Xie Lian was slightly startled. The distant memory was like a dusty scene. He brushed away the dust, but it was still blurry. He loosened his grip, picked up the flower, and remained silent. Hua Cheng also put down his brush and slowly ground ink beside him. "What's wrong?"
“…” Xie Lian smiled. “Nothing. It’s just that this kind of flower has a refreshing fragrance. I’ve always loved it.”
Offering flowers in palaces and temples was not uncommon. However, they were usually large bouquets of bright red flowers, or hand-tied artificial flowers that never faded. After a pause, Xie Lian asked, "Could it be that the 'Blood Rain Searching for Flowers' refers to these kinds of flowers?"
Hua Cheng smiled and said, "Brother is truly as foresighted as a god."
Amidst their laughter, the two finally completed a calligraphy piece, still containing the same four lines of poetry. Hua Cheng took it up and admired it for a moment, seeming quite satisfied. He said, "Hmm, not bad. Frame it."
Xie Lian choked at the thought of "not bad." Hearing the word "frame it," Xie Lian choked again, saying, "You don't mean to hang it on the wall, do you?" If his deceased teachers saw a calligraphy piece Xie Lian had contributed to look like this, they'd probably be pissed off enough to throw themselves into a rage. Hua Cheng smiled, "No. I'll keep it for myself and won't show it to anyone."
At this moment, the two of them suddenly heard a faint cry outside:
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"There's a fire in Paradise!"
The Thousand Lanterns Monastery was utterly silent, but the two men's five senses were both superior to ordinary people. Upon hearing the voice, they exchanged a quick glance, and Xie Lian blurted out, "Is it Paradise Square again?"
The words had already left his mouth when he realized the "again" was a bit funny. Hua Cheng calmly put the letter away and said, "Don't worry, brother, sit here. I'll be back soon."
How could Xie Lian possibly sit here peacefully? He said, "I'll go with you!" He hurried after him, wondering: Why is it that every time he comes, there's always a fire in Ji Le Fang? His reputation as the God of Plague has been proven true once again. Although this time it wasn't his fault, he was practically feeling guilty. The two of them hurried back to Ji Le Fang. The entire street was filled with thick smoke. Little ghosts and monsters were noisily running back and forth with buckets of water, trying to put out the fire. When they saw Hua Cheng and Xie Lian coming, they all said, "City Lord! Don't worry, old man. The fire isn't big, it's out!"
Hua Cheng said nothing, but Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief and said softly, "That's great! Thank you all for your hard work."
The little ghosts had never expected to be thanked, let alone by the city lord's friend. They were delighted when they heard it, and said, "It's not hard! It's no big deal!" "Of course!"
Xie Lian then realized that it was a bit inappropriate for him to talk about his hardship, since he wasn't the owner of this place. However, since Hua Cheng himself hadn't mentioned it, it wouldn't hurt for him to say it. He secretly felt ashamed and no longer cared. The two of them entered Ji Le Fang to examine the fire. As expected, it was only a small area, a small, inconspicuous hut in the corner. No wonder it was quickly extinguished.
However, after confirming this, Xie Lian became wary and said to Hua Cheng, "The arsonist wasn't so ignorant and bold as to act out a prank, nor did he actually intend to burn anything. It's more likely that he was trying to divert attention and draw everyone's attention."
But at this critical juncture, what is the purpose of diverting attention?
Suddenly, Xie Lian realized what was happening: "That fetal spirit!"
When they left Paradise Place earlier, they had walked for a long time, and the fetus had been crying and wailing. Its cries were piercing and sharp, and it kept calling for its mother. But now, the sound had disappeared!
They went to a side hall outside the Paradise Hall to investigate. When the two of them came out, Hua Cheng had casually placed the pottery jar containing the fetal spirit on a table. The jar was still there, but when Xie Lian went to pick it up, he felt the weight was wrong; it was too light. He opened it again and, as expected, it was empty!
The seal, the thing trapped inside the jar, couldn't possibly open on its own. Xie Lian immediately said, "The fetal spirit has been released."
Hua Cheng, however, showed no sign of panic as he said, "It was stolen. It passed through the butterfly formation and is now severely damaged. It can't get far on its own."
Xie Lian said, “That’s easy. Sanlang, do you have guards monitoring the comings and goings of Ji Le Fang? See if you can find any suspicious individuals.”
Hua Cheng said, "No."
“…” Xie Lian blinked and said, “No?”
Hua Cheng said: "Yeah. Never."
No wonder he'd been sneaking around in Paradise last time without even a single guard noticing. Xie Lian had wondered if the ambush had been too deep, but he'd been surprised to find out. He paused, slightly taken aback, and asked, "Are you so confident in Paradise?"
Hua Cheng said, "Brother, have you ever noticed the door in Ji Le Fang?"
After thinking for a moment, Xie Lian said, "I haven't noticed it before. Could it be that there's something special about it?"
Hua Cheng said: "Not bad."
He pointed to the door of the side hall and said, "If someone other than the owner of this room took away the people inside without permission, or something that didn't belong to them, even just one thing, they would be unable to open the door and would be trapped in that room."
Xie Lian recalled his last visit to Paradise. It seemed he'd been using dice to clear a path, and when he finally left, it was the Wind Master who summoned a powerful gust, lifting the roof and preventing him from leaving through the "door." These were rather violent scenes, and the more Xie Lian thought about them, the more he felt he couldn't bear to think about them, a slight blush forming. After a pause, he asked, "What if, Sanlang, you stole a magic weapon from me and brought it to Paradise? As its original owner, wouldn't I be able to take it with me?"
Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Of course I can't take it away. Once I get it, it's mine. But, brother, don't wrongly accuse me. I won't steal your magic weapon."
Xie Lian coughed lightly and said, “Of course I know that, that’s why I said it was just a hypothesis. Besides… I don’t have any magic weapon that someone can steal…”
Hua Cheng stopped joking, smiled, and continued, "So, stealing from me without being discovered is impossible. Of course, there's no need for guards."
Xie Lian's first reaction was that the person who stole the fetal spirit hadn't left through the door, but had used some other method. But looking around, he saw that the roof, floor, and walls of the side hall were intact, with no signs of damage at all. He couldn't help but have an even stranger guess:
Could it be that the person who stole the fetal spirit has not left and is still in this side hall?
Although there was no place to hide in this side hall, there were many ways to become invisible, whether in heaven or on earth. Perhaps that person was near them at this moment, quietly observing their every move. Xie Lian stared around, paying attention to whether there was any abnormal distortion in the air. However, both his eyes and his intuition told him that there was no third person or ghost here. He was afraid that his thinking was wrong, and he should think in a different direction. At this time, Hua Cheng smiled and said, "Brother, don't worry. I have my own way to find the person who stole the fetal spirit."
He was surprisingly confident. Xie Lian turned to him, pondered for a moment, and suddenly, he too understood.
The two of them waited. After a while, the noise gradually approached. A large group of demons and monsters rushed over, gathering outside the side hall, and they all said, "City Lord, do you have any instructions for us?"
There were at least a thousand of them. If it weren't for the sheer size of the buildings and yards at Ji Le Fang, they wouldn't have been able to fit in. The masked man who had brought them here said to Hua Cheng, "City Lord, everyone who was on this street today should be here. The Ghost Market has been locked down; no one can leave."
It was the same young man's voice from last time, and Xie Lian couldn't help but glance at him again. The ghosts asked, "City Lord, have you caught whoever started the fire?"
"I heard he stole something! Either he's tired of living or he wants to die again!"
"How daring! Arson and theft! How dare the city lord let him go?!"
“…”
Although the ghosts weren't referring to him, Xie Lian, having burned down a house and secretly robbed someone in Paradise Place, only to be spared by Hua Cheng, felt like he was being stabbed countless times. He coughed softly, feeling a growing sense of guilt. He stole a glance at Hua Cheng, only to see him give him a meaningful glance. He quickly looked away. Then, Hua Cheng said calmly, "Whoever stole the fetal spirit should come forward. Don't waste my time."
The ghosts were shocked and asked, "Among us?"
“I thought it was from outside…”
"Whoever it is, please stand up!"
After a while, the uproar had subsided, but no one stood up. Hua Cheng said, "Very good, indeed brave. Men on the left, women on the right, separate lines."
Although the ghosts were puzzled, they did not dare to disobey Hua Cheng's words. They immediately did as he said and quickly divided into two large groups. The male ghosts crowded on the left, speaking in rough voices; the female ghosts were all on the right, almost all of them were slender and charming. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian exchanged a glance, and walked straight to the right, taking a quick look at the female ghosts, almost sweeping over ten of them at a glance. After a few steps, he paused slightly when passing in front of a female ghost. The female ghost was wearing a long skirt, and her face was covered with a thick layer of white powder. It was so white that it was almost impossible to tell her true appearance, but the overly gorgeous and exaggerated makeup looked vaguely familiar. Xie Lian said, "Miss Lan Chang?"
The ghost girl was stunned, as if she had just seen a ghost. Sure enough, it was Lan Chang, the ghost girl who had harassed Xie Lian in the Ghost Market last time, had argued with the pig butcher in public, and had mocked his impotence, spreading the news to all the ghosts.
After being surprised, she put her hands on her hips and raised her head and said, "Why? You said you were impotent! I didn't wrong you! Do you want the city lord to teach me a lesson in revenge?"
Although the surrounding female ghosts and demons were a bit nervous, they still chuckled at her words. Hua Cheng also came over. Although his expression was unclear, the female ghost Lan Chang was still a little afraid of him and didn't dare to act too rashly. Xie Lian said gently, "It's a joke like that, young lady, you can say whatever you want. However, that fetal spirit has harmed countless people and is extremely bloody. We can't let it go. Please return it first."
Even though Lan Chang was covered in thick powder, it was clear her face had turned even paler. She retreated repeatedly, but she was surrounded by a group of female ghosts. She couldn't take more than a few steps before they grabbed her, preventing her from escaping. She could only shout, "I don't know what you're talking about! What fetal spirit?"
Xie Lian said, "Please come back."
Lan Chang said, "What did I return? I didn't! You said I stole something from the city lord's house, but everyone knows that you can't take anything from the city lord's house. If you take anything, you can't leave!"
The ghosts all said, "Yes, that's right, they all know." The pig butcher also shouted. Lan Chang continued, "The fire at Ji Le Fang happened just a few moments ago. I've been on this street the entire time. If I stole something, I certainly wouldn't have had time to hide it, right?" As she spoke, she spread her hands to show she was empty-handed and pulled up her skirt to indicate she hadn't hidden anything. Xie Lian said, "Miss, the last time I saw you, it was freezing cold and you were wearing very little. Today is a beautiful day, so why are you wearing a long skirt? Did you suddenly feel like changing, or are you trying to hide something?"
After hearing him mention it, the ghosts realized that usually, Lan Chang always wore revealing clothes. Xie Lian said she "dressed very little", which was already a very polite statement. On the street, she almost exposed her breasts. But today, she was wearing a long skirt, which covered her waist and legs completely. It was really strange. Moreover, when Hua Cheng took Xie Lian to visit the ghost market before, the ghosts made a fuss and served snacks, but they didn't see Lan Chang, who used to love to curse and attract attention on the street and actively promote "It's his impotence, not mine", and they were slightly agitated. Xie Lian said slowly: "You didn't take something that didn't belong to you, you just took a part of yourself. The fetal spirit is now in your belly!"
Since the person who stole the fetal spirit did not leave by other means, nor did he stay in the side hall, there is only one possibility left: this person left through the main gate in a fair and honest manner.
If this fetal spirit had already been born, then it would be a child, an independent person. However, this fetal spirit was forcibly removed from its mother's body before its full term. Therefore, if its mother put it back into her womb, it would certainly still be considered her "own thing." No, it should be said that the fetal spirit is simply a piece of her flesh, a part of her. After all, mother and child blood is thicker than water. In this case, they are one body. Of course, the female ghost can walk out of the Paradise Square safely and openly.
Therefore, the one who stole the fetus must be a female ghost, the fetus's biological mother. Quickly seal off the Ghost Market and investigate all the female ghosts who appeared on this street before and after the fire. They will definitely be caught. Hua Cheng, presumably, had thought of all this the moment he entered the side hall.
Suddenly, Lan Chang screamed and covered her stomach with her hands.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
