that I am in a very strange situation.”

In a breath, he laid out everything, only omitting

those things that were too embarrassing to be
mentioned. At the end, Xie Lian said, “And so, I
was thinking, this person must be very important.
If San-lang knows who he is, is it convenient for
you to tell me?”

San-lang smiled and said, “Ah, there’s nothing

inconvenient about it. With daozhang and I getting
along so well on our first meeting, I naturally would
want to help you. As for this person, Hua
Cheng......”

Xie Lian listened with all his attention and said,

“Well?”

San-lang said, “Is a mad man.”

Xie Lian said, “How is he mad?”

Hua Cheng poured out a cup of wine, and picked

the cup in his hand, saying, “He is a disciple.”
“Whose disciple.”
“The Xian Le Crown Prince’s.” “Cough cough
cough —”

Xie Lian hurriedly swallowed a mouthful of tea,

before finally being able to cough it out. He said,
“Wait, wait. I – our Xian Le Crown Prince Xie Lian,
has yet to become a god, so how does he have a
disciple?”

San-lang said, unconcerned, “He would ascend

sooner or later. After all, gods are just like that. If
you say someone is a god then he is a god, and if
you say someone isn’t a god then he isn’t a god. If
he feels like it, then he is.”

Xie Lian did know whether to laugh or cry. He said,

“Surely this is too casual!”

After a pause, he added, “...... however, does he

really believe that much, that the Crown Prince,
HIs Royal Highness, will definitely become a god?”

San-lang said slowly, “It’s not belief.” Following

that, he smiled. “It’s conviction.”
Xie Lian smiled along too, as he thought, “Then I
had best not let down this person’s expectations.”

He hugged his arms, saying, “So, where can I

meet this Hua Cheng?”

San-lang said, “Daozhang, do you really wish to

meet him?”

Xie Lian said, “Yes.”

It seemed as though San lang did not approve of

this idea of his. He said, “But Hua Cheng is very
bad.”

Xie Lian frowned slightly, saying, “Very bad? How

is he bad?”

He was not too willing to believe, that a disciple

who was convinced that he would ascend, would
be a bad person. San-lang said, “About this......”

Just at that moment, Xie Lian noticed something.

Up to now he had been very careful, and did not
really look directly at San-lang. Now, after both of
them had interacted for a while, and had warmed
up to each other, he had finally started to relax,
and to look directly as he pleased.

One of San-lang’s hands had been resting all this

while on a railing by the side, his finger tapping on
the railing in a manner that was not too light and
not too heavy. His five fingers were long and
elegant, and on his third finger, was tied a thin red
thread, like the bright edge of a knot.

Xie Lian immediately thought of the incident in the

tea house, when the song-girl was singing, and a
series of jumbled and messy images had flashed
across his mind: beneath the gauzy bed curtains,
two hands, ten fingers locked interlocked tightly.

The hand that had lain above, had such a red

thread tied to it.

=-=-=
Translator’s notes:

From the sound of it, customers in the teahouse

paid an entrance fee for a seat. Their entrance /
seat also comes with a portion of tea. In Xie Lian’s
case, he could not bear to drink any of the tea he
was entitled to, from the tea-stained cup.

⼀⽂钱难倒英雄汉 [yi wen qian nan dao ying xiong

han] - A Chinese idiom, lit. a small bit of money
being too difficult for a hero to overcome. It
conveys the idea of a large undertaking or a very
talented person, being unable to proceed because
of a small problem which cannot be solved.

伸⼿不打笑⾯⼈ [shen shou bu da xiao mian ren] - A

Chinese idiom, lit. don’t raise your hand to hit a
smiling person. The idea is that if someone is
polite, it is difficult or awkward to react rudely in
return.

“千错万错，都是我的错，不要⽣我的⽓了。” Aaahhh
this sounds so flirty and coy in Chinese, like a
husband trying to placate his angry wife!

If you speak English, what Xie Lian literally says is,

“I then don’t want you to take me out” - like a sulky
wife!
“举⼿之劳罢了 。” - Lit. “It was no more effort than
raising my hand.”

粽⼦ [zong zi] - Glutinous rice and meat, packed in

a pyramid shape, wrapped in leaves and cooked.
Here’s the wiki link.

眼下正处于⼀个诡异的漩涡之中 - lit. inside one of the

mysterious / weird whirlpools that were before his
eyes

不是相信。 / 是坚信。 - 相信 [xiang xin] is belief (n) or

believe (v). 坚信 [jian xin] is a strong, unshakeable
belief; conviction; certainty; faith.