Chang Geng looked down at his hands, they were already covered in a thin layer of callus, but they had not yet been honed by scars.

He said indifferently: "I don't want to become an incompetent being who could only rely on his kindness."

"This monk felt that Your Highness was a bit extreme," he said. "Even if one was god himself, at a young age, most people must grow up under the guidance and protection of their parents. With Your Highness' standard, wouldn't it mean everyone in this world is incompetent? Grand talents bloom late, and need to avoid turning arrogant."

Chang Geng did not answer; of course, he did not put it in mind.

The monk said: "I saw the look on Your Highness's face, the poison must have already eaten its way to your bones."

Chang Geng was shocked; he first assumed the man had found out about the Bone of Impurity in him.

However, the monk continued to say: "There are poisons in the hearts of all people, some heavy, some light, and the age of His Highness, it should not have acted up as such, you have been thinking too much."

Chang Geng smiled sadly: "What do you know?"

He always felt that everything around him — royal status, false identity... all were stolen for him by Xiu Niang. One day, someone would realize he was not deserving of them, so they would reveal the truth, and he would lose everything.

Unease and anxiety had become a habit. Thus, Chang Geng always felt that in the capital, he was only an outsider.

Gu Yun stood in the Fourth Prince's position to plan his future for him, yet Chang Geng found that he wasn't able to put his heart into it.

Every day, looking in the mirror, he knew that he was an 'earthy dragon*' rolling in the mud. But others must place horns and scales onto him, trying their best to dress him up as a true dragon. But even with more decorations, in the end, he remained to be a worm who could never reach the rank of nobility.

*another way to call the worms.

In this case, it was better to distance himself now, to prevent any future embarrassment.

Only Gu Yun, all the joys and sorrows the man had brought to him were immensely unforgettable, engraving into his bones, not a single hint of insincerity. He could not deceive himself and say that he would be able to easily let go of him, just that he often felt he was not worthy.

Chang Geng did not reprimand himself for too long; he soon gathered himself together again and asked: "Ah yes, Master, I have always wanted to ask you, in the end, the illness that my yifu has, what exactly is it? His behavior on the trip to the Eastern Sea was bizarre, but he refused to tell me."