CHAPTER 38

Admiring the Flower Through Red Clouds ;

Hearts Filled With Sympathy

•••

Xie Lian was still staring at the young man in the red bandage, " You ..."

He wanted to say something, but under the gaze of many pairs of eyes, and the unreadable expression on Hua Cheng's face that seemed to show no sign of recognizing him, Xie Lian debated in his own mind whether it would be better if he had to act so familiar. otherwise. He said, " Thank you."

" Why do you have to thank him? This place is his, he might have had evil intentions towards you from the start." Said Lang Qian Qiu.

".." Xie Lian answered quietly, " Your Majesty, let's stop talking and just end this."

If they continued, he really didn't know what kind of thing would come out of Lang Qian Qiu's mouth. Especially with the existing mission, Xie Lian could not stay longer in that place. He looked at Hua Cheng a few more times and pushed Lang Qian Qiu to walk towards the exit. As he did so, Hua Cheng's voice could be heard calling from behind him, " Wait a minute."

Xie Lian stopped in his tracks and turned around. Chat among the crowd began to sound again,

" Yes, my lord, we cannot just let them go!"

" That person is suspicious. He looks very strong and might be hiding something. If you ask me, we must keep him here and interrogate him."

" To be exact, who knows, someone sent it here on purpose to cause trouble in our world!"

That last sentence almost stopped his own heartbeat. They really came from heaven, but the purpose is not to cause trouble in that place, they only intend to investigate calmly and peacefully. Xie Lian was not sure if Hua Cheng had seen the spiritual light released by Lang Qian Qiu before, and he was not one hundred percent sure that Hua Cheng would just let them go if he really saw it. Xie Lian was increasingly worried, but the tone of speech used by Hua Cheng was just the tone of speech he used to use,

" Shouldn't you leave the gift?"

Xie Lian looked like he had lost his footing where he was now and only said, " A gift?"

Lang Qian Qiu placed himself in front of Xie Lian and said carefully, " Do you intend to renege on the words you previously promised, right now?"

But Xie Lian then thought, " If San Lang intends to break their promise and agreement beforehand. Could those words mean something else?"

And with that, he stepped out from behind Lang Qian Qiu's body who had previously stood before him and asked, " But haven't I won this bet?"

Hua Cheng replied, " It's true that the gege just won this bet against me, but don't forget, you've also lost one round before."

Xie Lian looked surprised and said, " But you said, don't worry too much because it doesn't count?"

Even though it takes very thick skin to say something embarrassing like " it doesn't count when I lose, and it will only count when I win ", Xie Lian still said it.

Hua Cheng replied, " Of course, the bet you previously made by betting against me did not count. What I meant was that the first half bet you made before on the long table."

That's when Xie Lian finally remembered. Hua Cheng talked about that bet when Xie Lian gave a suggestion to change the rules to bet with the lowest dice that would win and in the end he instead issued two dice worth two sixes.

Lang Qian Qiu whispered, " I told you he has no good intentions and won't let us go easily. I will guarantee my strength will not be sealed again this time. Let's fight with him!"

Seeing that he was preparing for another fight and was eager to jump at the opportunity, Xie Lian pulled him back and persuaded him again,

" Don't worry, we don't need to always use our fists for another fight."

At the other end, Hua Cheng tilted his head,

" How? Gege, do you finally want to admit your defeat?"

If someone wants to bet, then that person must also dare to admit his defeat honestly, there is no other choice, so Xie Lian then nodded

" I admit it."

Hua Cheng then extended his left hand with his open palm, " Then, then give me a gift as you promised before."

the gift he promised before?

After some doubts, Xie Lian finally reached into his left arm with his right hand, groped, and then took out a loaf of bread half of which he had eaten before. Unable to look at Hua Cheng's eyes, he hardened his skin and then stretched out his hand and gave the bread to him, " You mean ... this ... right?"

To be honest, when he took out this bread, Xie Lian felt the thick skin that had grown for eight hundred years trembled a little, couldn't hold or hold it.

Both the ghost and the devil who were still in the hall were speechless and only stared silently at the scene. Forget about the fact that this is the first time the king has bet against someone and when the bet is about a bread that has even been half eaten, they think it's a joke. But if you think about it more seriously, the master is actually chasing that person only to ask for his own bread. Speechless. There really is nothing more to say. There are some demons who have even more reasonable thoughts - whether it's some kind of big secret hidden in this bread or this person is actually the older brother of their master!

Hua Cheng grinned as he accepted the bread, looked at him and then waved it in his hand, " I have claimed this gift."

Seeing that in the end he really took it, Xie Lian didn't know what to say. Only after a minute had passed he answered, " The bread. It's cold. And, maybe, it's a little hard."

Hua Cheng replied, " It's alright. I don't mind."

Because he answered like that, Xie Lian couldn't say anything to continue the conversation between them. He had said everything he could, so then he turned and started walking towards the exit. The crowd that stood closest to him in the Gambling House Hall immediately gave way to Xie Lian when he started walking away to the exit. When he first walked forward to bet with their master, they gave way to him because they thought he was a brave warrior. Now, they are giving way to him with fear and suspicion enveloping themselves. After walking a few steps, he could hear the demons behind him asking, " My lord! My lord, where are you going now?"

Hua Cheng reluctantly replied, " I'm feeling good today. I'll head to Paradise Manor."

Hearing the answer, the hall made cheers as if it was New Year and they were celebrating. Xie Lian couldn't help but glance back and saw that Hua Cheng was also staring at him. With the half-eaten bread still in his hand, he threw it lightly and casually took a bite, staring at where Xie Lian had gone.

Xie Lian momentarily stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene right before his eyes. Suddenly, for some reason, he felt that he shouldn't stay in that place any longer, and then hurried back to take his steps, grabbed Lang Qian Qiu, and ran out.

The two left the Gambling House and ran like crazy for a long time, almost crashing into stalls and various food stalls along the road. Right when they finally arrived at a quiet little alley, Shi Qing Xuan then appeared and rejoined them. Shi Qing Xuan fanned himself with such force that it made his hair bob in the wind, "That was close, very close. My God, it scared me to the point that my face almost turned into white as a ghost."

Maybe because they ran too fast, Xie Lian's heart also beat so fast. Lang Qian Qiu spoke,

" Yes. Mr. Wind Master, I think your face still looks so very pale now."

Shi Qing Xuan felt his face and then smiled, " Is that so? Hahahaha, this is not because of the fear I experienced, this is something I have had since birth. Ahem. Qian Qiu, you yourself are also a martial god, how could you possibly be so? impulsive? Right now we're in the midst of ghostly territory! If you are captured and your identity is revealed, and the news about the heavenly officials who sneak into the Ghost City appears, how do we explain all these things to the Great God? peace in the three realms. "

Lang Qian Qiu lowered his head and admitted his mistake, " Sorry, I really carelessly entered the place in such a hurry." Then he raised his head,

" But the gamblers there were crazy. If the man opened his cup, whether he would lose or win, the result would still be bad. Either his daughter would suffer or he himself would suffer the consequences. At the time my anger was so. culminating in me realizing that I had broken the cup. "

Shi Qing Xuan replied, " Even so, you shouldn't blindly attack that place alone."

Lang Qian Qiu looked so shocked, " Then Mr. Wind Master, what should I do? If I don't enter, no one will want to and voluntarily stop all that."

His plea was so sincere that Shi Qing Xuan did not know how to respond, and then lightly tapped his fan on his temple, " Yes."

Xie Lian smiled softly, " Let's leave and just forget what happened."

Lang Qian Qiu looked at him. Xie Lian then continued, " I think that even if Venerable Tai Hua was captured and interrogated, he would still not reveal his identity. However, to prevent others from finding any clues from your words, it would be better for His Majesty to remain cautious and avoid doing things alone like before. "

Lang Qian Qiu nodded, " Okay, I understand."

Shi Qing Xuan, " Alright, don't talk about this anymore. Oh right, Your Majesty .."

Hearing the Wind Master call 'Your Majesty', both Xie Lian and Lang Qian Qiu turned around at the same time, and Shi Qing Xuan again said and clarified, " Oh, umm I mean the older one."

"..."

Xie Lian thought sadly, ' Older ... it's true that I'm a little older, but it doesn't even need to be that much. Why when at all times it was always directed at me, the mention always sounded like they were referring to a grandfather? '

Shi Qing Xuan then continued, " Your Majesty, have you two met each other in the Great Martial Hall before? If not, allow me to introduce you to this. This is Yong An's crown prince, Lang Qian Qiu, Eastern god of martial arts. And this is the crown prince of Xian Le, Xie Lian, a heavenly official who is highly respected by the Great God. "

Although Shi Qing Xuan stopped the words with self-awareness and did not continue, Xie Lian knew exactly what he was going to say after that, what else could he say besides 'collecting rubbish / used goods!' Because the words suddenly stopped and stopped in the middle of the sentence and were even replaced by other words so quickly, there was no time to adjust the grammar or the pronunciation when the Master of Wind said it. Lang Qian Qiu looked towards Xie Lian, asked him with a surprised look, " So you are the prince who ascended three times?"

It seems that Lang Qian Qiu really slept all the time during the meeting inside the Great Martial Arts Hall before and didn't even remember who he was. Very nice! If he was someone else and said the same thing to Xie Lian, then for sure, his words would sound so sarcastic. But, because the question came from Lang Qian Qiu's own mouth, Xie Lian wholeheartedly believed that this child really thought that his increase of three times was a rare occurrence. His eyes seemed to glow, " Yes, that's me."

Lang Qian Qiu answered, " That incident earlier, thank you for helping me! Or else ..." He suddenly remembered something and hurriedly tightened his belt, fear still clinging to his expression. He clearly didn't think too much about the history of what had happened in the past between the kingdom of Xian Le and the kingdom of Yong An, and then turned towards Xie Lian, " Your Majesty, I think that the Rain of Blood Reached the Flowers knows you? Why does he act as if doesn't he know you there? "

Lang Qian Qiu finished tying his waistband tightly and forcefully back and continued, " That is the Rain of Blood Reaching the original Flower, right? Is that the original form?"

Xie Lian didn't even have time to open his mouth and Shi Qing Xuan had spoken before him, " How could that be its true form? Hua Cheng is known to have thousands of disguises, who knows what his true form would look like? Last time when I went to the Little Road in Di In Ban Yue and meeting him, his appearance at that time looked so similar to his appearance today, but maybe that was his other disguise. After all everyone knew it was fake, everything was fake. "

But Xie Lian was able to remember clearly that Hua Cheng had told him, " Next time when we meet again, I will greet you in my true form " that night in the Pu Qi Temple. He thought,

" This is real, that is actually the real original body."

But of course, he did not say it out loud. Everyone was so sure that Hua Cheng must have always used a fake body and he was the only one who knew that it was the original form of the Rain of Blood Reaching the Flower as he secretly learned an extraordinary little secret. He then continued his thought, 'Looking at San Lang's appearance, he really did not look much different from before, only slightly more mature and taller. That means technically, he is quite similar to his original form when I first met him. ' Strangely, Xie Lian felt a little happy.

Shi Qing Xuan added from next to him, " People say that Hua Cheng has a strange character, and that seems to be the case. It seems so obvious that he is being so nice to you, but he pretends not to know you. Who knows what will be he does in the future. Could he intend to arrest us when we are off guard? "

Xie Lian choked. It seemed that anyone could say and think that Hua Cheng had acted so easily and so well to him at the Gambling House before there was any other purpose. " He overcame it easily " was what everyone said, but really, Hua Cheng just let him win. Lang Qian Qiu was the only person who couldn't say all that and frowned, " Is it easy for him? Why?"

The other two heavenly officials then patted Lan Qian Qiu's shoulders and decided that it was best not to explain everything to him. They left Lang Qian Qiu who was still standing alone, wondering why Hua Cheng let go and let Xie Lian win the bet so easily and whether the two knew each other. Xie Lian and Shi Qing Xuan then turned and began walking.

" Looks like our identities are all known, what should we do now?" Xie Lian said, " Change our disguises and try again? Personally, I don't think that after doing all that will be able to change anything. With His Holiness the Tai Hua there, the Ghost City might strengthen their security."

Shi Qing Xuan replied, " To be honest, I have considered the possibility that our identities will be known, but I never thought it would happen this quickly."

Xie Lian sighed, " I know, I know."

" What happened has happened," said Shi Qing Xuan. " Since our cover is known, you are probably the only person who is able to walk with confidence and do all these things openly."

Xie Lian might be able to guess what was meant by " openly ". As expected, Shi Qing Xuan explained, " If we still want to continue lying, then you are the only person who can do it - look for Hua Cheng and tell him that you came here specifically to see him and meet him. He knows that you are a heavenly official, right? Thus, it is enough to be trusted if you say that you have brought some friends from heaven with you. "