Unexpectedly, no one in the spiritual communication formation was listening. It seemed something serious had happened; the priests were all arguing. Xie Lian heard Feng Xin yell, "Your Highness? Did you say anything? It's a mess here..."
Xie Lian raised his voice and said, “Feng Xin! I told you, Ling Wen is the one who created the Jin Yi Xian. She ran away wearing the Jin Yi Xian. Watch out for her!”
Feng Xin: "What?! Is there such a thing?!"
Xie Lian was about to elaborate when the noise in his ears suddenly stopped, and he could hear nothing. He paused for a moment, then said, "Everyone? Are you still here?"
He called out several times, but no one answered. Hua Cheng said, "It's no use. The spiritual formation in the Upper Heaven Palace was built by Ling Wen. She must have broken it apart just now. It needs to be rebuilt."
Xie Lian asked, "What should I do?" Normally, he contacted the Heavenly Court through either the Spiritual Array or the Spiritual Text, or, less frequently, the Wind Master. He didn't know the commands of the other priests. Now, the Spiritual Text and the Wind Master were definitely hopeless, and the array was destroyed. What was he to do?
Hua Cheng seemed to see his worry and said, "Don't worry. Didn't my brother just explain the most crucial thing? Not all the priests in the Heavenly Court are good-for-nothings. Jun Wu is also in the Immortal Capital recently. Just let him know."
Xie Lian thought the same and nodded. He ran furiously, climbing over several hills and leaving the group of mages far behind. However, Jin Yixian and Quan Yizhen were still unable to catch up. Hua Cheng added, "If Brother still wants to investigate Jin Yixian, then we must pursue him now."
Xie Lian shook his head and said, "That was before. Qiying has already gone after Lingwen. We certainly have more important things to do right now. Sanlang." He stared at Huacheng in his arms and said, "You look... like you've changed again."
Before, Huacheng, disguised as Langying, was still a teenager of fifteen or sixteen. It was difficult for Xie Lian to hold him, and even if he did, it wouldn't look good. But now, Huacheng has shrunk even further, looking no more than eleven or twelve. Xie Lian can already pick him up with one hand and let him sit on his arm. But despite his youth, Huacheng's calm and composed aura remained unchanged. He said, "It's okay. Brother, don't worry. The opening day is approaching, and changing form is just a temporary measure. After this, my original self will return."
As he spoke, he removed the bandages from his face. A pair of deep, dark eyes on his snow-white face gazed at Xie Lian, a faint resemblance to that handsome young man visible between his features. His face was clearly childish, but his expression was as unhurried as ever.
Xie Lian stared at him blankly, not saying a word.
Hua Cheng frowned slightly and said, "Your Highness, you..."
Xie Lian suddenly reached out his other hand and pinched his cheek.
Caught off guard, Hua Cheng's face was deformed by his pinch. He opened his eyes wide and said, "...Brother!"
Xie Lian laughed, “Hahahahahahaha… Sorry, Sanlang, you’re just too cute. I couldn’t help myself, hahahaha…”
“…”
Xie Lian gently pinched him and said softly, "So, Sanlang, will you continue to change? Will you become five or six years old? Or even a baby?"
Hearing his anticipation, Hua Cheng said helplessly, "I'm afraid I'll disappoint you, brother."
Xie Lian let go of his hand and smiled, "No, San Lang never lets me down. I'm truly happy to have the opportunity to protect you."
Hua Cheng whispered, "I'm not happy."
Xie Lian asked, “Why?”
Hua Cheng said in a slightly cold voice, "I... hate this look the most!"
Xie Lian actually heard a hint of hatred in his tone and was stunned. Hua Cheng lowered his head and said, "I don't want you to see me like this, and I don't want you to protect me!"
Perhaps it was because Hua Cheng had grown younger, but his emotions seemed to be fluctuating a bit. Xie Lian's heart moved slightly, and he quickly pulled him into a hug, gently patting his back. He smiled and said, "So, if you put it that way, you've seen me in such a mess so many times. Do I really want to die? Besides, it's not like you're completely useless right now; you're just conserving your strength for now."
"..." Hua Cheng buried his face in his shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "It's different. Your Highness, I must be the strongest. I want to make myself stronger than everyone else. Only in this way can I..."
His voice, though childish, carried a hint of weariness. Xie Lian said, "You're already the strongest. But you don't need to be like this all the time. Just... give me some face once in a while and let me protect you, okay? Please, okay?"
After a long moment, Hua Cheng finally raised his head from his embrace, placed his hands on Xie Lian's shoulders, looked at him, and said, "Your Highness, wait for me."
Xie Lian said, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”
Hua Cheng promised earnestly: "Give me some time, I will be back soon."
Xie Lian smiled and said, "Don't be impatient, take your time."
The next day, the two came to a small town.
Xie Lian held Hua Cheng's hand, the two strolling slowly down the street, seemingly chatting casually. Xie Lian asked, "Bronze Furnace Mountain has reopened, and the previous Ghost King was affected by the tremors. So, will Heishui be affected as well?"
Hua Cheng held one hand in his, with the other hand behind his back, and said, "Yes. But our situations are different, our cultivation methods are different, and our methods of coping with stress are also different."
Xie Lian asked, “For example? How does he respond to stress?”
Hua Cheng said: "Maybe, hibernation."
Xie Lian suddenly thought of eight words: "Eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're hungry."
Hua Chengdao said, "When Heishui was a human, he was imprisoned. He only had one meal every three days, and he had to eat even slop. He was so hungry that his stomach was damaged. Sometimes he ate too much, and sometimes he had anorexia."
Xie Lian looked thoughtful and said, “No wonder he’s so good at swallowing things.”
In fact, given He Xuan's situation, he could focus on devouring hungry ghosts, as he inherently possesses this attribute, and starving ghosts should be more appealing to him. However, of the over five hundred famous ghosts devoured by the Black Water Mysterious Ghost, water ghosts accounted for the vast majority. Perhaps he remembered Shi Wudu's face and deliberately targeted him to break his water magic. And if he devoured too many, he would need to sleep and digest them after a while. Hua Cheng said, "That's right. Incidentally, Qi Rong's gluttony for human flesh was intended to emulate him."
Xie Lian was speechless for a moment, thinking, "How can eating humans and eating ghosts be the same?" After thinking for a moment, he said, "Could that forest of hanging corpses be meant to imitate you?"
Hua Cheng said, "That's right. He also wanted the bloody rain, but didn't know how I would achieve it. So, he simply and crudely hung a row of dead bodies in the sky."
“…”
By now, Xie Lian completely understood why mentioning Qi Rong was so difficult to describe. The formalities were perfect, yet the taste remained low. He sighed, thinking, "Qi Rong took the millet. I wonder if he ate it or just threw it away. And Wind Master... I wonder if Black Water took him. I hope they're all safe." He added, "Is everything okay over at the Ghost Market? Are there any troublemakers?"
Hua Cheng said, "Before I left, I sealed off the Ghost Market and spread some false information about my whereabouts. Even if someone tries to cause trouble, I won't give them too much trouble if they can't find me. But there must be a lot of eyes watching that place right now."
Hua Cheng couldn't go back to the ghost market, and Xie Lian couldn't take him to heaven. It would be disastrous if the priests found out, so the two of them wandered aimlessly in the sea of people on earth.
Xie Lian frowned slightly. “You spread the false news, but Ling Wen leaked the real news. I still can’t understand how she could see through you pretending to be Lang Ying.”
Hua Chengdao: "What I don't understand is another thing."
Xie Lian asked, “What?”
Hua Chengdao: "That stinking Taoist priest 'Sky Eye Open', I've teased him a few times, he's quite capable."
Xie Lian agreed, "Yes, that's true. He does have real talent and knowledge."
Hua Cheng said, "Well, then, why did he say, 'Brother, there's a ghostly aura on your lips?'"
“…”
Xie Lian's grip tightened for a moment, then, remembering it was still holding Hua Cheng, he quickly relaxed. Hua Cheng said in a deep voice, "Brother, stop trying to fool me with those foolish words. Tell me what I did to you that night."
“…”
Xie Lian thought to himself, “Perhaps, it’s not about what you did to me, but what I did to you…”
Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he said, "Wait, Sanlang, look over there."
Hua Cheng said, "Brother?"
Xie Lian had already led him into a rather luxurious and lavish shop on the side of the road. The shopkeeper took a look at this strange combination of one large, one small, one Taoist, one vulgar, and asked, "What would this Taoist priest like to order?"
Xie Lian lifted Hua Cheng up and said with a smile, "It wasn't me, it was him."
Huacheng tilted his head in his hands.
After a stick of incense burned, Hua Cheng came out from the back room.
The clothes Lang Ying wore, the clothes of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, were no longer suitable for Hua Cheng, so Xie Lian specially picked out a new one for him. As soon as he came out, Xie Lian's eyes suddenly lit up.
What a young man with skin as white as snow!
He was dressed in a red coat that resembled a maple leaf and a pair of deerskin boots with silver chains, looking handsome and impressive. He had loose black hair, and previously had only a very thin braid on the right side of his cheek. Xie Lian couldn't help but braid one on the left side as well, making it symmetrical and even more playful. The most outrageous thing was his expression, which was arrogant and calm, not like a child at all! Such a contrast made it impossible to look away. The girls who were shopping in the store were all stunned, and they gathered in a circle, unable to help but cover their hearts and cry out in pain.
Hua Cheng walked slowly to Xie Lian, who clapped his hands softly and said, "As expected, San Lang still looks best in red."
Hua Cheng pulled at the small braid on his left side helplessly and said, "As long as my brother is happy."
Xie Lian put his arm around him and walked to the front of the store with a smile, ready to pay. Hua Cheng's clothes were not cheap. Xie Lian had no pocket money on a normal day, so he would never go to a store like this, but he had saved a small amount of money for house repairs. Now, there was no need for repairs, and he didn't want to worry about anything else. He bought clothes for Hua Cheng first. Just as he was slowly counting the copper coins and silver coins one by one, Hua Cheng squeezed in front of him and, with a "snap", slapped a piece of gold foil in front of the shopkeeper.
Xie Lian: “…”
boss:"……"
Girls: “…”
Hua Cheng said, "No need to look for it. Brother, let's go."
He tugged at Xie Lian's shirt and, hands behind his back, walked out of the shop first. Xie Lian smiled and took a few steps. Suddenly, Hua Cheng retreated back the way he had, bumping into him. Xie Lian held his shoulder and asked, "What's wrong?" He looked up and saw a figure in the crowd on the street, and his heart skipped a beat. Just then, the shop owner said, "Would you two like to buy anything else?"
Xie Lian raised his hand and said, “Yes. Please take that dress down and give it to me!”
The author has something to say: Huahua: That day, His Highness took me to a very luxurious store to buy brand-name clothes (what???
The prince was quite skilled at pickling vegetables. Since steamed buns and porridge were always served with pickles, he had practiced this technique for centuries and was quite experienced. He also didn't have to worry about the pickles most of the time, simply letting them sit and react. Most of his failures were due to his overly strong desire for innovation.
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