Xie Lian froze on the spot. Looking at the slender figure of the young man, he was helping him carry a large bag of junk, and he even carried it so calmly. This made him feel guilty repeatedly in his heart. San Lang took a few steps and had already walked out. Xie Lian was about to chase after him when he suddenly remembered that the old man driving the carriage was still lying in the carriage. He immediately turned back and stretched out his hand to wake the old man up. Xie Lian repeatedly warned him not to tell anyone about what happened tonight. The old man had seen his abilities on the way here, so how could he dare to go back on his word? He nodded repeatedly and pulled Old Huang back home.
The only thing left on the cart was a roll of mat. Xie Lian put it on his back. When he looked back, San Lang was already single-handedly carrying that big bag of messy things, leisurely walking up the hill.
Arriving in front of the crooked Pu Qi Monastery, San Lang lowered his head and burst into laughter, as if he had seen something interesting. Only when Xie Lian got closer did he realize that he was looking at the sign asking for donations. He coughed lightly and said, "Look, it's like this. That's why I said you might not be used to it. "
San Lang said, "Pretty good."
In the past, Xie Lian had always been the one to say "it's alright, it's alright" to others. Today was the first time he heard someone say this to him. It was hard to describe what he was feeling. The original wooden door of Pu Qi Monastery had long since decayed. Xie Lian tore it down and replaced it with a curtain. Stepping forward, he lifted the curtain and said, "Come in." San Lang followed behind him and entered.
The furnishings in this small wooden house could be seen at a glance. There was only a rectangular offering table, two small wooden stools, a small prayer mat, and a merit box. Xie Lian took the things in San Lang's hands and placed the fortune sticks, incense burner, paper, pen, and other items he had bought on the offering table. He then lit a red candle that someone had conveniently stuffed into his hand when he was collecting junk. In a flash, the room was brightened. San Lang casually picked up the lot holder, shook it, and put it down. He said, "So, is there a bed?"
Xie Lian turned around and silently put down the scroll on his back, handing it over to him.
San Lang raised an eyebrow and asked, "Only one?"
Xie Lian had only met this youngster on his way back from town, so naturally, he hadn't thought about buying an extra card in advance. He said, "If you don't mind, we can squeeze together tonight."
San Lang said, "That works too."
Xie Lian picked up the broom and swept the floor again. San Lang looked around the monastery and said, "Brother Daozhang, is there something missing in your monastery?"
Xie Lian had finished sweeping the floor and was squatting on the ground to spread the mat. When he heard this, he said, "I think, besides believers, there shouldn't be anything missing."
San Lang also squatted down. Propping his chin in his hand, he asked, "Where's the statue?"
With his reminder, Xie Lian suddenly remembered that he had actually forgotten the most important thing – the statue of God!
What kind of view is a view without a statue of a deity? Although his main body was already here, he couldn't possibly sit on the altar every day.
After pondering for a moment, Xie Lian found a solution and said, "I just bought a brush and paper. I'll draw a portrait tomorrow and hang it up."
If news of him hanging a portrait of himself in his own monastery were to spread to the Heavenly Realm, he would probably be laughed at for another ten years. However, sculpting a statue of a god was costly and time-consuming. In comparison, Xie Lian chose to be laughed at for ten years.
Unexpectedly, San Lang said, "Painting? I will. Do you need help? "
Xie Lian was startled. Smiling, he said, "Then I'll thank you first. However, I'm afraid you don't know how to paint a portrait of the Xian Le Crown Prince. " After all, almost all of his portraits had been burned eight hundred years ago. No matter how many survived today, perhaps not many people had seen them. San Lang said, "Of course. I will. When we were in the carriage just now, weren't we talking about this Crown Prince? "
Xie Lian remembered. Indeed, on the road just now, he said, "You probably haven't heard of him," but San Lang didn't reply. Now that he heard him say this, he was slightly surprised. He laid out the mat and straightened his body, saying, "Could it be that San Lang really knows him?"
San Lang sat down on the mat and said, "I know."
The expression and tone of this youth's words were very interesting. He often smiled, but it was hard to tell whether his smile was sincere or mocking the other's mental retardation. Xie Lian listened to him talk about everything under the sky and was quite interested in his evaluation. He also sat down next to him and said, "Regarding this Xian Le Crown Prince, San Lang, what do you think?"
The two of them looked at each other under the lantern, the red candlelight trembling slightly. San Lang carried the candlelight on his back, his black eyes sunk into the shadows, making it impossible to see his expression. After a while, he said, "I think, Junwu must hate him very much."
Xie Lian didn't expect such an answer. Startled, he asked, "Why do you think so?"
San Lang said, "Otherwise, why would he demote him twice?"
Hearing this, Xie Lian smiled slightly, thinking, "What a child's thinking."
He lowered his head and slowly undid his belt as he said, "This has nothing to do with hate or dislike. There are many things in this world that can't be explained simply with hate and like. "
San Lang said, "Oh."
Xie Lian turned around and took off his white boots, saying, "Moreover, if you do something wrong, you should accept punishment. The Emperor has only fulfilled his duty twice."
San Lang didn't comment, saying, "Perhaps."
Xie Lian took off his coat and folded it, preparing to place it on the offering table. He wanted to say something more, but when he turned around, he saw San Lang's gaze fixated on his feet.
That gaze was extremely strange. It could be said to be ice-cold, but it also felt scalding and piercing. It could be said to be blazing hot, but it also faintly revealed a chill. Xie Lian lowered his head to look and understood. What the youth was looking at was the black cursed shackle on his right ankle.
The first cursed shackle was firmly wrapped around his neck, while the second was tightly bound around his ankle. These two cursed shackles, no matter which one, weren't locked in the right place, and there was no way to hide them. In the past, if someone else asked, Xie Lian would usually give a random answer, saying it was necessary for cultivation. But if this San Lang asked, he was afraid he wouldn't be so perfunctory.
However, San Lang only stared at his ankle for a while and didn't say anything. Xie Lian didn't continue to struggle and lay down. That youth also obediently lay down next to him, still fully clothed. Presumably, he wasn't used to sleeping on the ground without his clothes on. Xie Lian thought to himself, I'll have to get a bed later. He said, "Rest."
With a light blow, the red candle was extinguished.
The next morning, Xie Lian opened his eyes. San Lang wasn't lying next to him. When he raised his head to look, his heart trembled. Above the altar, there was actually a portrait hanging.
This portrait was of a man dressed in luxurious clothing and wearing a golden mask. He held a sword in one hand and a flower in the other. The strokes were excellent, and the colors were clear and gorgeous. It was a painting of "Xian Le Crown Prince Pleasing the Gods".
It had been many years since Xie Lian had seen this painting. He stared blankly for a while before finally getting up, putting on his clothes and lifting the curtain. San Lang was just outside the room, leaning in the shadows. As he played with a broom in his hand, he looked bored to death at the sky.
This youth really didn't seem to like the sunlight. The way he looked at the sky made it seem like he was thinking about how to pull down the sun and trample it into pieces. There was a pile of fallen leaves outside the door, all swept and piled together. Xie Lian went out the door and said, "Did you rest well last night?"
San Lang was still leaning against the wall. He turned his head and said, "Not bad."
Xie Lian walked over and took the broom from his hand. He said, "San Lang, did you draw that portrait in the monastery?"
San Lang said, "Yeah."
Xie Lian said, "It was really well drawn."
The corner of San Lang's mouth curled up, but he didn't say anything. He didn't know if it was because he randomly slept for a night, but his hair was tied up even more askew today. It was loose and very casual, but in reality, it was also very good-looking. Casual and not messy, it even had a bit of playfulness. Xie Lian pointed at his own hair and said, "Do you want me to help you?"
San Lang nodded and entered the monastery with Xie Lian. When he sat down, Xie Lian untied his hair and held the black hair in his hand. Then, he calmly and carefully examined it.
Even if the palm prints and fingerprints were done perfectly, demons and ghosts would always have a loophole. A living person's hair was uncountable. Moreover, each strand was separated very finely and clearly. Many ghosts and ghosts forged fake skins. Their hair was either a black cloud, or it was glued together into a large piece, like strips of cloth. Or … … they simply pretended to be bald.
Last night, after confirming the palm prints and fingerprints, Xie Lian had originally let down his guard. However, when he saw the portrait this morning, he couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious.
How could a normal person draw this picture?
However, as his fingers gently stroked San Lang's hair, he slowly probed. This youth's black hair was smooth and long, and there was clearly nothing abnormal about it. After a while, San Lang smiled and slightly tilted his head, squinting at him. He said, "Gege, are you helping me tie my hair, or are you thinking of doing something else?"
His long hair hung loosely over his shoulders. His handsomeness didn't decrease, but there was a bit more evil. This question seemed to be teasing him. Xie Lian smiled and said, "It's done." Then, he quickly helped him tie up his hair.
Unexpectedly, after he finished, San Lang glanced at the water basin at the side. He turned his head and raised his eyebrows at Xie Lian. When Xie Lian saw this, he lightly coughed again.
This hair, it was crooked just now. Now that he had tied it up, it was still crooked.
Although San Lang didn't say anything and just looked at him like that, Xie Lian felt that he hadn't been this embarrassed in at least several hundred years. He put down his hand and was about to say 'come here, let's do it again' when he heard a clamor outside the door. People's voices and footsteps could be heard everywhere, followed by a few loud shouts, "Great Immortal!!!"
When Xie Lian heard this, he was startled. He rushed out to take a look, only to see a large circle of people outside the door. Each and every one of them had excited expressions and flushed faces. The village chief in the lead shot forward and grabbed his hand, saying, "Great Immortal! A living immortal actually came to our village, this is really great!!! "
Xie Lian, "???"
Meanwhile, the rest of the villagers had already surrounded him. "Great Immortal, welcome to our Pu Qi Village and settle down!"
"Great Immortal! Can you bless me and help me find my wife?! "
"Great Immortal! Can you bless the one in my family to quickly give birth to a baby?! "
"Great Immortal! I have fresh pu chestnuts here! Do you want to eat pu chestnuts?! If I eat it, can you bless me and help me have a good harvest this year?! "
The villagers were too enthusiastic. Xie Lian was besieged until he retreated again and again, complaining in his heart. Last night, that old grandpa was actually a big mouth. He had clearly warned them not to tell anyone, but this morning, the news had immediately spread throughout the entire village!
Although the villagers didn't know what kind of immortal this monastery was worshiping, they all strongly requested to light a stick of incense here. In any case, no matter what kind of immortal it was, they were all immortals. Worshiping them wouldn't do any harm. Xie Lian had originally expected the scene to be deserted, with only a few people visiting throughout the year. Therefore, he had only prepared a few bundles of incense as a token of goodwill. Who would've thought that they would all be divided up in an instant? The small incense burner was densely packed with a mess of incense sticks, filling the air with a fragrant smell. Because he hadn't smelled this smell for a long time, Xie Lian even choked a few times. As he choked, he said, "Cough cough, fellow villagers, I really can't bless you with abundant wealth. Really, cough, please don't come here to ask for wealth! The consequences are unpredictable! … Sorry, I don't care about marriage either … No, no, no, I also can't bless you with children. "
San Lang didn't care about his crooked hair anymore. He just sat next to the merit box, one hand supporting his chin while the other slowly tossed some chestnuts into his mouth. When many of the village girls saw this youth, their faces turned red. They said to Xie Lian, "That, did you …"
Although he didn't know what they wanted to ask, Xie Lian's intuition told him to stop immediately. He immediately said, "No!"
With great difficulty, everyone dispersed. The offering table was piled with fruits, vegetables, and even white rice and noodles. No matter what was said, it was still a wave of offerings. Xie Lian swept away the debris thrown by the villagers on the ground. San Lang also followed him out and said, "The incense is pretty good."
As Xie Lian swept, he shook his head and said, "Under normal circumstances, no one would pay attention to it for ten days to half a month."
San Lang said, "How could that be?"
Xie Lian glanced at him and smiled. "Thinking about it, it might be because of San Lang's luck."
As he said this, he remembered that he needed to change the door curtain, so he took out a new curtain from his sleeve and hung it on the door. Retreating two steps, Xie Lian examined the door for a moment before suddenly noticing that San Lang had stopped. Turning his head, he asked, "What's wrong?"
He saw San Lang stare at the door curtain with a pensive expression. Following his gaze, Xie Lian discovered that San Lang was looking at the talisman drawn on the curtain.
This talisman was something he had casually drawn before. The talisman on it was layered with runes, giving it an imposing aura. It was originally used to repel evil and could repel the invasion of evil beings from the outside world. However, because it was Xie Lian's own handwriting, it was unknown whether or not it would also have the effect of summoning bad luck. However, since there wasn't even a door, it would be safer to draw this row of talismans on the curtain.
Seeing the youth standing motionless in front of the talisman curtain, Xie Lian's heart stirred. "San Lang?"