Xie Lian suddenly remembered something and uttered a soft “eh”.

The face wrapped in layers of bandages inevitably reminded him of the child he met three years ago. But he couldn't be sure. He thought pessimistically, could the child really live for another three years after escaping from Mount Taicang alone?

At this time, the young man came over, stood on tiptoe, took the flowers from the clay statue's hand, and replaced them with the one in his hand. Xie Lian was sitting on the altar and could see clearly that the petals of the new bouquet were more delicate, fuller, and more watery, and the fragrance was more fragrant. They must have been picked just now. Could it be that he came to this inconspicuous temple every day to replace the left hand of this clay statue with a bunch of freshly picked flowers?

Moreover, after presenting the flowers, the young man stood under the clay statue of the prince, clasped his hands together, and prayed silently. He did not kneel down indiscriminately like the others. It seemed that he had truly taken Xie Lian’s words to heart.

Three years have passed. There have been so many believers who have come to worship Xie Lian, including high-ranking officials, celebrities, and amazing talents. However, the one who really made Xie Lian feel "careful" was actually a child of only twelve or thirteen years old. Moreover, the child was poorly dressed and would not be allowed into any of the magnificent golden palaces, so he could only come to this grassroots temple to worship.

I really don’t know what this feels like.

At this time, there was a sound of treading water at the temple gate, and a group of children holding umbrellas ran past in a playful manner. Xie Lian originally thought that they were just passing by, but who knew that after the group of teenagers ran past, they ran back again, as if they had discovered something extraordinary and clapped their hands, saying, "Wow wow wow wow, the ugly monsters have been driven out again!"

This group of teenagers were about the same age as the young believer in the temple, but they were all taller than him and looked like they were well raised by their parents. Probably because the festival was approaching, they all wore new clothes and new shoes. They played in the water at the temple gate, their smiles were innocent and lively, without a trace of malice, as if they did not think "ugly" was a bad word, nor did they think their words were hurtful, they just thought it was fun to shout like that. The boy clenched his fist, but his fist was too small and had no deterrent effect. The boy shouted again outside the door: "The ugly monster is going to sleep in the temple again today, be careful when you go home or your mother will beat you to death!"

Xie Lian frowned. The young man’s eye was bloodshot under the bandage, and he raised his fist and yelled, “I don’t have a home!! I don’t have a mother! She’s not my mother! Get out! Get out! If you yell again, I’ll beat you to death!!!”

The group of kids were fearless and stuck out their tongues, saying, "If you dare to hit us, be careful or we will tell your father and let him teach you a lesson."

Some people winked and said, "Yes, you don't have a mother, because your mother doesn't want you. You don't have a home either, your family members all despise you. So you can only stay in this dilapidated temple..."

At this point, the young man suddenly yelled and rushed over.

Although he was small, he was full of power. With a loud shout, several children were scared and wanted to run away. However, the boy who was fighting with him shouted, "What are you afraid of? We are more people!" So they all came back and tried to pull him and beat him. Xie Lian couldn't stand it anymore. He waved his hand, and a sudden strange force in the air separated the two groups of children. Then, a strong splash of water flew up from the ground, causing the group of boys to somersault.

After all, they were children. They fell down for no apparent reason and drank a mouthful of muddy and dirty water. Their new clothes got all wet, making them dirtier and uglier than the object of their ridicule. They immediately stopped laughing and started crying loudly. They got up from the ground, cried, grabbed their umbrella and ran away.

Xie Lian shook his head. He was a martial god who slew evil spirits and monsters and ensured safe travel, but this was the first time he intervened in such a dispute among children. Even if he drove away the bad party, he did not feel any sense of accomplishment. He turned around to look at the boy and was slightly startled.

In the chaos, the bandage on the boy’s head was torn off halfway, revealing half of his face covered in bruises and purple swellings, clearly not from the beating just now. Before Xie Lian had time to take a closer look, he had silently wrapped the bandages, hugged his knees, and sat down at the feet of the clay statue.

Xie Lian came to the Prince's Temple with the intention of gathering Feng Xin and Mu Qing to discuss important matters. However, he met such a kid and could not help but pay attention to him. After sending the summons, he squatted beside him and stared at him. After squatting for a while, the boy's stomach made a rumbling sound. There were a few fruit snacks on the offering plate. Although they looked dry and not very delicious, they were better than nothing. Xie Lian picked one and threw it gently at him.

The young man was hit by the fruit, and he immediately covered his head with his hands and curled up into a ball, showing a defensive posture, as if a stone was thrown at him, and more stones would be thrown at him soon. After a long time, he looked around and found that it was just a fruit and there was no one else present. He hesitated for a moment, picked up the fruit, wiped it on his clothes twice, and put it back on the offering plate. He would rather go hungry than eat the offerings on the plate.

Then he walked to the door and looked at the heavy rain outside the temple, as if he wanted to go out to find something to eat. But the rain was too heavy and he didn't want to get wet anymore, so he came back and curled up at the feet of the clay statue and fell asleep.

At this time, Feng Xin and Mu Qing arrived after receiving the order. The two walked out from the back of the temple. Feng Xin said depressedly: "Your Highness, where did you find such a small temple for the prince? Why did you send the order here?" He lowered his head and suddenly saw a group of people huddled on the ground. He almost stepped on them and blurted out: "Why is there a child here?!"

Mu Qing also lowered his head, took a closer look, and immediately asked, "Your Highness, is this the child who ran away from Mount Taicang three years ago?"

Xie Lian shook his head: “I’m not sure. I don’t know his name, or what his face looks like.”

The three of them surrounded a child who was completely unaware and said a few words. The boy tossed and turned on the ground, wiped his face, and actually smeared blood on the corners of his mouth and nose. Seeing this, Xie Lian felt that he couldn't let him lie there any longer, and said, "Let this child leave first. It's getting dark, and this temple is not a good place to spend the night."

Feng Xin said, "Does he have nowhere to go? If so, I'm afraid he can only stay here for the night."

Xie Lian said, “He has a home, but it may not be well. But this temple is not good either. We should leave first so that we can find him food. The child is still injured.”

Mu Qing said, "Your Highness, forgive me for being blunt, but I don't have time to deal with such trivial matters right now. You summoned us here, but have you made any decision?"

There has never been a priest in the heaven who accepts all the prayers of believers. There are tens of thousands of believers in the world, and it would be annoying to control everyone. Therefore, sometimes they would turn a blind eye and pretend not to hear some trivial or subtle prayers, which can save a lot of trouble. However, perhaps Xie Lian was too young and energetic, and he was not yet at the stage to accept such flexibility. He thought about it, took the umbrella given by a passerby, and walked out of the small temple.

Xie Lian slowly opened the umbrella, and the raindrops hit the umbrella with a crackling sound. The boy on the ground heard the sound and thought someone was approaching, so he moved slightly. But he probably thought that it was none of his business if someone came, so he lay down again. Xie Lian put the open umbrella at the door. The boy heard that the sound had not disappeared, and he was probably finally curious. He stood up and took a look. He saw a red umbrella leaning on the ground in the rain, like a solitary red flower blooming. He was stunned immediately.

Seeing the young man rushing over and picking up the umbrella, Mu Qing said, "Your Highness, this is enough. If you do it too obviously and he finds out, it will cause more trouble."

Unexpectedly, before Xie Lian could reply, the young man rushed back and shouted behind them, “Your Highness the Crown Prince!”

The three of them were startled and looked back. They saw the young man holding an umbrella, his eyes red, extremely excited, looking up at the clay statue and shouting, "Your Highness! Is that you?!"

Feng Xin didn't know that Xie Lian had helped him chase away a group of children and lost the fruit before, so he said in surprise: "This kid is quite smart. He actually found it." Mu Qing seemed to have guessed the future and glanced at Xie Lian.

The young man said: "If you were right here, please answer a question for me!"

Sitting on the high altar, Xie Lian would hear "Please show your spirit" countless times every day. If you hear any voice too much, you will become numb. However, every time he heard such a voice, he could not help but pay attention to it and stop for it. Mu Qing reminded him from the side: "Your Highness, don't pay attention to it."

Xie Lian said nothing. The young man held the umbrella tightly with both hands and gritted his teeth, "I am in great pain! Every day I wish I could die, every day I want to kill everyone in the world and then kill myself! I am living in great pain!"

A child of twelve or thirteen years old shouting out these words was a ridiculous and pitiful sight. However, there was something explosive in that little body that supported his anger and roar.

Feng Xin frowned and said, "What's wrong with him? Kill everyone in the world, is this something a child would say?"

Mu Qing said calmly, "He's just too young. When he grows up, he'll realize that what he's going through now is nothing."

After a pause, he looked at Xie Lian and said, "There are too many people suffering in this world. Take the drought in Yong'an for example. Who in Yong'an is not suffering more than him? Your Highness, don't worry about it. Just do what needs to be done."

Xie Lian said softly, “Maybe.”

One person's pain may be just a trivial annoyance to another person.

The young man looked up at him, one of his eyes was red but he didn't shed any tears. He held the umbrella in one hand and reached out with the other hand to grab the hem of the clay statue, asking, "Why am I still alive? What is the meaning of life?"

There was silence for a while, and no one answered. The young man seemed to have expected this result and slowly lowered his head.

Unexpectedly, a voice suddenly broke the silence and sounded above him: "If you don't know how to live, then live for me."

Feng Xin and Mu Qing who were standing beside Xie Lian had not expected him to actually answer, and to give such an answer. Their eyes widened and they said, “…Your Highness?!”

The young man looked up suddenly, but didn't see anyone. He only heard a soft and ethereal voice coming from the clay statue:

"I don't know how to answer your question. But if you don't know the meaning of your life, then why not treat me as that meaning?"

Feng Xin and Mu Qing’s faces were broken, and they both reached out to cover Xie Lian’s mouth, shouting, “Stop talking, Your Highness! You’re breaking the rules! You’re breaking the rules!”

Before they covered his mouth, Xie Lian rushed to shout, “Thank you for the flowers! They are beautiful, I love them!”