Step Down, Let Me Come! - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The way of princes

Shen Tang took another bite. 

“It’s very sour. One magic sentence can only produce one fruit, too little, but if I can eat it, it’s enough”.

After all, it’s a free green plum, she couldn’t demand too much. 

She was prepared to make more and turn them into honey greengage crispy plums, salted plums, or plum wine. After all, it didn’t cost her anything. Even if the plums didn’t make a lot of profit, it shouldn’t be a problem for her to support herself with it. She carefully picked a big, green plum and handed it to Qi Shan. 

“Here! Mister Qi, do you want to try?”

At first, Qi Shan didn’t take it. He just looked at it, then he lifted his eyes to glance at Shen Tang’s “cheater” smug smile. His brows twitched fiercely and on his forehead appeared faintly discernible blue veins.

After all, this young master knows or not… 

After a good while, Qi Shan sighed. He accepted it. 

He casually wiped the fruit with his sleeves and bit it.

Indeed, it was really sour!

No matter if it was the texture or taste, it completely resembled unripe fruit.

Shen Tang saw the expression of Qi Shan gradually change and smiled: “If it was cooked, the taste would be better. I don’t know if the magic phrase that can produce wine exists. Wouldn’t it be nice to brew green plum wine and hide it somewhere and when the snow falls we could go to the center of the lake to enjoy the scenery, make tea and taste green plums. Wouldn’t it be pleasant?”

Qi Shan looked at Shen Tang with a complicated expression.

He sighed: “If you think it’s good, then it’s good. Just don’t regret your reckless action in the future…”

Shen Tang stopped gnawing at the green plums. She asked, not understanding: “Mister Qi, do you mean… that creating things is not good? I can regret it?”

“It’s a good thing for others, but it’s not necessarily a good thing for you”. He looked at Shen Tang with regret, as if she had lost a big treasure without her knowledge. Before Shen Tang could open her mouth to get to the bottom of it, he changed the topic, “Of course, if young master Shen doesn’t have any big ambitions and only wants to eat till full and have a place that can protect from the rain, then it can be regarded as a good thing”. 

Shen Tang chew the plum “stupefied”. She knitted her eyebrows. 

She tried to speculate why Qi Shan said that. 

She probed: “Is it related to my wenxin?”

Qi Shan was amazed by her keenness, he nodded: “‘Somewhat”.

Shen Tang listened with rapt attention. Who knew Qi Shan wouldn’t cooperate and explain things in more detail.

What’s his meaning?

The imperial seal hidden by the Gong clan may be on the body of young master Shen?

Even if Qi Shan is not interested in the seal of state, young master Shen may not think so. In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding, it was better to pretend not to know. Most importantly, he suspected that young master Shen’s wenxin had already connected with the seal, and he had unintentionally awakened the “way of princes”.

Wenxin, wudan, seal of state—the relation between them is special. 

The seal of state not only can change the fate of the nation, and resist enemies, but it also has one extremely crucial ability. It is “The way of princes”.

The princes, with wenxin or wudan, that can connect with the national seal can obtain a special ability, according to their innermost thoughts—most of the time princes obtain “rule”, “close to the people” or “fans” “. They can even get a wenxin and wudan that can bless others, so that they can recruit many capable people.

Shen Tang’s way of princes was currently unknown for him, but it definitely had a relation with “farming”.

Otherwise, how could she create green plums?

One prince with a “farming” ability… 

It seemed like an useless ability.

However, young master Shen seemed not to have any ambitions. He only wanted to defend himself. This ability was extremely suitable for him. At least, he won’t starve. 

Shen Tang had a cat scratching at her heart “…”

Now, she thought that the most annoying thing in the world was to stop talking in the middle to make people guess.

“You don’t want to say it in more detail. It’s reasonable. Logically, I shouldn’t ask more questions, but after all, it is related to me…” Shen Tang tried to ask in a roundabout way. She used all kinds of insinuations, “I guess… is it that my wenxin has a defect? Is this defect serious? Is there a remedy?”

Qi Shan answered her without fooling around: “Cannot”. 

As far as he knows, the national seal connects with a prince, in a “way of princes”.

This kind of innate ability needs to be activated through the medium of the national seal. Except for one case, ability stays fixed throughout one’s life.

This situation?

Die!

You must die!

Young master Shen only needs to live. This national seal in her hands left her with the current ability—the only advantage of it is that she will not worry about starving to death.

If young master Shen had any ambitions, it would be a disaster for him. 

He already lost at the start. He was born with a defect. Likewise, he was no match for others that could threaten him at all.

Qi Shan’s face gradually became graver. Shen Tang felt that the plum in her hand wasn’t appetizing after all.

She – 

Will she die in the near future?

Momentarily, countless thoughts appeared in her mind. 

If Qi Shan hadn’t made a sound and pulled her back from her thoughts, she would have already imagined herself lying sick on the bed and writing a testament.

“Young master Shen, apart from “Quench one’s thirst by thinking of plums” plum, can you also create other things?”

Shen Tang shook her head: “I don’t know, but I can try”.

Qi Shan took out the other scroll. He pointed at one of the magic phrases: “Try this one – “

Shen Tang leaned close to him to take a look. She muttered: “Paint the ground to make cakes, but you can’t eat them?” (to feed on illusions)

The meaning of this magic phrase and “to quench thirst on plums” phrase are identical”.

Since “to quench thirst on plums” phrase can make plums, then this magic phrase maybe can make some bread. 

Shen Tang said: “but this says it’s ‘not edible’. How can you eat something drawn on the ground? Isn’t it better to reduce it to ‘to allay one’s hunger using a picture of a cake’?”

The cake is better than the plum in satisfying hunger. 

Plum is admittedly fresh, but it’s too small and sour. Shen Tang’s stomach was made of iron, but she still didn’t dare to eat more.

Just now, she gnawed on 20 of them, so her gums turned numb. 

As a result, she tried to use the sentence a dozen times and nothing happened.

She was a bit discouraged at this point. From the corner of her eye, she inadvertently glanced at the densely packed notes on the scroll. Her eyes lit up. She moved her finger and stopped on one paragraph: “Mister Qi, compared to painting cakes, I think this paragraph is more interesting—Turning rock into gold is enough to make a fortune.” (It is a metaphor to modify the original text a little when revising it, so it will turn out better).

“Turning rock into gold?”

He understood instantly Shen Tang’s plan.

“Right, turning rock into gold! — How many catties of plums and pancakes can a small piece of gold buy? In terms of value, it is natural that this line is better, and more than that—there are others like “Golden House to keep one’s mistress”. However, I don’t know whether I will create “Golden House” or “mistress”. If it’s ‘mistress’, this ‘mistress’ male or female, beautiful or ugly…”

Qi Shan looked at Shen Tang as if looking at a daydreaming idiot. 

Shen Tang was young, but really thought too much. 

“If you are not afraid of suddenly dying, you can try”.

Shen Tang “???”

Qi Shan sneered: “The value of a thing and the result of wenxin are based on the consumption of it. The stronger the wenxin, the greater the consumption, and the stronger the magic words. 

If someone forcibly uses a magic phrase that is beyond the scope of their ability, it’s okay if they only fail. At most, they would be weakened for a while. But once they succeed—it will definitely backfire on them. For example, life expectancy could be shortened, they could die a premature death, have a lingering illness or lie in bed for a lifetime. Some people even bled from the seven orifices and died on the spot. Throughout the ages, such tragedies have been happening everywhere. Mister Shen, don’t follow in their footsteps just because of your curiosity and greed”.

How the value of a green plum and a piece of cake could be compared with gold, silver and jade?

Everything has a price.