No one in the spiritual communication array paid any attention to Xie Lian's urgent announcement. The chatter in the general array was deafening—it seemed something huge had happened.
"Your Highness? Did you say something?" Feng Xin shouted to him.
"It's really chaotic in here right now…" Xie Lian raised his voice to reply. "Feng Xin! I said, Ling Wen is the original creator of the Brocade Immortal! She ran away wearing it; watch out for her!"
"What?!" Feng Xin shouted. "That's what happened?!"
Xie Lian was about to expand on the details when the noise by his ear abruptly stopped and nothing more could be heard. Confused, he tried calling again.
"Everyone? Is everyone still there?"
He attempted to reconnect a few times, but still, no one answered.
"It's no use," Hua Cheng spoke up. "Ling Wen created the Upper Court's spiritual communication array, and she must've just destroyed it.
It'll need to be entirely rebuilt."
"What should we do, then?"
If he wasn't contacting Ling Wen or the Wind Master directly, he primarily communicated with the Upper Court through the general spiritual communication array. He didn't know the verbal passwords of any other heavenly officials. Now that the general communication array was destroyed and he could no longer depend on Ling Wen or the Wind Master, what should he do?
Hua Cheng seemed to sense his concerns. "Don't worry. Didn't gege already make the key issue clear? Not all the heavenly officials of the Upper Court are idiots, and Jun Wu is present in the heavens right now. As long as you've done your due diligence in reporting, it'll be fine."
Xie Lian had been thinking the same thing, and he nodded in agreement as he brought his mad dash to a stop. They had already crossed several mountaintops and left the pursuing religious masters far behind, though it seemed they wouldn't be able to catch up with the Brocade Immortal and Quan Yizhen.
"If gege still wants to investigate the Brocade Immortal, you'll have to hurry," Hua Cheng added.
However, Xie Lian shook his head. "That was before. Now that Qi Ying is chasing Ling Wen, we've got more important matters on our hands.
San Lang…" He stared at Hua Cheng in his arms, his gaze intent. "Your form…seems to have changed again."
When Hua Cheng was disguised as Lang Ying earlier, he had the appearance of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy, and it wasn't easy for Xie Lian to carry him—even if he could, it wouldn't look good. But Hua Cheng seemed to have shrunk, and he now looked to be at most eleven or twelve.
Xie Lian could carry him with one arm, or even have him perch on his shoulder. However, Hua Cheng's air of composed ease had never wavered.
"No need to worry, gege; it's a non-issue. The mountain will open its gates soon. Changing form is only a temporary tactic, and my old self will return after this situation is over."
He unwrapped the bandages on his head as he spoke. A pair of deep black eyes gazed at Xie Lian from that snow-white face; the shadow of that handsome young man was still there upon his brow. Although he wore the face of a child, he still had that familiar laid-back, unhurried air and expression.
Xie Lian watched him in a daze, not speaking a word.
Hua Cheng frowned slightly. "Your Highness, you…" Suddenly, Xie Lian's free hand reached out and pinched Hua Cheng's cheek. Hua Cheng's eyes widened as his face changed shape from the entirely unexpected squishing.
"…Gege!"
Xie Lian laughed. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha…sorry, San Lang, but you're too cute; I can't help myself. Ha ha ha ha…" Hua Cheng was speechless.
Xie Lian continued to tenderly squish him. "Then San Lang, are you going to keep changing?" he asked gently. "Are you going to turn into a child of five or six? Or even better, a little baby?"
Hearing the hope in his voice, Hua Cheng could only reply helplessly, "I'm afraid I will have to disappoint gege."
Xie Lian dropped his hand and grinned. "Nonsense. San Lang has never disappointed me. I'm really happy to have this chance to protect you."
However, Hua Cheng muttered glumly, "I'm not happy."
"Why is that?" Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng's tone turned cold. "I…hate looking like this!"
Xie Lian could actually detect a trace of loathing in his voice and was slightly taken aback. Hua Cheng lowered his head.
"I don't want you to see me in such a useless form, much less be forced to protect me!"
His emotions seemed unsettled—perhaps it was because his physical age had regressed. Xie Lian felt his heart stir, and he quickly gathered the boy into his arms and gently patted his back.
"By that logic, I might as well just die; you've seen me in messes so many times." He chuckled. "Besides, it's not like you're actually useless right now. You're just temporarily conserving your strength, that's all."
Hua Cheng buried his face in his shoulder. "…It's not the same," he grumbled, voice muffled. "Your Highness, I have to be the strongest. I have to become stronger than anyone else. Only then can I…" Although his voice was young and tender at the moment, a trace of fatigue lingered in his tone.
"You've always been the strongest. But you don't need to be strong every waking moment of every day," Xie Lian soothed him. "Just…think of this as giving me some face. Let me protect you this once. Please? Okay?"
It was a long time before Hua Cheng lifted his head. He placed his hands on Xie Lian's shoulders and gazed at him.
"Your Highness, wait for me."
"All right, I'll wait for you," Xie Lian promised.
Hua Cheng vowed to him, very seriously, "Give me a little time; I'll be back very soon."
Xie Lian smiled. "No rush. Go at your own pace."
The next day, the two came to a small town.
Xie Lian was holding Hua Cheng's hand, and the two chatted leisurely as they strolled along the streets together.
"Ghost kings of earlier generations are affected by Mount Tonglu's opening tremors. Does that also apply to Black Water?" Xie Lian asked.
Hua Cheng stood with one arm folded behind his back and held Xie Lian's hand with the other. "Yes," he replied. "But our situations are different, as are our training methods. Naturally, our ways of responding to stimulation are different as well."
"For example?" Xie Lian prompted him. "How does he respond to the aggravation?"
"Hibernation, probably," Hua Cheng replied.
A phrase written in large letters surfaced in Xie Lian's mind. "Eat when hungry, sleep when full."
"When Black Water was mortal, he suffered the torment of jail. With only one meal every three days, he had to swallow it down even if he was given swill," Hua Cheng continued. "Hunger ruined his stomach.
Sometimes he'll feed nonstop, sometimes he'll refuse to eat anything at all."
"No wonder he was always so impressive when it came to swallowing things," Xie Lian mused.
Given He Xuan's situation, he could have focused on devouring hungry ghosts—he possessed the same attribute, so they should have better suited his palate. However, of the five-hundred-some ghosts devoured by Black Water Demon Xuan, the majority were water ghosts. He must have chosen them because he remembered the face of Shi Wudu and would intentionally pick such meals to break his water magic.
At the end of these feeding frenzies, he would need to slumber and digest.
"Indeed," Hua Cheng said. "I might as well mention that Qi Rong was trying to imitate He Xuan by feasting on human flesh."
Xie Lian was briefly speechless. How could anyone consider eating humans the same as eating ghosts? After pondering for a moment, he asked, "The forest of upside-down corpses… Was he trying to imitate you with that?"
"Correct," Hua Cheng replied. "He wanted to copy my blood rain aesthetic, but he didn't know how I did it. So he just crudely strung up rows of dead bodies."
"…" Today, Xie Lian finally understood why no one knew what to say whenever Qi Rong was mentioned. He had all the appearance but none of the class.
Xie Lian sighed. Qi Rong took Guzi away; who knows whether the poor child has been abandoned or eaten. And Wind Master…who knows whether it was Black Water who took him away. I pray they're both safe.
Then he asked, "What about your Ghost City? Won't anyone stir up trouble there in the meantime?"
"I locked up Ghost City when I left and leaked false information regarding my whereabouts," Hua Cheng replied. "Even if anyone tries to start trouble, they won't be too hard on that rabble when they don't find me there. But I'm sure there are plenty of eyes watching that place right now."
Hua Cheng couldn't return to Ghost City, and Xie Lian couldn't take him to the heavens lest they be exposed by a heavenly official. This was why the two were frolicking aimlessly in the Mortal Realm's crowds without a destination in mind.
Xie Lian knitted his brows. "You leaked false information, but Ling Wen leaked real information. I still don't understand how she managed to see through your Lang Ying disguise."
"What I don't understand is something else," Hua Cheng said.
"What?" Xie Lian asked.
"It's regarding that foul cultivator, Heaven's Eye. I've toyed with him a couple times; his skills aren't bad," Hua Cheng said.
"Yes. That's true," Xie Lian agreed. "He's got talent and puts in the effort."
"Right. So why would he say that gege's lips are covered in ghost qi?" Hua Cheng questioned.
"…" Xie Lian's hands clenched, but he quickly loosened his grip when he remembered he was still holding hands with Hua Cheng.
Hua Cheng pressed him on the subject, his voice grim. "Gege, don't blow me off with words you'd use to placate those idiots. Tell me what I did to you that night."
"…" It's not what you did to me. It's more like what I did to you… Xie Lian thought. Just then, his eyes lit up. "Wait, San Lang, look over there."
"Gege?" Hua Cheng questioned.
However, Xie Lian had already pulled him into a large and rather luxurious store. The store's owner stood at the counter and looked the two of them up and down—a cultivator and a layman made for a curious combination.
"What can I do for you, Daozhang?" the owner asked.
Xie Lian lifted Hua Cheng for the owner to see and smiled. "It's not for me. It's for him."
Hua Cheng tilted his head.
An incense time later, Hua Cheng emerged from the back of the store.
Lang Ying's clothes were suited to a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old and no longer fit the current Hua Cheng, so Xie Lian picked out a new outfit especially for him. Xie Lian's eyes lit up the moment he came into view.
What a dear little young master, with skin as white as snow!
Dressed in a robe as red as maple and fire and a pair of deer-leather boots decorated with silver chains, Hua Cheng looked both handsome and spirited. His raven locks were loose; he'd previously only had a single thin braid next to his right cheek, but Xie Lian couldn't help braiding another one on his left to match. It made him look even more sprightly. What was really too much, however, was his expression—his eyes were vivacious and bright, his air calm and steady; he truly looked like a little grown-up and nothing like a child! Such a contrast made it hard to look away. The ladies shopping in the store were all stunned, and they gathered around and clutched their hearts as they cried "oh my, oh my" nonstop in appreciation.
Hua Cheng languidly strolled over to Xie Lian, who clapped lightly.
"Just as I thought. Red suits San Lang best."
Hua Cheng helplessly tugged at the little braid on his left. "As long as gege is happy," he grumbled.
Xie Lian lowered his hand to put an arm around Hua Cheng's shoulders and smiled as they went to the front to pay. Hua Cheng's outfit wasn't cheap; Xie Lian normally didn't have much money to spare, so he usually wouldn't have entered such a fancy store. However, he had saved up a small fortune for renovating the shrine, and now that there was nothing left to renovate, he could buy Hua Cheng some new clothes before worrying about anything else.
As he was counting out his coins one by one, Hua Cheng squeezed in and slapped a piece of gold foil on the counter with a resounding wham!
Xie Lian commented, "…" Likewise, the owner commented, "…" Furthermore, the ladies also commented, "…" "Keep the change," Hua Cheng said. "Gege, come on, let's go."
He tugged at the corner of Xie Lian's sleeve and strolled outside the store with his hands clasped behind him. Xie Lian smiled and started to walk after him, but was surprised when Hua Cheng backtracked right into his arms as he came back inside.
Xie Lian held him steady by the shoulders. "What's wrong?"
He looked up and saw a familiar figure in the flowing crowd outside, and his heart lurched as well.
Coincidentally, the store owner asked, "Would you two like to purchase anything else?"
Xie Lian raised his hand. "Yes. Please bring me that robe!"