“What did you experience there, Enci Eng? Tell me clearly!” he demanded in a trembling voice. And he heard a narrative that made his heartbeat harden and made his heart believe who he really was, and that all Kim-lun Seng-jin's words were true.
"They are people who look mighty, but are rough and wild, my brother. And strangely...many of his women, especially those in his king's palace, look alike...similar to you! I they thought
a Khitan Princess and... and I stripped naked to check my back, she said the Khitan Princess
has a mark on his back… my gosh, Lin Lin!” Sian Eng turned very pale and jumped to his feet,
looked at his sister's face with wide eyes. “You… you… your back…”
“Calm down, Enci Eng, and sit down. You speak well and clearly. There was indeed a red mole mark on my back, and it seemed that I was indeed the Khitan Princess they were looking for. I have heard from Kim-lun Seng-jin, I deliberately did not tell you about this because I thought it was still a secret. However, after hearing your story, it is clear who they meant by the Khitan Princess. Presumably before my father adopted me from the Khitan family, presumably my mother was the Khitan Crown Princess who died in the war against my father, then I was adopted as a child. Well, very simple, right? Carry on."
For some time Sian Eng could not speak. He looked at Lin Lin's face, then embraced and kissed his sister with tears in his eyes. "You are not one of them. You're my sister! Ah, they are so cruel, so rough and wild...”
Lin Lin laughed. "You see me well. I am different from you, Cici. I'm also rough and wild, you often say, but I'm still your little brother. Don't worry and go on with your story."
Sian Eng continued his story until he was buried alive up to his neck and assisted by a golden flute, traveled with a golden flute to the temple in this king's city.
Lin Lin was very interested and several times he took a deep breath. “Ah, what a joy to go on a trip with that freak. What kind of person is he, Enci Eng? Is he friendly? Or fierce? Is he as arrogant as I thought? And how clever is he?”
Siang Eng was secretly surprised. His sister's tone was so caring. What is it? He was worried that his younger brother would be reckless to accuse Suling Emas of killing their mother and father and be determined to find and fight against him.
“He is indeed a strange person, Lin Lin. Very strange and his actions are not like ordinary humans. It's hard to measure his intelligence to what extent because I can't follow his movements. He was quiet, never spoke if he didn't answer a question, even that was brief, only yes or no. His face was often gloomy as if something was pressing inside him, he was not friendly at all. I never saw him smile, let alone laugh. There was one time he hummed, his voice good enough but trembling with sorrow. He never spoke to me about himself, but I must say that he is as polite as a man can be.”
Lin Lin was very interested and her eyes were pondering, her lips moved as if talking to herself, “Handsome and dashing face, arrogant attitude... just like a king he is...”
“What did you say, Lin Lin? Why like a king?”
Lin Lin came to her senses and smiled, “Enci Eng, how about Sin-ko? He said he also helped the Golden Flute, but where is Sin-ko now?”
“According to Suling Emas, Sin-ko is safe, free from the hands of the evil Suma Boan. He said that Sin-ko would definitely go to the king's city, so I was told to wait at this temple. But until now Sin-ko hasn't appeared yet, instead you appeared first."
"Hopefully Sin-ko is safe and the three of us can get together too. Eh, how about our eldest brother, Enci Eng? Have you heard of him?”
Sian Eng frowned and took a deep breath. “The news I heard about Big Brother Bu Song is not good. When Sin-ko and I were attacked at Suma Boan's house, it seemed that the prince's son used to be hostile to our eldest brother and he spilled his anger on our eldest brother on me and Sin-ko. And according to Flute Gold, Bu Song's brother is... already dead, he said. But he doesn't even want to speak clearly, he just looks like someone who hates Big Brother Bu Song.”
Lin Lin frowned. "Hmm, we must fulfill Father's message. After all, we should be able to meet Big Brother Bu Song. If Suma Boan hates our older brother and takes revenge on you and Sin-ko, it means he doesn't know where Bu Song's brother is now. On the other hand, Suling Emas can say that our brother is dead, meaning that he knows where Brother Bu Song is, or if he is indeed dead, how he died and where his grave is. I will look for him and ask about our brother, Enci Eng.”
"What? You want to find Flute Gold? No one, not all the hwesio here worship him, no one knows where the Golden Flute is. Where can you find him, Lin-moi? He's a very extraordinary person, if he doesn't want, no one can meet him.”
“Wow, is he more than kings and angels? Enci Eng, we cannot idolize anyone. Let him help us a thousand times, if he wants to be praised for his help, I don't want to be helped. If he's a normal human, I think I'll be able to find him!”
Sian Eng was very worried. He believed that his younger brother now had high intelligence, much higher than even him or Mrs. Sin, but because that night Lin Lin insisted on going to look for the Golden Flute, a feeling of worry arose in his heart. He was quite familiar with Lin Lin's strange and fickle disposition. What if this younger sister relapses into madness and does ridiculous things if it is true that she can meet the Golden Flute? Who knows Lin Lin will challenge him, will humiliate him! However, even preventing him knew it would be futile, especially now that Lin Lin was so skilled.
“Enci Eng, don't be nervous. I will definitely be able to meet him. When I see him, I'll tell him how much you worship him like a god! And my message is, if before I go home Liong-twako comes to visit, welcome him and engage him in conversation. He is very good, Eng-cici, I think much better than the Golden Flute."
“Ihhhhh, what are you talking about, Lin-moi? Why do you need to compare the two men? Tch, no shame!”
“Hic-hic, turtle in the boat, pretending not to know! But I know, my sweet Enci, every second you imagine the mighty Golden Flute!”
"Idihhhhh, flirt you!" Sian Eng was about to pinch, but once he flashed Lin Lin disappeared on the tile. Only his voice could be heard from the dark place above.
"Enci Sian Eng, I'll go first!"
Afternoon Eng flopped down on the bed, sitting pensively. Lin Lin's words that teased him just now stabbed his heart. Was it true that he worshiped the Gold Flute? Ah, the boy was too presumptuous, guessing nonsense. Of course he was very amazed, and you could say he half adored it, but this was due to the personal influence of Suling Emas which was indeed great plus because he saw how the whole temple worshiped him. But that didn't mean that he was... er, crazy about the Golden Flute. And he felt how deep Lin Lin's temptation was, by his sister he was considered crazy and fell in love with the Golden Flute. Really crazy!
It's not that extraordinary, strange and sometimes scary man who becomes her ideal man. The golden flute is too tall, like a demigod, isn't it... not that kind of man who can rob her of her affections. Suddenly Sian Eng's face became very red, his cheeks felt hot. His mind was imagining the scene when he met Suma Boan, when he was captured... and suddenly Siang Eng fell on the bed and burst into tears!
********************
Let's leave Sian Eng who is crying, tempted by the secret of his own feelings, and let's follow Lin Lin, who is agile, witty, and knows no sense of fear. This afternoon he saw Suling Emas riding a horse into the king's city and he felt sure that of course Gold Suling was in the palace library building, as he heard from the conversation between Suma Boan and his accomplices that when in the king's city, Gold Suling usually hid inside. palace library building.
His experience with Kim-lun Seng-jin when he entered the palace and invaded the kitchen and heritage building was a lesson that is now very useful for Lin Lin because now he knows the safest way to enter, namely through a tall tree that grows outside the wall fence. It was thanks to his tireless practice that he had now made great progress ever since he had invaded the palace with Kim-lun Seng-jin. Therefore, it was very easy for Lin Lin to jump over the wall and be in the vast area of the emperor's palace. He slipped in the dark, then in between large buildings.
For a while he circled between the big buildings and he became confused. It occurred to him that he had no idea where the library building was. The palace complex was so vast that even now he could no longer find the kitchens and heritage buildings he had visited, he had forgotten! Woe, he thought. Why is it so large and so many large buildings? There was no way he would have to check every building! What's more if you remember that in this palace area there were a lot of high-skilled bodyguards like he had heard about from Kim-lun Seng-jin.
Because of the confusion, finally Lin Lin randomly jumped over a wall that was not too high. When he got inside, it seemed that behind the wall was a very beautiful flower garden, everywhere hanging lanterns of various colors, as if one were celebrating only the spring festival. The garden is full of colorful flowers, the smell is fragrant and the lights are arranged very artistically. Some were attached to trees, some were in the form of green birds perched on branches, some were like crescent moons hanging in the clouds. There were so many of them that the garden looked bright and beautiful. In the middle of the flower garden there is a fish pond decorated with red and white lotus flowers. The water that gushed out in the middle of the pond seemed to be colored because it was hit by light from all around it, rainbow-colored lights!
Lin Lin stood rooted to the ground, wide-eyed in awe, feeling as if she was in a dreamland. Seeing that the park was deserted without anyone in it, he walked slowly, looking left and right, admiring this extraordinary beauty. Every plant is carefully arranged, even the stones that decorate the pathways in the garden, are all works of great art. Facing this beauty, Lin Lin forgot the purpose of her visit to the palace complex, instead she sat pensive in front of the fish pond, giggling and laughing alone at the behavior of the fish whose tails bloomed and swam with so many funny movements. He saw a red goldfish chasing a yellow female goldfish. Everywhere he chased them and they were chasing each other in madness.
"Hi-hik, your swimming is so stiff, how can you catch up with him?" He was laughing, using his tiny pointed fingers to move the water so that his own reflection in the water became chaotic and swaying. This sight made his heart amused and he laughed again.
"You... who?"
This rebuke was subtle, but it made Lin Lin very surprised. He jumped and turned. A man who was very beautifully dressed, over thirty, his face handsome and his movements smooth, stood in front of him, looking attentively. It has never been forever for Lin Lin to see a man dressed this beautifully. Even Suma Boan, the prince's son, was not dressed as beautifully as this, like the clothes of a puppet boy about to play a play on the stage. Suddenly he remembered something and his face was pale, his heart was pounding. Presumably this person is the emperor!
The man became even more amazed to see Lin Lin standing up with his pair of eyes wide open. His smile widened and he asked again. “Who are you? I've never seen you. Are you a new maid?”
“You… you…?” Lin Lin asked back with a stutter.
The boy laughed, his laugh loud and clear. "No, I'm not the Emperor, just Thaicu (Crown Prince)."
“Ahhhhh...!” Lin Lin took a step back.
"Why are you surprised? Who are you?" the prince asked again, now his attention was even more captivated because this girl did not drop to her knees after hearing that he was the crown prince. This is really weird!
“You… you are the Prince who will replace the Emperor? You are the future Emperor?” The pair of jelly eyes became round, clear and gave off a light like the eastern star.
The prince smiled and nodded, still amazed at this strange girl's behavior.
“Ohhh...!”
"Why?" Almost the prince exploded with restrained laughter seeing the attitude and hearing the tiny little mouth ah-ah-oh-oh like that.
“I... I entered the wrong... I... do I have to kneel in front of you? If you have to, you better get out of the way, just let me go because it's not usual for me to kneel in front of other people except my mother and father who... who are gone..."
The prince's eyes were shining with joy. This is the first time in his life that someone has behaved like this 'normally' to him, and this is very encouraging. He was tired and sometimes disgusted with the sycophancy, the extravagant respect that was bestowed on him every day. Now facing a girl he doesn't know, a teenage girl who is beautiful and completely pristine yet smells of dull fake palace manners, he becomes unbelievably interested.
“Ah, no need to kneel down. We're both human, right? What did you say your name was and where did you come from?"
Lin Lin shook her head. "I've never told you about that."
The prince smiled amused. This kid is smart too, he thought, his bait didn't work. "That's right. May I know your name?”
"My name is Lin Lin."
“Wow, what a beautiful name! where are you from? Who are you looking for here?”
“Actually, I wanted to look for the library building, but I didn't know where it was. I got lost here and was fascinated by the beauty of this park. Is this your garden, Pargeran?”
Unbelieveable! The crown prince was overjoyed. How pure and innocent this child is. Fresh and so much fun. "Yes, this is my garden. Do you like to see gold fish? The one inside the pagoda is more beautiful, inside the glass tub, you can see the selected gold fish frolicking in the water very clearly. Come on, want to see?”
The prince's demeanor and voice were very kind and sweet, and natural so that Lin Lin, who still had a childish character, couldn't hold back her heart's desires. But the fact that he was facing and talking to the future emperor's crown prince still made him nervous, so he didn't answer but only nodded.
With calm steps slowly the prince led Lin Lin to a small and beautiful pagoda building to the left of the fish pond, as if walking in a garden with a girl who did not treat him as a crown prince at all was an ordinary thing, as if Lin Lin is indeed his best friend who is free from all protocol rules. The crown prince does have a 'hobby' of beautiful flower gardens and his gold fish pets. If he took a walk to enjoy the beauty of the garden, day or night, he did not want to be disturbed by the servants. He observed this rule very strictly because he was most concerned about being disturbed by his peace in solitude and drinking wine or writing poetry in the garden so that even at that time not a single servant dared to appear in the garden.
As soon as he entered the pagoda that the crown prince called the 'Fish Pagoda', Lin Lin's eyes widened and his mouth couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. The prince smiled happily because this girl's admiration was natural and genuine, completely different from the admiration of the guests who had been invited there, namely admiration which was more arousing pleasure and pride in the crown prince's heart.
It was indeed beautiful inside that pagoda. Surrounding it is an aquarium or fish-pit made of glass, above and behind it is lit with lights of various colors so that in the water it turns into an extraordinary dream world. There is a small hut, there are bamboo groves, there are reeds, there are even small statues of grandfathers fishing. As for the gold fish with multi-colored scales, frolicking back and forth, their scales glisten in the light. Lin Lin gaped at it all.
The prince plopped down on a chair in the corner and he enjoyed the new view which was no less interesting to him than the fish in the glass that he had seen every night. He saw the condition of a teenage girl, still pure and free and half wild, a girl who was fascinated by the beauty of the contents of the pagoda, without realizing that she herself was a separate beauty which in time would be more exciting than the contents of the pagoda.
After Lin Lin was satisfied looking at all the fish, following their movements for more than an hour, then he turned to the prince, took a deep breath to express his admiration and said, “That's great! I feel as if I'm at the bottom of the ocean!”
The prince laughed. Exact and great parable. Great for rhyme starters! And remembering Lin Lin's confession that he was about to search the library building, his suspicions and surprise arose suddenly. In a friendly voice he asked, “Miss Lin Lin, you said earlier that you were going to search the palace library building! Do you want to search the building? Are you a nerd?"
Lin Lin pouted. “Fleas? Am I considered a louse? If the louse is as big as me, how big is the book?”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ah, cute miss, don't you know what I mean? Bookworm is a term for someone whose hobby is reading books. Don't tell me you're illiterate."
“Of course I can read and write, but I don't like to read a lot. I've been reading too long and my head is spinning. I'm not looking for a library to read books, but...” Lin Lin hesitated.
“But what? Want to find a secret book?”
Lin Lin thought that this crown prince was very good-natured, so he thought there was no harm in confessing frankly, and at the same time saw what the attitude of this emperor's son was when he knew that the Gold Flute liked to hide in the palace library building when he was in the royal city. "No, Prince. Actually, I was going to look for the Golden Flute which I think is in the palace library building.”
Lin Lin guessed right, the prince was shocked. However, not surprised to hear that the Golden Flute was in the palace, but surprised to hear that this girl was looking for that strange figure. “You're looking for…him? Ah, wish you were an adventurous girl from the world of kang-ouw! Hemmm, that's right, you carry a sword. Of course you are very shrewd, Miss, if you know the Golden Flute. Yes, there's no need to doubt it. Your mere entry into this palace is proof of your shrewdness...”
Suddenly there was a loud shout, "Thaicu, your time of death has come!" A dazzling light flashed across his eyes as this black clothed person charged forward with sword in hand, charging straight at the crown prince!
"Do not be afraid!" Lin Lin shouted and a yellow light rolled up to meet the person's sword. There were repeated loud sounds as the two swords met and the person screeched, his sword snapped in half against the Yellow Iron Sword, followed by the collapse of the person with Lin Lin's sword piercing his chest!
The prince bent down, picked up his attacker's stump while saying slowly, "Really boring..." He stepped outside and as his hand moved, the stump slid into the garden, disappearing behind a cluster of flowers. There was a scream of pain in the dark place.
Lin Lin was shocked and once jumped he had arrived at that place. What did he see? A man dressed in black, presumably a friend of the attacker earlier, was already lying dead with his throat pierced by the sword stump that the crown prince had swung!
When Lin Lin returned to the pagoda, the prince was still standing, his brow furrowed. “It's bad to be in the royal family,” he said when he saw Lin Lin returning, “since ancient times until now, there have always been power struggles, there have always been traitors, there have been dark assassins like this. Uhhh, how boring!”
"But with intelligence like you have, you need not be afraid, Prince. Wow, I wish you were very shrewd too, I really didn't expect it!” Lin Lin praised.
The crown prince looked sharply. "And presumably you're the girl who stole the sword in the treasure building, I don't think so at all!"
Lin Lin was shocked. The Yellow Iron Sword that he had not sheathed earlier was gripped tightly, and he looked at the prince's face inquisitively. The prince smiled but his smile contained bitterness.
“Miss Lin Lin, frankly speaking, this meeting has brought me such joy that I have never experienced in my life. You are very kind, you are like a forest rose that has not been touched by hands and is still fresh with dew. If only you could be my friend forever. But... aaah, that can't be. If you were here, of course you would be like them. Therefore, it's better like this, we are strangers to one another. My only hope is that one day we will still be able to meet as we are now.”
Lin Lin listened to these words that seemed to him incoherent in confusion. He did not understand and he did not want to be in that place any longer after the prince changed his attitude. He started to get suspicious.
“Lin Lin, this meeting has established our friendship. As a friend who will often remember you, I set you free. What is a sword compared to true friendship? I give you that sword! However, as a Crown Prince who must maintain his honor, I cannot go any further and more than this. You must be able to get out of the palace environment safely by yourself. But don't expect it to be easy because I think the palace guards are aware of your presence by now. Well, good night."
“But... but... I'm going to the library building. Where's that...?"
The prince smiled. “You are not afraid? Really big guts. The library building is to the left of this park, through three buildings. The roof is made of white iron wood, you just look for it, of course you can."
Lin Lin sheathed her sword. “Prince, you are a very kind person. Now I have changed my opinion that all princes are mere evil like the Suma Boan model...”
"You know Suma Boan?"
"My sword will know him, he is my enemy!"
The prince nodded and looked pensively until Lin Lin's shadow disappeared behind the wall fence. He then turned to his fish and whispered. "I hope he survives!"
This accidental encounter between the crown prince and Lin Lin is recounted here because it was this seemingly trivial matter that was the reason why later after this prince became emperor, the enmity between his government and the Khitan Empire stopped and turned into friendship.
Lin Lin jumped over the garden wall and slipped into the dark. He immediately crouched behind a tree when he saw two shadows of people flashing.
"Where are they...?" whispered a shadow.
“Entering the Crown Prince's garden...!”
“Ha-ha, they are looking for disease. Their intelligence is not that high, dare to disturb Thaicu. Let's go in and get their bodies."
“Hush, don't be reckless you. If there is no Thaicu call sign, who dares to enter the park? Ask dead? Let us just wait here."
Lin Lin moved away from the two bodyguards. His heart is twitching. The prince was right, there are many smart bodyguards here. Those two people already knew of the existence of the two killers, and it seemed that they deliberately let the two criminals enter the tiger cave! Lin Lin moved to the left and finally he saw a white roof building. His heart fluttered, was the Gold Flute in this building? It looked like the building was quiet and dark. He came closer again.
"Stop! Who are you to dare to steal into Thaicu's garden and roam the palace? Let's give up!"
Lin Lin had already gotten ahead of him, lunged at him and managed to push him down. The man was shrewd and quickly had jumped up. Earlier he could be knocked down because he didn't expect to be attacked at all, especially when he gaped in astonishment to see that what he was rebuking was a beautiful teenage girl and the way the girl lunged was extraordinarily fierce. This was not strange because Lin Lin had actually used Khong-in-ban-kin's power.
"Wild girl, don't run!" the bodyguard snapped and thumped.
However, as fast as a swift turning around, the girl had slipped to the left and as soon as her hand moved, the person collapsed again, now she has collapsed and rolled over. Only then was he shocked half to death. His leg was twisted and without being able to get back up he could only give a loud whistle in distress.
Lin Lin quickly distanced herself, jumping near the library building. He didn't want to engage himself in battle with the guards before he met the Gold Flute, because that was exactly what he had come for. But suddenly a shadow flashed by a person and at another moment he was surrounded by five palace guards who were dressed beautifully and dashingly, each holding a sword in a threatening manner. On the side of the bodyguards, they were momentarily dumbfounded, absolutely never expecting that they would lock up such a beautiful girl! Of course they were doubtful because palace guards were as valiant as they were, how could they gang up on a young girl?