Xie Lian said, “I…”
Before he finished speaking, he felt Hua Cheng exert a little force, and a sharp pain suddenly crept up on him, and he couldn't help but shrink.
Although Huacheng had been extremely restrained, and the pain was nothing to him, for some reason, he couldn't hide the pain in front of Huacheng. Perhaps it was because Huacheng had spoken to him first, which made him want to hold it in, but failed. Sensing Xie Lian's retreat, Huacheng immediately gripped his ankle and whispered, "It's okay. It will be over soon. Don't be afraid."
Xie Lian shook his head. Hua Cheng's movements were even more gentle and swift. When he raised his hand again, he had already withdrawn a tiny needle and said, "Alright, it's all right."
Xie Lian peered closely. The needle tip gleamed with a malevolent light. Hua Cheng clenched his fingers, crushing it into a wisp of black air that dissipated into the air. Seeing this, Xie Lian temporarily set aside his uneasiness and concentrated, "Such a strong resentment. Ordinary fetal spirits don't possess such powerful magical powers."
Hua Cheng stood up and said, "Yes. So, it must not be a normal passing of the fetal spirit."
At this moment, a masked figure bowed his head and entered, holding a clay pot in both hands. He presented it to Hua Cheng. Xie Lian subconsciously checked to see if the man was wearing a cursed shackle on his wrist, but this time, his sleeves were tightly tied. Hua Cheng took it, holding the pot in one hand for a moment, then turned and handed it to Xie Lian, who was sitting on the black jade couch. Before Xie Lian could approach, he heard a muffled child's cry from within. Something seemed to be thrashing around inside, causing the pot to sway slightly, almost to the point of failing, and his guard increased even more.
He took the pottery jar, slightly lifted a corner of the seal, and took a look inside. A chill instantly ran down his spine.
Inside, there was a pile of what looked like a huddle of embryos. Although its arms and legs had grown out, they were weak and powerless, and its head was lost in the darkness. The whole thing looked like a misshapen mass of internal organs.
This is its true form!
Xie Lian immediately resealed the jar and said, "I see."
He had heard that some people would seek out pregnant women who hadn't given birth yet, remove the fetus alive, and turn it into a ghost to perform spells, using it to harm others, protect themselves, or protect the home and bring good fortune. It seemed that this fetal spirit was the product of such evil magic, and his mother was likely a believer of Xie Lian, otherwise she wouldn't have placed Xie Lian's amulet inside the unborn child's clothes.
After a moment's silence, Xie Lian said, "You captured this fetal spirit. Sanlang, would you mind if I take it for investigation? I've encountered it once before on Yujun Mountain, and this is its second appearance before me. I wonder if it's just a coincidence or if there's some connection."
Hua Cheng said, "If you want to take it, just take it. Even if I don't show up, you can still catch it by yourself."
Xie Lian smiled and said, “That being said, Sanlang caught it much more easily than I did.”
He had just said it casually, but then he heard Hua Cheng say, "Really? If I hadn't gone, how would you have caught it? Would you have eaten it and swallowed the sword as well?"
“…”
He was right.
Hua Cheng's face didn't show any displeasure, but Xie Lian inexplicably felt that he was a little angry.
His intuition told him that if he gave the wrong answer, Hua Cheng would be even angrier. Just as he was unsure how to respond, he felt his stomach tighten slightly. Involuntarily, Xie Lian said, "...I'm a little hungry."
“…”
Xie Lian, who only realized what was happening after he had said it, was too embarrassed to look at Hua Cheng's expression. He could only honestly explain, "I'm really hungry this time..."
After a while, Hua Cheng finally burst out laughing.
With this smile, the haze around Xie Lian seemed to dissipate, and he instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Hua Cheng, half laughing, half sighing, nodded and said, "Alright."
Originally, Hua Cheng wanted to keep him at Ji Le Fang to host a banquet, but when Xie Lian heard the word "banquet", he knew it would be a lavish event, so he offered to go out for a walk and grab something to eat, and Hua Cheng agreed.
The warmth of Paradise Place was palpable, and their soaking wet clothes dried shortly after they entered. Xie Lian's women's clothing was unusually conspicuous, so he borrowed a set from Hua Cheng and changed into clean white clothes. Afterward, the two of them left, and even from a distance, they could still hear the fetal spirit's cries, repeatedly calling out "mother," a testament to its tenacity. However, the Ghost Market was already filled with the howling of ghosts, so it wasn't surprising that this cry was drowned out by the noise.
Ghost Market Street was still bustling with activity, lined with stalls selling local delicacies. While the ghosts were still the same, their demeanor was vastly different from Xie Lian's last visit. Hua Cheng walked alongside him, and the fantastical-looking vendors all smiled and greeted them, vying to greet them, practically bowing and nodding. Xie Lian inexplicably thought of the phrase: "a fox borrowing the power of a tiger to bully others."
Besides the glares directed at Hua Cheng, thousands and hundreds of other eyes cast even more intense glares at Xie Lian, seemingly examining and wondering who could possibly walk shoulder to shoulder with the Lord of Ghost Market. This made him wonder if he had made the wrong decision. Amidst the turbulent current of demons and monsters, under the gaze of countless people, Hua Cheng acted as if it were normal. He asked, "What would you like to eat?"
Finally, they spotted a stall that didn't sell anything too strange. Thinking it would be a quick fix, Xie Lian said, "Let's go with this one."
Hua Cheng said, "This one won't work."
Xie Lian asked curiously, “Why?”
Hua Cheng said nothing, motioning him to look inside the stall. Xie Lian looked over and saw the stall owner, upon seeing them stop by, rubbing his hands excitedly, as if awaiting their arrival. He was wiping the tables, chairs, and benches with frantic energy. However, the tool he was using to wipe them was his tongue.
“…”
Although the pots and pans licked by that long tongue were covered in glistening water droplets, reflecting a new sheen, Xie Lian decisively abandoned the shop and hurried on. After walking a few steps, he came upon a chicken soup restaurant with a clean and fresh decor. A sign in front of the door read, "Home-raised free-range chickens, slow-cooked, delicious broth. Freshly made and served, guaranteed clean." He stopped and said, "Ah, they have chicken soup. Why not have a bowl?"
Hua Cheng added, "This one won't work either."
Xie Lian understood and said, “Is there something wrong with the plate or the chicken?”
Hua Cheng led him into the shop, pulled aside a curtain, and motioned for Xie Lian to look. Curious, Xie Lian poked his head in and was immediately speechless. He saw a large pot at the back of the kitchen, a huge fire burning underneath, steam rising from the pot. Inside the pot, a man with a large red cockscomb on his head was happily bathing in boiling water. Beside the pot were many buckets filled with salt, pepper, herbs, and other seasonings. A customer in the front hall shouted, "Boss, a little less salty! It's too bland!"
The man took a bath, rubbing a handful of the seasoning on himself, and rubbing his back vigorously with a towel to make it more flavorful. Finally, he let out a loud and long cry: "Oh, oh, oh!"
Xie Lian lowered the curtain and exited silently.
After walking around for a while, the two finally found a restaurant that advertised "Authentic Human Cuisine." Although Xie Lian felt that the "authentic" part was questionable—for example, as far as he knew, chefs in the human world wouldn't use the meat of large, difficult-to-hunt monsters to make skewers—this place was relatively normal.
As the two sat down, the ghosts who had been following them gathered around, offering side dishes with great enthusiasm. The pig butcher, carrying a raw white human leg on his shoulder, clapped his hands and said in a gruff voice, "City Lord! Want some fresh thigh meat? Freshly arrived!"
The ghosts cursed, "Go away! Would the city lord's friend eat that? Do you think he's a green ghost? Maybe we can still eat him after chopping off your thigh!"
"Don't make me sick by the strong smell of blood!"
The pig actually raised one of its trotters and said, "If the City Lord and his friends think highly of it, this leg is nothing. Chop it off! I'm telling you, my leg meat is definitely very strong!"
Xie Lian couldn't help but laugh as he lowered his head to drink his porridge. Hua Cheng ignored them, and the ghosts rushed to Xie Lian with a passion, saying:
"A local specialty snack, brain juice! Hand-picked from the finest demon brains, each one cultivated for over fifty years! Smell this rich aroma!"
"This duck blood is really good. Look, I just cut it from my own body. Want to try it?"
"The fruit in our house is authentic fresh fruit from graves. We won't pick it unless it grows on a dead person. We are honest and trustworthy..."
Xie Lian was overwhelmed by the piles of treats he was given, and he kept thanking them. He felt bad about turning down such overwhelming enthusiasm, but some of the special snacks were too hard to look at. In his flurry, he saw Hua Cheng across from him, chin in his hand, smiling at him. Xie Lian looked left and right, coughed lightly, and whispered, "...Sanlang..."
Hua Cheng then said, "Brother, don't pay attention to them. They're just acting crazy."
A ghost immediately said, "City Lord, you must not say that! We won't go crazy just because anyone comes. If the City Lord is our grandfather, then what is the City Lord's brother? He is our great uncle..."
"Yeah, of course we're going to go crazy when Dabogong comes!"
Xie Lian was at a loss for words, thinking to himself what nonsense this was. Hua Cheng also shouted, "Stop talking nonsense. Shut up!" The ghosts quickly said, "Yes! City Lord, you're right. Shut up. It's not Dabogong!"
Unexpectedly, at this moment, a few female ghosts who had been giggling could no longer hold back and blurted out, "Hey! Aren't you... the Taoist brother who told Lan Chang that he was impotent last time?"
“…”
Xie Lian didn't even spit out a mouthful of porridge.
The ghosts seemed to have discovered some shocking secret and exclaimed, "Oh my god! It's true!"
"It's him, it's him, it's him! Lan Chang has been telling everyone about it!"
Many of the smarter ghosts went to cover the mouths of the shouting ghosts, but Huacheng must have heard it. Xie Lian looked up and saw Huacheng raised an eyebrow and looked at him meaningfully, as if wondering what the word "impotence" meant when associated with him. That was originally an excuse Xie Lian made up when he was last haunted by a female ghost. At that time, he was also laughed at by the ghosts, but he was able to deal with it calmly. Now that it was brought to Huacheng's attention, he couldn't bear it anymore. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to choke on his porridge and pass out. He said: "I..."
Hua Cheng seemed to be patiently waiting for him to continue. But how could he explain this? Was he supposed to seriously argue that he wasn't impotent?
Xie Lian could only say, “…I’m full.”
He was indeed full, and after saying that, he stood up and hurried out of the stall. Behind him, a group of ghosts holding a pile of carefully prepared special snacks howled incessantly: "Sir! Are you still eating?"
Hua Cheng also chased after him, took the time to turn around and said again: "Get lost!"
The ghosts quickly rolled away again. Xie Lian wandered around aimlessly for a while, then, seeing no more ghosts approaching, slowed down his pace and waited for Hua Cheng. After a moment, Hua Cheng stepped forward, hands behind his back, and said seriously, "I had no idea my brother had such a hidden illness."
Xie Lian immediately said, “No!”
Then he said helplessly: "...Sanlang."
Hua Cheng nodded and said, "Okay. Sanlang understands. I won't say anything more."
He pretended to be very obedient, but his deception was obvious. Xie Lian said, "You are so insincere."
Hua Cheng smiled and said, "I swear, you won't find anyone more sincere than me anywhere in the world."
Hearing this familiar exchange, Xie Lian also smiled.
After a moment, he said seriously, "Sanlang, do you know where Qiandeng Temple is?"
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