That’s right—the “something” he’d come up with was stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
In the past, Xie Lian had only heard of such chivalrous thieves from storytellers and books. He’d never stolen, never even considered it, since he’d always believed that no matter how it was prettied up and no matter how just the cause, robbery was robbery. Otherwise, considering Xie Lian’s martial prowess, nothing would present an obstacle—never mind settling for scurrying across rooftops to pilfer small things, he could easily murder guards and clean out an entire treasury.
But now that they’d reached this point, there really was no other way. If he had to choose, he considered robbing people a tiny bit better than burglary, probably because the former was still somewhat out in the open. After much internal strife, Xie Lian ate his past self’s words and decided to steal the wealth of others to relieve his own poverty.
This was the quickest way!
Xie Lian perched on the tree. The moon was hiding, the wind bellowing, and it was deserted all around him, empty of all things living. And yet his heart hammered wildly in his chest.
Even facing the most ferocious beasts, Xie Lian had never been this nervous. His hand trembled as he dug out a cold, hard bun.
If you could still be picky about food, you weren’t genuinely hungry. When Xie Lian finally understood this, he’d quickly become accustomed to the taste of old steamed buns.
Winter was fast approaching, and the nights were extremely cold. Xie Lian munched on the cold bun and puffed out mouthfuls of white breath. Since he didn’t want to be seen, he hadn’t even considered finding a place where there’d be more people—he’d chosen a remote area on purpose. He waited a full four hours before a traveler approached, strolling down the mountain road.
Xie Lian perked up and stuffed down the rest of the bun in a few bites, training his eyes on the traveler who was slowly approaching. And then he saw that it was an old man.
He was such an old, old man, but his dress was rather vibrant, so he was likely somewhat wealthy. Still, Xie Lian of course wouldn’t even consider him as a target. He couldn’t tell if he was disappointed or relieved, but either way, he resolutely decided to ignore the old man and let him go. He went back to waiting for someone to pass.
Two hours later, Xie Lian’s feet were going numb from crouching, and the lower half of his body was practically frozen. A second person finally appeared. When he saw that the figure was also walking slowly, he wondered, Could it be another elderly person?
When they finally got closer, Xie Lian discovered that this wasn’t someone old or infirm but instead a healthy looking man. He looked humble and good-natured and wore a smile on his face. The reason he was walking so slowly was because he was carrying a heavy bag of rice.
Xie Lian’s palms were sweating, and he wondered, Do I…attack?
After a moment of hesitation, he gave up on this target as well. The man’s clothes were patched and the straw shoes on his feet were so worn they exposed his toes—he was obviously from a poor household. He must’ve been so happy because he finally had a bag of rice to fill his stomach. Perhaps his family had starved for many days, and perhaps that bag of rice had been bought after selling the only ox of the household. Wouldn’t he fall into despair if he was robbed?
Xie Lian’s mind spun all sorts of scenarios. After a while, he wondered if maybe he should’ve just taken half of the bag of rice, but by then the man was long gone. Xie Lian resolutely decided that he wouldn’t dwell on it anymore and continued waiting for the next one.
He perched in the tree like that and waited helplessly for hours, from the dark of night to daybreak. Over a dozen passersby had traveled along that mountain road, yet every time Xie Lian was about to attack, there were always all sorts of reasons why it wouldn’t be right to follow through, and he let them pass. Over and over he thought to himself, Forget it! I should just go back! No bandit would ever behave like him; it’d be a miracle if his efforts were actually fruitful. But then he remembered that there would be no more food or medicine if he went back empty-handed and forced himself to keep waiting.
After almost half a day, one last traveler appeared far in the distance on the mountain road.
He was a middle-aged man, decked out in fine clothing—which meant he was either wealthy or noble. He had a fiendish face and a greasy, slippery air that made him look obnoxious. At a glance, he didn’t look like anyone good.
But one mustn’t judge a book by its cover. Xie Lian couldn’t help but think, What if this man only looks fiendish, but he’s actually a good person? Even if he’s rich, does that warrant a robbery?
As he was waging his internal struggle, a growling noise from his stomach startled him from his stupor, and Xie Lian sighed inwardly. Never mind, I can’t dither any longer. You’re it!
Making up his mind, he leapt down from the tree and shouted, “Stand still!”
At the sight of a masked man cutting off his path down the road, the man cried out in alarm. “Who are you? Sneaking around here with your face hidden… What do you want?!”
“G-give…give…” Xie Lian forced out.
There was a hurdle in his mind, and he stammered a couple of times before finally squeezing out, “Give me all your money!”
The man’s mouth opened wide, and he screamed and leapt three feet in the air. “Somebody! Help! Thief!”
And then he turned and ran. More than his escape, Xie Lian was worried that his cries would alert others. The mountain road was barren and desolate and there was little chance that anyone would come to help—not to mention that it would be easy to hide even in the unlikely event someone showed up. But he had a guilty conscience, after all.
“Stop! Stop yelling!” Xie Lian called after him.
As if the man would listen to him. He fled into the woods, and soon there was a horrific yelp.
Xie Lian was afraid the man had been attacked by beasts in the woods, and he cried, “Wait! Watch out—”
But when he caught up with him, his face went pale with shock when he saw what he’d stumbled across.
There was a group of people gathered in the woods, and they were all staring at him. When Xie Lian looked closer, he noticed that something was off—these weren’t people at all; the middle-aged man couldn’t see them and was still in a panic. Moreover, there were some faces in the group that Xie Lian found familiar.
Of course they were familiar—he had seen a number of them in the Heavenly Capital. Some were from the Upper Court, some from the Lower Court, but they were all heavenly officials!
The man had cried out because he’d tripped and fell. He gripped a large bundle of protection charms while chanting to himself, “My god, my god! Come save me! Come save me, now!”
And the gods that he was calling really had come, just as he asked.
Countless heavenly officials stared at Xie Lian intently, freezing him on the spot with their gazes. When the man saw that the strange, masked robber was frozen in place, he quickly crawled to his feet and ran off. Xie Lian couldn’t move a single step to give chase. His entire body was stiff and drenched in cold sweat, and his mind was filled with horror.
Yes, horror.
Xie Lian could only pray that the white silk band was wrapped around his face tightly enough that the junior heavenly officials he’d been acquainted with in the past wouldn’t recognize him. However, things never went as one hoped.
One of the heavenly officials looked him up and down, then commented in surprise, “…Isn’t that…Your Royal Highness?”
Xie Lian was speechless.
Another heavenly official seemed even more shocked. “Ah, it really is! Why is Your Highness here? And dressed like that?”
