Chapter 60: Brother Xiaobao’s Nine Guards
“No problem,” said Jian Pu as he acknowledged Qingqing’s command. “Then again, has Hong Xiaobao ever considered the possibility of us leaking the Living Printing Technique? It’s quite surprising that he left something so important to us just like that…”
“I also can’t figure that out either…” Qingqing paused and continued, “Oh, well. Let’s not pay attention to that for now. Let’s focus our attention on making sure that this technique does not get leaked. We’ll cross the bridge when we come to it later. Huh? it seems that someone is coming over from the riverside…”
“It’s just that dumb bear, Guan Juxiong. I was wondering where he had went…” said Jian Pu before reminding Qingqing, “mistress, a normal girl would stare at a stranger coldly so don’t forget to do just that, alright?”
(TL: Juxiong means big bear.)
“I understand,” said Qingqing with a smile. With a hint of playfulness, she turned to her back and screamed, “Aiya~~!!”
… …
“Ah, I really rested well. Right now, I’m just a little hungry…” Hong Xiaobao got up from his nap and stretched himself before rubbing his eyes. “I wonder what time is it now… Uncle Fang is still not here yet. Then again, the wooden blocks that I’ve made should have been baked thoroughly, right?”
At that moment, Qingqing’s loud scream could be heard from within his room.
“It’s Qingqing… What’s going on?” Hong Xiaobao quickly put on his shoes and ran outwards. Upon exiting the room, he saw the guards run towards the source of that scream. A brawny man stood there flailing his hands non stop and walked towards Aunt Liu and Qingqing slowly while saying, “Tell me, who am I?! Who am I!!! Why can’t I remember?!”
Huh? Isn’t this that stupid bear? When did he get here?
“Guan Juxiong, what are you up to?” said Hong Xiaobao. He didn’t fear Guan Juxiong when he was still sane, now even lesser so given that he had lost his mind. “I’m warning you, leave Qingqing alone or I’ll give you a sound beating!”
“Brother Xiaobao! I’m scared!” Seeing Hong Xiaobao come over, Qingqing behaved like a little girl once again and hid behind his back.
“Guan… Ju… Xiong?” Upon hearing that name, Guan Juxiong stood there unmoving and turned to look at Hong Xiaobao. “I think you seem kind of familiar… Is Guan Juxiong my name?”
It seems that the blow that he had received on his head had shaken him up quite a bit…
“That’s right, Guan Juxiong is your name. That’s you.” Hong Xiaobao sighed and tried to console him. “Alright, let’s not think about it too much. Given your dumb wit, you’ll be easily tricked by others. Go back to whence you came, come on, be a good boy!”
Seeing Hong Xiaobao console that burly man as if he were a little child, Qingqing couldn’t help but laugh out loud while the other guards around them tried hard to resist their laughter. The ninth prince is somehow always involved in such interesting situations… thought some of the guards.
“Guan Juxiong? No, that’s not it!” While Guan Juxiong had regained some clarity in his eyes and wasn’t as crazy as before, he still acted rather unstable. “No, I’m not Guan Juxiong!” he said while pointing at Xiaobao. “You can be called Guan Juxiong!” He then pointed at another guard. “You can be called Guan Juxiong too!”
The expression of the people there was like this: O__O”
When did that dumb bear get smart enough to remember the deep question that I posed to him, thought Hong Xiaobao. Who would’ve expected him to bring up that question again?!
Seeing the confused, naive Guan Juxiong who had stumbled upon him, who still needed people for his Grand Alliance, Hong Xiaobao didn’t intend to let that man leave.
Hong Xiaobao laughed and said, “What you said makes sense! Guan Juxiong is only a name that anyone can use!”
“Then who am I?”
“Great question. I’m afraid that only I among all others between the heavens and the earth have the answer to that!” As he said that, he waved his hands upward and spun two times in front of Guan Juxiong. “The question about your ident.i.ty has to be explored first from the relationship you have with other people.” Pointing at one of the guards, Xiaobao said, “Before I answer your question, let me ask you one instead. His name is Zhao Four. Who is he then?”
Huh? What sort of question was that? Who could Zhao Four be other than Zhao Four?
“He is Zhao Four, but others can be called the same as well!” replied Guan Juxiong. It seemed that his mind had cleared a bit even though his eyes still looked frantic. However, a hint of logic could be detected from his speech when he repeated what Hong Xiaobao had said the other day.
“Good answer. Now, let’s make it more complicated,” said Hong Xiaobao, nodding. “He’s Zhao Four, one of my guards and ranked the fourth. Tell me, who is he?”
“He… He is…” Despite his simple mind, Guan Juxiong comprehended the implication and said, “He’s your guard who’s ranked the fourth, so that’s why he’s called Zhao Four!”
“Smart!” said Hong Xiaobao as he clapped his hands in satisfaction and laughed. “You’re correct. Even though anyone can use the name Zhao Four, however, the person who is both my fourth ranked guard and called Zhao Four is only him! That’s the true Zhao Four!”
The people present were all stunned. Even though the explanation was a little long-winded, it still made a whole lot of sense! To ascertain a person’s ident.i.ty, a name wasn’t enough! One still had to consider their relationship with the others around them!
“Oh, so that was it!” said Guan Juxiong as his eyes lit up. He then asked, “Then, what about me? Who am I?”
“You…” Hong Xiaobao was giggling as he pat on Guan Juxiong’s shoulder. “Your name Guan Juxiong is pretty common, but you are definitely different from the other Guan Juxiongs. You are the ninth member of my personal guard, Guan Juxiong. Your nickname is Ninth Bear. That means that you’re Guan Juxiong, my ninth-ranked personal guard! It’s a shame that you have been injured and had your mind confused so much. I have been looking all over for you all this time and finally got to meet you again today!”
(TL note: xiong is bear)
The shameless are truly invincible!
The people around the area were so stunned they didn’t react to that at all. Guan Juxiong suddenly laughed out loud. “Hahahahaha! So that was it! I finally know who I am! I’m Guan Juxiong, Your Majesty’s ninth-ranked guard!” After saying that, he kneeled down on one knee in front of Hong Xiaobao and exclaimed, “Ninth guard Guan Juxiong greets Your Majesty the ninth prince!”
Everyone’s expression turned like this: （⊙o⊙）