Chapter 41 – Your Highness, Take A Picture To Show Me

After sending the message to Jian Mei, Lu Xingwang packed up his belongings and arrived at the young generals’s room.

Zuo Qingshan was still half-asleep, rubbing his eyes and asking, “Your Highness, what are you doing here?”

“Reminding you to freshen up,” Lu Xingwang stood at the doorway. “So that you won’t look disheveled and embarrass yourself later.”

?

Before Zuo Qingshan could understand the meaning of these words, footsteps suddenly echoed in the corridor outside. Then, the imposing shopkeeper and attendants appeared at the door.

The shopkeeper looked at Lu Xingwang and Zuo Qingshan with an unfriendly expression. “I clearly reminded you not to wander around at night. Both of you left the room last night?”

Zuo Qingshan, with a guilty conscience, spoke up, while Lu Xingwang remained unfazed, “There was something urgent, so we left for a short while.”

The shopkeeper grew increasingly exasperated. “It seemed like more than just a short while to me.”

Lu Xingwang responded calmly, “Perhaps our sense of time is different.”

“…”

The shopkeeper was on the verge of exploding with anger.

The fact that they had been installed with tracking devices was something he had discovered through surveillance earlier today. What was even more terrifying was that he had been here for so many years, and this was the first time he had been caught. In fact, even with sophisticated electronic devices, he should have been able to detect them. But he hadn’t expected Lu Xingwang to possess something so extraordinary, truly living up to the phrase “watertight.”

Zuo Qingshan chimed in, “I can vouch for it. It really was just a short while.”

The shopkeeper was on the verge of laughing out of anger. “You two are truly my esteemed guests. Since you like strolling in our underground city so much, I won’t hold back!”

Zuo Qingshan became wary. “What do you intend to do?”

The shopkeeper waved his hand grandly. “Arrest them!”

As a young general, Zuo Qingshan had never been captured by anyone before, so he immediately stood up to resist. However, to his surprise, he heard Lu Xingwang’s calm voice, “No need for the trouble. We’ll go on our own.”

Zuo Qingshan also looked at Lu Xingwang in shock.

However, Lu Xingwang proceeded directly to the doorway, appearing rational and courageous. It didn’t seem like someone coming to capture him, but rather someone visiting on his own accord.

He walked through the path they took last night and arrived at a door. The shopkeeper had initially planned to open the door with a token, but just as he had guessed, it was the exact same scene as last night. When Lu Xingwang stood at the doorway, the door that others needed a token key to open, automatically opened before this young man.

The attendant also cast a strange look.

After Lu Xingwang and Zuo Qingshan took the lead and stepped inside, the attendant approached the shopkeeper and whispered, “Boss, this person…”

The shopkeeper turned around and gave his shop assistant a meaningful look but didn’t say anything more. He directly strode into the underground city with his people, leading them through the crowd and passing through multiple checkpoints. Eventually, they reached the interior of the underground city, where someone was already waiting. After checking their belongings for any dangerous items, they were declared cleared to proceed and were escorted directly to the grand hall.

In the grand hall, there sat a middle-aged man in a black robe, appearing to be around forty or fifty years old. He leaned back in his chair, propping his forehead with one hand, eyes closed. When he heard the commotion of people entering from outside and opened his eyes, there was a noticeable pause in his gaze when his eyes met Lu Xingwang’s. After a brief silence, the man spoke first, “Your eyes resemble those of your mother.”

Lu Xingwang stood calmly, saying nothing.

Zuo Qingshan, on the other hand, asked from the side, “Who are you?”

The middle-aged man chuckled softly and replied, “I am the person you are looking for.”

Zuo Qingshan’s eyes widened. The whereabouts of the Lan family were known to be elusive and difficult to trace. Now, suddenly being told that the person they were searching for was right in front of them was truly unexpected.

“Lan Qinglan…” The middle-aged man’s voice seemed calm and composed, but there was a barely perceptible tremor in it. “Has she really passed away?”

Lu Xingwang nodded.

Finally, a look of grief appeared on the man’s face. He lowered his head, seemingly digesting this emotion. After a long sigh, he said, “I had told her long ago that the royal palace is a place of troubles, and there would be no good outcome after marrying into it.”

Lu Xingwang spoke, “Since I can remember, my mother has always missed you.”

The Imperial Concubine Lan often described to him the coastline of her hometown and often mentioned the situation of her family at home. Although she was nostalgic, it was apparent that she was afraid, even somewhat fearful, of returning home. Presumably, things must have ended badly back then. The middle-aged man sighed for a while and finally looked up at Lu Xingwang, saying, “Please have a seat.”

Lu Xingwang and Zuo Qingshan sat down on the nearby chairs.

The man asked, “What is it that you’ve come for this time?”

Lu Xingwang stated their purpose, and upon hearing it, the middle-aged man descended. When he approached, his movements were silent and graceful. Unexpectedly, the family head of the Sorcerer’s Clan displayed even greater profound power. He half-knelt in front of Lu Xingwang, brought his middle finger and index finger together, and lightly touched the young man’s forehead, as if sensing something through the gentle contact.

This process has been quite lengthy and has taken a long time.

The middle-aged man slowly retracted his hand.

Lan Chang looked at his grandson and showed a solemn expression. “It seems that the situation at that time was indeed urgent, and she had no choice but to resort to this plan.”

Lu Xingwang looked at him expectantly. “The situation at that time was indeed very dangerous.”

“Forcing the extraction of someone else’s divine power is a forbidden technique of our Lan family. Only direct descendants can learn it. Lan’er1 is my most proud daughter and the child with the highest talent in sorcery.”

Lan Chang said, “But in order to perfectly operate such a forbidden technique spell, it takes at least three days and three nights of time to complete. Otherwise, both the caster and the target may suffer severe backlash.”

Lu Xingwang frowned. “Mother…”

Lan Chang sighed deeply. “She had done her best to perfect this spell, but no matter how powerful she was, she cannot make up for the lack of time in a short period. I just probed a bit and found that your divine power is no longer on the Stan Star.”

Lu Xing seemed to have anticipated it long ago and said, “Gain and loss are predestined. If we can’t retrieve it, it’s also something we can’t force.”

Lan Chang shook his head. “Do you know that our Stan Star is the origin of divine power? When the divine power leaves the body, it is either sealed or finds the next host. If it is sealed and still on Stan Star, it can be found through the resonance of divine power. But if it is outside the star, it’s difficult to sense the sealed divine power.”

The chance of finding it is close to zero.

Lu Xingwang spoke up, “I understand.”

Lan Chang’s expression turned serious. “What surprises me is that there is already a trace of divine power returning in your body.”

…

The room fell into a terrifying silence.

If the divine power is not on Stan Star and not by the master’s side, then how did it return?

Lan Chang walked to the side and drank a pot of water before speaking, “I now suspect that something unexpected happened in this spell. Although your divine power is not with you, it still has some connection to you. However, I can’t be certain, so it will take some time.”

Lu Xingwang’s expression also became solemn as he said, “You said my divine power has returned, but I don’t feel anything.”

“This is related to the poison in your body,” Lan Chang sat down next to him. “Divine power is the source of life, and the returning divine power will merge with the toxins in your body, eroding the toxins to maintain your life pulse. So even though your divine power has returned, you still cannot use it because it will merge with the toxins, prolonging your life.”

Zuo Qingshan finally understood. “So what you mean is that if His Highness’s divine power gradually returns, he will live longer?”

Lan Chang nodded. “Yes.”

This was definitely great news.

Zuo Qingshan looked at Lu Xingwang and patted his shoulder. “You should be happy to know that you can live a few more days. Don’t look so sad.”

Lu Xingwang and Lan Chang, on the other hand, had solemn expressions. Their thoughts were similar. If something unexpected happened in this spell, it meant that there were countless variables. The divine power that could return mysteriously could also disappear just as mysteriously. The feeling of not being able to control life and death was undoubtedly the most uncomfortable.

However…

Lu Xingwang finally stood up, slowly performed a big ceremony to Lan Chang, and half-knelt on the ground. The young man’s voice was sincere. “Thank you for your help. I am grateful.”

“She left behind just one child, and she was my daughter. You are my grandson,” Lan Chang looked at the child in front of him, and various thoughts surged in his heart. He sighed and said, “No need for thanks.”

Because the matter couldn’t be concluded for the time being, Lu Xingwang and Zuo Qingshan temporarily stayed in the underground sorcerer’s city. Lu Xingwang’s days became more stable, but the simple life started to become chaotic.

…

“Jian Mei!”

A voice with a hint of anger echoed downstairs.

The child standing by the sofa shrank his neck and cautiously looked at his mother, whispering, “Mom…”

Shen Meina glared at him. “Don’t ‘Mom’ me! The class teacher just called me. Is it true that you ranked last in the class in the mock test this time?”

Simpli felt guilty. “It seems so.”

“You!” Shen Meina was so angry that she couldn’t speak.

Sometimes she and Jian Shencheng, were busy with work and couldn’t be there to tutor him all the time. She had considered that Jian Mei spent most of his time in the hospital and had a poor learning foundation. She had thought about enrolling him in a tutoring class or hiring a private tutor. But she also thought that Jian Mei had finally been able to leave the hospital, and he hadn’t had a proper chance to enjoy freedom or play. So she didn’t want to burden him. Who would have thought… he ranked last in the class!

Shen Meina placed the report card directly on the table and said, “Mom didn’t ask you to be at the top of the class, but at least you should be average, right? What do you say?”

Jian Mei nodded obediently and said, “Mm…”

“Starting today, you have to study hard. Mom will hire a professional tutor for you. Do you understand?”

Shen Meina said to him, “Didn’t you want to get into medical university? You have one more year until the entrance exam. If you can’t get into a good high school at that time, with your current grades, it might be difficult for you to get into medical university, you know?”

Jian Mei was indeed a little afraid. He nodded and said softly, “I understand.”

Only then did Shen Meina let the child go back.

Jian Mei returned to his room with a dejected look on his face. He was very frustrated. He opened his phone and messaged Lu Xingwang, sending several crying emoticons in a row.

Lu Xingwang replied with a puzzled question mark.

Jian Mei replied while crying, “I didn’t do well on the exam, and my mom is really angry. She said she would find a tutor for me, so I won’t have much time to play after school anymore.”

Lu Xingwang initially thought something big had happened to the child, but it turned out he was scolded because of his poor exam performance. So he asked, “Don’t you want to study?”

Jian Mei let out a sigh and answered, “Studying is really difficult. I’ve already tried my best, but I still can’t do well.”

After saying that, he was already prepared to be reprimanded by Lu Xingwang. After all, the mentor, DaZhuang ge, was not in vain. Surely he would educate him and urge him to study hard and improve every day.

However…

Unexpectedly, when Lu Xingwang replied, he said, “I didn’t like studying before either.”

?

A question mark seemed to appear on Jian Mei’s head all of a sudden.

How rare, it’s like a miracle. DaZhuang ge actually didn’t like studying?

Jian Mei complained, “But your grades are really good!”

Lu Xingwang sat on the roof of a building in the underground city, watching as night skowly arrived and the bustling underground city lit up. He whispered, “My mother was very ambitious. She wanted me to succeed. If my grades weren’t good, she would be very disappointed.”

When Jian Mei heard this voice, he suddenly got stuck. He remembered that DaZhuang ge’s mother had passed away. Remembering this, it must be very sad. At the same time, he felt a bit sorry for this person. If he thought about it carefully, who doesn’t like to play? Who hasn’t had a childhood? If it’s not because of real and various reasons, how could anyone willingly endure loneliness at the age when they should be indulging in it?

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Jian Mei nervously held his phone and said in an exaggerated tone, “You’re already doing great, you’re really amazing. I believe you’ll definitely succeed!”

Lu Xingwang heard the tone in his voice, clearly afraid of hurting his feelings, and a faint smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

Of course, he wouldn’t be comforted by such words, but he was comforted by Jian Mei’s attitude of caring about his feelings. The feeling of being cared for truly brought him comfort.

“Oh, Your Highness is here,” an unexpected guest suddenly appeared on the rooftop.

Lu Xingwang glanced over, luckily he wasn’t on a call with Jian Mei, so he closed the chat window and said to Zuo Qingshan, “What’s up?”

“Let’s go out and stroll around, I’m getting sick of staying here,” Zuo Qingshan, who couldn’t stand loneliness, said, “This market is really interesting, different from the outside world. If we miss it, we might not get another chance.”

Lu Xingwang said indifferently, “That’s your problem.”

Zuo Qingshan choked, realizing that it was indeed the case. This was the territory of Lu Xingwang’s grandfather. Sure enough, he had a strong backup.

But if Lu Xingwang wasn’t here, he would definitely be subjected to the exclusion of those vendors again. So he said, “Your Highness, let’s go, there’s nothing for you to do here anyway.”

Lu Xingwang ignored him, saying, “I’m busy.”

Zuo Qingshan became anxious, trying to figure out how to move this unyielding person.

“Ding dong.”

Lu Xingwang’s message terminal received a notification. He opened it and saw Jian Mei’s inquiry, “What are you doing? I just heard the background noise in the voice message you sent me. It sounds quite lively. Are you out shopping?”

[No] Lu Xingwang replied, saying, [Just near the street].

Jian Mei suddenly became enthusiastic, “Really? My mom doesn’t let me go out to play anymore. I feel so frustrated. Do you want to buy something? What does the street look like over there? Can you take a picture for me to see?”

Lu Xingwang said, “There’s nothing interesting.”

After sending the message, there was a brief silence on the other side.

Then Jian Mei replied with a somewhat dejected tone, “Okay, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been selfish and didn’t consider that you might be busy. You go ahead, I’ll go read my book.”

After staring at the words for a while, Lu Xingwang pondered for a moment and replied, “There’s nothing inconvenient. What do you want to see? I’ll take a picture for you.”

Jian Mei was overjoyed. “Really?”

Lu Xingwang: [Yes]

Jian Mei thought about what happened earlier and hesitated a bit. “It’s nothing. If you really don’t want to go out, don’t force yourself because of me.”

Lu Xingwang replied to him, saying, “I actually wanted to go out too. It has nothing to do with you.”

Jian Mei felt relieved when he heard him say that.

Meanwhile, Zuo Qingshan was still thinking about how to persuade His Highness, but then he saw Lu Xingwang stand up. The person who was previously unyielding suddenly took the initiative and said, “You wanted to go out, right? Let’s go.”

Zuo Qingshan almost doubted if he misheard. He asked with some confusion, “Isn’t Your Highness very busy?”

Those who achieve great things often don’t fuss over trivial matters. Lu Xingwang calmly replied, “I’m done with my work.”

Translator’s Note-Guys don’t forget to support and comment your views(^-^)

Support me on Ko-fi to get an additional chapter translated fast.

Hope you guys enjoy and let’s meet in next chapter guys….

(er is used for affection behind the names)