Mr. Lu Xun Really Didn't Lie to Me

Another world.

Outside the cave.

It was late, and because Her Highness the Princess insisted on waiting there, the captain and the head maid had no choice but to have people bring over tents and supplies to set up a simple camp.

The princess bowed. "My insistence has put you all to so much trouble. Thank you."

The captain waved a hand. "No, no, no, it was no trouble. Besides, it was also for..."

He trailed off, an awkward, complex expression on his face as he looked toward the cave entrance.

"So..." Captain Oswald asked, "How should we address that... Cathayan?"

Tina said seriously, "Kang De. His name is Kang De. You need only observe Goth's manners and conduct and address him as Mr. Kang De. As you spend time with him, give him the courtesy and respect appropriate to his strength, wealth, knowledge, and character. That will be enough."

The head maid frowned. "Is that all? But now that the ritual has taken effect, under Goth's laws, he is already..."

The princess sighed, cutting the head maid off.

"From what I have read in the histories, some of the disputes and hatred in this world come from irreconcilable demands and greed. Others begin with nothing more than minor disagreements and misunderstandings, with self-righteous arrogance and one-sided demands. Everyone, truly friendly communication is neither an art of language nor a matter of elaborate etiquette. It means considering things from the other person's perspective."

She looked at the head maid and the ship's officers and said softly, "In your eyes, I have indeed made an enormous sacrifice, and you are inclined to have Mr. Kang De bear the corresponding rights and obligations. That is understandable. But from Mr. Kang De's perspective, we are merely outsiders who suddenly arrived on the island. We then went through a series of conflicts that even escalated into a fight to the death, and the hostility between us has not been resolved."

"Under these circumstances, if you simply follow your own thinking, attach a title to him, impose an identity on him, and insist that he fulfill obligations that seem utterly inexplicable to him, offering him all manner of advice and demands, you will only provoke his resistance and resentment."

The reasoning was sound, but that did not make it easy to let go.

The captain slowly exhaled. "The advantage he's gained is simply too great. If word gets out, who knows how many young men in Goth and even the empire will go mad with jealousy..."

"Captain, everyone, my words may be a little discourteous."

The princess took a deep breath and said seriously, "Please forgive me, but allow me to emphasize one more thing: please, whatever you do, don't approach Mr. Kang De with that thought and feeling in mind. To put it bluntly, I was the one who offered him that advantage. He never asked me for it."

That was true.

The princess's decisive act had not protected both sides' lives; it had saved her own people's lives.

Even if she had not acted, given the situation at the time, Kang De and his animal companions would have killed everyone present, then used their advantageous terrain to maneuver and slowly wipe out everyone aboard the Penguin. Judging by the fighting power he and those animals had displayed, it would not have been too difficult.

He had no need at all for Her Highness to sacrifice herself.

So Tina was not wrong.

But... it was a painful thing to hear.

Blood began seeping through the bandages on Knight Cleveland's head again.

For him, who had sworn to protect the princess, today was the darkest and most humiliating day of his life.

He was supposed to be the sword and shield that protected the princess, yet this time, Her Highness had protected him.

"Knight Cleveland, please calm down."

Her Highness said, "I know you all feel aggrieved, and I know exactly what caused this. But what has happened has happened. There is no point in pursuing who was right and who was wrong. I know the conflict began because those animals abducted me, but this world was never a reasonable place to begin with."

"Those with power are the ones in the right."

She sighed softly. "Just as the empire won't listen to reason with us; they'll only use us. Just as the elves won't listen to reason with us; they'll only invade us... because they are stronger."

Everyone fell silent.

Her Highness's words were so true that they were frustrating and infuriating.

Yet there was nothing to be done.

If Goth had the strength, they would never have been stranded here, and how would the elves have dared cross its borders?

"All right, don't look so glum. Such a major conflict broke out, but we stopped it in time and prevented it from becoming an irreconcilable rift. As I see it, that's already a very good outcome."

Seeing everyone's spirits were low, the princess smiled and encouraged them. "There's more good news. From what I've observed, Mr. Kang De seems to be someone who can be reasoned with. That's a good thing too."

She counted off on her fingers. "So, to put our situation in business terms, we made a mistake and took a serious loss. At a time like this, a good merchant shouldn't blame heaven and earth. They should quickly accept reality and work to stop the losses..."

"Then secure a win-win outcome, amicably and peacefully, in a way that's easier to accept."

"So please trust me and leave it all to me. Follow what I just said about the position and principles we should take in dealing with Mr. Kang De. Please instruct everyone to make sure they do the same."

The princess patted her chest and gave a bright smile. "I should at least fetch a good price, shouldn't I?"

Prompted by the princess's smile and urging, the group went about their respective tasks, their minds weighed down with worries.

Only the princess and the knight remained there, watching the cave entrance.

Waiting for that person to come out.

The night wind whistled.

Suddenly, the knight said softly, "Your Highness, you actually... can't accept it either, can you?"

The princess became like a statue, frozen in place.

The knight did not look at her face.

That would have been discourteous.

He heard drops of liquid falling onto the grass.

A moment later, the princess spoke, her earlier cheerfulness gone.

She had only been pretending to be cheerful. When everyone else was aggrieved and downhearted, she had to keep her own feelings in check. Someone had to remain calm and rational.

"Of course... of course I can't accept it."

"I've guarded it all these years, and I've had so many fantasies, so many dreams. I never imagined it would turn out like this."

"But..."

The princess said quietly, "But for Goth, for Father, for my elder brother and sisters, for all our people fighting the elves, for everyone who sacrificed their lives along the way... this is no time for me to be heartbroken or throw a tantrum. I'm not a child anymore."

The knight stood in silence.

He seemed to have made a decision.

I will keep my oath. Your happiness is my happiness; your everything is my everything.

If a knight's loyalty and a knight's dignity came into conflict, the latter had to yield to the former.

Suddenly, the animals guarding the cave entrance stirred.

The two of them perked up.

"It seems we won't need to spend the night here,"

the knight said.

The gorilla and the others rushed into the cave together and began howling. The cave filled with the cries of all kinds of beasts. The parrot was shouting in Cathayan, which neither of them understood.

Then they heard Kang De laughing and scolding.

"It looks like Mr. Kang De has lived in the Holy Seal Archipelago for a long time..." the princess said softly. "Was he here all alone?"

The knight said, "I don't think so. How would a Cathayan end up in the Holy Seal Archipelago? And those weapons he used to fight... aren't things one person could make."

The princess seemed to recall something and turned to ask, "Knight, you once studied at the Tower of Omniscience. Have you ever heard of a Cathayan flag with a red background and five stars embroidered on it?"

Cleveland shook his head. "Forgive my limited knowledge, but from what I know of Cathay, those Easterners are more accustomed to writing their surnames on their flags."

Tina nodded gently. "I see."

When she had been abducted to that valley, she had seen many wondrous objects she did not recognize, as well as the flag flying high above. Its design was simple and clear, yet it seemed to contain some inexplicable power.

The wondrous animals, the mysterious altar, the flag she had never seen before, and Mr. Kang De.

This island was full of mysteries.

And starting today, it seemed she would be dealing with those mysteries for some time to come.

She saw Kang De emerge.

Animals were hanging all over him.

He wore a simple, unguarded smile. It was neither as holy as when they had first met nor as ferocious as it had been not long ago. It was human, cheerful and bright, yet tinged with a hint of hidden sorrow.

Like someone who had worries on his mind but remained optimistic.

"I knew you lot were no ordinary animals... why are you playing dumb now? I'm telling you, I'm still completely lost. What is this place? What? You want me to put on a show? Like hell I will. What else are you hiding from me? Come on, out with it. I'm telling you..."

Kang De chattered on at his animal companions.

When he walked out of the cave, he saw two people standing not far away.

Those two people from another world.

A handsome bastard and a beauty.

The great matters of life are killing and fucking. Mr. Lu Xun really didn't lie to me.

He had nearly killed one of them and nearly fucked the other. How fantastical.

Kang De stood where he was, his expression somewhat complicated.

After all this time, and after what had happened with his cheat, he had calmed down. He certainly no longer wanted to start killing anyone, and the people opposite him did not look like they wanted to keep fighting either.

Besides, he had a vague feeling that his awakening this cheat was not only inseparable from the strange altar below, but also surely connected to the magic array Tina had lit up earlier.

The other side had given him such a great gift; it would hardly be decent to attack them again.

But something still stuck in his heart like a thorn.

After all, they had been fighting to the death not long ago.

After all, he had nearly died at the hands of these natives.

For a moment, he did not know what to say.

Tina and Cleveland looked at Kang De too.

The atmosphere was a little awkward.

The Cathayan seemed to be wearing a stern face, and Tina did not know how to begin either.

Suddenly, Cleveland strode forward.

Tina was startled. "Knight..."

Seeing him approach, Kang De tensed up too. The man had shouted at him earlier and struck hard, so naturally he had to be on guard.

Unexpectedly, Cleveland came up to him and bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry."

His voice was low.

Kang De could now understand his language.

"I have asked Her Highness the Princess about everything that happened. You treated her with the utmost gentlemanly courtesy, ensured her safety, and did nothing to force her. I also saw the gifts you left at the scene."

He said slowly, "You came with goodwill, yet we responded with violence without asking why you were there. From your perspective, our conduct was extremely discourteous and crude. I offer you my sincerest apologies, and ask that you forgive our anxiety and anger at the time. After all, we had nearly lost the mistress to whom we have pledged our loyalty and whom we follow."

The knight spoke with a measured cadence and a very aristocratic manner. Kang De had only just learned a foreign language and had a hard time following him—but he understood, including the apology.

Come to think of it, the cause of all this was...

He turned to look at the magical animals.

Some of the animals walked to one side as though nothing had happened, while others looked at the pigeon.

The small band of outlaws led by the pigeon gave him wildly unrestrained, chaotic evil grins.

Kang De sighed.

"Come to think of it, it's these little beasts' fault. They've gotten used to running wild on the island, bullying small animals every day... I apologize to you on their behalf too. Please don't hold it against them."

Kang De paused, then said cautiously, "Um, sorry, I hit you a little too hard..."

At his words, the knight felt a dull ache in his head again.

It really had been a little too hard...

All he could say was, "It's all right. Under those circumstances, you had no need to hold back."

And so the conversation stalled again.

Watching the two men look at each other in silence, Tina suddenly found it a little amusing.

Her mood improved a little too.

She could not help recalling when she had first met Kang De: his smile, his purity, the Coca-Cola and Lay's potato chips he had brought out, and the other delicious things.

Watching the scene before her as the cool night breeze drifted past, Tina suddenly felt that perhaps what had happened today was not so terrible after all...

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PS1: Damn it, I said I was going to keep the word count under control, but this chapter is nearly four thousand Chinese characters again. Why can't I stop my hands?