Chapter 88: Ghost Fire Top, the Unlocking Incantation

They'd come to Mount Tonglu as well!

"Guzi is here. Does that mean Qi Rong has come too?" Xie Lian wondered.

"There's no doubt he has. Look at that ball of green light on top of her head," Hua Cheng said.

"…" Guzi seemed a little afraid of Xuan Ji, staying very still while she carried him. But he did squirm subtly a few times—perhaps her cold body was uncomfortable.

"Don't move!" Xuan Ji admonished.

Beneath the glow of that ball of green ghost fire, the muscles of her face appeared even more twisted the moment she opened her mouth. Ghost fire was one of the telltale signs of a ghost, but wearing it on top of one's head was in exceedingly poor taste. Any lady ghost who valued her own image would refuse to wear such a garish thing over her head; Xie Lian suspected that Qi Rong must have forced her to wear it. The green flames and the red wedding robes formed a shocking contrast that assaulted the eyes. It was a more depressing sight than a sect leader forcing his disciples to wear extremely ugly uniforms.

"Jiejie, my tummy doesn't feel good after drinking that water," Guzi pleaded, his eyes brimming with tears.

Water? Xie Lian broke out in a cold sweat. Hordes of corpse-eating rats were swimming through the water here. While it might not be toxic, children had weaker constitutions and might suffer diarrhea after drinking it.

Xuan Ji was obviously the type who didn't like children, and she had very little patience for him. "Hang on for a bit. We'll be back soon."

Their backs disappeared, and they became one with the darkness ahead. No need to say another word—Xie Lian and Hua Cheng quietly trailed in their footsteps. After following Xuan Ji around a few turns, they came upon another large street, and at the end of that street was a particularly lavish house. There were voices coming from within—it was surely their destination. Under the cover of shadow, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng dashed ahead and hopped onto the roof of the house. They peered inside through the cracks.

Sure enough, Qi Rong was sloppily lounging in the center of the mansion's main hall. He had hauled in dozens of stone statues and positioned them so their heads were facing him. Because the stone people were all sprawled on the ground, they looked like they were in complete submission to him. He was basking in this fake prostration while munching on a bloody arm. He looked quite pleased with himself.

In the corner of the room sat several farmers. And there was someone else among them with his head bowed low and no presence to speak of. It was Yin Yu!

As they suspected, he had been captured by Qi Rong. No one was bound by rope, but there were balls of bright green ghost fire hovering over every captive's head. Upon closer inspection, these ghost fires were different from the ornamental one on top of Xuan Ji's head—these had grown faces with all five senses. Their narrowed eyes stared downward, and their expressions were treacherous and wicked. All were steadfastly watchful of the person below them.

"Those balls of fire must be doing something," Xie Lian whispered.

"It's Qi Rong's Ghost Fire Lock," Hua Cheng replied. "Once that fire sets its sights on you, if you dare try to escape, it will shriek at the top of its lungs. Then, the hostage will be burned to death in an instant when the spell is activated."

Qi Rong was munching on the severed arm with relish when Xuan Ji's voice rang from outside.

"My Lord, I've returned."

He immediately threw the arm away and wiped his blood-covered mouth. Xie Lian was somewhat amazed—what was that gesture? Did he not want someone to see? Had the day come when Qi Rong knew shame— could he actually be embarrassed by someone witnessing the way he ate?

Before Xuan Ji entered, she set Guzi down. Guzi scurried in with a ta-ta-ta and rushed straight to Qi Rong's side. But when he saw him, he pointed an accusing finger and shouted.

"Dad is secretly eating bad things again!"

"I'm not!" Qi Rong retaliated.

"I smell it! Your breath stinks when you eat bad stuff!" Guzi accused.

Qi Rong raised his hand and huffed a couple breaths against his palm, and his expression showed that he could smell the blood reeking from his own mouth. Without any way to deny it, he grew annoyed.

"GODDAMMIT! Xuan Ji! Why did you bring him back so suddenly?! Didn't I say to walk him around a bit longer while I ate?!"

Xuan Ji walked in, visibly peeved. "He was making a fuss about a tummy ache after he drank water, so I brought him back early," she explained. "My Lord, please don't make me take care of children anymore.

I don't know how to deal with him!"

Qi Rong glared. "What?! Aren't you a woman ghost?! How can a woman not like taking care of children?! You're disqualified!"

"But it's not even my own child!" Xuan Ji countered.

Guzi tugged at the hem of Qi Rong's sleeve. "Dad, don't eat those things anymore, they're not good for you…" Qi Rong was growing annoyed by his nagging and scolded him. "Go outside. Go! Don't hang around here to annoy people. What is this, kids sticking their noses in grown-ups' business?! Go out and play by yourself!"

With that, Guzi could only drag his feet and go outside to play in the mud by himself, glancing at the group in the corner as he left.

Only when he was gone did Xuan Ji speak up. "My Lord, I really don't understand—why must you bring him along if you think he is annoying? He's been hungry, and thirsty, and weepy, and sickly the entire way. If we hadn't bumped into that mountain spirit and managed to ride it here, we would surely be lagging behind."

Qi Rong laughed wryly. "My cheap son is determined to call me dad, so just let him! Pfft, what rubbish—it's because I'm gonna eat that dumb little pecker, of course! A kid's meat is so tender; even without seasoning it'll be flavorful enough! Hee hee hee hee…" "Then why hasn't My Lord eaten him yet?" Xuan Ji pressed.

Greedy green light flashed in Qi Rong's eyes. "You don't understand anything! I'll kill him after he's fattened up! I'm saving the best for last!

Besides, we still have so many rations left—there's no rush!"

With the subject of rations raised, Xuan Ji peered at Yin Yu. "I think this new one you captured is suspicious. Very, very suspicious. My Lord, did you figure out where he came from?"

Knowing how much Qi Rong despised Hua Cheng, he would've eaten Yin Yu immediately if he'd known his new captive was Hua Cheng's subordinate.

"Yeah, I got it out of him. This bastard came with the Rain Master to help," Qi Rong replied.

A weak sense of presence and an unremarkable personality were sometimes a good thing—people wouldn't immediately link someone like Yin Yu with someone like Crimson Rain Sought Flower. It seemed Yin Yu had successfully deceived Qi Rong about his identity, and Xie Lian sighed a breath of relief. Xuan Ji's face, however, dropped.

"Yushi Huang has already chased us here?!"

"Nah," Qi Rong said. "This bastard found this underground city by accident, same as us. The Rain Master hasn't discovered us yet. God fucking DAMMIT!" He suddenly cussed. "Why is the Rain Master so hard to deal with? Chasing us and smacking us around all this way, forcing us to hide down here! We only nabbed a couple of those hicks to eat—WHY SO STINGY?! These heavenly officials—I just knew none of them were any good! SO NARROW-MINDED AND MISERLY!"

Qi Rong was always so self-righteous. Those farmers had been minding their own business when he snatched them all up with his wretched hands—and he had the gall to scorn their master for not being generous enough to provide him with a few more. His speech made Xie Lian's fists itch.

"Why don't we just release these people?" Xuan Ji said.

Qi Rong, however, seemed to think the very idea embarrassing. He glared. "No! I already ate half of them, so it won't matter even if I release the rest. The feud has begun. The only way to prevent it would be if I didn't snatch any farmers at the start—might as well eat them all now! But if anyone corners me, this ancestor will BURN THEM ALL TO THE GROUND! We can all be miserable together!"

"I didn't think it would go this way. Yushi Huang used to be so easy to bully; this never would have happened in the past. If we kidnapped people from Yushi Country, I thought it would be swept under the rug and the insult swallowed; that's the only reason I dared to make such a move.

Who knew it would invite this much trouble and such relentless pursuit?!"

It seemed that Xuan Ji knew the Rain Master personally, but her opinion of the official was quite low. They likely knew each other when they were both still mortal.

Thinking back on all the legends, Xie Lian whispered, "Was Xuan Ji once a general of the Kingdom of Yushi?"

"Gege guessed right," Hua Cheng said. "That's exactly it."

Xie Lian was dubious. "But that's not right… Lord Rain Master is a descendant of Yushi royalty—quite high status. Xuan Ji was only a general, a subject. How can she look down on her monarch like that? She went as far as saying 'easily bullied'…" Just then, Qi Rong started ranting, "Who cares about some Rain Master Dog Master? Just wait 'til this ghost king cultivates to supreme status in the Kiln! I'll be reborn so powerful that I'll rock the world, and everyone—from heavens above to earth below—will be forced to bow before me! To kneel and eat the mud at my feet! Then I'll tear down Ghost City, sink Black Water Island, and even Jun Wu will have to be careful where he treads. Ha ha ha ha ha ha…" "…" Listening to him rattle off so much bullshit, happily imagining his future glory… Other than an urge to laugh, Xie Lian felt nothing. Hua Cheng, on the other hand, didn't even bother with laughter.

Qi Rong then assured Xuan Ji, "When the time comes, I'll chop off Pei Ming's dick for you to play with and make him your slave."

Xuan Ji clenched her fists at the mention of that name, a trace of life flashing on her deathly pale face. "No need! As long as My Lord promises to give him to me and allows me to handle him myself, Xuan Ji will be infinitely grateful!"

When the matter didn't concern Pei Ming, Xuan Ji looked like a fairly normal ghost woman. But the moment General Pei was mentioned, Xie Lian could see a shadow of that mad, obsessed specter from Mount Yujun. She had actually placed such absurd hopes on Qi Rong—a choice that could only be described as "blinded by love."

Xie Lian looked up. "San Lang, Yin Yu and those farmers are in Qi Rong's clutches. What should we do?"

They could of course just saunter directly inside and beat Qi Rong and Xuan Ji to a pulp, but the farmers and Yin Yu were hostages. Qi Rong was a fiend, and they had more to lose—he could immolate a hostage with every punch they threw. Just as he said, he could burn it all to the ground if they cornered him.

Hua Cheng wasn't the least bit anxious. "There's an unlocking incantation for Qi Rong's Ghost Fire Locks. First, let's think of a way to wheedle it out of him."

"Who will do that, and how? We certainly can't," Xie Lian said.

As soon as he posed the question, their eyes simultaneously fell on Guzi, who was playing with mud outside the mansion.

After a momentary pause, Xie Lian said, "That won't do. It's too dangerous. Qi Rong is already thinking about eating Guzi—what if he suspects the boy is trying to trick him…?"

"Whether that brain of his can even detect trickery aside," Hua Cheng said, "if he tries to do anything to the child, we'll just rescue him. Maybe gege should be more worried about whether the child has been permanently damaged by this extended period of proximity to Qi Rong and whether his mental state is still normal."

"Judging by Guzi's reaction earlier, he probably isn't that bad off," Xie Lian said. "Let's give it a try, then."

Hua Cheng opened his palm flat and released a particularly tiny silver butterfly. It languidly fluttered down.

Qi Rong and Xuan Ji were still talking inside the house, and Guzi was outside drawing in the mud—a picture of a big person holding hands with a smaller person. Suddenly, he spotted a silver butterfly that was glowing slightly. He looked up at once, his eyes wide, and was just about to exclaim "Wow!" when a whisper came from the creature.

"Guzi, don't speak. The moment you speak, I'll disappear. It's me.

Do you remember me?"

If Guzi had yelled anyway, Hua Cheng would've had the silver butterfly confound his mind. But Guzi covered his own mouth obediently.

"I remember Scrap-Collecting Gege's voice," he whispered back.

"…Ha ha ha, what a good memory you have." Xie Lian laughed awkwardly. "Yes, that's right, that's me, the scrap-collecting guy. Sneak over to the side of the house for a moment, and don't let Qi… Don't let your dad see you."

Guzi nodded. He rose to his feet and was about to sneak away, but Qi Rong immediately noticed.

"HEY! DON'T RUN AROUND RANDOMLY, YA HEAR ME?" he yelled from inside. "Run off around here and the big rats will eat ya! Get back here!"

The silver butterfly flew off at once and hid. Guzi's eyes widened.

"I… I'm going to pee!" he answered.

Qi Rong clicked his tongue. "Kids are so full of shit and piss!"

And then he stopped caring.

Guzi scampered to the side and whispered again, "Scrap gege, scrap gege!"

"…Just 'Daozhang' is fine," Xie Lian said from the roof. "'Scrap gege' sounds a little weird, ha ha ha… Guzi, those people your dad kidnapped are very pitiful. They're servants from someone else's household, and their master will keep chasing after your dad to beat him up.

Will you help us set them free?"

"I know!" Guzi said. "They're from the house of the god riding the big black ox!" He scratched his head. "I want to let them go too…but my dad is sick. He said he has to eat human flesh to get better and that eating human flesh is normal. I'm still little and he'll teach me how to eat it when I'm bigger. But I don't think it's a very good idea…" …It's more than just not a good idea! Xie Lian thought. This is a close call.

Having remained by Qi Rong's side for so long, Guzi's morals were beginning to go astray. If he was dragged down the wrong path for much longer, he might start believing that this kind of life is normal—and think nothing of eating human flesh.

"It's definitely not a good idea!" Xie Lian said quickly. "Eating human flesh will make you very sick. The ghosts of any people you eat will haunt you and your dad. Your dad isn't sick, he's just a glutton who refuses to give up something he likes. You have to figure out a way to stop him from ever eating that stuff again—otherwise, you won't have a dad anymore!"

"Then what should I do?" Guzi asked, clearly alarmed.

Hua Cheng turned to Xie Lian. "Gege, let me."

He said a few words to the silver butterfly, and Guzi listened on the other end, trying hard to remember everything. Once he was done, Hua Cheng looked up again.

"Let's lure Xuan Ji out of the way first," he told Xie Lian.

Inside the house, Xuan Ji said, "I still think this one is suspicious. He says he's a servant of Yushi Huang, but he's covered with ghost qi. I think he's lying. I'll question him some more."

After seeing Guzi scurry away, Qi Rong took this opportunity to turn his back to the door and start munching on the arm again. "Sure," he vaguely replied.

Aside from the fact that Xuan Ji went mad whenever she ran into Pei Ming, she was otherwise much more detail-oriented and cautious than Qi Rong—she was a woman, after all. Besides, Guzi was a little scared of her, so the chance of him fumbling was higher with her around.

Xie Lian nodded. "How do we lure her away?"

The two exchanged a look and said in unison, "General Pei."

Xie Lian pressed his hands together in a prayer. "There's no other way. We'll need to temporarily sacrifice you, General Pei. Everyone will thank you once we're saved."

Hua Cheng laughed out loud. "They should thank gege instead."

Another silver butterfly materialized from the engravings on Hua Cheng's silver vambraces and flew next to Xie Lian's ear. A man's voice came floating through it—it was Pei Ming's voice. Hua Cheng had apparently left a few silver butterflies behind before they separated, and the voices on the other side were being broadcast to them.

Xie Lian listened closely for a bit, then he whispered, "Let's cut this up a little and use these lines..."

Xuan Ji's back was facing the window. She stared at Yin Yu like a hawk as she interrogated him.

"In Yushi Country, I'm responsible for attending to hungry ghosts who have nowhere to turn," Yin Yu answered, acting like an honest and dutiful soul. "When they wander to our doorstep, I give them a handful of rice and send them on their way, which is why I have ghost qi on me…" The other hostages were the real farmers of Yushi Country. While there certainly were those who gave such relief to wandering ghosts, he was definitely not one of them. They knew he was making things up, but no one made a sound.

Qi Rong chortled. "Ho ho, I'm a hungry ghost too, why not give me some relief? I'm being hunted down over just a few farmers eaten. What's up with your boss? That cheapskate, pretending to be so generous…" Xuan Ji, on the other hand, treated the comment with open disdain.

"There are so many hungry ghosts in the world—how can you bring relief to them all? It's nothing but an act."

Just then, a silver butterfly with its light concealed flew soundlessly behind her. It flashed its light once before it hid. All the hostages saw, but they remained composed; with unspoken understanding, everyone pretended they didn't see anything. Xuan Ji was about to continue the interrogation when she seemed to hear the voice of a man.

"…If that's the case…these…first. Do you…any more…? Give… here…" "If that's the case, roast these rats first. Do you have any more snakes? Give them here." When Xie Lian had first heard Pei Ming say it, he was filled with both shock and pity. Some corpse-eating rats must have approached them, and Pei Ming must've thought they were normal rats and killed them to serve as a meal for Pei Xiu. Would eating such creatures cause problems? They had to hurry back soon.

However, the effect was fascinating after Hua Cheng muted some parts from the line—now, it sounded like the words meant something, but their meaning couldn't be understood. When Xuan Ji heard it, she shuddered violently and whipped her head around.

But the silver butterfly was cunningly agile; it emitted no light, and it had long since fluttered to the side and hidden by the time she turned around. Uncertain, Xuan Ji turned back to question the hostages.

"Did any of you hear something just now? Did you see anything?"

Yin Yu took the lead and shook his head, and the rest of the hostages did the same, all appearing honest and timid. Qi Rong looked over with his mouth covered in blood.

"What did you hear?"

Xuan Ji was slightly confused. "I…thought I heard Pei Ming's voice."

"Huh? You're probably delusional," Qi Rong said. "I haven't heard anything."

The silver butterfly pressed close to Xuan Ji so no one else could hear the voices it transmitted.

Xuan Ji was doubtful. "Really? But I keep feeling that…maybe he's close by." She was bewildered for a moment before she heaved a sigh.

"Perhaps this is what they call lover's intuition…? My Lord, why don't I go out and take another look around?"

Xie Lian hadn't expected it to go this smoothly. He silently clenched his fists and looked up to flash Hua Cheng a smile. Hua Cheng smiled back.

However, Qi Rong unexpectedly rained on his parade.

"Pfft! Didn't you go once already? Intuition, my ass—it's delusion for sure. You do nothing but think of him eight hundred times a day. Of course you're delusional."

It appeared Xuan Ji was slightly convinced by his assurance. Though still unsure, she seemed to relent on her plan to leave. Xie Lian wasn't discouraged by the failure of this attempt, though, because he had more lines where that came from. Xuan Ji was just about to continue her interrogation when she heard Pei Ming's voice once more.

"…You silly little thing! Come here, I'll teach you."

A moment later, a young girl's voice could be heard. "…Please, General Pei. I've done it once. I'm experienced now. Let me do it…" That was, of course, Pei Ming instructing Banyue how to roast corpse-eating rats for Little Pei to eat…but it sounded like something completely different to Xuan Ji's ears. His disdainful dismay became tender resignation, and her gloomy rejection became bashful timidity. Xuan Ji screeched, and a red sheen crawled over her eyes. The ghost fire on top of her head erupted—just like the jealous flames blazing in her heart.

"It's him! It's him for sure! He must be here, I sensed it, my heart sensed him!" She pulled at her own hair and screamed. "Pei Ming! You're always like this! Which woman is it this time?! I'm going to kill you!"

She continued to shriek as she leapt outside, dragging her two broken legs. Qi Rong broke into curses.

"Hey! Hey! Xuan Ji! What the fuck! How can you run that fast on those fucked-up legs?! Is that manwhore really worth it?!"

Xie Lian watched as Xuan Ji's stumbling, wobbling back disappeared, feeling somewhat mournful. Hua Cheng probably thought he was concerned for the safety of those back at the temple.

"No need to worry," he said. "The wraith butterfly will lead her in the opposite direction. Even if she finds them, Ruoye is acting as a shield, and she won't be able to enter the protection circle. Let's end our business here quickly."

Now that Xuan Ji was gone, it was time for Guzi to enter the scene.

He rose to his feet and wiped his muddy hands on his butt. Xie Lian was still a little worried.

"Will it really be all right?"

"Gege, trust me," Hua Cheng assured quietly. "If this doesn't work, we'll find another way. There are plenty of other options. If necessary, we can destroy Qi Rong's ability to speak forever, then take our time coming up with an idea."

"…" By the time Guzi entered the house, Qi Rong had already licked his hands clean of blood. When he saw him, he called out, "Son, come here and massage-chop your daddy's legs!"

Guzi did as he was told. He chopped obediently for a while before he asked, "Dad, those people in the corner aren't bound by ropes… How come they still don't dare move?"

Qi Rong perked up at his question. "Heh heh! It's because they're so scared of your daddy that their legs are weak, of course!"

"…" Guzi's eyes and mouth opened wide and round. "You're that amazing?!"

Qi Rong's vanity was greatly satisfied, and he replied, "That's right!

Look here, today I'll show you just how amazing your daddy is! You see that ball of fire? The moment I give the command, WHOOSH! They'll all burn to death, so of course they're afraid of me! And there are two more puny ghosts you need to remember."

Guzi was nodding enthusiastically throughout his father's rant like a little chick pecking at grain. Qi Rong continued.

"One is Hua Cheng, the other has the nickname Black Water. They're two weak-ass nobodies, two wretches pretending to be great. They got a little lucky, but in reality, their titles are hollow. Do you understand what a hollow title is? I'll teach you. It's a metaphor. It means they look like they're powerful on the surface, but when it comes to true strength, they're nowhere near my level!"

Guzi looked like he sort of understood, but not quite. "Oh…" "They're just lucky! If I had their luck, I would be ten times greater than they ever were!" Qi Rong added. "Just you wait! This time, your daddy will break through this trial. I'll beat them black and blue and wipe the smiles off their faces! NO ONE WILL DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME AGAIN! ONLY I GET TO LOOK DOWN ON PEOPLE!"

He was full of fire, swinging his arms as he hollered. Guzi absolutely did not understand who or what he was talking about, but he still cheered.

"You can do it, Dad!"

"…" On the roof, Xie Lian slapped a hand over his face. Qi Rong's great speech had rendered him utterly speechless. All too aware of—and quite embarrassed by—the fact that Qi Rong was his younger cousin, he turned to Hua Cheng.

"San Lang, this… He… I…" Hua Cheng flashed a fake smile. "No need to worry about him, gege.

He's full of memorable lines; this is just the tip of the iceberg."

Throughout history, men all over the world have loved to brag. A breeze could blow the handkerchief of a brothel girl into a man's hand, and he would turn around and say that the most beautiful and renowned of all courtesans had fallen madly in love with him. Holding shoes and wiping benches for the emperor's mistress's uncle's grandson's cousin's mistress would be twisted into an important administrator position at the residence of the royal family, raising his status. Men who didn't brag were a rare species.

Men who loved to brag primarily puffed themselves up to women, but bragging to their sons was a close second. Xie Lian recalled his youth, when his own father frequently spoke of his heroism and greatness in politics, both subtly and blatantly. This was why, when Xie Lian was young, he deeply believed his father was a noble, valiant ruler whose great name would go down in history. When he eventually discovered that wasn't true, he'd been extremely disillusioned. The letdown was so great that it had sparked his teenage rebellion.

As he reflected on this, Xie Lian shook his head with wry humor.

Why would I compare Qi Rong with my father?

Really, how baffling. Maybe they did both love to elevate themselves in front of their sons—but his father's boasting fell within normal parameters. Qi Rong, on the other hand, had reached a stage of absolute shamelessness and baseless self-righteousness. No wonder that even Black Water, who always tried to stay under everyone's radar, regarded him with such contempt that he'd find any excuse to beat him up whenever they crossed paths.

However, Xie Lian was still a little puzzled—why was Qi Rong cursing so many others right now but leaving Xie Lian out? Did he have a change of heart?

Xie Lian could also understand a bit better now why Qi Rong was dragging his feet on devouring Guzi. If he bragged to a normal person, or someone a bit older with more life experience, they might not buy into it.

Even if they agreed with him on the surface, it still wouldn't feel sincere, or the response would be overly glib and exaggerated—like Qi Rong's little ghost minions in the past. But Guzi's praise was different. Every word came from the bottom of his heart; he genuinely believed that his "dad" was the most powerful guy in the world!

It had probably been a while since Qi Rong had bragged so heartily.

Satisfied at last, he ended the rant. "You gotta be good, ya hear me? If you don't listen to me, I'll put a ghost fire on you too!" he threatened.

Sure enough, Guzi was scared and hastily covered his own head.

"No, I don't want to wear it… Oh yeah, Dad." He remembered what Hua Cheng and Xie Lian taught him, and said nervously, "O-once they have that green fire on their head, you won't be able to take it off them, right?"

If he had asked, "Can you take it off them once they have it on?" Qi Rong might not have told the truth, but instead, coached by Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, he phrased it as an expression of doubt: "You won't be able to take it off them, right?"

Qi Rong kicked out on the spot and sent the head of one of the stone people flying. "Bullshit! If Daddy wants to lock, he'll lock! If he wants to unlock, he'll unlock! Watch! Dad will unlock one to show you!"

Then he pointed at a farmer and yelled, "DOG-FUCKED XIE LIAN!"

Xie Lian had no comment. Neither did Hua Cheng.

The ghost fire on top of the farmer's head was extinguished, and he leapt to his feet. However, he didn't run very far before Qi Rong spat loudly. Another ball of bright green ghost fire spewed from his mouth, which landed and loomed over the top of the farmer's head. Qi Rong laughed boisterously and patted Guzi's head.

"What do ya think? Your daddy's powerful, right?"

On the roof, Xie Lian wiped sweat off his face. Hua Cheng looked cool and aloof, but the tone of his voice was chilling.

"I think that trash wants to be trashed harder."

He was cracking his knuckles, so Xie Lian said hurriedly, "It's fine, it's fine. He was tricked more easily than expected!"

They had originally taught Guzi many more ways to dig for information, but it seemed they wouldn't need any of them. And no wonder Qi Rong hadn't cursed Xie Lian earlier—it wasn't that he'd had a change of heart, but that cursing him had become the unlocking incantation. Qi Rong's feelings for Xie Lian clearly ran deep.

At that point, there was no more reason for the two of them to keep hiding. They immediately smashed through the roof and jumped down! The massive crash made Qi Rong fall off his chair in surprise.

"WHO'S THERE?! WHO'S THERE?!" And when he saw who it was, "DOG… DOG…" Qi Rong probably wanted to curse at him, but he quickly covered his mouth, realizing that the phrase trying to burst out would free his prisoners.

From the corner, one of the farmers said, "I think he just yelled out the incantation… So let's see if we can unlock each other…" "Yeah, it's just some cursing, right? While I kind of feel bad for that Xie Lian person, it's not like he's here. It should be fine!"

Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and looked their way. A bead of cold sweat rolled down Yin Yu's forehead.

"Um… I suggest you don't say it, whether the person is here or not," Yin Yu said. "The consequences could be even worse than our present situation…" Across the room, Qi Rong grabbed Guzi to shield himself and switched up his lines a bit. "DOG… DOG-MOUNTED XIE LIAN! You're shameless! You're spying! You're conniving!"

Xie Lian frowned glumly. "What the heck is 'dog-mounted'?"

Qi Rong grew smug again. "Heh, even if you know the incantation, it's useless! Would you curse yourselves? Hua Cheng, you can't say it either, can you?"

Hua Cheng scowled harder at this. His knuckles cracked a few more times, but Xie Lian didn't notice. Instead, he was baffled.

"Well, sure. It's nothing."

Then he recited the incantation several times with no hesitation, as each utterance could only release one person. The hostages now knew that he was the one being cursed at in the incantation, and they couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up in their hearts, thinking, He's brave enough to humiliate himself—a real man!

However, none of the Ghost Fire Locks atop their heads were unlocked by the attempt. Xie Lian's face changed slightly, and Qi Rong cackled.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! You fell for it! If I'm not the one who's doing the unlocking, the incantation is pointless! YOU CURSED YOURSELF FOR NOTHING! HA HA HA HA HA…" A silver butterfly flew past Guzi's eyes. He blinked twice, his eyelids drooped, and he fell asleep in short order. Qi Rong was still cackling to himself when a forceful yank of his sleeve made him whirl around eighteen times before crashing into a wall.

"DOG-FUCKED XIE LIAN!" he blurted.

After he cursed, the ball of ghost fire atop Yin Yu's head disappeared.

Yin Yu immediately leapt to his feet and dodged a good distance away. Qi Rong instantly covered his mouth, knowing he had slipped up.

"Come, come, come. Don't worry. Don't hold yourself back," Xie Lian said pleasantly. "Release your true self. Keep cursing."

He spoke with such serenity as he rolled up his sleeves and grabbed hold of Qi Rong. The ghost didn't fully understand what he meant by that, so he yelled with all he had.

"Go ahead! Hit me! Even if you beat me to death, I won't say that phrase again!"

Next to them, Hua Cheng said with an icy voice, "Perfect. Exactly the way I want it."

Qi Rong turned his head. He saw that Hua Cheng was smiling at him with an incredibly fake smile, but it still disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Hua Cheng then slammed Qi Rong's head several centimeters into the ground.

"…" Hua Cheng yanked his head out, and Qi Rong roared aloud.

"You dare treat me like this?! I've had it! I'll burn everyone! We can all die together! DOG HUA CHENG! BURN UP!"

It seemed that "Dog Hua Cheng" was the other half of the incantation, meant to initiate incineration. But after he yelled it, there were no cries nor wails from anyone. He opened his eyes in confusion.

The farmers were all fine, and they stood watching him from the other end of the room. Qi Rong was dumbfounded.

"What's going on? How come none of you died?! Go die! Who released you?!"

"You did," Xie Lian said.

He pointed at a silver butterfly on the side, which was broadcasting the exact same roar from earlier: "YOU CURSED YOURSELF FOR NOTHING! HA HA HA HA…" That wraith butterfly had recorded everything. It had copied his voice, including the incantation. They could infinitely unlock with that one curse alone.

"Leave this plane," Hua Cheng said coldly. "Sorry, no one's coming with you."

With another violent strike, Qi Rong was bashed underground.

After the smoke finally cleared, the farmers all walked up and circled around to see. "Can… Can he still be fished up?"

Yin Yu hopped down into the deep crater that Hua Cheng had punched, and he jumped back out a moment later with a green budaoweng in his hand. "Chengzhu, Your Highness. The Green Ghost Qi Rong has been collected."

The vivid green budaoweng was baring its teeth and rolling its eyes back. A long tongue spat as it dangled from its mouth—it looked like it was laughing at someone, but also like it was blustering and ballyhooing with all its might. In any case, it was in extremely poor taste; even children would toss it aside in contempt if they saw it. Xie Lian couldn't tell if Qi Rong's character had influenced the design or if Hua Cheng purposely made him this way.

"Don't give that thing to us. You hang on to it, and keep it far, far away," Hua Cheng said.

"Yes, sir," Yin Yu acknowledged.

To be honest, Xie Lian didn't really want to hold the thing either. He picked up Guzi from the ground.

A few wraith butterflies came flying from a different direction and landed on the back of Hua Cheng's hand. He cast a glance down, then said, "We need to hurry back to the holy temple."

Xie Lian whirled around. "Did something happen there?"