Chapter 91: Ride the Black Ox, Flying Hooves on Mount Tonglu

Yulong was the sacred guardian sword that Yushi Huang had used to slash her own throat, so of course Pei Ming couldn't take it! It was certainly a holy weapon, but it was also a murderous one.

"Yushi Huang sure is generous. Otherwise, I'd almost suspect she did that on purpose to scare him—or remind him," Rong Guang said. "I can't believe she'd actually bring out Yulong for him to use. You really think he'd dare? Ha ha ha ha…" Xie Lian couldn't tolerate him anymore. "Why must you always think so negatively?"

And he slapped on another talisman to seal Rong Guang's mouth.

It just so happened that at that moment, Pei Ming called out to them from a distance.

"Your Highness, Crimson Rain Sought Flower, are you two rested?

Time to put the beds away; let's get going."

There wasn't much time to rest in the first place, and it had flown by while they chatted.

Most of their group stayed behind while Xie Lian, Hua Cheng, and Pei Ming set off. The Rain Master had a steed and offered to give them a ride to the foot of Mount Tonglu. Xie Lian thanked her with delight. The black ox shook and transformed, becoming three times bigger than his previous size—there was room for six people on his back. He lowered his front legs to the ground, laying his body low for the Rain Master to mount him and ride at the very front. Pei Ming was next, but he left a large space between himself and the Rain Master. Last came Xie Lian and Hua Cheng.

After Xie Lian mounted, the black ox rose to his feet, now incredibly tall.

Xie Lian brushed his hands against the smooth, shiny black coat with amazement.

"Lord Rain Master's steed truly is magical. San Lang, I think you might've mentioned it before, but how did he come to be?"

Stretching out its legs, the black ox began to run. The scenery on either side quickly disappeared behind them, and the ride was as amazingly steady as it was amazingly fast.

Hua Cheng gently held on to Xie Lian's waist from behind, as if afraid he might fall. "He was once the door knocker on one of the side gates at the Temple of Yulong, the royal cultivation hall of Yushi."

There was a minor custom at the Temple of Yulong: visitors would rub the golden beasts carved on the door knockers to give them human qi and accumulate good karma. When devotees visited, they usually rubbed the dragons, tigers, herons, and other such holy beasts. People typically didn't rub the ox, so the carving was rather deserted and lonely. While Yushi Huang cultivated at the Temple of Yulong, every time she passed that door while seeking water, she would rub the ox's head. It absorbed her qi, and when the Rain Master ascended, the ox ascended with her. He was the only deputy she ever appointed.

The black ox ran quickly, and Xie Lian leaned back slightly from the force. It was almost like he was sitting in Hua Cheng's embrace. He chuckled at the story.

"There certainly isn't anything San Lang doesn't know. No tale or classic can trip you up."

Hua Cheng chuckled as well. "Is there anything else gege wants to know? If it's within my expertise, I'll tell you everything."

Pei Ming sat in front of them; since the Rain Master wasn't talking, he didn't make conversation either, and instead listened in on them.

"Indeed, Lord Ghost King. Your Highness, why don't you ask about Crimson Rain Sought Flower's background? See if he'll answer you."

Xie Lian's smile immediately faltered. Inquiring after the background of a ghost king was not very polite; in Xie Lian's opinion, that sort of personal information was no different than asking about the size of a man's manhood. He instantly changed the subject, worried that Hua Cheng might get upset.

"General Pei," he called out nonchalantly.

"What?" Pei Ming asked.

"There are bumps up ahead, watch out," Xie Lian cautioned.

"What?"

As soon as he spoke, the black ox carrying the four of them lowed a long cry, deep as a bell. Pei Ming went flying off his back—and was completely dumbfounded.

"What the heck?"

Something like this had truly never been heard of nor seen before.

Mistakes happened—if he fell off, then so be it. But how could only the person in the middle be thrown and not the ones in the front and back? Was that even possible?

The ox never paused in his step. Xie Lian looked back, his hollering trailing behind.

"Didn't I warn you to watch out for the bumps ahead, General Pei…?"

Over the course of their journey, Pei Ming was flung off seven or eight times. Finally, the four riding the Rain Master's Guardian Steed arrived at the foot of Mount Tonglu.

Much like Mount Taicang, Mount Tonglu used to be a lush green mountain sitting at the heart of the royal capital, its scenery elegant and beautiful. At its foot was the majestic imperial city, the most prosperous in the kingdom.

The city had once been buried deep underground, but it had probably resurfaced after many earthquakes and was now back above the earth. Xie Lian's eyes scanned their surroundings for a moment as he sat on the black ox. He was about to dismount when he saw Hua Cheng standing there, his hand outstretched toward him. Xie Lian's heart skipped a beat, and he gave him his hand before hopping down.

"There must be a holy temple here in the imperial city, right?"

"There certainly is," Hua Cheng replied.

Pei Ming had fallen many times during the ride, but he was very sturdy and didn't limp at all when he walked—as expected of a martial god.

He even reached out to pat the ox's neck, failing to notice the ox baring his teeth at him dangerously.

"I'm guessing the tallest building in the city must either be the palace or the holy temple," he stated.

"No," Hua Cheng replied. "The imperial city's Wuyong Temple is on top of the mountain."

He pointed. Halfway up the crimson mountain, there was the corner of a roof peeking out. The majority of the building was hidden in a misty red shadow.

"Why is the mountain red…?" Xie Lian wondered.

He had barely finished his question before the ox roared and threw his head back. They'd already started walking away, but they looked back, startled. The ox was rolling on the ground, but the Rain Master never loosened her tight grip on the rope she used to lead him.

"What's going on?"

The ox let out a human scream. "Aaaaaaaaah!"

As soon as she heard this scream, the Rain Master pulled out Yulong and struck down toward the black ox!

The blade flashed. Something black and furry was flung away and sent crashing into a wall on the street, staining it with a large bloody splash.

It was a corpse-eating rat!

The scream hadn't been from the black ox but from a corpse-eating rat that had climbed onto the ox and bit him hard when no one was looking.

Although the rat was on the brink of death, it still screamed and screamed.

"Your Royal Highness… Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness! Save me, save me, save me!"

BOOM!

Its shrill cries made Xie Lian seize up, and his head began to throb.

Hua Cheng swiftly pulled him to stand behind him, then raised his hand.

The corpse-eating rat was blown into a mist of blood, but the tiny eyes remained stuck to the wall and shimmered with madness.

"Lord Rain Master, I suggest you check over your steed," Hua Cheng said.

The Rain Master was already combing through and turning over the ox's black hair. "It's just a scratch."

However, more and more human voices rose in undulating whispers from all around.

"Cough…cough, cough… Take me away, take me away!"

"I should've fled a long time ago…" "I can't get over it… We shouldn't have believed his nonsense! We face a wrongful death!"

"Gege… Gege? Your Highness!"

That last line was particularly clear—it was Hua Cheng's voice. Only then did Xie Lian snap out of it. "…I'm sorry!"

Hua Cheng looked grave. "Did you understand what they were saying again?"

Xie Lian nodded. Hua Cheng reached out and covered his ears.

"Stop listening to them. Those words weren't directed at you."

Xie Lian was still tense, his head tingling. "I know," he managed to say.

Thousands upon thousands of corpse-eating rats came swarming toward the four of them, pouring in like a black tide. This was the royal capital, and its population had been much denser than the previous city— which meant there were more dead and thus more abundant food for the rats. Their numbers were therefore quite large, and they were heavily surrounded. Pei Ming was getting serious; a thin sheen of protection aura had covered him.

"You all leave first. I'll lure them away—" Before he could finish, the massive ocean of rats screeched and dashed toward him—but they brushed past him and continued running in one direction. He turned his head and saw that they were chasing after the Rain Master!

Without anyone noticing, the Rain Master had remounted her black ox and was running in the opposite direction to distract the rats. The ox had already put a distance of a few dozen meters between them, but he wasn't going too fast—just fast enough that the corpse-eating rats couldn't gain on them, but slow enough that they could keep him in sight. It was the perfect spacing to lead them away without letting them catch up.

The Rain Master called to them from the distance. "My Lords, please continue onward. I can lead them away."

As the Rain Master rode her ox, she scattered fat white grains of rice along the way. Rats loved rice by nature, and it had been countless years since they last saw such succulent grains, so they swarmed after her.

This was what Pei Ming had been planning to do, but the Rain Master had once again stepped forward and robbed Pei Ming of his heroics. His expression was extremely conflicted.

Hua Cheng dropped his hands. "Gege, let's go."

Xie Lian's head throbbed whenever he heard the voices of those corpse-eating rats, and he was able to let out a breath of relief as the voices receded into the distance. He nodded in agreement, but Pei Ming turned to address them.

"Hold on. You're going to leave, just like that?"

"Yeah?" Hua Cheng said.

Pei Ming frowned. "What about the Rain Master? She won't be able to handle this on her own. Isn't it reckless to run off?"

Xie Lian was perplexed. "How come General Pei doesn't think the Rain Master can take care of herself? Wasn't it obvious just now that Lord Rain Master is more than capable?"

Pei Ming didn't seem pleased by the point he made, and he came to a decision. "I don't think so. There's a martial god here, so there's no reason to make a woman official do this sort of work. Your Highness, you two go on ahead. If I can catch up with you later, we'll meet at the holy temple!"

With that, he set off on a chase. Xie Lian called after him a few times until Hua Cheng intervened.

"Let's go, gege. Don't bother with him. He just can't stand being protected by a woman and has to try to salvage his dignity."

Without wasting any more time, they ran through the imperial city and past the multitudes of empty-shelled stone people, toward the massive mountain.

An hour later, they finally set foot on Mount Tonglu's slopes.

The mountain looked like it was dyed the color of blood because all the trees on its slopes were red. They weren't maples, but they were the same fiery crimson color. It was indeed the color of blood, and Xie Lian could also faintly smell its thick stench. It seemed that, over the course of centuries, the plants here had feasted upon all the resentment and human blood that had soaked into the soil.

The fourth Wuyong Temple had been built on a stone outcropping halfway up Mount Tonglu's slopes. This was how it escaped the misfortune of being swallowed by lava. It was the largest of the four temples and also the best maintained. Within the halls there were many stone people, their poses and expressions all different. They had probably been temple attendants. The two ran straight for the grand hall—sure enough, they saw a mural as soon as they entered.

After only a single glance, Hua Cheng said, "It seems someone got here before us."

There was only one mural within the grand hall. While the other two walls themselves were intact, the murals on their surfaces had been slashed and destroyed.

This was the first time something like this had happened, and Xie Lian was dumbfounded.

"Who could've done this?"

They didn't even know who had painted the murals, and now they had to deal with the additional mystery of a mural destroyer. Still, they were short on time, so they studied the mural that remained. From his first cursory glance, not even a close examination, the hair on Xie Lian's neck stood on end.

What was this?!

This mural was completely different from those in the other three temples. There was only one person in the painting. The colors were dark, and the figure's lines and expression were extremely twisted. The person's appearance couldn't be discerned at all; one could only tell that it was a civilian in tattered clothing.

That, in itself, was nothing. What had made Xie Lian shrink back in terror was the fact that the person appeared to be in excruciating pain. He had torn apart his clothing and exposed his flesh.

And upon his body, there were three faces—each one as contorted as his own!

It was Human Face Disease!

Assaulted by such a shocking discovery, the black of this mural invaded Xie Lian's vision entirely. "…It's the same," he mumbled. "It's exactly the same!"

The people of Wuyong had also encountered the Human Face Disease!

Why were the experiences of the Crown Prince of Wuyong, someone from over two millennia ago, so eerily similar to Xie Lian's own?!

Hua Cheng saw how quickly things were going downhill and steadied him. "Your Highness, stop looking at it for now."

But the impact of that image was too great, and the trauma left in Xie Lian's heart by Human Face Disease was too severe. He stared at it like someone possessed. So Hua Cheng simply pulled Xie Lian over and pressed him into his embrace. The tone of his voice was firm but gentle.

"All right. Your Highness, listen to me. Listen to me…" He paused briefly, then continued in a low voice, "You see? The previous murals have told their story chronologically. There is cause and effect. The last one had the Crown Prince of Wuyong building a bridge to the skies, so the next one should depict an event that came right after. But this mural doesn't connect to the last one at all; the timeline doesn't make sense. Isn't that right?"

Xie Lian came back to himself quickly and began to think.

"…You're right, there must be something missing in between.

Someone destroyed the previous two murals before we got here."

"If that person destroyed the other two murals, why didn't they destroy this one too?" Hua Cheng asked. "Why did they leave it?"

"There are two possibilities," Xie Lian said. "They might have thought that leaving this mural behind was inconsequential; that it didn't matter if it remained. They weren't concerned with us seeing it."

"And the second possibility?" Hua Cheng asked.

"The person actually did destroy all three murals, and this one was painted on afterward. Meaning that it's fake!" Xie Lian said slowly.

"Very right," Hua Cheng replied. "Why not think bigger—maybe all the murals we've seen along the way were lies. We're already very close to the answer, so before we get there, don't start overthinking things on your own, all right?"

After being buried in Hua Cheng's arms for so long, Xie Lian was able to finally, completely scrub the horrifying image of the mural from his brain. Only then did he realize the position the two of them were in. He quickly moved to pull himself away from the embrace.

"…How embarrassing, San Lang. I, um…" However, Hua Cheng didn't let him break away. He instead pulled him in closer, smiling as he did so.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about, but…" He lowered his head.

"There's actually a third possibility."

The bottom half of Xie Lian's face was still pressed to his shoulder, and Hua Cheng's voice was right next to his ear. It was extremely, extremely quiet, and no one could hear it except Xie Lian himself. His breath hitched slightly as he heard Hua Cheng whisper.

"The third possibility is that the person wanted to destroy all the murals, but they couldn't finish in time. We came in just as they were about to deal with the last one, which means they're hiding here, in the grand hall…right now."