Much ashamed, it wasn't until four hours later that Xie Lian had the time to sneak a peek at his scroll and finally learned the backstory of this Wind Master.
The Five Elemental Masters of the heavens used their titles to replace their surnames. For example, before the Earth Master ascended, his mortal name was called Ming Yi. After ascension, he was to be addressed as 'The Earth Master Yi'. As for the Wind Master, his old name was Shi Qingxuan, and after ascension, he was called 'The Wind Master Qingxuan'. Much fitting for his title, his personality was like the wind; he was sociable and generous, mindless of petty details, and very popular in the heavens, as apparent from him easily handing out ten thousand merits in the communication array.
But at the end of the day, as his older brother was the god that controlled mortal wealth, of course the Wind Master was generous and mindless of petty details.
Indeed, the older brother of Wind Master Qingxuan was the one called 'The Water Tyrant', the Water Master Wu Du.
Descending to the underworld together, the two gods walked side by side, chatting as they traveled. Xie Lian had his arms crossed and commented in amazement, "The Pei family producing two ascended generals under one name was already a legend, but you and your brother, one wind one water, ascending at the same time, is truly a tale of wonder."
It must be known that even in a million there may not be that one who had the ability to ascend. Pei Ming and Pei Su were separated by a few hundred years, and Pei Su wasn't even the direct descendant; he was from Pei Ming's brothers' branch of the family that was who knows how many times removed through the generations. The Water Master Wu Du and the Wind Master Qingxuan were real blood-related brothers, a real pair of ascended officials from the same house, thus truly incredible.
Shi Qingxuan laughed it off, "It's nothing. My brother and I were born from the same mother, grew up together, went to school together, cultivated together, so naturally we'd ascend together."
Xie Lian also learned about this when he was cramming from the scroll earlier. Shi Wu Du ascended first, but after only a few years, his brother Shi Qingxuan also successfully passed a heavenly calamity. Mortals often worship the two heavenly officials together in the same temple and praised them as equals. It was obvious the two brothers enjoyed a good relationship. As San Lang and Nan Feng had mentioned, the Water Master must be the reason Pei Ming wouldn't touch the Wind Master. After all, the brother of the Water Tyrant was not one to be picked on easily.
Coming to this point, Xie Lian thought of another detail and considered it before asking, "Lord Wind Master, at the Great Martial Hall earlier, the way General Pei spoke it sounded as if he shared a friendship with your brother. Wouldn't your filing the complaint against General Pei Junior affect..."
"Nah," Shi Qingxuan replied, "My brother already knows I can't stand Pei Ming."
"Knowing is one thing, action is another," Xie Lian said. "Wouldn't all of this cause a rift between the Water Master and General Pei?"
"If that caused a rift, even better! I wish my brother would stop hanging out with him, and leave the 'Three Tumors' moniker behind one day," Shi Qingxuan said.
Xie Lian stopped, "What 'Three Tumors'?"
Shi Qingxuan said astonished, "What! You don't know about this either? Fine, whatever. I now know you're not up to date with anything. You can just listen for giggles. The 'Three Tumors' is the nickname given to the three heavenly officials who don't have a good rep but have a good relationship with each other, and they are Ming Guang, Ling Wen, and my brother."
'I can't believe it's not Xie Lian, Xie Lian, and Xie Lian.' Xie Lian thought.
Shi Qingxuan fanned his Wind Master fan and continued, "Even if I can't stand him, the whole business this time around was started by Little Pei himself. There's no way I'd let Pei Ming pin this on the Guoshi of Banyue and protect Little Pei. It doesn't matter if you're mortal, or a god, or a demon, you have to be responsible for your own actions. Bullying a little girl is low."
The last line was uttered in contempt, and Xie Lian smiled. "The Wind Master is a defender of justice."
Shi Qingxuan laughed, "You're not bad yourself! I've heard rumours about the Banyue Pass here and there, but never had the time to investigate; plus, my brother would yell at me about it. With so much on my plate, I'd forgotten. When I heard you inquire about it in the communication array the other day, it reminded me there was such a case, and so I went to check it out. Turns out not only did you ask, you'd even gone yourself! So I thought, dang, what a guy!"
This Wind Master certainly had an extremely straightforward and interesting personality, and Xie Lian could understand why he was so popular in the heavens. He hadn't thought that after ascension he'd be able to form a friendship with a heavenly official like this, and couldn't help but smile happily. But just as he turned his head to face him, the white-clad cultivator beside him was transformed to a lady in white. It was so sudden, Xie Lian almost tripped in his step. "Lord Wind Master, why the sudden transformation?"
"Oh. Truth to be told, I'm actually more powerful in this form," Shi Qingxuan replied.
As aforementioned, the Wind Master and the Water Master were often worshipped together. However, this also produced a bizarre accident. Perhaps people thought that worshipping two male gods together in one temple was weird. Lords and Ladies go hand in hand, handsome and beautiful make a pair, that should be the way. Thus, after a while someone somewhere sculpted the Wind Master as a goddess.
Nevermind the goddess statue, they had to make up stories to go with it too, something like the Wind and Water gods used to be brothers and sisters; there's even a version where they were husband and wife. After a few hundred years, the stories spread and from them came even more outlandish legends. Once in a while the two officials would read through the tales out of curiosity, but each time they would cringe and fill an entire coop with goosebumps.
Nonetheless, there were more than many who believed in those outrageous stories, and the Wind Master's gender started getting mixed up; "My Lady, prithee watch over me" could be heard all over the place. Thus, Shi Qingxuan gained the nickname 'Lady Wind Master'.
Although silly, it was actually not that rare of an occurrence. Ling Wen for example also had a similar experience. Ling Wen was a lady official, but she didn't dress colourfully and fashionably like the other lady deities. She was often in black, serious and competent, and spent her days madly working through piles and piles of administrative scrolls in her palace. Although her personality was partly to blame, but much of it was due to another reason. If one should ask any mortal: Is Ling Wen a man or a woman? Anyone would respond with confidence: A man.
A Civil God was of course a male. Only for this, when Ling Wen ascended she suffered disadvantages. She was a civil goddess, but many in the mortal realm thought: how could women be in that position? How could ladies possibly ensure good fortune in literary competence? It must not be effective! Thus, although she worked hard, she still had very few devotees. Later, some of the devotees couldn't get over it, and rebuilt her statues into male gods, transforming her from the Goddess Ling Wen to the God Ling Wen, and even made up an entire set of extravagant backstory. After this change, her temples became prosperous and everyone praised how effective the God Ling Wen was. But the truth was, an official was an official, spiritual powers were all the same, and the legends were all fake. Still, the people ate them up. Since then, when Ling Wen needed to appear in dreams, she could only do so in the male form.
By the same logic, people believed that it was more appropriate to worship a man and a woman as a pair in the Wind and Water temples. Who cared if you were a god or a ghost? You must appear as people believed. Appearances could be different by a million miles and people would still see what they wanted to see. The Upper Court heavenly officials no longer cared for this kind of thing.
As for Shi Qingxuan himself, by Xie Lian's own observations, didn't appear to mind at all. In fact, he's completely immersed and enjoying himself, and was even passionately dragging others into it, making Xie Lian wonder about the real identity of the lady in black that was with the Wind Master the last time. In the four hours that they had spent traveling to the underworld together, Shi Qingxuan had been tirelessly trying to persuade Xie Lian into disguising himself as a woman, with very convincing reasons like "Women have stronger auras of yin, therefore much easier to hide in the Ghost City crowds."
Xie Lian thought about it and rejected the idea, "I don't have enough powers to transform."
"I'll lend you my powers!" Shi Qingxuan replied excitedly, "That's the whole reason why the Heavenly Emperor appointed me to this mission, no?"
"My lord, please save your powers for when we're actually fighting the enemy..."
Shi Qingxuan couldn't persuade Xie Lian, and stopped pushing. At this time, the two had reached a wild field in the middle of nowhere. The night had deepened, and crows cried crazedly in the darkness, creating a creepy atmosphere. Xie Lian looked around and said, "It must be here. There are many evil auras in the air and a large graveyard nearby, we'll for sure catch one or two going to the market. We'll follow when the time comes."
Thus, the two squatted on top of a burial mound and waited.
A moment later, Shi Qingxuan put one hand into a sleeve to rummage, and dug out a small jug of booze. "You want some?"
Xie Lian reached for the jug and took a small sip, feeling his throat burn, and gave the jug back. "Thanks."
Shi Qingxuan took the jug and gulped a couple swallows himself, "You can't drink?"
"I can," Xie Lian replied, "But drinking causes insanity, so just a taste is enough. What time is it?"
Shi Qingxuan hummed, and replied, "It's midnight."
"Must be soon then," Xie Lian said.
Just as he finished his sentence, a faint row of light appeared deep in the woods afar.
That faint row of light slowly came closer and closer, until finally the two could see it was a group of expressionless women dressed in white, walking in a line. Some are old, some are young, some beautiful, some ugly, each wearing the funeral garb, a white lantern in hand, walking in an easy pace.
They must be the female ghosts heading to the markets in the deep night.
"Let's follow," Xie Lian said under his breath.
Shi Qingxuan nodded, took a last swig from the jug and threw it aside. The two stood up and casually trailed behind the group of ghosts.
The two had already prepared beforehand and erased all their spiritual aura; when they walked they were like people shaped logs without a scent of life. The band of female ghosts before them held their white lanterns and followed an unknown path in the darkened woods, strolled while chatting in high pitched, delicate voices.
"I'm so glad the ghost market's opened again! I need a facial!" One said.
"What happened to your face? Didn't you just recently get a facial?" Another replied.
The first one responded, "It rotted again! Sigh, the one who serviced me last time said it was guaranteed fresh for a year! It hasn't even been half a year."
Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan trailed behind them, listening to their chatter, and didn't speak a word. When they heard something funny, they'd only lift their lips and eye each other. After about an hour, the group came to a valley.
Red light emitted from deep within the valley, and wafting in the ethereal night seemed to be music. Xie Lian grew more and more curious to finally see for himself what the Ghost City looked like. As they were entering the valley, however, the last one in the line of ghosts suddenly turned her head and discovered them. Confused, she asked, "Who are you two?"
The question made all the pale faced heads turn, and the women surrounded them, curious.
"When did they start following us? Those two weren't part of the group when we left the burial grounds?"
"Which burial ground did you come from? How come we've never seen your faces before?"
Xie Lian cleared his throat, "We... came from a burial ground much further away, so of course you've never seen us."
Shi Qingxuan smiled too, "That's right! We came from thousands of miles especially for the Ghost Market."
The group of white clad female ghosts were silent, and connect with the Wind Master at once within the communication array, afraid that he really got dragged away by those ghosts to do facials. However, this was the Ghost City, and the spells used by the heaven were heavily restricted. The connection to the array didn't work, so he had to wander the streets to search for the missing Wind Master. As he walked, someone suddenly grabbed him. Already alert and tense, Xie Lian instantly reacted, "Who is it?"
The one who stopped him was a woman, and was surprised by Xie Lian's reaction. But after seeing his face clearly, she started giggling, playing coy, "Hey there, little gege. Yer lookin' mighty fine."
This woman was in an exceedingly revealing dress, her make-up terrifyingly heavy, the white foundation uneven, and when she opened her mouth clumps of it would fall off her face. Her bosoms were stuffed as if something was filled in her flesh. Truly, a shocking sight. Xie Lian gently pushed away her thin claw-like fingers and said, "My lady, there's no need to speak like this."
The woman was taken aback, and burst out laughing, "Dear lord! 'My lady'?? Who the hell still calls me a lady in this day and age? Hahahahahahaha!"
All the passersby seemed to think it was funny too, and started laughing along. Xie Lian shook his head, but before he could speak, the woman pounced on him, "Don't go! Little gege, I like you. Come and have fun with me all night, I won't ask for payment!"
She pouted and winked, "But I will charge. Hehehehehe..."
Xie Lian sighed and prayed inwardly, and gently but firmly pushed her away. He said kindly, "My lady, please."
The woman seemed annoyed now and screeched, "Stop calling me 'lady', no one cares for it! Quit wastin' my time, ya comin' or not?"
To tempt Xie Lian further, the woman suddenly unlaced her already revealing shirt. Xie Lian wasn't prepared to face such a bold move and sighed again before turning away and continued on his way. The female ghost chased after him and continued her seduction, "D'ya like what you see?"
Little did she realize, Xie Lian had grown up in the Royal Holy Pavilion, practicing abstinence for most of his mortal life, and his body and mind had always been as steady as the mountains. It didn't matter what he saw, his heart was like still water; anything unseemly would have him automatically chant sutras in his mind, calming his spirit. Unsuccessful in her temptation, the female ghost's expression changed, and she started yelling, "You don't want any o' this? Are ya even a man??"
Xie Lian continued to move his sight away from her and replied, "I am."
"Then prove it!" The female ghost yelled.
From the sidelines, a passerby mocked, "You slut! He thinks yer old an' ugly, an' want none o' you. What are ya doin' so clingy?"
Hearing those words, Xie Lian deadpanned with a straight face, "It's not that. It's because I have a problem. I can't get erect."
Everyone fell silent.
Then within an instant all roared with laughter: "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahah..."
This time, Xie Lian became the victim of ridicule. No one had ever met a man who was brave enough to announce to the world that they have such a problem. However, to someone like Xie Lian, it didn't matter whether if his private member was functional or not, so he already developed the habit of using that as an excuse to get out of these kinds of situations. And it was a method that worked every single time. Sure enough, the female ghost redid her shirt and stopped clinging onto him. "No wonder yer like this. What a pig. If ya have a problem why didn't you say so sooner? Pfft!"
Not far behind them, the boar butcher threw down his knife again and yelled, "Fuckin' slut! What's that you say? What's wrong with pigs???"
The female ghost wasn't scared, and yelled right back, "What about pigs?? Fuckin' animals!"
Soon the long street was filled with shouting and squawking, people hollering, "That female ghost Lan Chang is startin' shit again!"
"Butcher Zhu is choppin' ghosts!"
The two sides buzzed back and forth, rowdy and chaotic, and in the midst of that pandemonium, Xie Lian escaped. After walking for a bit, he looked back over to where the crowd was and sighed.
Xie Lian continued walking and soon came upon another rowdy crowd ahead, and he stopped in front of a gigantic red building.
This building was extraordinarily grandiose and imposing; its columns, roofs, walls, everything was in magnificent bright red, and the floors were covered in thick, exquisite carpet. If it must be compared, this building was on par with the heavenly palaces. The only difference was it's more bedazzling than dignified. Large crowds went in and out of the door, and within, it was quite lively, filled with loud excited voices. At a closer look, Xie Lian found that this place was a Gambler's Den.
Xie Lian walked up to the door, and on two columns at the entrance had a set of verses. The left said "Money Over Life", and the right said "Gains Over Shame". On the top horizontal column it said "HAHAHAHA".
"..."
It was ugly and rough, not worthy of being entrance verses. The calligraphy was also wild, clumsy, and frenzied; a disgrace to call it calligraphy at all! It was as if someone took a brush whilst drunk, and scribbled with malintent, and the words got blown by a blast of evil aura before they were formed thus. Xie Lian was once heir to the throne, and his calligraphy was taught by the best teachers in the land. The characters he saw before him now were a real tragedy. In fact, the characters were so hellish that Xie Lian was starting to think they're kind of funny, and shook his head. The Wind Master wouldn't be playing around here; he'd have a better chance searching in beauty parlors for female ghosts.
He was going to move on from the Gambler's Den, but something made him reconsider, and after only a few steps, he turned around and entered the red building.
In the main hall of the Gambler's Den, crowds were filled to the brim; innumerous heads moving, laughter and desperate cries crammed the air. Xie Lian descended a few steps when he suddenly heard screaming, and when he looked to where it came from, four masked bouncers were walking over carrying another.
That man was in pain, writhing and howling whilst being carried, and a trail of blood followed. Turns out, both of his legs were cleanly cut off from the knees, and blood was pouring from the stumps. A small ghost followed closely, and greedily licked up all the blood on the floor as they went.
It was a terrifying sight yet no one in the Gambler's Den spared it any looks, and continued to shout and cheer, rolling about. Though, of course, many who gamble here weren't people, and if they were, then they're no ordinary humans.
Xie Lian slighted his body to let pass the four bouncers carrying the man, and then continued going deeper into the den. A petite attendant in a laughing mask approached him and welcomed him, "Sir, are you here to play?"
Xie Lian gave a small smile, "I don't have money on me. Mind if I just look?"
In his experience, usually if you say those words in any establishment you'd get booted. Why would you enter without money? Yet the petite attendant still giggled, "No money is not a problem. Those who play here don't really use money to gamble."
"Really?" Xie Lian asked.
The petite attendant covered her mouth, "Really. Sir, why don't you come with me."
She waved at Xie Lian, and sashayed away. Xie Lian followed behind her without a word, but carefully observed all around.
This Gambler's Den from the inside out was exceedingly extravagant and stylish, but not tacky; it was a building rich with taste. The petite attendant brought Xie Lian to the very back of the main hall, and there was a long table that was packed like sardines. Xie Lian only just approached and heard a man cry, "I bet my arm!"
There were too many onlookers, Xie Lian couldn't get through, and could only listen from outside the crowd. Suddenly another voice rang out, lazily responding, "No need. Nevermind your arm. Even your shit life is worthless here."
Hearing the voice, Xie Lian's heart jumped.
He silently mouthed the name, "San Lang."
What he heard was indeed the voice of that young man. Yet, it was slightly deeper than he remembered.
However, it was because of this that it sounded even more pleasing to the ears.
Although he was surrounded by boisterous brouhahas, the voice still rang loud and clear through the noise of the Gambler's Den and into his ears.
Xie Lian raised his head and found that behind the long table there was a screen curtain. And behind the curtain, he could see a faint red silhouette, laid back leisurely on a long chair.
1.Yin from Yin Yang – Yin represents the shadows and femininity. ↩2.Mei mei is a familiar address for little sister ↩3.Entrance Verses are three lines of poetry that express the meaning/theme of the establishment, or just for good luck. One line on each side of the door, and one over the top.