Ch57.2 - Hello, Stan Star

Lan Chang didn’t answer immediately but looked at him solemnly. No words were necessary—his gaze said it all.

Lu Xingwang’s hand on the desk clenched into a fist, the tension causing his veins to surface on the skin. For years, His Highness had been the embodiment of calm and reserve, as though nothing could stir his tranquil heart. But at this moment, an invisible aura of malice seemed to emanate from him, making him truly intimidating.

Lan Chang had vaguely sensed that the person who shared divine power with Lu Xingwang was someone of great importance to him, and their connection was far from insignificant.

“But nothing is ever absolute,” Lan Chang finally spoke. “Take the divine power as an example. It was supposed to recover gradually but came back all at once. Life is full of uncertainties. Perhaps this unexpected event isn’t a misfortune but a turning point.”

Lu Xingwang glanced up at him, his eyes flickering with a spark of interest, like stagnant water suddenly rippled with life. He asked, “A turning point?”

Lan Chang nodded. “As the saying goes, ‘A misfortune may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.’ Many things in life are unpredictable. After you left, I continued researching this forbidden technique and discovered that, a century ago, a disciple who left our clan also secretly used it. However, both individuals who shared the divine power survived—they were a married couple.”

Lu Xingwang was a bit surprised. “A married couple?”

“Perhaps the strength of their bond played a pivotal role in the transfer of divine power,” Lan Chang speculated, though he had no definitive answers at the moment. He added, “So don’t rush to conclusions. This matter still needs further observation. Let’s wait and hope for good news. There might still be a turning point. I’ll continue researching this.”

The video call lasted a long time. After hanging up, Lu Xingwang found himself lost in thought.

When Lu Xingwang realized he had lost contact with the child through the communication terminal, he thought of countless worst-case scenarios. If something had truly happened to Jian Mei, he knew he could never forgive himself. Lan Chang’s words had offered a glimmer of hope, but what kind of hope could it really be? Even now, he didn’t have Jian Mei’s address, and with their contact information mysteriously erased, it felt as if every connection between them had been cut off.

Wait for good news?

Will he and Jian Mei really have the chance to meet again?

Meanwhile, in the northern Golden Town of Stan Star…

People rushed through the streets, but the newspaper boys were full of energy, eagerly spreading the news of the crown prince’s ascension. The news filled every corner, fueling sparking lively discussions among the public.

“Meimei,” A voice sounded near his ear, calling him out softly. “Meimei, wake up.”

Jian Mei slowly opened his eyes, and was greeted by an unfamiliar face. He clearly remembered falling asleep last night with his phone in his hands, so how did this person end up here? Was he a doctor? But he had never seen this person before. Besides, why would a doctor dress strangely like that?

The boy standing before him wore a little yellow cloak and had freckles all over his face, like little stars. He poked Jian Mei’s face and was overjoyed when he saw him open his eyes. “Thank goodness, you’re not dead!”

Jian Mei asked in confusion, “Who are you?”

The boy’s face turned pale with panic. He said, “Looks like that mushroom really was poisonous. You don’t remember me? I’m Xiao Ban!”

Am I supposed to know you?

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Jian Mei understood each word, but when they were put together, it didn’t make any sense to him.

Everything felt strange. He looked down at himself and saw he was dressed in torn, ragged clothes, with cuts and dirt all over his hands. He looked utterly disheveled.

Am I dreaming?

Jian Mei pinched his face and winced in pain.

Xiao Ban hurriedly stopped him. “DId you become stupid after eating that poisonous mushroom?”

Jian Mei shook his head. “No, I’m not stupid.”

“That’s good. Looks like the mushroom can’t kill you, but it’ll cause temporary memory loss.” Xiao Ban patted his shoulder. “You’re lucky. Just don’t eat mushrooms when you’re starving next time, okay?”

Jian Mei was at a loss for words, so he could only nod.

He didn’t fully understand what was happening, but it felt as though he wasn’t himself anymore. It was as if he had become someone else with the same name, and this person had died after eating a poisonous mushroom last night, so now he was in that person’s body.

But then the question was—what happened to his body in the hospital? Did he die as well?

Where am I now?

He didn’t even have the chance to properly say goodbye to his family and friends, or to see Dazhuang-ge one last time. Did everything end just like this?

Xiao Ban grabbed him and said, “Alright, stop spacing out. Let’s hurry and report to Aunt Wu, or we might miss the chance to work at the divine priest’s mansion.”

Jian Mei was dragged along, his thoughts snapping back to the present.

As he ran, he was rendered speechless by the breathtaking scenery—towering treehouses, small houses on the ground, and a town all surrounded by vines. The people on the street wore golden yellow clothes, and some people floated mid-air while others waved their hands to summon water to wash rooftops. There were also unicorn-like horses pulling carriages, their wings spreading wide as they flew by.

Oh my god, what kind of place is this?

Jian Mei was dragged by Xiao Ban to the so-called divine priest’s mansion. Not far ahead, there stood a woman who looked to be in her forties or fifties. Her face looked serious, and several children were surrounding her.

As soon as she saw Xiao Ban, Aunt Wu scolded them. “Why are you both late?”

Xiao Ban quickly apologized, promised not to be late again, and even slipped a piece of silver into Aunt Wu’s hand to make up for it. Still, Aunt Wu looked at him sternly and said, “If you slack off like this once you’re inside the mansion, you’ll be thrown out!”

Xiao Ban hurriedly promised that it wouldn’t happen again.

Jian Mei noticed that most of the children were probably in their teens. After entering the mansion, they were assigned various tasks and personally trained by Aunt Wu. She gathered them in the backyard, and when enough were present, the person behind her spoke up, “The young master’s study still needs two more cleaners. Yesterday, we asked to pick two from the newly hired servants.”

Aunt Wu nodded in understanding. She looked around at the children and said, “If any of you have divine powers, come forward.”

The children exchanged glances, but none of them moved.

After a moment, a little girl stepped forward timidly and softly said, “I have a bit of wind-based divine power, but I can only use it twice a day.”

Divine powers are ranked by level of strength. The most powerful ones could use wind-based divine power to teleport hundreds of miles and even summon the wind and rain. Others have weaker divine powers, so limited that they need to carefully calculate both their strength and how often they can use it. Yet, even these individuals were exceptional among a group of ordinary children.

Aunt Wu smiled in satisfaction. “You don’t have to return to the back courtyard. Stay here, I’ll arrange another task for you.”

Aunt Wu scanned the other children again, but didn’t find anyone particularly outstanding, especially since some of them looked dirty and looked completely exhausted. She then instructed, “Go wash up in the back courtyard, change into our residence clothes, and then come back for training.”

The children agreed in unison.

When they went to the back courtyard to bathe, Jian Mei finally couldn’t hold back and asked Xiao Ban. “How old are you?”

Knowing that Jian Mei had lost his memory, Xiao Ban replied softly, “I’m 16, you’re 17.”

Jian Mei thought that their age was about the same as his original age, so he asked out of curiosity, “Why come here to work? Don’t you need to go to school?”

“We’re working to earn money for tuition,” Xiao Ban replied softly. “They pay 5 gold coins a month here, which is pretty good. It’s a little exhausting, but it’s definitely worth it.”

Jian Mei seemed lost in thought. “I see.”

He didn’t understand the value of gold coins, so he didn’t realize that the little gifts the prince had given him were actually worth hundreds of gold coins each. Now, he was working for just five gold coins.

Jian Mei curiously asked. “What is the divine power that she mentioned earlier?”

Xiao Ban finally confirmed that Jian Mei really didn’t understand, so he had no choice but to explain. “Divine power is the ability granted by the gods. Not everyone has it, it depends on your fate. Some people are born strong, while others, like you and me, aren’t so lucky.”

Jian Mei seemed to understand but didn’t quite.

They arrived at the bathhouse in the back courtyard, where partitions separated the cubicles. Each child picked a cubicle, and Jian Mei and Xiao Ban ended up next to each other. While bathing, Xiao Ban started chatting casually and said, “In our country, the one with the strongest divine power is definitely the crown prince!”

Jian Mei asked curiously, “The Crown Prince?”

“It’s the current crown prince, Lu Xingwang,” Xiao Ban said, his tone brimming with admiration. “He single-handedly faced off against an interstellar bandit warship! He possesses five-element divine power and is extraordinarily intelligent. Even without divine power, he achieved perfect scores in horseback riding and archery. He’s also the only person to graduate in all disciplines at the age of thirteen from Jishe Academy, the most prestigious institution in the Imperial Capital!”

Jian Mei listened in awe and asked, “Is he really that amazing?”

Xiao Ban nodded enthusiastically. “My biggest dream is to get into Jishe Academy and go to the Imperial Capital. If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll get to meet the crown prince. Even catching a glimpse of him from a distance would make me happy—he’s the person I want to meet the most.”

Jian Mei hummed in response absentmindedly.

Xiao Ban frowned. “Don’t you want to meet him?”

“I’m…I’m good,” Jian Mei answered hesitantly. As he washed up, he muttered under his breath, “There’s someone else I want to see…”

The crown prince might be amazing, but it didn’t matter to him. He just wanted to go home, reunite with his family, and meet Dazhuang-ge, to whom he had already made promises. To him, Dazhuang-ge was just as amazing.

Xiao Ban doubted if he had heard it wrong. He pursed his lips and said, “You really have no ambition.”

Jian Mei asked, “So what are you going to do when you meet the crown prince? Become friends with him?”

“How is even that possible? Are you daydreaming?” Xiao Ban rolled his eyes. “You’ve been acting very weird ever since you ate those mushrooms. Do you really think someone like us could ever be friends with the Crown Prince? Are you still half-asleep? Wake up already.”

Jian Mei felt a bit wronged and murmured, “Okay.”

Translator’s Notes:

That’s it for this week’s update! The next one will be up next Friday, or possibly earlier if I finish it sooner.