However, once the other half of the mask fell off, revealing Qi Rong's entire face, it became clear that they were no longer alike. Although the two shared similarities in their noses, jawlines, and contours, their eyebrows and eyes were completely different. Xie Lian's features were calm and gentle. Qi Rong's eyebrows, however, were highly arched, and his eyes were longer and narrower. Although he was undoubtedly a handsome young man, one look at his features revealed that he would be extremely difficult to deal with. His eyes were bleeding from the beating, and when he finally managed to open them, he vaguely saw that the man who had captured him was a different figure, vaguely a young man in red. Although Qi Rong had never seen Hua Cheng's true face, the sight of the red-clothed man filled him with shock and anger: "It's you. It's you!"
Hua Cheng, revealing his true form, said, "You haven't answered my previous question yet. How did Prince Anle die?"
Because his eyes were truly terrifying, Xie Lian rushed forward and said, "Sanlang!"
The cave was almost completely deserted. Xie Lian rushed to his side and said, "What's wrong with you? Don't be angry, don't be angry. It's okay. Just calm down. It's okay..."
He gently stroked Huacheng's shoulders a few times, his voice gradually lowering. When Xie Lian was younger, whenever he was angry or sad, his parents would do the same thing, gently stroking his back and offering soft words of comfort. So, he tried this method on Huacheng, too. Unexpectedly, it actually worked. A moment ago, Huacheng's eyes had been a bit hazy, but after a while of his caressing, his lips moved slightly, and finally, they slowly cooled and settled, revealing a clear mind.
Seeing this, Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief. But before he could fully relax, Hua Cheng suddenly attacked, patting him lightly on the shoulder.
With this slap, Xie Lian froze in an instant.
He was completely unprepared for Hua Cheng to attack him, which was why he froze him. He didn't know what Hua Cheng was going to do, but he wasn't worried about himself; he was just worried about Hua Cheng losing control again like he had just now. He opened his mouth to ask, but found that not only could he not move, he couldn't even speak, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
Although Qi Rong was completely incapable of fighting, he remained stubborn and cursed with blood all over his head, "You insane one-eyed dog! Did I provoke you while I was eating at home?!"
Hua Cheng smiled and slammed his head into the ground again. He then lifted it up and asked, "How did Prince Anle die?"
Qi Rong said: "What the hell is it to you..."
Hua Cheng struck him again and asked, "How did Prince Anle die?"
This went on over and over, Hua Cheng maintaining a proper smile as he treated Qi Rong's head like a ball, slamming it into the ground nearly ten times. While this wouldn't kill Qi Rong, it was precisely because it was impossible that it was so agonizing. Even a head made of iron wouldn't withstand such beatings. Qi Rong finally gave in and changed his tune, "Are you okay? Can't you just look up a history book yourself?!"
Hua Cheng sneered, "If everything written in history is true, why would I come to ask you, a piece of shit?" He raised his hand again. Qi Rong screamed, "It was Lang Qianqiu! Killed by Lang Qianqiu!!!"
The tumbler in Xie Lian’s arms trembled, then began to shake violently.
He swayed too violently, and Xie Lian couldn't hold him down. Finally, he watched helplessly as the Qianqiu tumbler fell out, tumbling madly on the ground. Without even turning back, Hua Cheng released the spell. A burst of red smoke erupted, and Lang Qianqiu's figure leaped from the mist.
He was a member of a royal family and had never suffered such an injustice in his life. He pointed at Qi Rong and angrily said, "Why are you slandering me and speaking nonsense? Anle and I are friends. Who do you think killed him?"
Qi Rong was also startled when he saw him suddenly jump out, and said, "Are you Lang Qianqiu? Why the hell are you here too?!"
Lang Qianqiu had no idea why he was brought here. He was simply infuriated by Qi Rong's accusation and insisted on explaining things clearly: "Prince Anle clearly died of illness. Why are you inexplicably saying that I killed him?"
Hua Cheng watched coldly, not hitting his head like a racket again. Qi Rong then joined in, saying, "You're the only one who believes this bullshit death from illness. He died not long after the Gilded Banquet. He must have been assassinated by you! If it wasn't you, then it was those old dogs from Yong'an."
He was being unreasonable and unreasonable, and Lang Qianqiu was so angry that his face turned blue. He said, "No wonder everyone says Qing Gui Qirong is inferior. After seeing you today, I can see that you are really inferior to the extreme."
This blurt out of his mouth just hit a nerve with Qi Rong. Ever since his rise to fame, Qi Rong had been mocked, both openly and covertly, by various gods and demons for centuries, claiming his taste was low. He deeply resented this and immediately erupted in anger. "I'm lowly, but it's better than you being stupid. You keep talking about friends, what peaceful coexistence? How can people from Xianle and Yong'an be friends? Peaceful coexistence? You're just as hypocritical as your parents. It's disgusting!"
Hearing him mock his parents, Lang Qianqiu angrily said, "Shut up! My father, the emperor, and my mother are sincere and honest, not hypocritical. You must not insult them!"
Qi Rong spitted, "You're just the descendants of a bunch of rebels, what a shameless bunch! Where's your sincerity? Giving the people of Xianle a title of king and land? How shameless! You're giving away things you stole from others. Everything you have originally belonged to us, Xianle!"
Lang Qianqiu wasn't good at arguing, so he said, "You! You..." but got stuck. Seeing him stutter with anger, Qi Rong took great pleasure in it and, determined to piss him off even more, laughed out loud, "Even though you killed Anle, the kid deserved his death. Xianle lost him, and Yong'an lost a gilded palace. It's a shame I didn't kill you too. I'll teach you a lesson too!"
Hearing this, Lang Qianqiu was stunned and said, "...What did you say?"
Xie Lian secretly groaned inwardly.
He wanted to jump up and smack Qi Rong back into the ground like Hua Cheng had done, to silence him. However, Hua Cheng held him in place, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free from the spell. Lang Qianqiu asked, "What do you mean you didn't kill me too?"
Qi Rong, bent on avenging his inferiority, gloated, "You are what you are! Your foolishness, spanning a century, truly opens my eyes. Don't you consider that the people of Xianle are disgusting to the very core of your Yong'an people? Anyone who doesn't hate you doesn't deserve to be a Xianle person! Do you really think the descendants of the Xianle royal family would befriend the descendants of your Yong'an royal family? They're just trying to get inside information about your palace so they can plan a bloodbath at your birthday banquet!"
Xie Lian was still struggling, while Lang Qianqiu was completely stunned. After a long pause, he stammered, "...Prince Anle and the Imperial Preceptor, are they, are they from the same group?"
He simply thought his mentor and his friends had conspired to deceive him, and his heart was filled with grief and indignation, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Unexpectedly, Qi Rong said, "National Master? What demonic heart are you talking about? Who would be on the same side with him?"
After hearing his question, Lang Qianqiu became confused again: "You...you said Anle wanted to massacre the Gilded Banquet, but the one who massacred the Gilded Banquet was obviously the Imperial Master, so aren't they from the same group? I..." I couldn't make it out.
Qi Rong said, "Who knows where that demon Taoist came from? It's none of his business! Lang Qianqiu, listen carefully: your Yong'an Kingdom's Gilded Banquet was slaughtered by the Xianle people! Anle had already killed all the descendants of the rebels at the banquet as planned, but who knew that your eccentric Imperial Preceptor suddenly barged in. Anle thought the plan was exposed and hurriedly fled back to ask me what to do if someone saw him. Who knew that night that it was your Imperial Preceptor who slaughtered the Gilded Banquet and that he was wanted nationwide."
Lang Qianqiu was stunned for a long time before he reacted and said, "If that's the case, why didn't you tell others about it earlier?"
Qi Rong scoffed, "Are you mentally ill? Why would I tell anyone? Wouldn't it be nice to have someone take the blame? Are you going to make me do this lie?" At this point, he gloated, "Oh, I get it. You can't believe it, right? I heard you nailed your master to death in a coffin. Hahahahahaha, you fool! You killed the wrong guy!"
Xie Lian closed his eyes, listening to his hearty laughter filled with malice, and cursed in his heart.
Lang Qianqiu's bones crackled with anger. He said, "...That's fake!" He turned abruptly and shouted at Xie Lian, "If it's true, even if he doesn't say it, what about you? Why don't you say it?!"
Qi Rong spat out a knocked-out tooth and said, "Who the hell is this? Are all of you coming to my cave to have a banquet???"
No one paid any attention to him. Lang Qianqiu questioned Xie Lian, "If it wasn't you who did it, and you clearly didn't kill anyone, why are you admitting it?!"
At this moment, Xie Lian felt relaxed.
Hua Cheng finally broke the spell that held him captive, but it was probably too late. Lang Qianqiu waited for his response. Xie Lian slowly stood up, stretched the muscles in his wrists, and after a moment, uttered a few words:
"What nonsense!"
Originally, Lang Qianqiu thought he would say, "Really, that's what he said." However, Xie Lian simply said these four words in a cold tone, completely denying Qi Rong's statement that was favorable to him. Qi Rong was unhappy and said, "Who are you calling nonsense?"
Xie Lian said, “You.”
He looked down at Qi Rong and said, "What you're saying is all empty talk. What evidence do you have to prove that the one who massacred the Gilded Banquet was a descendant of the Xianle royal family?"
Qi Rong seemed to find this amusing and said, "Kill him, then kill him. What evidence do you need? Besides, it's been hundreds of years. What evidence can there be?"
Xie Lian said, “That’s why I say you’re talking nonsense. Xianle and Yong’an were both ancient dynasties, long since vanished. So what’s the point of still trying to stir up trouble by harping on those old matters?”
The tone of his words startled Qi Rong, and as if remembering something, she narrowed her eyes. Xie Lian turned to Lang Qianqiu again and spoke calmly, "You witnessed me murdering your father. It wasn't many years after my second demotion. Unwilling to accept my fate, I made a grave mistake, which is my fault. But I don't think it's necessary to involve someone unrelated. This person made up stories and didn't hesitate to smear Prince Anle. He was just trying to get back at you for calling him a lowly person."
If anyone else were to overhear this conversation, it would be laughable. The title of murderer in such a brutal case was still being fought over. Those who didn't know would probably think that the bloodbath at the Gilded Banquet was some remarkable achievement. Lang Qianqiu's thoughts were in turmoil. He held his head in his hands and thought for a long time before saying, "Yes... it's you, not anyone else."
He had clearly witnessed it with his own eyes. That night, he excitedly rushed into the gilded palace and watched as the black-clad Imperial Preceptor ripped the slender sword from his father's chest, blood splattering. At that moment, his father, the Emperor of Yong'an, held out his hand to him, still breathing. Only after he lunged forward did he lower his hand.
At this moment, Qi Rong, who was lying on the ground, suddenly said, "Prince cousin, is that you?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
