The man folded his legs and put the pipe between his lips. His chest elevated and his shoulders ran broad, closing his eyes he went on, "I am all ears! We will start with your story. I hope it convinces me."
Chaoxiang bit his lip, squeezing his fists, unlike him was the prince. He was flustered and obviously, he could say that the young royal was enjoying the moment with this unnerving man.
'Intriguing man, the way he was skipping his eyes off the bracelet was fantastic, why did it come to his attention then?' The prince was confident that this man got some useful clues.
"The deal is accepted, as you said I am an uninvited guest." Bringing his hand up, he continued, "Two winters ago, we caught the road robbers near our borders and some goods were with them, getting back to our station, that night, we checked the goods and this bracelet turned into a snake and tightened over my wrist."
The man opened his eyes, there was no tinge of amusement or mockery on his face, anymore. Unlike it was nervousness.
"What is your curse?"
The prince's face darkened, ascertained that the old man knew about this bracelet's magical power, the element that even the princess had no idea was magical. Breathtakingly powerful to make a kingdom upside down.
"Two things can ruin a man; do you know them, master Qin?"
The old man looked away, blowing out a pack of smoke."You tell me."
"Cupidity and lust." The prince answered.
Master Qin was peering at the dark, the king of Di must be taken pride in his son. He had raised a well-born king. He was now sitting in front of a man who would become a great King if he could overcome destiny's challenge.
"Ma'am is the witch who made the twin bracelets with powerful magic, but if you need my help and it is related to the Feng family, I must know everything. Master Feng was my dear friend and seeing him being drenched in his wife's blood was always my suffering."
Prince Wu Xiuying nodded, satisfyingly, the prince just wanted to be certain that this man was the help he needed. But he was talking about twin bracelets, where was the other one while he only had one and 85 days left until he would wholly transform into a girl shape.
"I must find the witch, and as I discovered, the road robbers had caught her and there is no news of them in the past six months ago."
"It is not negligible; I also saw her six months ago and she was the departure of Di's reign. Saying that something had run beyond her will!"
"It means that if we knew this six months ago, the curse was broken by now!" Chaoxiang brought it up.
From now onward, the goal will be the witch, and the princess has no choice but to follow this motive.
"I can't live in the body of a woman for the rest of my life."
The prince stood up, keeping his arms behind him, he walked to the full-length window where the glowing moon's reflection was dancing on the water's surface.
"I see, the curse is alluring!" the man stood up and while caressing his long white beard walked to the prince. Nearing him, Chaoxiang dashed beside the prince. His highness had gone through too much lately and hearing about the other pair of bracelets had devastated him. Although he was pretending to be tough, he knew how broken he was inward. Hope had become a mulish flying bird that was aiming to suck the life out of their nerves.
"Ah, stop being insecure, I'm a fragile old man that a simple breeze can shatter."
Behind the mask, only his bared teeth and a pair of piercing gazes were visible that had no intention to draw back from dangerous terms.
"Where do you stay?"
"In the castle, as the princess's maid, I realized that this bracelet belongs to her…"
"Now it is more incredible!"
The prince proceeded and told the man his story and waited for master Qin to begin his story. Without asking for it, the man went on.
"Like what I mentioned before Master Feng was my dear friend and not just only that. His unique fabrics were weaved with the machines he designed. The threads were coming from the pieces of cotton from his farms and high-quality pupa.
Now if you go there, you will realize from the troops of butterflies that the flatter of their wings sings of the missing master." His complexion contorted and drove murky.
Summoning the memories, the morning he heard the news. They went there with the detectives as he was supposed to explain to the mother Queen; that what had occurred to this family had caused ruining damage to the whole Mei kingdom. A severing prejudice landed on their field with the color of blood.
"After the Mother Queen's death, the case was left in a corner being fed by the dust. I began to beg for reviving it but when I was close to it, they sent assassins after me."
The prince's eyes rolled on him, taking out the pendent, he asked, "Did the assassin have such a badge on his sword!"
The old man nodded, "I saw the man you followed. There is a deserted castle in the Da mountains. No man can survive there but this group has been training there since a young age."
"Were you working on the case during this time?"
The man nodded, "yes, years later as a dead man, I helped the late young Queen to find out which royal was behind it! It was the first minister, the Late King's cousin."
He took a deep breath, and added, "The Late Queen offered ten clues that I gathered for her and the minister was executed by poison, and the nobility tile was taken from his whole family and the King didn't let them be in the court not were eligible to take a serious position."
"Why did they kill the Feng family?"
"As I realized, master Feng had clues against him, the minister was working with smugglers overseas. They were bringing low-quality metals and forged them to make weapons and replaced them with our high-quality ones." He took a deep breath and continued.
"And kept the high-quality ones to use and conducting an army to take the throne. He was the biggest son of the third King Mei so it was obvious that he imagined it was his right."
"Someone is avenging and they want to use the road robbers and the witch."
The prince's heart shivered; he was in the middle of the battlefield that he had no inkling.
"Use? They lead them, and they work out of a deep dark rooted utilization."
"Your highness, I can go and check if the witch is in Da mountain," Chaoxiang stated, he would give his life not to let his prince get involved in family affairs.
"I'll become your strength and sword, but you must come to the castle." The prince refused his captain. His life mattered more than anyone in this land, Chaoxiang could not become a shield and leave him.
"Fifteen years had lasted since I died in their perspective. Years, I played the role of a dead man in the shadows."
The princess was looking for this man, why not him go there on his own, using the attack as an excuse.
"Use her safety as your priority, join the princess."
The old man nodded, he had a strong dedication to the Late young Queen and her Mother Queen for helping him, and he was obligated to his vows.
"I will meet you tomorrow."
The princes nodded, weaving plans to survive this situation was something he couldn't let go of.
"I will help you find the other pair of the bracelet." The man indicated.
"Don't you know who is using Feng's family badge?"
Chaoxiang asked.
"A hustler, I am sure they use it as a distraction. It will dirty Feng's family background. I made this job half-done, and I won't die until I finish it."
The prince was jealous now, what a strong tie that even after their death remained strong, it was hard to find loyal people nowadays. All the obstructions must go out of his way and this man might want to go in Di land with him.
"Tomorrow, come to the back garden after being verified, ask for Li Shu, the princess maiden. Set a plan to stay with us in one place."
The old man bobbed his head, "is it you?"
"Yes, you must note that if you uncover my secret, it doesn't matter what, I will make sure your land will suffer." The prince had nice manners, but his face darkened while being calm, his eyes could prove how serious he was.
"I am everything but a betrayal to my vows, I live a life without lust and greed."