Generally people would not know how their own backs look like, but Xie Lian was
different. He was more than familiar with how his own back looked.
When the kingdom of XianLe first fell, to relieve themselves of anger, the people burnt
down his Baqian Taizi* Temple, desecrated all of his statues, robbed the gems on his
sword and cleaned his attire of gold. Yet after all that the rage continued to burn, and so
they came up with a new idea, and it was to build such kneeling statues.
The Crown Prince that was highly venerated and worshipped was sculpted into the form
of one who knelt and begged for forgiveness, and placed in crowded areas of town so
everyone was free to spit at or kick it when they passed by, and rid themselves of
misfortune. Or worse, some even had him sculpted to be prostrating, and used the
statue directly as a threshold, allowing tens of thousands to walk all over it. In the first
ten, twenty years after the kingdom of XianLe fell, those statues were a common sight in
many of the cities and towns, so how could Xie Lian himself not recognize his own
back?
Just then, the voice of a young man said, "That little hyena Pei Su had to hug the bitch
legs of that manwhore Pei before he could ascend, so who does he think he is? He's
nothing more than an exiled wild dog. To ruin my plans... Once I'm through with him,
even after the winds dry up his corpse no one would dare go to collect it!"
Before the person himself had appeared, cussing was already heard. Xie Lian gazed
over, and saw a figure clad in green enter the cave floating in. Due to a reason
somehow not worth mentioning, Xie Lian couldn't help but look to the top of his head
first, and was actually kind of disappointed to see that person had only a mask on, but
no light above his head. A bunch of little ghosts dressed in green surrounded this green
clad man, and he stood as if he was surrounded by a circle of green light. This must be
one of the Four Evils in the ghost realm, the Green Ghost Qi Rong.
Ever since Nan Feng had first mentioned the name Qi Rong, Xie Lian had kept it in the
back of his mind and wondered whether if this 'Qi Rong' was the same 'Qi Rong' he
knew. However, there was an unwritten rule that no matter demons or ghosts they
would all hide their real names, and bury their past lives. Because of this, he didn't think
they were the same person, only that the fake name had coincided with the real one.
Yet from the looks of things, he was more than certain. If it wasn't that Qi Rong he knew,
how could there be another 'Qi Rong' who was obsessed with the statue of the kneeling
Crown Prince? And why would the sound of his voice be so familiar?
The little green ghosts that surrounded Qi Rong were loudly acclaiming him king and
wildly chattered, so Xie Lian somewhat figured out what had transpired. Turns out when
Qi Rong sent a few of his henchmen to the Ghost City, they failed in causing havoc, and
was decimated by Hua Cheng. He then regrouped and was ready to fight again. But
before the second round had even started, the henchmen bumped into the exiled Pei
Su on the road. Although exiled in the mortal realm, Pei Su nevertheless was once a
heavenly official, and had nothing better to do, so when the henchmen bumped into him
he might as well clean them up, and so they were once again decimated.
To lose so many henchmen in a short period of time, the moment Qi Rong received the
news he was furious, and cursed nonstop: "Like ancestors like descendants, that
fucking manwhore of a Pei Ming probably has sores all over his crotch. I should chop off
both his and Pei Su's fucking dicks and hang them at their temples, and whoever
worships them will bleed pus with every step!"
Xie Lian had to really suppress the urge to cover his ears. The profanities were the
same; when Feng Xin got upset his curses were also too vulgar for ears, but as much
as he swore, it was obvious that they were only words of temporary anger, and there
was no real malintent. Qi Rong's curses were different. The recipients have no doubt
that he truly wanted to curse them to die as crudely as the way he condemned, and
wholly unafraid to take cheap shots, thoroughly crass and obscene.
That group of little green ghosts agreed with Qi Rong loudly. He probably remembered
the able subordinates he worked so hard to raise, and continued, "Too bad that
strong-spirited woman Xuan Ji was captured by those two shameless Pei dogs and was
wronged so miserably. She couldn't be saved even now."
Xie Lian couldn't agree with those words. Indeed Xuan Ji had a tragic story, but not
everything was General's Pei's fault like Qi Rong had described. After all, those ten
brides were kidnapped by her very person, and she was the one who killed them in cold
blood. Strong-spirited for sure, and a good woman indeed. But to say Little Pei only
ascended because he begged General Pei was something Xie Lian couldn't agree with.
After seeing so many to ascended and descended, there was one thing Xie Lian could
say with absolute certainty: the skilled may not always ascend; but the ascended is
always skilled. If one is powerless, no matter who promoted them, they would not be
able to overcome heavenly calamities, and could only at most be an official in the
middle court. Xie Lian hadn't interacted much with Pei Su, but even he could see that
Little Pei's martial power was above that of Lang Qian Qiu. Only, power didn't equal to
rank; there's politics at play too, otherwise Pei Su would've long gotten his own palace.
Obviously those things weren't of consideration to Qi Rong. He swore like there wasn't
a single one in all of the realms he didn't want cursed to death. He called Pei Ming a
man whore, Little Pei a leg-hugging dog, Jun Wu a faker, Ling Wen a bitch, Lang Qian
Qiu a moron, Quan Yi Zhen shit, the Water Master black-hearted, the Wind Master a
slutty woman – he probably didn't know Shi Qing Xuan was actually a man. If Xie Lian
hadn't seen it for himself, he wouldn't be able to believe anyone could be so resentful.
Finally, Qi Rong made it to the main point, which was how Hua Cheng and that low-key
Ship-Sinking Black Water looked down on him. They were mere 'Supreme's, one day
for sure he'd have them kneel before him. Xie Lian should be angry hearing this, but
because he couldn't even imagine how that would ever play out, he couldn't help but
find it hilarious instead, and stole a glimpse at Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng himself didn't
have any reaction, but instead was still closely staring at that kneeling stone statue.
Finally, thankfully, Qi Rong seemed to be assuaged by all the cursing, and changed the
subject. "How was the thing I sent you guys to do? Have Quan Yi Zhen and that man
whore Pei started fighting yet?"
He sat down as he spoke, lounging in his luxurious throne. He raised his legs and
rested his boots on the shoulders of that statue, using it as a footstool.
Xie Lian had been holding on to Hua Cheng's arm, and stopped him immediately when
he felt him shuffle a step forward. He felt the pull back may not be enough, so he drew
another word in Hua Cheng's palm: "Thanks"
Hua Cheng recognized the word. He lowered his head, then glanced at Xie Lian who
was watching him back with gratefulness in his eyes, thanking him for his good
intentions. Then, Xie Lian shook his head lightly, and drew the words "Listen" and
"Heaven".
Qi Rong was talking as if he sent henchmen to do something, and it had something to
do with those two heavenly officials. It couldn't be anything good, so Xie Lian wanted to
keep listening. As for the statue getting used as a footstool, thinking back, it's even
been used as a threshold before, so really it meant nothing to Xie Lian. It was only a
piece of rock, not his person. Although he had only written those three simple words,
when their eyes met, Xie Lian knew Hua Cheng had understood what he had meant.
Hua Cheng slowly held his hand tight and turned his head away, so Xie Lian could no
longer see his face.
A little green ghost spoke up, "We followed our king's instructions, and have long since
spread the rumours that Pei Ming wants to make Pei Su the martial god of the west.
Now it's becoming more and more of a riot, so we used that as an excuse and
desecrated hundreds of Ming Guan temples disguised as Qi Ying palace's devotees,
and no one was the wiser! Hahaha, my lord may not know, but those devotees are
really stupid! They saw us smashing temples, and smashed along with us with even
more enthusiasm!"
Qi Rong was pleased. "Keep fueling them! Quan Yi Zhen can endure it, but I won't
believe that manwhore Pei Ming can put up with it!"
Even if what they were spreading wasn't exactly a rumour, this kind of fabrication was
still full of malintent, especially something as unscrupulous as disguising as mortals to
sabotage temples, absolutely heinous, depraved, and perverse. No wonder whenever
Qi Rong was mentioned, everyone in the heavens would say he wasn't skilled but
extremely troublesome. Xie Lian mentally noted, 'If there's a chance, do tell Jun Wu to
watch for any disputes between the two heavenly officials caused by others.'
When Qi Rong finished with business, he laid back, his pair of long legs resting on the
statue changed position. The little ghosts immediately knew what to do, and went to the
small crowd of people to pick out the best cut. The one child in the group was probably
not even ten years of age, and wasn't very cognizant of the situation. He blinked his
large eyes and held on tight to his father's shirt corner, yanking at it the more scared he
became. His young father's face was ashen pale, trying to comfort him with a trembling
voice, "Don't be scared, don't be scared." Yet it was obvious he himself was terrified to
the bone.
One of the little green ghosts saw there was a child and was delighted, extending its
arm to grab at him. The young father screamed and jolted. Xie Lian moved before he
knew what he was going to do, but then he felt movement from the figure next to him.
Xie Lian turned his head to see, and Hua Cheng had stepped out from within the crowd.
Since Hua Cheng came especially to seek out the Green Ghost, now that he'd seen Qi
Rong he should've removed the disguise. Xie Lian had no doubt that Hua Cheng was
powerful enough to destroy everything within sight and no one would be able to stop
him. Yet, Hua Cheng did not reveal his true form, and maintained the skin of that normal
looking young man, and walked forward lazily.
A number of little green ghosts raised their weapons and shouted in alarm, "Stop! What
are you doing?!"
Qi Rong asked curiously, with this feet still up, "What's with that little guy? Take him
down."
Hua Cheng laughed, "Won't you all show a little respect in the presence of XianLe
royalty?"
Hearing his words, not only Qi Rong, but even Xie Lian was taken aback.
After a frozen moment, Qi Rong stood up in a fit, snorted beneath the mask, as if his
fury was changed to a mad laugh, "What fucking bravery! To make such a joke before
me?! Tell me, and what branch of the XianLe royal blood are you from? Which one??"
Hua Cheng replied leisurely, "The Prince An Le."
Xie Lian could feel the Lang Qian Qiu daruma doll in his arms jerk once.
Prince An Le was the descendant of the XianLe royalty the same generation as Lang
Qian Qiu, and could be said to be friends with Lang Qian Qiu.
Qi Rong's mocking laugh could be heard from under the mask, "Prince An Le? I think
you're seeking your own death! Who told you to start shit in front of me? The person
who appointed you didn't teach you a little history? Prince An Le was the last remaining
royal blood of XianLe, and he's already dead! Who the fuck are you to pretend to be
XianLe royalty before me?"
Hua Cheng raised his brow, "Oh? Dead? How did he die?"
Qi Rong shouted, "TAKE HIM DOWN! TAKE DOWN THAT ODD PIECE OF SHIT!"
Under his command, a large number of little green ghosts poured in from all around the
cave, yelling. In the midst of that chaos, Hua Cheng only smirked faintly.
His expression was nonchalant before, but the next moment it was as if a layer of frost
had been laid upon his face. His form suddenly flickered and disappeared, appearing
the next blink behind Qi Rong.
He single-handedly grabbed the back of Qi Rong's head, and smashed it down hard like
a child playing with a ball. "And who the fuck are you, to be so insolent before me!"
A loud BANG and that luxurious throne suddenly had debris flying, dust filled the air. Xie
Lian pulled the child behind himself to shield him, and blocked off a few small pebbles.
When the dust settled, Qi Rong had disappeared. At a closer look, he didn't disappear,
but his entire head was deeply embedded into the ground after Hua Cheng's blow.
Humans and ghosts alike screamed and ran away.
"Don't run away!" Xie lian shouted. If the people alerted all the ghosts within the cave,
they'd be killed for sure! But of course, as always, no one listened to him. Xie Lian
dropped his hands helplessly.
Under the circumstances, he had no time to worry about others either. Across the room,
Hua Cheng slowly knelt down; he used one hand to grab a fistful of Qi Rong's hair, and
pulled out a bloodied head from the hole in the ground, and the body was pulled out
along with the head. After a brief moment of observation, Hua Cheng seemed to be
extremely amused, and burst out laughing.
Although he was laughing, his eyes were off by a million watts, eerie and terrifying.
RuoYe flew out and struck away a few of the little green ghosts who were trying to cut
down the escaping people. Xie Lian then turned around in a rush, his instincts telling
him something was very wrong. "San Lang? San Lang!"
Qi Rong's mask cracked, some pieces falling. He threw up a mouthful of blood and
yelled, "SOMEBODY STOP HIM! Y'ALL COME AND STOP HIM!!"
Hua Cheng was just violently bashing him, but now he seemed to be at ease as if they
were best buddies and chatting. He chuckled, "Oh, didn't you know? There are some
things in this world that's unstoppable. Like, the sun setting in the west. Also, an
elephant squashing an ant. Or for example, —- ME TAKING YOUR LOWLY LIFE!"
By his last line, his face was savage and ferocious. He had in his hold Qi Rong's whole
body, and he bashed it down into the ground again!
Another loud BANG. Qi Rong's body laid in the ground and was smushed into a pool
worse than mush. The mask on his face cracked, breaking into small pieces revealing
half a face.
If anyone were to see that half a face, they'd discover a shocking fact:
The Green Ghost Qi Rong and the Crown Prince of XianLe, one ghost one god, a
difference of hell and heaven, looked very much alike!
———–
●Baqian Taizi Temple translates to the Temple of Eight Thousand Crowned
Princes
●MXTX Author Note: [SPOILER in white font] Of course there won't be the
overused cliche of "Because the culprit looks like the protag so they went to kill
pretending to be protag, and made protag take the blame."