Among the gods of the heavens, there was a famous laughing stock known throughout the three realms.

Legend has it that eight hundred years ago, there was an ancient country within the Central Plains called Xian Le nation.

The ancient nation of Xian Le had vast territory, abundant resources and content citizens. The country had four treasures: delicate beauties aplenty, thriving arts and literature, treasures of gold and jewels, and last but not least, their renowned Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

This person, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..….one could say he was a strange man.

The Emperor and Empress considered him to be the apple of their eyes. They doted on him immensely and would often proudly proclaim, “In the future, my son will surely become a wise monarch, leaving a reputable impression for generations to come.”

Yet, in regards to what came with royalty, of riches, power and honour, the Crown Prince had no interest in any of them.

What he was interested in, quoting the very words he often said to himself, was——

“I want to save the common folks!”

The young prince cultivated in earnest. During this time, two short stories became widely circulated.

The first story occurred when he was seventeen years old.

That year, the nation of Xian Le held a magnificent Offering to the Gods parade.

Although this tradition had already been abandoned for numerous centuries, one could imagine the grandeur of the event through the surviving ancient texts and verbal stories.

Offering to the Gods day, Martial God Main Street.

Both sides of the Main Street were overflowing with a sea of people. The aristocrats were seated on top of high buildings as they exchanged friendly chatter, while the imperial guards cleared the way with their impressive armour clinking. Young girls danced gracefully as their snow-white hands scattered flower petals like rain, filling the sky as far as the eye could see. It made people question whether the dancing maidens were more beautiful or the flowers itself. Melodious notes sounded from within golden carriages and floated throughout the whole Imperial City. Behind honorable guards, sixteen white horses with golden bridles walked side-by-side as they pulled forward a magnificent platform.

Located on top of the tall, magnificent platform was the focus of everyone’s attention. There stood the martial artist who would perform a show to please the Gods.  

During the festive heavenly parade, the martial artist would adorn a golden mask, don splendid garments and wield a sword in one hand. He would perform the role of the first military deity in a millennium to have subdued demonic beasts——Martial God Heavenly Emperor Jun Wu.

Being selected as the martial artist who would perform such a show could be considered as receiving the utmost honour, and thus the selection criteria was extremely strict. This year, the one who was chosen was none other than His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The entire nation was convinced that he would become the most marvellous martial artist who performed such a performance since the beginning of time.

However, on that day, something unexpected occurred.

The guard of honour made his third lap around the city walls, passing through one side with a dozen or more tall city walls.

During that time, the martial god on the magnificent stage was just about to land a killing blow on a demon.

This was the most exciting scene, and thus the people on both sides of the Main Street were fired up with passion. The people on the city walls were also becoming more rowdy as they started outdoing each other in sticking their heads out to see, both struggling and shoving.

At this exact moment, a young child fell from the top of the city gate tower.

Earsplitting screams pierced the heavens. Just when everyone thought that the young child was about to splash blood onto the Martial God Main Street, the Crown Prince lifted his head slightly before he leapt up and caught him.

The people only had enough time to glimpse a bird-like, white figure flit through the empty sky before the Crown Prince landed safely with the young child. His golden mask had fallen off, revealing the young and handsome face previously hidden behind it.

In the next moment, a crowd of ten thousand began to cheer.

The common people were delighted, but the Taoist ministers from the Imperial Household had some headaches.

They would never have thought in a million years that such a gigantic mistake would have occurred.

It was ominous, too ominous!

Every lap the magnificent platform does around the Imperial City represented a prayer for a year of the country’s peace and prosperity. Now that it had been interrupted, wasn’t that the same as incurring disaster?!

The ministers were worried to the point they lost hair like rain. After they pondered over the past and the now probable events that might occur in the future, they invited over the Crown Prince and tactfully suggested, Your Highness, can you face the wall for a month2 to show your repentance? You don’t have to actually do it, just the gesture to show your intent would be enough.

The Crown Prince smiled before replying, “No need.”

He explained his thoughts, “Saving people isn’t something bad. How could the Heavens fault me because I did the right thing?”

……And if by chance the Heavens do decide to blame you?

“Then the Heavens would be the ones who are wrong. Why should the people who are right apologize to the ones who are wrong?”

The ministers were speechless.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was exactly this type of person.

He had never encountered anything he wasn’t able to accomplish, and he had also never met anyone who didn’t love him. He was always right, and he was the heart of the world.

Thus, the ministers felt great pain in their hearts as they thought, “What the hell do you know!?”

However, it wasn’t convenient for them to say more, and they also didn’t dare do it. His Highness wouldn’t listen to them anyway.

The second story also took place in the year the Crown Prince was seventeen.

According to the legends, on the south side of the Yellow River existed a bridge called the Yi Nian3 Bridge, where a famous ghost wandered for many years.

This ghost was utterly terrifying—dressed in ruined armour with flames from hell following its footsteps. Its whole body was also covered in blood and pierced by numerous blades and arrows. Every step he took left behind the traces of both blood and fire. Every few years, it would suddenly appear during the night. It would wander about at the foot of the bridge and stop travellers to ask them three questions:

“Where is this?”

“Who am I?”

“What will you do now?”

If one did not answer correctly, they would be completely swallowed up by the ghost in one bite. However, nobody knew what the correct answers were supposed to be. Thus, after several years, this ghost already swallowed countless pedestrians.

The Crown Prince heard about this matter one day while he was wandering about. After he found Yi Nian Bridge, he began to guard the foot of the bridge continuously until he finally met the ghost haunting the bridge one night.

The ghost appeared in a flash, and sure enough, it was as eerie and terrifying as what the rumors had claimed. It opened its mouth to ask the Crown Prince the first question, which the Crown Prince replied to him with a smile, “This is the human realm.”

However, the ghost replied, “This is the abyss.”

Beginner’s luck; it was only the first question, but he had already gotten it wrong.

The Crown Prince thought to himself, he was going to answer the questions wrong anyway, so why wait for the ghost to finish asking? Thus, he pulled out his weapon and began to fight.

This battle lasted until the sky became twilight and the land was covered in darkness. The Crown Prince was highly skilled in martial arts, while the ghost became even more daunting and dreadful. One man and one ghost fought on that bridge until the positions of the sun and moon had practically switched, before finally, the ghost was defeated.

After the ghost disappeared, the Crown Prince planted a flowering tree at the foot of the bridge. At that moment, a Taoist passing through saw him scatter a handful of golden soil to help escort the ghost to its next life. He asked, “What are you doing?”

The Crown Prince then spoke his famous eight words: “Body in the abyss, but heart in paradise.”

When the Taoist heard that, he smiled slightly before transforming into a General deity clad in white armor. He stepped onto a magical cloud, summoned a strong wind, and then flew off into the sunlight. The Crown Prince only realized then that, by a lucky coincidence, he had unexpectedly encountered the Martial God Heavenly Emperor himself who had descended to the human realm to subdue demonic beasts.

All the Gods were already paying attention to this extremely outstanding martial god after he had leapt into the sky on the day of the Offering to the Gods Parade. After meeting him at the foot of the Yi Nian Bridge, immortals began asking the Emperor: “What do you think of this Royal Highness, the Crown Prince?”

Emperor Jun also answered with eight words: “This child’s future is limitless, impossible to measure.”

That same evening, the sky above the Royal Palace became unnatural as wind and rain caused havoc.

And amidst the lightning flashes and thundering rolls, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascended into godhood.

As long as someone ascends, the Heavens would always quake once. When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascended, it immediately made the entire Heavens shake three times.

To achieve immortality through one’s efforts and insights was truly hard.

It required innate talent, high cultivation, and the right opportunity.

To be reborn as a respected god, more often than not, was an endless, lifetime journey.

A youngster ascending into godhood and becoming an arrogant brat in the Heavens wasn’t something that hadn’t happened before, but there was also plenty of people who bitterly exhausted their entire life cultivating, yet still did not achieve immortality. Even if they came across a chance from Heaven, if they didn’t overcome the heavenly tribulation, they would either die or become a waste. Countless humans, like the grains of sand in a desert, lived a life of mediocrity from start to finish, unable to find their right paths due to their ignorance.

And so this Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, was undoubtedly the Heaven’s beloved darling. The things he wanted, there was nothing he could not obtain. The things he wanted to do, there was nothing that was impossible for him to accomplish. And when he wanted to ascend into godhood, he really ascended into godhood at age seventeen.

Originally, the Crown Prince was already popular with his people. Coupled with how he was the Emperor’s and Empress’ greatly missed, beloved son, they commanded temples in the Crown Prince’s name to be built vigorously in many parts of the nation. Statues were erected and everyone assembled to pay their respects. The more believers he had, the more shrines were built, and thus he lived longer and became more powerful. As a result, in just a couple of years, Xian Le nation’s Crown Prince flourished and reached the peak of his power.

——Until three years later, when Xian Le descended into chaos.

The reason for the chaos was due to the Emperor’s cruel governing, which prompted a rebel army to rise for justice. However, though the fire of war had already started blazing in the human realm, Heaven’s Godly Officials could not meddle according to their wishes. Unless it was a result of demons and ghouls overstepping or violating their boundaries, what happened must be allowed to happen. Disputes happened everywhere in the world, and every person believed their own actions were justified. If every deity interfered—today you will help and support your country, while tomorrow he will help his descendants take revenge. Wouldn’t that result in immortals coming to blows frequently, something that might eventually cause all life to be destroyed? In his Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s case, it was something he should keep out of even more.

But he didn’t care about that. He told Emperor Jun, “I want to save the common people.”

Though Emperor Jun had accumulated spiritual Godly power for thousands of years, even he did not dare to lightly say those words out loud. When he heard the Crown Prince, his mood could be easily imagined. However, Emperor Jun couldn’t do anything about him and could only helplessly say, “You cannot save everybody.”

The Crown Prince replied, “I can.”

Therefore, he descended to the human realm with no second thoughts.

The people of the entire Xian Le nation naturally celebrated. However, since ancient times, folk tales had long tried to warn people of a truth: the event of an unauthorized immortal descending to the human realm would absolutely not bear a good result.

Thus, the fires from the war did not die down, and instead began burning even more wildly.

It wasn’t that His Highness the Crown Prince did not do his best, yet it would have been better had he had not done his best. The more he strived, the more complicated the war became. The people of Xian Le were beaten til their heads fell and their blood flowed, suffering disastrous casualties. Finally, a plague swept throughout the whole Imperial City and the rebels broke into the palace, ending the war.

One could say that when Xian Le nation had been struggling on whilst at death’s door, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been the one to directly suffocate them.

After the nation was wiped out, the people suddenly realized something:

So, it turned out that their Crown Prince deity was not as formidable or perfect as they had imagined.

To put it more vulgarly, wasn’t he just an useless figure who was unable to accomplish anything, but liable to spoiling everything else?

Unable to vent the suffering they had felt after losing both their homes and their beloved ones, angry people covered in wounds rushed into the Crown Prince’s palace halls. They pushed down his Godly statue and burned his shrines.

Eight thousand temples burned for seven days and seven nights—burning until they completely disappeared.

From then on, a Martial God known for protection and peace faded away, and a demonic God who attracted disasters was born.

When people said you were a god, then you were a god. If they said you were sh*t, then you were sh*t. Whatever the people said you were, that was what you became. It had always been like this.

No matter what, His Highness the Crown Prince couldn’t accept this fact. What he could not accept even more was the punishment given to him: banishment.

His cultivation was destroyed, and he was to be thrown into the human realm.

From childhood, he had been spoiled a thousand ways as he grew up, so he never suffered the pains and difficulties of normal people. Thus, this penalty made him fall from high in the clouds down into the mud. And in this mud, it was the first time he experienced starvation, poverty, and the feeling of filth. It was also the first time he did things he had never imagined himself ever doing: pilfering, robbing, violently cursing, and abandoning himself to despair. Prestige entirely lost, self-esteem completely gone, he became as ugly as one wanted him to be. Even the most devoted attendants were unable to accept him changing in this way, and thus they chose to leave.

Body in the abyss, but heart in paradise. These eight words were carved almost everywhere in the stone tablets and boards of Xian Le nation. Had they not been almost entirely burned away in the war, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were to see them again, he would be the first to rush up smash them.

Because the one who personally said the phrase had already proved that when his body was in the abyss, his heart was not in paradise.

He ascended quickly, and descended even quicker. The Martial God’s words and his graceful glance, having met both demon and god by chance on Yi Nian Bridge. They seemed as if they were things that had happened yesterday. The Heavens sighed for a bit, for the things that happened in the past remained in the past.

Many years passed when one day, a loud sound shook the Heavens. That Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascended to Godhood for the second time.

Since ancient times, Gods who had been banished treated it as a setback leading to a total collapse, before degenerating into a ghost or a demon. There were very little people who were able to reverse their fortunes and return after being banished. This event of ascending for a second time was something entirely worthy of only the vigorous and the strong.

What was even more vigorous was that right after he ascended, he charged into the Heavens to beat up and murder everyone in all four directions. Thus, the Crown Prince had only ascended for about the time it took to burn one incense stick before he was kicked down again.

One incense stick4. It could be said that it was history’s quickest and most violent, yet brief ascension.

If one said that his first ascension was something to be praised, then his second ascension could only be called a farce.

After these two times, everyone in Heaven turned their backs on this Crown Prince. But although they abandoned him, they still felt a bit on guard. After all, after he was demoted once, he was driven to such a state of desperation. Now that he was banished twice, would he become a demon and retaliate by abusing the common people?

Who knew that after he was demoted again, he did not become a demon and quite sincerely adapted to his banished lifestyle. There were no problems at all, and the only problem was just he was really too earnest.

Sometimes he performed on the streets, masterfully singing or playing both wind and bowed instruments of all kinds. Even breaking a giant stone on his chest was nothing difficult for him. Although they had long heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could sing and dance and was multi-talented, to actually see it in a situation like this really made one’s mood become complicated. Sometimes, he even industriously and conscientiously accepted rubbish.

All the gods were astonished.

For things to become like this, it was really unimaginable. It was to the extent that nowadays, if someone told the other that, “You gave birth to a son who is Xian Le’s Crown Prince”, that would be much more malicious than cursing out the other party’s descendants.

In any case, he was once the peerless beauty His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who had been ranked as Heaven’s Official. To achieve this state, there really wasn’t anyone else like him. The so-called nickname ‘laughingstock of the three realms’ was exactly due to this reason.

After laughing, those who were more sentimental would perhaps sigh. The proud and aloof son of the Heavens from the past truly disappeared.

His Godly statues toppled over, and his ancient nation was destroyed with not a single believer left. Slowly, he became someone gradually forgotten by the world. Thus, no one knew where he had wandered off to.

To be banished once was already extraordinary shame and humiliation. To be banished twice, no one could ever climb up again.

After many more years, there was suddenly a day where the Heavens was once again disturbed by a loud noise.

It was extremely violent as the ground quaked and the mountains shook.

The altar lamps that burned day and night trembled as their flames danced violently. Godly officials who were awakened departed from their own palace halls, rushing about as they asked, Who is the upstart that ascended? This place is shaking so much!

Who knew, just after sighing ‘how amazing, how amazing’, at the next glance, all of Heaven’s Gods felt as if they were struck by lightning over and over again.

Are you still not finished?!

That famous weirdo, the laughingstock of the three realms, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince from the legends, he he he —— he f*cking ascended to godhood again!

Glossary :

The country is named Xian Le, which can also be read as Xian Yue. However, the author made a note saying that we should read it as Xian Le. Xian Le means Heavenly Happiness while Xian Yue would have meant Heavenly Music.”

Facing the wall and meditating, AKA the ministers want the prince to reflect on his actions.”

Yi Nian Bridge has a lot of meanings. Yi \= One, while Nian could mean thought, memory, longing, yearning. I kept it in pinyin because I wasn’t sure which meaning it was trying to convey.”

One incense stick \= approximately 5 minutes RIP poor MC.”

“Congratulations, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

Hearing those words, Xie Lian raised his head and smiled before he spoke, “Thank you. But may I ask what exactly you are congratulating me for?”

Ling Wen ZhenJun1 stood with her arms crossed as she said, “Congratulations for placing first on the list of ‘Heaven’s Officials most anticipated to be demoted and banished to the mortal realm’.”

Xie Lian replied, “No matter how you say it, it’s still first place. But I think that if you’re congratulating me, then it should still be a position worth being happy about?”

Ling Wen stated, “Yes, if you’re first, you can get one hundred merits.”

Xie Lian responded immediately, “Next time, if there is another list like this, by all means, please put me on it.”

Ling Wen asked, “Do you know who is in second place?”

Xie Lian thought for a moment before replying, “That is too hard to guess. After all, just based on strength, I alone ought to be able to take the top three places.”

Ling Wen answered, “That’s more or less right. There isn’t a second place. The moment you started, others could only see your dust with no hopes of catching up.”

Xie Lin said, “I dare not accept the honor. Who was the first place winner from the previous years?”

Ling Wen stated, “There wasn’t one because this list was created this year. More accurately, it was set up today.”

“Eh,” Xie Lian blanked for a bit before asking, “Based on what you said, this list wasn’t created specifically for me, was it?”

Ling Wen responded, “You can think of it as luckily winning merely because you were coincidentally in time for it.”

Xie Lian said with a face full of smiles, “Alright, if I think about it like that, I will be slightly happier.”

Ling Wen continued to say, “Do you know why you would seize first place?”

Xie Lian replied, “Everyone expects it.”

Ling Wen explained, “Let me tell you the reason. Please look at that clock.”

She lifted her finger to point, and Xie Lian turned around to look in that direction. What one could see there was extremely beautiful. Gazing into the distance, one could see a palace made out of white jade, pavilions and kiosks, immortal clouds curling about with flowing streams and flying birds.

Xie Lian looked for a long time before asking, “Did you perhaps point in the wrong direction? Where is the clock?”

Ling Wen replied, “I didn’t point in the wrong direction. It’s there, have you seen it yet?”

Xie Lian looked carefully again before truthfully saying, “I don’t see it.”

Ling Wen responded, “It’s right for you to not see it. Originally, there had been a clock there, but it was shaken off when you ascended.”

“……”

“That clock was even older than you. Nevertheless, it had a lively and vivacious character. Every single time someone ascended, it would ring a few times to cheer them on. But on the day you ascended, it rang like it had gone crazy, unable to stop. Only when it fell down from the clock tower did it calm down. However, when it fell down, it smashed into a passing Heavenly Official.”

Xie Lian asked, “This……Then, are they okay now?”

Ling Wen: “No, they’re still being repaired……”

Xie Lian: “I am referring to the Heavenly Official who was hit.”

Ling Wen replied, “The one who got hit was a martial god. He flipped over his hand on the spot and split that clock into two halves. But now, please look over there at that golden palace hall. Do you see it?”

She pointed again, and Xie Lian’s gaze followed her finger once more. He saw a vast area covered in mist and clouds, before seeing the top of a resplendent palace roof made out of gold glass. Xie Lian said, “Ah, I see it this time.”

Ling Wen responded, “If you see something, that means there’s something wrong. Originally there had been nothing there.”

“……”

“When you ascended, many Heavenly Officials’ golden palaces shook to the point that their golden pillars toppled over, and their glazed roofs shattered. Some palaces couldn’t be repaired in a short period of time. Without any better options, many people improvised and built new and temporary places.”

“I’m the one to blame?”

“You’re responsible for it.”

“Uh……” Xie Lian asked to confirm, “Did I happen to offend many Heavenly Officials the moment I came up?”

Ling Wen answered, “If you can redeem yourself, then perhaps you won’t.”

“What can I do to redeem myself?”

“That’s easy to answer. Eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand merits.”

Xie Lian smiled again.

Ling Wen said, “Of course, I know even one-tenth of that is something you can’t take out.”

Xie Lian replied in a frank and genuine manner, “How do I say this? Although I’m truly sorry for the inconveniences, even if you requested a ten thousandth of that, I still won’t be able to take it out.”

The conviction of believers in the secular world could be converted into a Heavenly Officials’ spiritual power. Every incense stick they burned as offerings was called ‘merits’.

His smile disappearing, Xie Lian seriously asked, “Would you be willing to punt me down from here with one kick, and then give me eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand merits?”

Ling Wen stated, “I am a literature god. If you want someone to kick you, you ought to find a martial god. The harder you get kicked, the more merits you’ll receive.”

Xie Lian heaved a deep sigh. “Allow me to think about what to do.”

Ling Wen patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t lose your head. When you encounter a mountain, there will always be a way through.”

Xie Lian responded, “In my case, when the boat reaches the pier head, it will naturally sink.”

If it was eight hundred years ago, during Xian Le nation’s most prosperous time, eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand merits weren’t a big problem. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would wave his hand and give them, not even blinking over such a loss. But the present was now different from the olden days. In the secular world, all of his temples had already long burned away, with not a single one remaining. He had no believers, no incense, and no worship.

It was needless to say more. He just had nothing, nothing, not a single thing!

One person squatted at the edge of the Immortal City’s main street while having a headache for quite some time, before he suddenly remembered something. It had already been almost three days since he had ascended, yet Xie Lian had not entered the spirit communication array. Just then, he had also forgotten to ask Ling Wen for the password.

The Heavenly Officials who had ascended united together to create a spirit communication array. It was possible for them to use their divine sense and immediately communicate with each other within the array; and after ascending, it was imperative for the new gods to enter it. However, one must know the password to be able to locate the particular array. It had already been eight hundred years since Xie Lian had last entered the spirit communication array, thus he certainly hadn’t remembered the password. So, he released his divine sense to look around before he found an array that seemed to resemble it. But when he casually entered, he was immediately hit in all directions by violent and excited voices so powerful that he became a bit unsteady.

“Place your bets, no take-backs! Come bet how long our Royal Highness the Crown Prince can persevere before he’ll have to descend once more!”

“I bet one year!”

“One year is too long, last time he only lasted the time span of one incense stick. Perhaps this time he’ll persist for three days? I’ll place a bet for three days, three days!”

“Don’t ah, you dunce! Three days have almost gone by already. Are you gonna be okay?”

……Xie Lian silently left the array.

Wrong place. It definitely couldn’t be this one.

The deities in Heaven were all big-shot Heavenly Officials who oversaw their own region, and each one of them were a household name among a great number of people. Because they were all Heavenly Officials who had seriously cultivated to ascend, they were dignified and were usually quite reserved. More often than not, their speech and behaviour had an air of arrogance. There would only be him who, because he had been too excited the first time he had ascended, had went and grabbed every Heavenly Official in the spirit communication array to make his greetings. Xie Lian had been incomparably earnest as he introduced himself, and his thoroughly detailed introduction was unparalleled.

After he had retreated from the previous array, he began randomly searching once more. Finally, he casually entered another array again. After entering this time, Xie Lian relaxed a bit as he mentally thought, “It’s so quiet here. This is probably the one.”

At that moment, he heard a voice lightly say, “Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned again?”

At first, this sound was extremely comfortable to hear. The voice was soft and the tone was gentle. However if one listened to it closely, they would realize that the voice sounded extremely cold, and the speaker’s tone appeared very indifferent as well. Thus, it made that gentleness seem as if it harboured some evil intentions.

Originally, Xie Lian had wanted to enter the array in a restrained and well-behaved manner. Silently lurking there was good enough. However, since someone was already looking for him to chat, he couldn’t pretend to be mute and deaf. He was also extremely happy that a Heavenly Official in Heaven was still willing to take the initiative to talk to him, a god personifying pestilence. Thus, he quickly replied, “That’s right, ah! Hello everyone! I returned again.”

How would he know that after this one question and response—every Heavenly Official in the spirit communication array at that moment all perked up their ears.

That Heavenly Official continued to speak in a leisurely manner, “This time, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s ascension made a really big commotion, ah.”

Within Heaven, it could even be said that monarchs were walking around everywhere, while heroes were as common as the water flowing in rivers.

If one wished to become an immortal god, they must first become an outstanding individual. In the mortal realm, people who achieved and accomplished many goals or people who had a lot of talent, of course, had a larger opportunity to ascend. As a result, it wasn’t exaggerated to say that princesses, princes, and generals weren’t a rare sight to see here. Who wasn’t a proud child of the Heavens? However, everyone was still extremely polite and courteous to each other, calling one another ‘Your Majesty’ or ‘Your Highness’ or ‘General Lord’. They would say whatever sounded more complimentary. But for the prior words spoken by the Heavenly Official, that title he used no longer sounded like a polite gesture.

Although Xie Lian had been a Crown Prince, and the other had greeted him thus—his tone didn’t have even one bit of respect. It rather sounded as if he was trying to use a needle to stab someone. There were many other Heavenly Officials who had been genuine Crown Princes within the spirit communication array, and those few greetings simply made goosebumps appear on their backs as they felt uncomfortable from head to toe. Xie Lian also heard the ill intentions in the other’s voice, but he did not want to make a scene. Thinking to himself that he would escape, he replied with a smile, “It was okay.”

However, the Heavenly Official didn’t give him a chance to escape. He spoke in a voice that was neither warm nor cold, “Huh, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince is okay? My luck was not that good.”

Suddenly, Xie Lian heard a whisper from Ling Wen.

She only said a single word, “Clock.”

Xie Lian instantly understood. So, this had been the martial god who got smashed by that clock!

If that was the situation, then the Heavenly Official being angry wasn’t something without reason. Xie Lian had always been extremely good at apologizing and thus immediately said, “I’ve heard about the incident with the clock. I’m extremely sorry, please pardon me.”

The other snorted once, making it impossible for anyone to tell what he meant by it.

There were many martial gods within Heaven and among those, quite a few were new upstarts who had ascended after Xie Lian left. This was why he was unable to pinpoint which god this was just by listening to his voice. However, one couldn’t apologize without even knowing the other’s name. Thus, Xie Lian went to the heart of the matter and asked, “Excuse me, may I ask how I should address you, distinguished one?”

The moment he said those words, the other party became silent.

It wasn’t only the other god who became silent. The entire spirit communication array seemed to freeze, as if a puff of stagnant air slapped everyone in the face.

On the other side, Ling Wen whispered to him once more, “Your Highness, though I don’t believe you haven’t recognized the other person after talking to him for so long—I still want to remind you. That is Xuan Zhen.”

Xie Lian asked, “Xuan Zhen?”

He choked up in a flash before finally reacting as he sent a message back in slight shock, “This is Mu Qing?”

Xuan Zhen Jun was a martial god who kept watch over the Southwest. He had seven thousand temples, and in the mortal realm, his reputation was illustrious.

This Xuan Zhen Jun, who had the personal name Mu Qing, used to be a deputy general in the Palace Halls of Xian Le country’s Crown Prince eight hundred years ago.

Ling Wen was also very shocked. “It couldn’t be that you really didn’t recognize him?”

Xie Lian replied, “I really didn’t recognize him. Back then, he didn’t talk to me in this manner. In addition, I can’t even remember when was the last time I met him. If it wasn’t five hundred years, then it was six hundred years ago. I have almost completely forgotten what he looked like, so how could I still recognize his voice?”

The spirit communication array remained silent, and Mu Qing didn’t make a single peep. As for the other Heavenly Officials, on one hand, they pretended that they weren’t listening, while on the other hand, they waited for someone to continue talking with fervent anticipation.

When it came to these two, it was relatively awkward. After so many years, many rumors had been passed on, so everyone already understood almost everything. In those days when Xie Lian had been the precious Xian Le Crown Prince, he cultivated in Huang Ji Temple. That Huang Ji Temple was the Xian Le country’s Imperial Taoist Temple. Their selection standards for disciples were extremely strict. Mu Qing came from a poor background, and his father was a sinner who had been beheaded. A person like that simply did not have the qualifications to enter the Huang Ji Temple as a disciple. As a result, he had no other choice but to become someone who did odd jobs. In the temple, he was mostly in charge of sweeping the floor for His Highness the Crown Prince, or delivering tea and water to him. But Xie Lian saw he was assiduous, and thus he asked the Taoist Ministers to make an exception and receive him as a disciple. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s words carried great weight. Because of the Crown Prince’s will, only then was Mu Qing able to enter the temple to cultivate. And after Xie Lian ascended, he appointed him as his general and took Mu Qing along with him to the Immortal City.

However, when the Xian Le nation was wiped out and Xie Lian was demoted to descend into the mortal realm, Mu Qing did not follow him. Not only did he not follow Xie Lian, but Mu Qing didn’t even say a single word in defence for him. The Crown Prince was gone anyway, so he was free. He found a blessed place and began to painstakingly cultivate like crazy. Not many years later, he withstood the Heavenly Tribulations and ascended himself.

Back then, one was in the heavens while another was on the ground. Now, there was still one in the heavens and one on the ground, it was just that the two people’s circumstances were thoroughly reversed.

At the other end, Ling Wen said, “He’s really angry.”

Xie Lian replied, “I guessed that too.”

Ling Wen responded, “I’ll go say some other things. Quickly take the opportunity to leave.”

Xie Lian said, “There’s no need. If we pretend nothing happened, then everything would be fine.”

Ling Wen asked, “No need? Just looking at you guys makes me feel awkward.”

Xie Lian replied, “I’m still okay ah!”

For Xie Lian, any situation was okay as long as he didn’t die. He didn’t have much, but he could definitely still lose a lot of face. He had already done plenty of things that were many times more awkward than this, so he really felt okay in his heart. But who would have thought he shouldn’t have said that so early; Xie Lian had just said the words ‘still okay’ when he heard a voice roar, “Who the f*ck dismantled my golden palace?! Come out!”

This one roar made the Gods listening within the spirit communication array feel as if their scalps were going to explode.

Though their stomachs were already flipping, everyone still held their breaths as they listened with rapt attention. They didn’t make a single peep as they waited to see how Xie Lian would respond to the loud cursing. But nobody expected that instead of something exciting—they would hear something even more thrilling. Xie Lian hadn’t even started talking before Mu Qing spoke first.

Mu Qing laughed twice. “Haha.”

The person who came coldly said, “You were the one who tore it down? Alright, wait for it.”

Mu Qing faintly replied, “I did not say it was me. Don’t randomly spray blood at people.”

The other person asked, “Then why are you laughing? Are you mentally ill?”

Mu Qing answered, “It isn’t like that. What you’ve just said was funny, that’s all. The person who destroyed your golden palace is currently in the spirit communication array, you can go and ask him yourself.”

With things evolving to this degree, no matter what, Xie Lian felt too embarrassed to escape now.

He coughed dryly before saying, “It was me. I’m sorry.”

The moment he spoke, the person who came later also became silent.

By his ear, Ling Wen again transmitted a message. “Your Royal Highness, that is Nan Yang.”

Xie Lian responded, “This time, I recognized him. However, I think he hasn’t recognized me.”

Ling Wen replied, “No. It’s just, he spends most of his time in the mortal realm and less time in the Immortal City. Thus, he merely didn’t know you had ascended again.”

Nan Yang ZhenJun was the martial god who oversaw the Southeast. He was popular and had nearly eight thousand temples, receiving the love and respect from the common people.

In addition, his personal name was Feng Xin. Eight hundred years ago, he was the first general of the Xian Le Crown Prince’s Palace Hall.

Feng Xin was a devoted and loyal person. He was Xie Lian’s Imperial bodyguard ever since the other had been fourteen years old. Feng Xin grew up with the Crown Prince, entered the Heavens with him, was demoted with him, and was banished with him. Unfortunately, he was unable to endure those eight hundred years with Xie Lian. In the end, they separated on bad terms and parted ways, never to see each other again.

Glossary :

ZhenJun is a title. Zhen means ‘genuine’ while Jun means Lord. Later, one character will also have the title ZhenJun while another will just be called Jun.

A former superior master was reduced to a laughingstock of three realms; someone who didn’t have incense offerings, temples, or believers. The two retainers who had once sat underneath him both passed Heaven’s tribulations, ascending and becoming strong martial gods who each oversaw a whole region. With circumstances like this, it was impossible for people to not wonder more. If you were to ask Xie Lian to choose whether Feng Xin or Mu Qing made him feel more awkward, he would say, “They’re all okay ah!”

However, if you asked bystanders whether they wanted to see Xie Lian fight Feng Xin or if they wanted to see Xie Lian fight Mu Qing, then everyone would make different choices according to their tastes. After all, there were abundant reasons for either pair to fight, so it was hard to pick which was the more interesting option.

Therefore, when there was no response from Feng Xin’s side for a long time because he had unexpectedly stopped talking and instead immediately hid, everyone felt utterly disappointed. Meanwhile, Xie Lian collected his tail and beat himself down a bit as he said, “I also didn’t anticipate making a commotion like this. It wasn’t deliberate, I’ve inconvenienced everyone.”

Mu Qing responded in a cool manner, “Oh, then that was indeed quite coincidental.”

Coincidental? Xie Lian also thought it was really too coincidental. How could the clock fall right onto Mu Qing, while his ascension also happened to destroy Feng Xin’s palace? For bystanders, it was as if he was deliberately taking revenge. However Xie Lian was the type of person that, should there be a thousand cups of wine with only one poisoned, Xie Lian would always manage to pick the poisoned one. But there was no way to control what other people believed, so Xie Lian could only say, “I will try my best to compensate for everyone’s golden palaces and other losses. I also hope you may give me some time.”

One didn’t need a brain to understand that Mu Qing definitely wanted to continue his sarcastic remarks. However, since Mu Qing’s golden palace didn’t suffer any losses and even the clock that fell onto him was sliced into two halves, continuing to be overbearing would appear unsightly and something beneath his identity. Therefore, Mu Qing also concealed himself before falling silent. When Xie Lian saw that the terrible problems had left by themselves, he also quickly fled.

He was still genuinely pondering over where he was supposed to get those eight million, eight hundred and eighty thousand merits the next day, when Ling Wen invited him to go to her Ling Wen Palace Hall.

Ling Wen was the Heavenly Official in charge of managing Heaven’s personnel. When mortals wished to get a step ahead in their careers, they would worship her. From the ground to the very top, the whole Palace Hall was filled to the brim with official documents and scrolls. This kind of scene was utterly shocking, one that would make anyone shiver with fear. As Xie Lian walked forward, he saw that every Heavenly Official coming out of Ling Wen’s Palace Hall dragged out an exceptionally tall stack of paperwork. Their faces were pale; and if they didn’t have an expression that looked as if they were about to collapse, then they had a look of numbness. When the two of them finally entered the Palace Hall, Ling Wen turned around and got straight to the point. “Your Highness, there is a matter in which the Emperor would like to request your help. Are you willing to assist him and lend a helping hand?”

In Heaven, there were many people who had the titles ZhenJun or YuanJun. However, only one person could be called the Emperor. But if that person wanted to do something, then there would never be the need for him to beseech other people. This was why Xie Lian stared blankly for a bit before he replied, “What matter?”

Ling Wen handed him a scroll before explaining, “Recently, the North has a large number of zealous worshippers repeatedly praying for blessings. It can be assumed that they aren’t passing their days peacefully.”

These so-called zealous worshippers generally referred to three types of people. First, rich people: they paid money in order to burn incense and build temples for gods. The second category consisted of those missionaries who would preach to bystanders. And, last but not least, the third type of zealous worshippers were people whose body and mind were thoroughly doused in faith and belief. Among them, most of these worshippers belonged to the first category, since in this world, the rich were like carps passing through rivers. The third category had the least people, because if one was truly able to get to that level of faith, then their degree of proficiency was surely quite high, and they wouldn’t be far from ascending themselves. The people Ling Wen mentioned was clearly from the first category.

Ling Wen continued to speak, “At present, the Emperor cannot attend to the North. If you are willing to take his place and make the trip, when the time comes, regardless of how much offerings these zealous worshippers make, everything will be allocated to your altar. What do you think?”

Xie Lian received the scroll with both hands as he said, “Many thanks.”

This was evidently Jun Wu helping him, but instead he flipped it around and made it sound as if he was asking Xie Lian for his help. How could Xie Lian not see through that? However, he couldn’t find more fitting words to express what he thought in place of the two words he had just said. Ling Wen replied, “I’m only responsible for handling these affairs. If you want to thank someone, you should wait for the Emperor to return before personally thanking him instead. —Oh right, do you need my help borrowing any magical artefacts?”

Xie Lian answered, “There’s no need. Even if you give me a magical artefact, once I go down I won’t have any spiritual power, and so I won’t be able to use it.”

Xie Lian had been beaten down twice, so he lost his spiritual power. It was easier to cope in the Heavens, the place where all the immortals assembled. After all, spiritual power was abundant and the source won’t dry up, thus he could casually grab some to use. However, once he returned to the mortal realm, he would be powerless. If Xie Lian wanted to fight with magic, then he could only make do by finding someone he could borrow spiritual energy from, something extremely inconvenient.

Ling Wen pondered for a moment before saying, “Then it would be best to borrow a few martial gods to assist you and lend a helping hand.”

The current martial gods either didn’t recognize him, or they didn’t like him. Xie Lian understood that thoroughly, and so he responded, “There’s also no need for that. You won’t be able to borrow anyone.”

However, Ling Wen seemed to have taken it into serious consideration and only said, “I’ll give it a try.”

There wouldn’t be a difference whether she tried or not, therefore Xie Lian didn’t approve or oppose her words, and allowed Ling Wen to try. As a result, Ling Wen entered the spirit communication array before announcing in a bright tone, “Everyone, the Emperor has an important task to be handled in the North and urgently need people. Which martial god Highness can lend out two martial officials from their Palace Halls to help?”

The moment her voice faded, Mu Qing’s floaty voice emerged, “I’ve heard that the Emperor isn’t in the North right now, so I’m afraid you’re borrowing people for His Highness the Crown Prince, right?”

Xie Lian mentally thought: “Are you keeping guard at the spirit communication array all day long…?”

Ling Wen was on the same wavelength as him. Although she only wanted to slap the Mu Qing who was hindering her work right out of the array, she started speaking with a smile. “Xuan Zhen, why am I always seeing you in the array these two days? It seems like you’ve been stealing time to slack off and now you’re quite idle. Congratulations, congratulations.”

Mu Qing replied in a light tone, “My hand is injured, so I’m recuperating.”

Every Heavenly Official there mentally thought, “In the past, it would be nothing difficult for that hand of yours to split a mountain in half. So, what would hacking a foolish clock into pieces do to you?”

Originally, Ling Wen had wanted to deceive two people to come work before explaining the details. But not only did Mu Qing guess those details in one try, he even said them out loud. With the circumstances now, it was certain she wouldn’t be able to find anyone. Sure enough, no one else answered her inquiry for quite a while. Xie Lian also didn’t believe anyone would come forward, and thus told her, “You see, I said you wouldn’t be able to borrow anyone.”

Ling Wen responded, “If Xuan Zhen didn’t say anything, I would have indeed been able to.”

Xie Lian smiled. “Those words of yours had been as if you were carrying a pipa, but concealing half its face, beautifully blurring the scene to some degree. People would have thought they were going to help the Emperor with some work, so of course they would come. But when they come and realize they were going to have to work with me, I’m afraid there would be trouble. How could we work together like that? In any case, I’m used to being alone, and I’m not missing an arm or a leg, so let’s just go with this ah. Thank you for your trouble, I’ll leave now.”

Ling Wen was also powerless. Thus, she cupped her hands in a salute before saying, “Alright. I wish Your Highness’ journey goes smoothly, and may the blessings of Heaven’s Officials be upon you.”

Xie Lian replied, “All taboos are off!1” Waving his hand, he left in a confident and carefree manner.

Three days later, mortal realm, the North.

By the side of a major road, there was a small teahouse. The storefront wasn’t big and the shopkeepers were simple folks, but goods were expensive because the scenery was good. There were mountains and bodies of water, there were people and a city. They had everything, not much of everything—not much, but just right. Located in the middle of such scenery, if one were to come across the teahouse by chance, it would certainly create a wonderful memory. The teahouse’s tea sommelier was exceedingly idle, since he currently didn’t have any customers. Thus, he moved a small stool to the door of the store and began looking at the mountain, the water, the people and the city. He was happily looking when, from afar, he saw a Taoist clad in white walking over. The Taoist was covered in dust, looking as if he had been walking for a very long time. When he came closer, he walked past the small teahouse, before suddenly stopping in his tracks and slowly retracing his steps. The Taoist tilted up his bamboo hat with his hand before raising his head. He only took one glance at the store before he started speaking with a smile. “‘Chance Encounter’ little store, the name is interesting.”

Although this person had a tired appearance, he also had a face full of smiles. It made the people looking at him unable to stop the corners of their own mouths from curving up. The Taoist then asked, “Excuse me, may I ask if Mount Yu Jun is nearby?”

The tea sommelier pointed in a direction for him, before replying, “It is in this region.”

That person breathed out, and for once he didn’t spit out his soul with that breath. In his mind, he thought, “I’ve finally arrived.”

This person was precisely Xie Lian.

He left the Immortal City that day. Originally, he had already decided the location he would descend to; Xie Lian had wanted to fall near Mount Yu Jun. Who would have thought that when he left without a care and jumped down without a care, his sleeve would get caught on a carefree cloud. Yes, it got caught on a cloud. Even Xie Lian didn’t know how his sleeve got caught on a cloud. In any case, he tumbled around at a lofty, high altitude, and by the time he rolled down, he had no idea where he was. After three days on foot, he finally reached his originally planned arrival location. Thus, for a short while, he felt extremely moved.

Entering the teahouse, Xie Lian picked a table beside the window before asking for some tea and snacks. He finally got seated after his previous difficulties, when he suddenly heard endless wailing and the sound of beating drums from outside the room.

Xie Lian turned his gaze toward the street before seeing a group of people from all ages escorting a crimson-red marriage sedan as they walked past the teahouse.

This procession was surrounded by an extremely odd air. At first glance, they seemed to be the relatives delivering the bride. But if one looked closely, they would notice how the faces of these people all had solemn expressions—expressions of grief, anger, dread, yet the only emotion that wasn’t present was joy. Whatever the case, it didn’t have the appearance of a wedding. However, contrary to that thought, everyone was wearing red flowers as they played wind instruments and beat their drums. This situation was really too strange. That tea sommelier carried a copper teapot in his hand and raised it up high to pour some tea. He had also seen this scene, but he only shook his head before leaving.

Xie Lian followed that strange, departing procession with his eyes, before pondering for a brief moment. He was just about to take out the scroll Ling Wen had given him to look over one more time, when he suddenly felt something dazzling flit by.

The moment Xie Lian raised his head, a silver butterfly flew past his eyes.

That silver butterfly was sparkly and translucent, looking pure and limpid. As it flew around in the air, it left behind bright traces. Xie Lian couldn’t help but reach out a hand toward it. This butterfly was extremely intelligent. Not only was it not frightened, it even temporarily stopped on his fingertips, both wings glittering and beautiful to the utmost degree. Under the sunshine, it looked as if it was a fragment of an illusion. After a moment, however, it flew away.

Xie Lian waved at it, something that could be considered as his goodbye. But when he turned back, his table had two more people sitting there.

This table had four sides. One person sat on the left and another sat on the right, each taking one side. Both people were teenage boys who looked around eighteen or nineteen years old. The one on the left was taller, with facial expressions that looked quite defined and brightly handsome. Within his gaze was an arrogant and obstinate light. The right side had very light skin. He looked delicate and pretty, yet also refined. However, his expression looked somewhat overly cold and apathetic, an appearance that made it seem as if he wasn’t too happy. In fact, the colour of the faces of both people didn’t look that great.

Xie Lian blinked his eyes before asking: “You two are?”

The person on the left replied: “Nan Feng.”

The person on the right responded: “Fu Yao.”

Xie Lian mentally thought: “It’s not like I’m asking for your names…”

At that moment, Ling Wen suddenly transmitted her voice over. She said, “Your Highness, there are two small martial gods from Middle Heaven who are willing to help. They’ve already gone down to look for you, so they should have arrived by now ah.”

The so-called Middle Heaven was naturally relative to Upper Heaven. The Heavenly Officials of Heaven could be simply and roughly divided into two categories: the ones that ascended, and the ones that didn’t. The Heavenly Officials of Upper Heaven had all ascended by relying on themselves. There were only about a hundred within the whole of Heaven, and they were each extremely precious. But within Middle Heaven, the deities there were the ones who were brought up by “appointing them as deputy”. Strictly speaking, their full names ought to be called “Fellow Heavenly Officials”. However, when people called them, more often than not they would leave out that “fellow” word.

Since there was an Upper Heaven and a Middle Heaven, was there a Lower Heaven?

There wasn’t.

Actually, when Xie Lian ascended for the first time, there really had been a Lower Heaven. At that time, Heaven was still divided as Upper Heaven and Lower Heaven. But later, everyone found a problem. When they introduced themselves and opened their mouths to say, “I am from Lower Heaven’s so-and-so”, it sounded truly unpleasant. With the ‘lower’ word existing, it made them feel especially inferior. Among the deities of Middle Heaven, there was definitely no shortage of talented people. Their spiritual power was rich and strong, and they were each excellent and well-known figures. The only difference between them and real Heavenly Officials was merely how they lacked experiencing a Heavenly Tribulation. But who knew when the day that Heavenly Tribulation they were waiting for would really come. Therefore, some people proposed to change a single word—turning introductions into ‘I am from Middle Heaven’s so-and-so’. This was much more pleasurable to hear, though they both had the same meaning. In short, after the change, Xie Lian hadn’t gotten used to it even after quite a while.

Xie Lian looked at these two small martial gods. With one face slightly more unpleasant than the other, it was unlikely they were “willing to come forward and help”. Thus, he couldn’t help but ask, “Ling Wen ah, I think they don’t look like they came down to help me, and instead it looks more like they want to retrieve my dog head. Did you deceive them to get them to come?”

Unfortunately, it seemed that this question of his wasn’t transmitted out. He was also now unable to hear Ling Wen’s voice by his ear. It was probably because he was so far away from the Immortal City, and it had been so long since he descended, so his spiritual power was all depleted. Xie Lian was incapable of doing anything else, so he first gave a smile to both the small martial gods before saying, “Was it Nan Feng and Fu Yao? To be willing to come and help me, let me thank you in advance.”

The two of them only nodded their heads, both appearing to have a somewhat lofty attitude. It seemed that the martial gods they were under had a rather illustrated reputation. Xie Lian had the tea sommelier bring two more cups of tea. Picking up his cup, he scraped the tea leaves before casually asking, “Which Highness’ Palace are you under?”

Nan Feng replied: “Nan Yang Palace Hall.”

Fu Yao said: “Xuan Zhen Palace Hall.”

“….”

This truly made one feel frightened.

Xie Lian swallowed a mouthful of tea before asking, “Your Palaces’ Generals allowed you to come?”

The both of them responded, “My Palace’s General didn’t know I came.”

Xie Lian thought for a bit before again asking, “Then, do you know who I am?”

If these two small martial gods came here because they were muddleheaded and thus deceived by Ling Wen, then after helping him, they would return to get scolded by their Palace’s General. Something like that certainly wouldn’t be worth it.

Nan Feng replied, “You are His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

Fu Yao said, “You are the correct path for the human world, you are the heart of the universe.”

Xie Lian choked once, before he asked Nan Feng in an uncertain manner, “Just now, did he roll his eyes?”

Nan Feng responded, “He did, let him scram.”

Nan Yang’s relationship with Xuan Zhen wasn’t good. This wasn’t a secret. So when Xie Lian heard of that matter, he didn’t really feel surprised. This was because, even back then, Feng Xin and Mu Qing’s relationship hadn’t been all that great. Only, in those days, he had been the master and they were the retainers. The Crown Prince said don’t argue ah, you guys have to become good friends, so the two of them endured and refrained from becoming hostile with each other. When they became extremely unhappy, at most, they merely use words to stab the opposite side. Muddling until today, there was no longer a need to be so insincerely courteous. Thus, even the worshippers from the Southeast and Southwest didn’t look upon each other in a positive light, while the Nan Yang Palace Hall and the Xuan Zhen Palace Hall had even more mutual hatred for each other. The two before him were a prime example. Fu Yao smiled sarcastically as he stated, “Ling Wen ZhenJun said that if you were willing, you could come. So, for what reason would I scram and leave?”

The word ‘voluntary’, saying it with his expression didn’t look convincing. Thus Xie Lian said, “Let me confirm once. Are you two really voluntarily doing this? If you’re not, by all means, don’t force yourself ah.”

The two of them both said, “I willingly volunteered.”

Looking at those two deeply depressed faces, Xie Lian mentally thought, the words the two of you actually wanted to say were ‘I want to commit suicide’, right?

“In short—”

Xie Lian began, “Let’s first discuss the real work. You guys already know why we came to the North this time, so I won’t start explaining from the beginning…”

The two of them both said, “I don’t know why.”

“….”

Xie Lian was incapable of doing anything and could only take out the scroll before saying, “Then it would be best if I explain everything from the start.”

It was said that many years ago in Mount Yu Jun, there was a bride and a groom who were about to be wed.

The couple loved each other very much. The bridegroom waited for the procession that delivered the bride, but even after waiting for a long time, he didn’t see the bride arrive. The bridegroom began to feel anxious, and thus began to look for the bride’s family. The result was his father-in-law and mother-in-law informing him that his bride had long set off. The two households reported this to the officials before they began looking in all directions. However, from beginning to end, they never found her. But even if she had been eaten by a fierce beast in the mountains, there should have been remains of an arm or a leg or what not. What was the justification behind her disappearing in thin air? Thus, it was inevitable that people harbored suspicions that the bride herself didn’t wish to marry, resulting in her colluding with the procession before escaping. But who would have known that after a few years, another new couple married and the nightmare repeated itself.

The bride disappeared again. However, this time she didn’t leave without a trace. On a small road, people found a foot that something hadn’t quite finished eating.

Glossary :

This is from the first part of the Chinese saying “All taboos are off and all evil withdraws”. Honestly, it seems like Xie Lian said that as a customary reply to Ling Wen’s sentence about the blessing, AKA its unclear even in the raws why Xie Lian said that.