That scimitar was shaking more and more uncontrollably. Xie Lian was at a loss on what to do, and gently stroked down along the spine of the blade, "I'm sorry I'm sorry, I didn't see it was you, I won't do it again."
After stroking it a few times, E'ming squinted its eye, and the trembling finally stopped. Xie Lian then asked, "Where's your master?"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind, "Pay it no mind."
Xie Lian looked back and immediately rose to his feet, surprised and delighted, "San Lang? Why have you come?"
Behind him was a youth who approached easily with an air of playful arrogance. It was Hua Cheng. He had tied his black hair up into a crooked ponytail again, dressed in a white tunic, the red outer robe tied around his waist, his sleeves rolled up, revealing that pale white but firm arms as well as the tattoo on one of them. As he walked, the little silver bells on his boots chimed, sounding quite mellow, looking very much like a strapping young lad of the village, yet exceedingly carefree. A piece of weed grass hung from his lips and he smiled at Xie Lian, "Gege."
Xie Lian had originally planned on visiting Hua Cheng to give his proper thanks after settling the two children, but Hua Cheng himself showed up instead. Lazily, Hua Cheng came next to him and pulled out that silver scimitar from the ground with just one hand, looking it over, then lifted to rest it on his shoulder. "Gege is busy here, there's no need to trouble you to make a trip over there, so I came over myself. You also forgot this."
There was actually a bamboo hat carried on his back, and he removed it to give it to Xie Lian. This was forgotten at the mansion of that wealthy merchant, and Xie Lian was slightly taken aback, then immediately said, "I completely forgot about it, thanks for going through the trouble."
Just as the words left his mouth, he suddenly remembered what he told Hua Cheng after that something that had happened the night before: "I'm looking for my bamboo hat, my bamboo hat is missing". It was nonsense uttered out of confusion but Hua Cheng actually went and found the bamboo hat for him, and Xie Lian felt a wave of embarrassment, afraid that Hua Cheng was going to tease him for it. Fortunately, Hua Cheng didn't even mention the incident, and changed the subject with a smile. "Gege picked up two more kids?" He said as he patted Gu Zi's head, ruffling his hair into a mess. Gu Zi seemed to be scared of him, rushing to hide behind Xie Lian. Xie Lian chided, "Don't worry, this gege is a good person."
However, Hua Cheng said, "Nah, I'm a very bad person." Although that's what he said, still he flicked his hand and a tiny silver butterfly was flipped out of his sleeve, fluttering its little wings, flying errantly towards Gu Zi. Gu Zi's inky little eyes were bulged, staring at the tiny silver butterfly with eyes unmoving, and finally he reached out to try to catch it in spite of himself.
With that, his guard against Hua Cheng was greatly dropped. Then, Hua Cheng nonchalantly swept his eyes over Lang Ying, but his gaze was significantly different. When he looked at Lang Ying, his eyes were cold and sharp, unkind and unfriendly. Lang Ying lowered his head and also shrank back behind Xie Lian anxiously.
Xie Lian held the bamboo hat in hand and said, "If you're gonna come, just come. What are you doing cleaning Puqi Shrine?"
"It's nothing more than some house cleaning, don't you think everything feels so much more refreshing now that all the trash is cleared out?"
"…" Xie Lian remembered the missing Qi Rong, and wondered did Hua Cheng actually throw him out like he's garbage? Just then, there was a sudden wail from behind Puqi Shrine, "HUA CHENG YOU FUCKER GO TO HELL AND GET BOILED IN A POT OF FRYING OIL! MURDER! HUA CHENG IS COMMITTING GHOST MURDER!"
Gu Zi cried, "Dad!" And his two little legs ran, rushing on out over, and Xie Lian hastily followed too. There was a small creek behind Puqi Shrine, and it was where he usually did laundry and washed rice. At that moment, Qi Rong was also dunked in the water, his body bound tightly by Ruoye, desperately keeping his head above water, roaring with all of his might, "WON'T GET OUT, I REFUSE TO GET OUT! I WILL STAY IN THIS BODY UNTIL IT DIES! I WON'T SURRENDER!!"
Hua Cheng spat out that piece of weed grass, "You take yourself for some kind of a hero? Useless trash."
Xie Lian explained woefully, "... captured him a few days ago on some mountain. He's possessing someone else and won't come out. The man is still alive, so if we forcibly rip out a soul, the flesh won't survive. Honestly... does San Lang have any ideas what we can do?"
Hua Cheng replied, "Hm? You want ideas on how to make him suffer a fate worse than death? There's plenty."
That was obviously a threat. Qi Rong cussed, "THE TWO OF YOU! BROKEN POT MATCHING A ROTTEN COVER! HEARTS OF SNAKES AND SCORPIONS! GUrglegurglegurgle..." He hadn't finished before he was submerged in the creek again. Although whenever Xie Lian saw him he'd remember how his mother's corpse was dissolved into ashes and would be filled with anguish, still that body belonged to another and so it must be conserved. Thus, he fished Qi Rong up from the creek and dragged him to the front door of Puqi Shrine.
Qi Rong hadn't eaten for a full day and night, so his stomach was shriveled from hunger, and after having been bullied by Hua Cheng, he was full of rage but no energy. He wolfed down the meat pies Gu Zi snuck back from that wealthy merchant's house, leaving not a single crumb, appearing truly wretched and pathetic. Xie Lian shook his head and noticed that Qi Rong's limbs were stiff, probably from some spell casted by Hua Cheng and was petrified, so he called out, "Ruoye, return."
Ruoye had spent days binding Qi Rong and was already feeling extremely aggrieved, so with the call it immediately whooshed over, and wrapped itself in loops around Xie Lian's whole body like a white snake. Xie Lian pushed open the door and comforted it as he did so, untying it from his person, "Alright, alright. Pll give you a bath in a bit, don't feel bad. Go play on the side."
Thus, Ruoye dragged its bandages and dejectedly floated to the side. Hua Cheng also casually tossed E'ming, and E'ming itself assumed a dignifying pose to land and stood. On the wall, Ruoye suddenly discovered a silver, shimmering scimitar leaning next to it, and very carefully approached. That eye on the hilt of the scimitar E'ming also twirled and looked over, its eye calculating. Fang Xin somberly did not move, making no show of acknowledging anything.
Xie Lian had been spending these past days studying up on cooking and felt he might have gained quite the insight, his heart full of confidence. Wanting to show off his skills and host Hua Cheng properly, Xie Lian kept him for the meal, and naturally Hua Cheng agreed to it cheerfully. When they returned from town Xie Lian had bought a bunch of groceries, and he piled them all on the altar. Picking up the butcher knife, he chopped and sliced, clinking and clanking the pots. That altar table could be used as a desk, a kitchen island, and also a dining table; cutleries could be set, kids could all sit around, truly a table of a hundred uses. Hua Cheng leaned against the wall and watched for a bit, but finally he couldn't watch anymore and spoke up, "Do you need help?"
Xie Lian was at the height of his fervor and dismiss him, "No need. Just Ruoye's help is plenty." Then he threw out a few bundles of firewood that hadn't yet been chopped into kindle. PA! Like an attacking viper, that white silk bandage whipped the logs and the chunks of wood that were thick as thighs were instantly chopped into thin sticks of kindle.
Having shown off its skills, Ruoye arched into an exaggerated, odd form in front of E'ming and Fang Xin, as if demonstrating its strength and beauty. The demonstration of beauty didn't last long before Xie Lian moved again and placed a plate on the ground then threw over a big cabbage. Ruoye was just about to strike when suddenly, E'ming's eye flashed, and it flew off the ground, whirling out shimmers of silver light. Leaves of the cabbage filled the air, and when it was about to land on the ground, it had already been thinly and cleanly chopped into a plateful. Xie Lian squatted down to pick up the plate and praised when he saw the cabbage, "Amazing. You cut better than Ruoye!"
Instantly Ruoye pressed itself against the wall, looking like someone backing away and had nowhere left to run after having touched the wall. E'ming however, started twirling its eye crazily, appearing fully cocky and content, like it had reached a state of sainthood. Between the sabre and the bandage, Fang Xin still remained unmoved. Xie Lian hadn't noticed the little battle between the spiritual devices at all, and was focused on throwing all sorts of different veggies and seasonings into the pot. He turned to ask, "By the way, how long are you staying for this time, San Lang?"
Hua Cheng had been watching his actions the entire time and had looked like he wanted to advise him of something at first, but in the end said nothing. He smiled, "Depends. If there's nothing going on over there, Pll stick around here and play for a few days. If I hang around, pray gege won't mind." Xie Lian hastily said, "Why would I? As long as you don't mind my place being a bit cramped."
Chattering and blabbering, Xie Lian told Hua Cheng all about how the female ghost was throwing blames, causing troubles the moment she arrived at the Great Martial Hall. Of course, he refrained from mentioning how he himself was accused and the whole business with dripping blood on Yan Zhen. Then, he remembered Jun Wu saying Hua Cheng had planted a spy in the heavenly realm, so maybe Hua Cheng already knew everything? Fortunately, whether or not he knew, he made no show of it, and only looked contemplative. Xie Lian chatted, "San Lang, who do you think the father of that fetus spirit is?"
Hua Cheng looked up and smiled faintly, "Hard to say. Maybe, that Golden Belt really was just something she picked up off the ground."
A vague response like this wasn't at all like Hua Cheng's usual style, and Xie Lian was puzzled. But soon, a bubbling pot robbed away his focus.
After two incense time, he opened the cover to the pot.
Usually, all Qi Rong ate were offerings to Xie Lian from the village people, and although it was nothing more than steamed buns and pickles, noodles and eggs, wild fruits or such others, at least they were food fit for humans. The moment the pot cover opened and the smell of its contents wafted outside Puqi shrine, he started cussing deafeningly, "GOD FUCKING XIE LIAN! BLACK HEARTED SNOW LOTUS! YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST KILL ME WITH THE BLADE RIGHT NOW! SO ACTING ALL GOOD FISHING ME OUT WAS TO MAKE ME SUFFER THIS TORTURE?! I'VE SEEN THROUGH YOU!!"
Before opening the pot cover Xie Lian was full of confidence. Now, he started doubting himself again. He tried his best and exerted so much effort but resulted in such a pot, Hua Cheng was still watching on the side, whatever should he do? Was he really going to make Hua Cheng eat something like this??? Listening to Qi Rong screaming bloody murder, Xie Lian was becoming even more demoralized. Sensing Hua Cheng crossing his arms about to go out, Xie Lian raised his hand to stop him, "Nevermind him."
He sighed, filling a bowl with the thing from the pot, and said to Hua Cheng, "Don't eat anything from this pot. Just wait for me for a second," Then he went out, ushering Gu Zi and Lang Ying to go get a bucket of water, sending them away from the premises, before squatting down with that bowl, looking pleasant and airy, "Little cousin, it's time to eat."
Qi Rong was both shocked and terrified, "WHAT. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING?! XIE LIAN I'M WARNING YOU, I'VE A LIFE IN MY HANDS, YOU BETTER THINK THIS THROUGH! WHOEVER THE HELL CAN EAT THAT SHIT WILL BREAK FREE FROM THE BONDAGE OF THE THREE REALMS, FLEE THE DHARMA WHEEL, NO ONE..."
He trailed off when he saw Hua Cheng, who was inside the shrine, ladle himself a full bowl, sitting down next to the altar table, and taking a bite, his face unchanging, steady like the mountains. Qi Rong was shaken to the core. A thought he had never had flashed through his mind-
As expected of a Supreme!
Xie Lian pressed the bowl against his face and said calmly, "It's fine too if you don't want to eat it. If you come out."
That was never going to happen. Qi Rong bit down his teeth tightly. However, Xie Lian squeezed his cheeks and forced open his mouth, dumping the contents of the bowl straight down his throat.
The next second, a sharp scream shot through to the skies above Puqi Shrine.
The bowl in Xie Lian's hand sat empty, and Qi Rong who was on the ground bore a twisted, scrunched up face, even his voice was hoarse like an old man wasted away, groaning, "..I...hate..."
Seeing that even with a bowl forced down Qi Rong still refused to come out, Xie Lian didn't know whether if he should be glad or anguished. Although he really wanted to force Qi Rong out as soon as possible, but since he didn't succeed, it almost seemed like it proved what he cooked with all his heart wasn't that bad after all, and maybe it's even something worth being happy about. Turning around, he saw Hua Cheng also had a bowl in his hand, eating leisurely, looking his way as he ate, and that bowl was almost empty. Xie Lian's eyes lit up and he rose to his feet, "San Lang, you finished?"
He thought he flopped the meal at first and was too embarrassed to offer it to Hua Cheng, but who knew Hua Cheng himself went and started eating. Hua Cheng chuckled, "Yea."
"..." Xie Lian prodded very carefully,..."What did you think?"
Hua Cheng slurped up the soup too and smiled, "Not bad. A little thick. Try making it a little lighter next time."
Xie Lian sighed a breath of relief and, nodded, "Alright, I'll remember that. Thanks for your feedback."
Qi Rong: "UUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHH-!!"