½ Prince

Chapter 5: The Diary of a Suffering Street Musician – translated by Raylight

After the members of Infinite Band put their heads together, they finally came up with a method to gather as big an audience as possible. First, the members would split up into four groups and travel different roads. Wicked, Gui and I would each go alone, while Phoenix and Fairsky would go together, accompanied by two bodyguards – Kenshin and Sunshine. We would start from the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern gates respectively, following the road to the central square.  Then, we would begin our performance.

Looking at the increasing horde of people behind my back, I thought, This should be about enough… With the horde attracted by the others, the square might end up being packed to the point of bursting! I walked into the square while thinking, and coincidentally saw Gui walk into the square from another road at the same time. Gui was definitely a handsome guy whose beauty could compete with mine, and the number of lascivious women following him was also overwhelming.

I waved to Gui and he ran towards me. “So the rest haven’t reached here yet?” I asked.

Gui beamed as he said, “I did see Fairsky and Phoenix, and the two of them have attracted quite a number of men.”

“Oh?” Using my hand as a support, I jumped onto the fountain in the center of the square and pulled Gui up. The two of us sat in this fashion on the rim of the fountain, allowing the crowd to admire us even as we casually kept a lookout for the others’ arrival.

“It’s a good thing we brought them along; otherwise we wouldn’t have attracted even a single guy.” I said half-joking. “After all, we can’t let Infinite City become the City of Women.”

“With Your Highness here, I’m afraid that it’ll really become the City of Women,” Gui replied with a smile.

“Whaaaat…Like all of you don’t have any responsibility for this,” I said sarcastically. “You and Wicked are also extremely handsome guys that people don’t see around very often. That reminds me, Kenshin and Sunshine can also be called beautiful men. There’s also Nan Gong Zui, who is rather good-looking. Broken Sword’s not bad too, although he’s already taken. Wah, I didn’t realize we had so many handsome guys in Infinite City!”

“In front of you, Prince, nobody can say that they are good-looking,” Gui spoke with a slow and infatuated tone. His hand gently brushed away the white hair that had fallen in front of my forehead, and then he… was pushed into the fountain by a jump kick.

Please don’t misunderstand; I’m not the one who kicked Gui. Look! The person who kicked Gui down, Wicked, was hovering near me, looking threatening. He was even glowering down at Gui in the fountain.

“You’re here! Wahhhh, Wicked’s really popular too.” I looked at the sea of faces in the square and nodded my head, satisfied.

“Phoenix and Fairsky are behind us; they should be reaching here soon,” Wicked answered as he reluctantly pulled Gui out of the fountain.

“Uh, I already see them.” I broke into a cold sweat, watching the two ultra-beauties walk slowly here, the road cleared by the two bodyguards I had sent – Sunshine and Kenshin. And behind them was a crowd as dense as a swarm of ants: a horde of perverts with an excess of male hormones.  Looks like Lolidragon’s clothing designs worked well. The top was sexy, leopard-printed, and strapless. The bottom was an extra-short, figure-hugging leather skirt, along with a pair of high-heeled boots for footwear. These items were surely the top three godly weapons needed to attract males. On Fairsky and Phoenix, the effects of the clothes were even more devastating –it was enough to make males drool until they died from dehydration.

“Looks like the members of Infinite Band are all here.” I smiled lightly, looking at the two unbelievably cool beauties. “Let’s start with something exciting. Fairsky, Phoenix, are you ready?”

Fairsky took out her guitar and gently plucked a few notes, gesturing an “Okay” to me while Phoenix set up her drum set with the help of the remaining four men. After she picked up her drumsticks and casually played out a beat, she too nodded at me.

Standing on the fountain and looking at the large audience below, I haughtily said, “Then don’t say anything. Let us sing a song first! Let them see the musical prowess of our Infinite Band.”

“No problem!” Fairsky and Phoenix said simultaneously. As soon as they spoke, Phoenix vigorously beat out a rhythm, causing the originally noisy crowd to quiet down.

At the same moment, Fairsky violently strummed across the surface of the guitar.  I sent a roar to the heavens, and began our concert tour’s first song. Following the intense rhythm and the sonorous singing, I danced wildly, as though I was fighting. With heated abandon I flew, I leapt, I poured all of myself into my performance, as though fire was coursing through my veins and setting alight the hearts of all who were present.

At last, I sang the final note.  Regaining my senses after the passionate dancing, I stood silently on the spot. Without our performance, the square remained soundless. It was so quiet that I could only hear my own breathing…

“Ahhhhhhh!” A loud shrill from a female suddenly emerged from the crowd, nearly piercing my eardrums.

With the silence broken, the voices were like the explosion of meteorites hitting the earth, which even led to a chain reaction. “Encore, Encore!”, “It’s too wonderful, sing  another song!”, “Ahhhh! So handsome!”, “What a hot babe! Damn! I nearly had a nosebleed…”

As I saw the scene start to get rowdy, I cocked an eyebrow. “Now let’s calm down the atmosphere. Gui, Wicked, no problem, right?”

“Of course not, Your Highness.” Gui took his guqin and sat on the fountain elegantly.

“Let’s start.” Wicked took out his flute and stood unmoving. The tall, proud, and lonely figure was a perfect match for the flute.

Just like that, the sound of the flute started to ring amidst of all the clamor, but for some reason, the noise was unable to block that melancholic sound. The sound of the flute wove through the crowd, through the noise, directly into everyone’s ears. Very quickly, there was pin-drop silence in the square, all except that melancholic sound of the flute.

Following it was the faint and touching sound of Gui’s guqin, and then I lightly opened my mouth and sang in a voice entirely different from the one before, a voice filled with sorrow.

Another song ended, and there was yet another round of silence. I recalled our main objective – to publicize Infinite City.

“Hello everybody. We are Infinite Band, under the jurisdiction of Infinite City. From today onwards, we will start our concert tour in the Sun, Moon and Star Cities. We will also be holding a string of concerts in Infinite City a month later, so I hope that everyone will be able to attend our huge performance then.”

“Now, let us do a self-introduction. I’m the lead singer, the Blood Elf Prince.” I revealed a devilish smile.

“Guitarist, Fairsky.” Fairsky cutely stuck out her small pink tongue.

“Drummer, Ice Phoenix.” Phoenix’s lazy smile radiated with charm.

“I am Guiliastes, performing the guqin.” Gui smiled without restraint.

“Wicked, my instrument is the flute,” Wicked coolly finished with a few brief words.

Now, looking at the countless number of infatuated eyes below the stage, I had a feeling that this was the calm before the storm. I only could PM everyone, asking, “Ugh, should we make a run for it before they regain their senses?”

“Agreed!” Threatened by the frightening silence, the opinions of the members of Infinite Band were in sync for once.

“AHHHHHHH!” Another piercing shrill rang out…

“Sunshine, take out your flying carpet!” Looking at the crowd that was crazily pushing towards us, all the members of Infinite Band gave out heartrending cries simultaneously, as if by prior agreement.

“Hurry and get on!” After I landed on the carpet with a flying jump, I extended a hand to pull Gui up. Then the tug-of-war between me and the pile of females below clutching Gui’s legs began…

“Your Highness! Save meeee!” Gui begged with teary eyes.

Women! When it comes to snatching handsome guys, their strength is inexhaustible… I, whose body had been half-dragged off the carpet, struggled desperately against them. “Wicked, Kenshin, hurry up and help me!”

“Uh…” Wicked sounded as though he was willing to help but was unable to do so. I looked at him from the corner of my eye, only to see his face in agony. His upper body was on the flying carpet, but both his hands were grabbing the carpet with a death grip while five pretty girls were hugging the lower half of his body that he couldn’t free himself from.

“Go and die, you pervert,” Fairsky impatiently cried out. She kicked off the man who was hugging her thigh, but immediately another pervert clung on.

“Flame arrow, Flame arrow, Flame—” Sunshine was also casting Flame Arrow without pause, helping Fairsky to shoot the perverts off the carpet.

“Ugh… How scary!” Phoenix hid behind the only person who could save her, Kenshin.  Even though Kenshin’s blade was already dyed red, the men still climbed up one by one, paying no thought to their lives.

“Meatbun’s super gross Machine Gun Meat Attack!” I grabbed Meatbun and aimed under Gui’s legs, manically shooting out meat that was still raw and dripping blood. After the beautiful girls underneath were all covered in meat, their feeling of disgust finally overcame their determination for snatching handsome guys. They let go of Gui’s leg one after another, and finally I managed to pull him up onto the carpet. After that, I rushed to go help Wicked.

“Meat Attaaaack!” After forcing back another bunch of girls and rescuing Wicked, I turned around in Fairsky and Phoenix’s direction.

“Heaven’s Blazing Flame,” Gui commanded his Fire Phoenix to breathe fire at a bunch of perverts, and before long, a pile of charcoal black perverts dropped down in succession from mid-air…

“Sunshine, hurry up and go!” I roared.

“Alright.” After Sunshine gave commands to the flying carpet, our party finally managed to escape.

With a pale face, I asked, “Is this going to be the lifestyle we’ll be living for the next month?”

“OH GODDDD!” Our party let out an inhuman cry.

It was only from then on that I realized that the path to becoming a singer was such an arduous one…

<Concert Tour Day 2>

“First group reporting, the main door has already been blocked. I repeat, the main door has already been blocked. Definitely don’t go out by the main door. How are the other groups’ situations?” I asked, PMing the second and third groups.

Wicked’s and Gui’s voices were transmitted over. “Second group reporting, the back door has already been occupied by the enemy. I repeat, the back door has already been occupied by the enemy.”

“Third group reporting as well. The windows have also been jostled open!” Fairsky wailed pitifully.

“The inn room that we just rented today has been captured by fans again!” I wanted to cry, but no tears flowed out. If I had known this earlier, I wouldn’t have rented it! Why didn’t I use the money to eat instead?

“What should we do?” the others asked me. Furrowing my brows, I replied, “I guess we can only take out sleeping bags to sleep outside the city…”

“Fourth group reporting,” Sunshine replied casually. “Outside the city, there are people searching for you guys everywhere.”

“Sleep on the flying carpet then, although it’s a little crowded,” I helplessly replied.

A group of people on a flying carpet that isn’t very big…

“I want to sleep beside Prince.” Fairsky pouted as she hugged me tightly, refusing to let go.

And Phoenix had long since been lying in my arms docilely…

“I also want to hug Your Highness!” Gui, who was being stepped under Wicked’s foot, could only grab my calf and struggle with all his might.

At last, I lay down, with my left arm being tightly hugged by Fairsky, and the right side of my body being pressed down by Phoenix. The person grabbing my right calf refusing to let go was Gui, and the person seizing Gui’s collar, wanting to throw him off the carpet, was Wicked… Sunshine and Kenshin lay near us, beside the pile of human bodies that we formed.

“How cramped!” Kenshin commented coldly.

<Concert Tour Day 5>

“Everyone, are you wearing your cloaks?” I asked, lowering my voice. The six people behind me all nodded. Looking at the sight, I said with satisfaction, “That’s good. Let’s go; we still have to teleport to Moon City!”

“Hurry up and go! I already can’t stand the feeling of being chased.” Fairsky’s voice came from under one of the cloaks, obviously wanting no delay in leaving.

“Lower your voice! If we get revealed as the members of Infinite Band, things will become troublesome,” Wicked reprimanded.

“Let’s go!” I said while I walked towards the teleportation station not too far off.

The further I walked, the more I felt that something was wrong. Although there isn’t usually a lack of customers at the station, it still shouldn’t be to the extent of having such a sea of people, right? Our party walked towards the station with feelings of anxiety.

“Wait a minute. If you want to use the teleportation system, you have to take off your cloak first. It’s for security reasons.” A large, burly fellow blocked our path.

Take it off? Will I still be able walk away then? The thought of the miserable situation that I might experience if we got discovered as the members of Infinite Band made me unable to restrain myself from replying in a cold tone. “What? Is the teleport station operated by your family? Do we need your consent in order to use it?”

The man scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. “That’s not it,” he said. “It’s just that someone employed me to stop players here, so I have to make sure that none of the people passing by are the ones I have to block. It would be disastrous if I missed them.”

“Block who?” I think I probably know the answer to that.

The beefy man simpered. “It is the recently very famous Infinite Band!”

As expected…I thought helplessly. I conveniently PMed everyone, asking what we should do. However, every single person replied to me with nothing but silence.

“Barge through,” was Kenshin’s single sentence.

“Okay!” I shouted enthusiastically, since I couldn’t think of any other solutions anyway.

With a ram from me, I knocked away the heavily built guy. Taken by surprise, he was butted far away. However, before he was sent flying from the blow, he extended his hand to grab my cloak…

“AHHHHH!! It’s Prince!” A terrifying shrill rang out.

My forehead perspired furiously. WE. ARE. DOOMED!

<Concert Tour Day 10>

“Ugh, I don’t want to eat roasted meat any more. For ten consecutive days, all three meals have been roasted meat! I’ll vomit if I have to eat more of it!” wept Phoenix as she took a bite from the roasted meat in her hands, finally passing her limits of endurance.

*BARF*

I stared with cool detachment at Gui who was off to the side, puking so much that it was almost tragic. “We don’t have any other choice. I also want to eat other kinds of food, but even Sunshine and Kenshin can’t go out to buy food anymore. Whenever people see us or anyone in a disguise, they’ll rush up as though they were all crazy.”

Sunshine, who had always been smiling elegantly, revealed a rare glum face. With a sorrowful heart, he said, “The last time I went out to buy food for all of you, I nearly didn’t manage to come back!”

“Having something at all to eat is already great,” said Wicked coldly.

“Most importantly, we’re going to be all out of meat buns soon. After that, what is Meatbun going to eat?” I stared, frustrated, at Meatbun who was currently playing the “Fly Fly” game with his wife, Fire Phoenix.

“Knead the roasted meat into the shape of a ball, and treat it as a skinless meat bun to feed it?” Who was the one who thought of such a rotten idea…?

<Concert Tour Day 15>

“Everyone, hurry and run,” Fairsky shouted at the top of her voice while running wildly, escaping from the square where we had just held our concert. Behind her, a long trail of perverts followed.

“Fairsky, come over here,” Sunshine shouted to her from his flying carpet. He flew low in her direction and then extended a hand to pull her up.

“Phew! I should have everyone now, right?”  Sunshine asked as he wiped away his sweat, relieved.

However, Gui’s face was pale with fear as he cried out, “Where’s my Highness, Prince?!

Somewhere in the human pile, I yelled miserably, “HELP. ME. AHHHH! Don’t pull off my jacket! Give me back my pants! Oh god, I’m only left with this piece of clothing! Please don’t take off my underwear!”

[½ Prince Volume 4 Chapter 5 End]

Footnotes

 Flute: It is actually “Xiao”, “箫”, which is a Chinese vertical end-blown flute. Go here for more information.