Novel Name : Heaven Official’s Blessing
Heaven Official’s Blessing Chapter 161-170
Chapter 161-170
Ch.161: This Jade Refuses to be a Thrown Away Brick 3
It became bustling and lively on the other end, and the heavenly official on this side was
shocked, “Eh? You– you’re not His Highness Qi Ying???”
Only then did the others explain laughingly, their hands hugging their stomachs, “You got the
wrong person, my brother! Did you forget? There are two martial gods ruling the west, one is Yin
Yu and the other is Qi Ying. They’re shixiong and shidi of the same sect, the one in front of you
is His Highness Yin Yu, hahaha…”
That heavenly official quickly said, “Oh oh oh, I’ve gotten the wrong person, how embarrassing,
hahaha, I’m too ignorant of the world, and have only heard more about Qi Ying…” He trailed off,
but Yin Yu had already closed his eyes like he was too tired for words and had given up on
socializing. Someone had noticed things not going right and elbowed that heavenly official, and
only then did he noticed what he said was hurtful. He haha-ed and quickly remedied, “Ahem
ahem, I’ll take my leave now, Your Highness Yin… Yin Yue, Ah, no no no, Your Highness Yin
Yu! Let’s get together again sometimes, happy Mid Autumn, hahaha…”
While he said he was taking his leave, he raised his glass and cheered, heading to Quan Yi
Zhen’s direction. On the other end, there was already a large crowd of heavenly officials, all
fighting to greet Quan Yi Zhen, the sea of people thick and the person in the centre couldn’t be
seen.
It appeared that this was soon after Quan Yi Zhen had ascended, but he already erected his
own palace and was at the height of his popularity, unlike how he was disliked later. Although
the two were both martial gods of the west, his prominence was significantly greater than that of
Yin Yu, and the people all swarmed over, practically leaving only He Xuan who still sat there
drinking his soup, the table empty and quiet. It was awkward no matter if he stood or sat, so a
moment later, Yin Yu suddenly said, “Let’s head back.”
The two left their seats and no one noticed. Jian Yu was enraged, “Those shallow, fairweathered
people! And they’re heavenly officials no less! Back when that brat first joined the Upper Court,
they all gave him the cold shoulder, complaining to you all day everyday. Now look at them. That
brat’s ascended, he’s got lanterns, and they praised him to the skies! They change attitudes
faster than flipping a page, what immovable status? What young and capable? His devotees are
all mental just like him! Only idiots would worship someone with brain damage!”
Just then, Shi Qing Xuan walked over with a glass of wine, and Yin Yu whispered, “Don’t talk
anymore, let’s get out of here!”
It was only seeing someone come that Jian Yu finally shut his mouth. Shi Qing Xuan was
puzzled, “Yin Yu, are you going back? Didn’t Qi Ying just come? I heard him say last time that
the two of you haven’t seen each other for a long time and even asked me what you’ve been up
to. Are you going to go catch up a little with him?”
Yin Yu forced a smile, “No, I’m not feeling too well, so I’ll head back first.”
Shi Qing Xuan didn’t think too deeply of it, and when he saw the ‘Earth Master’ sitting behind
them, he laughed cheerfully, “Then you go and rest easy, and we’ll get together next time.
Ming-xiong! I told you not to sit there! Come come come, come over to my table…”
They waited until Shi Qing Xuan walked away and stopped caring for them before Jian Yu
lowered his voice and continued to grumble, “Catch up my ass! That brat won’t have much time
to be so proud before the rug gets pulled from under his feet and suffers a crushing defeat. I
eagerly await that day!”
He kept grousing, aggravating Yin Yu’s silent frustration, “Just drop it, and stop being so
resentful.”
“Drop it, drop it, that’s all you say, “drop it”.” Jian Yu complained, “How can this be dropped?
When he first came up, if it wasn’t for you always going around wiping his ass and begging for
forgiveness, he would’ve long been kicked out already. I really can’t watch this anymore, I’m
frustrated for you!”
The two had already swiftly returned to the Palace of Yin Yu. Compared to the exceptionally
liveliness of the Palace Grand Opening Ceremony, the halls now were desolate and deserted
with very few lower ranked officials attending to them. After closing the gates, Yin Yu’s voice
grew louder, “Don’t say anymore! I don’t want to hear! It’s very normal for an ascended heavenly
official to erect a palace, he didn’t do anything out of line. Since you get irritated just talking
about him then why must you mention him?”
“Don’t think me speaking out of turn, but someone must remind you. Yin Yu, domain in the west
is only so big, and there’s only so many devotees. He’s robbed so many; that wolf monster was
totally wrenched away by him! Look at the state of you now, your domain’s shrinking smaller
and smaller, just how much do you have left? How can you maintain your standing if this keeps
up?”
“How is it considered robbing?” Yin Yu said, “It’s not like he held anyone at knifepoint to worship
him, everyone’s willing. Besides, that wolf monster…”
He sighed and said frankly, “I really couldn’t have defeated it. It was useless praying to me, so
of course they went to him.”
Jian Yu held his head, his heart aching, “I just… I’m just scared that if this fight continues, we’d
have nothing left. Fuck, even those lower ranking officials are all ass kissers, each of them
using empty excuses to quit to slip away to other heavenly officials, what a bunch of no-good
asshats!”
Yin Yu sighed again, sitting down on the prayer cushion, “What fight… why care for such a
thing? What must leave will always leave in the end, and what should remain will naturally stay.
I didn’t ascend to fight over power with anyone, nor fight over domains, so why can’t you let this
go?”
As they say, “one mountain has no room for two tigers”, just look at the present example: Feng
Xin and Mu Qing who were both stationed in the south had been going at each other’s throats
for years. If they weren’t in the same territory, things might be a little better, but “enemies are
destined to meet”, where one is renown and ascends is one’s domain. The people of the past in
one’s mortal life will often end up crowding together after ascension. In the heavens, in the
mortal realm, as gods as humans, life is just awkward like that. There was no reason for Quan
Yi Zhen to abandon the west and move to a different territory. The two were in the middle of
their argument when there was someone suddenly banging loudly on the doors. Jian Yu called,
“WHO IS IT?!”
“It’s me.” The person outside the door replied.
Jian Yu turned to Yin Yu angrily and said under his breath, “…Why did this stinkin’ brat come?”
Yin Yu gestured for him to go to the back, and he schooled his expression before going forward
to open the doors. Sure enough, standing just outside was Quan Yi Zhen. He seemed to have
grown taller again since the last time, about the same height as when Xie Lian first met him, and
had finally stopped perching on windows.
When Yin Yu spoke, he sounded fairly calm, “Yi Zhen, it’s you. Are you not attending the Mid
Autumn Banquet? Why have you come?”
Quan Yi Zhen followed him into the grand hall, and the moment he spoke it was something
blunt, “It’s my birthday.”
“…”
So the Mid Autumn Festival was Quan Yi Zhen’s birthday, and he had come looking for his
birthday present.
Xie Lian had also heard that Yin Yu, as shixiong, would always gift Quan Yi Zhen a present on
his birthdays. It was probably due to the many awkwardness that this year, there wasn’t one. By
Shi Qing Xuan’s words back at the Mid Autumn Banquet, Yin Yu had probably been avoiding
him on purpose for some time now. When someone started avoiding meetings and stopped
giving gifts, those who were a bit more sensitive would’ve noticed and wouldn’t ever have gone
to ask for gifts. Yet here he was, never thinking anything was wrong, and came knocking in full
confidence. Xie Lian had never seen anything more tragically awkward. If he wasn’t touching
foreheads with Hua Cheng right now he would’ve slapped his own face to cover his own eyes
so he wouldn’t have to watch anymore.
Yin Yu puffed a dry laugh, “…Ah, that’s right, today’s your birthday. But, it’s been busy here in
the palace recently, so…”
When Quan Yi Zhen heard, his eyes widened, “There’s nothing?”
Yin Yu seemed to think things weren’t right so when the words reached his lips they made a
u-turn, “No, I didn’t forget. It’s in the back, just wait a moment.”
Quan Yi Zhen sat himself down on the spot, resting both his hands on his knees, nodding
energetically, looking very hopeful. Yin Yu fled to the side chamber, and Jian Yu was sitting
there grimly. Of course Yin Yu hadn’t prepare anything, so the moment he entered the room he
flipped through all the drawers and dressers, chests and shelves, but he couldn’t find anything
proper for the occasion, so he called out to Jian Yu, “Help me find something, quick, something
that can temporarily be used as a gift.”
Jian Yu grabbed a rag cloth on the side and threw it onto the ground, stomping at it twice before
saying hatefully, “Give this to him. “
“Jian Yu!” Yin Yu berated.
“Even gifting something like this is still more than what he deserves.” Jian Yu spat. “I can’t
believe he’s shameless enough to come!”
Yin Yu said woefully, “You don’t understand anything. In the years past I’ve always gifted him
something, if I don’t give him anything this year it’d seem too deliberate. Anything will do, as
long as the intention’s there. How about this. Go find me that Golden Exorcism Armlet that we
got last time? It’s not quite appropriate but at least it’s something.”
He had to urge a couple times before Jian Yu went angrily. Yin Yu returned to the grand hall
then, and sat in front of Quan Yi Zhen, “Just wait for a moment. Things are a bit disorganized
right now so I sent Jian Yu to look for your gift. By the way, what have you been up to lately?
Things have been going smoothly, I presume? I heard the number of worshippers of your palace
had increased five fold these past few months, congratulations.”
Quan Yi Zhen replied, “I don’t know any worshippers, I’m just doing me and they came crowding
my temples for some reason, weird. I slayed a wolf monster recently.”
Yin Yu’s smile became stiffer. What he couldn’t take on, Quan Yi Zhen took on so effortlessly.
This was very much like how you just couldn’t win over a girl you loved, and she ignored you
completely, but when she ran into the arms of someone else in tears, this someone else couldn’t
even be bothered to spare her a look and instead, turned around to tell you how she was only
average, nothing to be amazed by. Truly, what a bitter feeling. Quan Yi Zhen talked on for a bit,
then suddenly said, “I saw you earlier at the Mid Autumn Banquet. I wanted to talk to you but
you left so quickly.”
When he finally stopped talking so excitedly about the recent battles of his domain, Yin Yu finally
exhaled in relief. “Oh, there was a little something, so I came back early.”
Quan Yi Zhen nodded, “Someone told me that it’s because they greeted you as the wrong
person.”
Hearing this, Yin Yu’s face instantly dropped but Quan Yi Zhen didn’t notice at all, his lips
curving upwards, “It’s too funny, so stupid!”
Xie Lian couldn’t bear to watch anymore and he buried his face in Hua Cheng’s arms, “This…
this, this, this, is too tragic to watch.”
Of course Xie Lian believed wholeheartedly that Quan Yi Zhen thought it was funny that others
made a silly mistake, and at the same time did not realize at all just how not funny this was to
Yin Yu, but this didn’t change the fact that if the other two were going to continue this awkward
conversation, he was going to die from suffocation. Thankfully, before he suffocated, Jian Yu
finally came around with a gift box. He passed the gift box to Yin Yu and went away to the back
again without a word. Yin Yu also looked like he just received absolution, and passed the box on
directly to Quan Yi Zhen. He seemed to be ecstatic and hopped up on the spot to receive the
box. However, Yin Yu’s smile was already laced with fatigue, “Why don’t you open it after you go
back?”
Quan Yi Zhen nodded, “Ok. I’ll head back now. I’m going out for patrol next month, if shixiong is
free, come with me.”
Yin Yu couldn’t listen to anymore of anything he’d say, and offhandedly placated him with an
alright. Once the boy was sent off, Jian Yu came out cussing, slamming the doors, “WHO DOES
HE THINK HE IS?! DID HIS MOM DROP HIM ON THE HEAD HUNDREDS OF TIMES AT
BIRTH?? IF NOT THEN HE’S HERE TO MOCK YOU ON PURPOSE. WHAT, “I DON’T KNOW
ANY WORSHIPPERS”, WHAT PATROL, IS HE TRYING TO SHOW OFF? WHAT A
MALICIOUS HEART!”
This time when he yelled, Yin Yu didn’t stop him. Silently, he headed to the back chambers and
never did emerge again. Xie Lian instinctively felt the gift box Quan Yi Zhen took away was
problematic, “Could it be? It’s the Brocade Immortal in that box?”
“You guessed it.” Hua Cheng said.
“Then Jian Yu should’ve been the one responsible for the crime of the Brocade Immortal
incident, so why was Yin Yu’s punishment so heavy-handed later?” Xie Lian asked.
“Gege will find out three days after.” Hua Cheng replied.
He said three days, and three days went by. Rays of sunshine startlingly shone through into the
quiet Palace of Yin Yu, and Yin Yu sluggishly walked into the side chambers, seeming to be
rummaging for something. He flipped through the chests and delved through the drawers.
However, unexpectedly, as he rummaged he suddenly fumbled out a shiningly golden armlet
that was covered in charmed spells from the desk. He didn’t care for it at first and placed it
aside, but then a moment later, he suddenly picked it up and called out, “Jian Yu?”
Jian Yu entered the room, “What is it?”
Yin Yu held up that armlet and questioned puzzledly, “Why is the Golden Exorcism Armlet here?
Didn’t you gift it to him? Didn’t I have you wrap this up in a gift box?”
Jian Yu humphed, “Gift him? He doesn’t even deserve a drop of your spit!”
Yin Yu was exasperated, “You didn’t actually gift him that foot cleaning cloth? Why must you
offend people?” However, Jian Yu only smiled cryptically, “I didn’t. I gave him something better.”
Yin Yu’s face instantly changed and didn’t think things light anymore, “What? I was wondering
why I couldn’t find it anywhere. That robe can manipulate minds, it can suck blood!” Then he
turned to hurry away, but Jian Yu grabbed him, “Why so anxious! That robe can manipulate
minds, that’s true, but you’re the one who gave it to him, so no one else can control him. As for
the blood sucking, maybe it’ll be effective on mortals, but I doubt it’ll do anything to heavenly
officials. Look, it’s been three days and nothing’s happened to him!”
Yin Yu gave it a some thought and paced back and forth in the side chambers. Jian Yu
continued, “Besides, isn’t that brat capable? Young and capable, let’s see just how capable he
is.”
In the end, Yin Yu still threw his hands together, “That won’t do! We don’t know just how
dangerous that thing is, if anything happens then we’re done for! How can you take things so
lightly?! Sigh!”
Then, without any regard for Jian Yu’s calls, he dashed out, bumping into many heavenly
officials on the way, rushing into the Palace of Qi Ying. The person in question wasn’t there, so
he grabbed hold of people everywhere, asking anxiously, “Where’s Qi Ying? I’ve something
urgent, I need to find him!”
“Qi Ying?” The others said, “His Highness Qi Ying is in a meeting at the Great Martial Hall! All
the top ranking martial gods of the Upper Court are there today…”
Yin Yu didn’t finish listening before he ran off. It was only once he reached the Great Martial Hall
that he realized he couldn’t enter. First of all, this meeting only summoned the “top ranking
martial gods of the Upper Court” and he wasn’t called; second of all, even if he went in he
wouldn’t be able to talk about the matter in front of everyone, so he could only wait outside the
hall. Through the windows, Xie Lian swept a glance, and sure enough, there were a number of
familiar faces, like Feng Xin, Mu Qing, Pei Ming, who were in the hall, all listening intently. What
Yin Yu saw, however, was Quan Yi Zhen donned with an impressive, shining armour.
He appeared perfectly normal, rather, it was Ling Wen who was standing next to Jun Wu on the
throne who was distracted, making frequent mistakes, so much so that Jun Wu had to speak
up, “Ling Wen? Ling Wen?”
He called her a few time before Ling Wen snapped out of it, “What? What is it?”
Jun Wu chuckled, “What’s with you today? You keep staring at Qi Ying. Are you perhaps like
me, and think his new armour is quite nice?”
The few martial gods in the hall also started laughing, and Ling Wen mumbled an apology,
wiping away the cold sweat on her forehead unnoticeably. However, the hand gripping the brush
was still trembling.
If Xie Lian was present at the time, he probably would’ve just smiled. However, now he’s
perfectly aware that Ling Wen must’ve been feeling afflicted and perturbed seeing Quan Yi Zhen
wearing and flashing that bloody robe she herself created hundreds of years ago.
Yin Yu paced around outside the hall, sometimes squatting, sometimes standing, agitated and
jittery. At last the meeting ended, and Quan Yi Zhen was the first to come out. When he saw Yin
Yu outside, he greeted, “Shixiong, why are you here?”
Yin Yu instantly rose to his feet and incoherently said a few words before immediately getting to
the point, “Your armour…”
“It’s great!” Quan Yi Zhen replied, “The emperor and Ling Wen complimented it earlier. Thank
you, shixiong.”
“…”
Yin Yu spoke with a forced calm, “It’s good indeed, but the person who forged the armour said
there’s a little problem and wants you to bring it over for some tweaking.”
If he ordered for Quan Yi Zhen to “take off this armour” directly, he would risk for Quan Yi Zhen
to discover himself manipulated after the fact, and it wouldn’t be good if the matter should be
found out, so Yin Yu couldn’t afford for him to notice anything amiss, which was why he could
only make the request in such a roundabout way. However, Quan Yi Zhen was puzzled, “What
problem? I don’t think there’s any problems.”
It was also awkward to ask for a gift already given to be returned after all, and Yin Yu thought
really hard on what to say when Quan Yi Zhen spoke again, “By the way, shixiong, next month
we can go patrol together.”
Yin Yu instantly looked up, a little dumbfounded, “What?”
“I don’t think my name is on the list for patrol?” He’d almost forgotten about the whole business
with the Brocade Immortal.
Quan Yi Zhen looked quite happy and excited, “There is. I mentioned you earlier, and the
emperor said he could consider it.”
“…”
In that flash of a second, Xie Lian could almost see waves of hot blood rushing to Yin Yu’s head.
Years of built up resentment and pent up grievances finally exploded in this very moment. Yin
Yu yelled, “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU??”
This was the very first time Quan Yi Zhen saw Yin Yu so angry, and he blinked, confusion filled
his face. A few heavenly officials who were passing by also snuck peeks over. Yin Yu hugged
his head, “DID I SAY I WANTED TO GO?? WHAT’S THE PATROL OF MARTIAL GODS GOT
TO DO WITH ME?? I DIDN’T BEG YOU SO WHO ARE YOU TO MENTION ME TO THE
EMPEROR??”
Outsiders might not know why Yin Yu was losing his cool like this, but Xie Lian could understand
perfectly. After all, to an extremely proud martial god, this was a great humiliation.
The Patrol of Martial Gods was a ceremony that only the highest ranking martial gods of the
Upper Court could participate in. During the procession of this patrol, the chosen martial gods
could demonstrate their might and subdue and disperse monsters and demons. Not only could
this help spread their name and increase the number of worshippers, there was also the
opportunity to spar with fellow participating martial gods, improve their skills and build their
relationships. In any case, this was a grand affair, and there was a certain demand for
prominent foundation and high skills for the attending martial gods; for example, having at least
four thousand temples or ranking in the top ten.
With Yin Yu’s qualifications, he for sure wouldn’t be eligible to participate in the Patrol of Martial
Gods. Even if he could go and was able to gain actual benefits, those who were aware of his
status would for sure talk. Those with thick skins might not care, countless small heavenly
officials would fight to squeeze themselves in, but Yin Yu was clearly someone who wasn’t thick
skinned, and knowing deep down he didn’t have the qualifications, how could he possibly
depend on the connections of someone else to force himself in? Besides, this someone else
was Quan Yi Zhen who once depended on him to escape expulsion from heaven!
Quan Yi Zhen didn’t get it at all. He probably thought it was a good deed and so he mentioned
it, and didn’t think there was any need to care for anything else. However, because Yin Yu
looked truly furious, for the first time, Quan Yi Zhen seemed to want to say something but
stopped, looking like he didn’t dare to speak. A moment later, he mumbled, “Shixiong, why are
you mad? Did I do something wrong?”
“…”
Those words again!
Xie Lian practically wanted to beg him to stop talking. As for Yin Yu, veins popped on his
forehead, teetering on the edge of a meltdown, and he pulled at his own hair, “ENOUGH! I’VE
HAD ENOUGH! I’M GOING MAD! I’M GOING FUCKING MAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” Then he
pointed at the Great Martial Hall, “QUAN YI ZHEN, DON’T TALK TO ME ANYMORE! GO TAKE
BACK YOUR RECOMMENDATION! STOP ADDING TO MY TROUBLES! NOW! RIGHT THIS
SECOND!”
After he roared, without another word, Quan Yi Zhen instantly turned and dashed back into the
Great Martial Hall. Yin Yu blinked, and only then did he remember Quan Yi Zhen was still
wearing that Brocade Immortal, and his actions weren’t because he knew himself to be wrong
and wanted to rectify things, but because he was being controlled by that Brocade Immortal!
Within the Great Martial Hall, the few martial gods who haven’t yet left were all watching in
confusion as Quan Yi Zhen came blazing back in. Yin Yu was outside the hall, slightly trembling,
and he yelled again, “STOP!”
Quan Yi Zhen almost made it to Jun Wu when he braked abruptly, and indeed came to a stop. It
was only a good moment later before he was bewildered, “What’s with me just now?”
Jun Wu also knitted his brows, “Qi Ying, don’t move! Come and have me take a look. I saw your
eyes weren’t focused just now, surrounded by the aura of evil, it seemed you’ve been casted an
evil spell.”
Quan Yi Zhen scratched his head, feeling confused, “Alright.” And moved to go forward. Without
any choice, Yin Yu could only command, “COME BACK! LEAVE!”
The moment he gave the command, Quan Yi Zhen instantly turned around, running out of the
hall madly, right in Yin Yu’s direction. Perhaps it was because rage filled his mind or perhaps he
was going crazy from distress,Yin Yu started running too in confusion, his steps all messed up,
looking very much like a fleeing criminal. Jun Wu couldn’t pretend he didn’t see, and he rose to
his feet, “TAKE THEM DOWN!”
The martial gods all acknowledged, “YES, MY LORD!”
Yin Yu was falling deeper in despair, his mind in complete disarray, and he roared while
covering his face, “LEAVE! LEAVE RIGHT NOW! TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES!”
Quan Yi Zhen’s eyes were blank, running rapidly while removing his armour. Yet unexpectedly, a
number of martial gods came surrounding them halfway, going straight for an arrest. Seeing that
there were people obstructing him from obeying his command, violence flashed in Quan Yi
Zhen’s eyes, and his fists flew out, taking over ten of the martial gods in sight as targets and
punched through a chain of holes!
“AAAAHHHHH!! MURDER!!! MURDER IN THE UPPER COURT–!!!!”
Series of screams and blood filled the air, and Yin Yu was already petrified, his face white as a
sheet. It was probably only Ling Wen who possessed a face paler than him.
He had never imagined that this Brocade Immortal was so powerful, so incredible evil! Things
were going completely out of control!
———
Ch.162: This Jade Refuses to be a Thrown Away Brick 4
The lower ranking officials that charged forward to apprehend couldn’t block Quan Yi Zhen’s
fists at all and all perished on the spot. Seeing the situation growing severe, Feng Xin, Pei Su,
Lang Qian Qiu all leapt over to surround Quan Yi Zhen, ready to attack. Yin Yu cried, “IGNORE
HIM! DON’T TOUCH HIM! HE WON’T KILL ANYMORE!”
As long as they didn’t prevent Quan Yi Zhen from completing his command, he wouldn’t cause
harm. However, Quan Yi Zhen had already killed over ten martial heavenly officials, so who
would continue to let him run free? Of course no one would believe in Yin Yu’s words. If it was
someone with fast reactions and could remain calm in the midst of chaos, they would’ve
instantly shouted “Drop to the ground, surrender and don’t move” or a command to that effect,
but things were happening too fast, there was no time to react. Yin Yu had never experienced
any incidents of this sort, plus he was already in distress, his ability to make decisions
completely out of sorts, making one mistakes after the other; one wrong step and the rest of the
steps in shambles. Just as Yin Yu was running around with his head cut off, Mu Qing suddenly
appeared behind behind him, “Trying to get away?”
Only then did Yin Yu realized he was also fleeing without direction and he instantly braked,
trying to explain himself, “I wasn’t… ” But Mu Qing didn’t wait for him to speak before twisting
his arm behind his back, and Xie Lian heard a crisp CRACK, Yin Yu’s face twisting.
As a martial god, to be subdued by another martial god whose ability and strength were greater
was a double whammy to both the body and the mind. As for Pei Ming who was only watching
the fight on the side without participating, he commented from the distance, “How come it’s like
his strength suddenly exploded?”
He was referring to Quan Yi Zhen of course. Quan Yi Zhen was already quite capable in
combat, but with the Brocade Immortal on him, the level increased twofold. When other martial
gods faced him one on one, it was actually two against one and it wasn’t fair, but since no one
knew the secret within, they were too embarrassed to attack him jointly, because wouldn’t it be
pathetic otherwise? As they fought, Quan Yi Zhen ran down the main street of the Heavenly
Court while covered head to toe in blood, and when he suddenly saw a palace on the road and
dashed right in head first. The crowd shouted, “HE ENTERED THE PALACE OF YIN YU!”
The command Yin Yu gave him was to ‘leave’ but he didn’t say where, so Quan Yi Zhen went
randomly. Several martial gods also followed him in. Since everyone else was clear of mind,
they held back while fighting Quan Yi Zhen, but he didn’t care for anyone and fought with all
he’s worth against anyone who would obstruct his orders.Thus, this enraged the other martial
gods. Feng Xin shouted, “THIS BRAT REEKS OF EVIL, LET’S BEAT HIM DOWN FIRST AND
TALK LATER!”
Everyone had that very intention, and the moment Feng Xin shouted, no one stayed reserved
any longer, and they all rushed in, surrounding him to beat him to a pulp. Swords swung, palms
blasted, fists flew, legs kicked; half of that already deteriorating Palace of Yin Yu instantly
collapsed!
When Yin Yu, who was still being restrained by Mu Qing, saw with his own eyes his palace fall
apart from the brawl, his eyes bulged and he yelled, “PLEASE STOP FIGHTING!”
As if that would stop the martial gods, but Quan Yi Zhen heard his order and suddenly arrested
his fists. Now he’d done it. All the swords, blasts, fists, and kicks all landed heavily on Quan Yi
Zhen; another tragedy!
Lang Qian Qiu didn’t have the time to hold back his longsword, and struck it deep into Quan Yi
Zhen’s shoulder. Thank goodness his sword was dull and he instantly stopped his attack so
Quan Yi Zhen wasn’t sliced into two. Lang Qian Qiu shouted, “STOP FIGHTING, IT LOOKS
LIKE HE CAN’T MOVE ANYMORE!”
Feng Xin wiped the blood off this face, “Fucking finally!”
Quan Yi Zhen laid on the ground stiffly like he was bound by ropes. On the side, Mu Qing tied
Yin Yu’s wrists with the Immortal Binding rope before letting go of him. Yin Yu fell to the ground
in a daze, and he looked dumbfoundedly at the mess that was his Palace of Yin Yu. Scanning
around, his eyes moved back onto Quan Yi Zhen who dropped to the floor before him. Quan Yi
Zhen seemed to really have a strong life force; even after being beaten to a pulp by several
martial gods just now, his body practically contorted, he didn’t lie for very long before he
suddenly sat up again straight, confused, “What’s going on?”
“…”
The martial gods were all going to go mad from rage, and they all shouted at the same time,
“YOU’RE IN BIG TROUBLE NOW!”
Ling Wen had been following and watching closely behind, and she finally exhaled, her face
pale, but she somehow still managed to coordinate help as she raised two pressed fingers to
her temple and cried in the spiritual communication array, “MEDICAL OFFICIALS,
EMERGENCY AID, NOW!”
Quan Yi Zhen was still very confused. He looked back and saw Yin Yu sitting on the ground, so
he crawled to stand up, seeming to want to help him up. Seeing that completely oblivious face
matched with a background of his smashed divine palace, Yin Yu was still silent but his face
was slowly contorting.
Quan Yi Zhen didn’t know what’s transpired at all, and asked, “Shixiong, what are you doing?”
“…”
It was like Yin Yu suddenly lost all sanity. He puffed an abrupt laugh then shout with eyes
brimming red, “GO DIE!”
Hearing that cry, Xie Lian along with the many heavenly officials present all widened their eyes
instantly. Having received the order, Quan Yi Zhen immediately took action without thinking,
grabbing a sword from the ground, and with the sword in one hand and pulling up his own hair
with the other, he aimed for his own throat.
The moment he moved, the first reaction of the martial gods was he was going to sneak attack
so they jumped back multiple feet away. Yet, they had never expected that he was actually
going to slit his own throat, and by then it was too late for them to snatch his sword, and they all
roared at him. Yin Yu was also astounded but he still hadn’t yet come to and turned away. Blood
was about to splatter when Jun Wu’s figure suddenly flashed behind Quan Yi Zhen!
CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK, within an instant, all four of Quan Yi Zhen’s limbs were
dislodged.
Then, Jun Wu chopped precisely on the back of Quan Yi Zhen’s neck and Quan Yi Zhen lost
consciousness completely, falling back to the ground in a heap, his entire body no longer
resembling that of a human, his blood puddling around him. Finally, everyone, including Xie
Lian, sighed a breath in relief. Everyone, but Jun Wu.
He turned around, his expression showing neither rage nor joy but exceedingly grim, and he
turned to Yin Yu, “With things progressed thus, I trust you have an explanation?”
Yin Yu had his head buried deeply in his hands, and only when he heard him did he
subconsciously look up, “I don’t know anything. I’m not involved. It’s not me. It’s…!”
However, he trailed off as he suddenly snapped out of it, looking like he suddenly realized just
exactly what had come out of his mouth.
Under so many eyes, he told Quan Yi Zhen to go die, and Quan Yi Zhen heeded!
It was impossible for anyone not to have gotten a clue. Mu Qing spoke up, “My Lord, Qi Ying’s
reaction just now must’ve been borne from some wicked spell casted upon him. There must be
something on him that makes him follow Yin Yu’s commands. But what, we don’t know.”
Naturally, Ling Wen who was standing on the side knew exactly what that something was, but
she didn’t dare speak a word. Just coordinating helping hands on scene was as much as she
could do. Lang Qian Qiu said in disbelief, “There’s such a thing in this world???”
Just then, someone pushed aside the crowd to rush in, and it was Jian Yu. It was obvious that
he had been out chasing after and looking for Yin Yu before coming back, and hadn’t yet known
what’s happened, “What are you all doing? What… What’s happened to our Palace of Yin Yu?
HOW DID IT BECOME LIKE THIS?! WHO SMASHED IT??”
Jun Wu approached Yin Yu languidly, “He heeded your orders. How are you controlling him?”
His voice wasn’t harsh, but there was the oppressive air of power, exceedingly suffocating, and
to be looked down upon from high above, it added another layer of fear in one’s heart. It wasn’t
like Xie Lian never committed major mistakes, but he had never seen Jun Wu like this before. It
seemed, Jun Wu had really let him off easy.
Yin Yu’s mind was already in disarray, and as far as Xie Lian could see, his mind wasn’t very
strong either, his ability to react in situations weak, and at a time like this, he couldn’t utter a
single word. Seeing that he wasn’t responding, Jun Wu said, “Just as well. Even if you won’t
speak I already know. It’s that armour.”
He’s done for. Finished. Everything was doomed.
Yin Yu crouched on the ground, hugging his head anew as waves of talk started from all around
him:
“Astonishing… I have never witnessed anything more inconceivable in the heavens!”
“A heavenly official manipulating another heavenly official to have him kill without reservations.
He’s murdered over ten officials and then he’d tell him to go die?!”
“What a vile heart…”
Among the crowds, when Jian Yu figured out such a major incident had happened, his face also
blanched. Still, he gritted his teeth and charged out, kneeling on the ground, “My Lord! THAT
ARMOUR WAS, WAS, IT WAS ME WHO GAVE IT TO QUAN YI ZHEN, IT HAD NOTHING TO
DO WITH YIN YU!”
Only then did Yin Yu seemed to stir, and he croaked, “Jian Yu…”
Jian Yu braced himself and cried loudly, “I HAD ONLY WANTED TO TEACH THAT BRAT A
LESSON, BUT I HADN’T THOUGHT… THAT IT WOULD CAUSE SUCH A MAJOR
INCIDENT…”
On the side, Quan Yi Zhen was still unconscious, lying in a pool of his own blood, and the
Medicine Masters and heavenly officials had rushed to the scene, surrounding him. Jian Yu
said, “I’ve always hated that brat but Yin Yu had always treated him with courtesy, many here
can stand witness to this. He didn’t know anything about the armour!”
However, at this point, it was too late. There was no one who would believe Yin Yu wasn’t
involved at all anymore. Instantly, someone piped up, “You’re only a low ranking official in the
Palace of Yin Yu yet you already hate him to the point of causing him harm. It’s easy to imagine
that the master heavenly official you serve wouldn’t be any better.”
There were even taunts, “He didn’t know anything? If he didn’t know anything, why would he tell
him to “go die”? Don’t tell me he’s only joking.”
If it’s said Yin Yu’s reactions were all reasonable, that he only lost himself from distress, then,
his last words of “go die” negated everything and could not break him free of condemnation.
Thinking back, when Ling Wen first told Xie Lian this story, she said Yin Yu was “playing a
prank”, which Xie Lian could now appreciate it as her trying to help Yin Yu cover up a little. Jian
Yu couldn’t believe it, “What? Stop talking nonsense, how can Yin Yu say anything of the sort?
He’s always been polite and courteous with that brat, why would he tell him to “go die”? Yin Yu,
you didn’t say it, right? You didn’t say something like that? You wouldn’t have said it!”
However, Yin Yu didn’t answer him, and instead, closed his eyes. Jian Yu just wouldn’t accept it,
and everyone around had become speechless, “We all heard it with our own ears, how can it be
denied?”
Jian Yu quickly said, “There must’ve been a misunderstanding! There’s so much you all don’t
know!”
“No matter the kind of misunderstanding, whether if we know or not, there’s no
misunderstanding great enough for one to want to kill one’s own shidi?”
Hearing this, Yin Yu and Jian Yu were both silenced. That heavenly official continued, “I heard
ever since Quan Yi Zhen went independent and erected his own palace, the people of the
Palace of Yin Yu stopped caring for him. Every time Quan Yi Zhen visited, the excuse was
always no one was around. I was confused at first, so turns out it was because they couldn’t
stand him eh…”
“Speaking of, didn’t someone mistake the wrong person at the Mid Autumn Banquet the other
day? I saw how dark their faces got at the time.”
Those were all undeniable truths, but the conclusion was wrong, “Oh, I know of that incident too,
it was pretty awkward, but it’s still not bad enough to want to harm someone…”
“Yea, it’s a little too small-minded…”
Jian Yu’s eyes were seeing red, and he shouted, “I ALREADY SAID His Highness HAD
NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS, I’M THE ONE WHO COMMITTED THE CRIME! I ADMIT TO
EVERYTHING, IS THAT NOT ENOUGH?!”
Yet, even if Yin Yu was to jump into the Yellow River, he wouldn’t be able to wash himself clean.
In the eyes of others, this was only enough to prove that Yin Yu had a malicious but loyal
subordinate. Besides, only two words were enough to shut down all arguments, “Well, “go die”
didn’t come out of anyone else’s mouths!”
Things were becoming more and more heated, and Jun Wu said darkly, “Take them all down.
Ling Wen, stay here and watch over Qi Ying.”
Ling Wen inclined her head to acknowledge the command, and Jun Wu stalked out of the
Palace of Yin Yu. Several martial heavenly officials pulled Yin Yu to his feet, and Yin Yu was
heart-stricken, “Let it go, Jian Yu. Don’t say anymore.”
Jian Yu was also pulled up and bound with the Immortal-Binding rope, and he cried, “It’s always
“let it go, let it go”, this time you mustn’t let it go! Let it go and you’ll be finished! You’ll be
banished! You’ll be banished for sure!”
However, Yin Yu only sighed, “Let it go. If it’s banishment then so be it. Even if I stay here…
there’s no meaning to it.”
Jian Yu cried bitterly, “… YOU, YOU SHOULD NEVER, EVER HAVE SAID THOSE WORDS.
JUST THOSE TWO WORDS AND YOU’VE LOST ALL HOPE OF TURNING THIS AROUND!
YOU’D USUALLY NEVER CURSE FOR HIM TO GO DIE, SO WHY OF ALL TIMES YOU HAD
TO SAY IT NOW? THOSE WORDS!”
It was like Yin Yu suddenly aged for ten years, and his eyes had lost its light. He himself
seemed to be a little lost, and he shook his head, “I don’t know why either, I’m just… Sigh, I
don’t want to argue anymore.”
He stumbled a couple steps as he was being taken away, and Jian Yu suddenly cried, “WHY?!”
Everyone turned to look at him. Jian Yu cried, “IT’S NOT LIKE YOU DIDN’T WORK AS HARD!
YOU’RE STRONGER THAN HIM BY TEN THOUSAND FOLD, BETTER THAN HIM BY A
MILLION FOLD! QUAN YI ZHEN IS NOTHING! SO WHAT IF I HATE HIM? WHY IS IT THAT
HE’S LIKE THAT, AND YOU’RE LIKE THIS. WHY ISN’T IT HIM WHO’S BANISHED??”
He gritted his teeth in resentment, so filled with hate for the reality of things, so filled with hate
tears rolled down his cheeks. But, there were many things in this world that just by working hard
wouldn’t be enough.
Perhaps he knew this in his heart, but he just couldn’t accept it, unable at all to swallow this
resentment.
Listening to his cries, Yin Yu’s steps became too heavy for him to move.
He buried his face in his hands and fell to the ground in a heap before the Palace of Yin Yu, and
he roared, “ENOUGH! I ALREADY SAID DON’T SAY ANYMORE!!! PLEASE, JUST LET ME
GO!”
He covered his ears and cried until he was hoarse, “PLEASE STOP REPEATEDLY
REMINDING ME, STOP TALKING, PLEASE, I BEG YOU TO ALL STOP TALKING!!!”
Xie Lian couldn’t bear to watch any longer, “…That’s enough.”
Thus, Hua Cheng dispersed the scene, and the two lightly separated their foreheads.
After having touched foreheads for so long, Xie Lian felt it a bit numb and a bit itchy even, his
front uncomfortably warm. He wanted to raise his hand to rub at it, but his limbs couldn’t move.
Hua Cheng seemed to have detected his little discomfort, and raised his hand to help him rub
like it was the most natural thing to do in the world before dropping his hand. Outside by the
stone wall, the ghost mask wearing Yin Yu had been pacing back and forth, and after a while, he
turned to Quan Yi Zhen and said coldly, “You want to come out?”
He intentionally changed his voice. Quan Yi Zhen nodded, “I do.”
Yin Yu replied, “Very well. Look here!” Then, in the blink of an eye with flashing speed, the
shovel was whacked against Quan Yi Zhen’s head!
CLUNK! Quan Yi Zhen instantly dropped silent. Xie Lian was stunned, “No way. He whacked
him dead?? He really killed him??”
Hua Cheng laughed heartily, “Don’t worry gege, he’s not dead, just fainted.”
After the shovel was swung, Yin Yu exhaled a breath. In the end, he seemed to have decided to
dig Quan Yi Zhen out of the wall after all, and raised the Earth Master shovel, digging through
the wall shovel by shovel. Xie Lian understood.
If Yin Yu was to save Quan Yi Zhen directly, Yin Yu wouldn’t be able to fight him and win, and he
risk exposing his identity, which would be distressful. The relationship between the two shixiong
and shidi truly was distressful to the extreme, and who’s the more distressed couldn’t even be
compared. It was probably for the best that Yin Yu pretended not to know him.
“San Lang, should we maybe also think of a way to get out of here now?” Xie Lian said.
Hua Cheng seemed to be enjoying himself hanging where they were, “Hm? Already?”
Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Well, yeah? You want to live in here?”
“If it’s with gege, I don’t see why not.” Hua Cheng said, “Alright, fine. I was joking.” He schooled
his expression and reached out to cover Xie Lian’s ears.
“What’s this?” Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng smiled, “I’m too lazy to walk out, so might as well just blow the whole place up.”
“…”
Xie Lian was just thinking whether if they would blow up others who were also swallowed by the
mountain spirit when his expression changed suddenly, “Wait.”
Hua Cheng bore the same expression and dropped his hands. The two listened intently, and a
moment later, Xie Lian whispered, “Did you hear that?”
Hua Cheng also lowered his voice, “I did.”
Yin Yu was on one side of the stone wall digging holes with the Earth Master shovel, and on the
other side of the stone wall, there was someone else who was talking.
There weren’t any silver butterflies spying, they heard the voice directly themselves, because
that person was standing really, really close to the stone wall, almost pressing against it and
speaking. Xie Lian held his breath to listen, but could only hear muffled, intermittent, indistinct
words, like “ate them?”, “Upper Court”, “martial gods”. His mind whizzed, and he exchanged a
look with Hua Cheng, then tried with difficulty to move closer towards the voice.
That voice belonged to a man, and he seemed to be conversing with someone because every
time he said something, he would pause for a moment. Yet, Xie Lian didn’t hear any sounds
from the one he was conversing with. Maybe it was because the other was further away.
Once they shuffled over silently, that voice became somewhat clearer. Although words were still
somewhat blurred here and there, Xie Lian at least heard fuller sentences.
That man said, “His Highness the crown prince has also come. I don’t want to take this step, I’m
sure you’re the same, but he’s beyond saving.”
Xie Lian wondered inwardly, ‘Me? How am I beyond saving? Wait, this voice…’
This voice was very familiar; he must’ve heard it before, and had heard it for a long, long time,
not just the once or twice. But since it was a long, long time ago, he couldn’t match the voice to
the man instantly. Just as he was thinking really hard, that man added, “Then let him end here.”
Suddenly, Xie Lian remembered who this voice belonged to.
He twitched his lips and muttered without a sound, “Guoshi?!”
The person on the other side of the stone wall had the exact same voice as the esteemed
master who once taught him in the Kingdom of XianLe!
——–
Ch.163: Riddle of the Mysterious Guoshi Confounding Minds
Xie Lian’s heart started racing wildly, and even his fingertips were slightly trembling. However,
he remained composed and didn’t make a sound, only lifting his head a little to whisper next to
Hua Cheng’s ear, “…San Lang, don’t move. The voice out there sounds a lot like my master.
Let’s not be discovered…”
Although very similar, he couldn’t say for sure either since it wasn’t like there weren’t people
who shared similar voices. Besides, he hadn’t seen the Guoshi for centuries, so he could very
well remembered wrong. If they didn’t make any reckless moves and only observed quietly to
see how things would progress, perhaps they would learn more secrets. Hua Cheng also bowed
his head slightly, hugging his waist, “Alright… you don’t move either.”
Rocks and earth crushed at them from all around, forcing their bodies to press tightly against
one another, their faces brushing, their ears warm. Although it wasn’t the right time, a thought
flashed through Xie Lian’s mind, ‘“To die buried together” doesn’t feel so bad.’ Just then, that
voice sounded again, “What about the other two? Where have they run off to?”
‘The other two’? There are two more companions?
Xie Lian wanted to listen closely to find out just who the other person conversing was, but the
strange thing was, after the ‘Guoshi’ – he would address him as ‘Guoshi’ for now – after he
posed the question, there wasn’t any response.
It really was strange. In such a distance, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng could both hear ‘Guoshi’’s
question, and technically, his voice wasn’t loud and he wasn’t yelling at the top of this lungs, so
the other party shouldn’t be too far away either. If they should respond, then at least some voice
would be heard. Yet, there really was nothing to be heard.
‘Guoshi’ spoke up again, “Thank them for their efforts, but there’s no need to worry about the
small-fries anymore, nothing will come of them. We’ve got more important things to do right
now.”
‘What’s going on?’ Xie Lian wondered, ‘This clearly shows he’s gotten a response and is talking
to someone?’
The ‘Guoshi’ outside was almost like he was talking to himself or having a conversation with air.
A creepy image appeared in Xie Lian’s head and he immediately brushed it off, thinking there
might be another possibility, which was ‘Guoshi’ could hear that person’s voice but no one else
could.
Suspicion was growing thicker and thicker in his head, and he listened with more and more
intensity, turning over each word the ‘Guoshi’ uttered in his mind as ‘Guoshi’ added, “Is that all
the people inside the mountain? In any case, let’s bring them all to the Kiln first, I’ll think of a
way to take care of them one by one then. The faster the better, they must get there within two
days.”
The Kiln!
And, within ‘two days’. The Distance Shortening array couldn’t be used within Mount TongLu, so
how could they get there in two days? And what was this ‘take care of them’?
After a pause, that voice continued, “Call the other two over, let’s go to the Kiln together. In
order to face His Highness the crown prince, not a single one of us should be missing. Right
now he’s still not yet awakened. If he should wake… it’s hard to imagine what he will do this
time.”
Xie Lian was shocked. Was he talking about him?
Right then, there was the sounds of explosion within the mountain body. Xie Lian heard the
Guoshi outside question, “What’s going on?”
Inside the stone wall, he also turned to Hua Cheng to ask, “What’s going on?”
“Something’s happened on the other side.” Hua Cheng whispered.
Xie Lian hadn’t yet responded and Hua Cheng already pressed his forehead with his. In Xie
Lian’s right eye, the situation with Yin Yu and Quan Yi Zhen on the other side of the cave
appeared once more. And, this should be what had happened a little earlier. Yin Yu finally dug
out Quan Yi Zhen from the stone wall, laboriously dragged him down and heaved a sigh. Yet
unexpected, the unconscious Quan Yi Zhen suddenly leapt to his feet and pulled the mask off of
Yin Yu’s face!
Quan Yi Zhen was actually only pretending to have fainted earlier!
Now that Xie Lian thought about it, Quan Yi Zhen would be extremely familiar with Yin Yu’s habit
of pacing when thinking, the way he spoke, his strength when he hit, and perhaps the moment
Yin Yu’s shovel was swinging down his way, he had already known who was behind the mask. It
was just, it was inconceivable that there’d come a day someone like Quan Yi Zhen would know
to use deception. Although it was nothing more than the most ordinary of tricks, but when it was
Quan Yi Zhen who used it, it could be considered completely out of this world, which was why
no one was prepared.
Underneath the mask was that terrified and dimly pale face of Yin Yu, obviously stunned from
surprise. Quan Yi Zhen however, was fiercely thrilled, jumping with his head covered in blood,
“SHIXIONG!”
Yin Yu looked like he saw something extremely horrifying, his lips twisting, then abruptly, he
hugged his head, “YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG PERSON!”
Having roared, he bolted. As he ran, he blasted at the person behind him to block him, “DON’T
COME NEAR ME! DON’T FOLLOW ME!”
Quan Yi Zhen also dashed after him, completely ignoring the blasts and only yelled,
“SHIXIONG! IT’S ME!”
Yin Yu couldn’t help but roar out an expletive, “GODAMMIT, IT’S BECAUSE IT’S YOU THAT I’M
TERRIFIED! DON’T FOLLOW ME!”
The two ran and fought the entire way, causing the mountain to rumble from the blasts. Over on
this side, the Guoshi was puzzled, “What are they doing over there? What’s with all the noise?”
There was still no one who answered him but the Guoshi seemed to have gotten his response,
“I see. Kids these days, so energetic. I’ll take my leave first. Let’s get together again once you’re
close to the Kiln.”
He was going to leave. Hearing this, Hua Cheng covered Xie Lian’s ears anew, and Xie Lian
closed his eyes. A moment later, there was a violent tremor from all around, and the stone wall
that had been pushing against their bodies was finally blown apart. The two leapt out together,
landing lighting on their feet, and breathed fresh air once more. However, on the outside was an
empty cave; there was no Guoshi nor that mysterious second person, their figures completely
gone.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng exchanged a look. They weren’t in a hurry to give chase and they
hadn’t yet separated when from the cave adjacent to them came charging a black clad man. It
was Yin Yu. He waved the Earth Master shovel and dashed madly towards the two,
“CHENGZHU!!! Your Highness!!!”
Behind him, Quan Yi Zhen who was head covered in blood from the blows also came rushing in.
Hua Cheng didn’t bother looking up and only flicked his hand. There was a BOOM sound; Quan
Yi Zhen instantly raised both arms to block, yet, the move Hua Cheng used couldn’t be blocked
by fists. After smokes dispersed, what was left where Quan Yi Zhen stood was a daruma doll
with big, wide eyes, looking very innocent. It was the same trick Hua Cheng used on Lang Qian
Qiu last time. Only then did Yin Yu stop his crazed run, wiping his sweat away as he
approached, “I’m eternally grateful, Chengzhu.”
“Did you really have to be so scared?” Hua Cheng asked.
Yin Yu was still shaken, and he smiled bitterly, “Truth to be told, right now when I see His
Highness Qi Ying, I only want to run for as far away as possible.”
When Xie Lian heard, he found it funny but could sympathize. It seemed, Quan Yi Zhen’s
‘personality’ is now a severe shadow in Yin Yu’s heart. That daruma doll was still on the ground,
wide-eyed as it swayed heavily back and forth without anyone caring. Xie Lian felt pity for it and
was about to pick it up when he suddenly felt the ground shake, his body also falling over along
with the tremors, almost shaking harder than that daruma doll. He quickly steadied himself,
“What’s going on? Earthquake?”
Although Xie Lian didn’t need help, Hua Cheng still held his arm to help steady him, and he
turned to Yin Yu, “Open a tunnel and go out to take a look.”
Yin Yu recovered extremely fast and acknowledged, “Yes sir!”
Then he picked up his Earth Master shovel, rapidly and concisely dug out a hole in a small
amount of time. Sunlight from the outside shone through; when Yin Yu took a look, surprise filled
his face. Xie Lian asked, “Your Highness Yin Yu, is it an earthquake or is the mountain
collapsing?”
“It’s neither!” Yin Yu answered, “This mountain spirit… it’s running!”
Running? Xie Lian and Hua Cheng exchanged a look and both ran up to look outside the
mountain spirit.
It really was running! Outside the body of the mountain, all the sceneries, the landscapes were
rapidly speeding behind, almost reduced to nothing but colourful streaks. From the looks of it, it
was like they were riding a fast running horse carriage, or like they were sitting on the shoulders
of a giant running wild!
Hills, rivers, fields, forests, they were all trampled beneath the feet of this mountain spirit,
crushed to make way. Whooshing whirlwinds blew in from the hole and the hair and ribbon
bands all started dancing in the air. Yin Yu remarked, “By the speed of this run, it’ll probably only
take two days to reach the Kiln…”
Two days? Hearing this it dawned on Xie Lian.
No wonder! No wonder they couldn’t hear the responding voice of ‘the other person’, and no
wonder the Guoshi requested for the other to bring them to the Kiln within two days.
Because at the time, ‘Guoshi’ wasn’t talking to another person, he was talking to this mountain
spirit!
Hua Cheng must’ve figured it out too, “Just as well. Borrowing its strength, we won’t need to
walk so slowly anymore. Once we’re there, that person outside the stone wall will show himself
again. We’ll know what he wants then.”
Xie Lian however, was looking somber. Hua Cheng noticed and asked, “Gege, what’s wrong?”
“What did he mean, not yet awakened?” Xie Lian asked.
That voice earlier said “right now he’s still not yet awakened. If he should wake… it’s hard to
imagine what he will do this time.” Xie Lian said, “If that man really was my master, and he was
talking about me, then what did he mean by all that?”
“Gege, don’t think too much right now.” Hua Cheng said, “First, that man might not be your
master; second, the ‘crown prince’ he spoke of might not be you.”
“But if it was?” Xie Lian urged, “I have some baseless guesses, will you hear me out and see if
they make sense?”
“Very well. Gege, do tell.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian started, “Assuming that man is my master, the three mountains: Old Age, Sickness,
and Death, have Birth missing. He can communicate with the mountain spirits. He’s a person,
but the one conversing with him is a mountain spirit. In their conversation they mentioned ‘the
other two’, and it might be the other two mountain spirits. There are four of them. I was thinking,
do the three mountain spirits all possess human consciousness? Or perhaps, they were
transformed from people from the beginning, and Guoshi was the ‘Birth” who never appeared!”
He was thinking more and more, his heart beating rapidly in his chest, and he continued, “Mount
TongLu used to be part of the Kingdom of WuYong. ‘Birth, Old Age, Sickness, Death’ are a set
of four; coincidentally, the Crown Prince of WuYong also have four Guardian Gods; and there
were also four Guoshis who taught me when I grew up in XianLe! Do countries typically have
that many Guoshis? I didn’t think anything of it in the past, but now I realized there’s normally
not that many. Do you think this is a coincidence? Or is there a deeper meaning in all this?”
Hua Cheng replied, “There’s no deeper meaning. Maybe it just so happens there’s four. Aren’t
the Four Famous Sights also four? There weren’t four in the Four Calamities, so one had to be
forced into its ranks.”
However, Xie Lian was still following his train of thoughts, “But if it’s true, that my four masters
were the four Guardian Gods of the Crown Prince of WuYong, why did they come to XianLe to
become Guoshis of XianLe? Why did they come to teach me? Is there something about me that
I myself wasn’t aware of? Could it be, that I’m actually…”
He was going off like someone possessed, and Hua Cheng gripped his shoulders, speaking
with conviction, “It’s not possible! I can swear, you are you. You’re not anyone else. Trust me.
Don’t read too much into things and imagine what’s not there.”
Other than his parents, Guoshi was someone Xie Lian was the closest and most familiar with.
Although Guoshi often dismissed him and was often reserved because he was wary of Xie
Lian’s position, but overall, he was a good teacher. To suddenly discover he might not know
someone he thought he was familiar with was something that’d easily confound the heart. Hua
Cheng softened his voice, “Alright, gege. Think back carefully, what was the Guoshi of XianLe’s
background?”
Xie Lian mulled over the question, “…I’m not sure.”
Really, he actually couldn’t remember where his master came from. Humming for a moment, Xie
Lian said, “Guoshi was Guoshi before I was born, I only know that he was called Mei Nian Qing,
but needless to say, that must be a fake name. I’ve also thought this before in the past; Guoshi
is such an incredible character, how come he didn’t ascend? If that was him just now, then the
years he’s spent in this world must be many more than me.”
“We’ll take care of things as they come.” Hua Cheng said, “Remember that if anything should
happen, I’m here. I will always be on your side.”
Xie Lian stared at him, stunned and speechless. A moment later, a small smile appeared on his
face.
Yin Yu’s sense of presence was already faint, and since he didn’t speak the whole time, he was
practically forgotten. Only now did he speak up, “Chengzhu, do we need to go find the others?”
They’ve come out, but who knows which corner Pei Ming and the others were being digested by
the mountain spirit after having been swallowed. Xie Lian quickly replied, “Yes! Let’s go find
them together. Please wait, Your Highness Yin Yu.”
“Your Highness, there’s no need to call me Your Highness… I’m not a heavenly official of the
Upper Court anymore.” Yin Yu said.
Xie Lian smiled, “Then you can just call me by my name too, no need to be so polite. I also
haven’t been a crown prince in a long time.”
Yin Yu glanced at Hua Cheng standing behind Xie Lian and hastily replied, “I… daren’t. I
shouldn’t. I can’t.”
“What’s the concern?” Xie Lian said and took a couple steps out, ready to pick up Quan Yi Zhen
the daruma doll when a figure suddenly dropped from the sky and fell heavily before him, the
sound of bones cracking loud and crisp in the air.
———–
Ch.164: Riddle of the Mysterious Guoshi Confounding Minds 2
Xie Lian’s first reaction was to reach for Fang Xin and strike. Good thing he had good habits,
and before he struck he swept a glance, forcing himself to brake in mid action, “General Pei?”
That man flipped over and leapt to his feet. It was Pei Ming. He dusted off his shoulders, looking
amazingly at ease, and glanced at them, “Looks like Your Highness and My Lord Ghost King are
enjoying yourselves here.”
“Not too bad, not too bad.” Xie Lian said, “But General Pei, are you alright? I seemed to have
heard a cracking sound…”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Pei Ming said, “Thanks for Your Highness’ concern. That cracking sound
wasn’t my bones but the bones of this one.” He raised an object, and it was the femur of that
unlucky man, the bones already bent and broken. He added, “Thank goodness for this good
brother’s help that Pei Ming was able to dig out an escape route in this mountain spirit’s body.
Even though it’s the bone of a man, it’s still a fairly solid good man.”
Just as he finished, from not far away, a second figure dropped from the sky, falling down and
landing heavily. The group of them walked over to see, and this time it was Pei Su. In the curve
of his arms was Ban Yue being shielded, and Ban Yue’s arms were holding those two black clay
pots that contained Ke Mo and Rong Guang. The two of them were ashen faced and disheveled
but there didn’t seem to be anything serious, and they quickly crawled up. Pei Su spat out a few
mouthfuls of dust, “Gen, eral! Your highne, ss.”
Pei Ming glanced up, “Looks like this mountain spirit doesn’t think we’re tasty enough, and spat
us out.”
Hua Cheng and Xie Lian exchanged a look and said quietly, “Not necessarily. Perhaps,
someone told it to spat you out.”
Pei Ming took a few steps and noticed the abnormal ground shaking, and he furrowed his
brows, “What’s with this mountain? Why is it shaking to hard?”
“Because it’s currently carrying us and running towards the Kiln.” Xie Lian replied.
Pei Ming walked to that hole Yin Yu dug and looked outside, “So fast! That’ll help save us some
footwork.”
However, until now, there was still another person missing. Xie Lian asked, “Where’s Ling
Wen?”
Hua Cheng seemed to have used his right eye to take a look and replied, “The silver butterfly
resting on his back was swallowed by the mountain spirit. He’s gone.”
Which meant, Ling Wen and the Brocade Immortal could now move as they will. That was no
joke. Xie Lian hurriedly exclaimed, “Let’s go find him!”
Thus, the group of them started running about the body of this mountain spirit. Hua Cheng
released another few hundred wraithe butterflies to conduct a search, and in the end, it led them
to another hole.
This hole was forcibly blown out, its edges jagged, and beyond it was the sceneries of
landscapes rapidly flying by, whooshing wild winds pouring straight into the mountain body,
making howling cries like that of demons. After Ling Wen was spat out by the mountain spirit, he
probably blew this hole himself and ran away. Xie Lian looked down from the edges of the hole
and frowned, “What should we do now? The destructive power of that Brocade Immortal is too
strong, we can’t just leave it be.”
“Don’t worry.” Hua Cheng said, “He’s heading for the Kiln anyway, so we’re really just taking
different paths to go to the same destination.”
Once everyone gathered around, Xie Lian briefly gave an account of what he had overheard
earlier, leaving out some fine details. After he was done, the group of them sat down to space
out. After all, there weren’t any monsters to fight right now, and they didn’t need to make the
journey themselves, so it was rather empty and boring.
Since Yin Yu said he really didn’t know how to communicate with Quan Yi Zhen, and just seeing
his face gave him a headache, Xie Lian also felt it wouldn’t be wise to release him, so he was
temporarily kept in the form of the daruma doll. Pei Ming was bored so he kept slapping at the
doll to play. Xie Lian saw how that daruma doll was wobbling heavily and felt sorry for it, so he
chided, “General Pei, please stop playing.”
Pei Ming complied. However, when Xie Lian grew drowsy and dozed off leaning against the
mountain wall, he started slapping at it again. There was no one to mind him, and Yin Yu who
was guarding the hole, mentally calculating how much distance was traveled, looked over from
the distance. Many a times he looked like he wanted to say something but in the end nothing
was said, yet unexpectedly, in extreme joy tragedies were born; Pei Ming was slapping around
when suddenly, Pei Su THUD! And keeled over. Pei Ming instantly forgot all about playing and
gripped Pei Su, “Little Pei? What’s wrong?!”
Yin Yu quietly walked over and picked up the daruma doll and set it down next to Xie Lian. Hua
Cheng was annoyed, “What’s with all the noise, he won’t die. Can’t you see His Highness is
asleep?”
Xie Lian was dozing for a while and sure enough, was woken by the noise. The moment he
woke he found he was leaning against Hua Cheng’s shoulder. Hua Cheng’s voice sounded right
next to his ear, “Gege is awake?”
Xie Lian rubbed at his eyes, and next to him, Quan Yi Zhen was swaying back and forth,
“What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing.” Hua Cheng replied, “If you’re sleepy you can take another nap. We’ll be there
soon enough.”
Xie Lian saw across from them was Pei Ming clutching Pei Su’s collar, violently shaking him,
and he was slightly shocked, now more than awake. Thinking something was the matter, he
went up to see, then he said, “Oh, don’t worry, General Pei. General Pei Junior is just tired and
hungry, and couldn’t hang on for the moment.”
Pei Su was mortal right now after all, and having struggled for so long without food and water,
nor with Xie Lian’s extensive experience in starvation and beatings where one meal could
sustain him for three days and taking ten beatings meant nothing, Pei Su couldn’t hang on any
more and had finally collapsed. Pei Ming remarked, “The mortal body is so inconvenient. Does
anyone have anything to eat?”
No one responded. Ban Yue took out a pot, “I’m sorry, but I only have this…” It was that pot
filled with Toppled Phoenixes. Pei Ming yelled, “Why are you still holding on to that thing? Throw
it out!”
They were noisy and rowdy, and Hua Cheng turned to Xie Lian, “See, I told you it was nothing.
Why not take another nap.”
That mountain spirit ran for a good whole day, and Xie Lian could see the skies were turning
dark outside, “How long have we been running now?”
Yin Yu had been counting by that hole and answered, “We’ve run close to eight hundred miles.”
This was definitely much faster than when they walked. Xie Lian also came to the edge of the
hole. He was only going to take a casual look at first, but when his eyes swept their
surroundings, he suddenly saw something and instantly, the hairs on his back stood up, “What’s
that down there?”
Looking down from this mountain spirit, in the black of night, below on the ground, was a giant
human face!
That face bore crescent eyes, its lips curled upwards, and was smiling creepily. Xie Lian took a
step back in spite of himself. Hua Cheng was behind him and held him. Xie Lian steadied his
mind and looked closer again. Turns out, that ‘face’ was merely an image formed by collective
hills and ravines, an optical illusion. However, this illusion looked very real, and with but a
glance it was a shocking sight.
Xie Lian wondered, “What’s that gully that resembles the ‘eyelids’ and ‘lips’?”
Hua Cheng replied, “That’s the WuYong River, the main river of WuYong. Its source is in the
high mountains, and the melted snow formed this river. Of course, it’s now dried out completely.
But to have reached here, it means we’re very close to the Kiln now.”
Xie Lian nodded and asked again, “Then the ‘nose’?”
Hua Cheng answered, “It’s a lively city next to the shore of WuYong River. Wanna go down and
see?”
Xie Lian inclined his head, “Is there anything worth seeing down there?”
“There’s another Divine Temple of WuYong in that city.” Hua Cheng said.
If there was a temple then there was the possibility of a mural. Xie Lian instantly said, “Let’s go!”
He couldn’t wait to learn more about this Crown Prince of WuYong. Pei Ming also piped up,
“Let’s go! We have to find something edible for Little Pei. How do we go down?”
Hua Cheng waved his hand, and a few silver butterflies appeared fluttering next to everyone,
shimmering their light, and they rested on everyone’s shoulders, backs, heads, and sleeves.
Others who saw these little silver butterflies might grumble and wonder whether if they could
possibly bring them anywhere, but Xie Lian didn’t say a word before releasing RuoYe and tied
everyone together. This way, they wouldn’t lose each other in mid air. Yin Yu made the hole
larger so there was enough space for at least five to six people to go through at the same time.
Preparations complete, Xie Lian and company all came to the edge of the hole, “Everyone, get
ready –”
“Wait!” Pei Ming called out.
Xie Lian turned to look, “General Pei, is something the matter?”
“There’s something that I’ve been meaning to ask.” Pei Ming said, “What’s that on your hands?”
Following his gaze, Xie Lian looked down and saw his own hand. He raised it and only then did
he realize that the red string knotted on both his and Hua Cheng’s fingers were still connected.
“…” Xie Lian softly cleared his throat, “Th-This is… a spiritual device for contact of sorts.”
“Oh.” Pei Ming said, “Wouldn’t it be inconvenient? It’s a string after all, what if you trip on it or it
gets entangled somewhere, accidents will happen.”
His reminder made a lot of sense, but for some mysterious reason, Xie Lian wasn’t too willing to
have this string cut off. Seeing his hesitant expression like he was struggling internally, Hua
Cheng took a look and smiled, “It certainly is a little inconvenient like this.”
Then, Xie Lian saw the red string disappear between their fingers. “Now it’s much more
practical.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian stared at the empty air where that red string disappeared, a little dumbfounded. It only
connected them for a short while before it was gone. Although it wasn’t anything major, no, it
should be said that it was something extremely miniscule, still, he was a little forlorn. Afraid
someone would notice, Xie Lian squeezed a smile, “Let’s go! Ready – JUMP!”
That mountain spirit was still charging forward by itself, and didn’t notice at all that the little
people the size of grasshoppers had leapt off from its own body. Enveloped by a circle of
wraithe butterflies, the group of them landed lightly like feathers without a hair harmed. The
place of their landing was the bridge of the ‘nose’ of that giant smiling face.
After straightening up, Xie Lian was perplexed. He scanned around, “San Lang, is there a
WuYong temple and a city here?”
“There is.” Hua Cheng said.
“But… there’s nothing here?” Xie Lian remarked.
It was true. He had thought when they’ve landed on the ground, he would see the same sight of
a small town like that of the first divine temple, that he could see streets, shops, residences,
wells, temples, etc. However, what was before him was a field of flat land, empty and barren
without a trace that a city had ever existed. Pei Ming was carrying Pei Su, and he stepped a leg
on a boulder, “Where’s this ‘lively city’?”
“Under your feet.” Hua Cheng said.
“What?”
The group crowded over. Under Pei Ming’s foot was that boulder, and Xie Lian asked, “Is there
some sort of a secret mechanism?”
“Come stand here.” Hua Cheng said.
He pulled out the scimitar E-Ming, aimed the tip downwards, and struck into the ground right
next to the boulder. The tip of that scimitar pierced into the ground, and at first, there was a
cracking sound, and small cobweb like fractures split the earth. Then, those fractures spread
rapidly, the cracks bigger and bigger, the fissures deeper and deeper. Finally, that entire section
of the ground caved in with a boom, revealing a chilling dark hole.
Hua Cheng jumped in first. Xie Lian hadn’t realized he would take the first leap, and he rushed
to the edge of the hole, “SAN LANG?”
A moment later, Hua Cheng’s voice came from below, “Everything’s fine down here. You can
come down now.”
So it turns out, he went down first to scout. Xie Lian sighed a breath of relief and instantly
jumped in too. The others then followed one after the other. Hua Cheng reached for Xie Lian’s
hand and pulled him up.
“It’s so dark in here.” Xie Lian noted.
Just as he said so, several silver butterflies lit up in the darkness, dancing languidly, and a
number of ghost fires also appeared, instantly illuminating the deeper parts of this hole. What
appeared before them was a long street.
A thousand years ago, this would’ve been a bustling street, packed full of shops and large
houses. The boulder Pei Ming stepped on earlier was the rooftop of one of those buildings. Xie
Lian looked up, “I see. So this city was buried? Buried by what? Earthquake? Landslide? Or…”
“Volcanic ash.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian whipped his head around to look at him. Hua Cheng added, “Volcanic ash of about
seven meters in thickness buried the entire city underground. What you all see right now is a
part of what the demons and monsters that had come to Mount TongLu for the trial had dug out.
There are many more sections that are still buried deep within the ashes.
Which meant, the apocalypse in the Crown Prince of WuYong’s dream had come true!
Pei Ming put Pei Su down on the roadside and said, “Nevermind all that for now. Is there water?
If there’s nothing to eat, a couple sips of water is good too.”
“If we’re lucky, you’ll find underground water deep down under.” Hua Cheng said.
Thus, Pei Ming and Ban Yue left to go find water. Xie Lian was still deep in thought when Hua
Cheng walked over, “Gege, look at your hand.”
Xie Lian followed his direction without much thought, and only after he looked did he discover
that while the red string was gone, the bright red knot on his third finger was still there.
Hua Cheng had explained before that when the red string between them breaks, the knot would
disappear, so what’s going on?
Seeing him stunned, Hua Cheng smiled, “It’s just a small camouflage spell, that’s all. The red
string is hidden; the distance is now unrestricted and you won’t have to worry about tripping
over it, but it didn’t actually break. As long as the affinity knot is still there, then the person on
the other end of the red string is safe. Once we’re close to the Kiln, dangers will increase. We
don’t know what’s ahead of us just yet, so I thought, this red string still can’t be untied. What do
you think?”
Learning that the red string was still there, Xie Lian’s lips curved upwards in spite of himself, but
the moment he realized it, he immediately straightened his expression, and replied very
seriously, “Oh, yes. If that’s the case, then we can know whether if the other is safe at a
moment’s notice. It’s a very practical spell.”
Hua Cheng also flashed a smile, but it soon disappeared, “But, Your Highness, there’s
something I must say.”
Hearing him sound so solemn, Xie Lian asked, “What is it?”
“I know you can’t die, and you’re not afraid to die, but no matter how tough you are, don’t think
yourself incapable of getting hurt.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian was taken aback. Hua Cheng continued, “Not dying doesn’t mean not getting hurt, and
it definitely doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. When you see something strange and dangerous, don’t
just touch it. Find me. Let me take care of it.”
Xie Lian suddenly recalled earlier when he touched those skulls covered with corpse poison
with his hands, Hua Cheng’s expression instantly turned dark. He wondered inwardly, was Hua
Cheng perhaps angry because of this then?
If that was truly the case, then he really didn’t know what to say. It was a moment before he
complied, “Alright. I won’t do that anymore.”
Hearing his sincere promise, Hua Cheng seemed to be satisfied. He nodded and was just about
to turn and continue onwards when Xie Lian called, “San Lang, wait!”
Hua Cheng looked back. Xie Lian chewed on his words for a good moment before finally
arduously squeezing out softly, “…You too. If there’s something dangerous, you don’t touch, I
won’t touch either, alright?”
Hearing this, a side of Hua Cheng’s lips lifted. He took a step closer and was about to speak
when they suddenly heard Pei Ming’s voice from not too far away, “What is this?”
“Looks like people.” Ban Yue said.
“Indeed!” Pei Ming remarked, “But why would people turn into something like this?”
Hua Cheng and Xie Lian exchanged a look and walked towards where their voices were coming
from. “Turn into what?” Xie Lian asked.
———
Ch.165: Saint Born Under the Ominous Star
Pei Ming and the others had entered the yard of a residence, probably in search of a well. Xie
Lian entered the yard and commented offhandedly, “The houses on this street are all so
impressive.”
Hua Cheng replied, “The Kiln is situated in the imperial capital, the heart of the Kingdom of
WuYong, and this place is close to the Kiln, or rather, close to what was the imperial capital two
thousand years ago, so it’s also a place of wealth. Since it’s mostly prominent figures and
government officials who live here, they’re naturally impressive.”
There certainly was a well, only, the sight near that well was exceedingly horrifying. There were
seven to eight people sprawled over the edge of the well as if they were dying of thirst but still
perished after having struggled to make it there. Upon a closer inspection, Xie Lian blinked,
“This… rather than say they’re people, they’re more like stone statues?”
They were of course not live humans, but they weren’t corpses, and definitely were not
skeletons. Each of them were coarsely made, ashen white ‘stone statues’. Xie Lian was about
to reach out and touch when next to him, Hua Cheng gave him a look. He immediately
remembered the two had only just promised each other not to touch anything strange and
dangerous, so he forced down the impulse. Now thinking about it, who in the world would sculpt
so many terrifying statues? They should be people indeed, but had transformed into this form
for some reason.
The front doors of this home was wide open, and Xie Lian looked to the inside of the house and
saw there were two more people lying on the ground, their positions twisted in a tight embrace.
Although their faces were blurred and their expressions unclear, but judging by their action one
could already sense terror filled their hearts. There was a bundle of something tightly hugged
between the two, and on a closer look, Xie Lian realized that it must’ve been a baby.
What had happened was more than clear. Xie Lian said, “Those outside were this household’s
servants, and the ones inside should be the master’s family of three.”
“En.” Hua Cheng said, “After the volcano erupted, the WuYong River’s flow became running
lava. The residents who lived in the high plains weren’t burnt to death by the lava or blazing
fires, but they couldn’t escape the blanketing volcanic ash and died from suffocation.”
The enveloping volcanic ash instantly wrapped their whole bodies and formed a layer of hard
shells on the surface, preserving the last moments of those people, transforming them into
stone statues.
That old well was of course long since dried out. Pei Ming wasn’t interested in studying the
faces of the dead either, so he left, carrying Pei Su with him, and continued the search for water.
Suddenly, Xie Lian noticed something strange, and flipped into the house, crouching down next
to the stone bodies of the family of three. Hua Cheng entered too and asked, “What did you
want to see?”
Xie Lian furrowed his brows slightly, “I just think their positions are a bit strange. These two
adults are holding each other tightly with one arm, but the other arm…” The other arm was
tucked in their chests, like they were gripping onto something firmly.
“You want to see what’s in their hands?” Hua cheng asked.
Xie Lian only just nodded when Hua Cheng tapped once on the joint stone statues. Xie Lian
exclaimed, “Wait, wouldn’t this be too disrespectful to their remai…” However, Hua Cheng
moved faster than he did, and the family of three instantly broke into a pile of shattered ashen
white shards. Hua Cheng said quietly, “No need to be too concerned. They’ve long been dead,
and the remains were already no more.”
In that pile of shards were nothing. Those ‘stone statues’ were hollow on the inside.
Although on the surface, the volcanic ash formed a solid protection shell, but the corpse
wrapped inside would still rot and break down. After the rotting was done, what’s left was only
this layer of ashen shell on the surface.
All lives must come to an end, leaving behind only that which had never lived in the everlasting.
Within the blocks and pieces of those ashen shards on the ground were some not yet fully
rotten through pieces of cloth and the accessories on the hosts’ bodies, such as rings, earrings,
necklaces, etc. Xie Lian felt what this couple were gripping at the face of death couldn’t possibly
be those jewelries, and was picking through them when Hua Cheng picked up something and
handed it to him.
“What’s this?” Xie Lian asked.
“It’s what they were clutching in their hands.” Hua Cheng said.
It was a pendant, a shimmering golden plate and something akin to bones were hanging off of
the chain. Upon the golden plate was engraved patterns, and Xie Lian lightly dusted off the
ashes on the surface to look at the details, “The ominous star*?”
What was depicted on the golden plate was a celestial drawing. Gold for the heavens, agate for
stars, this was what they called the sign of the ‘Ominous Star’, which was the celestial phase of
when the Star of Glowing Befuddlement stood still in the Heart Constellation.
The Star of Glowing Befuddlement had historically been seen as the Star of War and Death, and
when it rested within the Heart Constellation, it was even more ominous a sign, especially
towards rulers and emperors and other such leaders, so why was such a celestial drawing
engraved on an accessory?
No, this shouldn’t have been an accessory. Xie Lian fumbled through the shards of the shells
again for a while and found the other two pendants that looked exactly the same. There were
three in total, even the baby in this couple’s arms had one. Under what circumstances would the
same accessory be kept three times?
“This couldn’t be a protection charm, could it?” Xie Lian wondered.
Only protection charms could give those at the brink of death the urge to grip them tightly, to
pray madly with the last vestiges of hope amidst terror.
“It is.” Hua Cheng said, “I’ve dug through a part of this city too, and I’ve discovered this
protection charm on quite a number of these statues.”
Xie Lian hummed, “The people of WuYong worshipped their crown prince, so this should be the
protection charm of the crown prince. But why draw this celestial phase on the protection
charm? Does the crown prince have any connection to the ominous star?
“Because the day he was born, it was the celestial phase of the ominous star.” Hua Cheng said.
“So, the people of WuYong used this celestial phase to symbolize him.”
“How did San Lang find this out?” Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng flipped the gold plate over, “It’s written on it.”
Sure enough, on the back side was engraved a column of characters. Hua Cheng explained,
“These words mean “Saint Born Under the Ominous Star”. Maybe now in the present, having
the Star of Glowing Befuddlement rest in the Heart Constellation is a grave omen, but things
might be different two thousand years ago.”
Xie Lian stroked that line of words, his heart slowly sinking, since, the day he was born, it was
also the sign of the ominous star!
Was this not too coincidental?
He rose to his feet, “Let’s go to the divine temple.”
The two walked down the long street side by side. Pei Ming and the others weren’t fruitful in
their search in the area, so they followed along too. There were many remnants of carriages on
the streets, some resting by the roadside, some completely overturned on the ground. There
were also a number of scattered stone people lying on the ground, each with bizarre
mannerisms, but the majority had gone back to their own homes to escape the disaster, so
those were homeless beggars or travelers who couldn’t make it home in time. The cries and
struggles in that moment before death were all preserved, and the group of them traversed
through this bizarre sight.
Hua Cheng pointed out for Xie Lian which ones were residences of wealthy merchants, which
ones belongs to the entertainment district. Xie Lian couldn’t help but ask, “San Lang, the
Kingdom of WuYong had fallen for over two thousand years, and there weren’t any descendants
left, so how did you learn to read their words?”
He couldn’t have just forcibly learned from nothing, there should’ve been a door to the method.
“It’s not too difficult,” Hua Cheng said, “Gege can see that some WuYong characters are very
close to the modern characters.”
“It’s true.” Xie Lian said, “The two words ‘WuYong’ are indeed very close to the modern
characters.”
“Right. So, those two words were the first few of the WuYong words I’ve learned.” Hua Cheng
explained, “There’s a few more that are like this, and when mixed in a phrase, the rest of the
words can be deduced. There are some that have the same character but different meaning, but
not too many.”
Xie Lian nodded, and Hua Cheng continued, “And then, there are words that show up more
frequently. Like those two.”
He pointed at two buildings on the street, “It’s easy to tell what kind of place this is. On the
signs, the words on the top are different but the ones on the bottom are the same. Therefore,
what the bottom words mean could be easily determined, either a tavern or a restaurant. There
are many ways to do this. If gege wants to know more, I’ll tell you all about it when there’s time.”
So that was it. There were actually people in this world who could use their own powers to figure
everything out without any help. Xie Lian couldn’t help but be awed.
The divine temple of WuYong was still the grandest and the most impressive building in the city.
The group of them arrived before the temple, but before they entered, Pei Ming suddenly spoke
up, “What’s that noise?”
Squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak. The noise came from afar, and dispersed from
afar. “Rats?” Xie Lian wondered.
“Not your typical rats. But, if there’s rats then that means there’s water nearby.” Hua Cheng said.
When they entered the temple, this time, there were no traces of burning on the walls. They
could see by just raising their heads the immense, vibrant colours of the mural. However, this
time, there wasn’t only one mural, but left, centre, right, three sets! There was a mural on each
of the three walls!
The group of them came before the first mural and looked up. The Crown Prince of WuYong
was sitting upon the clouds, his body shone with golden light. However, his expression was
severe. In his left hand was a ball of light, and within the glow was a small mountain that was
spewing flames; in his right hand his five fingers were pressed together, his palm facing forward,
seeming to be waving.
Below was a palace, and in the palace stood over ten people, each of their attires and
accessories lavish and sumptuous, and each of their gestures were different. Some had their
arms wide open, some were donning armours and carrying bows, and some were ponting into
the far distance with an agitated expression.
The details of the painting were complex and abundant, Xie Lian studied it for a good while
before turning around, “Let me tell what I’ve gathered from this painting?”
“This ball of light held in the left hand of the Crown Prince of WuYong contains the scene of a
small volcanic eruption, which meant he had told his dream to those down below. As for the
gesture of his right hand, it’s obviously a rejection, so he must be dismissing something.”
“What is he dismissing?” Pei Ming asked.
“That’ll depend on the actions of the people below.” Xie Lian replied, “This palace is situated in
the mortal realm, lavish and glamourous, so it should be the royal palace. These people should
be the royalties and nobility of WuYong. This one with his arms wide open, judging by the
action, he should be making the ‘expand’ gesture. Expand what? That’s told by what’s in his
hand.”
The crowd looked closer, and what’s in his hand was a map. Pei Ming was more than familiar
with what that meant, “Expand the territory!”
“Yes.” Xie Lian said, “And these generals are all donned in armours, looking ready to be
dispatched and are ready to go into battle. There are also those on the side pointing the way.
Look, their directive actions are very obvious, it’s like they’re saying ‘go there, fight there’.”
“With this, the meaning of this mural becomes easy to understand – combining the points, it
seems the Crown Prince of WuYong had told his prophecy dream to the ministers in the royal
palace. Once the volcano erupts, the consequences would be severe, and it would be a disaster
that could bring ruin to the Kingdom of WuYong. The territory of the kingdom isn’t big enough,
because the volcano is situated right in the centre, so the cities with great significance will
perish. So how should this be solved?”
“If their own territory isn’t big enough, then go take over someone else’s.” Hua Cheng said.
“Right.” Xie Lian said, “So, the ministers suggest opening up the borders and invade the
neighbouring country.”
“However, the Crown Prince of WuYong doesn’t agree to this method, which is why his right
hand is the gesture of rejection.”
After analyzing the first mural, the group of them came to the second mural. The colours of this
mural was much gloomier than the previous one, perhaps it was because what it depicted was
the scene of slaughter on the battlefield.
Below on the battlefield, blood flowed like the rivers, and the soldiers on both sides killed
relentlessly. Xie Lian could tell which side was the soldiers of WuYong since their armours were
exactly the same as the generals from the previous painting. The WuYong soldiers looked
savage and aggressive, trampling the heads of their enemies under their feet, corpses raised by
halberds, arms and legs and bloody flesh flew in the slaughter, bloody and cruel. There were
even soldiers who reached for children and women huddled in a ball with savage smiles. Truly,
the horrors of war.
Above the battlefield the gloomy clouds were thick, yet within the clouds peeked a sliver of white
light. The Crown Prince of WuYong peeked half of his body from the clouds to watch the scene
down below, his expression that of fury. One of his arms were extended out, releasing many
pillars of golden light, and the WuYong soldiers in the light were all sucked up.
This painting’s meaning was easier to analyze than the previous one. Xie Lian studied it for a
moment before saying softly, “It seems, the generals and ministers didn’t listen to the crown
prince’s advisement and still dispatched armies to invade the neighbouring country. The soldiers
killed too much, even harassing the women, children, and the weak from the other kingdom, so
when the crown prince found out, he was angered, and moved to stop the aggression of the
WuYong soldiers.”
After Pei Ming heard, he said flatly, “How touching. But to be honest, if one of the kingdoms
must perish, then choosing to protect your own couldn’t be helped. The soldiers charging in the
frontlines, if they haven’t yet been cut down by their enemies, they would’ve died from rage with
their own crown prince. I certainly wouldn’t want to fight for a king like that.”
Xie Lian chuckled drily a couple times and said a little woefully, “General Pei is, uh, right.” Hua
Cheng on the other hand, only grunted coldly. Pei Ming continued, “So, the volcano’s about to
erupt. What does tHis Highness the crown prince plan to do? He can’t just let his own people
wait for their own deaths?”
“Let’s look at the third painting.” Xie Lian said, “It should have the answer.”
The group of them finally came before the last painting. The colours of this mural was an
enormous contrast to the previous one. It had returned to bright and vibrant, filled with holy light.
However, with the first look, Xie Lian was shocked to the core, and he widened his eyes.
Pei Ming took a look, “My god, is this the idea the Crown Prince of WuYong came up with? Ha!
Daring. Worthy of admiration.”
On the third mural, at the bottom of the painting was the Kingdom of WuYong. The WuYong
River flowed wildly across the earth, and the crown prince with his four guardian gods were also
in it. However, they weren’t the focal point. Within this painting, the most prominent object, what
was at the centre, was a bridge.
A giant bridge shining with white light, was held up by the Crown Prince of WuYongAnd his four
guardians, and the people on the ground were swarming towards the bridge with smiles
covering their faces.
This Crown Prince of WuYong had built a bridge that connected the heavens with the intention
of bringing his people to the heavenly realm!
———-
●[熒惑守心] The Star of Glowing Befuddlement Resting in the Heart Constellation aka.
The Ominous Star in this translation – Ancient Chinese astronomers believed Mars was
unstable in both position and light, hence they called it “the Star of Glowing
Befuddlement”, and it symbolized ‘Ruin’, ‘Pestilence’, ‘Death’, ‘Famine’, ‘War’, and other
such bad omens. The Heart Constellation in Chinese astronomy sits in the East by
Scorpio, and symbolized the Crown Prince, the Emperor, and depending on where in the
constellation, the Commoner. Thus, when Mars enters the Heart Constellation and
moves within it, it was often interpreted as major changes in politics and dynasties, the
fall of greatness.
————-
Ch.166: Saint Born Under the Ominous Star 2
Xie Lian was speechless looking at the mural. Pei Ming commented, “He can do that?”
“Why not.” Hua Cheng countered.
Everyone looked to him and Hua Cheng continued, “Isn’t appointing generals just bringing
mortals to the heavenly realm? If he’s just pulling everyone within the vicinity of the royal capital
to the heavens temporarily, and once the disaster is over, send them back, why can‘t he do it?”
“Crimson Rain Sought Flower, don’t make this sound so easy.” Pei Ming said, “My Lord should
know, appointing generals takes spiritual powers. This is how many he’s appointing?”
To appoint generals in reality was to use one’s own spiritual power to ‘nurture’ a mortal in the
heavens, to be used by oneself. Otherwise, if there was no restriction, why wouldn’t every
heavenly official appoint all the people they want? Why wouldn’t an emperor just bring up his
entire harem and his entire court, and a general might as well appoint his entire army?
“Judging by the relics left behind, the entirety of the Kingdom of WuYong was only about a
hundred thousand in population. The vicinity of the royal capital was probably only about some
ten thousands.”
Xie Lian said quietly, “It might be tough… but it’s still doable, though just barely.”
“Even if it’s only a few tens of thousands, there’s still no heavenly official who’d dare appoint that
many. If he really went through with it, then I can’t tell if he should be congratulated on his
courage or extreme stupidity. At least, there’s definitely no other like him in history.” Pei Ming
said.
Xie Lian studied that bridge on the mural, completely engrossed. In his eyes, the faces of that
white clad crown prince and his four guardian gods were looking more and more peculiar, more
and more like his own face and the faces of his four Guoshis. He then recalled the celestial
phase of that ominous star; this story that’s so much like a tale of reincarnation made him eager
to learn what happened next, but at the same time, he felt perhaps he already knew.
He didn’t dare to keep looking at that mural anymore and he turned away, asking, “Has water
been found?”
Ban Yue was dragging Pei Su and replied, “That gege went to look.”
She was referring to Yin Yu. Xie Lian glanced at Pei Su who had his eyes closed, and humming
for a moment, he still decided to speak up, “I think, when we go onwards to the Kiln later, it’d be
best if General Pei Junior should stay here.”
Pei Su was in the body of a mortal after all, inconvenient in many ways. Besides, they still didn’t
know what awaited them ahead. Pei Ming squatted down and looked Pei Su over, “Yea, I agree.
But will Your Highness please not tell him the reason in front of him? This child will understand.
Just leave it to me to tell him.”
“Rest assured, General Pei, I understand.” Xie Lian said, “Otherwise I wouldn’t have said it
while he’s still unconscious.”
Pei Su was once a young martial god with an infinitely bright future in the heavens after all, now
that he was to stay behind because he couldn’t keep up, he’d feel bitter. However, mistakes
must be punished; this was how exile should feel, and so he could only accept it.
They remained in the temple and discussed for another while, and Xie Lian wondered, puzzled,
“Where’s Yin Yu? How come he hasn’t come back after so long? Has he not found water yet?”
Hua Cheng on the other hand, was staring intently at a few wraith butterflies resting on his
fingertips. The butterflies were very useful earlier, and now they’ve all returned to him, tucked
away to save energy. He looked up slightly, “He shouldn’t take this long.”
Xie Lian grew alarmed and stood up, “Let me go take a look. General Pei, watch over things
here. San Lang, come with me?”
Of course they would go together. Thus, Xie Lian left RuoYe behind and had it tie a protection
circle. The two left the temple and went towards the deeper part of the underground city.
There were plenty of houses and clutter of things on the way; Xie Lian picked up a jar that he
rather liked and Hua Cheng seemed to have found it funny, “What are you doing picking that
up?”
“If we find water later we can use this to bring some back for General Pei Junior.” Xie Lian said.
He’s gotten used to collecting scraps after all, and he patted the jar in his hands in spite of
himself, “Come to think of it, this is an antique of thousands of years old.”
Hua Cheng laughed and said, “If you like stuff like this, come over to my place after. I’ve got a
few items too and you can see if you find anything you like.”
An incense time later, the two finally heard the faint sound of water flowing. Soon after, Xie Lian
exclaimed, “Over there!”
There was indeed a hidden river at the bottom. Xie Lian placed that jar he picked up in the water
and started washing it heartily. Thousands of years worth of ashes had already formed a thick
layer of a shell, it couldn’t be washed off, but just washing off the dust on the surface the jar
would still be passable for use. He filled it with water and lowered his head, ready to take a sip
himself when Hua Cheng, who was surveying the area, turned and saw him, and immediately
cautioned, “Don’t drink it.”
Xie Lian had already put his face to the jar, but when he heard the stop, he was confused,
“What?”
Just then, a voice said, “So hot.”
There were only the two of them on site, so where did this third voice come from? Xie Lian
unconsciously looked to where the voice came from, and that voice came from the jar in his
hand!
He instantly looked down, and in the jar were two small scarlet red dots, floating in the water
watching him.
What’s that thing?? No matter how he looked it was a pair of eyes!
The moment those eyes matched his, that thing bolted straight for Xie Lian’s face. SPLASH
SPLASH the waters splashed and Xie Lian’s hands moved swiftly, flinging that jar to meters
away in an instant. It smashed against the wall and CLUNK!, the antique of thousands of years
shattered. As for the thing that was hidden in it, it took no time to scurry into the darkness. In
that rush, Xie Lian didn’t see what it was clearly, only that it was a big bundle of something
black, “What was that thing?”
Hua Cheng was shielding in front of him, and Xie Lian was feeling a little woeful, “It wasn’t in
that jar before was it?”
“No.” Hua Cheng said, “It swam into it from the waters. There are often creatures that flock
together and swim in this hidden river, that’s why I told you not to drink it.”
‘But you’d let General Pei Junior drink it…’ Xie Lian thought inwardly. Suddenly, he felt chill on
his back and he shouted, “WHO’S THERE?!”
In an instant just now, he heard someone cough in the distance!
It definitely wasn’t a delusion, and he immediately tensed in alert. Soon after, babbles and
chatters came pouring like the tide and flowed in. From all around the two of them, pairs after
pairs of red dots lit up, and surrounded them, encircling them in the middle. “Don’t worry, they’re
not human.” Hua Cheng said.
‘It’s precisely because they’re not human that we have to worry, alright….’ Xie Lian thought.
Listening closely to that chatter, Xie Lian deduced what those voices were saying:
“Cough, cough, cough…”
“So hot so hot…”
“I’m burning…”
“Wuuuuu”
“I’m suffocating… Is anyone there…”
“I can’t move, can’t move!”
Those voices were tiny, but clear and full of pain, like little ants crawling into his ears. Xie Lian
was just ready to reach for Fang Xin when a voice cried sharply, “Your Highness, WHERE’S
Your Highness?? SAVE ME, SAVE ME!!!”
That last cry made all the hairs on Xie Lian’s back stand, and in that instant he thought that
voice was calling for him. However, Hua Cheng waved his hand, releasing thousands of wraith
butterflies, and they charged at those pairs of red glowing eyes!
Where the silver butterflies shimmered their light, they illuminated the countless creatures that
were chattering in the dark. Sure enough, they weren’t human. They were rats!
Hua Cheng grabbed for him and said, “I’ve said there’s a lot of rats here. Let’s go!”
Xie Lian was still stunned as he walked, “Are those rats? Why do they look more like cats to
me…”
It was true. Those rats were each bigger than a kitten, their hairs black like ink and thick like
needles. Their little red eyes glowed aggressively in the dark, and many were perched on the
walls, watching them closely, speaking the tongues of men, creepy to the extreme. Once the
silver butterflies charged at them they started slaughtering one another; the red and silver lights
flashed and crossed, the state of the battle unknown but very much vicious and violent.
“Yin Yu couldn’t have been dragged off somewhere by those creatures, could he?” Xie Lian
wondered.
“He shouldn’t be that useless. It’s probably something else that’s tripped him up.” Hua Cheng
replied.
The first part made Xie Lian relax slightly, but the last part made him tense again. “Nevermind
how big the rats are, but why are there so many? What do they eat to grow so big?”
“Simple.” Hua Cheng replied, “The dead, of course. Those are all corpse-eating rats.”
Turns out, when this city was covered by volcanic ash, the people and large domestic beasts
like oxen, horses, lambs, etc had nowhere to hide, but, the rats dug deeply into the
underground, and depended on the air and stored sustenance in the caves in order to survive.
Once the dust had settles, they emerged from the holes anew, and scour the now hellish city for
food. However, everything was destroyed; everything was either buried by lava or covered in
volcanic ash. They gnawed through many things but couldn’t find food for the longest time.
Until one day, they smelled the smell of rot.
The rotten smell came from those humanoid stone statues. Some corpses were wrapped in a
thinner layer of that ashen shell, and when they started to rot, they wafted a funny stench, and
corpse water flowed.
Thus, the starving rats surrounded and bustled next to the statues, biting through small holes
and scurried through into the holes, gnawing at the corpses within.
The lowest and scummiest of creatures were often those that survive the longest. The corpses
of the dead were wrapped in those ashes, and their terror, rage, frustrations and other such
powerful emotions were also wrapped within. When those rats ate their corpse bodies, those
emotions were eaten too, and could start speaking the human tongue, expressing what those
people had wanted to say at the moment of their death but couldn’t.
Xie Lian was enlightened, “I see, that’s why they would say those things. I was wondering why
they would say such words…”
Yet unexpectedly, Hua Cheng suddenly said, “What did you say?”
Xie Lian blinked, “What did I say?”
Hua Cheng stared at him, “What did they say? What did you hear?”
“San Lang, you didn’t hear?” Xie Lian said, “It’s just “so hot”, “it’s suffocating”, “can’t move”,
“save me”, and such…”
However, before Hua Cheng said anything it dawned on Xie Lian.
That wasn’t right!
What those corpse-eating rats repeated was the hatred of the WuYong people, so naturally, it
would be in the WuYong tongue.
So, why could he understand the WuYong tongue?!
——–
Ch.167: Jealous Ghost King; Three Questions on Where the Friendship Lies
Hua Cheng used his own deduction skills and learning capabilities to learn the WuYong
language. He could decipher the meaning of the words, but because there wasn’t anyone alive
who could read those words aloud to him, he couldn’t match the words with the sounds. Which
meant, he couldn’t understand the muttering chatters of those corpse-eating rats. But, Xie Lian,
who had never visited Mount TongLu understood. So what did this mean?
With just a glance Hua Cheng could guess what Xie Lian was thinking and he immediately said,
“Gege, don’t panic just yet. I’ll repeat those words again to you now, give it a listen.”
“…Alright.” Xie Lian said.
Hua Cheng’s memory was exceptional, and once they left where the corpse-eating rats were
gathering, he immediately repeated the words clearly. Xie Lian stared at him nervously, and
heard a series of moderately paced and somewhat bizarre pronunciations. Those strange words
had an ancient rhythm to them, and to have them enunciated steadily and controlled through
Hua Cheng’s lips, the notes were deep and beautiful, pleasing to the ears. After concentrating
on the words for a moment, Xie Lian said, “I don’t understand it.”
Now this was strange. He could understand the words those corpse-eating rats spewed, but
now that Hua Cheng recited the same words, he couldn’t understand. But it was impossible
what had happened was a delusion.
Hua Cheng questioned, “Earlier, when you heard those voices, you understood them instantly,
and knew very naturally what they were saying, right?”
Xie Lian nodded, “Right. There was never a translation process in my brain.” Which was why he
didn’t realize it was a different language.
“I get it.” Hua Cheng said.
“What did you get?” Xie Lian asked.
“What you understood wasn’t the WuYong tongue, but the emotions of those who died.”
Xie Lian understood but at the same time, didn’t. Hua Cheng explained further, “Which means, a
long time ago, someone heard the voices of the dead, understood them and remembered them,
then, somehow transplanted this memory to you, infected you with those emotions. Because
that person already knew the WuYong tongue, so, you didn’t need to know the WuYong tongue.
Those voices had always been buried deep within your mind, and the moment you heard them,
you were dragged into those emotions directly.”
“I see…” Xie Lian said, “But, the problem is, who could pass those memories and emotions to
me? And when did they do this?”
After a pause, he murmured, “…Guoshi?”
However, Hua Cheng said, “Can’t be sure. Gege, you’re already assuming your master is from
WuYong. But, have you ever thought that if that’s the case, then before when we were in the
stomach of the mountain spirit, shouldn’t they be communicating via the WuYong tongue? Why
weren’t they?”
This wasn’t hard to explain. Xie Lian said, “Because the Kingdom of WuYong was destroyed two
thousand years ago, which means, in the past two thousand years, if they really did move about
in this world, then they would more likely use the modern language. So when they
communicate, they would very naturally use the language they’re more fluent in.”
Hua Cheng gripped his shoulders, his tone growing harsher, “Gege, don’t keep making yourself
think in that direction.”
Xie Lian finally turned back to face him, “Fine. Then San Lang, in order to transplant memories
and emotions to another, what kind of requirements must there be usually?”
Hua Cheng answered, “Two requirements: first, you must trust this person absolutely without
any guard, and should there be a need, the willingness to be led by this person.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Xie Lian had picked the candidates in his mind. Hua
Cheng continued, “Second, you are powerless to retaliate against this person, they have the
power to oppress you completely, and you hold deep fear towards them. Gege, think carefully.
In these years, who matches these requirements?”
Xie Lian contemplated for a while, and after some hesitation, answered slowly, “There are three
in total.”
“Very good. Which three?” Hua Cheng asked.
“The first one is Guoshi.” Xie Lian said.
Although he loved his parents deeply and never guarded against them, but deep in his heart,
him and his father walked different paths, thus, he couldn’t say he was willing to be lead by his
father. However, Guoshi who took him in and taught him everything matches the first
requirement. This was expected. Hua Cheng asked, “Then, the second one?”
“Jun Wu.” Xie Lian answered.
He admired and respected Jun Wu immensely, no need to speak more on the subject, and he
also fulfills the first requirement. Hua Cheng didn’t look to be too impressed but he didn’t
comment. “And the last one?
“The third one,” Xie Lian said, “Doesn’t match the first requirement but the second one.”
Hua Cheng understood. He said darkly, “…White No-Face?”
Xie Lian closed his eyes and nodded, a hand covering his front, “…I won’t lie to you. Even
though in front of everyone, I might not have revealed this, even to Feng Xin and Mu Qing back
then I had never said anything dispiriting, but I actually…”
Actually, deep in his heart, he had deeply feared that creature.
There was a period of time when even just hearing the name would make him tremble nonstop.
However, Xie Lian had never dared to allow anyone see, because he was the very hope in
fighting White No-Face. If even he was scared, then wouldn’t everyone else fall into despair? If
that should happen, then everything would collapse!
Of course, everything was much better now. Hua Cheng gripped his shoulders even harder, “It’s
nothing. It’s nothing shameful to be afraid of something.”
Xie Lian gave a small flickering smile, “En. I’m just not brave enough, that’s all.”
Hua Cheng comforted, “You don’t need to be so hard on yourself. Without fear, there is no
courage.”
Xie Lian was slightly taken aback. Hua Cheng continued without pause, “So, is it only those
three?”
Xie Lian nodded. Which meant, someone among those three was the one who instilled the
memories and emotions of the WuYong people when the volcano erupted. Hua Cheng mused,
furrowing his brows, but after a moment of silence, Xie Lian suddenly spoke up, “That’s not all of
them.”
Hua Cheng turned to look at him, “What?”
Xie Lian sucked in a breath and said, “…I said, it’s not only those three, there’s a fourth person.
This person matches the first requirement. But, he has nothing to do with those memories and
emotions.”
Hua Cheng had turned around completely, “Oh? How so? Does Your Highness and this person
also share many years of deep friendship?”
Not so many years, Xie Lian thought, but a deep friendship… He thought it counted, but he was
too embarrassed to say it out loud, so he replied ambiguously, “In any case… he might be the
one I trust the most, even more so than my master and Jun Wu.”
“How does that count?” Hua Cheng asked.
Xie Lian cleared his throat lightly and said shyly, “It’s embarrassing to say. Because… If I were
to commit a grave mistake, or get into big troubles, the first one I think of is surely him… And,
this trust is not quite the same as what I have for my master and the Emperor…” Before he even
finished he noticed Hua Cheng’s expression was off, and he trailed off, “San Lang?”
Only then did Hua Cheng come to, and he raised his brows, “Oh. It’s nothing, I was thinking of
something else. Your Highness really trust this person so much?”
Although usually when he raised his brows he was at ease or teasing, this time it didn’t seem
that natural.
Xie Lian nodded, “En… Is there a problem?”
Hua Cheng bowed his head slightly, fixed the silver vambraces by his sleeves, and said,
appearing nonchalant, “Nothing major. But, a personal opinion. It’s best if gege doesn’t trust
others so easily.”
“…”
Hearing him, Xie Lian couldn’t be sure if Hua Cheng figured out who he was talking about, and
he didn’t dare to reveal anymore, so he only “Oh”-ed.
After a pause, he still couldn’t hold back and asked, “San Lang isn’t going to ask who this
person is?”
“Hm? Me?” Hua Cheng said, “Since gege said you trust him and is determined that he has
nothing to do with this affair, then there’s no need to ask.”
Xie Lian rubbed his forehead, and soon after, Hua Cheng said, “But, if gege wants to tell me,
San Lang is happy to listen.”
Although his words sounded proper, but if Xie Lian followed along and told him now, it’d be
awkward, like he was begging people to ask who he trusted the most was. Xie Lian couldn’t tell
whether if it was just courtesy or Hua Cheng really didn’t care either. Coincidentally, right then,
the wraith butterflies that had been engaged in a bloody carnage with the corpse-eating rats had
returned. After going through a strenuous battle, the silver butterflies were flying a little low, like
they were dragging with fatigue. Xie Lian quickly went up to greet them, reaching out to catch a
particularly tiny little silver butterfly and said, “Thanks for your hard work!”
Now he’d done it. The butterflies paused in the air, and the next second, it was like they smelled
delicious pastry and they all charged towards him like mad. Xie Lian had the little silver butterfly
cupped in his hand was almost stunned. Hua Cheng gave a calm cough, and the butterflies
paused again, then they flew towards him properly, landing on the silver vambraces on his
arms, becoming one with the engraved butterfly patterns.
The two continued to search for Yin Yu. After walking for a while, Hua Cheng suddenly spoke
up, “It’s not Feng Xin, is it?”
Xie Lian had already started thinking about something else, and when he heard him, he blinked,
“Huh? What?”
“That person gege spoke of.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian instantly waved his hand, “Of course not.”
Hua Cheng’s brows twitched, “…It’s not Mu Qing either, is it?”
A drop of sweat rolled down Xie Lian’s forehead, “That’s even more impossible. But, why is San
Lang suddenly asking about this again?”
Hua Cheng smiled, “I thought about it, and suddenly felt the fourth person is the most
suspicious. So, to prevent any surprises, will gege please tell me who this person you trust the
most and have shared many years of deep friendship with is?”
“…”
Xie Lian watched the smile on his face and had a gut feeling that this smile was very fake. Just
as he inhaled deeply and was about to speak, the faint silver light from the scouting silver
butterflies suddenly disappeared.
Darkness fell from all around, and Hua Cheng swiftly seized Xie Lian’s hand and blitzed to the
side of the street. Xie Lian could tell something was wrong and said in a whisper, “San Lang,
something’s coming, right?”
Even though darkness had come suddenly and nothing could be seen, but he still followed after
Hua Cheng’s steps closely and flawlessly hopped into a house to hide. Hua Cheng’s voice rang
next to his ear, “It’s here.”
Within the darkness, there was suddenly a very peculiar sound.
Dong, dong, dong.
Even though it was far away, but each drag sounded exceedingly heavy, and with every sound,
it’d sound much closer than before, its speed astounding. Xie Lian kept thinking this sound was
familiar, that he had definitely heard it before, and when that sound was close, he looked to the
outside.
Sure enough! On the main streets of the underground city, a woman dressed in wedding robes
appeared.
While that woman had donned a wedding robe, the robe itself was ragged and shredded,
chillingly gloomy. Although her face was handsomely beautiful, there was no sign of life. The
glowingly green ghost fire on top of her head also made her blanched face glow green. In her
arms cradled a small child whose face was also pale, but much livelier than her, obviously a live
human.
“Bumping into old friends again.” Hua Cheng said.
It was the female ghost Xuan Ji and Gu Zi!
————
Ch.168: Ghost Fire Top; The Unlocking Incantation
They’ve come to Mount TongLu too!
“Gu Zi is here, does that mean Qi Rong has come too?” Xie Lian wondered.
“Look at that ball of green light on top of her head, there’s no doubt he has.” Hua Cheng said.
“…”
Gu Zi seemed to be a little afraid of Xuan Ji, his little form still and unmoving in her arms.
However, perhaps it was because Xuan Ji’s body was cold and it wasn’t comfortable, he
secretly wiggled a couple times, but Xuan Ji instantly admonished, “Don’t move!”
The moment she opened her mouth, with the glow of that ball of green ghost fire, the muscles of
her face appeared even more twisted. That ghost fire was also considered a hallmark sign of
the Green Ghost at this point, exceedingly poor in taste, and Xie Lian felt that any female ghost
who had a normal taste and valued their own image would refuse to wear such a flashy ball of
ghost fire over their heads. Needless to say, it must’ve been Qi Rong who made her wear it. The
green flames and the red wedding robes formed a shocking sight, attacking the eyes, even
more despairing than if a master was to force one to wear an extremely ugly uniform.
Gu Zi pleaded, eyes brimming with tears, “Jie jie, my tummy doesn’t feel that good after drinking
that water.”
Water? Xie Lian broke out into cold seat. That underground water had flocks of corpse-eating
rats swim through, and although it might not be toxic, but children had weaker immunition, and
might get diarrhea after drinking it. Xuan Ji was obviously the type who didn’t like children, and
had no patience for him, “Hang on for a bit. We’re already on our way back.”
Their backs disappeared and became one with the darkness. No need to say anymore, Xie Lian
and Hua Cheng quietly trailed after them. Soon after, they followed Xuan Ji and turned a few
corners and entered another main street. At the end of the street was a particularly lavish
house, and there were voices coming from within, so that must be the destination. Under the
guise of the shadows, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng charged forward first and hopped onto the roof
of that house, and through the cracks, peered down. Sure enough, Qi Rong was sitting in the
centre of the grand hall of that mansion.
He had some tens of stone statues carried over, their heads facing him, and because those
stone people were all sprawled on the floor, they looked like they were in complete submission
towards him. He was thus enjoying this “prostration” and munching on an arm, quite pleased
with himself. In the corner sat several farmers, and one of them, with his head bowed and
having practically no sense of presence, was Yin Yu!
As they suspected, he was captured by Qi Rong. Although no one was bound by ropes, but
there were balls greasily green ghost fires hovering over every one of their heads. Upon a
closer look, those ghost fires were different than the flashy one on top of Xuan Ji’s head; those
had grown all five senses, their eyes narrowed downwards, their expressions malicious, looking
like wicked wretches, and they were firmly watchful of the person below. Xie Lian whispered,
“Those balls of fires must have something to them.”
Hua Cheng replied, “That’s Qi Rong’s Ghost Fire Lock. Once that fire eyes you, if you dare
escape, it would activate the spell and be burned to death in an instant.”
Qi Rong was fully enjoying munching that arm when Xuan Ji’s voice suddenly rang from the
outside, “My Lord, I’ve returned.”
He immediately threw that arm away and wiped his mouth covered with blood. Xie Lian was
slightly amazed; what was that gesture? Afraid someone might see? Could there actually come
a day Qi Rong was embarrassed someone might see the manner in which he ate?
Before Xuan Ji entered, she put Gu Zi down. Gu Zi ta-ta-ta’ed and ran in, rushing straight to Qi
Rong’s side, but when he saw him he pointed his finger and cried, “Dad is eating bad things in
secret again!”
“I’m not!” Qi Rong retaliated.
“I smelled it! Your mouth reeks when you eat it!” Gu Zi accused.
Qi Rong raised his hand and puffed a couple breaths against his palm, and he must’ve smelled
his mouth full of the stench of blood and rot. Without any way to deny it, he became irritated,
“GODDAMMIT! XUAN JI! WHY DID YOU BRING HIM BACK ALL OF A SUDDEN? DIDN’T I
SAY TO TAKE HIM AROUND A BIT LONGER WHEN I’M EATING??”
Xuan Ji floated in and explained, “He was making a fuss over a tummy ache after drinking water
so I brought him back early. My Lord, please don’t make me take care of children anymore, I
don’t know how to deal with him!”
Qi Rong glared and accused, “WHAT?! AREN’T YOU A FEMALE GHOST?? HOW CAN
FEMALE GHOSTS NOT LIKE TAKING CARE OF CHILDREN??”
“But this isn’t even my own child!” Xuan Ji countered.
Gu Zi tugged at Qi Rong’s hem, “Dad, don’t eat those things anymore, they’re not good for
you…” Qi Rong was growing annoyed by his nagging and reprimanded, “Go go go! Don’t hang
around here to annoy people. What is this, kids nagging grownups, go out and go play by
yourself!” And so Gu Zi could only drag his feet and go out to play with mud by himself. Before
he left he even glanced sadly at the others in the house.
Only when he was gone did Xuan Ji speak up, “My Lord, I really don’t understand, why must
you bring him along if you think him annoying? He’s been hungry, and thirsty, and teary, and
sickly the entire way. If it wasn’t for bumping into that mountain spirit who carried us, who knows
if he’d still be slowing us down.”
Qi Rong laughed wryly, “My cheap son is determined to call me dad, so just let him! Pfft, what
rubbish, of course it’s because I’m gonna eat that little dumb pecker! A small kid’s meat is so
tender, even without seasoning it’ll be flavourful enough!”
“Then why haven’t you eaten him yet?” Xuan Ji questioned.
Green light flashed in Qi Rong’s eyes, “You don’t understand anything! I’ll kill after he’s fattened!
Leave the best for last! Besides, we still have so many supplies left, no need to rush!”
Xuan Ji stared at Yin Yu, “I think this new one you captured is suspicious. Very, very suspicious.
My Lord, did you find out where exactly he came from?”
Judging by how much Qi Rong hates Hua Cheng, if he knew Yin Yu was Hua Cheng’s
subordinate, he would’ve immediately eaten him, yet Qi Rong replied, “Yea, I got it. This bastard
came with the Rain Master to help too.”
A weak sense of presence and a flat personality was sometimes a good thing; people usually
wouldn’t link Yin Yu and Crimson Rain Sought Flower together. It seemed, Yin Yu had
successfully lied about his own identity. Xie Lian sighed a breath of relief. Xuan Ji’s face,
however, dropped, “Yu Shi Huang has already chased us here?!”
“Nah.” Qi Rong said, “This bastard found this underground city by accident, the same as us. The
Rain Master hasn’t found us yet. GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!” He suddenly cussed, “Why is the
Rain Master so hard to deal with? So hot on our trail that we had to come hide here! WE ONLY
GRABBED A COUPLE OF THOSE PLANTERS FROM THE COUNTRY TO EAT, WHY SO
STINGY? A heavenly official too, I just KNEW none of the heavenly officials are any good! SO
NARROW-MINDED AND MISERLY!”
He’d always cause others harm first and act all self-important after. You were the first one who
wretchedly grabbed someone else’s farmers who were minding their own business, but you had
to turn around and scorn others for not being generous enough to provide you with a few more?!
His speech made Xie Lian’s fists itch.
“Why don’t we just release those people?” Xuan Ji said.
Qi Rong however, seemed to have thought the idea embarrassing and glared, “NO! I already
ate half of them, so even if I release the other half it’d be pointless. FORCE MY HAND AND
THIS ANCESTOR WILL BURN THEM ALL TO THE GROUND! NO ONE WILL BENEFIT FROM
THIS!”
“I didn’t think things would turn out like this either. The Yu Shi Huang I knew wasn’t like this in
the past, easy to bully. I had thought even if we kidnapped people from YuShi Country
everything would just be swept under the rug and the insult swallowed that I dared make a
move. Who knew it would stir this much trouble, completely unshakable!”
Xuan Ji actually knew the Rain Master and didn’t seem to hold the lord in high regard. It
seemed, they probably knew each other when they were still mortals. Thinking back on all the
legends, Xie Lian whispered, “Could it be that Xuan Ji used to be the general of the Kingdom of
Yushi?”
“Gege guessed right.” Hua Cheng said, “That’s exactly the case.”
Xie Lian was puzzled, “But that’s not right? Lord Rain Master is a descendant of Yushi royalty
with a prestigious status. Xuan Ji was only a general, a lowly official, so how dare she look
down on her monarch? And even say something like “easy to bully”…”
Just then, Qi Rong replied, “Who cares what Rain Master Dog Master, just wait til this Ghost
King cultivates to a Supreme status in the Kiln, and be born with so much might I’ll shock the
heavens, and everyone must fall at my feet! Kneel before me and eat the mud at my feet! Then,
I’ll tear the Ghost City down, sink that Black Water Island, and even Jun Wu will have to be
careful where he treads. HAHAHAHAHAHahahaha…”
“…”
Listening to him make up so much bull, happily imagining his future might, other than wanting to
laugh, Xie Lian felt nothing. Hua Cheng on the other hand, didn’t even want to spare the energy
to laugh. Qi Rong then said more to Xuan Ji, “Then, I’ll chop off Pei Ming’s cock for you to play,
make him your slave.”
Hearing that name, Xuan Ji clenched her fists, a trace of life flashing on her pale face, “NO
NEED! As long as My Lord promises to give him to me for me to handle him myself, Xuan Ji will
be plenty grateful!”
When it didn’t concern Pei Ming, Xuan Ji looked like a somewhat normal female ghost, but the
moment General Pei was mentioned, Xie Lian could see a shadow of that mad and obsessed
female ghost from Mount Yu Jun. She had actually placed that absurd hope on Qi Rong; a move
that could only be described as crazy.
Of course, they could just go in directly and beat up Qi Rong and Xuan Ji, but those farmers and
Yin Yu are hostages. Qi Rong is thuggish in character, and if with every punch he burns a
person, then they’d be the ones at a loss. Just as he said, if they forced his hand he could very
well burn everyone to the ground. Hua Cheng wasn’t the least bit anxious and said, “There’s an
unlocking incantation to Qi Rong’s Ghost Fire Locks. Let’s think of a way to trick it out of him
first.”
“Who will do this? How to trick him? We certainly can’t be the ones.” Xie Lian said.
Just as the words left his lips, their eyes fell at the same time on Gu Zi who was playing with
mud outside the mansion.
After a momentary pause, Xie Lian said, “That won’t do. It’s too dangerous. Qi Rong is already
thinking of eating Gu Zi, what if he catches the deceit…”
“Whether if that brain of his can even register tricks aside,” Hua Cheng said, “If he plans on
doing anything to the child we can just go and rescue him. Why doesn’t gege worry instead
whether if this child, after having stayed by Qi Rong for so long, had been influenced by him and
whether if his mental state is still normal.”
Having followed Qi Rong for so long, it really was hard to say whether if he’s turned monstrous.
“Let’s give it a try then?” Xie Lian said.
Thus, Hua Cheng opened his fingers flat and released a teeny tiny silver butterfly from his palm,
and it fluttered down languidly.
Qi Rong and Xuan Ji were still talking inside the house, and Gu Zi was thus outside drawing
pictures in the mud, the picture of a big person holding hands with a little person. Suddenly, he
saw a silver butterfly emitting a faint silver light, and he instantly looked up, his eyes wide, and
was just about to go “WOW!” when a whisper of a voice came from that silver butterfly, “Gu Zi,
don’t speak. The moment you speak I’ll be no more. It’s me. Do you remember me?”
If Gu Zi still yelled, Hua Cheng would’ve had the silver butterfly confound his mind, however, Gu
Zi covered his own mouth, indeed obedient. He whispered back, “I remember. It’s the
scrap-collecting gege’s voice.”
“…Hahaha, what a good memory.” Xie Lian laughed awkwardly, “That’s right, that’s me, the
scrap-collecting guy. Sneak over here to the side for a moment, don’t let Qi… don’t let your dad
notice.”
Gu Zi nodded, rose to his feet and was just about to sneak away when Qi Rong who was inside
the house noticed, and he yelled, “HEY! DON’T RUN AWAY SO BLINDLY, YA HEAR ME? STAY
HERE AND DON’T GO ANYWHERE, THE BIG RATS WILL GET YA! GET BACK HERE!”
——–
Ch.169: Ghost Fire Top; The Unlocking Incantation 2
That silver butterfly instantly flew to the side and hid. Gu Zi’s eyes widened and answered, “I…
I’m going to pee!”
Qi Rong clicked his tongue, “Kids are so full of shit and piss!” And stopped caring. Gu Zi
fumbled to the side and whispered again, “Scrap gege, scrap gege!”
Xie Lian was still on the roof, “…Just daozhang is fine. Scrap gege is a little weird, hahaha… Gu
Zi. Those people your dad captured are very pitiful. They are subordinates from someone else’s
household, and their master will keep chasing your dad to beat him up. Will you help let them
go?”
“I know!” Gu Zi said, “They’re from the house of that big, black ox riding god!” He scratched his
head, “I want to let them go too… but, my dad is sick. He said he has to eat human flesh to get
better, that eating human flesh is very normal. I’m still young, he’ll teach me how to eat when I’m
bigger. I don’t think that’s very good…”
It’s more than just not very good! That was a close call, Xie Lian thought. Staying too long by Qi
Rong’s side, Gu Zi was starting to go astray. If he continued to go down the wrong path, maybe
he’d recognize everything as normal out of habit, and accept that eating human flesh was a very
normal belief. Xie Lian said quickly, “It’s very not good! Eating human flesh will cause a very
severe illness, the ghosts of the eaten will all cling to you and your dad, harass you day and
night. You dad isn’t sick, he’s just a glutton who refuses to stop. You have to think of a way to
stop him from ever eating that anymore, otherwise you’ll become a fatherless child!”
“Then what should I do?” Gu Zi was alarmed.
Hua Cheng turned to Xie Lian, “Gege, let me.”
He said a few words to the silver butterfly, and Gu Zi listened on the other end, trying hard to
remember everything. Once he was done, Hua Cheng looked up again and told Xie Lian, “Let’s
lead Xuan Ji out of the way first.”
Inside the house, Xuan Ji said, “I still think this man is suspicious. He said he’s Yu Shi Huang’s
subordinate, but he’s covered with the essence of evil. I don’t think he was truthful at all, I’ll
question him some more.
After seeing Gu Zi scurrying away, Qi Rong turned around with his back facing the door and
continued to munch on that arm, replying vaguely, “Sure.”
That Xuan Ji would go crazy when running into Pei Ming aside, other times, she was much
more detailed and cautious than Qi Rong, being a woman after all. Besides, Gu Zi was still a
little scared of her, so with her around, he might trip up easier. Xie Lian nodded, “How do we
lead her away?”
The two exchanged a look and said at the same time, “General Pei.”
Xie Lian put his hands together in a prayer, “There’s no other way. We’ll have to have him
temporarily sacrifice himself. General Pei, everyone will thank you after they’re saved.”
Another silver butterfly materialized from the engravings on Hua Cheng’s silver vambrace and
flew next to Xie Lian’s ear. The voices of a man came floating, and it was Pei Ming. Turns out,
just before Hua Cheng went away earlier, he still left behind a few silver butterflies, and the
voices of the other side were sent over. Xie Lian listened intently for a bit and whispered, “Let’s
cut this up a bit, and use these lines…”
Xuan Ji’s back was facing the window, eyeing Yin Yu like a hawk, interrogating him. Yin Yu
answered tranquilly, “In YuShi country I’m responsible for taking care of the lost hungry ghosts.
When they come knocking I would gift them a bundle of rice, and send them on their way, which
is why I am covered with the essence of evil.”
The other hostages were the true famers of YuShi country, and while there certainly were such
relief givers, he was definitely not one of them. They knew he was making things up, but no one
made a sound. Qi Rong chortles, “Ho ho, I’m a hungry ghost too, why not give me some relief?
Only a couple people were eaten and I’m being chased to death, what is this cheapskate
pretending to be generous?” Xuan Ji on the other hand, only scorned in disdain, “There’s so
many hungry ghosts in the world, how can you bring relief to all? It’s just for show.”
Just then, a silver butterfly with its light concealed soundlessly flew to behind her person, then
flashed and hid. All the captives saw but they were very composed, and with an unspoken
understanding, everyone pretended they didn’t see anything. Xuan Ji was going to continue the
interroration when suddenly, she seemed to have heard the voice of a man, “…If that’s the case,
… these … first. Do you… any more…? Give… here…”
The original line was “If that’s the case, roast these rats first. Do you have any more snakes?
Give some here.”
When Xie Lian first heard Pei Ming say it, he was full of both shock and pity. There must’ve
been corpse-eating rats taken to be normal rats that crawled over and killed by Pei Ming, to be
served as Pei Su’s meal. Would eating that rat cause no problems? It seemed they must hurry
back soon.
However, after Hua Cheng blurred out some words from the line, the effect was mysterious, like
it meant something, but what exactly couldn’t be said. When Xuan Ji heard, she shuddered
violently and whipped her head back. However, that silver butterfly was cunningly agile; it wasn’t
emitting light and the moment she turned around, it had long since fluttered to the side and hid.
Xuan Ji was shaken and she turned back to question the captives, “Did you all hear something
just now? Did you see anything?”
Yin Yu took the lead, and the rest of the captives all shook their heads. Qi Rong looked over
with his mouth covered in blood, “What did you hear?”
Xuan Ji was slightly confused, “I thought… I heard Pei Ming’s voice.”
“You’re probably delusional.” Qi Rong said, “I haven’t heard anything.” That silver butterfly was
pressed closely to Xuan Ji, so no one else could hear the voices it was transmitting. Xuan Ji
was doubtful, “Really? But I feel… maybe he’s closeby. Maybe, this is telepathy? My Lord, why
not, let me go and take a look again?”
Xie Lian didn’t think it’d be this easy and clenched his fists silently, flashing Hua Cheng a smile.
Yet unexpectedly, Qi Rong rained on his parade, “PFFT! Didn’t you go once already? What
telepathy, it’s delusion for sure. You do nothing but think of him eight hundred times a day, of
course you’re delusional.”
It appeared Xuan Ji was a little convinced by his words, and remained, unsure. Even though this
attempt was a failure, Xie Lian wasn’t discouraged, because he’s got a few more lines up his
sleeves. Xuan Ji was just about to continue her interrogation when she once again heard Pei
Ming’s voice, “…You little dummy! Come here, I’ll teach you.”
Soon after, it was a girl’s voice, “…Please, General Pei. I’ve done it once. I’m experienced now.
Let me do it…”
That was of course Pei Ming instructing Ban Yue on how to roast corpse-eating rats for Little Pei
to eat, however, once the line fell in Xuan Ji’s ears, it was understood as something completely
different. She screeched, her eyes instantly filled with red, and the ghost fire on top of head
erupted higher like the jealous flames in her heart was blazing. She pulled at her own hair and
screamed, “IT’S HIM!!! IT’S HIM FOR SURE, HE MUST BE HERE, I SENSED IT, MY HEART
SENSED HIM!!! PEI MING! I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!!”
She screamed as he dragged her two broken legs and ‘jumped’ out. Qi Rong broke out in
curses, “HEY! OI! XUAN JI! WHAT THE FUCK! HOW CAN YOU RUN THAT FAST WITH
BROKEN LEGS? IS THAT MANWHORE REALLY WORTH IT?!”
Xie Lian watched as Xuan Ji’s stumbling and wobbling back disappeared and felt somewhat
mournful. Hua Cheng probably thought he was worried about the safety of those back at the
temple and said, “No need to worry. The wraith butterfly will lead her in the opposite direction.
Even if she finds them RuoYe is there to shield and she won’t be able to enter the circle. Let’s
end our things here quickly.”
Now that Xuan Ji was gone, it was time for Gu Zi to enter the stage. He rose to his feet, and
wiped his muddy hands on his butt. Xie Lian was still a little worried, “Will it really be alright?”
Hua Cheng said softly, “Gege, trust me. If this won’t work, we can find another way. There are
plenty of backup plans. If anything, we can make Qi Rong unable to speak for the rest of his life
first then take our time to think of an idea.”
“…”
Gu Zi entered the house and Qi Rong had already licked clean all the blood on his hands. When
he saw him he called out, “Son, come here and massage chop your daddy’s legs!”
Thus, Gu Zi went up to massage chop his legs. After chopping obediently for a while, he asked,
“Dad, those people in the corner, how come they don’t dare move even though they clearly
aren’t bound by ropes?”
His question energized Qi Rong, “Hehe, of course it’s because they’re so scared of your daddy
that their legs get all wobbly!”
“…”
Gu Zi’s eyes and mouth were open wide and round, “YOU’RE THAT AMAZING?!”
Qi Rong’s vanity was greatly satisfied, and he replied, “That’s right! Look here, today I’ll show
you just how amazing your daddy is! You see that ball of fire? The moment I give the command,
WHOOSH And they’ll all burn to death, so of course they’re afraid of me! And two other little
ghosts, remember them,” Gu Zi was nodding like little chicks pecking at grain and Qi Rong
continued, “One is Hua Cheng, the other has the nickname Black Water, they’re two weak ass
nobodies. They’re two wretches pretending to be great and got a little lucky, but in reality, their
titles are hollow. Do you understand what a hollow title means? I’ll teach you. It’s an idiom. It
means on the surface, they look like they’re powerful but when it came to true strength, they’re
nowhere near my level.”
Gu Zi looked like he understood but at the same time not. “Oh…” Qi Rong added, “They’re just
lucky! If I had their luck, I would be ten times greater than they’ll ever be! JUST YOU WAIT! This
time, your daddy will break through this trial, and immediately beat them black and blue! NO
ONE WILL DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME! ONLY I GET TO LOOK DOWN ON OTHER
PEOPLE!”
His determination was blazing, swinging his arms hollering, and although Gu Zi totally did not
understand who or what he was talking about, he still cheered keenly, “YOU CAN DO IT, DAD!”
“…”
On top of the roof, Xie Lian slapped a hand to cover his face.
Qi Rong’s speech of greatness really made him speechless. Thinking that Qi Rong was his little
cousin, he felt really embarrassed and turned to Hua Cheng, “San Lang, this… he… I…”
In truth, throughout history, there was no man in the world who didn’t love bragging. A breeze
could blow the handkerchief of a brothel girl into his hand, and he would turn around and say
the most beautiful of renown escorts had fallen in love with him; holding shoes and wiping
benches for the emperor’s mistress’s uncle’s grandson’s cousin’s mistress would for sure
become him being an important administrator at the residence of royal relatives, raising his
status. Thus, men who didn’t brag were a rare species.
As for men who love to brag, first, they love to brag to women, second they love to brag to their
sons. Recall when Xie Lian was young, his father also frequently used various discrete and
indiscrete ways to tell him of his heroism and greatness in politics, and this was also precisely
why ever since he was young, he deeply believed his father to be a noble and valiant ruler
whose name would no doubt go down in history. Later, when he found out the truth, it wasn’t the
greatest timing, which was why there was the feeling of “You’re not that amazing after all”,
leaving him greatly disappointed. Thinking of this, Xie Lian shook his head and thought it funny,
‘Why would I compare Qi Rong with my father?’
That really was out of the blue, but perhaps it was because they both loved to make themselves
bigger than they were. However, whether it be his father or someone else, at least the vaunting
was within normal parameters. Qi Rong had reached the stage of absolute shamelessness and
righteous impudence. No wonder even Black Water who had always kept a low-profile was
disgusted with him, and would find any excuse to beat him up if they should meet. But Xie Lian
was still a little puzzled, how come he only heard Qi Rong curse others but not at him?
But, Xie Lian could also understand a little now why Qi Rong was dragging his feet to devour Gu
Zi. If he was bragging to a normal person or someone who was a bit older with more life
experience, the other might not believe him. Even if they would agree on the surface, it still
wouldn’t feel sincere, or, the reaction would be too greasily exaggerated, like those little minions
under Qi Rong. However, Gu Zi’s praises were different. Every word came from the bottom of
his heart; he truly believed that his dad was the number one most powerful guy in the world!
It had probably been a long time since Qi Rong had bragged so heartily and was greatly
satisfied. He threatened, “You gotta be good, ya hear me? If you don’t listen to me, I’ll put a
ghost fire on you too!”
Sure enough, Gu Zi was scared and hastily covered his own head, “No, I don’t want to wear it…
oh yea, dad.” He remembered what Hua Cheng and Xie Lian taught him, and said nervously,
“O-Once you wear this green fire you won’t be able to take it off, right?”
If he had asked “If you wear it can you take it off?” Qi Rong might not tell the truth, but the
question was “you won’t be able to take it off, right?” It was a question of doubt, of course it was
taught by Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. Qi Rong instantly kicked out and sent the head of one of the
stone people flying, “RUBBISH! IF DADDY WANTS TO LOCK, HE’LL LOCK, IF HE WANTS TO
UNLOCK, HE’LL UNLOCK! LOOK! DAD WILL UNLOCK ONE TO SHOW YOU!”
Then, he pointed at a farmer and yelled, “DOG FUCKER XIE LIAN!”
Xie Lian: “…”
Hua Cheng: “…”
The ghost fire on top of that farmer’s head was extinguished, and he leapt to his feet. However,
he didn’t run very far before Qi Rong spat loudly, and another ball of greasily green ghost fire
was spewed from his mouth, and it loomed over the top of that farmer’s head. Qi Rong laughed
boisterously, patting Gu Zi’s head, “What do ya think? Your daddy’s powerful, right?”
On top of the roof, Xie Lian wiped sweat off his face, and Hua Cheng looked cool and aloof but
his voice was chilling, “I think that trash wants to be even more garbage than he already is.”
His knuckles seemed to be cracking, and Xie Lian said hurriedly, “It’s fine, it’s fine. He was more
easily tricked than expected!” They had originally taught Gu Zi many more ways to dig for
information, but it seemed none of that would be used. No wonder Qi Rong hadn’t cursed Xie
Lian at all earlier, so it was because cursing him had become the unlocking incantation. Truly,
his feelings for him are deep. At this point, there was no more need for the two to keep hiding,
and they instantly broke through the roof, jumping down!
The large rumble made Qi Rong fall off his chair from surprise, “WHO’S THERE?? WHO’S
THERE??” And when he saw who it was, “DOG, DOG…” he had probably wanted to curse at
him, but remembering that it was the very important unlocking incantation, Qi Rong quickly
covered his mouth. In the corner, the farmers said, “I think he called out the incantation earlier,
so how about… let’s see if we can unlock each other?”
“Yea, it’s just some curses, right? Although I feel kind of bad for this Xie Lian person, but it’s not
like he’s here, so it should be alright!”
Yin Yu however, advised calmly, “Whether if his person is here or not, I suggest you all best not
say it, otherwise the consequences would be worse than right now…”
On the other end, Qi Rong grabbed Gu Zi to shield in front of his person, changing his tune,
“DOG FUCKED XIE LIAN! YOU’RE SHAMELESS! YOU SPY! CUNNING!”
Xie Lian was a little woeful, “What the heck is “dog fucked”?”
Qi Rong added, “Even if you know the incantation it’s useless! Are you going to curse
yourselves? Would you not care if other people curse you?”
Hearing this, Hua Cheng’s expression grew darker, and his knuckles cracked a couple more
times, looking like he’s holding back. Xie Lian however, was unconcerned, “Yea? It’s nothing.”
Then, he repeated that incantation five to six times without hesitation, since once could only
release one person. The captives all knew by now that he was the one being cursed at in the
incantation, and they couldn’t help but raise their thumbs at him in their hearts, “A real man!”
However, none of the Ghost Fire Locks on top of their heads were unlocked. Xie Lian’s face
changed slightly, and Qi Rong cackled, “HAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU FELL FOR IT! IF IT WASN’T
ME WHO UNLOCKS IT IT’S POINTLESS! YOU CURSED FOR NOTHING! HAHAHHAHA…”
A silver butterfly flew by Gu Zi’s eyes, and he blinked twice, his eyelids drooping, then he fell
asleep soon after. Qi Rong was still cackling by himself when suddenly, a forceful yank of his
sleeve made him spin eighteen times before crashing into the wall, and he blurted, “DOG
FUCKER XIE LIAN!”
After he cursed, that ball of ghost fire atop of Yin Yu’s head disappeared. Yin Yu leapt to his feet,
and blitzed a good distance away. Qi Rong instantly covered his mouth, and Xie Lian said
pleasantly, “Come come come, don’t worry, don’t hold yourself back. Let yourself go, keep
cursing.”
As he spoke serenely, he rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a hold of him, and Qi Rong really
couldn’t tell what that stance meant. He yelled with all he’s got, “GO AHEAD! HIT ME! EVEN IF
YOU BEAT ME TO DEATH I WON’T CURSE THAT AGAIN!”
Next to them, Hua Cheng said with an icy voice, “Good.”
Qi Rong turned back to look, and Hua Cheng was smiling at him with a smile that couldn’t be
more fake but it disappeared in the blink of an eye. The next second, his head was rammed
three feet into the ground.
“…”
Hua Cheng plucked his head out from the ground and he roared, “YOU DARE TREAT ME LIKE
THIS! I’VE HAD IT! I’LL BURN EVERYONE! WE CAN ALL DIE TOGETHER! HUA CHENG
YOU FUCKER! BURN UP!”
It seemed, that ‘Hua Cheng you fucker’ was the other matching incantation to start the
incineration. However, after he yelled it, there was no cry nor wails from anyone, and he opened
his eyes in confusion. That group of farmers were all fine and standing at the other end,
watching him. Qi Rong was shocked, “WHAT’S GOING ON? HOW COME NONE OF YOU
DIED? GO DIE! WHO RELEASED YOU??”
“You did.” Xie Lian said. Then, he pointed at a silver butterfly next to him, and that silver butterfly
was broadcasting the exact same roar earlier, “YOU CURSED FOR NOTHING! HAHAHAHA…”
Turns out, that wraith butterfly had recorded everything and copied his voice, including that
incantation. With one curse, it could unlock infinitely. Hua Cheng said, “Leave this plane
yourself. Sorry, no one’s coming with you.”
Then, another violent punch, and Qi Rong was bashed into the underground.
The farmers all went up and circled around to see, “Can… Can that still be fished up?”
Yin Yu hopped down into the deep hole Hua Cheng punched in, and a moment later, jumped
back up, a green daruma doll in his hand. “Chengzhu, Your Highness, it’s been collected.”
That greasily green daruma doll was baring its teeth, rolling its eyes back, spitting a long
tongue, like it was laughing at someone, but also like it was putting on a spectacle to gain
favour. In any case, it was in extremely poor taste, even children would toss it aside in disgust if
they saw it. Xie Lian couldn’t tell if Qi Rong’s own character decided this design or if Hua Cheng
purposely made him this way.
“Don’t pass that thing to us. Take that thing far, far away.” Hua Cheng said.
“Yes sir.” Yin Yu acknowledged.
To be honest, Xie Lian didn’t really want to hold on to that thing either, and he picked up Gu Zi
from the ground. A few wraith butterflies came flying from a different direction and landed on the
back of Hua Cheng’s hand. He looked down to see, then said, “We need to hurry back to the
divine temple.”
Xie Lian whipped his head around, “Something’s happened over at the divine temple?”
————-
Ch.170: Resentful Female Ghost; Flames of Jealousy Burn the Affection
Hua Cheng raised his hand slightly, and with that silver butterfly in his palm, he brought it next to
Xie Lian’s ear. In between the twinkling flutters of that silver butterfly’s wings, he heard Pei
Ming’s voice floating over, “Little dummy, did you hear that strange noise?”
It was probably because Pei Ming had been chasing skirts for a long time, so even if Xie Lian
knew Pei Ming felt nothing for Ban Yue, the way he spoke still made people ponder. Ban Yue
replied grimly, “I’m not a dummy… I heard. That noise was really strange, I don’t think it’s
General Hua coming back.”
Of course it wasn’t! Because, it was clearly the “Dong! Dong!” sound Xuan Ji makes hopping
with her broken legs!
There weren’t a long of “Dong!”s before the other two fell silent, and what followed was the
crazed laughter of a woman, “Hehe, hehehe, hahahahAHAHAH…”
That laughter echoed and resounded in the empty underground city, then carried over via the
silver butterfly, some white noise crackled in the transmission, making it sound scarier than if he
heard it in person. Naturally, this was the laugh of the overjoyed and painfully hateful Xuan Ji
who had finally seen Pei Ming once more.
“Didn’t the silver butterfly lead her in the opposite direction?” Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng replied, “She’s smarter than expected.”
Turns out, Xuan Ji had been chasing after that wraith butterfly like mad, curiously fast, and ran
all the way to the end of the main street in no time, but there was no one there. She was once a
female general on the battlefield after all, and instantly noticed she was lead away. Technically,
the moment she noticed she should’ve immediately returned to Qi Rong, but her mind was filled
with Pei Ming, so instead she just turned around and ran in the opposite direction, throwing her
boss Qi Rong completely out of her mind.
Xie Lian found it funny for some reason but it was hard to describe the sentiment exactly. He
quickly brought along those escaped captives and the group rushed to the WuYong divine
temple in the centre of the city. That female ghost Xuan Ji had waited for Pei Ming for too, too
long; just by hearing her laughter it was easy to imagine how twistedly crazy her face must be.
Pei Ming was probably also startled by her, and was in shock for a long time before he started,
“You are…”
Xuan Ji sneered coldly. Yet unexpectedly, after a pause, Pei Ming asked, “Who are you?”
“…”
Xuan Ji was wild with rage, her voice sharp and trembling, “YOU… YOU’RE TRYING TO PISS
ME OFF ON PURPOSE, RIGHT? YOU ACTUALLY DON’T KNOW WHO I AM?!”
Xie Lian wiped away a drop of cold sweat and said, “No way, General Pei… is he actually doing
this on purpose or he really didn’t recognize her?”
“Probably the latter.” Hua Cheng said. After all, if the rumours were true, then in these past
centuries Pei Ming had had affairs with at least over a thousand beauties, how could he
remember every one? Especially an old one from so many hundreds of years ago. Besides, that
incident on Mount Yu Jun with the ghost bride was also passed over to Pei Su to manage, he
never appeared himself, and never saw Xuan Ji. Xuan Ji mumbled to herself, “Right. You’re
angering me on purpose. I won’t fall for it. Heh. You want to lie and say you don’t remember me,
you want to lie to me, hehe.”
Then, she screeched, demanding, “WHO IS THIS LITTLE WHORE? AREN’T YOUR
STANDARDS USUALLY HIGH? WHAT, TRYING DIFFERENT FLAVOURS THIS TIME?”
Ban Yue: “?”
Pei Ming: “??”
Although both made confused noises, but, this resentful tone seemed to have recalled Pei
Ming’s memory, and he knitted his brows slightly, “Xuan Ji? How did you become like this?”
Only then did Xie Lian remember that the Xuan Ji right now must be disheveled. Her eyes were
red like that of a fierce ghost, donned in bright red bridal robes, the lower hems filthy and
unkempt, crawling sluggishly but dangerously like a crocodile on the ground. This was pretty
much how they saw her just now, and it was really difficult to link her to that female general who
was noble and cool, so no wonder acquaintances couldn’t recognize her at first glance.
“How did I become like this? YOU DARE ASK HOW I’VE COME TO LOOK LIKE THIS?! ISN’T
IT ALL YOUR FAULT, I DID THIS ALL FOR YOU!”
“She’s charged at the protection circle.” Hua Cheng informed.
“No worries, RuoYe can hold her off.” Xie Lian said.
Just as he said, a shriek was heard from that silver butterfly. Xuan Ji who charged must’ve been
bounced back and sent flying over thirty meters away, and dropped into the darkness once
more. Pei Ming’s voice came, “His Highness’ spiritual device is pretty useful. I’ll have to forge
one for myself too sometime.”
‘If you knew how it was forged you wouldn’t have said so…’ Xie Lian thought, but before his
thought was complete, Pei Ming shouted, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP!”
Xuan Ji yelled, “DON’T THINK YOU CAN KEEP HIDING IN THERE!”
RUMBLE RUMBLE!
Xie Lian was dumbfounded as he speed walked, “What did she do?”
“It appears she’s toppled the divine temple, and the stone ceiling collapsed.”
So that was it. Xuan Ji was bounced back from RuoYe’s protection circle and couldn’t enter the
circle, so she knocked the entire temple down. “Are General Pei and the others alright? Little
Pei and Ban Yue are both there too!” Xie Lian asked.
“They’re fine. Pei Ming shielded them.” Hua Cheng said.
The moment that stone ceiling collapsed boomingly, Pei Ming shielded Pei Su and Ban Yue
under his body. Xie Lian let out a breath of relief, “Then that’s fine. The protection circle still
won’t break from this.”
On the other end, Pei Ming was furious, “Are you crazy? Even if you topple the sky you won’t be
able to get in!” However, Xuan Ji laughed evilly, and Ban Yue exclaimed, “General Pei watch
out!”
“Wha…”
Those reactions all happened at the same time, and amidst this chaos, Xie Lian heard the
sound of a sharp sword piercing a chest. There was no question that it was Pei Ming who was
stabbed.
Xie Lian was anxious, “What’s happened?! The protection circle broke? That’s impossible…
wait, sword?!”
In that instant, he finally understood what Xuan Ji was planning. So that was it!
After Xuan Ji had her fill of laughing, she said cooly, “Who said I wanted to enter?”
Another voice also started laughing, “Hey, Pei Ming, look who’s here! It’s your old sweetheart!”
Rong Guang!
Xuan Ji toppling the divine temple wasn’t her throwing a crazy fit from rage, and it wasn’t
because she wanted to enter the protection circle. Her goal was to crush those two
ghost-sealing clay pots Ban Yue placed in the circle, release the ghosts inside, and have them
attack from the inside!
After Rong Guang escaped the pot, he quickly turned into the form of a sword, and stabbed Pei
Ming. Pei Ming seemed to be trying to pull him out, but Rong Guang was doggedly unyielding,
that sword piercing through his body, “YOU WISH! TIME TO DIE!”
Pei Ming gritted his teeth, “Is the other pot ok??” To be attacked on both sides, if Ke Mo was
added to the mix, then it’d be game over. Ban Yue answered, “Yes! Ke Mo is still sealed!”
The situation was growing dire, and Xie Lian was starting to get anxious. Just as he was about
to quicken his pace however, Hua Cheng suddenly stopped in his step. Xie Lian was startled
and looked back, “San Lang?”
On the back of Hua Cheng’s hand rested another wraith butterfly, seemingly to be whispering
something to him. After he finished listening to its report, he looked up and smiled, “Gege, no
need to panic. Looks like it’ll be fine even if we don’t rush over.”
On the other end, with Rong Guang pierced through Pei Ming’s chest, Xuan Ji was a like a red
gecko and gripped his boots before climbing up his leg. With the way she was dressed and that
ghost fire looming over her head, she was the very appearance of a crazy female ghost, and Pei
Ming cried, “YOU–!”
Xuan Ji murmured, “Pei darling… Pei darling! …” In her current position, it really couldn’t be told
whether if she wanted to strangle him to death or tightly embrace him. Suddenly, in the
peripheral of her vision, she saw Pei Su who was being shielded behind Pei Ming, and recalled
that it was this cold and stoic martial god who apprehended her the last time, and she gritted her
teeth, “YOU LITTLE MUTT!”
Just as her claws were about to swipe down, another hand seized her wrist. Both wrists were
equally pale, and when she looked to see, it was Ban Yue who stopped her. When Xuan Ji saw
another woman by Pei Ming’s side her heart burned and cried, “I haven’t even come for your
little wretched life, but here you are, giving yourself up to me!”
Then she grabbed for Ban Yue’s head. However, Ban Yue wasn’t one of those good and
obedient little brides who would stand around and wait to be scratched to death, and Xuan Ji’s
other wrist was seized without fail. Xuan Ji was a female general whilst alive, and knew that her
strength would put most men to shame, and typical female ghosts could only let themselves be
beaten. Yet, she hadn’t thought this little girl, who looked so thin and weak like a simple breeze
could knock her over, possessed such terrifying power in her arms, almost stronger than Xuan
Ji herself! Not only were both her wrists cuffed down unable to move, when the two matched
eyes, Xuan Ji was even more stunned. This little girl’s eyes were full of aggression and
murderous intent, like the shimmers of a blade in combat, and it reminded her of the battlefield.
Her heart lurched and she threw her hands to break free of the hold. Ban Yue picked up Pei Su
and hopped meters away, landing lightly on her feet, “Let go of General Pei!”
The sword buried in Pei Ming taunted, “Pei Ming you sure are lucky with women. Do you see,
two female ghosts are fighting over you! Hahaha…”
Xuan Ji clung to Pei Ming like a contorted snake, her ten fingers choking his neck, and she said
coldly, “Your little lover seems to have some skills.”
Pei Ming coughed out a mouthful of blood, “I don’t! She’s not my lover!”
“YOU’RE STILL TRYING TO DENY IT?!” Xuan Ji cried, “IF SHE’S NOT YOUR LOVER WHY
WOULD SHE TELL ME TO LET YOU GO?”
“If my old hag was here she’d also tell you to let me go. By your definition, would she be my
lover too?” Pei Ming countered.
Only his frivolous nature could be blamed at this point, calling people ‘little dummy’ for no good
reason, and Xuan Ji was going mad with jealousy, “What? Afraid to admit it now? Weren’t you
all intimate when calling her? Didn’t you use to be much more open when you got your hands
on a new flame? You’ve always been so honest with me, not caring for my feelings at all. Do
you know how much I’ve suffered? So why are you scared of admitting to it now?? General Pei
are you afraid to die now? Or do you really love her so much you couldn’t bear to have me
touch a single finger of hers??”
In the far distance away from the divine temple, Xie Lian watched this scene play out from afar
and felt he really couldn’t bear to watch anymore, and looked back, “San Lang, how about we
go up and rescue them first?”
Hua Cheng laughed, “No need to panic, gege. Someone else will show on our behalves.
Besides, even if we go over now, Xuan Ji still won’t release her chokehold on Pei Ming.”
That was true. With hostages around, things would indeed be rather inconvenient. Yin Yu and
the farmers were also watching nervously, and they all said, “Yea, I could feel that female
ghost’s love has morphed into hatred, she’s going nuts!”
“I don’t think so. I’m sure she couldn’t do it. Want to eat some melon seeds?”
“Give me another handful, thanks.”
“How can everyone be in the mood to munch on melon seeds?” Xie Lian frowned.
“THis Highness, didn’t you munch a bunch too?” The people said.
“Huh?” Only then did Xie Lian realize that while he was so focused on the show earlier, he
unconsciously received a handful of melon seeds they passed over, and it was all eaten. He
slapped his forehead, “How, how rude of me…”
On the other end, Pei Ming was at the end of his ropes, “Xuan Ji, can you not think that way
every time? It’s been so many years, why can’t we just shake hands and walk away? Why must
you be like this?”
Xuan Ji’s hands strangling him squeezed, her almond eyes bulging, “You messed with me first,
and you want to shake hands and walk away? AS IF!”
Pei Ming sighed, “You really… haven’t changed a bit. It’s precisely because of this that we didn’t
work out.”
Xuan Ji thrusted her face to his and cried in rage, “LIKE THIS? LIKE WHAT? AM I NOT
BEAUTIFUL ENOUGH? BECAUSE I REFUSED TO GIVE YOU YUSHI’S BATTLE PLANS AND
ARMY SECRETS? YOU REFUSED THEM YOURSELF! YOU SAID YOU DIDN’T LIKE THAT I
WAS STRONG SO I WAS WILLING TO ABANDON EVEN MY LEGS! DO I NOT LOVE YOU
ENOUGH?? WHO CAN LOVE YOU MORE THAN ME? BUT YOU? YOU WON’T LOOK MY
WAY, NOT EVEN ONCE IN THESE PAST HUNDREDS OF YEARS! WHEN HAVE YOU EVER
COME TO SEE ME??”
Pei Ming pushed away the face that was pressed so close to his and shouted, “IT’S BECAUSE I
KNOW THAT YOU’D GO CRAZY IF I COME SEE YOU THAT I DIDN’T VISIT!”
Xuan Ji grabbed hold of the Ming Guang sword in his chest and stabbed it in a few more inches,
then pulled it out. Pei Ming puked another few large mouthfuls of blood. Xuan Ji yelled, “SAY IT!
IN THE NAME OF YOUR HEAVENLY OFFICIAL STATUS, SWEAR THAT FROM NOW ON
THERE’S ONLY ME. SWEAR THAT YOU’LL NEVER LOOK AT ANOTHER WOMAN AGAIN,
THAT YOUR EYES WOULD ROT IF YOU DO!”
Rong Guang was also enjoying this, “Hurry and say it, Pei Ming! Say it and you can salvage
your little life!”
Pei Ming cursed, “SHUT UP! Goddammit. I had never thought despite not dying on the
battlefields and not dying under the world’s most sacred sword, I’d die in the hands of a crazy
female ghost!”
Not having gotten the answer she desired, Xuan Ji was thoroughly enraged, and her claws shot
out, gripping his head. Xie Lian really couldn’t wait any longer, “San Lang, I really think things
are getting out of hand. Will the person you spoke of make it in time? If not then I’ll go!”
“It’s fine.” Hua Cheng said, “Gege, look. Here they come. “
Just as the words left his lips, the enraged and mad Xuan Ji completely froze.
It was as if someone had casted a petrification spell on her, her body and her expression were
all frozen. Pei Ming was already stabbed by her repeatedly for a number of times, his puked
blood covering the floor. From within the darkness came the sound of clean and crisp ox
hooves, steady and calm, click clack, click clack. Soon after, a person riding a black ox
appeared before all.
The one riding the black ox was a woman in verdant robes, her eyes clear, her expression calm
and quiet. Her head was held high as they approached languidly, like she was watching
something far away. Pei Ming was stunned, “…Queen YuShi.”
That woman inclined her head and looked at him, her demeanor unchanged, and she gave a
slight smile, bowing her head to return the greeting.
Xie Lian was shocked too, “Queen YuShi?”
Hua Cheng replied, “That’s right. The current Rain Master of the heavens, the sixteenth
princess of the Kingdom of YuShi, Yu Shi Huang, was also the last queen of the Kingdom of
YuShi.”
———
Ch.161: This Jade Refuses to be a Thrown Away Brick 3
It became bustling and lively on the other end, and the heavenly official on this side was
shocked, “Eh? You– you’re not His Highness Qi Ying???”
Only then did the others explain laughingly, their hands hugging their stomachs, “You got the
wrong person, my brother! Did you forget? There are two martial gods ruling the west, one is Yin
Yu and the other is Qi Ying. They’re shixiong and shidi of the same sect, the one in front of you
is His Highness Yin Yu, hahaha…”
That heavenly official quickly said, “Oh oh oh, I’ve gotten the wrong person, how embarrassing,
hahaha, I’m too ignorant of the world, and have only heard more about Qi Ying…” He trailed off,
but Yin Yu had already closed his eyes like he was too tired for words and had given up on
socializing. Someone had noticed things not going right and elbowed that heavenly official, and
only then did he noticed what he said was hurtful. He haha-ed and quickly remedied, “Ahem
ahem, I’ll take my leave now, Your Highness Yin… Yin Yue, Ah, no no no, Your Highness Yin
Yu! Let’s get together again sometimes, happy Mid Autumn, hahaha…”
While he said he was taking his leave, he raised his glass and cheered, heading to Quan Yi
Zhen’s direction. On the other end, there was already a large crowd of heavenly officials, all
fighting to greet Quan Yi Zhen, the sea of people thick and the person in the centre couldn’t be
seen.
It appeared that this was soon after Quan Yi Zhen had ascended, but he already erected his
own palace and was at the height of his popularity, unlike how he was disliked later. Although
the two were both martial gods of the west, his prominence was significantly greater than that of
Yin Yu, and the people all swarmed over, practically leaving only He Xuan who still sat there
drinking his soup, the table empty and quiet. It was awkward no matter if he stood or sat, so a
moment later, Yin Yu suddenly said, “Let’s head back.”
The two left their seats and no one noticed. Jian Yu was enraged, “Those shallow, fairweathered
people! And they’re heavenly officials no less! Back when that brat first joined the Upper Court,
they all gave him the cold shoulder, complaining to you all day everyday. Now look at them. That
brat’s ascended, he’s got lanterns, and they praised him to the skies! They change attitudes
faster than flipping a page, what immovable status? What young and capable? His devotees are
all mental just like him! Only idiots would worship someone with brain damage!”
Just then, Shi Qing Xuan walked over with a glass of wine, and Yin Yu whispered, “Don’t talk
anymore, let’s get out of here!”
It was only seeing someone come that Jian Yu finally shut his mouth. Shi Qing Xuan was
puzzled, “Yin Yu, are you going back? Didn’t Qi Ying just come? I heard him say last time that
the two of you haven’t seen each other for a long time and even asked me what you’ve been up
to. Are you going to go catch up a little with him?”
Yin Yu forced a smile, “No, I’m not feeling too well, so I’ll head back first.”
Shi Qing Xuan didn’t think too deeply of it, and when he saw the ‘Earth Master’ sitting behind
them, he laughed cheerfully, “Then you go and rest easy, and we’ll get together next time.
Ming-xiong! I told you not to sit there! Come come come, come over to my table…”
They waited until Shi Qing Xuan walked away and stopped caring for them before Jian Yu
lowered his voice and continued to grumble, “Catch up my ass! That brat won’t have much time
to be so proud before the rug gets pulled from under his feet and suffers a crushing defeat. I
eagerly await that day!”
He kept grousing, aggravating Yin Yu’s silent frustration, “Just drop it, and stop being so
resentful.”
“Drop it, drop it, that’s all you say, “drop it”.” Jian Yu complained, “How can this be dropped?
When he first came up, if it wasn’t for you always going around wiping his ass and begging for
forgiveness, he would’ve long been kicked out already. I really can’t watch this anymore, I’m
frustrated for you!”
The two had already swiftly returned to the Palace of Yin Yu. Compared to the exceptionally
liveliness of the Palace Grand Opening Ceremony, the halls now were desolate and deserted
with very few lower ranked officials attending to them. After closing the gates, Yin Yu’s voice
grew louder, “Don’t say anymore! I don’t want to hear! It’s very normal for an ascended heavenly
official to erect a palace, he didn’t do anything out of line. Since you get irritated just talking
about him then why must you mention him?”
“Don’t think me speaking out of turn, but someone must remind you. Yin Yu, domain in the west
is only so big, and there’s only so many devotees. He’s robbed so many; that wolf monster was
totally wrenched away by him! Look at the state of you now, your domain’s shrinking smaller
and smaller, just how much do you have left? How can you maintain your standing if this keeps
up?”
“How is it considered robbing?” Yin Yu said, “It’s not like he held anyone at knifepoint to worship
him, everyone’s willing. Besides, that wolf monster…”
He sighed and said frankly, “I really couldn’t have defeated it. It was useless praying to me, so
of course they went to him.”
Jian Yu held his head, his heart aching, “I just… I’m just scared that if this fight continues, we’d
have nothing left. Fuck, even those lower ranking officials are all ass kissers, each of them
using empty excuses to quit to slip away to other heavenly officials, what a bunch of no-good
asshats!”
Yin Yu sighed again, sitting down on the prayer cushion, “What fight… why care for such a
thing? What must leave will always leave in the end, and what should remain will naturally stay.
I didn’t ascend to fight over power with anyone, nor fight over domains, so why can’t you let this
go?”
As they say, “one mountain has no room for two tigers”, just look at the present example: Feng
Xin and Mu Qing who were both stationed in the south had been going at each other’s throats
for years. If they weren’t in the same territory, things might be a little better, but “enemies are
destined to meet”, where one is renown and ascends is one’s domain. The people of the past in
one’s mortal life will often end up crowding together after ascension. In the heavens, in the
mortal realm, as gods as humans, life is just awkward like that. There was no reason for Quan
Yi Zhen to abandon the west and move to a different territory. The two were in the middle of
their argument when there was someone suddenly banging loudly on the doors. Jian Yu called,
“WHO IS IT?!”
“It’s me.” The person outside the door replied.
Jian Yu turned to Yin Yu angrily and said under his breath, “…Why did this stinkin’ brat come?”
Yin Yu gestured for him to go to the back, and he schooled his expression before going forward
to open the doors. Sure enough, standing just outside was Quan Yi Zhen. He seemed to have
grown taller again since the last time, about the same height as when Xie Lian first met him, and
had finally stopped perching on windows.
When Yin Yu spoke, he sounded fairly calm, “Yi Zhen, it’s you. Are you not attending the Mid
Autumn Banquet? Why have you come?”
Quan Yi Zhen followed him into the grand hall, and the moment he spoke it was something
blunt, “It’s my birthday.”
“…”
So the Mid Autumn Festival was Quan Yi Zhen’s birthday, and he had come looking for his
birthday present.
Xie Lian had also heard that Yin Yu, as shixiong, would always gift Quan Yi Zhen a present on
his birthdays. It was probably due to the many awkwardness that this year, there wasn’t one. By
Shi Qing Xuan’s words back at the Mid Autumn Banquet, Yin Yu had probably been avoiding
him on purpose for some time now. When someone started avoiding meetings and stopped
giving gifts, those who were a bit more sensitive would’ve noticed and wouldn’t ever have gone
to ask for gifts. Yet here he was, never thinking anything was wrong, and came knocking in full
confidence. Xie Lian had never seen anything more tragically awkward. If he wasn’t touching
foreheads with Hua Cheng right now he would’ve slapped his own face to cover his own eyes
so he wouldn’t have to watch anymore.
Yin Yu puffed a dry laugh, “…Ah, that’s right, today’s your birthday. But, it’s been busy here in
the palace recently, so…”
When Quan Yi Zhen heard, his eyes widened, “There’s nothing?”
Yin Yu seemed to think things weren’t right so when the words reached his lips they made a
u-turn, “No, I didn’t forget. It’s in the back, just wait a moment.”
Quan Yi Zhen sat himself down on the spot, resting both his hands on his knees, nodding
energetically, looking very hopeful. Yin Yu fled to the side chamber, and Jian Yu was sitting
there grimly. Of course Yin Yu hadn’t prepare anything, so the moment he entered the room he
flipped through all the drawers and dressers, chests and shelves, but he couldn’t find anything
proper for the occasion, so he called out to Jian Yu, “Help me find something, quick, something
that can temporarily be used as a gift.”
Jian Yu grabbed a rag cloth on the side and threw it onto the ground, stomping at it twice before
saying hatefully, “Give this to him. “
“Jian Yu!” Yin Yu berated.
“Even gifting something like this is still more than what he deserves.” Jian Yu spat. “I can’t
believe he’s shameless enough to come!”
Yin Yu said woefully, “You don’t understand anything. In the years past I’ve always gifted him
something, if I don’t give him anything this year it’d seem too deliberate. Anything will do, as
long as the intention’s there. How about this. Go find me that Golden Exorcism Armlet that we
got last time? It’s not quite appropriate but at least it’s something.”
He had to urge a couple times before Jian Yu went angrily. Yin Yu returned to the grand hall
then, and sat in front of Quan Yi Zhen, “Just wait for a moment. Things are a bit disorganized
right now so I sent Jian Yu to look for your gift. By the way, what have you been up to lately?
Things have been going smoothly, I presume? I heard the number of worshippers of your palace
had increased five fold these past few months, congratulations.”
Quan Yi Zhen replied, “I don’t know any worshippers, I’m just doing me and they came crowding
my temples for some reason, weird. I slayed a wolf monster recently.”
Yin Yu’s smile became stiffer. What he couldn’t take on, Quan Yi Zhen took on so effortlessly.
This was very much like how you just couldn’t win over a girl you loved, and she ignored you
completely, but when she ran into the arms of someone else in tears, this someone else couldn’t
even be bothered to spare her a look and instead, turned around to tell you how she was only
average, nothing to be amazed by. Truly, what a bitter feeling. Quan Yi Zhen talked on for a bit,
then suddenly said, “I saw you earlier at the Mid Autumn Banquet. I wanted to talk to you but
you left so quickly.”
When he finally stopped talking so excitedly about the recent battles of his domain, Yin Yu finally
exhaled in relief. “Oh, there was a little something, so I came back early.”
Quan Yi Zhen nodded, “Someone told me that it’s because they greeted you as the wrong
person.”
Hearing this, Yin Yu’s face instantly dropped but Quan Yi Zhen didn’t notice at all, his lips
curving upwards, “It’s too funny, so stupid!”
Xie Lian couldn’t bear to watch anymore and he buried his face in Hua Cheng’s arms, “This…
this, this, this, is too tragic to watch.”
Of course Xie Lian believed wholeheartedly that Quan Yi Zhen thought it was funny that others
made a silly mistake, and at the same time did not realize at all just how not funny this was to
Yin Yu, but this didn’t change the fact that if the other two were going to continue this awkward
conversation, he was going to die from suffocation. Thankfully, before he suffocated, Jian Yu
finally came around with a gift box. He passed the gift box to Yin Yu and went away to the back
again without a word. Yin Yu also looked like he just received absolution, and passed the box on
directly to Quan Yi Zhen. He seemed to be ecstatic and hopped up on the spot to receive the
box. However, Yin Yu’s smile was already laced with fatigue, “Why don’t you open it after you go
back?”
Quan Yi Zhen nodded, “Ok. I’ll head back now. I’m going out for patrol next month, if shixiong is
free, come with me.”
Yin Yu couldn’t listen to anymore of anything he’d say, and offhandedly placated him with an
alright. Once the boy was sent off, Jian Yu came out cussing, slamming the doors, “WHO DOES
HE THINK HE IS?! DID HIS MOM DROP HIM ON THE HEAD HUNDREDS OF TIMES AT
BIRTH?? IF NOT THEN HE’S HERE TO MOCK YOU ON PURPOSE. WHAT, “I DON’T KNOW
ANY WORSHIPPERS”, WHAT PATROL, IS HE TRYING TO SHOW OFF? WHAT A
MALICIOUS HEART!”
This time when he yelled, Yin Yu didn’t stop him. Silently, he headed to the back chambers and
never did emerge again. Xie Lian instinctively felt the gift box Quan Yi Zhen took away was
problematic, “Could it be? It’s the Brocade Immortal in that box?”
“You guessed it.” Hua Cheng said.
“Then Jian Yu should’ve been the one responsible for the crime of the Brocade Immortal
incident, so why was Yin Yu’s punishment so heavy-handed later?” Xie Lian asked.
“Gege will find out three days after.” Hua Cheng replied.
He said three days, and three days went by. Rays of sunshine startlingly shone through into the
quiet Palace of Yin Yu, and Yin Yu sluggishly walked into the side chambers, seeming to be
rummaging for something. He flipped through the chests and delved through the drawers.
However, unexpectedly, as he rummaged he suddenly fumbled out a shiningly golden armlet
that was covered in charmed spells from the desk. He didn’t care for it at first and placed it
aside, but then a moment later, he suddenly picked it up and called out, “Jian Yu?”
Jian Yu entered the room, “What is it?”
Yin Yu held up that armlet and questioned puzzledly, “Why is the Golden Exorcism Armlet here?
Didn’t you gift it to him? Didn’t I have you wrap this up in a gift box?”
Jian Yu humphed, “Gift him? He doesn’t even deserve a drop of your spit!”
Yin Yu was exasperated, “You didn’t actually gift him that foot cleaning cloth? Why must you
offend people?” However, Jian Yu only smiled cryptically, “I didn’t. I gave him something better.”
Yin Yu’s face instantly changed and didn’t think things light anymore, “What? I was wondering
why I couldn’t find it anywhere. That robe can manipulate minds, it can suck blood!” Then he
turned to hurry away, but Jian Yu grabbed him, “Why so anxious! That robe can manipulate
minds, that’s true, but you’re the one who gave it to him, so no one else can control him. As for
the blood sucking, maybe it’ll be effective on mortals, but I doubt it’ll do anything to heavenly
officials. Look, it’s been three days and nothing’s happened to him!”
Yin Yu gave it a some thought and paced back and forth in the side chambers. Jian Yu
continued, “Besides, isn’t that brat capable? Young and capable, let’s see just how capable he
is.”
In the end, Yin Yu still threw his hands together, “That won’t do! We don’t know just how
dangerous that thing is, if anything happens then we’re done for! How can you take things so
lightly?! Sigh!”
Then, without any regard for Jian Yu’s calls, he dashed out, bumping into many heavenly
officials on the way, rushing into the Palace of Qi Ying. The person in question wasn’t there, so
he grabbed hold of people everywhere, asking anxiously, “Where’s Qi Ying? I’ve something
urgent, I need to find him!”
“Qi Ying?” The others said, “His Highness Qi Ying is in a meeting at the Great Martial Hall! All
the top ranking martial gods of the Upper Court are there today…”
Yin Yu didn’t finish listening before he ran off. It was only once he reached the Great Martial Hall
that he realized he couldn’t enter. First of all, this meeting only summoned the “top ranking
martial gods of the Upper Court” and he wasn’t called; second of all, even if he went in he
wouldn’t be able to talk about the matter in front of everyone, so he could only wait outside the
hall. Through the windows, Xie Lian swept a glance, and sure enough, there were a number of
familiar faces, like Feng Xin, Mu Qing, Pei Ming, who were in the hall, all listening intently. What
Yin Yu saw, however, was Quan Yi Zhen donned with an impressive, shining armour.
He appeared perfectly normal, rather, it was Ling Wen who was standing next to Jun Wu on the
throne who was distracted, making frequent mistakes, so much so that Jun Wu had to speak
up, “Ling Wen? Ling Wen?”
He called her a few time before Ling Wen snapped out of it, “What? What is it?”
Jun Wu chuckled, “What’s with you today? You keep staring at Qi Ying. Are you perhaps like
me, and think his new armour is quite nice?”
The few martial gods in the hall also started laughing, and Ling Wen mumbled an apology,
wiping away the cold sweat on her forehead unnoticeably. However, the hand gripping the brush
was still trembling.
If Xie Lian was present at the time, he probably would’ve just smiled. However, now he’s
perfectly aware that Ling Wen must’ve been feeling afflicted and perturbed seeing Quan Yi Zhen
wearing and flashing that bloody robe she herself created hundreds of years ago.
Yin Yu paced around outside the hall, sometimes squatting, sometimes standing, agitated and
jittery. At last the meeting ended, and Quan Yi Zhen was the first to come out. When he saw Yin
Yu outside, he greeted, “Shixiong, why are you here?”
Yin Yu instantly rose to his feet and incoherently said a few words before immediately getting to
the point, “Your armour…”
“It’s great!” Quan Yi Zhen replied, “The emperor and Ling Wen complimented it earlier. Thank
you, shixiong.”
“…”
Yin Yu spoke with a forced calm, “It’s good indeed, but the person who forged the armour said
there’s a little problem and wants you to bring it over for some tweaking.”
If he ordered for Quan Yi Zhen to “take off this armour” directly, he would risk for Quan Yi Zhen
to discover himself manipulated after the fact, and it wouldn’t be good if the matter should be
found out, so Yin Yu couldn’t afford for him to notice anything amiss, which was why he could
only make the request in such a roundabout way. However, Quan Yi Zhen was puzzled, “What
problem? I don’t think there’s any problems.”
It was also awkward to ask for a gift already given to be returned after all, and Yin Yu thought
really hard on what to say when Quan Yi Zhen spoke again, “By the way, shixiong, next month
we can go patrol together.”
Yin Yu instantly looked up, a little dumbfounded, “What?”
“I don’t think my name is on the list for patrol?” He’d almost forgotten about the whole business
with the Brocade Immortal.
Quan Yi Zhen looked quite happy and excited, “There is. I mentioned you earlier, and the
emperor said he could consider it.”
“…”
In that flash of a second, Xie Lian could almost see waves of hot blood rushing to Yin Yu’s head.
Years of built up resentment and pent up grievances finally exploded in this very moment. Yin
Yu yelled, “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU??”
This was the very first time Quan Yi Zhen saw Yin Yu so angry, and he blinked, confusion filled
his face. A few heavenly officials who were passing by also snuck peeks over. Yin Yu hugged
his head, “DID I SAY I WANTED TO GO?? WHAT’S THE PATROL OF MARTIAL GODS GOT
TO DO WITH ME?? I DIDN’T BEG YOU SO WHO ARE YOU TO MENTION ME TO THE
EMPEROR??”
Outsiders might not know why Yin Yu was losing his cool like this, but Xie Lian could understand
perfectly. After all, to an extremely proud martial god, this was a great humiliation.
The Patrol of Martial Gods was a ceremony that only the highest ranking martial gods of the
Upper Court could participate in. During the procession of this patrol, the chosen martial gods
could demonstrate their might and subdue and disperse monsters and demons. Not only could
this help spread their name and increase the number of worshippers, there was also the
opportunity to spar with fellow participating martial gods, improve their skills and build their
relationships. In any case, this was a grand affair, and there was a certain demand for
prominent foundation and high skills for the attending martial gods; for example, having at least
four thousand temples or ranking in the top ten.
With Yin Yu’s qualifications, he for sure wouldn’t be eligible to participate in the Patrol of Martial
Gods. Even if he could go and was able to gain actual benefits, those who were aware of his
status would for sure talk. Those with thick skins might not care, countless small heavenly
officials would fight to squeeze themselves in, but Yin Yu was clearly someone who wasn’t thick
skinned, and knowing deep down he didn’t have the qualifications, how could he possibly
depend on the connections of someone else to force himself in? Besides, this someone else
was Quan Yi Zhen who once depended on him to escape expulsion from heaven!
Quan Yi Zhen didn’t get it at all. He probably thought it was a good deed and so he mentioned
it, and didn’t think there was any need to care for anything else. However, because Yin Yu
looked truly furious, for the first time, Quan Yi Zhen seemed to want to say something but
stopped, looking like he didn’t dare to speak. A moment later, he mumbled, “Shixiong, why are
you mad? Did I do something wrong?”
“…”
Those words again!
Xie Lian practically wanted to beg him to stop talking. As for Yin Yu, veins popped on his
forehead, teetering on the edge of a meltdown, and he pulled at his own hair, “ENOUGH! I’VE
HAD ENOUGH! I’M GOING MAD! I’M GOING FUCKING MAD BECAUSE OF YOU!” Then he
pointed at the Great Martial Hall, “QUAN YI ZHEN, DON’T TALK TO ME ANYMORE! GO TAKE
BACK YOUR RECOMMENDATION! STOP ADDING TO MY TROUBLES! NOW! RIGHT THIS
SECOND!”
After he roared, without another word, Quan Yi Zhen instantly turned and dashed back into the
Great Martial Hall. Yin Yu blinked, and only then did he remember Quan Yi Zhen was still
wearing that Brocade Immortal, and his actions weren’t because he knew himself to be wrong
and wanted to rectify things, but because he was being controlled by that Brocade Immortal!
Within the Great Martial Hall, the few martial gods who haven’t yet left were all watching in
confusion as Quan Yi Zhen came blazing back in. Yin Yu was outside the hall, slightly trembling,
and he yelled again, “STOP!”
Quan Yi Zhen almost made it to Jun Wu when he braked abruptly, and indeed came to a stop. It
was only a good moment later before he was bewildered, “What’s with me just now?”
Jun Wu also knitted his brows, “Qi Ying, don’t move! Come and have me take a look. I saw your
eyes weren’t focused just now, surrounded by the aura of evil, it seemed you’ve been casted an
evil spell.”
Quan Yi Zhen scratched his head, feeling confused, “Alright.” And moved to go forward. Without
any choice, Yin Yu could only command, “COME BACK! LEAVE!”
The moment he gave the command, Quan Yi Zhen instantly turned around, running out of the
hall madly, right in Yin Yu’s direction. Perhaps it was because rage filled his mind or perhaps he
was going crazy from distress,Yin Yu started running too in confusion, his steps all messed up,
looking very much like a fleeing criminal. Jun Wu couldn’t pretend he didn’t see, and he rose to
his feet, “TAKE THEM DOWN!”
The martial gods all acknowledged, “YES, MY LORD!”
Yin Yu was falling deeper in despair, his mind in complete disarray, and he roared while
covering his face, “LEAVE! LEAVE RIGHT NOW! TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES!”
Quan Yi Zhen’s eyes were blank, running rapidly while removing his armour. Yet unexpectedly, a
number of martial gods came surrounding them halfway, going straight for an arrest. Seeing that
there were people obstructing him from obeying his command, violence flashed in Quan Yi
Zhen’s eyes, and his fists flew out, taking over ten of the martial gods in sight as targets and
punched through a chain of holes!
“AAAAHHHHH!! MURDER!!! MURDER IN THE UPPER COURT–!!!!”
Series of screams and blood filled the air, and Yin Yu was already petrified, his face white as a
sheet. It was probably only Ling Wen who possessed a face paler than him.
He had never imagined that this Brocade Immortal was so powerful, so incredible evil! Things
were going completely out of control!
———
Ch.162: This Jade Refuses to be a Thrown Away Brick 4
The lower ranking officials that charged forward to apprehend couldn’t block Quan Yi Zhen’s
fists at all and all perished on the spot. Seeing the situation growing severe, Feng Xin, Pei Su,
Lang Qian Qiu all leapt over to surround Quan Yi Zhen, ready to attack. Yin Yu cried, “IGNORE
HIM! DON’T TOUCH HIM! HE WON’T KILL ANYMORE!”
As long as they didn’t prevent Quan Yi Zhen from completing his command, he wouldn’t cause
harm. However, Quan Yi Zhen had already killed over ten martial heavenly officials, so who
would continue to let him run free? Of course no one would believe in Yin Yu’s words. If it was
someone with fast reactions and could remain calm in the midst of chaos, they would’ve
instantly shouted “Drop to the ground, surrender and don’t move” or a command to that effect,
but things were happening too fast, there was no time to react. Yin Yu had never experienced
any incidents of this sort, plus he was already in distress, his ability to make decisions
completely out of sorts, making one mistakes after the other; one wrong step and the rest of the
steps in shambles. Just as Yin Yu was running around with his head cut off, Mu Qing suddenly
appeared behind behind him, “Trying to get away?”
Only then did Yin Yu realized he was also fleeing without direction and he instantly braked,
trying to explain himself, “I wasn’t… ” But Mu Qing didn’t wait for him to speak before twisting
his arm behind his back, and Xie Lian heard a crisp CRACK, Yin Yu’s face twisting.
As a martial god, to be subdued by another martial god whose ability and strength were greater
was a double whammy to both the body and the mind. As for Pei Ming who was only watching
the fight on the side without participating, he commented from the distance, “How come it’s like
his strength suddenly exploded?”
He was referring to Quan Yi Zhen of course. Quan Yi Zhen was already quite capable in
combat, but with the Brocade Immortal on him, the level increased twofold. When other martial
gods faced him one on one, it was actually two against one and it wasn’t fair, but since no one
knew the secret within, they were too embarrassed to attack him jointly, because wouldn’t it be
pathetic otherwise? As they fought, Quan Yi Zhen ran down the main street of the Heavenly
Court while covered head to toe in blood, and when he suddenly saw a palace on the road and
dashed right in head first. The crowd shouted, “HE ENTERED THE PALACE OF YIN YU!”
The command Yin Yu gave him was to ‘leave’ but he didn’t say where, so Quan Yi Zhen went
randomly. Several martial gods also followed him in. Since everyone else was clear of mind,
they held back while fighting Quan Yi Zhen, but he didn’t care for anyone and fought with all
he’s worth against anyone who would obstruct his orders.Thus, this enraged the other martial
gods. Feng Xin shouted, “THIS BRAT REEKS OF EVIL, LET’S BEAT HIM DOWN FIRST AND
TALK LATER!”
Everyone had that very intention, and the moment Feng Xin shouted, no one stayed reserved
any longer, and they all rushed in, surrounding him to beat him to a pulp. Swords swung, palms
blasted, fists flew, legs kicked; half of that already deteriorating Palace of Yin Yu instantly
collapsed!
When Yin Yu, who was still being restrained by Mu Qing, saw with his own eyes his palace fall
apart from the brawl, his eyes bulged and he yelled, “PLEASE STOP FIGHTING!”
As if that would stop the martial gods, but Quan Yi Zhen heard his order and suddenly arrested
his fists. Now he’d done it. All the swords, blasts, fists, and kicks all landed heavily on Quan Yi
Zhen; another tragedy!
Lang Qian Qiu didn’t have the time to hold back his longsword, and struck it deep into Quan Yi
Zhen’s shoulder. Thank goodness his sword was dull and he instantly stopped his attack so
Quan Yi Zhen wasn’t sliced into two. Lang Qian Qiu shouted, “STOP FIGHTING, IT LOOKS
LIKE HE CAN’T MOVE ANYMORE!”
Feng Xin wiped the blood off this face, “Fucking finally!”
Quan Yi Zhen laid on the ground stiffly like he was bound by ropes. On the side, Mu Qing tied
Yin Yu’s wrists with the Immortal Binding rope before letting go of him. Yin Yu fell to the ground
in a daze, and he looked dumbfoundedly at the mess that was his Palace of Yin Yu. Scanning
around, his eyes moved back onto Quan Yi Zhen who dropped to the floor before him. Quan Yi
Zhen seemed to really have a strong life force; even after being beaten to a pulp by several
martial gods just now, his body practically contorted, he didn’t lie for very long before he
suddenly sat up again straight, confused, “What’s going on?”
“…”
The martial gods were all going to go mad from rage, and they all shouted at the same time,
“YOU’RE IN BIG TROUBLE NOW!”
Ling Wen had been following and watching closely behind, and she finally exhaled, her face
pale, but she somehow still managed to coordinate help as she raised two pressed fingers to
her temple and cried in the spiritual communication array, “MEDICAL OFFICIALS,
EMERGENCY AID, NOW!”
Quan Yi Zhen was still very confused. He looked back and saw Yin Yu sitting on the ground, so
he crawled to stand up, seeming to want to help him up. Seeing that completely oblivious face
matched with a background of his smashed divine palace, Yin Yu was still silent but his face
was slowly contorting.
Quan Yi Zhen didn’t know what’s transpired at all, and asked, “Shixiong, what are you doing?”
“…”
It was like Yin Yu suddenly lost all sanity. He puffed an abrupt laugh then shout with eyes
brimming red, “GO DIE!”
Hearing that cry, Xie Lian along with the many heavenly officials present all widened their eyes
instantly. Having received the order, Quan Yi Zhen immediately took action without thinking,
grabbing a sword from the ground, and with the sword in one hand and pulling up his own hair
with the other, he aimed for his own throat.
The moment he moved, the first reaction of the martial gods was he was going to sneak attack
so they jumped back multiple feet away. Yet, they had never expected that he was actually
going to slit his own throat, and by then it was too late for them to snatch his sword, and they all
roared at him. Yin Yu was also astounded but he still hadn’t yet come to and turned away. Blood
was about to splatter when Jun Wu’s figure suddenly flashed behind Quan Yi Zhen!
CRACK CRACK CRACK CRACK, within an instant, all four of Quan Yi Zhen’s limbs were
dislodged.
Then, Jun Wu chopped precisely on the back of Quan Yi Zhen’s neck and Quan Yi Zhen lost
consciousness completely, falling back to the ground in a heap, his entire body no longer
resembling that of a human, his blood puddling around him. Finally, everyone, including Xie
Lian, sighed a breath in relief. Everyone, but Jun Wu.
He turned around, his expression showing neither rage nor joy but exceedingly grim, and he
turned to Yin Yu, “With things progressed thus, I trust you have an explanation?”
Yin Yu had his head buried deeply in his hands, and only when he heard him did he
subconsciously look up, “I don’t know anything. I’m not involved. It’s not me. It’s…!”
However, he trailed off as he suddenly snapped out of it, looking like he suddenly realized just
exactly what had come out of his mouth.
Under so many eyes, he told Quan Yi Zhen to go die, and Quan Yi Zhen heeded!
It was impossible for anyone not to have gotten a clue. Mu Qing spoke up, “My Lord, Qi Ying’s
reaction just now must’ve been borne from some wicked spell casted upon him. There must be
something on him that makes him follow Yin Yu’s commands. But what, we don’t know.”
Naturally, Ling Wen who was standing on the side knew exactly what that something was, but
she didn’t dare speak a word. Just coordinating helping hands on scene was as much as she
could do. Lang Qian Qiu said in disbelief, “There’s such a thing in this world???”
Just then, someone pushed aside the crowd to rush in, and it was Jian Yu. It was obvious that
he had been out chasing after and looking for Yin Yu before coming back, and hadn’t yet known
what’s happened, “What are you all doing? What… What’s happened to our Palace of Yin Yu?
HOW DID IT BECOME LIKE THIS?! WHO SMASHED IT??”
Jun Wu approached Yin Yu languidly, “He heeded your orders. How are you controlling him?”
His voice wasn’t harsh, but there was the oppressive air of power, exceedingly suffocating, and
to be looked down upon from high above, it added another layer of fear in one’s heart. It wasn’t
like Xie Lian never committed major mistakes, but he had never seen Jun Wu like this before. It
seemed, Jun Wu had really let him off easy.
Yin Yu’s mind was already in disarray, and as far as Xie Lian could see, his mind wasn’t very
strong either, his ability to react in situations weak, and at a time like this, he couldn’t utter a
single word. Seeing that he wasn’t responding, Jun Wu said, “Just as well. Even if you won’t
speak I already know. It’s that armour.”
He’s done for. Finished. Everything was doomed.
Yin Yu crouched on the ground, hugging his head anew as waves of talk started from all around
him:
“Astonishing… I have never witnessed anything more inconceivable in the heavens!”
“A heavenly official manipulating another heavenly official to have him kill without reservations.
He’s murdered over ten officials and then he’d tell him to go die?!”
“What a vile heart…”
Among the crowds, when Jian Yu figured out such a major incident had happened, his face also
blanched. Still, he gritted his teeth and charged out, kneeling on the ground, “My Lord! THAT
ARMOUR WAS, WAS, IT WAS ME WHO GAVE IT TO QUAN YI ZHEN, IT HAD NOTHING TO
DO WITH YIN YU!”
Only then did Yin Yu seemed to stir, and he croaked, “Jian Yu…”
Jian Yu braced himself and cried loudly, “I HAD ONLY WANTED TO TEACH THAT BRAT A
LESSON, BUT I HADN’T THOUGHT… THAT IT WOULD CAUSE SUCH A MAJOR
INCIDENT…”
On the side, Quan Yi Zhen was still unconscious, lying in a pool of his own blood, and the
Medicine Masters and heavenly officials had rushed to the scene, surrounding him. Jian Yu
said, “I’ve always hated that brat but Yin Yu had always treated him with courtesy, many here
can stand witness to this. He didn’t know anything about the armour!”
However, at this point, it was too late. There was no one who would believe Yin Yu wasn’t
involved at all anymore. Instantly, someone piped up, “You’re only a low ranking official in the
Palace of Yin Yu yet you already hate him to the point of causing him harm. It’s easy to imagine
that the master heavenly official you serve wouldn’t be any better.”
There were even taunts, “He didn’t know anything? If he didn’t know anything, why would he tell
him to “go die”? Don’t tell me he’s only joking.”
If it’s said Yin Yu’s reactions were all reasonable, that he only lost himself from distress, then,
his last words of “go die” negated everything and could not break him free of condemnation.
Thinking back, when Ling Wen first told Xie Lian this story, she said Yin Yu was “playing a
prank”, which Xie Lian could now appreciate it as her trying to help Yin Yu cover up a little. Jian
Yu couldn’t believe it, “What? Stop talking nonsense, how can Yin Yu say anything of the sort?
He’s always been polite and courteous with that brat, why would he tell him to “go die”? Yin Yu,
you didn’t say it, right? You didn’t say something like that? You wouldn’t have said it!”
However, Yin Yu didn’t answer him, and instead, closed his eyes. Jian Yu just wouldn’t accept it,
and everyone around had become speechless, “We all heard it with our own ears, how can it be
denied?”
Jian Yu quickly said, “There must’ve been a misunderstanding! There’s so much you all don’t
know!”
“No matter the kind of misunderstanding, whether if we know or not, there’s no
misunderstanding great enough for one to want to kill one’s own shidi?”
Hearing this, Yin Yu and Jian Yu were both silenced. That heavenly official continued, “I heard
ever since Quan Yi Zhen went independent and erected his own palace, the people of the
Palace of Yin Yu stopped caring for him. Every time Quan Yi Zhen visited, the excuse was
always no one was around. I was confused at first, so turns out it was because they couldn’t
stand him eh…”
“Speaking of, didn’t someone mistake the wrong person at the Mid Autumn Banquet the other
day? I saw how dark their faces got at the time.”
Those were all undeniable truths, but the conclusion was wrong, “Oh, I know of that incident too,
it was pretty awkward, but it’s still not bad enough to want to harm someone…”
“Yea, it’s a little too small-minded…”
Jian Yu’s eyes were seeing red, and he shouted, “I ALREADY SAID His Highness HAD
NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS, I’M THE ONE WHO COMMITTED THE CRIME! I ADMIT TO
EVERYTHING, IS THAT NOT ENOUGH?!”
Yet, even if Yin Yu was to jump into the Yellow River, he wouldn’t be able to wash himself clean.
In the eyes of others, this was only enough to prove that Yin Yu had a malicious but loyal
subordinate. Besides, only two words were enough to shut down all arguments, “Well, “go die”
didn’t come out of anyone else’s mouths!”
Things were becoming more and more heated, and Jun Wu said darkly, “Take them all down.
Ling Wen, stay here and watch over Qi Ying.”
Ling Wen inclined her head to acknowledge the command, and Jun Wu stalked out of the
Palace of Yin Yu. Several martial heavenly officials pulled Yin Yu to his feet, and Yin Yu was
heart-stricken, “Let it go, Jian Yu. Don’t say anymore.”
Jian Yu was also pulled up and bound with the Immortal-Binding rope, and he cried, “It’s always
“let it go, let it go”, this time you mustn’t let it go! Let it go and you’ll be finished! You’ll be
banished! You’ll be banished for sure!”
However, Yin Yu only sighed, “Let it go. If it’s banishment then so be it. Even if I stay here…
there’s no meaning to it.”
Jian Yu cried bitterly, “… YOU, YOU SHOULD NEVER, EVER HAVE SAID THOSE WORDS.
JUST THOSE TWO WORDS AND YOU’VE LOST ALL HOPE OF TURNING THIS AROUND!
YOU’D USUALLY NEVER CURSE FOR HIM TO GO DIE, SO WHY OF ALL TIMES YOU HAD
TO SAY IT NOW? THOSE WORDS!”
It was like Yin Yu suddenly aged for ten years, and his eyes had lost its light. He himself
seemed to be a little lost, and he shook his head, “I don’t know why either, I’m just… Sigh, I
don’t want to argue anymore.”
He stumbled a couple steps as he was being taken away, and Jian Yu suddenly cried, “WHY?!”
Everyone turned to look at him. Jian Yu cried, “IT’S NOT LIKE YOU DIDN’T WORK AS HARD!
YOU’RE STRONGER THAN HIM BY TEN THOUSAND FOLD, BETTER THAN HIM BY A
MILLION FOLD! QUAN YI ZHEN IS NOTHING! SO WHAT IF I HATE HIM? WHY IS IT THAT
HE’S LIKE THAT, AND YOU’RE LIKE THIS. WHY ISN’T IT HIM WHO’S BANISHED??”
He gritted his teeth in resentment, so filled with hate for the reality of things, so filled with hate
tears rolled down his cheeks. But, there were many things in this world that just by working hard
wouldn’t be enough.
Perhaps he knew this in his heart, but he just couldn’t accept it, unable at all to swallow this
resentment.
Listening to his cries, Yin Yu’s steps became too heavy for him to move.
He buried his face in his hands and fell to the ground in a heap before the Palace of Yin Yu, and
he roared, “ENOUGH! I ALREADY SAID DON’T SAY ANYMORE!!! PLEASE, JUST LET ME
GO!”
He covered his ears and cried until he was hoarse, “PLEASE STOP REPEATEDLY
REMINDING ME, STOP TALKING, PLEASE, I BEG YOU TO ALL STOP TALKING!!!”
Xie Lian couldn’t bear to watch any longer, “…That’s enough.”
Thus, Hua Cheng dispersed the scene, and the two lightly separated their foreheads.
After having touched foreheads for so long, Xie Lian felt it a bit numb and a bit itchy even, his
front uncomfortably warm. He wanted to raise his hand to rub at it, but his limbs couldn’t move.
Hua Cheng seemed to have detected his little discomfort, and raised his hand to help him rub
like it was the most natural thing to do in the world before dropping his hand. Outside by the
stone wall, the ghost mask wearing Yin Yu had been pacing back and forth, and after a while, he
turned to Quan Yi Zhen and said coldly, “You want to come out?”
He intentionally changed his voice. Quan Yi Zhen nodded, “I do.”
Yin Yu replied, “Very well. Look here!” Then, in the blink of an eye with flashing speed, the
shovel was whacked against Quan Yi Zhen’s head!
CLUNK! Quan Yi Zhen instantly dropped silent. Xie Lian was stunned, “No way. He whacked
him dead?? He really killed him??”
Hua Cheng laughed heartily, “Don’t worry gege, he’s not dead, just fainted.”
After the shovel was swung, Yin Yu exhaled a breath. In the end, he seemed to have decided to
dig Quan Yi Zhen out of the wall after all, and raised the Earth Master shovel, digging through
the wall shovel by shovel. Xie Lian understood.
If Yin Yu was to save Quan Yi Zhen directly, Yin Yu wouldn’t be able to fight him and win, and he
risk exposing his identity, which would be distressful. The relationship between the two shixiong
and shidi truly was distressful to the extreme, and who’s the more distressed couldn’t even be
compared. It was probably for the best that Yin Yu pretended not to know him.
“San Lang, should we maybe also think of a way to get out of here now?” Xie Lian said.
Hua Cheng seemed to be enjoying himself hanging where they were, “Hm? Already?”
Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Well, yeah? You want to live in here?”
“If it’s with gege, I don’t see why not.” Hua Cheng said, “Alright, fine. I was joking.” He schooled
his expression and reached out to cover Xie Lian’s ears.
“What’s this?” Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng smiled, “I’m too lazy to walk out, so might as well just blow the whole place up.”
“…”
Xie Lian was just thinking whether if they would blow up others who were also swallowed by the
mountain spirit when his expression changed suddenly, “Wait.”
Hua Cheng bore the same expression and dropped his hands. The two listened intently, and a
moment later, Xie Lian whispered, “Did you hear that?”
Hua Cheng also lowered his voice, “I did.”
Yin Yu was on one side of the stone wall digging holes with the Earth Master shovel, and on the
other side of the stone wall, there was someone else who was talking.
There weren’t any silver butterflies spying, they heard the voice directly themselves, because
that person was standing really, really close to the stone wall, almost pressing against it and
speaking. Xie Lian held his breath to listen, but could only hear muffled, intermittent, indistinct
words, like “ate them?”, “Upper Court”, “martial gods”. His mind whizzed, and he exchanged a
look with Hua Cheng, then tried with difficulty to move closer towards the voice.
That voice belonged to a man, and he seemed to be conversing with someone because every
time he said something, he would pause for a moment. Yet, Xie Lian didn’t hear any sounds
from the one he was conversing with. Maybe it was because the other was further away.
Once they shuffled over silently, that voice became somewhat clearer. Although words were still
somewhat blurred here and there, Xie Lian at least heard fuller sentences.
That man said, “His Highness the crown prince has also come. I don’t want to take this step, I’m
sure you’re the same, but he’s beyond saving.”
Xie Lian wondered inwardly, ‘Me? How am I beyond saving? Wait, this voice…’
This voice was very familiar; he must’ve heard it before, and had heard it for a long, long time,
not just the once or twice. But since it was a long, long time ago, he couldn’t match the voice to
the man instantly. Just as he was thinking really hard, that man added, “Then let him end here.”
Suddenly, Xie Lian remembered who this voice belonged to.
He twitched his lips and muttered without a sound, “Guoshi?!”
The person on the other side of the stone wall had the exact same voice as the esteemed
master who once taught him in the Kingdom of XianLe!
——–
Ch.163: Riddle of the Mysterious Guoshi Confounding Minds
Xie Lian’s heart started racing wildly, and even his fingertips were slightly trembling. However,
he remained composed and didn’t make a sound, only lifting his head a little to whisper next to
Hua Cheng’s ear, “…San Lang, don’t move. The voice out there sounds a lot like my master.
Let’s not be discovered…”
Although very similar, he couldn’t say for sure either since it wasn’t like there weren’t people
who shared similar voices. Besides, he hadn’t seen the Guoshi for centuries, so he could very
well remembered wrong. If they didn’t make any reckless moves and only observed quietly to
see how things would progress, perhaps they would learn more secrets. Hua Cheng also bowed
his head slightly, hugging his waist, “Alright… you don’t move either.”
Rocks and earth crushed at them from all around, forcing their bodies to press tightly against
one another, their faces brushing, their ears warm. Although it wasn’t the right time, a thought
flashed through Xie Lian’s mind, ‘“To die buried together” doesn’t feel so bad.’ Just then, that
voice sounded again, “What about the other two? Where have they run off to?”
‘The other two’? There are two more companions?
Xie Lian wanted to listen closely to find out just who the other person conversing was, but the
strange thing was, after the ‘Guoshi’ – he would address him as ‘Guoshi’ for now – after he
posed the question, there wasn’t any response.
It really was strange. In such a distance, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng could both hear ‘Guoshi’’s
question, and technically, his voice wasn’t loud and he wasn’t yelling at the top of this lungs, so
the other party shouldn’t be too far away either. If they should respond, then at least some voice
would be heard. Yet, there really was nothing to be heard.
‘Guoshi’ spoke up again, “Thank them for their efforts, but there’s no need to worry about the
small-fries anymore, nothing will come of them. We’ve got more important things to do right
now.”
‘What’s going on?’ Xie Lian wondered, ‘This clearly shows he’s gotten a response and is talking
to someone?’
The ‘Guoshi’ outside was almost like he was talking to himself or having a conversation with air.
A creepy image appeared in Xie Lian’s head and he immediately brushed it off, thinking there
might be another possibility, which was ‘Guoshi’ could hear that person’s voice but no one else
could.
Suspicion was growing thicker and thicker in his head, and he listened with more and more
intensity, turning over each word the ‘Guoshi’ uttered in his mind as ‘Guoshi’ added, “Is that all
the people inside the mountain? In any case, let’s bring them all to the Kiln first, I’ll think of a
way to take care of them one by one then. The faster the better, they must get there within two
days.”
The Kiln!
And, within ‘two days’. The Distance Shortening array couldn’t be used within Mount TongLu, so
how could they get there in two days? And what was this ‘take care of them’?
After a pause, that voice continued, “Call the other two over, let’s go to the Kiln together. In
order to face His Highness the crown prince, not a single one of us should be missing. Right
now he’s still not yet awakened. If he should wake… it’s hard to imagine what he will do this
time.”
Xie Lian was shocked. Was he talking about him?
Right then, there was the sounds of explosion within the mountain body. Xie Lian heard the
Guoshi outside question, “What’s going on?”
Inside the stone wall, he also turned to Hua Cheng to ask, “What’s going on?”
“Something’s happened on the other side.” Hua Cheng whispered.
Xie Lian hadn’t yet responded and Hua Cheng already pressed his forehead with his. In Xie
Lian’s right eye, the situation with Yin Yu and Quan Yi Zhen on the other side of the cave
appeared once more. And, this should be what had happened a little earlier. Yin Yu finally dug
out Quan Yi Zhen from the stone wall, laboriously dragged him down and heaved a sigh. Yet
unexpected, the unconscious Quan Yi Zhen suddenly leapt to his feet and pulled the mask off of
Yin Yu’s face!
Quan Yi Zhen was actually only pretending to have fainted earlier!
Now that Xie Lian thought about it, Quan Yi Zhen would be extremely familiar with Yin Yu’s habit
of pacing when thinking, the way he spoke, his strength when he hit, and perhaps the moment
Yin Yu’s shovel was swinging down his way, he had already known who was behind the mask. It
was just, it was inconceivable that there’d come a day someone like Quan Yi Zhen would know
to use deception. Although it was nothing more than the most ordinary of tricks, but when it was
Quan Yi Zhen who used it, it could be considered completely out of this world, which was why
no one was prepared.
Underneath the mask was that terrified and dimly pale face of Yin Yu, obviously stunned from
surprise. Quan Yi Zhen however, was fiercely thrilled, jumping with his head covered in blood,
“SHIXIONG!”
Yin Yu looked like he saw something extremely horrifying, his lips twisting, then abruptly, he
hugged his head, “YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG PERSON!”
Having roared, he bolted. As he ran, he blasted at the person behind him to block him, “DON’T
COME NEAR ME! DON’T FOLLOW ME!”
Quan Yi Zhen also dashed after him, completely ignoring the blasts and only yelled,
“SHIXIONG! IT’S ME!”
Yin Yu couldn’t help but roar out an expletive, “GODAMMIT, IT’S BECAUSE IT’S YOU THAT I’M
TERRIFIED! DON’T FOLLOW ME!”
The two ran and fought the entire way, causing the mountain to rumble from the blasts. Over on
this side, the Guoshi was puzzled, “What are they doing over there? What’s with all the noise?”
There was still no one who answered him but the Guoshi seemed to have gotten his response,
“I see. Kids these days, so energetic. I’ll take my leave first. Let’s get together again once you’re
close to the Kiln.”
He was going to leave. Hearing this, Hua Cheng covered Xie Lian’s ears anew, and Xie Lian
closed his eyes. A moment later, there was a violent tremor from all around, and the stone wall
that had been pushing against their bodies was finally blown apart. The two leapt out together,
landing lighting on their feet, and breathed fresh air once more. However, on the outside was an
empty cave; there was no Guoshi nor that mysterious second person, their figures completely
gone.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng exchanged a look. They weren’t in a hurry to give chase and they
hadn’t yet separated when from the cave adjacent to them came charging a black clad man. It
was Yin Yu. He waved the Earth Master shovel and dashed madly towards the two,
“CHENGZHU!!! Your Highness!!!”
Behind him, Quan Yi Zhen who was head covered in blood from the blows also came rushing in.
Hua Cheng didn’t bother looking up and only flicked his hand. There was a BOOM sound; Quan
Yi Zhen instantly raised both arms to block, yet, the move Hua Cheng used couldn’t be blocked
by fists. After smokes dispersed, what was left where Quan Yi Zhen stood was a daruma doll
with big, wide eyes, looking very innocent. It was the same trick Hua Cheng used on Lang Qian
Qiu last time. Only then did Yin Yu stop his crazed run, wiping his sweat away as he
approached, “I’m eternally grateful, Chengzhu.”
“Did you really have to be so scared?” Hua Cheng asked.
Yin Yu was still shaken, and he smiled bitterly, “Truth to be told, right now when I see His
Highness Qi Ying, I only want to run for as far away as possible.”
When Xie Lian heard, he found it funny but could sympathize. It seemed, Quan Yi Zhen’s
‘personality’ is now a severe shadow in Yin Yu’s heart. That daruma doll was still on the ground,
wide-eyed as it swayed heavily back and forth without anyone caring. Xie Lian felt pity for it and
was about to pick it up when he suddenly felt the ground shake, his body also falling over along
with the tremors, almost shaking harder than that daruma doll. He quickly steadied himself,
“What’s going on? Earthquake?”
Although Xie Lian didn’t need help, Hua Cheng still held his arm to help steady him, and he
turned to Yin Yu, “Open a tunnel and go out to take a look.”
Yin Yu recovered extremely fast and acknowledged, “Yes sir!”
Then he picked up his Earth Master shovel, rapidly and concisely dug out a hole in a small
amount of time. Sunlight from the outside shone through; when Yin Yu took a look, surprise filled
his face. Xie Lian asked, “Your Highness Yin Yu, is it an earthquake or is the mountain
collapsing?”
“It’s neither!” Yin Yu answered, “This mountain spirit… it’s running!”
Running? Xie Lian and Hua Cheng exchanged a look and both ran up to look outside the
mountain spirit.
It really was running! Outside the body of the mountain, all the sceneries, the landscapes were
rapidly speeding behind, almost reduced to nothing but colourful streaks. From the looks of it, it
was like they were riding a fast running horse carriage, or like they were sitting on the shoulders
of a giant running wild!
Hills, rivers, fields, forests, they were all trampled beneath the feet of this mountain spirit,
crushed to make way. Whooshing whirlwinds blew in from the hole and the hair and ribbon
bands all started dancing in the air. Yin Yu remarked, “By the speed of this run, it’ll probably only
take two days to reach the Kiln…”
Two days? Hearing this it dawned on Xie Lian.
No wonder! No wonder they couldn’t hear the responding voice of ‘the other person’, and no
wonder the Guoshi requested for the other to bring them to the Kiln within two days.
Because at the time, ‘Guoshi’ wasn’t talking to another person, he was talking to this mountain
spirit!
Hua Cheng must’ve figured it out too, “Just as well. Borrowing its strength, we won’t need to
walk so slowly anymore. Once we’re there, that person outside the stone wall will show himself
again. We’ll know what he wants then.”
Xie Lian however, was looking somber. Hua Cheng noticed and asked, “Gege, what’s wrong?”
“What did he mean, not yet awakened?” Xie Lian asked.
That voice earlier said “right now he’s still not yet awakened. If he should wake… it’s hard to
imagine what he will do this time.” Xie Lian said, “If that man really was my master, and he was
talking about me, then what did he mean by all that?”
“Gege, don’t think too much right now.” Hua Cheng said, “First, that man might not be your
master; second, the ‘crown prince’ he spoke of might not be you.”
“But if it was?” Xie Lian urged, “I have some baseless guesses, will you hear me out and see if
they make sense?”
“Very well. Gege, do tell.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian started, “Assuming that man is my master, the three mountains: Old Age, Sickness,
and Death, have Birth missing. He can communicate with the mountain spirits. He’s a person,
but the one conversing with him is a mountain spirit. In their conversation they mentioned ‘the
other two’, and it might be the other two mountain spirits. There are four of them. I was thinking,
do the three mountain spirits all possess human consciousness? Or perhaps, they were
transformed from people from the beginning, and Guoshi was the ‘Birth” who never appeared!”
He was thinking more and more, his heart beating rapidly in his chest, and he continued, “Mount
TongLu used to be part of the Kingdom of WuYong. ‘Birth, Old Age, Sickness, Death’ are a set
of four; coincidentally, the Crown Prince of WuYong also have four Guardian Gods; and there
were also four Guoshis who taught me when I grew up in XianLe! Do countries typically have
that many Guoshis? I didn’t think anything of it in the past, but now I realized there’s normally
not that many. Do you think this is a coincidence? Or is there a deeper meaning in all this?”
Hua Cheng replied, “There’s no deeper meaning. Maybe it just so happens there’s four. Aren’t
the Four Famous Sights also four? There weren’t four in the Four Calamities, so one had to be
forced into its ranks.”
However, Xie Lian was still following his train of thoughts, “But if it’s true, that my four masters
were the four Guardian Gods of the Crown Prince of WuYong, why did they come to XianLe to
become Guoshis of XianLe? Why did they come to teach me? Is there something about me that
I myself wasn’t aware of? Could it be, that I’m actually…”
He was going off like someone possessed, and Hua Cheng gripped his shoulders, speaking
with conviction, “It’s not possible! I can swear, you are you. You’re not anyone else. Trust me.
Don’t read too much into things and imagine what’s not there.”
Other than his parents, Guoshi was someone Xie Lian was the closest and most familiar with.
Although Guoshi often dismissed him and was often reserved because he was wary of Xie
Lian’s position, but overall, he was a good teacher. To suddenly discover he might not know
someone he thought he was familiar with was something that’d easily confound the heart. Hua
Cheng softened his voice, “Alright, gege. Think back carefully, what was the Guoshi of XianLe’s
background?”
Xie Lian mulled over the question, “…I’m not sure.”
Really, he actually couldn’t remember where his master came from. Humming for a moment, Xie
Lian said, “Guoshi was Guoshi before I was born, I only know that he was called Mei Nian Qing,
but needless to say, that must be a fake name. I’ve also thought this before in the past; Guoshi
is such an incredible character, how come he didn’t ascend? If that was him just now, then the
years he’s spent in this world must be many more than me.”
“We’ll take care of things as they come.” Hua Cheng said, “Remember that if anything should
happen, I’m here. I will always be on your side.”
Xie Lian stared at him, stunned and speechless. A moment later, a small smile appeared on his
face.
Yin Yu’s sense of presence was already faint, and since he didn’t speak the whole time, he was
practically forgotten. Only now did he speak up, “Chengzhu, do we need to go find the others?”
They’ve come out, but who knows which corner Pei Ming and the others were being digested by
the mountain spirit after having been swallowed. Xie Lian quickly replied, “Yes! Let’s go find
them together. Please wait, Your Highness Yin Yu.”
“Your Highness, there’s no need to call me Your Highness… I’m not a heavenly official of the
Upper Court anymore.” Yin Yu said.
Xie Lian smiled, “Then you can just call me by my name too, no need to be so polite. I also
haven’t been a crown prince in a long time.”
Yin Yu glanced at Hua Cheng standing behind Xie Lian and hastily replied, “I… daren’t. I
shouldn’t. I can’t.”
“What’s the concern?” Xie Lian said and took a couple steps out, ready to pick up Quan Yi Zhen
the daruma doll when a figure suddenly dropped from the sky and fell heavily before him, the
sound of bones cracking loud and crisp in the air.
———–
Ch.164: Riddle of the Mysterious Guoshi Confounding Minds 2
Xie Lian’s first reaction was to reach for Fang Xin and strike. Good thing he had good habits,
and before he struck he swept a glance, forcing himself to brake in mid action, “General Pei?”
That man flipped over and leapt to his feet. It was Pei Ming. He dusted off his shoulders, looking
amazingly at ease, and glanced at them, “Looks like Your Highness and My Lord Ghost King are
enjoying yourselves here.”
“Not too bad, not too bad.” Xie Lian said, “But General Pei, are you alright? I seemed to have
heard a cracking sound…”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Pei Ming said, “Thanks for Your Highness’ concern. That cracking sound
wasn’t my bones but the bones of this one.” He raised an object, and it was the femur of that
unlucky man, the bones already bent and broken. He added, “Thank goodness for this good
brother’s help that Pei Ming was able to dig out an escape route in this mountain spirit’s body.
Even though it’s the bone of a man, it’s still a fairly solid good man.”
Just as he finished, from not far away, a second figure dropped from the sky, falling down and
landing heavily. The group of them walked over to see, and this time it was Pei Su. In the curve
of his arms was Ban Yue being shielded, and Ban Yue’s arms were holding those two black clay
pots that contained Ke Mo and Rong Guang. The two of them were ashen faced and disheveled
but there didn’t seem to be anything serious, and they quickly crawled up. Pei Su spat out a few
mouthfuls of dust, “Gen, eral! Your highne, ss.”
Pei Ming glanced up, “Looks like this mountain spirit doesn’t think we’re tasty enough, and spat
us out.”
Hua Cheng and Xie Lian exchanged a look and said quietly, “Not necessarily. Perhaps,
someone told it to spat you out.”
Pei Ming took a few steps and noticed the abnormal ground shaking, and he furrowed his
brows, “What’s with this mountain? Why is it shaking to hard?”
“Because it’s currently carrying us and running towards the Kiln.” Xie Lian replied.
Pei Ming walked to that hole Yin Yu dug and looked outside, “So fast! That’ll help save us some
footwork.”
However, until now, there was still another person missing. Xie Lian asked, “Where’s Ling
Wen?”
Hua Cheng seemed to have used his right eye to take a look and replied, “The silver butterfly
resting on his back was swallowed by the mountain spirit. He’s gone.”
Which meant, Ling Wen and the Brocade Immortal could now move as they will. That was no
joke. Xie Lian hurriedly exclaimed, “Let’s go find him!”
Thus, the group of them started running about the body of this mountain spirit. Hua Cheng
released another few hundred wraithe butterflies to conduct a search, and in the end, it led them
to another hole.
This hole was forcibly blown out, its edges jagged, and beyond it was the sceneries of
landscapes rapidly flying by, whooshing wild winds pouring straight into the mountain body,
making howling cries like that of demons. After Ling Wen was spat out by the mountain spirit, he
probably blew this hole himself and ran away. Xie Lian looked down from the edges of the hole
and frowned, “What should we do now? The destructive power of that Brocade Immortal is too
strong, we can’t just leave it be.”
“Don’t worry.” Hua Cheng said, “He’s heading for the Kiln anyway, so we’re really just taking
different paths to go to the same destination.”
Once everyone gathered around, Xie Lian briefly gave an account of what he had overheard
earlier, leaving out some fine details. After he was done, the group of them sat down to space
out. After all, there weren’t any monsters to fight right now, and they didn’t need to make the
journey themselves, so it was rather empty and boring.
Since Yin Yu said he really didn’t know how to communicate with Quan Yi Zhen, and just seeing
his face gave him a headache, Xie Lian also felt it wouldn’t be wise to release him, so he was
temporarily kept in the form of the daruma doll. Pei Ming was bored so he kept slapping at the
doll to play. Xie Lian saw how that daruma doll was wobbling heavily and felt sorry for it, so he
chided, “General Pei, please stop playing.”
Pei Ming complied. However, when Xie Lian grew drowsy and dozed off leaning against the
mountain wall, he started slapping at it again. There was no one to mind him, and Yin Yu who
was guarding the hole, mentally calculating how much distance was traveled, looked over from
the distance. Many a times he looked like he wanted to say something but in the end nothing
was said, yet unexpectedly, in extreme joy tragedies were born; Pei Ming was slapping around
when suddenly, Pei Su THUD! And keeled over. Pei Ming instantly forgot all about playing and
gripped Pei Su, “Little Pei? What’s wrong?!”
Yin Yu quietly walked over and picked up the daruma doll and set it down next to Xie Lian. Hua
Cheng was annoyed, “What’s with all the noise, he won’t die. Can’t you see His Highness is
asleep?”
Xie Lian was dozing for a while and sure enough, was woken by the noise. The moment he
woke he found he was leaning against Hua Cheng’s shoulder. Hua Cheng’s voice sounded right
next to his ear, “Gege is awake?”
Xie Lian rubbed at his eyes, and next to him, Quan Yi Zhen was swaying back and forth,
“What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing.” Hua Cheng replied, “If you’re sleepy you can take another nap. We’ll be there
soon enough.”
Xie Lian saw across from them was Pei Ming clutching Pei Su’s collar, violently shaking him,
and he was slightly shocked, now more than awake. Thinking something was the matter, he
went up to see, then he said, “Oh, don’t worry, General Pei. General Pei Junior is just tired and
hungry, and couldn’t hang on for the moment.”
Pei Su was mortal right now after all, and having struggled for so long without food and water,
nor with Xie Lian’s extensive experience in starvation and beatings where one meal could
sustain him for three days and taking ten beatings meant nothing, Pei Su couldn’t hang on any
more and had finally collapsed. Pei Ming remarked, “The mortal body is so inconvenient. Does
anyone have anything to eat?”
No one responded. Ban Yue took out a pot, “I’m sorry, but I only have this…” It was that pot
filled with Toppled Phoenixes. Pei Ming yelled, “Why are you still holding on to that thing? Throw
it out!”
They were noisy and rowdy, and Hua Cheng turned to Xie Lian, “See, I told you it was nothing.
Why not take another nap.”
That mountain spirit ran for a good whole day, and Xie Lian could see the skies were turning
dark outside, “How long have we been running now?”
Yin Yu had been counting by that hole and answered, “We’ve run close to eight hundred miles.”
This was definitely much faster than when they walked. Xie Lian also came to the edge of the
hole. He was only going to take a casual look at first, but when his eyes swept their
surroundings, he suddenly saw something and instantly, the hairs on his back stood up, “What’s
that down there?”
Looking down from this mountain spirit, in the black of night, below on the ground, was a giant
human face!
That face bore crescent eyes, its lips curled upwards, and was smiling creepily. Xie Lian took a
step back in spite of himself. Hua Cheng was behind him and held him. Xie Lian steadied his
mind and looked closer again. Turns out, that ‘face’ was merely an image formed by collective
hills and ravines, an optical illusion. However, this illusion looked very real, and with but a
glance it was a shocking sight.
Xie Lian wondered, “What’s that gully that resembles the ‘eyelids’ and ‘lips’?”
Hua Cheng replied, “That’s the WuYong River, the main river of WuYong. Its source is in the
high mountains, and the melted snow formed this river. Of course, it’s now dried out completely.
But to have reached here, it means we’re very close to the Kiln now.”
Xie Lian nodded and asked again, “Then the ‘nose’?”
Hua Cheng answered, “It’s a lively city next to the shore of WuYong River. Wanna go down and
see?”
Xie Lian inclined his head, “Is there anything worth seeing down there?”
“There’s another Divine Temple of WuYong in that city.” Hua Cheng said.
If there was a temple then there was the possibility of a mural. Xie Lian instantly said, “Let’s go!”
He couldn’t wait to learn more about this Crown Prince of WuYong. Pei Ming also piped up,
“Let’s go! We have to find something edible for Little Pei. How do we go down?”
Hua Cheng waved his hand, and a few silver butterflies appeared fluttering next to everyone,
shimmering their light, and they rested on everyone’s shoulders, backs, heads, and sleeves.
Others who saw these little silver butterflies might grumble and wonder whether if they could
possibly bring them anywhere, but Xie Lian didn’t say a word before releasing RuoYe and tied
everyone together. This way, they wouldn’t lose each other in mid air. Yin Yu made the hole
larger so there was enough space for at least five to six people to go through at the same time.
Preparations complete, Xie Lian and company all came to the edge of the hole, “Everyone, get
ready –”
“Wait!” Pei Ming called out.
Xie Lian turned to look, “General Pei, is something the matter?”
“There’s something that I’ve been meaning to ask.” Pei Ming said, “What’s that on your hands?”
Following his gaze, Xie Lian looked down and saw his own hand. He raised it and only then did
he realize that the red string knotted on both his and Hua Cheng’s fingers were still connected.
“…” Xie Lian softly cleared his throat, “Th-This is… a spiritual device for contact of sorts.”
“Oh.” Pei Ming said, “Wouldn’t it be inconvenient? It’s a string after all, what if you trip on it or it
gets entangled somewhere, accidents will happen.”
His reminder made a lot of sense, but for some mysterious reason, Xie Lian wasn’t too willing to
have this string cut off. Seeing his hesitant expression like he was struggling internally, Hua
Cheng took a look and smiled, “It certainly is a little inconvenient like this.”
Then, Xie Lian saw the red string disappear between their fingers. “Now it’s much more
practical.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian stared at the empty air where that red string disappeared, a little dumbfounded. It only
connected them for a short while before it was gone. Although it wasn’t anything major, no, it
should be said that it was something extremely miniscule, still, he was a little forlorn. Afraid
someone would notice, Xie Lian squeezed a smile, “Let’s go! Ready – JUMP!”
That mountain spirit was still charging forward by itself, and didn’t notice at all that the little
people the size of grasshoppers had leapt off from its own body. Enveloped by a circle of
wraithe butterflies, the group of them landed lightly like feathers without a hair harmed. The
place of their landing was the bridge of the ‘nose’ of that giant smiling face.
After straightening up, Xie Lian was perplexed. He scanned around, “San Lang, is there a
WuYong temple and a city here?”
“There is.” Hua Cheng said.
“But… there’s nothing here?” Xie Lian remarked.
It was true. He had thought when they’ve landed on the ground, he would see the same sight of
a small town like that of the first divine temple, that he could see streets, shops, residences,
wells, temples, etc. However, what was before him was a field of flat land, empty and barren
without a trace that a city had ever existed. Pei Ming was carrying Pei Su, and he stepped a leg
on a boulder, “Where’s this ‘lively city’?”
“Under your feet.” Hua Cheng said.
“What?”
The group crowded over. Under Pei Ming’s foot was that boulder, and Xie Lian asked, “Is there
some sort of a secret mechanism?”
“Come stand here.” Hua Cheng said.
He pulled out the scimitar E-Ming, aimed the tip downwards, and struck into the ground right
next to the boulder. The tip of that scimitar pierced into the ground, and at first, there was a
cracking sound, and small cobweb like fractures split the earth. Then, those fractures spread
rapidly, the cracks bigger and bigger, the fissures deeper and deeper. Finally, that entire section
of the ground caved in with a boom, revealing a chilling dark hole.
Hua Cheng jumped in first. Xie Lian hadn’t realized he would take the first leap, and he rushed
to the edge of the hole, “SAN LANG?”
A moment later, Hua Cheng’s voice came from below, “Everything’s fine down here. You can
come down now.”
So it turns out, he went down first to scout. Xie Lian sighed a breath of relief and instantly
jumped in too. The others then followed one after the other. Hua Cheng reached for Xie Lian’s
hand and pulled him up.
“It’s so dark in here.” Xie Lian noted.
Just as he said so, several silver butterflies lit up in the darkness, dancing languidly, and a
number of ghost fires also appeared, instantly illuminating the deeper parts of this hole. What
appeared before them was a long street.
A thousand years ago, this would’ve been a bustling street, packed full of shops and large
houses. The boulder Pei Ming stepped on earlier was the rooftop of one of those buildings. Xie
Lian looked up, “I see. So this city was buried? Buried by what? Earthquake? Landslide? Or…”
“Volcanic ash.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian whipped his head around to look at him. Hua Cheng added, “Volcanic ash of about
seven meters in thickness buried the entire city underground. What you all see right now is a
part of what the demons and monsters that had come to Mount TongLu for the trial had dug out.
There are many more sections that are still buried deep within the ashes.
Which meant, the apocalypse in the Crown Prince of WuYong’s dream had come true!
Pei Ming put Pei Su down on the roadside and said, “Nevermind all that for now. Is there water?
If there’s nothing to eat, a couple sips of water is good too.”
“If we’re lucky, you’ll find underground water deep down under.” Hua Cheng said.
Thus, Pei Ming and Ban Yue left to go find water. Xie Lian was still deep in thought when Hua
Cheng walked over, “Gege, look at your hand.”
Xie Lian followed his direction without much thought, and only after he looked did he discover
that while the red string was gone, the bright red knot on his third finger was still there.
Hua Cheng had explained before that when the red string between them breaks, the knot would
disappear, so what’s going on?
Seeing him stunned, Hua Cheng smiled, “It’s just a small camouflage spell, that’s all. The red
string is hidden; the distance is now unrestricted and you won’t have to worry about tripping
over it, but it didn’t actually break. As long as the affinity knot is still there, then the person on
the other end of the red string is safe. Once we’re close to the Kiln, dangers will increase. We
don’t know what’s ahead of us just yet, so I thought, this red string still can’t be untied. What do
you think?”
Learning that the red string was still there, Xie Lian’s lips curved upwards in spite of himself, but
the moment he realized it, he immediately straightened his expression, and replied very
seriously, “Oh, yes. If that’s the case, then we can know whether if the other is safe at a
moment’s notice. It’s a very practical spell.”
Hua Cheng also flashed a smile, but it soon disappeared, “But, Your Highness, there’s
something I must say.”
Hearing him sound so solemn, Xie Lian asked, “What is it?”
“I know you can’t die, and you’re not afraid to die, but no matter how tough you are, don’t think
yourself incapable of getting hurt.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian was taken aback. Hua Cheng continued, “Not dying doesn’t mean not getting hurt, and
it definitely doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. When you see something strange and dangerous, don’t
just touch it. Find me. Let me take care of it.”
Xie Lian suddenly recalled earlier when he touched those skulls covered with corpse poison
with his hands, Hua Cheng’s expression instantly turned dark. He wondered inwardly, was Hua
Cheng perhaps angry because of this then?
If that was truly the case, then he really didn’t know what to say. It was a moment before he
complied, “Alright. I won’t do that anymore.”
Hearing his sincere promise, Hua Cheng seemed to be satisfied. He nodded and was just about
to turn and continue onwards when Xie Lian called, “San Lang, wait!”
Hua Cheng looked back. Xie Lian chewed on his words for a good moment before finally
arduously squeezing out softly, “…You too. If there’s something dangerous, you don’t touch, I
won’t touch either, alright?”
Hearing this, a side of Hua Cheng’s lips lifted. He took a step closer and was about to speak
when they suddenly heard Pei Ming’s voice from not too far away, “What is this?”
“Looks like people.” Ban Yue said.
“Indeed!” Pei Ming remarked, “But why would people turn into something like this?”
Hua Cheng and Xie Lian exchanged a look and walked towards where their voices were coming
from. “Turn into what?” Xie Lian asked.
———
Ch.165: Saint Born Under the Ominous Star
Pei Ming and the others had entered the yard of a residence, probably in search of a well. Xie
Lian entered the yard and commented offhandedly, “The houses on this street are all so
impressive.”
Hua Cheng replied, “The Kiln is situated in the imperial capital, the heart of the Kingdom of
WuYong, and this place is close to the Kiln, or rather, close to what was the imperial capital two
thousand years ago, so it’s also a place of wealth. Since it’s mostly prominent figures and
government officials who live here, they’re naturally impressive.”
There certainly was a well, only, the sight near that well was exceedingly horrifying. There were
seven to eight people sprawled over the edge of the well as if they were dying of thirst but still
perished after having struggled to make it there. Upon a closer inspection, Xie Lian blinked,
“This… rather than say they’re people, they’re more like stone statues?”
They were of course not live humans, but they weren’t corpses, and definitely were not
skeletons. Each of them were coarsely made, ashen white ‘stone statues’. Xie Lian was about
to reach out and touch when next to him, Hua Cheng gave him a look. He immediately
remembered the two had only just promised each other not to touch anything strange and
dangerous, so he forced down the impulse. Now thinking about it, who in the world would sculpt
so many terrifying statues? They should be people indeed, but had transformed into this form
for some reason.
The front doors of this home was wide open, and Xie Lian looked to the inside of the house and
saw there were two more people lying on the ground, their positions twisted in a tight embrace.
Although their faces were blurred and their expressions unclear, but judging by their action one
could already sense terror filled their hearts. There was a bundle of something tightly hugged
between the two, and on a closer look, Xie Lian realized that it must’ve been a baby.
What had happened was more than clear. Xie Lian said, “Those outside were this household’s
servants, and the ones inside should be the master’s family of three.”
“En.” Hua Cheng said, “After the volcano erupted, the WuYong River’s flow became running
lava. The residents who lived in the high plains weren’t burnt to death by the lava or blazing
fires, but they couldn’t escape the blanketing volcanic ash and died from suffocation.”
The enveloping volcanic ash instantly wrapped their whole bodies and formed a layer of hard
shells on the surface, preserving the last moments of those people, transforming them into
stone statues.
That old well was of course long since dried out. Pei Ming wasn’t interested in studying the
faces of the dead either, so he left, carrying Pei Su with him, and continued the search for water.
Suddenly, Xie Lian noticed something strange, and flipped into the house, crouching down next
to the stone bodies of the family of three. Hua Cheng entered too and asked, “What did you
want to see?”
Xie Lian furrowed his brows slightly, “I just think their positions are a bit strange. These two
adults are holding each other tightly with one arm, but the other arm…” The other arm was
tucked in their chests, like they were gripping onto something firmly.
“You want to see what’s in their hands?” Hua cheng asked.
Xie Lian only just nodded when Hua Cheng tapped once on the joint stone statues. Xie Lian
exclaimed, “Wait, wouldn’t this be too disrespectful to their remai…” However, Hua Cheng
moved faster than he did, and the family of three instantly broke into a pile of shattered ashen
white shards. Hua Cheng said quietly, “No need to be too concerned. They’ve long been dead,
and the remains were already no more.”
In that pile of shards were nothing. Those ‘stone statues’ were hollow on the inside.
Although on the surface, the volcanic ash formed a solid protection shell, but the corpse
wrapped inside would still rot and break down. After the rotting was done, what’s left was only
this layer of ashen shell on the surface.
All lives must come to an end, leaving behind only that which had never lived in the everlasting.
Within the blocks and pieces of those ashen shards on the ground were some not yet fully
rotten through pieces of cloth and the accessories on the hosts’ bodies, such as rings, earrings,
necklaces, etc. Xie Lian felt what this couple were gripping at the face of death couldn’t possibly
be those jewelries, and was picking through them when Hua Cheng picked up something and
handed it to him.
“What’s this?” Xie Lian asked.
“It’s what they were clutching in their hands.” Hua Cheng said.
It was a pendant, a shimmering golden plate and something akin to bones were hanging off of
the chain. Upon the golden plate was engraved patterns, and Xie Lian lightly dusted off the
ashes on the surface to look at the details, “The ominous star*?”
What was depicted on the golden plate was a celestial drawing. Gold for the heavens, agate for
stars, this was what they called the sign of the ‘Ominous Star’, which was the celestial phase of
when the Star of Glowing Befuddlement stood still in the Heart Constellation.
The Star of Glowing Befuddlement had historically been seen as the Star of War and Death, and
when it rested within the Heart Constellation, it was even more ominous a sign, especially
towards rulers and emperors and other such leaders, so why was such a celestial drawing
engraved on an accessory?
No, this shouldn’t have been an accessory. Xie Lian fumbled through the shards of the shells
again for a while and found the other two pendants that looked exactly the same. There were
three in total, even the baby in this couple’s arms had one. Under what circumstances would the
same accessory be kept three times?
“This couldn’t be a protection charm, could it?” Xie Lian wondered.
Only protection charms could give those at the brink of death the urge to grip them tightly, to
pray madly with the last vestiges of hope amidst terror.
“It is.” Hua Cheng said, “I’ve dug through a part of this city too, and I’ve discovered this
protection charm on quite a number of these statues.”
Xie Lian hummed, “The people of WuYong worshipped their crown prince, so this should be the
protection charm of the crown prince. But why draw this celestial phase on the protection
charm? Does the crown prince have any connection to the ominous star?
“Because the day he was born, it was the celestial phase of the ominous star.” Hua Cheng said.
“So, the people of WuYong used this celestial phase to symbolize him.”
“How did San Lang find this out?” Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng flipped the gold plate over, “It’s written on it.”
Sure enough, on the back side was engraved a column of characters. Hua Cheng explained,
“These words mean “Saint Born Under the Ominous Star”. Maybe now in the present, having
the Star of Glowing Befuddlement rest in the Heart Constellation is a grave omen, but things
might be different two thousand years ago.”
Xie Lian stroked that line of words, his heart slowly sinking, since, the day he was born, it was
also the sign of the ominous star!
Was this not too coincidental?
He rose to his feet, “Let’s go to the divine temple.”
The two walked down the long street side by side. Pei Ming and the others weren’t fruitful in
their search in the area, so they followed along too. There were many remnants of carriages on
the streets, some resting by the roadside, some completely overturned on the ground. There
were also a number of scattered stone people lying on the ground, each with bizarre
mannerisms, but the majority had gone back to their own homes to escape the disaster, so
those were homeless beggars or travelers who couldn’t make it home in time. The cries and
struggles in that moment before death were all preserved, and the group of them traversed
through this bizarre sight.
Hua Cheng pointed out for Xie Lian which ones were residences of wealthy merchants, which
ones belongs to the entertainment district. Xie Lian couldn’t help but ask, “San Lang, the
Kingdom of WuYong had fallen for over two thousand years, and there weren’t any descendants
left, so how did you learn to read their words?”
He couldn’t have just forcibly learned from nothing, there should’ve been a door to the method.
“It’s not too difficult,” Hua Cheng said, “Gege can see that some WuYong characters are very
close to the modern characters.”
“It’s true.” Xie Lian said, “The two words ‘WuYong’ are indeed very close to the modern
characters.”
“Right. So, those two words were the first few of the WuYong words I’ve learned.” Hua Cheng
explained, “There’s a few more that are like this, and when mixed in a phrase, the rest of the
words can be deduced. There are some that have the same character but different meaning, but
not too many.”
Xie Lian nodded, and Hua Cheng continued, “And then, there are words that show up more
frequently. Like those two.”
He pointed at two buildings on the street, “It’s easy to tell what kind of place this is. On the
signs, the words on the top are different but the ones on the bottom are the same. Therefore,
what the bottom words mean could be easily determined, either a tavern or a restaurant. There
are many ways to do this. If gege wants to know more, I’ll tell you all about it when there’s time.”
So that was it. There were actually people in this world who could use their own powers to figure
everything out without any help. Xie Lian couldn’t help but be awed.
The divine temple of WuYong was still the grandest and the most impressive building in the city.
The group of them arrived before the temple, but before they entered, Pei Ming suddenly spoke
up, “What’s that noise?”
Squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak. The noise came from afar, and dispersed from
afar. “Rats?” Xie Lian wondered.
“Not your typical rats. But, if there’s rats then that means there’s water nearby.” Hua Cheng said.
When they entered the temple, this time, there were no traces of burning on the walls. They
could see by just raising their heads the immense, vibrant colours of the mural. However, this
time, there wasn’t only one mural, but left, centre, right, three sets! There was a mural on each
of the three walls!
The group of them came before the first mural and looked up. The Crown Prince of WuYong
was sitting upon the clouds, his body shone with golden light. However, his expression was
severe. In his left hand was a ball of light, and within the glow was a small mountain that was
spewing flames; in his right hand his five fingers were pressed together, his palm facing forward,
seeming to be waving.
Below was a palace, and in the palace stood over ten people, each of their attires and
accessories lavish and sumptuous, and each of their gestures were different. Some had their
arms wide open, some were donning armours and carrying bows, and some were ponting into
the far distance with an agitated expression.
The details of the painting were complex and abundant, Xie Lian studied it for a good while
before turning around, “Let me tell what I’ve gathered from this painting?”
“This ball of light held in the left hand of the Crown Prince of WuYong contains the scene of a
small volcanic eruption, which meant he had told his dream to those down below. As for the
gesture of his right hand, it’s obviously a rejection, so he must be dismissing something.”
“What is he dismissing?” Pei Ming asked.
“That’ll depend on the actions of the people below.” Xie Lian replied, “This palace is situated in
the mortal realm, lavish and glamourous, so it should be the royal palace. These people should
be the royalties and nobility of WuYong. This one with his arms wide open, judging by the
action, he should be making the ‘expand’ gesture. Expand what? That’s told by what’s in his
hand.”
The crowd looked closer, and what’s in his hand was a map. Pei Ming was more than familiar
with what that meant, “Expand the territory!”
“Yes.” Xie Lian said, “And these generals are all donned in armours, looking ready to be
dispatched and are ready to go into battle. There are also those on the side pointing the way.
Look, their directive actions are very obvious, it’s like they’re saying ‘go there, fight there’.”
“With this, the meaning of this mural becomes easy to understand – combining the points, it
seems the Crown Prince of WuYong had told his prophecy dream to the ministers in the royal
palace. Once the volcano erupts, the consequences would be severe, and it would be a disaster
that could bring ruin to the Kingdom of WuYong. The territory of the kingdom isn’t big enough,
because the volcano is situated right in the centre, so the cities with great significance will
perish. So how should this be solved?”
“If their own territory isn’t big enough, then go take over someone else’s.” Hua Cheng said.
“Right.” Xie Lian said, “So, the ministers suggest opening up the borders and invade the
neighbouring country.”
“However, the Crown Prince of WuYong doesn’t agree to this method, which is why his right
hand is the gesture of rejection.”
After analyzing the first mural, the group of them came to the second mural. The colours of this
mural was much gloomier than the previous one, perhaps it was because what it depicted was
the scene of slaughter on the battlefield.
Below on the battlefield, blood flowed like the rivers, and the soldiers on both sides killed
relentlessly. Xie Lian could tell which side was the soldiers of WuYong since their armours were
exactly the same as the generals from the previous painting. The WuYong soldiers looked
savage and aggressive, trampling the heads of their enemies under their feet, corpses raised by
halberds, arms and legs and bloody flesh flew in the slaughter, bloody and cruel. There were
even soldiers who reached for children and women huddled in a ball with savage smiles. Truly,
the horrors of war.
Above the battlefield the gloomy clouds were thick, yet within the clouds peeked a sliver of white
light. The Crown Prince of WuYong peeked half of his body from the clouds to watch the scene
down below, his expression that of fury. One of his arms were extended out, releasing many
pillars of golden light, and the WuYong soldiers in the light were all sucked up.
This painting’s meaning was easier to analyze than the previous one. Xie Lian studied it for a
moment before saying softly, “It seems, the generals and ministers didn’t listen to the crown
prince’s advisement and still dispatched armies to invade the neighbouring country. The soldiers
killed too much, even harassing the women, children, and the weak from the other kingdom, so
when the crown prince found out, he was angered, and moved to stop the aggression of the
WuYong soldiers.”
After Pei Ming heard, he said flatly, “How touching. But to be honest, if one of the kingdoms
must perish, then choosing to protect your own couldn’t be helped. The soldiers charging in the
frontlines, if they haven’t yet been cut down by their enemies, they would’ve died from rage with
their own crown prince. I certainly wouldn’t want to fight for a king like that.”
Xie Lian chuckled drily a couple times and said a little woefully, “General Pei is, uh, right.” Hua
Cheng on the other hand, only grunted coldly. Pei Ming continued, “So, the volcano’s about to
erupt. What does tHis Highness the crown prince plan to do? He can’t just let his own people
wait for their own deaths?”
“Let’s look at the third painting.” Xie Lian said, “It should have the answer.”
The group of them finally came before the last painting. The colours of this mural was an
enormous contrast to the previous one. It had returned to bright and vibrant, filled with holy light.
However, with the first look, Xie Lian was shocked to the core, and he widened his eyes.
Pei Ming took a look, “My god, is this the idea the Crown Prince of WuYong came up with? Ha!
Daring. Worthy of admiration.”
On the third mural, at the bottom of the painting was the Kingdom of WuYong. The WuYong
River flowed wildly across the earth, and the crown prince with his four guardian gods were also
in it. However, they weren’t the focal point. Within this painting, the most prominent object, what
was at the centre, was a bridge.
A giant bridge shining with white light, was held up by the Crown Prince of WuYongAnd his four
guardians, and the people on the ground were swarming towards the bridge with smiles
covering their faces.
This Crown Prince of WuYong had built a bridge that connected the heavens with the intention
of bringing his people to the heavenly realm!
———-
●[熒惑守心] The Star of Glowing Befuddlement Resting in the Heart Constellation aka.
The Ominous Star in this translation – Ancient Chinese astronomers believed Mars was
unstable in both position and light, hence they called it “the Star of Glowing
Befuddlement”, and it symbolized ‘Ruin’, ‘Pestilence’, ‘Death’, ‘Famine’, ‘War’, and other
such bad omens. The Heart Constellation in Chinese astronomy sits in the East by
Scorpio, and symbolized the Crown Prince, the Emperor, and depending on where in the
constellation, the Commoner. Thus, when Mars enters the Heart Constellation and
moves within it, it was often interpreted as major changes in politics and dynasties, the
fall of greatness.
————-
Ch.166: Saint Born Under the Ominous Star 2
Xie Lian was speechless looking at the mural. Pei Ming commented, “He can do that?”
“Why not.” Hua Cheng countered.
Everyone looked to him and Hua Cheng continued, “Isn’t appointing generals just bringing
mortals to the heavenly realm? If he’s just pulling everyone within the vicinity of the royal capital
to the heavens temporarily, and once the disaster is over, send them back, why can‘t he do it?”
“Crimson Rain Sought Flower, don’t make this sound so easy.” Pei Ming said, “My Lord should
know, appointing generals takes spiritual powers. This is how many he’s appointing?”
To appoint generals in reality was to use one’s own spiritual power to ‘nurture’ a mortal in the
heavens, to be used by oneself. Otherwise, if there was no restriction, why wouldn’t every
heavenly official appoint all the people they want? Why wouldn’t an emperor just bring up his
entire harem and his entire court, and a general might as well appoint his entire army?
“Judging by the relics left behind, the entirety of the Kingdom of WuYong was only about a
hundred thousand in population. The vicinity of the royal capital was probably only about some
ten thousands.”
Xie Lian said quietly, “It might be tough… but it’s still doable, though just barely.”
“Even if it’s only a few tens of thousands, there’s still no heavenly official who’d dare appoint that
many. If he really went through with it, then I can’t tell if he should be congratulated on his
courage or extreme stupidity. At least, there’s definitely no other like him in history.” Pei Ming
said.
Xie Lian studied that bridge on the mural, completely engrossed. In his eyes, the faces of that
white clad crown prince and his four guardian gods were looking more and more peculiar, more
and more like his own face and the faces of his four Guoshis. He then recalled the celestial
phase of that ominous star; this story that’s so much like a tale of reincarnation made him eager
to learn what happened next, but at the same time, he felt perhaps he already knew.
He didn’t dare to keep looking at that mural anymore and he turned away, asking, “Has water
been found?”
Ban Yue was dragging Pei Su and replied, “That gege went to look.”
She was referring to Yin Yu. Xie Lian glanced at Pei Su who had his eyes closed, and humming
for a moment, he still decided to speak up, “I think, when we go onwards to the Kiln later, it’d be
best if General Pei Junior should stay here.”
Pei Su was in the body of a mortal after all, inconvenient in many ways. Besides, they still didn’t
know what awaited them ahead. Pei Ming squatted down and looked Pei Su over, “Yea, I agree.
But will Your Highness please not tell him the reason in front of him? This child will understand.
Just leave it to me to tell him.”
“Rest assured, General Pei, I understand.” Xie Lian said, “Otherwise I wouldn’t have said it
while he’s still unconscious.”
Pei Su was once a young martial god with an infinitely bright future in the heavens after all, now
that he was to stay behind because he couldn’t keep up, he’d feel bitter. However, mistakes
must be punished; this was how exile should feel, and so he could only accept it.
They remained in the temple and discussed for another while, and Xie Lian wondered, puzzled,
“Where’s Yin Yu? How come he hasn’t come back after so long? Has he not found water yet?”
Hua Cheng on the other hand, was staring intently at a few wraith butterflies resting on his
fingertips. The butterflies were very useful earlier, and now they’ve all returned to him, tucked
away to save energy. He looked up slightly, “He shouldn’t take this long.”
Xie Lian grew alarmed and stood up, “Let me go take a look. General Pei, watch over things
here. San Lang, come with me?”
Of course they would go together. Thus, Xie Lian left RuoYe behind and had it tie a protection
circle. The two left the temple and went towards the deeper part of the underground city.
There were plenty of houses and clutter of things on the way; Xie Lian picked up a jar that he
rather liked and Hua Cheng seemed to have found it funny, “What are you doing picking that
up?”
“If we find water later we can use this to bring some back for General Pei Junior.” Xie Lian said.
He’s gotten used to collecting scraps after all, and he patted the jar in his hands in spite of
himself, “Come to think of it, this is an antique of thousands of years old.”
Hua Cheng laughed and said, “If you like stuff like this, come over to my place after. I’ve got a
few items too and you can see if you find anything you like.”
An incense time later, the two finally heard the faint sound of water flowing. Soon after, Xie Lian
exclaimed, “Over there!”
There was indeed a hidden river at the bottom. Xie Lian placed that jar he picked up in the water
and started washing it heartily. Thousands of years worth of ashes had already formed a thick
layer of a shell, it couldn’t be washed off, but just washing off the dust on the surface the jar
would still be passable for use. He filled it with water and lowered his head, ready to take a sip
himself when Hua Cheng, who was surveying the area, turned and saw him, and immediately
cautioned, “Don’t drink it.”
Xie Lian had already put his face to the jar, but when he heard the stop, he was confused,
“What?”
Just then, a voice said, “So hot.”
There were only the two of them on site, so where did this third voice come from? Xie Lian
unconsciously looked to where the voice came from, and that voice came from the jar in his
hand!
He instantly looked down, and in the jar were two small scarlet red dots, floating in the water
watching him.
What’s that thing?? No matter how he looked it was a pair of eyes!
The moment those eyes matched his, that thing bolted straight for Xie Lian’s face. SPLASH
SPLASH the waters splashed and Xie Lian’s hands moved swiftly, flinging that jar to meters
away in an instant. It smashed against the wall and CLUNK!, the antique of thousands of years
shattered. As for the thing that was hidden in it, it took no time to scurry into the darkness. In
that rush, Xie Lian didn’t see what it was clearly, only that it was a big bundle of something
black, “What was that thing?”
Hua Cheng was shielding in front of him, and Xie Lian was feeling a little woeful, “It wasn’t in
that jar before was it?”
“No.” Hua Cheng said, “It swam into it from the waters. There are often creatures that flock
together and swim in this hidden river, that’s why I told you not to drink it.”
‘But you’d let General Pei Junior drink it…’ Xie Lian thought inwardly. Suddenly, he felt chill on
his back and he shouted, “WHO’S THERE?!”
In an instant just now, he heard someone cough in the distance!
It definitely wasn’t a delusion, and he immediately tensed in alert. Soon after, babbles and
chatters came pouring like the tide and flowed in. From all around the two of them, pairs after
pairs of red dots lit up, and surrounded them, encircling them in the middle. “Don’t worry, they’re
not human.” Hua Cheng said.
‘It’s precisely because they’re not human that we have to worry, alright….’ Xie Lian thought.
Listening closely to that chatter, Xie Lian deduced what those voices were saying:
“Cough, cough, cough…”
“So hot so hot…”
“I’m burning…”
“Wuuuuu”
“I’m suffocating… Is anyone there…”
“I can’t move, can’t move!”
Those voices were tiny, but clear and full of pain, like little ants crawling into his ears. Xie Lian
was just ready to reach for Fang Xin when a voice cried sharply, “Your Highness, WHERE’S
Your Highness?? SAVE ME, SAVE ME!!!”
That last cry made all the hairs on Xie Lian’s back stand, and in that instant he thought that
voice was calling for him. However, Hua Cheng waved his hand, releasing thousands of wraith
butterflies, and they charged at those pairs of red glowing eyes!
Where the silver butterflies shimmered their light, they illuminated the countless creatures that
were chattering in the dark. Sure enough, they weren’t human. They were rats!
Hua Cheng grabbed for him and said, “I’ve said there’s a lot of rats here. Let’s go!”
Xie Lian was still stunned as he walked, “Are those rats? Why do they look more like cats to
me…”
It was true. Those rats were each bigger than a kitten, their hairs black like ink and thick like
needles. Their little red eyes glowed aggressively in the dark, and many were perched on the
walls, watching them closely, speaking the tongues of men, creepy to the extreme. Once the
silver butterflies charged at them they started slaughtering one another; the red and silver lights
flashed and crossed, the state of the battle unknown but very much vicious and violent.
“Yin Yu couldn’t have been dragged off somewhere by those creatures, could he?” Xie Lian
wondered.
“He shouldn’t be that useless. It’s probably something else that’s tripped him up.” Hua Cheng
replied.
The first part made Xie Lian relax slightly, but the last part made him tense again. “Nevermind
how big the rats are, but why are there so many? What do they eat to grow so big?”
“Simple.” Hua Cheng replied, “The dead, of course. Those are all corpse-eating rats.”
Turns out, when this city was covered by volcanic ash, the people and large domestic beasts
like oxen, horses, lambs, etc had nowhere to hide, but, the rats dug deeply into the
underground, and depended on the air and stored sustenance in the caves in order to survive.
Once the dust had settles, they emerged from the holes anew, and scour the now hellish city for
food. However, everything was destroyed; everything was either buried by lava or covered in
volcanic ash. They gnawed through many things but couldn’t find food for the longest time.
Until one day, they smelled the smell of rot.
The rotten smell came from those humanoid stone statues. Some corpses were wrapped in a
thinner layer of that ashen shell, and when they started to rot, they wafted a funny stench, and
corpse water flowed.
Thus, the starving rats surrounded and bustled next to the statues, biting through small holes
and scurried through into the holes, gnawing at the corpses within.
The lowest and scummiest of creatures were often those that survive the longest. The corpses
of the dead were wrapped in those ashes, and their terror, rage, frustrations and other such
powerful emotions were also wrapped within. When those rats ate their corpse bodies, those
emotions were eaten too, and could start speaking the human tongue, expressing what those
people had wanted to say at the moment of their death but couldn’t.
Xie Lian was enlightened, “I see, that’s why they would say those things. I was wondering why
they would say such words…”
Yet unexpectedly, Hua Cheng suddenly said, “What did you say?”
Xie Lian blinked, “What did I say?”
Hua Cheng stared at him, “What did they say? What did you hear?”
“San Lang, you didn’t hear?” Xie Lian said, “It’s just “so hot”, “it’s suffocating”, “can’t move”,
“save me”, and such…”
However, before Hua Cheng said anything it dawned on Xie Lian.
That wasn’t right!
What those corpse-eating rats repeated was the hatred of the WuYong people, so naturally, it
would be in the WuYong tongue.
So, why could he understand the WuYong tongue?!
——–
Ch.167: Jealous Ghost King; Three Questions on Where the Friendship Lies
Hua Cheng used his own deduction skills and learning capabilities to learn the WuYong
language. He could decipher the meaning of the words, but because there wasn’t anyone alive
who could read those words aloud to him, he couldn’t match the words with the sounds. Which
meant, he couldn’t understand the muttering chatters of those corpse-eating rats. But, Xie Lian,
who had never visited Mount TongLu understood. So what did this mean?
With just a glance Hua Cheng could guess what Xie Lian was thinking and he immediately said,
“Gege, don’t panic just yet. I’ll repeat those words again to you now, give it a listen.”
“…Alright.” Xie Lian said.
Hua Cheng’s memory was exceptional, and once they left where the corpse-eating rats were
gathering, he immediately repeated the words clearly. Xie Lian stared at him nervously, and
heard a series of moderately paced and somewhat bizarre pronunciations. Those strange words
had an ancient rhythm to them, and to have them enunciated steadily and controlled through
Hua Cheng’s lips, the notes were deep and beautiful, pleasing to the ears. After concentrating
on the words for a moment, Xie Lian said, “I don’t understand it.”
Now this was strange. He could understand the words those corpse-eating rats spewed, but
now that Hua Cheng recited the same words, he couldn’t understand. But it was impossible
what had happened was a delusion.
Hua Cheng questioned, “Earlier, when you heard those voices, you understood them instantly,
and knew very naturally what they were saying, right?”
Xie Lian nodded, “Right. There was never a translation process in my brain.” Which was why he
didn’t realize it was a different language.
“I get it.” Hua Cheng said.
“What did you get?” Xie Lian asked.
“What you understood wasn’t the WuYong tongue, but the emotions of those who died.”
Xie Lian understood but at the same time, didn’t. Hua Cheng explained further, “Which means, a
long time ago, someone heard the voices of the dead, understood them and remembered them,
then, somehow transplanted this memory to you, infected you with those emotions. Because
that person already knew the WuYong tongue, so, you didn’t need to know the WuYong tongue.
Those voices had always been buried deep within your mind, and the moment you heard them,
you were dragged into those emotions directly.”
“I see…” Xie Lian said, “But, the problem is, who could pass those memories and emotions to
me? And when did they do this?”
After a pause, he murmured, “…Guoshi?”
However, Hua Cheng said, “Can’t be sure. Gege, you’re already assuming your master is from
WuYong. But, have you ever thought that if that’s the case, then before when we were in the
stomach of the mountain spirit, shouldn’t they be communicating via the WuYong tongue? Why
weren’t they?”
This wasn’t hard to explain. Xie Lian said, “Because the Kingdom of WuYong was destroyed two
thousand years ago, which means, in the past two thousand years, if they really did move about
in this world, then they would more likely use the modern language. So when they
communicate, they would very naturally use the language they’re more fluent in.”
Hua Cheng gripped his shoulders, his tone growing harsher, “Gege, don’t keep making yourself
think in that direction.”
Xie Lian finally turned back to face him, “Fine. Then San Lang, in order to transplant memories
and emotions to another, what kind of requirements must there be usually?”
Hua Cheng answered, “Two requirements: first, you must trust this person absolutely without
any guard, and should there be a need, the willingness to be led by this person.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Xie Lian had picked the candidates in his mind. Hua
Cheng continued, “Second, you are powerless to retaliate against this person, they have the
power to oppress you completely, and you hold deep fear towards them. Gege, think carefully.
In these years, who matches these requirements?”
Xie Lian contemplated for a while, and after some hesitation, answered slowly, “There are three
in total.”
“Very good. Which three?” Hua Cheng asked.
“The first one is Guoshi.” Xie Lian said.
Although he loved his parents deeply and never guarded against them, but deep in his heart,
him and his father walked different paths, thus, he couldn’t say he was willing to be lead by his
father. However, Guoshi who took him in and taught him everything matches the first
requirement. This was expected. Hua Cheng asked, “Then, the second one?”
“Jun Wu.” Xie Lian answered.
He admired and respected Jun Wu immensely, no need to speak more on the subject, and he
also fulfills the first requirement. Hua Cheng didn’t look to be too impressed but he didn’t
comment. “And the last one?
“The third one,” Xie Lian said, “Doesn’t match the first requirement but the second one.”
Hua Cheng understood. He said darkly, “…White No-Face?”
Xie Lian closed his eyes and nodded, a hand covering his front, “…I won’t lie to you. Even
though in front of everyone, I might not have revealed this, even to Feng Xin and Mu Qing back
then I had never said anything dispiriting, but I actually…”
Actually, deep in his heart, he had deeply feared that creature.
There was a period of time when even just hearing the name would make him tremble nonstop.
However, Xie Lian had never dared to allow anyone see, because he was the very hope in
fighting White No-Face. If even he was scared, then wouldn’t everyone else fall into despair? If
that should happen, then everything would collapse!
Of course, everything was much better now. Hua Cheng gripped his shoulders even harder, “It’s
nothing. It’s nothing shameful to be afraid of something.”
Xie Lian gave a small flickering smile, “En. I’m just not brave enough, that’s all.”
Hua Cheng comforted, “You don’t need to be so hard on yourself. Without fear, there is no
courage.”
Xie Lian was slightly taken aback. Hua Cheng continued without pause, “So, is it only those
three?”
Xie Lian nodded. Which meant, someone among those three was the one who instilled the
memories and emotions of the WuYong people when the volcano erupted. Hua Cheng mused,
furrowing his brows, but after a moment of silence, Xie Lian suddenly spoke up, “That’s not all of
them.”
Hua Cheng turned to look at him, “What?”
Xie Lian sucked in a breath and said, “…I said, it’s not only those three, there’s a fourth person.
This person matches the first requirement. But, he has nothing to do with those memories and
emotions.”
Hua Cheng had turned around completely, “Oh? How so? Does Your Highness and this person
also share many years of deep friendship?”
Not so many years, Xie Lian thought, but a deep friendship… He thought it counted, but he was
too embarrassed to say it out loud, so he replied ambiguously, “In any case… he might be the
one I trust the most, even more so than my master and Jun Wu.”
“How does that count?” Hua Cheng asked.
Xie Lian cleared his throat lightly and said shyly, “It’s embarrassing to say. Because… If I were
to commit a grave mistake, or get into big troubles, the first one I think of is surely him… And,
this trust is not quite the same as what I have for my master and the Emperor…” Before he even
finished he noticed Hua Cheng’s expression was off, and he trailed off, “San Lang?”
Only then did Hua Cheng come to, and he raised his brows, “Oh. It’s nothing, I was thinking of
something else. Your Highness really trust this person so much?”
Although usually when he raised his brows he was at ease or teasing, this time it didn’t seem
that natural.
Xie Lian nodded, “En… Is there a problem?”
Hua Cheng bowed his head slightly, fixed the silver vambraces by his sleeves, and said,
appearing nonchalant, “Nothing major. But, a personal opinion. It’s best if gege doesn’t trust
others so easily.”
“…”
Hearing him, Xie Lian couldn’t be sure if Hua Cheng figured out who he was talking about, and
he didn’t dare to reveal anymore, so he only “Oh”-ed.
After a pause, he still couldn’t hold back and asked, “San Lang isn’t going to ask who this
person is?”
“Hm? Me?” Hua Cheng said, “Since gege said you trust him and is determined that he has
nothing to do with this affair, then there’s no need to ask.”
Xie Lian rubbed his forehead, and soon after, Hua Cheng said, “But, if gege wants to tell me,
San Lang is happy to listen.”
Although his words sounded proper, but if Xie Lian followed along and told him now, it’d be
awkward, like he was begging people to ask who he trusted the most was. Xie Lian couldn’t tell
whether if it was just courtesy or Hua Cheng really didn’t care either. Coincidentally, right then,
the wraith butterflies that had been engaged in a bloody carnage with the corpse-eating rats had
returned. After going through a strenuous battle, the silver butterflies were flying a little low, like
they were dragging with fatigue. Xie Lian quickly went up to greet them, reaching out to catch a
particularly tiny little silver butterfly and said, “Thanks for your hard work!”
Now he’d done it. The butterflies paused in the air, and the next second, it was like they smelled
delicious pastry and they all charged towards him like mad. Xie Lian had the little silver butterfly
cupped in his hand was almost stunned. Hua Cheng gave a calm cough, and the butterflies
paused again, then they flew towards him properly, landing on the silver vambraces on his
arms, becoming one with the engraved butterfly patterns.
The two continued to search for Yin Yu. After walking for a while, Hua Cheng suddenly spoke
up, “It’s not Feng Xin, is it?”
Xie Lian had already started thinking about something else, and when he heard him, he blinked,
“Huh? What?”
“That person gege spoke of.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian instantly waved his hand, “Of course not.”
Hua Cheng’s brows twitched, “…It’s not Mu Qing either, is it?”
A drop of sweat rolled down Xie Lian’s forehead, “That’s even more impossible. But, why is San
Lang suddenly asking about this again?”
Hua Cheng smiled, “I thought about it, and suddenly felt the fourth person is the most
suspicious. So, to prevent any surprises, will gege please tell me who this person you trust the
most and have shared many years of deep friendship with is?”
“…”
Xie Lian watched the smile on his face and had a gut feeling that this smile was very fake. Just
as he inhaled deeply and was about to speak, the faint silver light from the scouting silver
butterflies suddenly disappeared.
Darkness fell from all around, and Hua Cheng swiftly seized Xie Lian’s hand and blitzed to the
side of the street. Xie Lian could tell something was wrong and said in a whisper, “San Lang,
something’s coming, right?”
Even though darkness had come suddenly and nothing could be seen, but he still followed after
Hua Cheng’s steps closely and flawlessly hopped into a house to hide. Hua Cheng’s voice rang
next to his ear, “It’s here.”
Within the darkness, there was suddenly a very peculiar sound.
Dong, dong, dong.
Even though it was far away, but each drag sounded exceedingly heavy, and with every sound,
it’d sound much closer than before, its speed astounding. Xie Lian kept thinking this sound was
familiar, that he had definitely heard it before, and when that sound was close, he looked to the
outside.
Sure enough! On the main streets of the underground city, a woman dressed in wedding robes
appeared.
While that woman had donned a wedding robe, the robe itself was ragged and shredded,
chillingly gloomy. Although her face was handsomely beautiful, there was no sign of life. The
glowingly green ghost fire on top of her head also made her blanched face glow green. In her
arms cradled a small child whose face was also pale, but much livelier than her, obviously a live
human.
“Bumping into old friends again.” Hua Cheng said.
It was the female ghost Xuan Ji and Gu Zi!
————
Ch.168: Ghost Fire Top; The Unlocking Incantation
They’ve come to Mount TongLu too!
“Gu Zi is here, does that mean Qi Rong has come too?” Xie Lian wondered.
“Look at that ball of green light on top of her head, there’s no doubt he has.” Hua Cheng said.
“…”
Gu Zi seemed to be a little afraid of Xuan Ji, his little form still and unmoving in her arms.
However, perhaps it was because Xuan Ji’s body was cold and it wasn’t comfortable, he
secretly wiggled a couple times, but Xuan Ji instantly admonished, “Don’t move!”
The moment she opened her mouth, with the glow of that ball of green ghost fire, the muscles of
her face appeared even more twisted. That ghost fire was also considered a hallmark sign of
the Green Ghost at this point, exceedingly poor in taste, and Xie Lian felt that any female ghost
who had a normal taste and valued their own image would refuse to wear such a flashy ball of
ghost fire over their heads. Needless to say, it must’ve been Qi Rong who made her wear it. The
green flames and the red wedding robes formed a shocking sight, attacking the eyes, even
more despairing than if a master was to force one to wear an extremely ugly uniform.
Gu Zi pleaded, eyes brimming with tears, “Jie jie, my tummy doesn’t feel that good after drinking
that water.”
Water? Xie Lian broke out into cold seat. That underground water had flocks of corpse-eating
rats swim through, and although it might not be toxic, but children had weaker immunition, and
might get diarrhea after drinking it. Xuan Ji was obviously the type who didn’t like children, and
had no patience for him, “Hang on for a bit. We’re already on our way back.”
Their backs disappeared and became one with the darkness. No need to say anymore, Xie Lian
and Hua Cheng quietly trailed after them. Soon after, they followed Xuan Ji and turned a few
corners and entered another main street. At the end of the street was a particularly lavish
house, and there were voices coming from within, so that must be the destination. Under the
guise of the shadows, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng charged forward first and hopped onto the roof
of that house, and through the cracks, peered down. Sure enough, Qi Rong was sitting in the
centre of the grand hall of that mansion.
He had some tens of stone statues carried over, their heads facing him, and because those
stone people were all sprawled on the floor, they looked like they were in complete submission
towards him. He was thus enjoying this “prostration” and munching on an arm, quite pleased
with himself. In the corner sat several farmers, and one of them, with his head bowed and
having practically no sense of presence, was Yin Yu!
As they suspected, he was captured by Qi Rong. Although no one was bound by ropes, but
there were balls greasily green ghost fires hovering over every one of their heads. Upon a
closer look, those ghost fires were different than the flashy one on top of Xuan Ji’s head; those
had grown all five senses, their eyes narrowed downwards, their expressions malicious, looking
like wicked wretches, and they were firmly watchful of the person below. Xie Lian whispered,
“Those balls of fires must have something to them.”
Hua Cheng replied, “That’s Qi Rong’s Ghost Fire Lock. Once that fire eyes you, if you dare
escape, it would activate the spell and be burned to death in an instant.”
Qi Rong was fully enjoying munching that arm when Xuan Ji’s voice suddenly rang from the
outside, “My Lord, I’ve returned.”
He immediately threw that arm away and wiped his mouth covered with blood. Xie Lian was
slightly amazed; what was that gesture? Afraid someone might see? Could there actually come
a day Qi Rong was embarrassed someone might see the manner in which he ate?
Before Xuan Ji entered, she put Gu Zi down. Gu Zi ta-ta-ta’ed and ran in, rushing straight to Qi
Rong’s side, but when he saw him he pointed his finger and cried, “Dad is eating bad things in
secret again!”
“I’m not!” Qi Rong retaliated.
“I smelled it! Your mouth reeks when you eat it!” Gu Zi accused.
Qi Rong raised his hand and puffed a couple breaths against his palm, and he must’ve smelled
his mouth full of the stench of blood and rot. Without any way to deny it, he became irritated,
“GODDAMMIT! XUAN JI! WHY DID YOU BRING HIM BACK ALL OF A SUDDEN? DIDN’T I
SAY TO TAKE HIM AROUND A BIT LONGER WHEN I’M EATING??”
Xuan Ji floated in and explained, “He was making a fuss over a tummy ache after drinking water
so I brought him back early. My Lord, please don’t make me take care of children anymore, I
don’t know how to deal with him!”
Qi Rong glared and accused, “WHAT?! AREN’T YOU A FEMALE GHOST?? HOW CAN
FEMALE GHOSTS NOT LIKE TAKING CARE OF CHILDREN??”
“But this isn’t even my own child!” Xuan Ji countered.
Gu Zi tugged at Qi Rong’s hem, “Dad, don’t eat those things anymore, they’re not good for
you…” Qi Rong was growing annoyed by his nagging and reprimanded, “Go go go! Don’t hang
around here to annoy people. What is this, kids nagging grownups, go out and go play by
yourself!” And so Gu Zi could only drag his feet and go out to play with mud by himself. Before
he left he even glanced sadly at the others in the house.
Only when he was gone did Xuan Ji speak up, “My Lord, I really don’t understand, why must
you bring him along if you think him annoying? He’s been hungry, and thirsty, and teary, and
sickly the entire way. If it wasn’t for bumping into that mountain spirit who carried us, who knows
if he’d still be slowing us down.”
Qi Rong laughed wryly, “My cheap son is determined to call me dad, so just let him! Pfft, what
rubbish, of course it’s because I’m gonna eat that little dumb pecker! A small kid’s meat is so
tender, even without seasoning it’ll be flavourful enough!”
“Then why haven’t you eaten him yet?” Xuan Ji questioned.
Green light flashed in Qi Rong’s eyes, “You don’t understand anything! I’ll kill after he’s fattened!
Leave the best for last! Besides, we still have so many supplies left, no need to rush!”
Xuan Ji stared at Yin Yu, “I think this new one you captured is suspicious. Very, very suspicious.
My Lord, did you find out where exactly he came from?”
Judging by how much Qi Rong hates Hua Cheng, if he knew Yin Yu was Hua Cheng’s
subordinate, he would’ve immediately eaten him, yet Qi Rong replied, “Yea, I got it. This bastard
came with the Rain Master to help too.”
A weak sense of presence and a flat personality was sometimes a good thing; people usually
wouldn’t link Yin Yu and Crimson Rain Sought Flower together. It seemed, Yin Yu had
successfully lied about his own identity. Xie Lian sighed a breath of relief. Xuan Ji’s face,
however, dropped, “Yu Shi Huang has already chased us here?!”
“Nah.” Qi Rong said, “This bastard found this underground city by accident, the same as us. The
Rain Master hasn’t found us yet. GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!” He suddenly cussed, “Why is the
Rain Master so hard to deal with? So hot on our trail that we had to come hide here! WE ONLY
GRABBED A COUPLE OF THOSE PLANTERS FROM THE COUNTRY TO EAT, WHY SO
STINGY? A heavenly official too, I just KNEW none of the heavenly officials are any good! SO
NARROW-MINDED AND MISERLY!”
He’d always cause others harm first and act all self-important after. You were the first one who
wretchedly grabbed someone else’s farmers who were minding their own business, but you had
to turn around and scorn others for not being generous enough to provide you with a few more?!
His speech made Xie Lian’s fists itch.
“Why don’t we just release those people?” Xuan Ji said.
Qi Rong however, seemed to have thought the idea embarrassing and glared, “NO! I already
ate half of them, so even if I release the other half it’d be pointless. FORCE MY HAND AND
THIS ANCESTOR WILL BURN THEM ALL TO THE GROUND! NO ONE WILL BENEFIT FROM
THIS!”
“I didn’t think things would turn out like this either. The Yu Shi Huang I knew wasn’t like this in
the past, easy to bully. I had thought even if we kidnapped people from YuShi Country
everything would just be swept under the rug and the insult swallowed that I dared make a
move. Who knew it would stir this much trouble, completely unshakable!”
Xuan Ji actually knew the Rain Master and didn’t seem to hold the lord in high regard. It
seemed, they probably knew each other when they were still mortals. Thinking back on all the
legends, Xie Lian whispered, “Could it be that Xuan Ji used to be the general of the Kingdom of
Yushi?”
“Gege guessed right.” Hua Cheng said, “That’s exactly the case.”
Xie Lian was puzzled, “But that’s not right? Lord Rain Master is a descendant of Yushi royalty
with a prestigious status. Xuan Ji was only a general, a lowly official, so how dare she look
down on her monarch? And even say something like “easy to bully”…”
Just then, Qi Rong replied, “Who cares what Rain Master Dog Master, just wait til this Ghost
King cultivates to a Supreme status in the Kiln, and be born with so much might I’ll shock the
heavens, and everyone must fall at my feet! Kneel before me and eat the mud at my feet! Then,
I’ll tear the Ghost City down, sink that Black Water Island, and even Jun Wu will have to be
careful where he treads. HAHAHAHAHAHahahaha…”
“…”
Listening to him make up so much bull, happily imagining his future might, other than wanting to
laugh, Xie Lian felt nothing. Hua Cheng on the other hand, didn’t even want to spare the energy
to laugh. Qi Rong then said more to Xuan Ji, “Then, I’ll chop off Pei Ming’s cock for you to play,
make him your slave.”
Hearing that name, Xuan Ji clenched her fists, a trace of life flashing on her pale face, “NO
NEED! As long as My Lord promises to give him to me for me to handle him myself, Xuan Ji will
be plenty grateful!”
When it didn’t concern Pei Ming, Xuan Ji looked like a somewhat normal female ghost, but the
moment General Pei was mentioned, Xie Lian could see a shadow of that mad and obsessed
female ghost from Mount Yu Jun. She had actually placed that absurd hope on Qi Rong; a move
that could only be described as crazy.
Of course, they could just go in directly and beat up Qi Rong and Xuan Ji, but those farmers and
Yin Yu are hostages. Qi Rong is thuggish in character, and if with every punch he burns a
person, then they’d be the ones at a loss. Just as he said, if they forced his hand he could very
well burn everyone to the ground. Hua Cheng wasn’t the least bit anxious and said, “There’s an
unlocking incantation to Qi Rong’s Ghost Fire Locks. Let’s think of a way to trick it out of him
first.”
“Who will do this? How to trick him? We certainly can’t be the ones.” Xie Lian said.
Just as the words left his lips, their eyes fell at the same time on Gu Zi who was playing with
mud outside the mansion.
After a momentary pause, Xie Lian said, “That won’t do. It’s too dangerous. Qi Rong is already
thinking of eating Gu Zi, what if he catches the deceit…”
“Whether if that brain of his can even register tricks aside,” Hua Cheng said, “If he plans on
doing anything to the child we can just go and rescue him. Why doesn’t gege worry instead
whether if this child, after having stayed by Qi Rong for so long, had been influenced by him and
whether if his mental state is still normal.”
Having followed Qi Rong for so long, it really was hard to say whether if he’s turned monstrous.
“Let’s give it a try then?” Xie Lian said.
Thus, Hua Cheng opened his fingers flat and released a teeny tiny silver butterfly from his palm,
and it fluttered down languidly.
Qi Rong and Xuan Ji were still talking inside the house, and Gu Zi was thus outside drawing
pictures in the mud, the picture of a big person holding hands with a little person. Suddenly, he
saw a silver butterfly emitting a faint silver light, and he instantly looked up, his eyes wide, and
was just about to go “WOW!” when a whisper of a voice came from that silver butterfly, “Gu Zi,
don’t speak. The moment you speak I’ll be no more. It’s me. Do you remember me?”
If Gu Zi still yelled, Hua Cheng would’ve had the silver butterfly confound his mind, however, Gu
Zi covered his own mouth, indeed obedient. He whispered back, “I remember. It’s the
scrap-collecting gege’s voice.”
“…Hahaha, what a good memory.” Xie Lian laughed awkwardly, “That’s right, that’s me, the
scrap-collecting guy. Sneak over here to the side for a moment, don’t let Qi… don’t let your dad
notice.”
Gu Zi nodded, rose to his feet and was just about to sneak away when Qi Rong who was inside
the house noticed, and he yelled, “HEY! DON’T RUN AWAY SO BLINDLY, YA HEAR ME? STAY
HERE AND DON’T GO ANYWHERE, THE BIG RATS WILL GET YA! GET BACK HERE!”
——–
Ch.169: Ghost Fire Top; The Unlocking Incantation 2
That silver butterfly instantly flew to the side and hid. Gu Zi’s eyes widened and answered, “I…
I’m going to pee!”
Qi Rong clicked his tongue, “Kids are so full of shit and piss!” And stopped caring. Gu Zi
fumbled to the side and whispered again, “Scrap gege, scrap gege!”
Xie Lian was still on the roof, “…Just daozhang is fine. Scrap gege is a little weird, hahaha… Gu
Zi. Those people your dad captured are very pitiful. They are subordinates from someone else’s
household, and their master will keep chasing your dad to beat him up. Will you help let them
go?”
“I know!” Gu Zi said, “They’re from the house of that big, black ox riding god!” He scratched his
head, “I want to let them go too… but, my dad is sick. He said he has to eat human flesh to get
better, that eating human flesh is very normal. I’m still young, he’ll teach me how to eat when I’m
bigger. I don’t think that’s very good…”
It’s more than just not very good! That was a close call, Xie Lian thought. Staying too long by Qi
Rong’s side, Gu Zi was starting to go astray. If he continued to go down the wrong path, maybe
he’d recognize everything as normal out of habit, and accept that eating human flesh was a very
normal belief. Xie Lian said quickly, “It’s very not good! Eating human flesh will cause a very
severe illness, the ghosts of the eaten will all cling to you and your dad, harass you day and
night. You dad isn’t sick, he’s just a glutton who refuses to stop. You have to think of a way to
stop him from ever eating that anymore, otherwise you’ll become a fatherless child!”
“Then what should I do?” Gu Zi was alarmed.
Hua Cheng turned to Xie Lian, “Gege, let me.”
He said a few words to the silver butterfly, and Gu Zi listened on the other end, trying hard to
remember everything. Once he was done, Hua Cheng looked up again and told Xie Lian, “Let’s
lead Xuan Ji out of the way first.”
Inside the house, Xuan Ji said, “I still think this man is suspicious. He said he’s Yu Shi Huang’s
subordinate, but he’s covered with the essence of evil. I don’t think he was truthful at all, I’ll
question him some more.
After seeing Gu Zi scurrying away, Qi Rong turned around with his back facing the door and
continued to munch on that arm, replying vaguely, “Sure.”
That Xuan Ji would go crazy when running into Pei Ming aside, other times, she was much
more detailed and cautious than Qi Rong, being a woman after all. Besides, Gu Zi was still a
little scared of her, so with her around, he might trip up easier. Xie Lian nodded, “How do we
lead her away?”
The two exchanged a look and said at the same time, “General Pei.”
Xie Lian put his hands together in a prayer, “There’s no other way. We’ll have to have him
temporarily sacrifice himself. General Pei, everyone will thank you after they’re saved.”
Another silver butterfly materialized from the engravings on Hua Cheng’s silver vambrace and
flew next to Xie Lian’s ear. The voices of a man came floating, and it was Pei Ming. Turns out,
just before Hua Cheng went away earlier, he still left behind a few silver butterflies, and the
voices of the other side were sent over. Xie Lian listened intently for a bit and whispered, “Let’s
cut this up a bit, and use these lines…”
Xuan Ji’s back was facing the window, eyeing Yin Yu like a hawk, interrogating him. Yin Yu
answered tranquilly, “In YuShi country I’m responsible for taking care of the lost hungry ghosts.
When they come knocking I would gift them a bundle of rice, and send them on their way, which
is why I am covered with the essence of evil.”
The other hostages were the true famers of YuShi country, and while there certainly were such
relief givers, he was definitely not one of them. They knew he was making things up, but no one
made a sound. Qi Rong chortles, “Ho ho, I’m a hungry ghost too, why not give me some relief?
Only a couple people were eaten and I’m being chased to death, what is this cheapskate
pretending to be generous?” Xuan Ji on the other hand, only scorned in disdain, “There’s so
many hungry ghosts in the world, how can you bring relief to all? It’s just for show.”
Just then, a silver butterfly with its light concealed soundlessly flew to behind her person, then
flashed and hid. All the captives saw but they were very composed, and with an unspoken
understanding, everyone pretended they didn’t see anything. Xuan Ji was going to continue the
interroration when suddenly, she seemed to have heard the voice of a man, “…If that’s the case,
… these … first. Do you… any more…? Give… here…”
The original line was “If that’s the case, roast these rats first. Do you have any more snakes?
Give some here.”
When Xie Lian first heard Pei Ming say it, he was full of both shock and pity. There must’ve
been corpse-eating rats taken to be normal rats that crawled over and killed by Pei Ming, to be
served as Pei Su’s meal. Would eating that rat cause no problems? It seemed they must hurry
back soon.
However, after Hua Cheng blurred out some words from the line, the effect was mysterious, like
it meant something, but what exactly couldn’t be said. When Xuan Ji heard, she shuddered
violently and whipped her head back. However, that silver butterfly was cunningly agile; it wasn’t
emitting light and the moment she turned around, it had long since fluttered to the side and hid.
Xuan Ji was shaken and she turned back to question the captives, “Did you all hear something
just now? Did you see anything?”
Yin Yu took the lead, and the rest of the captives all shook their heads. Qi Rong looked over
with his mouth covered in blood, “What did you hear?”
Xuan Ji was slightly confused, “I thought… I heard Pei Ming’s voice.”
“You’re probably delusional.” Qi Rong said, “I haven’t heard anything.” That silver butterfly was
pressed closely to Xuan Ji, so no one else could hear the voices it was transmitting. Xuan Ji
was doubtful, “Really? But I feel… maybe he’s closeby. Maybe, this is telepathy? My Lord, why
not, let me go and take a look again?”
Xie Lian didn’t think it’d be this easy and clenched his fists silently, flashing Hua Cheng a smile.
Yet unexpectedly, Qi Rong rained on his parade, “PFFT! Didn’t you go once already? What
telepathy, it’s delusion for sure. You do nothing but think of him eight hundred times a day, of
course you’re delusional.”
It appeared Xuan Ji was a little convinced by his words, and remained, unsure. Even though this
attempt was a failure, Xie Lian wasn’t discouraged, because he’s got a few more lines up his
sleeves. Xuan Ji was just about to continue her interrogation when she once again heard Pei
Ming’s voice, “…You little dummy! Come here, I’ll teach you.”
Soon after, it was a girl’s voice, “…Please, General Pei. I’ve done it once. I’m experienced now.
Let me do it…”
That was of course Pei Ming instructing Ban Yue on how to roast corpse-eating rats for Little Pei
to eat, however, once the line fell in Xuan Ji’s ears, it was understood as something completely
different. She screeched, her eyes instantly filled with red, and the ghost fire on top of head
erupted higher like the jealous flames in her heart was blazing. She pulled at her own hair and
screamed, “IT’S HIM!!! IT’S HIM FOR SURE, HE MUST BE HERE, I SENSED IT, MY HEART
SENSED HIM!!! PEI MING! I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!!”
She screamed as he dragged her two broken legs and ‘jumped’ out. Qi Rong broke out in
curses, “HEY! OI! XUAN JI! WHAT THE FUCK! HOW CAN YOU RUN THAT FAST WITH
BROKEN LEGS? IS THAT MANWHORE REALLY WORTH IT?!”
Xie Lian watched as Xuan Ji’s stumbling and wobbling back disappeared and felt somewhat
mournful. Hua Cheng probably thought he was worried about the safety of those back at the
temple and said, “No need to worry. The wraith butterfly will lead her in the opposite direction.
Even if she finds them RuoYe is there to shield and she won’t be able to enter the circle. Let’s
end our things here quickly.”
Now that Xuan Ji was gone, it was time for Gu Zi to enter the stage. He rose to his feet, and
wiped his muddy hands on his butt. Xie Lian was still a little worried, “Will it really be alright?”
Hua Cheng said softly, “Gege, trust me. If this won’t work, we can find another way. There are
plenty of backup plans. If anything, we can make Qi Rong unable to speak for the rest of his life
first then take our time to think of an idea.”
“…”
Gu Zi entered the house and Qi Rong had already licked clean all the blood on his hands. When
he saw him he called out, “Son, come here and massage chop your daddy’s legs!”
Thus, Gu Zi went up to massage chop his legs. After chopping obediently for a while, he asked,
“Dad, those people in the corner, how come they don’t dare move even though they clearly
aren’t bound by ropes?”
His question energized Qi Rong, “Hehe, of course it’s because they’re so scared of your daddy
that their legs get all wobbly!”
“…”
Gu Zi’s eyes and mouth were open wide and round, “YOU’RE THAT AMAZING?!”
Qi Rong’s vanity was greatly satisfied, and he replied, “That’s right! Look here, today I’ll show
you just how amazing your daddy is! You see that ball of fire? The moment I give the command,
WHOOSH And they’ll all burn to death, so of course they’re afraid of me! And two other little
ghosts, remember them,” Gu Zi was nodding like little chicks pecking at grain and Qi Rong
continued, “One is Hua Cheng, the other has the nickname Black Water, they’re two weak ass
nobodies. They’re two wretches pretending to be great and got a little lucky, but in reality, their
titles are hollow. Do you understand what a hollow title means? I’ll teach you. It’s an idiom. It
means on the surface, they look like they’re powerful but when it came to true strength, they’re
nowhere near my level.”
Gu Zi looked like he understood but at the same time not. “Oh…” Qi Rong added, “They’re just
lucky! If I had their luck, I would be ten times greater than they’ll ever be! JUST YOU WAIT! This
time, your daddy will break through this trial, and immediately beat them black and blue! NO
ONE WILL DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME! ONLY I GET TO LOOK DOWN ON OTHER
PEOPLE!”
His determination was blazing, swinging his arms hollering, and although Gu Zi totally did not
understand who or what he was talking about, he still cheered keenly, “YOU CAN DO IT, DAD!”
“…”
On top of the roof, Xie Lian slapped a hand to cover his face.
Qi Rong’s speech of greatness really made him speechless. Thinking that Qi Rong was his little
cousin, he felt really embarrassed and turned to Hua Cheng, “San Lang, this… he… I…”
In truth, throughout history, there was no man in the world who didn’t love bragging. A breeze
could blow the handkerchief of a brothel girl into his hand, and he would turn around and say
the most beautiful of renown escorts had fallen in love with him; holding shoes and wiping
benches for the emperor’s mistress’s uncle’s grandson’s cousin’s mistress would for sure
become him being an important administrator at the residence of royal relatives, raising his
status. Thus, men who didn’t brag were a rare species.
As for men who love to brag, first, they love to brag to women, second they love to brag to their
sons. Recall when Xie Lian was young, his father also frequently used various discrete and
indiscrete ways to tell him of his heroism and greatness in politics, and this was also precisely
why ever since he was young, he deeply believed his father to be a noble and valiant ruler
whose name would no doubt go down in history. Later, when he found out the truth, it wasn’t the
greatest timing, which was why there was the feeling of “You’re not that amazing after all”,
leaving him greatly disappointed. Thinking of this, Xie Lian shook his head and thought it funny,
‘Why would I compare Qi Rong with my father?’
That really was out of the blue, but perhaps it was because they both loved to make themselves
bigger than they were. However, whether it be his father or someone else, at least the vaunting
was within normal parameters. Qi Rong had reached the stage of absolute shamelessness and
righteous impudence. No wonder even Black Water who had always kept a low-profile was
disgusted with him, and would find any excuse to beat him up if they should meet. But Xie Lian
was still a little puzzled, how come he only heard Qi Rong curse others but not at him?
But, Xie Lian could also understand a little now why Qi Rong was dragging his feet to devour Gu
Zi. If he was bragging to a normal person or someone who was a bit older with more life
experience, the other might not believe him. Even if they would agree on the surface, it still
wouldn’t feel sincere, or, the reaction would be too greasily exaggerated, like those little minions
under Qi Rong. However, Gu Zi’s praises were different. Every word came from the bottom of
his heart; he truly believed that his dad was the number one most powerful guy in the world!
It had probably been a long time since Qi Rong had bragged so heartily and was greatly
satisfied. He threatened, “You gotta be good, ya hear me? If you don’t listen to me, I’ll put a
ghost fire on you too!”
Sure enough, Gu Zi was scared and hastily covered his own head, “No, I don’t want to wear it…
oh yea, dad.” He remembered what Hua Cheng and Xie Lian taught him, and said nervously,
“O-Once you wear this green fire you won’t be able to take it off, right?”
If he had asked “If you wear it can you take it off?” Qi Rong might not tell the truth, but the
question was “you won’t be able to take it off, right?” It was a question of doubt, of course it was
taught by Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. Qi Rong instantly kicked out and sent the head of one of the
stone people flying, “RUBBISH! IF DADDY WANTS TO LOCK, HE’LL LOCK, IF HE WANTS TO
UNLOCK, HE’LL UNLOCK! LOOK! DAD WILL UNLOCK ONE TO SHOW YOU!”
Then, he pointed at a farmer and yelled, “DOG FUCKER XIE LIAN!”
Xie Lian: “…”
Hua Cheng: “…”
The ghost fire on top of that farmer’s head was extinguished, and he leapt to his feet. However,
he didn’t run very far before Qi Rong spat loudly, and another ball of greasily green ghost fire
was spewed from his mouth, and it loomed over the top of that farmer’s head. Qi Rong laughed
boisterously, patting Gu Zi’s head, “What do ya think? Your daddy’s powerful, right?”
On top of the roof, Xie Lian wiped sweat off his face, and Hua Cheng looked cool and aloof but
his voice was chilling, “I think that trash wants to be even more garbage than he already is.”
His knuckles seemed to be cracking, and Xie Lian said hurriedly, “It’s fine, it’s fine. He was more
easily tricked than expected!” They had originally taught Gu Zi many more ways to dig for
information, but it seemed none of that would be used. No wonder Qi Rong hadn’t cursed Xie
Lian at all earlier, so it was because cursing him had become the unlocking incantation. Truly,
his feelings for him are deep. At this point, there was no more need for the two to keep hiding,
and they instantly broke through the roof, jumping down!
The large rumble made Qi Rong fall off his chair from surprise, “WHO’S THERE?? WHO’S
THERE??” And when he saw who it was, “DOG, DOG…” he had probably wanted to curse at
him, but remembering that it was the very important unlocking incantation, Qi Rong quickly
covered his mouth. In the corner, the farmers said, “I think he called out the incantation earlier,
so how about… let’s see if we can unlock each other?”
“Yea, it’s just some curses, right? Although I feel kind of bad for this Xie Lian person, but it’s not
like he’s here, so it should be alright!”
Yin Yu however, advised calmly, “Whether if his person is here or not, I suggest you all best not
say it, otherwise the consequences would be worse than right now…”
On the other end, Qi Rong grabbed Gu Zi to shield in front of his person, changing his tune,
“DOG FUCKED XIE LIAN! YOU’RE SHAMELESS! YOU SPY! CUNNING!”
Xie Lian was a little woeful, “What the heck is “dog fucked”?”
Qi Rong added, “Even if you know the incantation it’s useless! Are you going to curse
yourselves? Would you not care if other people curse you?”
Hearing this, Hua Cheng’s expression grew darker, and his knuckles cracked a couple more
times, looking like he’s holding back. Xie Lian however, was unconcerned, “Yea? It’s nothing.”
Then, he repeated that incantation five to six times without hesitation, since once could only
release one person. The captives all knew by now that he was the one being cursed at in the
incantation, and they couldn’t help but raise their thumbs at him in their hearts, “A real man!”
However, none of the Ghost Fire Locks on top of their heads were unlocked. Xie Lian’s face
changed slightly, and Qi Rong cackled, “HAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU FELL FOR IT! IF IT WASN’T
ME WHO UNLOCKS IT IT’S POINTLESS! YOU CURSED FOR NOTHING! HAHAHHAHA…”
A silver butterfly flew by Gu Zi’s eyes, and he blinked twice, his eyelids drooping, then he fell
asleep soon after. Qi Rong was still cackling by himself when suddenly, a forceful yank of his
sleeve made him spin eighteen times before crashing into the wall, and he blurted, “DOG
FUCKER XIE LIAN!”
After he cursed, that ball of ghost fire atop of Yin Yu’s head disappeared. Yin Yu leapt to his feet,
and blitzed a good distance away. Qi Rong instantly covered his mouth, and Xie Lian said
pleasantly, “Come come come, don’t worry, don’t hold yourself back. Let yourself go, keep
cursing.”
As he spoke serenely, he rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a hold of him, and Qi Rong really
couldn’t tell what that stance meant. He yelled with all he’s got, “GO AHEAD! HIT ME! EVEN IF
YOU BEAT ME TO DEATH I WON’T CURSE THAT AGAIN!”
Next to them, Hua Cheng said with an icy voice, “Good.”
Qi Rong turned back to look, and Hua Cheng was smiling at him with a smile that couldn’t be
more fake but it disappeared in the blink of an eye. The next second, his head was rammed
three feet into the ground.
“…”
Hua Cheng plucked his head out from the ground and he roared, “YOU DARE TREAT ME LIKE
THIS! I’VE HAD IT! I’LL BURN EVERYONE! WE CAN ALL DIE TOGETHER! HUA CHENG
YOU FUCKER! BURN UP!”
It seemed, that ‘Hua Cheng you fucker’ was the other matching incantation to start the
incineration. However, after he yelled it, there was no cry nor wails from anyone, and he opened
his eyes in confusion. That group of farmers were all fine and standing at the other end,
watching him. Qi Rong was shocked, “WHAT’S GOING ON? HOW COME NONE OF YOU
DIED? GO DIE! WHO RELEASED YOU??”
“You did.” Xie Lian said. Then, he pointed at a silver butterfly next to him, and that silver butterfly
was broadcasting the exact same roar earlier, “YOU CURSED FOR NOTHING! HAHAHAHA…”
Turns out, that wraith butterfly had recorded everything and copied his voice, including that
incantation. With one curse, it could unlock infinitely. Hua Cheng said, “Leave this plane
yourself. Sorry, no one’s coming with you.”
Then, another violent punch, and Qi Rong was bashed into the underground.
The farmers all went up and circled around to see, “Can… Can that still be fished up?”
Yin Yu hopped down into the deep hole Hua Cheng punched in, and a moment later, jumped
back up, a green daruma doll in his hand. “Chengzhu, Your Highness, it’s been collected.”
That greasily green daruma doll was baring its teeth, rolling its eyes back, spitting a long
tongue, like it was laughing at someone, but also like it was putting on a spectacle to gain
favour. In any case, it was in extremely poor taste, even children would toss it aside in disgust if
they saw it. Xie Lian couldn’t tell if Qi Rong’s own character decided this design or if Hua Cheng
purposely made him this way.
“Don’t pass that thing to us. Take that thing far, far away.” Hua Cheng said.
“Yes sir.” Yin Yu acknowledged.
To be honest, Xie Lian didn’t really want to hold on to that thing either, and he picked up Gu Zi
from the ground. A few wraith butterflies came flying from a different direction and landed on the
back of Hua Cheng’s hand. He looked down to see, then said, “We need to hurry back to the
divine temple.”
Xie Lian whipped his head around, “Something’s happened over at the divine temple?”
————-
Ch.170: Resentful Female Ghost; Flames of Jealousy Burn the Affection
Hua Cheng raised his hand slightly, and with that silver butterfly in his palm, he brought it next to
Xie Lian’s ear. In between the twinkling flutters of that silver butterfly’s wings, he heard Pei
Ming’s voice floating over, “Little dummy, did you hear that strange noise?”
It was probably because Pei Ming had been chasing skirts for a long time, so even if Xie Lian
knew Pei Ming felt nothing for Ban Yue, the way he spoke still made people ponder. Ban Yue
replied grimly, “I’m not a dummy… I heard. That noise was really strange, I don’t think it’s
General Hua coming back.”
Of course it wasn’t! Because, it was clearly the “Dong! Dong!” sound Xuan Ji makes hopping
with her broken legs!
There weren’t a long of “Dong!”s before the other two fell silent, and what followed was the
crazed laughter of a woman, “Hehe, hehehe, hahahahAHAHAH…”
That laughter echoed and resounded in the empty underground city, then carried over via the
silver butterfly, some white noise crackled in the transmission, making it sound scarier than if he
heard it in person. Naturally, this was the laugh of the overjoyed and painfully hateful Xuan Ji
who had finally seen Pei Ming once more.
“Didn’t the silver butterfly lead her in the opposite direction?” Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng replied, “She’s smarter than expected.”
Turns out, Xuan Ji had been chasing after that wraith butterfly like mad, curiously fast, and ran
all the way to the end of the main street in no time, but there was no one there. She was once a
female general on the battlefield after all, and instantly noticed she was lead away. Technically,
the moment she noticed she should’ve immediately returned to Qi Rong, but her mind was filled
with Pei Ming, so instead she just turned around and ran in the opposite direction, throwing her
boss Qi Rong completely out of her mind.
Xie Lian found it funny for some reason but it was hard to describe the sentiment exactly. He
quickly brought along those escaped captives and the group rushed to the WuYong divine
temple in the centre of the city. That female ghost Xuan Ji had waited for Pei Ming for too, too
long; just by hearing her laughter it was easy to imagine how twistedly crazy her face must be.
Pei Ming was probably also startled by her, and was in shock for a long time before he started,
“You are…”
Xuan Ji sneered coldly. Yet unexpectedly, after a pause, Pei Ming asked, “Who are you?”
“…”
Xuan Ji was wild with rage, her voice sharp and trembling, “YOU… YOU’RE TRYING TO PISS
ME OFF ON PURPOSE, RIGHT? YOU ACTUALLY DON’T KNOW WHO I AM?!”
Xie Lian wiped away a drop of cold sweat and said, “No way, General Pei… is he actually doing
this on purpose or he really didn’t recognize her?”
“Probably the latter.” Hua Cheng said. After all, if the rumours were true, then in these past
centuries Pei Ming had had affairs with at least over a thousand beauties, how could he
remember every one? Especially an old one from so many hundreds of years ago. Besides, that
incident on Mount Yu Jun with the ghost bride was also passed over to Pei Su to manage, he
never appeared himself, and never saw Xuan Ji. Xuan Ji mumbled to herself, “Right. You’re
angering me on purpose. I won’t fall for it. Heh. You want to lie and say you don’t remember me,
you want to lie to me, hehe.”
Then, she screeched, demanding, “WHO IS THIS LITTLE WHORE? AREN’T YOUR
STANDARDS USUALLY HIGH? WHAT, TRYING DIFFERENT FLAVOURS THIS TIME?”
Ban Yue: “?”
Pei Ming: “??”
Although both made confused noises, but, this resentful tone seemed to have recalled Pei
Ming’s memory, and he knitted his brows slightly, “Xuan Ji? How did you become like this?”
Only then did Xie Lian remember that the Xuan Ji right now must be disheveled. Her eyes were
red like that of a fierce ghost, donned in bright red bridal robes, the lower hems filthy and
unkempt, crawling sluggishly but dangerously like a crocodile on the ground. This was pretty
much how they saw her just now, and it was really difficult to link her to that female general who
was noble and cool, so no wonder acquaintances couldn’t recognize her at first glance.
“How did I become like this? YOU DARE ASK HOW I’VE COME TO LOOK LIKE THIS?! ISN’T
IT ALL YOUR FAULT, I DID THIS ALL FOR YOU!”
“She’s charged at the protection circle.” Hua Cheng informed.
“No worries, RuoYe can hold her off.” Xie Lian said.
Just as he said, a shriek was heard from that silver butterfly. Xuan Ji who charged must’ve been
bounced back and sent flying over thirty meters away, and dropped into the darkness once
more. Pei Ming’s voice came, “His Highness’ spiritual device is pretty useful. I’ll have to forge
one for myself too sometime.”
‘If you knew how it was forged you wouldn’t have said so…’ Xie Lian thought, but before his
thought was complete, Pei Ming shouted, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP!”
Xuan Ji yelled, “DON’T THINK YOU CAN KEEP HIDING IN THERE!”
RUMBLE RUMBLE!
Xie Lian was dumbfounded as he speed walked, “What did she do?”
“It appears she’s toppled the divine temple, and the stone ceiling collapsed.”
So that was it. Xuan Ji was bounced back from RuoYe’s protection circle and couldn’t enter the
circle, so she knocked the entire temple down. “Are General Pei and the others alright? Little
Pei and Ban Yue are both there too!” Xie Lian asked.
“They’re fine. Pei Ming shielded them.” Hua Cheng said.
The moment that stone ceiling collapsed boomingly, Pei Ming shielded Pei Su and Ban Yue
under his body. Xie Lian let out a breath of relief, “Then that’s fine. The protection circle still
won’t break from this.”
On the other end, Pei Ming was furious, “Are you crazy? Even if you topple the sky you won’t be
able to get in!” However, Xuan Ji laughed evilly, and Ban Yue exclaimed, “General Pei watch
out!”
“Wha…”
Those reactions all happened at the same time, and amidst this chaos, Xie Lian heard the
sound of a sharp sword piercing a chest. There was no question that it was Pei Ming who was
stabbed.
Xie Lian was anxious, “What’s happened?! The protection circle broke? That’s impossible…
wait, sword?!”
In that instant, he finally understood what Xuan Ji was planning. So that was it!
After Xuan Ji had her fill of laughing, she said cooly, “Who said I wanted to enter?”
Another voice also started laughing, “Hey, Pei Ming, look who’s here! It’s your old sweetheart!”
Rong Guang!
Xuan Ji toppling the divine temple wasn’t her throwing a crazy fit from rage, and it wasn’t
because she wanted to enter the protection circle. Her goal was to crush those two
ghost-sealing clay pots Ban Yue placed in the circle, release the ghosts inside, and have them
attack from the inside!
After Rong Guang escaped the pot, he quickly turned into the form of a sword, and stabbed Pei
Ming. Pei Ming seemed to be trying to pull him out, but Rong Guang was doggedly unyielding,
that sword piercing through his body, “YOU WISH! TIME TO DIE!”
Pei Ming gritted his teeth, “Is the other pot ok??” To be attacked on both sides, if Ke Mo was
added to the mix, then it’d be game over. Ban Yue answered, “Yes! Ke Mo is still sealed!”
The situation was growing dire, and Xie Lian was starting to get anxious. Just as he was about
to quicken his pace however, Hua Cheng suddenly stopped in his step. Xie Lian was startled
and looked back, “San Lang?”
On the back of Hua Cheng’s hand rested another wraith butterfly, seemingly to be whispering
something to him. After he finished listening to its report, he looked up and smiled, “Gege, no
need to panic. Looks like it’ll be fine even if we don’t rush over.”
On the other end, with Rong Guang pierced through Pei Ming’s chest, Xuan Ji was a like a red
gecko and gripped his boots before climbing up his leg. With the way she was dressed and that
ghost fire looming over her head, she was the very appearance of a crazy female ghost, and Pei
Ming cried, “YOU–!”
Xuan Ji murmured, “Pei darling… Pei darling! …” In her current position, it really couldn’t be told
whether if she wanted to strangle him to death or tightly embrace him. Suddenly, in the
peripheral of her vision, she saw Pei Su who was being shielded behind Pei Ming, and recalled
that it was this cold and stoic martial god who apprehended her the last time, and she gritted her
teeth, “YOU LITTLE MUTT!”
Just as her claws were about to swipe down, another hand seized her wrist. Both wrists were
equally pale, and when she looked to see, it was Ban Yue who stopped her. When Xuan Ji saw
another woman by Pei Ming’s side her heart burned and cried, “I haven’t even come for your
little wretched life, but here you are, giving yourself up to me!”
Then she grabbed for Ban Yue’s head. However, Ban Yue wasn’t one of those good and
obedient little brides who would stand around and wait to be scratched to death, and Xuan Ji’s
other wrist was seized without fail. Xuan Ji was a female general whilst alive, and knew that her
strength would put most men to shame, and typical female ghosts could only let themselves be
beaten. Yet, she hadn’t thought this little girl, who looked so thin and weak like a simple breeze
could knock her over, possessed such terrifying power in her arms, almost stronger than Xuan
Ji herself! Not only were both her wrists cuffed down unable to move, when the two matched
eyes, Xuan Ji was even more stunned. This little girl’s eyes were full of aggression and
murderous intent, like the shimmers of a blade in combat, and it reminded her of the battlefield.
Her heart lurched and she threw her hands to break free of the hold. Ban Yue picked up Pei Su
and hopped meters away, landing lightly on her feet, “Let go of General Pei!”
The sword buried in Pei Ming taunted, “Pei Ming you sure are lucky with women. Do you see,
two female ghosts are fighting over you! Hahaha…”
Xuan Ji clung to Pei Ming like a contorted snake, her ten fingers choking his neck, and she said
coldly, “Your little lover seems to have some skills.”
Pei Ming coughed out a mouthful of blood, “I don’t! She’s not my lover!”
“YOU’RE STILL TRYING TO DENY IT?!” Xuan Ji cried, “IF SHE’S NOT YOUR LOVER WHY
WOULD SHE TELL ME TO LET YOU GO?”
“If my old hag was here she’d also tell you to let me go. By your definition, would she be my
lover too?” Pei Ming countered.
Only his frivolous nature could be blamed at this point, calling people ‘little dummy’ for no good
reason, and Xuan Ji was going mad with jealousy, “What? Afraid to admit it now? Weren’t you
all intimate when calling her? Didn’t you use to be much more open when you got your hands
on a new flame? You’ve always been so honest with me, not caring for my feelings at all. Do
you know how much I’ve suffered? So why are you scared of admitting to it now?? General Pei
are you afraid to die now? Or do you really love her so much you couldn’t bear to have me
touch a single finger of hers??”
In the far distance away from the divine temple, Xie Lian watched this scene play out from afar
and felt he really couldn’t bear to watch anymore, and looked back, “San Lang, how about we
go up and rescue them first?”
Hua Cheng laughed, “No need to panic, gege. Someone else will show on our behalves.
Besides, even if we go over now, Xuan Ji still won’t release her chokehold on Pei Ming.”
That was true. With hostages around, things would indeed be rather inconvenient. Yin Yu and
the farmers were also watching nervously, and they all said, “Yea, I could feel that female
ghost’s love has morphed into hatred, she’s going nuts!”
“I don’t think so. I’m sure she couldn’t do it. Want to eat some melon seeds?”
“Give me another handful, thanks.”
“How can everyone be in the mood to munch on melon seeds?” Xie Lian frowned.
“THis Highness, didn’t you munch a bunch too?” The people said.
“Huh?” Only then did Xie Lian realize that while he was so focused on the show earlier, he
unconsciously received a handful of melon seeds they passed over, and it was all eaten. He
slapped his forehead, “How, how rude of me…”
On the other end, Pei Ming was at the end of his ropes, “Xuan Ji, can you not think that way
every time? It’s been so many years, why can’t we just shake hands and walk away? Why must
you be like this?”
Xuan Ji’s hands strangling him squeezed, her almond eyes bulging, “You messed with me first,
and you want to shake hands and walk away? AS IF!”
Pei Ming sighed, “You really… haven’t changed a bit. It’s precisely because of this that we didn’t
work out.”
Xuan Ji thrusted her face to his and cried in rage, “LIKE THIS? LIKE WHAT? AM I NOT
BEAUTIFUL ENOUGH? BECAUSE I REFUSED TO GIVE YOU YUSHI’S BATTLE PLANS AND
ARMY SECRETS? YOU REFUSED THEM YOURSELF! YOU SAID YOU DIDN’T LIKE THAT I
WAS STRONG SO I WAS WILLING TO ABANDON EVEN MY LEGS! DO I NOT LOVE YOU
ENOUGH?? WHO CAN LOVE YOU MORE THAN ME? BUT YOU? YOU WON’T LOOK MY
WAY, NOT EVEN ONCE IN THESE PAST HUNDREDS OF YEARS! WHEN HAVE YOU EVER
COME TO SEE ME??”
Pei Ming pushed away the face that was pressed so close to his and shouted, “IT’S BECAUSE I
KNOW THAT YOU’D GO CRAZY IF I COME SEE YOU THAT I DIDN’T VISIT!”
Xuan Ji grabbed hold of the Ming Guang sword in his chest and stabbed it in a few more inches,
then pulled it out. Pei Ming puked another few large mouthfuls of blood. Xuan Ji yelled, “SAY IT!
IN THE NAME OF YOUR HEAVENLY OFFICIAL STATUS, SWEAR THAT FROM NOW ON
THERE’S ONLY ME. SWEAR THAT YOU’LL NEVER LOOK AT ANOTHER WOMAN AGAIN,
THAT YOUR EYES WOULD ROT IF YOU DO!”
Rong Guang was also enjoying this, “Hurry and say it, Pei Ming! Say it and you can salvage
your little life!”
Pei Ming cursed, “SHUT UP! Goddammit. I had never thought despite not dying on the
battlefields and not dying under the world’s most sacred sword, I’d die in the hands of a crazy
female ghost!”
Not having gotten the answer she desired, Xuan Ji was thoroughly enraged, and her claws shot
out, gripping his head. Xie Lian really couldn’t wait any longer, “San Lang, I really think things
are getting out of hand. Will the person you spoke of make it in time? If not then I’ll go!”
“It’s fine.” Hua Cheng said, “Gege, look. Here they come. “
Just as the words left his lips, the enraged and mad Xuan Ji completely froze.
It was as if someone had casted a petrification spell on her, her body and her expression were
all frozen. Pei Ming was already stabbed by her repeatedly for a number of times, his puked
blood covering the floor. From within the darkness came the sound of clean and crisp ox
hooves, steady and calm, click clack, click clack. Soon after, a person riding a black ox
appeared before all.
The one riding the black ox was a woman in verdant robes, her eyes clear, her expression calm
and quiet. Her head was held high as they approached languidly, like she was watching
something far away. Pei Ming was stunned, “…Queen YuShi.”
That woman inclined her head and looked at him, her demeanor unchanged, and she gave a
slight smile, bowing her head to return the greeting.
Xie Lian was shocked too, “Queen YuShi?”
Hua Cheng replied, “That’s right. The current Rain Master of the heavens, the sixteenth
princess of the Kingdom of YuShi, Yu Shi Huang, was also the last queen of the Kingdom of
YuShi.”
———
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