Chapter 81: Why Not Xuli, Why Not Jing Wen

It was a man's voice, one that sounded very foreign.

Even though Xie Lian knew that he couldn't be heard from the other end, he still hushed his voice. "Someone's there. I don't know if he'll harm General Pei. We have to find where they are as soon as possible."

The two on the other end seemed completely stunned by the newcomer, and it took a moment for Pei Ming to speak.

"Might I ask who My Lord is? Why hide your face if you've gone this far?"

"You should ask yourself that question," the voice said.

"They must have a grudge against you," Ling Wen said. "Probably another ghost woman you ruined."

"Keep spouting drivel with your eyes wide open, why don't you…?

Just which part of this…thing…looks like a woman? Besides, he didn't just capture me—maybe he's got a grudge against you."

"Never mind all that. At a time like this, let's not discuss where the blame lies—let's overcome this obstacle together," Ling Wen said. "It's also possible he's got a grudge against both of us. Do you recall anyone like that?"

"Not specifically. There're too many," Pei Ming said.

The man must have approached them, as his voice became louder.

But strangely, there was no accompanying sound of footsteps—there was instead a series of odd thumping sounds.

"Can you two be a little less shameless and stop flirting in front of me?" he griped.

His words and tone seemed to reveal something, and after a brief silence, Ling Wen spoke.

"You're…Jing Wen-zhenjun?"

The voice didn't respond. Pei Ming seemed to be a little taken aback as well.

"Jing Wen-zhenjun? No way. Did Jing Wen-zhenjun ever speak so impolitely?"

Ling Wen humphed. "He's always been like this. He puts on one face in front of others and another in front of me. Of course you don't recognize him."

On his end, Xie Lian furrowed his brows. "Jing Wen-zhenjun?"

He thought he could faintly remember the name, but he couldn't be sure. The name sounded like a civil god; there were far too many civil gods who used the same collection of words in their titles: "literature," "respect," or "tranquility."3 Pei Xiu explained in a low voice. "Jing Wen-zhenjun, was, the, previous top-ranking civil god, who first, appointed Ling, Wen-zhenjun to the, heavens!"

With this, Xie Lian finally remembered. The first time he ascended, Ling Wen was still a junior civil official in the Lower Court—not yet the top-ranking civil god of the Upper Court. And apparently Jing Wen-zhenjun was the previous number one. However, Jing Wen had long since declined as a god; there was not a single Temple of Jing Wen to be found within a four-hundred-kilometer radius.

"Everyone knows each other, so why can't we just talk peacefully?"

Xie Lian couldn't help but wonder aloud. "Must we bring out the weapons and the ropes right at the start?"

"It's because everyone knows each other that the knives come first."

Hua Cheng replied.

The words had only just left Hua Cheng's lips when Jing Wen spoke again on the other end. Since his identity had been revealed, it seemed he felt the need to put on a front, and he changed his tone to something more polite. Nonetheless, his words were still barbed.

"Nangong, weren't you pleased with being the top-ranking civil god in the Upper Court? Why did you break your golden bowl and come running here?"

Pei Ming piped up. "You see? His grudge is against you. It's your fault I got dragged into this."

"General Pei," Jing Wen continued, "don't think that you're off the hook just because I'm seeking vengeance against Nangong. This wench insulted and harassed my worshippers and secretly desecrated my Temples of Jing Wen, adding fuel to the fire. But don't think I don't know who loaned her the martial officials who helped her!"

"…" "Don't you laugh either, Nangong," Jing Wen continued. "And to think I appointed you back then because I valued your talent! This is how you repay me? You ungrateful, venomous wench. I've waited for this day for too long—too long!"

Xie Lian covered his forehead with his palm. The Three Tumors certainly live up to their name—each nastier than the last!

Unexpectedly, Ling Wen gave a flat reply. "Jing Wen-zhenjun, there's no one here but us right now, and you've had your say. Why keep up the act? Did you actually appoint me as a deputy official because you valued my talent? Others might not know what really happened, but I'm sure you remember the details. Just why did you appoint me? And do you recall how you treated me afterward?"

Xie Lian was growing more curious the longer he listened. "What happened between Jing Wen-zhenjun and Ling Wen? General Pei Junior, do you know the story behind this?"

Pei Xiu was also listening intently. "I'm, sorry. I had yet to, ascend, at, the time, so I don't, know much."

His broken sentences are probably beyond saving, Xie Lian thought.

Hua Cheng spoke up.

"Gege, no need to ask others. Just ask me."

Xie Lian was amazed. "San Lang, you know about heaven's past scandals too?"

As it turned out, that was no exaggeration—when it came to the shady history and associated hearsay of every major heavenly official in the Upper Court, Hua Cheng certainly did his homework. He nodded and told Xie Lian what he knew.

The story was this: Jing Wen and Ling Wen were both civil gods born of the Kingdom of Xuli. Jing Wen was older than Ling Wen by many centuries, and he had a deep foundation in the Kingdom of Xuli. Originally, the two weren't supposed to cross paths.

However, one year, the Kingdom of Xuli conducted a ceremonial festival to revere and worship the civil gods. As a part of the festival, there was a small contest. Young scholars were to compose anonymous essays that would be hung in the kingdom's largest civil god temple—at the time, the Palace of Jing Wen. The Kingdom of Xuli itself was the subject, and the content of the essays was unrestricted. The compositions would be judged by the people, and the best of the bunch would be selected as the winner and afforded much commendation.

At the time, Jing Wen-zhenjun had descended to dally about the Mortal Realm, and on impulse he thought it'd be fun to transform into a scholar and join the contest. With an easy swing of his brush, he wrote a jaunty, elegant piece, singing praises of the glory of the Kingdom of Xuli.

He was quite confident that his composition would stand out from the crowd and take first place. He imagined that if he revealed his true form once the results of the contest were revealed, showing all onlookers that the winner was actually a clone of Jing Wen-zhenjun, surely his story would be passed down as a beautiful tale for future generations.

If things had turned out that way, it would've been a happy ending.

However, the results were far more awkward.

After the ceremony ended and the ranking board was revealed, the winner was not Jing Wen's "Ode to Xuli" but a piece of critical political discourse entitled "Need Not Xuli."

This turn of events might have been awkward, but the bystanders did find it rather interesting.

"Has San Lang ever read 'Need Not Xuli'?" Xie Lian inquired.

"I've flipped through it," Hua Cheng said. "If gege wants to read it, I'll recite a summary for you another time."

"No, it's okay," Xie Lian said hurriedly. "I imagine it must've been very well written, if it defeated the already-ascended Jing Wen-zhenjun."

"It's not bad, but it wasn't groundbreaking," Hua Cheng commented.

"It's just that the political situation in the Kingdom of Xuli wasn't great at the time. The people were full of complaints, so a piece like that matched their tastes. Essays like 'Ode to Xuli' were rampant, and people were tired of them. When comparing the two, naturally 'Need Not Xuli' won."

Xie Lian gave a light nod. "There is no such thing as number one in literature; it's all subjective. A win like that wouldn't really matter— especially if the content wasn't even similar."

"Correct," Hua Cheng said. "Jing Wen thought so too, at first."

The people of Xuli looked everywhere for the author of "Need Not Xuli," but of course no one claimed it—who would dare claim such a piece? Those who were greedy for fame and came forward with false claims of authorship were all quickly exposed. Soon government officers took notice, and the top-ranking essay was removed from the festival.

Jing Wen-zhenjun wasn't too pleased with the results of the contest and sniffed at them, but after a few months he'd forgotten about the whole thing. The tragedy was that after a few months, shocking news spread among the civil gods in the Upper Court: the individual who had authored "Need Not Xuli" and won the Civil God Ceremonial Festival of Xuli had been found, arrested, and locked up in prison. And this individual was a young woman who sold shoes on the streets!

How could this be?! Unacceptable!

"A…shoe seller?" Xie Lian was amazed.

"Yes," Hua Cheng replied. "That's what Nangong Jie did while she was mortal."

No wonder he'd heard people call the Palace of Ling Wen a "Palace of Shitty Shoes" under their breath on more than one occasion. Since Xie Lian didn't think it right to inquire about the root of such things, he'd never learned where the term came from.

Originally, there was no way anyone would connect "Need Not Xuli" with a shoe-selling maiden. However, the young woman would sometimes help others scribe letters or poems to make some extra income. One of her commissioners discovered that her writing was similar to the style of that infamous winning essay and reported her, which was how she was eventually caught.

After learning of this news, Jing Wen-zhenjun immediately appointed the young woman Nangong Jie to the heavens with a swing of his brush.

It must be known that female heavenly officials were already few in number at the time. They weren't entirely absent from the heavenly ranks, but most of them oversaw things like flowers and plants, crafts and embroidery, singing and dancing, or other such skills. Even as deputy officials of the Lower Court, no one wanted to appoint a woman. Female civil gods were rarer still. The women within the temples of civil gods were all identically beautiful, and none of them controlled anything scholarly;

they were usually soft, gentle souls who ground ink and set out paper. They were hardly considered "real" heavenly officials; at most they were seen as objects to be appreciated.

Jing Wen-zhenjun's actions garnered praise from the other civil gods.

Everyone said this young woman had the best of luck for his wise eyes to fall upon her. Not only did she escape the trial of prison, she was able to climb above the trees to become a phoenix; truly a beautiful tale.

In reality, the main characters of this "beautiful tale" were at each other's throats.

"I thought so highly of you, but you make it sound like I had ill intent," Jing Wen accused.

Ling Wen always treated others politely, never sounding servile nor overbearing. But in that moment, his voice had an air of derision.

"Please. There's no need for you to go around telling everyone how highly you thought of me. If you really regarded me so highly, you wouldn't have made me serve tea and water to everyone in the palace for so many years. Or made me wipe tables, walk hundreds of kilometers just to collect poetry manuscripts, and ceaselessly deliver gifts to other heavenly officials on every holiday."

Thinking back on it, Xie Lian thought Ling Wen's complaints sounded accurate. Back when he first ascended, Ling Wen was always on an errand every time he saw her. It was precisely because she ran so many errands that Xie Lian was able to vaguely remember such a character.

"At the end of the day, you were just upset that I refused to promote you," Jing Wen retaliated. "But did you ever consider why I didn't promote you?"

"Why?" Ling Wen echoed. "I want to know why too. When I was a mortal, I had time to read and write. Even when I was locked up in jail, I could at least face the wall and tranquilly reflect. After I was appointed, there wasn't a day I didn't work like a horse for you, running errands for you and prostrating to you and everyone in heaven. If you had wanted to grind me to death, you couldn't have thought of a better way to do it."

"Nangong!" Jing Wen barked. "You dare refuse to admit your wrongs, even now?!"

"And what wrongs have I committed?" Ling Wen countered.

"Are you saying it's all my fault?!" Jing Wen demanded. "The things I made you do were obviously in your best interests! If you can't even handle such trivial matters, what right do you have to take on more important duties? I gave you so many training opportunities in order to toughen you up. How can you blame me for not promoting you when you were the one lacking in ability? You think too highly of yourself! No matter what, you're still a woman—you can't reach such heights. You have to admit that is the truth!"

Ling Wen laughed out loud, yet he seemed furious. "Very well!" His voice dropped. "You said I can't reach that high. Then, might I ask—at the highest peak of its prominence, did the Palace of Jing Wen even reach the knees of today's Palace of Ling Wen?!"

Xie Lian could smell the roiling brew of their past resentment growing thicker, and he didn't think he could let them keep talking much longer. With no other choice, he employed a very brutish method.

He punched the ground with a powerful fist. A large crater formed with him at the center, accompanied by a massive boom!

Hua Cheng instantly understood what he wanted to do. "Gege!"

Xie Lian flapped his hand to disperse the dust in the air and coughed a few times. "This is the most direct way! I'll take care of this side! San Lang, you and General Pei Junior…go lie down over there!"

He'd initially wanted Hua Cheng and Pei Xiu to try the other direction, but in their current states he wasn't sure they were capable. But Hua Cheng was hardly going to listen to him and laze around willingly. He positioned himself opposite Xie Lian's chosen direction, summoned Eming, and plunged the blade into the ground.

This strike and Xie Lian's fist both created the same effect. The pair took turns producing huge noise after huge noise, moving farther and farther away from each other as they went. After pounding a few times, Xie Lian stopped to listen, but Pei Ming and Ling Wen didn't react; it looked like they hadn't heard the booming sounds he was creating.

As for Jing Wen, Ling Wen had clearly hit him where it hurt. He sneered as the mask of politeness was ripped off, and he returned to the sharp, sour tone he had employed when calling them a "nasty couple."

"Nangong Jie, don't get cocky just because you've had a taste of success, you little rat! If it wasn't for me appointing you to the heavens, who knows how many men you would've bore spawn for in jail!"

Now that comment was quite ungentlemanly, and Xie Lian's hand almost slipped. Even Pei Ming couldn't listen anymore.

"You were once a civil god! Have a little class!"

"See, Nangong," Jing Wen accused. "See how your good lover is shielding you! General Pei, who are you to accuse me of being classless?"

"In your mind, who isn't my lover?" Ling Wen spat. "You're looking for retribution? Then let's talk retribution!"

Xie Lian had leapt quite a distance by now. He once again slammed the ground, and this time, Jing Wen's alarmed voice sounded on the other end of the silver butterfly.

"What's that noise?!"

Xie Lian cheered inwardly—he was headed in the right direction!

Pei Ming and Ling Wen both heard too.

"Did someone start fighting up above?" Pei Ming hesitantly wondered.

This time, Xie Lian dashed for several meters and landed an even stronger thunderous punch.

"It's closer now!" Pei Ming exclaimed. "What destructive power! It came from right above us!"

He'd found the spot!

Xie Lian didn't throw another punch. Instead, he pulled out Fangxin and thrust the sword downward.

The aura of the sword erupted, and the ground rumbled as it caved in.

A moment later, Xie Lian fell into an eerie underground cave. He silently prayed that he hadn't crashed in right over Pei Ming and Ling Wen's heads.

He waved away the dust in the air as he rose to his feet, turning around with sword in hand.

"Jing…" he called.

The moment Jing Wen-zhenjun's figure entered his sight, Xie Lian's eyes went wide.

Jing Wen was alarmed at the sight of an intruder.

"Who are you?!"

But the one questioning Xie Lian wasn't actually a man. It was a stone statue of a man, extremely coarsely made, its body bare but wrapped with cloth. It was bizarre—and completely absurd.

No wonder there was no sound of footsteps when he walked, only strange thumping sounds. No wonder when Pei Ming and Ling Wen saw him, they were both shocked. And no wonder Pei Ming said Ling Wen was spouting drivel with eyes wide open, because this thing looked absolutely nothing like a female ghost.

Pei Ming and Ling Wen were both tied up with what looked like scrolls; they were in Jing Wen's clutches and unable to move. Xie Lian finally snapped out of it.

"Me…?!"

Jing Wen asked, "You're the Crown Prince of Xianle?"

Xie Lian was taken aback. "Huh? You actually recognize me? Well, that's truly…" But it wasn't really that strange; Xie Lian's first ascension was an earth-shattering event. He might not have known every Upper Court heavenly official, but every one of them knew him. And even now, it was the same—he didn't remember Jing Wen's original appearance whatsoever, but Jing Wen still remembered him.

"Of course. Your Highness's journey of godhood had such ups and downs, it'd be difficult not to recognize you!"

Xie Lian felt oddly touched. "I'm honored… But how did you turn into…" "How did I turn into this?" Jing Wen finished for him.

Xie Lian cleared his throat softly and nodded, feeling that his question was a bit impolite. However, Jing Wen used this chance to start ranting again.

"It's all thanks to that wench Nangong Jie! When the Palace of Jing Wen declined, my spiritual powers grew progressively weaker, and then she added insult to injury by hunting me down and trying to kill me. In order to survive, I had absolutely no choice but to possess this stone statue!"

"I wasn't that bad compared to you," Ling Wen said. "You would order me to stay in the Palace of Jing Wen until midnight, then turn around and tell everyone I stayed behind until late to entice you. Words murder without form. I was much nicer, responding with blatant violence.

Then Ling Wen suddenly kicked out and struck Jing Wen's lower body. To Xie Lian, this move didn't really look like it would do much— since she was kicking stone statue instead of a flesh body, it would at most maybe rip a few of the cloths wrapped around Jing Wen. Yet unexpectedly, Jing Wen let out a tragic wail like he really had been kicked in the gonads, and he hastily covered his lower half.

However, it was too late. Ling Wen's kick had torn off the layer of white cloth wrapped around his crotch, and Xie Lian swiftly saw the truth.

Under that white cloth, there was…nothing.

Nothing… In other words, what was supposed to be present in the crotch area of this bare-naked stone statue…wasn't.

This was a eunuch statue!

It's a statue of a eunuch slave! Xie Lian thought.

This sort of stone statue was often found in the graves of the powerful and wealthy. They were burial effects steeped in extremely heavy yin energy, so they were indeed a good choice for possession. But it was extremely ironic that a male heavenly official like Jing Wen, who was so small-minded about losing to a woman, would find his final resting place in a stone statue of a eunuch slave!

Ling Wen burst out laughing. "And here I was, wondering why you were so worked up! So this is why! You said I can't reach that high? Well, I can't wait to see how high you can reach in your current state! Ha ha ha ha ha ha…" Now that the cloth covering his shame had been torn off and trampled underfoot, Jing Wen was going mad with fury. He grabbed Ling Wen's hair and yelled.

"Shut up! Who knows how many heavenly officials you slept with to get where you are? What's there to be proud of?! Apologize, right now!"

The yanking nearly tore a large chunk of Ling Wen's hair from his head, but he endured the pain without begging for mercy, never mind apologizing.

"Are you really a civil god?" Pei Ming commented with disgust.

"Such a lack of character and culture; even shrews on the streets act better than you!"

Xie Lian only silently cried his grievances, scared that Jing Wen would strangle the two to death on a whim. However, he couldn't help but call out a "Hey!" to gain his attention and raised his hand.

"Please calm down, Jing Wen-zhenjun! It actually makes no difference whether you have that or not! Really! It's true!"

Jing Wen had Ling Wen in one hand and the other covering his groin.

"Lies!" he roared. "It makes no difference?! Why don't you get rid of yours and see?!"

"It's true! Believe me!" Xie Lian said earnestly. "Even though I have that, I might as well not have it at all! Because I'm…that!"

He once again sacrificed himself, offering his own person as proof.

Hearing this, Jing Wen calmed down a bit.

"You're what?!"

"Just…that! You understand," Xie Lian said. "And even if I have it, I never use it! Cough, actually, all such things are mere worldly possessions when it comes to male heavenly officials or female heavenly officials, or… other heavenly officials. It's nothing to be so preoccupied with…" Jing Wen cut him off. "If you don't think it matters, why don't you chop yours off to prove it?"

Xie Lian was flummoxed into silence.

"Didn't you say it makes no difference?" Jing Wen pressed.

"Hypocrite! You're obviously reluctant to lose it, so don't you use that bullshit to cajole me! I'm no young'un who'll repent in tears just because you've given me a couple candies! But it's fine if you won't chop yours off —I'll chop off his instead!"

He gestured toward Pei Ming, who stood there, dumbfounded. "What the fuck?!"

Well, this was a disaster. While there were plenty of people out there who wanted to cut off General Pei's thing, Xie Lian hardly wanted Jing Wen to get his way.

"Jing Wen-zhenjun!" he said hastily. "It was wrong for Ling Wen to bully you after your decline, but if you bullied her too, you're technically even. There's no need to go to such extremes!"

As he tried to talk him into distraction, he secretly released Ruoye, and it slithered behind Jing Wen like a snake.

"Even? It's not that simple," Jing Wen countered. "But now you've reminded me that there's something I need to grill that wench on! Nangong, did you play a part in the fall of Xuli?!"

Jing Wen was a civil god who the Kingdom of Xuli had placed on the holy altar, which meant that Xuli was his foundation. If his foundation was destroyed, he would of course be affected and potentially go into decline.

Thus, it was reasonable for Jing Wen to suspect Ling Wen. But after he posed the question, Ling Wen kept his lips sealed and refused to answer.

"Just 'fess up! Did you do it?!" Jing Wen yelled. "I just know it was you! It must've been you, otherwise the kingdom wouldn't have fallen so fast! It's all this insidious bitch's fault! That idiot general must've fallen into your hands!"

Ling Wen hasn't even responded, and you're answering your own questions… Xie Lian thought. Wait, what? Which general?

Ling Wen started snickering under his breath. Had Jing Wen not been possessing a statue with a completely immobile face, he would've been gritting his teeth.

"What are you laughing about?"

Ling Wen lifted his head slightly to give a lighthearted reply. "Do you know the consequences for calling him an idiot to his face?"

Jing Wen hadn't yet grasped the situation when the scroll binding Ling Wen suddenly ripped apart. Amidst the whirling shreds, a hand emerged from within Ling Wen's black sleeves and seized Jing Wen by the head. Jing Wen hadn't had the chance to speak a word before he was subdued. A crack appeared upon his coarsely hewn face. And then another, then another… With three cracking sounds, his entire body shattered!

As for Ling Wen, he had broken free of his bonds and stood in place, enveloped by streams of black qi that emanated from within. A pile of crumbled stone lay at his feet.

It turned out the "ancient kingdom" in the legend of the Brocade Immortal was Xuli, and Bai Jing was also a citizen of that land. Xie Lian was just organizing his thoughts when he heard Pei Ming, who was still tightly bound by the scroll, speak up.

"Ling Wen? Stop."

Ling Wen had turned around and was stalking toward him, step by step. Remembering that Ling Wen had told Pei Ming that the Brocade Immortal really didn't like him, Xie Lian thought, Oh no, is he going to kill him?

Ling Wen tried to appease him as he walked. "Bai Jing, he's already dead. It's all nonsense—none of it was true."

But it wasn't working. Ling Wen addressed Pei Ming.

"Ol' Pei, I have no way to stop him. He heard Jing Wen say you're my lover and has steeled his mind to kill you. Your Highness, lend me a hand!"

No need to ask. Xie Lian had already swung his sword and slashed through the scroll binding Pei Ming, who jumped to his feet. The two leapt out of the underground cave, returning to the ground above. Looking back into the cave, they saw that Ling Wen had punched right into the rock where Pei Ming had just been sitting. His strength was considerable, and debris flew. The punch was even stronger than Xie Lian's strikes when he was hammering the ground to scout for them!

Xie Lian tucked Ruoye away by wrapping it around his forearm, and Pei Ming worked out the kinks in his wrist. After being bound for so long, the swelling on his left hand had gone down somewhat; it now looked like he'd been stung by five hundred thousand hornets instead of a million.

"What is this fucking injustice…" he started.

But before he could even finish, Ling Wen appeared right in front of him in a flash!

The two exchanged a blow, and both were pushed a few meters back.

Xie Lian and Pei Ming exchanged a look. This situation was too complicated—so they bolted. Xie Lian turned his head and yelled behind him as he ran.

"Ling Wen! Can you try to talk to General Bai again?!"

Ling Wen was hot on their tail. "I tried! But he doesn't believe me anymore!"

"It must be because he's hurt that you lied to him!" Pei Ming shouted.

"Ling Wen!" Xie Lian cried. "Can you change back to your female form?! The destructive power will be reduced in a woman's body!"

"No!" Ling Wen answered.

"Why not?!"

"He won't let me!" Ling Wen replied.

"I get it!" Pei Ming said. "The bastard's afraid of clinging to a woman's body! What a wimp!"

Rrrumble! A roof came crashing toward them, almost crushing Xie Lian and Pei Ming.

"I didn't throw that!" Ling Wen cried. "It's your fault for insulting him; now he's even madder! You're both in danger!"

"Huh?! What's it got to do with me?! I've said nothing!" Xie Lian cried hastily. "Ling Wen, can you tell him to count me out of it, please?!"

"Better to count you in—it's easier with more people to shoulder the burden!" Pei Ming yelled. "Your Highness, where's Little Pei? The State Preceptor Banyue? Your Crimson Rain Sought Flower?!"

"Don't count on them showing up! They went in the other direction to search for you two!" Xie Lian yelled back. "We've already covered over a dozen kilometers; run first, talk later! He's absorbed over a thousand nefarious creatures; it wouldn't be smart to face him head-on right now!"

Yet unexpectedly, just as the words left his lips, his feet went light as his entire body was hoisted up. And not just him—Pei Ming was caught too. As he looked around, he realized that they'd both been captured by a large net and were now hanging in the air.

What an unexpected disaster. The net must've been made of some special material, and bare hands couldn't rip it apart. One or two hundred ferocious, savage-faced ghosts and yao jumped out from the woods all around them, clapping in joy.

"Caught them!"

"Ha ha ha ha, how many is this now? This trap is so good!"

"Let's see what we caught! How many heads!"

They had paid no attention to the road they'd followed during their panicked escape, and in a moment of carelessness, they had fallen into a trap set by these third-rate minions. Xie Lian reached for Fangxin to slash through the net, but when he found his back empty, he realized that Fangxin had fallen from his grip when he was yanked up. Ling Wen had already chased them to the net, and Fangxin lay at his feet.

The mob of little minions hadn't yet realized what had approached, and they were overjoyed.

"Another one!"

Ling Wen raised his hands, and two balls of black ghost fire ignited in his palms. He looked up to address Xie Lian and Pei Ming.

"You two, this…really isn't up to me."

Xie Lian puffed a breath. "Ling Wen, can I ask what will happen if we're hit by those?"

"Last time I used ghost fires that big, I was attacking His Highness Qi Ying. He was injured, but it wasn't too bad; he could still hop around and run."

It sounded like the damage wouldn't be severe—even if they were hit, their injuries wouldn't be too dire. Xie Lian and Pei Ming both sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness…" But as soon as he said that, the ghost fire in Ling Wen's hands suddenly erupted to ten times its original size—into two giant pillars of flame, blazing to the skies!

Xie Lian was speechless.

Pei Ming was also speechless.

"…But if you get hit by flames of this size, I can't say how things will turn out," Ling Wen said.

"Wait! I'm really not your lover, though!" Pei Ming roared.

"I know that! But it's doesn't matter if we're the only ones who believe it!" Ling Wen exclaimed.

The nefarious creatures were startled by the blazing ghost fires, and they quickly drew their weapons. They shouted with arrogant indignation as they circled Ling Wen.

"You bastard! You've got guts, trying to steal our kill when you're about to die yourself! Get him!"

However, pathetic little minions like these posed no threat to the Brocade Immortal—they were nothing but another round of fresh nourishment. Ling Wen inclined his head slightly, his eyes reflecting the vibrant light of the ghost fires. He looked quite ready to receive a set of new heads from those who were so eager to sacrifice themselves.

At that moment, a wild whirlwind blew by.

In the blink of an eye, the mob of little minions was blown into the sky with a chorus of terrified wails! Rather than being tossed skyward by wind, it was more like an invisible giant hand had snatched them into the air.

The Brocade Immortal seemed to have sensed something that alarmed it, and the ghost fires blazing in Ling Wen's hands calmed as he scanned the surrounding area. Xie Lian looked up with arduous effort, but the dense tree cover blocked his view. The wails of those ghosts had come to an abrupt stop, so he couldn't figure out what had happened above.

Pei Ming was also alarmed. "Who's here?"

Ever alert and watchful, Xie Lian suddenly said, "Do you smell that?"

"What?" Pei Ming asked.

"The scent of flowers," Xie Lian replied.

Pei Ming was confused. "Flowers?"

Xie Lian closed his eyes. A moment later, he said with conviction, "Yes. It's the scent of flowers."

It was mellow, peculiar, fresh, and cool. He didn't know the name of the bloom, nor its source. It was exceedingly light, exceedingly soft, and so faint it was as if it weren't even there.

Pei Ming furrowed his brows. "I don't smell flowers, but I definitely smell…" Before he could finish, he felt something drip onto his face. He wiped it with his hand without thinking, and his pupils shrank.

It was blood.

A few drops fell onto the ghost fire in Ling Wen's hands, and the flames' intensity instantly weakened. His expression grew even more apprehensive, and his head shot up.

Right at that moment… …a torrential rain of blood fell from the heavens!

Pei Ming was hanging higher than Xie Lian, and the blood deluge drenched him until he was like a red-dyed drowned rat, leaving only a pair of eyes that were black and white, round and bulging. The ghost fire in Ling Wen's hands was completely extinguished, and he scurried under a tree to avoid the same fate as the defenseless Pei Ming.

As for Xie Lian, he felt the net tear and his body drop, and he plunged downward. He flipped in the air as he fell and landed steadily just as the bloody rain was about to descend upon him.

There was no time to dodge, so Xie Lian raised his sleeve to block as much as he could. After things went dark, he heard the soft, low rumble of laughter.

The air was awash in the mysterious, alluring fragrance of blossoms.

Xie Lian lifted his head and looked up. He didn't feel any raindrops hitting his face; instead, something soft gently brushed past him.

He reached out and caught it. Looking down, the thing that had quietly fluttered into the heart of his palm was a small, vibrant, red flower petal.

He looked up once more, and his breath hitched. He couldn't believe it.

The bloody rain that had darkened the sky had been transformed into a shower of fluttering flower petals.

There was no need to guess who had come. Xie Lian curled his fingers to clutch the flower petal as the name blurted from his lips.

"San Lang!"

He turned around and saw that Ling Wen had fallen soundlessly to the ground. A tall, slender young man stood there, chuckling softly. With hair of raven black and robes of crimson red, he could be none other than Hua Cheng.

Blossoms fell like blood; blood danced like petals on the wind. His face was as spirited and handsome as the first time they met, and his eye was bright and lively. He languidly sheathed that long, slender silver scimitar and spoke with a deep voice.

"Your Highness, I'm back."