Royal Road
Chapter 111-120
Chapter 111-120
Ch.111: Fight the Reverend; Crown Prince Takes Wind Master’s Place 2
However, even though contours of the surrounding trees and branches could now be
distinguished, he just couldn’t make out the face of that black shadow no matter what,
like there was a cloud of demonic black mist swirling around that figure.
The Wind Master fan of the Wind Master was a first-rate spiritual device; it could blow
away essences of evil and bring order to the world. Having received the spell key Shi
Qingxuan passed onto him, Xie Lian recited it in his mind and swept the fan. A whirlwind
instantly blew up from the ground, whooshing and shaking the surrounding woods, and
even a few small, weaker sprouts were pulled from their roots, a strength powerful to
behold. Unfortunately this wind was blown a little off course and didn’t aim for the right
target.
Spiritual devices weren’t that easy to manipulate. He wasn’t the master to the Wind
Master fan after all, and naturally couldn’t handle it as smoothly as Shi Qingxuan. The
angle and amount of power were both difficult to control; it was either too strong or too
weak, either off course or backwards. After realizing this, Xie Lian resolutely gave up
and changed tactics, snapping the fan shut and used it as an attacking weapon directly
instead as he madly struck at the weak points of the other. Then, with a WHISH, he
generated a sheen of spiritual aura on the edge of the fan, and straight up turned it into
a razor-sharp steel blade, slashing through the air, its shine chilling.
Shi Qingxuan probably figured out what happened and cried in despair, “YOUR
HIGHNESS WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU! THAT’S MY SPIRITUAL DEVICE! I CAN’T
BELIEVE YOU’RE USING IT AS A MARTIAL WEAPON! WHAT A WASTE OF GOD’S
GIFT!!!”
This was a problematic habit all martial gods had. In the midst of being occupied, Xie
Lian spared a moment to say flatly, “It’s all the same. Makes no difference!”
Hua Cheng’s tone was becoming harsher, “Gege!”
Xie Lian knew what he was pressing for, and as he fought he rapidly swept his eyes
around to look at his surroundings. There were mountains and rivers, towers and
pavilions, really nothing that stood out, and really nothing that could determine where he
was. That Reverend of Empty Words noticed his movement and probably guessed his
objective as it suddenly said, “You’re not Shi Qingxuan.”
Xie Lian never paused in his attack but his mind turned rapidly, ‘Usually it shouldn’t take
this fast to figure out the Soul Shifting spell was used, so how did it immediately realize
I’m not Shi Qingxuan? Well, whatever. Keep going!’
The way he fought was insensible and insensitive; that Reverend of Empty Words
seemed to not be able to take the beating anymore and he said, “You’ll fall down this
instant!”
Sure enough, it started to curse predictions at Xie Lian directly. However, it was like Xie
Lian heard nothing and only beat harder. That Reverend of Empty Words then said,
“You’re going to be defeated in battle!”
Xie Lian laughed, “I was already defeated eight hundred years ago, a few more rounds
means nothing to me. How much more can I be defeated? Just give up! Nothing you
say to me will work.”
“Gege,” Hua Cheng called, “If you can’t determine your location, just fan up a whirlwind
into the sky with the Wind Master fan and I’ll know where you are!”
What a coincidence. Xie Lian just thought of the same idea, “Alright!” And just as he
was about to raise his hand, suddenly that Reverend of Empty Words let out a creepy
chuckle, “Someone’s coming?”
Xie Lian became alarmed for some reason, and sure enough that creature said in a low
voice, “Don’t worry, you will watch with your eyes wide open the person coming to seek
you die right before you!”
Hearing this, Xie Lian couldn’t laugh anymore. His heart dropped violently, and even his
breathing stopped in that moment.
The next second, he actually yelled out loud, “SHUT UP!”
In a flash, more than fifty heavy kicks landed on that Reverend of Empty Words, each
bashing right on its head, and it could barely speak from the attack, yet it sighed deeply.
That was a sigh of satisfaction, like it had tasted some sacred delicacy, and it laughed
coldly. Accidentally dropping his guard, Xie Lian actually let it suck what it wanted from
him.
However, Xie Lian hadn’t the mind to notice, because those words earlier truly did make
his heart feel like it was struck violently. Even if he knew Hua Cheng wouldn’t “die
before him” so easily as that creature said, and to be real, Hua Cheng was already
dead, but still a deep, uncontrollable panic manifested. He didn’t realize he couldn’t
even stand to hear that very idea.
Although those in the communication array didn’t notice anything amiss, it was like Hua
Cheng was telepathic and became alarmed, “Gege? Is it saying something to you?”
Xie Lian replied, “It’s saying nonsense... No! It said nothing.”
Hua Cheng understood immediately and cursed, “It’s seeking its own death! Tell me
right now and I’ll go straight over.”
Xie Lian hastily said, “No need, don’t come over. Absolutely do not come over!”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Shi Qingxuan spoke up, “I say, the two of you really did exchange
verbal passwords secretly, right? Your highness, did you not notice? You got the wrong
array, the wrong array!”
It was only then did Xie Lian discover that ever since he used the Soul Shifting spell,
every word Hua Cheng said to him was passed through their private communication
array, but because he was focused on fighting with his heart a mess on top of that, he
hadn’t realized it and responded directly in the main spiritual communication array. Now,
the fact that they connected private communication was utterly exposed.
However, there was no time to be embarrassed, and Xie Lian said, “It’s nothing. Give
me half an incense time, I can take care of this thing!” After that, he plugged his ears
anew and his attacks became even more vicious, focusing only on dealing with the
Reverend of Empty Words. However, he had no idea that back at the town of Fu Gu,
after Hua Cheng heard his words, he raised his hand and smacked, bashing Ming Yi
three feet into the ground. Then, he immediately turned to the Shi Qingxuan who took
over Xie Lian’s shell, “Switch back.”
Shi Qingxuan had already planned on changing back immediately, but seeing the sight,
he hurriedly said, “Crimson Rain Sought Flower, what are you doing! I’ll switch back
right now. His highness is helping me, so it makes more sense if you hit me, why did
you hit Ming-xiong!” But the moment the words left his lips he realized that he was
currently in Xie Lian’s body so of course Hua Cheng wouldn’t hit him. If he must hit
someone then it could only be Ming Yi.
On the other side, Xie Lian was immersed in the fight, but he suddenly heard Shi
Qingxuan yelling in the communication array, “Your highness, can you please plug the
ears deeper and run further away? I’m switching back!”
“Lord Wind Master will you be alright?” Xie Lian asked.
“I can’t fight it, but I can still run away!” Shi Qingxuan replied.
Thus, Xie Lian gave that Reverend of Empty Words one final kick, making it fly out a
few miles away, then turned around to flee wildly, but then he stopped, “Wait, you don’t
need to run away! Let me set up a protection array for you! Lord Wind Master do you
have any protection spiritual devices on you? If you don’t, precious gems and treasures
can do too!”
Hearing him, Shi Qingxuan hastily replied, “Treasure? I’ve got them. Feel around my
neck, there’s a longevity locket, will that do?”
Xie Lian felt around and sure enough Shi Qingxuan was wearing a long golden
longevity locket, its golden light exquisite and opulent. He said, delighted, “Yes. This is a
rare treasure, excellent!”
“Really?” Shi Qingxuan said, “I’ve got more: there’s a jade belt around my waist, an
agate ring on my finger, some pearls on my boots, the sandalwood handle of the whisk
is older than you, oh, and apparently the hairs of the whisk are also rare, plucked from
some spiritual beast...” In one breath he told of seven or eight items, then he continued,
“In any case, Your Highness just take a look and see if everything on me can be used.”
“...”
Yes they could be used. And they’re all extremely rare treasures!
Xie Lian was shocked; as expected of the God of Wealth, as expected of the younger
brother of the Water Master! He said, “They can all be used. I’ll find a house nearby to
setup an array. When you’re switched back, keep the ear plugs still and don’t look
outside. Stay in the house and don’t go out, wait until we come!”
Shi Qingxuan was going to break down in sobs, “YOUR HIGHNESS YOU’RE TOO
RELIABLE!!! THANK YOU! From today onwards you’re my second best friend. From
now on this Wind Master will never forget you in any good endeavours!”
Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and responded politely, “Thank you!”
Between their exchanges, that Reverend of Empty Words was left far behind. Glancing
around, Xie Lian found a small pavilion nearby and charged in, shutting and locking all
the doors and windows with a wave of his hand. He then wrapped the golden longevity
locket around the door latch, bit blood from his finger to draw a spell, then he laid out all
the treasures in formation, drawing a blood array. All of these actions were done in a
short amount of time, and finally he sat in the centre of the room, closing his eyes, “One,
two, three. SOUL SHIFTING SPELL – RETURN!”
It was like he was violently thrown high into the sky again then plunged. After a wave of
whirling Xie Lian once again felt his feet touch the ground. Unsteady, he was going to
fall over, but before he did a pair of hands caught and supported him. He opened his
eyes and heard Hua Cheng’s voice from above, dark and grave, “Gege, I think you
better explain yourself.”
Xie Lian grabbed his arm and steadied himself. He was just about to speak when he
suddenly realized someone was missing and asked, “Where’s Lord Earth Master?”
“Who knows.” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian was taken aback. “Who knows?” Then he looked to the side and there was a
human shaped crater on the ground, and Ming Yi was slowly crawling out of that hole.
He stop talking, speechless for the moment. In the communication array, Shi Qingxuan’s
voice came, “Eh?”
Xie Lian tensed, “Did it come?”
Having used so many of Shi Qingxuan’s treasures to form the array, he made sure the
defense of that house was indestructible, and that Reverend of Empty Words shouldn’t
be able to intrude. Even if it was powerful, it would still take time. However, Shi
Qingxuan said, “No no no. Your highness, this array is impressive, steady like the
mountains, it really does feel secure. I think nothing can break in in the next three days
and three nights. It’s just... I can’t believe it’s this place.”
“What place? Do you recognize it?” Xie Lian asked.
“Of course I recognize it.” Shi Qingxuan replied, “This is the Terrace of Cascading Wine.
It’s where I ascended.”
Xie Lian was taken aback, thinking, ‘The Terrace of Cascading Wine?’
Shi Qingxuan seemed to have made a round of the room and said firmly again, “That’s
right. I come back to this place every few decades to check up on it. I’m not mistaken.”
No wonder that Reverend of Empty Words knew immediately that the one in the shell
wasn’t the real Shi Qingxuan. If it was the man himself, by just one look he would’ve
known it was the Terrace of Cascading Wine and there wouldn’t be any need to look
around to make sure.
Ever since Ming Yi had crawled out of the hole, he squatted down on the ground to start
drawing an array. After a few strokes were drawn however, he suddenly raised his hand
and blasted away the array entirely. Hua Cheng’s eyes immediately grew cold and Xie
Lian was also taken aback, “Lord Earth Master, what are you doing?”
Ming Yi rose to his feet and said, “The Distance Shortening array doesn’t work anymore.
We have to walk over.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t work anymore?” Xie Lian exclaimed.
“It means just now, someone or something destroyed all the connection points of the
Distance Shortening array near the Terrace of Cascading Wine. No, the entire area’s
connection points have been destroyed.”
Not long ago, Shi Qingxuan was clearly brought over to the Terrace of Cascading Wine
via the Distance Shortening Array, but it seemed that as soon as Shi Qingxuan hid
himself inside the pavilion that Reverend of Empty Words immediately reacted and
tampered, intentionally slowing them down. This was no different than having the
mountain paths destroyed when crossing a mountain. Now, no one could even dream of
using the Distance Shortening array to get close to the Terrace of Cascading Wine.
“If we leave now, how long will it take before we get there?” Xie Lian asked.
Ming Yi had already turned around and started walking, “An hour!”
Xie Lian called out in the communication array, “Lord Wind Master, we’re heading over
to where you are now. You just wait until we get there. If anything knocks, absolutely do
not open the door.”
“Alright alright alright. Of course.” Shi Qingxuan said, “Even if you didn’t say anything I
already know. Don’t take me for a three year old who’d open the door to anybody. Now
then My Lords, please hurry, ok?!”
Fortunately, the town of Fu Gu and the Terrace of Cascading Wine weren’t on either
ends of the earth, and was still within acceptable distance of each other. If they hurried
over now they should still make it in time. The three immediately took off. On the way,
Xie Lian casually worked his powers and discovered that the Soul Shifting spell really
did burn out quite a bit aggressively, and that powerful wave Hua Cheng poured into
him was already used up over more than half.
Hua Cheng noticed his movements and asked, “Gege, do you need more?”
Xie Lian hastily shook his head, “No. Really, thank San Lang ever so much for being so
generous earlier.”
“You’re welcome.” Hua Cheng said, “I already said, you can take as much as you want.”
After a pause, he then added half jokingly, “But, when gege pays me back, can I collect
some interest?”
Xie Lian cleared his throat softly, thinking it’s probably an issue whether if he could even
pay anything back, but of course his lips were still bold, “Yea... sure.”
Although it was determined to be an hour, but the three of them weren’t mortals and it
was a dire situation, so naturally they were going faster. When they arrived at the
Terrace of Cascading Wine, Xie Lian took a look, and sure enough it was the same
place as before. All around was the chaotic mess created by his misuse of the Wind
Master fan; the fan refused his control and blew over trees and bushes, and Xie Lian
was feeling a little embarrassed.
“Your highness, which building did you set up the spiritual array? Do you remember?”
Ming Yi asked.
Of course Xie Lian remembered and was also searching for it attentively. Soon, his eyes
lit up and pointed his finger, “It’s that small pavilion.”
The three walked towards the small pavilion; the closer they got the more relaxed they
became, as if they saw the ray of hope. However, when they approached, Xie Lian’s
pupils instantly shrank.
The doors to that small pavilion were open, creaking eerily as they swung back and
forth in the chilling night air.
———–
Ch.112: Doors Open to Greet the Ghost; Drawn Earth a Prison
“...”
“Where is he?” Xie Lian said.
The three entered the small pavilion and within the building there was no one. All sorts
of spiritual devices and treasures were still in the same place as set up before, only,
once the doors were opened, they all became useless. Xie Lian shouted in the
communication array, “LORD WIND MASTER? WHERE ARE YOU?”
While on the way over, because they were focused on rushing, plus Shi Qingxuan was
overly agitated, Xie Lian was the one who proposed that he meditate to calm down, to
stop thinking and saying nonsense, scaring himself. Shi Qingxuan thought it made a lot
of sense and gradually stopped talking, so the lack of response wasn’t out of the blue.
Thus, Xie Lian hadn’t noticed anything amiss, but now no matter how he yelled there
was no answer, and a feeling of dread started to spread in his heart. In a situation like
this, there could only be two possibilities: either Shi Qingxuan was not responding on
purpose, or he already lost consciousness.
There were over ten something spiritual devices and treasures on the Wind Master’s
person, each of them rare and exquisite, and they had all be used by Xie Lian to set the
formation of the array, there should be nothing from the outside that could easily break
through. Even if it could be done, just as Shi Qingxuan had said, it would take at least
three days and three nights, and it’d be impossible not to leave evidence of a break in.
Yet, from the looks of it, the doors and windows of this small pavilion were all intact, and
there were also no dug tunnels or ladders. Xie Lian went back to the entrance and
picked up the golden locket on the ground, looking over it closely, “He really did open
the doors himself.”
Even though reinforcements were clearly arriving momentarily, for what reason would
he seek a dead end for himself at the last minute?
“Maybe he thought the one at the door was us?” Ming Yi said gravely.
Hearing this, an abominable image suddenly appeared in Xie Lian’s mind: From outside
the small pavilion came three individuals, each in the appearance of himself, Hua
Cheng, and Ming Yi, and they knocked on the doors. Within the pavilion, an overjoyed
Shi Qingxuan immediately opened the doors, and the three ‘people’ outside surrounded
him, grinning at him eerily. The golden locket in Shi Qingxuan’s hand fell to the ground
next to his feet, never to be picked up.
Xie Lian immediately shook his head, “That’s impossible. I’ve never heard that the
Reverend of Empty Words have the ability to fake appearances.”
“Maybe it called for helpers.” Ming Yi said.
Xie Lian gave it a thought but also dismissed it, “Everything that we ran into today had
all been sudden and unforeseen. Before this we hadn’t thought there’d be an array set
up to shield the Wind Master, so it too shouldn’t have been able to find any ghosts to
help so fast. Besides, didn’t we tell Lord Wind Master that we’d inform him in the
communication array when we arrive? Whether if the ones outside the doors were real
or fake, it would’ve been easy to figure out by just asking, so how could he be so easily
deceived?”
Coming to this point, Xie Lian suddenly stopped, then he started mumbling, “Unless, it
was someone he knew who told him to open the doors.”
“Someone he knew?” Ming Yi questioned, “How so?”
Just then, Hua Cheng spoke up, “His ears were plugged. He can’t hear.”
Xie Lian immediately seized his arm and exclaimed, “Well said, San Lang! It was
exactly for that reason I said it must be someone he knew. Because Lord Wind Master
had his ears plugged, he wouldn’t have been able to hear anything from the outside!
Unless he removed the ear plugs, but would he do that? He was so terrified he’d die
before he would. So, to deceive him and have him open the door, there was only one
way it could be done.”
The private communication array!
Xie Lian started to talk faster, “Which meant, in between the time we were coming, there
was someone who secretly connected with Lord Wind Master and told him something
that made him open the doors on his own. If it wasn’t someone he was close to, they
wouldn’t have known Lord Wind Master’s verbal password. The verbal passwords of
heavenly officials are all closely-guarded secrets, not to be known by outsiders, and
especially not to demons and monsters the likes of that Reverend of Empty Words.
Also, it should’ve been someone he trusted deeply, otherwise he wouldn’t have opened
the doors without thinking.”
“Or,” Hua Cheng said, “He didn’t know this person but this person knew him, and gave
him a reason he couldn’t refuse but to open the doors.”
Xie Lian considered that possibility seriously and said, “Technically, we can send
messages to Lord Wind Master as long as we have the verbal password, but to have a
strange voice suddenly speak, wouldn’t Lord Wind Master think it weird? He should’ve
told us in the communication array the moment he heard. Unless, this mysterious
individual who sent the private communication paralyzed him with the first message. But
what message could it be?”
“A threat?” Ming Yi wondered.
“How to threaten? ‘If you don’t come out, I’ll tell your brother I’ve returned to harrass
you’?” Xie Lian immediately dismissed the thought, “Not likely.”
That Reverend of Empty Words shouldn’t be aware of Shi Qingxuan’s concerns.
Besides, it wasn’t a heavenly official, so how could it let the Water Master know
immediately of its existence? Reinforcements would arrive within the hour, but Shi
Qingxuan couldn’t even wait that long. At the end of the day, whether if that creature
could win against the Water Master was another problem. Don’t forget, it had never
harassed Shi Wudu; it only had eyes for Shi Qingxuan, picking especially at the lower
hanging fruit. No doubt the Reverend itself was scared of the Water Master so it
wouldn’t have provoked him directly.
“Search for another hour.” Ming Yi said.
Xie Lian understood what he wanted to say and nodded, “Alright. If we still can’t find him
after an hour, no matter how much Lord Wind Master protests, Lord Water Master must
be informed. Let’s break up! We’ll search this way, and Lord Earth Master, please
search over there.”
Ming Yi turned around and left without a word. Xie Lian jogged as he searched, and
never gave up calling for Shi Qingxuan in the communication array, but remained dead
silent.
“How goes it?” Hua Cheng asked.
Xie Lian shook his head, “No response whatsoever.”
The dread in his mind was growing heavier. He searched chamber after chamber of
every building in the entire pavilion and was almost through with every pavilions nearby,
yet there were no traces at all.
Soon after, the two came to the tallest pavilion in the area. This pavilion was obviously
the star of its surroundings, the centrepiece. It was renovated multiple times,
glamourous and impressive, with a number of poetry verses written on the walls. Xie
Lian raised his head to look at the establishment plague “The Terrace of Cascading
Wine” and wondered out loud, “Is it the ‘Wine-Pouring Young Lord’?”
“That’s right.” Hua Cheng answered, “This is the original address to the ‘Wine-Pouring
Young Lord’.”
“So it really is related?” Xie Lian looked at him.
“Yea.” Hua Cheng replied, then briefly gave an account. Turns out, in the legends they
said when Shi Qingxuan was still mortal, after training he would often come to this place
to drink, spread out drunkenly upon the terrace, happy and carefree. One day, below
the deck came a malicious crook who often bullied the good villagers, and when Shi
Qingxuan saw him, he nonchalantly spilled the delicate wine from his cup and casted a
tiny spell. That wine was spilt right over that crook’s head and knocked him out. After
Shi Qingxuan was appointed a deputy general by Shi Wudu, he still loved the mortal
realm, and continued to drink endlessly at this place like before. The day he ascended
was also when he was here drinking.
To ascend whilst drinking sounded absurd, but it actually wasn’t anything. Sometimes
opportunities came knocking without any rhyme or reason. Xie Lian himself was still
sleeping when he ascended. Perhaps in the future there would be heavenly officials
who ascend while they’re in the bathroom, which might very well become a renown
sight too.
In any case, stories of scholars teasing guests had always been popular throughout
history, and places that had stories would always incite the urge for intellectuals to raise
their brush and create, expressing their yearning for a heavenly lifestyle. Xie Lian now
understood that this place was one of such landmarks. There were no tourists in the
middle of the night, but the next day, there would for sure be many tourists who would
astonishingly discover the houses and trees that had been blown away, and cry the
Wind Master had shown up.
However, the renown sight of ‘The Wine-Pouring Young Lord’ was slightly different than
Xie Lian had imagined. Just then, he heard Hua Cheng say darkly, “Gege, I need to go
take care of something small. Please do be careful. I won’t be long.”
‘Take care of what?’ Xie Lian wondered mentally.
When he recalled Hua Cheng’s angry voice in the private communication array, and
now his unfriendly demeanor, he asked, “Are you going to go find that Reverend of
Empty Words?”
Hua Cheng paused for a moment then replied, “No.”
If it wasn’t then it wasn’t his place to ask any more. Xie Lian nodded, “You were only
here for fun anyway. Since something’s come up, just go. You take care of yourself too.”
“En.” Hua Cheng said. After a pause, he added, “When I come back, I’ll tell you
something.”
Xie Lian was taken aback and blurted, “What?” But Hua Cheng’s figure had already
disappeared.
After an hour, there was still nothing, and Xie Lian called out in the communication
array, “Lord Earth Master! How are things on your side? I haven’t found him here, so I’m
coming back.”
“Nothing!” Ming Yi answered.
“This won’t do. I can’t hold back any longer.” Xie Lian said, “Let’s meet up at the centre
of the Terrace of Cascading Wine. I’m going to report to Lord Water Master right now.”
After that, he immediately mouthed Ling Wen’s verbal password to her private
communication array, “Ling Wen, are you there? Can you find Lord Water Master?
Please tell him to come meet at the Terrace of Cascading Wine at his earliest notice.”
The clear voice of a man rang next to his ears. It seemed that at this moment Ling We
was in his male form. “Your highness? Lord Water Master is here with me right now.
He’s not someone who likes going out so he probably won’t descend. What business do
you have with him? I can pass on the message.”
Just then, Xie Lian had almost reached the main building of that Terrace of Cascading
Wine, and saw from afar that terrace seemed to be hung with something. It looked like a
white cloth, swinging in the night breeze. Xie Lian was taken aback, thinking, ‘Was there
something there before?”
When he walked closer, he finally saw what it was – wasn’t that Shi Qingxuan’s outer
robe?
Just then, Ming Yi roared in the communication array, “Your highness, come
immediately to the tallest pavilion at the Terrace of Cascading Wine! HURRY!!!”
Xie Lian jolted, and on the other end, Ling Wen was asking, “Your highness? Are you
still there?”
Xie Lian exclaimed, “Please have him descend as soon as possible! Something’s
happened to Lord Wind Master!”
After having shouted that last message, he charged up the pavilion. There were no
more sounds from the other end; Ling Wen was probably shocked by his message and
went reporting to Shi Wudu. When Xie Lian made it to the tallest floor, at the centre of
the floor laid a person, and it was Shi Qingxuan.
Shi Qingxuan had both eyes tightly closed; there were no external injuries on his person
and no traces of blood. Another person was helping him up and it was Ming Yi. Shi
Qingxuan sat up without consciousness, and something fell from his chest. Xie Lian
fixed his eyes and felt his heart tighten – that thing was the Wind Master fan that was
split in half. That rare spiritual device could only be possessed by chance and not by
force, and it might not even be forged after hundreds of years. It was the Wind Master’s
number one spiritual device yet it was destroyed just like that!
“When we came by just now there was no one else!” Xie Lian claimed.
But just as the words left his mouth, he realized something else that was amiss. Earlier
when he and Hua Cheng came by, there were plenty of poetry verses on the wall left by
literary guests; some charming, some arrogant, others elegant, but now they were all
gone, as if someone had wiped them clean, leaving behind a phrase that didn’t exist
before in crimson proper font, a row of large words, dripping with blood: “WRETCHED
BEGINNING WRETCHED END”
It was the curse the Reverend of Empty Words bestowed on Shi Qingxuan on the day of
his birth!
Just then, Ming Yi asked frigidly, “Your highness, where’s the one that was with you?”
Xie Lian was taken aback and thought, ‘Oh no! San Lang’s left at such an inopportune
moment!’
The moment he left his side something happened to Shi Qingxuan. This really couldn’t
be explained clearly. However, Xie Lian showed nothing on his face and explained
solemnly, “I asked him to go search for that Reverend of Empty Words.”
“When did he leave?” Ming Yi asked.
Without changing his expression, Xie Lian replied, “Just now. He shouldn’t have left for
over half an incense time.”
Truthfully, it was way longer than that. However, Xie Lian himself never doubted Hua
Cheng, so naturally he wouldn’t let anyone have the chance to doubt either, lest more
issues arise.
Just then, from beyond the skies came waves of rolling thunder, and a golden carriage
of eight wheels broke through the clouds, driving towards them with an imposing aura.
Unable to reach the Terrace of Cascading Wine using the Distance Shortening array, it
seemed Shi Wudu went straight for a Golden Carriage instead. It must be known that
when a golden carriage of burnished horses were driven, it was a huge fanfare. If it
should be seen by mortals who for some reason were stargazing in the middle of the
night, it would for sure be an uproar in the mortal realm. This Water Tyrant really wasn’t
afraid of anything.
Watching that dramatic golden carriage approach, Xie Lian immediately said, “Lord
Earth Master, if any heavenly officials should ask later, please don’t say a word about
Lord Hua. There are many heavenly officials in the Heavenly Court who like to
exaggerate and make up stories. This affair has nothing to do with him, so there’s no
need to make it complicated.”
Ming Yi gave him a look and said, “Very well.” He agreed easily and looked down to
keep checking Shi Qingxuan’s condition. Xie Lian let out a breath of relief but then,
seeing the unmoving Wind Master, his heart sank once more.
That golden carriage came roaring, and soon after, it landed with trails of propitious
clouds. Outside the carriage were a small number of junior heavenly officials standing at
the ready to serve, and three grand heavenly officials exited the vehicle. It was Shi
Wudu, Pei Ming, and Ling Wen. Three of the top ten at the Mid Autumn banquet had
come all at once. Of course, Xie Lian had long forgotten he himself sat at the head of
the top ten. Shi Wudu had deeply knitted brows, sweeping his sleeves as he got off the
carriage with a frown, entering the pavilion with his Water Master fan in hand and Pei
Ming and Ling Wen following right behind. The moment he saw his younger brother
lying on the ground like a corpse, his face instantly changed and he rushed over, “Qing
Xuan? Qing Xuan! What’s happened?”
Xie Lian responded succinctly, “Lord Wind Master had run into the Reverend of Empty
Words.”
“...”
“What did you say?” Shi Wudu exclaimed in disbelief, “The Reverend of Empty Words?”
Hearing that name, not only Shi Wudu, but Pei Ming and Ling Wen’s faces dropped too.
It seemed, they already knew of Shi Wudu’s scourge. Watching their expressions, Xie
Lian couldn’t tell who was faking and who was secretly delighted; they were all acting
naturally. Especially Shi Wudu. There was definitely no way he was acting. Ling Wen
retrieved a bunch of bottles from his sleeve and said, “Try feeding him all of them.”
Pei Ming on the other hand, remarked on the side, “It’s you again, Your Highness.”
“It can’t be helped,” Xie Lian replied, “There’s only so many of us going back and forth
the heavens.”
“It seems every time we see you, that other one is always around too. I wonder if it’s the
same case this time?”
Xie Lian replied flatly, “No, no. Of course not.”
He was lying through his teeth, but Ming Yi actually kept his promise and didn’t utter a
word. Pei Ming stopped talking, waved his hand, and led the officials under his
command to search the premises. Given the situation, it was actually better that Hua
Cheng had left beforehand. At least he wasn’t at the scene of the crime. Shi Wudu
couldn’t wake Shi Qingxuan but his eyes inadvertently swept over to the giant bloody
words on that snow white wall, and his face twisted immediately.
His face became whiter than that wall, shaking with fury, he shouted, “WHO WROTE
THIS? WHO WROTE IT?!”
Even though he was shouting, his voice was trembling. Just then, Ling Wen exclaimed,
“Lord Wind Master is awake!”
Xie Lian immediately squatted down, “Lord Wind Master?”
Sure enough, Shi Qingxuan’s eyes were blinking open slowly. Shi Wudu shoved
everyone aside and cried, “Qing Xuan? Are you alright? Do you feel bad anywhere?
Who hurt you?!”
Shi Qingxuan was dazed for a good while before he slowly came to. When he became
conscious, the first thing he saw was Shi Wudu’s face. The next moment, something no
one had expected happened.
He shoved Shi Wudu away, grabbed his own head and screamed,
“AAAAHHHHHHHHH—!!!”
——
Ch.113: Teasing Words to Befuddle Me and Also My Lord
Having been shoved so forcefully, the esteemed Water Master almost fell to the ground,
jumbled and dumbfounded. It was a moment before he called out, “Qing Xuan, it’s
gege.”
Shi Qingxuan roared, “I KNOW IT’S YOU!!!”
Since he knew it was Shi Wudu and wasn’t delusional, unable to recognize people, then
why such a reaction?
Shi Wudu reached for him again, “Everything’s alright now...” Shi Qingxuan slapped
that hand away, “ALRIGHT MY ASS! How can anything be alright?! Don’t say anything
anymore! AAH! I CAN’T TAKE THIS!”
The moment those words left his lips, not only Shi Wudu, but the faces of the Ling Wen
standing on the side and the Pei Ming who had just returned from giving out directives
to his subordinates both changed colours.
“Qing Xuan, stop this. What you just said is no different than slapping your brother’s
face and pouring poison on his heart.”
Usually when Shi Qingxuan heard Pei Ming speak he must quibble back a couple times,
but now he only held his head wordlessly, ignoring him completely, only muttering like
he was possessed, “I don’t want to hear anything. You stop talking too. Let me calm
down. Just go. JUST GET OUT OF HERE!!!”
Finally, Shi Wudu couldn’t stand it any longer.
“WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU SPOUTING?!” He shouted.
Ling Wen chided too, “Lord Wind Master, if there’s anything just tell us, so we know
what we can do to solve it...”
Shi Qingxuan roared, enraged, “DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE WORDS COMING
OUT OF MY MOUTH?! GET OUT OF HERE! CAN YOU ALL PLEASE JUST GET THE
HELL OUT OF HERE!!! AAHHH!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!” He was yelling like he was
unhinged, screaming and screaming and then suddenly he spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Lord Wind Master!” Xie Lian exclaimed.
Shi Wudu immediately seized his wrist to check his pulse, but after feeling it, his face
instantly became more terrifying than a ghost, as if he was going to throw up blood on
the spot too.
“Lord Water Master, what’s wrong with Lord Wind Master?” Xie Lian asked as he
reached out ready to check too, but Shi Wudu slapped his hand away forcefully, glaring
at him with fury like he couldn’t allow Xie Lian to find out just what Shi Qingxuan’s
condition was. Soon after, he turned to his younger brother, “You’re ill. You’re deranged
from terror. I’m taking you back for treatment. You will be healed for sure.”
Shi Qingxuan stared at him intently and slowly enunciated his words, “I am not ill.
Whether if I’m ill you should know best! Don’t take me for crazy, I’m very conscient. I’ve
never been so conscient in my life!”
Shi Wudu grabbed hold of him and dragged him to the carriage, yelling, “You don’t
understand anything! Don’t speak nonsense!”
Shi Qingxuan wailed, “MING-XIONG! MING-XIONG SAVE ME! YOUR HIGHNESS!
SAVE ME!”
He reached out with both his arms, grabbing the other two one with each hand, and Xie
Lian and Ming Yi both held on to the hands he extended. However, Shi Wudu yanked
him away forcibly again, “Let’s go. Everything’s alright. Gege is here.”
Shi Qingxuan was still screaming, and Pei Ming and Ling Wen went over to help Shi
Wudu hold him down. Ming Yi shouted, “Your brother doesn’t want to go back with you!”
Xie Lian exclaimed too, “That Reverend of Empty Words hasn’t been dealt with yet,
Lord Water Master what do you plan on...”
Shi Wudu cut him off sharply, “What Reverend of Empty Words? I have no idea what
you’re all talking about. He’s ill. His mind is addled. THAT’S ALL!”
“But Lord Wind Master...” Xie Lian tried again.
Shi Wudu broke him off, “This is my brother, do you think I would mistreat him? This is
our own family affair, no need to trouble outsiders! Would the two lords please not
spread word of this around either and just mind your own business!” Then, he raised his
hand in front of Shi Qingxuan and brushed down. Once Shi Qingxuan lost
consciousness from the sweep he was forced into the golden carriage.
Although his words were rude, but they stunned Xie Lian. He wasn’t wrong. After all, Shi
Wudu was the rightful blood brother to Shi Qingxuan, so how could he harm Shi
Qingxuan? Besides, there were two other heavenly officials accompanying them, so
having Shi Qingxuan go back with them was the safest option. How could outsiders
continue to interfere when the family himself showed up?
That Wind Master fan laid broken in two on the ground without anyone caring, and Ling
Wen picked it up, speaking to Xie Lian and Ming Yi, “Your highness, Lord Earth Master,
please don’t be offended. Lord Water Master is only mad from worry. This affair is
personal and personal scandals shan’t be publicized, so pray My Lords keep this to
yourselves. He will for sure make amends when this is settled.” After a few more
courteous words, Ling Wen also boarded the carriage hastily. That golden carriage rose
in the air rumbling then flew off. It was only after watching that stream of propitious
clouds disappear gradually in the night sky before it finally hit Xie Lian that the Water
Master really did take the Wind Master away just like that. As for them, after running
around for so long, they were really left behind like this, just like that.
Ming Yi turned around and was about to leave when Xie Lian snapped out of it and
exclaimed, “Lord Earth Master!”
Ming Yi paused in his step, turned his head and looked at him meaningfully before he
said, “Relax. I won’t say anything about Hua Cheng.”
Xie Lian let out a breath of relief and said, “Thank you. Are you going to go check up on
Lord Wind Master?”
Ming Yi nodded once and turned back around to continue on his way. Although Xie Lian
was also very worried about the Wind Master, still all the medical heavenly officials in
the Upper Court were going to be more of a help than he would be. Besides, Shi Wudu
would for sure not want any outsiders to witness his brother’s madness, so given that
thought, it wasn’t the right time to pay a visit right now. Actually, Hua Cheng’s sudden
departure was more of a concern, so after some consideration, Xie Lian decided to go
find Hua Cheng first. Making up his mind, Xie Lian left the Terrace of Cascading Wine,
and speedily began his overnight journey.
Unable to use the Distance Shortening array and without a golden carriage of burnished
horses, Xie Lian could only depend on his pair of legs, sprinting through the mountain
paths. As he ran, he thought, ‘What kind of situation can San Lang possibly run into?
His expression and tone of voice earlier made it seem like it’s something serious.
Hopefully I’ll be able to give him a hand this time.’
It wasn’t even over an incense time before suddenly, he noticed the roads ahead of him
were thick with the essence of evil. Visibility heavily reduced, Xie Lian slowed his pace
and thought, ‘No way. What is it now?’
He stood on the side of the road to watch and observe quietly. A while later, in the thick
of that essence fo evil ahead came a bizarre work song.
“YI YU XI, YI YU XI*.”
“YI YU XI, YI YU XI.”
At the end of the road ahead, a giant black silhouette hazily appeared.
It was black and large with some shadow floating about, but Xie Lian couldn’t tell just
what it was. He had never seen anything with that shape, but it was for sure something
quite big. Subconsciously, he took a step back from alarm, the Ruoye on his left arm
ready to attack, and he rested his right hand on Fang Xin’s hilt.
Soon after, that giant thing showed its true form from the mist. Xie Lian’s eyes slightly
widened. Turns out, it was a glamourous step litter*.
That step litter was exceedingly extravagant, its golden canopy hung exquisite and
featherlight satin veils, and should anyone be enthroned within, they would for sure be
shrouded within the expanse of enchanting crimson drapes, allowing their obscure
silhouette be displayed only through imagination. The porters carrying that step litter
were four golden skeletons with abnormally large bone structures, and they hollered
their work song “YI YU XI” “YI YU XI” as they made way. Next to every skeleton floated
small languid swirls of ghost fires, twirling about, seeming to be used for illumination
because whenever they came to a darker area the ghost fires would burn brighter.
The sight was too strange, bizarre and demonic, that Xie Lian couldn’t help but stare,
wondering if he ran into some ghost lady out to meet a lover on a date. He hurriedly
backed further onto the side of the road to give way. Unexpectedly however, those four
golden skeletons carrying the step litter stopped in front of him and each turned their
skulls towards him.
One of the golden skeleton’s jaw bones crackled and out came a sound from who
knows where, speaking with a quivering voice, “Lord Chengzhu* sent us to receive the
Crown Prince of Xianle. Is My Lord Your Highness?”
“...”
Lord Chengzhu should be no other but Hua Cheng. Xie Lian removed his hand from the
hilt of the sword and answered, “That’s me.”
Crackle crackle. The skeletons seemed to be rejoicing and lowered the step litter.
“Please board, let’s go!”
Were the four golden skeletons going to carry him to go see Hua Cheng? Xie Lian said
reluctantly, “That’s... too much trouble.”
“Nonsense. It’s no trouble at all, this is our job.”
“Your highness, please board! Lord Chengzhu is waiting for you.”
Thus, Xie Lian carefully stepped onto the platform, lifted the veil and seated himself
within. “Thanks for the trouble.”
The golden skeletons were ecstatic, crackling and saying something incomprehensible,
then they picked up the step litter and started bumping along the mountain paths.
That step litter had upon it a wicker chair sewn with brocade, exceedingly comfortable,
and Xie Lian sat poised in the centre, feeling that it seemed a bit big for just one person.
The step litter carried by those golden skeletons seemed to be bumpy and wobbly, but
when he actually sat down, the ride was quite steady. It moved extremely fast, swifter
than flying on a sword, and other than that bizarre work song those golden skeletons
enjoyed chanting, it was practically silent, much more so than that rumbling golden
carriage with burnished horses, and even more mysterious.
In the past, when Xie Lian was still the crown prince, he would also ride a step litter
when he went out from time to time. He was much younger back then, and sat on the
lap of either his father or mother, carried by palace attendants especially chosen who
would cheer and clamor all around, impressive and imposing. After he got bigger he
didn’t enjoy it as much anymore. Nevertheless, this was the first time he was
transported by those creatures, so still he couldn’t help but be amazed.
After traveling for a while, he suddenly sensed a band of green ghost fires ahead, their
wisping light shimmering through the veil, and quiet chatters came wafting in the air,
“Who goes there? Shouldn’t ya be leavin’ somethin’ behind, crossin’ thru this burial
ground?”
It seemed they ran into road blocking feral ghosts. Shadows eating shadows, ghosts
devouring ghosts, yet they even dared provoke Hua Cheng? Those skeletons crackled
and laughed, “What do you want us to leave behind?”
Xie Lian was just contemplating whether if he should show his face and deal with this
when he heard those tiny voices shriek, “AIYOYOYOYO FORGIVE US! Our shitty eyes
be blind an’ didn’t realize this was the step litter of our ol’ lord Hua Cheng! Git back to
the burials, git back! My Lords please pass as ya will. My Lords are generous, please
pass as ya will!”
Those golden skeletons said, “Too late too late, Lord Chengzhu has given clear
instructions that the highness seated in this step litter shall not be offended. Now that
tHis Highness has been delayed, why don’t y’all tell us what shall be done!”
Wails and devilish cries howled all around. Xie Lian couldn’t stand it anymore and said,
“Um, forget it. Since we’re in a rush, just let this go.”
Those skeletons said, “Since His Highness says so, then we shall let them go. Y’all got
off easy!”
Xie Lian added, “However, do keep in mind to never block the roads in the future and
harm travelers.”
The feral ghosts rejoiced, “Nonono, we swear that’s never happened! Thank you My
Lord!”
“Depart!” Those skeletons shouted.
As they passed through, Xie Lian faintly heard the babbling of female ghosts, chattering
in wonder, “Hey, who do y’all think is the highness sitting in that litter? I’ve never heard
Lord Hua’s golden step litter carrying anyone else.”
“If it was a lady then it’d be easy to guess. Yet it’s a man. Very strange.”
‘What’s so strange about it?’ Xie Lian wondered.
In the next second, he heard those female ghosts say, “Yea. And here I was so sure that
golden litter was definitely for the madam wife!”
—-
After having run around for days, Xie Lian rode in the step litter and felt drowsy. He
used his hand to support his cheek, dozing off. Another long while passed and he felt
the step litter stop again. He mumbled semi-consciously, “What is it?”
He thought they ran into another band of road blocking feral ghosts, but just as the
words left his lips he felt the step litter dip, and it was another who had gotten on. The
man lifted the veil and called out lightly, “Gege?”
Xie Lian rubbed his eyes and squinted, looking towards the voice, “San Lang?”
The one who’d come was naturally Hua Cheng. When he saw Xie Lian’s half-awakened
state, bleary eyed and dazed, he was slightly taken aback. Xie Lian sat up feeling
embarrassed and cleared his throat, “I accidentally fell asleep.”
Soon after, Hua Cheng smiled and went over to sit too, “Gege is exhausted. I hope
gege won’t mind if I squeeze in.”
Xie Lian nodded and tried to move more to the right, wanting to leave more room for
Hua Cheng, but Hua Cheng extended his arm and caught his right shoulder, pulling him
back, “No need. There’s enough space.”
Truthfully, there wasn’t. This step litter was crafty; too big for one person, but too
cramped for two, not a perfect fit unless it was like when Xie Lian was younger and one
sat on the lap of the other.
“You left just in time earlier. Three heavenly officials from the Upper Court descended all
at once.”
Hua Cheng humphed, “Was it the Three Tumours? I already expected it.”
Xie Lian laughed teasingly, “Was that the reason why you ran away?”
Hua Cheng replied jokingly too, “No, I went to hail for the carriage. So how is it, gege?
Isn’t my Infernal Ghost Carriage much more fun than the golden carriage of those
heavenly officials in the Upper Court?”
“Yes, it’s very fun!” Xie Lian laughed, but when he was reminded of Wind Master’s awful
state, he couldn’t laugh anymore, and became solemn. “By the way, San Lang, what
was it that you wanted to tell me earlier?”
Inadvertently, their eyes met. Hua Cheng still had Xie Lian’s right shoulder in his grasp,
never having let go, as if he was holding him in his embrace. Looking from the outside,
only two overlapping silhouettes could be seen within the veils of that step litter, curled
up together, inseparable. Within the red curtains, Hua Cheng smiled,
“Gege, want to get married?”
“...”
“...Huh?” Xie Lian was startled.
Such a gaze, such words, they were in such close quarters with nowhere to run.
Instantly, colours exploded in Xie Lian’s vision and his mind went completely blank, his
entire person frozen, stiffer than a corpse.
Seeing his reaction, Hua Cheng took his arm back and snickered, “It’s a joke. Did I
shock gege?”
“...”
It was a good moment before Xie Lian snapped out of it, “...You’re too much. How can
you joke about something like that?”
It wasn’t just shock. He was so rattled his heart almost stopped. There was also a trace
of hurt that he hadn’t noticed himself.
Hua Cheng laughed, “My bad.”
He stretched out his long legs and crossed them, settling them up front, wiggling his
boots and the silver chains clinked against each other, jingling crisply, truly the very
image of mischief. If this was before, Xie Lian would think this young man playful and
endearing, but now for some reason, that noise was disrupting his calm, and an
unexplained frustration filled his mind. After feeling shaken for a bit, he couldn’t help but
say again mentally, ‘How can you joke about something like that...’
However, when he thought about it, there wasn’t anything wrong. It was precisely
because it didn’t mean anything that it could be used a joke.
Hua Cheng noticed his odd expression and immediately sat up straight, “Your highness,
don’t take it to heart. I was in the wrong just now. I won’t joke about this ever again.”
Seeing that he apologized so solemnly, Xie Lian felt bad instead and thought, ‘Am I
stupid? It was only a joke and nothing serious. Besides, San Lang only said “want to get
married”, but he didn’t specify with who, so where did my mind wander off to? Get a
hold of yourself! This instant! Right now!!!’
He smacked himself a few times mentally and steadied his spirit before smiling, “No no
no, how are you in the wrong? Don’t misunderstand, I was just thinking about Lord Wind
Master so I looked a bit serious.”
“Oh?” Hua Cheng said, “Since the Water Tyrant descended too, that affair should be
taken cared of.”
The two were exceedingly cooperative in changing the subject. Xie Lian started to think
seriously, and shook his head softly, “San Lang, do you really think this is all over?
Somehow I think this is only the beginning.”
Shi Qingxuan had always admired and respected his older brother, but just as he
escaped danger and saw his brother’s face, he reacted like that. A horrifying thought
entered his mind – could the one who deceived Shi Qingxuan in opening the doors be
Shi Wudu?
Although Shi Wudu should’ve been in the company of Ling Wen and General Pei at the
time, still it wouldn’t be difficult for spiritually powerful heavenly officials to create clones
and send them off on errands. He was just about to keep telling Hua Cheng some of his
suspicions and assumptions when Hua Cheng said instead, “No. This affair is done and
over with.”
His tone was firm and Xie Lian couldn’t help but be taken aback, “San Lang?”
Hua Cheng stared at him intently, “Gege, do you trust me?”
Xie Lian met his eyes and was equally firm, “I do.”
Hua Cheng said slowly, “Then, believe me. Stay far away from Wind Master, Water
Master, Earth Master, Ling Wen, and Pei Ming. The further away the better.”
——–
●[噫籲嚱] “YI YU XI” is just meaningless sounds.
●[步輦] ‘Step Litter’ - a ‘Litter’, according to wiki, is a class of wheelless vehicles, a
human-powered transport. Palanquins and Sedan Chairs are categorized as
litters but they’re often boxed cabins. A Step Litter is an open aired platform with
a seat/throne and sometimes (such as in this text) it’d have a canopy adorned
with hanging satin curtains. Step litters are usually reserved only for those with
high statuses. More info on wiki if you want to read up on it. :3
FYI: Palanquins and Sedan Chairs are basically the same thing. The name
Sedan Chair was used in the west after the palanquin was imported to Europe in
the early 16th century.
●[城主] ‘Chengzhu’ means Lord Mayor or City Master, but that doesn’t quite cut it
since Ghost City is more a city fortress state and its own sovereignty, so I haven’t
found any satisfactory English term that’d fully represent Hua Cheng’s power and
status. Let’s just keep to Chengzhu lmao.
——-
Ch.114: Teasing Words to Befuddle Me and Also My Lord 2
After that line, thoughts laid heavy on Xie Lian’s mind the rest of the way. He tried
prodding for more but every response Hua Cheng gave him thereafter all seemed to
mean “That’s all I’ll say on the subject”. Thus, Xie Lian didn’t pursue anymore.
When they returned to Puqi shrine, dawn had yet broken upon the horizon.
Pushing the door open, Xie Lian could see that all the dishes were cleaned and put
away. Lang Ying, Guzi, and Qi Rong were all sleeping inside, a blanket covering them,
looking very comfortable. It seemed that after he left, there really was someone who
took care of things attentively, and had already left silently.
This time when Xie Lian returned, what followed was a large pile of prayers.
Puqi Shrine had never received this many prayers before, but he didn’t think it had
anything to do with that wealthy merchant spreading his good name – that’s right. That
wealthy merchant who lived in town finally came to fulfill his promise.
However, even if he did come by, he either didn’t notice the very obvious sign Xie Lian
placed right out front, or he purposely ignored it. He also didn’t donate however much
money he promised he would. The most important purpose of his coming here was to
gift a brocade banner, and he enthusiastically presented it to Xie Lian before all the folks
in the village. Xie Lian rolled it open unsuspectingly and immediately folded it close.
Still, the giant words on that brocade banner were deeply ingrained in his mind –
“Return Babes through Miraculous Hands*”
“???”
After sending that wealthy merchant off, he exhaled a long sigh. He’d been worried
everyday wondering when the shack would finally collapse; he really didn’t know when it
could be repaired. Hua Cheng, who had been leaning against the door, seemed to have
guessed what he was sighing over, and said, “I’ve long wanted to say something. If
gege doesn’t feel secure living here, why not just move somewhere else?”
Xie Lian shook his head, “That’s easy for you to say, San Lang. Where would I move
to?”
Hua Cheng smiled, “Why not move over to my place?”
Xie Lian knew that those words couldn’t be as nonchalant as they sound, but ever since
the ‘joke’ the other night, a small shadow manifested in his heart for some reason, and
he daren’t respond to any more words Hua Cheng would say using that ‘joking’
demeanor, only acknowledging with a smile, inclining his head.
As for those prayers received, although they were nothing more than the mundane such
as the old ox broke his leg and couldn’t work in the fields or the wife in the house got
pregnant and couldn’t help in the fields, etc., nonetheless they were still prayers, and he
must treat all worshippers equally. After a couple days, Xie Lian responded to the
prayers and went into the village to help plow and plant the fields.
Since Hua Cheng had been staying with him, naturally he went along to play. Because
this was hard manual labour, at first Xie Lian hadn’t wanted him to work the fields too
but he refused to be persuaded, thus, the two changed into coarse clothing, rolling up
their sleeves and pant legs, and entered the waters of rice paddy fields.
Panning across distance, large expanse of lush green rice paddy fields were littered
with bustling farmers, and among them, there were two silhouettes that were particularly
conspicuous.
Even if he was dressed in Xie Lian’s gritty clothing, not a single bit of Hua Cheng’s
impressive airs could be hidden away. More like, that ragged outfit accentuated his face
and figure. The two of them were both pale skinned, their arms beautiful, their legs long
and straight, painting an eye-catching, scintillating picture among the muddy faced
farmers, making the village girls who were used to seeing boors blush and their hearts
race. They kept sneaking glances, and as they transplanted seedlings, soon their grafts
were planted off course and into curved lines, becoming laughing stocks.
Hua Cheng’s blanched skin was the colour that was devoid of blood. Xie Lian on the
other hand, was rosy through the translucent white, and, due to his natural physique,
the more he sweated the more his skin became fair like jade. With the blazing sun
overhead, he only worked for a while before his entire person was white like powder.
The dry heat was intolerable, and he kept wiping at the beads of sweat rolling down his
collar bones. However, when he thought of how ghosts were all creature of the
shadows, disgusted with the sun, Hua Cheng must be even more irritated, and Xie Lian
turned his head to look over. Sure enough, Hua Cheng also straightened up languidly,
using a hand to block out the sun, his eyes squinting. Hiding in the shadows of his right
hand, he was also gazing in Xie Lian’s direction.
Xie Lian walked over and pressed the bamboo hat over his head, “Here.”
Hua Cheng was slightly taken aback at first, but he soon squinted into a smile, “Ok.”
Although Hua Cheng said he was going to work the fields just for fun, but when he
actually got down to work he was way faster than Xie Lian, swift and efficient, extremely
skilled. An hour later, Xie Lian finished transplanting his field of paddies, but he was
already sore and in pain, knocking and massaging his waist, and Hua Cheng came over
to help him out. Xie Lian took a look and he couldn’t believe that after only so long, Hua
Cheng actually finished a large field silently all by himself, each green rice stalk
standing in the watery paddies, neat and orderly, pleasing to the eye. Xie Lian said
earnestly, “San Lang you really do learn fast. You don’t need to help me, go sit and rest,
and drink some water or something.”
Thus, Hua Cheng went to the the field ridges to retrieve water. The Village Head had
been watching on the side for some time, and just then he gave a thumbs up,
“Daozhang, which house does that little lad belong to? He’s so diligent! So amazing!
Just one of him is as good as ten men! If any girl is to catch his eye then it’d be her
good fortune!”
Xie Lian “pfft”-ed and laughed, but it wasn’t long before a few others came secretly to
inquire too, “Hey, hey, daozhang, where’s that little lad staying at your shrine from? Is he
married yet? There couldn’t be a wife in his household yet, right?”
“Surely not? He’s so young!”
Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and answered vaguely, “Um... I guess.
He’s young, so it’s not time to consider anything yet.”
Those villagers immediately said, “Well that’s not right. It’s precisely because he’s
young that the affair gotta be settled soon.”
“Daozhang, you gotta talk to him. Men gotta settle early before they can mature. Gotta
build a home before anything else.”
“That’s right! Young people! They’re ***! They won’t be able to withstand lonely nights!”
Those villagers were all from households with daughters and wanted to dig for some
information, and just as Xie Lian was courteously turning them away, Hua Cheng
walked over with a bamboo water bottle dangling in his hand, “I’m married. There’s a
wife at home.”
When those villagers heard, they were greatly disappointed but still unrelenting, “Which
house is the lady from? Won’t the little buddy tell us?”
“You’re not lying to us, are you?”
“She must be virtuous and beautiful?”
Hua Cheng raised his brows, ‘En. that’s right. Virtuous and beautiful. A real noble and
gracious special someone that I’ve liked since I was young. I’ve had that crush for many
years and pursued really hard before I was able to win that person over.”
He spoke with such serious certainty without a hint of falsehood that those villagers felt
there was no more game and could only disperse, feeling defeatedly disappointed.
Xie Lian was spacing out listening to him when Hua Cheng passed over a cloth and a
water bottle, “Water?”
Xie Lian took the cloth and wiped the hands that were covered with mud before taking
the water bottle to drink a few swallows, then he passed it back. Subconsciously, the
cloth in his hands was bunched messily into a ball, and he wiped himself here and
there. After trying to hold it in for a while, he still couldn’t help but ask, “...is that true?”
Hua Cheng took the bamboo bottle and drank a swallow himself, his adam’s apple
rolling up and down once, before he lowered his head, “Hm? What is?”
Xie Lian raised his sleeve and wiped some sweat on the side of his face, wondering if
the sun was a little too big because both his forehead and his cheeks were both burning
up. He tried his best to sound as casual as possible and smiled, “There’s a wife at
home, virtuous and beautiful, a real noble, gracious special someone. You’ve had that
crush since you were young and pursued really hard before you won that person over.”
“Oh.” Hua Cheng said, “That’s a lie.”
Xie Lian hadn’t noticed himself, but he let out a sigh of relief. This time, his smile was
genuine, and he copied Hua Cheng’s tone from before, “You liar.”
Hua Cheng grinned and added, “But, it wasn’t all a lie. I just haven’t won that person
over yet.”
Hearing this, Xie Lian was stunned but Hua Cheng had already turned around, leaving
to keep labouring in the fields.
Xie Lian stood where he was for a good while, dazed, before bending down and slowly
went back to work. For some reason, he was feeling a little unhappy. Soon after, he
discovered a small row of his grafts were off the course and immediately pulled his mind
back.
As he worked the fields, he tried connecting privately with the Wind Master through the
private communication array. Although Hua Cheng warned him against getting close to
the Wind Master and his group, Xie Lian couldn’t do it. These past few days he tried
sending messages multiple times but still there weren’t any responses, nothing but
silence. Thus, he changed his tactics and reached out to Ling Wen instead, “Ling Wen,
how does Lord Wind Master? Is he a little better?”
Ling Wen was instantly connected, and her voice sounded next to Xie Lian’s ears, “Lord
Wind Master? I think he’s a little better.”
Xie Lian instinctively knew she wasn’t telling the truth but didn’t pursue it. However, that
did help him make up his mind in going up in a bit to go take a look.
Just then, Ling Wen added, “By the way, Lord Water Master sent a gift over to you and
it’s arrived. Please remember to take a look, Your Highness.”
Xie Lian was taken aback, “A gift? There’s no need for it. I haven’t done anything
deserving of a reward.”
“There’s no need to be humble,” Ling Wen said, “Lord Wind Master would grab anyone
to accompany him when he’s feeling impulsive, and you’ve endured hardships by his
side for so long, so in all manners of speaking there is no shame in accepting the gift.
Lord Water Master said it was nothing but a small show of gratefulness, so just take it.”
Xie Lian still didn’t think it appropriate and kept it on his mind.
After finishing his work and wrapping up, Hua Cheng went over to the Villager Head’s
house to help repair his plow and Xie Lian returned to Puqi shrine first. After moving the
three “good-for-nothings” as Hua Cheng had called them behind the shrine, Xie Lian
searched all over the small abode, wondering, ‘Where’s the gift?’
Thinking it might have fallen in the cracks behind the donation box, he rolled his sleeves
and was just about to move the box when unexpectedly, when he tried to lift the box
was unmoving. That donation box was excessively heavy like it had grown roots into the
ground. Perplexed, Xie Lian took out the key and opened the box. The moment he did
the bright golden light almost blinded him.
That donation box was piled thick high with gold bars, and with just a rough look, there
was at least enough to turn into a million merits!
Xie Lian instantly threw the cover shut soundly, pressing it down heavily with both
hands, thinking, ‘Nothing but a small show of gratitude?!’
To gift something so hefty for no reason, was this a lip-sealing fee? At first he had
considered that if it really was nothing more than a small gift, like a spiritual jade
bracelet for saving power or something, then maybe it’d be best to take it. After all,
returning a gift might injure that Water Master’s face and the Water Master was proud
so it wouldn’t be a nice thing to do. But now, alright, as expected from the God of
Wealth. A chest this big filled to the rim with gold bars, he had to return it.
It just so happened he planned on making a trip to the heavens immediately to check up
on the Wind Master. Figuring that Hua Cheng wouldn’t return so fast, he left a note then
carried that oppressively heavy donation box on his back before taking off.
Unexpectedly, the moment he reached the Heavenly Court, it was mayhem all around
and Xie Lian stood dumbfounded with wide eyes. The perfectly good Great Martial
Avenue was full of wreckage and potholes, cracks and craters filled the street. A group
of junior heavenly officials were running back and forth, and Ling Wen was squatting
next to a deep crater, massaging her throbbing temple. Xie Lian approached and asked,
“What’s happened?”
Ling Wen looked up and was taken aback by that giant donation box carried on his
back, “Your highness, what are you doing carrying such a big donation box up here???
What’s happened? Sigh, don’t even talk about it. General Nan Yang and General Xuan
Zhen are fighting and destroyed each other’s palaces.”
Feng Xin and Mu Qing? Xie Lian was amazed, “Why are the two of them fighting
again?”
“What else can it be but that business with the fetus spirit the last time? A few of the
martial gods were in discussion, debating on how to deal with that pair of ghost mother
and son. General Nan Yang suggested to bring that fetus spirit to the refinery to
dissolve it, since that creature really did murder a great number of people, but Xuan
Zhen wouldn’t let him. His tone wasn’t the nicest, so Nan Yang said as if you’ve ever
been so benevolent, maybe you hold a guilty conscience, etc., etc. Your highness, you
know how it is. They’re like that. Parse a few words and they’d raise their fists. Just
look. Look around. Look what state their brawl has caused us. I’ve long since said that
you martial gods really don’t have a good culture, the expense for repairs in the
Heavenly Court this year is too terrifying, I’ve only counted halfway and now I’ve
forgotten everything again. Really...”
Her headache really did look quite painful, and Xie Lian said, “Then... I’ll leave you to it.
I’ll go check up on Lord Wind Master.”
Ling Wen looked up, “Visit Lord Wind Master? Don’t bother, Your Highness. Lord Wind
Master isn’t allowing visitors right now.”
“Didn’t you say he was a bit better?” Xie Lian asked.
“That’s what Lord Water Master said.” Ling Wen said, “But the Lord Wind Master not
allowing visitors was also Lord Water Master’s words. Right now not even I can see
Lord Wind Master, so he probably needs more time to recuperate. You best not go, Your
Highness. Speaking of, isn’t your donation box also too...”
WHAM! Xie Lian dropped the donation box on the ground. “Then please help give this
to Lord Water Master for me. I haven’t done anything deserving of a reward. Even if he
didn’t give me anything, Xie Lian wouldn’t say anything that shouldn’t be said.” He felt at
ease after throwing that box down and left hastily. Ling Wen called after him from
behind, but getting no response, she let it go, and continued to look at that deep crater
with her throbbing head.
However, although Xie Lian did leave, of course he wouldn’t have just descended back
to the mortal realm just like that. Instead, he snuck to the esteemed Palace of the Wind
and Water Masters in the Heavenly Capital.
Although the palace was thick with security guards both inside and out, but a small thing
like this couldn’t stop Xie Lian. Shi Qingxuan had brought him over last time so he had a
general idea where the Wind Master’s bedchambers was located. He flipped over the
wall and changed between running across roofs stealthily and sneaking around in the
grounds. It didn’t take him long before he arrived. The only thing he worried about was
the Wind Master having been moved by his older brother to somewhere else and wasn’t
even there.
Fortunately his worry didn’t come true. He climbed onto the roof and found a blind spot
where others couldn’t see him and used his legs to hook onto one of the beams,
hanging upside down from the eaves, looking into the interior of the bedchamber.
However, the moment he looked he was shocked.
Shi Qingxuan was trussed up tightly, his hands and legs all bound with ropes. He was
tied onto his own bed but was still struggling unceasingly. Next to him, Shi Wudu was
pacing back and forth by the bed, a bowl full of something black and unknown in his
hands. He paused for a moment, then suddenly walked over, and forced its contents
down Shi Qingxuan’s throat.
————
●[妙手回胎] ‘Return Babes through Miraculous Hands’ was a play on the idiom [妙
手回春] ‘Return to Spring through Miraculous Hands’, which is a compliment for
doctors who are so skilled they can bring the dead back to life. In this case, the
wealthy merchant wanted to praise Xie Lian’s skill in returning fetuses.
————
Ch.115: Traversing Through Tunnels; Sword Penetrating from Above
Having his jaws squeezed open by Shi Wudu and forced down a few swallows, Shi
Qingxuan choked violently, spitting and sputtering out more than half of the contents,
dirtying all of his front. He started screaming and knocked his head forward, toppling the
bowl. Shi Wudu’s face was fuming with smoke and yelled, “Go ahead! Keep toppling!
There’s plenty more where that medicine came from. You break one bowl, I’ll bring you
twenty more! I’ll keep forcing this down your throat until you’ll drink it!”
Shi Qingxuan roared, “AAAHHHH!!! CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?! JUST LET
ME DIE!”
Shi Wudu said sharply, “I’m your brother! If I don’t care for you, who will?!”
Shi Qingxuan stopped talking, twisting his head away. A moment later, Shi Wudu sat
down on the side of the bed and softened his tone, “I’ll go have your fan fixed.”
“I don’t want that fan anymore.” Shi Qingxuan said.
The Wind Master loved that rare spiritual device of his, that Wind Master fan, and would
bring it out from time to time just to play around with it, and even in the midst of
snowstorms in winter the fan would be fanned in the wind. Yet now he said he didn’t
want the Wind Master fan anymore, Xie Lian was becoming more and more curious.
“If you don’t want it that’s fine too. We’ll use this chance to forge you a new spiritual
device.”
Shi Qingxuan turned his head back again, “I don’t want new ones either! Just let me
descend.”
Shi Wudu turned to him, “Descend? Descend where?”
“Descend back to the mortal realm.” Shi Qingxuan replied, “I don’t want to stay in the
Upper Court anymore. I DON’T WANT TO BE A GOD ANYMORE!”
Veins popped on Shi Wudu’s pale skinned temple, “What a joke! Throw away your
godhood to descend to the mortal realm? Stop making a fool of yourself! I don’t think
you understand just how many people in the world want to ascend and how many
officials in the Middle Court would die to join the Upper Court!!”
Shi Qingxuan shouted in anger, “THAT’S RIGHT! I DON’T KNOW! I JUST WANT TO
BE A DRIFTING VAGABOND! IS THAT SO WRONG?!”
“I WON’T PERMIT IT! A carefree drifting vagabond? Dream on! I...”
Just then, the colours of his face changed, as if a private message had just reached
him, passing on some news. Shi Wudu immediately rose to his feet, his two fingers
pressed against his temple listening intently, and his face grew more and more serious.
Soon after, he turned to Shi Qingxuan, “Stop adding to my troubles. I’m going to be
busy for the next little while, I’ve no time to mind you! Once I return from going through
my third heavenly calamity you won’t be able to act up like this any more!” Then, he
threw his hands and swiftly left the bedchamber.
Once he was long gone, Xie Lian silently flipped down, pushing at the window looking to
sneak in. However, no matter how he pushed the window wouldn’t budge; some sort of
confinement seal must be set up. He dared not force it open lest there be some alarm
spell casted upon it, so he only called out in a low voice, “Lord Wind Master. Lord Wind
Master?”
Shi Qingxuan jerked on the bed and turned his head, overjoyed, “Your highness?!”
“It’s me.” Xie Lian responded, “What’s happened to you? I can’t open this window, may I
come in through another way?”
When windows couldn’t be opened by normal means, it’d be easy to guess the method
a martial god would use to enter a chamber. Shi Qingxuan hurriedly said, “Don’t don’t
don’t! Don’t destroy anything! There’s a spell covering all the windows and doors here. If
you force yourself in with brute strength the entire Palace of Wind and Water will know
someone has come. Unless it was me or my brother, the doors and windows can only
be opened from the inside.”
“But you’re all tied up like that.” Xie Lian pointed out.
Shi Qingxuan started struggling crazily, “Your highness, wait a sec! Let me break free of
this rope...”
“...” Xie Lian watched as his entire person rolled around the bed, sometimes curled into
a shrimp, sometimes straightened like a steel board, struggling with great trouble trying
to break free, and Xie Lian softly cheered him on, “Keep going, My Lord!”
With a brief look and he could tell that the rope binding Shi Qingxuan wasn’t any
spiritual device. By the Wind Master’s powers, it would’ve snapped with but a hook of a
finger, so why hadn’t it broken yet? Could it be that Shi Qingxuan really was seriously
injured so he couldn’t even break free of a bind this easy?
Just then, an odd movement came from under Shi Qingxuan’s bed, and a hand
suddenly stretched out. Xie Lian was taken aback in shock, his head exploding in alarm,
“Lord Wind Master, watch out! There’s someone hiding underneath your bed!”
Shi Qingxuan’s face also dropped, “WHAT?!”
But just as the words left his lips a black silhouette swiftly crawled out from under the
bed and stood before him, watching him from above.
That man was dressed in black robes and bore the mask of a ghost. It was hard to tell
when he hid under the bed nor what he planned on doing at this moment. Shi Qingxuan
was securely trussed up on his bed, writhing all over trying desperately to break free,
and Xie Lian was blocked outside the door by the confinement seal, unable to enter,
truly a dire situation. Xie Lian was just thinking about breaking the window when he saw
that man push up his ghost mask, speaking with a low voice, “Shut up!”
Shi Qingxuan’s eyes widened, “Ming-xiong? Ming-xiong! My god, Ming-xiong my good
bro, hurry! Help me loosen the bind!”
With just one hand Ming Yi snapped the rope binding Shi Qingxuan’s body and Shi
Qingxuan worked out the kinks in his joints, crawled out of bed and rushed to open the
window, clutching Xie Lian’s hands and shook, “YOUR HIGHNESS! THANK YOU FOR
REMEMBERING ME STILL!”
Xie Lian patted his shoulders, and gently and skillfully hopped into the bedchamber.
“Wasn’t there a confinement seal on the bedchamber? How did Lord Earth Master get
in?”
“Nothing outside my profession.” Ming Yi said.
Then, he seemed to have noticed something wrong and picked up the rope on the
ground, looking it over before he looked up to ask Shi Qingxuan, “How come you can’t
even break from something like this?”
Xie Lian fixed his eyes on the rope too. Not only was it not a spiritual device, it was
nothing more than an ordinary rope. The Wind Master possessed such strong spiritual
power, how could he be bound by some coarse twine and still struggled for so long?
Shi Qingxuan’s face froze and Ming Yi suddenly grabbed his left wrist, his expression
growing icy, “What’s going on?!”
Xie Lian reached out too to hold Shi Qingxuan’s right wrist and felt his pulse for a
moment, then he became dumbfounded, “Lord Wind Master, how did it become like
this?”
There was not a trace of spiritual power in Shi Qingxuan’s body!
Soon after, Xie Lian guessed, “Was it that bowl of medicine?”
Recalling that bowl of medicine Shi Wudu was trying to force down Shi Qingxuan’s
throat earlier, Xie Lian instantly squatted down to check the spillage. However, Shi
Qingxuan replied, “No.”
It wasn’t that medicine indeed. Xie Lian knew a little bit of medicine, and by its smell,
that medicinal broth should’ve been an anesthetic calmant, perhaps it may even cause
drowsiness. Thinking back, back at the Terrace of Cascading Wine when Shi Wudu
grabbed his younger brother’s wrist and changed to such an expression instantly, he
must’ve noticed Shi Qingxuan’s condition then. To feed such a broth to Shi Qingxuan
should’ve been for his own good, so why was Shi Qingxuan so adamant in refusing it?
No wonder Shi Qingxuan wasn’t answering his private communication. With all that
strong spiritual power he once had completely gone, he was no different than a mortal.
Xie Lian blurted without thinking, “Lord Wind Master, you’ve been banished?”
Otherwise how could he suddenly become this way? Yet there were no cursed shackles
on his body, and if anyone was to be banished, there’d be no way it’d be covered up.
The entire Upper Court and Middle Court would’ve known in no time. Shi Qingxuan’s
face was pale and seemed unable to stand any longer. Xie Lian helped support him and
asked, “Why did Lord Water Master tie you up?”
Only then did Shi Qingxuan snap out of it, “Right. My brother. Let’s hurry and get out of
here while my brother is still gone. Let’s talk after we’ve escaped!”
Then he dropped and crawled under the bed. Xie Lian squatted down again, “Lord Wind
Master!”
There was actually a hole under the bed going to who knows where, and Shi Qingxuan
disappeared into it. Ming Yi lowered down ready to go in too. Xie Lian contemplated and
in the end still decided to follow, yet Ming Yi pulled out once more, “Your highness, don’t
interfere in this anymore.”
Xie Lian was taken aback by his block, “Lord Wind Master assisted me generously
many times before. Now that he’s in trouble, I can’t just stand back and watch.”
“He’s always full of generous words and deeds, but most would stay away when there’s
real trouble.” Ming Yi said.
“How others are have nothing to do with me,” Xie Lian said, “Once we figured out
exactly what’s going on, of course I’d back off if my help really is unnecessary.”
Shi Qingxuan’s voice came from under the bed, “Are you two not coming? The hole is
closing!”
Sure enough, that hole under the bed was gradually growing smaller. Seeing his, Ming
Yi swiftly jumped in and Xie Lian followed. The three crawled around in the tunnel Ming
Yi dug, and when Xie Lian looked back, the entrance to the hole was already filled, truly
magical. He asked in a low voice, “Lord Earth Master, how did you dig out this tunnel?
I’ve never heard that it was possible to dig beneath the heavenly residences in the
Heavenly Capital.” It must be known that the foundation of the Heavenly Capital was not
the same as the muddy earth of the mortal realm.
It was only after he asked that he learned the Earth Master Ming Yi used to be a skilled
engineer in the common world. In his past lifetime, he repaired bridges, fixed roads,
opened mountain paths, constructed houses, and bestowed prosperity to countless
many, which was what allowed him to ascend. Now, before any major construction in
the mortal realm, before any earth was bored, the people must first pray to the Earth
Master and wish for blessings of successful labour work.
After he ascended he forged a spiritual device and it was a crescent moon shaped
shovel. Legends say there was no mountain this sacred shovel could not flatten, no
tunnel could not be dug, and no building unenterable. To infiltrate as a spy in Ghost City,
his ability was extremely advantageous; if there should be any secret chambers he wish
to enter he could just dig under, and the holes would close up after. If it wasn’t for Hua
Cheng beating him to a pulp and greatly damaging his spiritual power, maybe he
could’ve escaped using his treasured shovel.
In the past the Earth Master had never tried using his shovel to dig under any which
heavenly official’s residence, and he wasn’t particularly showing off his spiritual device
either, keeping it packed away. It was probably a good thing he wasn’t showing it off; the
spiritual devices belonging to the officials of the Upper Court were all pretty much of the
elegant and beautiful kind like books and brushes, swords and fans, guqin and flutes, so
if a heavenly official was to walk around with a shovel all day, it’d probably kill the
scenery and murder his image. Once he heard the explanation, Xie Lian couldn’t help
but wonder if he wanted his Puqi Shrine to be renovated maybe he should pray to the
Earth Master too?
After crawling for a while, Xie Lian heard from ahead of him Ming Yi ask Shi Qingxuan,
“Was it the Reverend of Empty Words?”
Xie Lian wanted to know too if that was the case. If it was really the Reverend of Empty
Words who injured Shi Qingxuan like this, if this should go out it would for sure cause
an uproar in the heavenly realm and produce extreme terror. A monster that could make
a heavenly official lose their powers in a short period of time and have them fall to
become a mortal! Just thinking about it wouldn’t be hard to imagine what a mayhem that
would cause. Such a serious affair, yet after some silence, Shi Qingxuan replied, “No
matter who did it, this whole thing is done and over with.”
This reaction was definitely too questionable.
If this was a conspired trap, no matter what, the reaction shouldn’t have been this,
especially from someone like Shi Qingxuan who could never be silenced when meeting
injustice.
Instantly, a sudden dreadful conjecture came to Xie Lian. Although awful, it could
explain everything.
Just then, Ming Yi suddenly demanded, “Silence.”
The three in the underground tunnel all held their breaths in unison. Ming Yi ignited a
palm torch and errantly illuminated the grounds inches before them. The other two
looked to him.
Ming Yi seemed to want to communicated via the spiritual array, but Shi Qingxuan had
lost all of his powers now, unable to use his mind to communicate. Thus, he changed
his mind and used his finger to write words in the air. Where his finger tips sliced
through, a trace of ink was left behind, as if thick ink dripped into water and diffused.
The other two saw what he wrote: ‘Don’t speak and don’t move. Wait.’
After waiting for everyone to read, he soundlessly blew once and those words dispersed
in the air. There was still some remaining spiritual power Xie Lian hadn’t used up so he
raised his hand and wrote a string of words too: ‘Wait for what? For how long?’
Ming Yi wrote: ‘Wait until the person above leaves.’
Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan both looked up at the same time. It seemed that this tunnel
Ming Yi dug with his treasured shovel beneath the Heavenly Capital also passed
through some heavenly pavilions and residences. There was probably a heavenly
official who was right above their heads at that very moment.
Listening intently, sure enough, there were sounds of heavy footsteps walking around
slowly, as if pacing back and forth in the chamber. Listening to those footsteps, Xie Lian
determined that person must be a martial god. Martial Gods possessed sharp five
senses, and if they should make any suspicious noise, they just might be captured.
Shi Qingxuan couldn’t use the spiritual array nor write, and could only move his lips
silently to express his accusations. Xie Lian watched him repeat himself twice before he
could understand what he said was: ‘Ming-xiong, why didn’t you avoid temples and
palaces??? Couldn’t you have dug under the Great Martial Avenue instead???’
Ming Yi wrote coldly: ‘There wasn’t anyone in this palace before. The Great Martial
Avenue is full of holes right now.’
Xie Lian wrote too: ‘That’s right. I saw on the way over earlier. The avenue is full of
holes and craters, some even meters deep. If the tunnel passes through one of the
holes, who knows if we might bump into anyone when we look up.”
Thus, the three remained mute, transforming into three dumbed rocks, waiting patiently
for that heavenly official to leave. After waiting for a while, Shi Qingxuan moved his lips
again: ‘Is that person gone?’
Ming Yi shook his head. Veins popped on Shi Qingxuan’s temple, his angry face almost
the same as when he was angry at his brother earlier and said soundlessly: ‘Who the
hell is dillydallying? It’s not even the hour for sleeping! And what heavenly official needs
to sleep? Is it the bathroom above our heads or what!’
Strictly speaking, heavenly officials didn’t need to go to the bathroom either. When his
lips were just forming the word ‘bathroom’, Xie Lian suddenly felt the hairs on his back
stand, and he forcibly pushed the two in front of him over while using a foot to step
down hard to push back at the same time, falling backwards.
A sharp blade penetrated from above the tunnel, its aura thick with killing intent, and it
pierced the ground between his legs.
——–
Ch.116: Eve to the Last Day of Autumn; An Unscrupulous Substitution
“...”
Although Xie Lian had certainly lived his days as someone who was impotent, but
‘pretending not to have the thing’ and ‘truly lose the thing forever’ were still
fundamentally different. Startled, a thin sheen of cold sweat covered his body as he
shouted, “DODGE!”
Just as the words left his lips, that blade was pulled out of the ground, and Xie Lian
instantly took that chance to move forward. Immediately after, he pulled at Shi Qingxuan
and cried, “Watch out!”
The blade plunged down again and slashed right before Shi Qingxuan. It was practically
pierced down right next to his head, and if it wasn’t for Xie Lian pulling back him in time,
he would’ve been nailed to the ground on the spot. He exclaimed, terrified, “That was
close! How did you know that was where it would come down?”
“Don’t know! I guessed!” Xie Lian said. It was pure instincts. When it came to killing
auras, he was trained to the point of being able to react without thinking. Soon after, a
second, a third, and a fourth blade all came plunging down, each of the sharp, shine of
the blades blocked the three’s way out and way back. BOOM! A huge exploding sound
soon followed, and violent tremors came from above, causing dust and debris to rain
down. “They’ve opened fire from above!”
Each booming sound was becoming louder and louder, and the tremors were also
growing each time, obviously coming closer and closer. There were sharp blades
blocking them from the front and the back, and they were all keen and sharp young
treasured swords; Fang Xin was a senior so who knows if it could fight them straight on.
Ming Yi took out a crescent moon shaped shovel from who knows where and started
digging at the side wall in that tiny space with great difficulty. Next to him, Shi Qingxuan
was so exasperated he was going to spew his soul out, “Ming-xiong, can you even do
this? Ming-xiong, can you hurry up? It’s all your fault for not using this spiritual device
for so long, you gotta be more intimate with your devices, alright? Look how stiff and
rusty it’s become!!!”
To be fair, having it become rusty was forgivable. After all, there really weren’t any other
heavenly officials besides Xie Lian who could do something like carry a shovel in and
out everywhere everyday without feeling ashamed. Veins popped on Ming Yi’s
forehead, “SHUT UP!!!”
Xie Lian hastily intervened, “Don’t be mad, don’t be mad. The tunnel’s dug through!”
Sure enough, the moment Ming Yi put pressure on his shovel, a hole opened up before
them. With the shovel raised, he burrowed crazily ahead while Shi Qingxuan, in the
middle, cheered him on crazily. As the only non-crazy person, Xie Lian brought up the
rear. That treasured shovel of the Earth Master was indeed magical, and with only a few
strokes a new tunnel of over ten meters was dug. After a while when he looked back,
the hole behind was gradually closing up on its own, but above the place where they
were just trapped, a thin light leaked down.
Xie Lian immediately spoke up, “It’s going to drill through!”
Instantly Ming Yi picked up his pace and burrowed even crazier, but suddenly, his
movements stopped and he looked up. Xie Lian reacted the same way because they
both sensed it: it was completely silent above them without any movements. It should
be an empty palace above.
Since their tunnel was already discovered, they should get out first before anything else.
Ming Yi changed his direction and started digging up.
“Are you two sure this place really has no one when we get out???”
“Haven’t heard anything. Unless they’re sleeping!” Ming Yi replied.
Of course, heavenly officials usually didn’t need to sleep, nevermind sleeping in their
own palace in the middle of the day, so that possibility shouldn’t exist. Yet who knew, the
moment Ming Yi’s shovel broke through and the three emerged, poking their three
heads out inhaling the fresh air, before they even exhaled they saw from across a bed,
and upon the bed was a youth with his arms and legs sprawled out, soundly asleep.
Xie Lian: “???”
There actually were heavenly officials who sleep in their own palaces in the middle of
the day???
Roused by movement, that youth rolled over and sat up, his curly hair a bird’s nest from
his slumber. He furrowed his brows and scratched his head, watching the three heads
from across his bed with sleepy eyes, looking like he couldn’t understand why such
things would appear in his palace. The three pretended like nothing was the matter and
hastily crawled out of the hole. However, just as Shi Qingxuan almost crawled out, he
suddenly cried out, and Xie Lian looked back. There was a hand that caught his ankle.
The owner of that hand was Pei Ming. Even if he was in a tunnel he was still courteous,
“I was just gonna say, which little mouse was burrowing under my palace. Qingxuan,
why are you out and about? Where are you going? You know how your brother gets
when he’s mad, hurry back before he finds out.”
Ruoye flew out and struck that hand away. Pei Ming hopped out and said, “Your
highness, Lord Earth Master, do you two have nothing better to do? Instigating the Wind
Master to run away from home for no reason is quite preposterous isn’t it?”
“Lord Wind Master might be Lord Water Master’s younger brother, but he’s still a
heavenly official of hundreds of years. General Pei, please don’t speak like he is not
more than three.” Xie Lian said, “If we’re going to talk reason, to imprison a heavenly
colleague for no reason, no matter how you spin it it’s still Lord Water Master who’s
acting preposterous, wouldn’t you say?”
If his guess wasn’t wrong, then the Wind Master really couldn’t stay in the Upper Court
any longer. Quan Yizhen was still on his bed watching them with a dazed look,
seemingly confused by the whole situation still. Pei Ming raised his sword and said
darkly, “Qi Ying, stop looking and come give me a hand. Apprehend them first.”
After some contemplation, Quan Yizhen actually decided to assist.
He leapt off the bed, picked up the bed he was just lying on and hurled it towards Pei
Ming. He did indeed give a hand, only, it was to help Xie Lian and company. That bed
crashed into the unsuspecting Pei Ming and he was flabbergasted, “QI YING!!! WHY
DID YOU HIT ME????”
Quan Yizhen waved his hand at Xie Lian, probably gesturing for them to hurry and
leave. Xie Lian and company were stunned for a moment before hastily making their
way out.
Maybe Shi Qingxuan was injured and didn’t have the energy, but he only jogged a few
steps before his face turned pale, so Xie Lian came around to help pull him up.
However, Ming Yi pulled him over directly and carried him up on his back. Xie Lian
placed his hand on the door, dug out two dice and turned back to that youth, “Thanks so
much!”
Quan Yizhen was still bashing at Pei Ming wildly, his moves viciously aggressive without
method, and if it wasn’t for Pei Ming’s own skills, if it was anyone else who was taking
this beating their heads would’ve been covered in blood by now. Pei Ming’s veins were
popping all over and he yelled, “GUARDS! STOP THEM!!!”
Yet before he called for guards Xie Lian had already tossed out the dice, opened the
door and charged out, then shut the door behind him, slipping the heck out of heaven.
However, what he had never expected was after he closed the door and turned around,
what appeared before him was a Hua Cheng with one leg up stepped on a new
donation box, his upper body bare, and wiping at his sweat.
“...”
“...”
“...”
A little rundown Puqi shrine couldn’t possibly hold this many prominent figures, and Xie
Lian felt like he was going to suffocate. There was also one possessed outside howling
unsuspectingly, creating noise, “GUZI~~ COME GIVE DADDY’S LEGS A LIL
MASSAGE CHOP~~”
It was a moment before Hua Cheng tossed aside the E’ming he was using to shave
wood, and raised his brows slightly: “...?”
The colour of his skin and the curves of his bare, upper half body were exceedingly
beautiful, extremely eye-catching, so much so that Xie Lian’s eyes were going to fall out
of their sockets. Even if he didn’t actually see anything properly, he still couldn’t stop the
blood rushing to his head, making his eyes go dark. Xie Lian fumbled and tumbled to his
side and opened his arms wide, blocking Ming Yi and Shi Qingxuan’s view, “CLOSE
YOUR EYES! QUICK! CLOSE YOUR EYES!”
The faces of the other two stiffened and they watched them with an odd look. Hua
Cheng placed his hand on Xie Lian’s shoulder and said laughingly, “...Gege. Why are
you nervous?”
Only then did Xie Lian snap out of it. That’s right. What was he all nervous for? Hua
Cheng wasn’t a lady, so what if he was labouring half naked?
Still, he didn’t drop his arms, doing his best to cover Hua Cheng completely, “Just... just
put on some clothes.”
Hua Cheng shrugged, “Hm. As gege wishes.” Then, he calmly grabbed for a shirt,
slowly putting it on, taking his time.
Watching him look all nonchalant and languid, Shi Qingxuan said awkwardly, “Um, sorry
for the intrusion. I didn’t think you guys... hahaha, you two are pretty much, hahaha.
Anyway, just, hahaha.”
“...”
“My Lord, if you have something to say then just say it, so if there’s any
misunderstanding I can explain. Don’t use hahaha instead...” Xie Lian said.
Time was pressing and Pei Ming might pursue them all the way over here, so they
couldn’t stay in Puqi shrine for long. Ming Yi put down Shi Qingxuan and started
drawing the Distance Shortening array on the ground. Xie Lian was just about to ask
where they were going when he suddenly heard Hua Cheng sigh behind him.
Xie Lian remembered his advice for not getting close to the Wind Master and company
and turned to him in spite of himself, “Sorry about all this, San Lang.”
Hua Cheng had already finished dressing himself and replied, “I already knew you
wouldn’t just stand back and watch.”
After a pause, he then smiled, “But, why should gege apologize to me? You only
remembered what I said a few days ago but did you forget something else I told you?”
Xie Lian was slightly taken aback, wondering, ‘What?’
Suddenly, he remembered.
That night at the Green Ghost’s lair, the thing Hua Cheng told him: “Just keep doing
what you want to do.”
After having remembered, Xie Lian blinked, not knowing what else to say, only, he
suddenly wanted to do something for Hua Cheng. Yet for the moment, there really
wasn’t anything he could do for him. Feeling a little discouraged, he suddenly noticed
the collar of Hua Cheng’s red robes and said, “Wait!”
Then he rushed up to help Hua Cheng fix his collar. Turns out, the collar of the robe Hua
Cheng randomly put on wasn’t properly flipped out. Having fixed it, Xie Lian inspected
him for a moment before smiling, “There.”
Hua Cheng smiled too, “Thanks.”
A small voice inside Xie Lian echoed, ‘I’m the one who should be thanking you.’
On the other side, the other two seemed to not be able to look over anymore, and even
the circle drawn under Ming Yi’s hand didn’t seem so round any longer. Once he
finished drawing the array and the door was opened again, Xie Lian had thought he
would see some gloomy cave or some spectacular palace, yet unexpectedly, outside
the door was a large expanse of farming fields. Far in the distance were lush green
bamboo groves and verdant mountains, and farmers were scattered throughout the
fields labouring. There was also a large, glistening, buff ox plowing.
This scenery almost made Xie Lian think they were still at Puqi village and he was
stunned for a moment yet Ming Yi had already walked out with Shi Qingxuan on his
back. Before he started however, Hua Cheng also stepped out before him.
The four walked along the ridges of the fields, and maybe it was all in his mind, but that
black ox seemed to be staring at them the entire way. After walking for a bit they found
a small cottage, and after the four entered and sat down did Shi Qingxuan blew out a
long breath.
“Are we not fleeing anymore?” Xie Lian asked, “What if General Pei chases us here?”
Hua Cheng looked at the outside for a while, focusing especially on that black ox,
before closing the door and said nonchalantly, “Don’t worry. He wouldn’t dare mess with
the master of this land. There’s no benefit to it. Even the Water Tyrant won’t be able to
do anything rash.”
Xie Lian contemplated but still spoke up, “San Lang, this whole thing is a mess, and
probably implicates too much in the Heavenly Court. It’s may be best if you don’t hang
around.”
However, Hua Cheng only chuckled, “What goes on in the Upper Court has nothing to
do with me. I’m only sticking around with you to sightsee.”
Suddenly, Shi Qingxuan spoke up, “You all should stop hanging around.”
The other three in the cottage all looked to him, and Shi Qingxuan continued, “His
highness is right. This whole thing is a mess and there’s too many involved. I’m going to
stay shut up in here. My friends, there’s no need to help anymore. Let’s end it here.”
However, Xie Lian said slowly, “Lord Wind Master, whether if things end here isn’t up to
you. It’s up to Lord Water Master and the Reverend of Empty Words.”
Hearing this, Shi Qingxuan’s face stiffened.
Xie Lian added, “Lord Wind Master, I have a question, I hope you won’t mind.”
“What question?”
“Does the Reverend of Empty Words have something held over yours and Lord Water
Master’s heads?”
Shi Qingxuan’s face was paling.
That night at the Terrace of Cascading Wine, Xie Lian had already set up an extremely
secure defense array. As long as Shi Qingxuan didn’t open the door to leave, he
wouldn’t be harmed. Yet, why did he take the initiative to open the door?
Unless, someone connected his private communication array and the first thing that
came out of their mouth was blackmail, giving Shi Qingxuan no room to fight back nor
raise alarm, and could only follow as instructed.
Xie Lian sat down by the table, “I’m more inclined to think it’s blackmail against Lord
Water Master, because, I believe, you hadn’t known whatever’s transpired at first.”
Which was why his reaction was so strong after having learned, generating such a
sharp rejection against the Upper Court, and would rather descend into the mortal realm
to become a drifting vagabond than to stay in the heavens as a god.
Ming Yi frowned, “What blackmail?”
Shi Qingxuan wasn’t a gullible fool; if he fell victim to someone and lost his powers, the
normal reaction should’ve been rage, investigate the truth, and lash out at the culprit.
Yet, he did none of that. There was rage, but it wasn’t directed against the Reverend of
Empty Words, but against his own older brother. And to the others, he only said “This
ends here”.
This was all entirely abnormal. Unless it was under one special case –
That Shi Qingxuan’s ascension itself was abnormal in the first place!
To go against the heavens and alter fate, to raise someone who couldn’t ascend upon
the divine altar, was outrageously audacious, a treacherous heresy. Xie Lian had never
heard of something like this. If this was true and it got out, it would for sure cause a tidal
wave. Just think, everyone wished to ascend, but if anyone could use such a method,
the laws of the universe would be rendered irrelevant, completely worthless.
This conjecture might be absurd, but the more he thought the more it made sense. Ever
since Shi Qingxuan was born the Reverend of Empty Words had clung onto him, and
the only way to escape it was to ascend. Coincidentally, he ascended. In a mere few
years, a pair of blood brothers ascended one after the other; what a beautiful tale. But
also, what a coincidence.
Xie Lian never wanted to question the reality of Shi Qingxuan’s ascension, but, if the
Wind Master had ascended naturally, how could his powers be so easily sucked dry? If
it was so easy for a monster to turn a god into a human, who knows how many
heavenly officials would already fall victim.
Unless, Shi Qingxuan was mortal in the first place. Unless, when the Wind Master
ascended, the Water Master did something underhanded.
Aggressively using rare treasures and devices to help the path of cultivation wasn’t out
of line. To ascend by way of massacre and battle in times of power change within the
mortal realm wasn’t out of line either. After all, the fate of the world was thus; honour
must be accompanied by blood, and after ascension, all was wiped clean. However,
some things would be out of line. If a mortal, or some heavenly official, did something
underhanded, conducted rituals of evil to harm lives of others for the sake of having
someone ascend, that would be a completely different matter.
Xie Lian asked in a low voice, “Lord Wind Master, the night you ascended, was it the
eve to the last day of Autumn?”
A brief moment later, Shi Qingxuan inhaled deeply, “Yes.”
After a pause, Shi Qingxuan continued, “I remembered, that day when we were at the
town of Fu Gu. Eve to the last day of Autumn, wasn’t that the same day I ascended? I
had wanted to ask you guys about it at first to see if that might be a clue or if it was
connected somehow. Maybe it was a coincidence? But it felt hollow, so I ended up not
asking. But now you know whether if it’s related.”
It’s related. Of course it’s very related.
Why did the Reverend of Empty Words choose that day to first send Shi Qingxuan to
the town of Fu Gu to watch that Bloody Fire Social parade then bring him to the Terrace
of Cascading Wine to maim? Of course it wouldn’t go through all that pain for no
reason. Xie Lian connected the timing and the two places together: Many years ago, at
the eve to the last day of Autumn in the town of Fu Gu, a mortal named He Sheng broke
down and murdered countless many. Also in the eve to the last day of Autumn at the
Terrace of Cascading Wine, Shi Qingxuan ascended.
With this, it was more than obvious what the Reverend of Empty Words wanted to say.
Shi Qingxuan, your ascension had everything to do with the death of the hero of this
Bloody Fire Social!
That dreadful but logical conjecture Xie Lian formulated was this:
After Shi Wudu ascended, in order to have Shi Qingxuan escape the Reverend of
Empty Words, he secretly found a mortal who matched all the requirements and
conducted an evil ritual, making that man take Shi Qingxuan’s misfortune in his place.
That man was no doubt the impoverished, exceptionally clever, yet somehow endlessly
unlucky to the point where his entire family was ruined He Sheng.
He Sheng took on Shi Qingxuan’s name and the Reverend of Empty Words was
deceived. Then, that meant his original fate was taken by Shi Qingxuan. That same
night before the last day of Autumn, one experienced the taste of hell on earth; the
other, under immensely powerful protection, successfully ascended.
Yet the fate of those two were originally completely opposite!
——–
Ch.117: Gods Appointing Gods Lesser Than Ghosts Devouring Ghosts
Xie Lian continued, “I dare say that He Sheng has the birth name Xuan*. And, the
details of his birth is exactly the same as My Lord’s.”
To commit fraudulent deeds and deceive the heavens couldn’t be done so casually, and
not just anyone would do. There were certain requirements that needed to be met.
From the three questions that Reverend of Empty Words asked when it first captured
Shi Qingxuan, it firmly retained two things: first, the name of its prey contained the word
‘Xuan’; second, the birth information of its prey. However, it didn’t recognize the prey’s
face and had needed Shi Qingxuan to approach himself for it to see. Since the Shi
family was speedy in remedying the situation, other than those two items the Reverend
probably knew nothing else.
Thus, if there must be one who could take Shi Qingxuan’s place to take on his
misfortunes, it must be a male who was born the same year, same month, same day,
same time, and their name must contain ‘Xuan’.
How difficult must it be to find such a scapegoat. The world is vast; even if Shi Wudu
used his everything to search there still might not be one. Using the powers and
influence of his Water Master status, he casted the net and actually found someone,
and, it was one who possessed the potential to ascend, about to go through his first
Heavenly Calamity!
Such luck, how could he let it go? Compared to arduous cultivation, this was a
convenient shortcut. If he missed this chance it might not come again!
Having made it to this point, Ming Yi seemed to also have drawn the same conclusions
and his face was growing darker. Shi Qingxuan first nodded, then suddenly seemed to
have remembered something, and looked to the Hua Cheng who was leaning against
the door. After all, something like this shouldn’t be discussed before a ghost. However,
Hua Cheng only chuckled with his arms crossed, “No need to look at me, Lord Wind
Master. The one you should worry about isn’t me, I’ve nothing to do with this whole
business. Why don’t you concern yourself with instead whether if anyone else in the
Upper Court has gotten a hold of this weakness of your brother’s?”
Ming Yi accused darkly, “You really do have spies in the heavens.”
Hua Cheng replied lazily, “Don’t you already know that?”
The Lord Earth Master was originally sent to the Ghost City to investigate this, but it
seemed, that spy was planted deeply, and even after over a decade they still weren’t
found out. Hua Cheng said this whole business had nothing to do with him, so naturally
Xie Lian believed him and didn’t think more on it. Yet, Hua Cheng also said “Why not
worry about others in the Upper Court”, which reminded Xie Lian of another thing, so he
asked, “Lord Wind Master, that night at the Terrace of Cascading WIne, why did you
open the doors to the protection array yourself? Did someone call you out? Who was
that person?”
“Yea,” Shi Qingxuan replied, “It was the Reverend of Empty Words. It said...”
Xie Lian crossed his hands into his sleeves, “How did it know your verbal password?”
“...” Ming Yi’s face was dark, “Isn’t it because this guy just had to go around and make
friends, yapping nonstop whether if others are free or not! He talks too much!”
Shi Qingxuan was aggrieved, “Ming-xiong you can’t say it like that. The ones who call
on me are all heavenly officials of the Upper Court, I’ve never given anything personal
away to that creature!”
“Since that Reverend of Empty Words has been lying low for so many years, now that
it’s returned and can even uncover Lord Water Master’s... secret... so thoroughly, then
for it to figure out Lord Wind Master’s verbal password shouldn’t be hard.” Xie Lian said,
“Someone must’ve leaked your verbal password. Whether intentional or not, it’s still
worth investigating.”
Ming Yi added, “So? Did you see what it looked like? What did it do after calling you
out?”
“...” Shi Qingxuan’s head seemed to start hurting, “I don’t know what it looks like. It
casted a spell, I couldn’t see clearly.”
He was vague and didn’t say what he saw either. Ming Yi was becoming frosty. Xie Lian
figured it was probably the gorey scenes of the Bloody Fire Social, and those were
certainly difficult to describe. A moment later Shi Qingxuan sighed, “I’m the useless one.
If I could ascend on my own none of this would happen.”
Shi Qingxuan’s original fate was probably considered pretty good in mortal terms
already, otherwise that Reverend of Empty Words wouldn’t have set its eyes on him.
However, it still might be a long ways away from ascension. Those who could ascend
were all protected by spiritual aura, and inhuman creatures would have a hard time
doing anything to them. Besides, which monster and demons would want to mess with a
future heavenly official?
Whether if a person could ascend didn’t depend on how smart they are; intelligence and
effort might not matter at all, and exploiting rare treasures and devices certainly wouldn’t
increase chances. Sometimes it’s just like that. Ten years of studies couldn’t compare to
natural wit and talent; a hundred years of bloody struggles couldn’t compare to a
moment’s enlightenment.
If it wasn’t written in fate then it wasn’t. The Water Master could spend all he wanted on
his younger brother, but without that fate, Shi Qingxuan would very well be stuck in the
Middle Court and become nothing more than the leading lamb of junior officials. That he
was able to make it to where he was today, to shine with endless glory, was all because
his older brother robbed something that belonged to another and secured it onto him. If
he had even just a shred of conscience, it wasn’t hard to imagine how it must feel after
having learned the truth.
If the exchange had never happened, then the one who possessed the real potential to
ascend, how glorious must he be today?
Having thought this, a light suddenly went off in Xie Lian’s mind.
“No.” He said, “Lord Wind Master, the one who called you out wasn’t the Reverend of
Empty Words.”
Shi Qingxuan raised his bowed head, “Huh? That voice definitely belongs to it, I
wouldn’t have been mistaken.”
“No no, it was its voice, but that doesn’t mean the body still belonged to it.” Xie Lian
said, “Everyone, do you remember? The prey the Reverend of Empty Words set its
eyes on all died by way of suicide. Except for one person.”
After a pause, he continued, “How did He Sheng die? How was it portrayed at the
Bloody Fire Social? Was it suicide?”
Shi Qingxuan’s eyes grew wide, “It wasn’t suicide. It was...”
“Exhaustion.” Ming Yi said.
“That’s right!” Xie Lian exclaimed, “Even though he was possessed by misfortunes, to
the end never once did He Sheng thought of killing himself.”
He said somberly, “Think about it. This man had an abnormally strong determination.
Having been struck by so many unfair, unjust encounters, if this was a typical person he
would’ve long given up or ended everything. Yet he had always fought back; he never
backed down over anything. I think that perhaps once the Reverend of Empty Words
found him, it never managed to suck what it wanted – fear. The cause of his death
wasn’t suicide because of fear and despair. In fact, after the Reverend of Empty Words
clung on to him, it probably didn’t eat any good fruits but a steel plate instead and broke
its teeth, losing thoroughly in the end.”
Listening to him, Shi Qingxuan shook his head and sighed earnestly, “...I really am
nothing compared to this man.”
Xie Lian continued, “He died filled with murderous intent and resentment. I don’t think a
battered soul like that would rest in peace. If not in peace, then it would thirst for
revenge.”
“So, Lord Wind Master, I believe the current ‘Reverend of Empty Words’ couldn’t
possibly be the same one that sought you when you were born. Instead, it was the He
Sheng who stubbornly fought back til the end and bit back at the Reverend. Or rather,
He Xuan!”
Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi were both stunned by his claim. Hua Cheng added quietly,
“Ghosts devouring ghosts.”
When humans eat humans, at most the stomach gets stuffed. When ghosts devour
ghosts, with the correct method, they could absorb the other’s powers and abilities and
use them as their own.
“This can also explain why the ‘Reverend of Empty Words’ knew so much of the details
of this whole affair.” Xie Lian said, “A monster like it is dull and eccentric, it shouldn’t be
so intelligent. However, the one that’s now returned to pursue you two is a...”
He wanted to use ‘hybrid’ but it didn’t feel accurate. Just then, Hua Cheng supplied,
“Enhanced entity.”
“Right.” Xie Lian said, “After He Sheng swallowed up the Reverend of Empty Words, his
mind is in complete control. The him now not only possess the ability to curse, he’s also
very clever. And, it possessed bottomless resentment towards the two of you.”
So, even though it already knew Shi Qingxuan’s verbal password, it didn’t cast a death
curse through the private spiritual communication array at the start. Instead, it tightened
the snare gradually, forcing Shi Qingxuan to plug his own ears, shut his own eyes, lock
himself in an empty room. Like a cat that caught a mouse, it wouldn’t kill immediately,
and would play and play until the mouse killed itself from terror.
A moment later, Ming Yi said, “Now that it’s come to this, what do you plan to do?”
Everyone looked to Shi Qingxuan. Shi Qingxuan had already messed up his own hair
from all the unconscious scratching and responded bemusedly, “...Well don’t look at
me??? I...I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO EITHER!!! I just... I just don’t know how to look
at my brother now...”
It was his blood brother after all, and this heinous crime, harming the life of another, was
committed for him, so it was understandable if he didn’t know what to do for the
moment. Shi Qingxuan added, “But, I gotta beg everyone here to absolutely keep this a
secret! Just for now. Just give me a little time to think... just what to do. Even though
I’ve been thinking for days now, but I had never thought, anyway, I just need time to
calm down, and reflect...” Towards the end he was rambling and his eyes were
unfocused.
Shi Wudu kept saying he was going to “treat Shi Qingxuan’s illness”, but what illness
was there to treat? Unless it was to fall from divine grace and change back into a
mortal. His ‘illness’ could only be cured if his fate was changed again and he ascend
once more. Although it’d be difficult to find another qualifying candidate, but who knows
what other evil spell Shi Wudu would come up with? No wonder Shi Qingxuan was
whining about becoming a mortal and abandoning his godhood, desperate to flee.
As for that scroll about the Reverend of Empty Words that was filled with errors, no
doubt it was made to mislead Shi Qingxuan, making sure he didn’t discover the truth.
Who knows if it was put together by Shi Wudu or Ling Wen, but at the beginning when
Shi Wudu needed to find a qualifying candidate, he must’ve needed the help of the
Palace of Ling Wen. Did Ling Wen herself really know nothing of this? If there was a
heavenly official like Shi Qingxuan who ascended this way, would it be possible that
there was a second, or a third, or even more other heavenly officials who ascended the
same way?
If that was the case then it’d be horrifying. The world would be turned upside down. This
must be treated with the utmost gravity. Other than Hua Cheng who wasn’t involved and
was at ease, enjoying himself, everyone else in the little cottage were all gloom and
doom, as if a great enemy was about to descend upon them. Just then, there was
commotion outside the cottage; there were oxen mooing furiously, and even more
farmers shouting, “Stop! Stop!”
“What are you planning, so full of killing intent!”
Xie Lian moved to the door and peeked out through the crack, “It’s General Pei.”
Pei Ming had only just been beaten down by Quan Yizhen, fighting in a brawl, yet he
appeared perfectly fine standing outside. Before him was a leaning stone slab marking
the boundary, and he seemed rather wary of it, afraid to enter rashly, so he remained
standing there with a sword in hand. The farmers gripped their pickaxes and sickles,
their faces written with unwelcoming expressions. That black ox in the paddy blew out a
few heavy breaths from its large nostrils and suddenly stood on its hind legs. An instant
later it became a large, buff man, rather handsome with a small steel nose ring. He
laughed, “Well I’ll be, ain’t this General Pei. What a rare guest. What winds blew My
Lord over today? Lemme say this first, we’ve got nothing to do with your little Pei.”
Xie Lian knew it. Earlier when he saw that black ox in the paddies, he recalled a faint
impression. Sure enough, this place was Mount YuLong; Rain Master country. Back
then, it was also this Ox-xiong who lent the Rain Master Hat for Xie Lian to create rain.
The years had gone yet it was impressive as always, and still plowed the fields with
honest strength. Shi Qingxuan also squeezed over to the crack in the door, speaking to
Xie Lian, “That ox from Rain Master’s household. He’s a good guy.”
Pei Ming had once suffered a loss before the Rain Master, so naturally he was
courteous and polite at the moment, “Please, no need to flatter me. Pei didn’t come to
seek the Ruler of YuShi*. May I inquire if Lord Wind Master had come by your esteemed
country?”
——–
●Baby Name is given at birth and is a nickname; Birth Name is given at three
months and used by close family and friends; Courtesy Name is given during the
crowning ceremony at the age of twenty, which is the age of maturity.
He Sheng’s ‘Sheng’ is the courtesy name the others knew him by. The character
‘Xuan’ is the same one in SQX’s name.
●[雨師] ‘YuShi’ means Rain Master. The Rain Master was the ruler of the Kingdom
of YuShi, which just means the Kingdom of Rain Master. Can’t tell if MXTX just
got lazy with this name, lol. (pls love the rain master)
●MXTX Author Notes: Our crossdressing buddy can’t transform into a lady
anymore, despair!
Please don’t ask why Hua Hua as a ghost can sweat in the previous chapter. If
he doesn’t sweat what excuse does he have to strip??? Besides, Hua Hua is a
veeery high level ghost king, so of course he’s not the same as your typical
ghost. Not only can he this and that, he can also *beeeeep*.
——–
Ch.118: Pass the Heavenly Calamity; Waves Surge in the East Sea
“Heh, I wasn’t flattering you at all. We’re all busy planting the fields, ain’t no one saw
anybody come by.” That ox said.
“If that’s the case,” Pei Ming said, and made a step forward. Immediately all the farmers
raised their pickaxes, shouting, “TRAMPLED! HE TRAMPLED IT!”
Pei Ming frowned, “Trampled what?”
“You trampled the crops that they so painstakingly planted. You best apologize.” That ox
said.
Pei Ming looked down and said patiently, “If I’m not mistaken, that’s just some weeds,
no?”
That ox looked at him puzzled, “A belligerent general like you, what would you know?
Wouldn’t us who plant the fields know better than you whether if it’s weeds or crops?”
Although Xie Lian could already tell the people of YuShi country were purposely picking
on Pei Ming, but he too couldn’t help but wonder whether if that was actually crops or
grass. Pei Ming was the esteemed martial god of the north, why would he apologize to a
bunch of farmers for such a petty reason? He ignored them directly and took a few more
steps, raising his voice and shouting, “QINGXUAN COME OUT! Your brother is
currently going through his Heavenly Calamity right now and things aren’t looking good.
Something bad is going to happen!”
“...”
Shi Qingxuan had planned on hiding in the cottage at first since Pei Ming wouldn’t break
in anyway. Yet when he heard, he instantly opened the door and charged out, “WHAT?!”
Pei Ming gave that ox a look, “I knew you’d come running here!”
Shi Qingxuan was startled but immediately snapped out, jumping back a step,
“Y-y-y-you can’t fool me! How can it have come so fast? That’s too sudden, I thought it’d
be at least another few months?” Yet earlier at the Heavenly Court, the Water Master
did indeed leave in a hurry like he was to take care of something important. Shi
Qingxuan immediately brought two fingers to touch his temple. That was the hand seal
for connecting to the spiritual communication array, however, it was only when he raised
his hand did he remember he had lost his powers. No time to be depressed, he
immediately grabbed onto Xie Lian, “Your highness, help me ask, is it true?”
Xie Lian and Ming Yi both entered the spiritual communication array, and sure enough,
it was already as chaotic as a pot of stew, exceedingly worrisome. Most of the heavenly
official seemed to be overlooking the East Sea, muttering, “My heavens... this battle
stance... as expected of the Water Tyrant!”
“B-b-but will this pass successfully...”
The stronger the spiritual power, the more Heavenly Calamities a heavenly official
passed, the more perilous the next Heavenly Calamity. Shi Wudu monopolized the
waters, dominated the path of wealth, and this was also his third Heavenly Calamity.
How this trial would be was easy to imagine. “It’s true.” Xie Lian confirmed.
That ox was still blocking the path and Pei Ming couldn’t force himself through so he
called out from afar, “You’re not a little child anymore, who would lie to you about
something like this! Passing a Heavenly Calamity isn’t like planning a dinner out you
know, you’d think there’s time for you to change into new robes before it happens? It
comes as it wills without warning! He’s currently above the East Sea, and the waves are
surging, no one can enter and none can get out. He was just battling the waves when
someone reported that you ran away, so how can he possibly focus on passing his trial!”
“Then why don’t you hurry and tell him I’m at YuShi country?!” Shi Qingxuan responded.
Xie Lian listened to the direct relay of the situation in the communication array and said,
“It’s no use. That entire area where Lord Water Master is passing through trial is
enveloped with a layer of wild spiritual power. He’s probably in disarray right now, no
one can reach him!”
Shi Qingxuan charged out, “Take me to him!”
Pei Ming extended his hand, “Come!”
However, Ming Yi suddenly flashed over, blocking Shi Qingxuan’s way, his expression
dark. “Ming-xiong, what is it?” Shi Qingxuan asked.
Ming Yi remained solemnly silent, but Xie Lian could probably guess what he was
thinking and why he had to stop Shi Qingxuan.
Was it really the right thing to do to help Shi Wudu pass his Heavenly Calamity?
If the changing of fates was true, then the Water Master must receive punishment of
equal gravity. Then, was it really appropriate to help him level up before looking into his
due culpability?
That he could guess this was also because Xie Lian himself was pondering the same
question. Shi Qingxuan hesitated for a moment but in the end he exhaled a long breath,
“...Ming-xiong, I... Thank you. But no matter what, that’s still... I’m still worried, so let’s
just worry about passing this trial first!”
Then, he rushed to Pei Ming’s side and turned his head back, “Thank you, Your
Highness! Thank you, Lord Rain Master! Thank you, Ox! Thanks everyone! I’ll repay
this one day!” Then the two hurried away. Ming Yi stayed where he was for a moment
before following after them. Xie Lian watched their retreating backs but didn’t move.
Hua Cheng stepped out of the cottage leisurely, “Gege’s not going?”
After some thought, Xie Lian still shook his head and said slowly, “This affair is beyond
me, I can’t help. Let’s just see how they’ll solve this themselves first.”
Shi Qingxuan stood in the middle of it all yet he still couldn’t come around to realize
what he should do, so Xie Lian was also feeling a little awkward. Although Xie Lian
could understand why Shi Wudu did what he did, Xie Lian still didn’t agree with the
method he employed. The ideal conclusion would be for Shi Wudu to admit to the
crimes himself and go forward to receive punishment. Ming Yi probably also wanted the
same thing, which was why he stopped Shi Qingxuan. However, based on the Water
Master’s proud, domineering arrogance, that was most likely impossible. Having sat on
such a high position for so many years, no one would want to come down willingly.
If this was anyone else, Xie Lian would probably report this affair to the Heavenly Court
immediately, but when he remembered the Wind Master’s warm-hearted friendship,
while his older brother was facing a dire situation, Xie Lian couldn’t turn his back on Shi
Qingxuan and kick a person when they’re already down, uncaring for past affections.
Thus, the only thing he could do was to sit back and watch how they would take care of
this themselves. However, if what they should end up doing was untoward...
Having thought tho this point, he turned to Hua Cheng with a bitter smile, “San Lang,
your advice from before was probably right. Sigh, this whole thing.”
Hua Cheng smiled and was about to speak when Xie Lian’s expression changed
suddenly. Within the spiritual communication array came Ling Wen’s voice, “What?!
Hundreds of fishermen boats got dragged in??? It had to be right now?!”
Xie Lian was instantly taken aback and responded anxiously, “Fishermen? Dragged in
where? The East Sea?”
If it was said earlier that the communication was as chaotic as a pot of stew, then this
stew was just toppled onto the ground and fed the dogs. There was no break in Ling
Wen’s responses and her voice was still considered collected, “Excuse me, which
martial god is on duty? Ol’ Pei?”
Pei Ming was in the communication array and responded, “Don’t worry. I’ve Qing Xuan
with me and we’re rushing over. Lord Earth Master is here too. You just figure out
exactly how many hundreds of people got pulled into the storm so we can bring them all
back. We’ll try not to lose a single one.”
“Then thanks for your trouble” Ling Wen said, “Lord Water Master blew out and
magnified the spiritual arena, allowing no one to enter the perimeters of his trial. Any
heavenly officials from the Middle Court would definitely be blown to smithereens if they
try to go. The heavenly officials from the Upper Court can maybe try and break through
the barrier. The number of people pulled in is probably over two hundred, so just you
two might not be enough, we’ll need another martial god. Which highness is present
right now? General Nan Yang? General Xuan Zhen?”
Someone responded, “Weren’t those two generals placed in confinement for destroying
the Heavenly Court? They won’t be able to heed the call...”
“Then where’s Tai Hua? Has His Highness Tai Hua returned?”
“No! He’s been sent out!”
“Qi Ying?”
“Who knows where he ran off to! He always blocks every communication and listens to
no one, My Lord you already know this!”
Other than those few, there weren’t any other martial gods that was worth the dime.
Although anxious, Xie Lian still couldn’t help but feel a little woeful. Was the aura of his
scrap-collecting godhood so strong that everyone forgot he came from a martial god
background? He responded hastily, “Me! I’m present! Let me go. It’s just rescuing the
fisherman in the East Sea, right?”
“Your highness, the winds and waves of the East Sea are raging right now, your spiritual
power only works at times, what if–”
“It’s nothing.” Xie Lian said, “I’ve fished in all four seas, and never once was it not
storming. I’ve often drifted in the sea for over half a month at a time, so I’m very used to
it.”
“...”
All the officials couldn’t help but wonder, ‘You’ve done that too?! Just what else have
you done???’
The situation was dire and didn’t allow room for more thought, so Ling Wen acquiesced,
“Very well. Then thank you for the trouble. General Pei, coordinate yourselves!”
“Very good!” Pei Ming responded.
Xie Lian closed the communication array down and turned to Hua Cheng, “San Lang,
over at the East Sea...”
Unexpectedly, the moment he turned his head he saw Hua Cheng had already changed
into a refreshing fisherman disguise. He tossed up the dice and caught them as they
fell. His other hand was on the door and he said straightforwardly, “Let’s go!”
Xie Lian was taken aback but soon smiled too and replied, “Alright!” And followed.
When the door opened, what appeared wasn’t the interior of a cottage but the expanse
of a gloomy seashore.
The two emerged from a small fisherman shed on the beach, and that little shed was
the most used connection point for the Distance Shortening array on the East Sea.
Beyond the beach was the boundless sea that stretched the ends of the horizon. The
beach was grey not because the sand was grey, but because the skies were grey and
the sea was grey too. Gloom pressed down, black clouds rolled, the malaise was
oppressing and suffocating.
From time to time a giant wave would surge in the distant sea, like a magnificent
fortress wall rising from flat grounds, and it would soon collapse. There were also water
pillars like dragons, roaring into the sky like a tornado, thrashing and wild, and they too
would collapse once risen. Lightning crawled chillingly across the skies, twisted and
savage.
There was a large, brand new ship berthed by the beach. There was nowhere to perch
upon the sea and should they float in the air they just might get stricken by a lightning,
so there needed to be a boat. Naturally, this ship wasn’t an ordinary ship. Shi Qingxuan,
Pei Ming, and Ming Yi were already on the ship, and the moment they saw Hua Cheng
and Xie Lian exit the fisherman shed Pei Ming called out, “Your highness!”
Shi Qingxuan only sighed, “Your highness... sigh! Sorry for the trouble. I truly am.”
Xie Lian boarded the ship and said, “Duty calls. How does the ship go?”
Pei Ming noticed behind him the Hua Cheng who had his arms crossed looking quite at
ease and warned, “Those unrelated must leave. This tempest isn’t a joke.”
The Hua Cheng right now was dressed in plain, patched clothes, yet it still couldn’t hide
away his handsome intelligence, appearing like a good looking little fisherman. He
laughed, “I’m not anyone unrelated, I’m only following my highness.”
Xie Lian said too, “He’s from my palace.”
However, Pei Ming already flashed his sword, unrelenting and determined, “Stand
down.”
Xie Lian hadn’t yet responded but Hua Cheng already answered with an abnormal
determination, “No. I must go with you this time.”
Both sides were only in stalemate for a moment but Shi Qingxuan was impatient and
turned to Pei Ming “General Pei, this man is fine. Let’s just go!”
Between their exchange, a frightening lightning struck down violently from the ends of
the skies upon the surface of the sea. The lightning current coursed through the waters
and crackled in light, turning the sea into an aqua colour, like a giant heart suddenly
started pulsating and breathing. The sight was impressive but at the same time
terrifying. Pei Ming didn’t want to wait any longer and shouted, “START!”
The ship gave a violent shake, and with the rumbling sounds of a round shaft turning,
the ship started steering itself without any manual control and left the beach, driving
deep into the sea with flying speed. Amidst flashing lightning and roaring thunders, the
ship opened a path between crashing waves.
The storm might be big, but Xie Lian, Hua Cheng, Pei Ming, and Ming Yi all stood
steadily, and it was only with Ming Yi’s support that Shi Qingxuan hadn’t fallen over.
“It’s tolerable right now, but how things are after will be hard to say!” Pei Ming said.
The ship was already going at an extremely fast pace, parting the waves into large
splashes, yet Shi Qingxuan still asked, “Can’t this go any faster??”
“Running this ship burns spiritual powers, this is already the fastest it can go!” Pei Ming
replied.
Shi Qingxuan clenched his right fist. That hand used to hold the Wind Master fan, and
with the winds of but one swing, it could’ve provided a tailwind, making the ship go at
least four times faster. Yet now the hand was empty, and he couldn’t help but exhale a
long sigh. Just then, Hua Cheng tapped Xie Lian lightly, speaking in a low voice,
“Gege.”
Xie Lian whipped around and his eyes widened. Upon the sea about thirty meters out,
there was a small fishing boat whirling in the waves, and there seemed to be a few
figures crying for help, but their cries were all swallowed by the waves.
The fishermen in distress!
This was the reason why he was here. Ruoye flew out, wrapped those fishermen
around the waist and pulled them up. When those fishermen’s feet reached the platform
of the ship their legs almost gave out. However, Pei Ming immediately opened the door
of one of the cabins and threw them in. When those fishermen opened the door again
they would have found themselves back on shore.
Just as Hua Cheng and Xie Lian fished up thirty to forty fishermen, the ship was also
staggeringly reaching the centre of the tempest. At that very moment, there were plenty
of heavenly officials overlooking this horrifying scene from afar, and there were surely
many mortals who were in awe of the power of heaven. The lightning striking at the ship
was increasing; this lightning was attracted to the source of spiritual power and would
pursue and strike at those with strong powers, which was why one should stay far, far
away when another was passing through their Heavenly Calamity, lest they fall victim.
Right now Shi Qingxuan was mortal, Xie Lian’s spiritual power was only enough for him
to communicate through the array, Hua Cheng had no need to use his powers so it was
tucked away nicely, thus, that lightning was focused on greeting Pei Ming alone. Many
times he struck the lightning back bluntly with his sword, his blade easy. Such a show of
skills, Xie Lian was quite impressed. If this was any other heavenly official from the
Middle Court, not only would they be running away with lightning at their tails, they
wouldn’t be able to strike back either, which was why they couldn’t be permitted to
come. After crossing through the barrier, soon after, Shi Qingxuan suddenly yelled,
“GE!!!”
Xie Lian whipped his head up and sure enough, amidst seven or eight roaring water
dragon pillars, he saw Shi Wudu with his white robes fluttering, hanging in the skies, his
hands in the formation of a battle hand seal.
Although his figure was still oppressing above the waves, he seemed to be unfocused,
his imposing powers unsteady. Those frenzied water dragons would seize every chance
to get closer time and time again, waiting for the opportune moment to devour him
whole, and each time he only just dodged by a breadth. The ship was miles away from
him, and if the Wind Master fan was still useable, then Shi Qingxuan could’ve pushed
the waves down by a notch, yet in his current mortal body, even his voice couldn’t reach
very far, and he could only watch in distress.
The moment Pei Ming spoke, his voice was broadcasted powerfully and widely,
“WATER MASTER-XIONG! QINGXUAN IS FOUND!”
Just as the words left his lips, Shi Wudu opened his eyes.
At the same time, another giant wave surged to the skies and crashed back down The
ship was thrown high into mid air but it didn’t keep up with the speed of the collapsing
waters and it hung in the air for a brief second before falling rapidly. Xie Lian used the
thousand pounds spell to nail his form and grabbed hold tightly onto Hua Cheng’s hand,
“Watch out!”
It was a funny feeling; Hua Cheng was clearly taller than him and it took him no effort to
hold Xie Lian up with one hand, yet Xie Lian always felt that he was light as a feather,
like if he didn’t pay attention, Hua Cheng would disappear, so Xie Lian’s grasp was firm
and tight. Hua Cheng too, clutched his hand back at the same time. On the other side,
Pei Ming called out, “WATER MASTER-XIONG, FOCUS! IF YOU DON’T PUSH THE
WAVES DOWN YOUR LITTLE BROTHER WILL DROWN BEFORE YOUR EYES!”
Shi Wudu saw the ship in the distance and heard his words. Gloom flashed before his
face and his hand seal suddenly changed, erupting a spiritual barrier from around him.
The water dragons that had been encircling him were suddenly struck, exploding into a
deluge crashing down soundly into the waters.
The raindrops were like rocks, banging against the deck, smacking against bodies
painfully. However, after this was over, the storm had also slowed and calmed
somewhat. Shi Wudu slowly descended and landed on the ship. Everyone was already
drenched from head to toe like drowned dogs. Shi Qingxuan wiped his face and
mumbled with trepidation, “...ge.”
Shi Wudu’s face was still dark, and he strode over in large steps, “I TOLD YOU TO
STAY PUT BUT YOU HAD TO GO RUN AROUND! IF I DIE FROM ANGER WOULD
YOU BE HAPPY THEN???”
Shi Qingxuan really didn’t know what to say to that. When he couldn’t see his brother
he’d worry, now that he’d seen him he’d remember that whole business, something in
his heart just couldn’t accept, “...sigh, I’m only just... I...”
In the end he scratched his head and sighed, “As long as you’ve passed your trial, that’s
all that matters. I think, I still think...”
Shi Wudu cut him off, “Who said my trial is over?”
Shi Qingxuan was taken aback, “Wasn’t that it?”
With his hands, Pei Ming used all that water to slick back his hair, “Don’t be happy too
soon. This is your brother’s third Heavenly Calamity, it’s not gonna be that easy. It’ll take
at least seven days and seven nights. The one just now was nothing more than the
opening act.”
Truth to be told, even if it was the first Heavenly Calamity it wouldn’t be that easy either.
Thinking back, the ‘Heavenly Calamity’ that Shi Qingxuan passed was greatly
discounted compared to everyone else’s. He must’ve come to that conclusion and his
face grew glum. Xie Lian was still concerned with the goal of this journey and asked in
the spiritual communication array, “Ling Wen? We’ve entered the area where Lord
Water Master is passing his Heavenly Calamity. Can you point us to where the
fishermen who have been dragged into the storm are?”
“Please wait a moment.” Ling Wen replied. After a while, she said, “This is troublesome.
There are two hundred and sixty-one fishermen who have been pulled into the
perimeters of the Heavenly Calamity today, and they’re overly scattered, all over the
place...”
She didn’t say much more before her voice was breaking up, and Xie Lian couldn’t
really hear her anymore. “What’s wrong? Ling Wen?”
He thought maybe his powers were used up again, yet when he looked up and saw Pei
Ming’s face, it was obvious he was experiencing the same thing. The group hadn’t had
time to talk when Xie Lian saw not far on the surface of the sea more broken little boats.
“Maybe the aftershocks of the opening round was too great and affected spiritual
communication. It might get better in a bit. Ling Wen said there are two hundred and
sixty-one fishermen who have been scattered by the waves, let’s just save as many as
we can.”
Naturally no one objected. Pei Ming spoke up, “Water Master-xiong, why don’t you go
inside and rest for a bit. The trial has only just started, who knows when more rounds
will come. You’re pretty unlucky this time, to have involved so many mortals.”
Shi Wudu seemed to be somewhat tired indeed. He inclined his head, pushed open the
door of another cabin and went inside to meditate. Shi Qingxuan seemed to want to say
something serious to him, but since the Heavenly Calamity wasn’t over, it wasn’t the
right time to speak, so he could only swallow his words and unhappily go to the side
with Ming Yi. However, Shi Wudu opened his eyes again and said sharply, “Don’t go
running around. Come and sit right here.”
And so Shi Qingxuan could only kneel down next to Shi Wudu.
After more than half a day and the night deepened, the ship floated to a deeper part of
the East Sea.
Although the spiritual communication was still broken, working at times and not at
others, it could still be used tentatively. In that time, Xie Lian and company had already
rescued over two hundred fishermen. At first, those fishermen went to sea to fish as
always, but who knew such stormy winds and waves would surge so suddenly, and
pulled them too far into the waters. If they were by themselves there would’ve been no
way they could drift back. If they should float about for several days and nights, they
might very well all die from starvation or dehydration, dried under the sun into
desiccated corpses. To suddenly be saved, it was truly to find hope at the brink of death,
and they were all overjoyed.
To just drift in the sea like this, who knows how many days and nights before all the
fishermen could be rescued, and who knows when Shi Wudu’s third Heavenly Calamity
would officially start; there could be danger at a moment’s notice. Under such a
situation, Pei Ming still acted the same; in the evening when they rescued a few
fishermen girls, so scared their eyes were blurry from tears, he held them in his
embrace and soothed them with gentle voices, a true show of honeyed romance,
affectionate and charming. It was only after he charmed the girls before he sent them off
to the cabin, and those girls were all reluctant to leave, hoping that when they opened
the door once more he would still be there. Shi Wudu had been meditating for a while
now, his strength restored and his face looking much better. He opened his eyes, “Don’t
you have high standards?”
Although the fishermen girls were in the peak of their youth, they were still only average,
indeed nowhere close to the kind of targets Pei Ming used to hunt for. However, after
having embraced women, his face was glowing and he rubbed his chin, laughing, “After
rescuing so many scraggly bearded old fisherman masters one after the other, any
woman looks delectable in comparison, hahahaha.”
Hearing this, both Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi didn’t want to look at him anymore. Xie
Lian shook his head, actually finding it rather funny, then he and Hua Cheng went to the
side and sat down next to each other. A moment later, he suddenly felt emptiness in his
stomach.
Everyone else on the ship didn’t need to eat, and although Shi Qingxuan was a mortal
right now, but Xie Lian suspected Shi Wudu must’ve given him some sort of holy pill, the
kind that can fill a stomach for a few days, so even now Shi Qingxuan didn’t show any
sign of hunger. This ship wasn’t one built in the mortal realm so it certainly wouldn’t
have rations prepared. Xie Lian was about to get up and go catch a couple fish in the
sea when next to him, Hua Chen passed over a thing. Xie Lian looked down and it was
snow white and soft steamed bun.
He sat back down and whispered, “Thank you, San Lang.”
Hua Cheng whispered back too, “Take this for now, gege. It’ll get better soon.”
The steamed bun was still split in half, and the two sat together munching slowly. On the
other end of the ship, Pei Ming heard them whisper to each other, and he slicked his
hair up again, “Have you two made some discoveries? Why don’t you leave your little
world and tell the rest of us?”
Xie Lian was about to say something to put him off when suddenly he frowned, “Don’t
you all think there’s something off?”
Ming Yi frowned too and looked up, “Yes.”
Xie Lian rose to his feet, “This ship seemed to be going much slower. Is it running out of
power?”
“How can that be.” Pei Ming said, “The amount of spiritual power fueled in this ship
should allow it to run two more days at sea.”
Xie Lian approached the side of the ship, his hands on the railing, “But I still think that
this ship suddenly turned heavy...” He abruptly stopped talking mid sentence. Shi Wudu
and the others all gathered to the side of the ship, “What is it?”
No need to ask. It was easy to see just by looking. Despite the darkened sky, it was still
faintly visible that the draft of this ship’s hull was suddenly abnormal, much higher than
before. And, the waterline was still climbing!
Xie Lian immediately said, “Is the bottom of the ship leaking?! Did we hit a shoal? Or is
there something in the waters that chiseled a hole?”
“That’s impossible!” Pei Min exclaimed, “How would we not notice if we hit shoals? This
ship isn’t a typical ship either, nothing normal should be able to chisel through,
unless...”
It was like he suddenly thought of something and choked.
“Unless what?” Ming Yi asked.
“Oh no.” Pei Ming said.
“What, oh no?” Shi Qingxuan demanded.
Pei Ming whipped around and said, “When ships enter the lair of demons they shall
sink. We’ve drifted to the Black Water Demon Lair.”
————-
Ch.119: Ships in the Lair of Demons Shall Sink
Xie Lian asked, “One of the four Supremes, the Ship Sinking Black Water?”
“Four Calamities, not four Supremes.”
“...” Xie Lian then remembered that he had forgotten about Qi Rong and apologized,
“Ah, sorry, my mistake.” There’s no way that ‘Night Touring Green Lantern’ could be on
the same level as the other three.
As someone who had crammed the scrolls, Xie Lian roughly knew a thing or two about
this Ship Sinking Black Water. According to legends, this was a powerful water ghoul
who lurked in the outer seas. Just like the Crimson Rain Sought Flower, he slaughtered
his way out of Mount Tong’lu. Although he tended to keep a low profile, that could only
be said for the mortal and heavenly realms. Roughly counting, he had swallowed at
least five hundred ghosts across the land and among them, four hundred some were
high level water ghouls. The Black Water Demon Lair was his resting domain.
Just as how Ghost City was under Hua Cheng’s jurisdiction, “Once within the
boundaries, the world is lawless” – when one stepped foot into their worlds, their words
were law. There was a saying that was even more widespread in the Underworld:
“Crimson Rules the Land; Black Masters the Waters”. Crimson obviously referred to
Hua Cheng, therefore, Black was none other than Black Water Demon Xuan.
Pei Ming spoke, “Water Master-xiong, you’re really unlucky this time. Demon Xuan isn’t
anything like the Green Ghost, he’s not the type to cause trouble. Luckily we haven’t
strayed too far, we should steer back before we’re discovered.”
The others stared at him, “Well why don’t you change course then? Aren’t you the one
in charge of this ship?”
Pei Ming was equally surprised, “It didn’t change course? This ship should do it
automatically, it shouldn’t require manual labour.”
Yet, the rudder didn’t budge at all. With no other options to turn to, Pei Ming resorted to
steering it himself. When his hand landed on the rudder, he furrowed his brows. Xie Lian
went up to help, “It won’t move?”
It’s impossible that Pei Ming lacked the strength. Xie Lian, who was fairly confident in
his strength, wasn’t able to move it either. After examining the situation at hand, Ming Yi
announced, “It might’ve been caught by something, I’ll go down to take a look.”
Shi Qingxuan chimed in, “I’ll go with you Ming-xiong!”
Shi Wudu said sternly, “Come back here! Don’t go running around.”
His brother was still in the middle of passing his trial and shouldn’t be distracted or
emotionally agitated. Shi Qingxuan wouldn’t dare to risk it and obediently came back,
leaving Ming Yi to investigate under the deck by himself. Xie Lian wanted to help too,
but he knew when it came to building and repairs, he wasn’t as capable as the Earth
Master. Even if he went, he wouldn’t be able to help much anyway. As he was gazing
into the pitch black sea that surrounded them, Xie Lian suddenly remembered
something and asked, “Are there any fishermen that ended up in this part of the sea as
well?”
Hua Cheng, who had partnered up with Xie Lian in the search and rescue, was the first
one to discover those stranded fishermen. He did a quick survey around and said, “It’s
unlikely. Black Water Demon Lair is in the South Sea, they wouldn’t drift this far.
Besides, the area here has a barrier; not just anyone can enter this place. Even if they
did, there wouldn’t be any hope for a rescue. There’s nothing that wouldn’t sink once
they’ve drifted here.”
The South Sea. They hadn’t realized they’ve drifted this far.. Xie Lian tested his spiritual
communication array and the connection was indeed blocked. Even though the
connection before was spotty, it was still useable, but now it’s just complete dead
silence. Although the sea looked peaceful, who knows what sort of danger lurked
beneath, waiting for the chance to ambush them. The sky was turning darker and Xie
Lian felt uneasy. “Since there’s no stranded fishermen in these parts, if Lord Earth
Master is not able to repair the ship, we might as well abandon the ship and seek land
first. When Lord Water Master returns to the East Sea for his trial, we can continue the
search rescue there as well.” he suggested.
“Might as well.” Pei Ming agreed as he opened the cabin door.
Who knew, after the door was pulled open, he was met with the interior of an empty
cabin instead the scenery of land. His expression changed immediately, “The Distance
Shortening array lost its power.”
Hua Cheng laughed, “Isn’t that normal? If you can’t even use the spiritual
communication array, how would the Distance Shortening array be any better?”
Pei Ming looked over and asked, “This little buddy here seems quite calm for a
youngster and doesn’t seem worried at all?”
Xie Lian interrupted, “The ship has already drifted into ghost territory and is sinking as
we speak. We can’t leave even if we want to. Let’s solve the problem at hand first.”
Shi Xing Quan called out to the person under the deck, “Ming-xiong, how’s the situation
looking down there? Can you fix it?”
Ming Yi’s voice came from underneath, “Nothing’s broken! The ship isn’t caught in
anything either. It’s something else that caused the ship to lose its power.”
“This is Demon Xuan’s playground now.” Pei Ming stated.
As he was speaking, the ship dipped again. Upon a glance, Xie Lian saw that water had
already swallowed half of the ship. If it was a normal boat, it would’ve given away by
now. However, since this was crafted by gods, it was still resisting to sink and fighting to
stay afloat. “There must be exceptions. It’s impossible that everything would sink here,”
he insisted, “there must be something that wouldn’t sink.”
“There is.” Hua Cheng said.
The attention fell on him instantly. With his arms folded, he lazily said, “There’s one type
of wood that’s able to float across the Black Water Demon Lair without sinking.”
Xie Lian guessed a few common special wood types, “Sandalwood? Agarwood? Elm?”
“Coffin wood.” Hua Cheng answered.
“Coffin wood?!”
“En.” Hua Cheng continued, “There’s no one who had returned alive after they’ve
stumbled into the Black Water Demon lair except for one person. That person was
travelling home with his deceased loved one’s corpse. When the boat sunk, he drifted
back to land on top of the coffin.”
Pei Ming raised his brow, “This little buddy sure knows a lot.”
Hua Cheng mirrored his expression and replied, “It’s not much. You just know too little,
that’s all.”
Even though Shi Wudu didn’t move from his seated meditation pose, he turned his
attention to Hua Cheng and narrowed his eyes, “Pei-xiong, I had wanted to ask earlier,
just who is this?”
Pei Ming explained, “I’m afraid you’d have to ask the His Highness for that. After all, it’s
someone from his palace.”
Shi Qingxuan interrupted, “Alright, alright, it doesn’t matter how much or how less he
knows. Now that the spells have lost their power, where does one go to get a coffin
around here?”
“No need, it’s simple.” Pei Ming answered, “Gege I will build one for you right now and
show you what it means to take things into your own hands and be rich in food and
dress.”
“...”
“It won’t work,” Hua Cheng pointed out, “it has to be a coffin that has carried a corpse.”
They couldn’t possibly build a coffin then off a person in the group and toss them in
there.
In the midst of their conversation, the boat dipped again. The slightly tilted deck that
they were standing on was almost at the same level as the water surface. Shi Wudu,
who was sat dignified in his meditation pose, almost tipped over. “I give up. Let me
handle this.” He said coldly.
He took out his fan and tapped it lightly against his forehead before fanning it out,
revealing the water character on the front and a wave pictogramme made up of three
curving lines on the back. He lifted his arm and called out, “water, come forth!”
Instantly, Xie Lian felt the ship being lifted up, the deck under him rose several inches
above water, bring back a sense of safety. “The Water Master fan could even control the
water in the Black Water Demon’s Lair?” He asked in surprise.
“Not the water here,” Hua Cheng corrected, “he channeled the water from the outside.”
It seems that they’ve just crossed the boundary into the Black Water Demon’s Lair and
haven’t ventured too far into it. Shi Wudu was able to draw water from the seas nearby
to lift the ship up from underneath.
Pei Ming praised, “Beautifully done, Water Master-xiong! Now that the rudder is useless,
the boat can’t turn back. You should hurry and use the water to pull the ship back.”
Before Shi Wudu could reply, the ship dipped once again. The Demon Lair water
refused to back down and clashed with the current from the outer seas. This time, the
dip was stronger, causing the deck to tilt even more. Losing balance, the crew slid to the
portside of the ship. Although Shi Wudu was born with a delicate and handsome face,
his personality was extremely stubborn, refusing to back down. When he felt that
something was going against him, a flash of anger appeared on his face. He snapped
his fan shut and he opened it again, the three wave lines grew bigger. The current in the
ocean doubled in force and the ship was yanked up once again.
With one force commanding the boat to sink and another forcing it to rise, the back and
forth made it seem like a giant tug of war game. The erratic movements of the ship
along with the constant lifts and drops caused the seawater around them to splash
wildly and gush in and out. If it was anyone else on the ship, they’d be scared witless by
now. Xie Lian grasped the ledge with one hand and tightly held on to Hua Cheng with
the other. “What’s happening? The ship is turning!” he asked in bewilderment.
True to his words, the ship already started spinning towards a certain direction. The
faster it spun, the lower it sank. It was then that Xie Lian realized that the ship had fallen
into a giant whirlpool and was being slowly sucked into the eye!
“Everyone, be careful!” he warned, “the two forces of water are battling!”
It was obvious that Shi Wudu wasn’t in his home turf. The water that he summoned from
the outer seas was powerful, but once it crossed the border, the strength was
suppressed significantly. To go against the Demon Lair current, it was at a great
disadvantage. As expected, as soon as the words left Xie Lian’s mouth, the giant ship
fell into the eye of the whirlpool. In that last second, Xie Lian tossed out Fang Xin, pulled
in Hua Cheng, and the two stepped onto the sword and flew up.
At first, he was worried that Fang Xin wouldn’t have the strength to fly, but the moment
they left the deck, he let out a sigh of relief. Although shaky, it was still able to fly.
Looking down from above, the entire area was painted in a terrifying black. It was easy
to see the collision between the two different coloured currents. Their fierce battle was
what formed this enormous whirlpool. As the eye swallowed the ship whole, the two
currents of water separated.
However, the battle was far from over. Like two venomous vipers, they continued to
snap at each other. Each collision was followed by a mountain of angry waves. Xie Lian
looked around and called, “Lord Wind Master? Lord Earth Master? General Pei?”
Shi Qingxuan’s voice came from ten feet behind him, “Your highness! We’re here!”
“Did you also jump on your imperial sword...” Xie Lian turned around, and the scene
that unfolded before him rendered him speechless. Ming Yi was standing on top of the
handle of a shovel while Shi Qingxuan was sitting on the head of said shovel, waving at
him.
This wasn’t an imperial sword, it was an imperial... shovel. This sort of imagery was
undoubtedly hard on the eyes!
On the other side, Pei Ming’s voice sounded, “What about Water Master-xiong?”
Seeing that Pei Ming was on his sword alone and there was no sign of the Water
Master, Shi Qingxuan also called out, “Ge? Ge?!”
Xie Lian reassured, “No need to panic, he’s the Water Master, it’ll be hard for him to
sink.” But when he recalled the power of that whirpool, he turned to Hua Cheng, “San
Lang, hold on tight to my waist, don’t fall.”
Hua Cheng put on an obedient act and replied, “ En, okay, but gege, there’s something
that I have to tell you.”
“What is it?” Xie Lian asked.
“You can’t fly in the Black Water Demon Lair. It’ll attract things.”
Not a second after, a sharp cry pierced through the air and giant white creature broke
through the water surface, heading straight for Pei Ming.
Pei Ming was a master swordsman. The moment when he sensed the killing intent, his
hand reached for his sword, only to realize the said sword was under his feet. Luckily,
his reaction was quick. With a leap, he grabbed his sword in mid-air and sliced the
incoming creature in half. Before gravity could take control, he flipped back on to the
sword with not a single hair out of place. As if it was nothing, he steadily flew up and
asked in total calmness, “What was that thing?”
The sliced corpse of the creature was slightly visible from the water surface. Xie Lian
squinted his eyes to get a better look, “Fish?”
It was definitely a fish, but not an average fish. It was a fish bone that was as wide as a
fish tank and many feet in length!
This ‘fish’ had neither flesh nor scales, but only stark white bones that connected to a
sharp teeth filled mouth. Whether if it was poisonous or not, if bitten, it would sure be
painful as hell. Pei Ming flew higher and warned, “You all be careful, there’s probably
more than one of them!”
As expected, when he mentioned “one”, a second one shot out from below. This time, it
headed straight for Ming Yi and Shi Qingxuan!
Unfortunately, the Earth Master wasn’t a martial god and his fighting power wasn’t as
strong. The Wind Master was now just a god in a mortal’s body. On top of all this, Ming
Yi was rather rusty with his imperial... shovel. Even though the two didn’t get bitten, they
were still knocked off balance and into the sea. As they were falling in mid-air, Shi
Qingxuan cried out in despair, “ Ming-xiong! I hope you’ll remember to practice using
your treasure more often after today ah–”
Ming Yi retorted, “Get lost.”
Pei Ming sighed and rushed over to rescue the two. Seeing that Pei Ming went forward
to lend a hand, Xie Lian knew that he would be able to handle it alone. “It’s really not
Earth Master’s fault,” he thought to himself, “with a shovel like that as a treasured
weapon, no one with any shame would dare to take it out.”
Just then, a bone chilling breeze went through him. Xie Lian gathered his thoughts and
said softly, “San Lang, hang on tight. Watch out, there’s something coming our way.”
“Okay.” The hands wrapped around his waist tightened.
Not long after, four water walls shot up from below and surrounded them. Four giant
bone fish rose from the sea.
The four gigantic bone white corpses were more like dragons than fish. The
combination of hills of dorsal fin bones, dangerously sharp horns, long snake-like body,
and protruding four claws circled around Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, leaving no room for
escape. As for flying upwards, this was as high as Fang Xin could go. If they were to go
down, they’d come face-to-face with the dead silent ocean.
Xie Lian sighed in defeat, “Alright... Who’s first?”
After a moment of consideration, he clasped his hands together, “Together it is.”
Soon after, the bone dragon on the east side let out a howl and rushed forward. Xie Lian
raised his hand and pointed in its direction.
Instantly, the bone dragon froze. For such an enormous monster to be detained by one
sword, one person, and one finger, and not being able to even fly an inch forward, it
angrily thrashed around its tail and claws, creating walls of waves. The other three
lunged forward as well. Xie Lian turned his pointing finger into a claw. He grabbed the
bone dragon’s horn and whipped it in a circle as if it was a weapon.
A loud ‘whoosh’ tore through the sky. The three incoming dragons were instantly
skewered by the one Xie Lian threw out before dropping down to the ocean as scattered
pieces of bones. Xie Lian dusted off his hands and let out a breath. He turned around
and asked, “San Lang, are you okay?”
With crescent eyes, Hua cheng smiled, “Under gege’s protection, how can anything
happen to me?”
Hearing him respond like that made Xie Lian feel rather awkward and embarrassed.
Now that he thought about it, dealing with these sort of things was an easy task for Hua
Cheng, how could there be any problems? It made Xie Lian’s question seemed as if he
was intentionally asking for praises. Though, in all honesty, he asked for the sake of
asking. Lost in his thoughts, the sword suddenly sank and before Xie Lian could even
register what had happened, they were already rapidly falling, plunging into the icy cold
water.
It wasn’t because they were grabbed by something. It was simply due to the fact that
Fang Xin was too old — after holding on for so long, it needed to rest!
The bone chilling seawater gushed in from all directions. After accidentally swallowing
two gulps of water, Xie Lian closed his mouth and swam upwards. However, the Black
Water Demon’s Lair water was as wicked as they described. Xie Lian was considered to
be a fairly good swimmer, yet in these waters, his body felt like an iron block. No matter
what he did, it refused to float. He opened his eyes, but the water was just as muddy
and he wasn’t able to locate Hua Cheng anywhere. He felt around with his hands. Other
than Fang Xin, he wasn’t able to grab hold of anyone else and he could start to feel the
panic rise from inside of him. However, the more anxious he was, the more sluggish his
movements were, and the faster he sank. Luckily, not long after, it was as if someone
had parted the fog, Xie Lian felt a ray of light shining down on him. He felt someone
grabbed his hand and waist, and quickly lifted him up to the surface. Once out of water,
Xie Lian gasped for breaths and when he wiped the water away from his face, he saw
that his saviour was no other than Hua Cheng.
It’s quite strange as according to the common saying, “the dead sinks”. Hua Cheng,
who was technically a corpse, should’ve sunken faster than Xie Lian. Yet, he was
floating lightly and effortlessly on the water surface. He bent his head down and looked
at Xie Lian, “Are you alright?”
Xie Lian nodded. The familiarity of this scene suddenly brought memories of a similar
situation that had happened not so long ago. Instantly, he felt his face heat up. With one
hand wrapped around Xie Lian, Hua Cheng used his spare hand to stir and leisurely
glide through the water. “Gege, hold on to me. You’ll sink if you let go.”
At a loss for words, Xie Lian blankly nodded several times. Not far from them, there was
a stir of movements in the water, and a row of horn-like bones rose to the surface. Like
a school of sharks, it swam towards them with incredible speed. The four bone dragons
that were badly beaten by Xie Lian were back for revenge.
They circled the two with the starving gaze of a predator, and finally, after they couldn’t
hold themselves back any longer, they dove in viciously. Grasping Fang Xin tightly in his
hand, Xie Lian waited for the moment to strike. Above him, Hua Cheng clicked his
tongue in annoyance.
The bone dragons were almost within an arm’s reach from tearing them apart, but upon
hearing the sound, their killing intent instantly vanished. The teeth-filled mouth that was
about to snap Xie Lian’s throat, instead, came forth and nudged at Fang Xin as if giving
it a few pecks.
Xie Lian was confused, “???”
While he was still floating there dumbfoundedly, the four creatures scampered away
with tails between their legs. Xie Lian was speechless, but Hua Cheng had already
continued swimming, “Gege, now you know. If you’re gonna get any pets in the future,
definitely don’t consider those ones. They’re useless trash.”
“...”
Pets???
Xie Lian replied meekly, “No, I wasn’t considering anything...”
Suddenly, a bone dragon broke through the water surface and shot up straight into the
sky. Xie Lian looked up and saw that Shi Wudu sat on top of the creature’s head, his
hands were clasped together to form an aggressive attack hand seal. His face was
tense, as if he was vigorously fighting against some force. The once peaceful and calm
ocean was now tossing and turning. Not seeing any signs of the Wind God or the
others, Xie Lian called out, “Lord Wind Master! Lord Earth Master! General Pei! Where
are you?!”
He scanned across his surroundings under the dim moonlight. Instead of finding his
comrades, he found himself being swallowed up by a huge shadow. He spun around
and his eyes widened at the sight of a ginormous wave that was as tall as the sky,
falling his way. In the next second, he fell into a complete darkness.
...
After being carried by the ebb and flow of the ocean for a long time, Xie Lian finally
opened his eyes.
Although he didn’t sit up, he could feel from beneath him that he arrived on land. As he
laid there, regaining his strength, he lifted up an arm and saw that his hand had become
pruney from the prolonged soak in the water.
He felt something under his waist, and when he tilted his head to take a look, he
realized that the object was Hua Cheng’s arm. Judging from the position of the figure
lying next to him, it seemed that Hua Cheng had never once let go of him.
Though he had already woken up, Hua Cheng did not. His eyes were still closed shut.
Xie Lian sat up, and gently nudged him, “San Lang? San Lang?”
Hua Cheng didn’t respond. Xie Lian nudged him again while scanning their
surroundings. They were on land, but aside from the vast amount of trees that crowded
together to form an endless forest, there were no signs of docks or people at all. Rather
than mainland, it was more of an isolated island. Above all, the most surprising thing
was that it was already daylight. They must’ve floated for an entire night! Where would
they have ended up at?
After repeated poking, Hua Cheng was still deep asleep and hasn’t moved an inch.
Ghosts wouldn’t drown, at least that’s what Xie Lian thought. However, just because
Hua Cheng couldn’t drown, it didn’t mean that other things in the ocean, such as the
poisonous bone fish, couldn’t have attacked him. Thus, Xie Lian patted Hua Cheng
down, starting from his chest, to his arms, and all the way to his legs to make sure there
weren’t any wounds. Yet, other than discovering Hua Cheng had a fine body, there were
no other finds. Xie Lian was at his wit’s end and started to worry, “San Lang, don’t joke
around.”
No response.
In a moment of panic, Xie Lian actually put his head against Hua Cheng’s chest in
search of a heartbeat. Then, he immediately realized, how could demons have a
heartbeat? However, to his surprise, he actually heard it. Xie Lian was stunned. A
thought quickly came to him.
Logically, in his true form, Hua Cheng shouldn’t be able to drown, but now he had
become a seventeen-eighteen year old human, so did the same rule still apply?
Although he felt that Hua Cheng wasn’t the kind to overlook these sort of flaws, but
there were really no other explanations. No matter what, he wasn’t able to wake him up.
After a long internal debate, Xie Lian slowly reached out with his hand and placed them
gently around Hua Cheng’s face.
The features on this face was beyond stunning. Cupping Hua Cheng’s face like this and
thinking about what he was about to do next made it extremely difficult for Xie Lian to
calm his poor heart. Sitting in this tangled position, making sure that no one was
around, he looked at Hua Cheng again. No signs of waking up. This was it. He prepared
himself and gritted his teeth. He managed to squeeze out, in barely more than a
whisper, “ ... I apologize in advance.”
His voice was practically shaking when he said it. He clapped his hands together to
make a silent prayer before bending down with closed eyes and pressed his lips against
Hua Cheng’s.
At the same time, Hua Cheng suddenly snapped open his eyes.
———-
●MTXT Author Notes: Hua Hua had only wanted to be mischievous and play dead
as a prank at first but who knew...
Will everyone please search up the correct way to do CPR; Xie Lian isn’t doing it
right...
———-
Ch. 120: Combined Spirit; Coffin Boat Enters the Demon Sea
However, because Xie Lian was extremely nervous and overly self-conscious, his eyes
were still tightly shut, making him completely oblivious to the situation at hand.
The last time when they exchanged air underwater, it was Hua Cheng who had initiated
it. He was domineering and the kiss was deep, and afterwards, Xie Lian didn’t dare to
recall the event, only remembering that his lips were swollen and numb. Since he was
taking the lead this time around, he was very cautious and only placed his lips softly on
top of the other, as if he was afraid he’d accidentally wake Hua Cheng up by exerting
too much force. But upon reflection, wasn’t his initial goal to wake Hua Cheng? If his
kiss was too light and the air was to leak out from the slight gap between their lips, then
wouldn’t all this be for naught?
Thus, Xie Lian kept his eyes closed, and as he recited the excerpts from the Ethics
Sutra at lightning speed, he pulled away, gently inhaled, before pressing his lips against
Hua Cheng’s once more.
This time, the kiss was much deeper than the one before. Xie Lian fully captured Hua
Cheng’s thin, cool lips, and gently blew in air.
In that process, his eyes were closed the entire time, not daring to look, and after having
delivered five to six breaths, he thought maybe he should press Hua Cheng’s chest a
bit, yet who knew that the moment he opened his eyes, he was staring squarely into
Hua Cheng’s own pair of widened eyes.
“...”
“...”
Xie Lian’s hands were still cupping Hua Cheng’s cheeks, and their lips had only just
parted, the sensation of soft gentle numbness still remained. In an instant, it was like the
two both turned into stone statues, as if with but a breeze they would shatter. Xie Lian
was of course petrified, but Hua Cheng who had always remained carefree in the face
of all was equally stunned.
Xie Lian really didn’t know how he hadn’t just died from all the blood rushing to his
head, and it was a good moment before he uttered, “San Lang, you’re awake.”
Hua Cheng didn’t speak.
Xie Lian instantly dropped his hands and leapt back a few feet, “...NONONONNONO!
NONONONONNO! IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! I JUST WANTED TO...”
To what? Deliver air??
Would ghosts need air? Even he himself wouldn’t believe it if he said it out loud!
Words got stuck in Xie Lian’s throat and Hua Cheng also pushed himself up, extending
a hand towards him as if forcing himself to calm, “...Your highness, you, just calm down
first.”
Xie Lian held his head between his hands, his entire person was a mess, and in the
end, he put his hands together as if in prayer and bowed madly at Hua Cheng,
“I’MSORRYI’MSORRYI’MSORRYI’MSORRY!!!”
Having shouted his apologies, he whipped around and ran, fleeing the scene. Hua
Cheng finally snapped out of it and rose to his feet, chasing right after him, shouting
from behind, “YOUR HIGHNESS!”
Xie Lian covered his ears and screamed his penanance as he ran, “I’M SORRY!!!”
Die! Just die! If he can’t die then just dig a hole somewhere and pretend he’s dead!
He dashed rapidly, and instantly he charged into the thick of the forest. As he ran,
suddenly something that resembled a sharp arrow came flying at him. Xie Lian may
have been under great shock but still his skills were not lacking, and caught a bone spur
with a sweep of his hand. He came to an abrupt stop and looked to where the attack
came from yet there was nothing there, only shaking branches. There was danger in the
bushes, and he immediately calmed down, turning around and running back, “San
Lang!”
Hua Cheng was already following close behind, and Xie Lian’s turn almost made him
run into his embrace. Xie Lian grabbed his hand and dashed out of the woods, “Run,
there’s something in the forest!”
Hua Cheng, who was chasing after him, was now dragged back where they came from.
It was only when they got back to the beach that Xie Lian let out a breath of relief.
“We’re not followed, whew. Thank goodness.”
Hua Cheng also commented, “En. There’s some little things on this island, but don’t
worry, they won’t follow us here.”
Hearing this, Xie Lian instantly remembered, how could Hua Cheng possibly be afraid of
those things? Then he looked down and he was still clutching his hand, and Xie Lian
froze again, hurriedly letting go and jumped aside.
With some distance between the two of them, they were both silent for a moment before
Hua Cheng sighed and pulled at the collar of his clothes, “Thank goodness gege
rescued me earlier. A human body really is quite inconvenient, just going into sea I’d
choke on mouthfuls of salty water. Disgusting.”
Xie Lian wasn’t dumb. He knew that Hua Cheng was giving him an easy out but he
could only follow along and mumbled vaguely with his head bowed, “It’s nothing, don’t
worry about it.”
After a pause, Hua Cheng added, “But, gege didn’t do it correctly.”
Xie Lian was taken aback and asked with trepidation, “Was it not? I... I thought I only
need to blow in some air.”
“Yea. That’s incorrect.” Hua Cheng replied, “Don’t do this to anyone else so casually in
the future, otherwise...”
Otherwise not only would he not save a life he might just end it. He spoke in such a
serious tone that Xie Lian felt rather ashamed. Good thing he’d never done such a thing
before, otherwise it’d really be committing sins. He hurriedly swore, “I won’t, I won’t.”
Hua Cheng nodded, then grinned. Although Xie Lian really wanted to ask Hua Cheng
for some instructions on just how it should be done, but he dared not speak any more
on the matter. He noted this mentally and looked around, “Is this island really a deserted
island without a trace of people?”
“Of course.” Hua Cheng replied, “This is the heart of Black Water Demon Lair, the Black
Water Island.”
He was very confident. Crimson Rain Sought Flower and Ship-Sinking Black Water
must’ve known each other, and Xie Lian asked, “San Lang, have you been here
before?”
Hua Cheng shook his head, “Never. But I know of this island.”
Xie Lian knitted his brows, “I wonder where Lord Wind Master and the others have
drifted to, whether if they’re on the island too.”
This place was the Black Water Demon Lair in the South Sea, their domain. Pei Ming’s
main domain was the north, the Earth Master wasn’t a martial god, and there was no
need to speak on what condition the Wind Master was in. If anything should happen and
they incur the ire of the Black Water Demon Xuan, the only one who could fight back
would be the Water Master. Yet who knows when Shi Wudu’s Heavenly Calamity would
hit, so the current situation wasn’t looking very optimistic. Xie Lian asked, “San Lang,
does that Black Water Demon Xuan have a temper? If heavenly officials accidently
intruded in his domain and entered his house, what would he do?”
“Hard to say,” Hua Cheng said, “But, gege should’ve heard that saying before too.
Crimson rules the land; Black masters the seas. Here at the Black Water Demon Lair,
even I have to watch my step.”
Not just because this was the Black Water’s main domain, but also as one Supreme to
another, Hua Cheng should leave the other some face so they could still interact in the
future. “Then we best leave here soon.” Xie Lian said.
They roughly circled around the island but the two never re-entered the forest. Xie Lian
called out a few times but didn’t hear the Wind Master or anyone else respond. “Maybe
they didn’t drift to the Black Water Island.” Hua Cheng surmised.
The two came back to the beach side. The surface of the sea was still heavy with
gloom. Xie Lian picked up a log from the ground and threw it far out into the distance. A
log such as that one should technically float on water, yet upon the surface of the sea
meters away, it instantly sank. Xie Lian looked back at that thick forest and said, “It
looks like it’d be useless to build a canoe. The Distance Shortening array won’t work
here either, how do you think we should leave this island?”
“Who says it’s useless?” Hua Cheng said.
“But, only coffin wood that’s housed a deceased can float in this Black Water Demon
Lair...” Before he finished he immediately remembered. Coffin wood. There were trees
here everywhere; a deceased? There’s one right before his eyes.
Sure enough Hua Cheng smiled, “Won’t it be fine once I lie inside?”
Although he was smiling, Xie Lian’s heart squeezed for some reason.
Hua Cheng flattened his palm, and the scimitar E’ming appeared within that palm. Since
they said they’d do it they went straight to work, and the two started collecting materials.
Since they didn’t go deep into the forest, they didn’t run into any ambushing creatures,
and soon enough they managed to chop down a number of trees. A whole day of labour
went past in a blink of an eye, and the sky was growing dim. The two divided the work
and fought each other to take up tasks, so their efficiency was amazingly high. By
evening, the coffin was pretty much built.
Throughout the entire journey Xie Lian had only eaten half a steamed bun and was
already bitterly starved, but the sooner the coffin was made the sooner they could leave,
so once the coffin was formed did he find an excuse to go catch some fish. Yet within
the waters of the Black Water Demon Lair, how could there be fish? Returning empty
handed, Xie Lian turned around to the edge of the forest and picked a few wild fruits
from non-dangerous areas. Who knew that when he returned, Hua Cheng already
started a small campfire; he sat by the fire, one hand supporting his cheek while the
other held a branch, a wild hare forked upon it being roasted.
That wild hare was already cleaned up, its skin roasted such that it was dripping with
juice, crisp and golden, the smell of meat fragrant, exceedingly alluring. Once he saw
Xie Lian had come back, Hua Cheng smiled and moved his hand, passing the branch
over. Xie Lian took it and exchanged the wild fruits for it, “These are all edible.”
Both were still wet and dripping, and other than that they were soaked in the seawater,
their clothes were also damp from sweat. However, they both had a tacit understanding
and didn’t mention anything about stripping out of their clothes to dry them. The meat of
that wild hare was crispy on the outside but tender on the inside, and having bitten in
lightly, Xie Lian could feel his teeth feeling the burn but still he couldn’t stop biting into
the meat, its deliciousness staying on his lips. Still Xie Lian divided the portion into half,
giving the other to Hua Cheng before sighing in awe, “San Lang has such amazing
skills.”
Hua Cheng laughed, “Really? Then, thanks, gege, for the compliment.”
“It’s true.” Xie Lian said, “Whether it be carpentry or cooking, I’ve never met anyone
better than you. That noble, gracious, special someone really lucked out.”
When he said this, he acted like he was very focused on eating his hare, but Hua
Cheng seemed to be silent. It was a moment later before Hua Cheng’s soft voice came,
“That I could meet that person, it’s me who lucked out.”
“...”
Xie Lian didn’t know what to say and seemed to focus even harder on eating. It was a
while later before he realized Hua Cheng was calling him, “Gege, gege.”
Dazed, Xie Lian replied, “Huh?”
Hua Cheng passed him a handkerchief and it was only then did Xie Lian realize that he
was chomping too hard and half his face was covered with grease, exceedingly silly.
Instantly he felt embarrassed, and he reached for the handkerchief to wipe himself
clean. Hua Cheng passed him the other half of the roasted hare too, “Gege must be
starving, don’t rush yourself.”
Xie Lian took the roasted hare and was slightly stunned for a moment, but in the end he
still couldn’t hold back and asked, “San Lang, just what kind of person is that special
someone? How come you haven’t won them over yet?”
He genuinely believed that if Hua Cheng wanted anyone, there’d be no one on this
earth who could fight his advances. Yet that day Hua Cheng had said that he hadn’t
won that person over yet, so he couldn’t help but feel rather grim, an odd feeling
towards this person that ghost king fancied grew. Maybe it was because he felt the
other party didn’t have good taste or maybe they were taking it all for granted.
Hua Cheng replied, “It’s alright if gege finds it funny. Truth is, I’m afraid.”
Whether if it was from a sense of injustice or fear that Hua Cheng was depreciating
himself, Xie Lian responded in a serious tone, “What’s there to be afraid of? You’re a
Supreme Ghost King, the Crimson Rain Sought Flower.”
Hua Cheng laughed out loud, “What shitty ghost king? If I was really that awesome, I
wouldn’t have been so powerless when people hung me up to beat me hundreds of
years ago, hahahaha...”
“Well you can’t say it like that,” Xie Lian said, “Everyone has to go through it to grow
up....” But just as he said it, he recalled that when he first ascended, he didn’t seem to
have ever experienced humiliation of that sort, and he cleared his throat lightly.
“That person saw me at my worst.” Hua Cheng said.
“Then I’m very envious of that.” Xie Lian replied.
Hearing him say so, Hua Cheng gazed over. Xie Lian stopped eating and said gently,
“But, I can sort of understand... your feelings.”
After a pause he continued, “There was also a period of time in my life that wasn’t easy,
and during that time, I’d constantly think if someone should witness the me who rolled in
dirt and couldn’t get up but could still love me for who I was, it’d be great. Still, I don’t
know if there’s anyone like that, and I daren’t show that part of my past to anyone
either.”
“But, if it’s someone San Lang yearns for, I think, even if they saw you at your worst,
they wouldn’t say something like “ah, you’re not so great after all”.”
His face grew solemn, “To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen
from grace is also you. What matters is ‘you’ and not the state of you.”
“I... admire San Lang very much, so, I want to understand your everything. So, I’m very
envious, that someone had already met that kind of you. It’s an affinity that only comes
by chance and couldn’t be begged for, and whether if that bond should continue, it’s
three part fate, and seven part courage!”
That camp fire was crackling soundly, and for a good while, the two remained silent. Xie
Lian softly cleared his throat and rubbed his forehead, “Have I said too much? How
embarrassing.”
“No, what you said was good. Very right.” Hua Cheng replied.
Xie Lian let out a breath of relief and quickly returned to munching on his wild hare. Hua
cheng added, “Not just that, but there’s also many other reasons.”
Xie Lian felt he spoke too much and wanted to end the subject immediately. Besides, he
just couldn’t understand why he would say so much just now, and why encourage Hua
Cheng to bravely pursue his beloved? It wasn’t like he was the heavenly official in
charge of marriage, so he could only mumble a reply, “En...”
After that speech, the air between the two seemed rather delicate, and they quickly
finished eating to continue their labour. Soon, that coffin was officially made.
Hua Cheng pushed the newly constructed coffin into the water, and then he hopped in
lightly, sitting inside. A chunk of wood that long and heavy really floated on the water
and didn’t sink. That coffin wasn’t made wide in width, and when Xie Lian lifted his
robes to cross in, it didn’t feel like there was enough space to sit. Just then, muffled
roars of thunder rang in the skies and gloomy clouds rolled. Violet flashes of lightning
streaked faintly, sounds of explosions erupting next to the ears unexpectedly here and
there. Thin threads of rain came falling down from the skies and soon they came thicker
and thicker. It seemed a storm was approaching.
Fortunately the two didn’t slack off while labouring, even building a cover for the coffin,
otherwise it wouldn’t take long before it’d be filled with rain water once it’s pushed into
sea and sink into the depths.
The two looked at each other, and Xie Lian said in a low voice, “Sorry.”
Hua Cheng didn’t say anything more either and laid down inside the coffin. Xie Lian
entered too and pulled the cover close. As if light was blown out, they were sunk into
darkness.
The coffin entered the sea and floated errantly for a while. Outside, pouring rain was
beating on the cover; within, the two spoke not a word. Being squished in a narrow
space, their bodies couldn’t help but be pressed hard against one another, allowing the
waves to push and pull, flip and flop. Xie Lian used one hand to push against the edge
of the coffin to steady himself, hoping to make more room, his head lightly knocking
against the wood. Hua Cheng then reached out and rested his hand on his back and
pressed him to his chest, his other hand shielding his head. Xie Lian didn’t even dare to
breathe harshly, “San Lang... how about, we change around?”
“Change what?” Hua Cheng asked.
“...You on top and me on the bottom.” Xie Lian replied.
“Isn’t top and bottom the same?” Hua Cheng asked.
Xie Lian was afraid he was too heavy and said, “This journey of ours would take at least
a day. Your body right now is only seventeen or eighteen, right? I’m a martial god after
all, very heavy...” Before he finished his words, he added, “San Lang, don’t... don’t just
suddenly turn big!”
Although it was hard to see in the dark, but still he could feel Hua Cheng pressed close
against him transforming, and while that change was minute, he still sensed it, and
assumed that Hua Cheng probably transformed back to his true form. Sure enough,
when Hua Cheng spoke again, his laugh was in a deeper voice, veritably the voice of
his true form. Xie Lian laid on his chest, helpless, but after the change, that unknown
awkwardness did lighten a bit. He raised his leg slightly, hoping to shift his body and
change position, but suddenly Hua Cheng stopped laughing and said in a dark voice,
“Don’t move.”
Xie Lian froze. Just then, there was a large sound, and the coffin the two were riding in
violently sank. Xie Lian was bewildered, “What’s going on?!”
Soon after, there was another roaring sound, and the two forcibly flipped around inside
the coffin. It seemed the entire coffin canoe itself had rolled around. Thank goodness
there wasn’t any leaks, but that couldn’t be guaranteed should there be multiple rounds.
Hua Cheng pressed down on him, “Something’s got its eye on this coffin canoe.”
—
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