His head was dropped to the side as if he had lost consciousness. When Xie Lian saw it was Lang Ying, he subconsciously moved to save him but quickly stopped in his step, his mind coming around: There was clearly no one else but White No-Face here earlier, so why would
Lang Ying suddenly appear?
Seeing that the pure and holy statue of the God-Pleasing Crown Prince was corrupted by dripping blood, Hua Cheng was obviously enraged, his expression radiating dark fury, and the scimitar E-Ming exuded a chilling aura. "Get the hell down." He said.
As expected, "Lang Ying's" drooping head righted itself, blinking open his eyes, and slowly "pulled" himself down from the sword, dropping to the ground.
Earlier, when White No-Face blew up that wave of silver butterflies that surrounded to attack him, he used that moment of blinding silver light to hide himself under the white veil of this divine statue and transformed into the appearance of Lang Ying. Since he could disguise himself as Lang Ying, it meant he must've seen Lang Ying before somewhere.
"Where's the real Lang Ying?" Xie Lian demanded.
"Your Highness, maybe there was never a 'real Lan Ying'." Hua Cheng said.
If, since the beginning, 'Lang Ying' had never existed, and it was only White No-Face in his unrecovered form, then everything could be easy to explain. But, when Xie Lian remembered the little girl Xiao Ying who died on Mount Yu Jun, he would rather this explanation be illogical. He then swiftly thought of another possibility and said slowly, "Or perhaps... he devoured Lang Ying."
Hearing this, the "Lang Ying" before them started growing taller, his body pulling upwards, the bandages on his face unwrapping and shedding, revealing that mask inside, and he slightly lifted his head, seeming to be smiling, "You guessed right."
So that was indeed it.
White No-Face was certainly pulverized and dispersed by Jun Wu. However, he clung on and left a wisp of a broken soul drifting in the mortal realm. Who knows how long he drifted, who knows when it happened, but he found Lang Ying who possessed the same ghost body. He must've used some way to seduce or deceive Lang Ying into making Lang Ying agree to hosting him on his own body, otherwise, by his remaining weak soul, he might not have had the ability to devour Lang Ying. He stayed glued on Lang Ying's body and slowly recovered, and the end result was what was before Xie Lian and Hua Cheng now, ghost devouring ghost, White No-Face ate his host Lang Ying. Just as how He Xuan devoured the Reverend of Empty Words, Lang Ying ironically became his slave.
It only took a few words before "Lang Ying" had completely transformed into the appearance of White No-Face. Hua Cheng eyed him, "Why would Lang Ying agree to letting you borrow his spirit body?"
A request like this was no different than a stranger asking "Please open your doors and let me in to live in your house and eat your food". Lang Ying was still a ghost who lived for hundreds of years after all, and while he was timid and hesitant, he shouldn't be this foolish. White No-Face replied warmly, "I can of course answer your question. But, are you sure the one next to you would want me to say it here?"
Hua Cheng looked to his side. Xie Lian's expression was slightly strange and didn't notice his gaze at all. White No-Face then said, "Surname Lang, YongAn, the human face disease. Why did he agree to let me eat him? Can you not guess why?"
Xie Lian's face was instantly paled by a shade, the veins on the back of his hands popped and he slashed with his sword, shouting, "SHUT UP!"
White No-Face sidestepped and avoided the strike, but CLANG! The attack sliced through the sword gripped in the hands of his own divine statue. Now he'd done it; the God-Pleasing Crown Prince statue wielded a broken sword, and the statue itself thus became a ruined artefact. Xie Lian instantly snapped out of it, like he was suddenly drenched by a bucket of cold water. It was as if the wraith butterflies were outraged and they swarmed over. White No-Face laughed emotionlessly, casual and at ease, and using his sleeve to cover his face, he no longer persisted and swiftly disappeared into the darkness. Xie Lian stared at that broken stone sword on the ground and subconsciously muttered to Hua Cheng, "I'm sorry..."
However, Hua Cheng said, "Gege don't be silly. Why apologize to me? He's gone. Now what?"
Xie Lian pulled himself together somewhat and replied, "Did he flee? We can't let him enter the Kiln!"
The two chased out of the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods and hiked onto the snowy mountain once more. Right as they came out, they could feel the earth quake the mountains shake. They looked upwards and waves of avalanche were crashing down. Compared to the one they experienced before, this roaring avalanche was only bigger not smaller. It was as if something buried under the heavy snow was awakened and was roaring. "Can we still make it up there?!" Xie Lian wondered.
Hua Cheng clutched his hand firmly and said, "We can if you follow me!"
The two went up against the crashing current of ice and snow. Sure enough, while it was difficult and extremely dangerous, and every step they took they had to take three back, still they avoided the most violent of the snow and rubble flow and countless pits, creating a path up the mountain from their tireless charging.
Finally, they hiked to the highest point; ice sealed the mountaintop, so thick who knows how deep and how many layers were frozen beneath. Xie Lian felt if he tried going even a bit faster he would slip, but Hua Cheng held his hand and moved forward with steady steps, completely unafraid. The two came to the mouth of the volcano, and that opening looked like a giant mouth shouting to the heavens, exceedingly impressive. Looking downwards, it was complete darkness below. Maybe it was his imagination, but in the deepest recesses there seemed to be a terrifying red light flashing in intervals, sometimes there, sometimes not. Xie Lian felt slight panic for some reason, and he held down the bamboo hat on his head, making sure it didn't get blown away by the snowy winds, "Did he go in already?"
Hua Cheng only took a glance before his expression turned grim, "Yes."
"How do you know?"
"The Kiln is closing."
Xie Lian was taken aback and instantly felt caught off guard, "What's going on? Why is it closing so soon? Don't there need to be at least several ghosts inside before the slaughtering can begin?"
"That's the usual case," Hua Cheng said, "However, if the Kiln believes the entrant has extremely high potential of breaking through the Kiln, then as long as that ghost makes the mountain-sealing request, it will close." After a pause, he added, "That's what I did back then."
"So is he a Supreme or not?" Xie Lian asked, "What will happen If a Supreme Ghost King enters the Kiln again?"
"It's the same thing as what would happen to an ascended heavenly official who have gone through another Heavenly Calamity."
Which meant, if he was already strong, he will become even stronger!
If they allow White No-Face to cross the obstacle, then the consequences would be unimaginable.
And after he exited the mountain as a Supreme, the first one he would seek would surely be Xie Lian.
Eyeing that bottomless, infinite abyss for a while, Xie Lian said slowly, "San Lang, I... I might need to go down there to resolve things."
"Go. I'll come with you." Hua Cheng replied quietly.
Xie Lian looked up and gazed at him. Hua Cheng looked up too and met his eyes, cocking an eyebrow as he smirked, "It's just going down to kill an eyesore and breaking through the Kiln again, that's all. It's not like it's anything hard."
Seeing him so relaxed, Xie Lian's tensed emotions seemed to have loosened some too, and he smiled. An instant later, Hua Cheng said, "However, there is one thing."
Xie Lian: "?"
He tilted his head and one of Hua Cheng's arms suddenly snaked around his waist and brought him into his arms, the other hand lifted his chin gently. Then, his lips were enveloped.
They kissed and embraced for a long time in the snowstorm before their lips parted slowly. Xie Lian was dazed for a good moment before he jolted, came to, and became flustered, widening his eyes, "...Wh-What's this all of a sudden?!"
Although it wasn't the first time they had done something like this, but before they had always used grand and dignified reasons like "lending spiritual powers", "transferring air", "accident", to justify their actions. Now that some things had come out into the open, these excuses were suddenly exposed of their falsehoods, and the meaning of these actions became much more significant. He nearly didn't know where to put his hands; to hold on Hua Cheng's arms or push against Hua Cheng's chest? Should he hold back or block Hua Cheng's face?
Next to his ear, Hua Cheng seemed to have puffed a breath and he whispered, "...I'll, lend a bit of spiritual powers to Your Highness in case of emergencies... will you accept it?"
Xie Lian unconsciously swallowed and he stuttered, "Th-This is a bit? It seems too much... I haven't, I haven't paid you back for all the times before..."
"It's not much. There's no rush. Take your time to pay back, the account will clear one day." Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian "En, en, en"-ed randomly a couple times, and was just about to run away when Hua Cheng pulled him to a stop, pointing out, "Your Highness! Where are you running to? You're going in the wrong direction."
Only then did Xie Lian discover he was running back the way they came and immediately turned back around, even slipping on the ice once. He quickly pressed down on his bamboo hat, "N-No. I, I'm just a little cold, thought I'd jog around a bit, warm up..."
He put the bamboo hat on but then carried it on his back to carry, then wore it again. Finally, he held onto Hua Cheng's hand, gripping it tightly. The two stood side by side and watched that immense abyss below.
Hua Cheng's voice was casual, "After this is all resolved, I'll show gege my proudest sculpted statue."
"Okay." Xie Lian replied.
Then, the two jumped down together.
The gusts of wild winds shaved past his ears, a force so strong it was like the crashing waves, but their hands weren't separated by that power, and instead they held on even harder.
Yet unexpectedly, halfway in the air, Xie Lian's grip turned empty.
It wasn't that his hand slipped or Hua Cheng let go; the hand held in his palm disappeared all of a sudden, no more substance.
Xie Lian's heart lurched and he shouted, "SAN LANG?!"
He was falling rapidly, and his cry a moment ago was already over ten miles above his head, his voice sounding unreal. It was a long time before Xie Lian finally landed steadily. He immediately rose to his feet and called out, "San Lang?"
There was no answer. Only a hollow echo told him just what an immense, empty space he was currently standing in.
It was darkness all around except for above, and Xie Lian looked up. Above, there was a snow white sky and it was gradually shrinking. That must be the mouth of the volcano of the Kiln slowly closing.
But, where did Hua Cheng go?
Crackle whoosh, and Xie Lian lit up a palm torch, hoping to illuminate and see just what things were like down here. However, the darkness was immeasurably deep, and this little bit of flames couldn't show anything, the firelight itself seeming to be coldly absorbed by the dark void. Moreover, he accidentally didn't control his powers well and the flames erupted a little too high, almost burning his own head, so he quickly tossed that fire onto the ground. Coincidentally, that firelight brightened the back of a faint white silhouette not far away. Xie Lian was instantly alarmed, "WHO IS IT?!"
That white silhouette turned around and answered quietly, "You know who I am."
Although he answered, but the muscles on that man's face did not move an inch. Naturally. Since, it wasn't the face of a man, but that of a half crying, half smiling mask.
Xie Lian blurted, "SAN LANG!"
Even if he would get uncontrollable chills and terror when he saw this face, but this call wasn't because he was scared, but because he was worried. Of course, there was still no one who answered, and that crying-smiling mask had come closer by another step, "No need to yell anymore. The Kiln is now sealed shut. There is now only you and me in here, no third person."
Xie Lian looked up again subconsciously. Earlier there was still a small snowy white scene of the sky, but now, that little bit of light was completely swallowed by the darkness around them. Which meant, the Kiln truly has sealed the mountain.
Xie Lian had never expected things would turn out like this. Him, and White No-Face, the two of them, locked inside the Kiln.
Just them two? Why them two?!
Xie Lian gripped Fang Xin and pointed the sword at him, "What is going on here? Are you meddling again? Where is he? Where is he right now?"
White No-Face clamped the edge of the sword with two fingers, and the other hand flicked upon the blade, the CLUNG! Clear and crisp, "He's gone."
Xie Lian watched this move of his and his eyes turned cold, "Explain yourself clearly. What do you mean "gone"?"
"He doesn't want to follow you anymore. He left. Dead. What do you think?" White No-Face said.
"..."
Xie Lian first felt his heart drop, then immediately after a violent rage rolled up, and he struck, "STOP YOUR NONSENSE!"
White No-Face once again caught that blade effortlessly, "Fine, fine. I was talking nonsense. Don't worry, I've already sent him outside the Kiln, so even if he wants to rush over now it'd be too late."
Xie Lian really didn't mind whether if Hua Cheng could make it, as long as he was okay, and he quietly sighed a breath of relief. White No-Face continued, "But, it's probably for the best that he doesn't come in. Otherwise, even if he doesn't think so now, later when he sees the state of you, who knows if he'll still want to be with you."
Xie Lian couldn't stand him anymore and swung his sword again, yelling, "SHUT UP! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU! WHAT DO YOU WANT? JUST WHAT DO YOU WANT?? HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP CLINGING TO ME???"
White No-Face easily dodged every single one of his strikes, and Xie Lian cried in rage, "Why haven't you died? WHY DID YOU COME TO THE Kiln?"
"Because of you!" White No-Face replied.
Xie Lian's movement faltered, and he huffed a breath, "What do you mean?"
White No-Face answered languidly, "Because you've come. So, I've come too."
Hearing an answer like this, Xie Lian's face was going twisted.
However, not matter how enraged he was, how strong his murderous intent, it was as if White No-Face could forever predict what his next strike would be and avoid each attack by mere millimeters. The more Xie Lian struck, the more he understood a cruel fact:
He couldn't win!
"That's right." Like he could read his mind, White No-Face said, "You can't win."
The moment those words left his lips, a blade was pierced through Xie Lian's wrist. Excruciating pain spread throughout his body, and Xie Lian involuntarily loosened his grip on the sword. The next second, his hair was grabbed, forcibly yanked back then bashed into the ground!
His ears were ringing, his nose and mouth were filled with the astringence of blood, and his head concussed.
It was a while later before Xie Lian felt a hand pull his head out from the shattered ground, and a voice came from above, "So sad, so pitiful."
Xie Lian choked out a mouthful of blood. White No-Face said, "Every time I meet Your Highness, you always look like this. Makes one ache. Makes one excited."
Xie Lian bit back another mouthful of blood, refusing to let it be coughed out, and he croaked, "...Don't be too pleased. I might not be able to win against you right now, but... someone can. Even if you can emerge from the Kiln, Jun Wu can very well kill you again."
Besides, there's still Hua Cheng!
Yet unexpectedly, White No-Face replied, "Who says the one who will emerge from the Kiln would be me?"
Hearing this, Xie Lian was taken aback.
Not him? Who else could it be if not him?
White No-Face lifted his face to look at his eyes, and he said warmly, "Your Highness, I think, you might have misunderstood. There certainly will be a Supreme who will emerge from this Kiln, but, it won't be me. It would be you."
Xie Lian was shaken to the core, "...What did you say? I'm not..."
Before he even finished he understood and instantly his body was covered in cold sweat from the shock.
White No-Face said, "That's right. That's exactly it. Congratulations, you've finally understood my real objective. Isn't this your favourite 'Third Path'?"
Currently in the Kiln, there was only one supreme and one god, and by the looks of things, there was only two paths to take. Either White No-Face killed him and emerge from the Kiln; or the two could be trapped within the Kiln forever, escaping an erstwhile dream.
However, there was actually a third path.
As long Xie Lian kill himself right now, become a ghost and kill White No-Face, then he can become a Supreme and break through the Kiln!
Xie Lian finally snapped out of his shock, "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! Are you crazy? Just what do you want? Why must you do this?? Have me become a Supreme? I'm not as crazy as you! Even if you want me to kill you there was no way I can defeat you, the Kiln won't recognize such a Supreme!"
It was the honest truth. To excel as a person didn't mean one could excel as a god; and to be able to become god didn't mean one could become a ghost. However, White No-Face said, "Really? Don't be so sure."
Then, his other hand reached out. With the firelight not too far away, Xie Lian could see that a mask appeared in that other hand. The exact same one as the one on White No-Face's face.
"Do you remember this cry-smiling mask?" White No-Face asked, "It suits you."
Xie Lian's eyes bulged, and terror was like a tide of insects, dense and packed as they crawled into his mind. He forced out weakly, "...Take it away, take it away... TAKE IT AWAY!"
White No-Face started laughing, "It seems, Your Highness' memory isn't that great. If that's the case, let me help you remember, hm?"
Then, without giving him a chance to protest, that tragically pale cry-smiling mask melted with the infinite darkness as it was heavily pressed onto Xie Lian's face.
———–
End of Book 3