Xie Lian turned his head to look at that dejected-looking kneeling statue. "Qi Rong was right about one thing. I am quite the failure."
"Don't believe the words of useless trash like him," Hua Cheng said quietly. "Other than being good at not dying and running away, he's got nothing going for him. He couldn't even level up to a supreme after eight hundred years. Even beating him up would only dirty your hands."
Xie Lian's lips jerked upwards with the thought: wasn't he the same? Only good at not dying and running away; even after eight hundred years, he'd only gotten this far, which was nowhere.
When he first saw Lang Qianqiu as the Martial God of the East, a high-ranking heavenly official but still maintaining his old character—still straightforward, still falling asleep in boring meetings—he felt rather gratified. However, who knew how he would change from now on? He went off in pursuit of Qi Rong; once that was done, how would he end things with Xie Lian?
Xie Lian rose to his feet and slowly walked to the statue. He faced it head-on; that face was indeed exactly the same as his own, only it was carved with a sorrowful expression, its face covered in tears, contorted and scrunched up, extremely ugly. After staring at it for a moment, Xie Lian sighed and placed his hand on its head, pouring in a powerful pulse of energy.
When he removed his hand, two long crevices crawled over the cheeks of the statue, and soon after, the crying face broke apart. The statue collapsed and crumbled into innumerable small rocks and fell to the ground, never to be restored.
When Xie Lian turned around again, his usual gentle, serene expression had returned. He rubbed his forehead and said, "There are probably still humans hidden in Qi Rong's lair. I'll go find them and release them."
Hua Cheng stood up too. "Let's go."
During the ruckus earlier, all the little green lantern ghosts in Qi Rong's lair had fled, and those who hadn't were hidden in the shadows, afraid to come out. The two searched all over, nabbing a couple of unfortunate little ghosts along the way and forcing them to guide them to the many caves used for "storing fresh food." Counting roughly, the number of people Qi Rong had captured for consumption was—shockingly—no less than three hundred, all villagers living near or travelers passing by.
The two unlocked jail cells as they roamed, freeing all the detainees. With a task at hand, Xie Lian was able to focus on something else and calm down. And once they were free, he had the time to chat with Hua Cheng.
He pondered his words but asked anyway: "By the way, San Lang, I wanted to ask you about something."
"What is it?" Hua Cheng replied.
"How did you know that Qi Rong was the mastermind behind the Gilded Banquet plot?" Xie Lian asked.
At first, he didn't know why Hua Cheng had brought him and Lang Qianqiu to the Green Ghost's lair, but now he understood Hua Cheng's objective was to have Lang Qianqiu hear Qi Rong's confession to the whole Gilded Banquet scheme for himself.
"Qi Rong didn't know that I was Fangxin," Xie Lian said. "If he had known, he would've harassed me from the start. At the time, although I knew the old Xianle royals were plotting something underhanded, I didn't know that Qi Rong was behind it all. So how did you find out? How long have you known this?"
"Not too long." Hua Cheng walked alongside him with his hands clasped behind his back. "I've run into Qi Rong a few times and quickly understood what sort of person he is. Qi Rong was of Xianle when he was alive and holds deep hatred for Yong'an. He is good at the art of provocation, fanning fires and fabricating situations. Many major assassination plots targeting Yong'an nobles were manipulated by him behind the scenes, but he hid himself well."
Xie Lian shook his head. "So, he already had a history. Good thing he's good at hiding; if the Upper Court found out he had a hand in all those mortal conflicts, they wouldn't show him any mercy."
"The Gilded Banquet Massacre was very much his style," Hua Cheng said. "So I had always believed that he was the mastermind and the State Preceptor Fangxin was his lackey. But in the Upper Court, when Lang Qianqiu identified you as the State Preceptor Fangxin, it was clear there was no way Fangxin and Qi Rong could be on the same side."
Xie Lian's steps slowed. It seemed that even though Hua Cheng wasn't present in the heavens, he was still very well informed on what went on in the Palace of Divine Might. And not just that, he was also very knowledgeable about Xie Lian's personal relationship with Qi Rong.
Hua Cheng continued, "Nevertheless, I still leaned toward Qi Rong as the mastermind, or at least the one who started the whole thing. Ordinary Xianle descendants received tremendous improvements to their lives after Lang Qianqiu's father ascended the throne, and they no longer thought of avenging their fallen kingdom like they had in the past. The only ones who couldn't let go would be the royal family of Xianle. At the time, the sole remaining descendant was Prince An Le. If Qi Rong wanted to instigate anyone into starting anything, it would have been him. And very conveniently, the man in question randomly died of an unknown illness right after the Gilded Banquet. Obviously suspect, is it not?"
Xie Lian nodded, and Hua Cheng concluded.
"So he was most likely killed, and the reason for his death had something to do with the Gilded Banquet. My initial deduction was that it was the work of Yong'an nobility, but nothing happened to the descendants of Xianle, so it couldn't have been them. I thought about it and came to my present conclusion."
Xie Lian smiled and was amazed. "So few clues, and yet you deduced so accurately."
"It's not hard," Hua Cheng said. "You just have to know the main people involved well."
"That's for sure, but in your deduction, there is a significant assumption that I don't understand."
"And that is?" Hua Cheng asked.
"Why were you so convinced that Qi Rong was the one who made the first move?"
"It's not that I believed he did it. I just believed that you didn't."
Xie Lian's smile faded at this. He was quiet for a moment before asking, "Why is that?"
"If you had admitted to the Gilded Banquet Massacre using any other reason, then I would've believed it was you," Hua Cheng replied. "The Yong'an king was a diligent ruler, loved by the people, and yet Lang Qianqiu said the reason you told him was 'I couldn't stand seeing your people on the throne.'
"That was a model declaration for someone intent on overthrowing the crown. But if that declaration came from you, it'd be a poor attempt at tarnishing your name."
Xie Lian puffed a soundless laugh at the mention. "'Tarnishing my name'? You didn't think that I might have harbored those thoughts deep down inside? Maybe I do have some resentment hidden."
"Thoughts are thoughts. You wouldn't have acted on them," Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian shut his mouth. After a moment, he said, "San Lang, I'm not the person you think I am. You—"
Xie Lian closed his eyes and shook his head, as if unsure whether to continue.
Hua Cheng urged, "Tell me, it's fine."
Xie Lian chewed on his words but finally said, "I just think it's best for people not to place too much hope on someone else."
"Oh?" Hua Cheng hummed. "And what do you mean by that?"
"You shouldn't idolize people or think of them as overly perfect," Xie Lian replied. "If you're just watching a shadow from afar and never interacting, then sure. But once acquainted and grown close, one day you'll find that this person isn't what you imagined, maybe even the complete opposite. When that happens, you'll be very disappointed."
Hua Cheng disagreed respectfully. "You never know. I don't care if anyone else is disappointed. But to some, the very existence of a certain person in this world is in itself hope."
Although he didn't specify who "some" were, or who "a certain person" was, and though his tone was plain and casual like he was making an offhand comment, Xie Lian's heart suddenly lifted, and he felt light.
He paused in his step and couldn't speak for a long time. A moment later, he suddenly asked, "San Lang, who are you, really?"
Hua Cheng stopped too, and he turned his head to look at him.
Xie Lian looked him squarely in his eye and asked seriously, "You knew who Qi Rong was and his background. You knew who I was and how to paint the God-Pleasing Crown Prince. You seem to know everything about me. You know a lot. Maybe even more than you let on."
Hua Cheng arched his brows. "Don't I always know a lot?"
Xie Lian shook his head. "It's not the same."
His left hand held his right elbow while his right hand propped up his chin. He looked at Hua Cheng in wonder.
"I've always had the feeling that you're someone from my past and that you must've known me from very early on. Maybe it was during my first ascension; no, maybe even earlier. Yet…I really don't remember. When have I ever met a character like you?"
Someone like Hua Cheng would be unforgettable from the first meeting. Xie Lian had never bashed his head in and lost his memories, so if they had met, there was no reason he wouldn't remember.
Xie Lian gazed at him, fixated and somewhat bemused. "Who are you exactly? Have I met you before?"
Hua Cheng didn't answer, but his lips lifted softly. Xie Lian immediately returned to his senses and realized that his questions were extremely inappropriate.
A ghost's real name was usually a secret. Not counting unfathomably abnormal cases like Qi Rong, a ghost usually wouldn't tell it to anyone.
Xie Lian hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, don't mind me. I was just asking. You don't have to answer me. Who you are doesn't matter."
Just then, Hua Cheng's eye squinted. Xie Lian sensed something as well and looked back. From nearby, in the caves behind them, came the sound of noisy chatter and the clear, loud voice of a woman.
"I told you, my powers are stronger in my female form, and even my luck is better! Yet you still wouldn't let me. Do you see now? We rolled it right this time!!"
It was Shi Qingxuan's voice.
Xie Lian blurted out, "Lord Wind Master!"
As he had guessed, a white-clad lady cultivator came sprinting out of a cave opening, and her eyes lit up when she saw Xie Lian.
"I found him! His Highness is here!"
However, she then saw Hua Cheng standing behind Xie Lian, and her face fell immediately. She leapt backwards and flashed the Wind Master fan before her. But before Xie Lian had the chance to say anything, a man's voice echoed from within the cave.
"Did you find him? Is everything all right?"
The voice approached quickly, and soon another figure appeared—it was Feng Xin. He had a long, black bow in his left hand, and the moment he saw Hua Cheng, he pulled back the silver bowstring, on high alert. Hua Cheng sneered and made no comment.
Xie Lian hurriedly said, "Put away your weapons, we can talk this out."
The four had run into each other on the narrow path of the Green Ghost's lair, two against two. Feng Xin had his bowstring fully taut. A strand of spiritual light formed into the shape of an arrow within his right hand, and he aimed it at Hua Cheng.
Feng Xin spoke first, his voice full of warning. "Your Highness, come here."
Feng Xin's bow was gifted to him by Jun Wu; named Fengshen, it was a rather troublesome spiritual device to face off against. Xie Lian was afraid he'd shoot for real, and he rushed to stand in front of Hua Cheng, shielding him. But unexpectedly, Hua Cheng grabbed him from behind and pulled him right back.
That pull startled the other two. Shi Qingxuan immediately raised his hand.
"Hua Cheng! Crimson Rain Sought Flower! D-d-d-don't do anything rash! The burning of your Paradise Manor was an accident! If you're upset, we can talk! The Heavens can pay you back. The Heavenly Emperor isn't that short on cash. Let go of His Highness, and we can talk."
Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he was still immensely grateful. "Lord Wind Master, you're mistaken. Actually…"
He wanted to explain that Hua Cheng hadn't come looking for payback because of Paradise Manor, but Shi Qingxuan was throwing him guileful looks as if telling him not to speak a word. Hua Cheng didn't argue either, just raised his voice to speak.
"And what about Jun Wu setting up a spy under my nose? We have nothing to talk about."
Xie Lian finally understood. Shi Qingxuan could see that Hua Cheng had no ill intent, but on the surface, they had to pretend that Hua Cheng had only barged into the Heavens to collect his due. It would prevent gossip from those who might suggest that Xie Lian had maliciously and intentionally absconded. Hua Cheng understood Shi Qingxuan's intent and had played along. However, Xie Lian didn't want to go this route.
"All right, stop acting. He only came to the Heavens to save me. San Lang had good intentions, so why conceal them?"
"No more acting," Shi Qingxuan agreed. "I already sent those two exchanges to the communication array. You don't understand—no matter how good the intentions, words always end up negative once they've been passed around enough. They might as well be negative from the start."
"You get it," Hua Cheng commented.
"Of course! Otherwise, how could I, the Lord Wind Master, be so popular in the Heavens?" Shi Qingxuan preened. "General Nan Yang, lower your bow."
However, Feng Xin still had his bow pulled at almost full strength, holding his breath and not saying a word. Shi Qingxuan smacked him.
"Put it down, can't you see they're close? Nothing bad's gonna happen."
Feng Xin said in a dark voice, "Your Highness, the one next to you is a supreme…"
Seeing that he wouldn't drop his hostility, nor his bow, Shi Qingxuan suddenly threw herself into his arm.
Instantly, Feng Xin's face paled, worse than if he'd seen a ghost by a million-fold. He screamed, and the shaft of the spiritual arrow dissipated powerlessly like a cloud. Face aghast, he opened his mouth, and a long string of loud curses came out, ending with a distressed cry.
"What the fuck?! What are you doing?!"
Turned out, Shi Qingxuan had used her bosoms to ram into the arm holding the arrow. By the looks of it, that blow had thoroughly terrified Feng Xin. Shi Qingxuan swung her whisk back, elegantly carefree, looking as if she hadn't just done anything indecent.
"I haven't even asked you what you are doing. I just said that Crimson Rain Sought Flower came to save His Highness, and you still point at him with your arrow. If you want to fight him so badly, well, I won't help you."
Feng Xin had already backed a million miles away and looked like he would never approach her again. He cried out in dismay, "Don't you dare do that ever again! Ever!! Do you hear me?!"
Watching him avoid her as if she were a snake, Shi Qingxuan, who was so confident about her ethereal beauty, actually felt rather depressed.
"Okay, okay, okay. I won't do it again. It's not like you suffered any loss, so what's with that reaction?" As if feeling she'd lost face, Shi Qingxuan changed back into a man and turned around. "Eh? Where's Qianqiu?"
At his words, Feng Xin finally collected himself somewhat and looked around too.
Xie Lian ah'd and asked, "He's not in the communication array?"
"No?" Shi Qingxuan answered. "After he rolled the dice and left, we didn't hear a peep. I asked him multiple times what the correct roll was, but he never replied. Before, when I talked to Qianqiu, he'd always respond really fast—not just to me but to any officials regardless of their rank. So weird."
Xie Lian let out a soft sigh. "His Highness Tai Hua has left to chase after Qi Rong."
The other two were taken aback. "Qi Rong?"
"Yeah. This place is Qi Rong's lair." Xie Lian sighed, "In any case…"
Feng Xin cut in, "Wait. Why is His Highness Tai Hua pursuing Qi Rong? Didn't he come chasing after you?"
"No reason," Hua Cheng answered from behind. "He's simply chasing the true culprit behind the Gilded Banquet Massacre. The only thing His Highness did was clean up the mess that murderer left. Lang Qianqiu found out the truth and went chasing after the real culprit. That's all."
Feng Xin was shocked. "The real culprit? Is this true?!"
Xie Lian didn't think he could explain it all again, and he certainly couldn't explain the complex details clearly in a rush anyway, so he just shook his head. "It's not that simple. I'll explain more when we get back."
Shi Qingxuan, although ignorant of the full story, was joyous. "I knew there was a misunderstanding in all this! I've got such godly premonition! Now, even if you return, you won't be detained!"
"Good!" Feng Xin said too, looking greatly relieved.
He put away his bow, and the wariness he had shown also significantly decreased. Hua Cheng, on the other hand, only snorted coldly.
"Did you know?" Xie Lian asked Feng Xin. "That Qi Rong is that Qi Rong?"
Feng Xin asked, "Which Qi Rong? Who?" Then he gave a startle. "The one we knew?"
"So you didn't realize it was him either?" Xie Lian remarked.
Feng Xin's face went dark. "No. I've never run into the Green Ghost himself and had always assumed the name was just a coincidence. What kind of dumbass would run around flaunting his real name? That's crazy!"
But the moment the words left his mouth, he instantly remembered that Qi Rong was indeed crazy. His eyes met Xie Lian's, and both fell silent in mutual understanding.
Since long before the two ascended, Feng Xin had despised Qi Rong. Qi Rong was the son of the younger sister of Xie Lian's mother, the last queen of Xianle. He grew up in the royal palace and spent his days clinging to Xie Lian, and as Xie Lian's personal guard, Feng Xin of course saw Qi Rong frequently. Qi Rong was young, immature, bullheaded, energetic, extreme, and worst of all, royalty. Thus, no one dared to educate or discipline him, and it was easy to imagine just how lawless he became.
The words that always used to hang upon his lips were "My cousin the crown prince is perfect!" "My cousin something something." If anyone was even remotely disrespectful to Xie Lian, or gave him a sliver of a problem, it didn't matter who it was, Qi Rong would surely bag that person with a sack and beat them until they shat themself. In his mind, there was never any care or respect for the old or young. There was even an incident where Xie Lian saved a child not even ten years of age from Qi Rong's clutches; the poor boy had been beaten to a bloody pulp, miserable to the bone. Yet Xie Lian was sympathetic to Qi Rong's circumstances, plus he was genuinely on Xie Lian's side, so even Xie Lian never disciplined him physically. But if it was only lectures awaiting him, Qi Rong wouldn't change no matter how many times he was scolded. He was truly a headache.
Feng Xin was a much more straightforward person, abrasive in his speech and not as patient as Xie Lian. Thus, he was constantly in dispute with Qi Rong or disobeying his commands. Because of that, Qi Rong also despised him and would always come up with new ways to get him in trouble, such as ordering him to run unreasonable errands. After Xie Lian ascended, Qi Rong became even more preposterous. For example, if anyone spat before the Palace of the Crown Prince, he would try to force burning hot coal down their throat. Feng Xin had to descend frequently to clean up after him and prevent him from going too far. Truly aggravating!
He'd always tell Xie Lian, "Qi Rong is ill in the head, and he's gonna incite chaos one day!"
"If that's really him, then it's no surprise that he did it," Feng Xin said.
Shi Qingxuan was curious. "What, do you all know the Green Ghost?!"
Xie Lian nodded. "He's my little cousin."
Shi Qingxuan was shocked and crossed his arms. "Well, ain't that something else."
"He is definitely something else," Xie Lian agreed.
"I'm not talking about him," Shi Qingxuan said. "I'm talking about you! Your Highness, look at you: the martial gods of the southeast and southwest are both your old buddies, the Martial God of the East is your disciple, that Night-Touring Green Lantern is your little cousin, Crimson Rain Sought Flower is your sworn brother, and I, Lord Wind Master, am your friend. Ain't that something?"
Xie Lian smiled, thinking that the Wind Master certainly had a breezy character befitting his title; the moment the wind blew, all the gloomy clouds dispersed. However, when Hua Cheng and Feng Xin heard "Crimson Rain Sought Flower is your sworn brother," both looked like they disagreed. Hua Cheng raised his brows, and Feng Xin knitted his.
After a moment, Feng Xin turned to Xie Lian. "If there's nothing else, you'd better hurry back to the Heavenly Court. Many of the heavenly officials have no idea what happened in that ruckus, and they're still waiting for news above. Jun Wu should have been informed by now. You need to report back and give them a proper account."
Hua Cheng laughed out loud at his words.
"What're you laughing at?" Feng Xin demanded.
"And here I was marveling at how straightforward you are, but it turns out you like to beat around the bush too," Hua Cheng said. "You just don't want His Highness to associate with the likes of demons and ghosts like me, so why not say so openly? Think it's not your place?"
Xie Lian cleared his throat softly. "San Lang…"
"As long as you're aware that he shouldn't be associating with the likes of demons and ghosts," Feng Xin said coldly.
Hua Cheng made no indication that he agreed or disagreed with that sentiment, and Xie Lian intercepted, responding to Feng Xin quietly.
"I will report in and give a proper account, but right now there are more important things at hand. Qi Rong had over three hundred humans hidden in his lair to feed upon. Thanks to San Lang's help, they were all saved. There are currently a number of little ghosts left that still need to be taken care of. I will return to the heavens as soon as that's done."
"It won't be good to take too long. Let me deal with this," Feng Xin said.
Hua Cheng nodded. "Judging by heaven's standards of efficiency, you'll probably finish handling it by next month."
"You say that as if you can handle it in an instant," Feng Xin said.
The two clashed measure for measure. Shi Qingxuan used his eyes to ask Xie Lian: Did something happen between the two of them? But Xie Lian only shook his head. He was about to change the subject when Hua Cheng took out an umbrella from who knows where. The umbrella was crimson red like maple leaves, vivid like fire. Hua Cheng raised it with one hand and covered himself and Xie Lian, reflecting a blushing red on their cheeks.
This had to be the same umbrella that Hua Cheng used to shield them through the hanging corpse forest at Mount Yujun. However, it wasn't raining at the moment, so Xie Lian was curious.
"San Lang, why did you open an umbrella?"
Hua Cheng looked at him and shifted the umbrella more to Xie Lian's side, smiling cheerfully. "Just wait. The sky's about to change."
As soon as he spoke, it poured from the sky! The rain thundered down, flecking and flacking. It came so suddenly, Xie Lian was dumbfounded. However, he was properly covered under Hua Cheng's umbrella, and not a single drop hit him.
Feng Xin was standing on the other side of the cave, however, and had not prepared at all. He was drenched head to toe by this rain. And the worst thing was, this rain was the color of blood.
Looking over, Feng Xin was now covered in blood and dripping; only his wide, bulging eyes were white, the rest of him red. Shi Qingxuan was conveniently standing in the interior of another cave so he wasn't affected, but his eyes were also wide with shock; he even forgot to wave his whisk.
That pouring rain came suddenly and left equally suddenly, and soon enough, everything was quiet once more. It took Feng Xin some time to recover. He wiped at his face, but it was still smeared with red, his attempt useless.
"Wha…" Xie Lian's mouth was agape.
Hua Cheng closed the umbrella and laughed. "An instant. How's that?"
In the span of those four short words, he'd already taken a number of leisurely steps and was quite a distance away. Xie Lian was fumbling all through his sleeves looking for some rags, but instead, Shi Qingxuan plucked some white strands from his whisk and handed them to the deeply silent Feng Xin. The moment Hua Cheng left, Xie Lian immediately sensed the void behind him and turned around in a rush, running a few steps after him.
"San Lang, are you going back to Ghost City?"
Hua Cheng turned his head. "Aren't you going back to the Heavenly Court?" He then added, half-jokingly, "But if you want to follow me back to Ghost City, you're very welcome to."
Xie Lian chuckled. "Next time," he said sincerely. "Next time, if there's a chance, I'll definitely visit Ghost City again. I'll help you lay bricks when you rebuild Paradise Manor."
"No need to lay bricks. Just sitting there and watching would be fine," Hua Cheng replied.
Xie Lian's smile died a little. "This thing with Qianqiu—despite how it went down, I should still thank you." He paused, then continued, "I don't know what the right thing to do was, so maybe this wasn't such a bad outcome."
"You think too much," Hua Cheng said lightly.
Xie Lian was slightly taken aback and tilted his head.
"Just focus on doing what you want to do," Hua Cheng said.
After that, he turned around and waved his hand.
Soon after, from within the mountains and under the moonlight, that crimson silhouette slowly disappeared from Xie Lian's sight.