The man was talk and burly, and many on the streets were sent tumbling and complained loudly as he hurtled past them in his crazed dash.
"What gives?!"
"It's already such a hot day, why's he running around so heated…?"
"Wow, it's my first time seeing someone dashing past without putting their best face forward."
Many started laughing as they commented, since they weren't genuinely angry. But as that man blindly rampaged with his hands over his face, he collided head-on with a large, luxurious horse-drawn carriage, and blood splattered right there on the streets. He fell backward onto the ground in a heap, and the pedestrians who'd been joking around screamed at the sight.
The carriage's owner was shocked as well, and he poked his head out to ask, "Who was that? Who crashed into me?"
Everything had happened so suddenly, Xie Lian had to put the matter with the boy on the backburner for now. He rushed over.
"What happened?"
The man who had rammed his head into the carriage seemed to have passed out, and his disheveled hair blocked his face. A small crowd had formed around him and was watching carefully.
Before Xie Lian got close, the man suddenly leapt up in a fit and wailed.
"I can't stand it anymoooooore! Someone! Someone kill me! Quick, someone come kill me! Please!"
A few of the burly men passing by couldn't watch anymore and commented, "Which household let their lunatic loose? Take him away, jeez…"
They walked up to arrest the man, but when they approached and saw his face up close, they all screamed and backed away in a hurry.
"What is this monster?!"
The madman chased after them, crying manically, "Beat me to death, hurry!"
The men were horrified. As Xie Lian approached and they recognized His Highness the Crown Prince, they rushed to hide behind him like he was a divine reprieve. Without so much as a blink, Xie Lian gave a
swift but controlled kick to knock that madman down, and he was sent tumbling into the mud, filthy as a dog. Some pointed at him.
"Your Highness! This man…this man…he has…he has—!"
No need for them to point it out, Xie Lian saw it too—this man had two faces!
More precisely, it was one face with another sprouting from it. That second face was about the size of his palm, squished on half of the madman's cheek. Although the man was young, that small face was that of a wrinkly old man—and ugly to the core!
Xie Lian was also shocked to the core. His mind was filled with only one thought.
What is this monster?!
He immediately unsheathed the sword that hung at his waist—it was Hongjing, the enchanted sword gifted to him by the Heavenly Emperor. Ever since he first encountered that white-clothed creature, he had kept this sword on him at all times in case there was a need for it—just maybe, he'd get to see that creature's true form. But the sword was certainly useful for other circumstances as well.
Once unsheathed, the shine of that blade was brighter than snow, yet when he checked the reflection, it was no different from what he saw before him. It still showed this man, and it still showed both terrifying faces. That meant this madman was no monster or demon. He was human!
But was there really anyone in the world with such a horrifying appearance? If he was born this way, how was he unknown within the capital for so many years? Xie Lian was still bewildered when someone in the crowd suddenly spoke with a trembling voice.
"How…how did this happen to him?"
Xie Lian immediately sheathed Hongjing and turned to the man. "You know him? Was he not like this before?"
A number of people replied: "We know him! We work with him. Of course he wasn't like this. Before, his face… How could that happen to his face?!"
The onlooking crowd was growing bigger, almost to the point of blocking the whole main street. With a grave expression, Xie Lian took a deep breath and shouted loudly and clearly.
"Do not come any closer, everyone! There is nothing wrong, so break it up!"
The bandaged boy was helping him keep the crowd away, but Xie Lian didn't notice; he was too busy calling for Feng Xin and Mu Qing in the communication array.
"Come quickly to the capital's Grand Avenue of Divine Might!"
After lowering his hand, he saw another person close by who looked exceedingly hesitant, hemming and hawing. Xie Lian took a step toward him.
"Do you have something you want to say?"
With the crown prince's query, that man seemed to have found his courage. "Your Highness, there's something that I'm not sure I should tell you…"
Xie Lian had no time to listen to him dawdle and bluntly cut him off. "Get to the point!"
"A few days ago, some bumps appeared on my chest; three big ones and two small ones. I didn't feel anything; they didn't itch or hurt—they actually feel pretty good when you pick at 'em. I didn't think much of them, but seeing this guy here, I'm feeling a little…got an itch or somethin', ha ha." He laughed flatly and untied his robe, showing his chest. "There's nothing wrong with me…is there?"
The moment he took off his robe, everyone fell silent. It wasn't just "some bumps" on that man's chest. It was clearly a woman's face, with all five of her features indistinct but intact!
That man looked down in shock. "When did it get like this?! It wasn't that…that…"
Lifelike? Realistic? No matter what adjective was used, it was sheer horror!
Everyone around was terrified, and in spite of himself, that man grabbed onto the hem of Xie Lian's robe and cried, "Your Highness, save me!"
Feng Xin and Mu Qing arrived at that point, having rushed over from the city towers after receiving his summons. At the sight before them, they both furrowed their brows.
"Stand back!" Feng Xin shouted. "What are you playing at?!"
Xie Lian didn't have the time to explain. He patted the man's
shoulders and comforted him, "Do not worry. Stay calm."
His tone of voice was warm and firm, serious but kind. The man thought Xie Lian had everything under control and believed without a doubt that a small matter like this was nothing to His Highness the Crown Prince, and so he relaxed. However, Xie Lian's mind was in turmoil.
That "human face" was something that had grown gradually! And those symptoms—he would call them "symptoms" for now—were affecting more than one person. Dare he assume there were even more cases?
He immediately gave Feng Xin and Mu Qing a rough account. "Report this to the palace," he commanded. "Pass down this order: Search the whole city and see if there is anyone else with similar affliction. Do not miss a single one!"
Because the matter was so shocking, once the king received the news, he made it a priority, dispatching a large number of men to search and investigate. They were highly efficient and effective, and by that night it was confirmed that there were already five people in the imperial capital with faintly visible faces growing on their bodies. Of those five, either they'd seen them but didn't pay them any mind, or the faces were growing in areas not easily detected. In addition, the faces didn't itch or hurt, so those affected didn't notice right away. Beyond that, there were over a dozen others who had shallow bumps growing on their bodies—no doubt the still-immature faces.
Women and youths made up the majority of this group of twenty-some people. Filled with clear unease as they were sent forth before Xie Lian, they greeted and comforted one another as they milled about. Initially, Xie Lian was speaking to someone on the side to address some business, but when he noticed this close camaraderie, he felt something was amiss.
"Do you all know each other?" he asked.
The officials running about had worked all night. They briefly glanced at their reports and replied, "Your Highness, many of them live on the outskirts of the capital, fairly close together. Maybe they've crossed paths as neighbors."
Many of the affected were from the same area? Mu Qing was shocked.
"The people growing those human faces all live close to one another? It's contagious?!"
Xie Lian had already arrived at the same conclusion, he just didn't announce it aloud so bluntly. Immediately, he commanded, "Isolate them! Disperse the non-affected, and do not let anyone come close to this place. Find a place to quarantine everyone here!"
"A strange, contagious disease." When those words leaked out, it was more effective than any order to disperse troops and strong-arm people away. Not only did the onlooking crowd scatter, more than half the houses on the street emptied out. Xie Lian ordered the officials and soldiers he had appointed to gear up for protection, and he brought those twenty-some people to the outskirts of the capital where some of them already lived.
Near the residential area on the outskirts, there was a large forest called Buyou. The government officials had intended to build a quarantine camp there to temporarily settle the sick. While others were busy building camp, Xie Lian and his two attendants entered the woods. As they walked, a sense of foreboding weighed heavier and heavier on Xie Lian's mind. Feng Xin and Mu Qing noticed as well, and it was Feng Xin who spoke up first.
"Your Highness, isn't this where Lang Ying…"
Xie Lian clasped his hands behind him, frowning deeply. "Yeah. It was here."
Buyou Forest was the very place that Lang Ying had dug a grave barehanded for his son's corpse!
Realizing this, the three exchanged looks of dismay. Although they couldn't put their fingers on it, a theory was forming in their minds, compelling them to start searching for the place where Lang Ying had buried the corpse that day. Yet, it had been months since then, and with so many trees in the Buyou Forest, how could they possibly remember the exact tree the child was buried under?
Right then, an indescribably foul stench wafted through the air.
That disgusting stink was like that of a rotten corpse, but even more suffocating—one breath of it could knock a man out. Others smelled it too and started backing away, covering and fanning at their noses.
"What's over there?"
"What's going on?! It stinks worse than a ten-year-old pickle jar!"
Xie Lian rushed forward and followed that frightful smell, and sure enough, he came to a familiar-looking crooked tree. The earth under the tree was slightly raised, forming a benign-seeming mound. The soldiers brandished their swords and gathered to protect Xie Lian, but he raised a hand to stop them.
"Be careful," he said gravely. "Ordinary people, stand back."
The not-ordinary Feng Xin retrieved a shovel and approached. After a few shovels, the muddy mound became a ditch, the foul stench grew thicker, and Feng Xin dug more cautiously. After another few shovels, a small black thing was dug out, and it seemed to be squirming.
Feng Xin slowed his movement, and the soldiers reacted as if they were facing a great enemy. Suddenly, the earth lurched up. A hugely swollen, bloated body broke out of the soil, exposing itself before the torch-holding crowd. That rotten, foul stench surged into the air, and a great number threw up on the spot. Xie Lian's pupils shrank.
That thing couldn't be described as "human" anymore. Anything else in the world was more human than it. No one would be able to tell that this gigantic corpse was once a tiny, emaciated child!
The urge to vomit rolled up to his throat, and Xie Lian looked away. Feng Xin and Mu Qing were dumbfounded too, and they called out in shock.
"What is that thing?!"
"Is that a curse or just a rotten corpse?!"
No matter what that thing was, Xie Lian knew what they needed to do.
"Stand back! The further the better! I'm going to burn it!"
He raised his hand, and a stream of flames leapt forth. As the fire blazed and filled the air with thick smoke, the sharp sound of a battle horn sounded from the distant imperial capital, loud and shrill, calling all to attention.
The three looked up at the same time—that was the signal for an enemy attack. Feng Xin cussed.
"Fuck! Of all times, they had to come now!"
Mu Qing's face was dark, and his expression was unreadable under the firelight. "Maybe this is intentional?"
Xie Lian made the call. "Mu Qing, you stay here and take care of this. Feng Xin, you come with me. We'll repel them first. Remember, do not let them notice any weaknesses!"
It was nighttime. The two of them rushed out of the city in a hurry, and they fought a battle in a hurry. Although the fight came suddenly, they still won. But even though they won, none of the Xianle soldiers felt the joy of victory—Xie Lian himself included.
The strange disease that had appeared so suddenly came to be called "Human Face Disease" by the people. Word of it spread through the imperial capital fast as lightning, causing uproar and great unease.
The king considered suppressing the news, but the first victim had rampaged in the streets before countless witnesses, so from the very start this wasn't something that could be kept under wraps. Besides, the Human Face Disease was spreading rapidly: in a matter of six days, over fifty more people found that similar lesions had begun to appear on their bodies.
At the same time, the Yong'an sieges were growing more frequent. Attacked from both sides, Xie Lian could barely find the time to go to Yong'an and create rain. All the spiritual power and energy he allotted for the task was instead spent at the quarantine camp in the capital outskirts.
Within chilly Buyou Forest sprawled a large number of simple tents and huts. Xie Lian crossed over a ground packed with patients. This quarantine had started with twenty-some people but soon ballooned into hundreds—and the number was growing. Every day, if he had time, Xie Lian would come and use his power to relieve the horrifying symptoms of those afflicted. However, he still couldn't cure the root cause, and what the people truly hoped for was for him to heal them completely.
As Xie Lian walked through the camp, a young man lying on the ground suddenly reached out and tugged at the hem of his robe.
"Your Highness, I won't die, will I?"
Xie Lian was about to respond, but he noticed that this young man looked familiar. Upon a closer look, wasn't he the passerby who gave him an umbrella on that fateful rainy day when he learned that Xianle was short on water?
In recalling that day, that rain, that umbrella, warmth filled Xie Lian's heart. He knelt down and gently patted the back of the man's hand.
"I will do my best," he told him earnestly.
It was as if the man had received the hope to live, and his eyes twinkled with joy—he repeated "Good, good" as he lay down once more.
From the fervent eyes of the sick all around him, Xie Lian could tell they genuinely believed he would save them. And so every time he met those eyes, guilt sprouted deep in his heart, and he grew ever more desperate for a cure.
After making a round of the quarantine camp, Xie Lian found a place to sit. Mu Qing started a campfire, while Xie Lian himself was lost in thought. Some distance away, a few errand runners walked off carrying a stretcher, whispering quietly to each other, yet somehow their words had reached Xie Lian's ears.
"How many is this now?"
"The fourth or fifth, I think."
On the stretcher was a patient who died in Buyou Forest. It was actually difficult to die from Human Face Disease, but that fact made it even more frightening. Without the release of death, it meant that those things would stay on the victims' bodies for the rest of their lives. The thought of it alone could make one lose the will to live. Especially young women—they cared for their appearance, so if something like that grew somewhere important like their face, most would choose to simply end their own lives.
Another sighed. "When will this end?"
Another said, "We have His Highness the Crown Prince—we won't lose. Just relax."
The first one could not help but make a small complaint. "I'm not afraid of losing battles. But with the situation like this, does it matter if we don't lose? It still doesn't make life easier for us civilians," he sighed. "Never mind…never mind. I'm not complaining, here. Just pretend I said nothing. I said nothing."
If Feng Xin were there, he would've immediately rushed up to cuss them out. Mu Qing, however, simply gave Xie Lian a look and continued to build the fire without saying a word. Only when those two were completely gone did he comment expressionlessly.
"Ignorant commoners only know how to blame others and the heavens. Do they think a martial god has control over everything?"
Xie Lian shook his head. What that man had said held a certain logic. He was a martial god; when he was part of an army, there would be no battles unwon. Yet, at times like these, what use was it to win battles? An army was meant to protect civilians from attack. But if the civilians were being attacked by a plague, didn't that make this advantage nothing but a cruel joke?
Just then, the campfire flickered, and another sat down next to Xie Lian. It was Feng Xin, who had returned.
"How is it?" Xie Lian asked immediately.
Feng Xin shook his head. "It was exactly the same as when you searched. There's no trace of Lang Ying on Beizi Hill and nothing of that strange, white-clothed character either. Who knows where they're hiding? And there's no way of confirming that they're even the ones behind this. Also, the Yong'an people were all fine, like we suspected; not a single case of Human Face Disease."
Mu Qing poked at the fire. "The imperial capital and Beizi Hill are so close to one another, there's no way no one was infected. It's obvious that they must be the ones behind all this."
Many were secretly convinced, and it made sense to think that way. But even if they accused Lang Ying of foul play, whether secretly or openly, the man was hidden well away, and they couldn't find any proof.
They suspected that Human Face Disease was born from a curse, and that the source of said curse was the corpse of Lang Ying's son. If it was a curse, then it was a good one—it didn't leave any traces for them to investigate, so there was no evidence to confirm their suspicions. And who knew, maybe this Human Face Disease truly was a new, naturally formed plague? There was no way Xie Lian could draw any conclusions about what the disease actually was unless they apprehended their suspect.
He had rushed to give the Upper Court a report of his theories, yet as mentioned, Xie Lian's descent was a transgression, and things between him and heaven had changed. In the past, if he had wanted to report something, he could simply barge into the Palace of Divine Might and scream it directly into Jun Wu's ear. Now, he had to do it by the books. To explain what that meant: If he was lucky, he could pass his word through to the heavenly officials simply by throwing out hefty sums of merits. If he was unlucky, he might be forced to go through complicated red tape and be tied up by endless delays. And even after all that, it'd still only be some other heavenly officials sent forth. Xie Lian himself was a heavenly official, and other than Jun Wu, there were very few who could match him in power, so
the other heavenly officials might not even be effective. Jun Wu carried a heavy burden; he attended to a myriad of affairs every day, so there was no way he could come to Xie Lian's aid in person. Thus, Xie Lian's reporting was only for show, and he didn't expect anything to come of it.
Moreover, none of that truly consumed Xie Lian's thoughts. They were consumed by another problem.
He spoke those thoughts aloud. "If we assume that Yong'an used a curse for the sake of defeating the imperial capital, it would've been the most effective to direct the attack at the army. Wouldn't that be the same as opening the gates once the army falls?"
It wasn't that there were no victims of the Human Face Disease in the army, but compared to civilians, there were very few—only three or four examples to be had. Once they had been sent to quarantine, the situation was immediately under control, and nothing spread to the other soldiers.
Feng Xin always spoke his mind whenever a thought arose, so he said, "Maybe they think even if they defeat the army, with you around they'd still lose—so they gave up on that and targeted civilians directly?"
Mu Qing chuckled dryly at this. Feng Xin immediately reacted.
"What are you laughing about?"
"Nothing. You always manage to bring up good points. I have nothing to say," Mu Qing replied.
What annoyed Feng Xin the most was people who pretended to act courteously but whose real intention was to snipe at others. Thus, Feng Xin ignored Mu Qing completely.
"If it really was them, then I'll lose respect for them. Fight honestly on the battlefield if you have the ability; don't use shady tricks to harm innocent civilians!"
Xie Lian wholeheartedly agreed, and he sighed. "I've been thinking these past few days about what exactly causes the infection. We have to know the cause before we can control the disease itself."
"Isn't it obvious?" Feng Xin said. "Infection comes from close contact. Touching, drinking the same water, eating together, sleeping together, or whatever."
Xie Lian rubbed his forehead. "On the surface, that's not wrong. But take the army for example. The soldiers all drink, eat, and sleep together, and are in closer quarters than most ordinary households. So why aren't more soldiers infected?"
Mu Qing furrowed his brow. "So what you mean is, even under the same circumstances, with different physiques, some will be infected and others not. You want to find out just what kind of people are immune to Human Face Disease, right?"
Xie Lian raised his head. "Mu Qing, you understand me. That's exactly it. If we can find that out, there might be a way to stop Human Face Disease from spreading."
Mu Qing nodded. "Good. Then, let's look at it this way: What kind of people are more likely to get infected? What type of patients dominate the quarantine of Buyou Forest?"
Xie Lian had walked through the camps countless times these past few days and could answer with his eyes closed. He listed them off immediately, "Women, children, teens, seniors, and young men who are smaller in build."
"So only the weak are infected?" Feng Xin wondered doubtfully. "Should we have the king order for everyone in the capital to work out and strengthen their bodies?"
"…"
"…"
Xie Lian and Mu Qing both gave him a look, not wanting to respond.
After a pause, Feng Xin himself added, "Wait, that's not right."
Obviously not—the first victim that rampaged on the Grand Avenue of Divine Might was a strong, healthy man, so the theory didn't hold up.
Just how were the soldiers that had become infected with Human Face Disease different from other soldiers? Xie Lian thought of many possibilities and tried testing his hypotheses. But no matter from which angle he looked, there wasn't anything obvious that differentiated them from the rest. The characteristics of the infected victims were all across the board—their looks, their physiques, their social statuses, their temperaments. It was impossible to draw a conclusion based on these criteria. Could the infection really just be a matter of chance?
"What exactly did the soldiers do to stop the spread of Human Face Disease?" Xie Lian mumbled to himself. "In other words, what have they done more often than civilians…"
When he came to this thought, his eyes suddenly widened, and his face paled.
At his abrupt halt, Feng Xin asked, "What's wrong, Your Highness? Have you thought of something?"
Xie Lian had indeed thought of something. He had come to a logical conclusion, but at the same time, it was a terrifying one.
"Impossible!" he blurted, jumping to his feet. "No, no, it shouldn't be like this. That's absurd."
Feng Xin and Mu Qing immediately rose too. "What is it?"
Xie Lian held his forehead and paced back and forth, raising his hand. "Hold on. I…have a ridiculous guess. It shouldn't be true, but I need to test it out."
"What guess, exactly?" Mu Qing asked. "How will you test it? Do you need me to find you someone?"
Xie Lian immediately rejected the idea. "No. We can't use a live person for testing. What if I'm wrong?"
He hoped he was wrong; even better if he was way off the mark. Mu Qing frowned.
"Your Highness, if you need to ascertain whether you're right or wrong, you'll need a live person for testing. That's the best way. Just standing here brooding won't do any good."
Feng Xin frowned too. "Can't you see he's troubled? Stop saying such things at a time like this."
Mu Qing turned to him. "Weird. What exactly did I say? Didn't I speak the truth? At this point, what's the use in being indecisive and hesitating?"
Feng Xin was repulsed. "Do you have to judge everything based on how useful it is? We're talking about a live person here. Not even a bit of
hesitation; aren't you a little too collected?" "Collected?" Mu Qing countered. "You actually want to say 'cold-blooded,' right?"
Xie Lian didn't have the patience to defuse the fight between the two like he usually did and scolded them, "The two of you can start an argument over a single word! What a disgrace. Stand here for one incense time. No one's allowed to move within that time. Same old rules."
"…"
"…"
Hearing the words "same old rules" had Feng Xin and Mu Qing's faces changing color.
Xie Lian waved his hand. "Heaven Official's Blessings. Start."
A moment later, Feng Xin said through gritted teeth, "Blessings shine from up high…"
Mu Qing gritted his teeth too. "High imitation, no thought…"
Feng Xin was in trouble. "Thought… Thought…"
He was deep in arduous thought trying to come up with a way to continue. Xie Lian turned to enter Buyou Forest to find the three soldiers who were infected for questioning.
Regarding the "same old rules," this was a method Xie Lian had come up with to distract his companions. Feng Xin and Mu Qing would snipe at each other every chance they got, starting petty disputes from nothing at all. At first, Xie Lian would make them stand in silence for one incense time without speaking to each other until they calmed down, but this tactic wasn't very effective. It was then that Xie Lian decided to try idiom training. Tempted with a chance to have an objective winner and loser, they'd lose all sight of their original conflict and would instead focus on crushing the other in training idioms. The world became decidedly more peaceful after Xie Lian discovered this effective method, and he was quite pleased.
Forcing them to train idioms now was also an attempt to make everyone ease up a little, and yet this ease didn't last long. After one incense time, Xie Lian returned. His face was extremely grim when he gave his instructions.
"Bring me all the soldiers who lived in the same quarters as the infected. I need to question them."
The two of them had each been stuck down during several of their own turns and had also each seized their own little victories, so upon being released from training idioms, they both sighed in relief.
"We will," Mu Qing said, "but your findings might not be accurate if you use such a roundabout method to gather evidence."
Feng Xin had already turned to heed his orders. Xie Lian called him back.
"Wait! It's already deep into the night. Questioning them now would cause too much of a stir, and we can't call forth too many at a time either— it'd be too conspicuous. The things I want to ask must not be made known or allowed to leak. If you go now, we won't be able to conceal anything."
Feng Xin turned his head. "Then what should I do? Bring them to you one by one to have you interrogate them privately?"
"There's no other way," Xie Lian said. "Tomorrow, bring the soldiers who are close to the victims to my chambers one by one, and don't let them know that others have been questioned. Remember to order them not to tell anyone, otherwise…"
He breathed deeply and sighed.
"Never mind, just threaten them. Just say if word gets out, they shall be executed without mercy. The harsher the better."
"Questioning them one by one…how long will that even take?" Mu Qing commented.
"It doesn't matter how long it takes," Xie Lian stated. "The more I ask, the more sure I'll be. I…absolutely need to get to the bottom of this. There can't be any confusion."
Thus, the next day, Xie Lian sat in the chamber that had been temporarily assigned to him atop the towers and personally interrogated over three hundred soldiers. As for the questions he posed, all three hundred of them gave the same answers. With every soldier questioned, Xie Lian's face grew a shade darker.
When that was done and Feng Xin and Mu Qing entered the room, they saw Xie Lian sitting by the table, forehead propped up on his hand, unspeaking. It was a while before he slowly began to speak.
"You two stay and guard the city gates. I'm going to make a trip to Mount Taicang."
Feng Xin hesitantly asked, "Your Highness, did you find something out from the interrogations? Is it a curse, or…?"
Xie Lian nodded. "That much has become clear. It's a curse."
Mu Qing was solemn. "You're certain?"
"Without a doubt," Xie Lian said. "I also found out what kind of people are infected, and what kind aren't."
Despite his declaration, there was not a trace of joy on his face from solving the mystery. Feng Xin and Mu Qing felt things might not be thatsimple, but if Xie Lian didn't take the initiative to tell them, then as his subordinates it wasn't their place to ask. Their hearts silently sank.
At Mount Taicang, the Royal Holy Temple—the highest peak, the Palace of Divine Might.
The state preceptor was paying his respects within the soft curling clouds of incense smoke. Xie Lian crossed the threshold of the hall and immediately cut straight to the point.
"State Preceptor, I need to see the Heavenly Emperor."
The state preceptor finished paying his respects and turned his head. "Your Highness, the gates of the Heavenly Realm no longer open to you."
"I know," Xie Lian said. "But right now, I have ascertained that the Kingdom of Xianle is currently under attack by a malicious curse that has never been seen before. This is not a natural disaster, it is the work of inhuman creatures. Please help me; request that the Heavenly Emperor descend and possess your body so I can report this information to him directly. Maybe he will know the source of this and help find a solution."
Since his return to the Mortal Realm, he had reported to the Palace of Divine Might three times. The first two times weren't sincere; they were only done out of habitual courtesy. This time, he was genuinely seeking help.
The state preceptor sat down on a chair. "It's not that I don't want to help you, Your Highness, but there's no longer a need for it," he said. "Even if I give you a hand now, and have the Heavenly Emperor descend and possess my body, the answer you will receive from him will only disappoint you."
Xie Lian's expression dropped slightly. "Do you know something? Do you know what that white-clothed creature wearing the crying-smiling mask truly is?"
"Your Highness, do you still remember what I told you?" the state preceptor asked. "In this world, fortune—good or bad—is predetermined."
Xie Lian was taken aback and didn't respond.
"Originally, many of those from Yong'an were destined to die," the state preceptor continued. "But you transferred water, created rain, and gave them a breath of relief. Yet you cannot save them completely from the drought, cannot settle their futures; so now, they are in the Yong'an army upon Beizi Hill, fighting for that future.
"Originally, the imperial capital was destined to decline. But then you personally descended and used your own powers to turn things around and gave the imperial capital a breath of relief. Yet you didn't steel your heart to annihilate the Yong'an rebel army and root them out. Instead, you allowed them to survive until now, and like cockroaches, they only grow stronger with each battle.
"Your Highness, may I ask what you're hoping to accomplish?" the state preceptor asked him in wonder. "Are you perhaps waiting for both sides to realize their mistakes? To repent and be born anew? To reunite as one country once more?"
An odd sense of shame budded within Xie Lian's heart, yet it soon turned into confusion as he thought, That's strange. I saved people and protected people because they were innocent and didn't deserve death. Everything I've done was only done after serious consideration, and every choice was made after much struggle. Yet why does it all sound so laughable coming from another's mouth? Why does it sound like I've achieved nothing, that everything I've done is such a…failure?
That word appeared in his mind, but he immediately blocked it out.
"You used your divinity to interfere in mortal matters," the state preceptor added. "You've completely upended the predetermined fate of the Kingdom of Xianle—made a complete and utter mess. For the sake of balance, nature will breed things to bring everything you've derailed back on track. I don't know what that creature is, but I am certain it was born because of you."
"…" Xie Lian's poise faltered.
The state preceptor continued, "I am also certain that, should the Heavenly Emperor see you, he will tell you the same thing—because this was the reason he didn't want you to descend in the first place. But I feel that even if he'd told you then, you would've most likely come down anyway. Young people are like this, unheeding of advice. They won't believe they can't walk until they've fallen."
"You're saying that I'm the cause of Human Face Disease?!" XieLian was in disbelief. "By that logic, with this so-called predetermined fate, everything that uncrying, unlaughing creature does is my fault? So, the Upper Court won't even bother with this?"
"You can think of it that way," the state preceptor acknowledged, "but that's not altogether correct either. If you must track things to their origin, you could also blame your father and your mother—if they didn't give birth to you, then you wouldn't have ascended, and therefore you wouldn't have descended. By that reasoning, you could blame your entire Xianle ancestry. Assigning fault is meaningless.
"As for your last question—that's right, they won't. Because the Kingdom of Xianle was destined to fall. Since you reached out your hand and flipped the board, there will surely be another hand to set right all the game's upset pieces."
Xie Lian drew in a deep breath, not wanting to discuss whether the Kingdom of Xianle was destined to fall. He closed his eyes for a minute, then asked, "So answer me, State Preceptor. If I disappear now, will that creature also disappear?"
"I'm afraid not," the state preceptor replied. "Easy to come, hard to go. Whether it's a god, ghost, or demon, it's all the same."
Xie Lian nodded. "Fine," he said rigidly. "Thank you, State Preceptor, for your guidance."
Xie Lian knew any more talk would be pointless. The only one he could rely on to keep fighting was himself. He bowed to the state preceptor, bidding him farewell, and prepared to leave.
Behind him, the state preceptor called out. "Your Highness! How do you plan on walking your path from now on?"
Xie Lian had his head down. "Since my disappearance would change nothing, I will fight to the end. That is my only path."
After a pause, he raised his head high and clearly enunciated every word.
"Be it a hand or something else, I don't care—the people I protect will never become its pawn."
***
Two weeks later, Lang Ying led the Yong'an army in another attack.
After months of countless battles big and small, the Yong'an troops could now finally be called an army. They were no longer refugee brigands but a proper army with considerable strength!
It was as if Lang Ying had evaporated from the Mortal Realm for a long time—and having waited for so long, when Xie Lian saw this man again on the battlefield, he didn't waste a moment. He dashed straight past the troops to face him, swinging down with his sword as he shouted.
"Where's that white-clothed man?!"
Lang Ying blocked his attack and didn't answer, fighting back seriously. Xie Lian pressed him with each move he made.
"You know who I'm talking about. My patience is limited!"
Unexpectedly, Lang Ying stared at him and asked, "Your Highness, didn't you say it would continue to rain in Yong'an?"
Xie Lian hadn't expected him to ask that question. Startled, the words got stuck in his throat.
"I…"
He did indeed promise Lang Ying that Yong'an would have rain. However, in recent days, the number infected by the Human Face Disease within the capital had increased exponentially; at this point there were almost five hundred. Those five hundred victims couldn't all be settled in Buyou Forest, as the quarantine camp was running out of space. The government officials were debating a move to a bigger place, farther away. Most of Xie Lian's power was being used to relieve the symptoms of those five hundred people, and he had nothing left to create rain in Yong'an. Since he couldn't make use of the Rain Master's Hat, he felt bad keeping someone else's spiritual device; with no other options, he sent Feng Xin to the Kingdom of Yushi to return it and give his thanks.
Xie Lian struck again, yelling angrily, "I created that rain! Don't you have any clue why it's stopped?!"
The angrier he was, the calmer Lang Ying became. "That has nothing to do with me. I only know that, even without Human Face Disease, your powers won't last for long; just like how even with your rain, not many will survive in Yong'an. It's all pointless. Your Highness, why do you think you can achieve anything you want to do? Rather than putting my fate in your hands, I choose to put it in my own."
Something from that speech provoked Xie Lian, and his intent to kill flared.
His blade turned slightly, and he raised his left palm. A voice screamed inside his head: Kill this man, and the remnants of the Yong'an army will be nothing to be afraid of!
Throughout all their past meetings, this was the very first time Xie Lian had steeled his heart to kill Lang Ying. When he delivered a blow from his palm to Lang Ying's chest, the man spat blood from the strike, but the concussive blast did not penetrate his heart—instead, it was repelled by a shock wave.
Stricken with that shock, Xie Lian couldn't believe it. He backed away a few steps. "You?!"
Xie Lian knew very well what had shocked him back.
When those who were destined for greatness in the Mortal Realm— kings, geniuses, and heroes of chivalry—encountered a dire situation, their bodies would naturally radiate a protective aura to shield them from harm. Most of them had the potential for ascension. Lang Ying was no more than a boor, yet he radiated that protective spiritual aura, and it was even an exceedingly rare one—the aura of a king!
Xie Lian didn't dare to think deeply about what that meant, and he suddenly felt his heart go cold. The chill was from Lang Ying's sword, which had impaled him through the chest.
In that battle, there was no victory or defeat on either side.
Many still perished on Yong'an's side, but this time, Xianle didn't fare any better. If it were anyone else, they could say it was a hard-won battle, but to Xie Lian this was definitely defeat.
It was the first time he had been at a disadvantage, and although Lang Ying was still no match for Xie Lian and retreated with injuries in the end, many witnessed Lang Ying stabbing him. Xie Lian could guess that many soldiers were now talking behind his back—"His Highness is a martial god, how could he be stabbed? Aren't we the army of god? Why wasn't this another overwhelming victory?" However, Xie Lian had absolutely no time for such insignificant noise—Mu Qing had informed him that today, another hundred-some Human Face Disease patients had been sent to Buyou Forest.
One short day, and over a hundred!
The condition of the first group of Human Face Disease victims had worsened severely. There was not a single spot on their bodies that wasn't affected, and they had to be covered in thick white sheets lest they scare people. However, even through the covers, the contour of those bumps could still be seen.
Xie Lian moved through the camp to help alleviate symptoms, and when he finally finished one round, Feng Xin pulled him aside.
"Your Highness, what happened on the battlefield today?" he asked in a low voice. "How could you get stabbed by that boor? You struck him so many times—why didn't you just kill him?"
Xie Lian didn't want to tell him that there was now a king's aura on Lang Ying that not even heavenly officials could touch, so he only smiled wryly in response. It wasn't that he didn't want to kill him, it was that he could no longer kill him. All the spiritual power in his attacks was dissolvedby that king's aura, and nothing worked against Lang Ying. When he realized this, he instantly switched to using his fists, but that Lang Ying was thick-skinned and could withstand quite the beating!
Just then, someone wailed from a distance away.
"Your Highness, save me!"
Xie Lian had accepted a bowl of water that Feng Xin passed to him, and that wail came just as he was taking his first sip. Xie Lian choked and didn't have the time to stop coughing before he rushed over. The one who had wailed was the young man who had given him that umbrella, and because Xie Lian was particularly gentle toward him, his cries for help were also particularly frequent. At first, the only part of this man that had grown a face was his knee; Xie Lian had used his power to stop the disease from spreading, so only his left leg had grown a face, nowhere else. But right now, he was madly kicking that leg and writhing.
Xie Lian held him down and comforted, "Don't move. I'm here!"
The young man was terrified to the core and grabbed on to him. "Your Highness! Your Highness, save me! I felt an itch on my leg just now, like some weed was scratching me, but when I—when I looked down, I saw those things…their mouths were opening and closing—moving, they're moving! They're eating grass! They're alive!"
The hair on Xie Lian's neck raised instantly. He looked down, andsure enough, there were over a dozen faces tightly pressed together on the man's left leg. Many of the mouths were stuffed with grass—chewing, gnawing, as if they were starving!
Many of the patients started screaming, and the crowd exploded in uproar. Feng Xin and the soldiers had to use force to subjugate them and prevent a riot.
Xie Lian used a hand to hold the young man down and turned to someone beside him to ask, "Does his leg still work?"
All the nursing staff at Buyou Forest wore full quarantine gear; they wrapped their whole bodies tightly in bandages and capes, making their faces unrecognizable in the process. One of the nurses answered him; his voice sounded like a boy's.
"No, Your Highness! His leg is already forfeit. We don't know what else is festering in there; the leg is heavy as a block of lead, and we could hardly move it. The infection is also climbing. Soon it'll progress beyond the leg and reach his waist."
Xie Lian had done his utmost to use his powers to heal these people, yet the young man's leg had lost almost all normal function and was so obviously beyond saving.
"Your Highness," one of the doctors whispered, "in my opinion, the only thing we haven't tried is cutting off the part with the faces. That might slow the spread…"
That was also the only solution Xie Lian could think of. "Then cut it off!"
"No!" the young man immediately cried. He was terrified of having his limb amputated, but at the same time he didn't dare hug his deformed leg, and he wept in pain. "My leg is not forfeit! Maybe it'll get better… Your Highness! Don't…don't you have any other way to save me?!"
Xie Lian didn't want to answer with "I'll do my best," or "I'll try," anymore. His sight was going dark, and he replied, "I'm sorry. I don't."
It was the first time His Highness the Crown Prince had said such a thing, and it shocked everyone present. There were some who lost it right then and there and started screaming.
"No?! You're His Highness, you're a god, how could you not have another way?! We've been waiting for you to come up with something for days, how could you have nothing?!"
The one who spoke was immediately silenced as they were shoved down by someone, but it wasn't Feng Xin or Mu Qing. Mu Qing was silent and frowning, seeming like he thought Xie Lian's answer was too blunt and didn't comfort the crowd. Feng Xin, on the other hand, was further away, barking at some particularly rowdy patients. Xie Lian was battered and exhausted as of late, his unsheathed sword always hanging from his waist. When the blade came close to that grotesque leg, one of the faces felt the chill of the blade and suddenly stopped chewing. It opened its mouth and let out a shrill scream.
That thing actually screamed!
Although the sound was faint, it clearly came from the leg. The young man screamed as well, almost fainting from fright, and he clung onto Xie Lian as he sobbed.
"Your Highness, save me! Save me!"
Right then, three shallow sores opened on his waist, close to his thigh.
"Your Highness, it's spreading! It's spreading!" the doctor shouted in alarm. "The infection is spreading from his leg!"
No matter how much spiritual power was spent, Xie Lian still could not control the young man's condition in the end. Those horrifying things were about to spread over his entire body—once that happened, there would be no going back. Could they really do nothing but sit back and watch?
Xie Lian gritted his teeth. "Let me ask you one thing. Do you want this leg, or not? I cannot guarantee what will happen once it is gone. If you do not want it, nod and we will operate immediately; if you want it, then do not nod, and we will figure something out!"
That young man was breathing heavily, his eyes blank from terror, his mind lost; it was like he was nodding but also shaking his head. The faces on his left leg started screaming one by one, as if welcoming their new companions. In between all the shrieks of "Yeee!" and "Aaaaah!" the delight on their faces was apparent, and their little red tongues were quivering. It was hard to imagine what the insides of that young man's left leg looked like, just what it harbored within.
This couldn't be delayed any further. Xie Lian instructed the doctor:
"Cut it off."
That doctor, however, waved his hand rapidly. "Your Highness, forgive me! I'm not very sure either, and I don't dare operate in a place like this. If amputation doesn't guarantee anything, then we shouldn't take this risk!"
The doctor cursed himself for speaking up; the nail that stuck out got hammered down, and what was he doing fighting for such a frightful job? He escaped back into the crowd and stopped talking.
The young man was mumbling over and over, "Your Highness, save me…Your Highness, save me!"
Yet Xie Lian's mind was completely blank, and a hopeless voice mumbled inside him: Who can come save me…?!
There was chaos all around, screams and cries everywhere. Those twisted little human faces squished below were wailing as well, and in that moment, Xie Lian thought he saw hell.
It was like he was staring at hell without really seeing it. With cold sweat rolling, he widened his eyes, raised his arm—
The sword slashed down, and blood splattered.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh—!"
The young man was only half-conscious at first, but he snapped awake and screamed wildly after Xie Lian cut his leg off.
"My leg! My leg!"
Xie Lian knelt in the pool of blood, doing his best to hold him down while his white robes were stained and mottled with red.
"It's over! Doctors, stop his bleeding!"
The doctors present were flustered and forgot themselves. Mu Qing couldn't watch any longer. He stepped forward.
"Stop losing your heads."
He took out a small medicine bottle, and from it flowed a faint smoke that slowly stopped the bleeding. Xie Lian also wrapped the wound with a layer of spiritual aura. As for that amputated leg, it lay on the ground all by itself. Suddenly, it quivered like a live creature, and it continued to squirm even severed from its body. Xie Lian raised his hand and a fire roared forth,
torching the leg into nothing but black ash. The young man wailed, "My leg!"
Xie Lian checked his waist and saw that Human Face Disease wasn't still festering. His eyes brightened, and he said delightedly, "It's good, it's stopped. It's not spreading!"
That young man finally stopped his tears and opened his eyes. "Really? Is it really better?"
The people all sucked in a breath. Then the crowd began to stir, and after a moment of hesitation, someone shouted.
"Your Highness, please treat me too!"
A boy's voice rang out from not far away. "Don't be so reckless! We can't be sure—what if he relapses?"
Thanks to that voice's reminder, Xie Lian calmed down too. "That's right, nothing is certain right now. We need some time to observe."
Another piped up, their voice trembling in fear. "How long do we need to observe…? I can't wait any longer. If we wait…if we keep waiting, this thing will spread to my face!"
Another just gave up altogether. "I'm willing to take the chance!"
Soon, the hundreds within the Buyou Forest grew unruly and noisy, all of them beseeching him, "Your Highness, please, we beg you! Relieve us of this suffering!"
The masses started prostrating toward him, worshipping Xie Lian at the center. Although he was in a difficult situation, Xie Lian didn't dare to be careless.
"Everyone, please get up first. If this man does not relapse after some time, I will do my utmost to treat everyone…"
It was a while before the people were comforted. After making many more promises and settling the young man with the amputated leg elsewhere, Xie Lian sat down under a tree. Mu Qing looked around before
speaking in a low voice.
"How could you just chop off his leg? If the man himself didn't beg you to do it, don't just take the reins. What if it didn't work even after you amputated? You're the one he'd hate."
Xie Lian's heart was still racing. With a hand covering his face, he croaked, "It couldn't wait. He wouldn't answer me, and the doctor didn't dare to operate—I couldn't just stand by and watch the infection fester. Someone had to make a decision. I really…"
For once, Feng Xin looked worried. "Your Highness, I think you'd better take a rest. You really don't look that good. We'll take over for you for the time being."
Xie Lian felt like he couldn't hang on much longer. He nodded slowly. "All right. I'll rest here for a bit. We'll be heading back soon, so don't go too far."
There was another wail from within the forest, and Feng Xin and Mu Qing left to go check. Xie Lian sat there lost in a daze for a while, then lay down on the ground right there.
In the past, if no one was around to build him a perfumed tent with a tusk bed, he would never have just lay on muddy ground out in the wild. Under the current circumstances, however, he really didn't have the energy to trouble any errand runners. He dropped his head and passed out, still dirty and unkempt, the grime and blood on his robes left uncleansed.
Xie Lian didn't know how much time had passed. He woke from his haze with a start when he heard Feng Xin calling for him, and he sat up immediately. When he did so, he felt something slip off him, and he looked down to find a patched, worn blanket. Someone must've covered him with it when he was resting. Xie Lian rubbed his forehead and spoke to the approaching Feng Xin.
"I don't need this. You can give it to the patients instead."
Feng Xin was slightly taken aback. "Huh? What do you mean? This blanket? That's not from me, I only just got back."
Xie Lian turned his head. "Was it you, Mu Qing?"
"It wasn't me either," Mu Qing said. "Maybe it was one of the devotees living in the camp who brought it for you."
Xie Lian looked around but didn't see anyone worth noting. He shook his head, thinking, I didn't even sense anyone coming close. What a shameful state I'm in.
He folded the blanket and laid it on the ground before rising to his feet. "Let's go."
Xie Lian left with a heavy heart, and very soon, the very thing he feared happened.
Two days later, Xie Lian visited Buyou Forest again, and some of the doctors informed him of the issue. Around a dozen Human Face Disease patients had ignored the warnings and snuck out at night to use fire and knives to burn and slice away their sores. Many of them mishandled the tools and lost too much blood, but they didn't dare tell anyone. They hid under their blankets quietly and died equally silently.
Xie Lian had only just left the battlefield when he received the news. Standing before hundreds, watching those bloody, crying patients, he finally lost his temper.
"Why won't any of you listen to reason?! Didn't I say that we haven't confirmed this method would cure the infection's root cause?! How could you be so foolish?!"
It was the first time he had gotten so mad in front of so many devotees, and the masses bowed their heads silently, afraid to speak. Xie Lian was so furious that he couldn't help but lecture a bit more, but as he berated them, someone spoke up unexpectedly.
"Your Highness is invincible, so of course you'd call us foolish. Butaren't our conditions so desperate that we had no choice but to try foolish methods?!"
Although this individual didn't oppose him openly, his voice still dripped with sarcasm.
Blood rushed to Xie Lian's head, and he snapped, "What did you say?"
That person immediately shrank back into the crowd and disappeared. Feng Xin was farther away and didn't hear, otherwise he would've cussed them out already. Mu Qing noticed that the mood of the crowd was going in the wrong direction and cautiously chose not to provoke any more outrage.
Seeing that Xie Lian didn't actually respond, another piped up.
"Your Highness, if you can't save us, then we gotta save ourselves. Don't worry, we won't waste your holy medicine or spiritual power."
It was hot blood that rushed up at first, but now Xie Lian felt immense cold.
What the heck? Did I ever say using my holy medicine or spiritual power was the problem? Clearly I only stopped them because amputation might not work—why do they have to say it like I'm arrogant and only making empty promises? I can't feel their pain, but if my desire to help them wasn't sincere, why in the world would I give up being a heavenly official and bring trouble upon myself down here?!
He'd never been stabbed by another's words before, and he'd neverbeen wronged like this. Thousands of thoughts filled his mind, but nonecould be formed into words. He knew this was all because he couldn't find the cure for Human Face Disease, and his devotees were finally losing their patience. The suffering of these citizens was a hundred times worse than his own hardships. He could only clench his fists, cracking his knuckles. A moment later, he landed a sudden punch on a tree next to him.
The tree cracked and snapped, making the people jump and ending their whispers. Only then did Feng Xin notice something wrong and rush over.
"Your Highness!"
Landing that punch relieved Xie Lian's fury and let him calm down somewhat. Yet, in that dead silence, another person spoke up.
"Your Highness, there's no need for you to be so angry. Everyone here is a patient, and we're all your followers. No one owes you anything."
Once those words were spoken, many nodded to themselves. Although the voices were quiet, Xie Lian's senses were sharp, and he could hear every sound clearly. The crowd was grumbling.
"Finally, someone dared speak the truth. I've been holding it in, afraid to say anything…"
"Didn't they always say His Highness the Crown Prince was a gentle soul? But I guess he's different in person…"
In that endless wave of talk, Xie Lian unconsciously took a step back. In his twenty years, he had never been terrified before any enemy, he had never been afraid. Yet at that very moment, an emotion akin to terror swept through his heart. Just then, he heard another person whisper.
"With such impressive might, why not go set fire to the enemy camps, instead of making us suffer all these battles?!"
Hearing those words, he couldn't stand there any longer.
Of course he knew that he was now nothing like that sword-bearing, flower-holding, smiling, kind martial god on the altar!
Xie Lian turned and ran, sprinting out of Buyou Forest like he was trying to escape. Behind him, Feng Xin and Mu Qing yelled.
"Your Highness! Where are you going?!"
There was suddenly a disturbance in the crowd; it seemed a youngmember of the nursing staff had suddenly started beating up patients out of the blue, and now others were joining in the brawl. Yet Feng Xin and Mu Qing had no time to worry about them anymore. They called forth troops to take care of the situation and immediately ran after Xie Lian.
His flight was taking him toward Beizi Hill. Every one of his steps carried him several dozen meters, and soon he came to the top of that densely wooded mountain. Xie Lian was seeing red, and he shouted into the forest.
"Come out!"
"Your Highness!" Feng Xin cried after him. "What are you doing, coming here?!"
Xie Lian yelled to the sky, "I know you're here, so come the hell out!"
Mu Qing shouted, "If he came when you called, we wouldn't need to…"
He trailed off and fell silent. Behind the three of them, something made scrunching sounds. Whipping their heads around, they saw sitting upon a vine watching them was none other than that white-clothed creature, the left side of his face crying, and the right smiling.
The creature had actually heeded his call!
Xie Lian immediately lost it at the sight of him. He lunged, crying sharply, "I'm going to kill you!"
That white-clothed creature lightly and nimbly evaded him. His large white sleeves were like the wings of a dancing butterfly, elegant and beautiful. Feng Xin and Mu Qing made a confused noise and moved to aidXie Lian, but they abruptly noticed something extremely alarming and halted, looking dumbfounded.
Xie Lian, on the other hand, was filled with rage and noticed nothing.
He unsheathed his longsword just as Feng Xin shouted, "Your Highness! Don't you see, he…"
Xie Lian's hand was already around the neck of that white-clothed creature. The other hand held his sword pointed at the creature's heart. The creature was clearly at his mercy, but suddenly it burst out laughing.
That laugh was sonorous and gentle, like the laughter of a young man; Xie Lian thought it sounded familiar, like someone he knew. But in his rage, he couldn't think of who that voice belonged to, and that sliver of confusion didn't last. Soon enough, the white-clothed creature sighed.
"Xie Lian, Xie Lian. It doesn't matter how much you struggle. You're going to lose. The Kingdom of Xianle is doomed!"
Xie Lian was furious and slapped him without waiting a beat. "Who do you think you are?! No one gave you the right to talk, so shut up!"
That was an exceedingly rude gesture for him. The head of that white-clothed creature was knocked askew from the force of the slap, but he righted it again.
"Do you really want me to shut up? All right, all right. But you know, there is a way for you to turn your defeat into victory. It just depends on your willingness to act."
If he hadn't added that last comment, Xie Lian would've ignored him. But with it, Xie Lian thought that, just maybe, there could be some truth to his words—that there was a way, but one with a heavy price.
He forced down his fury with a deep breath. "How?" he demanded darkly. "If you want me to do something, just say it and stop wasting my time!"
"Come closer, and I'll tell you," the white-clothed creature beckoned him.
"Fine," Xie Lian acquiesced.
Feng Xin was alarmed. "Your Highness! You're not actually…"
But then, Xie Lian pierced the heart of that white-clothed creature with his sword. He leaned in close.
"Speak."
With an exceedingly soft voice, the white-clothed creature whispered in his ear, and no one else heard exactly what he said. Yet the longer Xie Lian listened, the more his eyes widened. After listening for a while, he slapped the creature again, unable to hold back.
"I didn't say to tell me this!" he yelled. "What I want is a solution! A cure!"
"I did tell you. That is the way," the white-clothed creature said. "It all depends on whether you're willing to do it."
Xie Lian's face twisted. "What exactly do you want…? Who are you, really?"
The white-clothed creature chuckled. "Who am I? Can't you take off my mask and see for yourself?"
Xie Lian had already planned to do just that, so he yanked off the half-crying half-smiling mask in a fit. The next second, he froze completely.
Behind that mask, the one smiling at him had the fair and handsome face of a young man. His eyes twinkled with life, a smile curved his lips, and his expression was endlessly gentle and modest.
It was his own face!