Ch61.1 - The Crown Prince’s Divine Power

After Xiao Ban returned with the red water, he noticed that Jian Mei’s entire aura seemed to be mysteriously different.

He couldn’t quite pinpoint what had changed, but his entire demeanor was undeniably different, especially his gaze. It was no longer as gentle as before; his eyes no longer seemed to express indifference toward everything around him. Now, Jian Mei appeared to exude more vitality, and his big, round eyes had grown sharper and more determined.

Jian Mei said, “Xiao Ban, let’s head back for now. Don’t worry about your injury, I’ll figure something out.”

Xiao Ban thought it was just Jian Mei trying to comfort him.

They had both taken leave for the day, and since they didn’t need to go to the doctor, they had the whole afternoon free. Jian Mei asked, “Are there any mountains nearby? I want to take a quick stroll up one, I’ll be back soon.”

Xiao Ban asked, “Where are you going, and what for?”

When Jian Mei heard Xiao Ban’s question, he hesitated slightly. Xiao Ban was hurt and couldn’t manage a long climb. But the problem was, they only had this small window of time off today, and if they missed it, who knew when the next chance would come. Just as they were caught in a bit of a standoff, the child who had been quiet all this time spoke up. “Uhm…”

The child asked, “Do you want to go up the mountain?”

Jian Mei looked down at him and replied, “Yes, we do. Why?”

“My family lives at the foot of the mountain, and we have a wagon cart we use to go up there,” the child said, fidgeting nervously. “It’s a bit old, but my mom sometimes uses it to pick fruits.”

Jian Mei couldn’t hide his excitement and asked, “Really? That’s awesome! Would it be convenient for you to take us?”

The child nodded earnestly. “Of course! You took me to the clinic—you’re my lifesavers. It’s no trouble at all. I just hope you don’t mind that it’s a bit shabby.”

“We won’t mind at all!” Jian Mei replied without hesitation.

Xiao Ban, however, was still wondering why Jian Mei wanted to go up the mountain.

Jian Mei wasn’t sure how to explain it—saying too much might only make Xiao Ban worry. So, he pulled out his go-to excuse. “The young master asked me to pick some fruit from the mountain.”

Sure enough, Xiao Ban accepted the explanation immediately.

The child led the way toward the base of the mountain. Earlier, they had been in the bustling center of Golden Town, but as they approached the mountain, the buildings became noticeably more modest, and the people’s clothing they passed reflected a much humbler lifestyle. Outside the treehouses, vines were adorned with clothes hanging out to dry. Men could be seen repairing carts in the open, while women worked in the fields, their faces partially veiled with cloth.

The farther they ventured toward the city’s outskirts, the more alive and real everything felt.

Back in the mansion, Jian Mei had been surrounded by strict rules and rigid formalities, which felt unreal.

The child pointed to a house in the distance and said, “That’s my house.”

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The woman was a little surprised at first, but after hearing the whole story from the little boy, she became so overcome with gratitude that she could hardly hold back her tears. She quickly said, “Thank you for saving Pingping. No problem, you can use the wagon cart. Our family has lived here for generations, and we’re very familiar with this mountain like the back of our hand. I’ll have my husband take you around.”

Jian Mei bowed and said, “Thank you so much!”

The woman hurriedly replied, “No, no. You don’t need to thank us. We should be the ones apologizing.”

Pingping’s father worked as a bricklayer in the town. Their family owned a three-wheeled wagon cart, which was cleverly designed to run on wind power. On windy days, it would zip along quickly. Since Xiao Ban had been injured, he stayed behind to rest, while Jian Mei and Pingping went up the mountain.

This was Jian Mei’s first time visiting the mountains and wilderness of Stan Star. The trees here were mostly towering, and there were many plants he had never seen before. He wasn’t planning to take up herbalism for now and wouldn’t touch anything he didn’t understand. But soon, he began to appreciate the benefits of going out with Pingping and his father.

“What’s this?”

“It’s Shanqingshu. It stays green all year round.”

“What’s that bird?”

“It’s a Xia Bird. Its feathers glow with the color of the sunset at night.”

As Jian Mei became more accustomed to the mountain, he began searching for herbs he recognized. Although the forest was teeming with vegetation, careful observation revealed familiar plants to him. Before long, he found banlan, an excellent remedy for inflammation and pain. Over time, he also came across dandelion, huanglian, and lianqiao—herbs he was quite familiar with.

Pingping came over and asked, “Mei, why are you picking these?”

Jian Mei smiled and replied, “I’m collecting them to study. I find these kinds of things interesting.”

“Do you like them?” Pingping asked as he stood beside him. “I come to the mountains often. If you ever need more, I can gather them for you and bring them to you during your breaks.”

Jian Mei thought that there was no point in having so many herbs when his ideas were still in the early stages and not fully developed. But just as he was about to refuse, he suddenly had a new idea. After all, he had spent so long wandering the mountains and had only found a handful of herbs which weren’t even enough for a single treatment. Growing them in the mansion wasn’t an option with all the prying eyes and gossip, but if he let Pingping handle it, it might actually be much more convenient.

Jian Mei thought to himself that there wasn’t much point in gathering so many herbs. He was still figuring out most of his ideas and hadn’t completely figured out everything. He had spent so much time exploring the mountain yet only managed to find a few herbs which weren’t enough for a single treatment. Planting them at the mansion wasn’t practical with so many people around and all the gossip. However, if he entrusted them to Pingping, it might be far more convenient.

Jian Mei told Pingping about his idea.

Pingping agreed without hesitation. “No problem! Our backyard is huge, you can plant as much as you want.”

Jian Mei smiled gratefully and said, “Thank you so much, Pingping.”

Pingping smiled bashfully and said, “Meimei, no need to thank me. If it weren’t for you and Xiao Ban helping me, I’d probably still be lying on the side of the road right now.”

With the items in hand, Jian Mei cast a gentle glance at Pingping. His warm, soothing eyes radiated a kindness as soft as a spring breeze. “Pingping, it wasn’t your fault that you fainted on the roadside. The one to blame was that reckless person. You don’t need to feel like you owe me or Xiao Ban anything. Just bringing me up the mountain has already been a huge help.”

Pingping’s eyes reddened. “Thank you, Jian Mei. I’ll make sure to plant the land well.”

Jian Mei nearly laughed upon hearing this.

As they wandered through the mountains and forests, they occasionally spotted some rare and unusual creatures. He curiously asked, “Why don’t you catch wild boars or pheasants to eat? That would surely be better than drinking nutrient solutions every day, right?”

Pingping explained, “You can’t just kill wild magical beasts because they might have magic crystals inside them. If you kill a group of beasts with magic crystals, the gods will punish you. We can only buy meat from the market, where they sell farmed beasts that are safe to eat.”

Jian Mei nodded thoughtfully. “I see.”

He still didn’t understand this world very well, and it seemed like there was always something new to learn every day.

After the group came down from the mountain, Pingping’s mother had prepared a large spread of local dishes from Golden Town. Normally, the commoners wouldn’t serve such meals unless they had important guests, but Pingping’s family, who believed in repaying even the smallest of kindnesses, brought out the best they had to offer in gratitude.

Xiao Ban muttered, “This meal must be worth at least two gold coins!”

Pingping’s mother replied, “It’s the least we can do. If it weren’t for you two saving Pingping, we don’t know what would have happened. He’s always been frail, and we can’t thank you enough.”

Jian Mei had already noticed that Pingping was somewhat frail and likely had a congenital Yang deficiency, which needed to be treated with tonics. He had considered making a remedy, but with no pharmacy nearby, getting the right ingredients would be difficult. This made him feel even more determined to return to the mountain and continue searching for the herbs he needed.

While he was lost in thought, a piece of meat was placed into his bowl.

Xiao Ban said discontentedly, “Still zoning out? Hurry up and eat, or we’ll miss curfew. You want me to get punished along with you?”

Jian Mei snapped out of his thoughts and smiled. He noticed that Xiao Ban had been serving food to both him and Pingping but hadn’t eaten much himself, so he served Xiao Ban some food. “You should eat too.”

Xiao Ban’s expression shifted slightly, and he stubbornly replied, “It’s not like I don’t have hands.”

Beside them, Pingping added, “Gege’s hands are all used to serve food to me and Meimei.”

Xiao Ban shot him a glare.

Pingping giggled beside him, and Jian Mei couldn’t help but laugh along. When he first arrived in this world, he had resisted everything. He honestly thought this was nothing more than a dream and that one day he would wake up back on Earth. But now, seeing the joyful and teasing faces of his friends around him, Jian Mei finally started to feel a sense of reality.

Even though he felt increasingly disheartened and resistant as he learned more about this world and its society, he refused to back down. No matter what, people must keep moving forward. He believed that someday, he would see Dazhuang-ge again, and perhaps by then, Dazhuang-ge might even feel a hint of pride in him.

……

By the time evening fell, they returned to the residence with more than an hour remaining before curfew. Jian Mei grinded the herbs he had collected during the day and carefully applied the paste to Xiao Ban’s wound.

Xiao Ban’s face scrunched up at the sight of the green paste, clearly disgusted. “Meimei, do we have some kind of grudge? Why are you torturing me like this?”

“We don’t have any grudge,” Jian Mei replied sincerely, “This is a medicine to treat your wound.”

If Xiao Ban hadn’t trusted Jian Mei, he’d never have allowed that disgusting paste to be applied to his wound. Despite his discomfort, he endured it and eventually let Jian Mei do his thing.

Xiao Ban watched as Jian Mei busily tended to his injury and called out, “Meimei.”

Jian Mei hummed in response and looked up. “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s split Pingping’s medical expenses today,” Xiao Ban offered, not wanting to take advantage of him. “I know saving money isn’t easy for you, and since we saved him together, it’s only fair to share the cost.”

Jian Mei shook his head and replied, “There’s no need to split the expenses so neatly, I still have money. Save yours, and when you’ve saved enough, you can go to school.”

Xiao Ban didn’t argue and started counting the money they had. “Meimei, don’t push yourself too hard. It’s my fault we ended up with these unnecessary expenses this time. I still have a few items. Maybe we can pawn them later to get some money.”

Jian Mei had never seen Xiao Ban with any belongings and curiously asked, “What things do you have?”

Xiao Ban pulled out a bundle of items from a locked cabinet, opened it and showed it to Jian Mei. He said, “Look, I still have some travel money left from my last trip. I have two gold coins, and some keepsakes…”

Xiao Ban unlocked the cabinet and pulled out a bundle of things. After unwrapping it, he showed it to Jian Mei and said, “I still have some of the travel money I saved before—two gold coins. Then, I have some few old things…”

Jian Mei had only glanced at it without much thought, but that single look made him freeze completely!

Xiao Ban frowned in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Translator’s Notes:

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