"YOU–!"
But, that was the way Hua Cheng spoke, and no matter if there was a smile on his face and his tone was endlessly polite, it still sounded more than fake. The more he smiled fakely, the more it enraged people, so much so that Feng Xin tucked an arrow upon his bow. Xie Lian knew that he wouldn't actually shoot and said, "Sorry about this, Feng Xin. But in our current situation, it really makes no difference which way we go."
Hua Cheng laughed heartily, "Ooh, I'm scared. Looks like I best stay far away from you." He said as he flicked his brows at Xie Lian and really did walked further away. Xie Lian knew he was only trying to leave the other two behind and smiled as he shook his head, ready to follow after him when suddenly, Mu Qing reached out and pulled him to a stop. Xie Lian looked back, bewildered, "Mu Qing? What is it?"
Yet unexpectedly, Mu Qing didn't answer. He grabbed Xie Lian and ran straight for the other path, shouting, "NOW!"
Ahead, Hua Cheng also noticed something wrong and turned back to look. Yet, Feng Xin had already punched the stone wall, and boulders rumbled as they crashed, blocking the road. The two swiftly went forward and in the flash of a second, slapped on fifty or so talismans on the rocks. Thus, Hua Cheng and the three of them were now separated by this pile of boulders.
Turns out, the two of them weren't fighting behind earlier, and were actually discussing how to conduct this sudden attack! Xie Lian was dumbfounded, "What are you guys doing?"
He struggled free of Mu Qing and wanted to check up on Hua Cheng who was blocked behind but Feng Xin tripped him, and together with Mu Qing, they each grabbed one of his arms and started dragging him away, running as he exclaimed, "Let's get away, quick! Those talismans won't last for too long!"
Mu Qing reprimanded, "And you had to ask what we're doing? Can't you tell just how weird he was being?"
"How is he weird?" Xie Lian questioned.
"I think you've really gone stupid. Weird is written all over him, you're the only blind one!" Mu Qing exclaimed.
Feng Xin roared, "STOP TALKING AND RUN!!! FUCK, I THINK THE WRAITH BUTTERFLIES HAVE CAUGHT UP!"
Mu Qing shouted, "BLOCK THE CAVE ENTRANCE!"
Thus, Feng Xin punched as he ran, and many of the cave entrances were wholly blocked by the giant rocks knocked down. The two dragged Xie Lian and fled through the endlessly winding long, underground corridor, and Xie Lian was going dizzy from all the turns. He shouted, "STOP! STOP!"
After having run a long way, those two finally stopped to catch their breaths. Taking advantage of this break, Xie Lian said, "No, I meant, what did you two suddenly drag me away? Did you notice something?"
Feng Xin still had both his hands on his knees supporting himself up, breathing harshly, "Let him, tell you again."
Mu Qing straightened up and turned to Xie Lian, "It's so obvious but you didn't see? That pearl! Do you still remember that pearl?"
"What pearl?" Xie Lian asked.
Mu Qing enunciated each word, "That pair of deep red coral pearls earrings that made part of the God-Pleasing Martial Warrior costume for the ShangYuan Heavenly Ceremony, that pearl you lost!"
"..."
It took Xie Lian a long while but he still couldn't remember, and he tugged at his earlobe, looking lost, "Were my earrings at the time red coral pearls? Did I lose one?"
The corners of Mu Qing's lips twitched and he said furiously, "You two even wrongfully accused me of stealing that pearl, how can you not remember something like this?"
"It's been eight hundred years after all..." Xie Lian said, but Feng Xing rebuked, "Stop making shit up, no one wronged you, you're the one who imagined things all by yourself!"
Xie Lian waved his hand, "Stop fighting, stop fighting. Why are you suddenly talking about that pearl now?"
"Because that pearl's been found!" Mu Qing exclaimed, "Did you not see that red bead tied in Hua Cheng's hair?"
Xie Lian widened his eyes, "Are you saying..."
Mu Qing stated with conviction, "I am!"
"..."
So that was why Mu Qing had that weird look in his eyes when he saw Hua Cheng earlier. Xie Lian questioned, "Why would he have that red coral pearl? You sure you didn't remember wrong?"
Mu Qing cut him off, "I searched for that pearl for a whole year, and I've never stopped looking for it. Anyone can remember wrong but me!"
Xie Lian crossed his arms and tucked them in his sleeves, contemplated, and furrowed his brows, "I still think you might've been mistaken. There's no reason for that pearl to be in his hands? Don't high quality red coral pearls all look pretty much the same? Besides, San Lang has always liked collecting rare treasures. He's even got antiques that are thousands of years old."
Mu Qing nodded, "Fine. Very well. You think I'm wrong? Fine. Then look at this."
He was standing right next to a divine statue, and as he spoke, he yanked off the veil off of the face of that statue, "Why don't you take a look at what this is? Surely this can't be a mistake either!"
The moment that veil was pulled off and Xie Lian swept a look, instantly his pupils shrank.
The face of that divine statue wasn't anything deformed to scary. It was a smiling young man in high spirits, his brows gentle and kind. However, when Xie Lian saw this face, there was an instant chill that sped down his spine and raised all his hairs.
How could it not be shocking? That face was practically from the same mould as Xie Lian's own!
To look at this divine statue so up close, it was like staring in a mirror, and even that supposedly kind smile now appeared disturbing, and Xie Lian couldn't help but get goosebumps, "This..."
Mu Qing said coldly, "Are you still going to tell me I've been mistaken?"
It was with much effort that Xie Lian finally squeezed out, "...Why would there be one of my divine statues here?"
Mu Qing however, said, "One? Not just one. Look closely."
Then, he yanked off the veil from the face of another divine statue. That face was also undoubtedly Xie Lian's face!
Pulling off the veils from the faces of five to six divine statues, and they were all exactly the same!
"This is certainly a Cave of Ten Thousand Gods," Mu Qing said, "But in fact, there's only one god being worshipped here!"
And it was all him!
All around them were his own face, it was as if Xie Lian had sunken into a mysterious and bizarre dream. He felt dizzy and lost for a good while and suddenly realized something, "Wait. Mu Qing. You didn't get a chance to see the faces of these statues earlier, right? You were going to remove the veils but you were stopped."
Mu Qing humphed, "I don't need to see the faces of these statues to know what's sculpted is you."
"What do you know?" Xie Lian asked.
Mu Qing rolled all the silk veils into a ball and tossed it to the side, his veins slightly popping, "How do I know? Because all the clothes, accessories, daily living were all my part of my responsibilities back then. I washed for you, I fixed for you, there is nothing in your wardrobe that is exactly the same under the sky, and these statues are too detailed, everything is there, exactly the same, completely! Of course I knew who the face belonged to when I saw the clothes!"
"..." Xie Lian covered his forehead, and started thinking back on all of Hua Cheng's odd behaviours along the way. Next to him, Feng Xin said, "The fact that he won't let us look at those statues only comes to show he knew exactly what's weird about them. That whole thing about how we all dropped in by accident after the avalanche was probably all nonsense. He must know what this place is."
Mu Qing added, "Not just that. I bet he was the one who threw us into that pit full of cobwebs. He must really want to kill us."
"But... Just what is with those statues?" Xie Lian wondered.
Looking closely, every single statue here were carved as if they were alive, the details more than detailed, almost to the point of frightening. It was easy to see just how closely the sculptor had observed the subject of his divine statues. Xie Lian dared say that even the most renown of sculptors of XianLe back then would not be able to carve to this level of excellence. It was as if the sculptor's mind was completely filled with this person, and his eyes only saw this person.
The three of them were surrounded by the statues who all bore the same face, and Feng Xin shuddered violently, "Honestly... what the fuck... too creepy... too fucking realistic."
And they were in such great numbers too.
"I suspect these statues are some sort of components needed for some wicked spell, let's destroy them." Mu Qing said. Then he moved to chop one with his hand. Xie Lian's mind was instantly pulled back to the present and he stopped him, "STOP!"
Mu Qing looked at him, "Are you sure? This wicked spell could be aimed at you."
Xie Lian pondered over it, but in the end still said, "Let's not act too recklessly. I think the possibility of it being a wicked spell is very small."
"I think it's quite big." Feng Xin said, "Honestly, what the fuck.... Doesn't looking at these things scare you?"
Mu Qing stared at Xie Lian who stared right back, "And what's the basis of your claim?"
"Nothing." Xie Lian said, "But, these divine statues are carved really nicely, very meticulously sculpted. If we destroy them before knowing anything, we may end up with regrets." After a pause, he added, "San Lang... might have lied to me about something, but, I believe, it's not anything that'd be harmful to me."
Mu Qing could not believe his ears, "...Did he actually cast something on you to confound your mind? I think even if he was to write 'suspicious' on his face you'll suddenly become illiterate."
While the two were talking, Feng Xin suddenly appeared as if he was about to face a great enemy, "WATCH OUT!"
Xie Lian and Mu Qing both tensed, and demanded, "What is it?"
"That cobweb is coming at us again!" Feng Xin exclaimed.
Sure enough, the palm torchlight illuminated the stone walls ahead, and upon it were large patches of dense white silk, and the three cursed 'oh crap' mentally, gearing themselves up for another clash. Yet unexpectedly, that while silk wasn't as aggressive as the ones in the pit earlier, and it didn't move nor did it attack, and was only no different than a normal gecko. The three waited for a while and Xie Lian said, "Those silk nets don't seem alive."
"If it's not alive then what is it for?" Feng Xin questioned.
Since Xie Lian was now bothered, he went up to study it for a bit, and afterwards he confirmed, "I think it's covering something."
The three came before the stone wall. Xie Lian tried pulling and ripped off a large piece of the white silk. That white silk was expectedly tough and it wasn't easy to tear down, but it wasn't completely impossible either.
What the veils covered was the true face of those divine statues, then what was hidden on the stone walls?
The other two also joined in on the tearing of those cobweb nets, each taking care of different areas. Soon after, a piece of stone wall was revealed on Xie Lian's side, "It's a mural!"
Upon the stone wall, what those cobwebs were securely hiding, was a giant mural painting. The entire surface of the wall was filled thick with lines, colours, and little figures. They were divided into small sections, each with different styles; some coarse and wild, some elegant, some exquisite, some peculiar. After studying it for a while, Xie Lian said, "...He painted this."
"He?" Mu Qing echoed, "Hua Cheng? Are you sure?"
Xie Lian said softly, "Yes. There are words on here, and those words were written by him."
He pointed at a blood red little figure on the wall, and right next to it were a bunch of messy, indiscernible twisted characters, like they were written in a state of a trance or extreme suffering and the author was venting. Based on those characters, Xie Lian could guess that this painted blood red little figure was Hua Cheng himself, but for some unknown reason, he painted himself really ugly and disfigured. Feng Xin glanced at it and couldn't help but comment, "This writing... it's so ugly I'm blinded. I dare say even I write better than him."
A writing uglier than Feng Xin's was truly ugly beyond saving. Xie Lian's eyes were overwhelmed by all the colours; there was so much he didn't even know where to even start looking, but once he confirmed this was Hua Cheng's penmanship, it was like he suddenly discovered a huge treasure trove, and even his fingertips were slightly trembling. Just then, Mu Qing seemed to have discovered something not far away and called, "...Your Highness, come quick. Come quick and see!"
Only then did Xie Lian snap out of it, "What is it?"
Feng Xin and Mu Qing were already rendered speechless, and could only point at one of the paintings on the wall. That painting was considerably large on this wall, and right at the centre was a tall city fortress tower. Below it was a sea of people surrounding a glamourous stage. The lines were simple, yet with only a few strokes, it captured the scene exactly.
Mu Qing pointed at the centre of the painting and said with a trembling voice, "So... this... this was him?"
Xie Lian was also staring at that point.
The entire painting was colourless, and within it only two figures had colours. At the bottom there was a little figure, pure white, and seemingly to be glowing, looking towards the sky with his hands extended, about to catch the other little figure falling from the fortress tower.
And that little figure was blood red, blood red.
Mu Qing murmured, "...Is that him? Is that him? That little kid who fell during the ShangYuan Heavenly Ceremonial Parade? How could it be him? I can't believe? Crimson Rain Sought Flower? Is him???"
Feng Xin patted them madly and pointed to the side, "There's more in the back!"
Xie Lian walked over and saw in the other painting, there was a dilapidated little shrine, and upon the altar was a divine statue, also glowing faintly in white light. It held a sword in one hand and in the other was a red umbrella being handed downwards. At the bottom was an ugly little blood red figure, its hands cupped a small flower and was offering it to the statue.
Xie Lian suddenly felt his head ache, his hand flying to his temple that was now throbbing and continued to look.
The next painting seemed to be depicting a battlefield. Large bands of soldiers were fixing their armours ready to attack, and in the sky floated a little white figure, a long sword in one hand, mighty and glorious. Below, among the dark and thick troops was another little blood red figure, its head raised, watching the one in the sky.
Xie Lian was lost in thought when Feng Xin's disbelieving voice rang, "This red one, it's all one person, right? It's all him??? It's Hua Cheng? Holy fuck... he's been following you all this time?!"
Mu Qing was also looking incredulous, "It's not just following, he's also watching. Watching very closely. Very close. He's everywhere! Look, this here is the main street, the Buyou forest, what's this? BeiZi Hill? My god... was he the one who carved those divine statues?!"
Feng Xin was practically getting chills looking through those murals, "My fucking god... who the hell is he? He's been watching you since eight hundred years ago?! And he is still, even now? What the fuck! This is terrifying! Is he bewitched? What the hell does he want? Normal worshippers won't even do this much, just what the hell does he want??"
"There must be a plot... there must be!" Mu Qing exclaimed, "Let's keep looking, there must be some sort of a clue!"
Xie Lian was already completely shaken.
He stared at that blood red little figure on the wall, unable to wrap his mind around it, and only felt there were many, many memories that weren't forgotten but never took heart were fighting to rush into his brain, pouring in so fast his breathing almost couldn't keep up anymore. Just then, he heard the other two on the other side yell, and Xie Lian snapped out of it. "What is it now?"
Feng Xin and Mu Qing were both standing before a stone wall, looking like they saw something egregious. When they saw he was moving towards them, Feng Xin quickly turned around and stopped him, pushing him away, "Holy fuck, DON'T LOOK!"
"? What?" Xie Lian was bewildered, "What was it? Why can't I look?"
Mu Qing's face was also dark as he exclaimed, "... Let's stop looking. There's nothing good here, let's just get out of here as soon as possible!"
The two of them each grabbed one of his arms and started bolting again the entire way. Xie Lian complained as he was getting dragged along, "What are you both doing? I wasn't done looking at those murals!!"
Feng Xin yelled angrily as he ran, "THERE'S NO NEED TO LOOK ANYMORE! THOSE THINGS SHOULDN'T BE SEEN! MY FUCKING GOD! I HAVE NEVER WITNESSED ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN MY FUCKING LIFE! SUCH A PERSON!!!"
Xie Lian was completely confused, "What have you never witnessed? What's with San Lang?"
Mu Qing admonished, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING STILL CALLING HIM SAN LANG? STOP IT! YOU CAN'T GET AWAY FAST ENOUGH! DON'T GO CLOSE TO HIM ANYMORE IN THE FUTURE EITHER, HE'S NOT NORMAL, HE'S MENTAL, HE'S CRAZY!!!"
Xie Lian couldn't listen anymore, "Why are you two cursing him like this? None of us are really that normal, okay?"
"STOP ASKING!" Feng Xin cried, "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! HE'S NOT LIKE US! HE'S CRAZY! TOWARDS YOU, HE, HE... HE..."
"Towards me what?" Xie Lian demanded, "Please let me go. Let me go back and see for myself, alright?"
One wanted to go back, the other two were pulling, and the three were stuck in a stalemate when suddenly, ahead of them came a chillingly cold voice, "Didn't I say not to touch things randomly in someone else's territory?"
The three of them froze and turned their heads to look. Ahead stood a red clad figure. Hua Cheng was leaning against the stone wall, blocking their way, and he smiled, "Otherwise, I can't say exactly what would happen."
While his face was smiling, his eyes had not a trace of mirth, and was instead dark and muddied. He hugged one of his arms while the other hand was idly twiddling something small.
It was that deep red coral pearl tied on that thin lock of hair. The gentle red luster of that coral was as bright and dazzling as the red affinity knot between his fingers.