This was the very first divine statue the people had built for him, and it was also the most magnificent and stately. In the past, seeing that version of "himself," Xie Lian had simply accepted it, not seeing any problem. Yet at that very moment he saw that golden, scintillating giant figure as endlessly foreign and couldn't help but think…
Is that really me?
Feng Xin and Mu Qing went about separately to check for trapped victims who hadn't yet been found. That flicker of confusion passed quickly, and seeing the crowds settling, Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief.
But before that breath was completely exhaled, his heart lurched when he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his body.
That Celestial Pagoda was too tall and too heavy after all.
The divine statue also seemed to find its burden strenuous. Its hands trembled, its feet sank into the ground, and its gigantic golden body was slightly bent from the pressure—only that smile remained unchanging. Seeing this, Xie Lian immediately cast another spell. However, when the spell was cast, his heart dropped. Not only did the golden statue not straighten up, it was pushed down even further and looked like it might not be able to hold on much longer.
Xie Lian's hands, too, started trembling. He had never felt like this before. Whatever mountain he punched, that mountain must fall, and should he stomp, the earth would quake—this was all he had ever known about himself. And at that moment, he had never so fully understood the concept of strength falling short of desire.
With no other choice, Xie Lian clenched his teeth and leapt into the air. He landed and seated himself on the foot of that gigantic golden statue before raising his hands to cast spells once more with renewed force. This time, he joined the fray himself, and sure enough, that golden statue rose again, its head shot up, and it raised the leaning Celestial Pagoda up once more.
Although he managed to bear its weight, both Xie Lian's back and his mind were rolling with cold sweat. However, the countless people outside the palace were ignorant of his unspeakable hardship and were already approaching in waves to prostrate at the miraculous golden statue, hollering as they did.
"In the kingdom's time of need, His Highness the Crown Prince has shown his divine spirit before us!"
"Your Highness, you must save us!"
"Save the people! Protect the world!"
Xie Lian was gritting his teeth, and it was a while before he managed to say, "Everyone, please stand up and back away. Go further, do not stand around here, I…"
He trailed off, suddenly realizing he was actually running out of breath. His voice was drowned out by the tidal cheers, and the more he tried to amplify it, the smaller he found himself to be. Xie Lian drew a deep breath and was about to shout again when a hand suddenly grabbed his ankle. He looked down, and it was Qi Rong.
"Qi Rong, hurry and tell everyone not to crowd around here," he quickly said, "the pagoda might collapse!"
Those words were unintentionally blurted, and when Xie Lian realized what he had said, his blood ran cold.
In the past, it wasn't just that he would never have said those words, the mere thought of them would never have entered his mind. Even if the sky was going to fall, he would have believed he could support it. But now, he realized something alarming—he no longer believed that.
Not only had the people stopped believing in him, even he could no longer believe in himself.
"How can it collapse? Aren't you holding it up?!" Qi Rong responded instantly without thought.
Hearing him, Xie Lian felt his heart quiver again. Qi Rong didn't notice his ashen expression, and his eyes were bright with a hungry look.
"Cousin, let me help you."
Xie Lian was taken aback. "Help me? How?"
"Didn't you say you knew how to inflict Human Face Disease?" Qi Rong immediately replied. "Tell me how to do it, and I'll help you curse Yong'an. I'll help you kill them!"
So he did hear everything they discussed while he was hiding under the bed!
Xie Lian was weak from sheer anger. "You—you fool! Don't you know what a curse is?"
However, Qi Rong was nonchalant. "I do. Isn't it just a curse? Cousin, let me tell you, I have quite the talent in this area. I curse my dad often, and I suspect he may have died from my curses, you—"
"…" Xie Lian couldn't listen anymore and said, "Just go."
"No! No!" Qi Rong exclaimed. "Fine, don't tell me how to cast the curse. Just tell me…how can I avoid getting infected by Human Face Disease?"
Xie Lian's heart continued to drop, and Qi Rong pressed him, "You know how, right? You know why the soldiers weren't getting infected, don't you? Cousin, tell me why. Please?"
There were still many palace attendants gathered nearby, and who knew just how many ears were listening. Xie Lian was afraid that leaking information might start something terrible, so he remained silent. But sure enough, some people couldn't keep quiet any longer and began to bombard him with questions.
"Your Highness! Is that true?"
"You really know how to cure Human Face Disease?!"
"Why didn't you say anything?"
There was a ravenous glint in the people's eyes, in Qi Rong's eyes. Xie Lian kept his mouth shut tightly, managing only to grit a response through his teeth.
"No! I don't know anything!"
That caused a small disturbance in the crowd, but it didn't escalate. Just then, Feng Xin returned. He saw from afar that Qi Rong was lurking near Xie Lian and barked at him.
"What are you doing?!"
"Feng Xin, come take him away!" Xie Lian immediately ordered.
Feng Xin acknowledged the command and came forward, but Qi Rong latched on to Xie Lian as he cried fervently, "Cousin, you're going to defeat Yong'an and chase them all away for sure, right?! You'll protect us for sure, right?! RIGHT?!"
A few months ago, maybe Xie Lian would have still emphatically answered with fervor, "I will protect you all!" But he didn't dare do so any longer. Qi Rong's expression was wild with excitement, and Xie Lian was a little puzzled watching him. He knew very well that Qi Rong was not the type to be concerned with the kingdom, nor its people. Even if the kingdom was doomed, he should be more scared than anything, so why the excitement? Moments later, he suddenly remembered—wasn't Qi Rong's father from Yong'an?
Hearing no response, Qi Rong's voice suddenly turned sharp. "Cousin! You won't really let this happen, right?! Are you just going to let us be trampled and ridiculed like this? Do we really have no other way?!"
Under this interrogation, Xie Lian could feel his heart breaking. Because he realized—Qi Rong wasn't wrong. In the face of everything, he really…really didn't know what to do!
"Let me go and request that the king detain him again," Feng Xin said.
Even while being dragged away Qi Rong was still struggling, and he roared, "YOU HAVE TO HOLD ON! YOU CAN'T FALL!"
He couldn't fall!
Xie Lian himself knew that he couldn't afford to fall. Even if the nearby civilians evacuated, the Celestial Pagoda must not be allowed to fall. If it collapsed, not only would the centuries-old royal monument be destroyed, the main part of the Grand Avenue of Divine Might, with its many residences, would be demolished. Moreover, within the pagoda there were countless rare treasures, centuries-old scrolls passed down from countless ancestors of generations past. They couldn't be retrieved in time, and if the pagoda collapsed, they would all be gone. And if it collapsed, it would bring down with it the royal eminence of the Kingdom of Xianle.
However, his spiritual power, like Yong'an's water, seemed to be draining by the day. In order to support that gigantic golden statue, he couldn't leave his position for even a moment. He had to pass on the duty of guarding the city to Feng Xin and Mu Qing while he staunchly remained where he was, meditating in forced calm. And since that dozens-meter-tall golden statue was the divine statue worshipped on Mount Taicang within the Royal Holy Temple, after Xie Lian summoned it over, the devotees there had no idol to worship and they came in swarms to pray to it under the open skies. Although this was the palace and outsiders shouldn't have been allowed to enter, the earthquake had collapsed a section of the palace walls. The capital was in chaos, and there wasn't enough authority to go around— even if there was, any more oppressive acts of authority might incite another riot, so the people had to be let through.
Xie Lian stayed seated there, and the king and queen would visit him every day. Days passed in a blur as he spent all of his power holding that Celestial Pagoda up while trying to restore his energy at the same time, waiting for a time to come when he could be relieved. The king didn't have it any easier—his hair was now mostly white, and even though he was in his prime, he had the appearance of a man over fifty. When father and son saw each other, though they didn't speak, they were now more at peace with each other than ever before.
The queen had watched Xie Lian grow up, but she had only ever seen her beloved son in a state of elegance and divinity. Now, it was with sorrow and grief that she watched him bitterly guard the palace, exposed to the harsh elements and refusing to let anyone close to help cover him. She stood under the scorching sun herself to shield him from the rays with an umbrella. After a while, fearing that she was exhausted, Xie Lian spoke up.
"Mother, go back, I don't need this. Don't come near, and don't let anyone else come close, I'm scared that…"
But in the end, exactly what he feared never left his lips. The queen's back was facing the devotees gathered there, and having kept her composure for so long, tears at last streamed down her face.
"My child, you've suffered so terribly. Why…why would such punishment befall you?!"
The queen painted her face heavily to hide its pale, sallow complexion, but with her tears, the foundation melted and revealed a woman who was no longer youthful. She grieved for her son, wept for her son, but she didn't dare weep out loud for fear that the people would notice her upset. The king held her shoulders, and Xie Lian watched her in dazed confusion.
When they suffer, the first thing people think of is their loved ones, and to Xie Lian that meant his mother. It would be pointless, perhaps, to state it aloud, but after days of exhausting strain, after having been cut down again and again by countless knives, right then he really wanted to be ten years old again and run into his mother's embrace to cry to his heart's content.
And yet, every road he walked that had led to this day was chosen by Xie Lian himself. His parents were already in a difficult situation, and with so many citizens watching him intently, he could never show a trace of weakness. If even he couldn't hold on, who could?
Thus, Xie Lian spoke against his heart. "Don't worry, mother. I'm all right. I'm not suffering."
Whether he was suffering or not, only he knew deep down.
A few palace attendants came to help the king and the queen away, and as they left, they looked back with every step. Once they were gone, Xie Lian was again exposed under the scorching sun, and lethargy overtook him. Some time passed, and when he opened his eyes again, dusk was settling on the horizon. The setting sun had shone its last rays, and only a few scattered devotees were left below him.
When he looked down, he noticed that not far from where he sat there was a small, lonesome flower.
Xie Lian wasn't very sure when exactly that flower had been placed there, and he reached to pick it up.
It was a tiny flower. Snow-white with a lush green stem, its stalk thin and weak, bearing tear-like dew, pitiful looking. The faint fragrance was almost familiar, and though ordinary, it gladdened his spirit.
He clutched the flower tight despite himself and pressed it near his heart.
Just then, the sudden stench of blood overtook that faint fragrance. Xie Lian looked up, and his sight was muddled by a screaming shadow that hurtled toward him.
"Why?! Why?!"
Startled, Xie Lian repelled his attacker with a wave of his sleeve and tried to summon some strength. "Who?!"
The shove sent the person tumbling and rolling over the ground. Xie Lian still had to support the giant golden statue and didn't dare rise, didn't dare go close, but it only took a second for him to recognize who it was. That individual only had one leg—it was the young man who once gave him an umbrella, the one whose leg he'd personally amputated!
That young man was covered in blood, with equally stained palms. He had come crawling using both hands and his one remaining foot, and there was a horrifying trail of blood behind him.
He sat up with difficulty, and Xie Lian asked, dumbfounded, "Why… why are you here? Weren't you recuperating in Buyou Forest?"
The young man only crawled closer, not answering him. Since he only had one leg, it was a horrifying sight.
"You—!" Xie Lian exclaimed.
In a fit, that young man yanked up the trouser hem of his remaining right leg and demanded, "WHY?!"
On his right leg, there was a contorted human face!
This was one of the things Xie Lian had worried about the most, and sure enough, it had come to pass. If he wasn't already seated, he might have fallen over. The young man slapped at the ground and roared.
"Why did you cut my leg off?! It still came back! My leg is gone! Why?! Give me back my leg! Give me back my leg!"
That rainy day, this young man's face had been full of smiles when he stuffed that umbrella into Xie Lian's hands. Yet before him now, he was in a state of madness; the difference was striking. Xie Lian's mind was in chaos, a complete mess, and his voice trembled.
"I…"
It took him moments before he snapped out of it and said, "Let…let me help you!"
He quickly cast a spell to suppress the evil poison circulating in that young man's leg. Yet unexpectedly, the sound of wailing came from all around, and several more people also lunged at him, crying:
"Your Highness, save me!"
"Your Highness, save me!"
"Your Highness, look at my face; I've cut off half my face, so why is it still not healed, why?! Just what do we have to do to cure this?!"
"Your Highness, look at me, look what I've become!"
Scene after gory scene was endlessly thrust before him. Xie Lian's expression was blank with shock. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he waved them as he mumbled, "No, I don't want to look, I don't want to look!"
As it turned out, once the Human Face Disease patients from Buyou Forest relapsed, a full riot erupted at last. Shockingly, they managed to fight through the soldiers and doctors guarding and nursing them and escaped the camp in search of him!
Since they had all escaped, if he didn't immediately suppress their infections, the disease might spread faster to the wider population. Xie Lian closed his eyes and tried to work his powers, wanting to help alleviate their symptoms and relieve their pain for the time being. However, as soon as that group was taken care of, more swarmed over to surround him.
"Your Highness, me! Help me too!"
Surrounded by dozens, Xie Lian vaguely felt the golden statue above him swaying, and apprehension filled him.
"Wait, wait! I—"
Someone couldn't wait and cried, "No, I don't want to wait, I've already waited too long!"
"Your Highness, why would you treat him but not me?!"
Soon, the voices around him changed.
"How come when you treated him, he was good as new, but I'm not any better? Aren't you a god?! Why are you so unfair?! I demand justice!"
Xie Lian argued back, "No, I'm not being unfair! This isn't on me, your symptoms are different—"
"If you're going to help, help all the way! Now you wanna drop everything; what exactly are you playing at?! Is it up to you to decide?!"
Xie Lian was having trouble catching his breath. "I'm not dropping anything, I'm just—just wait—"
"Don't you know how to cure this disease?!"
Xie Lian opened his mouth. "I—"
"If you know, why won't you tell us?!"
Xie Lian clutched his own head. "I don't know anything!"
"You're lying! I already heard someone talking—you know! I've seen through you! You won't tell us because you just want us to keep begging you like this so you can steal our donation money! Liar! You're a liar!"
"What's the cure, just tell us! Tell us now!"
Xie Lian's face was white as a sheet, his eyes vacant. Countless hands shoved him, and there was even a pair maliciously strangling him. Then, the most ridiculous thing happened. He was clearly a god of heaven, but in that moment, a feeble voice cried out at the bottom of his heart…
Save me—
It seemed like someone was pulling those hands away, but at the same time not—he couldn't be sure. The only things he could see were those bloody, scarred faces, those people with missing limbs, who looked like they were going to tear him apart and devour him piece by piece.
He didn't know how long it had been when, in the far distance, he heard the demonic howling of a horn. The crowd only cared for their own screaming and tearing and ignored that horn completely, but Xie Lian snapped out of it instantly. That was the sound of Yong'an's victory horn!
He couldn't sit still any longer, or perhaps the burden had finally crushed him—his body bent, and he keeled over. At the same time, the giant gilded figure he had so arduously supported mimicked his movement, and like its life was suddenly snuffed out, it collapsed with a boom.
Along with it came another loud rumble—that gigantic, heavy Celestial Pagoda came crashing down, crumbling like the golden statue.
The gilded figure shouldn't have been so breakable, but because Xie Lian had injected too much spiritual power into it, hoping that it'd hold up the Celestial Pagoda, it had long since grown fragile. The patients who had escaped Buyou Forest were fleeing, dying, getting hurt. The crowds scurried wildly through the palace and the streets, some dodging fragments of that Celestial Pagoda, some dodging those horrifying disease victims. With both hands clutching his own head, Xie Lian ran and stumbled as he headed for the grand gates of the imperial city.
The city towers were ablaze, rolling with thick, black smoke. Xie Lian rushed up to the terrace, passing numerous distraught, fleeing soldiers, but when he arrived at the platform, he didn't know what to do. He stared down below at a complete loss, his face ashen and streaked with tears that had started to flow without him realizing. In his blurry field of vision, corpses scattered the fields—only the silhouette of a white-clothed figure was distinct, his expansive sleeves fluttering. That figure wasn't a youth but a man, and when he turned his head, he spotted Xie Lian from afar. He waved at him in a carefree manner, looking like he was about to vanish into the air.
Seeing this, Xie Lian cried sharply, "Don't go!"
The first two times Xie Lian had encountered him, he'd used a fake skin. This time, Xie Lian's instincts told him that this must be his true form! Thus, he hopped over the city wall without hesitation and leapt from the tall battlement.
Xie Lian had jumped from extreme heights countless times. Relying on his strong spiritual power and martial might, he landed safely every time, and it always filled him with pleasure and pride. Every time, he was the very picture of the celestial descents they spoke of in legends.
This time, however, he was no longer a legend.
When he landed, he wasn't steady, and his foot twisted. A needle-sharp pain instantly shot up his leg and through his entire body.
He had broken his leg.
***
Breaking a leg wasn't really a big deal, and it soon healed. But since that day, it were as though Xie Lian had become an entirely different person.
It was like he had lost his spirit and divine invincibility. After the first defeat, there would be a second, and then a third… He didn't want to draw his sword nor join the battlefield anymore, but because there was no one who could shield or replace him, he could only boldly sally forth. On the battlefield, he didn't slack off; he genuinely did his utmost, but for some reason, even though he was clearly a young man barely past twenty, the hand holding the sword shook like that of an ailing elder.
He shuddered with a heart full of fear, yet he couldn't explain who or what exactly he was afraid of. Finally, the soldiers who used to revere him began to lose patience. Xie Lian knew that a rumor had started circulating among them: "How is he a martial god? More like a god of misfortune!"
He couldn't rebut it, because he had also started wondering the same thing: had he really, maybe, turned into a god of misfortune?
It would've been wonderful if that was the only issue. But the real catastrophe, the thing that sealed the Kingdom of Xianle's doom, was that Human Face Disease was now completely out of control. Five hundred, one thousand, two thousand, three thousand… Toward the end, Xie Lian no longer dared ask just how many people had been infected today.
And at the end of it all, like a sentence handed down to a criminal, the Heavenly Realm at last reopened its gates to him and sent forth a message: "Your Highness, it is time to return to the Upper Court."
It was clear what would be waiting for him when he returned to the heavens. Feng Xin and Mu Qing both looked a little uneasy for once, while Xie Lian, on the other hand, was concerned with something else.
"Before we leave, I want to go somewhere to have a look," he said to them.
"Where?" Feng Xin asked.
"The Royal Holy Temple," Xie Lian replied.
After a moment of silence, Feng Xin said, "Don't."
Xie Lian had already walked off on his own.
"Your Highness!" Feng Xin cried, but seeing that he couldn't be stopped, he and Mu Qing could only run after him.
The three of them hiked up the mountain on foot. The Royal Holy Temple was where Xie Lian's first holy temple had been erected, and it was also where his first divine statue was built. However, by the order of the state preceptor, those three thousand disciples had long since been disbanded and sent down the mountain, and the Royal Holy Temple stood empty.
When they were halfway up the mountain, Xie Lian looked down. He could see clusters of fires ablaze everywhere in the capital, the brilliant flames reflecting a sky full of twinkling stars—a beautiful sight to behold.
Feng Xin, however, yelled angrily, "Those madmen!"
Xie Lian's eyes were transfixed by the flames, and Feng Xin tried again.
"Stop looking! There's nothing good to see!"
In recent days, Feng Xin had yelled at Xie Lian countless times: "Do you enjoy finding grief for yourself or what?" But truthfully, Xie Lian didn't know what he wanted to do. He only knew that whenever another one of his temples was burned down or desecrated, he was uncontrollably drawn to see it for himself. Yet once he'd seen, he couldn't speak nor stop anyone—he could only stand there and watch helplessly. What was there to see? He didn't know either.
Firelight was also blazing on the Crown Prince Summit. Feng Xin was aghast.
"They couldn't even let the Royal Holy Temple go?! Did someone desecrate their ancestors' graves or something…?"
He trailed off and shut up, since he realized the suffering of those from Xianle was far worse than any sarcastic comments about "desecrating ancestors' graves."
However, the fire wasn't severe, and it soon died down, seemingly extinguished by someone. Now Feng Xin was really surprised—these days, there were only people who dared to set fire, not extinguish the flames. If anyone tried to step in, to talk down or stop those angry mobs from setting fires and destroying temples, they would be treated like the very "God of Misfortune" Xie Lian himself and get beaten to death. Because of this, the three of them no longer dared to reveal themselves before mortals and had long since hidden away their forms.
All along the path up the mountain, the three could hear the commotion of a brawl. Once they reached the Crown Prince Summit, sure enough, the Palace of Xianle had already been mostly torn down, leaving only the frame and walls of the great hall. That huge divine altar no longer held a divine statue, and there was a gang of riffraff brawling in front of that decrepit hall entrance, jeering as they fought.
"You damned mutt! Shitty brat! Did your wife lose her fucking virginity here or what?! Is this broken shrine your precious family jewels or something?!"
With one look, Xie Lian knew that this group didn't come to destroy his temple out of anger. They were just a gang of punks who reveled in disorder, and they were either taking advantage of the situation or burning the temple down purely for fun. However, at this point he didn't really care who was tearing his temples down anymore.
Just then, in that crazed brawl, the exceedingly vicious voice of a boy pierced through and echoed in the night sky.
"Beat it!"
Listening closely, this was actually one person fighting the rest. Moreover, that one person was only a young teenager, still very much a child but relentless all the same, and he didn't seem to be losing ground. Nevertheless, it was still one against many. The boy's face was already covered in blood and grime, battered blue and purple with cuts all over, to the point that his actual appearance was no longer recognizable.
"That brat will definitely grow up to be a good man!" Feng Xin commented.
Just then, a malicious glint flashed in one of the men's eyes, and he lifted a giant rock from the ground, ready to bash it into the back of that boy's head. Xie Lian saw and waved his hand once. The rock in that man's hands instantly rebounded, smashing into his own face, and he screamed as blood splattered out of his nose. The boy was stunned at the sight, but he immediately whirled around and raised his fist for another bout of berserk beating.
The way he fought was too frightening, and it scared away that gang of grown men.
They pointed at him as they fled, shouting empty threats. "Fuck! Just you wait! We've got more guys, and we'll get you yet!"
The boy sneered. "You dare come back and I'll fucking kill you!"
That terrified the men, and they ran off faster. With the fistfight over, the boy rushed over to a small mound and vigorously stomped on a fire that had already been extinguished, killing the last few sparks. After doing so, he entered the great hall. He picked up a piece of paper from the ground, carefully flattened it, and hung it above the altar. Finally, he sat down and leaned against the altar, lost in a daze.
Xie Lian walked over and leapt airily onto the altar. He discovered that the paper the boy had hung there was a painting. The brushwork was immature, obviously done by someone who had never learned how to paint. Yet every stroke was serious and sincere, depicting the solemn figure of the God-Pleasing Crown Prince. It seemed that this was used to replace the divine statue Xie Lian had summoned away.
"Very well painted!" Feng Xin remarked.
After all these trying days, Feng Xin had finally found someone who would still defend Xie Lian. He was already so excited that he'd almost joined the fight earlier to help the boy out, so naturally he felt that anything the boy did was great. Mu Qing, however, was unspeaking as he lowered his eyes, his eyes flickering as if he was recalling something. Xie Lian raised his hand and lightly flicked the painting.
It wasn't particularly obvious and could have easily been mistaken for a breeze blowing past. And yet the boy's head shot up from where it lay on his hugged knees, and that heavily injured face brightened instantly at the sight.
"Is that you?" he called out.
Feng Xin was shocked. "What a sharp little brat!"
"Let's go," Mu Qing said.
Xie Lian nodded lightly, and he was about to turn around to leave when the boy pounced on the edge of the altar, his breath coming quick.
"I know it's you! Your Highness, don't go! I have something to say to you!"
Hearing him, the three of them were taken aback. That boy seemed quite nervous, and with his fists clenched, he continued with what he meant to say.
"Even though your palaces and temples are burned down…don't be sad. I will build you many more temples in the future—bigger, more magnificent, better than anyone else's. No one will be able to compete with you. I'll do it!"
"…"
The three were silent.
That boy was dirty-faced and shabbily dressed, covered in bruises and cuts, looking extremely sad and pathetic. Yet he spoke such ambitious, bold words—it sounded truly laughable, which brought up complicated feelings. Seeming afraid that his voice might not reach Xie Lian's ears, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted toward the painting hung above the altar.
"Your Highness! Do you hear me?! In my heart, you are god! You are the only god, the one true god! Do you hear me?!"
He screamed with all he had, to the point where all of Mount Taicang echoed with his voice: "Do you hear me?!"
Xie Lian suddenly burst out laughing. This laugh came too abruptly, surprising both Feng Xin and Mu Qing. Xie Lian shook his head as he laughed. That boy obviously couldn't hear him, yet he seemed to have sensed something; his eyes were bright as he looked around. Suddenly, without warning, a drop of ice-cold water landed on his cheek. The boy's eyes bulged, and in that instant, his eyes reflected a snow-white figure. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, that reflection was gone.
Seeing that Xie Lian had actually showed himself for a second, Feng Xin spoke up.
"Your Highness, just now, did you…"
Xie Lian looked confused. "Just now? Oh, my power's failing…I slipped up for a moment, that's all."
The boy straightened up and rubbed hard at his eyes, as if trying desperately to retain that ephemeral shadow. Xie Lian, however, closed his own.
Moments later, he spoke. "Forget it."
He'd finally received a response, yet those were the words. That boy's eyes first lit up, his lips curling into a smile, but soon his expression turned to shock and the curve of his lips fell.
"What…? Forget what?"
Xie Lian breathed a sigh and said to him in a soft voice, "Forget me."
The boy was stunned and silent.
"Forget me. Soon, no one will remember anyway," Xie Lian mumbled to himself.
Hearing this, the boy's eyes widened. Silently, a single line of tears rolled down and washed a trail of pale white on his grimy face.
He swallowed hard and gasped. "I…"
Feng Xin seemed unable to bear the sight any longer and spoke up. "Your Highness, don't say anymore. You're breaking the rules again."
"Yes, I'm done. I've already broken so many rules, just a few more words won't hurt," Xie Lian said.
He didn't let the boy hear that last part. The three descended from the altar and walked toward the entrance of the broken great hall. The night breeze cut through him, and Xie Lian shook his head. He was still a heavenly official for now, and technically he couldn't feel cold. Yet at that moment, he somehow felt a bone-deep chill.
However, the boy they left behind in the great hall suddenly muttered, "I won't."
He clearly couldn't see Xie Lian and his companions, but he somehow accurately grasped the right direction and charged out of the temple toward them, shouting at their retreating backs, "I won't!"
The three of them looked back and saw the boy's eyes, shining so bright in the black night they pierced the soul. That battered face was both furious and sorrowful, both joyous and wild.
In the midst of pouring tears, he cried: "I won't forget!
"I will never forget you!"