As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Lang Qianqiu staring fixedly at him from the opposite side.

Xie Lian came around instantly, and promptly rolled up to sitting, “Qianqiu!”

He heard the clanking of iron chains, and Lang Qianqiu’s face darkened, as if he was contemplating whether to knock him out again with a palm heel, and asked coldly only after a while, “Why are you here?”

Xie Lian wiped his face, the bleeding had finally stopped. “I came to find you. Are you okay?”

But Lang Qianqiu said, “Why are you looking for me? I looked for you everywhere before, and you wouldn’t let me find you; I’m not making you look for me now, how come you are looking for me?”

Xie Lian stroked his forehead, “You’re making me dizzy.”

But seeing that Lang Qianqiu looked well, he was already half relieved. Xie Lian vaguely remembered that as soon as he set foot here, he felt the world spinning and lost consciousness, unclear what got him. Looking closely now, he found that both of them had their hands and feet weighed down by cold iron chains.

There were cold stone walls on all sides. He was tied to one end, Lang Qianqiu the other, and they were just out of reach of each other. Not far away, large sarcophagi lined up in a strict order, making it look like an ancient tomb.

Xie Lian asked, “Where is this place? What’s with these iron chains?”

Lang Qianqiu said irritably, “I also just woke up, you ask me, and who do I ask?” Xie Lian would have liked to ask more, but he looked like he wanted to cover his ears, “Don’t talk to me!”

If not for the fact that Xie Lian hadn’t woken up earlier, and now they were both tied up, he would have charged up attacking long ago, and how could he have a peaceful chat with Xie Lian? Xie Lian got the cold shoulder, but he didn’t get mad at him, and tried stretching the chain.

Normally, such a thin iron chain would have been pulled apart by him long ago, but this time it didn’t even deform, he wondered what kind of spiritual weapon it was. Xie Lian lightly let out a breath, feeling a little uneasy. He patiently studied the surroundings, his expression getting more and more strange, and he murmured, “Why is it here?”

Lang Qianqiu immediately asked, “Do you recognize this place?”

Xie Lian shook his head, not in denial, but in disbelief.

He said, “Of course I do. This is the Royal Mausoleum of Xianle.”

Lang Qianqiu’s expression finally changed, “The Royal Mausoleum of Xianle? Your family tomb?”

He was confused, and Xie Lian was even more confused than him, “There are inscriptions on the sarcophagi, so I can’t be mistaken. Why are we here?”

Lang Qianqiu kicked a stone wall. Given his spiritual energy, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the entire wall had collapsed, but now the stone wall remained cold and unresponsive. Seeing him gripping the iron chain with both hands and applying force, Xie Lian said, “I suggest that you save some energy. Haven’t you tried it before? All useless, isn’t it.”

Lang Qianqiu glared at him, apparently he was right. Xie Lian said, “This is natural. This is not your home field, but the enemy’s field. Your spiritual energy and strength are suppressed, because you are a descendant of the enemy, and this place… … does not welcome you.”

Lang Qianqiu angrily muttered a curse, “It’s not like I wanted to enter!”

Xie Lian said, “Every generation of the royal family of the Kingdom of Xianle were all buried deep under Taicang Mountain, secretly guarded by generations of the royal dojo, and it is absolutely impossible to break in. Even though the royal dojo is long gone now, it is still very well hidden, and ordinary people can’t even find the entrance. How did you get in?”

Lang Qianqiu did not answer him, instead said, “Since it is your family Royal Mausoleum, it must listen to you. Open the mausoleum door right now and let me out.”

But Xie Lian shook his head, “I can’t open the Royal Mausoleum of Xianle, nor do I know how to leave.”

Lang Qianqiu said, “You are the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Xianle, how come you can’t open the Royal Mausoleum?”

After moments of dejection, Xie Lian said, “I am the crown prince that lost the country, this place does not welcome me, either.”

He had tried to enter before in order to pay homage to his parents, but every time he set foot on the Royal Mausoleum grounds, or even just in the vicinity, he would either bleed from all orifices and faint, or be hurled far away to another peak several miles away, embedded in the ground, and couldn’t climb out of the pit for several days.

No wonder blood spurted like crazy as soon as he was transferred here. Forcefully breaking through the rejection of the Royal Mausoleum with a transferring talisman, one would of course have to eat the consequence. Of the two of them, one being a descendant of the rebels and the other the son who lost the country, neither was a welcome guest here.

Xie Lian sighed, scratched his hair, and said, “To be honest, this is not good. Frankly speaking both of us are pretty much useless here. Let’s talk about why you are here instead, it’s not like everyone can just open this tomb.” Although Lang Qianqiu looked resistant, after struggling for a moment, he still told him, “It’s Crimson Rain Sought Flower. When he let me go, he gave me the Supreme Sword Fangxin and told me to come to Taicang Mountain.”

Stunned for a moment, Xie Lian asked, “City Lord Hua… … let you go a long time ago?”

Lang Qianqiu gritted his teeth, “He said that, it’s only for… … giving you face that he reluctantly let me go. Given this, I owe you a favor.”

Xie Lian roughly guessed what was going on. With Lang Qianqiu’s character, of course he would rather die than owe him any favor. Sure enough, Lang Qianqiu said, “He also said that these days there were demons causing disturbances in Taicang Mountain, and if I could come here and quell the disturbances, the favor would be repaid. So, I came.”

Despite gritting his teeth, he actually told the truth about such a shameful thing, Xie Lian was amused as well as frustrated, “You kid, why do you have to be so honest? So what if you don’t come?”

Lang Qianqiu huffed, “You think everyone is like you.” Of course he had to come, otherwise, even if the fact that he had to rely on Xie Lian’s favor to escape did not spread in the future, he would not be able to get over it in his own heart. Xie Lian said, “Well, even if you had to come, you should at least tell someone; do you have any idea what kind of mess the Upper Court is in right now?”

Lang Qianqiu warned, “Don’t lecture me.” Xie Lian had no choice but to say, “Alright. So what’s going on now? What kind of demon exactly is in Taicang Mountain? How did you end up in the Royal Mausoleum, and locked up here?”

Lang Qianqiu said, “Night-Touring Green Lantern.”

Xie Lian was shocked, “Night-Touring Green Lantern?”

Lang Qianqiu said, “It’s him. I came to Taicang Mountain, fought from the foot to the top of the mountain, dispersed all the minions guarding the mountain, and finally Night-Touring Green Lantern came out and challenged me to a fight, and set the location somewhere on the Crown Prince Summit. But somehow my eyes went dark as soon as I arrived, and I was here when I woke up.”

Xie Lian understood; Night-Touring Green Lantern probably deliberately set the location of the fight to be in the Royal Mausoleum of Xianle. Lang Qianqiu must have, just like him, collapsed as soon as he stepped on the Royal Mausoleum grounds, losing consciousness, and when he woke up, he was already in the enemy’s field, left at the mercy of the other party.

But he still couldn’t believe it, “Taicang Mountain is the territory of Night-Touring Green Lantern? He can freely open the Royal Mausoleum of Xianle? Why can he?”

Not even he, the proper crown prince, could!

Moreover, why did Hua Cheng make Lang Qianqiu come here?

There’s no point in making random guesses now. Xie Lian said, “How about lighting a palm flame first, you should still have enough spiritual energy for a light.”

Lang Qianqiu originally also planned to light a fire, but now that Xie Lian said it, he couldn’t do it, because wouldn’t lighting it mean that he followed Xie Lian’s instructions? Xie Lian promptly changed his mind, “Wait, I thought about it, let’s not light the fire. Wouldn’t it be bad if we are in the light while the enemy is in the dark?”

Sure enough, Lang Qianqiu immediately said, “No, I will light it.” As he was speaking, “whoosh”, he held up a palm flame. Who knew that once the flame was up, the two of them saw a shadow in the distance, and hairs sprang up all over their backs. Lang Qianqiu shouted, “Who!”

They saw a man in fine clothes kneeling with his back to them up ahead, kowtowing to a sarcophagus.

There was somehow another person in this burial chamber, but the two of them never noticed!

Xie Lian was also jolted at first, but after taking a closer look, he relaxed, “It’s okay – that’s not a person.”

Lang Qianqiu was suspicious, “How do you know?” Both of them were chained, and it’s impossible to see clearly from this distance. Yet Xie Lian said, “Don’t you find his silhouette very familiar?”

Lang Qianqiu was doubtful, but when he studied it, he was suddenly horrified.

It was indeed very familiar, and the more he looked at it, the more familiar it felt.

Because the silhouette of the man and Xie Lian, who sat opposite him at the moment, was identical.

Xie Lian dug out a piece of gravel from a crack in the wall, turned slightly sideways, and flicked it. The gravel hit the sarcophagus, bounced back, and hit the “man” on the forehead, “clang”, which was the sound of metal and rock. Lang Qianqiu also threw a piece of rock, this time with greater force, and the “man” fell backwards to the ground, but still maintained the stiff kneeling posture.

As expected, it was not a person, but a life-sized bronze statue. It’s just that it was carved into a kneeling position, crying and sobbing, like a bereaved dog, extremely unsettling. The most unsettling thing was the face – its face and Xie Lian’s were exactly the same. Although Xie Lian’s face would never allow such an expression.

Lang Qianqiu looked livid, “What the hell is this?”

It was obvious at first glance that this kind of statue was specially made to insult people, and it was beyond his tolerance and imagination. Xie Lian didn’t take it seriously, though, and dug out two more rocks, “We don’t have any weapons, can only use these to defend ourselves, go easy on them, and here you go!” He threw a rock over. Lang Qianqiu was about to catch it reflexively, but after glimpsing at him, he abruptly retracted the hand, “That’s not right.”

The rock dropped to the ground, bouncing and bobbing crisply, and bounced near Xie Lian. Xie Lian strained to pick it up again, tried his best to reach it but couldn’t, feeling like a cow nailed to the ground by a plow, and eventually had to give up, sitting on the ground and sighing, “What’s wrong?”

Lang Qianqiu stared at him, “How would you know that this was your bronze statue just by looking at its silhouette? It is impossible for people to recognize their own silhouette from the back.”

Because it is impossible for people to see their own silhouette from the back!

Xie Lian froze for a moment, then said, “I don’t know how to explain it to you. Anyway, I’ve seen this thing plenty of times.” Lang Qianqiu persisted, “What exactly is that thing? How would you have seen it so many times?”

Before Xie Lian could answer, a voice suddenly came from the sarcophagus, “This thing is called the ‘Crown Prince’s Atonement Statue’. He sure has seen it plenty of times!”

A heat wave rushed over, and after several “plop” “plop”s, the rows of torches stuck on the stone wall burst into flames. A dark figure with disheveled hair climbed out of the sarcophagus.

“Do you know where this ‘Crown Prince’s Atonement Statue’ came from? After the fall of the Kingdom of Xianle, this crown prince of ours was detested by people everywhere. People hated him to the core, so they built a number of kneeling statues and prostrating thresholds. The purpose, of course, is to make him stepped on and trampled by thousands and thousands of people, and never to rise again for all eternity. These things can be seen in thousands upon thousands of households, maybe even the thresholds for your temples use them, so of course he has seen them plenty of times!”

The entire burial chamber was brightly lit, but it was still frigid. Xie Lian squinted his eyes and was still adapting to the startling brightness, whereas Lang Qianqiu had already regained his composure and yelled, “Who?”

The black figure chuckled, pushed aside the black hair, exposing a ghastly face in the firelight of the burial chamber, “Who I am, can’t you tell by looking at my face?”

This was such an unbelievable sight. The man’s mouth was full of blood, evidently just now he had been hiding in the sarcophagus, feasting. Upon closer inspection, it’s even more unbelievable: his face and Xie Lian’s actually bore some resemblance!

Except that, the arch of his eyebrows peaked high, and the eyes were particularly slender, making him look quite a bit trickier. While he could be said to be handsome, one glance at his face and it’s clear that he was extremely difficult to deal with, so he also didn’t look like Xie Lian at all.

Xie Lian drew a deep breath and shut his eyes to rest as soon as he saw his face, but the other party happily came over to hug him, “Cousin Crown Prince! It’s me. Are you pleasantly surprised?”

Unfortunately, whether it was on his face or in his heart, Xie Lian didn’t experience a shred of joy at meeting this “cousin” again, merely let him rub the blood on his hands and mouth freely onto his clothes, and said coolly, “What’s so surprising? The Royal Mausoleum of Xianle can of course only be opened by royals of Xianle. Since it wasn’t me, who else could it be?”

Hearing them “cousin” here, “cousin” there, Lang Qianqiu’s eyebrows twitched, and he asked, “Are you Prince Xiao Jing, Qi Rong?” The “cousin” patted Xie Lian on the shoulder and said proudly, “Cousin Crown Prince, your disciple has actually heard of me!”

Xie Lian was speechless. Qi Rong, Prince Xiao Jing of the Kingdom of Xianle, was indeed famous, but it’s the kind of fame that was often used as the epitome of cruelty. This person had high energy and engaged in extreme behaviors, and the worst part was that, as a member of the royal family, no one dared to reprimand or discipline him. What he used to talk about the most was “Cousin Crown Prince is perfect” and “my cousin is or does such and such”. If anyone showed the slightest disrespect to Xie Lian, no matter who they were, Qi Rong would definitely beat them up in a sack. He never had any concept of respecting the elderly or caring for the young; Xie Lian once rescued from him a child no more than ten years old, who was beaten until covered in blood and barely looked human, utterly wretched. After Xie Lian ascended, Qi Rong got even worse; for example, if someone casually spat in front of the Hall of Crown Prince, he would stuff hot burning coals into their mouth.

After the fall of the Kingdom of Xianle, Xie Lian was banished to be a mortal, while Qi Rong turned completely into a lunatic. He took the lead in burning his temples, smashing his halls, and building kneeling stone statues and crown prince thresholds everywhere; Qi Rong would do anything at any cost in order to make him suffer. When it came to such behaviors from him, Xie Lian had always tolerated them for as long as he could, and tried his best to intervene if they affected others; eventually, unable to bear it any longer, he only hoped that they would never again meet. Xie Lian said with unusual roughness, “Cut the nonsense; what on earth are you up to by bringing us into the Royal Mausoleum?”

Qi Rong laughed, “Cousin Crown Prince is still the same as always, and won’t give me any face! I’m not trying to tell you off as a younger brother, but you sure have a lot of airs, it’s so hard trying to catch up with you; I’ve invited you countless times and you’ve never spared me a look, but today god knows which wind took you and you showed up at my door yourself, and I, Of course, have to try my best to entertain you. After all, we haven’t seen each other since you subdued me with your own hands; over the past few hundred years, your little brother has really missed you!”

Xie Lian said, “Skip the entertainment. Ordinary people can’t handle your kind of entertainment. Besides, I don’t remember when you had invited me.”

Qi Rong said in surprise, “What? Don’t tell me, cousin, that you weren’t the one who dispatched my underlings who were smashed to pieces.”

Once he said this, Xie Lian remembered. When he met Hua Cheng on the night of Zhongyuan, all along the way were drifting ghost fires.

Could it be that Hua Cheng helped him block those small ghosts who came looking for trouble?

But at that point, he didn’t even know Hua Cheng!

Lang Qianqiu said coldly, “Whether you want to entertain or reminisce about old times, can you let me go first?”

Qi Rong said, “How can you interrupt when adults are talking? Cousin Crown Prince, look at what kind of disciple you’ve taught, showing no respect for elders at all. A little bastard like this, it serves him right that you killed his whole family.”

Lang Qianqiu’s eyes flashed red, the chains on him jangling. “What did you say?”

Seeing the ferocious look on his face, Xie Lian said, “Don’t pay attention to him, this man is a luna…” But Lang Qianqiu said, “Get lost! Don’t talk to me!”

Choked back by him, Xie Lian really didn’t know what more to say. Being here in the Royal Mausoleum, he already felt tightness in the chest and shortness of breath, and an anger that stuck in his heart; now he had a terrible premonition and was anxious beyond words. Seeing his gloomy countenance, Qi Rong leapt over and hugged him, saying in shock, “Cousin Crown Prince! What’s wrong with you, Cousin Crown Prince? Are you okay! You must not die! What will I do if you’re dead!”

Had he not kicked Xie Lian when he charged over, and crushed several of Xie Lian’s ribs when he hugged him, Xie Lian might have sincerely believed that he cared a lot about him, instead of, like right now, throwing up blood even more violently. All of a sudden, Qi Rong slapped his thigh, “Right! I’ll show you something, I guarantee that it’ll make you happy!”

Xie Lian said decisively, “No need!” Qi Rong, however, was in high spirits; he grabbed Xie Lian’s hair and dragged him forward until he reached the kneeling statue before stopping, “Cousin Crown Prince, look! Look at the bronze statue I so carefully created, just so I can see you all the time and admire your gallant figure. What do you think, doesn’t it look quite like you? Do you like it? Are you happy? Are you moved?”

Looking at the crying bronze statue, Xie Lian was speechless, except that his face twitched a few times. He used to think that Mu Qing was caustic, but now he realized that he had really wronged Mu Qing; compared to Qi Rong, Mu Qing was as amiable as a delicate little white flower.

Seeing that he wouldn’t answer, Qi Rong became more enthusiastic, stamping on his chest as he questioned him with a hand over his own heart, “This is my sincere devotion to you, can you feel it? Tell me, are you happy? Tell me now!” By the looks of it, he would rip Xie Lian’s head off on the spot if Xie Lian dared say “no”. Seeing the enemy act so unhinged, Lang Qianqiu lost most of his anger and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sick?”

Xie Lian gasped for a few blood-foamed breaths, his hair already disheveled. Qi Rong couldn’t get a response punching or kicking him, so he could only sulkily say, “Sheesh, Cousin Crown Prince, still got the spine, huh.” Right afterwards he smiled again, “I know, Cousin Crown Prince is someone who has been around, and doesn’t think much of my little tricks. Come come come, let me show you a fresh one, I guarantee you will like it!” After he said that, Xie Lian’s scalp tightened, and it turned out that Qi Rong had dragged him and pressed him down in front of Lang Qianqiu. Caught off guard, Lang Qianqiu saw Xie Lian almost prostrating in front of him, with one side of his face pressed tightly to the ground in an extremely awkward posture; he swiftly dodged the prostration, “I don’t care what grudges you have between you, it’s none of my business, let me go at once!”

Even though he said this, no one really expected Qi Rong to release him. Unexpectedly, Qi Rong said, “Sure, I’ll let you loose!”

Hearing a continuous flow of the clunk and clatter of iron chains, Xie Lian was startled, strained to lift his dust-ridden head, and saw that the iron chain binding Lang Qianqiu suddenly extended a number of meters. Originally he could only walk five or six steps, but now he could take twenty steps.

Lang Qianqiu was also stunned. Qi Rong added, “Not only will I let you loose, I will also give you a sword!”

He reached into the sarcophagus and fished out a sword, and stabbed it into the ground with a clang. The sword blade resembled a deep pool or black jade, which was the very same one brought to Taicang Mountain by Lang Qianqiu and ended up confiscated, the Supreme Sword Fangxin.

Lang Qianqiu drew the long sword and slashed and chopped at the iron chain, sending sparks flying, yet only made a few shallow white marks. Xie Lian said, “It won’t work. This sword is too old and has long been blunt. If you keep slashing with it, it’ll break.”

Lang Qianqiu nearly broke it on the spot.

Right then, Qi Rong said, “What are you so mad for! I’m trying to help you. Lang Qianqiu, I gave you the man, and I gave you the sword, so help yourself.”

Lang Qianqiu snapped, “What? Help me? Help myself? Help myself with what?”

Qi Rong said, “Help yourself! Whether you want to beat him, or stab him a few times, do whatever you want to him. Don’t you think that I’ve done you a huge favor?”

No wonder he had let loose a section of the chain. With this range of movement, he couldn’t reach Qi Rong, but he could reach Xie Lian. How would Lang Qianqiu not understand this? “Who needs your help? I will settle the score with him myself; there is no need for help from others, let alone being your pawn for torturing people!”

Qi Rong clapped his hands, “Ha! You are certainly a worthy disciple of my saint of a cousin! But, as they say, it’s now or never; you can’t lose on this one, are you sure you don’t want to do anything?”

This was true. Lang Qianqiu recognized it himself that there’s no guarantee he could catch Xie Lian in the future. But after careful consideration, Qi Rong’s proposal was still more disgusting, so he also spoke with unusual roughness, “Whether or not I have a chance is none of your fucking business!”

Qi Rong clicked his tongue, “tsk, tsk”, and said caustically, “What a filial disciple. But, you won’t do it, doesn’t mean your master won’t do it.”

Xie Lian’s heart jerked; catching the implication of his words, he slowly looked over. Qi Rong feigned horror, “Cousin Crown Prince, why are you looking at me like this? I don’t like this look from you; if you keep looking at me like this, I might say something I shouldn’t!”

“Clunk”, he threw another sword to the ground. Looking at the sword, Xie Lian clenched his fist so tightly that his fingers still twitched after he let go. After a long while, he said calmly, “I get it.”

He stood up leaning on the sarcophagus, wiped the blood from his mouth, and said, “You just want this, don’t you? You simply want this.”

As he was speaking, Xie Lian lifted with his foot, the long sword leapt up, and he grasped it with his hand. He turned to Lang Qianqiu, “You heard it.”

Lang Qianqiu asked warily, “What did I hear?”

The look on Xie Lian’s face was actually somewhat indifferent. He said, “Since he wants to watch us fight, then let’s fight.”

Lang Qianqiu said, “I won’t… …” Before he finished speaking, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He lowered his head to look, and saw blood bursting out. It turned out that Xie Lian attacked once he spoke of fighting, and stabbed him with a thrust of the sword.

Now, Lang Qianqiu got mad, too.

There were many reasons why he had been reluctant to fight; apart from not wanting to be a joke for Green Ghost, there were also other things that he couldn’t articulate. Who knew that Xie Lian had just then asked about his well-being, as if extremely concerned, but now he suddenly turned against him and stabbed him on the spur of the moment! Even though he didn’t understand why Xie Lian acted so capriciously, how could he merely take it and not fight back? He right away swung the sword and fought back. Swords flashed and sparks flew in the burial chamber, Qi Rong was ecstatic, and shouted, “Good! Good good good! That’s it! Lang Qianqiu, hurry up! I heard that you are quite filial? Let me tell you a few more things; do you know that, this saint of a cousin of mine, the first person he killed was your old lady! Your old lady was very pretty; she was still hugging your master’s thigh and begging him before she died. As for your old man, it was even worse; he was there holding his wife’s body and bawling, then Xie Lian went over, and right in front of him, he raised the sword and sliced and diced…”

Lang Qianqiu couldn’t listen anymore. Every time Qi Rong made a remark, he would strike even harder. When he heard “sliced and diced”, he must have thought of the horrific corpses in the Gilded Palace, swooped up and one-handedly grabbed Xie Lian by the throat.

Xie Lian was lifted up by him with blood-shot eyes, his throat bones hurt tremendously, and he almost suffocated. Hot blood rushed to his head; he heard from a distance Qi Rong’s wild laugh, and in his ears Lang Qianqiu’s angry roar.

The world spun and his back shook violently, and it was Lang Qianqiu hurling him to the stone wall. Xie Lian scrambled up, coughing, instinctively wanted to resist, but then he thought: Qi Rong’s goal was simply to torture him via Lang Qianqiu’s hands. Now the two of them were in an away game disadvantage, heaven knows what other tricks Qi Rong would pull if he was denied his wish. He wouldn’t be beaten to death anyway, and it’s not like he hadn’t been beaten by Lang Qianqiu before, worst case scenario, he would be hit a few hundred more times by him, so might as well let it drag on like this and wait for a turnaround.

After thinking it through, he sprawled flat on the ground, waiting for Lang Qianqiu to come over and grab him again. Right that moment, he saw a chilling flash from the sword in Lang Qianqiu’s hand, and realized abruptly that the sword he held was Fangxin.

Xie Lian all of a sudden shuddered soundlessly, “Wait!”

But Lang Qianqiu ignored him, and thrusted the sword forward. Xie Lian rolled over, dodging awkwardly. He tried his best to look more composed, but cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and he repeated, “Wait a minute!”

Yet Lang Qianqiu said frigidly, “Now you are begging for mercy? Too late!”

Xie Lian said hoarsely, “Wait a minute! You misunderstood, I’m not begging for mercy, you can do whatever you want, and I promise to let you beat to your heart’s content. But don’t use this sword!”

Qi Rong shouted, “Too ugly, Cousin Crown Prince!”

Xie Lian’s face turned pale, and he said, “I’m serious, don’t use this sword!” He staggered back a few steps, but was tripped by the iron chain. Lang Qianqiu charged up and clutched his throat. Xie Lian suffocated until his eyes went black, but then unexpectedly burst out with great strength, struggled wildly for a while, somehow managed to seize the sword, quickly rolled over to a corner of the burial chamber, and shouted, “Stop! Don’t come over!”

Still in shock, Lang Qianqiu once again forced within five feet in front of him. His hair disheveled, Xie Lian blew out a bloody breath, and said to Lang Qianqiu, “No need to trouble you.”

Reversing the tip of his sword, he said decisively, “I will do it myself.”

Having said that, he pointed Fangxin’s tip at his own abdomen and vehemently stabbed!

With a tremendous “boom”, the entire Royal Mausoleum quaked.

Sand and rocks flew and smoke billowed. By the time the smoke and dust thinned, a stone wall had disappeared.

On second look, it didn’t disappear, but had completely collapsed.

Lang Qianqiu happened to be standing before the stone wall, and his whole body was buried underneath the wall. Fangxin in Xie Lian’s hand was blown away before it entered his abdomen. He squinted and saw amidst permeating smoke and falling rocks, a figure in red standing atop the collapsed rubble. Xie Lian blurted out, “San Lang?”

Hua Cheng’s face was handsome and his expression forbidding, cold and stern like he had never before seen; once he saw him, he appeared to ease slightly from the complete state of tension, but when he then saw the kneeling statue, he burst out a sneer, his eyes burning with fury.

Qi Rong seemed to have seen a ghost in broad daylight, his whole body jumped up, and even the pitch of his voice changed, “You!”

Hua Cheng walked forward slowly, so leisurely, as if he were merely here for a casual visit. Qi Rong said like he was facing a mortal enemy, “How did you find me? What are you up to? Who the fuck are you, to dare to break into our Ro…”

No one even saw how Hua Cheng flitted, and the next instant, he appeared behind Qi Rong.

He grabbed Qirong’s head with one hand and smashed it down, “And who the fuck are you? How dare you court death like this in front of me!”

With a loud “bang”, the kneeling statue exploded into dust, and Qi Rong’s whole head was smashed by Hua Cheng’s palm heel into the ground.

Hua Cheng crouched down, like a child grabbing a ball, pulled the bloody head out with one hand from the ground, lifting the body with it, examined it for a moment, and flashed a smile, “Tell me, who the fuck are you?”

His eyes held only violence. Having never seen Hua Cheng like this before, Xie Lian felt his demeanor right now extremely wrong, “San Lang?”

Qi Rong shouted despite vomiting blood, “Xie Lian why aren’t you stopping him! This is the Royal Mausoleum of Xianle, how dare you let outsiders run wild here!”

Hua Cheng said with a chuckle, “Ah, don’t you know? There are certain things in the world that cannot be stopped. For example, the sun sets in the west; for example, an elephant tramples an ant to death; for example – I want your fucking life!”

As he uttered the last sentence, ferocity surged across his face, and he slammed Green Ghost’s entire body down!

There was another loud noise, and Qi Rong stuck to the ground, crashing into a puddle of something worse than mud. All the while Hua Cheng maintained a proper smile, straightened up, and stomped his head into the ground nearly ten times. Although Qi Rong couldn’t die from being stomped like this, it was precisely because he couldn’t die that it was so painful, even a head made of iron couldn’t take this kind of stomping. Qi Rong screeched furiously, shaking the heavens; Xie Lian rushed up and wrapped his arms around Hua Cheng’s body as well as arms, “Forget it, forget it! Don’t be so mad, this guy is sick, what’s the point of getting real… …” But Hua Cheng turned around, pulled the sword out of his hand, and threw it to the ground with a “clang”, as if he deeply loathed this sword.

His demeanor was so abnormal that Xie Lian was worried to death, but he didn’t know what to do, and could only hold him as he smoothed his back, “Let it go let it go…”

The storm in Hua Cheng’s eyes finally settled down. Looking down at Xie Lian’s face, he let out a long sigh, “Your Highness, how did you get yourself into such a shape again.”

Xie Lian was briefly stunned, and then remembered that he had probably been beaten into a pig’s head.

He initially didn’t think it was wrong, but when he heard Hua Cheng sigh, he felt as if he had done something wrong, hastily wiped his face and also smoothed his hair. Qi Rong was finally able to pull his head out of the ground. Just as he was about to roll to the side, Hua Cheng stepped on his head, “Did I let you get up?”

Qi Rong, with his hair all disheveled, blew out a mouthful of bloody foam, and said roguishly, “Oh, Cousin Crown Prince, I truly didn’t expect you to be on such good terms with Hua Cheng! Congratulations, you’ve picked up a great backer! The way he’s going, it’s like he came here specifically to torture me to get even for you! Look at him, so very mad! But cousin, you are a bigshot official from the Upper Court of Heaven, how come you have hooked up with such a demon, aren’t you afraid of ruining your innocence? “

Xie Lian said, “He’s great. Don’t concern yourself with what kind of friends I make.”

Qi Rong said, “Apparently he was influenced by the holy light above your head and was dazzled blind. Oh no, I just realized, he seems already blind in one eye! Hahaha…”

Before he finished speaking, his eyes went dark, his cheek was in severe pain, and it was his mouth being punched crooked by Xie Lian. Xie Lian said frostily, “If you say anything like this again, it won’t be just a punch.”

Qi Rong’s eyes opened wide, like he couldn’t believe that Xie Lian would really hit him, and he cursed, “What? What did I say wrong? Isn’t he blind in one eye? This crazy fucking one-eyed dog!”

When he got to the word “blind”, Xie Lian delivered another two punches. He struck out extremely swift and fierce, and Qi Rong howled from the battering. In the end, he sprawled on the ground like a mangy dog, and pounded the ground as he roared with laughter, “Cousin Crown Prince, you hit me, you actually hit me! Good Heavens, our noble, kind, compassionate, and reluctant-to-step-on-ants Royal Highness, he gave me dirty looks, he scolded me, he also beat me, and he actually wanted to beat me to death! Outrageous, outrageous!”

He was so excited that it’s like he had taken aphrodisiacs. Xie Lian had reached the limit of his tolerance, and was about to backhand a talisman to seal his mouth, but surprisingly, Hua Cheng caught his wrist. Xie Lian was taken aback, “San Lang, why would you let him spout nonsense like this?”

But Hua Cheng said, “Gege, do you still remember, I said that I wanted you to help me with something?”

Xie Lian said, “You did say it, and I did promise you. But what does it have to do with this?”

Hua Cheng said, “Aren’t you curious why I let Lang Qianqiu go, and made him come to Taicang Mountain?”

Xie Lian looked at him. Hua Cheng continued, “Because I want him to find someone here.”

The two gazed at each other, for some reason, Xie Lian felt a little nervous and whispered, “Who… … do you want him to find?”

Hua Cheng said, “The real culprit of the Gilded Banquet Bloodbath.”

“Uh… …” Xie Lian’s face suddenly turned somewhat ashen, his eyes wandered away, and he laughed dryly, “What’s a real culprit? Could there be fake culprits… …”

Qi Rong also said, “What’s there to ask? It’s Xie Lian! The real culprit is Xie Lian!” With a stomp, Hua Cheng sneered, “You’re lying! I want to hear the truth.”

Qi Rong screamed from the stomp. At this time, Lang Qianqiu had pushed aside the collapsed stone wall and stood up. Hua Cheng lifted his hand and tossed something over. Lang Qianqiu caught it without thinking and gave a glance, “Why was my amulet on you?”

But Hua Cheng said coldly, “Is that your amulet?”

Looking carefully, Lang Qianqiu found that it was indeed not the case.

While the way the amulet was made and its runes resembled his own, it was brand new. He then touched his sleeve, and found his own one safely there. When he put the two amulets together, they looked like twins. He raised his head, “How come you have this?”

Looking at Xie Lian, Hua Cheng said leisurely, “Whoever gave it to you, gave it to me.”

Lang Qianqiu followed his gaze and understood what he meant.

Was this amulet given by Xie Lian?

Xie Lian hurriedly said, “No!” Xie Lian was about to snatch the amulet from his hand, who knew that before he could take a step forward, his body abruptly collapsed and was caught by Hua Cheng. This time he was truly astonished and angry, “You…”

He was completely unguarded towards Hua Cheng, otherwise he wouldn’t have been restrained so easily. Hua Cheng whispered, “Your Highness, pardon me.” He then said to Lang Qianqiu, “These two amulets are made by the same person. When you were eight years old, it was His Royal Highness who gave you this amulet to ward off evil spirits. The evil spirit he warded off back then, was this piece of trash I’m stepping on right now.”

Xie Lian, who had collapsed in his arms, had no choice but to almost beg, “San Lang, stop talking, please, City Lord Hua, please stop right here. It’s useless to talk about these things now… … It’s really useless!”

Holding the two amulets, Lang Qianqiu scanned the other three people in the Royal Mausoleum. In his confusion, he didn’t even know on whom he should vent his anger, and said to Xie Lian, “What on earth are you trying to do? What on earth did you do?”

Seeing him in such confusion, Qi Rong cackled, “Cousin Crown Prince, so miserable, it’s seriously miserable to be your disciple! I can’t help but take pity on him. Nevermind, don’t lie to him, tell him the truth! Tell him who in the world soaked the Gilded Banquet in blood!”

Lang Qianqiu said, “Wasn’t the Gilded Banquet… … I saw with my own eyes that day… …”

But he was no longer confident. Qi Rong said, “Let me ask you, what did you see with your own eyes?”

Lang Qianqiu said, “I saw him cut everyone’s corpses … … into pieces!”

Qi Rong said, “That’s it then. What you saw were corpses, weren’t they? What he was killing were merely corpses. I specifically left him those corpses, because I knew he had to cut them into pieces!”

Xie Lian was drenched in cold sweat, and Lang Qianqiu’s face twitched. Before he could ask further questions, Xie Lian said sharply, “You shut up!”

But Lang Qianqiu ignored him, “What do you mean by ‘had to cut them into pieces’?”

Qi Rong cracked a peculiar smile, however, “Won’t you ask first who the real culprit is?”

Lang Qianqiu suddenly had an extremely ominous premonition.

Qi Rong said, “As long as you know who the culprit is, you will know why he had to do this. Won’t you ask?”

Who was it? Who else could it be?

Why didn’t Xie Lian deny the crime? If a person was innocent, why wouldn’t he deny the crime?

He looked at Xie Lian, Qi Rong understood what he was thinking, and sneered, “Of course he dared not deny it, he could only admit it! Why? Because it’s more horrifying not to admit it!”

Lang Qianqiu said, “How much more horrifying could it be?”

Qi Rong grinned so broadly that the corners of his mouth nearly reached behind his ears. He said spitefully yet cheerfully, “It was the resentful spirits of the old Imperial City of Xianle. Did you hear? It was the resentful spirits that you had been dreaming of delivering since you were a little kid!”

Amid his sharp and demented laughs, Xie Lian also seemed to have returned to the sea of blood.

In the midst of the darting and cackling resentful spirits that filled the sky, he was the only one standing, dizzy and staggering, and could barely steady himself by holding onto the red column next to him. The only sound he could hear was Qi Rong’s wild roar before he fled. Qi Rong said, do you like it, Cousin Crown Prince? This is a birthday gift for Lang Qianqiu; this is the most suitable gift for rebels and pariahs who have dirty blood flowing in their veins!

Xie Lian was filled with despair.

What would happen if His Royal Highness found out? The souls that he had been cultivating diligently since a child to deliver, took the lives of all his family nevertheless; what would happen to him?

Xie Lian dared not think about what would happen to him, therefore, this must never happen!

He gritted his teeth, drew out Fangxin and, with a level slice of the sword, cut a corpse into a bloody mess. Cut, cut again, the more broken it was, the better; not a single corpse could be left behind.

But just as he was frantically cutting the corpses, His Royal Highness’ footsteps and shouts came from outside the palace, “Why is there no one? Where has everyone gone? Master, Master!” By this point, the person His Royal Highness called first was still his master. Then the doors swung open, and His Royal Highness beamed, “Master…”

Then, hell was reflected in his eyes.

The most terrifying bloody scene in hell was that of his master who was hacking corpses like a demon, flesh and blood from countless body parts flying everywhere under his hands, and blood splattering onto his face.

Xie Lian wanted to charge over and once again pummel Qi Rong deep into the ground, but Hua Cheng had him firmly restrained. He could only watch as Lang Qianqiu slowly turned his face towards him, with a vacant as well as disbelieving look in his eyes, as if asking him what Qi Rong was saying.

Qi Rong said, “Now you know why your master had to cut everyone into pieces, right? Not a single corpse could be left! If left, you would see the traces of being gnawed and bitten by hundreds of ghosts, and you would know that you were repaid with hatred for kindness, and that you were a big joke!”

All of a sudden, Xie Lian’s throat relaxed, and his body was freed from restraints. He charged up with two punches, his eyes blood-shot as he said, “Shut up! Still quite proud of yourself, aren’t you!”

Qi Rong’s nose bled profusely from his beating, but he still laughed hysterically, “Just beat me! But your disciple is done for! How did the bastard treat you? He nailed you into the coffin alive, and you surely deserved it!”

When he reached the word “alive”, Hua Cheng seemed to have reached the limit of his tolerance, and smashed down with a thunderous palm strike. Qi Rong was very resistant to beatings to start with, when he saw Xie Lian provoked, he became ten times more excited, and shouted tenaciously even after his face was smashed into the ground, “You deserve it! You deserve it! You deserve it!”

Every time he spoke a sentence, Hua Cheng would add another strike on the back of his head, making it an extremely bloody scene, and half of Qi Rong’s head was already gone. Noticing his eyes again suffused by violence, Xie Lian had to once more wrap his arms around him, “Forget it! San Lang!”

Suddenly, red flashed in front of his eyes, and flesh and blood splashed everywhere. Xie Lian pulled Hua Cheng out of the way, and when he took a closer look, the flesh and blood flying everywhere turned out to be the other half of Qi Rong’s head!

It was not Hua Cheng who did it, but Lang Qianqiu. He clutched Qi Rong’s neck with one hand and lifted him up, and Qi Rong still cackled strangely even without his head, “Cousin, congratulations! Look at your wonderful disciple, his wings are strong and his attacks fierce, he’s done with the training! But it didn’t hurt, not at all! Compared to the hits from Cousin Crown Prince, what are yours? Lang Qianqiu, are you hating it to death, disgusted to death right now? Hahahahahaha congratulations! Congratulations to you for finally reaching the truth you sought so diligently, that you are just a big joke!”

Before he could finish laughing, “crack, crack”, the joints from all over his body burst apart, and he exploded into a pile of dust!

Lang Qianqiu had never been a cruel and sadistic person; seeing that he was about to go astray, Xie Lian went up and caught him, “You first… …” But Lang Qianqiu shoved him, “You liar!”

Xie Lian was swung backwards by the shove, and he didn’t fall only because his back bumped into Hua Cheng who was coming up from behind. He finally managed to stand steady, and Lang Qianqiu, his eyes ablaze with a fierce and red glow, accused him, ‘You liar!’”

Xie Lian said, “I…”

Lang Qianqiu interrupted him, “You’ve been lying to me the whole time! What as long as I was sincere and as long as I worked hard, hatred could be eliminated and the world would be at peace, but in fact, they were never delivered, right? They hated me mocked me cursed me and wanted to kill me, but I did everything to show them my goodwill, and devoted myself to cultivation even after the Gilded Banquet just to deliver them! What on earth am I?”

Xie Lian said in a hurry, “No! The resentful spirits incited by Qi Rong to kill and murder at the Gilded Banquet were only a small part; they couldn’t represent the whole at all! I subdued them long ago. The souls you delivered were genuinely influenced by you… …” Blue veins surfaced on Lang Qianqiu’s forehead, and he couldn’t take it any longer, “Shut up! I don’t want to hear such words anymore; I will never believe you again! Imperial Preceptor, you’re truly … … You’re truly incredible. Did you simply use me as a tool for deliverance?!”

Upon hearing the last sentence, Xie Lian said in a trembling voice, “I… … I didn’t… …”

Lang Qianqiu said sharply, “You’re still denying it! You kept me in the dark about who the real enemy was for so many years; you lied to me yet made me grow into the kind of person you wanted! To achieve this, you’d rather be treated by me as the culprit of the Gilded Banquet Bloodbath, and impaled with forty-nine nails by me into the coffin alive! Imperial Preceptor, you’re truly incredible!”

Xie Lian couldn’t refute any sentence, because it was the truth. So, he could only say in despair, “It’s not like that… …”

This was the truth he least wanted Lang Qianqiu to know.

Under his guidance, this young man put in so much effort and sincerity to deliver the souls of the dead, yet in return, he received unmoved resentment and overwhelming curses, and even lost all his family; how could he possibly take this!

At this moment, Hua Cheng suddenly slapped away Lang Qianqiu’s hand, sneering, “He is indeed incredible, and you only know it now?”

Xie Lian didn’t even realize that it was because Hua Cheng had been supporting him that he wasn’t sitting on the ground, and he was now speaking from a very close place above him. Shielding him behind, Hua Cheng looked directly at Lang Qianqiu, “Qi Rong this piece of trash, in order to avenge the destruction of the country, had been trying hard to find ways to get rid of you, a royal of the Kingdom of Yong’an; whereas the person you treated as the murderer, whether gifting the amulet in a dream, or warding off demons with a flower branch, had been coming up with ways to remedy it. He went to Yong’an to be the Imperial Preceptor not just to teach you, but more importantly, to keep you alive! Because the other mages were all even worse trash, and helpless against the ghost that harassed you! Only your master – His Royal Highness – knew best how to deal with Qi Rong, and could save your life over and over again. Even if he ended up nailed by you into the coffin, he had to subdue Qi Rong first to save you from future troubles! If he weren’t so incredible, how could he have a disciple like you but who still ascended!”

With every sentence he spoke, Lang Qianqiu’s gaze and clenched fists shook harder still. Finally, Hua Cheng said, “I suggest that you figure out who your real enemy is, and don’t vent your anger on people who don’t deserve it! What you just obliterated was merely a clone; surely, you have realized that much.”

Amidst swirling carnage and flying debris, Lang Qianqiu cast one last glance at Xie Lian, turned around and left. Xie Lian finally gathered himself together, “Qianqiu!”

Without looking back, Lang Qianqiu flung something backwards, which was the amulet he had worn for many years. Swooshing into flames by itself, the amulet was instantly consumed by fire in mid-air without a single thread left.

Hua Cheng said, “Don’t bother chasing him, let him have some quiet time by himself. He won’t listen to anything at a time like this.”

How could Xie Lian not understand this. He stood for a good while before saying quietly, “Why do you have to do this?”

A burst of anger surged up, and he didn’t know whom its target was.

Hua Cheng reached out a hand, as if wanting to put it on his shoulder, but Xie Lian waved it away, “Originally, he only had to hate me! Hate if he wanted; do you know how many people hate me? It makes no difference with one more! Now, great, he knows that the very individuals he worked so hard for were all cursing him! Do we really have to make him think that everything I taught him in the past was fake and empty, and that I lied to him?”

Hua Cheng didn’t say anything. Xie Lian all of a sudden felt unbearable.

Everything was unbearable. It was hard to bear himself who lost control, and even harder to bear Hua Cheng who looked at him quietly like this. Burying his face in his hands, he said, “Go away, please.”

Hua Cheng didn’t move; Xie Lian cradled his head, “Go away, please! I’m begging you, can’t you please hurry up and leave!”

Hua Cheng only then said, “Alright.”

He appeared to have left without a sound.

Xie Lian finally felt better, but he didn’t know what else to do. He flung his arm vehemently, meaning to hit something to vent out what was pent-up in his chest, but instead flung out from his sleeve a small golden object.

Watching it fly out of the hole of the collapsed section of the Royal Mausoleum and fall straight down the cliff, Xie Lian was startled; thinking to himself “shoot”, he instinctively leapt down with outstretched hands. Unexpectedly, he was pulled back by a hand when he was mid-air. As soon as Xie Lian’s feet touched the ground and he saw the person, he blurted out, “San Lang, the flower is gone!”

Hua Cheng wrapped an arm around his waist, “It’s fine if it’s gone; it wasn’t anything valuable anyway.”

The trace of golden color had already disappeared, yet his waist was held tighter. Xie Lian panicked, “I can’t lose it, that’s… …” That was the very flower that Hua Cheng had won in the competition and offered to him earlier at the temple fair.

He broke out in a cold sweat, his soul finally dragged back; only then did he realize belatedly that at some point, Hua Cheng had surprisingly returned. Recalling how poorly he had treated Hua Cheng just moments ago, he said in a daze, “San Lang, you… … didn’t leave.”

Hua Cheng didn’t respond. Remembering what excessive things he had just said, Xie Lian felt even more guilty and dared not speak. After a good while, Hua Cheng finally sighed softly, “Gege doesn’t want me, so why do you want the flower I sent?” Xie Lian immediately said, “I didn’t not want you! Absolutely not.”

Hua Cheng said, “Then gege just asked me to leave.”

“Same as before. It was no use even when I yelled, you just left me and ran off.”

With his arm still wrapped around Xie Lian, Xie Lian could feel the slight vibrations from his chest as Hua Cheng spoke, bringing about an inexplicable softening, numbing sensation, softening him into befuddlement. And with him putting it like this, Xie Lian then felt that he had been extremely wronged, and that he himself had been extremely excessive. He whispered, “I’m sorry… …”

Hua Cheng said, “I’m not trying to make Your Highness apologize.”

It was precisely because of this that Xie Lian felt an even stronger need to apologize.

He let out a sigh, and Hua Cheng said, “My fault.”

Xie Lian was confused, “Why is it your fault?”

Hua Cheng said, “My original idea was to keep gege company while your injuries heal, and let Lang Qianqiu find Green Ghost on his own. Qi Rong that piece of trash can’t keep anything to himself, with some back and forth, the truth will definitely come out. But I didn’t expect gege to still have the Echoing Compass Talisman on you and locate Lang Qianqiu, I let you get sent here and end up like this.”

Xie Lian sighed, “What does it have to do with you? It was I that messed up.”

Hua Cheng said, “You did nothing wrong. If you hadn’t shouldered the blame, the world would have been in utter chaos and there would have never been peace amid new grievances and old resentments. A single life in exchange for generations of peace, what did you do wrong? It was I who acted far more ruthlessly than you. Trust me, you did nothing wrong.”

Xie Lian sat on the ground, and finally whispered after a long time, “I just felt that, it shouldn’t have been like this.”

Hua Cheng listened quietly. Xie Lian murmured, “I just felt that, a person who had offered their kindness should not have ended up like this. I was afraid that he couldn’t stand it, afraid that he would change. I just… …”

What he himself had suffered enough, he couldn’t bear to also let others suffer it.

As Imperial Preceptor Fangxin, he had neither a past nor name, taking the blame for the Gilded Banquet Bloodbath would only make Lang Qianqiu feel betrayed by one individual. However, if it was the resentful spirits that Lang Qianqiu had endeavored to deliver who soaked the Gilded Banquet in blood, this would represent the ultimate disillusionment.

Therefore when Qi Rong hinted at him, Xie Lian could only yield to the threat, and stab Lang Qianqiu with a sword, thereby provoking Lang Qianqiu to retaliate wildly.

But Hua Cheng said, “But you can’t cover up for him with that fig leaf forever. He needs to know what the real world is like after all.”

He sat down next to Xie Lian, “Besides, since you value him so much, why can’t you trust him?”

Xie Lian lifted his face from the elbows. Hua Cheng said calmly, “Believe that since he is the person you chose, he will not lose himself in resentment. Even if he once wished to destroy the entire world, he will ultimately do what he should.”

Watching him, Xie Lian said abruptly, “I’ve thought about it, you may as well leave.”

Hua Cheng asked, “Why?”

Xie Lian said incoherently, “Actually… … I am the God of Plague. Being close to me will bring you misfortune, so let’s not be friends anymore.”

Looking at him, Hua Cheng let out a sigh, “Gege, you are being silly.”

Xie Lian insisted, “Haven’t you noticed? Ever since we met, you’ve been bringing me good luck, but I’ve been consistently bringing you bad luck.”

Hua Cheng said, “No.”

Xie Lian said, “I’m serious. If this continues, I’m afraid one day… …”

Suddenly, he bumped into someone’s chest.

Hua Cheng pressed him firmly against his own heart, saying almost gently, “Your Highness, it’s not your fault.”

He said, “You have tried your best, no one can do better than you. I know.”

Ghosts had no heartbeat, so Xie Lian couldn’t hear any. However, he was certain that no one had ever offered him such a gentle yet firm embrace.

It’s unclear how much time had passed before Xie Lian, from a state of half asleep, opened his eyes and said, “Someone is here.”

Hua Cheng only then let go of him. Xie Lian finally realized how long he had been resting in his arms, comforted by him; his whole body was stiff, and he didn’t know whether on earth he should feel embarrassed. Yet Hua Cheng looked perfectly at ease, “Now they come so fast.”

As a white-clad lady cultivator walked out leisurely, her eyes lit up, and she said, “I’ve found him, His Royal Highness is here!”

Right afterwards she saw Hua Cheng beside Xie Lian, and swiftly said, “Crimson Rain Sought Flower! Wow what are you doing? You you you, don’t mess with His Royal Highness. Your Paradise Manor was burnt by me by accident, if you have any grievances, we can talk about it, us Upper Court of Heaven can compensate you; even if others can’t afford it, this Wind Master can afford it. Just let His Royal Highness go, and everything will be easy!”

Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he was very grateful, “Lord Wind Master doesn’t need to be so worried, in fact… …”

He wanted to explain that Hua Cheng did not come seeking blame against him for Paradise Manor, but Shi Qingxuan furtively gave him a look, as if telling him to keep quiet. Hua Cheng also didn’t refute, and only said, “I haven’t settled the score of Jun Wu planting a mole under my control yet, what grounds do you have to negotiate terms with me?”

Xie Lian understood. Shi Qingxuan had already noticed that Hua Cheng bore no ill will, but on the surface she had to pretend that Hua Cheng broke into the Heavenly Capital to seek blame, so as to prevent people with an agenda from spreading rumors that he illicitly absconded. Hua Cheng understood her intention, and casually cooperated. But Xie Lian was unwilling to go along with this, “Forget it, Your Lordship, stop acting. San Lang broke into the Heavenly Capital in order to save me, he had good intentions, why bother covering up?”

But Shi Qingxuan smiled, “No more acting. Those two sentences I’ve already passed on to the Communication Array. You don’t understand, even good intentions will eventually turn into malicious ones when it’s passed around, better off for it to be malicious from the beginning.”

Hua Cheng quirked an eyebrow, “Smart person.”

Shi Qingxuan said proudly, “That’s right. Otherwise, how could this Wind Master hang around in the Upper Court of Heaven?”

Xie Lian said, “Your Lordship, why are you here?”

Shi Qingxuan, “I was worried about you, and two junior officials from the Middle Court happened to ask me for help, saying that they couldn’t find you, so I helped look for you; it cost me a pile of rare treasures, but we finally found you! Look, here they come.”

The sound of footsteps approached once again, and two young men appeared, being precisely Nan Feng and Fu Yao. When they saw Hua Cheng, their faces darkened in unison. “Why is he here again?”

– And one step ahead of them. Hua Cheng burst out a snicker, and Xie Lian said, “You don’t need to be so nervous, either.”

Shi Qingxuan greeted warmly, “Yes, we are all together! But it can’t be helped if they are nervous; who let you look like you were bullied and had been crying for three days and three nights straight? I was shocked when I came in, too.”

“Uh… …” Xie Lian sprung up, “I didn’t shed a single tear!”

Hua Cheng said, “I can attest to it.”

Shi Qingxuan said, “So everyone is happy! I saw Qianqiu also just now. But what’s the matter? His expression was terrifying, he stormed off without saying a word, and wouldn’t stop even when I called. I have never seen him like this before… …”

Xie Lian sighed softly, and Hua Cheng said, “He went to find the Gilded Banquet Bloodbath’s real culprit.”

Everyone looked jolted, “The real culprit?”

Shi Qingxuan was delighted despite not knowing the details, “Sure enough, there is some misunderstanding; this Wind Master truly has a knack for predicting things. Now you won’t be confined even if you go back.”

Nan Feng just said, “Good!” He seemed greatly relieved, and his wariness significantly faded. Xie Lian shook his head, “Do you know? The real culprit is Night-Touring Green Lantern, also known as Qi Rong.”

Nan Feng and Fu Yao were both startled, “Qi Rong??”

Xie Lian looked at the two of them, “Do you guys know him?”

Shi Qingxuan looked at the three of them, “Do you guys know him?”

Nan Feng, “I heard that … … he was a nobleman from the Kingdom of Xianle.”

Fu Yao added, “A tasteless but poisonous nobleman.”

Xie Lian admitted with difficulty, “My cousin… …”

Shi Qingxuan was astonished, “That’s incredible.”

Xie Lian felt a headache coming on at the mere thought of him, “Ah, he is really incredible.” He had never seen anyone crazier than him. But Shi Qingxuan said, “I am not saying that he is incredible, I am saying that you are incredible. Your Highness, look, Feng Xin and Mu Qing are your former little bros, Qianqiu is your former disciple, Green Ghost is your cousin bro, Blood Rain Sought Flower is your fast-friends-at-first-sight bro, and this Wind Master is your… … good old bro! Up to Heaven and down to Earth, isn’t this incredible?”

Xie Lian was almost forced into a burst of laughter by the strained rhyme of the series of “bro bro bro bro”. He mused that the Wind Master certainly did resemble his namesake; as soon as the wind arose, the gloom would be dispersed. Hua Cheng arched an eyebrow, as if not exactly approving of the statement. Fu Yao, on the other hand, seemed to take significant issue with the term “little bro”, and said, “Fast friends at first sight, not necessarily so fast! Your Royal Highness, please make haste and return if there’s nothing much left. A lot of people in the Upper Court have been waiting for you to return and explain what happened.”

Hua Cheng laughed out loud. Fu Yao asked, “What are you laughing about?”

Hua Cheng said, “Laughing at you for being so roundabout. You’d simply rather His Highness not associate with demons like me, why don’t you dare to say it directly? So you are aware that you have neither the right nor the standing, aren’t you?”

Nan Feng said disgustedly, “His Royal Highness is innocent, you… …”

Shi Qingxuan suddenly went “hey” and bumped their elbows.

That moment, Nan Feng’s expression looked ten thousand times more horrified than if he had seen a ghost. He right away launched into a string of loud curses, and broke down, “I… … ! What are you up to!”

Fu Yao also instantaneously retreated a great distance away. It turned out that what Shi Qingxuan had just used to bump their arms was actually the chest. This bump really terrified the two children, yet Shi Qingxuan flicked the whisk, exuding an otherworldly chic, making it impossible to tell what kind of unseemly thing she had just done. She said, “I haven’t asked what you are up to yet; are you so eager to fight? Haven’t you seen that His Royal Highness and Crimson Sought Flower are cozy, why are you so hostile?”

Nan Feng’s face was livid as he hid in the human-shaped hole in the wall that he had knocked out, “Don’t do this kind of thing again! Don’t do it again! Do you hear me?”

Fu Yao also said coolly from a great distance away, “Could Your Lordship please respect yourself, and don’t ruin my cultivation.”

Seeing them both recoil from her as if from snakes and scorpions, Shi Qingxuan, who was very confident in her flower-like beauty and jade-tree-standing-tall-in-the-wind style, couldn’t help but feel dejected, “Fine fine fine. You didn’t lose anyway, what’s with the attitude?” Shi Qingxuan appeared to feel that she had lost face, so she transformed back into the male form.

Xie Lian picked up Fangxin from a pile of rubble, and the group exited the cave. Shi Qingxuan, with hands on his hips, said, “This mountain has been used by Green Ghost as the new lair, with demons and ghosts roaming everywhere, let’s call a few martial gods here to clean it up.”

Hua Cheng nodded, “With the efficiency of the Upper Court of Heaven, it can probably be dealt with by next next month.”

Fu Yao humphed, “You make it sound like you can finish it in an instant.”

Hua Cheng took out an umbrella from nowhere. The surface of the umbrella was as red as maple and as vibrant as fire, but Xie Lian knew that this umbrella was remarkable, it could pass through a sea of fire or a mountain of swords, and protect against a foul wind or a bloody rain. Hua Cheng held the umbrella one-handedly over himself and Xie Lian, casting a crimson hue on their cheeks. Xie Lian was mildly surprised, “San Lang, what’s this about?” Turning to face him, Hua Cheng shifted the umbrella towards Xie Lian, and grinned, “Wait. The sky is about to change.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a heavy rain poured from the sky!

The rain came abruptly, clattering and pattering Xie Lian into confusion. But he stayed safely under Hua Cheng’s umbrella and didn’t get a single drop. Nan Feng and Fu Yao, however, weren’t so fortunate; the two young men were caught off guard and drenched by the rain from head to toe.

Even more unfortunately, with the rain being blood-colored, they turned into two bloody red men; all over their body, only the whites of their wide-open eyes remained white. Shi Qingxuan, who happened to be standing beneath a tree, also escaped unscathed, but he was so stunned that he forgot even to flick the whisk.

The bloody rain left as quickly as it arrived. Finally catching on, the two young men wiped their faces, but they made no improvement and remained scarlet. Xie Lian said, “This… …”

Hua Cheng put away the umbrella and laughed, “An instant. How about that?”

In the space of five words, he took a few leisurely steps, and was already quite a distance away. Xie Lian had been rummaging for a cloth in his sleeves, whereas Shi Qingxuan plucked a few handfuls of white hair from the whisk, and donated them to Nan Feng and Fu Yao who had fallen into silence. As soon as Hua Cheng left, he immediately noticed that a person was missing from behind him, turned around and chased a few steps, “San Lang! Are you going back to Ghost City?”

Hua Cheng looked back, “Now that the matter has been resolved, you must be going back to the Heavenly Capital.”

He always arrived when Xie Lian needed him most and left when it was most appropriate.

Hua Cheng said half-jokingly, “However, if gege wants to follow me, I also welcome it.”

Seeing his playful look, Xie Lian smiled, “Let me see you off.”

The two walked side by side, and Xie Lian said, “Next time I’ll go to Ghost City and carry bricks for you to rebuild Paradise Manor.”

Hua Cheng said, “I’m not missing brick carriers; I’m missing something else.”

Xie Lian asked, “What’s missing?” But Hua Cheng smiled and said nothing.

After walking for a while, Xie Lian spoke again, “San Lang, why do you seem to know early on that the culprit of the Gilded Banquet Bloodbath is Qi Rong?”

Hua Cheng said, “I didn’t necessarily know it was him who did it; I just knew it couldn’t have been you.”

Xie Lian put away the smile, “Haven’t you ever thought that I could indeed be the culprit? How do you know I didn’t want to do this?”

Hua Cheng said, “So what if you wanted to do this? You wouldn’t do it. When I was young, I thought about killing everyone in the world everyday, but you never saw me actually do it.”

Upon hearing the latter half of the sentence, Xie Lian could neither laugh nor cry, thinking to himself what a unique childhood. He then clamped his mouth shut, and only said after a long pause, “Actually, I –”

Hua Cheng said, “Just say it, it’s okay.”

After moments of hesitation, Xie Lian still said, “Actually, I think, living in this world, it’s best not to place too much hope in others.”

Hua Cheng let out an “Oh”, and asked, “What do you mean by ‘placing too much hope’?”

Xie Lian said, “Don’t idealize someone too much. If you get to know them well, eventually you will find that this person is far from what you have hoped for, then you will be very disappointed.”

Yet Hua Cheng said, “I don’t care whether or not others are disappointed. But for some people, the fact that a certain someone exists in this world, is hope in itself.”

Even though he didn’t make any clear specification in his remark, as if it was just a random retort, Xie Lian’s heart was suddenly buoyed up, and floated.

Pausing in his steps, he all of a sudden asked, “San Lang, who on earth are you?”

Hua Cheng also paused in his steps and looked back at him. Meeting his gaze, Xie Lian said earnestly, “You know me like the back of your hand, you know a lot of things, and maybe more. I keep feeling that you are an old friend. But I honestly can’t remember when I have seen you before.”

Someone like Hua Cheng, if you met him once, you would never forget. Xie Lian had never broken his head and lost his memory, there was no reason for him not to remember.

Gazing at Hua Cheng, he asked in confusion, “Who exactly are you?”

Hua Cheng didn’t answer, only faintly smiled. Xie Lian realized at once that this question was extremely inappropriate. The real names of ghosts were all secrets, how could they be casually revealed to others? He hastily said, “I’m sorry, please don’t mind it, I just asked offhandedly. It doesn’t matter who you are. It’s enough that you are you.”

Hua Cheng dragged his voice, “Who knows? You will know in the future.”

This was a sentence Xie Lian had used to answer him before, now shoved back at him, and Xie Lian could hardly laugh or cry. After a pause, he said slowly, “Thank you anyway for what happened with Qianqiu. I don’t know which is the right thing to do, but maybe this way isn’t so bad after all.”

But Hua Cheng said calmly, “You’re overthinking it.”

Xie Lian was taken aback, and Hua Cheng said, “Just do it.”

Having said that, he turned around and waved his hand.

Soon after, the figure in red disappeared without a trace in front of the mountain, under the moon, and in Xie Lian’s eyes. There was only one dainty white flower, drifting down at leisure.