Chapter 33#

The Innocent and Naive Fool#

“Isn’t this the standard beginning of a horror movie?” Lin Xiaodong raised an eyebrow.

To the southeast of this Rose Manor stood an ancient Baroque castle. But strangely, he had found no information about this castle online before.

Moreover, looking from the outside, all the windows of the castle were tightly closed, and the outer walls were covered with dense vines, as if no one had lived there or cared for it for a long time.

Could it be that Lu Xing really committed some shameful deed?

Hiding a beauty in a golden house, or illegal imprisonment? Or something even more terrifying…

System: “Please, stop your brain.”

Lin Xiaodong couldn’t help but laugh: “No way, even a system can be afraid? Aren’t you all just a bunch of data?”

“Please refer to me as a high-level silicon-based lifeform, thank you,” the system said somewhat angrily. “Although we are composed of data, we have joys and sorrows just like humans. Why else do you think I came to work at the Transmigration Department? Even systems need to find a wife!”

Lin Xiaodong: “…I really didn’t expect you to have such realistic troubles.”

He thought the system’s greatest hobby every day was repeatedly switching itself on and off and bickering with him.

The merman scanned around and found no other carvings. Only then did he pretend to come up for air, resting his arms on the edge of the fountain and wiping his face.

“So,” Lu Xing, holding the copy of The Little Prince, asked him with a smile, “do you like it here?”

The little merman nodded hard.

“If you like it, stay for a while longer,” Lu Xing said enticingly. “I know Lu Jing accompanied you here. Shall we tell her you’ll stay the night? There are even more fun things in the castle.”

Lin Xiaodong didn’t speak, but his expression seemed to show he was tempted.

But in the end, the little merman shook his head and refused: “Forget it, it would make people worry.”

“You don’t need to worry about Lu Jing. Although she and I have different mothers, she is still my sister after all. If I, her brother, go and plead, she will surely agree.” Lu Xing waved his hand nonchalantly.

“I didn’t mean that…”

Lu Xing suddenly realized: “So you’re worried Gu Xi won’t agree, is that it?”

The little merman gave a tiny nod, his expression somewhat timid.

“Have you,” Lu Xing suddenly asked, “been unable to contact Gu Xi lately?”

“How did you know?” the little merman blurted out in surprise. Then, hurriedly grabbing Lu Xing’s arm, he asked urgently and repeatedly, “Do you know what’s happening in Sagittarius? He didn’t have an accident, did he?”

“This…”

Lu Xing’s expression looked somewhat troubled. Lin Xiaodong seemed to panic instantly, tears looking ready to well up in his eyes: “No, Gu Xi won’t have an accident, don’t lie to me…”

“Shh, shh, don’t cry.” Lu Xing unhurriedly wiped away the moisture from the corner of his eye, comforting him in a soft voice, “I am the Crown Prince of the Empire, remember? As long as you are obedient and stay in the manor, I can help you fulfill any wish.”

The little merman sniffled and asked with red eyes: “Can you guarantee Gu Xi’s safety?”

“Of course,” Lu Xing said, “but there is one condition: from now on, without my permission, you are not allowed to see him again.”

“…………”

“What are you thinking? I’m not a bad person,” Lu Xing narrowed his eyes and smiled very gently. “This is for the safety of both of you, Xiaodong. As long as objective conditions allow, how could I stop the two of you from meeting?”

“Then, then alright.”

Lin Xiaodong nodded reluctantly.

The little merman stared at the youth eagerly, holding out a pinky: “It’s a promise, you aren’t allowed to lie to me.”

Lu Xing quietly looked at the hand extended before him. After a long while, just when Lin Xiaodong could hardly keep pretending, the youth lowered his eyes and quickly hooked his finger:

“It’s a promise. Pinky swear, no changes for a hundred years.”

“Then what if you lie to me?” After the swear, the little merman still seemed a bit uneasy. Lu Xing let out a sigh: “If I lie to you, I’ll be punished by never being able to enter heaven after I die, alright?”

My goodness, this person is practically a merman expert.

Lin Xiaodong couldn’t help but be amazed inwardly. Merfolk are very simple creatures with very devout faith. They firmly believe in the existence of heaven and hell—those who are kind to others enter heaven after death to enjoy eternal peace, while those with many bad deeds fall into hell, never to be reincarnated.

For a merman, there was no curse more vicious in this world.

But Lin Xiaodong didn’t believe in this, so on the surface he just gave Lu Xing a relaxed, brilliant smile, while inwardly he sneered at the Crown Prince’s methods.

However, Lu Xing using Gu Xi to threaten him at this time indicated that problems the man couldn’t temporarily solve had indeed arisen in Sagittarius. Lin Xiaodong was very confident in Gu Xi’s abilities; since Gu Xi dared to leave at this time, it meant he must have left a backup plan.

But after thinking it over, he still had the system check what on earth was happening in the universe.

System: “The distance is too far; I might not be able to do it.”

“No way,” Lin Xiaodong said in surprise. “Your system can clearly span across worlds, how can it not even manage a distance of a few hundred light-years now?”

“That was before, and…” the system’s next words were somewhat vague. “Do you remember I told you in the last world that I sensed an intrusion of an unknown energy entity?”

“I remember. What about it?”

“Since then, my perception of my surroundings has decreased a lot. But the strange thing is that sometimes when I try to set the coordinates on any human in the world except you, my perception is restored instantly.” The system was also very confused. “I’ve been trying to solve this problem lately, but as you’ve seen, without much result.”

Lin Xiaodong was listening in a daze. He just wanted the system to help see what Gu Xi was actually doing right now; why was it bringing up some unknown energy entity again?

He said bluntly: “Anyway, just try your best. Probe as much as you can. Don’t worry about my side; I can handle it.”

System: “Fine.” It had never doubted that.

“Xiaodong?”

Lu Xing’s voice pulled Lin Xiaodong’s attention back from the conversation with the system. The little merman flicked his tail and asked in a very soft voice: “What is it?”

“The fountain water needs to be changed.” Lu Xing reminded him. Only then did Lin Xiaodong realize he had been soaking in the pool for nearly two hours. He hurriedly dragged his dripping tail out of the water.

He deliberately didn’t avoid Lu Xing, splashing water over half of the youth’s body. An attendant who came to change the water instinctively reached out to grab his hand, only to be kicked to the ground by Lu Xing.

The pale youth looked down at the attendant huddled in pain on the ground and said coldly: “What do you think you are, daring to touch him?”

“S-sorry, Your Highness, it’s all my fault…”

The poor attendant could hardly breathe but still struggled to get up and apologize to him: “I am truly very sorry, Your Highness. Please forgive my sin.”

Lu Xing said expressionlessly: “You ask for forgiveness? Then you shouldn’t be looking for me.”

The attendant was stunned for a moment, then realized. With a thump, he knelt in front of Lin Xiaodong, pleading piteously: “My Lord, please forgive me. I really didn’t mean to offend you!”

Lin Xiaodong couldn’t understand the logic of these high-and-mighty nobles like Lu Xing.

Seeing the master get splashed with water and wanting to pull the culprit away was called “offending”?

But this matter also allowed him to clearly see the nature of the youth before him.

No matter how gentle or meticulously considerate Lu Xing appeared before him, it was surely because there was still profit to be gained from him. Lin Xiaodong had no doubt that if he didn’t have the status of being the last merman in the world, or if one day he were of no use to Lu Xing, the youth would surely dispose of him cleanly.

A person like Lu Xing was an extreme egoist, cold-blooded and extreme, the type who wouldn’t stop until his goals were achieved.

As for the goal he wanted to achieve… Lin Xiaodong guessed there was a ninety percent chance he was using himself to clear out the old faction of noble forces represented by his father, the old King.

There was still ten percent he couldn’t yet figure out.

“Get up,” the little merman said with some trepidation to the attendant kneeling before him. “You didn’t do anything wrong, why are you apologizing to me?”

The attendant said subconsciously: “Because I…” Before he could finish, he saw the expression on Lu Xing beside him and instantly swallowed the words already at his lips, changing his tune: “Yes, you are right, My Lord. I did nothing wrong. You are wise, My Lord!”

After speaking, he scrambled to his feet, hurriedly bowed to the two, and disappeared into the entrance of the maze.

“Sorry for the poor management of my subordinates. I’ve made a fool of myself.”

Lu Xing apologized to him very politely.

Give me a break. You almost scared the person to death with one sentence, and you call that poor management? Lin Xiaodong sneered inwardly, wondering if Lu Xing expected the attendant to perform seppuku in front of him to apologize.

“It’s getting late,” the little merman said. “I have to go say hello to Sister Lulu, or she’ll worry.”

“I’ll go,” Lu Xing said.

The youth proactively offered to help, letting Lin Xiaodong wait by the fountain for his return with peace of mind, appearing to have extraordinary confidence in persuading Lulu. Lin Xiaodong didn’t argue with him, flicking his tail. His sensible and obedient manner made Lu Xing very satisfied: “Good boy. You can read here for a bit; I’ll be right back.”

But before leaving, he turned back to add one instruction: “Whatever you do, don’t get the book wet. Handle it with care, hear me?”

“Mm.”

Hearing him say that, Lin Xiaodong was actually a bit curious. Wasn’t this just an ordinary children’s graffiti version of The Little Prince?

The one Lulu gave him was at least a hardcover edition, costing a full several times more than this.

He looked down and picked up the picture book. Turning to the first page, he found a long, thin, and elegant name written in the bottom left corner of the title page—

“Noah”