Xie Lian heaved a sigh and turned around.
"Alas, I would like to talk to someone if I could, but I can't get a word through now that the spiritual communication array of the Upper Court is in shambles, and I don't know any heavenly official's verbal password. Fu Yao, do you have anyone's password information? Just so I can send news back and let them know I'm here, and request some assistance."
He looked at ease and natural, and the overall effect was extremely persuasive. The gloomy clouds shrouding Fu Yao's face dispersed.
"I don't," he said dismissively. "The heavens are a mess right now;
everyone's busy. Take care of things on your own."
Just then, Hua Cheng spoke up. "Gege, this child hasn't eaten in two days. And he's burning up."
Xie Lian walked over to check, and sure enough, Guzi's forehead was so hot an egg could be fried on it. He immediately yanked Qi Rong up and demanded, "How on earth have you been caring for him?"
Qi Rong's face was covered in blood. "It's not like this ancestor is his real dad!" he spat. "It's already incredibly compassionate that I haven't eaten him! Mark me down for merits, quick!"
"That's only because he wouldn't taste good while feverish, isn't it?"
Xie Lian commented.
Lan Chang hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Is that child sick? Why don't I take a look?"
She was black and blue from the collapsed beams of that dilapidated cottage, but she felt sorry for the child and crawled over. She cradled Guzi in her arms and placed her palm over his head, using her body's ghostly chill to cool his fever. Fu Yao walked over with the fetus spirit in hand, squashed and tied into a ball with a talisman.
"Time to go."
Lan Chang obviously didn't want to leave, but her son was in his hands, so she was helpless.
Xie Lian spoke up. "Wait, don't leave yet. Fu Yao, are you able to communicate with your general right now?"
Fu Yao looked at him. "What do you want?"
Xie Lian chewed on his words. "Actually…" Before he fully said the word, his hand darted out as fast as lightning.
He restrained Fu Yao's arms behind his back, locking him in an unbreakable grip before he continued.
"Actually, I already know he's in trouble!"
Fu Yao had been careless and had allowed himself to be caught, and he was as shocked as he was furious. "You! You sly—!"
"No, no. I caught you by my strength alone. You're welcome to try ambushing me in the same way and seeing if you can hold me down."
Hua Cheng clapped politely. "I agree."
Fu Yao's eyes were about to roll from sheer anger. "Then why don't you let me go so I can try, huh?!"
Xie Lian straightened his expression. "Next time, if you get a chance.
But right now, we've got more important things to worry about. Fu Yao, will you help me urge your general to return to the Upper Court?"
"Return…?" Fu Yao forcefully suppressed his anger and hissed out a reply. "That's easy for you to say! If you were the one stuck in this situation, would you go back? What would you say if others urged you to return? Would you return only to be wronged and wait for an equally wrongful conviction? Would you go back and wait for death?!"
"Don't get riled up, I'm being serious," Xie Lian said. "I'm not being sarcastic. Your general and I are different. His situation isn't so serious that it's unsalvageable; the real issue was him running away. That was the worst possible reaction. If you can manage to contact him, tell him I can help him investigate."
Fu Yao was stunned. "You…help him investigate?"
"Yeah. I've done a lot of investigations, so I'm fairly experienced.
More experienced than he is, anyway," Xie Lian said.
"Your Highness, need I remind you? Since you returned to the heavens, how many heavenly officials have you investigated?" Fu Yao said.
"And how many of those heavenly officials have survived those investigations?"
Xie Lian softly cleared his throat. "That's different. The problem doesn't lie with me here. If he really didn't commit a crime, I can prove his innocence."
Fu Yao puffed an exasperated laugh and cut him off. "That's enough!
It's not like no one knows of the grudge between you two. 'Help him investigate.' Would he even have the chance to turn this around if you did?
If you want to use this chance to drag him down and mock him, just say so outright instead of being fake."
Hua Cheng's face turned dark when he heard this. He smiled soon after. "Never mind, gege. This guy doesn't know how to recognize goodness when he sees it. Why waste your breath? Some people are simply born ungrateful; their wretched, selfish minds are fundamentally incapable of recognizing an honest man's integrity and heart. Who knows—after investigating, you might uncover that he really did commit the crime. He doesn't trust you, and I don't have the time to care about his issues. Let him struggle and figure things out for himself."
Fu Yao eyed him and taunted, "'Kid'?"
Hua Cheng returned his respects and mocked back, "'Junior Official'?"
Fu Yao's face dropped slightly.
Xie Lian tightened his hold. "Well, these are two completely different matters. Personal affairs and business shouldn't mix," he said gently. "It's one thing if there is a grudge between us, but whether he committed a crime is another matter entirely. Someone like Mu Qing… Even though he's petty, narrow-minded, overly sensitive, paranoid, has a bad personality, is prone to fixating on the little things, never says anything pleasant, likes to nag, is always offending others and has garnered a lot of dislike on that account, has no friends, and remembers small, unimportant offenses for far too long…" "…" Xie Lian went on and on with a straight face, all in a single breath.
He concluded with "…I've known him since we were young. He's still got principles."
"…" "He might spit in the cup of someone he doesn't like, but he would never poison the water," Xie Lian continued.
"…" "Really? That's still gross, though," Hua Cheng commented indifferently.
Veins were popping on Fu Yao's forehead. "No! He would never spit either!"
"Laxatives, then," Xie Lian said.
Fu Yao seemed as though he was holding something back as he gritted out a response. "You… Must you describe him that way? Are you speaking for him or against him?"
"Sorry, I just couldn't think of any better examples at the moment," Xie Lian apologized.
Fu Yao tried struggling, but he couldn't get out of Xie Lian's hold.
"Were you just snitching to someone in the Upper Court?" he demanded in alarm.
"Not yet. I was just chatting. Don't worry, I won't hurt your general," Xie Lian replied in a heartfelt tone. "If he really doesn't want to go back, then why not join me? We can work together. That way, there's a witness for anything he does. He won't be able to clear himself otherwise, and things will only get worse…" Just then, there was a roar of crude laughter from behind them. Qi Rong had been staring at Lan Chang's face and suddenly lost his mind.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, I wondered who this was! You— aren't you my lady Jian Lan?"
Lan Chang was holding Guzi in her arms to cool his temperature, but when she heard Qi Rong, she shuddered and her eyes widened.
"Who are you? How do you also—" Qi Rong snickered. "How do I know? Please! You almost wound up having to call me your little cousin! What, did everyone from the past turn into a ghost? I've been fucking around all over the place, and all I see are familiar faces! This world is so small and lively, hee hee!"
Xie Lian frowned. "Qi Rong, have you gone mad again? Who's Jian Lan?"
"Heh, Cousin Crown Prince. Are you blind or are you just playing dumb?" Qi Rong taunted. "Look closely at who this is—it's the number one eligible maiden of our Xianle, the 'young' Lady Jian Lan! Her family was full of politicians and merchants, indescribably grand and glorious. Her looks were only so-so, but her name was always on the list every time there was a Xianle beauty appraisal. She was so proud that her eyes grew on the top of her head; she saw and cared for no one. She almost entered the harem to be elected as your consort!"
"What?"
Xie Lian's eyes flew to Lan Chang's face. Back then, the king and the queen did indeed intend to select a consort for him. They summoned a number of carefully selected, exquisitely beautiful girls to the palace for a banquet to let him see if there was anyone in particular that he might fancy.
However, young Xie Lian had his heart wholly focused on cultivation, and he left the banquet after making only a single round of the room. He never even bothered to remember the faces or names of those girls, so he could recall nothing of Lan Chang.
Lan Chang glanced at Fu Yao, but Fu Yao only humphed. "My general mentioned nothing of this. This woman is also a surviving citizen of Xianle, so she must've seen you at some point in the past."
Xie Lian looked at Hua Cheng, who didn't appear surprised; he probably hadn't only just learned of this. He then turned to Lan Chang and mumbled, "Were you really…" However, Lan Chang hurriedly covered her ears. "Don't say it! Don't say it out loud! Don't use that name to address me! I…changed my name a long time ago."
Xie Lian was taken aback at first, but he soon dropped his arm and sighed.
The daughter of a noble family from bygone years was now a prostitute in the Ghost Realm. She probably changed her name because she was afraid of bringing shame to her dead family, and she didn't want to admit that the woman she was now was still that same girl.
This woman was once his devotee, one of his people. How could he not sigh?
Just then, he felt warmth wrap around his hand. When he looked down, it was Hua Cheng; he didn't look at him, but his hand was clasped around Xie Lian's. He was currently in the form of a child, and his body temperature was as cool as ever. But he felt warmth when that small, cool hand held his own.
Qi Rong didn't possess any such sympathies and clicked his tongue.
"Who would've thought that Lady Jian Lan, previously so out of reach, would turn into such an old, ugly hag! I never thought you were all that beautiful, and now—well, my eyes were certainly sharp back then; you really don't look like anything amazing! I might as well ask this question too—who's the dad of the mutt you gave birth to?"
His words were extremely crass, and Jian Lan's face grew pale.
"Could it be Cousin Crown Prince?" Qi Rong theorized. "No, no, that cousin of mine probably can't even get it up. That's why he's always pretended to be so chaste with no mind for women; what a faker. How could he sire a son? Oh, oh! How could I forget? After Xianle fell, wasn't my lady sold to that kind of place? It must be the seed of some Yong'an pleb!"
Xie Lian couldn't stand this anymore. He was about to make him shut up, but Jian Lan exploded faster than he did and gave Qi Rong a resounding slap to the face.
"What garbage are you spewing?!"
Qi Rong glared as his nose bled heavily from her strike. "You're nothing more than a fierce or a malice! How dare a nobody like you hit me!
Me, who's an Almost-Supreme!"
Jian Lan spat on his face, then smacked him a couple times more after seizing him by the neck. "What's a shitty 'Almost-Supreme'?! You sure know how to talk yourself up! Who do you think you are? You seriously think you're worthy to be considered equal to the other three supremes?! Is there anything you're good at, aside from having such thick skin?! Of course I dare hit you!"
Her words stabbed Qi Rong where it hurt. Qi Rong grew frustrated and began to yell, spittle flying everywhere.
"FOUL WENCH, LET GO WITH YOUR CHICKEN CLAWS!
THIS ANCESTOR THINKS YOU'RE DIRTY! BLEH, BLEH, BLEH!"
The two began to tussle, but it was a very one-sided fight. Jian Lan was free to throttle Qi Rong at will, as he was bound by Ruoye and couldn't move a muscle.
"Xie Lian!" he howled. "How come you won't stop the fight?!
Where's your saintly heart?!"
Xie Lian kept his unbreakable hold on Fu Yao with a single hand and had his head lowered to talk to Hua Cheng. He paid no mind to Qi Rong's shrieks.
Jian Lan kicked at Qi Rong, her eyes flashing red. "Even if I've been wasted on plebs, I don't want a worm like you touching a single one of my fingers!" she spat angrily. "Nobody wants you, you despicable creature!
Trash! Think you're good enough to look down on others?! Who are you to turn your nose up at me?!"
Qi Rong was livid. "Nobody wants me? Trash?! Does a rotted hussy like you have the right to call me that?! Who else but a pleb would appreciate looks like yours?! …Wait! PUT DOWN THAT BOULDER!!"
As they brawled, a crash of thunder rumbled from the skies.
Everyone looked up at the same time.
"Didn't you say you didn't snitch and were only chatting?" Fu Yao demanded.
Hua Cheng frowned slightly, then humphed. "Showing up uninvited."
A crackle of lightning exploded in the night sky, and everyone shielded their eyes from the sudden flash. When they blinked their eyes open, a tall, black-clad heavenly official with a longbow strapped to his back was approaching them in long strides.
"Your Highness!"
Xie Lian dropped his sleeve and surreptitiously pushed Hua Cheng behind him. "Feng Xin! Why have you come?"
Feng Xin quickly walked over to him. "You suddenly stopped responding, so I asked around and traced your location by following the ripples of spiritual energy." Then he knitted his brows. "What's going on here? What a mess. Did you run into something?"
Xie Lian was about to answer when Feng Xin noticed that he had Fu Yao seized in his grip and Hua Cheng standing behind him. It was a picture completely outside his imagination, and he seemed not to know which of the two should surprise him more.
"What…" Finally, he settled on pointing at Hua Cheng. "…What's with this child?"
Xie Lian laughed dryly. "Cute, right?"
Feng Xin glared as he observed Hua Cheng, whose expression didn't match Xie Lian's comment in the least. "…Cute?" He sounded doubtful.
"Why do I think he looks a lot like…" "Like my son, right?" Xie Lian easily replied.
Feng Xin was shocked. "…When did you have a son?!"
Xie Lian smiled. "I haven't had one yet. I'm just saying that if I do have a son, he'll surely be just as cute, right?"
Hua Cheng held Xie Lian's hand and smiled. "Right."
"…" said Feng Xin.
"…" said Fu Yao.
"Ha ha ha ha…huh? Miss Lan Chang, don't run!" Xie Lian called.
Feng Xin whipped around and saw a woman's shadow leap away from Qi Rong and start wildly dashing away. Without a moment of hesitation, he aimed an arrow and locked on to her legs.
Perhaps because it sensed its mother was in danger, the fetus spirit in Fu Yao's hand, still bound into a ball by yellow talismans, started quivering.
It then burst out of its chains and shrieked as it lunged at Feng Xin. Jian Lan seemed like she'd just bolted due to panic; only when she heard the fetus spirit's screeching did she remember that her son was still in another's clutches.
She whirled around and cried, "Cuocuo!"
This was the first time Xie Lian had heard the fetus spirit's name—so it was called Cuocuo. Feng Xin changed his intended target and shot at that snow-white fetus spirit. There was a sudden loud crunch, and the fetus spirit flipped in the air a few times before hopping into a nearby tree. It had snapped the arrow between its teeth, and everyone finally had the chance to see its appearance clearly.
It could hardly be considered a human fetus—it more resembled a diminutive, deformed monster. Its skin was blanched, so starkly white it was like it had been coated in a layer of powder. Its eyes were abnormally large and shone with a peculiar light. Atop its head there sprouted a few sparse, yellowing strands of hair. Two rows of razor-sharp fangs gnawed at Feng Xin's arrow; when it noticed him looking its way, it rapidly reduced the arrow to splinters and then spat out the shimmering arrowhead to nail it into the ground next to Feng Xin's boots. A long, thin, dark-red snakelike tongue slithered out of its mouth, as if it was taunting him.
Without another word, Feng Xin reached for a new arrow and locked on to the creature. The fetus spirit crawled up and down the tree like a lizard, exceedingly agile—no wonder Fu Yao had trouble catching it.
"Don't fight him, run!" Jian Lan cried anxiously.
Only a blood parent could love such a disgusting, horrifying monster.
Feng Xin locked on, loosed his bowstring, and let an arrow fly. One of the fetus spirit's little legs was pierced through, and it shrieked, unable to crawl around any longer. Jian Lan dashed back over, hand extended to yank out the arrow—but her level of power was too low, and when she touched the fletching, she was hurled away by the rebound, trailing sparks. She stumbled back a few steps but soon flung herself forward again, relentlessly attempting to remove the arrow and provoking splashes of sparks as she did.
Feng Xin put away his bow and approached. "All right, time to go back. Don't add any more work to our pile… Jian Lan?!"
Jian Lan had just been thrown back again, and she shuddered when she heard his voice. She stopped moving and quickly turned away.
However, Feng Xin pulled her back around to face him. "Jian Lan?"
he repeated.
"…" Xie Lian could sense trouble and asked, puzzled, "What's going on?"
Jian Lan kept her head down and mumbled vaguely. "You've got the wrong person."
"What are you talking about? How could I mistake you for anyone else?" Feng Xin exclaimed. "You look very different now, but I still would not…" But the words got stuck in his throat, because he really hadn't recognized her when Jian Lan was Lan Chang, caked in heavy makeup and done up like a harlot.
It couldn't be helped. Feng Xin still looked exactly the same as he did once upon a time, but Jian Lan's transformation was truly too great. Her looks, makeup, manners, speech, class… Even if her own parents stood before her, they might not recognize their precious daughter.
Feng Xin was astonished. "It's you… It really is you. It has to be you! I thought…you had gotten married and lived well. How did you… How did you become like this…?"
At that question, Jian Lan suddenly turned and shoved him, cussing.
"You motherfucker!"
Feng Xin was forced back a few steps with her shove and couldn't reply. Jian Lan continued to aggressively shove at his chest while she screamed.
"I already said that I'm not that hag! Do you not understand human words?! Is your head totally empty?! What the hell was that—a triple attack of 'You, it's you, it's really you!' Can't you pretend to not know me? Can't you pretend to not recognize me?! Oh My Lord, please, I beg you—leave me some dignity, okay? All right?!"
Her behavior made her look no different from a shrew on the streets.
This was probably too different from the Jian Lan in Feng Xin's memories, so he simply stared at her dumbly, unable to speak. Xie Lian was the same.
Qi Rong was the most delighted of the bunch, rolling on the ground as he laughed.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, OH MY FUCKING GOD! Cousin Crown Prince! Do you see what's happening? You got cucked by your most loyal dog!"
Jian Lan violently stomped on Qi Rong a few times. "Dog! A dog!
You're the most like a dog!"
Strictly speaking, while Jian Lan had once carried the heavy hopes of her family on her shoulders, she had never formally entered the harem and was never made a consort. So while Qi Rong's schadenfreude made no sense, Xie Lian still didn't know what to say.
He had never imagined that Feng Xin, who wouldn't even speak to a woman if he could help it, would actually… The fetus spirit snapped the arrow that was nailing it down with a crunch of its jaws, and it lunged at Feng Xin once more. In a moment of carelessness, Feng Xin allowed it to sink its teeth deep into his right arm.
Blood oozed nonstop from the wound.
Feng Xin's dominant hand was his right, but an injury to that hand was nothing to a martial god. Feng Xin had moved to strike with his left when Jian Lan cried out.
"Don't hit him!"
Feng Xin's hand abruptly stopped in midair, and a terrifying thought was born.
It wasn't just him—everyone present realized it at once. Feng Xin allowed the fetus spirit to gnaw at his arm like a man-eating fish as he looked at Jian Lan.
"Is…this…?"