Chapter 128: Bloody Rain Sought Flower, Vicious Battle Against White No-Face

AT THAT MOMENT, all three felt a wave of heat surge from  below. They all cried, “Watch out!” and their feet moved faster as seven or eight pillars of fire shot to the skies. Even more of the molten vengeful spirits had gathered below!

“Feng Xin, give Mu Qing to me!” Xie Lian called out.

Without another word, Feng Xin peeled Mu Qing off his back and tossed him to Xie Lian. Once on Xie Lian’s back, Mu Qing exclaimed, “Finish them off quickly! What a nuisance!”

“I don’t need you to tell me that!” Feng Xin replied as he pulled his bowstring to ready multiple arrows at once.

His bow attacks could hit a much wider area than the spiritual blasts that he and Xie Lian had been firing off wildly. The arrows made explosive impact with the lava, sending waves surging high into the air and eliciting screams from all around.

“Nice work!” Xie Lian complimented.

“It’s all right, I guess!” Mu Qing commented from his back.

The vengeful spirits were full of rancor, and after another huddle, they swam farther ahead and worked together to blow flames at them.

After a series of rumbles, Xie Lian said, “They’ve burnt through a stretch of the bridge ahead. They want to cut off our path!”

“Fucking hell,” Feng Xin cursed. “You’re all teaming up, working so hard! Why do you have to hurt people?! The way I see it, none of you are ever leaving that lava, not for another eight thousand years!”

The moment he raised his bow, the molten vengeful spirits scattered again.

“All right, stop yelling and get ready!” Xie Lian said. “We’re gonna jump! One, two, three—!”

On one, they began to speed up. On two, they calculated the number of steps remaining. On three, their feet pushed off and they jumped. Three figures leapt into the air, passed over the gap in the broken bridge, and then landed on the other side before continuing their mad dash.

The bridge had been created as a path to the heavens, so, naturally, it sloped gradually upward. However, the more they ran, the lighter Xie Lian felt—light as a swallow.

“It’s been a long time since the three of us did something like this, huh?”

“Do you mean fighting side by side or running for our lives?” Mu Qing questioned.

“Both!” Xie Lian said.

“We do this all the time!” Feng Xin exclaimed.

“Really?” Xie Lian wondered.

Well, one’s state of mind obviously changed completely once they cleared the air.

Xie Lian let out a laugh, but his careful eyes never stopped scanning below them. There was still no sight of a red silhouette, so he couldn’t help but be a little on edge.

“San Lang!”

His call echoed in the expansive, empty underground cave, but no one answered. Xie Lian licked his dry lips.

He scanned the room, eyes darting this way and that, and Mu Qing was silent for a moment as he watched from his perch on Xie Lian’s back.

“Your Highness, you really like him, huh?”

“…” Xie Lian hadn’t expected him to ask that out of nowhere. “Ah. Ah? …Ah.”

Although his expression was completely blank, the tips of his ears were gradually turning red. Seeing him like this, Mu Qing couldn’t think of what to say, so after a moment of hesitation, he plowed ahead.

“I’m not trying to scare you on purpose or anything, but I have to remind you…have you considered…maybe we were the only two sent to the bridge, and Crimson Rain Sought Flower…wasn’t?”

“Duh? Of course he was sent elsewhere, since there’s only the two of you here…” Feng Xin responded, but he trailed off once he realized what Mu Qing was trying to say.

Rather than saying Hua Cheng had been sent elsewhere, he was saying…that Hua Cheng might have fallen into the lava.

Xie Lian licked his lips again. “H-how could that be?”

“Don’t say it’s impossible,” Mu Qing said. “Crimson Rain Sought Flower is a Supreme Ghost King, no doubt about that, but White No-Face is too. He’s from the first generation of Supreme Ghost Kings, and he’s the master of Mount Tonglu. This place is his territory, the domain where his spiritual powers are strongest.”

Feng Xin glared furiously at Mu Qing. “Shut your mouth! What’s wrong with you—can’t you say something positive at a time like this?” he scolded. “He’s the Crimson Rain Sought Flower, I’m telling you!”

Mu Qing stopped, but he couldn’t resist countering Feng Xin’s statement. “I just think we have to consider what to do in the worst-case scenario.”

That offending roll of a one, the single dot so unusually, vividly red and stark against Hua Cheng’s pale palm, surfaced in Xie Lian’s mind. He didn’t know how to respond, but just as he was going to try, he came to an abrupt stop. Feng Xin was following right behind and almost collided with him.

“What is it?!”

As soon as he asked, he realized there was no need.

Ahead of them, millions of shimmering silver sparkles clouded the air, twinkling like stars. It was as if someone had toppled a jewelry box full of silver powder.

Xie Lian put Mu Qing down and walked forward. Reaching out a hand, he gently touched a gleaming piece of silver that was slightly larger than the rest. Upon making contact, he closed his palm and slowly brought it before his eyes.

The other two approached to inspect it as well, and Feng Xin muttered, “This…this is…”

“It’s a fragment of…a wraith butterfly?” Mu Qing said simply.

The overly blunt observation earned him another scornful glare from Feng Xin. Xie Lian’s hand trembled a little. He let out a long breath as he clutched the silver wing fragment, still glowing faintly.

Feng Xin scratched his head. “Look on the bright side: at least he didn’t actually fall into the lava. He must’ve been here, right?”

“And fought with someone,” Mu Qing said, pointing to one side. “A serious fight.”

Xie Lian’s eyes followed his gesture, then went wide. All the rocks around them were covered with countless terrifying gashes made by a sharp blade—the distinctive blade marks of Eming.

Each strike from that scimitar sliced straight to the bone. It wasn’t as though Xie Lian had never seen Hua Cheng use his blade before, but his style had always been relaxed and easy, nonchalant and casual, less handling a weapon than toying with a pocket knife. But these blade marks were from strikes fueled by killing intent—it was easy to imagine the enormous skill level of his opponent and how perilous their battle had been.

Without saying a word, Xie Lian fell to the ground to check. There was no trace that anyone had fallen from the bridge, nor were there any vengeful spirits gathered below it in celebration. Xie Lian finally relaxed a little and got to his feet, then quietly sprinted forward resolutely on his own.

Behind him, Feng Xin hoisted Mu Qing onto his back and went after him. “Your Highness!”

Xie Lian didn’t want to hear his own harsh, anxious breathing, so he held his breath. Disrupting one’s airflow was a great taboo for a martial artist—not only did it add an unnecessary burden to the body, it also disrupted the rhythm of the heart. But even holding his breath was useless; his hands, arms, and legs were shaking. As he ran and ran, he tripped, fell, and tumbled, rolled a dozen times, even nearly careened off the bridge. Feng Xin and Mu Qing both yelled at him to be careful.

Suddenly, Xie Lian came to a halt and looked back.

“What’s that sound?” he asked. “Do you guys hear it? Is that the sound of battle?”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing both cried, “Yes! And yes!”

They could hear the cracking and rumbling of weapons clashing and spiritual powers colliding. Even the Heaven-Crossing Bridge shook faintly. Lights flashed from within the darkness of the path ahead.

Someone was fighting up there! Xie Lian rushed forward, half crawling and half stumbling.

Behind him, Feng Xin muttered, “Fucking hell, may all the gods and buddhas grant their blessings—that’d better be Crimson Rain Sought Flower, otherwise he’s gonna lose it!”

“Stop with that rubbish,” Mu Qing berated. “We’re the gods and buddhas, and we can’t grant shit. Just keep up with him! Look at how he’s stumbling; he’s gonna trip and fall flat on his damned face before he even sees the man!”

Xie Lian had completely forgotten about holding his breath, and his own disorderly panting echoed in his ears as he ran on and on. After many twists and turns, he at last rounded the final corner and bright white light filled his vision.

At the end of the suspended Heaven-Crossing Bridge, a man in red and a man in white were engaged in a vicious battle.

The red-clad man wielded a long, slender silver scimitar, and his form was spectral as he flashed in and away like lightning. It was Hua Cheng, and he wasn’t smiling anymore—he was completely focused, his expression sharp. There was a smear of blood on his pale, handsome cheek, adding a splash of vivid color to his biting frost.

The white-clad man was, of course, White No-Face. He was wielding a sword that he had collected from somewhere, and his face was still hidden behind a half-smiling, half-crying mask. However, that mask was a little bit different from the one Xie Lian had seen before.

It was cracked in the middle.

The crack was significant, impossible to ignore—it went from the center of the forehead all the way down to the cheek just below the eye. The mask looked like it could shatter at any moment!

The aura of evil seethed all around. Both combatants were astoundingly light on their feet, deftly bounding off and leaping forward in an instant. And yet each strike still carried a thousand tons of weight, the force of their blows blasting to the skies above—the qi of the sword flew wildly, the gale of the scimitar danced maniacally. Wraith butterflies faced off against the molten vengeful spirits below, both sides shrieking at one another with enough force to collapse mountains and overturn seas. Each time they clashed, molten lava and blazing fire exploded within the pool, sending terrifying waves surging meters high. No one else could get close!

Feng Xin and Mu Qing finally arrived, but both were immediately nailed to the ground by shock at the scene before them, unable to move a single step more.

No martial god could watch a battle such as this and not be seized with excitement!

Seeing that Hua Cheng was perfectly fine, Xie Lian’s restless heart was finally at ease. He wanted to collapse to the ground immediately, to scream and yell, but he forced himself to hold it in. When skilled fighters clashed, any sudden disturbance could decide victory or defeat. And this was a battle between two Supreme Ghost Kings!

On White No-Face’s side, there was another figure standing in the far distance—the state preceptor. Naturally, he had been brought here by White No-Face. The man breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that Xie Lian and company had come, but he didn’t dare to recklessly make noise either.

However, Hua Cheng had already noticed the newcomers. His icy focus melted slightly, and a grin finally spread across his face.

“It seems you’ve failed again. His Highness has arrived, and there is not a single person missing from his group.”

Xie Lian couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted, “San Lang!”

Hua Cheng inclined his head as he answered, “Gege.” His tone then turned to one of warning. “Gege, I’m going to get mad the next time you make yourself fall like that.”

Xie Lian gave him a warning too. “I’ll get even madder the next time you jump down with me!”

“…”

Hua Cheng’s face stiffened for a second, as if Xie Lian’s words really did cause him momentary dread. Even facing off against White No-Face, he’d never shown such an expression before.

White No-Face crushed in close. The one he struck at was Hua Cheng, but the one he spoke to was Xie Lian. “Xianle, you two are far too delighted with each other right now. Shouldn’t you be taking me a bit more seriously?”

The eyeball on Eming’s hilt caught sight of Xie Lian and started spinning wildly. Hua Cheng flipped his hand and thrust, and Xie Lian heard a crack.

His heart lurched.

That was the sound of a weapon breaking!

All those present hastily looked to see where the sound had come from. The scimitar in Hua Cheng’s hand was fine, but the longsword wielded by White No-Face had been snapped in half by his strike!

Eming’s eyeball spun wildly once more, as if showing off in front of Xie Lian had made it so happy it was in heaven.

Hua Cheng laughed heartily. “It’s fine. There’s no reason for gege to worry,” he said easily, then addressed White No-Face. “And why should I care for the likes of you?”

White No-Face humphed. Afraid that Hua Cheng would enrage his opponent, the state preceptor couldn’t hold back anymore and shouted to him, “Young man, don’t be so cocky!”

However, what Hua Cheng said next was even more audacious and brazen. He smiled as he pointed the sparkling, sharp scimitar at White No-Face with one hand.

“After all, at the end of the day, you’re just a jealous old geezer.”

The state preceptor couldn’t even bother to berate his fake smile at this point. Even Feng Xin and Mu Qing were stunned.

The guts of this man! Who would dare say such a thing directly to Jun Wu or White No-Face?!

They all had to admit that only Hua Cheng would dare, for he was probably the only one against whom neither Jun Wu nor White No-Face could retaliate!

Mu Qing got off Feng Xin’s back on his own and walked a few steps, mumbling to himself. “No wonder… In the past…Jun Wu always told us to avoid Crimson Rain Sought Flower if we could and to never face him head-on.”

A ball of white shadow flashed in front of the point of Eming’s blade, blocking it. Xie Lian’s sharp eyes identified the creature, and he shouted, “San Lang, don’t cut that thing!”

It was the fetus spirit! Xie Lian saw it, so naturally Hua Cheng did as well. He easily slowed the blade’s momentum, and with a slant of its tip, the slashing motion became a flick that flung away the white ball. Once Feng Xin saw that the fetus spirit hadn’t been chopped in half, his shrunken pupils returned to normal.

Shaking off his shock, he yelled, “Come here!”

Hua Cheng had flung the fetus spirit precisely in his direction, and Feng Xin rushed forward to catch it. However, the sparse hair on the fetus spirit’s head bristled as soon as it heard Feng Xin’s shouted order, and angry snarls gurgled from its throat. The moment Feng Xin approached, it chomped at him like mad and refused to let him pick it up.

Feng Xin couldn’t help but be outraged. “Fucking hell! It sticks to him the moment it sees him, but when it sees me, it bites. Just who’s your dad here?!”

“Have you ever thought of it as your son?” Mu Qing cut in. “Have you ever even called it by its proper name?”

This comment left Feng Xin stumped. “I…”

Meanwhile, Xie Lian couldn’t sit still and watch the battle anymore. “The two of you be careful,” he hastily instructed. “I’m going up for a closer look!”

“You be careful yourself!” Mu Qing said quietly. “Don’t forget, you still have two shackles…”

Xie Lian was slightly taken aback. Unthinkingly, he touched his neck to feel the cursed shackle there. For some reason, he didn’t think White No-Face would use the shackle against him.

There was no more time for words; he rushed forward.

A flash of red and a flash of white whirled in vicious battle. After observing for a moment, Xie Lian determined it would be difficult to plunge into the chaotic fight. For now, he whipped out Ruoye to wrap up the state preceptor and pull him over.

“Master! Are you all right?”

The state preceptor wiped the cold sweat from his face. “…Fine!”

“If you’re fine, then why are you sweating so heavily?” Xie Lian asked.

“That’s all thanks to Crimson Rain Sought Flower, the little bastard with no filter on his mouth! What a fright!” the state preceptor cried.

Just then, Feng Xin let out a surprised shout. Xie Lian raised his head and saw that White No-Face was slowly lowering his hand.

He was injured. He opened his palm and glanced down at his blood-drenched hand, let out a sigh, and then chuckled.

“…It’s been many years since anyone has managed to hurt me like this.”

Xie Lian felt a sense of foreboding. “Master, is he…angry?”

Right now, the state preceptor was the one who best understood White No-Face—perhaps the only one in the world who did. “No…he’s worse than angry. He’s…happy.”

After a pause, White No-Face turned to Hua Cheng. He sounded quite interested as he asked, “Your scimitar…did you forge it using your missing eye?”

It was obvious Hua Cheng had no interest in responding, but Xie Lian’s heart jolted violently.

From the first time he saw Eming, he knew that the scimitar was unusual. He had half guessed that it might have been forged from the eye Hua Cheng had lost, but White No-Face sounded so certain—could it really be true?

The state preceptor’s brow wrinkled, and after a moment, he said, “Oh, I remember now.”

“What do you remember?” Xie Lian asked.

“I once heard my friends speak of an incident,” the state preceptor said. “Many centuries ago, a wrath ghost came to Mount Tonglu.”

“I’m sure at least a million wrath ghosts have paid a visit to Mount Tonglu,” Mu Qing said.

“Don’t interrupt!” the state preceptor exclaimed. “That wrath ghost…he was newly formed, very young. He was already on the brink of dissipating completely when he arrived, yet for some reason he held on and drifted here.”

Although he didn’t know why, Xie Lian’s heart started racing. “Almost dissipated? Why?”

“He had suffered grievous injuries,” the state preceptor replied. “His soul was almost fully dispersed, and hardly any conscious mind remained to him. But still he floated along, repeating again and again that he wouldn’t leave, he wouldn’t leave—probably because his wish hadn’t been fulfilled. Anyway, an accident happened when Mount Tonglu opened that year.”

When Xie Lian heard “he wouldn’t leave,” for some reason he felt almost happy, even as his heart squeezed for the little ghost.

“What kind of accident?” he asked quickly.

“Not only had millions of ghosts converged on Mount Tonglu, but a group of living humans had accidentally wandered into this forbidden land and were locked inside.”

“What?!”

“The only things that live inside Mount Tonglu’s domain are nefarious creatures. Ordinary people have no way to break out of the domain; their certain fate is to become nourishment for the rest. But the wrath ghost, in his confused state, took the large group of living humans under his wing and fled for many days—for what reason, I can’t say. They were eventually cornered and surrounded by nefarious creatures, and the wrath ghost was about to be eaten along with the humans.”

Xie Lian knew that the solitary, wandering ghost must have been Hua Cheng!

“And then?” he pushed. “Was there a way to flee to safety?”

“Yes,” the state preceptor replied. “He could escape by forging a blood weapon and killing his way out.”

Mu Qing couldn’t help but chip in. “Then wouldn’t the easiest sacrifice be…?”

It would be the group of humans that had fallen into such a hopeless position!

Feng Xin and Mu Qing stared at Hua Cheng, who was wholly absorbed in the vicious fight against White No-Face. “Did…did he…”

Xie Lian held his breath.

“Yes,” the state preceptor said. “He made a move.”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing’s expressions were unreadable. Xie Lian, however, didn’t move a muscle and only waited for the state preceptor to continue.

Sure enough, the state preceptor’s story progressed as he had anticipated. “He made a move. In a fit of madness, he dug out one of his own eyes.”

“…”

“The wrath ghost almost made a move against the humans as well, but for some reason, he didn’t go through with it,” the state preceptor continued. “He instead used one of his own eyes as the price to forge a blood weapon. The wrath ghost was already clinging to existence with his last breath; after digging out his eye, he should’ve broken apart completely. But something had shocked him to action, and he instead fully regained his senses. I don’t know what kind of wicked weapon he forged, but it somehow carried him through that battle. And there was another curious incident after that.”

Xie Lian forced himself to calm down. “Wh-what incident?”

“After that battle, the heavens sent forth a Heavenly Tribulation and lightning struck straight into Mount Tonglu,” the state preceptor said. “Do you understand what that means?”

Was there any need to explain? If a Heavenly Tribulation had been sent forth, it meant the heavens believed there was someone worthy of ascension within Mount Tonglu.

Xie Lian grabbed the state preceptor. “Who was it? Who ascended?!”

“This is all hearsay,” the state preceptor said. “But there has never been a heavenly official in the Upper Court who hailed from Mount Tonglu. Either what I heard was purely fabricated, or…”

The person who ascended rejected the Heavenly Realm and jumped right back down!

Mu Qing couldn’t accept it. “Ascending as a ghost?!” he cried in shock. “Is that even possible? And he refused and jumped back down?! It couldn’t have been him, could it? He had only just entered Mount Tonglu—he hadn’t even reached the rank of supreme! Jumping all the way down like that…he couldn’t have even been sure he’d survive! Why did he do it?!”

Why had he gone to such extremes?

Just then, Xie Lian heard White No-Face sigh.

“Xianle, you have a very faithful believer.”

As soon as he spoke, the cracked cry-smiling mask loomed before Xie Lian’s face; the sight of it reflected clearly in his eyes. He was mere inches away. Xie Lian hadn’t expected White No-Face to draw so close in no more than an instant.

Ruoye shot up like it was bristling and ready to strike, but in the end it shrank back. It wasn’t its fault, for it had always been very intelligent—it would give up voluntarily if it knew that its attacks wouldn’t work.

White No-Face seemed to flash a smile, for the cry-smiling mask’s crack grew deeper.

The point of Eming’s blade grazed White No-Face’s neck mere seconds later, but it was late by a step; White No-Face had already dodged away in a flash. He reappeared on the highest point of the Heaven-Crossing Bridge, the point where it abruptly ended, and lifted his hand slightly.

“No need to be nervous. I was only taking back what’s mine.”

In his hand, he held a longsword. It was entirely pitch-black and as frigid as cold jade, with a silver streak down the blade’s central ridge—as if its heart had been split in half. Xie Lian reflexively twisted his hand to feel his back; sure enough, the blade Fangxin that he had carried on his back was gone.

Fangxin was originally the Crown Prince of Wuyong’s sword. White No-Face had retrieved what belonged to him.

One piece, two pieces, three pieces. The ghastly pale mask flaked off bit by bit until, finally, it fell completely and revealed the face behind. Within the raging flames, the white robe transformed into white armor.

At last, White No-Face had taken off his mask and transformed into Jun Wu.

Everyone held their breath, high on guard.

There was no need to guess. He had to be even stronger in this form.

“Young man, don’t underestimate your opponent!” the state preceptor shouted at Hua Cheng. “He’s even more difficult to deal with now than he was as White No-Face! You had the advantage of a better weapon earlier, but not anymore!”

Sure enough, all of the wounds on Jun Wu’s body vanished in one sweep; he was restored from head to toe. He glanced at the state preceptor and smiled.

“Giving others advice on how to fight me while I’m right here… I won’t kill you, but you’re certainly becoming bolder.”

That smile was laced with warning. Although the state preceptor stopped speaking, he still returned Jun Wu’s gaze measure for measure.

“Don’t worry, San Lang has never underestimated his opponents,” Xie Lian assured him.

He was more than sure of this. No matter how brazenly fearless Hua Cheng’s smile seemed, his hands would never relax.

Gazing at the sword, Jun Wu gently whispered, “Zhuxin, long time no see.”

Fangxin—or Zhuxin, as it should now be called—gave a deep, quiet moan in his hand.

Xie Lian had always thought that Fangxin was difficult to use because it was old; he even worried it might snap in half one day. He never expected its aura and power to be so different in the hands of its past master compared to his own!

Each time Zhuxin and Eming clashed, the entire Heaven-Crossing Bridge shook as if it might collapse and plummet into the lava. Jun Wu’s power and speed had clearly increased by a huge margin. While Hua Cheng was able to match his pace, he still frowned and his jaw clenched harder. Those watching the fight from afar were in a constant state of tension, for every one of Jun Wu’s forceful strikes were aimed straight at Hua Cheng’s right eye!

Hua Cheng blocked twice, but both attacks were alarmingly close to hitting. He quickly realized Jun Wu was using the same attack each time, as if he had determined Hua Cheng’s weakness was his right eye and wanted to gouge it out a second time. Naturally, every time he lunged, Hua Cheng defended with all he had and blocked again and again. But with this strategy, wouldn’t they soon find themselves at an impasse and accomplish nothing?

As though it sensed danger, Eming’s eye raged with unbridled fury. The black jade blade struck again, and there was a crisp sound of impact. Clink!

Hua Cheng hadn’t raised his scimitar to parry, but Jun Wu withdrew his sword.

Xie Lian, a second streak of white, had rushed in to protect Hua Cheng.

With a single swift, forceful flick, Zhuxin’s chilling blade rebounded!

Xie Lian finally couldn’t sit back and watch any longer and had joined the fight. He was skilled in the art of catching blades with his bare hands, but this was the first time he had ever encountered such a sinister sword. A simple light flick had left half his arm numb, especially the palm; the feeling only returned after he backed away a few steps and shook it off.

“Gege?” called Hua Cheng from behind him.

“C’mon, let’s do this together!” Xie Lian said.

Standing back-to-back, they focused their battle resolve against their enemy. Jun Wu’s smile only deepened at their display.

“Oh?”

“You take the top and I’ll take the bottom!” Xie Lian said quietly.

As soon as he spoke, the two split off and flew toward Jun Wu, one going up and one going down.

Xie Lian had a good grasp of Jun Wu’s style and could guess his next move. “Hook!” he blurted.

Hua Cheng did as directed and unleashed his scimitar once more. Sure enough, Jun Wu almost fell for the trick, and Xie Lian then instructed, “Blast!”

Hua Cheng again did as he was ordered. This time, he didn’t use his scimitar—instead, he churned his spiritual powers and blasted with his bare hand. Sure enough, Jun Wu was hit in the shoulder and sent reeling for a moment; if not for his wicked speed, those two moves would’ve probably been fatal hits.

As they battled, Xie Lian swiftly came to his senses. Hua Cheng was a supreme of their time; with his level of skill, why would he need Xie Lian’s directions? What a terrible affront; his old habits had come out! He was quick to apologize.

“I’m sorry! You don’t have to listen to me!”

Hua Cheng, however, only smiled happily in response. “Every piece of advice gege gives me is the best course of action. Why wouldn’t I listen?”

Suddenly, the bridge below Hua Cheng caved and he lost his footing—he was about to fall. Xie Lian leapt onto the bridge poles and cast Ruoye out to wrap up Hua Cheng and reel him back. But a moment later, he felt a sudden chill on his neck; Jun Wu had darted behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Excellent form, Xianle.”

He was too close. Xie Lian could feel his hair standing on end.

“Gege!” Hua Cheng exclaimed.

He flung out his left hand, and Eming shot through the air. Xie Lian reacted incredibly quickly and ducked just in time for Eming to hurtle past, brushing the top of his head as it slashed at Jun Wu behind him. Only then did Jun Wu release Xie Lian’s shoulder, and Xie Lian used the chance to leap back to Hua Cheng’s side just as Eming whirled back to his hand. The pair worked together seamlessly, and those on the side only saw three unimaginably fast figures flashing here and there like lightning, so fast they found it hard to breathe.

Meanwhile, Jun Wu’s laughter resonated across the domed ceiling above, like he was encouraging them. “Good. Very good! Continue!”

Mu Qing dodged away from a piece of the bridge caving in and asked in horror, “Master! Is…is he insane? He’s laughing!”

“I already told you!” the state preceptor said. “The only thing worse than him being angry is him being happy! This is only the beginning!”

Now that he was wielding Zhuxin, Jun Wu was like a tiger with wings. He launched vicious attacks nonstop, all of them aimed directly at Hua Cheng’s right eye. Xie Lian was stricken with panic at the sight. Whipping out Ruoye, he tangled Zhuxin’s hilt. However, Jun Wu suddenly reversed his grip on the sword and yanked, bringing Xie Lian flying toward him.

Xie Lian was startled at first, but he soon regained his calm. He’d originally intended to snatch the sword anyway, so there was nothing to be scared of. As he hurtled straight for the blade, his mind instantly played out all the hundreds of possible moves that they might exchange. Yet unexpectedly, halfway through the air, another hand caught him and pulled him back. Xie Lian dropped and landed. When he turned to look, Hua Cheng was there, shielding him.

A black jade sword pierced his chest through.

Xie Lian almost couldn’t breathe at the sight. “San Lang?!”

Hua Cheng’s expression was grim. Jun Wu had been waiting for Xie Lian to be impaled on Zhuxin’s blade and was rather disappointed to see that it had been blocked. He withdrew the sword from Hua Cheng’s chest and backed away. Xie Lian had completely forgotten that Hua Cheng was a ghost—he could still be up and about even if a giant hole was punched through his chest. Worried even so, he covered the unbleeding wound on Hua Cheng’s chest with both hands.

“San Lang, wh…what were you doing…so rashly…?!”

“As if I’d let it stab you again in front of me!” Hua Cheng responded. For some reason, his tone was a little too extreme. Xie Lian was slightly taken aback.

“Why do you ache so, Xianle?” Jun Wu’s gentle voice drifted in the air. “It is not as if he feels the pain—he is nothing more than a dead man.”

“…”

And he dared to remind Xie Lian of that! Consumed with fury, Xie Lian whipped his head around and glared. “Isn’t this all your fault?!”

Jun Wu only sneered in response. “Is it all my fault?”

His question stumped Xie Lian, and Jun Wu changed the subject.

“Perhaps. But Xianle, have you tarried in the Mortal Realm for so long that you’ve forgotten what you’ve done? Do you still remember what you did after Xianle fell?”

“…”

A deeply meaningful smile appeared on Jun Wu’s face as he leisurely asked, “Do you still remember a ghost named Wuming?”

In an instant, Xie Lian’s face lost all color. “Don’t!” he blurted.

The state preceptor sensed that things were going wrong. “Your Highness, what’s he saying? What did you do after Xianle fell?”

Xie Lian felt an odd sense of panic, and he glanced at Hua Cheng, then at Jun Wu. His fury had been transformed to uncertainty.

Hua Cheng immediately grabbed hold of him and soothed in a low voice, “It’s fine, Your Highness. Don’t be afraid.”

“Yeah, keep it together!” Feng Xin also called out.

Mu Qing, on the other hand, was sharper. “What did he mean? A ghost? What ghost?”

But how could Xie Lian keep it together?

Those were the most unkempt days of his life, days during which he committed the deed he most regretted. He’d never even dared to think of that period much. Whenever that pale, crescent-eyed smiling mask surfaced in his mind, his suffering rendered him sleepless and desperate to curl into a ball, never to unfurl and face another person again.

Hua Cheng had seen a Xie Lian who basked in glory, had seen a Xie Lian who had been defeated by a lost war. He’d seen a clumsy and foolish Xie Lian, an impoverished and beggared Xie Lian. All of that was nothing.

But he had never seen a Xie Lian who rolled in filthy mud, a Xie Lian who yelled and swore, a Xie Lian full of resentment and hate. He’d never seen a Xie Lian who was dead set on annihilating the Kingdom of Yong’an for revenge—or a Xie Lian who would go so far as to create Human Face Disease for the second time!

That period was too horrible to recall. In the past, he wouldn’t have cared one bit if White No-Face decided to rat him out, but now he couldn’t bear to find out what expression would cross Hua Cheng’s face when he learned of that time in Xie Lian’s life.

He wasn’t as good as Hua Cheng thought he was. He wasn’t untainted by filth, saintly and pure. If Hua Cheng showed even a sliver of doubt after learning the truth, Xie Lian would probably never be able to live with himself—and would never have the face to see him again!

As he considered all this, Xie Lian’s expression turned fiercely grim. Cold sweat rolled from his forehead, and his hands trembled. His reaction made Hua Cheng grip his hand harder.

“Your Highness, don’t be afraid,” he said with grave assurance. “Remember? The one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is you, not the state of you. No matter what happened in the past, I will never leave you. You can tell me anything.”

To conclude, he added gently, “You told me this yourself.”

Xie Lian started to pull himself together, but Jun Wu puffed a laugh.

“‘No matter what happens, I will never leave you,’” he said, the words unhurried. “My most faithful believers, as well as my dearest friends—they also told me that once.”

The state preceptor’s face changed, and Jun Wu shot a glance at him.

“But in the end, no one was able to truly do as they promised. As you can see.”

The state preceptor, unable to bear looking at him anymore, turned his head away.

“Believe me, Your Highness. Won’t you?” Hua Cheng pleaded.

It wasn’t that Xie Lian didn’t believe him—it was that he didn’t dare to try.

In the end, Xie Lian swallowed hard and forced himself to chuckle, but then he felt he shouldn’t be laughing and hung his head. His voice trembled as he said, “…San Lang, why don’t you… I’m sorry, I, I might…”

Hua Cheng stared at him for a moment, then began to speak. “I actually—”

Before he could finish, a wave of intense killing intent lunged at them, and the two leapt apart. Some sense returned to Xie Lian, and the color returned to his ghastly pale face. “What’s with him? Why is he even…”

Faster? Stronger?

Jun Wu’s speed and power had doubled and were still growing, far greater than they’d been as White No-Face. They could sense the horrifying surge with every attack!

Mu Qing noticed something else, and he shouted, “Your Highness! Be careful, he’s changed tactics! He’s not attacking Crimson Rain Sought Flower anymore…he’s just going after you now!”

Naturally, Xie Lian had also realized. Ruoye was the only weapon he had on hand, and it couldn’t attack Fangxin head-on; it shrank back at the very sight of it. Fortunately, Eming had flawlessly blocked every strike Jun Wu aimed at him.

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