Seeing the Third Prince’s gesture, Mu Xueshi dove headfirst into the lake without even taking off his clothes. All the sand and dust he had picked up from the Zaoying Pod tree washed into the water, and the crystal-clear lake immediately clouded around him. Mu Xueshi did not notice at all. He simply scrubbed at himself vigorously, his face full of excitement.
Mu Xueshi also noticed that the lake carried a faint fragrance. The water was not cold but pleasantly warm, so comfortable that it made him want to close his eyes.
At that moment, however, Mu Xueshi could not bear to shut them. After only a short while, he felt that all the black paste on his face had washed away and his skin had become incomparably smooth. He impatiently lowered his head to look into the water, only to find a thin layer of black residue floating across the surface. With the lake already muddied around him, he could no longer see his reflection clearly.
Mu Xueshi swallowed and looked toward the shore. Sure enough, the Third Prince’s gaze was terrifyingly dark, enough to frighten away half his courage with a single look. All Mu Xueshi’s earlier excitement vanished. After rubbing his face a few more times, he sheepishly lowered his hands. He tried smiling at the Third Prince twice, but the prince’s expression did not soften at all. Mu Xueshi immediately fell silent and obediently swam toward shore.
“Um…” Mu Xueshi scratched his ear with one nimble hand, his eyes darting everywhere as he said, “I… dirtied your lake water. What should I do…?”
The Third Prince stared directly at Mu Xueshi while Mu Xueshi’s gaze wandered everywhere else. His fingers fidgeted restlessly below, tugging first at his belt and then at his jade pendant. The little face that had been filthy moments ago was now washed clean, its skin flawless and delicate. Paired with those radiant, jewel-bright eyes, it was enough to leave anyone entranced.
The Third Prince still retained a measure of reason. He had heard that the water of Lingzi Lake could restore its own clarity, but in the meantime, he could still properly punish the person before him for putting on such an act. The Third Prince himself had never even touched the lake water, afraid of tainting the pure sacred spring. Mu Xueshi, by contrast, had jumped in without the slightest hesitation, taking all the grime on his body with him and clouding the whole lake, then had the audacity to ask what should be done about it.
“Very simple. Strip completely and jump into Lingzi Lake.” The corners of the Third Prince’s eyes curved with amusement as he looked at Mu Xueshi.
Mu Xueshi thought for a moment about what “strip completely” meant, then turned pale with shock. He suddenly dropped to his knees before the Third Prince and pleaded, “Your Highness, spare my life! Please show mercy! This commoner will never dare do it again. This commoner can swim, so if Your Highness intends to drown me, I would die full of resentment…”
The Third Prince was rendered speechless. Ever since Mu Xueshi had awakened, not only had his words and actions become strange and his expressions exaggerated, even his most basic ability to understand what was said seemed to have disappeared. The Third Prince had merely intended to humiliate him, yet Mu Xueshi had somehow imagined something so much more serious.
“Are you frightened?” The Third Prince lifted Mu Xueshi’s chin and asked.
He remembered asking Mu Xueshi the same thing before, whether he feared death. At the time, Mu Xueshi had been perfectly calm, as though life and death made no difference to him.
This time, Mu Xueshi pondered for quite a while before cautiously saying, “If Your Highness wants this commoner to lie, then I can tell you frankly that I’m not afraid.”
The Third Prince froze for a moment, then laughed softly. He had truly never seen Mu Xueshi act this quick-witted and playful before. What he said was absurd, yet somehow unexpectedly amusing.
“If you are not afraid, then undress. Has Young Master Xue forgotten why we came here?”
Mu Xueshi suddenly remembered. Right! From the beginning, the Third Prince said we were coming here to bathe. How did I forget that? He giggled twice at his own stupidity, then immediately began taking off his clothes. Although the garments were complicated, he was no longer in the desperate hurry he had been in earlier, so removing them went much more smoothly this time.
The Third Prince watched from the side. Mu Xueshi showed not the slightest embarrassment, treating the matter as casually as eating or drinking. In only a few movements, he had removed every layer. Standing beneath the moonlight, his pale figure seemed almost luminous, his face carrying a faint, easy smile that made him look pure and unguarded.