Xie Lian stared at the young man in red and said, "You..."

He wanted to say something, but countless eyes were fixed on him, and Hua Cheng's attitude was ambiguous, as if he knew him and yet didn't. Xie Lian wondered if he couldn't let on that he knew him in the Ghost Market, or if it was a deliberate act. He didn't know what to say, so he simply said, "Thank you."

Lang Qianqiu said, "Why thank him? He opened this place, and he's had bad intentions from the beginning."

“…” Xie Lian whispered, “Your Highness, stop talking and leave now.”

If he stayed any longer, he didn't know what Lang Qianqiu would say. Besides, he had other matters to attend to, so Xie Lian couldn't stay any longer. He glanced at Hua Cheng several times, then pushed Lang Qianqiu out. At this moment, Hua Cheng said from behind him, "Wait a minute."

Hearing the sound, Xie Lian stopped again and turned back. A voice from among the ghosts said, "City Lord, you can't just let them go!"

"This man's behavior is suspicious, and he's incredibly powerful. I'm afraid he's not from a simple background. I think we should keep him and interrogate him."

"Yes, it's hard to say. Who sent these spies here to cause trouble on our territory?"

This last sentence stung his heart. It was indeed from the heavens, but his intention wasn't to cause trouble; he was simply here to investigate. Xie Lian wasn't sure Hua Cheng had seen the flash of inspiration Lang Qianqiu had revealed in his moment of desperation, nor was he completely certain he would let them go if he had. His heart was slightly in suspense. But then he heard Hua Cheng say leisurely, "Aren't you going to leave the bet?"

Xie Lian was slightly startled and asked, “Bet?”

Lang Qianqiu stopped him and asked cautiously, "Are you thinking of going back on your word again?"

Xie Lian, however, thought to himself, "Sanlang won't go back on his word once he's promised someone. Perhaps he has other intentions?" So, he stepped out from behind Lang Qianqiu and said, "But, didn't I win the bet we made earlier?"

Hua Cheng said, "Brother did beat me just now, that's true. But don't forget, you also lost before that."

Xie Lian was stunned for a moment, then said, “But you said it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t count.”

Although it sounded rather cheeky that losing a bet didn't count, only winning did, Xie Lian still shamelessly asked. Hua Cheng said, "Of course, the losses in the bets you made with me don't count. I'm talking about the first bet you made down there."

Xie Lian then remembered that Hua Cheng was referring to the time when he tried to compare numbers and rolled two sixes.

Lang Qianqiu said in a deep voice, "I told you he had bad intentions and didn't intend to let us go so easily. I won't be locked up again this time."

He sounded like he was ready for another round, eager to try. Xie Lian quickly grabbed him and said, "Don't be nervous. There's no need to fight again."

Over there, Hua Cheng tilted his head and said, "How is it? Brother, do you recognize me?"

If you're willing to accept defeat, what else can you do but admit it? So, Xie Lian nodded and said, "I admit it."

Hua Cheng spread out his left hand and said, "Then, give me the agreed bet."

...The agreed bet?

After hesitating for a moment, Xie Lian reached his right hand into his left sleeve, fumbled around, and pulled out half a steamed bun. He glanced at it with a bit of trepidation, then gritted his teeth and handed it over, saying, "Is this... what you're talking about?"

To be honest, when he took out the half steamed bun, Xie Lian felt that his face, which had not broken in eight hundred years, suddenly trembled and could not hold it together.

The ghosts in the hall had long since fallen silent, watching in silence. This was the City Lord's first time gambling, and the agreed-upon stake was an uneaten steamed bun. That would have been fine, perhaps just a joke. But the City Lord actually went so far as to seriously pursue someone to claim the half bun. Nothing to say, nothing to say. Some ghosts even had a daring thought: Either this half bun held a terrifying secret, or this person was truly the City Lord's brother!

Hua Cheng took it with a smile, raised it up and took a look at it, then shook it in his hand and said, "I got the bet."

Seeing that he had truly accepted it, Xie Lian didn't know what to say. After a long pause, he said, "That...it's cold. It seems a little hard."

Hua Cheng said: "It's okay. I don't mind."

With his reply, Xie Lian had no room to respond. He had already said everything he could say, so he turned and walked out. Earlier, the ghosts in the gambling house had made way for him, rushing to see him as a warrior for being the first to step forward. This time, they made way for him, but they all looked at him with a mixture of awe and curiosity. Xie Lian took a few steps and heard the ghosts behind him say, "City Lord, City Lord, where are you going next?"

Hua Cheng replied lazily, "I'm happy today, let's go to Jilefang."

Upon hearing this, the hall erupted in cheers, as if it were a festive occasion. Xie Lian couldn't help but glance back, only to see Hua Cheng also turning around, holding the half-eaten bun. He tossed it, casually lowered his head to take a bite, and then glanced back over his shoulder.

Seeing this scene, Xie Lian paused for a moment. For some reason, he felt that he could no longer stay in this place for a moment. He quickened his pace, dragging Lang Qianqiu with him as they ran out quickly.

The two of them left the gambling house and ran for a long distance, nearly knocking over various vendors' stalls along the way. Finally, they reached a slightly quieter alleyway, where Shi Qingxuan immediately emerged and joined them. Shi Qingxuan waved his folding fan wildly, sending his hair flying. He said, "That was a close call! Oh my god, I was so scared that my face turned pale."

Perhaps because he had rushed in too hastily, Xie Lian's heart was pounding. Lang Qianqiu said, "Yes, Master Feng, I think your face is still very pale."

Shi Qingxuan touched his face and smiled, "Really? Hahahaha, I'm not scared, I'm born with this... cough! Cough, Qianqiu, you are a Martial God who rules a region, how can you be so impulsive? This is in the territory of the Ghost Realm. What if you get caught and your identity is exposed? If word gets out that a Heavenly Priest in disguise has sneaked into the Ghost Market and behaved strangely, disrupting the peace of the Three Realms, how are we going to explain this to the Emperor?"

Lang Qianqiu bowed his head and admitted his mistake, saying, "I'm sorry, I was impulsive." He looked up again and said, "But those gamblers are too cruel. If that man had opened the cup, the result would have been bad, regardless of winning or losing. Either his daughter would be in trouble, or his colleagues would suffer. I was angry and broke the cup."

Shi Qingxuan said, "Then why don't you just rush out on your own?"

Lang Qianqiu was stunned for a moment and said, "Then Master Feng, what should we do? If I don't rush out, no one else will."

He asked seriously. Shi Qingxuan was a little worried and fanned his temples, saying, "This..."

Xie Lian smiled faintly and said, "Forget it."

Lang Qianqiu looked up at him. Xie Lian added, "I believe that even if His Highness Taihua were captured, he wouldn't reveal his identity, no matter how much he was tortured. However, to prevent them from picking up any clues from his words, Your Highness would be wise to be cautious and avoid being captured."

Lang Qianqiu nodded and said, "Okay! I understand."

Shi Qingxuan said, "No more, no more. Oh, by the way, Your Highness the Crown Prince..."

At the call of "Your Highness," Xie Lian and Lang Qianqiu both turned to look at him. Shi Qingxuan said, "Oh, I meant the older one."

“…”

Xie Lian rubbed his brows in frustration, thinking, "Old... well, a little older, but not much. Why do you always talk about me as if I were an elderly person?"

Shi Qingxuan said, "Your Highness, have you two met before in the Divine Martial Hall? If not, let me introduce you to each other. This is Your Highness Lang Qianqiu, the Crown Prince of Yong'an, the Martial God of the East. This is Your Highness Xie Lian, the Crown Prince of Xianle, a... a... a priest who is greatly trusted by the Emperor."

Xie Lian knew what he was supposed to say next, even without needing to utter the word he was stuck on. However, he forced himself to change his words mid-sentence, not even bothering to address any grammatical flaws. Lang Qianqiu, upon hearing this, looked at Xie Lian and asked curiously, "Are you the Crown Prince who ascended three times?"

It seemed Lang Qianqiu had truly slept through the entire time in the Divine Martial Hall, completely forgetting who he was. If anyone else had said this to Xie Lian, it would have been a mocking remark. However, coming from Lang Qianqiu, Xie Lian was completely convinced that the boy simply found it unusual to have ascended three times. He smiled, "Yes, that's me."

Lang Qianqiu said, "Thank you so much for what you did! Otherwise..." He remembered something and quickly lowered his head to tuck his belt in, tying it tightly, a look of lingering fear on his face. He clearly hadn't given much thought to the connection between Xianle Kingdom and Yong'an Kingdom. Shi Qingxuan also felt that this introduction was sufficient, and said to Xie Lian, "Your Highness, doesn't this Blood Rain Scholar know you? Why did he act like he didn't know you?"

Lang Qianqiu tied his belt and said, "Is that really the Blood Rain Scholar? Is that me?"

Before Xie Lian could say anything, Shi Qingxuan said, "How could it be the real Huacheng? Huacheng must have worn over a hundred skins. No one knows what he really looks like. The last time I saw him at Banyue Pass, he looked pretty much like this. It must be a fake. Fake, fake."

Xie Lian, however, always remembered what Hua Cheng had said to him at the Puqi Temple: "Next time we meet, I will come back to see you in my original form." He thought to himself, "That's true."

Of course, he didn't say this out loud. Seeing that everyone else was convinced it was fake skin, but he knew it was the real face of Xueyu Tanhua, it was as if he had discovered a great little secret. Then he thought again, "Sanlang doesn't look much different now than before, just a little bigger and taller. So, when he first met me, he was actually using his real face." He felt a small sense of joy for some reason.

Over there, Shi Qingxuan continued, "Everyone says Huacheng has a weird temper, and it seems he really is. He's clearly trying to give you a break, yet he's pretending not to know you. I wonder what he's up to. Is he trying to make us let our guard down?"

Hearing this, Xie Lian coughed several times. As expected, everyone could see that Hua Cheng had let the money go in the gambling house. No wonder, it wasn't so much letting the money go as it was opening the floodgates. Only Lang Qianqiu couldn't see it, frowning, "Did he let the money go? Why?"

The other two patted him on the shoulder, tacitly choosing not to explain further. Lang Qianqiu was left standing there, wondering why Hua Cheng had let Xie Lian off. Was it because they knew each other? The two turned and walked away. Xie Lian said, "Now our whereabouts have been exposed, right? What should we do next? Change our skins and try again? I don't recommend changing skins. It's useless. With His Highness Taihua's palm strike, the Ghost Market will probably tighten its security."

Shi Qingxuan said: "To be honest, I thought it would be exposed, but I didn't expect it to be exposed so soon."

Xie Lian sighed, "I understand, I understand."

Shi Qingxuan said, "If it's exposed, then let it be. Since it's exposed, why don't you just go out in the open and aboveboard?"

Xie Lian had a vague idea of ​​what "open and aboveboard" meant. As expected, Shi Qingxuan continued, "If you still want to cover up your lie, you'll have to openly go to Huacheng and tell him you came here specifically to see him. He knows you're a Celestial Priest, right? If he does, then it makes sense that you brought a few of your fellow Celestials along."