In the end… Jiang Li did not manage to shake off the persistent woman. And it made him wonder whether the binding power of the plot in this world was quite lax. If it was, then it was simply so d.a.m.nably… hateful.Throughout the journey, it was like he was stalked by several people wearing the same skin.
Did she say she only has three personalities within her? Excluding the main, one was a child, and the other, a student-like fellow who loved to compose and sing weird songs.
Bullsh*t!
There were five! Five freaky personalities!
By now, he even managed to memorize their names and their characteristics! Everyone else, apart from one, was very irritating and tiring to talk to. That exception was not Aliyah, the so-called main personality, but the mute who seemed uninterested in everything. Of course, she wouldn"t be that much irritating since she couldn"t speak nonsense for hours like the others.
He complained about it with the main personality. Yet the talk only ended with Aliyah crying about why her personality disorder order relapsed. She even started blaming him, claiming he must have done something to trigger the change. Just what the h.e.l.l…
He once told her, "Congrats. So far, you"re the only female lead who made me wish so fervently for your male lead to get you back."
The woman seemed tired of her own condition so she didn"t comment nor ask why he said she was the only female lead who made him wish that. Had she been more alert, she would have asked if he had encountered other female leads or if this world was also a setting for other novel stories.
Anyway, for three whole months, that Adam, was nowhere in sight….
Jiang Li was so annoyed that he started to think that male lead was not so competent after all…
Days replaced one another. Three months swiftly pa.s.sed by. After a not-so-smooth adventure thanks to a certain piece of baggage, he finally reached the real stage for his mission. Yet instead of heaving a sigh of happiness, Jiang Li only felt a bit of relief. Because he was finally where he should be.
Holon Kingdom. A kingdom rich in natural resources due to having many forests in its territory and bordering a sea at its east. The place had a moderate climate for it was one of the countries truly near the equators. The citizens from this kingdom never suffered from harsh winter or scorching summer. The six months of the rainy season helped in nouris.h.i.+ng many fields. So among the kingdoms, it was supposed to be one of the richest. Supposed… Because while it was blessed with resources and a good location, it never had a good leader…
"I heard that the monarchy is quite rotten in this kingdom," whispered softly to him by the woman as they pa.s.sed through the tall gate. Aliyah was the one taking over the body and she had some common sense to cover up herself in male clothing and large cloak.
Jiang Li nodded. He didn"t speak more as there were soldiers watching them.
They continued their conversation after entering the busy marketplace.
"Seeing how the number of beggars and poor in this kingdom is no different from those in a less favorable zone, it"s easy to see that the management here is not that remarkable. The location is superb, but it fell in the wrong hands. The current monarchy only has its sufficient military strength as its edge… The economy is only comparable to small kingdoms."
"I wonder why there"s no rebellion yet, or an attempt to usurp the throne from the Holon family," she said while looking around and at the same making sure she wouldn"t be left behind by the man.
She got a disdainful glance from her companion. "You"re not listening, aren"t you? Like I said, the royal family is not good in other places or barely competent in other areas of the government, but when it comes to military might, then they are quite the leader. There is a reason why this kingdom has not yet been invaded by other nations."
The girl first froze before showing a look of understanding. Then her expression turned awkward.
"I overestimated your intelligence."
"Sorry for being slow then," provoked by his scoff, she puffed her cheeks then harrumphed.
"I will probably stay here for quite some time. I don"t know about you. But if I may say, I really look forward to you separating from me."
"Why? You planning to scam someone again and you think I"m a liability in your plan?" This time it was her asking with a disdainful look put on her face.
Throughout their journey, she witnessed how he earned his money and food. The guy could have just worked in an honest way since he could truly sing and compose a poem. But he preferred the more "challenging" methods. Sometimes she just couldn"t help but wonder who taught him his three moral views.
"The people here are folks who believed in strength and military prowess the most. How about I bury a weapon in a mound or a hill somewhere. Then invent a legend and says to everyone I came across that I know the location of a legendary weapon. Say, this sword or this spear is previously blessed by an Archangel."
"In which story are you plagiarizing this strategy? It sounds stupid to me…" she commented.
"Because you don"t get it. I can ask for information fees and then say it will only appear once a year, give them a date and time, and then wait for them to fight it out for the weapon buried there. I get money, and at the same time, get to watch an interesting battle royale."
"… Ah, normal jianghu tactics." She exclaimed after remembering where she had read this plot.
She scrunched up her nose, realizing it was indeed a stupid plan. Looking at his face, he didn"t seem serious about enacting that scam scheme. This lunatic… why the heck did he bring that up then? So bored?
Aliyah shook her head and rolled her eyes. When she looked ahead again, the guy was nowhere in sight…
She looked around again.
Yup. He disappeared. Aliyah held her head and grimaced, wondering why whether the guy was heartless to leave her alone or simply confident that she already knew how to mingle with all kinds of people.
"Maybe he"s also hasn"t learned his lesson already? No matter what he does, I will be able to find him."
"And no matter what I do, if I don"t look for him, that other personality of mine won"t let us all have our peace. Crazy. Why can"t I be separated from a lowlife whose name I still don"t even know?"
A wry smile appeared on her face as she entered a restaurant. She chose to simply satiate her hunger than to appear like a headless chicken looking for a b.a.s.t.a.r.d in the street.
…
What was the best way to enter the palace and have contact with the villainess?
For a whole day, Jiang Li was collecting information and even partic.i.p.ating in gossip sessions in the pubs and other public places. He was also contemplating the question above.
If he was given enough time, he preferred to be a n.o.bleman so it would be easier and with more chances to meet. There were always events being hosted in the palace and the family mansions of the aristocratic families. As n.o.bles, he would be invited to those. Of course, the royal concubine could also be there.
If Agatha was really as ambitious as she was made out in the plot, then perhaps, she would even be the one to approach him, trying to get his backing. However, he had no time to get some random n.o.ble to make him their adopted child, or create huge merit to be enn.o.bled by himself.
What was the best way for a peasant to enter the palace apart from being a servant?
He had two possible answers in mind. The first one was to pretend he was a priest of a local religion. The Holon Kingdom believed in Cambriel, G.o.d of weather, and Gadreel, G.o.d of war. The latter was also someone people of Borley Kingdom believed in, but in their doctrines, Gadreel was a G.o.ddess. It was one of the reasons why the two kingdoms were not quite getting along.
Regardless of the religious discrepancies, Jiang Li could choose either of the two churches to infiltrate. But it was very risky. As if busted, he would have offended another church. Was he that crazy to do that?
"While it would definitely be fun to mess with another church, I have to consider that I might settle in this world for a few decades…" A corner of his mouth twitched as the thought crossed his mind.
Shortly after, he wondered. When did he start being like this? Planning to get a future free from trouble? He then laughed and shook his head.
In the end, he went along with the second choice, to enter as a member of a troupe, a group of entertainers hired to perform in a banquet or small royal gatherings.
At first, he thought it was a lucky coincidence that there was an event in the palace today. Until he heard that there was always something going on in the palace.
"Look at that spot. That"s only where we can move about freely once our performance ends," said the leader of the troupe to him.
Jiang Li was playing lowkey so he did not hypnotize anybody in the group, implanting in their mind that he was long with them. He had to be a newbie since only a newbie gets the privilege of being briefed about the dos and don"ts.
He listened intently to the prattling of the mustached man while inspecting the flute lent to him. When the litany finished, he immediately roamed around asking about the major events in recent days.
As expected, there would always be talks about the villainess and the leads.
"Do you know, kiddo? Everyone in the kingdom was surprised four months ago when the duke suddenly married that unknown princess. Many unmarried ladies cried, thinking a fine young man got wedded to someone unworthy and useless. Many of the gentlemen were also either curious or gloating since the guy they are jealous of ended up with a person with no political power nor backing. Oh, I forgot to tell you, Princess Margarette"s mother died to give birth to her so she"s seen as an unlucky child. Thus she"s made to occupy a very remote compound within the palace."
"Is that why she"s become forgotten for so many years?" asked Jiang Li the a.s.sistant cook who had snuck out to see the fun.
"Yup. You got it right! Later, you will probably have a chance to see the ducal couple and you"ll know why after her debut, she suddenly became the pearl of the kingdom."
"I want to know more about the royal concubine actually…" Jiang Li snuck away. He initially had no plan to perform anything but he got dragged towards the center so he played a tune.
All this while, his mind was actually not on the piece he was playing, or the ecstatic feeling influenced by the Original for having performed on a big occasion like this. He was thinking about the plot.
"Around this time, Agatha has pulled three a.s.sa.s.sination attempts against the female lead. The leads should be at the part where they"re slowly understanding their feelings for each other. Ack, what a gross phrase. Who knows if their feelings are true, or simply written by the plot for them."
All sorts of thoughts were swirling inside his brain to the point it was already a miracle that he finished the musical piece without hitch. He looked around afterward and inwardly laughed seeing there were four people who got put to sleep by his flute.
"If I ended up not invited again, I"ll simply switch profession," he carelessly said to himself while withdrawing from the scene.
The celebration was at its early stage so there were still people arriving in the great hall. The arrival of the leads, of course, drew the attention of everyone in the place.
"Look, look. It"s Duke Grey with his d.u.c.h.ess."
"The Royal Concubine is with them. Look. Even though she"s already in her early thirties, she doesn"t seem that inferior to the Princess."
Jiang Li raised his head to where the majority were pointing their fingers.
There he saw three beautiful people standing under a chandelier by the entrance. Two among them appeared more eye-catchy due to the glow from above which seemed to concentrate more on them.
"That one with a more glamorous get-up should be the villainess."
His eyes were at the confident woman smiling softly at the younger one who was standing next to a tall and impossibly handsome guy. The man had a cold aura around him but he looked quite thoughtful as he supported his wife by the waist. Jiang Li was sure he was the male lead. This meant the girl in red and black whose back was facing him was the female lead.
The three started to walk towards the center. Smiles that were obviously faked and forced were on their beautiful faces, testifying to their not-so-good relations.h.i.+p.
The music resumed again in his ears so was the discussion and laughter.
Jiang Li"s sight stayed on one of them. Then it went down to the hands snaking on that person"s waist.
His eyes darkened for a couple of moments...the pugilistic world in Chinese stories
community of martial artists in Wuxia novels