This time, Hua Cheng's smile wasn't fake; it actually shone even brighter. The Imperial Master was stunned. He raised his hand, pointing at him, and said, "...You, you, you? That one? You're that one???"
His fingers and voice were practically trembling. Hua Cheng remained silent, his face clearly showing: Yes, I am the unlucky star who nearly burned down Mount Taicang!
“…”
The Imperial Master turned and asked, "Your Highness, what's going on? Explain."
Xie Lian spread his hands and said with a wry smile, "...That's...that's it."
The Imperial Master was stunned. He slammed the back of his right hand against the palm of his left dozens of times. After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Look, look, look, look, look! I told you! I told you the Desperate Ghost King is not to be trifled with! He's been haunting you since you were little, and he won't go away! For eight hundred years, eight hundred years! He's been secretly coveting you for eight hundred years. Terrible, absolutely terrible! My calculations are so accurate!"
Xie Lian said, “Forget it, Master, let’s not talk about this anymore…”
He thought, "You haven't even seen the overwhelming number of statues in the Pantheon Cave." If he had, he'd probably dismiss Hua Cheng as a monstrous monster, a mad demon, and run away with Xie Lian tucked under his elbow. The Imperial Preceptor, still in shock, said, "No! This is too terrifying! It's unbelievable! His obsession and scheming are so deep! Your Highness, you must be very careful. You could easily get into trouble like this. Beware of him deceiving you!"
Xie Lian said, “Sanlang won’t do that.”
Hua Cheng also said calmly: "You think too much. I would lie to anyone but Your Highness."
The Imperial Master leaned over and argued with him, "You cunning young man, don't think I can't see through you. Aren't you just taking advantage of the Crown Prince's lack of knowledge in this area? Now, tell me, in front of me, how do you borrow mana? How many ways are there to borrow it? And how did you borrow it? What did you tell His Highness?"
Huacheng: “…”
Xie Lian yelled incoherently, “Hahahaha, alright, alright! Let’s get over it. No matter what, as long as I borrowed it, it’s fine! Hahaha, it’s all the same, all the same!”
If he continued, he would flutter about like a drowning, cooked duck. Xie Lian suddenly became serious and said, "So, let's get down to business. He's locked us all up here and hasn't made a move yet. What does he want?"
Hua Cheng said, "I want to give you another question."
Xie Lian asked, “How else can we set it up?”
The Imperial Master said, "That's hard to say. Honestly, anything is possible. Your Highness, don't change the subject! I'm giving you a piece of advice. Don't let lust blind you or be deceived by sweet talk. I think he..."
At this moment, Hua Cheng suddenly said in a deep voice: "Brother, someone is coming."
The Imperial Preceptor said, “Don’t try to trick me. I’m not as easy to fool as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince…” Xie Lian, however, said, “Master, he’s not kidding you. Someone really is coming. Let’s hide first!” With that, he and Hua Cheng tapped the ground with their soles of their feet, and together they lightly flew up to the roof beams and hid.
Not long after, a chaotic sound of footsteps could be heard outside the house. Someone kicked the door open and laughed triumphantly, "Hahahahahahahahahahahaha, the heavens, what's that?! They'll still be trampled under my feet!"
“…”
“…”
“…”
Upon hearing this voice, the three of them were speechless.
I saw a man in blue clothes walking in from outside the house. It was none other than Qi Rong who I hadn't seen for many days!
It seems that Jun Wu not only locked up the priests, but also released all the demons and monsters. These things are actually wandering around the streets of Xianjing like this. It is so chaotic and weird!
The Imperial Master hadn't expected it to be Qi Rong, and froze. Qi Rong pointed at him and cursed, "Damn Imperial Master, damn old man, you're just refusing to die! Hehe! Back then, you f*cking looked down on me and refused to accept me as your disciple, and now what? You've gotten a slap in the face, this is retribution, this is no good end! You deserve it!"
A timid little head popped out from behind him. It was Guzi. Guzi, probably entering such a magnificent building for the first time, stared around with wide eyes, as if wanting to touch the jade tiles but not daring to. Qi Rong said smugly, "Did you see, my dear son? This is the heavens. Now, it's our territory!"
Gu Zi was surprised and said, "Really, Dad? This place is so big..."
Qi Rong said, "Of course! If you don't believe me, just look at me. Pah! Pah! Pah! I'm spitting here casually, who dares to say anything to me?"
Imperial Master: “…”
Gu Zi hesitated for a moment, but still whispered, "Dad, it's not good to spit everywhere. This place is so beautiful and clean, it will get dirty."
Qi Rong is stuck.
The Imperial Master couldn't help but say, "Look at you, how do you teach children? You're so old, but you don't know how to set a good example. The children are more sensible than you!"
Being criticized by both sides at the same time, Qi Rong was humiliated and angry. He jumped up and cursed, "You old fool, you know nothing! Stop pretending to be an elder. You are not allowed to lecture me! And you! How dare you talk to your father like that, you unfilial son!"
Gu Zi was scolded, feeling wronged and afraid to say anything. Qi Rong then wiped his spit off his feet, feeling guilty, and pretended nothing had happened. He dragged Gu Zi out, cursing and swearing. Before leaving, he wrote a line of large characters on the most conspicuous wall of the Lingwen Hall: "Qi Rong, the First Ghost King of the Three Realms, was here."
When Qi Rong left the Lingwen Hall, Xie Lian's blue tumbler, hidden in his sleeve, fell down. It landed in front of the wall with the large inscriptions and the spit marks Qi Rong had sloppily wiped away, spinning and twirling around like it was mad with rage. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng also fell down. Xie Lian picked up the tumbler and put it away again. The Imperial Preceptor shook his head and said, "Little Mirror Prince really is... His taste has remained the same for hundreds of years, and he hasn't improved at all."
Hua Cheng glanced at the wall, not even bothering to give it a disdainful look. He simply commented with one word: "Ugly."
The Imperial Master finally agreed with him, folding his hands over his sleeves and saying, "It's extremely ugly. In all these years, apart from the messy couplet I once saw at the entrance of the Ghost Gambling House in Ghost Market, where the characters were dozens of times uglier than this, I've never seen characters uglier than this!"
Huacheng: “………………”
Xie Lian, on the other hand, forced a smile and said, "Hahahaha, Master, I've seen that couplet you mentioned before. I think it's quite well written. It has its own unique style. I quite like it."
The Imperial Master said in surprise, "Your Highness, how can you say such things? Your calligraphy was taught by a famous master. Don't you know what is ugly and what is beautiful? That handwriting is so ugly that it is beyond compare in the three realms. Even the best teacher can't save it. What do you like about it? Is your taste good?"
Xie Lian: “Hahahahahaha Master, please stop talking!!!”
Suddenly, Hua Cheng said, "Brother, Jun Wu has made some moves. He might be looking for you and is heading towards Xianle Palace."
The Imperial Master was startled and said, "What! Then Your Highness, you must return quickly! Xueyu Tanhua, you must hide well too. Don't let him find out that you're already in danger. The mountain monsters of my three friends are currently being suppressed by him within the territory of Tonglu Mountain and are struggling to break free. No matter what action you take, it will be more certain to wait until they break free. Remember, do not act rashly!"
Xie Lian naturally understood. After bidding farewell to the Imperial Master, the two of them left the Lingwen Hall and stole away, dodging countless guards and demons. They were only four blocks away from the Xianle Palace. At that moment, Hua Cheng said, "Brother, he's only one block away from the Xianle Palace."
Xie Lian: “!”
He touched the reconnaissance silver butterfly, and a picture flashed before his eyes. Sure enough, Jun Wu was walking alone with his hands behind his back. In less than a hundred steps, he would see the gate of Xianle Palace.
What should I do? Doesn't this mean I have to either return after Jun Wu or run into him? You know, the guards at the gate of Xianle Palace are still under Huacheng's control!
Suddenly, the door of the temple behind Jun Wu opened, and a man stood behind the door and said, "Emperor."
Jun Wu paused, turned around, and asked, "Rain Master? What's going on?"
It was the Rain Master who stopped him. Perhaps because Jun Wu had instructed that no outsiders were allowed near the Rain Master's residence, no demons or monsters were seen except the guards. She said politely, "Emperor, there's something I forgot to give you. Could you please stay for a moment?"
Jun Wu nodded, "Okay," and turned back. Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you, Master Rain!" He decided to go back and burn eighteen incense sticks for the Master!
Seizing this opportunity, the two flew across four streets, arriving back at Xianle Palace ahead of Jun Wu. As they entered, Hua Cheng waved his hand, dispelling the gate guards' spell. They were only momentarily confused, not realizing anything was amiss. Xie Lian rushed back to the inner hall, but before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, his expression changed again. The gate guards had issued another announcement.
Jun Wu is here so soon!
It seemed the Rain Master hadn't held him back for long. The two exchanged glances, a tacit understanding. Hua Cheng retreated behind the curtains, disappearing into obscurity. Xie Lian hopped onto the bed, pretending to sleep, his back to the outside. Just as he'd pulled the covers back, Jun Wu entered.
He slowly walked to the table, was silent for a while, and said, "Xianle, have you rested?"
Xie Lian didn't answer. Jun Wu seemed to sit down at the table, put something he was holding on the table, and poured himself a cup of tea.
He said gently, "Xianle, I'm asking you to stay here for your own good. If you just listen to me on many things, the final result will be much better."
Xie Lian didn't turn over, still facing away from him. Otherwise, he would have remembered what the Imperial Master had told him, and his heart would have been in turmoil. He didn't know what expression to use to face Jun Wu, who was still so gentle.
The next moment, Jun Wu was behind him, and he said slowly, "However, not only did you sneak out to play, you also brought someone back and hid them in the house. It seems that you really don't listen to me."
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