Much ashamed, it wasn't until four hours later that Xie Lian had the time to sneak a peek at his scroll to finally learn this Wind Master's backstory.
The Five Elemental Masters of the Heavenly Realm used their titles in place of their surnames. For example, before the Earth Master ascended, his mortal name was Ming Yi. After ascension, he was addressed as "Earth Master Yi." As for the Wind Master, his former name was Shi Qingxuan, but after ascension he was called "Wind Master Qingxuan." Befitting of his title, his personality was like a breeze: he was sociable and generous, uncaring about petty details, and very popular in the heavens, as was apparent from him easily tossing out ten thousand merits in the communication array. But at the end of the day, as his older brother was the god who controlled mortal wealth, of course the Wind Master was generous and uncaring about petty details.
Indeed, the older brother of Wind Master Qingxuan was the one they called "Water Tyrant," the Water Master Wudu.
Descending to the lower realms together, the two gods walked side by side, chatting as they traveled. Xie Lian had his arms crossed, and he commented sincerely, "The Pei family producing two ascended generals under one name was already a legend. But you and your brother ascending at the same time, one wind, one water, that is truly a tale of wonder."
It must be known that, in a million people, there might not be even one with the ability to ascend. Pei Ming and Pei Xiu were separated by a few hundred years, and Pei Xiu wasn't even a direct descendant; he was from Pei Ming's brother's branch of the family, a grand-who-knows-how-many-times-nephew. The Water Master Wudu and the Wind Master Qingxuan were true blood-related brothers, a genuine pair of ascended officials from the same house, and thus truly incredible.
Shi Qingxuan laughed it off. "It's nothing. My brother and I grew up in the same place, went to school under the same teacher, and cultivated the same path, so naturally we ascended together in the same lifetime."
That was something Xie Lian also learned when he was cramming from the scroll earlier. Of the two elemental masters, Shi Wudu ascended first, but after only a few years, his brother Shi Qingxuan also successfully transcended a Heavenly Tribulation. Mortals often worshipped the two heavenly officials together in the same temple and praised them as equals. It was obvious that the two brothers enjoyed an excellent relationship. The Water Master must be the reason why Pei Ming wouldn't touch the Wind Master, as San Lang and Nan Feng had mentioned. After all, the brother of the Water Tyrant was not one to be picked on so easily.
Having thought thus far, another point came to Xie Lian's mind. He considered it before asking, "Lord Wind Master. At the Palace of Divine Might, from the way General Pei spoke, it sounded as if he shared a friendship with your brother. Won'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, acting is another," Xie Lian said. "Won't this cause a rift between Lord Water Master and General Pei?"
"If it caused a rift, even better! I wish my brother would stop hanging out with him and leave that 'Three Tumors' label behind one day," Shi Qingxuan said.
Xie Lian stopped. "What 'Three Tumors'?"
Shi Qingxuan exclaimed, astonished, "What?! You don't know about that either? Fine, all right. I know now you're not up to date on anything. You can just listen for giggles. 'The Three Tumors' is the moniker given to the three heavenly officials who have a bad rep with basically everyone but are best buddies with each other: namely, 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 Little Pei's fault. There's no way I'd let Pei Ming pin this on the State Preceptor of Banyue and protect Little Pei. It doesn't matter if you're a mortal, or a god, or a ghost, 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'd heard rumors here and there about Banyue Pass 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 ask about it in the communication array the other day, it reminded me that there was such a case pending, and so I went to check it out. Turns out that not only did you ask, you even went there
yourself! So I thought, dang, what a guy! Ha ha ha ha ha…"
This Wind Master certainly had an extremely straightforward and interesting personality, and Xie Lian could understand now why he was so popular in the heavens. He smiled, surprised to have made the acquaintance of such a heavenly official in the Upper Court. But just as he turned his head to face him, the white-clad cultivator beside him had transformed into a lady Daoist in white. It was so sudden, Xie Lian almost stumbled in his step.
"Lord Wind Master, why the sudden transformation?"
"Oh. Truth be told, Your Highness, I'm actually more powerful in this form." Shi Qingxuan preened her long hair.
As was mentioned earlier, the Wind Master and the Water Master were often worshipped together. However, this also produced a bizarre accident. Perhaps people thought that a single temple worshipping two male gods together was lacking something. Lords and Ladies go hand in hand, so people thought having one male god and one female god would make it seem more complete. Thus, someone took a certain initiative, and that initiative was to sculpt the Wind Master as a goddess.
But it didn't end with the goddess statue; they had to make up stories to go with it too—things like the Water and Wind Gods being brother and sister. There was even a version where they were husband and wife. After a few centuries, the falsehoods spread, and from them came even more outlandish legends. The two heavenly officials once read through the tales on a whim and cringed so hard their goosebumps practically spilled off them. Nonetheless, there were more than a few who believed in those outrageous stories, and thus did the Wind Master's gender become confused. "My Lady, prithee watch over me" could be heard all over the place. Thus, Shi Qingxuan was also known by the moniker "Lady Wind Master."
Although silly, such absurd occurrences were not rare. Ling Wen, for example, had a similar experience. She was a lady heavenly official, but she never dressed flamboyantly like the other celestial maidens. She was often dressed in black attire, she was competent and efficient, and she spent her days working madly through stacks and stacks of administrative scrolls at her palace. If one should ask any mortal "Is Ling Wen a man or a woman?" any one of them would respond with confidence: a man. And although her personality was partly to blame, much of it was due to another reason.
Come now, of course a civil god must be male! For that alone, when Ling Wen ascended, she suffered brutal disadvantages. She was a civil goddess, but many in the Mortal Realm thought: How could a woman ever reach that position? How could a lady possibly ensure good fortune in scholarly pursuits? She must not be effective! Thus, no matter how hard she worked, she still had only a few devotees.
As time went on, some of her temple attendants were so upset by this treatment that they rebuilt her statues into male forms, transforming Ling Wen-yuanjun to Ling Wen-zhenjun, and crafted their own astonishing legends and backstories. After this change, her temples became prosperous, and everyone praised how effective Ling Wen was. But in truth, it was still the same heavenly official, her spiritual powers never changed, and the legends were all fake. Still, the people ate them up. Since then, whenever Ling Wen needed to appear in dreams or show herself to mortals, she could only do so in a male form.
By the same logic, because the people believed that it had to be a man and a woman together holding down the fort in the Temple of Wind and Water, that was how it became. Who cared whether you were a god or a ghost? You were whatever people believed you to be. Appearances could be a million miles off the mark from the real thing, and people would still see what they wanted to see. It was something the Upper Court heavenly officials had long since stopped fretting over.
As for Shi Qingxuan, from Xie Lian's own observations, he didn't appear to mind at all. In fact, he was completely immersed and enjoying himself. Not only that, he was even passionate about dragging others into it, making Xie Lian wonder about the real gender of the lady in black who was with the Wind Master before. In the four hours that they spent traveling down from the Heavenly Realm together, Shi Qingxuan had tirelessly tried to persuade Xie Lian to disguise himself as a woman, with extremely convincing reasons such as:
"Women have stronger yin energy—therefore, it'll be much easier for you to hide in the Ghost City crowds."
Xie Lian thought about it but then courteously rejected the idea. "I don't have enough spiritual energy to transform."
To that, Shi Qingxuan replied enthusiastically, "I'll lend you mine! Isn't that the whole reason why the Heavenly Emperor appointed me to this mission?"
"My lord, please save your powers for when we're actually fighting the enemy…"
Shi Qingxuan couldn't persuade Xie Lian, so she stopped pushing. By that time, the two had reached a wild field in the middle of nowhere. The night had deepened, and crows cawed raucously in the pitch-black woods. The air was ominous and desolate.
Xie Lian watched for a moment before he said, "Let's wait here. This place is thick with yin energy, and there's a large graveyard nearby, so there should be at least one or two going to the market. We'll follow them when the time comes."
Thus, the pair crouched on top of a burial mound and waited.
They weren't in that position for very long when Shi Qingxuan reached into a sleeve, rummaged around, and dug out a small jug of liquor. "You want some?"
Xie Lian reached for the jug and took a sip, felt his throat burn, and then gave the jug back. "Thanks."
Shi Qingxuan took the jug and gulped down a couple of swallows. "You can't drink?"
"I can," Xie Lian replied. "But excessive drinking causes insanity, so a simple taste is enough. What time is it?"
Shi Qingxuan hummed and replied, "It's midnight."
"Hm. It should be about time, then," Xie Lian said.
Just as he finished his sentence, the two saw a faint row of lights appear deep in the woods.
That faint row of lights slowly came closer and closer. When it emerged from the forest, the two finally saw that it was a group of expressionless women dressed in white, walking in a line. Some were old, some were young, some beautiful, some ugly. Each of them was wearing funeral garb and had a white lantern in hand, walking at an easy pace.
They had to be female ghosts heading to the Ghost City markets in the deep night.
"Let's follow them," Xie Lian whispered.
Shi Qingxuan nodded, took a last swig from the jug, and tossed it aside. They then stood up and casually trailed behind the group of ghosts.
The two had already prepared by erasing their spiritual aura; when they walked, they were like person-shaped logs without the scent of life. The band of female ghosts before them held their white lanterns and followed an unknown path in the dark woods, strolling while chatting in delicate voices.
"I'm so glad Ghost City's open again! I need a facial!" one said.
"What happened to your face? Didn't you just get one?" another replied.
The first one responded, "It rotted again! Hahhh, the one who served me last time said it was guaranteed fresh for a year! But it hasn't even been half that."
Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan trailed behind them, listening to their chatter, and didn't speak a word. When they heard something funny, at most, their lips would twitch and they'd share looks with each other.
After about an hour, the group came to a valley.
A faint red light emitted from deep within it, and there was music wafting in the ethereal night. Xie Lian grew more and more curious to finally see for himself what Ghost City looked like. Yet unexpectedly, just as they were entering the valley, the last ghost in the line suddenly turned her head and discovered them.
Confused, she asked, "Who are you two?"
The question made all the ghastly pale-faced heads turn, and the women surrounded them, curious.
"When did they start following us? These 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 farther away, so of course you've never seen us."
Shi Qingxuan smiled too. "That's right! We've traveled a long way just to reach Ghost City."
The white-clad female ghosts were silent and stared at them expressionlessly. If they were anyone else, they'd probably fall to the ground shivering in fright. Xie Lian wasn't afraid of having their identities exposed, though. These meek female ghosts could hardly threaten them. Still, since Ghost City was right before their eyes, it wouldn't be wise to start anything so close to their target, lest they alert their enemy.
Just then, one of the women staring at Shi Qingxuan spoke up languidly.
"Meimei, your face is very nicely maintained," she said.
Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan were taken aback. Then, the two immediately nodded uniformly.
Xie Lian replied, "It's all right, not bad."
Shi Qingxuan copied his tone and said, "Pretty good, right?"
All the female ghosts then approached and started a discussion.
"Yeah, not rotten at all."
"Meimei, where did you get your face done?"
"What's your secret?"
"Can you recommend a place?"
Shi Qingxuan didn't know how to respond, so she only laughed awkwardly to delay answering. Just then, the group turned around, and suddenly, crimson light flooded Xie Lian's vision.
A strange and mysterious world opened before him.
They were on a long street.
It was so long that there was no end in sight. Along the edges of the great street were all types of bustling stores and stalls. Colorful signs flew high above, and giant red lanterns were hung below. "People" filled the
street, most wearing masks of faces crying, laughing, angry some human, some not human. Those without masks could only be described as "bizarre." Some had large heads and small bodies, some skinny as a bamboo stick, and some flat like a pancake and pressed to the ground, complaining as pedestrians walked all over them.
Xie Lian was careful not to step on anything weird. When he passed by a food stall, he saw the stall owner use a giant bone to furiously stir a giant pot of soup; while stirring, saliva spilled from between the stall owner's teeth, dripping into the soup. In that weird, many-colored soup he could see eyeballs floating. Xie Lian watched and was filled with a sudden sense of confidence.
On the other side, there were strange buskers performing. A buff, burly man had a small ghost, weak as a chick, in his clutches, and the man opened his mouth to blow massive flames and barbeque the small ghost while it squealed and writhed like a pig being slaughtered. The spectators cheered and shrieked, shouting "bravo!" There were even insane individuals randomly throwing money into the air, the paper fluttering in the sky like drifting snow. When one slip of it flew before Xie Lian, he nabbed it and flipped it over. It was the money of the dead, as he thought.
Continuing down the street, there was a butcher stall with a row of languishing, pallid human heads, hung in order of age, as indicated on their price tags: a child's meat was this much, a youth's meat was that much, a grown man's meat cost this amount, a mature woman's meat went for that much, cartilage sold for this. The apron-clad butcher, knife in hand, was a boar with thick, black hair. What it was chopping under its knife was a muscular human leg, still twitching.
This was truly a swarm of evil, a carnival of hell.
Humans butchering pigs was a common sight, but pigs butchering humans wasn't, so Xie Lian couldn't help but steal a few extra peeks. The boar noticed him watching though and immediately reacted.
"What are ya lookin' at? You buyin'?"
Xie Lian shook his head. "No."
The boar butcher continued to chop violently onto the cutting board, blood spraying all over. He yelled, voice rough, "If you ain't buyin', then don't watch! Fuckin' tryin'a start somethin'? Get outta here!"
Xie Lian got outta there. But just as his steps quickened, he suddenly realized something very bad.
That group of female ghosts and Shi Qingxuan had disappeared without a trace.
Shocked, Xie Lian wanted to connect with the Wind Master at once within the communication array, afraid that she was really dragged away by those ghosts to do facials. However, this was Ghost City, and the communication spells used by the heavenly realm were restricted. The connection to the array didn't work, so he had no choice but to wander the streets aimlessly in search of the missing Wind Master.
As he walked, someone suddenly grabbed him. Already alert and tense, Xie Lian reacted instantly.
"Who?!"
The one who stopped him was a woman, and she 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 makeup terrifyingly loud. The white powder was uneven, and when she opened her mouth, clumps of it would flake off her face. Her bosom was stuffed full, as if something were packed under her flesh. Truly, a shocking sight.
Xie Lian gently pushed away her thin, claw-like fingers and said, "Miss, there's no need to speak like that."
The woman was stunned at first, then burst out laughing. "Dear lord! 'Miss'?! Who still calls me that in this day and age? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
The people around them all seemed to think it was funny too, and they started laughing along. Xie Lian shook his head, but before he could speak, the woman pounced on him.
"Oh, don't go! Little gege, I like you. Come and have fun with me all night, I won't ask for money!" She pouted and winked. "But I will charge. Hee hee hee hee hee…"
What a sin, Xie Lian repented inwardly, then kindly but firmly pushed her away. He chided gently, "Miss, please."
Yet the woman suddenly appeared to be annoyed and screeched, "Stop calling me 'Miss.' Ain't no one who cares for it! Quit wastin' my time—are ya comin' or not?"
To tempt Xie Lian further, the woman suddenly unlaced her already-revealing shirt. Her boldness caught Xie Lian off guard and he didn't stop her in time, so he sighed softly again, turning his eyes away. He continued on his way, stepping around her. However, the female ghost stopped him again and continued her teasing.
"D'ya like what you see?"
Little did she realize, Xie Lian had grown up in the Royal Holy Temple, practicing abstinence for most of his mortal life. His body and mind had always been guarded and as steady as the mountains. It didn't matter what he saw, his heart was as still as water. Anything unseemly would make him automatically chant Dao De Jing sonorously in his mind, keeping him completely indifferent.
Unsuccessful in her temptation, the female ghost's expression changed, and she tsk-ed. "You don't want any o' this? Not even fer free? Are ya even a man?!"
Xie Lian moved his eyes away. "I am."
"Then prove it!" the female ghost yelled.
From the sidelines, a passerby laughed mockingly. "You slut! He thinks yer old an' ugly, an' want none o' you. What are ya doin' bein' so clingy?"
Hearing those words, Xie Lian deadpanned with a straight face: "That's not it. It's because I have an unspeakable affliction. I can't get erect."
Everyone was stunned.
Then in a flash, boisterous laughter erupted.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA…"
The victim of ridicule was now Xie Lian. None had ever met a man who was brave enough to announce in public that he had such a problem. However, to someone like Xie Lian, it didn't matter in the least whether his root of evil could sin or not, so he'd developed the habit of using that as an excuse to get out of these kinds of situations. And it was a method that worked excellently every single time. Sure enough, the female ghost redid her shirt immediately and stopped pestering him.
"No wonder yer like this. What a pig! If ya have a problem, why didn't ya say so sooner? Tsk!"
Not far behind them, the boar butcher chopped down 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, "Ya, what's wrong with pigs?! Fuckin' animals!"
Soon, the long street was filled with shouting and squawking and people hollering.
"That ghost woman Lan Chang is startin' shit again!"
"Butcher Zhu is choppin' ghosts!"
The two sides rowdily started tearing into each other, and in the midst of that pandemonium, Xie Lian was finally able to slip away. After he'd put some distance between them, he looked back toward the crowd and heaved a sigh.
Xie Lian walked a bit more, and soon he came upon further commotion ahead. He stopped in front of a gigantic red building.
This building was extraordinary in its grand and imposing style: its columns, roofs, walls, and everything were painted a magnificent bright red, and the floors were covered in thick, exquisite carpet. If it must be compared, this building was on par with Heaven's palaces. The only difference was one of aesthetics: this place was more spectacular and sumptuous than stately and dignified. Crowds flowed in and out of the doors, and loud, excited voices boomed from the inside—very lively. Upon a closer look, Xie Lian saw that this place appeared to be a gambler's den.
Xie Lian walked up to the doors, and on the two pillars at the entrance, there was a set of couplets. The left said "Money Over Life," and the right said "Gains Over Shame." On the top horizontal beam, it said "HA HA HA HA."
"…"
The lines were vulgar and crass, not worthy of being entrance couplets. The calligraphy was also wild, clumsy, and frenzied—a disgrace to call it calligraphy at all! It was as if someone took a brush while drunk and scribbled with foul intent, and then the words were blown over by a blast of evil aura to form it. Xie Lian was once heir to the throne, and he was taught calligraphy by the finest 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 started to think they were kind of funny and shook his head. The Wind Master wouldn't be hanging around here, he thought. I'll have a better chance searching the beauty parlors for female ghosts.
He certainly should have just moved on, yet inexplicably, after only a few steps, he turned back around and went inside.
In the main hall of the Gambler's Den, the crowd was packed in from wall to wall. Innumerable heads were moving, and laughter and desperate cries alike choked the air. Xie Lian had only descended a few steps when he suddenly heard screaming, and when he looked to where it had come from, four masked bouncers were walking over carrying a guest.
That man appeared to be in excruciating pain, writhing and howling while being carried, gushing blood that he left in his wake. Both of his legs had been cleanly cut off at the knees, and blood was spewing everywhere. A small ghost followed closely and greedily licked up all the blood on the floor as it went.
It was a horrifying sight, yet no one in the Gambler's Den spared it a glance. They continued to shout and cheer, rolling about. Of course, most who gambled here weren't humans, and if they were, they were no ordinary humans.
Xie Lian twisted in place to let the four bouncers carrying the man pass by, and then he continued deeper into the den. A petite attendant in a laughing mask approached to welcome him.
"Gongzi, are you here to play?"
Xie Lian replied with a smile, "I don't have money on me. Mind if I just look?"
In his experience, the moment you said those words in any establishment, you'd get booted. Why would you enter without money? Yet the petite attendant just giggled.
"No money is not a problem. Those who come here to play don't usually use money to gamble."
"Really?" Xie Lian asked.
The petite attendant covered her mouth. "Really. Gongzi, please come with me."
She waved at Xie Lian, beckoning him, and sashayed away. Xie Lian followed her without a word but carefully observed all around him.
Inside and out, this Gambler's Den was exceedingly extravagant and stylish but not at all tacky; it was a building rich with taste. The petite attendant brought Xie Lian to the very back of the main hall to a long table that was packed like sardines with guests.
Xie Lian had only just approached when he heard a man cry, "I bet my arm!"
There were too many onlookers. Xie Lian couldn't get through and could only listen from the outskirts of the crowd. Suddenly, he heard another voice lazily respond.
"No need. Never mind your arm, even your shit life is worthless here."
Hearing that voice, Xie Lian's heart suddenly jumped.
He silently mouthed the name, "San Lang."
He'd indeed just heard the voice of that young man. Yet it was slightly deeper than he remembered, which was precisely why it sounded even more pleasing to the ears. Despite being surrounded by boisterous brouhaha, the voice still rang loud and clear, and cut through the cacophony of the Gambler's Den to reach him.
Xie Lian looked up. Only then did he notice that behind the long table there was a screen curtain. And behind the curtain, he could see a faint red figure lying back, lounging on a chair.