Chapter 2: The Dragon Swims in Shallow Water and is Teased by a Shrimp; The Crown Prince Falls into a Difficult Situation

  The rain stopped at some unknown time and daylight gradually grew brighter.

  Qin Lei opened his eyes with an eerie expression.

  He remained in the same posture as when he lay down, but his heart could not be calm, for last night he had already discovered that he was not himself.

  It was just that this realization was too absurd, so he needed a night's time to convince himself to accept this absurdity - he, a 29-year-old special forces instructor, had become a little kid of no more than fifteen or sixteen.

  Once you accept this fact, it's not hard to accept things like being a head shorter and living in an environment like ancient China.

  Qin Lei raised his right arm, looked at the delicate and slender small hand, and thought of his original big bear palm. He curled up the corner of his mouth, brought out a wry smile, and muttered softly "I guess this kind of woman can't compare to..."

  He suddenly became tense, hastily using his small hand to probe, and only after feeling its existence did he let out a sigh of relief. He then said with a hint of fear: "Fortunately, it's not a woman... I'm still a virgin." His face turned slightly red, and he seemed somewhat embarrassed.

  After understanding that the relationship was a serious issue for both virgins, Qin Lei's expression relaxed significantly. He jumped up from bed with a flip of his body - yesterday he didn't even take off his shoes and slept in his clothes.

  Outside the door, faintly came the sound of heavy breathing. Qin Lei knew that after his brother left last night, he hadn't left, but had been guarding outside all night. He coughed softly, habitually pulled at his collar, adjusted his appearance, pushed open the door, and saw the man in front of him also looking back at himself.

  Despite a sleepless night, this iron tower-like man was still spirited and refreshed, without a hint of fatigue.

  After a brief silence, Qin Lei extended an invitation: "Let's take a walk...", Hanzi nodded and stepped aside to make way.

  A spring rain, tenderized the willow branches, dyed green the small grass, and the cobblestone path underfoot was also washed clean. If not for the red puddles on the side of the road and the faint scent of blood in the air, it would be a truly refreshing post-rain landscape painting.

  Qin Lei involuntarily furrowed his brow, could it be that even after switching to a new body he still couldn't shake off this bloody aura? He let out a light sigh and continued walking aimlessly.

  Qin Lei walked slowly, and the giant following behind him didn't seem impatient either. The two sworn brothers from last night just silently circled around in the small backyard.

  The first one who couldn't hold on was Qin Lei, he turned around and looked up at the guy who was even taller than himself, asking seriously: "Are you avenging what happened last night?"

  The man was taken aback, clearly unable to recall anything from last night that he needed to avenge.

  Qin Lei knew he was thinking too much and felt a bit embarrassed, so he rubbed his cheek and changed the subject, asking: "What exactly happened yesterday?"

  A typical open-ended question, it was a bit difficult for the taciturn man, he remained silent for a while before asking back: "Don't you remember?"

  Qin Lei felt secretly pleased in his heart, rolled his eyes and put on a very distressed expression, nodding and saying: "I haven't remembered anything since I woke up yesterday."

  If others knew about this, they would either offer condolences or immediately arrange for a doctor. But the black iron tower in front of him was clearly not an ordinary person. He just paused, then said "oh" and recounted yesterday's events in his low voice:

  "Last night at three o'clock, assassins surrounded the mansion. Then a group of black-clad men blocked most of the assassins. Seven assassins broke into the room below the hall, and you fainted as soon as you saw them, but then came to again."

  Dry and concise answer, yet comprehensive and accurate, just like the familiar combat documents Qin Lei was used to, so Qin Lei liked it: "What about our casualties?"

  "It was very severe, two died and one was disabled..."

  "Oh..." Qin Lei nodded and continued to ask: "Who did it? Is there any clue?"

  The man shook his head and said with a sigh: "I don't know, we are guests here and our knowledge is too limited."

  The two continued to pace back and forth in the small courtyard. Qin Lei thought for a moment, deciding to first figure out the situation before doing anything else. As he walked, he rubbed his temples and muttered to himself: "I don't know why, but this headache is severe, my brain is all muddled, it seems like I can't remember anything."

  The iron eagle did not respond.

  Qin Lei had no choice but to continue: "You come and help me sort out my thoughts, see if I can remember."

  The man fell silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the feasibility of the proposal. Without keeping Qin Lei waiting too long, he nodded and said, "Yes." Only then did he somewhat believe that the prince had lost his memory, staring at Qin Lei with wide eyes.

  "Let's start with who I am, where I am, and the current dynasty... Don't look at me like that, of course, I know who I am. It's just that there are some big things I can't remember, and I'm having you tell me these things to help me recall them!" Qin Lei was stared at until he felt a bit embarrassed.

  The man then withdrew his gaze, which was tinged with a hint of pity. He thought for a moment, cleared his throat, and spoke slowly: "Your Highness is the fifth prince of the mighty Qin Empire, the greatest power in the world today. We are currently in the capital city of Eastern Qi, Youjing City. The current year is the sixteenth year of the Zhao Wu era." His voice was low and rich with masculine charm.

  Qin Lei's mind was racing, and it seemed that there was no 16th year of the Zhao Wu era in Chinese history. He then asked, "Which countries exist today?" As for things like the noble identity of a prince, he didn't care much about that sort of thing. From yesterday to now, not even a single servant had come to attend to him - how could he be considered noble? He wasn't even as good as an ordinary landlord.

  "When today's sun sets, our Great Qin, Eastern Qi and Southern Chu will rise together."

  It's not ancient China, but a similar world. Qin Lei, whose nerves were on edge, thought to himself and suddenly asked, "Why am I not in the Qin state, but here?"

  "Your Highness, you have been held hostage for 16 years..."

  "What's 'out of quality'? Does it mean I'm a hostage? How old am I now?"

  "You're sixteen this year..."

  "Hmm..." Qin Lei was silent, when he was young and watched "The Red Rock", he always thought that Xiaoluo Bo Tou, who was captured at the age of one, should be the youngest prisoner in the world. He didn't expect to break this record himself today.

  Fortunately, he was born optimistic. Grandma's, at worst, escaped, didn't Xiaoluobo escape? He comforted himself. Qin Lei, who did not work hard in his studies, of course, did not know that Xiaoluobo had been executed.

  The man looked at Qin Lei's face, which was sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunny, and finally smiled foolishly, couldn't help but worry about the palace owner.

  Qin Lei remained silent for a long time, then lifted his head and gave Hanzi a brilliant smile. He asked in a gentle tone, "One last question, what's your honorable surname?"

  The man's forehead sweats, his worried emotions all gone...

  "My humble name is Iron Eagle, iron as steel and eagle as the male eagle. I am your guard commander." Iron Commander said in a deep voice.

  Qin Lei smiled apologetically at Tie Ying, patted his shoulder and said with a wry smile: "Big Brother Tie, don't be angry, I really did hurt my head, to the point where I didn't even know what my own name was, forgive me, forgive me."

  Iron Eagle was silent, this young master couldn't even remember who he was, and it was normal that he couldn't recall the name of his subordinate.

  "Brother Tie, what did you want to ask yesterday? Ask now." The two of them happened to walk back to the entrance again. Qin Lei stepped up onto a step, turned around and spoke to Tie Ying with an air of heroic grandeur. This bold expression floating on that delicate face was truly strange.

  Tie Ying didn't mind these words and cupped his hands, saying: "Last night after Your Highness woke up, you unleashed a mighty divine power. What kind of skill was that? This humble official has never seen it before."

  "This... haha..." Qin Lei would rather die than say he used a woman's self-defense technique. "Ah, Sleeping Arhat Fist, yes, Arhat Fist, I learned it from an old monk in my dream when I was passing out."

  "Ah," Iron Eagle frowned and said: "Your Highness, this Drunken Dream Arhat Fist is a bit sinister. That old monk must not be a good person. You'd better use it as little as possible. I can teach you the authentic Crouching Tiger Arhat Fist." In his mind, he replayed the terrifying scene of Qin Lei's deadly moves from last night, feeling a chill run down his spine.

  Qin Lei chuckled and changed the subject, asking: "Speaking of martial arts, Iron Big Brother, can you fly?"