He actually had a vague answer to this question in his mind. However, Huacheng's reaction was quite different from what he expected.
After a moment of silence, Hua Cheng suddenly said, "I'm sorry."
Xie Lian was puzzled: "What?"
He had originally assumed that if the "Thousand Lanterns Temple" wasn't some misunderstanding, then the only person most likely to be connected to it was Hua Cheng. But regardless of his suspicions, Hua Cheng had no reason to apologize. Hua Cheng didn't answer, simply motioning for Xie Lian to walk forward with him. Xie Lian followed his lead. They walked for a while, then turned a corner, and suddenly their view opened up. A palace, shimmering with spiritual light, quietly unfolded before Xie Lian's eyes.
For a moment, his breathing stopped.
All around was the ghostly scenery of black and red, and within this, the palaces and temples were magnificent, with thousands of bright lights, like a fairyland.
Such a palace, founded on light and splendor, stood in a haunted city of demons and beasts, a scene so out of place and yet so breathtaking. The moment it caught my eye, it left an indelible impression. After a long pause, Xie Lian finally said, "...This is..."
The two stood before the palace, both gazing upwards. Hua Cheng also raised his head slightly and said, "A few days ago, the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived. Thinking that my brother would probably want to participate in their boring annual game in the Upper Heaven, I built this place to entertain him during the banquet and relieve his boredom."
“…”
His way of "relieving boredom" is nothing short of astonishing. To "find some fun" for Xie Lian, he built a temple and lit three thousand eternal lanterns for blessing!
Hua Cheng lowered his head slightly, straightened his cuffs, and continued, "I didn't want to teach you this because I arranged it without permission, building your own temple in this messy place of mine. I hope you won't be offended."
Xie Lian immediately shook his head. Hua Cheng actually felt like he was causing him trouble, so he didn't want him to know. He simply didn't know what to say. At this point, thanking him again felt too feeble. So, Xie Lian calmed his mind, took a deep breath, and focused on admiring the "Thousand Lanterns Temple." After a moment, he tilted his head and said, "This palace is magnificent and exquisitely crafted. It couldn't have been built in just a few days. Did Sanlang build it recently?"
Hua Cheng smiled and said, "Of course not. Brother, you're right. This place was built a long time ago, but it couldn't be used, so it was hidden forever. I never let anyone in. But I have to thank you, brother, for finally finding a use for it, and now it can see the light of day."
Hearing this, Xie Lian actually breathed a sigh of relief.
Since it had been built a long time ago but never used, it was probably originally intended for something else and was just being used for the occasion. Otherwise, if Hua Cheng had truly built a palace specifically for him, he would have been even more uneasy. Of course, given Hua Cheng's personality, it's also possible that he built it purely for fun. Although Xie Lian was extremely curious about what Hua Cheng had intended to do with this building, which was so different from the Ghost Market, he suppressed the urge to ask. Asking too many questions wasn't a good habit; who knew when he would ask something he shouldn't?
Hua Cheng said, "Go in and take a look?"
Xie Lian happily said, “Of course.”
The two walked side by side, slowly entering the palace and strolling across the jade-paved floor. They surveyed the temple, which was spacious and bright, but lacked any statues or cushions for worshippers to kneel on. Hua Cheng said, "This was completed in such a hurry that there are many imperfections. Please forgive me, brother."
Xie Lian smiled. "Not really. I think it's great, very good. Not having statues and cushions is just fine. It would be best if there were never any. But why isn't there even a plaque?"
This question wasn't meant to be accusatory. It was simply that several jade and flower pavings within the temple were meticulously carved with the words "Qian Deng Guan" (Thousand Lights Temple). The plaque that served as the entrance hadn't been hung, so it certainly wasn't due to haste. That's why he inquired out of curiosity. Hua Cheng smiled and said, "It can't be helped. I don't have many people here who can write. Look at that group just now; they were lucky enough to be able to read. Do you have any favorite calligraphers? I'll invite them to write the sign for you. Or, I think the best solution is for you to write one yourself and hang it in the Thousand Lights Temple. That would be perfect."
As he spoke, he pointed to the altar in the main hall. The jade table was extremely long and wide, upon it neatly arranged offerings and an incense burner. There were also writing brushes, inkstones, paper, and an inkstone, the fragrance of books filling the air. The two approached, and Xie Lian said, "Why not ask Sanlang to help me write?"
Hearing this, Hua Cheng's eyes widened slightly, as if he hadn't expected him to say that, and asked, "Me?"
Xie Lian said, “Yeah.”
Hua Cheng pointed at himself and said, "Do you really want me to write it?"
Xie Lian noticed something and asked, "Sanlang, is there anything wrong?"
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "It's not difficult at all, but..."
Seeing that Xie Lian was still waiting for his answer, he put his hands behind his back and said helplessly, "Okay. It's just that my writing is not good."
This was strange. Xie Lian couldn't imagine Hua Cheng doing anything wrong. He smiled and said, "Oh? Really? Write one and see?"
Hua Cheng asked again: "Do you really want me to write it?"
Xie Lian took a few sheets of white paper and spread them neatly on the jade table, carefully smoothing them out with his own hands. He then picked up a purple brush and placed it in his hand, saying, "Come."
Seeing that he was ready, Hua Cheng said, "Alright. But don't laugh."
Xie Lian nodded, "Of course."
So, Hua Cheng took the pen and began writing seriously. Xie Lian watched from the side, his expression becoming more unpredictable the more he watched.
He really wanted to hold it back, but he couldn't. Hua Cheng scribbled furiously on the paper while saying, "Brother," in a tone that was both warning and playful.
Xie Lian immediately straightened his expression and said, "My fault."
He didn't want to, but what could he do? Hua Cheng's handwriting was so funny!
Even the most insane cursive writing Xie Lian had ever seen couldn't match his wildness. This wildness was mingled with a perverse and sinister aura that would have driven even the greatest calligraphers to faint. Xie Lian struggled for a long time before he could barely make out the garbled characters for "cang hai," "shui," "wu shan," and "yun." He guessed that he must have written, "Once you've seen the sea, all other waters are but puddles; except for the wu shan, all other clouds are but clouds."
Thinking of Hua Cheng, the overlord of the ghost world, who was so feared by gods and ghosts, finally showing such an expression over something, and it was something like writing, he couldn't help but laugh until his stomach twitched. He picked up Hua Cheng's finished work with both hands, pretending to be calm, and said, "Hmm. It has a unique personality and is unique. It has a 'style'."
Hua Cheng put down his pen, still looking quite serious, and said with a squinting smile: "Crazy, mad?"
Xie Lian pretended not to hear and commented seriously, "Actually, writing well isn't difficult; writing with your own 'style' is the hard part. If it's just good-looking, but the good looks are all the same, then it's also inferior. Sanlang's style is very good, with the style of a great man, and he can swallow mountains and rivers..." There were eight more words after that: mountains and rivers are broken, and there is chaos and war. There was no other way, making up compliments was also very hard. Hua Cheng listened, his eyebrows raised even higher, and asked doubtfully, "Really?"
Xie Lian asked, “When have I ever lied to San Lang?”
Hua Cheng leisurely added a few new incense sticks to the small golden cauldron beside him. Amidst the subtle smoke and fragrance, he said nonchalantly, "I really want to write well. But I don't have anyone to teach me, so I don't know what the secret is."
He had asked the right person. Xie Lian pondered, "There's really no secret, it's just..." After a moment's reflection, he realized words alone wouldn't be enough. He leaned forward, picked up his brush, and wrote two lines beside Hua Cheng's poem on the paper, completing it in one go. After examining it for a moment, he smiled and sighed, "I'm ashamed. I haven't had much opportunity to write in years. I'm not as good as I used to be."
Hua Cheng gazed at the four lines of writing, each of them vastly different in style, especially the last two lines Xie Lian had added: "I'm too lazy to look back from the flower bushes, half because I'm cultivating the Dao, half because of you." He read the poem over and over again, his gaze lingering. After a moment, he looked up and said, "Counsel for your guidance?"
Xie Lian said, "I dare not teach you." Then he began to explain the essentials to Hua Cheng, without reservation, sharing all the experience he had learned from practicing calligraphy in his youth.
Incense wafted in the air, lights blazed brightly. Xie Lian spoke earnestly, and Hua Cheng listened intently. Inside the hall, words were spoken softly and slowly, the images and voices alike soft and gentle. After a while, Xie Lian said, "Would you like to try again?"
Hua Cheng said "Oh," took the pen, and wrote a few words, seemingly quite seriously. Xie Lian watched from his side, folded his hands, tilted his head, and said, "Interesting. But..."
However, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong with Huacheng's writing. Frowning and observing for a moment, he suddenly realized what was wrong—Huacheng simply wasn't holding the pen correctly.
Even the way he holds the pen is a mess, of course it's wrong!
Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He stood closer and without hesitation reached out to correct her, saying, "You're holding it wrong. It should be like this..."
As he extended his hand, he suddenly felt that something might be amiss. The two of them were not a master and a disciple, so such a hands-on teaching was a bit too intimate. But since he had already made a move, there was no point in taking it back rashly, as that would seem deliberate. Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, he still did not withdraw. Thinking about it again, didn't Hua Cheng teach him how to roll the dice in the Ghost Gambling House last time? Although Xie Lian felt that he had learned nothing that time, and had a vague feeling of being cheated afterwards, this time, he really wanted to teach Hua Cheng something. So, Xie Lian's warm palm rested comfortably on the back of Hua Cheng's cold hand, gently holding it, guiding his brushstrokes to move, and whispered: "Like this..."
Feeling Hua Cheng's frantic grip on the pen, he applied a slight force to control it, correcting it. A moment later, he felt his hand moving even more frantically, out of control, so he had to tighten his grip even more. The two of them worked together to create a crooked, unsightly handwriting. The more Xie Lian wrote, the more he felt something was wrong, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "This..."
Hua Cheng seemed to have succeeded in his mischief, letting out a low laugh. Ink splattered all over the paper. Xie Lian said helplessly, "San Lang...don't do this. Study hard and write well."
Hua Cheng said: "Oh."
It was obvious he was feigning seriousness. Xie Lian shook his head, feeling both amused and annoyed.
Although Hua Cheng's hand was cold, he felt as if he were holding a branding iron when he held it, and he dared not apply any more force. At this moment, Xie Lian's eyes suddenly caught sight of the edge of the altar and froze.
He glanced sideways and saw a small flower lying alone in the corner of the jade table.
The author has something to say:
Huahua is very cunning when teaching His Highness, but His Highness is very honest when teaching Huahua. Huahua is really bad~
The ancients used incense sticks instead of sticks, but incense balls and slices. However, just like the eternal lamps used for praying in ancient temples look like oil lamps and don't fly into the sky, in this article, it is what I want it to be, so don't worry about such details...
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