Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Crown Prince, Your Life is in Danger [Seeking Collections and Recommendations]_1
Ao Lie was eager to eat the dishes; he had hardly ever had this kind of food before.
Drink wine?
Could that stuff be as good as the nectar of the Crystal Palace?
He had seen it with his own eyes: Sha Chen dug out several jars from the ground that looked like they were self-brewed.
Home-brewed stuff—the taste, texture, and quality were definitely not as good as that of the Crystal Palace.
He was afraid that drinking it would ruin his appetite for the dishes.
He declined a couple of times and continued eating.
Sha Chen felt helpless and thought to himself, Could he know that I’m getting him drunk with ulterior motives, and that’s why he’s refusing to drink?
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"
Ao Lie, eating too hastily, choked.
He quickly grabbed a cup of wine and downed it in one gulp, which finally allowed him to catch his breath.
Setting down the cup, his eyes suddenly glazed over. Then, looking back at the wine jars, his nose twitched.
He exclaimed with surprise, "Brother, how can this wine taste so wonderful? What did you use to brew it?"
Sha Chen’s eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "It’s brewed from our home-grown Immortal Rice and some suitable Divine Grass."
Ao Lie grabbed a jar and guzzled several mouthfuls, laughing heartily, "Refreshing! Brother, your wine is much tastier than that swill from the Crystal Palace."
Sha Chen said with a smile, "If you like it, drink more. But let me say this first. As brothers drinking together, we mustn’t force the wine out of our system."
Ao Lie said, "Only a wuss would do that."
Sha Chen silently withdrew the hand he had under the table, which he was using to force the alcohol out of his own system. He clenched his fist, then released it, and smiled.
Ao Lie said, "Brother, have a drink too. You are too polite. I was ignorant before; please don’t hold it against me."
He then kept toasting and serving dishes to Sha Chen.
After getting merrily drunk, he even slapped himself several times, candidly saying he was ignorant before and had offended and bumped into Sha Chen, and so forth.
"Brother, if anyone dares to offend you in the future, just tell me, and I’ll take them down for you."
Sha Chen responded with a smile, "Let’s agree on that."
He continued to pour several jars of rice wine for Ao Lie, saving the osmanthus wine for last, figuring if Ao Lie got drunk, he’d end up saving those.
After all, the osmanthus wine was not abundant.
However, Ao Lie casually grabbed a jar and took a sip, instantly overwhelmed with shock.
Ao Lie voiced his amazement, "Brother, is this the osmanthus wine from Guanghan Palace? How do you have it?"
Sha Chen said, "If I have the osmanthus trees, having the osmanthus wine is nothing remarkable."
Ao Lie nodded in deep agreement. "Worthy of being my brother. I’ve only had the good luck to taste this when I accompanied Father to Heaven to celebrate the Queen Mother’s birthday, and she granted me a cup. I’ve been savoring the memory ever since."
Sha Chen asked, "Want more?"
Ao Lie answered, "Yes."
Sha Chen said, "This whole jar is yours. And this other one... take it home to drink. If it’s not enough, then... just endure it."
Moved to tears, Ao Lie was almost ready to kneel to Sha Chen.
"Brother, you are too kind to me. There’s nothing I can do to repay you, except to be at your service here, to repay your great kindness," Ao Lie declared, patting his chest, teary-eyed.
Sha Chen’s cheeks twitched.
This guy wants to stay?
He must be after my food and wine!!
Sha Chen immediately pressed down on his hand, saying, "Brother, restrain yourself. The gifts I’ve given you are not intended to make you stay and suffer."
Ao Lie said, "I’m not afraid."
Sha Chen said, "I am."
Then he spoke quickly, "This place is poor, and with your noble status, it’s not fitting for you to stay. Besides, you have grander deeds to do; what’s the point of staying here?"
Ao Lie, looking puzzled, said, "I’m just a wastrel son, a good-for-nothing idler; what grand deeds could I possibly do?"
Sha Chen thought to himself, You’re quite self-aware.
However, he still smiled and said, "Crown Prince, you need not sell yourself short. You have a profound fortune and a promising future ahead of you."
Ao Lie replied, "Brother, you flatter me too much. I’m not worthy."
Sha Chen rolled his eyes, not wanting to dwell on this matter.
He only wished to bluff the man into hobbling away and leaving, so as not to let him stay and waste the little fine wine he had left.
He took a deep breath and instantly became serious.
Ao Lie, startled by his change of demeanor, nearly choked on his wine again and quickly sat up straight.
"Crown Prince, do you know why I say you have great matters to attend to?" Sha Chen asked solemnly.
Ao Lie replied, "I am dull-witted, brother. Please enlighten me."
Sha Chen said, "First, tell me why you want me to reveal the whereabouts of the liuli Dragon Pearl."
Ao Lie did not dare to conceal anything and said, "I encountered Dragon King Wan Sheng from our clan overseas. Upon seeing his daughter, Princess Wan Sheng, who was dignified, beautiful, and gracious, I felt a mutual connection with her. I planned to give her something as a token of our engagement."
Princess Wan Sheng!?
Sha Chen’s expression changed slightly. That was Ao Lie’s future wife.
However, she later cuckolded Ao Lie, becoming one of the few promiscuous female dragons in Journey to the West.
The green hats worn in Journey to the West were mostly on Ao Lie’s head.
Sha Chen took a deep breath and asked, "Are you sure it’s mutual affection and not just your own wishful thinking?"
Ao Lie’s face changed, and he said dejectedly, "I can’t hide anything from you, elder brother. Indeed, it is my own wishful thinking. I planned to steal the liuli Dragon Pearl to win Princess Wan Sheng’s favor."
Sha Chen gasped.
This disastrous fellow is truly going to get his father into deep trouble!
The Dragon Clan was already treading on thin ice, and the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas were exceptionally cautious.
Giving the liuli Dragon Pearl to the Jade Emperor was a declaration of loyalty. If Ao Lie stole it back, wouldn’t that be slapping the Jade Emperor in the face and also disrupting the Dragon King’s plans?
How has this guy even survived until now?
No wonder Ao Lie was so easily manipulated by Buddhism and joined them.
He suspected that the liuli Dragon Pearl was very likely the Dragon Ball from before the palace hall that Ao Lie burned. He vaguely remembered the Jade Emperor planning to set the Dragon Ball into the mouth of a golden dragon statue in front of the Bright Palace.
Sha Chen remembered the original story: Ao Lie stole the Dragon Ball for fun, was discovered, then destroyed it, breaking heavenly law. He was then personally sent by the Dragon King to be beheaded.
In the end, Guanyin rescued him, and he became a member of the scripture-seeking pilgrimage.
Was this a coincidence? He felt it was unlikely.
Buddhism’s forte was convincing people to lay down their butcher’s knives and immediately attain Buddhahood, rescuing them from suffering.
As miserable as Ao Lie was, saving him from such dire straits would surely make him eternally grateful and loyally devoted to Buddhism.
Perhaps the matter with the Dragon Ball was a scheme orchestrated by Buddhism.
Sha Chen said, "Crown Prince, to win a woman’s favor, you could give her anything. Why must it be a Dragon Ball?"
Ao Lie said, "Brother, there’s something you don’t know. I heard this from someone on the road. That person said Princess Wan Sheng, being of our clan, would be most fond of Dragon Balls. If I were to give her the liuli Dragon Pearl, I would surely win her over."
Sha Chen’s face became grave as he said, "Just as I thought."
Then, looking at Ao Lie seriously and solemnly, he said, "Crown Prince, since you call me brother, I cannot let you walk to your death."
This scared Ao Lie, and he sobered up by half.
He exclaimed, "Brother, why would you frighten me like this? How could this lead to my death?"
Sha Chen said, "If you attempt to steal the Dragon Ball, you’ll undoubtedly die. It’s what your father gave to the Jade Emperor to ensure the Dragon Clan’s safety."
Ao Lie was aware of the seriousness of the situation, but he was unwilling to give up, saying, "As long as I win over Princess Wan Sheng, I can just swap it for a fake later and return the real one."
Sha Chen thought to himself, Scumbag... No, that’s not the point.
He said seriously, "The matter of the Dragon Ball is of great consequence. Do you think everyone else in the world is a fool? Haven’t you considered that the person you met on the road was deceiving you?"
Ao Lie said, "He and I are neither kin nor kith; why would he deceive me?"
Sha Chen said, "Since you are neither kin nor kith, why would he help you!?"