In the end, with much reluctance, Ye Cheng and Tang Muxin brought the men to the inn they were staying at. They didn't know if it was from the embarrassment or the injuries but the pair of unfortunate men had passed out the moment they reached the threshold of the inn, becoming dead weight that required some good Samaritans to help them with.
Tang Muxin was naturally the most reluctant to bring the pair in apart from Da Gong. She didn't trust people easily and is naturally a wary person given her upbringing. Jin Bao by virtue of being a fellow transmigrator who was in a weaker position made it easier for her to feel close to, and Ye Cheng was vouched by Jin Bao.
She was happy with this small group of friends that she had somehow been integrated into. Ye Cheng was kind, simple and sunny. Jin Bao was a bit strange but he was funny, insightful and weirdly cute albeit exasperating at times with some of the thoughts in his head. Da Gong was domineering and a little intimidating but had accepted her a little as a rival where they would often compete in silly races that made her feel childish yet giddy.
Tang Muxin had never had real friends before. Now that she had some she wasn't willing to take the chance of altering the relationship dynamic by introducing two random strangers. Even when Jin Bao told her that these were plot characters, she didn't really want to agree. She was a little curious sure, but it wasn't like she had planned to get involved with the plot in any way anyway.
It was only after seeing Ye Cheng, this kindhearted idiot, who had noticed the men's injuries and unhesitatingly knelt down to check on the extent of them, did Tang Muxin stop herself from saying anything.
Ye Cheng was too nice. He would even help the person who had scarred him both mentally and physically much less strangers in need. If she said anything she was afraid that he wouldn't want to be friendly toward her anymore.
…Loneliness is so much colder after experiencing warmth.
Luckily, Ye Cheng may be a typical bleeding heart, but he's still sterner toward humans than animals. Though he trusted Da Gong's intuition, he wasn't stupid enough to bring back two strangers blindly. After dumping them into the hotel room he clumsily wrote a message for them in case they woke up and left to gather information.
Tang Muxin followed along and was surprised by just how large Ye Cheng's network was. Maybe it was because he was very familiar with the village but it was still impressive how willing everyone was to answer his questions. As an ex-super spy slash assassin slash doctor she had experienced various ways to gain information.
Secrets were secrets because no one wants to talk about them and sometimes even easy to answer questions could be a hassle to pull out from people's mouths. Sometimes it's due to being threatened by someone, sometimes they have their own secrets indirectly related to the revelation of another such as seeing the murderer's face while out with a mistress, and most of the time it's just unwillingness and lack of trust.
However Ye Cheng with his naturally friendly and chatty disposition made people feel comfortable and relaxed. Not to mention his appearance was good and not in the intimidating way, a very simple, handsome fellow, making one naturally feel a good impression toward him. Even strangers and passing travelers were willing to spare a few words and thoughts.
It took just over an hour but Ye Cheng managed to piece together some basic information. The two men didn't travel together but by themselves. They were quiet and uncommunicative people but generous with money.
A few people saw the larger man speak with a blind man two days ago who had been sitting by the roadside for the past few weeks asking for donations. The smaller man had also been seen walking toward that direction around a similar time. Later on a commotion in the marketplace was held in the early morning, though only sounds were heard as people were afraid to witness anything that could cause them to be silenced by others. The blind man is also currently missing and no one has seen him since then.
Ye Cheng didn't need much more to understand these people weren't simple. Tang Muxin who already knew their identities felt relief when she saw Ye Cheng furrow his brows after piecing together the clues they could gather in this short time.
"We should leave them," She asserts, seeing that Ye Cheng might be more receptive to her ideas, "They're dangerous, I…" Tang Muxin hesitates before honestly admitting, "I don't want them to ruin our, ah, our adventure." She immediantly flushes, feeling she was acting too childish and her wording was even more so.
Ye Cheng chuckles and pats her on the head. Even though his body instinctively breaks out into chills and goosebumps from touching her- one of the many remnants of his trauma toward the girl- Tang Muxin was acting too cute! As a man who loves animals and is weak to weakness, he has trouble denying the urge to soothe the wounded appearance of a soft baby faced person.
"You ah," he says a bit helplessly, "did you learn how to sell meng from Xiao Bang? Of course we won't let them leech off on us the whole trip. However they're injured and nobody seems to be looking for them right now. They don't seem to have any valuables and might not be able to survive unless we help them. Can you really be okay knowing that?"
Tang Muxin, a super assassin who has actively killed many people and is totally fine with letting them die: '...'
Ah, it's a pity that Ye Cheng was such a sugary cinnamon-bun. She really didn't deserve this man as a friend much less anything more. If he wasn't so soft and their history wasn't so awful they probably could have made a beautiful couple ah.
With this basic information at hand they went to go buy some groceries and snacks for everyone. It was cheaper than inn food and Xiao Ban-Jin Bao vehemently insists on eating only Tang Muxin's cooking.
Currently they had many small treasures thanks to Tang Muxin's protagonist halo but the best thing to do right now was to keep it until they reached the more populated and upscale towns and city areas to fetch a bigger price. In short, they couldn't afford to splurge lest they become beggars halfway through the journey.
More importantly... what Jin Bao demands, Da Gong always backs him up.
Tang Muxin sighs with a mixture of fondness and tired exasperation, she also wants a domineering golden thigh too ah.
…
Meanwhile in the inn, General Duan Mengyao was the first one to recover consciousness. Jia Hyson, who had stayed behind to watch over with Da Gong, felt this made sense. After all, his wounds were lighter and Duan Mengyao's character is meant to be the type of invincible military general that can slaughter an army with the power of love. The eighth prince on the other hand is meant to be more on the intellectual scholarly type, though clearly he had enough martial artist prowess that he could go on secret missions or whatever.
Bebe: 'You keep referring to the eighth prince as the eighth prince… do you not know his name?'
Jia Hyson: '…' He doesn't even remember what he had for lunch yesterday, why would he bother to remember this guy ah?
Bebe: '….' Right, what was Bebe thinking? That spicy chicken host doesn't even remember what he had for lunch yesterday, why would he bother to remember this guy ah?
To be fair, the eighth prince was mainly referred to as thus for most of the story and even then he was mentioned rarely. It wasn't that surprising Jia Hyson couldn't recall it.
Jia Hyson: 'So?'
Bebe: 'Hm?'
Jia Hyson: 'The name, what's his name?'
Bebe: '….'
Jia Hyson: '..You don't remember do you. Aren't you supposed to be a system made with the highest level of technology?'
Bebe: 'Shut up and give me a second! Who told the guy to be so forgettable?'
The forgettable Eighth Prince Huizhong: '...….'(¬_¬) Sorry I'm so hard to remember.
Seeing that the general was about to wake up Jia Hyson was very interested to see his response. After all, according to the plot, the general should have gotten amnesia ah. Jia Hyson was interested to see if the typical 'Who are you? Who am I?' line will naturally come from a newborn amnesiac like in the movies. The story didn't describe the exact scene so there shouldn't be any scripted dialogue here.
Only Song Chuntao saw Zheng Jinhai when he first woke with amnesia. Even though at the time she was worried half to death later on over some drinks she had later confessed that it was a little funny thinking back on it. Zheng Jinhai's face at the time looked very stupid since he had regressed into a child and had immediately burst into tears, begging this fairy sister not to send him to heaven.
Jia Hyson felt regretful that he wasn't there and even though Bebe hacked the hospital surveillance cameras, the quality wasn't good and the angle was even worse. No good video could have been made. Though he still did the best he could and put the clip into their, Song Chuntao and Zheng Jinhai's, wedding slideshow ah. Because that's what friends are for.
Zheng Jinhai: '...' Even after death my sole regret is somehow being tricked into being friends with Prince Farrell and letting him into his wedding.
Unfortunately, just like his character in the story, the general's reaction was very dull. Silent and slow, the general scanned the room and blinked a few times. Jia Hyson clicked his tongue annoyed. If this guy is going to be like that the whole time he may have to think of a way to kick him out of the story.
We can have good people, we can have bad people, we can have terrible people, the worst human scum on the planet even, but the one thing readers will not stand in a story is boring people. When writing a story there are three original sins. Awful, incoherent grammar, disgustingly stupid plot holes and finally, boredom.
Any of these three things will easily cause the overall reader satisfaction to drop by at least half.
A boring character is okay if the boring character is playing a 'straight man' in a plot full of weirdos. This will give people a sense of relatability to a character and his normal responses of disbelief to the abnormal situations presented.
However this story is written fairly realistically and even blandly in term of characters. Tang Muxin is the only one really talked about and most of the description was practically variations of 'overpowered, talented, cold beauty.' The rest were there to react to her 'overpowered, talented, cold beauty' and be two dimensional and ready to be thrown away once the author wanted Tang Muxin to do other shit.
Right now Tang Muxin is, frankly, still a bit cliche. While she's a touch warmer in personality now than the original story, she is still a very reserved, quiet character with her most amusing side currently only shown when responding to Jia Hyson's silliness and Da Gong's overbearing president acts. Ye Cheng is also relatively normal with his selling point being his chatty, sunny, kind personality and softhearted love for animals. He serves nicely as the summer to Tang Muxin's winter.
Overall Jia Hyson is satisfied with their small main cast so far but unfortunately as a story set in ancient times, it's very difficult to keep the cast small. The biggest problem with these types of things is having many forgettable yet important people that literally no one can keep track of, nor want to for that matter. It's best to find a few key people who will not only serve as good allies and enemies but as good characters.
Jia Hyson who was sitting on the bedside table clicked his tongue as he surveyed the goods critically. This is a potential supporting male lead after all, there had to be some good selling points other than military value and his strong, silent personality.
Body? Pretty good, very muscular with large chest and bulging muscles exploding with masculinity. Hair? Eh, nothing to write home about but it's weirdly silky looking given he's meant to be a macho steel straight army man. Face? Handsome but to be honest it's not striking or anything. If Jia Hyson could describe it, it's the sort of handsome that will make you double take if you walked by him on the street but you probably won't verbalise your appreciation with anything that enthusiastic like a wolf whistle or a 'damn, he fine.' Personality? Currently not enough information but seems to be lacking a lot.
In conclusion Jia Hyson can only rate him as a tentative 65. In terms of looks he's above average but definitely no honor student, and his personality seems dull and cliche. His status is also neither high nor low.
More importantly, while his Meng family may not be troubled or full of cheap relatives, there were many men with military achievements and titles and honestly, those were very confusing to write and read about as a modern person.
Jia Hyson clicked his tongue again. No one likes to spend effort in understanding something they don't really care about.
'So what do you want to do host?' Bebe asks curiously. While they like to bicker with each other, when it came to work Bebe knew how to be restrained and respectful. After all, if Bebe understood these sort of concepts there would be no need for a host in the first place ah.
'Catch and release probably.' Jia Hyson decides. 'We'll keep him around for a few months until he gains his memory back then release him to the wild. At best he ends up more interesting than assumed and we can find ways to meet with him occasionally, at worst we forget about him and maybe he'll come back during the later arcs to help solve a problem for us out of gratitude. We'll put more effort on the eighth prince who is more mysterious and villainous.'
Jia Hyson clicks his tongue in thought once more. Then again. Click, click, click. It really sounded like your typical house gecko.
Naturally the general heard it and turned to the side to see a skinny noodle like golden lizard staring at him with faint disdain.
"Click."
General: '...'
He looks down to see a big fat black rooster staring up at him with much more vivid disdain.
"Cluck."
The small reptile and the large fowl looked at each other with tacit understanding before staring back at the general. Even though they were just animals, he could have sworn he saw amusement in their eyes.
"Click."
Jia Hyson looks expectantly at Da Gong.
"Cluck."
Da Gong tilts his head dotingly at his worm.
"Click."
Jia Hyson's sharp milk teeth flash in childish amusement.
"Cluck."
Da Gong, bemused at how silly his worm is couldn't help but indulge him and play this inane little game.
"Click."
"Cluck."
"Click."
"Cluck."
"Click."
"Cluck."
"Click." "Cluck." "Click." "Cluck.""Click.""Cluck.""Click.""Cluck."
"Click cluck click cluck click cluck click cluck click cluck!"
The Ignored General: '.....' You guys are having fun huh?
The eight prince who woke up from the noise: '....' What the fuck is happening and why did I dream that I was bent over in an alleyway by a lizard chicken?
General Duan Mengyao and Eighth Prince Huizhong both blearily stare at the happy pair of animals and inexplicably couldn't help but feel a swelling of shame and irritation looking at them. They weren't sure why, but their instincts seemed to tell them these two creatures were responsible for their previous shameful state that they were aware they were in before fainting again.
Jia Hyson however looks back and forth at them and chirps in faint surprise.
They both have black eyes! Σ(･口･)
Ah, could it be-?
Quickly though, he squashes his faint expectation, scolding himself for his eagerness. There are only three signs Jia Hyson knows so far that can help him determine a shard piece of the Bipolar Prince, if they have silver eyes, if they have heterochromatic eyes of black and silver or if they have black eyes.
The former two options are very rare unless the world is set in a fantasy type setting but the latter….
Black eyes are pretty much the default colour for any important character. Even more so if they're asian or in a modern slash historical setting.
General Duan Mengyao is a supporting male lead at minimum and Eighth Prince Huizhong is a villain. It was pretty obvious they would have black eyes. The only way a supporting character didn't have black or typical brown eyes was if the author had given them a mixed blood lineage and even then there's only so much you can do with it.
Honestly, anybody who would immediately assume that somebody is X person because of a single physical trait must be stupid and naive ah. And people who will immediately lower all their barriers and fall in love with X person solely because they discovered they carried that one physical trait and despite being completely different to the original personality they fell in love with, is a ret*rd in his opinion.
That sort of love always feels more like the love for the idea of a person rather than the person themselves. Those situations where a quick transmigration protagonist will grumble about how if it wasn't that this person is the reincarnation slash same soul slash soul fragment of X they would have never wanted to deal with them or they would have just beat the current person up because he's such a fuck…. Jia Hyson finds it humorous but he would hardly find it romantic. To him at least, that sort of attitude… While it may not be considered a fake love it certainly is a forced one.
If Jia Hyson finds the other person he will find him. If he likes him he will like him. If he doesn't, he doesn't. The past may help improve his current impression of the shard's identity in this world but thats all. People will be different every time, it's impossible to love all variations. Leave it to fate and go with the flow.
Besides, he has his Da Gong by his side anyway. (´,,•ω•,,)♡
Da Gong: (,,��⊝ಠ,,) ♡
Still, no matter how he chided himself it was a bit hard to ignore the small bit of disappointment and anxiety. It's like having a preference for hazelnut flavored custard in your cream puff but in the large box of cream puffs there's only on hazelnut one and the rest are all chocolate or coffee or mocha flavored cream puffs, and you're only allowed to take one. From the outside they all look the same and it's impossible to tell which is which until you have a bite out of it and by then it's not like you can put the cream puffs back. That's gross.
This metaphor stopped working near the end but one generally gets the gist of it.
'The systems in research and development are currently working on a way to identify the shards host, don't worry,' Bebe assures. 'It's not just you that has a vested interest in this mystery after all.'
Jia Hyson's anxiety eases a little. That's right. Even though he and Bebe doesn't have a lot of information, it's easy to tell that the reemergence of a previously thought to be dead Royal system is something many systems would be wanting to investigate. While this news isn't released to the public, the ones in the know must be very excited. There were only so many Royal systems and from the sounds of it, quite a few have been destroyed due to various reasons that Jia Hyson currently isn't allowed to know. So a secret research project had been established during Jia Hyson's third world mission to look into this topic with Bebe helping supply information as they go.
It's a pity the device isn't finished though. A royal system is considered 'royal' for a reason after all ah.
As a basic system upgrades to an advanced system the amount of information, abilities and spiritual energy it can store increases by at least five fold. The complexity of it's data increases and the personality becomes more refined. As you go up tiers, from Overseer level systems to Nobles this improvement goes up exponentially. Then from Nobles to Royals… the gap is like between heaven and earth. They are able to do things other systems are simply incapable of.
If a royal system didn't want to be found there was a reason why they haven't been found. Jia Hyson somehow acquiring the shards could only be attributed to luck really.
Da Gong watches as his worm looks back and forth at these two things and regrets allowing his humans to bring them to their temporary nest. It's okay to look once or twice, they were very unslightly to look at after all, it can't be helped but too many times was not okay!
The unslightly general and eighth prince: '...'
They gazed at the rooster with unfriendly faces. Even though it was just a rooster they couldn't help but feel like it was disdaining them.
General Duan Mengyao may have lost his memories but he hasn't lost that ingrained hatred pride of a soldier and the demeanor of a noble. Of course he would still be uncomfortable with being looked down on by an animal.
The eighth prince Huizhong who did have his memories felt it was even more unacceptable. He was a prince after all! An unfavored prince but royalty nonetheless. Plus as an ally of the crown prince his standing is actually fairly good for the past few years and his arrogance hasn't yet been beaten down by his years as a crippled beggar.
However even though he has escaped his original tragic situation, his fate as a cripple could not be avoided.
As he was about to get up to shoo the chicken, Eighth Prince Huizhong's face turned pale and ugly.
He couldn't... he couldn't feel his legs!
Even though he was still injured and weak, the fear and anxiety had gripped him so tightly that a burst of energy sprung forth inside him. The eighth prince trembling pulled off the blanket in one rushed moment and pulled up his ripped pant legs before howling aghast.
The General who had lost his memories couldn't help but gasp at the tragic sight.
Jia Hyson took a peek at the mangled looking bloodied limbs before wincing. Now he felt bad for playing around with him from before.
Even Da Gong couldn't cluck at such a terrible injury.
Jia Hyson looked at the horrified General and felt this man's original personality might be more than he seems. A dull, straightforward righteous military character wouldn't have caused such sadistic wounds.
Needless to say, the Eighth Prince's legs were really awful. Even though it wasn't a long distance to the inn, it was impressive that the man could've have stood on them much less walked any distance. Then again, the prince was used to abuse in his childhood and could have attributed the pain and nausea to his overall state and ignored the warning signs his legs were blaring at him, further ruining his chances at recuperation.
Jia Hyson had always assumed there would be the typical 'the crippled villain stands up and shocks the crowd, turns out he had recovered long ago and was faking it in order to be the tiger playing the pig,' but now he wasn't sure.
Those legs seem pretty damn ruined ah.
Bebe: *vomits*
Jia Hyson: 'You are a weak ass bitch you know that Bebe?' Sure it's disturbing and uncomfortable to look at but he had once ripped a guy in half with his hair okay? You would think a system would get used to it ah.
Bebe: 'Sh-shut up! Bebe is a delicate flower on an untouched snowy mountain cliff that refuses to be ruined by such cruelties of the world!' *continues vomiting*
Jia Hyson: '.....I'm sorry I have to check the dictionary to understand your nonsense. Let's see... ah, I understand, basically, you're just a. Weak. Ass. Bitch.'
Bebe: 'Roll!'
Jia Hyson: 'You roll first!' Delicate flower on an untouched snowy mountain cliff my tail!
Meanwhile the eight prince was having a very serious mental breakdown. He had never had a good life. At a young age his intelligence made it easy for him to comprehend exactly how unfair his treatment was compared to the other princes and princesses. Even the servants and eunuchs didn't respect him and went out of their way to humiliate and beat him in private.
However he had never truly given up. Ignoring the bullying and jeering the eighth prince had studied hard in order to gain some worth in this ruthless place and put down his face in order to flatter whoever was useful. He had even secretly learnt martial arts, spying on his brothers' lessons, laying on the dirt behind the walls like a worm and relentlessly practicing until his limbs went numb from exertion.
Finally the crown prince who had always shown him the minimum attitude of cordial respect and brotherhood picked him up and let him ascend the ranks. Huizhong had been moved and flattered by this attitude. He never resented that the crown prince didn't go out of his way to help him when he was weakest, he understood that such behaviour is inefficient. Kindness is given when the effort to exert it is less than the benefits gained. It is a privilege that only the useful, loved and worthy can wield.
That's why the eighth prince strove to do his best to aid the crown prince, to show that he is worth the kindness and respect given. That his prestige, unlike their stupid, spoilt siblings, was carved from his own bloodied hands and tireless work. To prove that he is somebody also destined for greatness. Deserving of living despite his shameful background.
And look where that got him.
Used.
Thrown away.
Crippled.
His dark eyes were filled with malice and hatred. The crown prince who betrayed him. The general who crippled him. The palace who mocked him. Everybody who looked down on him. The ungrateful, ignorant masses who see him not for his successes and merits but only that he is an unwanted bastard and will treat his disappearance as a blessing of heaven.
He will make them all pay one by one, a thousand fold.