Heaven Official’s Blessing
Chapter 31-40
Ch.31: Poking the Ghost King; Crown Prince Seeks Truth 2 — Once the air froze Xie Lian knew his question may have crossed the line. Although the past few days the two of them had gotten along well, but if Hua Cheng never revealed his real face, and didn’t change back even after his identity was revealed, then he had his reasons, and Xie Lian was in no place to push. Without waiting for his response Xie Lian widened his smile, “I was just asking, don’t take it to heart.” Hua Cheng closed his eyes, and after a moment, he smiled softly, “I’ll let you see it someday, if there’s a chance.” If anyone else were to say that, then it’d naturally be perfunctory; ‘someday’ usually meant ‘please forget it.’ But it was Hua Cheng who said those words, so Xie Lian felt ‘someday’ meant ‘someday’, and it would for sure happen. This made him even more curious, and he grinned, “Then I’ll wait til the day you can show me. Let’s rest for now.” After messing around for half the night, Xie Lian had long given up on cooking anything, and returned to the straw mat. Hua Cheng also laid down next to him. No one bothered questioning why after revealing each other’s identities that a god and a ghost could still lay together on a rumpled mat, laughing and chatting, and simply just hanging out. The straw mat didn’t have pillows, so Hua Cheng used his own arm, and Xie Lian imitated him using his own arm too. He chatted casually, “The ghost realm seems so idle. Don’t you guys ever need to report back to anything?” Hua Cheng not only had his arm as a pillow, he crossed his legs too and replied, “Report to whom? I’m the biggest there is. Besides, we mind our own business, no one bothers with anyone.” So the ghost realm was formed by many disorganized bands of lost souls and feral ghosts. Xie Lian replied, “Is that so? I thought it’d be like the Heavenly Court where there’s a central government. So if that’s the case, have you met any other ghost kings before?” “I have.” Hua Cheng said. “Even the Green Ghost Qi Rong?” “You mean that lowly, vulgar trash?” ‘Well what do I say to that?’ Xie Lian thought, but thankfully he needn’t say anything as Hua Cheng continued, “I greeted him and he ran away.” Instincts told Xie Lianthis ‘greeting’ couldn’t be your regular kind of greeting, and sure enough, Hua Cheng said casually, “And then I received the title ‘Crimson Rain Sought Flower’.” “…” So when he mentioned wiping out the nest of another ghost, he was talking about the Green Ghost Qi Rong, and this ‘greeting’ was annihilation. What an extraordinary greeting, Xie Lian thought. He rubbed his chin and asked, “Do you have something against the Green Ghost Qi Rong?” “Yea.” Hua Cheng replied. “What’s that?” “Can’t stand his face.” Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, thinking did Hua Cheng challenge those thirty three heavenly officials also because he didn’t like their faces? “The heavens all call him vulgar, and even the ghost realm rejects him. Is that true?” “It’s true. Even Black Water is disgusted with him.” Hua Cheng replied. “Who’s Black Water?” Xie Lian asked, then recalled, “Oh, is that the one called ‘Ship-Sinking Black Water’?” “That’s right. He’s also known as the Black Water Demon Xuan.” Xie Lian remembered that this Black Water Demon Xuan was also a ‘Supreme’, but the Green Ghost Qi Rong was only almost a ‘Supreme’. He asked, interested, “Are you close with this Demon Xuan?” “No.” Hua Cheng replied lazily, “There aren’t many in the ghost realm I’m close with.” Now Xie Lian was curious, “Is that so? I thought you’d have many subordinates. Maybe our definition of ‘close’ is different?” Hua Cheng raised his brows, “Yea. In the ghost realm, those lower than ‘Supreme’ have no right to speak to me.” It was an exceedingly arrogant statement, but Hua Cheng made it sound so indisputable and self-evident. Xie Lian smiled softly, “Even though you’re not close you still know about them. You have it pretty good in the ghost realm, there’s only so many big names, not like the heavens. There’s already so many officials to remember in the upper court, and more waiting to ascend in the middle court; they’re like an ocean of names.” “What good is it to remember their names? Don’t bother. It’s a waste of your brains.” Hua Cheng said. “Haha, it’s kind of offensive if you can’t remember their names.” The heavenly officials loved their faces. Hua Cheng clicked his tongue, “If they can be offended by such a small thing, then they’re nothing but narrow minded trash.” After chatting for a while, Xie Lian didn’t want to dig too deeply into the subject lest they touch on something sensitive, so he changed the topic away from the difference between the two realms. He glanced at the closed wooden door and wondered, “Ban Yue, that child, I wonder when she’ll come back in.” The bold words “I want to save the world” returned and reverberated in his head, pouring a million chaotic images in his mind, and Xie Lian had to forcibly push them down. Just then, Hua Cheng spoke up, “Those were good words.” “Which ones?” Xie Lian asked. “‘I want to save the world, the common people’.” Hua Cheng replied leisurely. “…” Xie Lian was thunderstruck. He flipped around and curled into a shrimp, wishing for another pair of arms so he could cover both his face and his ears, and groaned, “…San Lang…” Hua Cheng seemed to have nudged closer, and said in a serious tone right behind him, “Hm? What’s wrong with those words?” Hua Cheng wouldn’t back down and Xie Lian couldn’t win against him so he flipped back over and said helplessly, “It’s silly.” “What’s there to be afraid of?” Hua Cheng said, “To dare speak of the world, whether to save or to destroy is admirable. The former is harder than the latter, so it’s even more respectable.” Xie Lian puffed a laugh and shook his head, “To dare speak you have to be able to follow through, and you have to actually achieve it.” He laid an arm over his eyes, “Oh, alright. I suppose that’s nothing. What Ban Yue said was already pretty good. I’ve said sillier things when I was even younger.” Hua Cheng laughed, “Oh? Like what? Let’s hear it.” Xie Lian was pensive for a moment, and smiled softly as he chased his memories, “Many, many years ago, there was someone who told me they couldn’t live on anymore. They asked me for what they were alive, and what was the meaning of their life.” He glanced at Hua Cheng, “Do you know how I answered?” It might just be Xie Lian’s imagination, but there seemed to be light in Hua Cheng’s eyes. He asked gently, “How did you answer?” Xie Lian said, “I told them: ‘If you don’t know how to live on anymore, then live for me!’ “‘If you don’t know the meaning to your life, then make me that meaning, and use me as the reason to live’.” “Ha ha ha….” As Xie Lian spoke, he couldn’t help but let out a small laugh and shook his head, “Even now I don’t understand what I was thinking back then. How did I ever have the courage to tell someone to make me the meaning of their life?” Hua Cheng was silent and Xie Lian continued. “It really was something that could only be said back then. Long ago, I really thought I was invincible and fearless. If you ask me to say the same words now, there is no way they will ever leave my lips again.” Xie Lian continued slowly, “I don’t know what happened to that person after. But to become someone’s reason to live was already a heavy responsibility, how dare I speak of the world?” Silence blanketed inside Puqi shrine After a while, San Lang said softly, “Something like saving the world, it really doesn’t matter how you do it. But, although brave, it’s foolish.” “Yea.” Xie Lian agreed. Hua Cheng continued, “Although foolish, it’s brave.” Xie Lian grinned, “Thanks.” “You’re welcome.” Hua Cheng said. The two stared at the holey ceiling of Puqi shrine in amiable silence, and Hua Cheng spoke up again. “You know, we’ve only known each other for so many days. Is it alright for you to say so much to me?” Xie Lian puffed again and waved his hand, “What’s the problem? Whatever. Those who have known each other for decades can become strangers in a day. We’ve met by chance, and we may part by chance. If we like each other then we shall continue to meet; if we don’t then we shall part. There’s no banquet in the world that doesn’t come to an end, so I’ll say what I want to say.” Hua Cheng seemed to have chuckled, then suddenly said, “If,” Xie Lian turned his head to face him, “If?” Hua Cheng didn’t turn around, but continued to look at the dilapidated ceiling of the shrine, and Xie Lian observed the left side face of the handsome young man. Hua Cheng said softly, “If I was ugly,” “Huh?” Xie Lian gaped. Hua Cheng finally turned his head slightly, “If my real face is ugly, would you still want to see it?” Xie Lian was taken aback, “Is it? Although there’s no real reason, but I think your real face mustn’t be that bad.” “Who knows,” Hua Cheng said half jokingly, “What if I’m discoloured, disfigured, ugly, monstrous and horrible, what will you do?” At first Xie Lian thought this line of inquiry was rather fascinating. So the number one ghost king of the ages, feared by the heavens, would care about his looks? But when he thought about it deeply, he didn’t think it very funny anymore. If he remembered correctly, in the many backstories about Hua Cheng, one had said he was a disfigured child from birth, or something along those lines. If that was the case, then he must’ve grown up discriminated by others. Maybe it was because of this reason that he’s particularly sensitive about his looks. Thus, Xie Lian chewed on his words, “Well…” He used his warmest, most sincere tone, “To be honest, the reason I want to see your real face is only because, you see, we’re already like this…” “Hm?” Hua Cheng piped up, “Like what?” “…Well, now we’re sort of friends, right? So, if we’re friends, then we should be honest with each other. So me wanting to see your real face has nothing to do with how you look. You ask what I will do, of course I won’t do anything. Don’t worry, as long as it’s your real face, I’m sure I’ll… why are you laughing? I’m being serious.” When Xie Lian reached the last bit of his words, he could feel the boy next to him shaking. At first for a moment he had thought ‘are my words so moving that he’s touched like this?’, and was too embarrassed to turn around to see. But after a while, the soft laughter from next to him was very obviously leaked out. Xie Lian felt rather bummed, and placed a hand on his shoulder to give it a little push, “San Lang… why are you laughing so much? Did I say something wrong?” Hua Cheng immediately stopped shaking and turned around, “No, you’re very right.” Xie Lian felt even more bummed at those words, “You’re so insincere…” “I promise, you won’t find another person more sincere than me in this world.” Hua Cheng replied. Xie Lian didn’t want to talk anymore and flipped over, his back facing Hua Cheng, “Forget it, time to sleep. Don’t talk.” Hua Cheng laughed softly again then said, “Next time.” Even though he was determined to sleep, hearing Hua Cheng speak, Xie Lian couldn’t help but reply, “What, next time?” Hua Cheng whispered, “The next time we meet, I will use my real appearance to greet you.” There was much to ponder about those words, and Xie Lian should’ve kept questioning him, but after a long night, an unstoppable drowsiness overtook him, he couldn’t hang on and fell deeply asleep. The next morning, when Xie Lian woke, the spot next to him was already empty. He stumbled to get up and dazedly walked around the shrine. When he opened the door, there were no silhouettes to be seen outside. It appeared it was real. The boy had indeed left. However, the fallen leaves had been swept into a pile, and next to it was a small clay pot. Xie Lian took the pot inside and placed it on the altar. Right then, he suddenly discovered there seemed to be something extra on his usually bare chest. Xie Lian raised his hand to touch it, and found just below the cursed collar, there was an exceedingly thin chain, hanging loosely and light. Xie Lian immediately removed it from his neck. So it was a silver chain, and since it was thin and light, he didn’t feel there was anything on his body before. And hanging from the chain was a crystal clear ring. — ●MXTX Author Note: Hua Hua says he’s not good looking, is that even possible? Would this author write ugly characters? Of course not! [SPOILER in white font] Gift an Ashes Diamond Ring first for the romantic engagement! Next time, Hua Hua will meet His Highness on main! Ch.32: In the Great Martial Hall; Crown Prince Meets Crown Prince Xie Lian knew, this ring must be something Hua Cheng left behind. He held it in his hand and wondered for a moment, ‘what could this be?’ When Xie Lian was still a Crown Prince, he grew up in the Palace of Xianle. The kingdom of Xianle had always revelled in beautiful, precious objects; collectors were abundant, and the palace itself was therefore of course glorious and bedazzling. Golden columns, jaded steps, innumerous treasures and precious jewels, even the noble children played around with various coloured gems like toys. By the looks of this ring, it did seem like it was made of diamond. However, its shape was exquisite; perhaps even the most skilled jeweler would not be able to craft the ethereal natural beauty it emanated. Moreover, of all the diamonds he had ever seen, this stone was extraordinarily clear, shimmering like a crystal, fascinating and sublime, making it hard for him to determine exactly what it might be made of. Still, even if he couldn’t tell what the ring was made of, it was for sure an item of extreme significance. Besides, if it was found around his neck, then this was not something that was accidentally dropped, and more than likely a gift from Hua Cheng as a keepsake. Xie Lian was a little surprised receiving a keepsake like this. He smiled softly, resolved to take good care of it, then ask the boy what the gift meant the next time they meet. The only place he owned was the broken down shrine; there was nowhere appropriate for him to hide treasure, so after some thought, the best place was on his person after all, and Xie Lian put the silver chain around his neck once more. After returning from running around Mount Yujun and the Banyue Pass back to back, Xie Lian laid in Puqi Shrine paralyzed for a few days. If it wasn’t for some of the overly passionate villagers who’d come and offer buns or porridge, he’d probably stay incapacitated for many more days. He spent his days thus until one day, Ling Wen suddenly sent him a notice: Return to the heavens at once. Judging by her tone, something bad was about to go down. Xie Lian could more or less guess what it might be and was already mentally prepared. “Is this about the Banyue Pass?” “That’s right.” Ling Wen replied, “When you’ve returned to the heavens come directly to The Great Martial Hall.” Upon hearing ‘The Great Martial Hall’, Xie Lian froze. Jun Wu1 was back. After his third ascension, he still hadn’t greeted Jun Wu. As the number one Martial God, Jun Wu spent his days deep in cultivation behind closed doors or was out patrolling the realms, keeping the world secure. Now that Jun Wu was back, Xie Lian couldn’t get out of making this trip to the heavens, and so he hiked up to the Heavenly Capital once more after only so many days of rest. All manners of gods and immortals had their divine palaces built here, and banding together they formed the great city, each with their own history and style; sculpted pillars and muraled buildings here, little bridges and streams there. The Heavenly Court had one main road: the Martial Deity Avenue. Although there were many such roads built in remembrance of Jun Wu in the mortal realm, they were only mere shadows and copies of the real one in the heavens. Xie Lian walked on through the expansive road and headed towards the Heavenly Court. En route, there were many heavenly officials in a hurry, and not a single one dared greet him. Truthfully, there was usually not many who would greet him when he visited the Heavenly Court. However, ‘not greet’ meant no fellow officials would approach him or initiate any conversation but they would still nod in acknowledgement as was proper. Right now, everyone was pretending he wasn’t there, as if just glancing at him would get them in trouble. If they were in front of him they would hurry away; if they were behind him they would slow their pace, leaving him a wide berth, afraid to approach. Xie Lian was already used to this treatment and didn’t think anything of it; after all, he did just drag down the popular and newly ascended General Pei Junior. It’d be more strange if no one stayed away. Yet unexpectedly, as he walked, a voice suddenly called out from behind him, “Your Royal Highness!” Hearing the call, Xie Lian was amazed, thinking whoever it was that dared call him truly had commendable courage. But when he turned his head back, the junior official that called for the Royal Highness rushed by him, and ran towards someone who was walking further ahead of him. He called as he ran, “Jeez, Your Royal Highness! How can you forget your identity pass going to the Great Martial Hall? How would you even get in?” On then did Xie Lian get it. Now wonder. Of course the address ‘Your Royal Highness’ wasn’t directed at him. There’s a number of Crown Princes in the heavens, so some confusion wasn’t anything extraordinary. Yet when he glanced over and saw the other Crown Prince, he paused. That young man had thick brows and bright eyes with a wide smile. This smile was vastly different than many other heavenly officials; it was one that was pure and genuine without anything behind it, and added an air of youth to his handsome face. To have another harsher official, like Mu Qing, to comment, however, he would probably call it an air of foolishness. The young man was decked in armour, proud and heroic; but the armour on him didn’t give off a sense of blood and battle, rather it gave him an air of royal nobility, candid and brilliant. Xie Lian stopped in his step and stared at the young man. The two in front felt his gaze and turned back to face him. When the junior official saw who it was, his face dropped immediately. Xie Lian lightly nodded his head and smiled at him, “Greetings, Your Royal Highness.” The other Crown Prince obviously was one who didn’t mind the everyday details and didn’t recognize his face, so when he saw someone greeting him, he immediately returned it with a bright smile and shouted, “Greetings!” The junior official beside him gave him a little push, and hurried, “Let’s go, Your Highness. We still need to go to the Great Martial Hall.” The young man, still unaware and inconscient, was weirded out by the sudden push, “Why are you pushing me???” Xie Lian puffed out a laugh and that junior official looked to be in even more of a hurry, and he urged, “The Emperor is probably already waiting for us, please let’s go, Your Highness!” The other Crown Prince could only give Xie Lian a confused look before turning to leave. Xie Lian stayed where he was, as they walked away, and soon, whispers from officials of a lower rank floated into his ears from afar. “… Well that was awkward. The world is such a small place.” “But they’re both officials in the heavens, it was only a matter of time. If you ask me, General Nan Yang bumping into General Xuan Zhen is more exciting an affair.” “Hahaha, what’s the rush? They’ll be bumping into each other real soon! They’re all waiting for him at the Great Martial Hall, aren’t they?” Suddenly, someone commented, “Nevermind a small world, really it’s people comparing each other that really does it. People really are so different from one another; they’re both Crown Princes, but His Highness Tai Hua is truly noble, and if it was him, he wouldn’t do anything shameful even when fallen from grace.” “The kingdom of Yong’An is more prosperous than the kingdom of Xianle after all, so of course the Crown Prince of Yong’An would be stronger than that of Xianle. How the grass grows depends on the land it grew on. Simple logic.” The Northern territory belonged to the Palace of Ming Guang, the Martial God Pei Ming; the Western Palace Qi Ying was Quan Yizheng; The Southeast Palace of Nan Yang was Feng Xin; the Southwest Palace of Xuan Zhen was Mu Qing; and the one the Eastern territory belonged to was the Palace of Tai Hua, the Martial God Lang Qianqiu. Lang Qianqiu, when he was a mortal, was a crown prince like Xie Lian. However, he was the Crown Prince of Yong’An. The Kingdom of Yong’An was the country that built over the fall of Xianle, and the founder of Yong’An was the rebel general who successfully overthrew the royal capital of Xianle. When Xie Lian drifted in the mortal realm, he had also visited the east, and naturally knew that the Crown Prince of Yong’An had ascended. As heavenly officials, it would be inevitable for them to bump into each other, so he didn’t think much of it. Maybe to anyone else, the gossiping whispers, albeit not really whispers, would probably never be heard for fear of retribution. But those words were uttered without fear of Xie Lian hearing, maybe even hoping for something exciting to happen should he overheard, so Xie Lian pretended to have heard nothing, and casually walked away. Just then, another voice came from behind called out, “Your Highness!” ‘Not again?!’ Xie Lian thought, but this time when he turned around, it was someone who was addressing him for real. Ling Wen, with her two dark circled eyes and arms full of scrolls, approached him, “Everyone has gone to the Great Martial Hall for the meeting. Be more mindful once you’ve reached the hall.” Xie Lian understood. “What do you think General Pei Junior’s sentence will be?” “Exile, probably.” Ling Wen replied. ‘That’s actually not too bad. Not too severe.’ Xie Lian thought. Exile was considered a ‘Temporary Banishment’ for officials who committed crimes, meaning the term of punishment was negotiable, and there may still be opportunities for resuming duties. If one day they should be found to be on their best behaviour, they may yet get fished back up; maybe in thirty to fifty years, maybe in a hundred or two hundred years. But to Xie Lian, ‘not too bad’ was of course to his standards. To General Pei it would be a completely different story. Xie Lian remembered another thing and said, “Oh yea. Ling Wen, how goes the search for the boy with the human face disease from Mount Yujun I told you about last time? Do you have any news?” “I’m really sorry, Your Highness. I don’t have anything at the moment. We’re working on it.” Ling Wen replied. Even for a heavenly official, to find a person in such a vast world was not an easy task. Although the heavens may be faster, it was still only a difference between ten years in the mortal realm versus one year in the heavens. Xie Lian could only express gratitude, “Thank you for your hard work.” Just then, they reached the end of the avenue, and a majestic palace came to view before him. The palace had stood through the ages, yet it only showed enduring excellence, and none of its antiquity; layers of glazed golden shingles pyramided, blinding in their scintillation. Xie Lian raised his head and glanced at the ‘The Great Martial Hall’ beneath the golden roof, the words written with power and with vigour were exactly the same as a few hundred years ago, unchanging. He lowered his head and stepped into the hall. Within, numerous heavenly officials had already gathered, either in their own groups of two or three, or by their own lonesome, standing in silence. The only ones who may enter the hall were the heavenly officials who had officially ascended, all imperial sons of heavens or indomitable overlords, each bursting with spiritual might. They eyed each other in silent pride and judgment, their splendor overwhelming. At this time and place, everyone held their breaths, not daring to make a sound. On the throne at the very end of the hall sat a martial god decked in a pure white armour. This martial god was refined and dignified, his eyes closed and his lips unspeaking, poised and solemn. Behind him was the magnificent Great Martial Hall, but beneath his feet was a pure white snowy peak. As if sensing Xie Lian entering the hall, he opened his eyes. That pair of eyes were obsidian black but bright and clear, as if formed by the melted snow of a lake frozen for millions of years. When he blinked open his eyes, this martial god smiled softly, “Xianle, you’ve come.” Xie Lian lowered his head in a bow and said nothing. When Jun Wu spoke, he was not loud, but his deep voice echoed through the entire Great Martial Hall. Then, all the eyes of the officials focused on Xie Lian, and he understood immediately. It appeared this meeting wasn’t for discussing General Pei Junior and the Banyue Pass scandal. The spotlight, it seemed, was on him.
1.Jun Wu translates to ‘The Lord, I Am’ ↩ Ch.33: In the Great Martial Hall; Crown Prince Meets Crown Prince 3 Ling Wen approached the throne, dressed all in black and without a word or smile, drew a line through an item on her memo. “My Lord, there are a few heavenly officials still on patrol in the mortal realm, unable to return.” Jun Wu nodded, “They have already reported in.” Ling Wen acknowledged the response, and Jun Wu turned to Xie Lian, “Xianle, I’m sure you are curious as to why you have been summoned here today.” Xie Lian still had his head bowed, “I can guess. However, I had assumed the matter with General Pei Junior was already settled.” Just then, a man’s voice rang out, “Whether if it’s been settled is yet hard to say.” The voice that came behind was lyrical, and when Xie Lian turned his head to look, a martial god stepped into the great hall, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, and he walked towards the front. When he passed by Xie Lian, he stopped in his step and the corners of his lips lifted, “Your Royal Highness. I’ve heard much about you.” This martial god looked to be about twenty-six to twenty-seven years old, graceful and confident in his actions. Looking at his face, Xie Lian thought he looked even more handsome than that statue he saw at Mount Yujun, and it’s the kind of handsome that could definitely steal hearts. Very much the charming type. Xie Lian didn’t respond, and he continued, “Our Little Pei has been in your care.” ‘I’ve definitely offended him.’ Xie Lian thought, and returned the greeting, “Please don’t trouble yourself over it. I’ve heard much about you as well.” The words ‘I’ve heard much about you’ were certainly not a lie. In the past few days, Xie Lian skimmed through his scroll, and briefly read through the legends of some of the more famous heavenly officials, and one of them was General Ming Guang, Pei Ming. This Martial God of the North was skilled in battle, but the most talked about amongst the mortals was stories of his many affairs, good and bad, within wanton alleys. The good had stories like Pei Ming using copious amounts of gold to help save a pitiful prostitute from the brothels, she fell in love with him and forever remained pure and true to await his return. The bad had stories like Pei Ming crossing thousands of miles to spend a one night stand with a married woman, etc., etc. On some level, Pei Ming was an awe-inspiring man. After reading through his stories, Xie Lian thought it was quite unbelievable that after so many years, only one Xuan Ji that came out of that way of life. Because Pei Ming was skilled in both battle and in love, many of his rivals and fellows loved cursing him to go die, and even better if he’d die from syphilis. But, his life force was tough, and he never got infected with anything even after the many flowers he’d picked; he wouldn’t die, and he’d even live longer than most of his fellows! Until finally, one day he lost a battle, and everyone laughed thinking at last it’s his end! But then lightning crashed and thunder roared – in that moment of danger, he ascended to the heavens. Those who didn’t die in his hands probably all died from outrage. After ascension, Pei Ming didn’t change his way of life and the scale of his tales of promiscuity greatly expanded. From fairies and lady officials to female ghosts and demons, as long as they were beautiful, he would pluck them. Nonetheless, his favourite type was still the charming ladies of the mortal realm. Many indecent love stories all had him starring as the main male lead, and if it wasn’t for Xie Lian’s method of cultivation that demanded purity of body and of mind, he’d probably read a couple of those books just out of curiosity. Thus, other than the Martial God that ruled the North, the mortal realm also worshipped him as the God of Love. Even some officials would turn around and secretly pray to him should they bump into him in the heavens, hoping for some fortune in love. It had to be said, that although similar, that title was definitely better than Feng Xin’s unwarranted title ‘Ju Yang’. All the heavenly officials present in the hall knew in their hearts what each of the “I’ve heard much about you” meant, and many roared with laughter in their minds. After the pleasantries, Xie Lian said, “What does General Pei mean by “Not necessarily settled”?” Pei Ming snapped his fingers, and a corpse floating in midair suddenly appeared in the middle of the great hall. Strictly speaking, this floating body was an empty shell. It had no soul, completely empty on the inside, and covered in blood from head to toe, so it was no different than a corpse. To have something of this sort appear before an elegant crowd like the heavenly officials was a shock. A moment later, Pei Su was also brought in, but he still looked indifferent and apathetic even with shackles binding his person, his head bowed low, unspeaking. “General Pei, what’s the meaning of this?” Xie Lian asked. Pei Su knelt down within the Great Martial Hall, and Pei Ming replied, “A few days ago I went to visit Little Pei, and he mentioned something interesting.” Pei Ming paced half a circle around Xie Lian and smiled, “I’m quite familiar with Little Pei’s ability. Even if his clone’s powers are reduced and nowhere near the same as his true self, it’s still quite competent. It’s still capable to fight evenly with a ‘Savage’. However, he told me there was a mortal that was able to beat him to the point where he had to relent. Now isn’t that interesting?” Pei Ming continued, “And so I questioned him, and apparently, at the time, there was a red-clothed young man next to Your Royal Highness while you were at the Banyue Pass.” Hearing the words “red-clothed” made all the officials present shift expressions. Then, Pei Ming’s following words made them all agitated. He said, “And this young man, in the dark, was able to eradicate all the menacing Banyue soldiers in a flash.” “– Now, Your Royal Highness. Might you enlighten us who this red-clothed young man might be?” If it wasn’t a ‘Savage’ then it must be a ‘Supreme’. And one that could kill hundreds of ‘Savage’s in a flash, dressed all in red. Anyone could guess who that young man could possibly be, yet no one wanted to be the first to say the name. Xie Lian stole a glimpse at the mute Pei Su, and replied a little unnaturally, “Ahem, really? About that. I really don’t remember it well. There was also a caravan that was trapped in the Banyue Pass at the time, and we spent a few days together, so maybe it was someone from the caravan.” Pei Ming smiled, “That can’t be right, Your Royal Highness. According to Little Pei, you and that young man were abnormally close, not like someone you’ve just met for only a few days. How can you not remember?” ‘No, you’re wrong. That was the truth. It really was only just a few days.’ Xie Lian thought. Nevertheless, his expression gave nothing away. Just then, from the sidelines a white clad cultivator casually waved his whisk and spoke up, “General Pei, you’ve only heard Little Pei’s side of the story. Little Pei has committed a crime; he’s currently in detention soon to be exiled. Whether his words are believable needs to be discerned, no?” “Then we shall see if General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen can give us a hand.” Pei Ming replied. Following his line of sight, Xie Lian found Feng Xin and Mu Qing, standing separately on the southwest and southeast corners of the hall. Feng Xin still looked the same as in his memories; standing tall and straight, his eyes determined, and brows always slightly furrowed, as if there’s always something annoying him, but really he’s not annoyed at all. Mu Qing on the other hand, was somewhat different than what he remembered. Although his face was still pale as chalk without much blood, his thin lips pursed, his eyes half lidded, yet there’s a cool air of ‘don’t talk to me’ surrounding him. He stood with his arms crossed, a finger on his right hand tapping his left elbow softly, looking like he was either at ease, or more like he was scheming something. The two were definitely good-looking men, but each had their own flaws. Hearing Pei Ming calling them out, they both looked towards Jun Wu at the same time. It was only until Jun Wu gave a slight nod before they stepped forward reluctantly. This was the first time since Xie Lian’s third ascension that he’d come face to face with the two of them. He could sense all the eyes on them going wilder. Wild was inevitable. The Great Martial Hall was the number one martial palace of heaven; non-heavenly officials had no entry rights to discuss matters. The first time the Crown Prince of Xianle ascended, Feng Xin and Mu Qing were his deputy generals. At the time, they were only low ranking officials from the middle court without even the right to run errands within the Great Martial Hall. And now, not only could the junior officials of back then now stand in the hall, their rankings were even higher than that of their old master, truly a turn of fate! The three of them looked at each other, eyes flitting all over, stealing glimpses at each other but pretending not to care, who knows that the other two were thinking. However, Xie Lian could roughly guess why Pei Ming had called them out to help. As suspected, Pei Ming said, “General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen had both fought with Hua Cheng before. I’m sure they have the authority to speak on the weapon of that person.” So the point of bringing forth the empty shell A-Zhao was for all to inspect its wounds. Feng Xin and Mu Qing slowly approached the floating body. Xie Lian himself took a few steps forward to take a look, but there was so much blood darkened to black spots, it was hard to tell anything. The other two, face austere, took their time in their inspection. Finally, they raised their heads and swept a look at each other, neither of them wanting to speak first. Ling Wen spoke up from next to the throne, “Generals. Conclusion?” It was Feng Xin who spoke first, his voice dark, “It’s him.” “The scimitar E’ming.” Mu Qing added. Among all the heavenly officials present in the Great Martial Hall, it was probably only Xie Lian who didn’t know the significance of those words. The scimitar E’ming was the very same freakish weapon Hua Cheng had used when he singularly challenged the thirty-three officials and beat them to a pulp, decimating their soul and dignity! Within the Great Martial Hall, the heavenly officials started whispering to each other, the eyes watching Xie Lian unreadable. Pei Ming had attained his objective, “Much thanks to the two generals for confirming this fact. If the red-clothed young man who traveled next to Your Royal Highness really was that person, then this whole matter is going to be more complicated.” The white clad cultivator from before spoke up again, “General Pei, are you saying His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Xianle colluded with a Supreme Ghost King specifically to frame General Pei Junior?” Both times when that cultivator spoke, he was on Xie Lian’s side, so he had to take a look at who exactly this curious fellow cultivator was. What he saw was a cultivator with clear, bright eyes; He had a whisk between his arms, a long sword carried on his back, and a folding fan tucked in his white jaded belt. His form was graceful and elegant, his expression spirited. He looked familiar but Xie Lian couldn’t recall when he had met anyone like this. Pei Ming also glanced at him, but like an irritated elder would when they didn’t want to deal with children. He shook his head and waved dismissively, withdrawing the floating empty shell that was A-Zhao, then turned around and continued his argument, “It may not be collusion. Except, that person is powerful and wicked, who knows if he might’ve used deceptive tricks to blind His Royal Highness..” His intention was to make Hua Cheng out to be the real perpetrator behind the chaos of Banyue Pass! Xie Lian rebuked, “General Pei, even if you don’t believe me, you should still believe in the Wind Master. Back in the Sinner’s Pit, General Pei Junior admitted to the crime of luring passersby to the Banyue Pass with his clone, and the Wind Master heard everything.” Pei Ming glanced at the white clad cultivator again. Xie Lian continued, “Besides, since we’re both here at the Great Martial Hall, you can very well ask our lord whether if I have traces of any spells of deception on my person.” Jun Wu, who sat high above, remained calm and unchanging, meaning Xie Lian was cleared. Xie Lian then continued, “General Pei, let’s keep things clear and separate. Let’s not talk about whether if the young man I traveled with was Hua Cheng or not, and even if he was confirmed to be Hua Cheng, it has nothing to do with what General Pei Junior had done. A Supreme Ghost King might have the worst of names on people’s lips, but not everything can be blamed on him either.” His expression was composed and neutral when the name was uttered, but many in the hall had cold shivers run down their backs. Pei Ming replied, “No matter what, I believe this affair needs to be reexamined. It’d be best if the Guoshi Your Royal Highness has taken away, Ban Yue, could be brought in for interrogation too.” To interrogate her for what? Force her to lie? Xie Lian hadn’t yet responded when someone else spoke up first. Pei Su looked as if he didn’t want to remain in the Great Martial Hall anymore, and said in a low voice, “General. Let it go.” “What?” Pei Ming was irritated. “There isn’t any spell of deception. It’s all my doing, I’ve disappointed you.” Pei Su confessed. Pei Ming was just in the middle of clearing his name, but he himself went and said this. Pei Ming turned cold, and said darkly, “What enchantment concoction did that Ban Yue Guoshi feed you? Shut your mouth.” However, Pei Su raised his head, “Let it go, general! Little Pei isn’t afraid to admit to things I’ve done. Since I’ve been caught red-handed, then I’m not afraid to receive whatever the punishment.” Pei Ming’s face was written full of the shock of: you’ve always been so mature and competent, why did you suddenly go nuts today? And he was just about to kick Pei Su over the head to wake him up when Jun Wu spoke up, “Enough.” The moment he spoke, Pei Ming withdrew his leg and bowed. Jun Wu spoke languidly, “The matter of the Banyue Pass is settled. Take Little Pei down and exile him in the next few days.” After some silence, Pei Ming acknowledged, “Yes, my lord.” Xie Lian only just breathed in relief when Pei Ming continued, “But Nan Yang and Xuan Zhen have proven that the wounds on that empty shell were indeed inflicted by the scimitar E’ming.” “I understand.” Jun Wu replied, “That is a whole other matter.” “Pray my lord will look into this matter.” Pei Ming said. “I will naturally investigate. Ming Guang and fellow deities have no need for concern.” After a pause, Jun Wu continued, “You are all dismissed for today. Xian Le, you stay.” It looked like Xie Lian would be personally interrogated. The heavenly officials had nothing left to say and bowed their heads, “Yes, my lord.” Dismissed, the other heavenly officials exited in their groups of two or threes. When Feng Xin passed by, he glanced at Xie Lian looking as if he had something to say, but stopped himself. Xie Lian smiled at him and he was startled before hurrying away. Mu Qing however, walked passed never sparing a look, as if Xie Lian never existed. That white clad cultivator walked over with his whisk in hand and a huge smile ready to speak when Pei Ming, who had just lost favour, walked over too with one hand resting on his hilt and the other rubbing his nose, and said helplessly, “Qingxuan, for your brother’s sake, can you not stir up trouble?” The smile disappeared from the face of that white clad cultivator, “General Pei, there’s no need to use my brother against me, I’m not afraid of him.” “You–” Pei Ming was enraged but couldn’t do anything. Finally, he pointed at him, “You… You’ve really done Little Pei in now. Two hundred years of exile.” The white clad cultivator swung his whisk wildly, “That’s Little Pei’s own doing, this has nothing to do with me!” Looking like he didn’t want to continue to quarrel with Pei Ming, the white clad cultivator ran off. Xie Lian thought Pei Ming might stick around to taunt him further, but he didn’t and exited the hall willfully. In the large and spacious Great Martial Hall, the only one who remained besides Jun Wu and Xie Lian who was below the throne was actually the Crown Prince of Yong’An, Lang Qianqiu. Xie Lian was curious, why did he stay? When Xie Lian approached, this guy had his eyes closed, fast asleep while standing. Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and feeling quite awed, he gently tapped the young man’s shoulder, “Your Highness. Your Highness?” Lang Qianqiu woke with a jerk, “What’s happened?!” “Nothing’s happened. The meeting is over.” Xie Lian explained. Having just woken up, Lang Qianqiu was still a little dazed and asked in confusion, “Over? Just like that? What did we all discuss? I didn’t hear anything?” “If you didn’t hear anything then nevermind,” Xie Lian said, “It wasn’t anything important anyway. Come now, time to go back.” “Oh!” Lang Qianqiu left, but when he reached the doors he looked back, still confused but gave XIe Lian a big smile, “Thanks for waking me!” Xie Lian waved at him with a smile. When finally everyone has cleared out, Xie Lian slowly turned around. Jun Wu also descended from the throne, hands behind his back, and came before Xie Lian, “Crimson Rain Sought Flower. The scimitar E’ming.” Xie Lian was like a cat picked up by the back of his neck, and he involuntarily straightened up. “So. What is going on?” Jun Wu asked. Xie Lian looked at him, then suddenly kneeled. Before Xie Lian’s knees touched the floor, Jun Wu reached out and held his elbow, preventing him from kneeling. He sighed, “Xian Le.” Xie Lian straightened once more, his head bowed, “I’m sorry.” Jun Wu watched him, “Then do you admit to your wrongs?” “I do.” Xie Lian replied. “Then why don’t you tell me what the wrong is?” Jun Wu questioned.
●MXTX Author Notes: Everyone knows me, right? Other than the main ship, everyone is straight. There are no male characters who will spark love with the Gong or Shou. I see in the comments section, a lot of people are torn over this, and I feel the understanding is a bit off, so let me explain again here: SV is SV, MDZS is MDZS, and TGCF is TGCF. SV being the first novel has many exceptions so it’s out of discussion. MDZS and TGCF are both main ships only, ok. I’ve said this more than once already during MDZS’ serialization, and I’ve mentioned this repeatedly again in many other places. Especially MXY. While he’s also a little gay, but he died from the get go, so he doesn’t count as a formal character…… Everyone can make up headcanons as they like, as long as the main ship isn’t broken or switched, it’s fine. But personally, my work definitely veers towards having only one gay couple, so this work has no plans for a side ship. I’m saying this for the sake of avoiding completely unnecessary disputes. —— In this text, to become a god, one must first become a hero, which is one who is special amongst mortals. Only a properly ascended mortal can become a heavenly official. How do their servants become proper officials? They have two options: first they have to be adept at a particular skill, and enter either the Martial or the Civil rank. Second, they have to have the luck. If they have good luck, then there’s a good chance. If they randomly find some spiritual potion on the side of the road, that works too. The officials in the Middle Court are those brought in by the Upper Court as deputy generals or servants. Basically if you’re on good terms with the big guns, they can pull you up. Although not a full-fledged official, you’re still part of the heavens, so there’s all sorts of people. So say a heavenly official had a close relationship with you or if they thought you have a bright future, they’ll promote you first. As long as you have the skill and chance, you can become a big gun yourself too! Ch.34: In the Great Martial Hall; Crown Prince Meets Crown Prince 3 Xie Lian was silent and Jun Wu shook his head, “I didn’t think you would know.” The Martial Heavenly Emperor slighted his head, gesturing for Xie Lian to follow, and the two walked slowly towards the chambers behind the hall. As they walked, Jun Wu, with his hands cradled in front, commented, “Xian Le is all grown up now.” Naturally, Xie Lian didn’t dare speak to that comment. Jun Wu continued, “Eight hundred years ago when I sent you down, I told you to keep periodic communication with me so you won’t be rolling in the mud all by yourself, but the moment you went down, all communication was cut, and you had to go torment yourself. You’ve ascended for some time now, but not once have you reported in to the Great Martial Hall. If anyone else was this impertinent, the Palace of Ling Wen would have reproached them directly.” Of course Xie Lian’s “I’m sorry” earlier wasn’t directed to this matter, and Jun Wu knew this too. “If your apology was for those few sword stabbings, then let it go. You said so yourself, after stabbing, everything can be forgotten.” Xie Lian grimaced, “…How could I forget?” “Then look to the future. There’s still much we need you for.” Xie Lian rubbed his forehead, “Xian Le is but a lowly rubbish god without power. There is no need for me. I only ask not to be burdensome.” “Why depreciate yourself? Didn’t you perform splendidly in the last two cases?” Jun Wu said. “Except I may have offended General Pei.” “Ming Guang is fine, I’ll watch over him, you don’t need to worry. However,” Jun Wu turned around, “Tell me, what kind of extraordinary character did you engage with when you descended this time?” Xie Lian raised his hand, “My lord, I swear I did nothing. Just, one day by chance I encountered an interesting child on the road, and we spent some time together. I didn’t think much of it.” Jun Wu nodded, “Chance encounter, child, Supreme Ghost King. Xian Le, you do know that if Ming Guang was to question you further and you had confessed this in front of the other officials, what the consequences would be? No one would believe you.” “Xian Le knows.” Xie Lian replied woefully, “So I am grateful for My lord’s timely intervention. My lord, you’re not actually going to interrogate me, are you? I wouldn’t collude with the Ghost Realm. This is all absurd concerns.” “Naturally, I know you would not intentionally collude with the Ghost Realm.” Jun Wu said. “I am grateful for My lord’s trust.” Xie Lian replied. “However, with things thus, it may no longer be appropriate to send you to investigate an important matter that has surfaced.” “What is it?” Xie Lian inquired. At this time, the two of them had reached the chamber behind the great hall. The great hall and the back chamber was separated by a large mural, the front depicting the golden palace towering through a sea of clouds, radiant and brilliant. The back side of the mural was another depicting mountains and valleys of over ten thousand miles. On the map there were many tiny pearls like stars. Each of these stars marked a Great Martial Temple in the mortal realm. A pearl embedded on the map means there was a Great Martial Temple built there. Eight hundred years ago when Jun Wu brought the Xie Lian who had ascended for the first time to the back chamber, the pearl stars on the mural weren’t as dense, but now, the shimmering jewels seemed to be plentifully bestrewn, overwhelming in their radiance. Jun Wu stood before the mural and spoke, “Seven days ago, many saw with their own eyes, a dragon of fire abruptly soaring to the sky from a forest in the east.” Xie Lian’s face grew serious hearing those words. Jun Wu, with one hand behind his back, used the other and softly knocked on the mural once, “That dragon of fire lasted for two incense time before burning out. Do you know what that means?” “The spell for the Ascending Fire Dragon emits intense flames that do not harm. It’s a call for help.” Xie Lian replied. “That is correct. It was a distress signal, and it came from a heavenly official.” Jun Wu said. “It’s no ordinary call for help, it’s one of desperation.” Xie Lian added. This Ascending Fire Dragon spell with its intense flames that would not harm took an immense amount of power, and if the casting official was not careful, they could very well implode and destroy their spiritual core. Therefore, if not out of desperation, very few would go this route. Now that it appeared, it meant a heavenly official had fallen into grave danger. “Are there any officials whose whereabouts are unknown recently?” Xie Lian asked. “The matter with the Banyue Pass was not the only reason all the officials were summoned back to court this time. The main purpose was to use this chance to investigate everyone’s whereabouts. Other than those who usually do not show like the Rain Master and the Earth Master, even those who couldn’t make it back had reported in.” Xie Lian hummed for a moment then speculated, “Maybe it wasn’t any of the officials from this term? Could it be any one of the retired officials?” “If that’s the case, then I’m afraid our perimeters will largely expand. Many of the retired officials have long lost contact with the heavens. It would be difficult to determine who is the one in peril.” Jun Wu said. So this was probably why Ling Wen and many of the civil officials had dark circles under their eyes; they were busy working on this case, and certainly wouldn’t have the time to investigate that boy with the human face disease from Mount Yujun. “To corner a heavenly official to the point of using such a self destructive spell, it must be the doing of great evil. Are there any demonic gatherings or lairs in that area?” “There is.” Jun Wu replied, “And it’s very closeby. Do you know of the Ghost City?” Xie Lian thought about it and replied, “I’ve heard of it.” The Ghost City was the most prosperous place within the ghost realm, situated right at the crossroads of the mortal and the ghost realms. This was where all manners of spirits, ghosts, demons and monsters gather by the swarms to conduct trades and exchanges. Cultivators of certain levels would also go to do business or seek information. Sometimes, there would also be heavenly officials in disguise, mixing in for curiosity sakes or other unknown reasons. Of course, there were also those who’d enter by mistake, and would either be eaten alive, or scared to death. Ever since ancient times — although not as ancient as Xie Lian — there had always been many tales of the Ghost City in the mortal realm. Xie Lian remembered one of the stories had a man traveling at night who saw a bustling market before him with large red lanterns and colourful signs. He entered the market in high spirits but found that everyone around him had a mask, and if not hooded, then extremely ugly, very curious! He didn’t think deeply about it, bought a bowl of noodles and sat down to eat, but as he ate the food didn’t feel right, and when he looked closely, the noodles were actually squirming strands of hair! Xie Lian brought himself back to the present, and Jun Wu continued, “After seeing that column of fire, I immediately sent officials to go investigate the area, but there was no evidence of anything, so it’s very possibly that they’ve moved to the Ghost City. However, the Heavenly Realm and the Ghost Realm have always drawn very clear borders, so without enough proof, we cannot intrude the Ghost City. Which is why this time, I need someone to descend in secret and probe the Ghost City.” “We can’t alert the enemy and have them move again. Is that why this couldn’t be discussed openly at the great hall with everyone and let too many know?” Xie Lian said. “That is correct.” Jun Wu replied. “Then My lord, pray give Xian Le the command.” “The first candidate I had in mind was originally you,” Jun Wu said, “But for this, it may be inconvenient for you to go.” “How would it be inconvenient?” Xie Lian asked. “First, the east is ruled by Lang Qianqiu. If you should go, you must cooperate with him.” Jun Wu said. Xie Lian responded, “That would not be a problem, please do not worry.” “Second,” Jun Wu continued, “Do you know whose territory the Ghost City sits in?” Taken aback, Xie Lian said, unsure, “Is it Hua Cheng?” Jun Wu nodded slowly. Xie Lian suddenly felt at ease, but something else came to mind. That column of fire in the eastern forest blazed up seven days ago. Coincidentally, it was seven days ago when Hua Cheng left Puqi shrine. The timing was impeccable. Was there a connection between the two events? “Looks like your relationship with him is not bad.” Jun Wu said, “If you accidentally run into him, then all may still be well. However, should he have any connection to this case, if you feel awkward then do not force yourself. If you have any other suggestions do let me know.” However, Xie Lian still said, “Let me go. I don’t think that Crimson Rain Sought Flower is a disingenuous individual.” Jun Wu looked at him, “Xian Le, I know you’re very capable and know what you’re doing. However, I also know you always think the best of everyone.” Hearing his words, Xie Lian gave a small smile, “Please don’t say it like I’m a princess who has never left home. Those words really don’t suit me anymore.” Jun Wu still shook his head, “I shouldn’t comment on the friends you make, but I will still say this: be careful of Hua Cheng.” Xie Lian lowered his head in a bow, and said nothing. He should’ve responded with “Yes, My Lord,”; after all it’s all a habit by now. Yet, somehow, he really didn’t want to say this “Yes”. “Be especially careful of that wicked blade of his.” Jun Wu continued. “What do you mean?” Xie Lian asked, curious. “The Scimitar E’ming. It is a cursed blade, a blade of misfortune. An evil weapon such as that would need a terrifyingly cruel sacrifice and a bloody determination before it could be forged. Do not touch it, and do not let it injure you either, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.” Jun Wu replied. Xie Lian couldn’t tell where his sudden surge of confidence came from, but he didn’t think Hua Cheng would hurt him at all. Still, he responded, “Xian Le understands.” Jun Wu nodded again, “I will naturally be at ease with you taking this case. If you don’t feel any awkwardness, then even better. But still, going on this mission by yourself may be too much. Are there any other officials you’d like me to appoint to this case?” “It really doesn’t matter.” Xie Lian said after some thought, “But preferably someone easy to get along with. It’d be good if they’re powerful so they can lend me some spiritual power from time to time.” Jun Wu smiled, “You struck out both Nan Yang and Xuan Zhen with the first condition.” Truly, no one could say that the Feng Xin and Mu Qing now were personalities that were easy to get along with, and Xie Lian started chuckling too. “How goes between the three of you? Have you spoken with them yet?” Jun Wu asked. The Heavenly Emperor himself never entered the communication array, and thus naturally unaware of the buzzing chitchats that went on among the officials. “We spoke a few words,” Xie Lian replied. “It’s been so many years and yet you have only spoken a few words?” Jun Wu inquired, “Oh, that’s right. I heard when you ascended this time, you destroyed many of your fellow officials’ palaces and properties, and one of them was Nan Yang.” Xie Lian argued back, “I paid back that debt! All eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand merits! And for this, I need to thank My lord for giving me the opportunity to go to Mount Yujun.” “Thank Nan Yang,” Jun Wu replied, “I heard Ling Wen say it was he who privately approached her to clear your debt of his reconstruction cost.” Xie Lian was stunned. “This… I didn’t know about this at all.” No wonder those eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand merits were so easily repaid; so much of it was already forgiven. Yet at the time, it was the palace of Nan Yang that was the most damaged; they say half of the golden roof had collapsed. “Nan Yang made sure Ling Wen would not tell you, so naturally you were unaware. Since he did not want you to know, then it would be best to keep pretending to be ignorant.” Jun Wu said. Xie Lian didn’t know how to feel about this. Complicated and bittersweet, his mind was clouded and all over the place. At last he sighed soundlessly and thought, ‘Truly, in this world, the words “don’t tell anyone” are all empty.’ Jun Wu contemplated then said, “If Nan Yang and Xuan Zhen will not do, how about the Wind Master?” Xie Lian pondered the option, “The Wind Master is good, but I don’t know if she would want to go on this mission with me?” “The Wind Master is powerful,” Jun Wu said, “A lively person who enjoys making friends, and thus matches your first condition of easy to get along with. After the business with Banyue the Wind Master has a good impression of you as well. I think you two will be alright. If you do not have any other questions, then descend with the Wind Master and investigate the Ghost City. Also,” “Yes?” Jun Wu said languidly, “Work hard, but do not force yourself.” Xie Lian was startled by those words, and smiled, “What is My lord saying? I’m not forcing myself.” Jun Wu patted Xie Lian’s shoulders, “Return to the Palace of Xianle to rest for now. I’ll send word to summon the Wind Master.” Xie Lian blinked, “I don’t have enough merits so no palace has been constructed. The Palace of Xianle from the past has long since been torn down, so what Palace of Xianle?” “I’ve granted you a new one.” Jun Wu said, “You cannot possibly always squeeze in that broken down little shrine?” Xie Lian left the Great Martial Hall, and was led to the ‘Palace of Xianle’ by a junior official from Jun Wu’s palace. This Palace of Xianle was practically exactly the same as the one he had in the past; glass red walls, sumptuous and elegant. Still, he stood outside the palace gates for a long time, but not a shred of desire to enter came to him. The Scrap Immortal was still best suited for a scrapped shrine after all. A proud and glamourous heavenly palace like this wasn’t a place he could stay. He loitered outside the entrance and waited for that Lord Wind Master to come find him, but after a while, the one who appeared wasn’t the lady cultivator in white, but another white clad cultivator. The cultivator was glowing, spiritual aura in abundance surrounding him – it was the one from the meeting at the Great Martial Hall, Qingxuan. He waved his whisk and smiled, “Greetings, Your Highness!” Xie Lian smiled back, “Greetings, fellow cultivator.” Truthfully, he really wanted to ask what his title was, but thought it’d be rude to do so. He was about to sneak a peek in his scroll to see just which heavenly official was named Qingxuan when the person in question walked up to him and exclaimed, “Let’s go! Let’s go check out the underworld.” Xie Lian was taken aback, “My friend, I’m waiting for someone.” Hearing this, the cultivator placed his whisk into the back collar of his outer robe and turned around in wonder, “Who are you waiting for?” “I’m waiting for the Wind Master.” Xie Lian replied. The white clad cultivator looked even more confused, “I’m right here?” “…” Xie Lian’s brows jumped, “You’re the Wind Master?” The other flashed open his fan, and started fanning, “I am the Wind Master, was there ever any doubt? Did you not know who I was?? Have you never heard of my name: The Wind Master Qingxuan???” His tone was irrefutable and absolute, as if Xie Lian not knowing his name was an impossible thing to happen. The folding fan had the word for wind ‘Feng’ written slantedly on the front, the backside had three inclining lines drawn – the exact same fan the lady cultivator in white had in her hand! Xie Lian suddenly recalled; Fu Yao had mentioned that some upper court heavenly officials, under special circumstances, have the ability to transform their appearance. While at Banyue, Nan Feng had also uttered an incomplete sentence: “The Wind Master had always been…” Had always been? Been what? A man?! After getting dragged for a few steps, Xie Lian still couldn’t fully process this information, “Um… Lord Wind Master, you, you, you, why did you disguise yourself as a woman last time?” “What? Was I not beautiful?” The Wind Master asked. “Yes? But…” Xie Lian was still confused. “If I was beautiful then there’s no but? As long as I looked good!” The Wind Master smiled brightly, “Of course it’s because I’d look good that I was in disguise!” Having said that, he looked to have suddenly come to an idea, and closed his fan. He gave Xie Lian a once over with a calculated look, and spoke after a moment, “Speaking of which, don’t we need to be undercover for this mission to the Ghost City?” “…” Xie Lian: “???” Ch.35: Enter the Ghost City! Rendezvous with the Ghost King Much ashamed, it wasn’t until four hours later that Xie Lian had the time to sneak a peek at his scroll and finally learned the backstory of this Wind Master. The Five Elemental Masters of the heavens used their titles to replace their surnames. For example, before the Earth Master ascended, his mortal name was called Ming Yi. After ascension, he was to be addressed as ‘The Earth Master Yi’. As for the Wind Master, his old name was Shi Qingxuan, and after ascension he was called ‘The Wind Master Qingxuan’. Much fitting for his title, his personality was like the wind; he was sociable and generous, mindless of petty details, and very popular in the heavens, as apparent from him easily handing out ten thousand merits in the communication array. But at the end of the day, as his older brother was the god that controlled mortal wealth, of course the Wind Master was generous and mindless of petty details. Indeed, the older brother of Wind Master Qingxuan was the one called ‘The Water Tyrant’, the Water Master Wu Du. Descending to the underworld together, the two gods walked side by side, chatting as they traveled. Xie Lian had his arms crossed and commented in amazement, “The Pei family producing two ascended generals under one name was already a legend, but you and your brother, one wind one water, ascending at the same time, is truly a tale of wonder.” It must be known that even in a million there may not be that one who had the ability to ascend. Pei Ming and Pei Su were separated by a few hundred years, and Pei Su wasn’t even the direct descendant; he was from Pei Ming’s brothers’ branch of the family that was who knows how many times removed through the generations. The Water Master Wu Du and the Wind Master Qingxuan were real blood related brothers, a real pair of ascended officials from the same house, thus truly incredible. Shi Qingxuan laughed it off, “It’s nothing. My brother and I were born from the same mother, grew up together, went to school together, cultivated together, so naturally we’d ascend together.” Xie Lian also learned about this when he was cramming from the scroll earlier. Shi Wu Du ascended first, but after only a few years, his brother Shi Qingxuan also successfully passed a heavenly calamity. Mortals often worship the two heavenly officials together in the same temple and praised them as equals. It was obvious the two brothers enjoyed a good relationship. As San Lang and Nan Feng had mentioned, the Water Master must be the reason Pei Ming wouldn’t touch the Wind Master. After all, the brother of the Water Tyrant was not one to be picked on easily. Coming to this point, Xie Lian thought of another detail and considered it before asking, “Lord Wind Master, at the Great Martial Hall earlier, the way General Pei spoke it sounded as if he shared a friendship with your brother. Wouldn’t your filing the complaint against General Pei Junior affect…” “Nah.” Shi Qingxuan replied, “My brother already knows I can’t stand Pei Ming.” “Knowing is one thing, action is another.” Xie Lian said. “Wouldn’t all of this cause a rift between the Water Master and General Pei?” “If that caused a rift, even better! I wish my brother would stop hanging out with him, and leave the ‘Three Tumors’ moniker behind one day.” Shi Qingxuan said. Xie Lian stopped, “What ‘Three Tumors’?” Shi Qingxuan said astonished, “What! You don’t know about this either? Fine, whatever. I now know you’re not up to date with anything. You can just listen for giggles. The ‘Three Tumors’ is the nickname given to the three heavenly officials who don’t have a good rep but have a good relationship with each other, and they are Ming Guang, Ling Wen, and my brother. ‘I can’t believe it’s not Xie Lian, Xie Lian, and Xie Lian.’ Xie Lian thought. Shi Qingxuan fanned his Wind Master fan and continued, “Even if I can’t stand him, the whole business this time around was started by Little Pei himself. There’s no way I’d let Pei Ming pin this on the Guoshi of Banyue and protect Little Pei. It doesn’t matter if you’re mortal, or a god, or a demon, you have to be responsible for your own actions. Bullying a little girl is low.” The last line was uttered in contempt, and Xie Lian smiled. “The Wind Master is a defender of justice.” Shi Qingxuan laughed, “You’re not bad yourself! I’ve heard rumours about the Banyue Pass here and there, but never had the time to investigate; plus, my brother would yell at me about it. With so much on my plate, I’d forgotten. When I heard you inquire about it in the communication array the other day, it reminded me there was such a case, and so I went to check it out. Turns out not only did you ask, you’d even gone yourself! So I thought, dang, what a guy!” This Wind Master certainly had an extremely straightforward and interesting personality, and Xie Lian could understand why he was so popular in the heavens. He hadn’t thought that after ascension that he’d be able to form a friendship with a heavenly official like this, and couldn’t help but smile happily. But just as he turned his head to face him, the white clad cultivator beside him was transformed to a lady in white. It was so sudden, Xie Lian almost tripped in his step. “Lord Wind Master, why the sudden transformation?” “Oh. Truth to be told, I’m actually more powerful in this form.” Shi Qingxuan replied. As aforementioned, the Wind Master and the Water Master were often worshipped together. However, this also produced a bizarre accident. Perhaps people thought that worshipping two male gods together in one temple was weird. Lords and Ladies go hand in hand, handsome and beautiful make a pair, that should be the way. Thus, after a while someone somewhere sculpted the Wind Master as a goddess. Nevermind the goddess statue, they had to make up stories to go with it too, something like the Wind and Water gods used to be brothers and sisters; there’s even a version where they were husband and wife. After a few hundred years, the stories spread and from them came even more outlandish legends. Once in a while the two officials would read through the tales out of curiosity, but each time they would cringe and fill an entire coop with goosebumps. Nonetheless, there were more than many who believed in those outrageous stories, and the Wind Master’s gender started getting mixed up; “My Lady, prithee watch over me” could be heard all over the place. Thus, Shi Qingxuan gained the nickname ‘Lady Wind Master’. Although silly, it was actually not that rare of an occurrence. Ling Wen for example also had a similar experience. Ling Wen was a lady official, but she didn’t dress colourfully and fashionably like the other lady deities. She was often in black, serious and competent, and spent her days madly working through piles and piles of administrative scrolls in her palace. Although her personality was partly to blame, but much of it was due to another reason. If one should ask any mortal: Is Ling Wen a man or a woman? Anyone would respond with confidence: A man. A Civil God was of course a male. Only for this, when Ling Wen ascended she suffered disadvantages. She was a civil goddess, but many in the mortal realm thought: how could women be in that position? How could ladies possibly ensure good fortune in literary competence? It must not be effective! Thus, although she worked hard, she still had very few devotees. Later, some of the devotees couldn’t get over it, and rebuilt her statues into male gods, transforming her from the Goddess Ling Wen to the God Ling Wen, and even made up an entire set of extravagant backstory. After this change, her temples became prosperous and everyone praised how effective the God Ling Wen was. But the truth was, an official was an official, spiritual powers were all the same, and the legends were all fake. Still, the people ate them up. Since then, when Ling Wen needed to appear in dreams, she could only do so in the male form. By the same logic, people believed that it was more appropriate to worship a man and a woman as a pair in the Wind and Water temples. Who cared if you were a god or a ghost? You must appear as people believed. Appearances could be different by a million miles and people would still see what they wanted to see. The Upper Court heavenly officials no longer cared for this kind of thing. As for Shi Qingxuan himself, by Xie Lian’s own observations, didn’t appear to mind at all. In fact, he’s completely immersed and enjoying himself, and was even passionately dragging others into it, making Xie Lian wonder about the real identity of the lady in black that was with the Wind Master the last time. In the four hours that they had spent traveling to the underworld together, Shi Qingxuan had been tirelessly trying to persuade Xie Lian into disguising himself as a woman, with very convincing reasons like “Women have stronger auras of yin1, therefore much easier to hide in the Ghost City crowds.” Xie Lian thought about it and rejected the idea, “I don’t have enough powers to transform.” “I’ll lend you my powers!” Shi Qingxuan replied excitedly, “That’s the whole reason why the Heavenly Emperor appointed me to this mission, no?” “My lord, please save your powers for when we’re actually fighting the enemy…” Shi Qingxuan couldn’t persuade Xie Lian, and stopped pushing. At this time, the two had reached a wild field in the middle of nowhere. The night had deepened, and crows cried crazedly in the darkness, creating a creepy atmosphere. Xie Lian looked around and said, “It must be here. There are many evil auras in the air and a large graveyard nearby, we’ll for sure catch one or two going to the market. We’ll follow when the time comes.” Thus, the two squatted on top of a burial mound and waited. A moment later, Shi Qingxuan put one hand into a sleeve to rummage, and dug out a small jug of booze. “You want some?” Xie Lian reached for the jug and took a small sip, feeling his throat burn, and gave the jug back. “Thanks.” Shi Qingxuan took the jug and gulped a couple swallows himself, “You can’t drink?” “I can,” Xie Lian replied, “But drinking causes insanity, so just a taste is enough. What time is it?” Shi Qingxuan hummed, and replied, “It’s midnight.” “Must be soon then.” Xie Lian said. Just as he finished his sentence, a faint row of light appeared deep in the woods afar. That faint row of light slowly came closer and closer, until finally the two could see it was a group of expressionless women dressed in white, walking in a line. Some are old, some are young, some beautiful, some ugly, each wearing the funeral garb, a white lantern in hand, walking in an easy pace. They must be the female ghosts heading to the markets in the deep night. “Let’s follow.” Xie Lian said under his breath. Shi Qingxuan nodded, took a last swig from the jug and threw it aside. The two stood up and casually trailed behind the group of ghosts. The two had already prepared beforehand and erased all their spiritual aura; when they walked they were like people shaped logs without a scent of life. The band of female ghosts before them held their white lanterns and followed an unknown path in the darkened woods, strolled while chatting in high pitched, delicate voices. “I’m so glad the ghost market’s opened again! I need a facial!” One said. “What happened to your face? Didn’t you just recently get a facial?” Another replied. The first one responded, “It rotted again! Sigh, the one who serviced me last time said it was guaranteed fresh for a year! It hasn’t even been half a year.” Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan trailed behind them, listening to their chatter, and didn’t speak a word. When they heard something funny, they’d only lift their lips and eye each other. After about an hour, the group came to a valley. Red light emitted from deep within the valley, and wafting in the ethereal night seemed to be music. Xie Lian grew more and more curious to finally see for himself what the Ghost City looked like. As they were entering the valley, however, the last one in the line of ghosts suddenly turned her head and discovered them. Confused, she asked, “Who are you two?” The question made all the pale faced heads turn, and the women surrounded them, curious. “When did they start following us? Those two weren’t part of the group when we left the burial grounds?” “Which burial ground did you come from? How come we’ve never seen your faces before?” Xie Lian cleared his throat, “We… came from a burial ground much further away, so of course you’ve never seen us.” Shi Qingxuan smiled too, “That’s right! We came from thousands of miles especially for the Ghost Market.” The group of white clad female ghosts were silent, and expressionlessly stared at them. If it was anyone else, they’d probably fall to the ground shivering in fright. Xie Lian wasn’t afraid of having their identities exposed; these weak feral ghosts had no power over them. However, since the Ghost City was right before their eyes, it wouldn’t be wise to start anything in such close distance to the target lest they alert their enemy. Just then, one of the women staring at Shi Qingxuan slowly moved her lips. “Mei mei2, your face is very nicely maintained,” she said. Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan stopped. Immediately, the two of them nodded a few times. Xie Lian replied, “It’s alright, not bad.” And Shi Qingxuan copied his tone and said, “Pretty good, right?” All the female ghosts then approached and started a discussion, “Yea, not rotten at all.” “Mei mei, where did you get your facials done?” “Do you have any tricks?” “Can you recommend a place?” Shi Qingxuan didn’t know how to respond, and only laughed awkwardly to delay answering. Just then, the group turned around, and a sudden crimson brightness flashed into their eyes. A mysterious and haunted world opened before them. A long street appeared. It was so long there was no end in sight. Along the street were all manners of bustling stores and stalls; colourful signs were flown high above and giant red lanterns were hung low. Pedestrians filled the street, many wearing masks of faces crying, laughing, angry; some human, some not human. Those without masks could only be described as ‘bizarre’. Some have large heads and small bodies, some skinny as a bamboo stick, some flat like a pancake pressing on the ground, letting pedestrians walk all over them while complaining. Xie Lian was careful not to step on anything weird. When he passed by a food stall, he saw the stall owner use a giant bone to stir a giant pot of soup, and while it stirred, spit would spill from between its teeth, dripping into the soup, and in that soup filled with weird colours floated many an eyeball. Xie Lian watched and suddenly gained confidence. On the other side, there were strange buskers performing: a buff, burly man had a small ghost, weak as a chick, in his hold, and the man opened his mouth to blow massive flames to barbeque the small ghost while it squealed like a dying pig, writhing. The crowd cheered and shrieked, shouting ‘encore’. There were even insane individuals randomly throwing money into the air, and when one slip of it flew before Xie Lian, he grabbed one and flipped it over, it was money of the dead as he thought. As he walked, there was a butcher stall with a row of crestfallen human heads, which were hung in order of age, as indicated on their price tags; a child’s head was this much, a youth’s meat was that much, a grown man’s flesh costed this amount, a mature woman’s sinews was charged that much, etc. The one dressed in an apron with a butcher knife in hand was a boar with black, thick hair; and under its knife getting butchered was a muscular human leg, still twitching. This was truly a swarm of evil, the chaos of hell. Humans butchering pigs was a common sight, but pigs butchering humans wasn’t, so Xie Lian couldn’t help but take a few extra peeks. The boar noticed him watch and immediately reacted, “What are you lookin’ at? You buyin’?” Xie Lian shook his head, “No.” The boar butcher continued to chop onto the cutting board violently, blood spraying all over. He yelled, voice rough, “If you ain’t buyin’ then don’t watch! Fuckin’ tryin’a start somethin’? Get outta here!” Xie Lian got outta there. But just as his steps quickened, he suddenly realized something very wrong. That group of female ghosts and Shi Qingxuan had disappeared. In shock, Xie Lian wanted to connect with the Wind Master at once within the communication array, afraid that he really got dragged away by those ghosts to do facials. However, this was the Ghost City, and the spells used by the heaven were heavily restricted. The connection to the array didn’t work, so he had to wander the streets to search for the missing Wind Master. As he walked, someone suddenly grabbed him. Already alert and tense, Xie Lian instantly reacted, “Who is it?” The one who stopped him was a woman, and was surprised by Xie Lian’s reaction. But after seeing his face clearly, she started giggling, playing coy, “Hey there, little gege. Yer lookin’ mighty fine.” This woman was in an exceedingly revealing dress, her make-up terrifyingly heavy, the white foundation uneven, and when she opened her mouth clumps of it would fall off her face. Her bosoms were stuffed as if something was filled in her flesh. Truly, a shocking sight. Xie Lian gently pushed away her thin claw-like fingers and said, “My lady, there’s no need to speak like this.” The woman was taken aback, and burst out laughing, “Dear lord! ‘My lady’?? Who the hell still calls me a lady in this day and age? Hahahahahahaha!” All the passersby seemed to think it was funny too, and started laughing along. Xie Lian shook his head, but before he could speak, the woman pounced on him, “Don’t go! Little gege, I like you. Come and have fun with me all night, I won’t ask for payment!” She pouted and winked, “But I will charge. Hehehehehe…” Xie Lian sighed and prayed inwardly, and gently but firmly pushed her away. He said kindly, “My lady, please.” The woman seemed annoyed now and screeched, “Stop calling me ‘lady’, no one cares for it! Quit wastin’ my time, ya comin’ or not?” To tempt Xie Lian further, the woman suddenly unlaced her already revealing shirt. Xie Lian wasn’t prepared to face such a bold move and sighed again before turning away and continued on his way. The female ghost chased after him and continued her seduction, “D’ya like what you see?” Little did she realize, Xie Lian had grown up in the Royal Holy Pavillion, practicing abstinence for most of his mortal life, and his body and mind had always been as steady as the mountains. It didn’t matter what he saw, his heart was like still water; anything unseemly would have him automatically chant sutras in his mind, calming his spirit. Unsuccessful in her temptation, the female ghost’s expression changed, and she started yelling, “You don’t want any o’ this? Are ya even a man??” Xie Lian continued to move his sight away from her and replied, “I am.” “Then prove it!” The female ghost yelled. From the sidelines, a passerby mocked, “You slut! He thinks yer old an’ ugly, an’ want none o’ you. What are ya doin’ so clingy?” Hearing those words, Xie Lian deadpanned with a straight face, “It’s not that. It’s because I have a problem. I can’t get erect.” Everyone fell silent. Then within an instant all roared with laughter: “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahah…” This time, Xie Lian became the victim of ridicule. No one had ever met a man who was brave enough to announce to the world that they have such a problem. However, to someone like Xie Lian, it didn’t matter whether if his private member was functional or not, so he already developed the habit of using that as an excuse to get out of these kinds of situations. And it was a method that worked every single time. Sure enough, the female ghost redid her shirt and stopped clinging onto him. “No wonder yer like this. What a pig. If ya have a problem why didn’t you say so sooner? Pfft!” Not far behind them, the boar butcher threw down his knife again and yelled, “Fuckin’ slut! What’s that you say? What’s wrong with pigs???” The female ghost wasn’t scared, and yelled right back, “What about pigs?? Fuckin’ animals!” Soon the long street was filled with shouting and squawking, people hollering, “That female ghost Lan Chang is startin’ shit again!” “Butcher Zhu is choppin’ ghosts!” The two sides buzzed back and forth, rowdy and chaotic, and in the midst of that pandemonium, Xie Lian escaped. After walking for a bit, he looked back over to where the crowd was and sighed. Xie Lian continued walking and soon came upon another rowdy crowd ahead, and he stopped in front of a gigantic red building. This building was extraordinarily grandiose and imposing; its columns, roofs, walls, everything was in magnificent bright red, and the floors were covered in thick, exquisite carpet. It if must be compared, this building was on par with the heavenly palaces. The only difference was it’s more bedazzling than dignified. Large crowds went in and out of the door, and within, it was quite lively, filled with loud excited voices. At a closer look, Xie Lian found that this place was a Gambler’s Den. Xie Lian walked up to the door, and on two columns at the entrance had a set of verses3. The left said “Money Over Life”, and the right said “Gains Over Shame”. On the top horizontal column it said “HAHAHAHA”. “…” It was ugly and rough, not worthy of being entrance verses. The calligraphy was also wild, clumsy, and frenzied; a disgrace to call it calligraphy at all! It was as if someone took a brush whilst drunk, and scribbled with malintent, and the words got blown by a blast of evil aura before they were formed thus. Xie Lian was once heir to the throne, and his calligraphy was taught by the best teachers in the land. The characters he saw before him now were a real tragedy. In fact, the characters were so hellish that Xie Lian was starting to think they’re kind of funny, and shook his head. The Wind Master wouldn’t be playing around here; he’d have a better chance searching in beauty parlors for female ghosts. He was going to move on from the Gambler’s Den, but something made him reconsider, and after only a few steps, he turned around and entered the red building. In the main hall of the Gambler’s Den, crowds were filled to the brim; innumerous heads moving, laughter and desperate cries crammed the air. Xie Lian descended a few steps when he suddenly heard screaming, and when he looked to where it came from, four masked bouncers were walking over carrying another. That man was in pain, writhing and howling whilst being carried, and a trail of blood followed. Turns out, both of his legs were cleanly cut off from the knees, and blood was pouring from the stumps. A small ghost followed closely, and greedily licked up all the blood on the floor as they went. It was a terrifying sight yet no one in the Gambler’s Den spared it any looks, and continued to shout and cheer, rolling about. Though, of course, many who gamble here weren’t people, and if they were, then they’re no ordinary humans. Xie Lian slighted his body to let pass the four bouncers carrying the man, and then continued going deeper into the den. A petite attendant in a laughing mask approached him and welcomed him, “Sir, are you here to play?” Xie Lian gave a small smile, “I don’t have money on me. Mind if I just look?” In his experience, usually if you say those words in any establishment you’d get booted. Why would you enter without money? Yet the petite attendant still giggled, “No money is not a problem. Those who play here don’t really use money to gamble.” “Really?” Xie Lian asked. The petite attendant covered her mouth, “Really. Sir, why don’t you come with me.” She waved at Xie Lian, and sashayed away. Xie Lian followed behind her without a word, but carefully observed all around. This Gambler’s Den from the inside out was exceedingly extravagant and stylish, but not tacky; it was a building rich with taste. The petite attendant brought Xie Lian to the very back of the main hall, and there was a long table that was packed like sardines. Xie Lian only just approached and heard a man cry, “I bet my arm!” There were too many onlookers, Xie Lian couldn’t get through, and could only listen from outside the crowd. Suddenly another voice rang out, lazily responding, “No need. Nevermind your arm. Even your shit life is worthless here.” Hearing the voice, Xie Lian’s heart jumped. He silently mouthed the name, “San Lang.” What he heard was indeed the voice of that young man. Yet, it was slightly deeper than he remembered. However, it was because of this that it sounded even more pleasing to the ears. Although he was surrounded by boisterous brouhahas, the voice still rang loud and clear through the noise of the Gambler’s Den and into his ears. Xie Lian raised his head and found that behind the long table there was a screen curtain. And behind the curtain, he could see a faint red silhouette, laid back leisurely on a long chair.
1.Yin from Yin Yang – Yin represents the shadows and femininity. ↩ 2.Mei mei is a familiar address for little sister ↩ 3.Entrance Verses are three lines of poetry that expresses the meaning/theme of the establishment, or just for good luck. One line on each side of the door, and one over the top. ↩ Ch.36: Admiring the Flower through Red Clouds; A Heart full of Sympathy The words that came out of Hua Cheng’s mouth were exceedingly condescending and discourteous. But the moment he spoke, the man in question allowed taunting from all around, and dared not fight back. The attendant who led Xie Lian to the long table smiled, “Young master, you’re very lucky today.” Xie Lian never moved his gaze from the long table, “How so?” “Our lord is here to play,” the attendant replied, “It’s only these past couple of days that he was in the mood to pass by, so isn’t this good luck?” By her tone, Xie Lian could tell that the attendant had great respect for the ‘lord’ and very much idolizes him, as if just seeing him was the greatest honour. Xie Lian couldn’t help but smile. The screen curtain was light and fluttering, the red silhouette captivating. In front of the red curtain were a couple of charming women overlooking the gambling table, composing a picture of glamour and sensuality. At first Xie Lian was content to just watch from the background, but the moment he heard Hua Cheng’s voice he started trying to push himself through the crowd without raising any awareness that he was there. Finally, he made it through to the table and saw the man who was gambling. It was a real human. Xie Lian wasn’t surprised, since it was already known that within the Ghost City, there wasn’t just ghosts; there were also many cultivators with considerable skill and sometimes, mere mortals who were looking for their own death. The gambling man had a mask on, but both his eyes were visible, bulging and laced with red as if bleeding; his lips were pale as if he hadn’t seen the sun in days. He was a picture of a ghost more so than any ghosts present. Both of his hands were pressed tightly on a black wooden dice cup on the table, and after holding back for a moment, he shouted with abandon, “But… how come the other guy was able to bet both his legs?” One of the croupiers before the red curtain smiled, “The one before used to be an acclaimed bandit who was known for his light footwork and ability to take flight wherever he went. It was the crux of his life, so his legs were worthy as a bet. You’re neither an artisan nor a medic; what worth does your arm possess?” The man gritted his teeth, “Then… I bet my only daughter’s ten years worth of life!” Xie Lian was stunned to hear those words and thought, ‘Where on earth is there a father who is willing to bet on the life of his children? Is that even possible?’ Behind the curtain, Hua Cheng only snorted, “Very well.” From that response, Xie Lian couldn’t tell if it was his imagination, but he could sense coldness from the words. But then he added mentally, ‘San Lang had always said his fortune was good, and all of his fortune sticks came up the best of luck. If he bets with this man, wouldn’t he for sure win and take away ten years of life from that man’s daughter?’ He was just thinking those thoughts when the croupier announced sweetly, “Even will be a loss; odds will be a win. Once the cup is open, there will be no going back. Now please.” So Hua Cheng himself would not be betting in the pool. That man shook the gambling cup haphazardly, both hands grasping onto it hard, and the hall quieted down. The sounds of the dice rattling could be heard loud and crisply. Then, his movement slowed to a stop. Silence veiled. It was after a long moment before the man slowly – very slowly – lifted a corner of the gambling cup and peeked through the gap. His red eyes suddenly widened. He flipped open the cup and shouted with mad joy, “ODD! ODD! ODD!! I WIN! I’VE WON! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH I’VE WON!!! I’VE WON!!!!!” This was not the outcome the crowd of humans and ghosts surrounding the long table wanted to see and they started booing down the man, slapping the table and shouting their discontent. One of the croupiers smiled and said, “Congratulations. The fate of your business will soon see a turn around.” The man laughed uproariously and cried, “Wait! I want to bet again!” The croupier smiled, “You’re welcome to. What do you want this time?’ The man’s face dropped, and said, “I want, I want everyone competing with me in my business to drop dead!” The crowd started muttering and clicking their tongues. The croupier raised a hand to cover her smile, “If that is your wish then it’s much more difficult to fulfill than your previous wish. Won’t you consider a different wish like asking for your business to flourish?” Yet the man replied with his eyes red, “No! I only want that! That’s what I’m betting for!” “Then, if that is your wish, ten years of your daughter’s life may not be enough.” The croupier said. “If that’s not enough, I’ll bet twenty years of her life! And… And the fate of her marriage on top of that!” The crowd was stunned and burst out laughing, “That dad’s lost his mind! He’s selling his daughter!!” “Amazing, amazing!!” The croupier announced once again, “Even will be a loss, odd will be a win. Once the cup is open, there will be no going back. Now please.” That man took up the gambling cup once more, his hands shaking. If he lost, then his daughter would lose twenty years of her life and a good marriage, obviously not ideal; but if he won, then all of his competitors would drop dead? Although Xie Lian thought Hua Cheng would never let such a thing happen, after much hesitation, he still stepped forward. He was just thinking whether if he should join in using some small trick when suddenly, someone grabbed hold of him. He turned his head to see and it was Shi Qingxuan. Shi Qingxuan had returned to his male form, and whispered, “Don’t be rash.” Xie Lian whispered back, “Lord Wind Master, why did you transform back? “It’s a long story,” Shi Qingxuan sighed, “That group of women dragged me around saying they were going to introduce me to good beauty parlours. I finally escaped but they caught me again, so I had to change back. They dragged me to a place that smeared so much stuff on my face; pulling, stretching, slapping, smacking – quick, check my face! How is it? Anything wrong? Do you see anything off with my face?” He pushed his face right up to Xie Lian to be inspected, and Xie Lian dutifully gave it a detailed look before replying truthfully, “I think it looks even smoother and whiter than before.” Shi Qingxuan brightened immediately, “Really? Oh good! That’s wonderful! Hahahaha! Is there’s a mirror? Where’s a mirror? I want to see!” “Look later,” Xie Lian said, “The Ghost City is blocking our spiritual communication, so let’s not lose each other again. By the way, how did you know I was here, Lord Wind Master?” “I didn’t!” Shi Qingxuan replied, “I came because Qianqiu and I had already agreed to meet here. When we lost each other earlier, I just came here instead, but when I walked in, turns out you were here too!” “Qianqiu?” Xie Lian asked, “Meet here?” “Yea.” Shi Qingxuan replied, “Qianqiu is that Lang Qianqiu, His Highness Tai Hua. You know that much at least, right? He’s the Martial God of the East. Since we’re here, it’s best if he came too. The Gambler’s Den is one of the most bustling and the most chaotic place in the Ghost City. It’s a landmark. Many people and ghosts alike go in and out, it’s much less conspicuous for us to be about, so I told him to meet us here.” Xie Lian nodded. When he turned back to the long table, that man still hadn’t opened the cup; his eyes were rolled back and he was muttering, not unlike many of the ghosts there. Xie Lian sighed, “This man…” Shi Qingxuan said as he felt up his face, “I know what you want to say, and I agree. But, the Ghost City is Hua Cheng’s territory, and the rules here were all adhered to willingly. If you dare gamble then you can play. The heavens can do nothing. Let’s just observe, and we can come up with something if anything goes out of hand.” Xie Lian hummed, thinking there was no way San Lang would allow anything to go out of hand, so it would indeed be best to just observe. The gambling man finally seemed to gather enough courage and opened just a slither of the gambling cup to reveal the outcome. Just then, another person busted in, shut down the gambling cup with a strike, and crushed it to pieces! This strike not only crushed the gambling cup, but also the hand that was on top of it, and the entire table splintered with a deep fissure. The masked man cradled his crushed hand and rolled all over the floor screaming. The crowd of ghosts also started shouting, some cheering, and some crying in shock. The person who struck out yelled, “You! What villainous heart! If you wished for wealth and fortune then no matter, but you wished for others to drop dead? If you wanted to bet then have the guts to bet your own life, and not the life and marriage of your daughter! You’re not fit to be a man! Not fit to be a father!” The young man had sword like brows and stars for eyes, bursting with heroic aura. Although his clothes were simple and not a bit glamourous, his air of nobility couldn’t be hidden away. It was none other than the Crown Prince of Yong’An – Lang Qianqiu. Seeing him, Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan both covered their face at the same time in the crowd. Xie Lian groaned, “….Lord Wind Master, did you… not tell him… to be a little more careful when coming here, and keep it low-key….” Shi Qingxuan whined back, “…. I…I told him, but…he’s always like that…what can I do….had I known earlier…I would’ve planned for us to come down together….” Xie Lian sympathized, “I get it….I understand…” Just then, Hua Cheng chuckled lightly from behind the curtains. Xie Lian’s heart skipped a beat. The boy had often laughed when he was with Xie Lian, so now Xie Lian was able to tell somewhat whether if the laughter was genuine happiness, mockery, or laced with killing intent. A voice said lazily, “You must have guts of steel to start trouble here in my territory.” Lang Qianqiu turned to face the direction of the voice, fire within his eyes, “Are you the owner of this Gambler’s Den?” The crowd jeered, “Foolish bastard, do you even know who you’re talking to? This is our lord.” Some sneered coldly, “Not only does he own this Gambler’s Den, this entire Ghost City is his!” Lang Qianqiu barely showed any reaction, but Shi Qingxuan, on the other hand, was completely taken aback, “My dear god, is that who I think it is behind the curtain?” Xie Lian answered, “Yes…it’s him.” Shi Qingxuan asked again, “Are you sure?!” Xie Lian replied, “I’m certain.” Shi Qingxuan panicked, “We’re dead, we’re dead. What do we do about Qianqiu now?!” Xie Lian said after while, “…Let’s hope he doesn’t expose himself…” Yet the more Lang Qianqiu looked around, the angrier he became, and demanded, “This hellish place reeks of smoke and corruption, and filled to the brim with demonic chaos. What kind of scums are you? Just what do you think you’re doing here? Running a place like this, you guys really don’t have a single trace of humanity in you. ” The crowd booed in unison, “We ain’t humans anyway, what do we need humanity for? That sort of useless notion, whoever wants it can take it!” “Who do you think you are, coming all the way here to point fingers at us!” Hua Cheng said amused, “This den of mine had been a mad hellish place to begin with. There’s a path for you in Heaven, but you refuse to take it and instead, chose to barge into Hell. What shall we do with you?” After hearing the word ‘heaven’, Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan immediately knew. Hua Cheng had already seen through Lang Qianqiu and knew exactly where he had come from. Yet, Lang Qianqiu completely missed the meaning behind his words and slammed his hand down on the table once more. He was standing at the end of the table, and with this one strike, he sent the entire table flying towards the red shadow behind the curtains. Those who had originally gathered around the table dodged to the sides. However, the sitting silhouette behind the curtain didn’t move. With a wave of his hand, the long table was flung back in the opposite direction, towards Lang Qianqiu. Seeing the incoming flying object, Lang Qianqiu used one hand to push it back but then realized that it wasn’t enough and switched to both hands. Seconds ticked by and blue veins gradually surfaced on his forehead. The once bustling hall now had people and ghosts fleeing and hiding. Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan debated whether they should step in to help. Since they hadn’t been exposed yet, they could continue to help out in the dark, but if they were to walk in openly, then they’d risk getting caught altogether. On the other side, Lang Qianqiu exhaled loudly and finally pushed back the heavy, long table again. Behind the red curtains, Hua Cheng’s figure was still leaning against the chair. He curled his five fingers into a fist and then released them lightly. Instantly, the table exploded into sawdust and flew towards Lang Qianqiu. The force of this gust full of splinters was as sharp as knives, more fearful than any kind of weapon. If Lang Qianqiu was to keep his powers hidden and remain in his mortal form, he wouldn’t be able to evade the attack no matter what. Thus, moments after, when his body started emitting a faint light, Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan understood right away and panicked, “Oh no, he’s going to reveal his true form!” But this layer of light suddenly vanished as soon as it appeared. Lang Qianqiu had probably remembered that he wasn’t supposed to reveal his identity during this trip and caught himself in the last second before quickly withdrew his power. Although Lang Qianqiu had taken a step back, Hua Cheng on the other hand, didn’t. The crimson figure sitting leisurely behind the red curtain made another hand gesture. This time, he pressed his fingers together and lightly flicked up. With this one motion, Lang Qianqiu’s body lifted off the ground. Like a starfish, his body was suspended on the ceiling of the gambling hall. Not realizing what had just happened, Lang Qianqiu was still incredibly confused as to how he suddenly started floating and struggled to break free. Xie Lian sighed in defeat, “Now that his power’s been sealed, even if he wanted to use them, it’d be impossible.” Shi Qingxuan agreed, “Since the Ghost City is Hua Cheng’s territory, If he wanted to seal it, then he could. ” Even though Lang Qianqiu had been appended before the crowd, at least there was a merit that could be gained from it, which was the fact that his identity would be protected. If he had continued the brawl back then and released his powers, it would be hard to explain as to why Tai Hua-ZhenJun, the Eastern Martial God, would come to the Ghost City to wreak havoc. After all, over the course of the years, unless it was something extraordinary, Heaven and Hell all minded their own businesses. Seeing that the boisterous guest that barged into the Gambler’s Den had been detained, the crowd that fled returned and gathered in the hall once more. They pointed at the suspended Lang Qianqiu and laughed. Lang QianQiu had never experienced this kind of humiliation before, and his face flushed red as he wordlessly struggled against the invisible binds. From time to time, a ghost from below would jump up in an attempt to pat his head. Fortunately, Hua Cheng had hung him fairly high up, far from reach, or else he would end up to be the embarrassment of the century. Hua Cheng chuckled from behind the curtains, “What an interesting catch today, I’ll let you guys play with it. Whoever’s lucky and wins big can take it home to roast.” The cheers that erupted within the hall were endless, “Bet on the roll! Let’s bet on the roll! The highest roll can take him home to roast!” “Aiyaya, this little gege looks pretty delicious, hehehehe….” “Hahahahahaha, who’s the fool now! That’ll teach you to cause trouble around here!” The four masked bouncers carried in a new long table and the crowd flocked to the area once again to start the next round of bets. The masked man who was clutching his hand and howling on the ground was long forgotten. The bet this time around was no other than Lang Qiang Qiu who was suspended in mid-air. Seeing that people on the other end were riled up, Shi Qingxuan anxiously paced back and forth, waving his hands around aimlessly,” What do we do? Should we go up and win him back? Or is it better to just fight?” Xie Lian asked, “Lord Wind Master, how’s your luck?” Shi Qingxuan replied, “It’s sometimes good, sometimes bad. There’s no certainty in something like ‘luck’.” Xie Lian said, “There can be. For example, look at me, I’ve never had any good luck.” Shi Qingxuan gaped, “Is it that bad?” Xie Lian nodded gloomily, “Whenever I roll, the most I’d get is snake eyes.” Shi Qingxuan knitted his brows, but an idea came to him in an instant and he slapped his thigh, “How about this: since the most you can get is snake eyes, then you should bet on the lowest number. There can’t be anyone who’d roll lower than you.” After a moment of consideration, Xie Lian agreed, “You have a good point. Let me try.” So, he found a place near the table and threw out a suggestion, “Why not switch the rules up a bit and see who can roll the smallest? The lowest roll wins, how about that?” The crowd around the table was chaotic, some agreed, some disagreed. Xie Lian decided to take two dice and give it a try first. Before he rolled, he chanted mentally, “small, small, small.” The dice were tossed, and the two leaned in to take a look. Two sixes! Xie Lian: “….” Shi Qingxuan: “….” Xie Lian rubbed his forehead in defeat, “It seems that not even a change of rules could change my luck.” Shi Qingxuan mirrored his gestures, “Maybe it’s better if we just fight.” Just then, a croupier walked towards the red curtains and leaned in as if trying to hear what the figure behind was saying. She nodded, raised her head and announced, “Everyone, can I have your attention please. The lord has an announcement to make.” Hearing that the lord had something to say, the crowd immediately dropped everything and fell silent. The croupier continued, “The lord said to change up the rules.” Chatter broke out in the crowds, “The lord is the rule!” “The rule is whatever the lord dictates!” “What are we changing it to?” The croupier responded, “The lord said that he’s in a good mood today and wanted to play a couple rounds with everyone. Anyone is free to bet against him. Whoever wins gets to take home the thing above. Whether if you want to steam it, boil it, fry it or pickle it, it’s all up to you.” Hearing that they’d be betting against the lord, all the ghosts and demons started to have second thoughts. It seemed that Hua Cheng never really stepped in to gamble himself. Out of all the courageous ones, not one would dare to come up first. Above them, Lang Qianqiu struggled with endless determination. He barked, “What do you mean ‘thing’? I’m not a thing! You dare to use me as a bet?” His proclamation of not being a ‘thing’ was heard by the many female ghosts in the crowd. Giggling, they sent him lecherous looks while running their bloody sharp tongues across their lips as if they wanted to swallow him whole. Xie Lian thought, ‘Sigh…this child. It’s better if you speak less.’ He sighed, stepped forward, and said softly, “If that’s the case, then, please let me have a try.” Upon hearing his voice, the shadow behind the red curtains paused before slowly standing up. The croupier in front the curtains smiled, “Then, please come forth, young master.” Within the hall, demons and ghosts automatically parted for this brave warrior. When Xie Lian reached the end of the path, The croupier presented to him the polished black gambling cup in her hands, “Please go ahead.” To all the previous gamblers, she had always used a casual way of speaking. Despite the ordinary words that were uttered, her tone wasn’t polite in the slightest. However, now, to Xie Lian, not only had she switched to using honorifics*, but the tone was exceedingly polite and respectful. Xie Lian received the black gambling cup from her with a word of thanks and lightly cleared his throat. Since he never had any experience with something like gambling, he shook the cup randomly for a good while and pretended that he knew a thing or two. As he moved his hands, he raised his head and glanced at Lang Qianqiu who was hanging above. Lang Qianqiu’s eyes were wide open, staring at him and thankfully, he didn’t make a sound. His expression somehow made Xie Lian wanted to laugh, but he held it back. After a long shake, he finally stopped. Countless pairs of eyes zoomed in on the cup in his hands and Xie Lian felt that somehow, this tiny little gambling cup had grown heavier. He didn’t know if there was a right way to flipping it. However, just when he was about to reveal the outcome, the croupier stopped him, “Wait.” “Is something the matter?” Xie Lian asked. That croupier replied, “The lord said your cup shaking posture isn’t quite right.” Xie Lian thought to himself, ‘Was there really a correct way of doing this? Was all my bad luck before due to my bad posture?’ He asked modestly, “May I ask what the correct posture is?” The croupier responded, “The lord has invited you to go up as he’s willing to teach you.” Upon hearing that, the crowd of ghosts within the den voiced their discontent. Xie Lian heard a ghost mutter, “To think the lord would teach him, does that mean he’s gonna die?” “The lord wants to do what??? Just who is this??? Why teach him???” “Isn’t that how we all shake cups? How is there even a right way of doing this?” Xie Lian also wanted to ask the same question, but the croupier already motioned him towards the red curtains, “Please go ahead.” Thus, Xie Lian arrived in front of the red curtains with the black wooden gambling cup clutched in his hands. The silk curtain swayed gently, almost giving life to the red silhouette. The person behind the curtains was standing directly in front of him with only half an arm’s distance between the two. Xie Lian held his breath as a hand parted the heavy red curtains and landed perfectly under his, supporting the gambling cup. This was a right hand, white and elegant; the slender fingers had a red thread tied around the third. Against the pitch black wooden cup, the white looked even paler and the red even more vivid. Slowly, Xie Lian lifted up his eyes. A youth roughly around the age of eighteen or ninteen silently stood behind the silk curtains that looked like red clouds. It was San Lang. His clothes were still the same maple red, and his skin white as snow. That same uniquely handsome face with incomparable youthful expression was now slightly more defined. That shyness of boyhood had morphed into one of calmness. He carried an air of wild playfulness that couldn’t be tamed. The same eye that twinkled like stars never moved away from Xie Lian. Although as bright as stars, there was only one left eye. The other was hidden behind a black eyepatch. Ch.37: Admiring the Flower through Red Clouds; A Heart Full of Sympathy 2 There was only a small gap between the curtains, but from his position, Xie Lian was the only one that could make out the person behind it since he had blocked everyone else’s vision in the hall, they weren’t able see anything. Not that they would dare to sneak a peek anyway. That left eye watched Xie Lian, and Xie Lian returned the gaze, subconsciously drawn to it. Hua Cheng’s appearance this time around didn’t only seem to look a couple years older, but he’d also grown taller. Before, when Xie Lian looked at him, he could still manage to maintain the same level of eye contact, but now, he had to strain his neck to look up. After staring at each other for a good while, Hua Cheng finally broke the silence. His voice was deeper, “Would you like to bet on the highest or the lowest?” It was this kind of deep voice, one that is pleasant to the ear, that had pulled Xie Lian back to reality. Whether if it was betting on the highest number or the lowest, there was no difference. So he answered right away, “Highest.” Hua Cheng replied, “Fine. Then I’ll go first.” Xie Lian’s left hand supported the base of the black gambling cup. His right hand covered the circular lid. Hua Cheng stood in front of him, with his right hand covering Xie Lian’s left, he guided him to shake lightly before lifting the lid. There were two dice at the bottom of the cup, a six and a five. From all the way above, Lang QianQiu with his vision of a hawk saw how easily the high roll took place and his eyes widened, “How did that happen??” Hua Cheng gently shifted his hand and beckoned Xie Lian to give it another go, “Shake it like this. Now you try it.” Xie Lian mirrored his actions and shook the cup twice, but Hua Cheng said, “Not like that.” Even though he was reprimanding Xie Lian, his tone was exceptionally gentle and patient. As he explained, Hua Cheng supported Xie Lian’s hand with his own again, but this time, his left hand found its way to Xie Lian’s right hand, the one that was covering the lid. He instructed softly, “like this.” And just like that, the back of Xie Lian’s hands were enveloped within Hua Cheng’s palms. When skin touched skin, Hua Cheng’s hands felt temperate like jade. The exquisite silver vambraces that Hua Cheng wore were cold as ice, yet, Hua Cheng’s movements were careful, and never allowed them come into contact with Xie Lian’s skin. His hands guided Xie Lian’s and shook the black wooden gambling cup in a rhythm that was neither hurried nor slow. Once. Twice. Thrice. Clack, clack, clack. The sound of the two dice colliding with each other as they bounced inside the cup was crisp. Even though the shakes were gentle, Xie Lian could feel waves of numbness from the back of his hands, traveling along his arm, spreading to the rest of his body. As he was shaking, Xie Lian lifted his eyes to sneak a peek at the other person and realized that Hua Cheng wasn’t looking at the gambling cup at all. Instead, he was watching him intently with the corners of his mouth curved up. Xie Lian couldn’t help but return a fond smile at him, but immediately controlled himself when he remembered the crowd of ghosts that were watching him from above and below. He lowered his head and diligently studied the gesture that Hua Cheng showed him. “How’s this?” He asked. Hua Cheng widened his smile, “Hm. That’s right, just like that.” Seeing that Xie Lian shook the cup a few more times full of hopefulness, he suggested, “Why don’t you take a look?” Xie Lian lifted the lid and saw two white dice at the base. It was two threes. Rolling two threes was already considered an impossible feat. It was as if a gentle spring wind had blown past Xie Lian’s heart and he thought, “Could it be that I’ve finally learned the trick?” However, even though it was shocking, six points is still slightly less than eleven points. He cleared his throat and admitted, “I’m sorry, I’ve lost.” But Hua Cheng replied, “Don’t worry, this round doesn’t count. I’m teaching you right now, try again.” Hearing him say this, even Lang Qianqiu and Shi Qingxuan were tongue-tied. The crowd of ghosts in the hall stared with their mouths gaping open, then came the complaints. “What happened to the lord? I thought he was gonna show him who’s boss, but he actually ended up teaching him for real??” “How can you not count this round?? You still call this gambling?” “If this doesn’t count, then when will it count?” “Looks like the lord is really in a good mood today…” Hua Cheng raised his left brow and immediately, the croupier standing by the side shushed, “Everyone please quiet down.” In the blink of an eye, the hall had quieted down again. Although no one dared to speak, their stares intensified. Hua Cheng chuckled and softly whispered words of encouragement to Xie Lian’s ear, “why don’t you try again?” It might be because there were too many ghosts, demons, humans alike packed into this Gambling Den that somehow Xie Lian felt his face started to heat up, “Okay.” Rattle, rattle, he shook twice more. This time, when he revealed the cup: it was two fours. Hua Cheng mused, “See, isn’t it a little higher this time?” Although he felt that something was off, Xie Lian still nodded his head, “ Yes…it’s a little higher.” Hua Cheng encouraged, “ You did well. Keep going.” With one compliment after another, there were giggles heard in all direction of the hall. Judging by the sound, it seemed as if they all came from female ghosts. Xie Lian couldn’t figure it out himself either just which posture is the correct one. In the beginning, he paid close attention in studying how Hua Cheng positioned his hands, how he managed the pace, and how he grasped the cup, but now he was letting Hua Cheng’s hand lead him and shook blindly. While shaking, a thought came to him “What if San Lang was just playing around with me…” Lang Qianqiu who had been watching from above probably felt the same and couldn’t hold it in anymore, “You! Stop shaking the cup. He’s obviously playing you. There’s no such thing as a correct posture. He must’ve cheated!” Hearing that loud boisterous voice, Shi Qingxuan covered his face in second-hand embarrassment again. Mumbles and muttering grew louder among the crowds, and a rain of dice was thrown at Lang Qianqiu. “Stupid bastard, shut up!” “So noisy, we’re just getting to the exciting part!” “Through our lord’s teaching, that cultivator had gotten outcomes higher and higher one after another. That’s the undeniable truth!” “That’s right! What do you know?!” Lang QianQiu fumed, “You, you’re practically lying through your teeth…ahhh!!” He suddenly stopped in mid speech, and his face turned bright red. It turned out, a couple of female ghosts below him had roughly yanked on his dangling waistband and scolded, “If you keep on causing a ruckus and spouting nonsense, Jie Jie1 will pull off your pants!” Lang QianQiu had never been threatened like this before, and his anger had made him speechless,” You.. you!!” He could take being beaten by a band of ghosts, but if they were to pull off his pants, then with his martial god status, that would be exceedingly embarrassing. Thus, Lang Qianqiu didn’t dare to say much more. Xie Lian looked up and saw the other god sending him eye signals. It was funny and pitiful at the same time. He could only lower his head, looked at Hua Cheng, and said in a small voice, “…San Lang.” Hearing his tone of voice, Hua Cheng chuckled, “Leave him be. Let us continue.” “…” Xie Lian gave up and, once again, held the cup and shook twice. As expected, this time, he got two fives. Seeing the result, the crowd became even livelier and continued to tease Lang Qianqiu, “Do you see that? Higher than the last!” But Xie Lian already realized that Hua Cheng was just fooling around with him and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. There’s no such thing as a correct posture. When it came to him, any posture is wrong. From here on, he might as well give up on any hope of changing his luck, but just as he was about to expose himself on the last shake, Hua Cheng stopped him, “Wait.” Xie Lian could feel the hands covering his pressing down harder, and stopped his movement altogether. “What’s wrong?” With an unreadable expression, Hua Cheng asked, “This gege, you didn’t say what would happen if you were to lose?” Hearing him call Xie Lian ‘gege’, Shi Qingxuan and Lang Qianqiu both wore a complicated expression on their faces. The crowd of ghosts also felt massive shivers run down their spines and there were even a few that fainted on the spot. It’s a little embarrassing to say, but because he was in a hurry before, Xie Lian hadn’t thought about what to bet on. “Um…” He had thought of also betting 10 years of his life, but a heavenly official’s lifespan was quite long so 10 years wasn’t really worth much. Money and treasure? He didn’t have any. Spiritual power? He didn’t have much of that either. A good amount of time had passed, but Xie Lian still couldn’t think of anything to bet on, so he could only turn and ask the owner of the Gambling Den, “Do you think there’s anything on me that’s worth betting on?” Hua Cheng chuckled at his question, “Anything’s fine. What have you got on you?” Xie Lian pondered for a little while and lightly coughed, he might as well be honest about it, “I…only have a half-eaten bun with me.” Hua Cheng burst out laughing. Even though he laughed, no one else dared to do the same even if they wanted to. When he finally settled down, Hua Cheng nodded, “That’s fine. A bun will do.” Hearing the agreement, not only were the crowd of ghosts shocked, but the croupiers at the gambling table too. Ever since the opening of this Gambling Den, there had been innumerous absurd bets made; organs, life, emotions, spiritual powers… but none were a match to the one today – a half-eaten bun. Even Lang Qianqiu couldn’t contain his surprise, “What…what’s the meaning of this? Are you saying that I’m only worth a half-eaten bun???” The crowd snickered, someone called out, “What’s wrong with a bun? You already have it easy, so hurry up and shut your mouth!” Xie Lian could tell that this defeated voice belonged to Shi Qingxuan who was hiding among the crowd of ghosts and demons. With a face full of smile, Hua Cheng beamed, “Come. It’s the last round. Don’t be nervous.” Xie Lian argued, “I’m not nervous.” The two maintained that hand-to-hand posture and shook a few times. Even though Xie Lian really wasn’t nervous, there was a light sheen of sweat on the hand that was sandwiched between the cup and Hua Cheng’s hands. Finally, the movement came to a stop. He held his breath for the final reveal — The two dice were two sixes! Xie Lian let out a sigh of relief and look up at Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng raised his brows, “Oh, I lost.” Even though he admitted his loss in a serious manner, he didn’t sound the least bit sincere. The crowd below was engulfed in silence. Before there were still people complaining “If this round doesn’t count, then when will it count”, but now, the answer was clear — it counts when that person wins. This much generosity was almost insane! Even so, no one would dare to comment. The croupier from before raised up the black wooden gambling cup, “Congratulations to this young master. You’ve won this round.” Everyone all politely praised, “The lord showed us a perfect loss! Beautiful!” “Isn’t the winner taught by the lord? He won because the lord taught him well!” “That’s right! Learning the correct dice rolling posture today really broadened my horizon! With such an immense amount of knowledge, even 10 years won’t be enough to master it!” Hua Cheng was still watching Xie Lian with a grin on his face. Not shifting his gaze, he raised his arm and with a flick of hand, Lang Qianqiu dropped like a rock. Xie Lian winced at the loud crash. Shi Qingxuan couldn’t risk exposing himself by rushing forward, so instead Xie Lian went to check up on the prince, “Are you okay?” Lang Qianqiu got up on his feet and dusted himself off, “I’m good, thank you. He probably wanted you to go up so that he can cheat and make you lose, but thank goodness you won!” Xie Lian thought “You’re completely mistaken. If he didn’t go easy on me, even if the world had turned to ashes, I would still not be able to win you back…” As he was thinking those thoughts, a tinkling of bells were heard, and the sound was followed by gasps of shock that came from all directions. Xie Lian turned around and saw that Hua Cheng had finally stepped out from the red silk screen curtains. In his previous form, Hua Cheng always sported a slightly crooked ponytail, but now, loose raven locks covered vibrant red clothing, and an aura of demonic energy radiated from the handsome figure. Only the thin braid tied with a red coral bead brought a hint of mischief to the mix. The vambraces were silver, the straps on his boots were silver, the waistband was also silver, even the long, smoothly curved scimitar that hung at his waist was silver. Just like how the blade was slender and long, the person himself was also slender and tall. He was leaning against the curtains that had been parted with crossed arms and an unreadable expression, “Gege, you’ve won against me.” Xie Lian obviously knew what had took place, and said woefully, “Please stop teasing me.” Hua Cheng raised his brow, “I’m not. Why would I?” Down below, the crowd of ghosts were bustling with excitement, as wild as the waves rolling in the sea, they whispered among themselves, “The lord changed his skin again today?” “I’m dying, his new skin is killing me! It’s so tender and firm!” “Dying? You old hag, aren’t you already dead?!” It seemed that because Hua Cheng never showed his true form in front of anyone and switched skins fairly frequently that even the band of ghosts in the Ghost City didn’t know what he looked like and assumed that this must be another of one his fake skin. Only Xie Lian knew, that the one standing in front of him was the real Crimson Rain Sought Flower of the legends.
1.Jie jie is a familiar address for older sister. ↩ Ch.38: Admiring the Flower through Red Clouds; A Heart Full of Sympathy 3 Xie Lian was still staring at the young man in red, “ You…” He wanted to say something, but under the gaze of numerous pairs of eyes, and the unreadable expression on Hua Cheng’s face that didn’t seem to show signs of recognizing him, Xie Lian debated whether if he should act so familiar with him. Instead he said, “Thank you.” “Why thank him? This place is owned by him, he probably had malintentions since the beginning.” Lang Qianqiu said. “…” Xie Lian replied under his breath, “Your Highness, let’s stop talking and call it a day.” If they were to continue, he really didn’t know what would come out of Lang Qianqiu’s mouth. Especially with the mission at hand, Xie Lian couldn’t afford to stay long. He looked at Hua Cheng a couple more times and pushed Lang QianQiu towards the exit. Just as he did so, Hua Cheng’s voice called from behind him, “Wait a minute.” Xie Lian halted his step and turned around. The chatter among the crowd started again, “That’s right my lord, we can’t just let them leave like this!” “That guy’s suspicious. He looks to be quite powerful and is probably hiding something. If you ask me, we should keep him here and interrogate him.” “Exactly, who knows who sent him to cause trouble in our world!” That last sentence almost stopped his heart. They really did come from the heavens, but the intent wasn’t to cause trouble, only quiet probing. Xie Lian wasn’t sure if Hua Cheng had saw the spiritual light that Lang Qianqiu had released before, and he wasn’t a hundred percent certain Hua Cheng would let them go if he did see. Xie Lian was growing increasingly anxious, but the tone Hua Cheng’s spoke in was laid back, “Shouldn’t you leave the prize?” Xie Lian was lost, “Prize?” Lang Qianqiu put himself in front of Xie Lian and said cautiously, “Are you going back on your words now?” But Xie Lian thought “If San Lang would never go back on his promises. Could he have meant something else?” and with that, he stepped out from behind Lang Qianqiu and asked, “But didn’t I already win the bet?” Hua Cheng, “It’s true that gege had won against me just now, but don’t forget, you’ve lost a round before.” Xie Lian was surprised, “But you said, not to worry because it didn’t count?” Even though it took some really thick skin to say something as embarrassing as “it doesn’t count when I lose, and it only counts when I win”, Xie Lian still said it. Hua Cheng replied, “Of course, the ones that were betted against me didn’t count. What I’m referring to is the first round that you gambled at the long table.” It was then that Xie Lian finally remembered. Hua Cheng was talking about that time when he wanted to test out the lowest he could roll and had ended up throwing out a double six instead. Lang Qianqiu whispered, “I told you he didn’t have good intentions and wouldn’t let us leave here that easily. I won’t get sealed again this time.” Seeing that he was readying himself for another fight and was eager to jump up at the chance, Xie Lian pulled him back and persuaded, “Don’t worry, we don’t need to use our fists.” On the other end, Hua Cheng tilted his head, “How about it? Gege, do you admit your loss?” If one was willing to gamble, then one should also admit to their loss honestly, there were no other options, so Xie Lian nodded, “I admit.” Hua Cheng extended his left hand with an open palm, “Then, give me the prize like you promised.” …the prize that he promised? After some hesitation, Xie Lian reached into his left sleeve with his right hand, felt around, and fished out a half-eaten bun. Unable to look at Hua Cheng in the eyes, he toughened up his skin and presented it, “You mean… this… right?” Truth to be told, when he took out this bun, Xie Lian felt the thick skin he’d grown through his eight hundred years crumble a little, unable to hold up. The ghosts and demons in the hall were speechless and only watched in silence. Nevermind that it was the lord’s first time betting against someone and when the bet came to be a half-eaten bun, they thought it was a joke. But to think, in all seriousness, the lord had actually pursued the person to ask for this bun. Speechless. There was really nothing to say. There were some ghosts who even had a more absurd thought — either there’s some sort of enormous secret hidden within this bun or this person was actually the lord’s older brother! Yet Hua Cheng grinned as he received the bun, gave it a look and waved it around in his hand, “I’ve claimed this prize.” To see that he actually took it, Xie Lian didn’t know what to say. It was only after a good minute that he responded, “ It’s… cold. And, maybe, a little hard.” Hua Cheng replied, “That’s okay. I don’t mind.” Since he answered like this, Xie Lian had nothing more to say to continue the conversation. He already said all he could, so he turned around and headed towards the exit. The nether crowd of the Gambler’s Den all parted for him as he departed. When he first went forward, they parted for him thinking he was a brave warrior. Now, they parted for him with fear and suspicion. After walking for a few steps, he could hear the ghosts behind him ask, “My lord! My lord, where are you going now?” Hua Cheng lazily replied, “I’m feeling good today. I’m heading to the Paradise Manor.” Hearing his response, the hall erupted in cheers as if it was New Years. Xie Lian couldn’t help but take another glance back and saw that Hua Cheng had also turned around. With that half-eaten bun still in his hand, he gave it a light toss and casually took a bite out of it, looking in Xie Lian’s direction. Xie Lian paused in his tracks when he saw that scene play out. Suddenly, for some reason, he felt that he shouldn’t stay there any longer, and picked up his pace, grabbed Lang Qianqiu, and ran out. The two left the Gambler’s Den and ran like mad men for a long time, almost knocking over various food stalls along the way. Just when they had finally arrived at a small quiet alley, Shi Qingxuan also popped up and reunited with them. Shi Qingxuan fanned himself with such vigour that his hair flew wildly in the wind, “That was so close, so close. My god, that scared me to the point that my face was almost as white as a ghost’s.” Perhaps it was because they ran too hard that Xie Lian’s heart was also beating madly. Lang Qianqiu spoke up, “Yea Lord Wind Master, I think your face is still very pale right now.” Shi Qingxuan felt his face and smiled, “Is that so? Hahahaha, this is not because of fright; this is what I’m born with- ahem. Ahem. Qianqiu, you’re also a martial god, how could you be so impulsive? We’re in the middle of the ghost realm territory here! If you were to be caught and exposed, and news of undercover heavenly officials in the Ghost City had gotten out, how would we explain this to the Heavenly Emperor? It would destroy peace in the three realms.” Lang Qianqiu bowed his head and admitted his mistake, “I’m sorry, I rushed in too carelessly.” Then he raised his head, “But those gamblers were crazy. If that man had flipped open the cup, whether if he had lost or won, the outcome would still be bad. Either his daughter would suffer or he would suffer the consequences. It was in my moment of anger that I crushed the cup.” Shi Qingxuan replied, “Even so, you shouldn’t have jumped in by yourself.” Lang Qianqiu was taken aback, “Then Lord Wind Master, what should I have done? If I didn’t go in, there wouldn’t be anyone who would.” His plead was so genuine that Shi Qingxuan didn’t know how to respond, and tapped his fan lightly against his temple, “Well…” Xie Lian smiled softly, “Let’s leave it.” Lang Qianqiu looked at him. Xie Lian continued, “I think even if His Highness Tai Hua was to get caught and interrogated, he still wouldn’t reveal his identity. But, to prevent others from picking up any clues from your words, it’d be best for Your Highness to stay cautious and avoid capture going forward.” Lang Qianqiu nodded, “Okay, I understand.” Shi Qingxuan, “Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Oh right, Your Highness…” Hearing ‘Your Highness’, both Xie Lian and Lang Qianqiu turned around at the same time, and Shi Qingxuan clarified, “Oh, I meant the elder.” “…” Xie Lian thought woefully, ‘Elder… it’s true that I’m a little older, but not by that much. Why is it that when it comes to me, it always sounds like they’re referring to a grandpa?’ Shi Qingxuan continued, “Your Royal Highnesses, have you two met each other at the Great Martial Hall? If not, let me introduce you. This is the Crown Prince of Yong’An, Lang Qianqiu, Martial God of the East. This is the Crown Prince of Xianle, Xie Lian, a heavenly official that pi– that’s highly regarded by the Heavenly Emperor. “ Even though Shi Qingxuan stopped himself and didn’t say the words, Xie Lian knew exactly what came after, what else could it be other than ‘picks up scraps’! Since the words were abruptly swapped in mid-sentence, there was no time to adjust the grammar nor the pronunciation. Lang Qianqiu looked at Xie Lian, asked in astonishment, “So you’re the prince that ascended thrice?” It seemed that Lang Qianqiu had really slept through the entire meeting at the Great Martial Hall the last time and didn’t even remember who he was. If he was anyone else and said the same thing to Xie Lian, then it would, no doubt, be sarcastic. But, because the question came from Lang Qianqiu, Xie Lian wholeheartedly believed that this child truly thought ascending thrice was a rare occurrence. His eyes twinkled, “Yes, that would be me.” Lang Qianqiu responded, “That incident just now, thank you for helping me! Or else…” He suddenly remembered something and hurriedly tightened up his waistband, fear still lingered on his expression. He clearly didn’t think too much about the past history between the Kingdom of Xianle and the Kingdom of Yong’An, and turned to Xie Lian, “Your Highness, I thought that Crimson Rain Sought Flower knows you? How come he acted as if he didn’t back there?” Lang Qianqiu finished tying up his waistband, “That was the real Crimson Rain Sought Flower, right? Was that his true form?” Xie Lian didn’t even have the time to open his mouth and Shi Qingxuan already spoke, “How can it be the true form? Hua Cheng has thousands of disguises, who knows what his true form looks like? Last time when I went to the Banyue Pass, he looked similar to the appearance today, but it’s probably a disguise. It’s fake, all fake.” Yet Xie Lian clearly recalled that Hua Cheng had told him “The next time we meet, I’ll greet in my true form” that night at Puqi Shrine. He thought to himself, ‘It’s real.’ But of course, he didn’t say it out loud. Everyone was so sure that Hua Cheng must be wearing a fake skin and him being the only one who knew it was Crimson Rain Sought Flower’s true form was like learning of an extraordinary little secret. He then continued that train of thought, ‘Seeing San Lang’s appearance, he really doesn’t look that much different from before, only slightly older and taller. That means technically, he was pretty much in his true form the first time I met him.’ Strangely, Xie Lian felt a little happy. Shi Qingxuan added from the side, “People say that Hua Cheng is a strange character, and that really seems to be the case. It’s obvious that he was going easy on you, and yet he pretended not to know you. Who knows what he’s up to. Could it be that he wanted to catch us off guard?” Xie Lian choked. It seemed that anyone could tell Hua Cheng had gone easy on him back at the Gambler’s Den. “He went easy on him” was what people were saying, but truthfully, Hua Cheng literally just let him win one-sidedly. Lang Qianqiu was the only one who couldn’t tell and frowned, “Went easy on him? Why?” The other two patted him on the shoulder and decided it was best not to explain it to him. They left Lang Qianqiu standing by himself, wondering why Hua Cheng would go easy on Xie Lian and whether or not the two knew each other. Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan turned and started walking. “It seems that we have been exposed, what should we do now?” Xie Lian said, “Change our disguises and try again? Personally, I don’t think doing that will change anything. With His Highness Tai Hua’s fight back there, Ghost City will probably strengthen their security.” Shi Qingxuan replied, “To be honest, I have considered the possibility of us getting exposed, but I never thought it would happen this soon.” Xie Lian sighed, “I know, I know.” “What’s done is done.” Shi Qingxuan said. “Since our covers are blown, you might as well just walk in confidently and do this openly.” Xie Lian could probably guess what he had meant by “openly”. As expected, Shi Qingxuan explained, “If we still want to continue on lying, then you’re the only one who can do it — go find Hua Cheng and tell him that you came here especially to see him. He knows that you’re a heavenly official right? If so, then it’s pretty believable to say that you’ve brought a couple of friends from heaven with you.” Ch.39: At the Paradise Manor; Questions of Xianle Before Xie Lian could answer, Lang Qianqiu who had heard the suggestion immediately cried out, “No!” Shi Qingxuan looked at him, “Why not?” Lang Qianqiu replied in a serious tone, “Prince Xianle, do you really know Crimson Rain Sought Flower? I heard your conversation earlier, it seems you two are friends.” Xie Lian nodded. “Then of course that plan is not feasible!” Lang Qianqiu said. “Even though a ghost king is no saint, but the fact that he went easy on you must mean that he sees you as a friend. If it’s so, then one must not lie to a friend.” Shi Qingxuan could feel an oncoming headache, “My god, Qianqiu, you dimwit!” Yet Xie Lian laughed and nodded, “What His Highness Tai Hua said is right.” Lang Qianqiu beamed, “You agree with me too, right?” Shi Qingxuan, “How is that right? We are three heavenly officials. If we were to report back empty handed, people would say that our success rate is even lower than Ling Wen Palace’s, and that would be an utter embarrassment.” Xie Lian smiled and just when he was about to speak, the sound of cries and howls that came from behind made them made them turn around. Just outside of the alley, a group of demons and ghosts ran past, shouting, “Where’s that brat with the bandaged face? Where the hell is he?” Seeing the other two gods’ alarm, Xie Lian reassured, “Don’t worry, they’re not after us.” Just as the words left his lips, their ears were pierced by a shrill, deafening cry. The cry of desperation made Xie Lian’s heart drop. Without a second thought, he ran off in that direction, and there, a bunch of oddly-shaped silhouettes gathered in a circle outside the alley, yelling one after another, “He’s caught!” “Beat him again!” “Fuck! However much this little scumbag stole from me, I’m going to slice it off of him one by one!” Shi Qingxuan caught up to him, “Your Highness, what’s going on?” Xie Lian didn’t respond, but walked towards the group step by step. His pace grew in speed, and soon he broke into a run. He forcefully pushed past a couple ghosts on the outside and saw that the person who was getting beaten by was a ragged boy. He looked about fifteen or sixteen of age, curled up on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Even though he tightly clung onto his head, one could still see the layers of bandages that were messily wrapped around his head. The bandages were the same as his hair, stained with dirt. Wasn’t this the same bandaged boy that Xie Lian had met at Mount Yujun and that had gone missing and couldn’t be found? No wonder Ling Wen Palace said they couldn’t find any traces of him a couple days ago. How could Heaven’s Ling Wen Palace find him in the mortal realm if the boy had escaped to the ghost’s territory? In a moment of fury, the couple of ghosts that got pushed aside by Xie Lian pulled him out once more. One ghost yanked on the bandages, “Look at how desperate he wants to keep his bandages on, I bet you this little beggar might even be uglier than me…” Lang Qianqiu was furious and shouted, “What are you doing!” as he threw out a few ghosts off to the side. Shi Qingxuan didn’t have the time to stop him and could only wave around with his fan, “Qianqiu, I thought we agreed on not to do things on impulse!” This time around, Qianqiu had riled up more ghosts. They roared “And who do you think you are!!” and lunged at him. “I’m sorry Lord Wind Master,” Lang Qianqiu called, “This will be the last time!” and he jumped into the fight, whacking the ghosts about. Shi Qingxuan let out an exasperated sigh, “Ugh, I’m never going out with you again!” before joining the brawl. Because they couldn’t expose their spiritual energy, they could only resort to fighting with their fists and feet. The other smaller group that was beating up the boy was forcibly separated by Xie Lian. He kneeled down, wanting to help the boy get up, “Are you okay?” Upon hearing that voice, the boy shuddered and took a peek at him from his fetal position. Now that he had gotten a better look, Xie Lian discovered that the bandages that were wrapped around the boy’s face were soaked with blood. With patches of black and red, it was a frightening sight, the appearance even scarier than when they had last parted. The two big eyes that emerged from the gap between the bandages were clear as day, black iris against the white, yet those dark eyes that reflected Xie Lian’s silhouette were filled with fear. Xie Lian took the boy by the arm, “Come, stand up. It’s going to be okay.” To his surprise, the boy screamed, pushed Xie Lian away, and bolted. Since this boy had once been infected with the Human Face Disease, he must be connected to the kingdom of Xianle. The moment Xie Lian saw him, he could feel a tug in his heart and his mind became scattered. Caught off guard by the force of the push, even his straw hat had fallen off. After the initial shock, he called out, “Wait!” Just when Xie Lian was about to give chase, the few ghosts that he had pulled away earlier had grabbed onto him. The boy headed down the street that was livelier than ever. At the rate that he was effortlessly weaving through the groups of ghosts and ghosts with his small frame, the boy would disappear soon. It would be difficult for Ruoye to track down a person in this kind of setting, so in that split moment of urgency, Xie Lian called out, “My lords, I’ll leave this matter with you. Let’s separate for now. Go hide and we’ll meet here again in three days latest!” Ruoye slid out and sent those ghosts flying in the direction of the other two officials. He bent over slightly, picked up his straw hat and set off running in the direction of the boy. He squeezed through the crowd with immense difficulty while shouting, “Excuse me! Excuse me!” Yet because the boy had spent most of his life hiding in the mortal realm, escaping was practically second nature to him. First there was a head, then there was a shadow, after that, there was nothing; he was getting farther and farther away. Xie Lian didn’t know if it was his imagination but he felt that the crowds on the street were getting thicker by the minute. With humans and ghosts alike pressed against each other, it really made it difficult for him to pass through. In the midst of all that chaos, Xie Lian’s mind was tumultuous and knocked over a number of stalls, and he cried “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” as he continued to run. Ghosts weren’t ones to be crossed easily however, and they yelled after him, “Sorry does shit! Catch him!” Xie Lian felt a coldness on his back all of a sudden, as if a hand had grabbed him, and he immediately knocked it back, “Who is it?!” It was hard to tell where the hand came from, but all the ghosts surrounded him, their voices screeching and terrible, “Oi! Let’s teach this little pale face a thing or two! How dare he start shit in our Ghost City!” A large crowd of monsters and spirits poured into the horde, and seeing that he was about to lose that boy in the crowd, Xie Lian did his best to throw off the hand that caught him, “Everyone! I’m really sorry, I don’t mean any harm. Let me go to find someone and I’ll be back to pay you all back!” The horde of ghosts were relentless, “As if!” In the midst of all the pushing and pulling, that boy had disappeared completely. Xie Lian slowed to a stop and stood where he was, dazed. Truthfully, he really couldn’t be sure what he was feeling. Was it disappointment in not being able to catch the other, or was it relief that a nightmare had passed? Suddenly, there was a commotion amongst the ghost crowd, and they immediately parted to the sides, forming a path, as if someone of importance was about to arrive. Xie Lian came to and saw a tall silhouette of a black clad figure walked straight towards him through the path created by the mob. He yelled, “Settle down. Let him go!” The black clad figure, like most of the ghosts, wore a mask. It was a funny mask with a face as if it was smiling woefully. The mob muttered under their breaths, “It’s the XiaXianYue Officer!” and they released their hold on Xie Lian. It seemed this black clad figure was someone significant in the Ghost City. The moment he approached Xie Lian, he bowed, “Greetings cultivator. The Lord wishes to see you.” “Um. Me?” Xie Lian pointed at himself. The XiaXianYue Officer replied, “That’s correct. The Lord has been waiting for you at the Paradise Manor.” All around them the mob sucked in their breaths, “The Lord wants to see him? Did I hear this wrong?” “Paradise Manor? That’s the Lord’s sanctuary, it’s never seen guests!” Some pointed out, “Wait a sec, wasn’t he the one who won against the Lord today at the Gambler’s Den? No, the one the Lord educated?!” All eyes were now focused on Xie Lian, each pair bigger than the next. Xie Lian couldn’t help but raise his straw hat to hide his face. XiaXianYue Officer made a gesture, “This way please.” Xie Lian nodded and followed behind him. The crowd parted once more, and the ghost officer led Xie Lian through the path. No one dared to follow, and after an incense time, the two left the bustling street behind, going further and further into the backwoods. During their walk, the two didn’t converse. Xie Lian felt that XiaXianYue Officer walked like he was going to disappear into the shadows and followed closely. Subconsciously, his eyes swept past the officer’s wrist and noticed that upon it was a black cursed circle. It was something he was more than familiar with. A cursed shackle?! He widened his eyes but was silent in his shock. Just then, the ghost officer spoke up, “We’re here.” Xie Lian looked up and realized he was led to a lake. There were a number of will-o-the-wisps floating above the waters, playing and chasing each other. Next to the lake was a towering pavillion. Both the heavens and the ghost realm have glamourous architecture. However, the distinguished buildings of the heavens put emphasis on prominence and prestige, whereas the buildings in the Ghost City were glamourous in their bewitchment and frivolity. Even the large letters of this pavillion ‘Paradise Manor’ emitted an evil aura. After some thought, Xie Lian still entered. Raising a beaded curtain, a warm perfumed air came rushing to his face. Xie Lian moved his head slightly to avoid getting engulfed in that scent. Soon, he came to a large hall. The inside of the hall was covered in a thick, snow -white carpet made from the fur of an unknown beast. Many beautiful and captivating women, barefooted and clad in light silk, were dancing and playing, sensual and beguiling. The music he heard came from them. The ladies were spinning seductively like bouquets of roses covered in thorns, blossoming in the midst of night. When they spun to Xie Lian they playfully teased him with their eyes. If any passerby of the night were to accidentally intrude upon this scene, surely they would be even more frightened or enchanted. However, when Xie Lian was observing the main hall, his eyes went straight through those women. The first thing he saw was Hua Cheng who’s seated in the very back of the main hall. At the end of the hall was a large divan made of black jade, expansive in size and can probably fit over ten people. But there was only one sitting upon it, and it was Hua Cheng. There were a number of gorgeous ghost women dancing before him but he didn’t spare them any looks, only lazily keeping an eye on what’s before him. In front of Hua Cheng was a small, golden palace. From afar, it looked like a heavenly palace, but on closer inspection, that little palace was built from thin sheets of gold foil stacked upon one another. Gold Foil Palace. Xie Lian had played this game often when he was a child; it’s a game that’s no different than village kids stacking rocks to build houses. Yet because he disliked separation by nature when he was younger, it didn’t matter what it was, as long as the objects were placed together Xie Lian would refuse to separate them. After making a palace, he’d forbid anyone to touch it, wishing if only he could glue the fragile sheets together so that it’d never collapse. When he was even younger, if he saw his golden palace fall apart, he’d be depressed to the point of refusing food and sleep until the king and queen coaxed him from his shell. The golden palace before him now was grand, layered in hundreds of foil sheets, fragile like an egg, as if a gentle breeze could blow it down. Xie Lian prayed mentally, ‘Don’t fall. Don’t fall.’ After a moment, however, Hua Cheng gazed at his work and flashed a smile, raised a finger and flicked at the top of the golden palace. The foils fluttered and collapsed into a heap. Gold foil bestrewn the ground, the golden palace was destroyed. Having knocked it down, Hua Cheng appeared amused by his handiwork, like a child who’d pushed over a tower of building blocks. He mindlessly threw away a gold foil sheet that was still in his hand and jumped off the divan. The dancing women immediately stopped in their steps and backed off to the sides, silencing their songs. Stepping on the gold foils sheets, Hua Cheng walked towards the entrance, “Since gege is here, why not come in? Don’t be a stranger after only parting for so many days.” Hearing his words, Xie Lian let down the beaded curtain, “Earlier in the Gambler’s Den, it was San Lang who pretended not to recognize me.” Hua Cheng approached and stopped at Xie Lian’s side, “Lang Qianqiu was there, so if I didn’t put on an act, I’d be giving gege trouble.” ‘That was some really sloppy act…’ Xie Lian thought. As for seeing through Lang Qianqiu’s identity, Xie Lian wasn’t the least bit surprised. In fact, Hua Cheng probably knew that Shi Qingxuan was mixed in the crowd too, so Xie Lian spoke without hesitation, “San Lang is knowledgeable as always.” Hua Cheng laughed, “Of course. So, is gege here especially to visit me this time?” “…” If Xie Lian had to be honest with himself, had he known Hua Cheng was here he would’ve asked for leave so he could pay a visit. Alas, that wasn’t the case. Hua Cheng however, didn’t bother waiting for Xie Lian’s response. He smiled, “Whether if you’re here to see me or not, I’m still happy.” Xie Lian was startled by those words. He hadn’t had a chance to respond when the women standing on the sides started giggling. Hua Cheng slighted his head and they all stopped at once, their heads bowed low, and soon filed out of the hall, leaving only the two of them in this expansive chamber. “Come have a seat here, gege.” Hua Cheng said. Xie Lian followed him and watched as he walked, smiling, “So this is your real appearance.” Hua Cheng stopped in his step. —– ●XiaXianYue translates to waning crescent moon Ch.40: At the Paradise Manor; Questions of Xianle 2 Maybe it was a figment of his imagination, but Hua Cheng’s shoulders seemed to have stiffened for a flash of a second. The moment didn’t last, and Hua Cheng casually responded, “I did say that the next time we meet I would greet you with my real appearance.” Xie Lian grinned. He patted his shoulder and said earnestly, “Not bad.” Xie Lian’s tone was also casual, nothing more, nothing less, and very simply said. Hua Cheng smiled back, and this time, it was relaxed. They took a few more steps and Xie Lian suddenly remembered something important to confirm with Hua Cheng, and removed the silver chain from around his neck. “By the way,” Xie Lian said, “Did you leave this?” Hua Cheng glanced at the ring and smiled, “It’s for you.” “What is it?” Xie Lian asked. “It’s nothing important.” Hua Cheng replied, “Just keep it for fun.” Although that’s what he said, Xie Lian knew that this object wasn’t something so insignificant. “Then, thank you, San Lang.” Seeing that Xie Lian put the ringed necklace back around his neck, Hua Cheng’s eyes shimmered brightly. Xie Lian looked around him, “Back at the Gambler’s Den you said you were coming here to the Paradise Manor and I had thought it was something like a brothel or the red light district, but this looks more like a theatre?” Hua Cheng raised his brows, “Gege what are you saying? I never go to the red light district.” Xie Lian was amazed, “Really?” “Of course.” Hua Cheng replied. The two approached the black jaded divan and sat down next to each other. Hua Cheng continued, “This is nothing but a place I’d renovate here and there, a residence of sorts. I come and chill here when I’m free. If I’m busy then I’d leave it be.” “So it’s your home.” Xie Lian commented. “Residence.” Hua Cheng corrected, “Not a home.” “Is there a difference?” Xie Lian asked. “Of course,” Hua Cheng replied, “A home has family. A place where someone lives alone is not a home.” Hearing this, Xie Lian’s heart tightened. By that definition, it’s been over eight hundred years since he had a ‘home’. Although Hua Cheng had no trace of loneliness on his face, Xie Lian thought they were perhaps alike. Hua Cheng continued, “If it’s home, then even a small place like Puqi Shrine would be better than my Paradise Manor by a million fold.” Xie Lian agreed and smiled, “I didn’t realize San Lang is this sentimental. But to make comparisons using my Puqi Shrine, you’re really pulling my leg here.” Hua Cheng laughed, “What’s there to be embarrassed about? Truth to be told, gege’s Puqi Shrine is small, but it’s so much more comfortable than my Paradise Manor. It’s more like a home.” “Is that so?” Xie Lian said warmly, “Then if you like it, in the future, come over whenever you want. The doors of Puqi Shrine will always open for you.” Hua Cheng’s face lit up, “Since gege says so, then I’ll gladly take up your offer. Don’t think me annoying in the future.” “There’s no way.” Xie Lian said. “By the way, San Lang I want to ask you for a favour, but don’t know if you’d have the time?” “What is it?” Hua Cheng asked, “This is my territory. You just ask, and I’ll deliver.” After some thought, Xie Lian said, “Before when I was dealing with the case at Mount Yujun, I ran into this boy who might have originated from my kingdom.” Hua Cheng blinked slowly at the word ‘originate’ and didn’t say a word. Xie Lian continued, “I didn’t handle the matter very well, and scared him off. After that I requested for a search without any success. Earlier when I was running around the back alleys of the Ghost City, I thought I had bumped into him. San Lang, you are the lord of this land. Is there any way you can help me find him? His face is wrapped in bandages, and only just ran away from the front steps of the Paradise Manor.” Hua Cheng was silent, and stood up to say something in a low voice, face turned away, as if communicating with someone. A moment later he sat down again and smiled, “Done. Just wait.” As Hua Cheng was the lord ruling the Ghost City, it’d be much more convenient for him to act. Xie Lian sighed a breath of relief, “Truly, thank you again.” “This is nothing,” Hua Cheng said. “But you left Lang Qianqiu just like that?” If Lang Qianqiu was there, straightforward and obtuse, it’d be hard to predict what other nonsense would come out of his mouth and start who knows what kind of trouble. Probably best to meet up later, Xie Lian thought. “His Highness Tai Hua caused you troubles earlier at the Gambler’s Den. Sorry about that.” Hua Cheng flashed an arrogant smirk, “What are you saying? That didn’t count as trouble the slightest bit.” “The things he broke…” Xie Lian started and Hua Cheng laughed, “For gege’s sake I’ll clear his account. He can do as he will so long as he doesn’t show his face in front of me.” Xie Lian was now curious, and asked, “You don’t care if there are heavenly officials frolicking about your territory?” Could Hua Cheng really be that fearless? Hua Cheng smiled, “Of course you wouldn’t know about this, but gege, all three realms proclaim the Ghost City a hell of corruption, a demonic chaos, but in reality, everyone wants to come to carouse. So many of the heavenly officials pretend not to care and spoke ill of this place, but behind everyone’s back they’d often come in disguise and conduct unspeakable business. I’ve seen too much. If they don’t stir up trouble then I don’t care, and if they do, then even better, because they’re the ones who intruded first.” “His Highness Tai Hua is like that by nature, so seeing a round of bets of that sort go down, he had to stop it and couldn’t hold back.” Xie Lian explained. “That’s his lack of experience,” Hua Cheng said plainly. “To choose between letting yourself live longer for ten years and cutting your enemy’s life short for ten years and pick the latter, that’s the basis of human hatred.” He snorted and crossed his arms, “That an idiot like Lang Qianqiu can ascend, the heavens is truly blind.” “…” Xie Lian rubbed his forehead feeling a little guilty, thinking, ‘You can’t say it like that, after all, someone who collects junk like me also ascended…’ After some hesitation, Xie Lian spoke up again, “San Lang, it may be out of line for me to say this, but I still have to say it. That Gambler’s Den is dangerous, won’t it blow up in your face one day?” A place that allowed the betting of sons and daughters and people’s lives, even to drop dead, was dreadfully sinful. Nevermind a little brawl. If one day the bets go out of hand, the heavens wouldn’t be able to sit back and keep their eyes closed. Hua Cheng gave him a look, “Your Highness. Did you ever ask Lang Qianqiu why he had to rush into the mess?” Xie Lian was slightly taken aback, not quite understanding the intent of the question. Hua Cheng continued, “I bet he must’ve told you that if he didn’t do it, no one else would.” “You’re right,” Xie Lian said, “That’s exactly what he said.” “I’m the complete opposite.” Hua Cheng said. “If I don’t control a place like this, then someone else would take control of it. I’d rather that person be me.” Xie Lian knew when to step down and nodded, “I understand.” It looked like although Hua Cheng was someone sentimental, he also cared for control and power moreso than Xie Lian realized. Hua Cheng continued, “Nonetheless, thank you gege for your concern.” Just then, Xie Lian heard a voice that came from the door. A young man said, “My lord, I’ve located the bandaged boy.” Xie Lian looked to the front entrance and saw the XiaXianYue Officer from before bowing just beyond the beaded curtain. And the one in his arms was none other than the ragged boy in bandages. Hua Cheng never turned his head, “Bring him in.” The black clad youth brought the boy inside and gently laid him on the ground. Xie Lian couldn’t help but peek at his wrist again to see whether if there really was a cursed shackle, but the other curtsied and stood down swiftly after delivering the boy. Since there were more important matters at hand Xie Lian bent down near the bandaged boy and instantly soothed, “Don’t be scared. It was my fault last time, I won’t do it again.” The boy’s eyes were widened in fear and confusion, but after running away so many times, he no longer had the energy to escape again. He peeked at Xie Lian, then peeked at the lap table on the black jade divan. Xie Lian followed his line of sight and saw he was eyeing a plate of luscious fruits on top of the lap table. The boy must’ve been hiding for too long and had not eaten. Xie Lian turned to Hua Cheng and before he said anything, Hua Cheng motioned, “Do what you want, no need to ask me.” It wasn’t time to be polite, so Xie Lian uttered a thanks and reached for the plate of fruit before giving it to the boy. That boy grabbed the plate from Xie Lian and started stuffing the fruits into his mouth. It looked like he’d been starved for too many days, and was desperately hungry. Even when Xie Lian was at his worst and starved like a wild dog he’d never shoved food into himself like this. He didn’t know what to say, and only chided gently, “Slow down.” After a pause, he attempted, “What’s your name?” The boy mumbled and murmured as he ate, as if trying to say something but couldn’t do so clearly. “He might not have spoken in many years and forgot how to speak.” Hua Cheng suggested. Indeed, it did look like this boy didn’t speak much, not even to Xiao Ying, and had been like this for a long time. Xie Lian sighed, “We can do this slowly.” By then, all the fruits on the plate had been devoured. Seeing that his bandages were soaked in dry blood, covered in black and red spots alike, Xie Lian said gently, “Your face is wounded and it looks serious. Let me take a look.” Hearing those words, fear immediate engulfed the boy’s eyes. However, after Xie Lian’s tireless soothing and encouragement, he sat down once more obediently. Xie Lian came next to him and took out a bottle of medicinal powder from his sleeve, ready to remove the sullied bandages when Hua Cheng intercepted, “Let me do it.” Xie Lian shook his head and moved his hands slowly, unraveling the haphazardly wrapped bandages. As he had suspected, although the face of the boy was a bloody mess, all the terrifying little human faces were gone, only large blotches of bright red scars. The last time they met at Mount Yujun, there were burns covering his face but not as much blood. This boy must’ve used a knife to cut away those human faces from his own face and left all those scars. Xie Lian’s hands trembled softly as he rubbed the medicine in. Hua Cheng caught his wrist and said again, “Let me.” Xie Lian shook his head again and gently pulled his hand free, then said in a low voice, “No. Let me do this myself.” Eight hundred years ago in the kingdom of Xianle, many who contracted this disease, without any other way, all chose this route of self mutilation. It was hell on earth. Some would miss their target and cut where they shouldn’t and die from blood loss. Some, although successful in removing the small human faces, never healed from those wounds. As Xie Lian wrapped new bandages around the boy’s head, he realized that his features were actually quite proper, his nose straight and refined, his eyes black and clear; he should’ve been a handsome young man if not for this ghastly disease. He was like many others before him; even if he cut away the distorted human faces, his face would still forever be nightmarish, unable to recover. Xie Lian finally finished wrapping the new bandages and asked with a shaky voice, “Are you from Xianle?” The boy turned to look at him with his big eyes, and Xie Lian repeated his question several times but he only shook his head. Xie Lian then asked, “Then where are you from, exactly?” The boy answered with much “…Yong…An…” This boy was from Yong’An! Xie Lian felt his sight go dark, and he blurted out, “Have you ever met… the White No-Face?” The White No-Face. The origin of plagues. The symbol of misfortune. This ‘Supreme’ often donned a snow white funeral garb, a Spirit Calling banner in hand, and a Smile Crying mask on his face. This mask was called this because half of it was smiling, and the other half was crying; together, it was hard to tell whether if the wearer was smiling or crying. If he should be seen anywhere, it would mean that place would soon be doomed to ruin, and the world would fall into chaos. Xie Lian could remember clearly the first time he met the White No-Face. He was standing on the top of the highest tower of the Palace of Xianle, his face covered in grime and tears, lost and bemused as he gazed below to his kingdom. Within his blurry vision, there stood a white silhouette among the fields of corpses just outside the fortress walls, his giant white sleeves fluttering, obvious and distinct. Xie Lian dropped his head to look down at him, and that white apparition also raised his head to look at Xie Lian, and waved at him directly. That Smile Crying mask was the nightmare Xie Lian couldn’t chase away even after hundreds of years.