Chapter 248: TGCF Amnesia Extra

Part 3/4

The Curious Incident of His Royal Highness, the

Crown Prince’s Memory Having Wandered Away
3 - San-lang is a good gege!

=-=-=

Both of Xie Lian’s eyes widened suddenly.

At his incredulous expression, San-lang said,
“What’s wrong?”

How could Xie Lian even put it into words? The

shame of having been conned, of having been
fooled into turning in circles - the misery, mixing
with his heated blood, rushed straight to his head.
He slammed his palm onto the table top, biting out
every word and sentence, “...... So. It. Was. You!”

It was impossible for the table top to have

withstood his blow, and it broke on the spot.
Fortunately, there was no one on the second floor
of the tavern besides them, otherwise they would
have been greatly frightened and horrified. Xie
Lian did not have any weapons in his hands, but
struck out with his fist. However, San-lang
continued to sit on his seat as before, and only
tilted his head slightly.

That strike crushed into the wall behind him.

Stone crumbled and fell. However, he did not
move an inch, instead hugging his arms, and
raising his gaze very slightly, said, “Daozhang,
what is the meaning of this?”

Xie Lian’s face felt extremely hot, and he had no

idea just how red his face currently was. The
bones in his other hand cracked and popped, as
he said with fury, “You...... cease your pretense.
What you did to me...... You know full well.”

San-lang’s gaze rose a little more. He said, “Very

unfortunately, I am indeed unsure, just what I have
done to daozhang, to cause you to be thusly
angry? Could you please enlighten me?”

“......”

To think that this person would say such to him

with a face full of
innocence. What could he say in response? To
speak of such things in
broad daylight? Never before had Xie Lian
encountered such a person, and he was so angry
that he shook from his shoulders to his heart, his
face growing redder and redder, his speech
incoherent as he scolded,
“Shut up! Someone like you...... I, I’m going to beat
someone as shameless as you to death.......
indecent....... despicable...... you......”

San-lang sighed, and said, “Daozhang, I did not

expect my wholehearted sincerity, to receive such
a response from you. Just how am I shameless,
indecent and despicable?”

With difficulty, Xie Lian regained a modicum of

calm, and said, “Don’t think you can trick me
further! The red thread on your hand is clear proof,
that you are that....... that......”

“Oh?” But San-lang was not harried. He raised his

hand, and said, “Are you talking about this? Is
there something wrong with this red thread?”

Looking at that red thread, Xie Lian felt as though

he had been pierced. He said, “I’ve seen it. At that
time, your...... hand had this red thread......”
San-lang said, “At what time?”

“......”

In an instant, Xie Lian really wanted to beat him to

death. Still asking despite knowing the answer, it
was too vile!

But for an inexplicable reason, regardless of how

furious he was, he could not bring himself to lift a
hand. Furthermore, it wasn’t because he was
under the control of someone, that he was unable
to move; but rather, it was his own body that was
not allowing him to move!

Just at this moment, a few people thudded

upstairs, saying, “What are these two honoured
guests doing?! Don’t fight and smash things as you
wish!”

Xie Lian turned his head and said, “It’s dangerous

here! First, you should......” Who knew, with that
one look, he froze again, stupefied.
To think that, on the hands of all these few people,
a red string was tied!

Unthinkingly, Xie Lian said, “What’s with the red

thread on your hands?”

A person said, “Red thread? Isn’t a red thread just

a red thread, what so strange about it, it’s no big
deal...... there’s nothing about it ah.”

Xie Lian became confused. Could it be that in this

place, the tying of red thread on one’s hand, was a
very normal fashion trend?

He turned his head back. As though having read

his thoughts, San-lang said, “Daozhang’s guessed
pretty well. The tying of a red thread on one’s
finger is a custom here. If you don’t believe, please
look at the crowds below.”

Xie Lian cast his gaze at the lower floor of the

tavern. As expected, amidst the ever-flowing
crowd of people, were quite a number of hands
which had a red thread tied on them, and some
even had quite a few tied on. He said, “What sort
of custom is this?”

San-lang gave a small smile, and said, “About this,

it is also related to this Hua Cheng.”

“Ah?”

“It’s because, on his hand and the hand of his

beloved, is tied such a red thread. And so, many
people followed suit, to pray for their fated
marriage partner, or to express that they are in
love.”

Xie Lian listened in a daze, and said, “That is to

say...... This Hua Cheng, must be quite an amazing
person? To have so many people ardently follow
suit......”

San-lang said, “Whether he is amazing or not,

would depend on who you are comparing him
with. Oh yes, daozhang, there seems to be
something which has fallen onto the floor, can I
pick it up to examine it?”

At that, Xie Lian finally began to react. He had thus

far been maintaining an attacking stance, but it
actually was yet another foolish mistake on his
part, and his anger drained away completely. He
hurriedly withdrew his hand, saying, “Sorry, sorry,
San-lang, I’m really...... truly very sorry. It was me
who was on edge, and misunderstood you
again......”

San-lang continued to remain at ease, and bent at

his waist to pick up something, saying,“No harm
done. Daozhang, is this something you dropped?”

From the mess on the floor, he had picked out a

piece of gold leaf. It had likely fallen from from Xie
Lian’s sleeve just now when he had struck out. Xie
Lian was just about to speak, when he saw San-
lang lift that gold leaf before his eye, and squinting,
said, “Eh, this gold leaf, looks rather familiar ah.”

Having spoken, in a manner that was neither too

hurried or too slow, he retrieved an item from
around his waist. It was another gold leaf.

Two pieces of gold leaves, exactly identical!

Without giving it any thought, Xie Lian said, “So

this actually belongs to you?”
San-lang said, “Oh, I had indeed dropped
something, which was why I had doubled back to
look......”

Hearing this, Xie Lian was deeply afraid that he

would misunderstand, and hurriedly said, “San-
lang, let me explain.”

San-lang said, “No need to be anxious. I would

naturally listen to daozhang’s explanation.”

Xie Lian breathed out in relief, and said, “It’s like

this: This gold leaf, I had picked up just now on the
road. My original thought was to wait for the owner
to return so that I may give it back to him, but after
I had waited for more than an hour, no one came
by to look for it. At the same time, I was indeed......”

Having spoken up to here, he felt a bit

embarrassed. He lowered his head, and said in a
small voice, “And so, I...... acted on my own
initiative, and borrowed a little first, to buy a little
something to eat. It was that mantou..... I had
intended to pay back the money with interest at a
later date, but no matter how I put it, it still returns
to the point that I had taken something that wasn’t
mine without asking. I’m sorry.”
But San-lang was beaming as he said, “There’s no
need for daozhang to feel like that. Isn’t it after a
common human response? Besides, I always had
the intention of inviting you to join me for a meal,
and that mantou, in the end, wasn’t I the one who
ate it? Such a small thing, don’t let it trouble you.
Don’t you find it very astonishing? What a
coincidence, for something I had lost, to be picked
up by no other person than daozhang. This must
really be a fated meeting.”

Having received his forgiveness and

understanding, Xie Lian’s heart eased. He said.
“That said, San-lang, you too should be careful ah.
Dropping something so shiny on the road, and yet
you did not notice - next time, don’t be so careless
ah.”

At this moment, the crowd of waiters who had

been cowering at the side, said, “These two
honoured guests, have you calmed down? If
you’ve calmed down, then let’s calculate the cost
of this smashed table!”

Xie Lian: “......”

If things had been as they were, payment would
not have been an issue regardless of the sum. But
now, he could barely even afford to buy a mantou.
However, San-lang said, “It’s alright. Put it on my
tab.”

It was clearly him who had struck out at San-lang

just now, but San-lang was volunteering to help
him pay for the things he had smashed. Xie Lian
was so moved by his warmth and generosity that
he was speechless, and after swallowing, said,
“You......”

There was also something odd about the crowd of

waiters. Even though their shop had been
smashed up, they still came over cheerily to assist
them with changing to an even more elegant table.
As the two people sat down once again, Xie Lian
could not help but feel both guilty and grateful,
that no amount of words could sufficiently express
how he felt. With a concerned tone, Hua Cheng
spoke again, “Daozhang, listening to your speech
just now, it seemed as though something is
troubling you. What’s wrong? Daozhang, just what
has been done to you, and by whom?”

“......”
Something like this, how could Xie Lian voice it
aloud? His expression, which had only just calmed
down, blushed with shyness once again. Softly, he
said, “...... it’s nothing, there’s nothing wrong.”

But San-lang said, “If you don’t mind, why don’t

you tell me about it? Perhaps San-lang, too, can
assist a little.”

Even though he meant well, but Xie Lian felt as

though he was being chased and cornered,
without a way out. Unable to sit still, he said
helplessly, “...... it’s really nothing. San-lang, can
you please stop asking anymore......”

It was too difficult to speak the truth.

Seeing how things were, San-lang no longer

forced it, and said “Alright. Where did our previous
conversation leave off? You wanted to meet Hua
Cheng?”

Xie Lian gathered his attention, and said clearly,

“Uhn. Does San-lang know a way?”
San-lang said, “Of course I know. But, for these
few days, it won’t be easy to meet Hua Cheng.”

“Why?”

Using chopsticks, San-lang arranged the

vegetables plate into a large smiling face. He said,
“It is said that, recently, his heart’s beloved is
feeling slightly unwell, and so he needs to
accompany them. Besides this, he has no time for
anything else.”

Xie Lian thought, indeed, this Hua Cheng was truly

a someone of a temperate personality, someone
full of affection, and he grew to regard him even
more favourably. He said, “I see. Then, how long
must we wait before we can meet him?”

“Five days as an upper estimate, three days as a

lower estimate. I suggest, daozhang, that there’s
no need to be anxious. Until then, why not be at
ease and take a break.”

Just as Xie Lian thought to himself that he did not

have a place to stay, he heard San-lang add, “If
daozhang does not have a place to stay, why not
stay at my place for a bit? After all, my house is
large, and not many people live there.”
Xie Lian could no longer hold back, and said
lightly, “San-lang, you really are...... very good ah.”

It was the first time that he had used such

straightforward speech to praise someone, and he
felt a bit embarrassed, but other than that, he
simply could not find a better way to express how
he felt. San-lang seemed to enjoy it greatly, and
said, beaming, “Why else would daozhang and I
got along so well from our first meeting? Oh yes,
I’ve one more question, which I forgot to ask: what
is daozhang’s age?”

Xie Lian replied, “Seventeen.”

San-lang said, “Ah, seventeen, that’s younger than
me.”

Indeed, from his looks, he appeared to be around

twenty years old. Seeing as things were, San-lang
casually remarked, “If so, then daozhang should
call me gege.”

Xie Lian was still of the royal family, the Taizi

Dianxia compared against whom no one else was
more noble. By right, he should not be addressing
the people around him as his fellow brothers, as
barely anyone would be worthy of such a title.
However, this San-lang truly gave Xie Lian a very
good feeling, and since he never addressed those
around him as a brother, it was a huge novelty for
him. And so, he smiled and said, “So it’s San-lang
gege.”

“......”

Perhaps he was mistaken, but after he said “gege”,

San-lang’s smile before him turned slightly
strange.

It was simply too difficult to describe. The light in

San-lang’s left eye seemed to flare up all of a
sudden, so hot that it made Xie Lian feel simply as
though his skin was heating up. He blinked, and
said, “What’s wrong?”

That terrifying burst of heat disappeared in an

instant. Immediately, San-lang reverted back to as
he was, and smiled as he said, “It’s nothing. I was
just too happy, that’s all. There’s no one younger
than me in my family, and so I’ve never heard
anyone call me that before.”

Xie Lain said, “If San-lang doesn’t mind, then.....

How should I address you?”
The light in San-lang’s eye flashed as he laughed.
However, in his speech, he still declined, “Oh, of
course I definitely would not mind. It depends on
whether daozhang minds.”

Xie Lian said, “I don’t mind, of course I don’t mind.

San-lang gege, shall we return to your home
now?”

San-lang placed his chopsticks down, and said,

“Then, come with me now.”

San-lang’s residence, was an extremely spacious,

beautiful and elegant mansion. Upon entering it,
XIe Lian could only feel that when compared with
some of the compounds within the Xian Le royal
palace, it did not pale in comparison. This
reinforced his impression that this San-lang was
not a commoner.

At night, lying alone in bed, Xie Lian tossed and

turned.
He kept feeling as though something was missing
beside him, and no matter how he tossed and
turned, he was unable to find any peace.
Furthermore, with that hidden discomfort in his
body, lying on his back meant pressing on his hips
in a manner that was uncomfortable; but lying on
his front made him feel as though something was
pressing on his back.

In his dazed confusion, he had a number of messy

dreams. He wanted to move, but someone was
holding him down firmly in place, and that voice
was once again speaking in a low tone by his ear,
sometimes a man’s, sometimes a youth’s;
sometimes it called him gege, gege, sometimes it
called him dianxia, telling him, don’t be afraid,
dianxia.

Tender to the utmost, wicked to the utmost, but

also treasuring him to the utmost.

He jolted awake. His clothes were soaked through

with sweat. As Xie Lian gasped, he clenched his
fists tightly, and viciously pounded on the bed,
angrily, but weakly. He raked his fingers through
his slightly damp hair, and thought, “...... This sort of
thing, when will I be able to forget! Once I catch
ahold of this shameless bastard I definitely will......”
At this moment, he discovered that at some
unknown point in time, someone had placed a set
of clothes by his pillow. Even it though these
clothes were also white, but their style was one
which he liked. Feeling as though he had been
given a reprieve, and hurried to the back of the
house to take a quick bath.

After removing his clothes, and immersing himself

in the water, he suddenly discovered that hanging
on his neck was a fine silver chain.

On the chain hung a ring that was crystal clear.

Who knew how long he had been wearing it - in
any case, for him to have completely not felt it, was
what was strange: “Do I have such a pendant?”

This ring was simply too pretty, and as he looked

at it, he almost fell into a trance. However, he did
not lose his wariness. Suddenly, he detected a
flash of silver to his side, and he immediately
shouted, “Who!”
A strike to the water, and water splashed into the
air, as though a steel ball had been thrown,
ricocheting noisily off the walls. And what he had
knocked out of the water was not a person, but.......
a saber?

Xie Lian caught hold of that hard and unyielding

saber, feeling extremely doubtful. Suddenly, a
silver slit on the saber’s handle parted, as though
the opening of an eye, with the eyeball rolling
around wildly. Xie Lian was even more shocked.

What was this strange thing?!

That curved blade of the saber was long, and as

though it had life, dove enthusiastically into his
embrace. Caught unawares, Xie Lian was unable
to stop it, and was chilled to the point that he could
not help but cry out, “wah”, and his whole body
gave a shiver.

But more or less because he did not feel any killing

intent, Xie Lian did not find this curved saber to be
dangerous, and besides strenuously trying to push
it away, he did not intend to use more violent
actions against it, such as sending it into the
clouds with a slap, and other such like. At this
moment, a red shadow darted over, and with a
single move snatched that saber, saying in an
ominous tone, “So here you are......”

Focusing one’s gaze, San-lang was already

standing by the bathing pool, and pinched within
his hands was the saber. Even though he still wore
a faint smile on his face, the hint of green veins
had appeared on his temples, and without any
courtesy, he gave the saber a slap, saying, “Didn’t I
say that you’re not allowed to come here now?”

Xie Lian said, “San-lang, is this saber your......

magical weapon?”

San-lang turned towards him, and the green veins

in his temples disappeared in an instant, and he
once again resumed an air of calm. He said, “It’s
just an ignorant thing, gege...... Gege has let you
see something embarrassing.”

But Xie Lian only felt greater awe and respect. His
eyes lit up, and he caught hold of the side of his
red clothes, saying, “No no no, San-lang gege,
you’re far too amazing! To be able to cultivate
such a sentient magical weapon!”
After having been smacked by San-lang, the saber
had scrunched up its eye, as though it had been
wronged. Listening to Xie Lian’s praise, its eye
once again began to roll around smugly, and
sneakily tried to inch its way towards him. Very
callously, San-lang gave it another slap.

This time around, it gave up, and fell to the ground

with a “dong” and rolled and rolled and rolled
around, like a child who had been hit by an adult
and was rolling on the ground and crying. It was
almost as though Xie Lian’s ears could hear the
sound of its wailing cries. The sight made his heart
ache slightly, and he hurriedly stood up and said,
“Wait, San- lang! Forget it, don’t hit it anymore. I
guess he was just being mischievous in the
moment, and wanted to come over and to greet
me. There’s no need to reprimand it like this ah.”

But only after emerging from the water, did Xie

Lian remember that his body, which had been in
the water, was bare, and his face inexplicably
turned red again. Awkwardly, he sank back into
the water. However, San-lang had earlier turned
around in a manner that was very natural, and left.
Xie Lian hurriedly climbed out of the water and
changed into his new clothes. He could feel, from
where the clothing clung to his skin, that the
material was extremely fine. Finally, his skin would
not be chafed uncomfortably, and in his heart he
felt even more grateful for this. Emerging from the
room, and arriving at the elegant hall for receiving
guests, San-lang was already seated there,
waiting.

Goodness only knew how he had disciplined that

saber. Now, it hung honestly by San-lang’s waist.
When it was not moving about this way and that as
it pleased, it unexpectedly had a cold and lethal air,
and it was completely impossible for one to
imagine its previous manner of rolling around and
throwing a tantrum. Seeing that Xie Lian had
arrived, San-lang smiled and said, “You’re up? Did
you sleep well last night?”

Xie Lian answered honestly, “For some unknown

reason, during the first half of the night, I kept
having dreams...... but I slept well in the second
half of the night.

San-lang said, “Perhaps you were too tired.”

The two of them spoke whatever sentences came
to them, and with a few rounds of conversation
and discussion, the day more or less passed by. It
seemed likely that, until that Hua Cheng person
was free to meet, they would continue to spend
their time together like this.

However, at night, as Xie Lian lay by himself on the

bed, he once again had those dreams which made
one feel heated up and unable to be at ease.

In his dreams, he was tossed and turned about,

teased until he could hardly bear it. When he woke
up with a jolt, his body was once again soaked in
sweat. Feeling angry and helpless, he could only
get up and go out, with thoughts of walking a few
rounds to calm down. However, he suddenly heard
from afar, sounds coming from another room.

It was from San-lang’s master-room. The

soundproofing of the room was excellent, and the
sounds were very soft, but Xie Lian’s five senses
were extremely sensitive and he had caught it.
Soundlessly, he crept outside the room.

Through the crack between the doors, he peered

into the room. He saw Sanlang seated on a seat in
the room, holding a brush in his hand, as though
writing something. His expression was cold,
completely different from whenever he faced Xie
Lian. To his side, there was even someone in black
clothing and a mask with the face of a ghost,
bowing at the waist, giving his report in a low
voice.

For some inexplicable reason, the person in the

ghost-face mask had a very muted presence, as
though one might accidentally not notice him at
all. Xie Lian was just about to listen more carefully,
but that person had finished giving their report,
and he could only faintly hear fragments of
phrases and sentences, “That creature had been
making trouble for a long time” “Think he went to
settle it before receiving any prayers, and had an
accident” “This is the direction that was just
investigated” etc.

He was slowly combing his hair, when he heard

San-lang say, “I need to accompany him now, and
can’t excuse myself. Deliver that creature here
before tomorrow night.”

The person in the ghost-face mask said in a low

voice, “Yes. Do you want it to be left with a
breath?”
San-lang put away the brush, and looked at what
he had written. He did not seem to be too satisfied
with it, and crumpled it up into a ball, tossing it
aside. Only then did he say, slowly and leisurely,
“Leave a few breaths, let him spit out that thing,
then slowly crush its ugly head.”

As he spoke these words, his expression and tone

were the sort that made one shiver. However,
unexpectedly, Xie Lian did not feel any revulsion or
wariness despite this. The person in the ghost
mask gave a wordless noise of assent, and made
to leave. Immediately, Xie Lian darted away and
hid himself.

Xie Lian was all the more unable to sleep after he

returned to his room. He paced a few rounds back
and forth, thinking, “Just what sort of person
exactly is San-lang? What creature was he
referring to?”

Based on what he had heard, it sounded like

something important had been swallowed up by a
creature that had been creating trouble and
causing disasters for a long time, and San-lang
was very angry. But because he had to accompany
him for now, he was unable to excuse himself to
smash that creature’s head.
His thoughts having reached this point, Xie Lian
felt very embarrassed.

This San-lang, truly treated him with utmost

sincerity.

Suddenly, an idea flashed across his mind: Why

should he just sit here idling like this? Besides, he
wouldn’t be able to meet Hua Cheng for now, and
he had also been continuously thinking about
doing something for San-lang, who was a good
gege. Why not help him capture this creature?

It was a decision made on the spur of the moment.

Having decided as such, Xie Lian immediately left
a letter behind, writing, San-lang gege, do not
worry, Lian has left and will return etc. Then, with a
leap, he soundless left this elegant mansion.

=-=-=
Translator’s notes:

乌龙 [wu long] - I translated this as “foolish

mistake”, but I’m not sure if it captures the full
nuance of this term. It’s like a mistake one makes,
which is also to one’s detriment. One suggested
English equivalent I found when I was searching
for better words was “own-goal”, which I think
captures it quite well.

有缘千⾥来相会 [you yuan qian li lai xiang hui] - Lit. if

two people are fated, they will be able to meet
even across a thousand miles.

Specifically, a 紫毫 [zi hao] calligraphy brush. Its

bristles are made with the fur of a particular type of
rabbit, and is darker in colour (the 紫 refers to the
bristles being a darkish purple) and supposedly
more sturdy than a brush with bristles made from
goat fur.

San-lang actually calls refers to the creatures head

as its 狗头 [gou tou] - literally, “dog’s head”, but I
don’t he’s being literal here about the type of head
that the creature has. “Dog” here is used more like
an insult, e.g. ugly, worthless etc.

MXTX’s tomorrow, not this translator’s tomorrow!