Xie Lian turned around and asked, "What do you mean?"

Mu Qing said: "The homeless vagrants in the imperial city are all in the same group. They often come to my house to beg for food. I know them all, but I have never seen this child."

The child looked at Mu Qing without saying anything. Feng Xin asked suspiciously, "Who do they always ask for food from? You? Are you willing to give it to them?"

Mu Qing glared at him and said, "You're pestering me so much, what else can I do if I don't give in?"

Feng Xin still found it incredible, so he stopped talking and said, "Oh."

Xie Lian wanted to laugh when he saw them talking. Mu Qing added, “There are several patches on his clothes. Judging from the stitches, they must have been patched recently by an adult. There must be at least one elderly person at home. His family may not be well off, but he is definitely not a beggar.”

Xie Lian naturally never paid attention to the stitching of the patch, nor could he tell whether it was done by an adult. However, Mu Qing used to be a handyman at the Huangji Temple, and he also did a lot of odd jobs at home. After a closer look, he saw that it was indeed the case, and asked, “Are there any adults at home?”

The child shook his head and said, "Of course there is. If he doesn't go back, his family must be looking for him anxiously now."

The child said, "No, no! No one!" As if he was afraid of being sent back, he opened his arms and seemed to want to hug Xie Lian. His body was still covered in dirt and blood. Feng Xin couldn't stand it anymore and said, "What are you doing, kid? You were in a hurry just now, but you are still ignorant now. This is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, do you understand?"

The child immediately retracted his hand, but still looked at Xie Lian and said, “There was a quarrel at home, and I was kicked out. I walked for a long time and had nowhere to go.”

The three of them looked at each other. After a while, Feng Xin said, "What should we do?"

An imperial physician suggested: "If Your Highness is in trouble, you can leave him here and send a few palace servants to take care of him."

After a moment's silence, Xie Lian shook his head slightly.

He was afraid that Qi Rong would not give up and would sneak out to cause trouble, so he said, "I think I should take care of him first until his injuries are healed. It seems that his family can't take good care of him. When Feng Xin goes back to deal with the stalls that Qi Rong knocked over, he can also send a few people to find out where the child's parents are and let them know so that they don't have to worry."

Feng Xin nodded: "Okay."

One of his arms was still hanging, and he tried to lift the child with his other hand. Xie Lian smiled and said, “Forget about your injury.”

Feng Xin was not concerned and said, "If one arm is broken, the other one won't matter. Even if both my arms are broken, I can still carry him up the mountain for you by holding his collar with my teeth."

Mu Qing secretly rolled his eyes and said, "Forget it, let me do it." But he had just taken a step when the child jumped off the bed and said, "I can walk by myself."

The resistance on his face was so obvious that Mu Qing was extremely embarrassed about the second step. He didn’t know whether to continue. Seeing that this kid was still so energetic even though he had five broken ribs and a leg, Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or feel distressed. He said, “Don’t run around!” After that, he bent down and picked him up.

The three of them, along with a child, left the palace. Because Qi Rong had just caused trouble on the street, disturbing pedestrians and knocking over many stalls, Xie Lian felt guilty and ashamed to face the people of the imperial city. The group was ashamed and did not dare to show their faces, so they walked along the small road. Along the way, the child nestled in Xie Lian's arms and was very well behaved. He kept silent when he was asked to be quiet. Feng Xin glared at him and said, "This kid kicked me yesterday, but he is acting like this today. He really treats people with favors."

Mu Qing said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is naturally much more popular than the average person."

For some reason, even if he said something nice, his words and sentences always made people uncomfortable. Feng Xin didn't want to pay attention to him. After walking for a while, Feng Xin said, "No. I still think that Your Highness can't just hold a child of unknown origin for people to see."

Xie Lian asked, “What’s the big deal?”

Feng Xin said: "You are His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of a tattered cart parked at the entrance of the alley ahead and said, "Put the child there and drag him along!"

Mu Qing immediately said, "Let me make it clear first, I will not drag this thing up the mountain."

Feng Xin said, "No one expects you to drag it." Then he stretched out his hand and pulled the child out of Xie Lian's arms. Once in his hands, the child began to struggle again. Xie Lian said, "Forget it, forget it. Maybe someone else wants this car!" Feng Xin had already put the person on the car. At this moment, a person not far away suddenly said, "Are you... the prince?"

Someone immediately shouted, "Yes, yes, yes! That's the prince! His mask fell off yesterday, and I saw his face with my own eyes! It's him!!!"

"catch him!!!"

The three of them felt a jolt in their hearts. Although Xie Lian did not think that he had done anything wrong during the Heavenly Sacrifice Parade yesterday, he also knew that others might think the same as he did. The interruption of the Joy of God Martial Arts was a very ominous sign. The royal nobles were superstitious about it. After the people got over the excitement of yesterday, they came to their senses and asked around what this accident meant. They probably would not be too tolerant. In addition, Qi Rong had caused trouble in the street today, causing complaints. If he was surrounded at this time, it would probably not be a good thing. Before he could think about it, Mu Qing grabbed him and said, "Your Highness, run!"

Feng Xin also dragged a cart and urged him: "Your Highness, I have a broken arm and cannot stop these mobs. Let's go!"

However, outside the alley, the people on the street had already rushed over excitedly, blocking all the ways out. The four of them had no way to retreat, and seeing countless pairs of wide-open eyes surrounding them, Xie Lian gritted his teeth and thought: "At worst, I'll get beaten up, but I won't fight back!"

Unexpectedly, although the crowd surged up, they did not beat him up as expected. Instead, seventeen or eighteen hands reached out and threw him up, cheering in unison: "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Xie Lian was thrown up and down several times, but he still remained extremely calm. Everyone said at once: "Your Highness, that leap you made on Shenwu Street yesterday was truly amazing!"

Someone praised: "That jump was so amazing! Really, really, I thought it was the Emperor Shenwu himself, I got goosebumps!"

Someone affirmed: "Your Highness is right to save the child! Other people's lives are lives, but our poor children's lives are not lives? I would do the same!"

Someone said angrily, "That's right. Today, I heard someone say that Your Highness has ruined something big, and I couldn't bear to hear that. If the person who fell was a royal relative, I'm afraid those people wouldn't say that. Your Highness, please don't pay attention to such people!"

"Your Highness is the one who truly cares about us..."

From feeling guilty at the beginning, to being confused during the process, to being infected by the enthusiastic faces in the end. The crowd pushed Xie Lian out, and when he reached the street, more and more people gathered. Feng Xin, Mu Qing and the child were far away from the outside, and could not squeeze in at all. They could only follow the long line and march with the parade. The huge crowd was no less than the grandeur of the Heavenly Sacrifice Parade yesterday. Every time Xie Lian wanted to leave, he would be forced back, and once again pushed to the highest point, and he was not allowed to come down.

Xie Lian couldn’t help but feel amused and relieved at the same time: “The opinions of the common people and the Imperial Masters are completely opposite. It seems that I am right.”

When we returned to Taicang Mountain, the sunset was still burning as brightly as before.

Passing through the tall mountain gate, on the long bluestone mountain road, there were Taoists everywhere carrying buckets of water and firewood running up and down, greeting Xie Lian and his party one by one, many of them looking at this strange four-person cart in amazement. Feng Xin pulled the cart with one hand, like a diligent young black ox. Xie Lian and Mu Qing were so reserved at first that they laughed half to death, but later they couldn't resist and just let it go.

The maple forest was endless, and the wheels were turning slowly. When climbing the mountain, Xie Lian was pushing the cart from behind. Because he was in a good mood, he casually asked the child, "Little boy, what is your name? What's red?"

The child looked at him and whispered, "I... I don't have a name."

Xie Lian was startled and asked, “Didn’t your mother give you a name?”

The child shook his head and said, "My mother is gone."

Xie Lian felt pity for you and asked, “What did your mother call you before?”

The child hesitated for a moment and said, "Hong Hong'er."

Xie Lian smiled and said, “Your nickname is quite cute, so I will call you that.”

Hong Hong'er seemed to be shy when talking to him and lowered her head. At this time, dusk had fallen, and clusters of lights from various palaces and temples were lit up on the peaks in the distance. Among them, the brightest was the highest peak of Taicang Mountain, Shenwu Peak.

The Shenwu Palace on Shenwu Peak was as bright as day, with dots of light gathering on the top of the peak. Looking at it, Xie Lian sighed.

The sigh was not because of sadness, but because the scene was too beautiful and spectacular. Each point of light was a lamp enshrined in the Shenwu Hall. Each lamp was the most pious prayer of a believer. The more long-burning lamps there were in the temple, the stronger the power of the priest would be. If you want to offer a lamp in the Shenwu Hall of Huangji Temple, it is worth a fortune. You must be rich, powerful, capable, affectionate, and have a good relationship. Only one of the five can enter the temple to offer lamps. However, there are more people in the world who do not have any of the five.

The four of them stopped and stared at the Shenwu Palace, which was as bright as the sun, with different expressions. At this moment, they suddenly heard a familiar voice shouting, "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Xie Lian turned around and saw a pale-faced young man running towards him. It was the Taoist gatekeeper of the Four Symbols Palace. He asked sternly, “Senior Brother Zhu, what’s the hurry?”

Senior Brother Zhu saw Mu Qing behind him and looked slightly embarrassed. He pretended not to see him and said, "The Imperial Master wants to see you. We have been looking for you for a long time. I am now in the Shenwu Hall, waiting for you to come."

Xie Lian was stunned when he heard this. He knew that it was probably because of the unexpected incident during the Heavenly Sacrifice Tour yesterday. He said, “Okay, thank you, Senior Brother.”

Ling Fengxin and Mu Qing took Hong Hong'er back to Xianle Palace first, while Xie Lian went to Shenwu Peak alone.

Outside the main hall, the lingering clouds of smoke from the incense burner made the entire Shenwu Hall look like a fantasy. On both sides of the incense burner, rows of eternal lanterns were suspended in the air, neatly arranged to form a wall of lanterns. On each eternal lantern, the name and prayer of the lamp holder were written in dignified official script. Entering the hall, there were rows of eternal lanterns on both sides of the main hall. The eternal lanterns in the temple were more precious than those outside the temple.

In front of the huge temple, the chief state master was burning incense in front of the statue of the Shenwu Emperor, and the three deputy state masters were behind him, bowing down to the statue together.

After Xie Lian entered, he bowed slightly and said, “National Master.”

After the imperial masters finished their worship, they turned around and motioned for him to come forward. So Xie Lian also went over, took the incense, and offered it reverently.

After a long while, the Imperial Master said, "Your Highness, we have discussed it and found that there are only two solutions to the Heavenly Sacrifice Tour."

Xie Lian said, “Master, please speak.”

The Imperial Master said, "The first solution is to find the child who ruined the ceremony. We will perform a ritual and seal his senses as atonement."