As Hsien Lian stepped into the main hall, different voices were heard. He felt like a little kid filled with a room of adults. He felt so small, but that didn't stop him from continuing to move to the thin door. He could clearly hear the voice talking, though Hsien Lian couldn't recognise it. It wasn Fang Hai, nor was it Tao Wu or Jing Mei. Maybe it was another royal, or perhaps not. Hsien Lian couldn't tell.
"..... dangerous. We all know what happened when we let him into Heaven the last time." The voice grumbled out, talking with brief huffs. Hsien Lian didn't want to walk in. It didn't seem like an appropriate time. It didn't seem like something Hsien Lian should be listening to. But he does so anyway, crouching down to listen closer.
"Chao Ju," Chao Ju? No way, that can't be. Chao Ju was practically Hsien Lian's idol. The man was amazing, and something that the young prince could look up too, as well as relate. Chao Ju started the same as Hsien Lian, poor and without a family. But still the young man got permission from the emperor to make a village in Southern China. It was amazing and an incredible accomplishment.
".... you have a say on this? You have been the most silent out of all of us." A female voice prompts. At first, no one said anything, but soon another voice spoke up. "Well, a young ghost somehow made it from the Ghost Realm. Fought some of our best gods and won, and is now tormenting the Human Realm? He's powerful, too powerful for most of us. If we can't take him away, we must kill him."Chao Ju reasons.
Hsien Lian couldn't be more confused on what the different Heaven's Dignities were talking about, but Hsien Lian didn't mind. Chao Ju's words caught the boy's attention, though. They were talking about a ghost from the Ghost Realm, that's mostly all that Hsien Lian knew. The ghost seemed bad, that's it. But did the ghost deserve death, well Hsien Lian didn't think so.
"Chao Ju, we don't know if he's actually tormenting the humans though. That was just one person. He sounds more like the Pied Piper or Robinhood to me. Steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Should his morals be in check, yes, but I see this as no issue for murder." Fang Hai rationalized. Two sides, that's what Hsien Lian heard.
Hsien Lian couldn't pick a side, as both were mutually on the same level. Fang Hai was right, this wasn't as serious as it had previously seemed. The ghost wasn't killing anyone, nowhere near it. Instead he was just helping in his own way. Helping people who are in a bad situation. That didn't seem like a bad thing, nowhere near bad enough to give a death .
However, on Chao Ju's side, it is wrong to steal in general. And stealing from the rich was equally as bad. After all, the family might seem rich, however it is very much a struggle to feed their children. Or maybe they are rich, but started off just as the poor did. That would seem terrible to take someone else's hard earned gold. But, in the end, Hsien Lian agreed about one specific thing.
The ghost shouldn't be killed.
Before the young Heaven's Deity could even think about what he would say, he slid open the thin door, stepping inside.
There, twelve different Melee Gods stood in a lengthy table, enough to fit all of them respectfully. Some had their hands on the table, some did not. They all looked serious, but in different ways. Some were more annoyed by the interruption, some were annoyed from the meeting to begin with. Hsien Lian hesitantly walked in, regretting not thinking more about what he would say.
"Excuse me?" Hsien Lian asked, slowly gaining his voice to a respectable volume. Jing Mei looked up, a soft frown going to her face. He really did feel like a child. A child that was about to be heavily scolded. "If I may, may I please say something about the situation?" Hsien Lian asked respectively. What was he doing? Hsien Lian had never spoken out of line in his life, never busted into a room like this, especially with officials.
"Who are you?" Chao Ju asked. He was one of the annoyed ones. Hsien Lian sucked in a breath, ready to answer, but JIng Mei answered for him. "His name is Hsien Lian. He is The God Of The Flowers. A Melee God, just like you. So treat him with respect as you would anyone else." Jing Mei scolded, before turning back to Hsien Lian. The young boy hadn't expected Jing Mei to get so defensive so quickly, but he was happy that she had done so.
"You may speak."Jing Mei affirmed. Hsien Lian nodded. He wouldn't side with Fang Hai or Chao Ju. He wouldn't agree with either one of the two gods. Instead, he will say his own opinion. No matter if it was right or wrong, his opinion mattered, didn't it?
"Well, I believe that," Hsien Lian sucked in a breath. "Do we know the ghost's intentions? Because, well, if he is only doing it to help, should he really be punished, by death of all things? Just because he is powerful, doesn't mean he's dangerous. They are two words for a reason. He might just be helping us-"
"He hates gods. To the core. He had said it multiple times. He's vengeful of us. That's how he became a ghost to begin with. Hsien Lian, you shouldn't forget that." Chao Ju interrupts, giving more light to the situation. Fang Hai shakes his head. "He hasn't tried to hurt us yet, has he? Even if he's vengeful of us." Fang Hai counters. Hsien Lian would not lie, him popping into the situation without knowing most of the details was quite arrogant of him. However, Chao Ju's words didn't change his opinion. Neither did Fang Hai's.
"So, he respects you then. He doesn't like Heaven's Deities, but he doesn't hurt us. Even though he could. He respects us. It's that simple." Or maybe it wasn't. Hsien Lian felt like this situation was very simplified. It needed to be reasoned. Thought about. They needed another perspective.
They needed the ghost's perspective.
"Let's get the ghost here and see what he thinks." Hsien Lian offered. The entire room went silent, well more silent than before. Everyone stared at him with confused looks. Fang Hai sighed, holding his head in his hands and shaking it. "Your Highness, he can't come to Heaven. He was banned." Fang Hai informed me. Hsien Lian furrowed his eyebrows. How can a ghost get into Heaven without gods?
"What happened?" "He battled our greatest and failed. It was a deal, to show who was stronger. He went against one hundred of out greatest gods and he lost." A female goddess explained. Hsien Lian was shocked by how powerful this ghost must be. He slowly nodded his head.``Well, then let's go to him."
Chao Ju laid back in his chair, pointing at Hsien Lian. He had an even more annoyed look on his face, but still seemed somewhat amused. "Fine, if Hsien Lian thinks we should find this ghost and ask him his opinion. Then I'm here for it. Since it was your idea, how about you go?" Chao Ju terased sarcastically, smiling viciously at Hsien Lian. It was obviously a joke, but the young prince took it as anything but that.
"I will."