That silver butterfly instantly flew to the side and hid. Gu Zi's eyes widened and answered, "I... I'm going to pee!"
Qi Rong clicked his tongue, "Kids are so full of shit and piss!" And stopped caring. Gu Zi fumbled to the side and whispered again, "Scrap gege, scrap gege!"
Xie Lian was still on the roof, "...Just daozhang is fine. Scrap gege is a little weird, hahaha... Gu Zi. Those people your dad captured are very pitiful. They are subordinates from someone else's household, and their master will keep chasing your dad to beat him up. Will you help let them go?"
"I know!" Gu Zi said, "They're from the house of that big, black ox riding god!" He scratched his head, "I want to let them go too... but, my dad is sick. He said he has to eat human flesh to get better, that eating human flesh is very normal. I'm still young, he'll teach me how to eat when I'm bigger. I don't think that's very good..."
It's more than just not very good! That was a close call, Xie Lian thought. Staying too long by Qi Rong's side, Gu Zi was starting to go astray. If he continued to go down the wrong path, maybe he'd recognize everything as normal out of habit, and accept that eating human flesh was a very normal belief. Xie Lian said quickly, "It's very not good! Eating human flesh will cause a very severe illness, the ghosts of the eaten will all cling to you and your dad, harass you day and night. You dad isn't sick, he's just a glutton who refuses to stop. You have to think of a way to stop him from ever eating that anymore, otherwise you'll become a fatherless child!"
"Then what should I do?" Gu Zi was alarmed.
Hua Cheng turned to Xie Lian, "Gege, let me."
He said a few words to the silver butterfly, and Gu Zi listened on the other end, trying hard to remember everything. Once he was done, Hua Cheng looked up again and told Xie Lian, "Let's lead Xuan Ji out of the way first."
Inside the house, Xuan Ji said, "I still think this man is suspicious. He said he's Yu Shi Huang's subordinate, but he's covered with the essence of evil. I don't think he was truthful at all, I'll question him some more.
After seeing Gu Zi scurrying away, Qi Rong turned around with his back facing the door and continued to munch on that arm, replying vaguely, "Sure."
That Xuan Ji would go crazy when running into Pei Ming aside, other times, she was much more detailed and cautious than Qi Rong, being a woman after all. Besides, Gu Zi was still a little scared of her, so with her around, he might trip up easier. Xie Lian nodded, "How do we lead her away?"
The two exchanged a look and said at the same time, "General Pei."
Xie Lian put his hands together in a prayer, "There's no other way. We'll have to have him temporarily sacrifice himself. General Pei, everyone will thank you after they're saved."
Another silver butterfly materialized from the engravings on Hua Cheng's silver vambrace and flew next to Xie Lian's ear. The voices of a man came floating, and it was Pei Ming. Turns out, just before Hua Cheng went away earlier, he still left behind a few silver butterflies, and the voices of the other side were sent over. Xie Lian listened intently for a bit and whispered, "Let's cut this up a bit, and use these lines..."
Xuan Ji's back was facing the window, eyeing Yin Yu like a hawk, interrogating him. Yin Yu answered tranquilly, "In YuShi country I'm responsible for taking care of the lost hungry ghosts. When they come knocking I would gift them a bundle of rice, and send them on their way, which is why I am covered with the essence of evil."
The other hostages were the true famers of YuShi country, and while there certainly were such relief givers, he was definitely not one of them. They knew he was making things up, but no one made a sound. Qi Rong chortles, "Ho ho, I'm a hungry ghost too, why not give me some relief? Only a couple people were eaten and I'm being chased to death, what is this cheapskate pretending to be generous?" Xuan Ji on the other hand, only scorned in disdain, "There's so many hungry ghosts in the world, how can you bring relief to all? It's just for show."
Just then, a silver butterfly with its light concealed soundlessly flew to behind her person, then flashed and hid. All the captives saw but they were very composed, and with an unspoken understanding, everyone pretended they didn't see anything. Xuan Ji was going to continue the interroration when suddenly, she seemed to have heard the voice of a man, "...If that's the case, ... these ... first. Do you... any more...? Give... here..."
The original line was "If that's the case, roast these rats first. Do you have any more snakes? Give some here."
When Xie Lian first heard Pei Ming say it, he was full of both shock and pity. There must've been corpse-eating rats taken to be normal rats that crawled over and killed by Pei Ming, to be served as Pei Su's meal. Would eating that rat cause no problems? It seemed they must hurry back soon.
However, after Hua Cheng blurred out some words from the line, the effect was mysterious, like it meant something, but what exactly couldn't be said. When Xuan Ji heard, she shuddered violently and whipped her head back. However, that silver butterfly was cunningly agile; it wasn't emitting light and the moment she turned around, it had long since fluttered to the side and hid. Xuan Ji was shaken and she turned back to question the captives, "Did you all hear something just now? Did you see anything?"
Yin Yu took the lead, and the rest of the captives all shook their heads. Qi Rong looked over with his mouth covered in blood, "What did you hear?"
Xuan Ji was slightly confused, "I thought... I heard Pei Ming's voice."
"You're probably delusional." Qi Rong said, "I haven't heard anything." That silver butterfly was pressed closely to Xuan Ji, so no one else could hear the voices it was transmitting. Xuan Ji was doubtful, "Really? But I feel... maybe he's closeby. Maybe, this is telepathy? My Lord, why not, let me go and take a look again?"
Xie Lian didn't think it'd be this easy and clenched his fists silently, flashing Hua Cheng a smile. Yet unexpectedly, Qi Rong rained on his parade, "PFFT! Didn't you go once already? What telepathy, it's delusion for sure. You do nothing but think of him eight hundred times a day, of course you're delusional."
It appeared Xuan Ji was a little convinced by his words, and remained, unsure. Even though this attempt was a failure, Xie Lian wasn't discouraged, because he's got a few more lines up his sleeves. Xuan Ji was just about to continue her interrogation when she once again heard Pei Ming's voice, "...You little dummy! Come here, I'll teach you."
Soon after, it was a girl's voice, "...Please, General Pei. I've done it once. I'm experienced now. Let me do it..."
That was of course Pei Ming instructing Ban Yue on how to roast corpse-eating rats for Little Pei to eat, however, once the line fell in Xuan Ji's ears, it was understood as something completely different. She screeched, her eyes instantly filled with red, and the ghost fire on top of head erupted higher like the jealous flames in her heart was blazing. She pulled at her own hair and screamed, "IT'S HIM!!! IT'S HIM FOR SURE, HE MUST BE HERE, I SENSED IT, MY HEART SENSED HIM!!! PEI MING! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"
She screamed as he dragged her two broken legs and 'jumped' out. Qi Rong broke out in curses, "HEY! OI! XUAN JI! WHAT THE FUCK! HOW CAN YOU RUN THAT FAST WITH BROKEN LEGS? IS THAT MANWHORE REALLY WORTH IT?!"
Xie Lian watched as Xuan Ji's stumbling and wobbling back disappeared and felt somewhat mournful. Hua Cheng probably thought he was worried about the safety of those back at the temple and said, "No need to worry. The wraith butterfly will lead her in the opposite direction. Even if she finds them RuoYe is there to shield and she won't be able to enter the circle. Let's end our things here quickly."
Now that Xuan Ji was gone, it was time for Gu Zi to enter the stage. He rose to his feet, and wiped his muddy hands on his butt. Xie Lian was still a little worried, "Will it really be alright?"
Hua Cheng said softly, "Gege, trust me. If this won't work, we can find another way. There are plenty of backup plans. If anything, we can make Qi Rong unable to speak for the rest of his life first then take our time to think of an idea."
"..."
Gu Zi entered the house and Qi Rong had already licked clean all the blood on his hands. When he saw him he called out, "Son, come here and massage chop your daddy's legs!"
Thus, Gu Zi went up to massage chop his legs. After chopping obediently for a while, he asked, "Dad, those people in the corner, how come they don't dare move even though they clearly aren't bound by ropes?"
His question energized Qi Rong, "Hehe, of course it's because they're so scared of your daddy that their legs get all wobbly!"
"..."
Gu Zi's eyes and mouth were open wide and round, "YOU'RE THAT AMAZING?!"
Qi Rong's vanity was greatly satisfied, and he replied, "That's right! Look here, today I'll show you just how amazing your daddy is! You see that ball of fire? The moment I give the command, WHOOSH And they'll all burn to death, so of course they're afraid of me! And two other little ghosts, remember them," Gu Zi was nodding like little chicks pecking at grain and Qi Rong continued, "One is Hua Cheng, the other has the nickname Black Water, they're two weak ass nobodies. They're two wretches pretending to be great and got a little lucky, but in reality, their titles are hollow. Do you understand what a hollow title means? I'll teach you. It's an idiom. It means on the surface, they look like they're powerful but when it came to true strength, they're nowhere near my level."
Gu Zi looked like he understood but at the same time not. "Oh..." Qi Rong added, "They're just lucky! If I had their luck, I would be ten times greater than they'll ever be! JUST YOU WAIT! This time, your daddy will break through this trial, and immediately beat them black and blue! NO ONE WILL DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME! ONLY I GET TO LOOK DOWN ON OTHER PEOPLE!"
His determination was blazing, swinging his arms hollering, and although Gu Zi totally did not understand who or what he was talking about, he still cheered keenly, "YOU CAN DO IT, DAD!"
"..."
On top of the roof, Xie Lian slapped a hand to cover his face.
Qi Rong's speech of greatness really made him speechless. Thinking that Qi Rong was his little cousin, he felt really embarrassed and turned to Hua Cheng, "San Lang, this... he... I..."
In truth, throughout history, there was no man in the world who didn't love bragging. A breeze could blow the handkerchief of a brothel girl into his hand, and he would turn around and say the most beautiful of renown escorts had fallen in love with him; holding shoes and wiping benches for the emperor's mistress's uncle's grandson's cousin's mistress would for sure become him being an important administrator at the residence of royal relatives, raising his status. Thus, men who didn't brag were a rare species.
As for men who love to brag, first, they love to brag to women, second they love to brag to their sons. Recall when Xie Lian was young, his father also frequently used various discrete and indiscrete ways to tell him of his heroism and greatness in politics, and this was also precisely why ever since he was young, he deeply believed his father to be a noble and valiant ruler whose name would no doubt go down in history. Later, when he found out the truth, it wasn't the greatest timing, which was why there was the feeling of "You're not that amazing after all", leaving him greatly disappointed. Thinking of this, Xie Lian shook his head and thought it funny, 'Why would I compare Qi Rong with my father?'
That really was out of the blue, but perhaps it was because they both loved to make themselves bigger than they were. However, whether it be his father or someone else, at least the vaunting was within normal parameters. Qi Rong had reached the stage of absolute shamelessness and righteous impudence. No wonder even Black Water who had always kept a low-profile was disgusted with him, and would find any excuse to beat him up if they should meet. But Xie Lian was still a little puzzled, how come he only heard Qi Rong curse others but not at him?
But, Xie Lian could also understand a little now why Qi Rong was dragging his feet to devour Gu Zi. If he was bragging to a normal person or someone who was a bit older with more life experience, the other might not believe him. Even if they would agree on the surface, it still wouldn't feel sincere, or, the reaction would be too greasily exaggerated, like those little minions under Qi Rong. However, Gu Zi's praises were different. Every word came from the bottom of his heart; he truly believed that his dad was the number one most powerful guy in the world!
It had probably been a long time since Qi Rong had bragged so heartily and was greatly satisfied. He threatened, "You gotta be good, ya hear me? If you don't listen to me, I'll put a ghost fire on you too!"
Sure enough, Gu Zi was scared and hastily covered his own head, "No, I don't want to wear it... oh yea, dad." He remembered what Hua Cheng and Xie Lian taught him, and said nervously, "O-Once you wear this green fire you won't be able to take it off, right?"
If he had asked "If you wear it can you take it off?" Qi Rong might not tell the truth, but the question was "you won't be able to take it off, right?" It was a question of doubt, of course it was taught by Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. Qi Rong instantly kicked out and sent the head of one of the stone people flying, "RUBBISH! IF DADDY WANTS TO LOCK, HE'LL LOCK, IF HE WANTS TO UNLOCK, HE'LL UNLOCK! LOOK! DAD WILL UNLOCK ONE TO SHOW YOU!"
Then, he pointed at a farmer and yelled, "DOG FUCKER XIE LIAN!"
Xie Lian: "..."
Hua Cheng: "..."
The ghost fire on top of that farmer's head was extinguished, and he leapt to his feet. However, he didn't run very far before Qi Rong spat loudly, and another ball of greasily green ghost fire was spewed from his mouth, and it loomed over the top of that farmer's head. Qi Rong laughed boisterously, patting Gu Zi's head, "What do ya think? Your daddy's powerful, right?"
On top of the roof, Xie Lian wiped sweat off his face, and Hua Cheng looked cool and aloof but his voice was chilling, "I think that trash wants to be even more garbage than he already is."
His knuckles seemed to be cracking, and Xie Lian said hurriedly, "It's fine, it's fine. He was more easily tricked than expected!" They had originally taught Gu Zi many more ways to dig for information, but it seemed none of that would be used. No wonder Qi Rong hadn't cursed Xie Lian at all earlier, so it was because cursing him had become the unlocking incantation. Truly, his feelings for him are deep. At this point, there was no more need for the two to keep hiding, and they instantly broke through the roof, jumping down!
The large rumble made Qi Rong fall off his chair from surprise, "WHO'S THERE?? WHO'S THERE??" And when he saw who it was, "DOG, DOG..." he had probably wanted to curse at him, but remembering that it was the very important unlocking incantation, Qi Rong quickly covered his mouth. In the corner, the farmers said, "I think he called out the incantation earlier, so how about... let's see if we can unlock each other?"
"Yea, it's just some curses, right? Although I feel kind of bad for this Xie Lian person, but it's not like he's here, so it should be alright!"
Yin Yu however, advised calmly, "Whether if his person is here or not, I suggest you all best not say it, otherwise the consequences would be worse than right now..."
On the other end, Qi Rong grabbed Gu Zi to shield in front of his person, changing his tune, "DOG FUCKED XIE LIAN! YOU'RE SHAMELESS! YOU SPY! CUNNING!"
Xie Lian was a little woeful, "What the heck is "dog fucked"?"
Qi Rong added, "Even if you know the incantation it's useless! Are you going to curse yourselves? Would you not care if other people curse you?"
Hearing this, Hua Cheng's expression grew darker, and his knuckles cracked a couple more times, looking like he's holding back. Xie Lian however, was unconcerned, "Yea? It's nothing." Then, he repeated that incantation five to six times without hesitation, since once could only release one person. The captives all knew by now that he was the one being cursed at in the incantation, and they couldn't help but raise their thumbs at him in their hearts, "A real man!"
However, none of the Ghost Fire Locks on top of their heads were unlocked. Xie Lian's face changed slightly, and Qi Rong cackled, "HAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU FELL FOR IT! IF IT WASN'T ME WHO UNLOCKS IT IT'S POINTLESS! YOU CURSED FOR NOTHING! HAHAHHAHA..."
A silver butterfly flew by Gu Zi's eyes, and he blinked twice, his eyelids drooping, then he fell asleep soon after. Qi Rong was still cackling by himself when suddenly, a forceful yank of his sleeve made him spin eighteen times before crashing into the wall, and he blurted, "DOG FUCKER XIE LIAN!"
After he cursed, that ball of ghost fire atop of Yin Yu's head disappeared. Yin Yu leapt to his feet, and blitzed a good distance away. Qi Rong instantly covered his mouth, and Xie Lian said pleasantly, "Come come come, don't worry, don't hold yourself back. Let yourself go, keep cursing."
As he spoke serenely, he rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a hold of him, and Qi Rong really couldn't tell what that stance meant. He yelled with all he's got, "GO AHEAD! HIT ME! EVEN IF YOU BEAT ME TO DEATH I WON'T CURSE THAT AGAIN!"
Next to them, Hua Cheng said with an icy voice, "Good."
Qi Rong turned back to look, and Hua Cheng was smiling at him with a smile that couldn't be more fake but it disappeared in the blink of an eye. The next second, his head was rammed three feet into the ground.
"..."
Hua Cheng plucked his head out from the ground and he roared, "YOU DARE TREAT ME LIKE THIS! I'VE HAD IT! I'LL BURN EVERYONE! WE CAN ALL DIE TOGETHER! HUA CHENG YOU FUCKER! BURN UP!"
It seemed, that 'Hua Cheng you fucker' was the other matching incantation to start the incineration. However, after he yelled it, there was no cry nor wails from anyone, and he opened his eyes in confusion. That group of farmers were all fine and standing at the other end, watching him. Qi Rong was shocked, "WHAT'S GOING ON? HOW COME NONE OF YOU DIED? GO DIE! WHO RELEASED YOU??"
"You did." Xie Lian said. Then, he pointed at a silver butterfly next to him, and that silver butterfly was broadcasting the exact same roar earlier, "YOU CURSED FOR NOTHING! HAHAHAHA..."
Turns out, that wraith butterfly had recorded everything and copied his voice, including that incantation. With one curse, it could unlock infinitely. Hua Cheng said, "Leave this plane yourself. Sorry, no one's coming with you."
Then, another violent punch, and Qi Rong was bashed into the underground.
The farmers all went up and circled around to see, "Can... Can that still be fished up?"
Yin Yu hopped down into the deep hole Hua Cheng punched in, and a moment later, jumped back up, a green daruma doll in his hand. "Chengzhu, Your Highness, it's been collected."
That greasily green daruma doll was baring its teeth, rolling its eyes back, spitting a long tongue, like it was laughing at someone, but also like it was putting on a spectacle to gain favour. In any case, it was in extremely poor taste, even children would toss it aside in disgust if they saw it. Xie Lian couldn't tell if Qi Rong's own character decided this design or if Hua Cheng purposely made him this way.
"Don't pass that thing to us. Take that thing far, far away." Hua Cheng said.
"Yes sir." Yin Yu acknowledged.
To be honest, Xie Lian didn't really want to hold on to that thing either, and he picked up Gu Zi from the ground. A few wraith butterflies came flying from a different direction and landed on the back of Hua Cheng's hand. He looked down to see, then said, "We need to hurry back to the divine temple."
Xie Lian whipped his head around, "Something's happened over at the divine temple?"