Hua Cheng was sick.
Although it was just a small illness,
It turned out that the Ghost King could also get sick.
This was really amazing.
Therefore, when Xie Lian returned to the Thousand Lantern Temple and went to check Hua Cheng's calligraphy as usual, he was very worried when he saw his slightly red face.
After pressing Hua Cheng onto the divine platform — — that's right, the two of them rolled around on this spacious divine platform all day long.
In any case, there was no statue of a god.
Xie Lian stretched out his hand.
He touched his cheeks and forehead and became even more worried. "It's so hot."
Hua Cheng smiled. "Of course it's hot when I see Brother. If Brother touches it again, it'll be even hotter. "
Xie Lian was stunned at first.
He quickly tried to pretend that his face was red from anger.
"Even when you're sick, your mouth is still so dishonest."
Hua Cheng said innocently, "Did I say anything? I'm very honest. Brother, don't worry.
It's just a small matter.
It's fine. "
However, Xie Lian could tell that his voice was deeper and hoarser than usual.
Fatigue could be seen between his brows as he said, "Then you should rest well.
I'll stay here with you for the next few days and wait for you to recover. "
After he finished speaking,
He brought the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to the side of the divine platform.
Hua Cheng patted his side and said, "Brother, aren't you coming up to the stage to accompany me?"
Once he went up, he wouldn't be able to rest for the next few days.
Xie Lian tactfully said, "No, I, San Lang, am too tired."
Hua Cheng smiled. "How could it be? If it was Brother, why would San Lang be afraid of working hard?"
Xie Lian stopped messing around with him and concentrated on writing his calligraphy. Hua Cheng turned around and held his cheek with one hand as he stared at his face.
No matter how many times he stared at him, Xie Lian would always blush from his gaze. He said rather uncomfortably, "… … San Lang, look at the calligraphy, not me."
Hua Cheng sighed and said, "Brother, to tell you the truth, I get a headache every time I see this stuff. But since it's written by you, I can't bear to not read it. My illness might be caused by reading too many calligraphy books."
Xie Lian said, "How can there be such an illness?"
Hua Cheng giggled. "Why don't you look at Brother? Brother looks much better than calligraphy. Maybe you'll get better after looking at me a few more times."
Xie Lian felt helpless and amused at the same time. Putting down his brush, he shook his head and said, "Why do you like to talk nonsense more and more now? Alright, I got it. I'll listen to you and stop looking at the thread. What are you doing then? "
Hua Cheng said, "Actually, you don't have to do anything. As long as you accompany me like this, I'll be fine in no time."
Xie Lian touched his forehead again. Although this person had the face of a handsome man, now he was acting like a spoiled child, reminding him of a child nestled in a warm bed in winter, with a red face peeking out. His heart was filled with affection. After thinking for a while, he said, "Well, it just so happens that I received something today."
He rummaged around in his sleeves and took out something. "This is an old book that I collected today. I was just about to read it. Let me read you a story. "
In his hand was a very old booklet. It was tattered and its pages were yellowed. It carried a strange scent of books and ink. It must have been flipped through countless times.
However, Hua Cheng said, "I won't listen."
Xie Lian asked curiously, "Why?"
Hua Cheng said lazily, "In any case, it's just the stories of the other Celestial Officials. I know exactly what's going on with their trivial matters. What's there to listen to? Why do I need to trouble my brother to read it to me?"
That's right. After all, Hua Cheng was a man who knew the dark history of many powerhouses in the Three Realms. Hua Cheng said, "If big brother really wants to read it, why don't you read something else? For example, your own story. "
Xie Lian smiled and said, "Regarding my matters, is there anyone who is clearer than you, who has seen more?"
Hua Cheng said, "Tell me more. I want to hear it. No matter how much I hear, it won't be enough. "
Xie Lian knew that he was serious and carefully combed the hair on his cheek. Inadvertently, he glanced at it again and suddenly said in surprise, "San Lang, it seems like you and I are really written here."
"Is that so?"
Xie Lian flipped through the booklet again and said, "It's true. It's written about a lot of Ghost Kings in red and tattered immortals. That's you and me, right? "
Hua Cheng's interest was also piqued. "Oh? What's written? "
Xie Lian was also very curious about how the common people would make up stories about him and Hua Cheng. Thus, he opened the book of stories and started reading to Hua Cheng. "A long long time ago, there was a Ghost King who loved to wear red. Although the Ghost King was extremely powerful and sat on a few mountains of gold and silver, he was very unhappy. Because he was very lonely and missed his wife … … "
"… …"
Xie Lian burst out in laughter. He couldn't continue reading and said, "Lonely Ghost King stayed in an empty nest … … hahaha … … hahahaha … …"
Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows. "That's not wrong. At that time, big brother wasn't here, so I was very lonely. "
Xie Lian's face heated up and he continued reading.
A long long time ago, there was a Ghost King who loved to wear red. Although the Ghost King was extremely powerful and sat on a few mountains of gold and silver, he was very unhappy. Because he was very lonely and missed his wife.
However, he waited for several hundred years and still didn't see his beloved. Thus, he went to consult an old immortal who was very good at fortune-telling. Where was his wife?
The old immortal told him, "You and the person you are waiting for will reunite on a mountain. Your wife will wear a wedding dress and ride a sedan chair to marry you. "
The Ghost King was determined to find his wife. Thus, he went to that mountain and patiently waited.
And in a very, very distant place, there was also a tattered immortal.
The tattered immortal collected trash, so he was the poorest among the Heavenly Officials. He was even poorer than a lot of mortals.
However, although he was very poor, he was very kind. One day, on the way back from collecting trash, the immortal saw a girl crying on the side of the road. He asked, "Girl, what's making you so sad?"
The girl cried and said, "I'm going to get married, but on the day of the wedding, I have to cross a mountain. A ghost groom lives on the mountain, and he specializes in snatching brides who pass by. Only a few were rescued, but I will be snatched and killed!"
The tattered immortal was very sympathetic and was also determined to get rid of evil for the people. Thus, he decided to replace the girl in getting married and kill that monster.
The tattered immortal had two good friends. Because one was hot-tempered and the other was stingy, they were called the hot-tempered immortal and the stingy immortal respectively. As they beat each other, they told him, "That ghost groom is a Great Ghost King. He has a bad temper and is very cunning. He hates immortals the most. If you go to catch him, you will definitely be eaten!"
However, the immortal insisted on going. Thus, they made a sedan chair for the immortal. On the day of the wedding, the immortal wore a beautiful wedding dress borrowed from the Wind Master Goddess. He pretended to be a bride and sat in the sedan chair. He was carried up the mountain by his two friends who had been fighting each other along the way.
In the pitch-black night, a demonic wind blew. When the sedan chair was carried up the mountain, there was no one there. The immortal waited and waited until the groom finally arrived.
When he lifted the veil to take a look, the immortal was surprised to find that the Ghost King was actually an extremely handsome young man.
What surprised him even more was that this young groom was very polite. He seemed to have a good upbringing and was gentle and considerate. He didn't shed his human skin to reveal his true face and didn't force him to do anything bad. He didn't look like the terrifying Great Ghost King in the legends at all.
This mountain was very big. The Great Ghost King brought the immortal to his cave abode and said to him, "From now on, I am your husband and you are my beloved wife. This whole mountain is mine and also yours. You can look around as you please. But remember, there are two houses at the back of the mountain. You must not go there. "
The immortal asked, "Why not?"
The Ghost King's groom answered, "That is my secret. You don't need to know. However, even if you want to go, you can't because there is a barrier in front of the two houses. You must have something on me to pass through the barrier. "
The immortal continued to ask, "What thing?"
The Ghost King answered, "One house hides dirty trash. You must use something that I can touch and a lot of it to open it. The other house hides a powerful talisman. You must use something that I can't touch but is very hot to open it."
Of course, the immortal didn't listen to him. Although he pretended to be very obedient in front of the Great Ghost King, once the Great Ghost King left, he leaped onto roofs and vaulted over walls to quietly go to the back of the mountain. As expected, he heard terrifying howls and cries for help coming from the house that hid the dirty trash.
The immortal suspected that the missing brides were locked here. So, he decided to steal something from the Great Ghost King and open the mysterious house.
But what did he want to steal?
The Great Ghost King had a head of long black hair. Sometimes it was loose, sometimes it was tied up crookedly. The first idea the immortal came up with was to steal a few strands of his hair every day. He asked, "Excuse me, can we stay in the same house?"
His groom answered politely, "Of course. We are husband and wife. "
Just like that, they stayed in the same room. Although they slept on the same bed, the immortal didn't let the groom take off his clothes. The Great Ghost King also gracefully didn't touch him.
However, the immortal soon realized that his groom didn't lose a single hair. No matter when he helped him comb his hair in the morning or when he slept at night, not a single hair could be seen on the pillow, bed, floor or comb!
This was going to be a real headache. The immortal took a sword and wanted to secretly cut off a strand of hair while the Great Ghost King was sleeping. But the Great Ghost King was very vigilant. He immediately opened his eyes when he approached. The immortal was caught red-handed, but he was very calm. To make the Great Ghost King not suspect him, he immediately cut off a strand of his hair and gave it to him.
The Great Ghost King was very happy after receiving it.
Very quickly, the quick-witted immortal thought of another idea. He said to the Great Ghost King, "Excuse me, can I kiss you?"
His groom said cheerfully, "Of course. We are husband and wife. "
So, the immortal took the initiative to hug the ghost groom and kissed him for a long time. Finally, he tasted a little bit of the ghost groom's taste. He quickly closed his mouth and ran to the back of the mountain.
But when he arrived, he realized that this still wasn't enough. Because he wanted a lot of things, but he didn't get enough. He still couldn't go in. He could only stick his head into the house, but his body couldn't go in no matter what.
The ragged immortal was a little depressed. He originally thought it would be easy to steal something from the Great Ghost King, but he didn't expect it to be so difficult.
He thought of his good friend, the Wind Master Empress, so he went to visit the Fengshui Temple and asked, "What else do I have to do to get something from the Great Ghost King, and a lot of it?"
The Wind Master Empress said, "Tch! That's too simple. Just change into a woman's appearance and go to the bridal room with him! "
The ragged immortal quickly shook his head. The immortal method he cultivated had a rule. Once he lost his virginity, his magic power would be greatly damaged. How could this method work?
At this time, the Water Master returned and happened to hear the Empress' words. He shouted angrily, "Outrageous! How can you say such immoral words! "
The Water Master would use money to smash people to death when he was angry, so the ragged immortal quickly ran away. As he ran, he thought of his two good friends, the irascible immortal and the stingy immortal, so he went to ask them what to do.
The irascible immortal and the stingy immortal were fighting each other again. As they fought, they told him an incredible piece of news. Because too many people had been captured, the Heavenly Officials were about to attack this mountain and capture this Great Ghost King!
The immortal was shocked and became worried. After many days of interaction, he now felt that this young Ghost King wouldn't do such a bad thing. Maybe there was some misunderstanding, maybe what was locked in the back mountain wasn't those brides, but something else.
However, because the ragged immortal was very poor, he had no status, so no one listened to him. The immortal was very anxious. If he didn't find out the truth, perhaps the Great Ghost King would be surrounded by the Heavenly Officials.
Without a choice, the immortal could only run back and ask the Great Ghost King, "Excuse me, can you go to the bridal room with me?"
His bridegroom said with a smile, "Ah, of course. We're husband and wife. "
Thus, the ragged immortal and the Great Ghost King went to the bridal room.
On the way, the immortal was afraid that the Great Ghost King wouldn't leave many important things for him, so he hugged him tightly and shouted, "Can you give them all to me? Can you give me a few more times? "
His bridegroom said gently and considerately, "If you want."
The immortal answered, "I want …"
Thus, the quick-witted immortal got what he had been looking for. He touched many, many things on the Great Ghost King's body.
The next day, the immortal brought the things he spent a night begging for from the Great Ghost King to the house where the filthy trash was hidden. This time, he finally entered.
Once he opened the house, the immortal found many disheveled corpses, some of which had already turned into white bones!
These corpses were all wearing wedding clothes, so they were probably the missing brides. With his hopes dashed, the immortal was shocked and sad. When he turned around, he suddenly found that there was a person standing behind him — the Great Ghost King was actually standing there without him knowing!
The immortal was shocked. He remembered that the irascible immortal and stingy immortal told him that the Great Ghost King was very cunning and hated immortals. Now that he had no magic power, could it be that the Great Ghost King had already seen through his identity and had been lying to him all along?
The immortal was angry and sad, so he broke into a run, running faster and faster. Unexpectedly, he didn't run out. It turned out that he ran too fast, and the things that the Great Ghost King gave him fell down and were blocked by the barrier in front of the house.
The Great Ghost King caught up, hugged the immortal, and finally explained the ins and outs of the matter.
It turned out that the Great Ghost King didn't catch and eat people, he was only waiting here for his destined person. One day, a wedding procession accidentally bumped into him while he was walking in the mountains. The groom in the procession was so scared that he ran away, leaving the crying bride sitting where she was.
The Great Ghost King didn't want to cause trouble, but the bride said that she didn't want to marry that kind of man, so she didn't go back and left alone. Later, he encountered the same thing a few times, so the Great Ghost King simply waited here while testing the newlyweds. If the groom dared to stand up and protect his bride from the demons and ghosts, he wouldn't make things difficult and let them go back. And if there was a malicious groom who pushed his bride into the demons' mouths to buy time to escape, he would catch and lock her in this house.
Because these people had evil intentions, they would often kill each other, and finally turn into white bones. The immortal saw their corpses. Some of their brides had returned home, and some had fled to faraway places with their lovers, roaming the world, or settling down in their own homes.
The Great Ghost King said, "I've waited for you for hundreds of years, big brother, you're finally here."
Only then did the two dispel the misunderstanding and hug each other. In order to leave the house, the Great Ghost King gave the immortal a lot of his things. Unexpectedly, there was a rumble in the sky. It turned out that the Heavenly Officials had been afraid of the Great Ghost King for a long time, and they finally seized this opportunity to attack him!
The ragged immortal rushed out and gave a round of beating, beating back a circle of Heavenly Officials. But the whole mountain was destroyed by the Heavenly Officials, and the Great Ghost King was pressed under the mountain.
The mountain was too high, and the immortal was afraid of crushing the Great Ghost King, so he desperately used his shoulders to support it. Right at this moment, he suddenly remembered that there was still a mysterious house that hadn't been opened. There was a powerful talisman hidden in this house, and it could definitely topple the mountain, so he rushed into the cave. Once he entered, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Great Ghost King was standing there unharmed, and even stronger!
The two broke out of the mountain, and together, they beat away the Heavenly Officials that came to cause trouble. Finally, they sat side by side on the top of the mountain, looking at the clouds and stars that the Heavenly Officials left behind when they escaped.
The immortal asked, "Didn't you say that the house that hid dirty trash needed to be touched on your body, and a lot of things to open it, but the house that hid the talisman needed something that you couldn't touch on your body, but was very hot to open?"
The Great Ghost King said with a smile, "Yes. Didn't big brother get that kind of thing long ago? "
The immortal knew. That kind of thing was the Great Ghost King's passionate love for him.
And so, the ragged immortal and the Great Ghost King happily went to the bridal chamber together, and they never separated again.
"…"
"…"
After reading the story, Xie Lian was still confused, and said, "What is this all about? Isn't this story too overdone? No, no, no, this … "
What kind of mess is this? Can this even be called a story???
And Hua Cheng had already collapsed on the bed laughing. Xie Lian was puzzled, "This is completely wrong! What is the basis of this story? That matter on Mount Yu Jun? That matter shouldn't be like this … it's completely twisted? And, is this kind of story really okay for a child to read? It doesn't seem too appropriate. Who wrote this??? And what's with these characters that look very familiar, but also a little off … "
Looking carefully, although the story in this booklet looked innocent at first glance, as if it was for a child to read before bedtime, the inside was very overdone, and this was even more difficult to look straight at than the simple fiery explosion. But when he read to the end, he felt strangely moved, and it made Xie Lian wonder if there was something wrong with him.
Hua Cheng said, "Hmm? It's not completely twisted. At least a few things are right. For example, I did call big brother 'big brother', and for example, I did go to Mount Yu Jun to receive big brother's bridal sedan, and for example, on the night of big brother's bridal chamber, indeed … "
Xie Lian thought that after so many years, he had cultivated a thick face, but who knew that in front of Hua Cheng, his face would often turn pink, and he said, "How can you even know such things! … And, and besides that, there's not a single thing that's right … "
Although he knew that many made-up folktales were worlds apart from the original, and that it wasn't strange for them to become whatever they turned out to be after being processed countless times, seeing it with his own eyes still shocked him to the extreme. There were several times in the middle when he was so ashamed that he couldn't continue reading, but Hua Cheng forced him to continue reading for him. He really wanted to hit someone, but he just couldn't. Hua Cheng still had an expression of being used to strange things, and said, "It must have been some insider who leaked out some bits and pieces, and then it was made up by someone."
Xie Lian tossed the storybook aside and said, "Don't read this kind of messy, idle book. Rest well."
Hua Cheng clapped his hands and requested, "You wrote it well, you have talent. After listening to big brother read this story, I felt a hundred times more energetic. Big brother, read another one. "
Xie Lian flatly refused, "No need."
"Big brother, my head hurts."
"This …"
"Big brother."
"… Fine."
It was rare for Hua Cheng to have a minor illness. Normally, Xie Lian was always obedient to him, and he always complied with his every request. How could he resist at this time?
No matter how ashamed he was, he could only restrain himself. Picking up that yellowish booklet again, he lay down next to Hua Cheng. As Hua Cheng wrapped his arms around his waist, he braced himself and continued reading.