He repeatedly told Feng Xin to stay here to guard the king and queen, and he left the shabby house. He kept looking back as he walked, his heart beating very fast. After walking a long way and making sure that Feng Xin really didn't catch up, he felt relieved.

After calming himself down and walking for more than a dozen miles, Xie Lian finally found a place that he thought was suitable - a mountain road in a remote and desolate area.

After looking around to see if there was anyone around, Xie Lian covered his face with a white silk scarf, wrapped it tightly, and jumped onto a tree, hiding his body and holding his breath. The next step was to wait for passersby to pass by.

Yes, his "method" is the so-called "robbing the rich to help the poor."

In the past, Xie Lian had only heard about such stories of chivalrous knights robbing houses and giving to the poor in storytelling and vernacular novels. He had never done it himself, nor had he ever thought about doing it. Because, he originally thought: no matter how it was beautified, no matter how legitimate the purpose was, robbery was robbery, and theft was theft. Otherwise, with Xie Lian's skills, let alone stealing something by climbing walls and climbing roofs, he could easily kill all the guards and empty a treasury.

But at this point, there was really no other way. If I had to say, "robbing" is slightly better than "stealing", probably because the former is still "aboveboard". After struggling for a long time, Xie Lian slapped his former self, intending to rob others of their wealth and help his own poverty.

This is the fastest way!

Xie Lian squatted on a tree. It was a dark night with a strong wind. The surroundings were deserted and silent, yet his heart was pounding wildly.

Even when he was hunting the most ferocious monster, he had never been so nervous. His hands were shaking slightly as he took out a cold, hard steamed bun from his sleeve.

If you are still picky about food, it only means that you are not really hungry. After Xie Lian understood this, he suddenly got used to the taste of steamed buns.

Winter was approaching, and the night was extremely cold. Xie Lian ate a cold steamed bun while exhaling white air. Because he didn't want to be seen, Xie Lian didn't even consider going to crowded places. He chose a remote place and waited for two hours before a pedestrian slowly walked over at the end of the mountain road.

Xie Lian perked up, stuffed the steamed bun in two or three bites, stared at the pedestrian who was slowly approaching, and found that it was an old man.

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Although such an old man was dressed rather nicely and should be very wealthy, he was certainly not in Xie Lian’s consideration. He didn’t know whether he was disappointed or relieved, but he decisively ignored him, let him go, and continued to wait for the next person.

An hour later, Xie Lian squatted until his feet were numb and his lower body was almost stiff, and then he waited for the second person to come. He saw that the person was also walking very slowly, and thought to himself: "Could it be another old man?"

When the man slowly approached, he realized that he was not an old man but a young man.

The young man looked honest and kind, with a big smile on his face. He walked so slowly because he was carrying a heavy bag of rice. Xie Lian’s palms were sweating, and he thought to himself, “…Should I do it?”

After hesitating for a moment, he gave up.

The reason for giving up was that the young man was in rags, and his sandals were worn out, exposing his toes, which showed that his family was poor. He was so happy because he finally had a bag of rice to eat. Maybe his family had been hungry for many days, and maybe he sold his only cow to buy this bag of rice. If it was robbed, wouldn't he be desperate?

Xie Lian thought about it for a long time, and then he thought that maybe he could just ask for half the rice, but by then the young man had already walked a long way away. So Xie Lian decisively stopped thinking about it and continued to wait for the next one.

So, he squatted on this tree and waited for several hours, from dusk to dawn. During this time, about a dozen pedestrians passed by on this mountain road. Every time Xie Lian wanted to take action, he let them go for various reasons. Many times he thought, forget it! Let's go back! No robber robbed like him, it would be a miracle if he could get anything. However, when he thought about going back, he would have no medicine and no food, so he had to bite the bullet and continue to wait.

After most of the day, finally, the last passerby came from afar on the mountain path.

He was a middle-aged man, dressed in fancy clothes. He was either rich or noble. He had a ferocious and greasy look, which made people feel disgusted when they saw him. He didn't look like a good person at first glance.

However, as the saying goes, one should not judge a book by its cover. Xie Lian could not help but think, “What if this guy only looks fierce and evil, but is actually a good person? Even if he has money, does that mean he deserves to be robbed?”

Just as he was struggling to overcome the barrier in his heart, a sudden rumbling sound in his stomach woke him up. Xie Lian sighed inwardly and said, "Forget it, I can't care about so much. It's just you!"

Having made up his mind, he jumped down from the tree and said, "Stop!"

A masked man suddenly appeared on the road. The man was startled and asked cautiously: "Who are you? What are you trying to do hiding here with your face covered?!"

Xie Lian gritted his teeth and said, “…hand…hand…” But there was always something wrong in his mind. He hesitated several times before finally shouting out those words—“Hand over the money you have on you!”

The man opened his mouth wide, jumped up three feet high, and shouted, "Help! Help! Robbers!" He ran away. Rather than letting him escape, Xie Lian was actually more worried that his shouting would attract others. Although it was unlikely that he would be attracted in this desolate mountain and wilderness, and even if he was attracted, he could run away immediately, but after all, a thief would be guilty, so he immediately said, "Stop! Stop shouting!"

The man didn’t listen and ran into the woods, screaming “Ouch!” Xie Lian was worried that there might be a beast in the woods that might attack the man, so he hurriedly said, “Wait! Be careful!…” But when he ran in and took a look, he was stunned and his face turned pale!

There were actually several people standing in the woods, all looking at him. Xie Lian took another closer look and realized something was wrong. These people were not human at all. The middle-aged man seemed to have not seen them at all and was still in a panic. Moreover, several of them looked very familiar to Xie Lian.

Of course they looked familiar. He had seen many of them in Xianjing before, some from the upper heaven and some from the lower heaven. They were all priests!

The man screamed because he fell down. He was holding a bunch of amulets in his hand and muttering, "Great Immortals! Come and save me! Save me!" And the "Great Immortals" he was shouting at really came as he wished.

At this moment, several pairs of priests were staring at Xie Lian, staring at him so hard that he couldn't move. Seeing that the masked man who robbed him was standing there, the man quickly got up and ran away. Xie Lian couldn't even take a step to chase him. His whole body was stiff, and he was covered in cold sweat, and his heart was full of fear.

Yes, fear.

He only hoped that the white silk would cover his face tightly enough so that the young priests he had dealt with in the past would not recognize him. However, the opposite happened. One of the priests looked at him and said in surprise: "...Isn't this...His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

“…”

Another priest was even more shocked and said, "Ah, it's true! Why is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here? Why is he dressed like this?"

Xie Lian’s heart sank lower and lower, almost sinking into the earth.

"The man just now was shouting 'help', 'robbery', 'robber'? There were robbers chasing him? The robber was... His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?!"

"Oh my God! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... would actually do such a thing?!" Infinite good articles, all in Jinjiang Literature City

Hearing these words, Xie Lian almost fainted on the spot. After an unknown amount of time, he finally said in a hoarse voice: "I..."

He wanted to say something, but it was hard to speak, and the words were stuck in his throat. The faces of the priests were also very subtle. After a while, a priest patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's okay, it's okay, Your Highness, we understand."

Xie Lian was hit a few times by him. It wasn’t heavy at all, but he almost lost his balance. He said again: “I…”

The priest laughed a few times and said, "It's really not easy for you to be like this. I understand. Don't worry, we won't tell anyone else."

This was exactly what Xie Lian found difficult to say. After the other party said it first, he had no idea what to say next. After a long while, he murmured, “…Okay, thank you. Then, I…I’ll go back. Go back.”

He didn't know how he left. Anyway, when he woke up, he was standing on the deserted mountain road again. He was awakened by the cold winter night wind.

Only then did Xie Lian finally realize what a terrible thing had just happened.

He, Xie Lian, the Prince of Xianle—a robber?!

Why did it turn out like this?!

At this moment, Xie Lian was extremely regretful. He must have been crazy to have thought of robbing people on the road before, and it got out of control now. Why was it so unfortunate that he didn't accomplish anything but was caught in the act? !

Xie Lian had never encountered such a thing in his life before. He had no idea what to do. He was feverish from head to toe, his mind was in a mess, and he buried his face in his hands. If he could turn back time, he would even be willing to exchange several years of life and cultivation for it. Just as he was feeling annoyed, he suddenly saw a vague white figure in front of him from the corner of his eye. He was startled and looked up suddenly, saying, "Who?!" Infinite good articles, all in Jinjiang Literature City

As soon as he raised his head, the figure disappeared instantly, and Xie Lian broke out in a cold sweat again.

Although he didn't see the man's face, he always felt that the man looked like he was wearing a mask!

However, after scanning the area, he saw no trace of anyone. Xie Lian couldn't help but suspect that the figure he had just seen was just an illusion caused by his panic. Regardless of whether it was or not, he didn't dare to stay here any longer and hurried down the mountain.

After returning, Feng Xin had been waiting for him for most of the day. As soon as he saw him, he asked, "Where have you been, Your Highness? What solution have you come up with?"

Xie Lian didn't dare to tell him. He couldn't tell anyone, let alone Feng Xin. Xie Lian couldn't imagine what Feng Xin, who had always believed in his unparalleled virtue, would think when he knew that his method was to rob people. He just hoped that this matter could be buried in his heart forever. So Xie Lian said vaguely, "No."

Feng Xin was stunned and asked, "Ah? Then what were you doing out for so long?"

Xie Lian was a little dazed, and said, “Don’t ask. I didn’t do anything.”

Feng Xin was very puzzled, but Xie Lian refused to say anything no matter how he asked. As an attendant, he could not ask too much, so he could only whisper, "Then should we go out and perform tomorrow?"

Xie Lian said, “I’m not going out.”

He was now completely confused, his mind full of incredible worries: What if he happened to run into that middle-aged man? What if the whole city has already started to hunt him? Feng Xin also felt that he looked a little strange, and said, "Are you tired? How about this, Your Highness, don't go out, I will go out alone. You just concentrate on your cultivation."

However, he didn't know that Xie Lian had no intention of practicing anymore.

Originally, Xie Lian devoted himself to cultivation, because only in this way could he have a chance to return to heaven, but now, he has also developed a fear of returning to heaven.

Although those little priests said they would not tell anyone, would they really not tell anyone? Would the news of today's incident have spread throughout the Heavenly Court?

When Xie Lian thought of this possibility, he simply couldn't breathe. He absolutely couldn't stand being branded with such a stain, being poked and pointed at by the entire heaven and earth, and even the entire human world!

Tired and exhausted, Xie Lian fell into a deep sleep. This sleep was not a restful one, he tossed and turned, had a nightmare, and suddenly woke up. When he looked out the window, it was already dark.

Feng Xin was not there. As expected, he went out to perform by himself and had not returned yet. From the next room, the king and queen could be heard coughing and talking. Xie Lian was lying on the ground. As soon as he woke up, he could not help but imagine what would happen if this matter really spread and his parents knew about it. How unbelievable they would be. The king might be furious and yell at him for being a disgrace to Xianle while coughing up blood. The queen would definitely not scold him, but she would definitely be heartbroken because her most beloved child had brought shame to them.

Thinking of this, Xie Lian began to have difficulty breathing again. He had to find a place to be alone and quiet, so he rolled over from the straw mat, rushed out, and ran aimlessly for more than ten miles in the biting cold wind.

He didn't dare to stay where there were people, because he always felt that others were staring at him, examining how miserable he was. It was not until he ran to a cemetery and there was no one around that he finally stopped.

This night was even colder than the previous night. When he got here, Xie Lian realized that his cheeks and hands were frozen and his body was shivering slightly. It wasn't just the cold, it was probably fear. Xie Lian couldn't help but hug his arms and exhaled a few breaths of hot air. He turned his eyes and found two jars of wine in front of a tombstone.

It seemed that the owner of this tombstone was a wine lover, so after his death, people who visited his grave brought him some wine. Xie Lian squatted down. He had never drunk wine before, but he had heard that wine warmed the body and made one forget things. After a pause, he suddenly picked up the wine jar, opened the cork and drank it down in one gulp.

This wine was not good, it was cheap and big, and the taste was very pungent. Xie Lian took a few big gulps and coughed violently, but it seemed to warm him up. So, Xie Lian wiped his cheeks, sat on the ground, picked up the jar, and continued to drink it in big gulps.

In a trance, he seemed to see a small ghostly fire flying out from nowhere, circling around him, and seemed to be in a hurry. Xie Lian was only concerned with drinking, pretending not to see it. The ghostly fire seemed to be desperately trying to get close to him, but because it was a fire of nothingness, every time it went towards him, it could only pass through and could never touch him.

After drinking the whole jar, Xie Lian was already feeling dizzy. With his eyes half drunk, he watched it flying around. It was so pitiful and funny that he couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He propped his elbows on the edge of the jar and asked, “What are you doing?”

The ball of ghost fire suddenly condensed in mid-air.