Chapter 31: Poking the Ghost King; Crown Prince Seeks Truth (Part 2)

Once the air froze, Xie Lian knew his question may have crossed the line.

Although the past few days, the two of them had gotten along well, if Hua Cheng never revealed his real face and didn't change back even after his identity was revealed, then he had his reasons, and Xie Lian was in no place to push. Without waiting for his response, Xie Lian widened his smile, "I was just asking, don't take it to heart."

Hua Cheng closed his eyes, and after a moment, he smiled softly, "I'll let you see it someday, if there's a chance."

If anyone else were to say that, then it'd naturally be perfunctory; 'someday' usually meant 'please forget it.' But it was Hua Cheng who said those words, so Xie Lian felt 'someday' meant 'someday', and it would for sure happen. This made him even more curious, and he grinned, "Then I'll wait till the day you can show me. Let's rest for now."

After messing around for half the night, Xie Lian had long given up on cooking anything and returned to the straw mat. Hua Cheng also laid down next to him. No one bothered questioning why after revealing each other's identities, a god and a ghost could still lay together on a rumpled mat, laughing and chatting, and simply just hanging out.

The straw mat didn't have pillows, so Hua Cheng used his own arm, and Xie Lian imitated him using his own arm too. He chatted casually, "The ghost realm seems so idle. Don't you guys ever need to report back to anything?"

Hua Cheng not only had his arm as a pillow, he crossed his legs too and replied, "Report to whom? I'm the biggest there is. Besides, we mind our own business; no one bothers with anyone."

So the ghost realm was formed by many disorganized bands of lost souls and feral ghosts. Xie Lian replied, "Is that so? I thought it'd be like the Heavenly Court where there's a central government. So if that's the case, have you met any other ghost kings before?"

"I have," Hua Cheng said.

"Even the Green Ghost Qi Rong?"

"You mean that lowly, vulgar trash?"

'Well, what do I say to that?' Xie Lian thought, but thankfully he needn't say anything as Hua Cheng continued, "I greeted him, and he ran away."

Instincts told Xie Lian this 'greeting' couldn't be your regular kind of greeting, and sure enough, Hua Cheng said casually, "And then I received the title 'Crimson Rain Sought Flower.'"

"…"

So when he mentioned wiping out the nest of another ghost, he was talking about the Green Ghost Qi Rong, and this 'greeting' was annihilation. What an extraordinary greeting, Xie Lian thought. He rubbed his chin and asked, "Do you have something against the Green Ghost Qi Rong?"

"Yeah," Hua Cheng replied.

"What's that?"

"Can't stand his face."

Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, thinking did Hua Cheng challenge those thirty-three heavenly officials also because he didn't like their faces? "The heavens all call him vulgar, and even the ghost realm rejects him. Is that true?"

"It's true. Even Black Water is disgusted with him," Hua Cheng replied.

"Who's Black Water?" Xie Lian asked, then recalled, "Oh, is that the one called 'Ship-Sinking Black Water'?"

"That's right. He's also known as the Black Water Demon Xuan."

Xie Lian remembered that this Black Water Demon Xuan was also a 'Supreme,' but the Green Ghost Qi Rong was only almost a 'Supreme.' He asked, interested, "Are you close with this Demon Xuan?"

"No," Hua Cheng replied lazily, "There aren't many in the ghost realm I'm close with."

Now Xie Lian was curious, "Is that so? I thought you'd have many subordinates. Maybe our definition of 'close' is different?"

Hua Cheng raised his brows, "Yeah. In the ghost realm, those lower than 'Supreme' have no right to speak to me."

It was an exceedingly arrogant statement, but Hua Cheng made it sound indisputable and self-evident. Xie Lian smiled softly, "Even though you're not close, you still know about them. You have it pretty good in the ghost realm; there's only so many big names, not like the heavens. There's already so many officials to remember in the upper court, and more waiting to ascend in the middle court; they're like an ocean of names."

"What good is it to remember their names? Don't bother. It's a waste of your brains," Hua Cheng said.

"Haha, it's kind of offensive if you can't remember their names," Xie Lian replied. "The heavenly officials love their faces." Hua Cheng clicked his tongue, "If they can be offended by such a small thing, then they're nothing but narrow-minded trash."

After chatting for a while, Xie Lian didn't want to dig too deeply into the subject lest they touch on something sensitive, so he changed the topic away from the difference between the two realms. He glanced at the closed wooden door and wondered, "Ban Yue, that child, I wonder when she'll come back in."

The bold words "I want to save the world" returned and reverberated in his head, pouring a million chaotic images in his mind, and Xie Lian had to forcibly push them down. Just then, Hua Cheng spoke up, "Those were good words."

"Which ones?" Xie Lian asked.

"'I want to save the world, the common people,'" Hua Cheng replied leisurely.

Xie Lian was thunderstruck. He flipped around and curled into a shrimp, wishing for another pair of arms so he could cover both his face and his ears and groaned, "…San Lang."

Hua Cheng seemed to have nudged closer and said in a serious tone right behind him, "Hm? What's wrong with those words?"

Hua Cheng wouldn't back down, and Xie Lian couldn't win against him, so he flipped back over and said helplessly, "It's silly."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Hua Cheng said, "To dare speak of the world, whether to save or to destroy is admirable. The former is harder than the latter, so it's even more respectable."

Xie Lian puffed a laugh and shook his head, "To dare speak, you have to be able to follow through, and you have to actually achieve it." He laid an arm over his eyes, "Oh, alright. I suppose that's nothing. What Ban Yue said was already pretty good. I've said sillier things when I was even younger."

Hua Cheng laughed, "Oh? Like what? Let's hear it."

Xie Lian was pensive for a moment and smiled softly as he chased his memories, "Many, many years ago, there was someone who told me they couldn't live on anymore. They asked me for what they were alive, and what was the meaning of their life."

He glanced at Hua Cheng, "Do you know how I answered?"

It might just be Xie Lian's imagination, but there seemed to be light in Hua Cheng's eyes. He asked gently, "How did you answer?"

Xie Lian said, "I told them: 'If you don't know how to live on anymore, then live for me! If you don't know the meaning to your life, then make me that meaning, and use me as the reason to live.'"

"Ha ha ha…." As Xie Lian spoke, he couldn't help but let out a small laugh and shook his head, "Even now, I don't understand what I was thinking back then. How did I ever have the courage to tell someone to make me the meaning of their life?"

Hua Cheng was silent, and Xie Lian continued, "It really was something that could only be said back then. Long ago, I really thought I was invincible and fearless. If you ask me to say the same words now, there is no way they will ever leave my lips again."

Xie Lian continued slowly, "I don't know what happened to that person after. But to become someone's reason to live was already a heavy responsibility; how dare I speak of the world?"

Silence blanketed inside Puqi shrine. After a while, San Lang said softly, "Something like saving the world, it really doesn't matter how you do it. But, although brave, it's foolish."

"Yeah," Xie Lian agreed.

Hua Cheng continued, "Although foolish, it's brave."

Xie Lian grinned, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Hua Cheng said.

The two stared at the holey ceiling of Puqi shrine in amiable silence, and Hua Cheng spoke up again, "You know, we've only known each other for so many days. Is it alright for you to say so much to me?"

Xie Lian puffed again and waved his hand, "What's the problem? Whatever. Those who have known each other for decades can become strangers in a day. We've met by chance, and we may part by chance. If we like each other, then we shall continue to meet; if we don't, then we shall part. There's no banquet in the world that doesn't come to an end, so I'll say what I want to say."

Hua Cheng seemed to have chuckled, then suddenly said, "If," Xie Lian turned his head to face him, "If?"

Hua Cheng didn't turn around but continued to look at the dilapidated ceiling of the shrine, and Xie Lian observed the left side of the handsome young man.

Hua Cheng said softly, "If I was ugly,"

"Huh?" Xie Lian gaped.

Hua Cheng finally turned his head slightly, "If my real face is ugly, would you still want to see it?"

Xie Lian was taken aback, "Is it? Although there's no real reason, but I think your real face mustn't be that bad."

"Who knows," Hua Cheng said half-jokingly, "What if I'm discolored, disfigured, ugly, monstrous and horrible, what will you do?"

At first, Xie Lian thought this line of inquiry was rather fascinating. So the number one ghost king of the ages, feared by the heavens, would care about his looks? But when he thought about it deeply, he didn't think it very funny anymore.

If he remembered correctly, in the many backstories about Hua Cheng, one had said he was a disfigured child from birth, or something along those lines. If that was the case, then he must've grown up discriminated by others. Maybe it was because of this reason that he's particularly sensitive about his looks.

Thus, Xie Lian chewed on his words, "Well…"

He used his warmest, most sincere tone, "To be honest, the reason I want to see your real face is only because, you see, we're already like this…"

"Hm?" Hua Cheng piped up, "Like what?"

"…Well, now we're sort of friends, right? So, if we're friends, then we should be honest with each other. So me wanting to see your real face has nothing to do with how you look. You ask what I will do, of course, I won't do anything. Don't worry, as long as it's your real face, I'm sure I'll… why are you laughing? I'm being serious."

When Xie Lian reached the last bit of his words, he could feel the boy next to him shaking. At first, for a moment, he had thought 'are my words so moving that he's touched like this?', and was too embarrassed to turn around to see. But after a while, the soft laughter from next to him was very obviously leaked out. Xie Lian felt rather bummed and placed a hand on his shoulder to give it a little push, "San Lang… why are you laughing so much? Did I say something wrong?"

Hua Cheng immediately stopped shaking and turned around, "No, you're very right."

Xie Lian felt even more bummed at those words, "You're so insincere…"

"I promise, you won't find another person more sincere than me in this world," Hua Cheng replied.

Xie Lian didn't want to talk anymore and flipped over, his back facing Hua Cheng, "Forget it, time to sleep. Don't talk."

Hua Cheng laughed softly again then said, "Next time."

Even though he was determined to sleep, hearing Hua Cheng speak, Xie Lian couldn't help but reply, "What, next time?"

Hua Cheng whispered, "The next time we meet, I will use my real appearance to greet you."

There was much to ponder about those words, and Xie Lian should've kept questioning him, but after a long night, an unstoppable drowsiness overtook him; he couldn't hang on and fell deeply asleep.

The next morning, when Xie Lian woke, the spot next to him was already empty. He stumbled to get up and dazedly walked around the shrine. When he opened the door, there were no silhouettes to be seen outside. It appeared it was real. The boy had indeed left.

However, the fallen leaves had been swept into a pile, and next to it was a small clay pot. Xie Lian took the pot inside and placed it on the altar. Right then, he suddenly discovered there seemed to be something extra on his usually bare chest.

Xie Lian raised his hand to touch it and found just below the cursed collar, there was an exceedingly thin chain, hanging loosely and light.

Xie Lian immediately removed it from his neck. So it was a silver chain, and since it was thin and light, he didn't feel there was anything on his body before. And hanging from the chain was a crystal clear ring.

—●MXTX Author Note: Hua Hua says he's not good-looking, is that even possible? Would this author write ugly characters? Of course not! [SPOILER] Gift an Ashes Diamond Ring first for the romantic engagement! Next time, Hua Hua will meet His Highness on main!

——End of book 1