After leaving Ghost City, Xie Lian slept at the Upper Court of Heaven for three days in a row.

Although he didn’t like the magnificent Palace of Xianle, because his hand injury was truly severe, Jun Wu ordered him to rest in the Heavenly Capital which brimmed with spiritual energy, so he didn’t go back to Puqi Shrine the past few days, and made do in the Palace of Xianle. He didn’t expect that the first time he entered would be for recovering from injuries, which was really not a good sign. If someone heard him say that recuperating in a golden palace at such a location was “making do”, and complained about it being inauspicious, they would probably break his other arm, too. After getting enough sleep, Xie Lian finally took his time getting up and, with his right hand hanging, went to attend the meeting at the Palace of Divine Might.

Walking down the avenue, he distinctly felt that the gazes focused on him had grown even more complicated and peculiar.

He didn’t know that this was because he and Hua Cheng’s five-round guessing game in the Ghost Gambler’s Den was spectated from beginning to end, and in addition, the previous game where Hua Cheng teased him when betting on sizes was also picked clean, with every detail vividly, convincingly described. Now, half of the people in the Heavenly Realm were guessing passionately what was going on between him and Hua Cheng, with up to now already nine versions.

However, the other half of the people at the Heavenly Realm held a different attitude. Because Xie Lian burned Paradise Manor – even though Shi Qingxuan insisted loudly that if a man does wrong, he alone should take the blame, and that it was him who burned it, everyone comforted him: How could this be Lord Wind Master’s fault? Since it wasn’t Lord Wind Master’s fault, it must be Xie Lian’s fault.

In the past few days, the lonely ghosts below had been making a great fuss, clamoring for an explanation for why they burned other people’s territory for no reason. If even the small ghosts were like this, how could the notoriously capricious Supreme Ghost King not be offended? After all, no one knew why he initially burned down the thirty-three gods’ temples. In short, at such a moment, one must draw a clear line to avoid becoming collateral damage should Hua Cheng retaliate.

Yet what’s strange was that, not only did Jun Wu have no intention at all of punishing Xie Lian, but Hua Cheng also showed no signs of seeking blame!

Xie Lian couldn’t decipher the even more complicated thoughts behind these complicated glances, instead he thought mayhaps he had forgotten to wear some important piece of clothing, so he checked over and over, utterly confused.

He saw Lang Qianqiu again when he entered the Palace of Divine Might; Xie Lian greeted him with a smile, but Lang Qianqiu didn’t respond, merely gave him a glance and went in by himself. Xie Lian was taken aback, while Shi Qingxuan rushed up from behind, saying, “Your Royal Highness! Has your hand healed? Was that Qianqiu just now? Why did he look at you like that?”

Xie Lian thought about it, “Maybe he was too tired from the past few days.”

Shi Qingxuan nodded, “It’s possible. I had thought his complexion was a little odd when we first came back. But this was too rude; I’ll tell him off if I catch him later. Let’s go in!”

Xie Lian couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding. But then on second thought, what must be, must be; composing himself, he stepped into the main hall.

After Jun Wu arrived, the meeting began. The first issues discussed were all in Xie Lian’s opinion extremely trivial and boring things, such as who should take the blame for fighting with whom for territory. He had the feeling that Jun Wu in the top seat was also quite frustrated, but he still maintained his solemn expression and patiently mediated, which he found funny but also no easy feat. Having listened for a long time, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander.

Previously when the group returned from Ghost City, Jun Wu secretly sent Ming Yi to be treated for his injuries, then kept Xie Lian behind alone in the Palace of Divine Might.

Jun Wu said on top of the jade steps, “Do you remember what I said to you before you went down?”

Xie Lian bowed his head at the bottom of the jade steps, “Be careful of Crimson Rain Sought Flower, especially be careful of his Scimitar of Doom Eming.”

“What was your answer then?”

“I will be careful.”

“And?”

Drawing in a breath, Xie Lian murmured, “He won’t hurt me.”

Jun Wu said, “Then why are you in such a shape?”

Xie Lian glanced at his right hand that was wrapped into a rice dumpling, “It’s my own fault.”

Seeing how unhappy he was, Jun Wu left off chiding him. “The Scimitar of Doom Eming is a cursed blade, the wound it causes is very difficult to heal; even if the owner himself were to treat your wound, it would probably still be a very long time that you could only use one arm. Just rest for forty-nine days for now, and don’t worry about anything during this period; Ling Wen will arrange it for you.”

Xie Lian only then raised his head, “Thank you very much, Your Heavenly Majesty, but I have one more thing to ask.”

Jun Wu gave him a glance, “Do you mean to ask why I placed Earth Master undercover in Ghost City?”

Xie Lian said, “Yes. Although, why bother doing this?”

Jun Wu said, “You should ask your little friend first, why bother doing this.”

Xie Lian slightly widened his eyes, “Could it be…”

Jun Wu said, “That’s right. It was him that first placed a spy in the Upper Court of Heaven.”

Xie Lian was taken aback. Jun Wu continued, “What should be known, and what should not be known, he knows it all. What can be done, what cannot be done, where the bottom line is, and how to skirt the edge and toe the line, he has them grasped too precisely. It’s impossible that he has no eyes in the Heavenly Capital. I believe that you are also more or less aware of it.”

Xie Lian whispered, “Yes.”

From the first time they met, he felt that this young man simply knew all about heaven, earth, and everything in between. It’s not that he didn’t have any doubts, it’s just that he felt him harmless, so he didn’t see it as a problem.

Jun Wu said, “Ming Yi had been undercover in Ghost City for several years, but still ended up a chess piece. While he was rescued by you and not lost to his hands, it is even more difficult now to find the mole he planted. We don’t know his purpose or movements, but he knows the Upper Court like the back of his hand, which is very disadvantageous.”

Hearing him say “which is very disadvantageous”, Xie Lian blurted out, “Actually, San Lang… …” Seeing Jun Wu looking over at him, he immediately changed his tune, “In fact, with his strength, if he wanted to cause trouble, the world should have long been upside down. Since he has not done so before, presumably, he will not all of a sudden want to dominate the Three Realms in the future, either.”

Jun Wu gave him a glance, “Xianle, do you have good feelings for Hua Cheng?”

Xie Lian choked, “It’s not all because of good feelings… …”

Jun Wu said, “You have your own discretion, and I won’t say anything else. But you should still be wary of him, and don’t reveal everything to him. You have to understand: those who can become ‘supreme’, every single one of them has been through agony that ordinary people can’t even imagine. Either they come to soar to the heavens, or suffer eternal damnation in hell. The two Supreme Ghost Kings who were forged in the Copper Kiln, Hua Cheng and Black Water, are both far more terrifying than you think. We can’t take risks.”

A wisp of wandering thought drifted over Ghost City, eager to enter and take a look but timid, it circled around and around until Jun Wu called him out loud:

“Xianle?”

Xie Lian only then gathered his thoughts, “Yes.”

Jun Wu said, “Everyone has a lot of questions about the sword that Hua Cheng acquired at the Ghost Gambler’s Den. In your opinion, is that sword the Supreme Sword Fangxin?”

Xie Lian lightly drew in a breath; he didn’t expect to discuss this issue. Shi Qingxuan interrupted, “Of course not. That sword was just under a Camouflage Spell. It looked to have a tremendous evil aura, but His Royal Highness saw through it. Qianqiu and I were both present at the time and witnessed it with our own eyes, isn’t it right?”

No one seconded.

Vaguely sensing the peculiar atmosphere, Shi Qingxuan wondered, “Why do you care so much about that sword?

Ling Wen said, “Of course we care. Because it is rumored to be the only exceptional evil weapon that can be compared with the Scimitar of Doom Eming.”

Shi Qing was surprised, “What? So impressive? How so?”

Ling Wen said, “You can tell just by looking at its owners. Legend has it that it was once the sword of the White-Clothed Calamity.”

The hall erupted, “Bai Wuxiang’s sword?”

Ling Wen said, “That’s right. But it’s just a legend. Another legend says that the Supreme Sword Fangxin was the sword of a demonic cultivator who brought disaster to a country – Imperial Preceptor Fangxin.”

Shi Qingxuan said, “I have heard of the name of this Imperial Preceptor Fangxin. He was the Imperial Preceptor of the Kingdom of Yong’an, wasn’t he? But I don’t know the details of whatever he did.”

Xie Lian whispered, “Lord Wind Master, why don’t you go down and look into it yourself.”

Shi Qingxuan was puzzled at first, “Why?” It’s exactly one of Ling Wen’s responsibilities to answer questions and clarify confusions, and there were many officials in the hall who were even more confused than him. Then he saw Ling Wen glimpse at Lang Qianqiu, and seemed to have come to some realization. Sure enough, Ling Wen sighed, “Imperial Preceptor Fangxin didn’t do much else other than teaching someone, which was the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Yong’an, Lang Qianqiu.”

Countless eyes focused on Lang Qianqiu. Those who were near him in the hall stayed completely quiet, and those who were far away buzzed with discussion. Shi Qingxuan also had a flash of insight.

No wonder Lang Qianqiu’s expression looked so weird when he heard “Supreme Sword Fangxin” in the Ghost Gambler’s Den, as it turned out, that was the name of his master’s sword!

Xie Lian said, “Everyone, it is better to drop this discussion.”

Immediately, some officials were understanding and echoed it. Since Imperial Preceptor Fangxin was known as a demonic cultivator who brought disaster to the country, it must be an unpleasant topic for Lang Qianqiu. However, Lang Qianqiu said coldly, “Would True Lord Ling Wen please continue.”

Ling Wen flipped through the book in her hand, which seemed to include references to everything under the sun, and said, “A hundred years ago, there was a twelve-year-old crown prince in the Kingdom of Yong’an. This crown prince was kind-hearted and went on a trip to pray for blessings. Who knew that when he passed through Taicang Mountain at night, demons attacked.”

Countless civil gods below secretly scolded Ling Wen for being shameless, buttering him up implicitly even when telling a story, but they couldn’t resist Ling Wen who continued with a total look of integrity, “At the critical moment, a person wielded a flower branch as a sword, repelled the demons, and saved the life of the crown prince.”

The officials kept a close eye on Lang Qianqiu, one of the protagonists of the story, but he was uncharacteristically expressionless. Ling Wen said, “So, this person was appointed Imperial Preceptor, titled ‘Fangxin’, and from then on focused on teaching the crown prince. He was said to have an eccentric temperament, haughty and aloof, always wearing a silver mask, no one saw his true appearance, and no one knew his origins. Nevertheless, because he had saved the life of the crown prince, and was also highly capable, even knew how to control the wind and rain, he was highly regarded while he maintained the position for five years, and was especially respected and loved by the crown prince.

“On the seventeenth birthday of the crown prince, a Gilded Banquet was held in the Royal Palace of Yong’an.

“Gilded Banquet was originally a type of banquet popular among the nobility of Xianle. The wine vessels, tablewares, and musical instruments used at the banquet were all exquisite gold pieces. The nobles competed with each other on the gold pieces and were extremely lavish. Later, the Yong’an royals followed suit.”

Having reached this point, Ling Wen paused for a moment, and then said, “That night, Imperial Preceptor Fangxin took the sword Fangxin and slaughtered all the royals and nobles present, and blood flowed like a river!”

Amidst the gasps, Xie Lian retracted his gaze and lowered his head in silence.

Ling Wen maintained the same tone as she continued, “Only the crown prince arrived late and was spared from the catastrophe, but he still saw with his own eyes Imperial Master Fangxin slice and dice all the corpses into pieces, and stride away.”

One could have heard a pin drop in the hall. Ling Wen brought back the topic with one sentence, “The Supreme Sword Fangxin either didn’t kill, or when it killed, it created a heinous massacre, and was soaked in the blood of royals, definitely worthy of the notoriety as a peerless evil weapon. Crimson Rain Sought Flower is already extremely difficult to handle with the Scimitar of Doom Eming in his hand, and if he also has the Supreme Sword Fangxin…”

Shi Qingxuan was still in shock, “This, this, why?”

Ling Wen asked, “What are you asking why for?”

Shi Qingxuan said, “There had to be a motive for murdering people. He was doing fine as the Imperial Preceptor, why would he suddenly go on a killing spree? Was he a traitor plotting rebellion, or a spy of some enemy country?”

Ling Wen said, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t know.” Ling Wen said, “No one knows what the murderer Imperial Preceptor Fangxin looked like, what his real name was, what his identity was, or what his goal was, no nothing. This is the biggest unsolved mystery in the history of the Kingdom of Yong’an - the Gilded Banquet Bloodbath.”

Imperial Preceptor Fangxin, a mysterious murderer with an empty page, who no one knew what on earth he had wanted to achieve. If his only disciple hadn’t been standing here, it would have been doubtful whether he ever existed.

The more Shi Qingxuan thought about it, the more horrified he became, “Just… … seriously, no one knew anything? Had no one ever secretly taken off the mask and looked at his face?”

Ling Wen said, “We will have to ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

Everyone in the hall looked towards Lang Qianqiu again in unison. Ling Wen said, “The story was not over yet. After Imperial Preceptor Fangxin soaked the Gilded Banquet in blood, the crown prince hunted him across the whole country, eventually captured him alive and nailed him into a coffin with forty-nine peach wood nails, and ordered the coffin never to be opened. Presumably, if anyone in the world might have seen the face of Imperial Preceptor Fangxin, I am afraid it could only be His Highness Tai Hua.”

But Lang Qianqiu slowly shook his head, “No. His silver mask was a demon and recognized its owner. If the owner didn’t take off the mask, it would not let others do so. Until he died, I never saw his face.”

An official asked, “Have you tried to summon his soul? Summon his soul and grill him.”

Lang Qianqiu said, “I’ve tried, but I can’t summon him.”

Greatly thrilled and mildly disappointed, the officials all said, “That’s too bad, then it will probably remain forever an unsolved mystery.”

But Lang Qianqiu suddenly sneered, “Not necessarily.”

He actually sneered. The officials in the hall who knew him were all shocked, for this was not at all the usual His Highness Tai Hua! It should be said that today’s Lang Qianqiu had been very abnormal the entire time. In the past, he would have fallen asleep standing long ago, and how could he have listened calmly and stayed attentive until now?

Xie Lian in the corner felt dizzy. He heard Lang Qianqiu say, “I can’t summon his soul, it is of course because he is not dead.”

“How could he still survive after being impaled by forty-nine nails?”

Lang Qianqiu said, “He is not dead. Moreover, I said that I had never seen his face, that was before.”

Shi Qingxuan was puzzled, “What do you mean by ‘that was before’? Do you mean you can see it now?”

Xie Lian couldn’t listen anymore.

There was something burning and bouncing in his stomach, and he had the illusion that he was bleeding from all orifices. He couldn’t hear what Lang Qianqiu said next, and naturally also couldn’t hear the sudden uproar from all around.

He only saw a hand seize his right wrist. As soon as he lifted his eyes, Lang Qianqiu’s long-awaited furious gaze almost instantaneously had him incinerated!

He clutched Xie Lian tightly and said through gritted teeth, “I clearly nailed you into the coffin with my own hands, how did you get out… … Imperial Preceptor?

Xie Lian didn’t know what his own expression was like now, but he could see how terrifying Lang Qianqiu’s face was now. He took a step back, and a voice said in his mind, “It’s over.”

In the Palace of Divine Might, speechless, dumbfounded, after holding their breaths for three rounds, people exploded with a boom.

Amidst a boiling cauldron of voices, Shi Qingxuan was stupefied, “What Imperial Preceptor? It’s not the Imperial Preceptor I’m thinking of, is it?”

Xie Lian composed himself and was just about to speak, Lang Qianqiu interrupted and shattered what he was about to say in a single sentence, “Don’t try to deny it. I went to check the cemetery in the past few days and found that the coffin had long been damaged. And the bones inside were not even human bones!”

Shi Qingxuan said, “Even so, you can’t presume that it’s him! Qianqiu, do you have any other evidence? It’ll be very ugly if you’re by any chance mistaken.”

Lang Qianqiu said without looking back, “I’m not mistaken! Back then, hundreds of mages couldn’t subdue Fangxin, but in the Ghost Gambler’s Den, as soon as he touched the sword, its evil aura dissipated. Who else except its owner could make it so obedient??”

Shi Qingxuan asked, “Isn’t that sword a fake?”

Lang Qianqiu said, “I had thought so as well, thinking that maybe I was mistaken. But he shouldn’t have used the sword in front of me!” He tightened his grip and turned to Xie Lian, “Do you think I’m blind? Who taught me swordsmanship? How dare you still use that move? Do you honestly not believe that I can recognize you?”

Xie Lian’s wound burst open. With cold sweat dripping on his forehead and blood issuing from the wound, one moment he thought that the wound left by the Scimitar of Doom Eming was indeed no trivial matter, that it could cause him so much pain; another moment he thought that regardless of what should happen, there was no way he could get away with it today.

After a long while, he said with forced composure, “I see, I was careless.”

He actually admitted it!

As soon as he admitted it, a large area of space swooshed open around him. Lang Qianqiu said, “You admitted it, that’s good.”

Xie Lian slowly shook his head, “You wouldn’t believe it either if I didn’t admit it.”

Lang Qianqiu said, “I had always wondered why in the world you would do that kind of thing. I couldn’t figure it out, and I thought I would never figure it out. It’s only today that I know what it was all for.”

No one needed to ask him “what for”. Who didn’t know that the Kingdom of Xianle was destroyed by the Kingdom of Yong’an? Who didn’t know that it was precisely due to the destruction of Xianle that Xie Lian fell from the infinite glory of a heavenly official to the mortal world, and ended up in such a state?

Xie Lian instead grew more and more collected, “So, what do you want today?”

Lang Qianqiu gripped him tightly, “What do I want? Today, I hope that His Heavenly Majesty and everyone will bear witness: this person and I have a blood feud, but I won’t request that he be executed on the spot; I want to fight with him to the death!”

Hearing things go downhill, Shi Qingxuan hurriedly said, “Even if you want to fight to the death… you can’t do it at this time. His Royal Highness’ right hand is injured, and he was only injured because he blocked the strike from Hua Cheng for you, Qianqiu, it’s not proper!” Ling Wen also said, “Could you two please calm down first, no fights are allowed in the Palace of Divine Might.”

But Xie Lian knew that this was the decision he reached after mulling it over for several days, and there would definitely be no room for change. As expected, Lang Qianqiu said, “This is easy. We go out to fight, he has lost an arm, so I will also use one arm. I dare not be in this man’s grace, so now I give him back an arm!”

Seeing that he really raised a hand and was about to break his own arm, Xie Lian suddenly looked angry and hit him with a palm heel strike, “What are you doing!”

Interrupted in his self-mutilation by the palm heel, Lang Qianqiu was stunned. The officials next to him were also taken aback. He was still only lukewarm just now and seemingly would never boil, so why was he all of a sudden ablaze?

The remaining warmth on Xie Lian’s face turned ice cold, and he said, “A martial god cutting off his own wrist, it can be for a kinsman, a friend, an eminent person, or for love, favor, a righteous deed. But for your own vengeance, what’s the matter with you?”

Lang Qianqiu caught on immediately and pointed at him, “Don’t lecture me, you are not qualified! Cut the nonsense, if we are going to fight, fight.”

Xie Lian let out a noiseless breath, “I don’t want to fight with you.”

Lang Qianqiu said, “Why? It can’t be that you are afraid of me!”

Xie Lian held his head a little higher, “Your Royal Highness, it’s you that should be afraid. If you fight me, you will die for sure!”

The arrogance!

Lang Qianqiu was infuriated by him and almost rushed to strangle his neck, “How are you afraid of beating me to death? Isn’t it even better that you can directly kill and silence me!”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing immediately restrained him, and Xie Lian, with a blank look on his face, let him pull the collar in front of his chest. Shi Qingxuan tried to smooth things over, “Don’t be so emotional for now. I don’t think His Royal Highness is someone who would do such a thing…” Pei Ming crossed his arms and watched the ruckus from a distance, “I do envy His Royal Highness for having Lord Wind Master vouching for him, speaking up for him. Our Pei Junior, though, didn’t have such good fortune.”

Shi Qingxuan was outraged, “General Pei, please don’t confuse things. How is the Pei Junior matter comparable? I saw his evil deeds with my own eyes!”

Pei Ming asked with a grin, “What’s the difference? His Highness Tai Hua also saw with his own eyes His Royal Highness slice and dice the corpses of his people into pieces.”

Shi Qingxuan argued, “That’s different! Bodies were bodies, which couldn’t prove that he killed them!”

“It’s still outrageous to slice and dice the bodies into pieces! And if he didn’t kill them, why would he destroy the bodies and remove all traces?” Shi Qingxuan was at a loss for words, and then said, “Didn’t Imperial Preceptor Fangxin wear a mask? I think it is most likely that he had been impersonated!”

Pei Ming said, “This is because you don’t understand. Qingxuan, you are not a martial god. Martial gods are more accurately identified by looking at their moves than faces. His Highness Tai Hua is a direct disciple of Imperial Preceptor Fangxin, whose every single move has been engraved in his memory, and it is impossible for him to mistake anyone else as his master. Does everyone agree?”

A ring of martial gods nodded in agreement. Just as they were busy arguing back and forth, suddenly, a voice came from the very top. Jun Wu said, “That’s enough.”

He only said two words, and the hall fell dead silent in an instant. Everyone returned to their positions at the speed of light and faced upward, not daring to glance sideways. Xie Lian also swung off Lang Qianqiu’s hand.

Jun Wu sat with a hand supporting his forehead, his face indifferent. But Xie Lian could tell that he was having a splitting headache from listening to all this, so before any orders dropped, Xie Lian rushed to say, “Your Heavenly Majesty, since things have gone this far, Xianle has a presumptuous request.”

Jun Wu looked solemn, but in Xie Lian’s eyes, he was obviously suffering from an even worse headache, “Tell me.”

Xie Lian said, “Could you please banish me to the mortal world.”

Normally, for a heavenly official, “banishment” was the worst blow and the greatest humiliation. But judging by the looks of Xie Lian, the banishment that others avoided at all cost was for him akin to skipping a meal, carrying no shame with it whatsoever. Banishing him really didn’t feel like “justice served”, and was barely better than boiling a dead pig.*

Xie Lian’s thinking was more practical. He would be banished anyway, so it was better to take the initiative and buzz off early, lest others had to argue a few more rounds about his punishment, wasting time and energy, and gratuitously giving Jun Wu a headache from listening to it. He didn’t get a response, so he repeated, “Could Your Heavenly Majesty please banish me…”

Jun Wu put down the hand that supported his forehead before he was done speaking. As soon as their eyes met, Xie Lian shut up at once and involuntarily shuddered.

Jun Wu looked at him calmly, “Xianle, what kind of place do you think the Upper Court of Heaven is? To come or go, all you need is to give me a casual heads-up?”

His tone was still peaceful, but everyone could tell that Jun Wu was not in a good mood.

Xie Lian hung his head, “I overstepped.”

He dared not speak. It was not just him, but no one in the palace dared speak, only held their breath and shrank themselves to their smallest. Jun Wu had never lost his temper. Even if there was a huge commotion below in the Palace of Divine Might, he could still smile and remain as steady as a mountain, and make the final decision. No one had ever witnessed his anger before, but the more so, if he did get angry, the consequences would be all the more frightening!

After a prolonged period of silent oppression, Jun Wu said, “Go back to your Palace of Xianle.”

Everyone in the palace breathed a sigh of relief, but Xie Lian suspected that he had heard it wrong, “Go back to the Palace of Xianle?”

Jun Wu said, “You are confined. Before I decide on what to do with you, you are not allowed to go out, meditate and reflect on your mistakes in there. No visits are allowed!”

Xie Lian said, “But…”

Jun Wu interrupted him, “You have also been silenced. Take him away, disperse!”

Shi Qingxuan let out a sigh of relief and extolled the Heavenly Emperor’s wisdom, which seemed to have brought on an even worse headache for Jun Wu. He gave Xie Lian a glance and left with a sullen face.

But Lang Qianqiu still glared at Xie Lian. No one dared to offend him, and only Pei Ming walked over and patted him on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, His Heavenly Majesty has always been the fairest, and I trust that he will grant you justice and won’t be partial. Let’s go, don’t look anymore, he can’t escape.” Pei Ming dragged him away with a smile.

Shi Qingxuan thought Pei Ming was kicking someone when they were down; furious, he stabbed at his silhouette from behind, “Pei Ming that jerk, what kind of character!” Ling Wen walked up with the scroll under her arm, sighing, “Your Royal Highness, you are seriously an incredible person. The Palace of Divine Might has never been so chaotic, and His Heavenly Majesty has never been so angry, either.”

Xie Lian let out a brief dry laugh. Ling Wen shook her head, “Why did you deliberately provoke His Heavenly Majesty to banish you just now? Fortunately, he will soon leave the Heavenly Capital to pacify the mountains and seas. During the confinement period, could Your Highness please meditate and reflect on your mistakes carefully, and pray don’t cause any more trouble.”

The bronze soldiers standing in attendance in the hall already had him surrounded. This time they could finally arrest Xie Lian. They beat the ground with the ends of their long halberds, clunk, clunk, and could barely contain themselves. Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Okay, okay, I get it, I’m leaving now.”

Shi Qingxuan said, “Your Royal Highness, don’t worry, I believe in you, and sooner or later the truth will come out!”

But Xie Lian waved his hand, “It may as well not come out. The truth could be even worse.”

Shi Qingxuan already felt guilty because he burned Paradise Manor and let Xie Lian take the blame. Hearing him sounding discouraged, he felt even more sympathetic and racked his brains to comfort him, “You don’t have to be so pessimistic. His Heavenly Majesty has always been very good to you. Even though just now he looked frightening and sounded scary, if you think about it carefully, isn’t it just delaying tactics? If it drags on, maybe a turning point will come! And look, he said no visits, then that also means Qianqiu can’t come and hit you, at least… well, at least you are safe.”

Glancing at him, Xie Lian burst out a chuckle, then sighed, “I hope so.”

Returning to the Palace of Xianle, Xie Lian thought himself quite justified in considering it a bad omen, and then drifted off to sleep again. Naturally, he didn’t sleep well, rolled all over the floor and was woken up by something digging into him. He touched it in a daze, and was stunned.

He opened his hand, and in his palm were two dice.

A swath of maple red popped up in his mind, unclear whether it was red clothes or blaze. After staring at them for a while, Xie Lian whispered, “All in, no regrets even with death.”

The dice dropped onto the floor, rattled and rolled a few times then came to a stop, two bleak “ones”. Apparently, the luck that Hua Cheng lent him had all been exhausted.

Xie Lian couldn’t help but break into a smile, shook his head, then sighed again, “San Lang.”

Suddenly a click sounded behind him; he put away the smile on his face and the dice on the floor in one sweep, looked back and said, “Who!”

He looked again and was surprised, “It’s you?”

The uninvited guest who came in through the window was dressed in black, with a fair face, faintly colored lips, and a faintly cold expression. He was clearly a martial god, but looked like a young prime minister. Who else could it be but Mu Qing?

Xie Lian was very confused, “What are you doing?”

Mu Qing landed on the floor in the hall and said frigidly, “Who told you to be confined and not allowed visits while reflecting on your mistakes? Of course I could only climb through the window.”

Xie Lian said, “I’m not asking why you climbed through the window, I’m asking why you came here!”

Mu Qing tossed something to him, Xie Lian caught it with his left hand, and it was in fact a bottle of medicine.

Ever since Xie Lian had ascended for the third time, Mu Qing’s attitude towards him could only be described with one word – “caustic”. Now that Xie Lian was entangled in a catastrophe, he all of a sudden made such a friendly move; Xie Lian thought about it, didn’t refuse, but became even more confused, “Thank you. But, what can I do for you?”

Mu Qing didn’t answer, paced around him a couple times, and suddenly asked, “Are you really Imperial Preceptor Fangxin? Did you really soak the Gilded Banquet in blood?”

Xie Lian didn’t know what’s going on, and said, “Yes, it’s me.”

Mu Qing asked, “Why did you do this? To avenge the destruction of the country?”

There was hidden excitement in his eyes, and his voice even changed a bit, as if he had been waiting for an opportunity for years and was finally about to grasp it. Just as Xie Lian sensed that something was off, another click sounded, they both looked back, and shockingly, another person had come in through the window, this time being Feng Xin. As soon as he entered, he saw the two tugging at each other and immediately eyed Mu Qing with wariness, “What are you doing here?”

The suspicion of “Is this guy trying to kick him when he’s down” was almost written across his face, and Xie Lian said, “He came to give me medicine.”

Mu Qing humphed, “This is not your home. You can come but I can’t?”

Xie Lian said, “No, neither of you should have come. Please go back!”

Feng Xin hurriedly said, “Wait a minute, I have something to ask you.”

Xie Lian smiled bitterly, “You also want to ask me if I am Imperial Preceptor Fangxin? Yes.”

Feng Xin didn’t expect him to answer so simply, and it took him a while to squeeze out a word, “Why?”

Xie Lian shrugged. Mu Qing, however, sneered, “Why what? An eye for an eye, it’s only natural. Why can’t he take revenge?”

Feng Xin snarled, “Get lost, you! You don’t think that anyone knows your dirty thoughts? You just wish that he’d do all the bad things and you’d be happy!”

Mu Qing said, “On what grounds can you tell me to get lost? This is really hilarious, I was not the one who boasted about being the most loyal and steadfast and would never betray His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Who knew that you were just the pot calling the kettle black, you just had a prettier excuse than me, what with you ran away because you couldn’t bear to see your old master fall, wasn’t it that you just didn’t want to waste any more time all tied up with a loser?”

Xie Lian said, “Excuse me, does the loser refer to – me? It’s not exactly nice of you to say that in front of me… … Hey!”

“Thump thump!” “Thump thump!” Xie Lian was dumbfounded.

He and Lang Qianqiu hadn’t even started fighting yet, but these two instead got it started!

When the three of them were young, Mu Qing spoke softly and never yelled at anyone, and if Feng Xin hit anyone, it was because Xie Lian had asked him to, and he would hit when he was told to hit and stop when he was told to stop, yet now neither would listen. The two of them had long held grudges against each other; they were each so busy fighting and scolding that they didn’t even listen to the other’s scolding, let alone Xie Lian’s.

Xie Lian shouted, “Fight all you want, but don’t smash the walls, this palace is brand new, and today is my first time coming in, too… Someone, drag them out!”

With one arm dragging, he dashed towards outside. He had barely taken a few steps when, unexpectedly, a loud noise crashed in front of him. Feng Xin and Mu Qing both stopped and looked at the place where the loud noise came from.

The front doors of the Palace of Xianle had been kicked open.

Outside the front doors, instead of the wide and open Avenue of Divine Might of the Heavenly Capital, was boundless darkness and dead silence.

From the darkness, countless frosty silver butterflies rushed at them.

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* It’s derived from a Chinese proverb: a dead pig fears no boiling water. Interestingly, there’s a very similar English proverb, a dead mouse feels no cold.