She gently put down the teacup, then said, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Tian Miao. The boss of this shop. You can call me Boss Tian. So, have you now made up your mind? Oh, fated one. Do you need to buy a wish? What is your wish?"
"Yes, I need to! I wish to buy a wish! My wish is… is..." The Prince of Virtue raised his voice and said with a note of absolute certainty, "My wish is that an expert will help me to take back my kingdom."
"As you… wish." Tian Miao's voice was no longer languid and lazy, but airy and slow. This voice was like the cold moonlight that subtly blended into the silent mountain valley, and even more, it seemed to ring inside the Prince of Virtue's heart, striking against its unsettled walls.
...
When the door closed behind him once again, the Prince of Virtue stood outside with a dazed look on his face, his mind completely blank. He was hugging a large vase in his arms. When he said that the vase was large, he meant that the vase was literally really large, for it was almost half as tall as he was. The pattern on the vase seemed to be that of a wild beast. But he was in no mood to try and identify what kind of beast it was. His was still entirely in a state of confusion.
After giving him the large vase, that woman named Tian Miao had gotten the man named Dong Xiao to escort him to the door and out of the shop. Then the door had been shut with a clang.
What about the wish that was promised to be sold to him?
What was the connection between giving him a large vase and fulfilling his wish?
He finally recollected his thoughts and suddenly, all he could see were alternating bouts of bright flashes and darkness.
The Prince of Virtue, holding the large vase, suddenly turned back and was startled to find that the store was gone. That bright lamp, of course, was gone as well. And so, the surroundings gradually dimmed into darkness. But the next moment, it gradually brightened again, for those hunters with their fire torches had surrounded him.
There was no way for him to retreat, and no longer anyone left to protect him.
He slowly closed his eyes and let out a gentle sigh. The next moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, and this time, his eyes were filled with determination.
Even though there was nowhere for him to retreat, he was still the same old proud and unyielding prince.
At that moment, as they looked at his straight, upright figure, as well as his ice-cold eyes, the crowd stopped short in their tracks and no longer advanced forward. For no apparent reason, they all felt fear rise within their hearts.
Why were they so fearful? The man standing in front of them wasn't fearful at all. He was merely a prince who had used to live a life of luxury and idleness but was now at the end of his rope.
The leader of the pack saw how the crowd was growing apprehensive and fearful and was very annoyed by it. The rage he felt made him shout aloud, "Go, all of you, attack. Don't forget, whoever gets the head on that neck will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold!"
The moment they heard these words, these people could no longer care about that hint of fear in their hearts. One by one, they raised the swords in their hands, charged toward the Prince of Virtue, and slashed their weapons in the face of the Prince of Virtue. All of them wanted to get their hands on this man's head, which was worth ten thousand taels of gold.
The Prince of Virtue's eyes were cold and calm as he looked at the people rushing toward him.
He thought about the great ambitions he still had but was no longer able to realize.
Although he knew that his head would roll the next instant, the Prince of Virtue didn't shut his eyes. He merely looked at everything that was unfolding before him with his pair of dark eyes.
This attitude made these people even more frightened. They roared at the top of their voices and put on a ferocious font to conceal their anxiety and fear.
A swift and fierce slicing sound resounded in the air, their murderous intentions shaking the heavens. The swords had reached him!
However, the next moment, which he had imagined would be an agonizing pain and a descent into darkness, didn't arrive. The Prince of Virtue could see it all clearly because he had kept his eyes open.
At that moment, as plain as day, he saw a scene that he would never forget his entire life.
The large vase in his hand heated up within an instant, and then, a frightening roar belonging to that of a beast-like creature resounded throughout the sky. It was deafening. A beam of golden light had also risen up to the sky, and it was so piercingly bright that it could make any onlooker's eyes throb with pain.