In the seventh year of Tianyou, the Imperial City of Dongling was besieged and broken by the iron cavalry of the Nan Zhao Nation. In a moment, the kingdom changed hands.
The Dongling Imperial Palace was filled with gloomy and dismal atmosphere.
The armored soldiers rounded up all the court ladies who failed to escape in time to the court. Regardless of their ranks and status, they all ended up as slaves of a fallen nation. The past mighty masters were now forced to huddle with the least popular servants, one by one, under scrutiny. The purpose was to find the missing crown prince of Dongling.
However, in a corner, a Eunuch clad in deep blue robes, was looking around nervously. Seeing no one paying attention to him — just a tiny figure — he slowly moved towards the wall, then to a small hole in the corner. Then he put into use his "dogpaddle skill", and quickly scuttled through to the other side of the wall.
Cheng Shi Yi dusted off the dust from his buttocks, made a face at the other side of the wall in self-satisfaction, then moved lightly on his two skinny legs towards a secluded courtyard in the palace.
After several close encounters with the searching soldiers, Cheng Shi Yi finally reached his destination — the Imperial Kitchen!
"Damn it! What a so-called Nangong Jing, the Ghost Faced War God! Not allowing people to eat, is simply too much! Doesn't he know humans are like iron and food is like steel, without food we are going to starve? I'm quite literally starved to death."
Cheng Shi Yi was full of complaints. After starving for a whole day, he now wanted to even gnaw on the stove.
Scavenging around in the kitchen, Cheng Shi Yi held a large soy sauce pig's trotter in his hands, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Fortunately, he had secretly hidden some food, just in case of emergencies like this. He was simply too clever, wasn't he?
Cheng Shi Yi took a big bite of the juicy trotter, almost moved to tears. Life has to have meat, that's real life!
Just then, a tumult of voices came from outside.
"Search thoroughly for this prince! Even if it's just three feet of earth, find the Dongling Crown Prince for me! Don't let any corner go unchecked!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi Yi shivered, the bite of meat stuck in his throat. His tender little face blushed instantly, turning the color of a pig's liver. He starting to cough uncontrollably.
"Who's there!” The person outside immediately noticed the noise. A black armor traced a perfect arc in the air, and a tall man leaped into the kitchen.
Cheng Shi Yi isn't someone to be trifled with either. Without caring about the piece of meat stuck in his teeth, he jumped from the ground and lunged towards the back window at lightning speed, with an incredibly smooth motion, setting a prime example of emergency escapes.
However, man proposes, God disposes. If fate decrees that you have bad luck today, then even a simple jump could lead to a sprained ankle.
Unluckily, Cheng Shi Yi was just that unlucky child abandoned by God. As he was about to leap, he lost his footing and went straight towards the stack of firewood on the side.
Little did he know, the stack of firewood couldn't withstand Cheng Shi Yi's lunge. With a series of crackling noises, the firewood, big and small, thick and thin, all fell down, littering the entire kitchen.
But the most unfortunate one was Cheng Shi Yi, buried under the firewood.
Oh, it hurt. Damn it, it hurt! How could it freaking hurt this much!
Cheng Shi Yi was in such pain that he was almost crying. Seems like he should have consulted the divine calendar before he went out today.
Buried under the firewood, Cheng Shi Yi couldn't move and didn't want to either. If he could, he'd just stay there quietly, unnoticed by anyone.
But as it turned out, all of these were just Cheng Shi Yi's wishful thinking.
