Shen Yuan really had not thought that they will meet so soon. But it made sense too, as today was another important day for the two main characters. But why was he drawn into the mix was a mystery he will never know.
Shen Yuan had woken up with the sounds of bullets still echoing in his head as well as the taste of ash in his mouth, so he had obviously not woken up with a good mood and really was not ready for any type of nonsense. The growls of his stomach had not helped.
The body being young as it was, really needed some nutrition to survive, and even if it was easier to scavenge the dumpsters behind tea houses for food, for good food he would have to rob someone. That was okay, he could steal food without being caught, he knew his abilities.
There was a very different kind of satisfaction in seeing the looks on the faces of the young noble kids when their recently bought tanghulu was stolen without them even noticing. Shen Yuan couldn't stop his scoff. This made his mood so much better! (Was he a hypocrite for his disgust when he was a noble kid himself? Even if he didn't live nobly?)
As he munched on his tanghulu stick, happily licking the syrup on his lips, he heard some noises from a dark alley. This was always bad news. He was not those stupid canon fodder teenage girls in horror movies who just had to investigate every dark nook or creepy crany just because of some small noises, No.
So Shen Yuan swiftly turned back around and was just going to take a step away from the ominous sounds when he heard something else. It was a beastly, but childish roar of a very angry and very scared child, "DON'T TOUCH ME! "
Immediately Shen Yuan's mind went down the horrifying path and ignoring the system's warnings, he took that step back and turned back, peering into the alley.
An ostentatiously dressed man in green was excitedly staring at the group of men as they beat up a struggling kid. They had crowded around the small child, raining punches down on his small form without holding back at all.
"Yes just like that! Teach that little shit a good lesson, daring to ruin yesterday's festival! Don't hold back at all and beat that bastard hard. But make sure not to kill him! "
Shen Yuan stared in disbelief at the scene. What exactly had that waif of a kid done to get this type of attention ah? And grouping up like that to beat him up, these cowardly mongrels sure had a thick face! And to do it in the prosperous streets of Xianle! But then Shen Yuan thought the grouping up made sense, because the kid, from what he could see of him, was kicking, biting, scratching and screaming so hard that many of the men already had bleeding scratches on their arms and faces. That didn't make it right though!
Then the obnoxious man in green shouted, "ARGH! YOU USELESS WASTES CAN'T HANDLE A SINGLE KID! PUT HIM IN THAT SACK AND TIE HIM TO LAOZI'S CARRIAGE ALREADY!!!"
That is when Shen Yuan remembered where he had heard those desperate childish screams. That was.. that was..
That was the male lead ahh!
Shen Yuan was going to turn around and flee (no he was going to run towards the palace in hopes of finding the protagonist on his way to Mu Qing's home) when a desperate obsidian eye met his own. Shen Yuan melted.
HOST NO.
==》Shut up! The male lead has already seen me! Running means I left him to die, then he'll kill me the next time we unfortunately meet!
Host this is a vio-
But Shen Yuan was already off to the thick of the brawl, kicking one of Qi Rong's (who else?) guards behind his knee to make him fall. He then pulled the gravely wounded little male out and pushed him behind himself. His obsidian black met the deep green of the royal prince and Qi Rong shouted, "this is that other child! Get him! "
The men pounced and Shen Yuan sneered. He was in a great disadvantage because of his untrained young body but he was not really planning on defeating these men. He just needed to keep them occupied for some time then run towards the main palace, because Mu Qing's home was close to it.
Gods he hoped he was right! He really didn't want to question his memory, even though he had a genius memory!
One of the men wrapped his hand around his neck and pulled him up, Shen Yuan spat on his face and kicked his chin too. The moment he landed back on his feet, he turned to the hissing male lead and shouted, "AIM FOR THE NUTS! BREAK THEM!!!"
The guards, "...."
They suddenly had a bad premonition...
They were right, because aim the male lead did, and very well too. He kicked and punched at that sensitive part of their male anatomy so hard that the men fell to their knees in pain. Their mournful wails were so pitiful that Qi Rong started sweating and stepped back in fear. Immeadiately afterwards, he puffed up like a peacock and shouted, "You wimps! GUARDS! GET YOUR ASSES HERE AND BEAT THESE F*CKERS UP, DARING TO HURT LAOZI'S PEOPLE, I'LL DISCIPLINE YOU! "
More men rounded the corner, more experienced than the previous bunch. The twins bit, scratched, punched at their faces and kneed at their crotch, even trying to gouge out their eyes, but these men didn't dare underestimate the kids and beat them up.
Shen Yuan felt a few of his ribs crack and his ankle twist unnaturally, causing tears to well up. Finally, he lost his shit.
"You f*ckers! Cowards! Ganging up on kids! Shameless!" he shouted, causing the guards to hesitate a moment in shame. Here they were, royal personal guards to the Prince Xiao Jing, beating up two street kids!
Seeing the pause, Qi Rong screamed, "THEY RUINED COUSIN CROWN PRINCE'S PERFORMANCE! THEY NEED TO BE PUNISHED! HOW DARE YOU STOP WITHOUT MY COMMAND!"
The words motivated the guards to start fighting again, but this brief moment was enough for Shen Yuan to whisper his final desperate plan to Hong Hong'er. If this didn't work, they were as good as dead!
And so when the guards came to crowd over them again, Shen Yuan calmly counted to 3 under his breath, then shouted, "NOW!" The guards got an eyeful of dust, and they cried out in outrage. Wiping their eyes, they looked up in anger, only to see that the kids had already made a run for it, vanishing into the streets.
"GET THE CARRIAGE! NOW! GET THEM!" Qi Rong's shout echoed into the slightly deserted streets and reached the esacaping boys' ears. Shen Yuan pushed through the sharp pain in his foot and held the little male lead's hand tighter, pushing between the people.
Horse hooves beat against the ground hard, followed by the sound of the carriage wheels moving, speeding up some distance behind them. Shen Yuan cursed and screamed, "FASTER!"
They desperately ran down the streets as people made way for the maniacally driven carriage. The two children were panting and barely able to look straight through the sweat pouring down their eyes. Hateful tears welled up in Hong Hong'er's eyes, soul crying out a heart breaking Why? as his mind desperately pleaded for help.
Then Shen Yuan tripped on his hurt ankle and fell face first on the ground. Just like that, the strength left his body and he couldn't get up.
He couldn't get up...
Run.. he tried to whisper to the male lead, who was trying to pull him up, but his tongue felt limp and he could only mouth those words. The carriage was close, and they were going to be trampled-
"NO!" The little male lead hissed and then he.. covered Shen Yuan's body with his own. Shen Yuan blinked in shock.
This.. This.. why would he...? He is only supposed to care for.... Why..?
Shen Yuan couldn't continue that thought as the horses were already upon them. The hooves, with that terrifying power, crashed down towards them and-
Twisting of metals, screams...
Bones cracked, blood everywhere (so much blood, too much.. is she dead too? Please nonononononoNO!)
Skidding wheels. dark. can't see..
Screams. (A Yuan no! Please no! Hold on! Somebody call the ambulance. A Yuan hold on please! )
It hurts... hurts so much.. crushing weight..(You bastard! Don't!- NO! A YUAN!!)
"A-Ling...the girl in green..."
Stifling silence.. then..
"A Yuan...wh-why? Why-"
A grunt sounded above him and Shen Yuan blankly looked up.
Xie Lian kneeled on one knee, dust coating his white robes, his shaking arms holding up the hooves of the agitated horse. The horse that had been freed from the reins by Feng Xin's sword ran past the two kids, kicking dust into their small faces. The power held in the legs of a horse was very strong, and an agitated horse whipped into running hard? If Xie Lian had not given his all into holding the horse back, then his skull too would have been crushed.
Behind gritted teeth, Xie Lian commanded, "Feng Xin, arrest Qi Rong! Mu Qing, the horse!"
The rest of the conversation was a blank for Shen Yuan.
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Xie Lian and his friends were calmly walking back home when the screams started. And when he heard Qi Rong's, "MAKE WAY FOR LAOZI!" he knew trouble was going to follow.
And sure enough, he was right.
The resignation he felt when he saw that gaudy golden carriage was great, but it couldn't compare to the horror that filled him when he saw the two kids it was chasing. The two bloodied and dirt covered kids running desperately down the streets, the carriage so close, so close to crushing them...and then they tripped and fell....
"Feng Xin!" was all Xie Lian said as he ran. He did not even think as he landed in a couple steps right before the kids' fallen forms and grabbed the raised front hooves of the horse, his knee skidding on the gravel from the force.
That.. That... Thank Heavens... he... he almost couldn't hold it back-
Deep rage filled him as he glared at the stumped form of Qi Rong, feeling disbelief and disappointment in equal measures. How...How could he..?
With clipped commands to his two friends, he continued his staring contest with Qi Rong, daring him to open his mouth. When he was completely sure that the horse was calm, he slowly loosened his hold on the hooves and let them fall back on to the ground. He then completely ignored everyone and turned to the two children. He sucked in a harsh breath when he saw their condition.
Both of them were completely covered in blood and bruises and mud, but even under all that, he felt that the two were familiar. Qi Rong's words of them being the kids to fall down during yesterday's ceremony sparked his memory and he also understood the reason for their targeting.
What shook him to his core though, was the utter hopelessness on the face of the kid on top of the other, the shock in his visible eye as if he really had accepted his death and couldn't believe he was still alive. Then Xie Lian saw the face of the other child and felt himself go cold.
That child who had been happily giggling on his back just yesterday, his face now was utterly blank, as if in a trance. His own uncovered eye was completely blank, expressionless, without any light. There was no delight, no cheer, nothing...
The first child was covering the ragged cloth on the second boy's head, as if to keep it in place. He even tremblingly tied it back. Slowly, Xie Lian wrapped his arms around the two children and quietly asked if they were alright. All he got was a shaky nod from the first child and two pairs of arms wrapping around him tightly, as if holding onto a drifting piece of wood to stop from drowning.
Xie Lian was the beloved Crown Prince of Xianle. Always cared for and pampered, never a witness to the darker corners of life. He, of course, wasn't naive enough to believe the whole world was sunshine and rainbows, but all he had ever known was sunshine and rainbows. He had an understanding of what was street life, he had read of the cruelty humans were capable of, sometimes knowingly, sometimes naively. But he had never been a witness to it. And for something like this to happen before him, in the streets of Xianle, his own country no less, he felt the veil around his eyes that seperated him and the world slowly fall away. It was now that Xie Lian understood exactly how small and inconsequential he was in the universe, how much he didn't know. And he didn't like this... this veil.. he needed to rip it down further.. how many, how many more were suffering like this? Without him even having a clue?
Slowly he stood up, his hold on the two kids tight, as he told Feng Xin to drag Qi Rong into the palace and Mu Qing to take care of the carriage and the crowd of people, getting their lists of compensations. He only said Shut.Up. when Qi Rong tried to defend himself, not caring for his reasons.
Avenge me? Avenge me?!? Or avenge himself?
"I'll see that the carriage burns," Xie Lian promised. And all he felt was a muted sense of disappointment when Qi Rong, without a hint of shame or regret, said, "I knew I was losing it anyway today, take it, I don't care. "
Xie Lian walked away without looking back.
please comment!! have mercy!!