“…”
Although Hua Cheng only took a quick glance, Xie Lian was confident that he would not make a mistake.
He spoke in a low voice, so no one could hear him except Xie Lian, who glanced around quickly.
Everyone here is holding hands. When did this extra person appear?
Could it be that Shi Qingxuan and the others miscounted? Xie Lian asked, "Are you sure there are this many people? Did you miss any?"
Shi Qingxuan assured him, "No! Didn't you say the number of people was important? So I kept counting, subtracting those who left along the way, and it's one hundred and forty-eight. What's wrong? What's wrong?"
It was inconvenient to say it out loud right now. Exposing it rashly would only cause unnecessary panic, and it wouldn't allow everyone present to point out someone they didn't recognize. After all, there were too many people, and they didn't know everyone anyway. So, Xie Lian said, "No, I'm just confirming."
It was even more impossible for the sorcerers to count incorrectly. Each family reported the number of people they had brought in, and then the Heavenly Eye added them up. How could everyone not know how many people they had sent?
Xie Lian whispered, “When did that extra person sneak in? What does he want to do?”
Hua Chengdao: "Either he sneaked in from the beginning, or he sneaked in with this group of sorcerers. And, he must be a human."
At least it's definitely not a ghost. The people who make up this circle must all be living people, otherwise there's no way to trap these evil spirits.
Furthermore, this person seemed reluctant to expose himself for the time being. If he had already infiltrated this circle, a single person's sudden departure, creating a loophole, would surely lead to the complete destruction of the entire formation. However, the circle remained stable until now, indicating that he had been effectively acting as the "iron fence."
They couldn't act rashly. If that person realized they had been discovered, there was no telling whether they would turn and run. In other words, they had to find this person without being noticed, and extract him without disrupting the circle. This was truly difficult.
However, Xie Lian soon came up with a solution. He asked, "Sanlang, can your Death Butterfly just chase away these vengeful spirits without killing them? I mean, drive them in the direction you specify?"
Hua Cheng immediately understood what he wanted to do and said, "Okay."
Since this person joined on his own initiative, he must be no simple character and is not afraid of these evil spirits at all.
Then, thinking about it the other way around, if Hua Cheng controlled the undead butterflies to force the vengeful spirits out of the circle, they would surely be driven everywhere, trying to find a loophole to escape. Almost every mortal could become a loophole, except for one person.
It’s the person who took the initiative to join!
Xie Lian said, “However, this method is very risky. If we’re not careful, we might scare the others into giving up, and then we’ll just end up shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Hua Cheng said, "Don't worry, I will kill the vengeful spirit before that."
The two of them discussed it, and Xie Lian suddenly shouted, "Everyone, be careful! The vengeful spirit has suddenly become stronger! Hold on tight, don't be afraid!"
Tianyan opened his eyes and said, "What! How could he suddenly become stronger?!"
Huacheng stood still, while the undead butterflies chased the smoky, vengeful spirits around in a frenzied circle. Others couldn't see clearly, but the mages and warlocks could make out something. Tianyan roared angrily, "Huacheng... Master! What are you trying to do?!"
The two people in the circle had no time to pay attention to them, just focused on observing. As expected, in the black air currents that swirled across the sky, there was a person. The group of resentful spirits did not approach him at all, so there was a sudden gap in front of him.
It’s him!
Xie Lian stepped forward quickly, grabbed both of the man's hands, and simultaneously connected his left and right hands together, pulling the man out of the ring!
Tianyankai and the others were in an uproar: "What's going on?!"
Hua Cheng said bluntly, "None of your business." Before he finished speaking, he had already swerved to Xie Lian's side, wary of the man's sudden attack. Xie Lian firmly restrained the man and twisted him around. The moment their faces met, Xie Lian swallowed the "who" that had already rolled to the tip of his tongue and opened his eyes wide.
Looking at that face, he murmured: "National Master, it really is you..."
The man was also stuck. After a while, he murmured, "Your Highness the Crown Prince..."
This face should have been very familiar, yet it felt strange. He had always imagined the Imperial Master to be in his early thirties, relatively composed, his robes draped with airs, quite intimidating. But the man before him looked only about twenty-five or twenty-six, not much older than him.
Even when Xie Lian heard this voice from within the Copper Furnace Mountain monster, he kept wondering if he'd misheard. Even when Jun Wu told him that his master was no ordinary person and he should be extremely careful, he wondered if the Emperor had made a mistake. However, the person before him couldn't be mistaken: it was his master, Mei Nianqing, the last imperial preceptor of Xianle Kingdom!
The three of them faced off in a circle of over 300 people, the air seemed to freeze. As soon as Mei Nianqing reacted, he did something unexpected.
While Xie Lian was stunned, he suddenly counterattacked, pounced on him, and grabbed his throat with both hands!
However, Hua Cheng was standing right next to him, so how could he possibly succeed? He didn't even have to make a move; Mei Nianqing's body flew backwards, falling several feet away. Suddenly, something unexpected happened, and everyone gathered in a circle, holding hands, was shocked: "Why did they start fighting?!" "What are they doing?!" "Who are they hitting?!"
Hua Cheng said, "Brother! Are you okay?"
Xie Lian said, "It's alright!" In fact, it looked like the Imperial Master was in more trouble. Mei Nianqing fell and spat out a mouthful of blood. He climbed to his feet and stumbled out of the crowd. Shi Qingxuan saw him rushing towards them and said nervously, "What are you trying to do! Hey, I warned you not to come over here? Your Highness, he's trying to break through this circle!"
Xie Lian shouted, “Come back!”
Ruo Xie flew out in response! But before it could entangle Mei Nianqing, a sword dropped from the sky and stabbed in front of the Imperial Master, blocking his path. Immediately afterwards, a white light suddenly appeared in the sky, and several light curtains poured down. Following the light curtains, a white-armored warrior descended from the sky, blocking his retreat!
Blocked from front and back, Mei Nianqing had nowhere to escape. Turning around, he encountered Ruo Xie, dancing wildly with ecstasy. In a few swift movements, he had him shackled and thrown to the ground. Xie Lian stepped forward and asked, "Emperor? Why did you come in person?"
Jun Wu stood up and said solemnly, "The situation on Tonglu Mountain has stabilized for the time being. Let me come to your side to see what the situation is like."
Xie Lian asked, “How did you manage to hold it steady?”
Jun Wu said, "A new boundary was established to temporarily trap the three mountain monsters and other inhuman creatures."
Xie Lian's biggest concern wasn't the mountain monsters and other insignificant little demons. He asked, "Then...where's Bai Wuxiang?"
Jun Wu slowly shook his head and said, "We didn't find him in Tonglu Mountain. I'm afraid he has already escaped somewhere else."
Xie Lian looked around. A blinding curtain of light surrounded them, separating them from the three hundred or so people holding hands outside. Those outside the curtain couldn't see what was happening inside. He glanced at the ground again. The Imperial Preceptor had rolled over. Upon seeing Jun Wu, perhaps remembering the fierce battle, his face was filled with shock and anger, but he knew the situation well enough to remain silent. Jun Wu also lowered his head slightly, looking down at him, and said slowly, "Imperial Preceptor Xianle, long time no see."
Hua Cheng walked up leisurely, took a look, and said, "This Imperial Master looks so weak, how did he escape in the first place?"
Jun Wu said, "He didn't escape on his own. At that time, he had three helpers with him. They were Xianle's other three imperial masters."
Hearing this, Xie Lian couldn’t help but ask, “National Master, who… who are you?”
Mei Nianqing looked at Jun Wu with a gloomy expression, his hands clenched, veins bulging on the backs of his hands. He couldn't tell whether he hated Jun Wu for disrupting his plans, or hated him for revealing his true identity in front of Xie Lian. After a long pause, he whispered, "Haven't you already guessed it, Your Highness?"
One of the four guardian gods of Prince Wuyong!
Xie Lian asked, “What about Prince Wuyong? Is he Bai Wuxiang?”
Hearing this, Jun Wu was startled and asked, "Xianle, who is Crown Prince Wuyong?"
Xie Lian then remembered that he hadn't had time to tell Jun Wu about the Wuyong Kingdom. Having finally captured the Imperial Preceptor, Xie Lian had many things to explain and questions to ask, but it was inconvenient to handle them here. He said, "Emperor, let's talk about this back in Heaven."
Jun Wu said, "Alright." After a moment's silence, he added, "However, most of the resentful spirits in the copper furnace have been spread to the imperial city. They cannot be suppressed in a short time. Even for me, it will take seven days and seven nights to completely purify them."
Does that mean we have to wait seven days before we can interrogate the Imperial Master? That would be too late, as Bai Wuxiang's whereabouts are still unknown! Xie Lian was just contemplating what to do when he heard Hua Cheng say, "Leave this to me. You just go up."
Xie Lian turned to look at him. Hua Cheng had already guessed what he was thinking and said, "No need to say anything else. I'll wait for you here. If you really want to thank me, come down and find me soon."
Jun Wu said, "Is this feasible?"
Xie Lian smiled and said, “Yes, that’s feasible.”
At this moment, a figure suddenly flickered on the screen, and a man rushed in from outside, limping and jumping, shouting, "Your Highness! Your Highness, what are you doing in there? Are you okay?"
It was Shi Qingxuan. It turned out that when Jun Wu came down, he had casually pulled a light curtain to block anyone's view, leaving those outside unaware of what was happening and terrified. Shi Qingxuan volunteered to rush in to see what was going on. Anyone else might have been stopped, but he had been a priest before, and the light curtain recognized him, so they let him in. Upon entering, he was stunned: "Emperor, Emperor, Emperor? Why... did you come down in person?!"
Jun Wu saw him, smiled slightly, and said, "Master Fengshi, how are you?"
“…”
Shi Qingxuan was embarrassed and a little ashamed. After all, he couldn't have been unaware that once the news of Shi Wudu changing his brother's fate and sending him to heaven was exposed, it would definitely cause a huge uproar. Seeing his former boss again at this time, he really didn't dare to think of anything else except shame and guilt. Jun Wu didn't say anything to him, but was still very polite and gave him enough face. Xie Lian took Ruo Xie, and Mei Nianqing slowly stood up by himself. Shi Qingxuan finished his embarrassment and asked in confusion: "Who is this? What's going on now?"
Mei Nianqing glanced at him and suddenly asked, "You are Shi Qingxuan, right?"
Shi Qingxuan was stunned and asked, "Who are you? How do you know my name?" Most importantly, how could he recognize me after seeing my appearance?
Mei Nianqing snorted, "Your name isn't very good either."
Shi Qingxuan was puzzled: "Huh?"
Mei Nianqing didn't say anything else and followed Jun Wu on his own initiative. He looked quite honest, probably because he knew that he had no helpers around him and that even if he was not tied up, he would not be able to escape from Jun Wu.
Jun Wu said, "Xianle, I'll take him upstairs first. Will you come back later?"
Xie Lian said, “Yes.”
Jun Wu nodded. After the two men left, Xie Lian turned to Hua Cheng. Before he could say anything, Hua Cheng said, "Don't worry, brother. We'll just guard this area and keep them out of trouble. It won't be a big deal."
Shi Qingxuan also said, "Your Highness, do you want to go up first? Go ahead, I'll be watching, don't worry!"
Xie Lian nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
In the past, Hua Cheng would probably have replied with something like "Nothing." But this time, he crossed his arms and sighed, "Ah, it's been quite tiring."
“…”
Xie Lian had a feeling he was hinting at something. Shi Qingxuan, however, was completely oblivious. He said cheerfully, "Yes, just remember to reward us later. How about holding a banquet at the best restaurant in the Imperial City? Hahaha..."
He was still obsessed with holding a banquet at the best restaurant in the Imperial City. Xie Lian thought to himself, “…Master Feng, please stop talking. He doesn’t mean what you think…”
Hua Cheng shook his head, casually playing with the red coral beads hanging from his thin braid. He raised an eyebrow and said nonchalantly, "It would be fine if my brother was here. But thinking about my brother going to heaven again and leaving me alone down here, well, it makes me feel even more miserable."
Shi Qingxuan finally felt something was a little strange, but he still couldn't figure it out. He said with a smile: "Xueyu Tanhua, why are you talking so funny? I thought you were saying that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is going back to Heaven and you're lonely. Why are you acting like a newlywed? Hahaha..."
“…”
Xie Lian thought to himself, “You’re not wrong, isn’t that what he meant?”
Shi Qingxuan laughed awkwardly for a long time. Xie Lian couldn't help it anymore. He coughed lightly and said, "Master Fengshi, you, you can go out first, please?"
Shi Qingxuan: "??? Why?"
Xie Lian was at a loss for words and said, “You…just get out first. We’re just saying goodbye.”
Shi Qingxuan then left, puzzled. Within the light curtain, there were only the two of them, no one else. Xie Lian turned around again. Hua Cheng was still looking at him with a raised eyebrow, as if waiting for him to say or do something.
So, Xie Lian gritted his teeth and placed his hands stiffly on Hua Cheng's shoulders. After a moment's pause, he suddenly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
After the kiss, he looked back guiltily, and seeing no one around, he felt relieved. Unexpectedly, the next moment, his waist tightened. It was Huacheng hugging him, narrowing his eyes and saying, "Brother, aren't you being too perfunctory with me?"
There was a half-hearted dissatisfaction in his tone, which made people feel a little dangerous. Xie Lian was startled and said quickly, "No!"
Hua Chengdao: "Really? It wasn't like this when you asked me to borrow your magic power. If I don't lend you my magic power, will this be the only farewell I can get?"
“…”
Thinking about it this way, Xie Lian felt that it seemed rather insincere. After a moment, he whispered, "...I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."
However, after he apologized, he actually thought about it more and more and felt that it looked like that was what he meant. Alarm bells were ringing in his heart, fearing that Huacheng really misunderstood. Without waiting for his response, he jumped up and hugged Huacheng's neck and rubbed against him again. This time, he kissed Huacheng firmly where he wanted.
Unexpectedly, Shi Qingxuan's voice suddenly rang out, "Your Highness, this is strange. You didn't even let me go after saying goodbye? I am... Your Highness, the Crown Prince. Are you leaving so soon?"
Xie Lian fled in panic, tumbling and crawling.
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