The likely outcome

"At least you're a kid right now. No one would suspect who you are and shame you" Even with those words, Xiao Lan could not help but feel uneasy. The people around him were not looking at him right now and yet he felt as if he was being examined under a magnifying glass.

"I don't think that matters here. I know this happened in my mind and that's enough" Xiao Lan moaned at the loss of his dignity for himself. Commander Yuhan just gave an amused scoff at those words but otherwise did not say anything else.

The silence came back once again.

"Anyway, should we wait for them both to come back? Or should we start looking for our guides?" Xiao Lan wanted to wait for Fu Hua to come back but that might not be the optimal way to move.

In contrast, their guides were their responsibility. The other four who had visited this palace with them were ordinary civilians. As such, it fell on Xiao Lan and the company to keep them safe from any harm.

"Let's look around. We still need to find the Xi family head who is going to show us around. He will be here anytime now" Because of this fiasco with detective Song and the washroom, significant time had been lost.

If they decide to wait then there will be no time left for the personal investigation which would leave them at the start once again. It was the same cycle over and over again.

"Should we start at the main shrine?" Xiao Lan nodded since he had no better idea himself. The shrine was the classic one you could see all over the country but it would not be wrong to say that it was the original shrine.

This was the shrine that had inspired the design of all the other shrines you could see in their country. The lovely and highly detailed crow right on top of it was made of solid gold and shone in the sunlight.

"It's really beautifully crafted. I wonder who chiselled it into such a form" Xiao Lan could not help but ask, his hands extending toward the beauty.

"Ah, I'm afraid you can no longer meet its crafter. The person ended up dying a few weeks back. This was his last masterpiece" indeed, the crown did look new but that was not what was important.

Somehow, Xiao Lan had been snuck up on and he had not even noticed. Even Commander Yuhan looked tense, having not expected someone to approach them right now.

"Oh, sorry. Did I scare you? I didn't mean to but you looked like interesting people. Are you from noble backgrounds as well? Me too, me too. Come with me then" the kid was wild and all over the place.

One second he was in front of Xiao Lan, the other second he was gripping Commander Yuhan's sleeve and tugging him after himself. Somehow, the small body was able to drag the heavy commander Yuhan after him.

It must be the shock the other was experiencing because there was no other way this degree of manhandling was possible.

"Who are you?" Xiao Lan asked once he snapped out of his daze. By this time the kid had already dragged commander Yuhan a fair distance away.

"Me? I'm the next owner of this temple. Everyone says it'll be my sister since she's supposed to be a female and all but I know it's not true. There are records of male owners in the archive here that they don't want me to see. Besides, my sister is not even a full-blooded nobility. There is no way she can inherit this legacy"

The child seemed content to drag them on and talk his mouth off.

"Anyway, where are you taking us? We are waiting for our companions here so you should not bother" Xiao Lan allowed his voice to go just a bit harsher. The kid was obviously spoiled and was not used to hearing no.

"You can wait inside. I'll send someone to look for them. Besides, don't tell me that you want to stay here with this common filth" the people around them hardly gave an expression like they heard the guy.

Many people even shot them with sympathetic gazes which Xiao Lan made an active effort to ignore. They reminded him of the dark times in his life. Fu Hua was back and he was alive and these gases would still not leave him.

"Xiao Lan, Commander Yuhan. We finally found you" Detective Song was the one to call out. Fu Hua walked behind the other at a calmer pace. He did give Xiao Lan a small bow in apology as was customary of his class.

"What's this? Your servant? And a SLAVE! I knew you were someone after my own heart the second I saw you. Do you want to try the slave training rooms here? Do you?" The teen looked surprised at first and then happy.

Clearly, he had drawn ideas inside his own mind and now thought up a whole scenario.

"I'm sorry but I'm not interested. I'm here to just get a protective talisman from the master" Xiao Lan explained in an almost bored voice. He knew he got his prefered response as soon as the other's eyes dimmed and the interest vanished from his gaze.

"Ah, I see. You are 'that' kind of noble, huh. Let me warn you - don't give those slaves too much freedom or they will become a problem. God knows we need to replace a dozen every other week" that should have been a warning flag in Xiao Lan's mind but the words hit too close to home for him.

His attention diverted to the words much more than the actual meanings and the rage brewed underneath his skin. That was a personal attack in his senses.

"I don't need you to tell me this. I am more than aware of how freedom can change some of them. Now, if you'll excuse me I would like to go find the master myself" Xiao Lan's voice came much frostier than before and the other teen finally realised that he had made the other angry.

Since he had never faced this situation and his grandfather had repeatedly warned him about not angering other nobles, he decided he needed to get out of here as well. He did not want another scolding after all.

"Yeah, alright. Sure. Ah, he's in the back pavilion most likely. That is where he gave out the talisman for the past two days. I think he should be still there today" The teen made a clean break after his advice.

With him gone, Xiao Lan felt much calmer. Fu Hua made the tactical move of not showing himself directly.

"I think I do know what is going on here. We took a quick look around and I think we are back in the past. Or at least an image of the past created by someone. Don't you all think so too? What should we do now?" detective Song asked.

Fu Hua had dragged him along to the base room he had pointed out as soon as they had come but there had been too many people there to break in and enter. And since the room had been locked, they had decided not to enter.

"I know we are in the past for sure. I saw some people who died when I was last here. Do you remember I told you about giving the talisman to a man on the first day? He's still alive right now. I can conclude it's about the day I was driven out since I was only here for a little over three days" Xiao Lan took this knowledge and added it into his expanding dictionary inside his head.

"I think we should check the talisman person out. He's our best clue in this whole situation. Besides, if he is Fu Hua of before, he might be able to clue us in" not to mention, Xiao Lan could ask the other any question he wanted to.

Won't it be glorious to be able to talk with a Fu Hua who had not yet betrayed him? He could even prompt the other not to betray him at all.

"Don't get ideas now. This is a fragment of memory someone made. It is likely that you will not find the answer you are looking for here. Besides, my involvement here might also complicate things" Fu Hua warned and it was specifically aimed at Xiao Lan.

But did it really matter in the end? Not really. Xiao Lan was willing to take his chances as he had with everything else. This Fu Hua could just sigh in worry and try to stop him but Xiao Lan saw an up he could exploit.

But if only things were that easy. As Fu Hua had said, his involvement did complicate things but not in a good way. Things changed all of a sudden one their eyes fell on the talisman distributor who stood in front of them, his back to their face.