Normally, people wouldn't know what their backs looked like. However, Xie Lian was different. He was incredibly familiar with his own back.
When Xianle Kingdom was destroyed, the people, out of anger, burned down eight thousand of his palaces, toppled all the prince's statues, stole the jewels from his sword hilts, and scraped the gold from his clothes. But their anger was still unsatisfied, so some gradually came up with a new idea: to create a kneeling stone statue.
They would place statues of the Crown Prince, once revered, in a kneeling confession, in heavily trafficked areas, advocating that spitting or slapping the wooden statues would dispel bad luck. Or, even further, they would create statues of him prostrating himself, using them as door thresholds, for thousands to step on. In the decade or two following Xianle's destruction of the kingdom, these stone statues could be seen in many towns and villages. How could Xie Lian not be familiar with the image of his own kneeling back?
At this moment, a young man's voice said, "Pei Su, that little mangy dog, just climbed up to heaven by clinging to Pei the Stallion's leg. He really thinks he's so powerful! Now he's just an exiled stray dog. If he dares to ruin my business, I'll make sure he's dried up in the wind and no one will dare to collect his body!"
The curses arrived before anyone arrived. Xie Lian glanced sideways, only to see a figure in a flowing green robe walk in. For some trivial reason, Xie Lian couldn't help but glance up at his head. Seeing that he was wearing a mask and no overhead light, he was actually slightly disappointed. A group of green-clad ghosts surrounded the green-clad figure, like a circle of candles surrounding a single figure. This must be the Green Ghost Qi Rong, one of the legendary four evils of the ghost world.
From the moment Nan Feng first mentioned Qi Rong's name, Xie Lian had been suspicious, wondering if this "Qi Rong" was the Qi Rong he knew. However, due to the conventional wisdom that demons and monsters conceal their true names and their past lives, he felt it might not be the same person, merely sharing a pseudonym. However, now it seemed he was almost certain. Because, if it wasn't the Qi Rong he knew, how could there be another Qi Rong so obsessed with the kneeling prince's statue? And why did his voice sound vaguely familiar the moment he spoke?
The group of green-clad ghosts surrounded Qi Rong, shouting "King!" in a flurry of chatter. Xie Lian took in most of what they were saying. It turned out Qi Rong had sent a few of his trusted followers to the Ghost Market, but when they failed to stir up trouble, Hua Cheng decimated them. So, he prepared for another fight. But before he could even launch his second wave, he encountered the exiled Pei Su along the way. Though he'd been banished to the mortal realm, Pei Su was once a priest, and with little else to do, he simply dispatched them, only to be annihilated once more.
Having lost two close associates in such a short period of time, Qi Rong flew into a rage upon hearing the news, cursing profusely: "Like ancestors, like descendants. Pei Ming, that sore-so stud, deserves to have his and Pei Su's rotten dicks chopped off and hung in front of their temple. Anyone who worships them will end up oozing pus like them!"
Xie Lian felt the urge to cover his ears as he listened. Feng Xin's curses were equally unbearable, and even when he got excited, they were unbearable to the ears. But no matter how harsh his words were, it was clear that he was just acting out of a momentary rage, with no real intention of cursing. Qi Rong's curses were different. There was no doubt in his heart that he sincerely hoped the person he cursed would die a filthy death, not sparing any effort to attack them. It was simply despicable.
The group of young devils in blue echoed loudly. Qi Rong, perhaps remembering the capable subordinate he had personally promoted, added, "What a pity that Xuan Ji, such a strong-willed and kind woman, was captured by that shameless Pei family idiot and suffered a great injustice, and even now she can't be rescued!"
Xie Lian disagreed after hearing this. Even though Xuan Ji had her pitiful side, it wasn't like they said, as if it was all General Pei's fault. After all, she was the one who abducted and killed the dozen or so brides. She was a strong-willed woman, but her quality was questionable. Xie Lian even more disagreed with his earlier accusation that Xiao Pei ascended to heaven by relying on General Pei's influence. After so many years of ups and downs, there was one thing he dared to say: those who have ability may not necessarily ascend to heaven; but those who ascended to heaven must have their own ability. If one does not have the ability, no matter how much one seeks help from others, one will not be able to overcome the heavenly tribulation, and at most one can only make do with a "fellow priest". Although Xie Lian and Pei Su did not interact much, he could see that Xiao Pei's martial arts skills were slightly better than Lang Qianqiu's. However, ability does not equate to high status; luck is also a factor, otherwise Pei Su would have been given a separate temple long ago.
Qi Rong, however, didn't consider any of this. He launched into a torrent of curses, as if there wasn't a single person in heaven or earth he didn't want to curse to death. He called Pei Ming a rotten stud, Xiao Pei a clinger, Jun Wu a prudish prude, Ling Wen a dead bitch, Lang Qianqiu an idiot, Quan Yizhen a piece of shit, the Water Master a black-hearted man, the Wind Master a bitch—he probably didn't even know Shi Qingxuan was actually a man. If Xie Lian hadn't heard it himself, he couldn't imagine how someone could harbor so much resentment. Finally, he focused on scolding Hua Cheng and the humble Black Water Sinking Boat for daring to look down on him. They were just two mere masters; one day they would be brought to his knees. Unable to imagine such a fantastical scenario, Xie Lian should have been angry, but instead, he found it only amusing, and couldn't help but glance at Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng himself showed no reaction, his eyes fixed on the kneeling stone statue. Finally, thankfully, Qi Rong seemed to have calmed down and changed the subject, asking, "How's the task I asked you to do last time going? Did Quan Yizhen and Pei the stud fight?"
As he spoke, he slumped back and sat on the gorgeous bench. He lifted his feet and put his boots on the shoulders of the stone statue. He actually treated the stone statue as his foot.
Xie Lian had been holding onto Hua Cheng's arm. He felt him take a slight step forward and quickly pulled back. But then he felt holding back wasn't enough, so he wrote another word on his palm: "Thank you."
Hua Cheng recognized the character and first lowered his head to look at Xie Lian. Xie Lian's eyes were filled with gratitude, thanking him for his kindness. Then, he shook his head slightly and wrote the characters "听" and "天" on his palm.
From what Qi Rong had said, it seemed like he'd sent someone on a mission related to the two priests in the Heavenly Palace, and it wasn't a good thing. Xie Lian had to hear about it. As for the statue being used as a doorstep, considering he'd even been a doorstep before, it didn't seem like much of a big deal. It was just a piece of stone, not the real him. Although it was only three short words, Xie Lian knew Hua Cheng understood the meaning the moment their eyes met. Hua Cheng slowly tightened his grip and turned his head, his expression lost.
A young devil in green clothes said, "According to our king's instructions, we've already spread the news to the west that Pei Ming wants to support Pei Su as the Western Martial God. Now that the matter is getting bigger and bigger, we've used this as an excuse to disguise ourselves as followers of Qiying Temple and smashed over a hundred Mingguang Temples in the north. No one suspects anything. Hahaha! You don't know, many of these followers are really stupid. As soon as they see us smashing things, they join in the fun!"
Qi Rong said approvingly, "Keep adding fuel to the fire! Quan Yi is really patient, I don't believe Pei Zhongma can be so patient!"
Regardless of whether or not what they were spreading was a rumor, such malicious intent was evident in the first place. Furthermore, they disguised themselves as humans and committed such immoral acts as damaging to the temple, shifting the blame elsewhere. Their intentions were malicious. It was no wonder that the priests in the Upper Heavenly Court all spoke of Qi Rong as someone with little ability but incredibly annoying. Xie Lian secretly noted, "If I get a chance later, I'll inform Jun Wu. Be careful these two priests aren't trying to sow discord."
Qi Rong finished his words and lay back, shifting his posture with his long legs resting on the statue's shoulders. The other children knew what to do and joined the crowd, picking and choosing. The child in the group, no older than ten and still not very sensible, blinked his eyes and tugged at his father's coat, tugging with fear. The young man, his face pale, trembled as he kept saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." However, he himself was terrified.
A young devil in green spotted the child and beamed with delight, reaching out to grab him. The young man cried out, "Ah!" and jumped to his feet. Before he knew what he was going to do, Xie Lian shifted slightly, and then he felt a figure flash by his side. Turning back, he saw Hua Cheng standing there.
Since he had come to find the Green Ghost, now that he saw Qi Rong, he should have dropped his disguise. Xie Lian had no doubt that he could single-handedly unleash a devastating destruction upon the scene, unstoppable. However, Hua Cheng didn't transform into his true form, remaining in the guise of an ordinary young man as he slowly walked forward.
Several young devils in green clothes drew their weapons and shouted vigilantly, "Stop! What are you doing out here?!"
Qi Rong crossed his legs and asked curiously, "What's wrong with this kid? Capture him."
Hua Cheng smiled and said, "The Xianle royal family is here, don't you plan to show some respect?"
Upon hearing this, not only Qi Rong, but even Xie Lian was stunned.
In a moment, Qi Rong stood up suddenly, and a grunt rang out from under his mask, as if he was laughing in anger: "How dare you! You dare to joke like that in front of me?! Tell me, what kind of Xianle royal family are you from? Which branch?!"
Hua Cheng said calmly, "King Anle."
Suddenly, Xie Lian felt the Lang Qianqiu tumbler in his arms seem to struggle and tilt a little.
Prince Anle was a descendant of the Xianle royal family, from the same generation as Lang Qianqiu. Prince Anle himself and Lang Qianqiu could be considered friends.
Qi Rong's sinister grin emanated from beneath his mask. "Prince Anle? I think you're courting death! Who told you to come here and cause trouble? Didn't the person who sent you here help you with your history? Prince Anle is the only remaining branch of the Xianle royal family, but that branch died out long ago! Who the hell are you? How dare you pretend to be a member of the Xianle royal family in front of me?"
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh? All dead? How did they die?"
Qi Rong shouted, "Capture him! Capture this weird guy!"
At a command, dozens of green-clad imps poured in from all sides of the cave, shouting and yelling. Amidst the chaos, Hua Cheng smiled faintly.
One moment, his face looked as if a gentle breeze had passed through it, and the next, a layer of frost covered his expression. Without even noticing how his figure moved, he instantly appeared behind Qi Rong.
He grabbed Qi Rong's head with one hand, like a child playing with a ball, and slapped it down, saying, "Who the hell are you? How dare you seek death in front of me!"
There was a loud bang, and in an instant, sand and stones flew in front of the magnificent long seat, and smoke and dust billowed. Xie Lian shielded the child behind him, blocking a few small stones. When the smoke and dust cleared, Qi Rong had disappeared. A closer look showed that he had not disappeared, but his entire head had been deeply smashed into the ground by Hua Cheng's palm.
Everyone in the cave screamed and scattered. Xie Lian shouted, "Don't run around!" What if they startled the ghosts inside and started killing everyone they saw? Of course, as usual, no one would listen to him. Xie Lian withdrew his hand, helpless. But he couldn't care less about others at the moment. Over there, Hua Cheng slowly squatted down, grasped Qi Rong's hair with one hand, and pulled the bloody head out of the gaping hole in the ground. He lifted it up with the body and observed it for a moment, as if he found it very amusing, and laughed heartily.
Although he was smiling, the look in his eyes was truly utterly wrong, terrifying. Ruo Xie flew out, knocking back several Green Lantern ghosts who were swinging their knives at the fleeing people. Xie Lian turned around, instinctively sensing something was amiss, and shouted, "San Lang? San Lang!"
The mask on Qi Rong's face cracked, and pieces of it fell off. He spat out a mouthful of blood and shouted, "Someone! Stop him! Everyone, come here and stop him!"
Hua Cheng had just been beating him to death, but now he seemed to be in a leisurely mood, chatting with him about random things. He chuckled, "Ah, don't you know? Some things in this world can't be stopped. For example, the sun sets in the west, for example, elephants crushing ants to death, for example - I want your life!"
When he said the last sentence, the ferocious look on his face was revealed. He lifted Qi Rong's whole body in his hands and suddenly threw it down again!
There was another loud bang, and Qi Rong's body fell to the ground, turning into a puddle worse than mud. The mask on his face shattered with a soft crack, revealing half of his face.
Anyone who looks at this half of the face will find a shocking fact:
Green Ghost Qi Rong and Prince Xianle, one a ghost and one a god, two completely different beings, surprisingly look so similar!
The author has something to say: Of course there is no such overused plot as "the murderer looks like the protagonist so he pretends to be the protagonist to kill people and the protagonist takes the blame."
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