Perhaps his glare was too piercing, and the young priests he was staring at quickly waved their hands, saying, "We didn't tell anyone!"
Xie Lian's eyes were red as he asked, "Then how did they know?!"
After hearing that statement, few of the thirty or so priests present showed any surprise. If so many priests knew, how many in the Heavenly Court knew as well?
When questioned by him, the priests paused for a moment before defending themselves, saying, "They're not outsiders. We're all familiar friends here, and there's nothing secretive between us. Telling them doesn't count as telling anyone else. We won't tell any other priests..." Before he could finish, Xie Lian sternly shouted, "Lies! Lies galore! I don't believe it!!!"
Embarrassed by his harsh interruption, the young priests retreated back into the crowd. Suddenly, one of them shouted, "What does it matter whether you believe it or not? Your Highness, you did good things during your exile. It's a relief that no one has denounced you outright. And yet you're asking others to keep it a secret? What obligation do we have to keep it a secret? How ridiculous!"
Xie Lian felt as if a basin of ice-cold water had suddenly been poured onto his face, and a knife had pierced his heart. He hurriedly said, “No! I…”
I also heard someone say, "If you don't do anything wrong during the day, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door at night. If you don't keep yourself clean, how can you blame others for not keeping their promises? If someone conceals this kind of injustice for you, they are derelict in their duty and lack moral integrity!"
Xie Lian said, “No!!! I…”
He wanted to say I had a reason, which I didn't want to do either, but he knew in his heart that no matter what the reason was, it didn't matter. What mattered was that he had indeed robbed!
This stain, like a brand of shame, burned upon his face, made him feel infinitely insignificant before these priests, and he dared not even speak loudly in his own defense. Seeing his momentum waning, a Martial God stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, you now understand why we don't want you to practice here, right?"
Xie Lian lowered his head and clenched his fists.
The Martial God continued, "We are not on the same path. We cannot work together if we have different ideals. You should leave on your own."
Seeing him confidently saying "People with different beliefs cannot work together", Xie Lian suddenly understood.
After all, in the final analysis, don't you still want him to give up this sacred land?
The joints of his fists crackled, and he suppressed his breath for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "...I'm not leaving. I want to practice here."
At this moment, his anger towards these thirty or so priests had overwhelmed his sense of shame.
Since it had come to this, he might as well just throw it all out. Rather than fleeing in disgrace, he'd rather brazenly stand there and make sure they couldn't succeed. Xie Lian raised his head sharply and repeated, "I want to train here. This mountain isn't your territory. You have no right to make me leave!"
Seeing his unyielding attitude, the thirty-odd priests' faces darkened. Xie Lian heard someone whisper, "Why bother?"
"I've never seen anyone so shameless..."
However, no matter what they said, Xie Lian remained where he was. Even though his heart was bleeding from the verbal attacks, he stubbornly held on and remained motionless.
The Martial God said, "It seems that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is determined to have his own way and make everyone unhappy?"
Xie Lian said coldly, “Come and chase me away if you dare. Anyway, even if you wanted to, you don’t have the ability!”
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the dozen or so priests on the opposite side changed immediately, and they all drew their weapons!
Of course. To the God of War, that was a huge provocation. Many of those present were Martial Gods, so how could he pretend he hadn't heard it?
Surrounded, Xie Lian showed no fear. He held no sword, only a branch he'd used as a climbing cane. A martial priest solemnly said, "Your Highness, if you apologize immediately, we can consider you haven't offended us."
Xie Lian said, “If I have caused you any discomfort in any way, I will never apologize.”
He held onto the branch, pointed forward, and said, "Because you are not worthy of being gods at all!"
There was a commotion on the other side.
Someone scoffed, "We're not worthy? Do you, a robber who robs mortals, deserve it?"
Xie Lian couldn’t bear it any longer. He hadn’t wanted to endure it in the first place, so he grabbed a branch and attacked, shouting, “This is too much!”
The dozen or so martial priests also engaged in battle with their weapons. A priest in the back row said, "We didn't ask you to rob, so why are you blaming us?"
Their joy was premature. They had assumed that Xie Lian, lacking both magical powers and weapons, would be easy to deal with. However, that was not the case at all. Xie Lian, though holding only a branch, wielded it like a venomous blade, menacing and powerful. The two sides soon engaged, and several Martial Gods' swords were nearly sent flying by him. They didn't even dare to be struck by the branch's powerful wind, and they quickly retreated to the back row in shock.
As a high-ranking priest, he couldn't even defeat a demoted mortal. This is so shameful!
At this moment, a priest watching the battle suddenly screamed from afar, "What the hell?!"
This shout startled the other priests: "What's going on?!"
The priest seemed to be in great pain. He covered his face and bent over, saying, "Just now, a will-fire hit my eye... Was it him who did it?"
Xie Lian remembered that this was the same priest who had pointed at his nose and called him a robber. He chuckled in anger, “What ghost fire? If you want to steal the spiritual land, just say so directly. There’s no need to slander me!”
He was furious and attacked even harder, sending a chorus of martial gods' swords, spears, and halberds scattering to the ground with a crackling sound from the ordinary, medium-sized branch in his hand. Suddenly, someone shouted, "I've got him! I've got him! Look!"
Xie Lian paused slightly, only to see the priests across from him in a tangle. One of them was holding something high in the air, saying, "There really is a will-o'-the-wisp! He's causing trouble! We've got evidence!"
Xie Lian took a closer look and saw that it was indeed a small, faintly burning will-o'-the-wisp. He angrily shouted, "I have no idea what's going on! Why are you accusing me of something just because you caught a will-o'-the-wisp? Will-o'-the-wisp isn't something rare! Is my name written on it?!"
The screaming priest covered his eyes and said, "How could an ordinary will-o'-the-wisp fly into my eyes? How could this happen if you didn't order it?"
Xie Lian rebuked him, “Then I said it could just be a wandering spirit on this mountain, accidentally frightened into unconsciousness by you and bumped into it! What kind of evidence is that?”
The Martial God who had attacked first snatched the will-o'-the-wisp and said, "Who cares who's behind it? This harmful thing should be broken apart!" He exerted force, as if to crush the will-o'-the-wisp until its soul flew away. Seeing this, Xie Lian blurted out, "Let it go!"
Unable to bear the thought of the wandering soul being affected by their farce, he rushed forward and engaged the Martial God in a fierce battle. Intending to seize the soul, he restrained his attacks. As the two men were locked in a stalemate, several priests in the background suddenly shouted, "You're here? Come quickly! Come and see what's going on!"
It sounded like someone had arrived. The priests turned around and said, "You're finally here!" "We've been waiting for you for a long time, come and help!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Lian was startled at first, thinking, "Could it be some powerful priest that has arrived?" Then he thought again, "Who cares who it is? If they're here to embarrass me, what's the harm in another fight? I'm not afraid of anyone!!!"
He was now filled with resentment and ready for a fight. But when the crowd parted and the latecomer stepped forward, Xie Lian was completely stunned.
I never expected that the person who came was Mu Qing!
Mu Qing had clearly not expected to run into Xie Lian in such a situation. The two of them exchanged glances, each visibly stunned. Xie Lian's eyes widened, oblivious to the Martial Gods he was currently battling. He stammered, "...Why are you here? Aren't you..."
After saying a few words, he noticed something, understood it immediately, and shut up.
What Mu Qing was wearing now was not the old black clothes he had worn during their escape, but the official uniform of the God of War from the Lower Heaven.
Originally, when Feng Xin and Mu Qing served as Xie Lian's assistants, their abilities were highly praised and attracted considerable attention. Later, when Xie Lian was demoted, many priests lamented that Feng Xin and Mu Qing were demoted along with him, and some even secretly approached them, asking if they wanted to transfer to other priestly halls. If a priest, out of admiration, were to bring Mu Qing back to the Lower Heaven to serve him, it wouldn't be impossible.
This must be it. Furthermore, he must be doing well now, otherwise he wouldn't be traveling with this group of priests to find a blessed place to cultivate.
Xie Lian is still a mortal, but Mu Qing has already returned to the lower heaven. This situation is inexplicably ironic.
Over there, Mu Qing finally regained his composure and asked suspiciously, "What's going on?"
The priests rushed to explain the whole story to him. Xie Lian stood at a distance, his body extremely stiff.
He noticed that they didn't specifically tell Mu Qing about his robbery. What did this mean?
This means Mu Qing had heard about this a long time ago. Mu Qing also knew that he had gone to rob!!!
Drop after drop of cold sweat rolled down Xie Lian's forehead, and he involuntarily took two steps back. The Martial God who had just confronted him shouted breathlessly, "He wants to seize the spiritual land alone and drive us away. Mu Qing, come and help!"
How can I help you?
Do you want Mu Qing to help you beat him together?
Xie Lian was so furious his scalp was numb, and he was in shock. He finally reacted, stuttering angrily, "...You, you are really confusing right and wrong, so shameless! It's not like that at all! I clearly didn't do that!"
Mu Qing was watching from the side. He was anxious and angry, so he swung out another branch. The Martial God was unable to resist and retreated step by step. He shouted again: "Mu Qing! What are you still standing there for!"
The other priests joined in the shouting, but Mu Qing remained hesitant, as if unsure whether to take action. Xie Lian listened to them repeatedly urging Mu Qing to join them in attacking him, and he was furious: "Mu Qing won't be like you! He's my friend, he won't help you!!!"
Furious, he exerted force, sending another row of weapons flying. Seeing that he was getting more and more courageous and the momentum was not going well, the other priests hurriedly shouted, "Mu Qing! Are you just going to watch him do whatever he wants?!"
Mu Qing's expression was unpredictable. He took a step forward, his fingers twitching slightly. The priest standing beside him urged, "Don't move, help!"
Just then, someone else said sarcastically, "It's understandable that Mu Qing doesn't want to move. After all, he used to be the Crown Prince's personal attendant. Even if the Crown Prince is robbing and seizing spiritual lands, he still has to consider the old relationship between master and servant. He's already being very polite by not helping the Crown Prince. How can we expect him to help us?"
These words seemed to be an excuse for him, but in fact they were extremely sinister. A few blue veins instantly appeared on Mu Qing's forehead and neck.
The atmosphere grew tense, and Xie Lian sensed something was amiss. He said, “Mu Qing…”
He just called out a name, and the next moment, his hand suddenly felt lighter, and there was a sound of something being cut.
Xie Lian was stunned and looked down. What was cut off was his only "weapon", the branch; when he looked up again, Mu Qing across from him had a long sword in his hand.
At this moment, the blade was pointed at Xie Lian. The person holding the blade said coldly, "...Please leave."
“…”
Xie Lian held the half-broken branch in his hand and looked at Mu Qing for a long moment before saying, "I... didn't really intend to rob. I didn't try to seize the spiritual land. I was here first."
“…”
Mu Qing repeated expressionlessly, "Please leave."
Xie Lian looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and said, "...You know I'm not lying, right?"
When he asked this question, he felt a mixture of anticipation and fear. A voice told him to stop asking and just turn around and walk away. But he couldn't help but ask anyway.
Before Mu Qing could answer, Xie Lian's body suddenly leaned forward and he fell heavily to the ground.
The ground was the muddy, bumpy, and littered with fallen rocks and broken leaves. Xie Lian fell to the ground, his eyes widening in disbelief.
I don’t know which priest took advantage of his distraction to push him from behind, causing him to fall so ugly in front of so many eyes.
It was truly too hard to watch. From all directions, voices of varying heights filled the air. Xie Lian took it all in. His eyes widened as he stared at the dark ground before him. Then, very slowly, he raised his head and looked at Mu Qing, who was standing not far in front of him.
Mu Qing was standing among the priests, not looking at him, but looking to the side. Like everyone else, he had no intention of reaching out to help him up.
Then, Xie Lian understood that no one would help him.
After lying there for a long time, he slowly got up from the ground.
The priests thought he was going to attack again and were extremely vigilant, but Xie Lian did not attack anyone. Instead, he lowered his head and searched the ground for a while. He found the small package that the queen had packed for him. He picked it up silently, put it back on his back, turned around, and walked down the mountain step by step.
As he walked, his pace grew faster and faster. Before long, Xie Lian was running wildly.
He held his breath and ran all the way down the mountain without stopping. He didn't know how far he had run when he suddenly lost his balance and fell again. Only then did he vomit out his breath with a smell of blood.
In his flustered state, he didn't think of getting up, and simply sat on the ground, catching his breath. When his breathing gradually calmed, Xie Lian didn't think of standing up either, and instead just sat there in a daze.
Suddenly, a hand reached out.
Xie Lian blinked slightly slowly, followed the hand, and slowly looked up. Surprisingly, it was Mu Qing again.
He stood in front of Xie Lian, his face slightly pale, holding out a hand. After a long pause, he said in a stiff tone, "Are you okay?"
Xie Lian stared at him blankly, saying nothing.
Perhaps feeling uncomfortable with his creepy gaze, Mu Qing avoided his gaze.
But he still held out his hand and said, "Get up."
However, it was too late to extend this hand.
Xie Lian didn't take his hand, nor did he stand up, still staring at him.
The two of them were in a stalemate for a long time, and Mu Qing's face became more and more ugly. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Xie Lian suddenly grabbed a handful of mud from the ground and threw it at Mu Qing with a "pa".
Mu Qing hadn't expected him to do such a thing. He didn't know whether to call it rude or childish. A ball of dirty mud suddenly exploded in his chest, and a few spots of mud splattered on his face. He was stunned. After a while, anger surged, but he suppressed it and whispered, "...I have no choice!"
He really had no other choice. He should be on good terms with the priests by now. If he just watched his colleagues being beaten by Xie Lian without intervening, or was thought to be on Xie Lian's side, he would probably be in trouble.
Xie Lian seemed to be unable to speak, and could only grab the mud on the ground and throw it at him. Mu Qing tried to block it a few times but couldn't stop it, and angrily said, "Are you crazy?! I said I have no way to do it, and you have no way to do it if you go robbing people, right?!"
Get out! Get out! Get out!
That was the only word in Xie Lian's mind, yet he couldn't even utter it. He could only frantically grab whatever he could get his hands on and throw it at everyone. He didn't care who he was hitting. Finally, Mu Qing couldn't stand it anymore, and with a sullen face, he stormed off. Xie Lian took a few deep breaths, slumped back down, and fell into a daze again.
He sat like this until dark.
After dark, a multitude of phosphorescent lights drifted in from nowhere, dancing faintly all around. Xie Lian acted as if he hadn't noticed them, feeling completely unexcited.
However, those phosphorescent lights seemed unwilling to remain unnoticed by him, gathering more and more around him. Xie Lian still ignored them.
Until a figure appeared in the phosphorescent light.
That person's arrival was always accompanied by a great sense of foreboding. Xie Lian sensed something and slowly looked up.
Ten steps away, a figure in white stood among countless floating phosphorescent flames, with a half-mask on his face giving him a sinister smile.
He said amiably, "Hello, Your Highness."
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