CH 16

Jing Qi unconsciously took a step to the side and said: "My apologies, for having troubled Your Highness to worry. I am feeling better now."

"You got better rather quick, huh!" Helian Yi snorted coldly.

Perhaps because the crowd was too loud and rowdy, or perhaps because intoxication had somewhat affected him after a few sips of wine, this young successor of the throne suddenly felt as if there was a lump stuck inside his chest, suffocating him, his brow gradually was lined into deep furrows.

But then, he thought that it might be a bit too inappropriate to lose his temper over such a trivial thing, thus had no choice but force himself to swallow down that baffling, ineffable feeling that kept growing thicker and surging inside his heart. That was why no matter how he looked at it, he still found Jing Qi extremely disagreeable.

Since long had Jing Qi been like a roundworm in Helian Yi's stomach,(1) the moment he saw the expression of Helian Yi's face, he knew that it was not a joke — His Highness the Crown Prince had gotten really mad. He rolled his eyes at once and shifted the topic of discussion, pulling Wu Xi who was standing on one side closer as he said with a smile: "Your Highness, take a look. Can you guess who this person is?"

Helian Yi was stunned for a moment. This young man truly looked very unusual, but after an instant of careful appraisal, he noticed that the latter's facial features were different from those of the people from the Central Plains. Since A Xin Lai was also spotted standing behind, without further saying, anyone could tell right away this was the young sorcerer from South Xinjiang. There was a trace of amazement in Helian Yi's eyes; he thought to himself, the appearance of South Xinjiang sorcerer still carried some parts of childlike tenderness, making him look younger than his actual age.

Wu Xi did not expect that the crown prince would show up all of a sudden, and he was not willing to exchange too many words with that person either. After paying respects, he just stood there in silence next to Jing Qi. As Helian Yi glanced over, he noticed that these two seemed very close to each other. He then recalled Jing Qi's relaxed face from just a moment ago: that person was squinting his eyes and casually pointing at things from different directions — but after seeing Helian Yi, his eyes started to dart around, as if he was trying to devise an escape plan to vanish from the other's sight. Helian Yi felt even more dejected, his face darkened.

Jing Qi felt somewhat puzzled, why is his temper so bad today? As soon as he raised his head, he saw a young man in plain robes who had been following not too far behind Helian Yi — thus he immediately searched for a scapegoat and asked: "Oh, that brother doesn't look familiar. Did he come here with Your Highness?"

It was only then did Helian Yi realize that he had completely forgotten the man behind him; he quickly turned around and beckoned the young man over: "Zishu, come here and meet the little Prince from Nan Ning Wang Residence and Young Sorcerer of South Xinjiang." Afterward, he turned to Jing Qi's group and continued: "This is a jianghu(2) friend that I luckily had a chance to meet. Once you get to know each other, may as well become close buddies."

The smile on Jing Qi's face nearly collapsed —— Zishu? This person is... Zhou Zishu?

That young man in plain clothing walked towards them. Both Wu Xi and A Xin Lai were astonished for a moment, feeling as if this person had just appeared out of thin air. If it wasn't for Jing Qi pointing it out, they certainly would haven't even realized that there was such a person behind Helian Yi.

Wu Xi could not tell if the face of this young man in front of him was something naturally born or deliberately made, he only felt that it was even more average than any normal face, which made others forget right away the moment they turned away from looking.