Girl with half makeup!

Half-faced women are low-level ghosts shaped by the envy of older women for younger women. Unable to accept their own aging, they firmly believe that consuming the flesh and blood of young women can restore their youth. They like to shrill their voices, feigning the voices of young women. But as the saying goes, "eyes are the windows to the soul," aging is something that cannot be concealed. The more flesh and blood they consume, the younger their lower face becomes, while the upper half, with its eyes, becomes older, creating a stark contrast between the upper and lower parts of their face. Despite this, they remain steadfast in their delusion.

Xie Lian emerged dripping wet from the water, one foot on the edge of the vat, ready to leap and grab it, but Quan Yizhen, as if in a last gasp, leaped up and slapped her. The half-made-up woman was too weak, and after being slammed to the ground, she screamed, "Mercy!"

Xie Lian remained calm, grabbing his Taoist robe and casually throwing it on. He asked, "You were the one who stole the Jinyixian?"

The half-made-up woman hurriedly said, "It's not me! How dare I break into the Shenwu Palace!"

Come to think of it, ordinary low-level ghosts wouldn't have the guts to trespass into the Shenwu Palace. They'd be utterly horrified. Furthermore, this half-made-up woman likely had nothing to do with the Jinyi Fairy. A quick glance suggested she was only about eighty years old, while the legend of the Jinyi Fairy dates back hundreds of years.

Xie Lian asked, “Then where did you get this brocade robe?”

The half-made-up woman picked up the headscarf and covered the upper half of her face again. Her voice became shrill again as she said, "Answer...Answer the Taoist Priest! I found it...in the ghost market..."

“…”

Is this even possible? Found this in a ghost market???

Xie Lian was speechless for a moment, then asked, "Then who sold you this brocade robe?"

The half-made-up woman said in panic, "Master! Please spare me! I don't know. It's not like they need to check your ancestry when doing business in the ghost market!"

That's true. If anyone in the ghost market had to trace their ancestors back eighteen generations to do business, the ghost market wouldn't be so bustling. Something only comes alive when there's a loophole. Xie Lian questioned for a while, but couldn't get anything out of him. Convinced that this half-made-up woman was indeed just a clueless minion, he said, "Qiying, have the priests in your temple come and capture this female ghost."

Quan Yizhen said, "No. There are no priests in my temple."

Xie Lian asked, “Not even one? Haven’t you ever chosen anyone as your general?”

Quan Yizhen said confidently, "Not even one."

“…”

It turned out that the Western Martial God was a solitary figure, never commanding anyone, not even a deputy to handle chores. Xie Lian couldn't afford to support him, after all. Quan Yizhen's situation could only be described as eccentric. He dug out a clay pot and took the half-made-up woman away. Then, he took the brocade robe from Lang Ying, shook it open, and examined it carefully, frowning slightly.

The evil aura was certainly sinister, but how should one describe it? In Xie Lian's opinion, it was too superficial, like a thick layer of rouge and powder, rather than something emanating from within. Xie Lian instinctively thought it wasn't as dangerous as the legends said, but he remained extremely vigilant. At this moment, Quan Yizhen came over, took a look at the dress, and said, "It's fake."

Xie Lian was startled and asked, “What do you mean?”

Quan Yizhen said, "This dress is fake. I've seen the real Jinyixian before, and it's much more powerful than this."

Xie Lian asked curiously, "When have you seen one? Actually, many people have seen the Jinyixian, but none of them can tell the difference. Why are you so sure?"

Quan Yizhen fell silent. Just then, a spiritual voice rang out in his ear, saying, "Your Highness, we've received word that a little ghost with a brocade-robed fairy is appearing twenty miles west of your Puqi Temple. Could you please go and take a look?"

Xie Lian said, "Another one? Okay." He glanced at Quan Yizhen and spoke silently, "Oh, by the way, there's one more thing. Lingwen, has Qiying seen the Jinyixian?"

Ling Wen said: "Qi Ying? Ah, how could he have seen him before? He is much more powerful than what he has seen before."

Xie Lian asked, “Where did this even begin?”

Ling Wen said, "That's complicated. I wonder if Your Highness has ever heard of this story. The Martial God guarding the West was originally from Yinyu Palace, not Qiying Palace?"

Xie Lian recalled that this was what Master Feng had told him while he was taking off his clothes in Paradise. With a faint sense of sadness, he said, “I’ve heard of this. I heard that these two princes were originally brothers?”

It turned out that before Yinyu ascended to heaven, he was the chief disciple of his master. One day, he saw a rude and unruly child wandering on the street, and out of kindness, he asked his master to take him in. This child was Quan Yizhen.

Having been fellow disciples for several years, Yinyu had always taken good care of Quan Yizhen. He was the first to ascend and even appointed Quan Yizhen's general. Lingwen said, "You've met Qiying a few times, so you know him pretty well. He's a bit..."

Xie Lian continued, “Unworldly? That’s a good thing.”

Ling Wen smiled and said, "Whether it's good or not depends on the person and the situation. Some people would think he's too self-willed, doesn't know etiquette, and doesn't give people face. If it weren't for His Highness Yin Yu helping him protect and guide him during those early years in Xianjing, he would have been beaten to death by countless people."

Xie Lian said thoughtfully, “Those two princes must have a very good relationship.”

Ling Wen said, "It was very good originally, but it went badly because later on, Qiying himself ascended to heaven."

They both ascended from the west, so what should they do? So, they agreed to jointly guard the west.

It sounds like a beautiful story that brothers guard the same land together, but after all, there cannot be two tigers in one mountain.

If Yinyu's aptitude merited a heavenly tribulation, a feat only one in ten thousand could achieve, then Quan Yizhen's aptitude could withstand three tribulations, a feat perhaps only one in a million could manage. Initially, the difference was subtle, but as time went on, the gap widened. Quan Yizhen was clearly incapable of socializing. He neither cultivated close relationships with the immortals nor sought to curry favor with his followers. On the contrary, he didn't even remember the names of any of his fellow priests besides Yinyu. He even dared to beat up his followers, telling them to eat shit. He was unstoppable. Yet, his territory continued to expand, and his followers grew in number. In comparison, Yinyu's First Hall paled in comparison, and finally, he could no longer sit still.

The two brothers would give each other gifts on their birthdays. One year, on Quan Yizhen's birthday, Yinyu gave him a majestic armor.

“…”

Xie Lian asked, “The Immortal in Brocade Clothes?”

Lingwen said: "Not bad."

In addition to being able to suck blood and kill people, this brocade-robed fairy has another strange feature: whoever is given the armor to wear it will obey the orders of the person who lets him wear it. Since the two brothers had always had a good relationship, Quan Yizhen put on the armor without thinking. Before long, Yinyu played a joke seemingly unintentionally, and Quan Yizhen was controlled by the brocade-robed fairy and was obsessed with doing the same. If Jun Wu hadn't noticed something was wrong and stopped him in time, he would have almost cut off his head and used it as a ball. Lingwen said: "So, this incident caused a huge uproar back then, and it was quite a sensation. Yinyu, as a high-ranking priest, did such a thing to harm his colleagues, so of course he was immediately demoted."

Logically, this should have caused a falling out between the two priests. But Xie Lian recalled the farce performed by the Qiying Hall followers at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, where a clown had danced vigorously behind Quan Yizhen, presumably depicting Yinyu. However, Quan Yizhen's reaction had been a rage, and he had leaped forward to assault his followers, saying, "I believe Qiying still deeply respects His Highness Yinyu. Is there some misunderstanding?"

Ling Wen said, "I don't know about that. Whether there's a misunderstanding or not, he's been demoted for who knows how many years. Who would still care?"

Xie Lian nodded and was about to say goodbye when Ling Wen said, "Wait a minute. Your Highness, there's more. I didn't finish what I was saying just now. Sixty miles east of your Puqi Temple, there are also unknown individuals wielding the Brocade Immortal."

"..." Xie Lian said, "This is too far away, how could it still be there?"

Ling Wen said: "It's not over yet, listen carefully, there's more: 42 miles to the northwest, 15 miles to the southeast, and 22 miles to the north..."

After reporting twenty-seven or twenty-eight locations in one breath, Ling Wen said, "Well, that's about all for now."

By the time she finished reporting, Xie Lian had forgotten everything and felt a little depressed. "Your palace's efficiency was quite high this time. But, for now? For the time being? Does that mean there will be more... Could it be that the Ghost Market is wholesale Jinyixian?"

Ling Wen said, "That's about right. The ghost market has many itinerant sellers with questionable origins, often selling fake goods under false pretenses, then switching to a new one. So, generally, connoisseurs won't buy anything there. But there are still some ghosts who treat it as antique hunting, always thinking, 'What if I stumbled upon a bargain?' This time, the Jinyixian was stolen, and many ghost vendors got the inside scoop and took the opportunity to scam people. They picked up a random piece of clothing and said it belonged to the Jinyixian. Incredibly, many ghosts still bought it, and after buying it, they asked others to try it on. It really caused a lot of trouble for us to collect information."

This is basically disrupting their search for the real Jinyixian. With so many "Jinyixians" suddenly appearing from all directions, who knows which one is the real one?

However, since the mission had been assigned to them, they had to find a way to complete it. Xie Lian said, "Let's start with the closest ones and search them one by one."

Xie Lian had no magical powers, and Quan Yizhen couldn't draw a map to shrink the distance by a thousand miles. Neither of them had a deputy general or a priest under their command. Fortunately, Lingwen reported that the nearest place they had been spotted was only five miles away, an abandoned dyeing factory. They made a decision immediately and set off in the dark.

Xie Lian had originally intended Lang Ying to stay at Puqi Monastery, but he'd followed him out on his own and couldn't get back. He figured this trip wouldn't be dangerous, and it would also give Lang Ying some valuable experience. He'd be training with him from now on anyway, so he decided to take him along this time.

The three of them had been traveling for a while when they heard a series of strange calls from the roadside ahead: "Ah, whoosh! Ah, whoosh!"

Hearing this familiar call, Xie Lian paused. A tall silhouette slowly emerged from the mist ahead, along with four swirling, ghostly flames. Quan Yizhen seemed ready to strike, regardless of the consequences, but Xie Lian held him back, saying, "It's okay. I know him."

As expected, four golden skeletons, carrying a sedan chair, appeared before the three of them. Quan Yizhen, seemingly having never seen such a magical thing before, opened his eyes wide, his gaze gleaming. The leading skeleton sang, "Is this the Crown Prince of Xianle Kingdom?"

Xie Lian said, "It's me. What's going on?"

The golden skull sang, "It's alright, it's alright. We brothers are just bored and wanted to ask, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is traveling at night. Does he need a ride?"

The journey wasn't far, and Xie Lian was about to decline, but Quan Yizhen said, "Alright!" He eagerly climbed aboard, as if eager to ride in this magnificent, strange sedan chair. Xie Lian, feeling both amused and helpless, went to pull him up, but the sedan suddenly lurched, throwing Quan Yizhen off. Xie Lian also lurched, but someone helped him up. He blurted out, "Three..." He turned around and saw Lang Ying, who had somehow climbed aboard, clutching his arm tightly, her dark eyes fixed on him, speechless.

The skeletons quickly lifted their sedan chairs, their eight legs spinning like four pairs of whirlwind wheels. They galloped steadily along, shouting, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

Quan Yizhen was mercilessly thrown to the ground. He flipped over and leaped to his feet, seemingly not giving up yet, ready to leap back up, but the skeletons were too fast, and he was always one step behind. He pursued him relentlessly, clearly desperate to ride this sedan chair and experience the thrill. Seeing how earnestly he was chasing after him, Xie Lian felt a pang of sympathy on the sedan chair, wondering if he was bullying a child. Although he knew this sedan chair belonged to Huacheng and might not be suitable for other priests, he couldn't help but ask, "Well... can't it carry three people?"

The skeletons sang, "No, no! Only room for two!"

They ran all the way like a hot wheel, and Quan Yizhen chased them all the way. When they arrived at the destination, the golden skeletons put Xie Lian and Lang Ying down, picked up the sedan chair, and ran away. Quan Yizhen was extremely disappointed that he never got on the sedan chair, and he looked at the sedan chair with a look of reluctance. Xie Lian and Lang Ying got off the sedan chair, but they heard a loud cry coming from the front, all coming from the abandoned dyeing factory. Xie Lian was puzzled. Wasn't it said that the dyeing factory was empty at night?

When I got closer and listened, I realized that the voices were wailing:

"I will never again dare to sell fake goods on City Lord Hua's territory!"

"I really don't dare! But please tell the City Lord that I bought these fake Jinyixian wholesale from other ghosts! I'm also a victim!!!"

The three of them arrived in front of the dyeing room. Just then, a man in black clothes with a ghost face came out. He seemed to have been waiting for a long time. He bowed slightly and said to him, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

This voice belonged to the same ghost messenger who had captured Lang Ying in Paradise and brought her back to Xie Lian. At that time, Xie Lian had seen a cursed yoke on his hand.