Three thousand lamps!
There was silence for a while, and then suddenly, there was an uproar.
Even the Divine Martial Hall, whose position as chief was as secure as Mount Tai, had never before secured three thousand lanterns in a single night at a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. No one had even considered such a number. Even a thousand might have been acceptable, but three thousand was truly unprecedented, more than the previous several priests combined!
One can imagine the disbelief in the hearts of the priests at this moment. One of them even blurted out, "This must be a mistake!"
"I guess I counted wrong..."
However, setting aside the question of whether the announcing priest, who had counted the Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns for years, might have made a mistake today, just looking at the stream of lanterns that formed the vast curtain of light, even if the number was truly wrong, it could only be a mistake of undercounting, not overcounting. So, another priest asked, "Could it be that those lanterns aren't truly the eternal prayer lanterns? Perhaps just ordinary lanterns?"
This was essentially the same as "It's fake, right?" Several people echoed this. Shi Qingxuan, however, said, "How could it be an ordinary lantern? Ordinary lanterns and eternal prayer lanterns are completely different in size and wouldn't float in the sky. How could it not be real?"
If Xie Lian had said this, everyone would probably have continued to question him. But since it was Shi Qingxuan who said it, and Shi Wudu was also present, it was hard for others to say anything. With their path blocked, they turned in another direction: "Everyone, where is this Qiandeng Temple? When was it built? Who built it? Does any of the immortal officials know where it is?"
The announcing priest said, "I don't know... but those lanterns have the words 'Thousand Lanterns Temple' written on them."
"But I've never heard of Qiandeng Temple?!"
"Yeah, I've never heard of that either!"
Xie Lian finally pulled himself out of his stunned silence. Upon hearing these words, he said sincerely, "Everyone, to be honest, it's not just you who haven't heard of it, I haven't heard of it either."
It's impossible that this is also naturally built, right?
All the priests were stunned tonight, completely in disbelief, and a flurry of comments. Xie Lian really wanted to say, "It's just a game, why take it so seriously?" However, first of all, many people didn't really take the "game" seriously. Secondly, he was the first place winner of this "game." Wouldn't he be asking for a beating for saying that? The other priests couldn't say anything either, as they all ranked below him. If he said that, it would seem like he was excusing himself from not taking first place, which would be very awkward. At this time, Pei Ming smiled and said, "I said that the Blood Rain Scholar didn't take the Crown Prince away to cause trouble for him. You didn't believe it before, but do you believe it now?"
After his reminder, everyone suddenly woke up.
If it was Hua Cheng, then it wouldn't be impossible for him to light up three thousand eternal prayer lamps with a wave of his hand!
Whether Xie Lian and Hua Cheng have any relationship, and what kind of relationship they have, is a confusing matter. Previously, everyone felt that ill intentions were more credible. Because there was no reason for Hua Cheng, who had always been extremely unfriendly to the Heaven Realm, to suddenly look at Xie Lian differently. However, given Hua Cheng's lawless behavior, there was also no reason for him to suddenly become hypocritical to someone. After today's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the ill-intentioned claim may not be tenable. After all, three thousand eternally burning prayer lanterns! Even the navy, who was in charge of wealth, could not just show off. Amidst the chaos, suddenly, a slow and steady sound of applause came from the top of the banquet table.
The priests looked in the direction of the voice and saw Jun Wu clapping his hands and smiling at Xie Lian, "Xianle, congratulations."
Xie Lian knew Jun Wu was trying to help him out, and with gratitude, he bowed to him. Jun Wu sighed again, "You always work miracles."
Seeing this exchange, the banquet gradually quieted down. After a moment's hesitation, Jun Wu led the others to clap their hands in unison and offer congratulations.
At this point, even the gods, despite their shock, had to admit it. This Crown Prince had always been associated with miracles. It had been so in the past, and it was still so now!
The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was over, and the thundering Thunder Master had also called it a day. The one who cheered the most enthusiastically was, of course, Shi Qingxuan. No matter who was ranked, he was the first to applaud. Except for Pei Ming. Xie Lian had originally wondered if he would be unhappy that he had interfered and that the Water Master had gone from second to third, but seeing Shi Wudu, he didn't seem unhappy at all. Pei Ming and Lingwen both congratulated him, and then the three of them discussed who should go to the hot springs on the hill for a massage. Shi Qingxuan heard this and said, "Brother, are you guys out playing again?"
Shi Wudu put away his fan and said, "Hmm."
Ling Wen crossed his arms and smiled, "Master Fengshi, would you like to come and play too?"
Shi Qingxuan said, "I'm not going. I have an appointment."
Shi Wudu frowned and said, "Don't make appointments with random people."
Ling Wen said: "No matter how messy it is, is it as messy as General Pei?"
Pei Ming warned, "Jie Qing, shut up."
Xie Lian waited for the two brothers to exchange a few words before he and Shi Qingxuan prepared to leave. On the way, they ran into Mu Qing, who, unsure if he was even looking at Xie Lian, had a slightly less relaxed frown. Feng Xin, on the other hand, stood up and said to Xie Lian, "Congratulations," to which Xie Lian nodded, "Thank you very much."
Lang Ying was placed in the Wind Master's Immortal Residence in Xianjing. The child looked clean and tidy, though still shy. Xie Lian led him down, and he spoke little the entire way. Xie Lian first went to town to buy him some fresh fruit. Instead of returning directly to Puqi Village, he first visited a small forest.
Sure enough, the grove was bustling with activity. A shirtless young man, hung upside down from a tree by a white silk ribbon, was swearing and hurling obscenities. A child crouched below, shooing away mosquitoes. Xie Lian had Lang Ying stand outside while he slowly walked over. The young man, upon seeing him, roared in anger, "Xie Lian, you piece of shit! Put me down right now! I'm dying! I'm dying!"
Xie Lian said gently, "You must not have been bitten by a mosquito in years. Wouldn't it be nice to feel what it's like to be alive again?"
This person was none other than Qi Rong. Xie Lian knew that he would not stay still and would definitely instigate Gu Zi to help him cut off Ruo Xie, so he had already warned Ruo Xie that if he escaped, he should drag him into the woods to have some fun. Qi Rong relied on the flesh of someone else, so Xie Lian could not beat him frequently, but it was still okay for him to suffer a little physical pain. Xie Lian had chopped wood and scavenged waste in this area, and had suffered from mosquito bites. Now, Qi Rong was indeed covered with bites from a bunch of mosquitoes, and he felt worse than death. He cursed: "Where is your Snow Lotus Heart! Why don't you be a sticky and good person now!"
Gu Zi hugged Xie Lian's legs and cried loudly, "Brother, please let my father down! He's been hanging for a long time!"
Xie Lian touched his head, and Qi Rong immediately fell to the ground with two "ouch" and "plop" sounds.
To return to Puqi Village, they had to pass through the maple forest. Xie Lian was carrying a shirtless, cursing young man, followed by two children, one crying and the other silent. He thought to himself, this group of people is really weird. As they climbed the slope, he said to the two children behind him, "Watch your step. It's easy to fall here."
It was the truth. Xie Lian would sometimes come back late from collecting scrap in town, walking this road in the dark. Perhaps it was because of his constitution, he had fallen countless times. Upon hearing this, Qi Rong immediately cried out, "Oh my God! Please, let this man fall to his death right here!"
Xie Lian found this amusing: "You're just a ghost, why are you begging the gods for help?"
At that moment, he suddenly sensed a faint warm light shining from the horizon. The dark road seemed to become clearer and brighter. Looking up, he saw that it was not an illusion. There was indeed light in the sky.
It is the light of the three thousand eternal lamps.
The floating lanterns drifted across the night sky, vast and majestic, even eclipsing the brilliance of the stars and moon. Xie Lian stared at them in amazement for a moment before sighing softly, "...Thank you."
Qi Rong had no idea what that was and laughed, "Why are you thanking me? I just ordered it for fun, not just for you. Don't be so self-indulgent."
Xie Lian smiled silently, not refutating, and simply said, "The existence of beautiful things in this world is something worth being thankful for."
He had a beautiful view in his heart and no longer worried about others spoiling his mood. He took advantage of the light of the bright lantern in the sky and continued on his way.
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