Zhuang Zhou[1] once dreamed of becoming a butterfly so vividly that he didn’t remember who he was.


Second Young Master Liu also had a dream.
He dreamt of ascending to the sky and swimming in the void, floating above all things.

In fact, he didn’t actually sleep well, and slept especially lightly during the day.
Even though his eyes were closed, he could almost always hear the movement around him, so why couldn’t the servant shake him awake? The main reason was that Second Young Master Liu didn’t want to wake up.
The world in his mind was too big.
The sun and moon shined with color and beauty, and he would often accidentally step into the void, so it was normal to not hear the boy’s calls.

The carriage was a little bumpy on the way.
Liu Xian’an kept his eyes closed and changed his position again.
His attire was not as luxurious and exquisite as Liang Shu’s.
Since he was going away to travel, he wanted to be as comfortable as possible.
A loose, thin old robe with a half-open neckline might be outrageous for anyone else to wear, but when worn on him, it seemed to lend him a bit of an immortal air, lightly floating like a cloud above verdant bamboo shoots.

Liang Shu sat opposite him.
His eyes slid from the other’s eyebrows to the small sesame seed mole on the jut of his throat.
He knew that his second sister always liked to collect beautiful things.
In the princess’s manor, everything from the cups, plates, and chopsticks to the maids and guards were beautiful, and there was not even one common weed in the flower garden.
Since she had to choose the best-looking things in the world, it was not difficult to understand why she cried and fussed a while ago and insisted on marrying the sleeping immortal in front of him.

The curtains blocked the light and made the space inside the carriage seem more enclosed.
The sandalwood fragrance on Liang Shu’s body was originally faint, but then gradually became a bit thicker.
The odd smell finally made the wandering Second Young Master Liu twitch his nose a little, vaguely feeling that something was wrong with today’s dream.

His eyelashes fluttered slightly, and it looked as if he was struggling to wake up, but at this moment, the wheels suddenly jerked up! The sudden shift in balance made Liu Xian’an roll forward, and he opened his eyes with a short cry! At the critical moment, Liang Shu turned his long sword with one hand and blocked the opponent’s shoulder with the hilt, pushing him back into his seat again.

Liu Xian’an had still not recovered.
Unfinished wild dreams disturbed the dim space in front of him, and he didn’t come back to his senses for a long time.
He only felt his heart beating and his brain buzzing, and what was even more shocking was that after the dreams dissipated, he found a sword suspended beside his neck.

A very long sword with a red-black hilt and a mottled scabbard.

Looking forward, there was a person holding the sword.

The flickering lights in the carriage made this scene even more unreal.
Most of Liang Shu’s face was hidden in the shadows.
His pupils were lighter than ordinary people’s, like some kind of ferocious sand beast, and although he was dressed in fine clothing, Liu Xian’an was still keenly aware of the murderous aura on the other’s body.
It had soaked in the battlefield for many years, wrapped in the rough wind and sand from the Northwest, so bloody that no amount of thick sandalwood could suppress it.

“……Your Royal Highness.”

Liu Xian’an withdrew his gaze, and was about to stand up and salute, but the carriage coincidentally bumped again.
Liang Shu used the hilt of his sword once more to push back the man staggering toward him: “Sit down.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Liu Xian’an held onto the armrest.
He didn’t quite understand why no one had informed him of their departure, and also, did the prince not prepare another carriage? Why did he crowd into this one, and where did his servant go?

Liang Shu’s world did not exist in the Three Thousand Avenues of Second Young Master Liu, so he was confused for a moment.
The two just sat opposite each other in the moving carriage, each of them silent.
Liu Xian’an couldn’t help but think of his uncle and aunt who had seemed to be in perfect harmony during the family dinner on New Year’s Eve last year, but planned to split up after the family property was divided.


Liang Shu was in no hurry.
There was still at least ten days’ journey from Baihe City to Fuhu Mountain, and he had plenty of time to leisurely relieve his boredom.

Just because the other party chatted in a teahouse, he took the person away by force.
This kind of behavior could not be considered good, but His Royal Highness Xiao Wang  had been doing bad things since he was a child.
Those white-bearded veterans in the court still talked about the past with solemn and sorrowful expressions, so this trivial matter did not rank near the top.

The carriage continued on, swaying, creaking, and dim.

In this hypnotic environment, Liu Xian’an’s eyelids began to sink again and his head also bobbed forward from time to time, his whole body swaying.
Liang Shu glanced out the window and saw that the vehicle driving ahead had stopped at a tea shack by the side of the road, so he also got up and left the carriage.

Seeing this, the coachman pulled the reins: “Whoa —”

The horse’s hooves stopped on the spot, and the carriage still jumped forward a bit due to inertia.
Liang Shu heard a “bang” from inside the carriage, as expected, and then the sound of someone gasping for breath.

“Yo, Young Master!” The coachman hurried in to help him up.
“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Liu Xian’an’s forehead was very red, and he didn’t understand how he had fallen into such a sprawl.
The coachman helped him out of the carriage and said, “Young Master, drink a cup of tea here and have a rest.”

Liang Shu had already stepped into the tea shack first, and when the servant boy saw the prince leaving, he ran over quickly and asked in astonishment: “Young Master,  what happened to your head?”

“I accidentally bumped it.” Liu Xian’an glanced around.
He saw that there were only three carriages parked on the mountain road and that there were not many soldiers in the tea shack, so he asked, “There are only these people?”

“When we first set off from the city, there were quite a lot of them.
Later, we divided them into different routes,” the boy servant said.
“Lieutenant General Gao said that the prince doesn’t want to make too much noise, so he wants to travel discreetly.”

Liu Xian’an asked again: “You have been with Lieutenant General Gao all this way, what else did he say?”

“Nothing more,” the boy replied truthfully.
“After he talked about traveling discreetly, Lieutenant General Gao asked me what my name was.
I said A-Ning, and he asked which Ning.
I just told him, nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, nothing is accomplished, this Ning,[2] the young master personally chose it for me.
And then Lieutenant General Gao didn’t speak again.”

Liu Xian’an patted his head: “If someone asks you again in the future, just say it’s the peaceful Ning.
Let’s go and take a rest.”


The two picked clean chairs and sat down.
Tea and food were already prepared on the table.
Naturally, there would not be any good things on the mountainside.
There was a big pot of rough tea and sesame seed cakes that were as hard as stones.
When fighting in the Northwest, this kind of food was considered the staple food of the army, and Gao Lin had long become accustomed to it.
But he felt that for a wealthy gongzi like Liu Xian’an, it would be impossible to swallow it, so he glanced at the next table in a good mood.

It was true that Liu Xian’an could not bite into it, but he didn’t toss it aside.
Instead, he broke off a piece and dipped it in tea, chewing it slowly.
The servant to the side also followed suit, eating in a polite manner.
The master and servant simply sat in the shade under mottled sunlight, and finished the two big cakes.

Lieutenant General Gao was dumbfounded, and even had doubts about the food at Biahe Village.
He thought it was possible that this group of people usually chewed dry medicinal herbs for their meals, so they could eat anything without objection.

Liang Shu also stared blankly.
He had only brought these people out for a bit of fun, and now that the fun was gone, he began looking for trouble: “Did this prince ever say that he wanted to rest here?”

Gao Lin was very wronged.
He had originally only arranged to drink tea and rest here.
Who insisted on eating and asked the stall owner to make a bunch of overnight cakes? In the end, he saw that Second Young Master Liu was quite happy to eat them.

In order to prevent his prince from continuing to find fault and make even more trouble, Gao Lin took the initiative to change the subject: “Do you want to stay in Xiaomian Village tonight? I’ll send someone to make preparations in advance.”

“No need.” Liang Shu set the teacup on the table.
“It is critical that we hurry, we can stay wherever.”

Gao Lin: “…….”

What did it mean to stay wherever? Aside from Xiaomian Village, this road was full of tall trees and deep forests.
It was difficult to even find a flat open space.
Eating hard cakes, sleeping in the woods, such methods of teasing were comparable to the four-year-old bear son of Old Zhao in the palace.
After being beaten up by a girl, he held back for three days and then pulled her hair out.
It could even be said that he yielded an astonishing profit.

Liang Shu glanced at him: “What are you thinking?”

Gao Lin shook his head: “I’m not, I’m not thinking about anything.”

After Liu Xian’an finished eating the sesame seed cakes, he was forcibly dragged out by his servant for a walk to digest the food.
The two of them stood together and rubbed their stomachs in circles.
Gao Lin had never seen this sort of authoritative health maintenance routine before, so he followed suit a few times, looking delighted.
A-Ning didn’t hold back his snicker, and Liu Xian’an also smiled.
When he did so, his appearance was remarkable.
Gao Lin said in a low voice: “Huh, no wonder the princess insisted on marrying him.”

Liang Shu declined to comment on the matter.
He strode out of the tea shack, mounted his horse, and said: “Let’s go!”

A-Ning helped Liu Xian’an into the carriage.
He planned to get acquainted with Lieutenant General Gao in the future and see if he could request a pony for the young master to ride, so that he could move around and not always go to sleep after eating.

Just as he was thinking this to himself, he turned around to find that Liu Xian’an had found a napping position again.


For Second Young Master Liu, it didn’t make much difference whether the prince or A-Ning was sitting in the carriage, because nobody could delay his dreams of flying birds and swimming fish.
He was soaring in the sky this time instead of in the void, entirely free and unchained.

He was very comfortable all the way until twilight fell.

The carriage stopped deep in the forest and four or five campfires were lit.
The food was better than at noon.
The guards went to hunt pheasants in the forest, which were roasted fragrant and oily in a short while, and there was also a large bag of sweet and sour wild fruits.

Gao Lin brought some food to A-Ning.
Seeing that he was in high spirits, looking around nonstop, he asked: “What are you looking at?”

A-Ning replied: “The woods.”

Gao Lin learned his lesson from the heavenly scriptures in the afternoon.
He didn’t continue to ask about the woods, but just gave a light nod to show politeness, so as not to bring shame on the palace.

Liu Xian’an was also gazing at the woods.
This was his first time sleeping outdoors.
The ancient trees were tall and dense, and the breeze was refreshing.
The scenery was as open and lofty as a painting.

The sages used the beauty of heaven and earth to realize the truth of all things.
Thinking about it, this situation should be the same.

He wrapped the blanket loosely around himself with a sigh, feeling very comfortable.

Gao Lin vaguely felt that his prince’s plan seemed to have failed again.

Because this young master didn’t seem to feel dissatisfied about sleeping in the forest.
On the contrary, he looked very comfortable.

Who could reason with him?

Liang Shu said: “If you continue to shake your head there, I’ll twist it off.”

Gao Lin’s neck immediately stiffened.
No shaking, no shaking.


Liang Shu closed his eyes again: “Someone is coming.”

Gao Lin stopped poking fun and took a long knife from a guard, turning to look at the other side.
After a while, there were indeed rustling footsteps and intermittent groans one after another in miserable pain.
In the setting of a wild forest deep at night, it was eerie, almost as if they were being haunted.

A-Ning quietly asked: “Young Master, by the sound of these voices, is someone injured?”

Liu Xian’an nodded: “Yes.”

A group of people emerged from the woods with a “crash.” They were dressed uniformly in black clothing, and should be from some escort bureau or martial arts sect.
Four of them carried a wounded man on a stretcher, and one who looked like the leader stepped forward to salute Gao Lin in a respectful manner: “This brother, if it is convenient, let us stay here tonight.
We really can’t find a good place elsewhere.”

“There is an open space nearby, help yourselves.
Don’t disturb my master.” Seeing that there was still some wild game on the fire, Gao Lin asked the guards to give them some.
The escort thanked him repeatedly and moved to the side to start a fire.
He tore up the roast meat, and added bread and water to make a bowl of meat paste, then fed the wounded man a few mouthfuls.

A-Ning stretched out his neck to look: “He is seriously injured.”

His body was covered in blood, his pupils were out of focus, and the sound coming from his chest sounded like someone pulling the bellows.
After the group of escorts finished eating, they dug out wound medicine from the luggage, uncorked the bottle, and tried to change his bandages.

A breeze blew past, and there was a faint, bittersweet scent in the air.

Liu Xian’an abruptly said: “That is poison.”

His voice was not loud, but it wasn’t low either.

There was a sudden silence all around.
The escort also stopped his movements and looked his way in astonishment.

Liang Shu raised his eyebrows slightly: “Poison?”

[1] Zhuang Zhou is an ancient Taoist author. ⮐

[2] The character “Ning” (宁) means peaceful/at peace, so I suppose Liu Xian’an’s interpretation of peace is this nihilistic version? ⮐

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