Hearing this, Hua Cheng turned around, his gaze falling on Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi, who were still pinching each other in the back. He gestured to one of them and said, "Him?"
Xie Lian nodded.
Hua Cheng said, "How do you want to test me?"
Xie Lian said, "Years ago, I dealt with two White-Talking Immortals, and was even entangled with one for over six months. Back then, I was able to trick them into believing something, and I was able to detect a characteristic of theirs. Some of these characteristics aren't even apparent to them, but with a little ingenuity, you can discern them." He then secretly passed on this technique. Hua Cheng listened and said, "Easy. Here's how."
After the two men finished their discussion, they returned to the dilapidated Feng Shui temple. The autumn air was chilly, and the sky was dim. Shi Qingxuan searched for the head of his brother, the Water God, and glued it back on. He then straightened the two statues and placed them back on the altar. Xie Lian built a fire in the dilapidated temple hall, gathering some scrap wood to burn, and the four of them sat around it.
Shi Qingxuan blocked his ears, drank several pots of wine in silence, and finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He said, "We can't just sit there and wait for that thing, right? Is there anything to liven things up?"
He offered this, which was exactly what Xie Lian wanted. Ming Yi, however, stirred the fire and said, "At this hour, what else do you want to liven up the atmosphere?"
Shi Qingxuan said with a snort, "Of course I do. Doesn't that thing want to scare me? I'm not afraid. This Wind Master can have fun as much as he wants, even happier than usual. I'll just treat it like a New Year's Eve and piss it off to death."
Xie Lian said in the spiritual array, "Why don't we play dice?"
Shi Qingxuan said with a gloomy face, "Dice again? Comparing big and small again? Your Highness, you are not addicted, are you?"
Xie Lian said, “How could that be…”
Shi Qingxuan said, "Forget it. We don't have anything else on hand anyway, so let's play. But there are four of us, so it might be a bit messy."
Xie Lian said, “It’s not messy, like this.”
He spread out his palm, revealing two exquisitely shaped dice. Xie Lian said, "The four of us will split into two groups. Sanlang and I will form one, and the two adults will form another. Let's see which team has better luck. Each team will roll the dice once, with each person rolling one. The numbers will be recorded. The team with the higher number wins, and they can ask the team with the lower number to answer a question or perform a task."
Shi Qingxuan said: "I have a question."
Xie Lian asked, “Excuse me.”
Shi Qingxuan trembled his legs and said, "Why, it's only natural that the two of you, Your Highness, should be in a group? Did you consider our feelings before you formed the groups?"
Xie Lian coughed lightly and said, "Well, if you want to switch groups, that's fine. It doesn't make any difference."
Shi Qingxuan tucked his whisk into the back of his collar and said, "Never mind. Actually, I don't have any objections to this grouping. But since Xueyu Tanhua is so lucky, wouldn't our group be at a disadvantage?"
Xie Lian smiled and said, "That's not the way to say it. Although Sanlang has great luck in our group, I have terrible luck. Add the two together, one up and one down, doesn't that make us even?"
Shi Qingxuan thought about it and it made sense. He slapped his thigh and said, "Okay! That's it." He turned around and nudged Ming Yi with his elbow, saying, "Brother Ming, don't hold me back."
Ming Yi glanced at him, and his cold voice echoed from the spiritual array: "I'm sorry, I can't accompany you."
Shi Qingxuan quickly pinched him back and said, "It's okay to drag it down! Forget it, come on! You should come with me, otherwise it will be so miserable for me to be in a group alone!"
So, the four of them swore a simple oath to abide by the rules of the game, and then they began to play. In the first round, Shi Qingxuan rolled a five, Mingyi rolled a four, Huacheng rolled a six, and Xie Lian rolled a one.
Shi Qingxuan was overjoyed: "Hahahahahaha! Your Highness, you really have terrible luck, so terrible! Hahahahahahahahahaha..."
Xie Lian rubbed his brow and said gently, "Although Master Fengshi, you are stating the truth, could you please not say it in such a cheerful tone?"
Shi Qingxuan said, "Ahem! Okay, well, since our group has won, I, Master Feng, require you two to do one thing. Well, Your Highness, Blood Rain Scholar! I, order you to—help each other take off their clothes immediately!"
Xie Lian: “???”
Xie Lian asked, “Master Wind Master???”
Mingyi turned away with a look of disgust, holding his forehead as if he didn't want to see such a nasty scene. Shi Qingxuan shouted, "Come on, come on, accept the loss. A dignified priest and a dignified ghost king wouldn't cheat, would they? I'm already seated, please begin your performance!"
“…”
Xie Lian looked at Hua Cheng, who spread his hands and mouthed silently, "Brother, it's not my fault."
Xie Lian had no choice but to ask, "How much should I take off?"
Shi Qingxuan was just joking and certainly didn't want to embarrass them. He shook his legs and laughed, "Just take off one piece. Leave a few pieces for later so we can continue. Hehehe."
He actually wanted to continue… Xie Lian hesitated and whispered, “Sanlang…”
Hua Cheng's face remained calm, but he gravely consoled Xie Lian in his ear, "It's all right. Didn't we agree that we could let them win a few times? They'll lose later on."
This was indeed what they had agreed on beforehand, but Xie Lian hadn't expected Shi Qingxuan to play it this way. He felt like he had shot himself in the foot. He took his time undoing Hua Cheng's belt, and it took him a long time to help him remove the black shirt, revealing the snow-white undershirt underneath. Hua Cheng also helped him remove his outer shirt with a normal expression, his movements were gentle and slow, and he didn't touch Xie Lian's body. In fact, both of them only took off one coat, which was not painful or itchy, and was completely harmless. However, Xie Lian still found this matter extremely strange and sat up straight and said, "Again... again."
In the second round, Shi Qingxuan rolled a "three" and Mingyi rolled a "six"; Huacheng still rolled a "six" and Xie Lian still rolled a "one".
Shi Qingxuan pounded the ground and laughed. Xie Lian looked at Hua Cheng. The two of them had been communicating with each other for a long time. He transmitted a message, "...Sanlang!"
This is different from what we agreed!
Hua Cheng apologized, "Sorry, sorry, I just forgot. Don't be angry, brother. This time it's my fault."
Shi Qingxuan started to shout again, rolling up his sleeves: "Okay, this round, I order you..."
Xie Lian hurriedly said, “Wait! Last round, we did it and took it off. This time, it’s time to ask questions.”
Shi Qingxuan laughed and said, "Ask a question? Fine. Then, my first question, Blood Rain Scholar, what do you think is the most painful thing in the world?"
Hua Cheng's smile suddenly faded, and at the same time, there was a slight silence in the Feng Shui Temple.
Shi Qingxuan said, "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean anything special. I'm just genuinely curious. For someone like you, Xueyu Tanhua, to reach the position of Ghost King, is there anything in this world that could cause you pain? Perhaps, it doesn't exist?"
Hua Cheng asked back, "What do you think?"
Shi Qingxuan thought for a moment and guessed, "Tonglu Mountain Gu City?"
This is indeed the first answer that comes to mind when many people think about this question. Hua Cheng smiled slightly and said, "It's nothing to be afraid of."
Shi Qingxuan asked curiously, "Isn't it? Then what could it be?"
Hua Cheng raised the corner of his mouth, and the curve quickly disappeared. He said, "I'll tell you what it is."
He whispered, "Watching the one you love being trampled and humiliated, and being powerless to do anything. You realize you are nothing and can do nothing. This is the most painful thing in the world."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lian held his breath and concentrated. No one in the dilapidated Feng Shui temple responded. Shi Qingxuan was speechless for a long moment before finally saying, "...Oh."
Ming Yi's expression remained stern. He poked the fire and said, "Continue."
Shi Qingxuan scratched his hair and waved his hand, saying, "I've finished asking questions. Brother Ming, come over."
Then, Mingyi raised her head slightly, stared at Xie Lian, and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Xie Lian finally came back to his senses and said, “Hmm?”
Mingyi asked, "What is the thing you regret most in your life?"
Xie Lian was stunned for a moment, having never expected Ming Yi, who was usually so quiet, to ask such a blunt and profound question.
Should he have ignored warnings and insisted on going down to the mortal realm? Should he have overestimated his abilities and gone to Yong'an to bring rain? Should he have been so foolish as to want to protect Xianle? Or should he have spared certain lives?
He knew it was neither.
After a while, Xie Lian said, "Second ascension."
The other three people in the temple stared at him, silent. Xie Lian was lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses and said, "What's wrong? Everyone, I've finished answering."
Hua Cheng said calmly, "Nothing. Go on."
In the third round, Shi Qingxuan got “two”, Mingyi got “two”; Huacheng got “six”, Xie Lian got “one”.
Seeing this, Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief.
Heaven Official’s Blessing finally won!
It was Shi Qingxuan's group's turn to be punished, but he was eager to try, as if he wasn't afraid of anything. He said, "Come on, come on. Do whatever you want!"
Xie Lian smiled and said, “Then I’ll be at your service. Master Geomancer, please go first.”
He turned to Ming Yi and said, "Sir, please answer the questions I'm going to ask you next carefully and don't lie."
Ming Yi didn't say anything. Shi Qingxuan waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, Brother Ming is someone who won't lie."
Xie Lian smiled and said, "Okay. First question: Who am I?"
Shi Qingxuan was stunned and said, "Your Highness, what kind of question is this? Aren't you you? If you're not you, who else could you be???"
Hearing this, Mingyi slowly raised his head and met Xie Lian's gaze. After a moment, he replied, "Crown Prince of Xianle Kingdom, Xie Lian."
Xie Lian nodded and said, "Second question, who is the person sitting next to me?"
After a pause, Mingyi replied, "The Lord of Ghost Market, Blood Rain Scholar."
Xie Lian asked, “Then, one last question—who is that person sitting next to you?”
Shi Qingxuan was increasingly baffled: "Your Highness, what are you guys playing at? Who am I? I'm a Wind Master???"
Xie Lian said, “Master Earth Master, please answer.”
This time, Mingyi did not answer so quickly.
After dealing with the White-Talking Immortals many times, Xie Lian discovered a strange pattern in them: once a White-Talking Immortal opens his mouth, at least one of his three sentences will be a lie.
This characteristic is like an ordinary person, no matter how strong and healthy they are, who must drink water within three days or they will die of dehydration. It does not change with the level of ability. Unless they ascend to heaven, they are no longer human.
The Thousand Mile Shrinking Earth Formation was designed by Ming Yi, and the person who opened the gate was Ming Yi's final pass. If there was any tampering, he had the best chance, and Xie Lian would naturally be the first to suspect him. However, Shi Qingxuan was clearly uneasy at the time. If he expressed his suspicion immediately, it would undoubtedly shake Shi Qingxuan's mind, allowing Baihua Zhenxian to absorb more of his negative emotions and transform them into a source of magical power. So, at that moment, Xie Lian quickly sought another possibility. But in reality, he hadn't given up on the most direct option.
Although the Wind Master and the Earth Master had a very good relationship, if the Earth Master was actually Baihua Zhenxian in disguise, the Wind Master would definitely be able to tell. But what if Baihua Zhenxian had already quietly possessed Mingyi?
That's why he initially tried to get Huacheng to cooperate with him and try to get Mingyi to talk in a roundabout way. Huacheng, however, suggested that since they didn't interact much with Mingyi, it would be unnatural for them to get her to talk. It would be better to use the pretense of a game to create as many opportunities as possible to get Mingyi to talk more, and see if they could find out Mingyi's true intentions without the wind and earth masters noticing.
However, Ming Yi was a man of few words, even in the heat of the moment. Xie Lian had been hanging on every word during the game, but when he did speak, his words were often ambiguous, making it impossible to tell if he was lying. Finally, he resorted to a trump card, borrowing Hua Cheng's abilities to secretly manipulate the dice rolls, forcing Ming Yi to lose. Then, he suddenly threw three questions, leaving him with a dilemma, forcing him to answer on the spot.
Because they were in a game, Shi Qingxuan wouldn't react for a moment and would still think they were joking, so the White Talk Immortal wouldn't take advantage of him and drain his magic power. And if Mingyi gave the wrong answer, revealing his true intentions, Xie Lian would immediately subdue him.
It was known that among the White Talk Immortals, at least one of their three statements was a lie. Now, Xie Lian asked two questions, and Ming Yi's two answers were both true.
So, if Mingyi is the Baihua Zhenxian, he will definitely answer a lie to this last question.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
