After he said this, everyone fell silent. He had hit the nail on the head. For the past two days, no one had come to Xie Lian's aid. The water vendor had at least tried to deliver the water, but hadn't been able to do so. And some of the others hadn't even dared to look!
Someone shouted, "So what should we do now? If you guys won't let us go, then give us a solution!"
The crowd was about to stir again, with some still desperately trying to push forward. Then, another voice shouted, "Who's making noise? If anyone makes noise again, I'll kill them with a knife!"
Looking again, it was the fat cook who had been the first to come up and draw his sword the first day Xie Lian fell. He seemed infuriated by something and said, "Brother, you're right! If several people hadn't tried to stop me from going up yesterday, I would have almost drawn my sword! How come I haven't moved, but those who tried to stop me are the ones shouting the loudest? Pah, you're worthy of that? You're so shameless!"
The cook was large and loud, wielding a kitchen knife in a rage, seemingly fresh out of the kitchen. The others who had been shouting the loudest immediately stopped yelling. Someone who hadn't been privy to the recent events, after finding out what was going on, exclaimed in surprise, "No way! None of you are going up?"
"Yeah, he just lay there for two days? No one even helped him up?"
Some of the people being criticized were embarrassed and said, "Don't talk as if you would go up to help if you were here. You're just talking nonsense after the fact. Don't forget that when those ghosts come down later, none of you will be able to escape!"
"Hey, I told you, if I were there, I would definitely go up and help him draw his sword!"
"Of course I won't feel tired after talking..."
"Wait a minute! What are you all arguing about? This isn't a question of whether or not to draw the sword!"
As the two groups argued, the noise became so intense that they were about to burst into a quarrel. The rain gradually subsided. However, the dark clouds grew thicker overhead, suffocating the hundreds of people below. Suddenly, the crowd erupted in screams, and several fingers pointed to the sky, "Here it comes!!!"
Xie Lian also jerked his head up. He saw the faces tumbling in the black cloud suddenly erupt in chaos, dragging long "tails" as they plummeted like black meteors!
The human face epidemic is coming!
Everyone was horrified and in a panic. Some ran, some hid in the house, and a few tried to grab the black sword. However, the black sword that had been knocked to the ground suddenly disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
Xie Lian, who had just been shocked by everyone’s reaction, only now realized what was happening and asked, “Where’s the sword?! Who took it?!”
No one had time to answer, as everyone scattered and ran. But how could they be as fast as the ghosts falling? Soon, the screams of the living and the shrieks of the ghosts could be heard from all directions!
When the vengeful spirits caught up with the living, they billowed like a thick, black smoke, entangled and entangled, penetrating every pore and slowly melting into their bodies. Xie Lian fought hard to drive them away, but there were simply too many of them, and he couldn't drive them all away alone. He watched as countless people were chased before him, howling in agony. The water vendor couple and the fat cook were also entangled in the black smoke, rolling on the ground. Bai Wuxiang stood not far away, sneering and watching with his hands folded.
Xie Lian was furious and anxious. He steeled himself and roared towards the area where the vengeful spirits were most concentrated, “Hey!”
After all, he was the one who had awakened these vengeful spirits. With such a loud shout, they naturally noticed him. Xie Lian opened his arms to them and said, "Come to my side!"
The vengeful spirits that had already entangled the living hesitated, not knowing whether to go forward, while the vengeful spirits still in the air immediately changed direction and attacked Xie Lian.
Success!
Xie Lian's heart nearly stopped beating. He didn't know what was going to happen, nor did he know what would become of him. Yet, a sudden surge of blood rushed through his head, and he felt that even if it meant fighting for his dignity against that despicable monster and leaving him with a black eye and bruises, he would never retreat. Even if a thousand times more undead appeared, he would be invincible!
Do you want to see me complaining and giving up on myself?
I won’t!!!
Never!!!
An overwhelming black tide surrounded Xie Lian. A vengeful spirit wailed as it passed through his body. In an instant, Xie Lian's heart seemed to freeze, and he shuddered. Then, a second, and a third...
These things pierced through Xie Lian's body like sword winds and sword energy, taking away some of his remaining warmth each time. Xie Lian's face became paler and paler, but he always insisted on not retreating.
There were only a few hundred of them, and he had only held on for a short while. More would come. The sky was filled with dark clouds, all of them!
Xie Lian closed his eyes, ready to bear the wrath of all the resentful spirits single-handedly. Unexpectedly, the next spirit never arrived. Puzzled, he opened his eyes and suddenly discovered that the overwhelming black tide surrounding him had vanished.
Because they all turned into rolling black streams and were sucked in another direction!
Shocked, Xie Lian turned around and saw a black-clad warrior standing at the end of the long street, holding the black longsword.
nameless?
Xie Lian had already told him to leave on his own and wait for him to unleash the Human Face Plague, so why was he here now?
Xie Lian had no idea what was going on, let alone what the black-clad warrior was up to. After a moment’s pause, he immediately ran towards him, shouting, “Wait! What are you doing? Don’t touch me! Give me the sword!”
The black-clad warrior seemed to have heard his voice and looked up slightly. Xie Lian couldn't see his real face, only a painted smile. However, he had a strange feeling.
He felt that the face under the mask of the black-clad warrior seemed to be really smiling.
However, this feeling was fleeting. A massive black torrent and a wave of screams merged into a storm, converging in that direction and instantly engulfing the black-clad warrior.
At that moment, Xie Lian heard a heart-wrenching scream.
He seemed to have heard this voice somewhere before. He must have heard this voice somewhere before!
Pain. The pain was so intense that he could feel it himself, the pain was worse than death, the pain was so intense that his body and mind were torn apart, the pain made him fall heavily to his knees, and he and his friends held their heads and screamed in agony: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
The intense pain that erupted from his heart came suddenly and went away just as suddenly. After an unknown amount of time, the surroundings fell silent and Xie Lian's hands, which had been holding his head, dropped dejectedly.
He looked up dazedly and saw people lying all over the ground. Most of them were unconscious, and the vengeful spirits that had been haunting them had all disappeared.
The scene left him bewildered. What had happened to the Human-Faced Plague? What had happened to the vengeful spirits? What had happened to him?
The black torrent had long since dissipated, and where the nameless ghost in black had stood, only a black sword lay on the ground, with a small white flower beside the blade.
Xie Lian stumbled to his feet, walked forward, and picked up the flower and sword.
He touched his face and looked at his arms, but didn't feel anything different about himself, as if he had been cursed. Just as he was lost in thought, a voice suddenly came from behind him, softly saying, "Ah."
Xie Lian turned around and saw Bai Wuxiang standing behind him with his hands in his sleeves, his wide sleeves fluttering in the wind.
Xie Lian hadn’t realized what was going on yet, but he had a bad feeling in his heart.
Bai Wuxiang glanced at him and chuckled. The bad premonition grew stronger, and Xie Lian frowned and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Bai Wu asked in the opposite direction: "Don't you know what happened?"
Xie Lian asked, “What?”
Bai Wuxiang asked, "Do you know who that ghost is?"
“…” Xie Lian asked, “War, battlefield undead?”
Bai Wuxiang said, "Yes. But at the same time, he was also your last believer in this world. Now, he is gone."
……believer?
How could he still have believers in this world?
After a long while, Xie Lian was finally able to utter a few words.
He said with difficulty: "What, scream, gone?"
Bai Wuxiang said leisurely: "The soul has been scattered."
Xie Lian couldn’t accept it and said, “Why did his soul just fly away?!”
Bai Wuxiang said, "Because he was cursed in your place, the undead you summoned devoured him completely."
“…”
The undead he summoned back?
Being cursed in his place?!
Bai Wuxiang added: "Oh, by the way, this is not the first time you have seen him."
Xie Lian stared at him blankly. Bai Wuxiang said with interest, "This ghost seems to have been following you forever. Originally, I simply saw its deep resentment, so I captured it and questioned it. Who knew the result would be so interesting? The Ghost Festival, the Lantern Festival, the ghost fire spirit. Do you remember?"
Xie Lian murmured, "Ghost Festival? Lantern Festival? Ghost Fire Spirit?"
Bai Wuxiang slowly pointed out, "This ghost was a soldier under your command in life, and after death, it became your undead follower. He died in battle because of you, was transformed into a fierce ghost because you pierced his heart with hundreds of swords, and died because of the human-faced plague you unleashed."
Xie Lian seemed to vaguely remember something. However, he hadn't even seen this believer's face, didn't even know his name, so what could he really remember, and how much could he remember?
"Perhaps there are still followers of Your Highness here who are worshipping you..."
Yes. Yes.
And, he is the only believer!
Bai Wuxiang seemed to say a lot more, but Xie Lian was so distracted that he didn't hear anything until he finally said, "A god like you is already pathetic and ridiculous enough. Being your follower is even more pathetic and ridiculous."
“…”
Before, he had mocked Xie Lian, but Xie Lian hadn't reacted at all. But when he heard this thing self-righteously commenting on how pathetic and ridiculous his followers were, Xie Lian felt as if he had suddenly been awakened by a sword, and he was filled with uncontrollable rage.
He rushed forward, but was captured in one move. Bai Wuxiang said coldly, "You can't defeat me like this. How many times do I have to tell you before you recognize the truth?"
Xie Lian had no intention of defeating him. It didn't matter if he couldn't. He just wanted to beat this thing up. He angrily shouted, "What do you know?! What right do you have to laugh at him?!"
That is his only believer in this world!
Bai Wuxiang said, "Why shouldn't I laugh at a follower of a loser? You're stupid, and your followers are even more stupid. Listen! If you want to defeat me, you must follow my teachings. Otherwise, you'll never be able to defeat me!"
Xie Lian wanted to yell "Pah" at him with all his might, but even breathing was difficult. Bai Wuxiang flipped his other hand over, and a face of sadness and joy appeared in his palm. He said, "Now, let's start over!"
He was pressing the mask onto Xie Lian's face when, unexpectedly, at this moment, boom, boom.
Lightning and thunder roared across the sky, and a strange light shone from the clouds. Bai Wuxiang stopped his movements in alarm and asked, "What is this? A heavenly tribulation?..."
After a pause, he rejected it: "No!"
wrong.
It is a heavenly calamity, but it is more than just a heavenly calamity!
A man's voice resounded throughout the sky, saying, "He can't beat you, so what about me?"
Xie Lian looked up suddenly.
At some point, a young martial god wearing white armor and exuding a resounding aura appeared at the end of the long street ahead. A layer of faint white aura shrouded his body. With his hand on the sword, he took one step at a time, carving out a clear path in the gloomy world.
He couldn't help but open his eyes wide.
Jun Wu!
…
After the rain stopped and the sky cleared, Xie Lian sat on the charred earth, breathing lightly.
Jun Wu sheathed his sword, walked over, and said, "Xianle, welcome back."
He looked exhausted, his face still stained with blood, left by Bai Wuxiang. Jun Wu also bore dozens of wounds, both large and small. They were certainly serious, but Bai Wuxiang's wounds were even worse. He was beaten to the point of disintegration, leaving only a shattered face of sorrow and joy on the ground.
Hearing him say "return to your place", Xie Lian was startled. He touched his neck and found that the curse shackle had disappeared.
Jun Wu smiled and said, "I was right. It took you less time to come back than I thought."
Xie Lian gradually came back to his senses and smiled, but it was a bitter smile.
After calming down, he said, "Emperor, I want to ask you a favor."
Jun Wu said: "Okay."
Xie Lian asked, “You don’t even ask me what it is?”
Jun Wu said: "Anyway, you will ask for gifts when you return to Xianjing, so consider this as your return gift."
Xie Lian twitched his lips, stood up, looked directly at Jun Wu, and said solemnly, "Then I ask you to banish me to the mortal world once again."
Hearing this, Jun Wu restrained his smile and asked, "Why is that?"
Xie Lian confessed, "I did something wrong. I was the one who started the second Human Face Plague. Even though the consequences didn't seem too serious."
Because it was just an unknown ghost that disappeared. And in this world, no one would care about such an unknown ghost, so it seems that the consequences are not that serious.
Jun Wu said slowly: "If you know what is wrong, then you are already right."
Xie Lian shook his head and said, “Just knowing isn’t enough. If you do something wrong, you should be punished. But, for the mistakes I made, the one who’s being punished in my place is…”
He raised his head and said, "So, as punishment, I ask the Emperor to grant me another cursed shackle. No, two. One to seal my magic power, and one to dissipate my luck."
Jun Wu frowned slightly and said, "Dissipate all your luck? Then wouldn't you be extremely unlucky and truly become a plague god?"
In the past, Xie Lian had indeed been very concerned about being called the Plague God, and he would have resisted it, feeling deeply insulted. But now, he no longer cared. He said, "So be it, Plague God. I know I'm not one, that's all."
After he dispersed his own luck, it would naturally flow to other people who were too unfortunate. This could be considered as some compensation.
Jun Wu warned: "It will be very embarrassing."
Xie Lian said, “It’s embarrassing, so be it. Honestly, I feel like… I’m almost used to it.”
Although I don't want to get used to this kind of thing, once I get used to it, it seems like I'm really immune to all poisons.
Jun Wu looked at him and said, "Xianle, you have to understand that without magical powers, you are not a god."
Xie Lian sighed and said, "Emperor, I understand better than anyone else."
After a pause, he said with a hint of annoyance and melancholy, "People say I'm a god, and that I have magical powers. But in reality, I... am not the god they think I am, and I may not be as invincible as they wish.
"Would a god fail so badly? He wanted to protect his people, but instead they were left lying dead. He sought revenge, but at the last moment, he backed off and fell short. Bai Wuxiang wasn't wrong about the 'failure' part.
"If it's not, then it's not."
Jun Wu stared at him carefully for a long time and said, "Xianle has grown up."
These words should have been spoken by Xie Lian's elders. Unfortunately, his father, the Emperor, and his mother, the Empress, never had the chance to utter them.
After a moment, Jun Wu said, "Since this is the path you've chosen, then, fine. However, if I want you to be demoted to the mortal realm, there must be a reason."
You can't just demote a priest as if it were a joke. What's the point of going to heaven then?
Xie Lian had an idea. He said, "Emperor, it seems we've never competed with all our might before?"
Jun Wu immediately understood what he meant and said with a smile, "Xianle, I am injured."
Xie Lian said, “I’m injured too, so we’re even.”
Jun Wu nodded and said, "In that case, I will not show mercy."
Xie Lian smiled faintly, his eyes gleaming with eagerness to try, and said, “I can’t do that either.”
…
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been demoted again.
After the second devastating catastrophe, Xianle Prince Xie Lian stormed back to the Upper Heaven, punching and kicking his way through the air. He ascended for less than an incense stick before being struck down again by the Divine Martial Emperor. All the priests were baffled: what on earth was this man up to?
However, Xie Lian couldn't understand what the other priests were trying to do.
Is it really that curious? I watch him every day, pretending to be a human, pretending to be an animal, I've been spying on him for days! Is it really that good to see a grown man carrying bricks and plastering mud?
Just as I was wondering, the foreman behind me called out, "New guy, you, I'm talking to you! Work hard and don't be lazy!"
Xie Lian quickly sat up and responded loudly, "Oh!"
He responded by grabbing a broken palm-leaf fan and fanning himself vigorously. In front of him, a small stove was built with several bricks and stones, on which a large pot of rice was cooking with a gurgling sound.
This was the construction site where he was working, moving earth and mud. However, the bricks had already been moved, and not far away, two brand-new temples had been completed. Now, his task was to cook. While he was cooking, working very hard, two carriages arrived, pulling up two towering statues of the gods. Xie Lian, absentmindedly throwing food into the pot, took a moment to glance over.
The two statues were carried into the two temples. People in the left temple cheered, "Hello, General Xuanzhen! General Xuanzhen is so kind-hearted!"
Xie Lian was speechless.
Are these believers serious about using the word "kind-hearted" to praise Mu Qing?
However, they seemed to have good reasons. After all, it was common knowledge that Mu Qing ascended to heaven because he had cleared out the remaining stubborn resentful spirits in the old Xianle Imperial City. It was understandable that this was a sign of kindness. After all, everyone in the old Imperial City was deeply grateful to him.
The people in the hall on the right also shouted, "Hello, General Juyang! General Juyang is so brave and invincible!"
Xie Lian nodded. He had no objection to this. However, when it came to women, that wasn't always the case.
The believers on both sides were shouting at each other with all their might, each trying to outdo the other. Xie Lian’s ears hurt from the shouting. He sighed, rubbed his brow, and thought to himself, why bother?
If you hate the other party so much, why not just not build the temple opposite the other party?
The answer is—of course not! Because this is the most popular and feng shui-rich area in the city. Of course, the followers of these two priests will not give up such a fertile land just to avoid each other. Of course, they will steal each other's incense and disgust each other as much as possible.
Soon, the two believers in the back had gone from verbal abuse to physical combat. Xie Lian, sensing the heat was about right, tapped the pot lid with his spatula and shouted, "Everyone, stop fighting! Come eat!"
The fight was in full swing, so who would care? Xie Lian shook his head and lifted the lid of the pot, letting out a fragrant aroma that wafted ten miles away. Everyone immediately stopped fighting and howled, "...Oh my god... What the hell is that smell?!"
“Who’s cooking shit?!”
"Or is it shit that tastes like rice crust?!"
Xie Lian defended himself, “What?! This is a top-secret royal recipe…”
The foreman covered his nose and came over to take a look. His face turned green and he jumped up and said, "Bullshit top-secret treasures, what royal family! You? Get out! Stop disgusting me!"
Xie Lian compromised and said, "Alright, I can leave, but please give me my wages first..."
The foreman yelled angrily, "You dare to ask for wages! Tell me! You! Since you came here! How much have I lost! Huh? When it rains, the thunder strikes nowhere but you! The house has caught fire three times! And it collapsed three times! You are simply a plague! And you dare to ask me for wages! Get out! If you do it again, I will beat you up!"
Xie Lian said, "You can't say that. You already said you were targeting me. Everyone else is fine, aren't they? I think you're just trying to shirk responsibility..." Before he could finish his words, the foreman and his fellow workers, unable to bear the smell wafting from the pot any longer, vanished like a whirlwind. Xie Lian said, "Wait?!"
Looking back, the two gangs that had been fighting had long since been smoked out. Xie Lian was speechless, muttering to himself, "You're not going to eat it, but you asked me to cook such a huge pot? Do you think you can just waste money just because you have money?"
Shaking his head, he thought for a while, and filled two large bowls of rice. He put one bowl in the Juyang Hall as an offering, and the other bowl in the Xuanzhen Hall as an offering. Finally, he felt that he had made full use of the rice, so he clapped his hands together, feeling very satisfied.
He went outside to pack up his things, carefully rolled up the straw mat on the ground, tied it to his sword, and carried it on his back. He gently stroked the white silk wrapped around his wrist twice, patted it, adjusted his hat, and said, "Alright, if you don't want to pay, then don't pay. I'll go and perform."
After all, he also has a unique skill - breaking rocks with his chest!
After walking a distance, Xie Lian suddenly noticed a small red flower by the roadside. It was very lovely. He squatted down and gently touched its petals. Feeling very happy, he said to it, "I hope to see you again in the future."
When he walked a long way away, the little red flower was still swaying in the wind.
Volume 5: Heaven Official's Blessing
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