Chapter 191-198
Ch.191: No Grief No Joy; White Cloth Brings Calamity to this World
TW: Suicide Attempt; Suicide
Xie Lian couldn’t tell if he was awake or asleep.
If he said he was awake, then he neither sensed nor reacted to anything of the outside world,
having no memories of anything; if he said he was asleep, his eyes had been open the entire
time.
By the time he came to, White No-Face had already strapped that black sword on his waist, like
an elder rewarding a child, “This is my gift to you.”
Then, he patted the hilt, and said gently, his voice thick with deeper meaning, “It will certainly be
much sharper than all the other ones you’ve once collected from Jun Wu.”
Xie Lian let him hang that sword as he willed, neither speaking nor retaliating, since, any
retaliation would be pointless.
In that state, he donned a new set of robes, and strapped with a new sacred sword, he dragged
the body that felt like it was reborn, and walked out of the Temple of the Crown Prince towards
the darkness. White No-Face then called after him from behind, “Wait.”
Xie Lian paused in his step. White No-Face came to his side soundlessly, and placed a white
silk band in his hands, “You forgot this.”
It was that white silk band he had used to cover his face at first, then later was used to bind him.
Xie Lian wobbled down the mountain by himself.
It was already day, the sun had come out, but when the sun was shining down on him, Xie Lian
didn’t feel warm at all.
On his way down the mountain, he saw a little stream, plip plop, clear and lively. He walked to
the streamside, and the waters reflected his appearance. Xie Lian stared at that pale face.
The face was smooth and white as chalk without a single cut. The same with the neck, then, the
chest, and all of his abdomen, they were all the same. The more he looked the more he couldn’t
look any longer, and he put his head down, cupping stream waters in his hands, washing his
face and drinking a few mouthfuls. He drank and drank and suddenly noticed there was
something in the upstream.
He looked up slowly, and saw not far in the distance, on the shores of the upstream, next to a
giant boulder, was a slumped corpse. Judging by his attire, it was that buff street performer.
That man didn’t descend the mountain and died on the road instead. Upon the giant boulder
was a particularly obvious pool of blood, so it appeared he smashed himself against it out of
either pain or fear, and died. The corpse was already rotten, half of it soaked in the water,
emitting waves of foul stench, unmoving, but the several deformed little faces growing on that
half rotten face were still squirming.
Xie Lian knelt by the stream and puked his guts out for over an hour, heaving until there was
blood.
After descending the mountain, he walked for a long time, strolling down the main streets
aimlessly without a destination in mind. Suddenly, a hand gripped his shoulder and yanked him
into an alley. Xie Lian looked around and before he even saw the other’s face, he saw an
incoming fist, “WHERE DID YOU RUN OFF TO THESE PAST FEW DAYS???”
Behind the fist was Feng Xin’s furious face, and by the time Xie Lian saw, he was already
knocked down by the punch.
Feng Xin hadn’t expected that he’d be knocked down so easily, and he looked at his own fist,
then at Xie Lian who was on the ground, confused. Before he went to help him up, Xie Lian had
already crawled up himself. Feng Xin’s face changed but in the end he still wasn’t over his
temper and added, “You’ve got such a temper! Dropping only a word before running away,
disappearing for two months! Do you know just how worried His Majesties have been??”
Xie Lian wiped away the splattered nosebleed from his face, “I’m sorry.”
Seeing that he was making things worse with the wiping, Feng Xin heaved a heavy sigh, “Your
Highness! Forget it with the apology, it’s meaningless between us, but you… just what
happened to you? Can’t you tell me?” He noticed that black sword hanging on Xie Lian’s waist
and asked, “And where did you get that sword from?”
Xie Lian had wanted to tell. But, when he remembered the quarrel between him and Feng Xin
when he left, and the doubtful expression on Feng Xin’s face at the time, plus that experience
he never wanted to think about again, he only repeated, “I’m sorry.”
The two returned to the hiding place from before, and when the queen saw Xie Lian she hugged
him and wept. The king looked as if he aged quite a bit again; before it was finding white hairs in
black, now it’s to find black strands among all the white. However, he wasn’t enraged for some
reason, and only spoke a few words before going silent. The three of them were probably afraid
that if Xie Lian was provoked again he’d run away for another half a month, so their words and
gestures around him were all very careful.
“Feng Xin.”
After a simple and coarse meal, Xie Lian untied the black sword on his waist and passed it over,
“Take this sword. Pawn it.”
Feng Xin noticed the hand holding the sword was trembling but couldn’t guess why, “Why do
you want me to pawn it?”
“Didn’t you ask for money before?” Xie Lian said.
Hearing this, there was suddenly a flash of hurt on Feng Xin’s face, and soon after, he shook his
head, “I don’t need it anymore.”
Xie Lian didn’t speak another word. He tossed the black sword on the side and stopped caring
for it, then he flopped over and fell asleep.
This time, when he returned, Xie Lian acted as if nothing had happened, hoping that everything
would return to normal as soon as possible, that he could return to his original state. Soon, he
and Feng Xin went out to perform on the streets.
At first Feng Xin was still worried, “Forget it, just rest for a couple more days.”
“I’ve already rested for almost two months.” Xie Lian said “If those street performers keep
coming to stir up trouble, then it’d be easier to deal with it with two people.”
However, Feng Xin said, “They’ve stopped coming a long time ago.”
It wasn’t because that buff street performer from before had died and there was no one to lead,
but because Feng Xin had settled here for a long time now. When he first arrived, everyone
thought he was a novelty, but after time passed, that novelty had also faded away, and now
watching him was no different than watching the other local buskers. Compared to before, Feng
Xin lost his competitive edge. Now that he wasn’t a threat, the other street performers stopped
looking for trouble, since everyone made about the same amount of money, it was all the same.
Thus, no matter how hard Feng Xin shot his arrows, no matter how expert his skills, the
audience that came to watch and rewarded his efforts were less than half of before. In fact, it
was less than ten percent of before. After working for over half the day, Feng Xin was exhausted
and sweating profusely, sitting down on the side.
“Let me go up.” Xie Lian said.
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Feng Xin replied.
However, Xie Lian didn’t bother listening to him and went up. Seeing that the faces changed, the
passersby all became interested again, “And what special skills do you have, little buddy?”
Xie Lian didn’t respond. He picked up a branch and started striking out a set of art of the sword.
Between the shrieking sounds of the blows, the point was sharp with the aura of the sword, and
thus, there were a few who gave face and cheered. Feng Xin watched from the side, his
expression complicated, and after watching for a bit he turned his head away.
Xie Lian didn’t feel shame at all, nor did he feel any burden in his heart, and only continued to
swing the sword seriously. Just then, there was suddenly someone in the crowd who yelled,
“IT’S BORING IT’S BORING! WHAT A PATHETIC ACT! Who wants to watch you poke a
chicken blind with a tree branch?”
Feng Xin immediately jumped to his feet and shouted, “YOU WATCH YOUR MOUTH!”
Xie Lian faltered in his movements and gazed over. Within the crowd was a man who was
munching on a melon and spitting seeds, obviously there to watch a showdown. He called to
Feng Xin, “This ancestor’s here to watch a street performance! I’ll say whatever I wanna say,
you’re here to earn our reward, and you dare to mind us, the ones doing the rewarding? Change
to a real sword! Use a real sword and this grandmaster will consider whether to grant you some
seeds!”
The moment he yelled out, the others followed suit. Feng Xin was outraged and was just about
to act out when suddenly, a white shadow flashed by, and Xie Lian was already standing next to
that man, grabbed him, and threw him high into the air.
He exhibited such an amazing strength, and that man was thrown meters away, the melon rinds
tumbling all over the ground, and the crowd were all mouths wide open with shock. That man
landed heavily with a thud, bleeding from his orifices, letting out a loud and pathetic cry.
However, Xie Lian wasn’t done, and he went up to seize him one more, speaking plainly and
emotionlessly, “There’s no real swords, but I can really take your life, do you want to see?”
The audience all broke away and fled in terror, “SOMEBODY! HELP! MURDER!”
Feng Xin was even more shocked, “Your Highness!!!”
Xie Lian pretended not to hear, and was ready to throw that idle man away for another several
meters and have him fall wherever, but Feng Xin went up and held him down, even forgetting to
hide his identity as he roared, “YOUR HIGHNESS!!! WAKE UP! YOU’RE GONNA KILL THIS
MAN!!!”
Both Xie Lian’s eyes were burning with black flames, and he smacked away that hand, and
pressed that man down on the ground. That idle man passed out and stopped moving. Feng Xin
rushed up and was just about to check for his breath when he heard at the end of the street
someone yelling sharply, “IT’S THEM! OVER THERE!”
This was bad! The YongAn soldiers had come!
Feng Xin bolted instantly, but when he saw Xie Lian was still standing there, glaring at those
YongAn soldiers, as if the was ready to fight them, Feng Xin turned around back and pulled at
him, “What are you still standing there for? RUN!”
The two hid and went for cover the entire way before they were able to escape, and finally
returned to that little cottage where they hid. The moment they entered the door, before the
queen’s face, Feng Xin started yelling, “HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT??”
Feng Xin of the past would absolutely never dare to be so unruly before the two Majesties, but
after having grinded for so long, there were a lot of things that had already changed. Xie Lian
turned to the queen, “Go to your room.”
“My son, just what…” The queen started and Xie Lian cried, “GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM!”
The queen didn’t dare to ask anymore and went back to the room. Xie Lian then turned to Feng
Xin, “What did I do?”
“You were going to kill that man!” Feng Xin said angrily.
Xie Lian rebuked, “He didn’t die. And so what if he dies?”
“…”
Feng Xin was dumbfounded, “What did you say? What do you mean “so what if he dies”?”
“That pleb was asking for it.” Xie Lian said, “Since he asked for it, I gave it to him. Was I wrong?”
As if he was stunned by Xie Lian’s vocabulary, it was a good moment before Feng Xin said,
“He… was causing trouble, but you didn’t need to kill him? Smack him around and let it go, he
didn’t deserve to die over some petty words?”
Xie Lian cut him off, “Of course he did. He dare say it, then he’d need to pay the price.”
“…”
Feng Xin was filled with disbelief, “How could you say something like that?”
“Like what?” Xie Lian asked.
“You wouldn’t have used the word ‘pleb’ before in the past. You’ve never said it before.” Feng
Xin said.
“What are you trying to say?” Xie Lian said, “It’s not like I’m a god, can’t I be angry? Can’t I
hate?”
Feng Xin was stumped, then a moment later, he arduously squeezed out a few words, “That’s
not what I meant, but no matter what, you didn’t need to…”
Xie Lian didn’t want to listen anymore and stopped talking to him, going into his own room while
slamming the door heavily.
The moment the door was shut, he screamed and threw himself onto the bed.
He was lying to himself and lying to others! All nothing but deceit!
No matter what, it was impossible to pretend nothing had ever happened, and it was impossible
to return to before!!!
That evening, someone knocked on his door, and Xie Lian thought it was Feng Xin so he
ignored it. A moment later, the queen’s voice sounded from the other side, “My son, it’s mother.
Let mother come in and take a look at you, alright?”
Xie Lian had just wanted to lie there without moving, but after lying there for a brief moment, he
still got up and opened the door, asking tiredly, “What?”
The queen was holding a plate standing at the door, “My son, you haven’t eaten yet, right?”
Xie Lian watched her, and endured for a long time before he forcefully swallowed down the
words ’Even if I haven’t eaten I don’t want to eat what you’ve made’ that were already rolling up
his throat. He then moved aside to allow his mother in, and the queen placed the plate on the
table, “Look.”
Xie Lian looked, and got so angry he wanted to laugh, “What’s that?”
The queen said as if she was offering treasure, “This is ’Lovebirds Upon a Branch Meatballs’,
and this is ’Blissful Full Moon Stew’…”
Those “Lovebirds” looked like death, and that “Blissful Full Moon” was full of craters, and Xie
Lian had to interrupt her, “Why did you name these things?”
“Don’t dishes all have names?” The queen said.
“That’s for imperial dining in the palace.” Xie Lian said, “Ordinary folks don’t give names to
dishes.”
Imperial dining. Palace. Ordinary folks. The queen paused for a while then smiled, “Well no one
said you have to be dining imperially in order to give dishes names, so just take this as a wish
for good fortune.” Then she passed the chopsticks over. Xie Lian however, didn’t smile nor did
he touch the chopsticks.
The queen smiled and sat for a while, then her smile gradually fell, “My son.”
“What,” Xie Lian was brusque.
“Why are you fighting with Feng Xin again?” The queen asked.
Xie Lian didn’t want to explain at all, and he didn’t have the energy to explain either, “You two
just stay inside your room and relax. There’s no need to mind these things.”
The queen hesitated for a moment, “Mother knows this probably shouldn’t be said, but, these
past many days that you’ve been gone, it’s been that child Feng Xin who had been looking after
us…”
“Mother, what are you trying to say?” Xie Lian demanded.
The queen quickly said, “My son, don’t be angry, I’m not trying to blame you. I’m really not, I
know you’re having a hard time too. I’m only saying, that child Feng Xin had always followed us,
followed you, and it’s not easy. I could sense that it’s not that he didn’t want to go, but having
stayed until today was all because he still remembers the affections between you two…”
Having listened to this point, Xie Lian jumped to his feet, “WHO’S HAD IT EASY? HAS IT BEEN
EASY FOR ME?? MOTHER, CAN YOU PLEASE STOP ASKING QUESTIONS?? CAN YOU
PLEASE NOT INVOLVE YOURSELVES IN THINGS YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND???”
Seeing that he was running out the door, the queen started panicking, and got up to chase after
him, “My son, where are you going? I’ll stop talking, mother won’t say anything anymore! Come
back!”
Xie Lian exclaimed sharply, “I know! Everyone’s having a hard time, but don’t worry! I’LL GO
MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR EVERYONE!!”
The queen couldn’t keep up with him, and it didn’t take long before she was left behind. It wasn’t
until evening before Xie Lian returned with a few sacks in hand. When he opened the door, no
one had gone to bed and they were all up waiting for him, their faces sullen. Xie Lian shut the
door with a backhand and questioned, “What is it?”
The king seemed to have already lectured the queen, and the rims of her eyes were red. When
she saw Xie Lian had returned, she let out a long sigh of relief and forced a happy smile, “My
son, you’ve come back! I won’t ever ask you anything unnecessary from now on, don’t just
leave so suddenly, if there’s anything, mother will definitely listen to you…”
Everyone was scared. Scared that if he just turned around and left, he’d go missing for another
two months. However, Xie Lian said, “You all think too much, I wasn’t going to leave. Just go
and rest.”
He waited until the king and the queen both entered their room, and after a moment of silence,
Feng Xin said, “Even if I asked where you went you wouldn’t tell me, right?”
Xie Lian didn’t speak, and tossed those sacks on the ground, making crisp clinking sounds as
they landed. “What’s this?” Feng Xin asked.
Xie Lian opened the sacks and turned them over, and from within came tumbling a large pile of
gold and silver wares, almost brightening the entire house. Feng Xin instantly stood up, “You…
Where did those things come from??”
Xie Lian didn’t bother to look up, and only sat on the ground and counted as he replied, “There’s
no need to be like that. I only paid a visit to a big household in the city, that’s all. Relax, no one
saw.”
“YOU!…” Feng Xin’s eyes were round and bulging.
He remembered that the king and queen were in the next room and lowered his voice, “You
stole?!”
“You don’t need to look at me like that.” Xie Lian said, “Everyone’s having a hard time. Things
will be easier with this.”
“You still shouldn’t have stolen??” Feng Xin exclaimed, “We can just busk!”
“And how much do we earn from killing ourselves performing on the streets?” Xie Lian said.
Feng Xin staggered a couple steps back, and it was the first time Xie Lian saw him looking like
he was going to faint.
Feng Xin finally steadied himself, made sure that he didn’t hear wrong, and mumbled, “How did
you become this way?”
Xie Lian looked up and asked back, “What way?”
Feng Xin was mad, “I don’t want to lecture you, but just look at yourself, at what you’ve become!
I won’t ask you about the robbery anymore, but how did things get worse??”
Xie Lian snorted, “I knew it.”
“Knew what?” Feng Xin asked.
Xie Lian rose to his feet, “I knew you kept that robbery thing on your mind. You wanted to ask
me, but you didn’t have the heart, right? You’ve imagined thousands of scenarios in your head,
right? Don’t think on it anymore. I’ll tell you.”
Step by step, he came pressing to Feng Xin, “It’s true. I robbed.”
Feng Xin was forced back a step, “You….” Then he advanced a step and said with quiet anger,
“Then what are we passing our days so hard for? If you were willing to do those things, then we
could’ve done it already, why suffer until today?? Are you aware of what you’re giving up?? Are
you still the Royal Highness from the past??”
“That’s right, why have we suffered until today?” Xie Lian said.
Feng Xin was taken aback, and Xie Lian continued, “What was the me in the past? Doesn’t talk
back while being cursed at? Doesn’t fight back while being beaten? Overestimating myself?
Save the common people? What is that? Isn’t that a dumbass? Do you think a dumbass is
better? Do you think that’s the me I should be? If I wasn’t, are you going to be very shocked?”
Feng Xin was stunned, “Are you crazy? Why do you have to say it like that?”
“You’re wrong. I’m not crazy.” Xie Lian said, “I’ve just suddenly woken up. Then, I discovered it
was the past me who was crazy.”
“…”
Feng Xin mumbled, “Why are you like this? When did you become this way? I, I really don’t
know, I’m, then why have I followed you all this time…”
“Then stop following.” Xie Lian said.
Feng Xin hadn’t wrapped his head around it and blurted, “What?”
“I said, don’t follow me anymore.” Xie Lian repeated.
Then, he slammed the door.
Four hours later, there were finally some creaking movements outside the room, and low talking
voices.
It seemed Feng Xin was bidding farewell to his father and mother. Feng Xin’s voice was
extremely low, the queen’s voice was choked with sobs, and the king didn’t say much, but there
was a lot of coughing. A moment later, the door opened, then the door closed, and Feng Xin’s
voice vanished, the sound of his footsteps going faraway.
Feng Xin had left.
Xie Lian was still shut in the room, emotionless and expressionless, and a moment later, he
closed his eyes.
He’d finally left.
Ever since Mu Qing had left, Xie Lian had always been terrified of this: that one day, Feng Xin
would also leave.
Because he was too scared, today, Xie Lian could no longer endure the torment of this fear.
Rather than dragging it out, like sharpening a knife to slowly grind away all the kindness and
friendship until there was nothing left, until finally both hated the sight of each other and held
grudges, it was better that things exploded sooner.
Before Feng Xin went, he was afraid. Now that Feng Xin had gone, he wasn’t scared any
longer.
But, even though he wasn’t afraid anymore, he was in deeper agony.
Originally, Xie Lian had held a one in a million bit of hope at the bottom of his heart, hoping that
even if he was to admit he had done things he shouldn’t have, even if he had become the worst
of himself like this, Feng Xin would still stay. After all, ever since that year he was fourteen,
when Feng Xin was selected to be his bodyguard, the two had never left each other’s sides.
While they were master and servant, they were more so friends. Outside of him who was crown
prince, Feng Xin didn’t care for anyone else. At most maybe the king and the queen.
But, Feng Xin really left.
Xie Lian had already guessed this to be the end, but he also couldn’t stand this end either, and
he couldn’t take it for the moment.
Just then, outside the silent room came the queen’s voice, “My son, I’m so sorry.”
“…”
Xie Lian crawled up from his bed and opened the door, went out, and said tiredly, “It’s none of
your business.”
The king and queen were both sitting at that old and creaky table. The queen said, “Father and
mother dragged you down, and made you do bad things for our sakes, and even made you and
Feng Xin argue.”
Xie Lian forced a smile, “What bad things? Aren’t tales and legends all full of stories of stealing
from the rich to help the poor? Since Feng Xin’s gone, he’s gone, it’s pretty good actually. With
him gone, things will be more relaxed. Relaxed on both sides. You two just focus on healing.
Tomorrow we can go buy the best medicine.”
However, the king glared at him, “I won’t use that money.”
The queen elbowed him quietly. Xie Lian demanded, “Then what do you want?”
The king coughed a few more times, “You… go chase after Feng Xin and bring him back. I don’t
want this kind of money.”
Although the queen was elbowing him, she also agreed, “Yea, why don’t you go chase after
Feng Xin. He’s your most loyal servant, and your best friend…”
“There is no more loyal servant.” Xie Lian said, “Since there’s money, just use it, don’t ask
anything else. I told you, there are some things you don’t understand.”
After a long silence, in the end, the queen said, “I’m so sorry, my son. Mom and dad can see,
you have been struggling very hard on your own, but mom and dad are only mortals, we can’t
help you at all, and need your care too.”
Xie Lian had no more energy to keep talking, and placated them with empty words of comfort
before sending them back to their rooms. In order to help himself clear his mind, Xie Lian
unwrapped the bandages and stripped all of his clothes, took a rough bath, then passed out. He
passed out so hard that when he woke the next day, he wondered blearily, “How come Feng Xin
didn’t wake me?”
It was a good moment before he remembered that Feng Xin had left.
Xie Lian flipped over and sat up, fell in a daze, and remembered another thing.
Even if Feng Xin had left, what about his father and mother? How come his father and mother
didn’t come to rouse him either?
Usually at this time, he would’ve heard the sound of the king coughing. That sound had never
ceased, so why was it so quiet today?
For some reason, Xie Lian suddenly felt uneasy. He put on his clothes and got out of bed,
grabbed for his silk band but found it wasn’t there, then he pushed open the door to the room
next door, “Mother, have you seen my…”
The moment he pushed open the door, both his pupils instantly shrank to two very small dots.
He found his white silk band.
That white silk band was hung on the beam, and it also dangled two unmoving figures of
seniors, their bodies long since stiffened.
It was his father and mother.
Xie Lian wondered perhaps he was still in a dream and he swayed, reaching out to support
himself against the wall, but he was swaying so much he didn’t catch on properly, so he slipped
down along the wall instead.
He sat on the ground, his hands covering his face, and a sudden abrupt difficulty in breathing
choked him. He cried and laughed, laughed and cried, “I, I, I, I…”
He rambled and mumbled to no one, then he added, “It wasn’t, no. I, wait, I, you can’t, I…”
Finally, not even complete words could come out, and he turned around and screamed,
smashing his own head against the wall over and over.
He should’ve known. His father was such a conservative and traditional king, and his mother
was the mother who couldn’t bear the sight of her loved ones suffering, especially since it was
suffering for their sakes. Both of them were nobility who were raised in prestige; that they could
hang on all this way thus far was already a miracle.
Xie Lian smacked his head against the wall for over a hundred times and mumbled, “Feng Xin,
my father and mother are gone.”
No one was listening.
Only then did he realize he needed to bring his parents’ corpses down. After lowering them, Xie
Lian acted like he had nothing left to do and walked around the house. He saw upon the table
were a few plates of horrid looking dishes that were now cold, and they were what he made the
queen take away without a single bite the night before. Now, he pulled them over
absent-mindedly, and ate everything, not daring to leave behind a single leaf, afraid to miss a
single grain of rice. After he ate he started puking.
All of a sudden, Xie Lian grabbed that white silk band and threw it over the beam, and put his
own neck through the knot.
Waves of suffocation assaulted him, yet, he remained clear-minded. Even when his eyes were
filled with blood, his collar bones cracking, he still remained conscious. Then, for some reason,
as he hung there, that white silk band suddenly loosened on its own. Xie Lian fell heavily to the
ground, and in the midst of dizziness, he found that white silk band actually started moving by
itself without any breeze Like it was a venomous snake, it started coiling.
This thing had conceived its own spirit!
With the injection of spiritual powers, having been dyed with Xie Lian’s blood, and even having
hung two royals to death – if Xie Lian could die then it’d be three – such a white silk band,
carrying such a deep resentment and evil, it’d be more strange if it didn’t turn into a spirit.
The little spirit who had only just arrived in this world didn’t understand how it was born from a
despairing situation at all, and happily drifted over to the one who gave itself a soul, like it was
hoping for an intimate gesture. However, Xie Lian had no eyes for it. He clutched his head and
roared, “SOMEBODY!!! SOMEBODY COME KILL ME!!!”
He could only pray that someone would come right that second to take his life, and help him
break free from this endless pain and torture!
Just then, from the far distance, came the roaring sound of gongs and drums. Xie Lian panted
harshly, his eyes bloodshot, and he wondered inwardly, ‘Who? What is that?’
Some kind of power forced him to his feet and he stumbled out to look. He walked for a long
time before he finally realized that was the sound of celebrating the newly built Imperial Palace
after YongAn was established as a new kingdom and the royal capital had moved.
Even the heavens were celebrating! All the once citizens of XianLe were now cheering for
YongAn. On the main street, everyone’s faces bore such bright smiles; so familiar. Xie Lian
remembered. This was also how the people at the XianLe imperial capital cheered during the
ShangYuan Heavenly Ceremonial Procession.
Xie Lian staggered back and sat listlessly on the ground.
Why must he witness the laughter and cheers of ‘YongAn people’ just when the corpses of the
king and queen of XianLe laid next to his feet?
Xie Lian buried his face in his hands, crying and laughing, ha ha ha ha, sob sob sob sob.
A moment later, he giggled, “You won’t get off so easily.”
A voice flashed in his mind: the human face disease, it’s resentment… the method to create the
human face disease, is…
A savage light flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly dropped his voice, “I won’t let any of you off
so easily.”
The expression on his face was like crying but laughing, like joy and sadness mixed together,
and he slowly rose to his feet alongside the wall, “YongAn, Forever Peace*? Dream on. Dream
on forever! I, curse all of you. I CURSE ALL OF YOU!!! I WANT YOU ALL TO DIE, PERISH
COMPLETELY!! HAHA, HAHA, HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
He laughed and laughed, and Xie Lian rushed out like a whirlwind, and when he passed that
mirror, he suddenly paused and whipped his head around.
The him inside the mirror had already changed completely.
What he was wearing wasn’t that white cultivator robes that had been worn from wash, but a
snow white funeral garb with expansive sleeves. His face was no longer his face, but a half
crying, half smiling, cry-smiling mask!
If this was the Xie Lian from before, when he saw himself like this in the mirror he would’ve
screamed in horror. However, the him now wasn’t scared at all. He laughed maniacally as if he
saw nothing, and he broke through the door while stumbling, dashing out.
The old imperial capital of Xian Le was now nothing more than a field of ruined wreckage.
Nearby the wreckage, there were still some residents who fortunately survived, and refugees
who had nowhere else to go. Although ever since the human face disease erupted and the
entire imperial city had fallen, and this once glamourous capital had frequent haunting breezes,
chilling to the bone, today, it seemed to be especially chilling. A few of the disheveled beggars
all disappeared, watching the skies as they fled. People all sensed that something ominous was
going to happen, so they best not linger in the streets.
In front of the broken imperial city gates was the battlefield. Usually, not many dared visit. Now,
there was only an old cultivator, running here, jumping there, catching some lost wandering
spirits, stuffing them into his sack once they’re caught, preparing to tie them into lanterns. As he
ran around, he suddenly discovered that at the edge of the battlefield, a strange white clothed
silhouette had appeared.
It truly was strange, truly peculiar. He was donned in a funeral garb, white robes, expansive
sleeves, a band of white silk tied to a sleeve, floating along with the wind like it was alive. He
was wearing a tragically pale mask, half of it crying, half of it smiling.
That old cultivator shuddered violently, and before he knew why, he was fleeing, his legs had
already carried him out of the battlefield. Before his panic and dread had calmed, he stopped in
his step and looked back.
That white clothed man didn’t speak a single word, and was strolling over the battlefield. Chilling
wind whipped around, and with every step, he trampled the bones of those who died in war.
Countless spirits of the dead were struggling and wailing on this soil, even the air was black
from resentment.
That white clothed man asked coldly, “Do you hate?”
The dead souls wailed and cried. That white clothed man took another few steps, “The people
you swore to protect and die for have now become the citizens of the new kingdom. Do you
hate?”
The wails of dead souls now had shrieking mixed in.
That white clothed man said slowly, “They’ve forgotten you who have died on the battlefield,
forgotten your sacrifices, and are cheering for those who robbed away your lives. Do you hate?”
Amidst that shrieking came howling and roaring.
That white clothed man called out sharply, “What’s the use in screaming? Answer me, DO YOU
HATE??”
Above in the air over the entire battlefield came the echoing of innumerous voices of resentment
and agony.
“I HATE…”
“I HATE…”
“KILL… I WANT TO KILL THEM!!!”
That white clothed man opened his arms towards them and reached out both his hands, “Come
to my side.”
He enunciated each word, “I promise, the people of YongAn shall never know peace!”
The shrieking, howling, roaring, crying, shook the ground and crashed the heavens. The dead
souls of the XianLe soldiers, mingled with the deceased of those who died from the human face
disease, answered. And, in that sky covered in black mist, they took shape!
The old cultivator who had witnessed the whole thing from afar was already terrified, “This…
This is…!!!”
In an instant, only three words appeared in his mind.
White Clothed Calamity!
Just then, that white clothed man heard the voice of a young man from behind him, “Your
Highness…”
He looked around. Since who knows when, a black clad youth was already standing behind his
person, and was bowing down before him, bending one knee to the ground.
———
●The name “YongAn” means “Forever Peace”
——–
Ch.192: White Clothed Ghost Appoints Black Warrior as General
He was determined to be a ‘youth’ based on his voice and physique.
He was donned in neat and orderly warrior attire, his physique tall and slender, but like fresh
new bamboo, he emitted the aura of the innocence of youth. Black robes like ink, black hair like
ink, tied high. Around his waist hung a sabre, long and slim. He raised his head slowly, and
upon his face was a snow white mask with a crescent smile.
Balls after balls of black mist took shape amidst hissing and wailing, all sucked cleanly into the
array within that white clothed man’s sleeve, like he was taking in an entire river into a small
jaded case. As for that young man, he remained steady and still within that chaotic black
whirlwind. The white clothed man asked, “Who were you calling?”
That black clad youth was still down on one knee, submissive like a servant but also like he was
swearing an oath, and he answered, “I was calling you, Your Royal Highness.”
That white clothed man said coldly, “I’m not the Royal Highness.”
However, that black clad youth replied, “You are. I will never forget your voice and your form.”
The voice of that white clothed man was now laced with anger, “I told you, I’m not him.”
This white clothed man was naturally Xie Lian who had donned the funeral garb and put on the
cry-smiling mask.
With his face hidden behind the mask, no one could recognize who he was, and he didn’t want
to be recognized either. Yet, on this battlefield, a drifting black warrior still called him by his
identity straight out.
Suddenly, that white silk band wrapped on Xie Lian’s expansive sleeve lunged out like a viper,
charging towards that black clad youth. Although from the looks of it, it was a soft and limp white
cloth, but when it attacked it was savage, its aura of evil blasting. It seemed that black clad
youth was about to be bound, but he suddenly reached out and firmly grabbed hold of that white
silk band.
One end of that white silk band was wrapped around Xie Lian’s wrist, the other wrapped on that
black clad youth’s wrist, and the silk band itself was pulling taut gradually. It wasn’t that it didn’t
want to break away, but that black clad youth had kept a tight hold on it, like it was squeezing a
venomous snake at its fatal point, and from his hand emitted endless chilling air.
There was no doubt that this was a soul of the dead.
And, it was an extremely powerful dead soul!
After noticing that a power not to be underestimated was passed over through the white silk
band, Xie Lian demanded, “What is your name?”
After being silent for a moment, that black clad youth replied, “I don’t have a name.”
Xie Lian didn’t push for more either, and said, “Without a name makes one Wu Ming*.”
“You may call me whatever you desire.” That black clad youth said.
Xie Lian continued, “Are you a soul of a dead soldier from this battlefield?”
“I am.” Wu Ming said.
Only then did Xie Lian let go, and that white silk band instantly leapt back to his person, swaying
about to show off its might from afar towards that black clad youth, like it was hissing its
venomous tongue.
Since this was a soul of the dead who died in battle, no wonder he heeded his call. This black
clad warrior must be filled with resentment towards the people of ‘YongAn’ too. In other words,
he could be used, because their objective was the same.
Thus, Xie Lian said, “Then, follow me.”
He extended a hand to that black clad warrior, “I will give you what you want.”
That black clad youth’s face was also hidden behind a mask, so his expression couldn’t be told.
They were both the same.
After a moment of silence, he unhesitatingly clutched Xie Lian’s extended hand, bowed his head
deeply, and pressed his cold forehead against the back of Xie Lian’s hand.
A moment later, he said profoundly, “I swear to die following Your Highness.”
Xie Lian however, pulled back his hand, tucking his arms into his sleeves. He turned around and
said cooly, “You’re already dead. Come.”
That black clad warrior rose to his feet, and when Xie Lian looked back, he discovered that this
young man was actually much bigger than he had expected. Probably around sixteen or
seventeen in age, but already enormous in size at this age, and even taller than him by a bit.
However, this didn’t matter, and he only took a glance before turning back around and
continuing forward.
Xie Lian took the lead, and that nameless black clad warrior followed right behind as expected,
“Your Highness, where do you want to go?”
Xie Lian’s gaze fell into the distance, “The Palace of YongAn.”
The Palace of YongAn sat in another large city in the west. This city fortress used to be a
glamourous city as well, but had been kept oppressed by the imperial city of XianLe in the east.
Now that the imperial city of XianLe had fallen, the new king moved the new capital to here, and
it wouldn’t take long before it would overtake the old imperial city, basking in its glory.
Xie Lian arrived deep in the night. Beneath the moonlight, he was like a white cat soundlessly
flying through the dense and tightly packed spines of roofs of the new imperial city, and that
black clad warrior was like a black spirit fox, following closely behind. Soon, the two shadows
landed before a large gate.
Xie Lian sensed something amiss. Upon this gate was a faint ominous air, and he paused in his
step. He was about to reach out to check it when that black clad warrior stepped up and blocked
before him, extending an open palm and said quietly, “Break!”
From the crack of that door leaked a line of firelight, as if something was burnt away. Only after
did that black clad warrior reached out to push open the gate, “Your Highness.”
Xie Lian crossed through the door and looked down on the ground. Just as he expected,
scattered on the ground were some burnt shreds. Xie Lian picked a bit of it up and smelled
herbs and talisman paper, and stole a glimpse at that black clad warrior.
This ghost was indeed powerful.
These remaining traces of burnt charms showed that there was obviously someone on the other
side of the door who casted this defense spell, and this defense wasn’t weak. If ordinary little
minions were to try and intrude or break through, they would’ve had their entire innards burnt to
ashes, yet it only took this black clad warrior an instant before the array was completely
destroyed.
Perhaps it was because this Palace of YongAn was newly erected, it wasn’t extraordinarily
glamourous. On the contrary, it was even a little cold and humble, incomparable to the Palace of
XianLe. This wasn’t what was strange. What was strange was on the entire way, there was an
incessant number of traps and defense arrays to ward off evil. However, every time Xie Lian
noticed there was something blocking the way ahead, that black clad warrior would always step
up first to break through the obstacle, clearing the path for him, so, it was still an unimpeded
journey.
After an hour, atop the giant great hall of the Palace of YongAn, two tall and slender shadows
stood atop the spine of the roof, watching below.
Both wore a mask. The expansive sleeves of that white clothed man fluttered with a white silk
band wrapped around, dancing madly in the wind. That black clad man on the other hand, was
robust and agile, a long sabre hanging on his waist, guarding the side of that white clothed man,
gazing in the same direction.
The newly crowned King of YongAn was within this great hall. Xie Lian chuckled mockingly, “To
set so many obstacles to ward off evil within the palace, it seems, he’s really scared of
something that will come knocking.”
———
●[無名] “Wu Ming” means “Nameless”
●MXTX Author Notes: I’m a little stumped today, sorry. Let me organize my thoughts and
the chapters will grow longer again. Let’s just eat up some different flavoured Hua Hua
today. _(:з」∠)_
——-
Ch.193: White Clothed Ghost Appoints Black Warrior as General 2
“Your Highness, I will go open the path,” Wu Ming said.
However, Xie Lian stopped him, “No need, I’ll do it myself.”
Then, he leapt down like a white blossom blown off the tip of a branch by a breeze and
soundlessly landed before the palace hall.
Just as he was about to push open the gates, within the hall came the wailing of a baby.
Lang Ying didn’t have any consorts, his son had died a long time ago, so where did the baby
inside the palace come from?
Xie Lian didn’t care for it. Nevermind a baby, even if an army of millions was hidden inside he
wasn’t afraid, and he raised a leg and kicked open the palace door!
Yet the strange thing was, there was only one person within the great hall, not another soul
present, and there certainly was no baby. When that person saw who it was that had come, he
raised his head, “You’ve come? I’ve been searching for you.”
The one within the palace was Lang Ying.
Although he was now an esteemed king, he wasn’t donned in lavish robes, and he sat stiff as a
board upon the throne. Xie Lian was puzzled for a moment that this was his reaction before he
realized he was currently wearing a funeral garb with a mask on his face, and Lang Ying had
taken him for White No-Face.
There were arrays set up within this palace hall too, and when Xie Lian crossed the threshold to
enter, he could sense there was something blocking his entry. However, he only pushed his foot
down a little heavily, before he stepped easily onto the floors within the hall, and the sound of
something shattering rang in the air.
The chill of winter and the evening air came pouring in from outside the palace hall, filling Xie
Lian’s sleeves full of wild winds. He said chillingly, “Why were you searching for me?”
When he heard his voice, Lang Ying’s expression changed slightly, “It’s you?”
Xie Lian approached slowly, his snow white boots stepping on the frozen stone floors step by
step. “It is I.”
Lang Ying, a brute commoner, led an army and destroyed XianLe. With the aura of the king
enveloping his body, ordinary evil wouldn’t be able to come close to his person. However, at this
moment, what Xie Lian brought with him were millions of souls of those who died on the
battlefield!
He refused to believe that Lang Yibg would be able to defend himself against such an immense
number of resentful ghosts with such powerful resentment. Sure enough, the resentful spirits
were agitated, impatiently ready to break free to seize the fresh new flesh of the enemy as host.
It was impossible for anyone to not have heard the sound of their agitation, but Lang Ying didn’t
appear to be in shock nor panicking, “You’ve come to kill me?”
Xie Lian didn’t answer. The next moment, he blitzed right before Lang Yin and gripped his hair,
pressing him down onto the ground.
Success!
Under the cry-smiling mask, Xie Lian’s lips unconsciously curled up.
He knew it! He knew it! He could now defeat Lang Ying!
Without the bondage of his heavenly official status that made him powerless before this man
with the fortune of the king, the him who had thrown away the body of a god could finally defeat
Lang Ying. Xie Lian’s heart was thumping, and he was just about to move on to the next step
when his face dropped abruptly, “What’s that sound?”
Yiieee, wuuuu, he heard that tiny cry of a baby again, but, there was clearly no baby within this
great hall!
He listened again. That’s not right. That crying was coming from the lips of Lang Ying who was
currently subdued under his hand!
Or more accurately, it was from Lang Ying’s body. Xie Lian ripped off Lang Ying’s robe, and his
eyes widened in an instant, jumping to his feet, “…WHAT IS THIS?!”
Lang Ying slowly flipped over and sat up, “Don’t be scared.”
Those words weren’t directed at Xie Lian, but to the thing on his body.
Upon Lang Ying’s chest were two distinct faces, each one about the same size as a real
person’s face, like two protruding tumours. The big face was elegant and beautiful, easily
identified as the appearance of a woman; the small one was a little shriveled like a baby, and
the halting cries had been coming from this baby’s lips.
The human face disease!
Xie Lian was dumbfounded, “How are you infected with the human face disease??”
“This isn’t the human face disease.” Lang Ying said.
“How is this not the human face disease? What is this, if not the human face disease?” Xie Lian
exclaimed.
“This is my wife and my son.” Lang Ying explained. “They’re not the things you described.”
He explained in a soft voice as he raised his hand to gently caress the two faces on his body,
truly looking like a husband and a father caressing his wife and child. However, those two faces
couldn’t even open their eyes, and could only open their mouths to cry and sob; they had the
shape of humans but not the form.
A moment later, Lang Ying looked up, “Where’s White No-Face? He said my wife would return if
I did this, but it’s been so long, how come she still can’t talk? Just what is going on? Tell him to
come find me, quick!”
Hearing this, Xie Lian understood. “You let White No-Face plant the resentful spirits of your wife
and son on your body?”
So that was it. All those spells and arrays along the way to the palace weren’t to impede
anything from intruding, but were to prevent the things hiding within to escape! Lang Ying, who
had already become king, was using his own flesh and blood to secretly raise those two
resentful spirits!
Xie Lian was here to seek vengeance at first, yet who knew that he didn’t even need to do
anything, and Lang Ying had already planted the human face disease on himself. Those two
faces must’ve been on his body for a long time now, even tiny arms and feet had grown out,
heavily drooping down, deformed and horrifying. Moreover, they had already sucked dry their
host’s nutrients; Lang Ying’s ribs were poking out abnormally, his gut shrunken in, his skin wax
yellow, his form wan and sallow, looking like he didn’t have much longer to live. He was no
longer the same person as that brave and savage warrior on the battlefield.
It seemed, while he won the war and became a king, he didn’t live that well. Xie Lian didn’t feel
gratified at all, and he seized Lang Ying, exclaiming angrily, “WHAT KIND OF JOKE IS THIS?!”
He hadn’t even taken his enemy’s life yet, and the enemy was going to die off on his own! What
the heck! What should he do??
With this grab, something tumbled down from Lang Ying’s person, shimmering red, bounce and
bounce, it rolled away. Lang Ying clutched Xie Lian’s hands, looking as if such a simple gesture
was already something difficult, and he panted, “Pearl… That pearl.”
Xie Lian looked over, and what was rolling on the floor was that red coral pearl he had gifted
Lang Ying. Lang Ying said, “I’ve always wanted to say this to you: Thank you for the pearl.”
Hearing this, Xie Lian was taken aback. He hadn’t thought he’d suddenly say such a thing.
Something within his heart was about to be unearthed but he forced it down, “YOU!…”
Lang Ying said softly, “Things would’ve been better had you given it to me sooner.
Unfortunately…”
Before he finished, the body gripped in Xie Lian’s hand slackened, and Lang Ying fell just like
that with his eyes wide open.
Xie Lian hadn’t had the chance to react yet before Wu Ming said, “Your Highness, he’s dead.”
“…”
“Dead?” Xie Lian wondered.
He looked down, and Lang Ying’s pupils were already going dim. He really did die.
Xie Lian mumbled, “How did he just die?”
He hadn’t done anything to Lang Ying yet, how did he just die?
And, now that he thought about it, Lang Ying died fairly happily too. He completed his revenge
against Xian Le, and carrying his immediate family on his body, he was prepared to go meet
them in the underworld. He had suffered enough torment in the living world, so dying was
actually a form of release, ending it all. On the contrary, Xie Lian now didn’t have anything to
avenge against!
His chest was filled with grievance and fury, and in the end they transformed to one single
emotion – hate. How despicable! How absolutely despicable!
Lang Ying fell and stopped moving, but the two faces on his chest seemed to have sensed their
host was dead, and suddenly started crying, WOO WOO YIIEE YIEE, extremely sharp to the
ears, worse than the sound of nails scratching on gold and silver wares. Xie Lian was already
going mad from fury, and he pulled out that black sword, ready to strike down to shut them up
when that black clad warrior SCHWING and pulled his sabre. The light of the sabre flashed
past, and Lang Ying’s corpse was instantly chopped into pieces, tens of pieces, hundreds of
pieces… flesh and blood splattered. Xie Lian hadn’t yet moved before he was overtaken, and he
said cooly, “Who told you to do that?”
“There was no need to dirty Your Highness’ hands.” Wu Ming replied.
Just then, sounds of urgent footsteps came from outside the door, and the voice of a young man
yelled, “UNCLE!”
Who? Xie Lian turned around and saw the doors of the palace hall were wide open, and a
young man of ten something of age was standing at the entrance, gazing over in this direction.
He was face full of smiles at first, but when he came in and saw blocks of dead bodies covering
the floor, he was instantly stupefied. Xie Lian felt indifferent, and demanded, “Who are you?”
That young man started, “I…” Then his eyes turned and saw the blocks of dead body on the
floor and exclaimed, “UNCLE!”
Just then, there were more people outside calling, “Your Royal Highness! Don’t run around! The
king said you can’t run around in the palace! Please don’t make things difficult for me in the
middle of the night…”
Your Royal Highness?
Lang Ying’s son was dead already, and this young man called Lang Ying ‘uncle’, so this must be
the new crown prince Lang Ying had established, the Crown Prince of YongAn!
Things seemed to have dawned on the little crown prince too, and he cried in terror, “GHOSTS!
THERE ARE GHOSTS! SOM…” He hadn’t screamed more than a few words before that black
clad warrior struck his neck, and that Crown Prince of YongAn lost consciousness, falling into
that pool of blood on the floor. However, the screams had already reached the outside, and
clamouring noises started to rise, “WHAT? DID YOU ALL HEAR THAT?” “GUARDS! GUARDS!”
Xie Lian’s eyes flicked and that black clad warrior inclined his head, indicating he would take
care of it, and he flashed away. In an instant, all the commotion outside was choked off.
Crossing out of the hall, a large number of guards were down on the ground, and that black clad
warrior stood at the centre, that delicate thin sabre dripping with blood. He actually finished
them all with but one strike. In the far distance came new sounds of commotion, and a new
batch of guards had arrived, shouting, “PROTECT THE KING!” “PROTECT HIS HIGHNESS!!”
Xie Lian turned around cooly, ignoring them completely. Sure enough, it didn’t take a second
before those voices were cut down like a harvest by a scythe, vanishing thoroughly. Soon after,
that black clad warrior soundlessly caught up to him.
Xie Lian turned his head slightly, “Burn the palace.”
“Yes sir.” Wu Ming bowed his head.
Roaring flames were set ablaze, and two tall and slender black figures stood before the raging
fire, their shadows writhing and contorting continuously on the ground, changing shapes, pulling
and twisting.
After causing such havoc, all the attendants within the YongAn Palace were jolted awake, and
the air was filled with the cries and curses of those putting out the fires and those making their
escape, very much the same scene as when the Palace of XianLe was set ablaze.
“Your Highness, what do you want to do next?” That black clad warrior asked.
That white clothed man said icily, “To Lang-Er Bay.”
Before the Kingdom of XianLe fell, Xie Lian had visited Lang-Er Bay countless times. Every time
he went it was to create rain to save the people, his body and heart both exhausted, his steps
heavy. This time, it was for a completely different reason, and his body was light.
After surviving through the drought and having gained strong support from the new king,
Lang-Er Bay had already revived its liveliness. Streets and alleys were bustling with joy, the
people cheerful and happy, a complete one eighty from the misery of several years ago. Only
one place was still miserable like before, and that was the Palace of the Crown Prince of
XianLe.
No one would come to a broken down Palace of the Crown Prince, and so Xie Lian chose this
place to rest. At this moment, he was meditating within the palace hall.
Those resentful spirits should’ve quickly found a host, which would also be the subject of his
revenge, yet because Lang Ying had already died, they were still struggling in agony, wailing
and screeching at Xie Lian relentlessly, and Xie Lian waved them away with his eyes closed. He
frowned, “Just wait, don’t be impatient. I will allow all of you to find release!”
Just then, a voice called out, “Your Highness.”
Xie Lian opened his eyes, and saw that black clad warrior was before him, bending one knee to
the ground.
————
Ch.194: Nameless Ghost Offering a Nameless Flower
Xie Lian’s emotions were still deeply sunken in the screaming of those resentful spirits, and
couldn’t quite regain himself for the moment, so he responded distractedly, “…Don’t address me
by that title.”
Every time he heard someone address him like that, it was as if they were reminding him of
something, making him feel particularly irritated, every such call would make his heart jolt once.
However, Wu Ming said, “Your Highness will forever be Your Highness.”
Xie Lian glanced over. Of course, he couldn’t see the face of this black clad warrior, and could
only see a smiling face. Yet when the other gazed upon his face, he could also only see a
tragically white mask.
Xie Lian said coldly, “If you keep calling me by that title I’ll disperse your soul. Don’t think
yourself to actually be that strong.”
That black clad youth bowed his head and did not speak. Xie Lian calmed down, “Go search the
area around Lang-Er Bay, and find the best location to set up an array to conduct a ritual.”
“Yes sir,” Wu Ming replied.
Xie Lian closed his eyes, paused, then opened his eyes again, and gazed at that black clad
warrior, frowning, “How come you’re still here?”
That black clad warrior replied, “The location is settled. What about the time?”
“Time?”
“The souls of the dead cannot wait any longer, we must find a subject to curse soon without
delay.”
It indeed couldn’t delay for too long. After some silence, Xie Lian said, “Three days.”
“Why three days?” Wu Ming asked.
For some reason, every time Xie Lian conversed with him he’d get easily agitated, “In three
days it will be the full moon. Unleashing the human face disease then will increase the power
significantly. You ask too many questions, just go.”
Wu Ming nodded and stood down soundlessly. Xie Lian closed his eyes again and covered his
forehead with a hand, hoping to relieve this wave of headache. Just then, he heard a cold
mocking chuckle from behind him.
Having heard this familiar mocking laugh, it was as if all of Xie Lian’s blood had frozen solid. He
instantly turned around, and sure enough, behind him sat a snow white figure wearing a
cry-smiling mask, wearing a funeral garb with expansive sleeves, his hands tucked in, watching
him from the altar.
White No-Face!
Xie Lian pulled his sword and lunged, and that white clothed man TING! and caught the point of
the blade with two fingers. He sighed, “Just as I thought. This appearance suits you very well.”
If they didn’t remove their masks, these two looked exactly the same from head to toe, and after
a scuffle, the two clothed men clashing against each other, no one besides themselves would
be able to differentiate one from the other. White No-Face easily evaded all of Xie Lian’s strikes
as he asked, “Your Highness, you buried your parents in such a deserted, strange soil, don’t you
think it’d wrong them?”
Xie Lian’s heart sank, “YOU TOUCHED THE BODIES OF MY FATHER AND MOTHER? DID
YOU DESTROY THEIR CORPSES??”
“No, just the opposite,” White No-Face said. ”I helped you give them a proper, solemn burial.”
Hearing this, Xie Lian was taken aback, and White No-Face added, “I helped you carry them to
the XianLe Royal Mausoleum, and I even helped them put on rare and exquisite robes to
prevent their cadavers from rotting for thousands of years. So, the next time when you go visit
them, you will still be able to see the same faces of when they were still alive.” He told Xie Lian
the location of the Royal Mausoleum and the way to enter. This should’ve been something the
king and Guoshi would tell Xie Lian personally, but before they were able, they either died or
disappeared. Xie Lian was both stunned and suspicious, “Why do you know the way to enter the
Royal Mausoleum?”
White No-Face smiled, “I know everything about Your Highness.”
Xie Lian cussed, “You don’t know shit!”
He was still not used to spitting out such vulgar words from his lips, and as if White No-Face
had seen through his mind, he looked him up and down and said gently, “Don’t worry, it’s alright.
From now on, there will no longer be anything that can hold you back, there won’t be anyone
who holds any unnecessary expectations of you, and there certainly wouldn’t be anyone who’d
know just who you are. So, you can freely do anything you want to do.”
Hearing this, bafflement began to fill Xie Lian’s mind.
Just why was this monster here?
To express good will.
That’s right. While that might sound hilarious, Xie Lian’s instincts told him that this creature was
here to express his good will. Whether it be providing his parents with a solemn burial or
encouraging him, it all came from this intent.
He must be very, very happy, happier than any other time Xie Lian had met him. It was as if
seeing such a Xie Lian made him exceptionally delighted, and he unconsciously became more
gentle and kind. This kindness actually gave Xie Lian a flashing sense of gratefulness that’d
bring tears, but much more so, there was disgust.
Xie Lian said frostily, “Don’t be too happy too soon. Don’t think I will allow a creature such as
you to remain in this world. Once I’ve wiped YongAn from the map, I will come for you. You best
prepare yourself!”
White No-Face flipped open his hands and shrugged, “I welcome you with open arms. Even if
you come with the intent to kill me, I will still be here waiting for you. When you’ve become truly
strong enough to kill me, you will be able to succeed me. However–”
The smile under the mask seemed to have faded, “Will you actually destroy YongAn?”
“What do you mean?” Xie Lian demanded.
“You could’ve made your move right now, so why did you choose to move in three days instead?
Could it be, you’re hesitating when things are coming to head? Could it be, even with your
kingdom fallen and your family dead, you still don’t have the courage to seek revenge? Will I
witness another one of Your Highness’ failures?”
The word ‘failure’ was stabbing his ears. Xie Lian raised his sword and lunged, but he was
tripped and fell over.
White No-Face snatched his black sword somehow, and his earlier gentle tone had become
condescending, “Do you know what you’re like right now?”
Xie Lian grabbed the snow white boot on his chest, but no matter how hard he pushed, it
wouldn’t move an inch, and he remained firmly pinned down by that foot, unable to get up.
White No-Face leaned down slightly, “You’re like a sulking child. You haven’t yet the resolve.”
“Who says I don’t!” Xie Lian cried angrily.
“Then what are you doing right now?” White No-Face questioned, “Where’s your curse?
Where’s all of your dead? Your father and mother, your soldiers, your citizens, how truly pitiful to
have such a god be thrusted upon them! You couldn’t protect them whilst they were alive, and
you couldn’t avenge them even after they’ve died! You useless trash!”
He pushed down with his foot, and strings of blood instantly spilled over the edges of Xie Lian’s
cry-smiling mask; gushing from his throat.
White No-Face dropped the hand gripping the sword, and that black jade-like tip prodded
against Xie Lian’s throat, drawing over that cursed shackle, awakening certain memories within
Xie Lian.
“Would you like me to help remind you of what it feels like to be pierced by a hundred swords?”
Overwhelming fear made Xie Lian’s breathing hitch, too terrified to move. And after having
scared him, White No-Face became amiable again.
He withdrew his boot, and helped the Xie Lian who was frozen in terror on the ground to sit up,
grasped his chin and pushed him to look in a certain direction, “Come, look. This is what you
look like right now.”
What he made Xie Lian look at was the desecrated divine statue upon the desecrated altar.
“Who do you have to thank for having become like this?” White No-Face asked, “Do you think
it’s me?”
It was as if Xie Lian’s brain was forcefully washed by him again, and new things were repeatedly
poured in, making him more and more confused, more and more doubtful. He had even
forgotten his anger, and he wondered bemusedly, “…What is your objective? Just why do you
cling to me?”
“I’ve told you,” White No-Face replied, “I’ve come to guide and educate you. The third thing I am
teaching you is this: If you cannot save the common people, then destroy them. Only when you
step on them will they revere you!”
After having said those words, Xie Lian’s head suddenly throbbed like it was going to explode,
and he clutched his head and screamed.
It was those resentful spirits!
Countless resentful spirits were shrieking and wailing inside his brain, and Xie Lian’s head hurt
so much he wanted to roll all over the ground. White No-Face on the other hand, started
laughing next to him, and he cooed gently, “They cannot wait any longer. In three days, if you
don’t unleash the human face disease, if you cannot give them a subject to curse, then you will
become the one they curse. Do you know what you will become then?”
Xie Lian could feel that freezing black sword was once again stuffed into his hand, and a voice
resounded next to his ears, “You no longer have the choice to turn back.”
When that throbbing headache gradually faded at last, after Xie Lian dropped his hands and
opened his eyes, there was only him left within that broken down Palace of the Crown Prince.
The other white clothed man who looked exactly like him had long vanished.
An unknown amount of time had passed, and night had fallen. It was dim and devoid of light
inside the Palace of the Crown Prince. Xie Lian’s heart stirred as he realized something.
One day of the three day period had already passed.
Just then, within the darkness of the hall, there seemed to be a touch of white flashing by. It was
a curious appearance, and Xie Lian turned to look, but when he saw clearly what that touch of
white was, the pupils underneath the mask shrank.
He snatched that thing and demanded, “What… What is this flower doing here?”
It was a fresh, tender and weak little white flower placed upon the left hand of that burnt black
divine statue with missing limbs, and the contrast made it appear particularly pure like snow, but
also particularly bleak. It looked as if this divine statue had landed all those injuries in order to
protect this little flower.
Xie Lian didn’t know why seeing this picture would enrage him either, and he shouted, “GHOST!
COME OUT!”
Soon after, that black clad warrior carrying a sabre appeared as expected. He hadn’t yet spoken
before Xie Lian demanded, “What’s with this flower? Who did this? You did this?”
Wu Ming bowed his head slightly, and his gaze stopped for a moment on the flower that seemed
to be crushed to suffocation in Xie Lian’s hand before finally, he said quietly, “It wasn’t me.”
“Then who could’ve done it??” Xie Lian exclaimed.
“Why does Your Highness become so irritated when seeing this flower?” Wu Ming asked.
Xie Lian’s face darkened, and he threw that flower onto the ground, “…A prank like this disgusts
me.”
Wu Ming however, said, “Why does Your Highness think it’s a prank? Perhaps, there truly are
believers here who worship Your Highness.”
————
Ch.195: Nameless Ghost Offering a Nameless Flower 2
Having heard him, Xie Lian felt as if he was slapped, and he turned to him, “Are you making fun
of me?”
“No.” Wu Ming replied.
“Then don’t say such nonsense! How can there be such a thing?”
After a pause, Wu Ming said, “It’s not impossible.”
“…”
Xie Lian couldn’t take it anymore and snapped back, “That’s enough. What are you trying to
say? Weren’t you a soldier of Xian Le? I didn’t rouse you from the battlefield to listen to you
speak for YongAn, you just need to heed my command!”
That flower on the ground pierced his heart and stabbed his eyes, making him feel unkempt all
of a sudden. Xie Lian charged forward and stomped it down, crushing it like he was venting his
fury. Yet after he was done, he felt baffled by himself. Why must he throw such a huge temper
against such a small flower? He rushed out of the Temple of the Crown Prince. It was only after
feeling the cool breeze did he gradually calm down.
Behind him, that black clad warrior also followed after and came out. Xie Lian asked, “You’ve
investigated this area. Have you found anywhere that appears unusual?”
“No,” Wu Ming replied.
“Are you sure?” Xie Lian asked, “In order to unleash the human face disease, there can’t be
anything amiss with time, fortune, or location.”
“I’m sure,” Wu Ming replied.
Xie Lian had nothing more to say, and he looked up to the sky.
After a moment of silence, Wu Ming asked, “Your Highness, have you thought of how to unleash
the pestilence of the resentful spirits?”
“I’m still thinking,” Xie Lian said.
He looked down at that black sword hanging off his waist. Millions of resentful spirits were
sealed within this black sword, but it could only keep them sealed for so long.
Just then, Wu Ming spoke up, “Your Highness, I have a presumptuous request.”
“Speak.”
The eyes behind the mask of that black clad warrior were watching him intently, “My beloved
had sustained grave injuries in this war, suffering a fate worse than death. I could only watch
with open eyes as they suffer this torment, struggling in agony.”
“And?” Xie Lian said.
“And so, I hope I could be the one to wield the sword and avenge them.”
His reason was very reasonable, but for some reason Xie Lian found it hard to trust him. He
narrowed his eyes, “I find you rather odd.”
He turned around and circled Wu Ming as he said cooly, “Based on what I’ve seen, you don’t
look like an avenger entangled in resentment and hatred. To ask this of me, is it really so you
can unleash the human face disease?”
While he might’ve said so himself, why else would Wu Ming request to unleash the human face
disease?
The nameless black clad warrior bowed his head towards him, “Your Highness, I wish for the
deaths of YongAn people more than anyone. Furthermore, I wish it’d be in my hands that they
perish. If you don’t believe me, I can go prove myself to you right now.”
“How do you plan on proving yourself?” Xie Lian asked.
The black clad warrior placed his hand on his sabre and slowly stood down. By the third step
back, Xie Lian suddenly realized just what he planned to do.
He was going to kill to prove to him he had a vengeful heart!
“Stop!” Xie Lian instantly called out.
Wu Ming stopped. After looking him over critically, Xie Lian said resolutely, “No. I will unleash
them myself.”
That black clad warrior bowed his head, and with the mask on, it was hard to tell what was the
expression on his face. Xie Lian didn’t care for anyone’s else’s reaction either, and he turned
around, speaking softly, “…However, before that, I have something else to do.”
He said as he raised that frozen jade-like black sword, and stared at the glistening blade in his
hand, a peculiar light flashing through his eyes. That black clad warrior noticed something was
off and exclaimed, “Your Highness, what are you planning?!”
He hadn’t even had the time to stop Xie Lian before the next second, Xie Lian turned the point
of the blade on himself, and lunged that black sword into his own abdomen!
The next day, on the streets of Lang-Er Bay.
The weather hadn’t been great lately, cloudy and gloomy with wild gusts suddenly blowing at
times, and nefarious rains fell at others.
Speaking of which, it hadn’t been peaceful lately no matter the place, and there had been word
that even the palace was caught in a fire, the king and the crown prince both down with illness
to the point where they could grant audience to no one. It was chaos everywhere, filled with
ominous signs, and the people couldn’t help but grumble, feeling ill at ease. Only ignorant
children continued to play and run around without a care in the world.
A wave of gloomy winds swept past, blinding the eyes. And soon after, there was a huge
BOOM! that suddenly sounded from the intersection of the street. The figure of a man had
dropped from the skies!
The crowd on the street were all startled by that sudden booming noise, and they all looked
towards the end of the street. On the ground there was a human shaped crater formed from the
crash, and within the hole was a person lying flat listlessly, his hair strewn and messy, his body
covered in blood, so much so that his white robes appeared particularly horrifying.
All of a sudden, everyone in the entire street came gathering, “WHO?!”
“My heavens, where did he drop down from? The sky??”
“IS HE DEAD??”
“I, I don’t think so, I think he’s still moving!
“I can’t believe he’d survive a fall like that!! Wait, what’s that on his chest? A SWORD???”
Once the crowd was close enough, the people finally saw that person’s appearance clearly.
While disheveled, his face was handsomely clean and white. Only, his eyes were gazing
towards the sky unblinkingly, unlike the living. But he couldn’t be said to be dead, since he was
still breathing, and that black sword piercing his abdomen, penetrating his organs, was still
rising up and down weakly along with his chest.
Just then, another person exclaimed in surprise, “Wait, isn’t this… isn’t this…. That, that Royal
Highness the Crown Prince?!”
Now that he mentioned it, everyone else started to recognize him too, “…It really is. It’s that
crown prince from the past, the Crown Prince of XianLe! I’ve seen him before from a distance!
“Didn’t they say that crown prince went missing?”
“I heard he ascended.”
“Why is he like this… what’s with the sword, is he really stabbed through? Scary…”
“Enough of that looking, let me through, will y’all let me through? I’ve got places to be!”
This end of the street was an intersection with the roads heading in two separate directions, and
since it was blocked by a crowd of people, the carriages that came afterwards couldn’t go
through, and so everyone descended their vehicles to check things out, causing quite the
commotion. Suddenly, someone called out, “Wait! He seems… to be saying something?”
The crowd quieted down, and everyone held their breaths to listen intently, trying to pick up any
voices. A moment later, no one on the outer edges heard anything, so they shouted, “What did
he say? Just what is happening? Did he say?”
The ones in the front rows called back, “No!”
“Then what did he say?”
“He said, “Save me”.”
Xie Lian laid flat on the ground, and after having uttered those two words, not another sound
escaped his lips. The people crowding around him all showed different expressions, with
varying reactions and various degrees of puzzlement. A chubby man who looked to be a chef
said, “Save him? How do we save him?”
Someone took a guess, “He probably meant to help pull the sword out?”
That chef looked to be fairly gutsy, and was just about to go up and give it a shot when he was
instantly held back by several hands, “Don’t don’t don’t, absolutely do not!!!”
That man was confused, “Why not?”
The bystanders explained, “You mustn’t! Haven’t you heard? Didn’t Xian Le lose the war? Why
did they lose the war? Because of that human face disease. Why was there human face
disease? Because there was a God of Misfortune, and that’s…”
“God of Misfortune?! Really??”
The moment those words came out, no one dared to step up recklessly any longer, and all
around that enormous human shaped pit was suddenly empty of people.
After all, no one knew just what had happened to the Crown Prince of the previous dynasty.
Was he a God of Misfortune? Would they contract that horrifying human face disease if they
came in contact with him? Or would they find themselves in utter misfortune? Besides, it
appeared that even if they didn’t pull the sword, he wouldn’t die for the moment. If he could fall
from wherever he fell from at such a height and crashing so loudly too without dying, then he
was beyond human.
A moment later, someone said timidly, “Maybe we should report this to the authorities…”
“Didn’t they say this Royal Highness ascended and became a god? What’s the use in reporting
to the authorities?”
“Then what should we do?”
The crowd chattered and babbled, but in the end, they couldn’t come to a conclusion, so they
still ended up sending someone to report the incident. Anything else was out of their hands.
You wanted to lie there? Then just lie there. Let’s leave him be.
Thus, Xie Lian rested like that in that human shaped pit, watching the curious heads of people
gradually decrease and slowly disappear. The carriages that were blocked detoured around
him, and the children who were playing around on the streets were all dragged back into the
house by their parents. There was still a person here and there who’d pass by but they’d be
further away in the distance. Xie Lian remained expressionless throughout, speaking not a
word.
There was a little water seller who couldn’t bear the sight, and whispered to his wife watching
the stall, “Will it really be alright to leave him like this? How about, I give him a cup of water?”
The wife of that little merchant hesitated for a moment and scanned their surroundings,
whispering back, “…Let’s not. If he really is a God of Misfortune, then no one knows what would
happen if you get too close.”
That little merchant was also hesitant, looking around, and a group of other merchants like him
at their stalls were all staring at him, their expressions nervous, as if he should approach, they
would all draw their lines and stay far, far away. In the end, he still didn’t dare to step out on his
own, and abandoned the idea.
And so, Xie Lian stayed like that from the thin mist of morning to the blazing sun of midday, then
to dusk, and he laid there until deep into the night.
In between that time, there were many people who saw him, but those who approached were
very few, and there certainly wasn’t anyone who would help pull that black sword from his
abdomen.
In the deep night, there was not a soul on the streets, but Xie Lian still laid there on the ground,
watching the skies above, and in the dark night, the stars twinkled, his thoughts wandering and
mysterious. Suddenly, a clear, crisp laughter sounded from above, “Hahahaha… what are you
doing?”
After so many visits from the owner of that voice, Xie Lian no longer reacted as violently as
before. And not having received his angry and panicky “welcome”, the owner of that voice took
the initiative to walk over himself and stood by Xie Lian’s head, bending down, and his voice
even seemed to sound a little disappointed, “What are you waiting for?”
That half crying half smiling mask was upside down and coincidentally blocked his entire vision.
They faced each other with only a few feet between their faces, and Xie Lian said coldy, “Get
the hell out of here, you’re blocking me from watching the sky.”
To be told to get the hell away, White No-Face wasn’t upset in the least, and laughingly
straightened up, sounding more and more affable like an elder who was tolerant of a spoiled
child, “What’s so good about the sky?”
“It’s prettier than you.” Xie Lian snapped back.
“Why the temper?” White No-Face asked, “It wasn’t me who stabbed you, and it wasn’t me who
left you here this time. You did this all yourself. Even if you haven’t gotten the results you were
hoping for, you still can’t blame me?”
“It’s none of your shitty business.” Xie Lian said.
White No-Face chuckled sympathetically, “Silly child. Did you think someone would come help
pull out the sword?”
———-
Ch.196: Man in Abyss Receives a Bamboo Hat in the Rain
Xie Lian rebuked forcefully, “I know no one will come, but it’s none of your shitty business.”
White No-Face languidly asked, “Then why did you poke a hole to lay yourself in? Are you
piquing someone? No one will cry over you right now.”
Xie Lian countered, “I’m doing this because I want to. It’s none of your shitty business.”
“If someone does come to help you, what will you do? And if no one comes to help you, what
will you do?”
“…”
Xie Lian started cursing, “WHY ARE YOU SO FULL OF BULLSHIT??? I’M GONNA THROW
UP! IT’S NONE OF YOUR SHITTY BUSINESS, NONE OF YOUR SHITTY BUSINESS!!!”
His words were becoming more and more vulgar and rude, his tone more and more aggravated,
but as much as he swore, he only knew so many words. White No-Face seemed to be very
amused as he laughed out loud, then he sighed, “Silly child.”
He turned around, “Just as well. Either way, there is only one day left. Letting you foolishly
struggle a bit is fine. Either way, no one will come give you a single cup of water, or help you pull
out the black sword. Remember–”
White No-Face reminded him again: “Tomorrow at sunset, if you still haven’t unleashed the
human face disease, the curse will fall upon you.”
Xie Lian listened quietly, moving not a limb.
The third day, Xie Lian still laid there in that deep human shaped pit in the middle of the
intersection; not even his posture had changed.
The crowd today wasn’t too different than the crowd from the day before. They all detoured far
away from him, going about their way. Although the incident with a strange man falling from the
sky had been reported to the authorities, when the other party heard it could be the God of
Misfortune that wasn’t really causing any trouble, just lying there like a dead body, they didn’t
want to deal with it, and placated the affair with a vague “We’ll observe for a few days”. Who
knows what would happen in a few days.
Several curious children came running over, squatting by the edge of the pit to look at this man,
and they picked up a tree branch, secretly poking at him, but Xie Lian was like a dead fish
without any reactions. They were amazed and wanted to throw something at him to see if that
would elicit anything, but they were discovered by their parents and were harshly lectured
before getting grounded at home.
The water merchant from the day before was also still glancing in his direction. Xie Lian hadn’t
taken a single drop of water for a day and a night, and a layer of dried and withered dead skin
formed on his lips. That little merchant felt sorry and ladled a bowl of water, seeming to want to
deliver it, but his wife elbowed him, making him topple the bowl, and so he had to relent.
Who knows if the heavens also wanted to join in on the fun, and after midday, drizzling rain
began to fall from the sky.
The vendors on the streets hurriedly packed up their stalls, and the pedestrians also shouted at
each other to hurry home, and they all left hastily. After a while, that rain came pouring down
harder and harder, and Xie Lian’s face was scoured, appearing even more pale, and his entire
body was soaked through.
Soundlessly, the shadow of a white clothed man appeared next to Xie Lian.
No one else on the street seemed to have noticed this peculiar figure. White No-Face looked
down condescendingly at him, “The sun is about to set.”
Xie Lian was silent.
“You aren’t the God of Misfortune, but they would rather believe that you are, unwilling to believe
you aren’t.” White No-Face said, “Once upon a time you defied the heavens and created rain for
YongAn, yet now they wouldn’t even donate a cup of water to you. To pierce you with a hundred
swords might have been done out of desperation, but now, they’re not even willing to do
something simple like helping you pull out a sword, they all found the task too difficult.”
He said piteously, “I’ve told you this before. No one will come help you.”
There was a voice screaming hysterically in Xie Lian’s heart:
Admit it. What he said is right. There isn’t, there isn’t, there isn’t! There really isn’t. There isn’t a
single person!
As if he had heard this desperate cry in Xie Lian’s heart, White No-Face seemed to have smiled
a bit, reached out, and gripped the hilt of that black sword, “But, it’s alright. They won’t help you,
but I will help you.”
Then, he exerted some force, lifted his hand, and pulled that black sword from Xie Lian’s
abdomen, tossing it aside next to Xie Lian with a soundly clang.
Soon after, that touch of shadow of white cloth in the rain laughed lightly as if he had
succeeded, then he backed away, leaving Xie Lian to his own devices, and vanished.
After having that black sword pulled out, Xie Lian’s wound was exposed without cover, and to be
battered by the rain, the already numbed pain started spreading once again. However, this was
the only thing he could clearly feel at this moment.
Splash sploosh, splash sploosh, the sound of a series of wild footsteps stomping on water
came, like there was a pedestrian who was rushing over in the rain. However, Xie Lian wasn’t
secretly hopeful like before.
He sat up slowly, yet unexpectedly, just as he got up, there was a loud “AH!!!” yell, and a man
fell heavily next to him.
That man carried a large basket on his back and wore a bamboo hat for shielding against the
rain. It was probably due to the pouring rain that he hadn’t seen there was someone in the pit on
the road, and only when he had gotten closer and Xie Lian suddenly sat up did he notice. Plus,
this man was running really fast, and to so forcibly stop, this tripping fall was quite heavy. As he
tumbled and laid sprawled next to that human shaped pit, he instantly started loudly swearing
on the spot, “WHAT THE FUCK!!!”
His bamboo hat had flown off, the basket on his back was toppled, all that white rice spilled all
over the ground. That man sat on the ground and screamed in frustration, slapping down at the
ground, and that wet mud and rice splattered on Xie Lian’s face. The man was outraged,
jumping three feet in the air and pointed at Xie Lian squarely in the face, “WHAT THE HELL?!
THIS ANCESTOR WORKED HIS ASS OFF TO EARN A BIT OF MONEY TO BUY A BIT OF
RICE AND NOW IT’S ALL GONE JUST LIKE THAT, HOW MANY LIFETIME’S WORTH OF
BLOODY BAD LUCK IS THIS?? PAY ME BACK!! DON’T SIT THERE PRETENDING TO BE
DEAD, PAY ME BACK!!!”
Xie Lian didn’t bother to spare him a look at all and planned to ignore him. However, that man
was unrelenting, and he grabbed Xie Lian up by the collar, “ARE YOU ASKING FOR YOUR
DEATH? HUH? I’M TALKING TO YOU!”
“Yes.” Xie Lian replied coldly.
That man clicked his tongue, “WELL IF YOU WANNA FUCKING DIE GO SCAMPER OFF TO
THE SIDE AND DIE ON YOUR OWN QUIETLY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING BLOCKING
PEOPLE’S WAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD? CAN’T EVEN DIE IN PEACE, WHAT A
NUISANCE!!!”
Xie Lian let himself be shaken wildly by the collar, stoic and expressionless, exceedingly numb.
Cuss. Cuss all you want. Nothing matters anymore, so just cuss however you want.
Either way, everything will soon disappear.
The sun is about to set.
That man gripped the wooden Xie Lian, pressing to have Xie Lian pay him back, and when Xie
Lian didn’t respond he cussed to his heart’s content but still wasn’t appeased, and only after
having pushed and shoved for a long while did he pick up his bamboo hat on the ground, put it
over his head, and walked away grumbling. Xie Lian was thrown back into the pit with a dull
thud, and gradually, he began to hear a clamouring noise louder than the sound of rain.
It was the shrieking of millions of the souls of the dead sealed within the black sword.
Along with the setting sun sinking bit by bit down the west, they started hollering and wailing like
mad inside Xie Lian’s head, cheering and rejoicing for the coming arrival of their freedom and
revenge.
Xie Lian raised a hand and covered his face.
Just as his other hand was shakily reaching out to grab hold of that black sword on the ground,
he suddenly noticed something strange.
The rain seemed to have stopped.
No.
The rain didn’t stop. It was something that was placed over his head, helping him block off that
pouring rain!
Xie Lian whipped his head up to look, and saw someone crouched before him, pressing that
bamboo hat that was on his own head on Xie Lian’s head.
…It was that man who was just cussing loudly at him!
He glared at the other and the other also glared back at him, “What are you looking at me like
that for? What, it was just some cussin’ and you really wanna go die over it?” He spat on the
ground as he spoke, “Looking so miserable like you’re crying for the dead, how unlucky!”
“…”
That man was savage and aggressive earlier, and now he seemed to feel a little guilty thinking
back on it, and after grumbling, he started trying to explain himself, “Alright alright, it was my
bad earlier. But you deserved all that scolding. Who told you to go all mental? Besides, who’s
never been cussed at before?”
Xie Lian’s eyes were round and bulging, unable to speak.
Then, that man grew impatient, “Fine fine fine fine, it’s my bad luck today, you don’t have to pay
back that rice. What are you doing still lying around here for? You’re a grown man, not a child,
are you waiting for your ma and pa to pick you up? Get up get up get up get up.”
He urged as he pulled and yanked, pulling Xie Lian up, and forcefully slapped him twice on the
back, “Stand up. Go home now!”
And so Xie Lian was pulled out of this human shaped pit just like that, and almost tumbled to the
ground by those two slaps, feeling dumbfounded. When he snapped out of it, that man had
already gone.
What remained was only that bamboo hat still on his head, reminding him, he was just pulled
out by someone, it wasn’t a hallucination.
Who knows how much time had past, and White No-Face reappeared behind him.
This time, he didn’t smile, and his voice wasn’t that easy and carefree anymore, but rather
vaguely displeased and worried, “What are you doing?”
The rain was still pouring down, but Xie lian was wearing a bamboo hat given to him by
someone, so while his body was already drenched, at least his head and face were now spared.
But, still, his cheeks were wet.
Seeing that Xie Lian wasn’t answering, White No-Face added darkly, “The sun is about to set.
Take up your sword, otherwise, you know what will happen.”
Xie Lian didn’t turn his head back, and only said softly, “Fuck you.”
“What did you say?” White No-Face’s voice carried a trace of frost.
Xie Lian turned to him and said calmly, “Did you not hear me? Then I’ll say it again.”
Suddenly, his leg flew out violently, kicking out thunderously, sending White No-Face flying
meters away!
His foot landed, Xie Lian held his wound with a hand while his other pointed at the direction
White No-Face had gone, and used his loudest voice, giving everything he’s got to yell, “I SAID
FUCK YOU!!! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TO DARE TALK TO ME LIKE THIS?? I AM
THE CROWN PRINCE!!!”
Upon his face, two lines of tears were already streaming down from his eyes.
One person. Just one.
Really.
Just one person was enough!
——–
Ch.197: Man in Abyss Receives a Bamboo Hat in the Rain 2
White No-Face was sent flying by his kick, but he flipped in the air and landed steadily, yelling,
“ARE YOU MAD?!”
He was outraged!
After so long, it was the very first time Xie Lian had witnessed such an intensive emotional
reaction from this creature, and that made him extremely pleased. He grabbed the black sword
that was on the ground and charged forward, “I’m not mad, I’ve just returned!”
That kick earlier was unanticipated, but now the attacks following wouldn’t be as easy. White
No-Face dodged as he cried frostily, “Have you… forgotten? How your parents left you, how
your people treated you, how your worshippers betrayed you! Just for this man, this puny,
insignificant passerby! Now you’ve forgotten everything??”
“I haven’t forgotten! But–” Xie Lian swung the sword, and shouted angrily and vigorously, “IT’S
NONE OF YOUR SHITTY BUSINESS!!!”
White No-Face seized the tip of the sword, gripping it exceedingly firm, and blood dripped, his
knuckles cracking.
He was losing it a little, and muttered incredulously, “…Useless trash, useless trash! You’re truly
useless trash! Having come this far to this point, you can actually regret, you can actually turn
back!”
Xie Lian was also pressing down on the sword, replying with gritted teeth, “…You disgust me.
So, I refuse to ever become something as disgusting as you!”
“…”
White No-Face seemed to have calmed down a little, and recovered the tone of voice that
sounded as if everything was within his control, “Nevermind. This is only your last bit of struggle
in the face of death. Have you forgotten what I’ve told you?”
Xie Lian panted a breath, and White No-Face enunciated each word, “The souls of the dead of
the battlefield were summoned back by you. Now, it is too late. They will not be stopped!”
Amidst the heavy rain, that black sword in Xie Lian’s hand emitted a sharp ringing cry, stabbing
his ears and head with pain. “What will you do?” White No-Face asked, “Is it worth it? To take on
the curse of ten thousand lifetimes for those people?”
Ever since that kick earlier, Xie Lian had been in a state of blood boiling through his veins and
blood rushing to his head; all the sword swinging and the words he spat came straight from the
heart without a thought of what should be done of anything that came afterwards. Now that he’d
heard White No-Face’s question, he didn’t know how to answer either, “You won’t see what I
plan to do. Before that, I’ll get rid of you!”
White No-Face humphed coldly, “How arrogant.”
Then, Xie Lian felt his body go light, and his entire person was sent flying.
He instantly steadied his mind to find his centre, but before he found his balance, that white
figure flashed above, and struck down forcefully. It was as if Xie Lian had become a ball of iron
being heavily slung out, and after a loud crash, he crashed deeply into the ground.
If it was said Xie Lian had a three part hope in his mind that perhaps if he burst out he could’ve
won, but after this strike, he was now more than awake.
He couldn’t win!
Too strong; to him, this creature was overwhelmingly strong!
Xie Lian had never thought any enemy to be “overwhelming”, and it was only those few times he
faced Jun Wu when such a rare thought would flash through his mind. However, while Jun Wu
was genuinely strong, it was a power that was measuredly restricted, deliberate and careful; a
complete opposite of White No-Face. In his strength, there was a malicious encroaching
viciousness and a murderous intent filled with resentment.
So, it only took one strike before Xie Lian understood. He would never be able to win against
White No-Face. Perhaps there was only Jun Wu who could be a match for this creature.
But the him now would never be able to have his voice reach Jun Wu!
A violent stomp, and White No-Face’s snow white boot stepped down on Xie Lian’s chest, and
he said chillingly, “From the start, it was your arrogance and your naive dreams that caused
everything!”
Xie Lian could feel his organs twist and retract from the stomp, the pain excruciating, but he still
held back that mouthful of blood, “No. It wasn’t me!”
“Huh?” White No-Face said unpleasantly.
Xie Lian reached out and clutched firmly onto that boot, his eyes clearer than ever before,
shining and bright, “It’s you who brought the human face disease. It’s you who caused
everything!”
“…”
White No-Face humphed, “Perhaps. If you must think that way.”
Then, he smiled, “But you must understand, that if it wasn’t for your arrogance in defying the
heavens, I would never have appeared in this world. I was born by the will of heaven.”
The flames in Xie Lian’s eyes weren’t put out by the heavy rain; on the contrary, it was blazing
stronger and stronger, “Stop thinking so highly of yourself! I don’t need you to teach me
anything, I can learn on my own. If you represent heaven’s will, then something like heaven’s
will should be destroyed!”
Muffled thunder rolled in the horizon, whirlwinds blew. White No-Face’s voice had dropped
deeper.
He said softly, “I took the utmost care in teaching you but you remain obtuse and stubborn.
Crown Prince, I’ve lost my patience.”
Xie Lian coughed a few times, and White No-Face continued, “However, it makes no difference.
Either way, you have long since roused them, and now, only the last step needs to be taken.
Allow me to help you with this last step.”
Xie Lian was alarmed, “What are you planning?”
White No-Face bent down and seized Xie Lian’s hand, and stuffed that black sword in his hand,
forcing him to grip it, and raising it to the sky!
A flashing thunderbolt struck down from the heavens, injecting into that black sword’s heart of
the blade, and reflected back. Thick and dense gloomy clouds started stirring, and a sea of
black clouds enveloped the entire sky of YongAn. Countless faces, arms, legs, and other limbs
were rolling within it, as if hell was moved to the heavens.
At the same time, the sun had set.
Xie Lian laid on the ground, the rolling black clouds and a sky filled with the flashing of lightning
and the crying of thunder reflected in his eyes. White No-Face tossed him and that black sword
also dropped to the ground with a clang.
It was as if millions of horses were shrieking and howling from the clouds, the very parade of the
apocalypse, and all over the streets and alleyways, many were startled and came out to see
what was going on, and they all looked confused, “What’s going on?”
“What’s with all the noise?”
“What the hell?? What’s that in the sky?? IS THAT A HUMAN FACE??”
“IT’S CHAOS! IT’S THE OMINOUS SIGN OF THE END OF THE WORLD!”
Xie Lian was covered in mud and grime, and he stumbled as he crawled up from the ground,
yelling, “GO HOME! GO BACK TO YOUR HOUSES!! DON’T COME OUT! GO HOME, RUN!!!”
The human face disease was about to be unleashed once again!
Xie Lian was fervently waving his hands while White No-Face stood on the side and chuckled
softly. Xie Lian whipped his head around and glared at him in rage. White No-Face tucked his
hands in his sleeves, and said calmly and easily, “Why so angry? Either way you can no longer
turn back, so why not just enjoy the sweetness of revenge? This is all done by your hands,
appreciate it wholeheartedly.”
“…You… really think I can’t do anything about this?” Xie Lian said.
“If you have a way, then please, go ahead?” White No-Face said.
Xie Lian sucked in a huge breath, then picked up that black sword on the ground and walked to
where the crowd is on the street.
Everyone recognized him as that Crown Prince of the previous dynasty who laid on the street
for two days, an unghost-like ghost, an ungodly god, an inhuman human, and they all backed
away in trepidation. Xie Lian shouted, “ALL OF YOU, STOP WHERE YOU ARE!”
For some reason, while he was covered in mud and grime from head to toe at the moment,
there was a strange aura, and everyone actually stopped. “Do you see those things in the sky?”
Xie Lian asked.
The crowd nodded unconsciously. Xie Lian continued, “Those things are the resentful spirits that
will trigger the human face disease. Very soon, the human face disease will erupt once again!”
That black sea of clouds was indeed terrifying, and without needing much more convincing, the
crowd believed him, and everyone was horrified, “THE, THE HUMAN FACE DISEASE??”
“WHY HAS IT COME AGAIN?”
“COULD IT REALLY BE…”
Some were at a complete loss, some were turning around to flee, but the majority of them stood
where they were in fidgety uneasiness, waiting for him to say more. However, Xie Lian had no
more to say, and only gripped the sword in his hand and raised it forward.
The moment he raised this chilling weapon, the crowd jumped and instantly backed away a few
meters in fear, but Xie Lian shouted again, “TAKE THIS!”
“…”
The people gaped in fright, “…What?”
Under the rain, Xie Lian was holding that sword up, and he said darkly, “As long as you use this
sword to pierce me, you won’t be affected by the human face disease.”
“…”
White No-Face’s smile seemed to have faltered for a moment.
A brief moment later, he spoke up with a relatively calm voice, “Crown Prince, have you gone
mad?”
The people were bewildered too, “What… What are you saying?”
“Is he crazy?”
“Take the sword and stab him? For real? What is he planning?”
The crowd babbled and muttered, and a sudden burst of laughter came from White No-Face,
“Have you lost your mind or have you not had enough of the taste of being pierced by a hundred
swords? No, this time, I’m afraid it’ll have to be the penetration of a million swords. Open your
eyes and look at the sky!”
He suddenly stopped laughing, and he said, pointing to the sky, “The resentful spirits have
enveloped all of YongAn! Which means, if you want to “save the common people”, you will have
to have all of YongAn stab you, and you will become nothing but a puddle of flesh within a day!
How is a foolish method like this any different than you trying to defy the heavens and create
rain back then? Do you think you can save everyone?”
Xie Lian had his back turned to him, “If a day isn’t enough, then let it take a month; if a month
won’t do then two months, three months! If I can’t save ten thousand, then I’ll save a thousand;
if I can’t save a thousand then I’ll save a hundred, TEN, EVEN IF IT’S ONLY ONE!!!”
White No-Face exclaimed in outrage, “WHY??”
Xie Lian raised that sword with both his hands and roared loudly, “THERE IS NO REASON
WHY! BECAUSE I WANT TO!!! EVEN IF I TOLD YOU…” He turned his head back slightly, “–A
USELESS TRASH LIKE YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND.”
“…”
The condescending disdain was too obvious and cut too deep, and White No-Face raised his
voice unconsciously, “You, what did you call me?”
Xie Lian stopped caring for him and turned calmly to the crowd, “Just one stab and everything
will be alright. I won’t die, you’ve all seen it for yourselves these past two days. However,
everyone is only allowed one turn, no messing about, and you all must listen to me. If anyone
tries to start anything I’ll blow up your heads. Trust me, one of my hands can crush a hundred of
your heads.”
White No-Face was incredulous, “You useless trash who brought ruin to your kingdom dare call
me useless trash?”
No one dared take the sword in Xie Lian’s hand, but no one dared to flee either. Having been
ignored, White No-Face was sinking deeper in dark anger, and he said cooly, “…Very well. Then
I will sit back and watch just how your obstinance will ruin yourself. However, no matter the end,
you’ve brought it upon yourself. I hope you won’t fall apart in the end and come crying to me in
regret.”
Having pushed and shoved back and forth, the black clouds in the sky were growing denser and
pressing down heavier, like it was going to collapse, and the shrieking cries of countless human
faces were like they were right by the ears. Finally, there was a father who was so scared he
couldn’t take it anymore, and dragged a child over and took the sword, “I’ll, I’ll give it a try with
my Xiao Bao, huh…”
The people on the side were all still hesitating, and when they saw they exclaimed in surprise,
“You’re actually going to try??”
That father also really hesitated, but he forced himself and said boldly, “But… But, he really
doesn’t look like he’ll die! I’m sorry, buddy, I’m really sorry! My Xiao Bao…” He spoke as he
raised his hand and covered the eyes of the small child in his arms, letting the child grip the
black sword. White No-Face didn’t interfere and only chuckled mockingly on the side. Xie Lian
clenched his fists slightly, waiting for the pain to attack in the next second, telling himself in his
head: It’s alright. I’ve already hurt too many times, I’ll get used to this soon enough.
Yet unexpectedly, just as that black sword was about to penetrate his gut, it was soundly
knocked down by someone.
Xie Lian didn’t receive the excruciating pain he anticipated, but instead there was a loud and
clear, “YOU CAN’T!!”
“…”
He whipped his head over to look. The one who knocked that black sword down was actually
that little water merchant!
That little merchant was mixed in the crowd, and seemed to be unable to take it anymore, and
he stepped out, “I say, this really isn’t a pretty sight. Do you all not see the blot on his stomach?
All bloody. Will he really not die? Even if he doesn’t die, he’d still bleed, no?”
That father scrunched up his face miserably, “But… but…”
That water merchant’s wife elbowed him secretly again in the crowd, but that little merchant
turned to her and admonished with a hush, “Stop elbowing me, if you have issues we’ll talk
later!” Then he turned back around, “Besides, we don’t know if we really won’t contract the
disease if we stab him, so let’s not just stab blindly?”
That father pointed to the sky, “But, soon….”
Just then, the small child in his arms started crying, and that little merchant immediately pointed,
“Look, look! You making your son stab people is making him cry!”
Sure enough, that small child cried soundly and threw that black sword to the ground. He
probably didn’t know what his father was thinking either, but he was scared nonetheless. Thus,
this killed any ideas that father had in mind, and he pushed back into the crowd holding his son.
There were some who were ready to try, but when they saw the first person who stepped up
was set back, the ones after didn’t feel as brave, and so they yelled from the crowd, “Haven’t
you heard what he said? The human face disease is about to descend upon us! He’s a God of
Misfortune, he’s brought this to our heads!”
However, that little merchant countered, “But even if he’s the God of Misfortune, he wouldn’t
want to do this willingly?”
He kept talking and started to piss some people off, “YOU KNOW HE’S WILLING, SO WHAT’S
THE PROBLEM? DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO DIE TOGETHER???”
“Just focus on selling your water. Shortchanging people on the regular, what are you doing
standing out now…”
The wife of that little merchant kept elbowing him, but when she heard that she instantly
exploded, yelling with her face red, “MOTHERFUCKING BULLSHIT, WHO’S
SHORTCHANGING?? COME THE HELL OUT AND TELL THIS TO MY FACE!”
The other party instantly shrank back. That little merchant also flushed, but soon after, he
hardened up and said, “I SAY! Whether he’s willing is his business, but whether we act on it is
our business? This is taking up a blade and stabbing people! If in the past two days I had given
him water or something, maybe I could’ve given this whole thing a try, but… I didn’t! Who did? In
any case… I’d feel ashamed!”
———-
Ch.198: Man in Abyss Receives a Bamboo Hat in the Rain 3
The moment he said so, everyone fell silent, because he really hit the nail on the head. In the
past two days, there really wasn’t anyone who came to give Xie Lian a hand. This water
merchant had at least the mind to help, he just didn’t make it, but the others didn’t even dare
spare a glance in his direction!
Someone grumbled, “Then what should we do now? If we can’t do this, then why don’t you
come up with something??”
The crowd was about to go rowdy again, some even trying to push themselves through to the
front, and just then, another voice shouted savagely, “WHO’S MAKING ALL THIS RACKET? IF
ANYONE WANTS TO ROUGH THIS UP, THIS ANCESTOR’S GOT A KNIFE!”
When they looked, it was that chubby chef that was the first who wanted to pull the sword on the
first day Xie Lian fell from the sky. Something seemed to have provoked him, and he roared,
“That little buddy is right! If it wasn’t several people holding me back yesterday, I would’ve
almost pulled out that sword! And now, how come before I even moved, you lot are the ones
making the most noise? PATHETIC! Think you’re worthy? Well you certainly don’t see such
shameless thick skins everyday!”
That chef was a big man, his voice loud and clear, and he was in the height of his anger, a
butcher knife in his hand, as if he only just came out of the kitchen. The ones who were
complaining the loudest earlier instantly didn’t dare to make any more noise. There were those
who didn’t know what had happened the past couple of days, and after they inquired, they were
all surprised, “No way? None of you went up to help?”
“Yea, you all just left him there lying for two days? Didn’t even help him sit up or anything?”
The more they spoke the more the others felt ashamed, and they countered, “Don’t speak as if
you would’ve gone up to help, and say all those pretty things after the fact. Don’t forget, when
those ghastly things descend later, none of us will get away!”
“Heh then I’ll tell you, if I was there, I would’ve definitely helped him pull the sword!”
“Of course it’s easy moving your lips after the whole thing is over…”
“WAIT! What are you all arguing over? Pulling the sword isn’t the problem right now!”
As they argued, both sides were rambunctious and unruly, a brawl waiting to happen, and the
rain also slowly stopped. However, those black clouds were growing thicker, the pressure so
dense it was suffocating the hundreds of people below. Suddenly, there was a scream that
exploded from within the crowd, and many fingers pointed to the sky, “IT’S COMING!!!”
Xie Lian’s head also shot up. Those human faces rolling within the black clouds suddenly
started insurging, and they rapidly plunged down like black shooting stars dragging long “tails”
behind them.
The human face disease was coming!
The crowd was petrified as they lost themselves; some bolted, some went to hide inside the
houses, and there were also a few who went to grab for the black sword. However, the black
sword that was knocked to the ground had vanished since who knows when, and they came up
empty.
Xie Lian was too shocked by the people’s reactions earlier and only now did he notice, and he
exclaimed, “Where’s the sword? WHO TOOK IT??”
No one had the time to answer since everyone was fleeing in all directions. However, how could
they possibly be faster than the falling resentful spirits? Soon, all around came the wails and
screams of the living and the howls of the resentful spirits!
After those resentful spirits had caught up to the living, they were like rolling thick black smoke,
unrelenting and clingy, entering through every pore, slowly melding into their bodies. Xie Lian
fought arduously trying to drive them out, but alas, there were still too many resentful spirits, and
he alone couldn’t drive all of them out. He watched helplessly as countless before him wailed
and howled as they were chased down by the ghosts, that pair of little water merchant and his
wife, and that chubby chef were also rolling all over the ground wrestling with the entanglement
of black smoke, and all the while, White No-Face stood closeby, jeering unceasingly, watching it
all.
Xie Lian was both furious and anxious, and steeling his heart, he roared to the place that was
densest with resentful spirits, “HEY—!”
He was the mastermind behind their awakening after all, and with this call, those creatures very
naturally noticed him. Xie Lian opened his arms wide, “COME TO ME!”
The resentful spirits that already tangled up the living hesitated, undecided whether they should
go over, but the resentful spirits still in the air instantly changed course and went straight for Xie
Lian.
Success!
Xie Lian’s heart was beating so fast it was going to stop. He didn’t know what would happen,
and he didn’t know what would become of him either. But, by just all the blood rushing to his
head, he was going to give it his all. He felt, even if it was only a strive for vindication and he got
beaten black and blue, he would still never back away; even if another hundreds of thousands
souls of the dead were to come, he would still be invincible!
You want to see me feel sorry for myself and self destruct?
WELL I WON’T!!!
I WILL NEVER!!!
Swarms of black tide that covered the heavens to the earth surrounded Xie Lian, and a resentful
spirit wailed as it passed through his body. In an instant, it was as if Xie Lian’s heart had frozen
and his body shuddered. Soon after, a second one came, then a third one…
Those creatures were like blades with sharp auras, striking through him, penetrating his body,
and every time, they’d take away a bit of what warmth he had left, and Xie Lian’s face grew
paler and paler. Nevertheless, he remained determined and never backed away.
It had only been a few hundred of them, he had only stood his ground for a bit, and there would
be many more after. This entire sky full of black clouds were all them!
Xie Lian closed his eyes, preparing to take on the flaming fury of all of the resentful spirits by his
own powers. Yet unexpectedly, the next resentful spirit never came. Confused, He opened his
eyes, and to his surprise, that swarm of black tide that covered the heavens to the earth
surrounding him had vanished.
Since, they had all transformed into rolling black currents, and sucked away to a different
direction!
Stunned, Xie Lian turned his head to look. At the end of the long street stood a black clad
warrior, and in his hand gripped that long black sword.
Wu Ming?
Xie Lian had given him the order beforehand to have him walk away while Xie Lian activated the
human face disease, so why would he appear here in this place at this time?
Xie Lian couldn’t figure out what was going on and what that black clad warrior was doing here,
but after being stunned for a moment, he immediately charged towards him running as he
shouted, “WAIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DON’T TOUCH THAT! GIVE ME BACK THE
SWORD!”
That black clad warrior seemed to have heard his voice and looked up slightly. Xie Lian couldn’t
see his real face, and only saw that mask with a drawn smile. However, a strange feeling came
to him.
He felt, beneath the mask of that black clad warrior, he was smiling for real.
However, that feeling was fleeting. Enormous black torrent and the screaming tide mixed
together to form a tempest, and it gathered over, swallowing that black clad warrior whole in an
instant.
In that moment, Xie Lian heard a heart-wrenching, blood curdling scream.
He seemed to have heard this voice from somewhere before. He must’ve heard this voice
somewhere before!
Painful. So painful like he was feeling the same agony; so painful it was a fate worse than
death; so painful both his heart and body were going to be crushed; so painful he fell heavily to
the ground on his knees, hugging his head as he screamed along too.
“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”
That explosion of excruciating pain in his heart came suddenly and left equally fast, and after an
unknown time had past, silence slowly descended upon the surroundings, and Xie Lian also
gradually dropped the hands that were hugging his head.
Slightly dazed, he looked up and scanned the surroundings, and all around laid a ground
covered with people, most of them unconscious, but all the resentful spirits entangling them had
vanished.
This scene confused him. What happened to the human face disease? What happened to the
resentful spirits? What happened to himself?
There was no trace of that black torrent left either, and the only thing that remained where that
black clad nameless ghost had stood was a black sword that had fallen to the ground. And, next
to the point of the blade was a tiny, small white flower.
Xie Lian crawled up staggeringly and walked up, picking up that flower and sword.
He felt his face, looked at his arms, and didn’t feel anywhere on his body that seemed different,
like he had taken on some powerful curse. Just as he was still mystified, a sudden voice came
from behind him, and it said softly, “Ah.”
XIe Lian turned back, and White No-Face was standing behind him, his arms crossed and
tucked in his sleeves, his expansive sleeves fluttering in the wind.
Xie Lian hadn’t yet processed what had happened, but felt a vague sense of foreboding.
White No-Face glanced at him and started chuckling. That sense of foreboding was growing
stronger, and Xie Lian knitted his brows, “What are you laughing about?”
White No-Face asked him instead, “You still don’t understand what had happened?”
“What?” Xie Lian asked.
“Do you know who that ghost is?” White No-Face asked.
“…A, a soul of the dead from the battlefield?” Xie Lian tried.
“Yes.” White No-Face replied, “But at the same time, he was also your very last believer in this
world. Now, he’s no more.”
…Believer?
Did he actually still have a believer in this world?
It was a good moment before Xie Lian could squeeze out a few words.
He said staggeringly, “What, do you mean, no more?”
White No-Face replied languidly, “His soul had dispersed.”
Xie Lian was having a hard time accepting his, “How did his soul just disperse??”
“Because he was cursed on your behalf. The souls of the dead you’ve summoned have
devoured him whole, leaving not a crumb left.” White No-Face said.
“…”
The souls of the dead he summoned?
Cursed on his behalf?!
White No-Face continued, “Oh yes, that’s right. It also wasn’t the first time you’ve met him.”
Xie Lian watched him in a daze. White No-Face seemed to be amused, “This ghost seemed to
have always followed you. At first I only thought it possessed a rather deep resentment so I
caught it and interrogated it. Who knew, the answers were quite interesting. The ZhongYuan
Festival, the lantern night, a wandering ghost fire soul. Do you still remember?”
Xie Lian mumbled, “The ZhongYuan Festival? Lantern night? Wandering ghost fire soul?”
White No-Face lazily hinted, “This ghost, in life, was a soldier under your command. In death, it
was a soul of the dead that followed you. He died in battle for you; turned into a vicious ghost
because you were pierced by a hundred swords; but also because of you, his soul perished by
your unleashing of the human face disease.”
Xie Lian seemed to vaguely recall something, but he hadn’t even seen the face of this believer,
he didn’t even know his name, so what could he really recall? How much could he really recall?
“Perhaps, there truly are believers here who worship Your Highness…”
Yes. There was.
And, he was his only one!
White No-Face seemed to have said many other things, but Xie Lian was lost in a daze, taking
nothing in, until finally, White No-Face said, “A god like you really is quite pathetic and
laughable. And to be your believer, he’s even more pathetic and laughable to the extreme.”
“…”
When he was mocking Xie Lian earlier, Xie Lian had no reaction, but when he heard this
creature so condescendingly comment on how his believer was pathetic and laughable, it was
as if Xie Lian was jolted awake by a stabbing sword, and an uncontrollable rage rolled up.
He charged over but was seized easily, and White No-Face said coldly, “You can’t win against
me like this. How many times must I tell you before you see the truth?”
Xie Lian hadn’t wanted to win against him in the first place, and it didn’t matter if he couldn’t win.
He only simply wanted to beat that thing to a pulp, and he cried angrily, “WHAT DO YOU
KNOW! HOW DARE YOU MOCK HIM!!”
White No-Face replied, “Why wouldn’t I dare mock a follower of a failure? You’re foolish, and
your believer is even more foolish. Listen up! If you wish to defeat me, then you must obey my
teachings. Otherwise, you shall never dream of winning against me!”
Xie Lian wanted to spit at him with everything he’s got, but even breathing was a difficulty. White
No-Face flipped his hand and opened it, and within his palm another cry-smiling mask
appeared, “Now, let us start over!”
He was just pressing this mask onto Xie Lian’s face when unexpectedly, right at that moment,
there was a loud rumbling.
In the horizon, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and a strange light shot out from the layers
of the clouds. White No-Face was alarmed and stopped in his action, “What this? A Heavenly
Calamity?…”
After a pause, he dismissed it, “No, that’s not it!”
That wasn’t it.
It was a Heavenly Calamity, but, that wasn’t the only thing!
The voice of a man resounded deeply upon the entire sky, “If he cannot win against you, how
about me?”
Xie Lian’s head shot up.
Since who knows when, a young martial god donned in white armour and brimming with
propitious aura appeared at the end of the long street ahead. A thin layer of white spiritual light
enveloped his body, and he held a sword in his hand as he walked towards them step by step,
breaking out a path of light in this gloomy, dark world.
Xie Lian widened his eyes in spite of himself.
Jun Wu!
…
After the rain ceased and the skies cleared, Xie Lian sat on the burnt earth panting lightly.
Jun Wu sheathed his sword and walked over, “Xian Le. Welcome back to the ranks.”
He bore a tired expression, traces of blood still on his face, left there by White No-Face. Other
than that, Jun Wu was covered in innumerous injuries big and small all over. They weren’t not
serious, but White No-Face’s wounds were more serious, so much so that his body was ripped
apart, his form dispersed, leaving behind only that shattered cry-smiling face.
When he heard him say “back to the ranks”, Xie Lian was taken aback. He felt his neck and only
then did he notice that cursed shackle was gone.
Jun Wu smiled, “As expected, I was not mistaken. The time it took for you to return was shorter
than I had imagined.”
Xie Lian slowly processed this information then flashed a small smile too, but his was a bitter
one.
After catching his breath, he spoke up, “My Lord, I want to beg you of something.”
“Permitted.” Jun Wu said.
“Aren’t you going to ask what it is?” Xie Lian asked.
“Either way you would be asking for a gift upon return to the Heavenly Court, so whatever this is
might just as well be my gift to you for your returning to the ranks.”
The corners of Xie Lian’s lips twitched and he rose to his feet, looking Jun Wu squarely in the
eyes and said with the utmost respect, “Then, pray My Lord banish me to the mortal realm once
more.”
Hearing this, Jun Wu’s smile faded, “Whyever for?”
Xie Lian explained himself truthfully, “I’ve committed a crime. The second round of the human
face disease was unleashed by me. Even though the consequences don’t look too serious.”
Since, only a nameless ghost had vanished, and perhaps in this world, there would be no one
who cared for this nameless ghost, so in the end, the consequences didn’t look serious.”
Jun Wu said slowly, “If you knew what was wrong, then, you are already in the right.”
However, Xie Lian shook his head, “Just knowing is not enough. If I made a mistake I should be
the one to accept punishment, but, I committed the wrong, but the one who took the punishment
for me was…”
He raised his head, “So, as punishment, I pray My Lord will grant me a cursed shackle, no, two
cursed shackles. One to seal away my spiritual powers, another to disperse all my luck and
fortune.”
Jun Wu frowned slightly, “Disperse all of your luck and fortune? Then won’t you be unlucky to
the extreme, and truly become the God of Misfortune?”
In the past, Xie Lian would certainly deeply mind when he was called the God of Misfortune, and
was very repulsed by it, thinking it was a great humiliation. However, he no longer cared for
such things, “If I am to become a God of Misfortune then so be it. As long as I know for myself
that I’m not one.”
Once his fortune was dispersed, it would naturally flow to those who were less fortunate, so it’d
be a form of atonement.
“It would be very embarrassing.” Jun Wu reminded him.
“It doesn’t matter.” Xie Lian said, “And to be honest, it feels like… I’m almost used to it by now.”
Although it wasn’t something he wanted to get used to, but, once he did get used to it, it really
felt like nothing could harm him.
Jun Wu watched him, “Xian Le, you have to understand, without spiritual powers, you would no
longer be a god.”
Xie Lian sighed, “My Lord, I know this better than anyone.”
After a pause, he said, a little frustratingly and a little forlornly, “People say I am god and so I
have spiritual powers. But in truth, I’m… not the god they perceived me to be, and I might not be
as invincible as they wished for.”
“Would a god be such a failure? Wishing to protect my own people but I let their corpses spread
the wild; wishing to avenge them, but at the very last minute I stopped and abandoned the plot.
White No-Face wasn’t wrong about me being a ‘failure’.”
“If I’m no longer a god, then so be it.”
Jun Wu looked at him intently, and after a long while, he said, “Xian Le has grown up.”
This should’ve been something Xie Lian heard from his elders. Unfortunately, his father and
mother had no more chances to say it.
A moment later, Jun Wu said, “Since it’s the path you’ve chosen, then, very well. However, I will
need a reason to banish you to the mortal realm.”
He couldn’t just so casually banish a heavenly official like a child’s game; what did they take the
heavens for?
In regards to this, Xie Lian had an idea, and he said, “My Lord, it doesn’t seem like we’ve ever
sparred with everything we’ve got?”
Jun Wu instantly understood what he meant and smiled, “Xian Le, I’m injured.”
“I’m injured too,” Xie Lian said, “So we’re even.”
Jun Wu nodded, “If that’s the case, then I will not hold back.”
Xie Lian smiled, his eyes brightening with the excitement of the prospect, “I won’t either.”
…
His Highness the Crown Prince was banished again.
After the smashing and grandiose second Heavenly Calamity, the Crown Prince of XianLe,
fierce and truculent, rampaged back to the heavens, and before even one incense time was up,
he was knocked back down below once more by the Heavenly Martial Emperor. None of the
heavenly officials could figure out just what that man was thinking???
But, Xie Lian couldn’t figure out what the other heavenly officials were thinking either.
Were they really that curious? Watching him day after day, disguising themselves as mortals to
watch him, disguising themselves as animals to watch him, it’s been days that they’ve been
stalking him! Was watching a grown up man carry bricks and mud really that interesting???
Just as he was still wondering, the foreman behind him yelled out, “NEWBIE, YOU, YES YOU,
I’M TALKING TO YOU! GET BACK TO WORK AND STOP BEING LAZY!”
Xie Lian hastily sat up and answered loudly, “OH!”
Then, he picked up a ragged cattail fan and started fanning the flames. Before him was a small
stove stacked upon several bricks, and upon the stove was a large pot of rice bubbling as it was
being cooked.
This was a construction site where he hauled earth and mud. However, the bricks were already
done being transported. Not far away were two newly built temples, and his task at the moment
was to cook. He cooked and cooked, and just as he was working very hard, two carriages came
hauling two very big divine statues. Xie Lian was absentmindedly tossing whatever into the pot
while stealing glances in the middle of work.
The two divine statues were each carried into their respective temples. Within the hall of the
temple on the left, there came cheers, “General Xuan Zhen is great! General Xuan Zhen is
generous and kind!”
Xie Lian was speechless.
To use “generous and kind” to praise Mu Qing, were those devotees for real?
But, they seemed to have very good reasons. After all, everyone knew that Mu Qing ascended
because he cleaned up all the remaining stubborn resentful spirits in the olden capital of XianLe,
so to understand it as “generous and kind” wasn’t unreasonable. In any case, everyone in the
old capital of XianLe were all very grateful for him.
Inside the hall of the temple to the right, the cheering refused to be beaten, and they roared,
“General Ju Yang is great! General Ju Yang is brave and mighty!”
Xie Lian nodded. This he had no objections. Just, that praise might not hold true when faced
with women.
The devotees on both sides were screaming with all their might, doing all they could to win over
the other, so much so that Xie Lian’s ears were hurting, and he sighed, rubbing his forehead
thinking, why must they be like this?
If they hated each other so much, wouldn’t the problem be solved by not building temples right
next to each other?
The answer to that was – of course not! Because, this area was the most bustling domain with
the best fengshui, so the devotees of those two heavenly officials would never abandon such a
delectable land just to avoid each other; of course they had to do all they could to steal each
other’s worshippers and disgust one another.
It didn’t take long before the devotees from either sides went from yelling to fighting. Over on
this side, Xie Lian felt the timing was about right, and started banging the pots, calling out loudly,
“EVERYONE, STOP FIGHTING! COME EAT!”
They were at the height of their brawl, who had the time to mind him? Xie Lian shook his head
and opened the pot cover, and the fragrance wafted for ten miles. Now he’d done it. The mob
instantly stopped and they all started howling, “…WHAT THE FUCK… WHAT’S THAT
SMELL??”
“WHO’S COOKING SHIT??”
“AND IT’S SHIT THAT SMELLS LIKE POT BOTTOMS*?!”
Xie Lian argued back, “WHAT! This is a hidden, treasured royal recipe…”
The foreman came around with his hand covering his nose, his face turning green, and he
exclaimed, jumping to his feet, “BULLSHIT, WHAT HIDDEN, TREASURED RECIPE? WHAT
ROYALTY?! YOU? GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE! DON’T DISGUST PEOPLE!”
Xie Lian compromised, “Alright, fine, I’ll go. But will you please give me my pay first…”
The foreman exclaimed angrily, “YOU EVEN DARE MENTION PAY?! Why don’t you tell me,
HUH! YOU! EVER SINCE YOU CAME! HOW MUCH HAVE I LOST IN DAMAGES??? HUH?
When it rains lightning strikes nothing but comes only for you! Houses caught on fire THREE
TIMES! AND COLLAPSED THREE TIMES TOO! You’re like a God of Misfortune! AND YOU
DARE ASK ME FOR PAY! GET OUTTA HERE! COME BACK AGAIN AND I’LL BEAT YOU UP!”
“Well you can’t say it like that.” Xie Lian said, “You already said all those things were coming
especially for me, but nothing happens to anyone else every time, so I say you just want to
escape your bill?…” Before he was done, the foreman and all the other fellow labourers could no
longer take the smell wafting out of that pot, and they all fled, leaving Xie Lian in the dust.
“WAIT??” Xie Lian called out.
He glanced around, and the two parties that were fighting were also chased away by the stench.
Xie Lian was speechless and mumbled to himself, “If you weren’t going to eat it why have me
cook such a large pot? Don’t waste just because you’ve got the money?”
Shaking his head, Xie Lian contemplated, then he ladled two large bowls of rice, one offered
inside the Temple of Ju Yang, the other inside the Temple of Xuan Zhen. Finally, feeling that
everything served its purpose, he clapped his hands close, completely satisfied.
He went back outside to pack up his stuff, rolling up the straw mat on the ground very seriously,
and tied it with the sword before carrying both on his back. The white silk band wrapped around
his wrist nuzzled secretly and Xie Lian patted it, righting the bamboo hat on his head, “Fine.
Don’t pay. I’ll go busking.”
He still had a specialty trick after all – shattering boulders on his chest!
As he walked down the path, Xie Lian suddenly noticed there was a tiny, little red flower on the
side of the road, quite precious, and he crouched down, gently touching its petals, feeling quite
cheerful, and he said to it, “I hope we shall meet again.”
Even after he had gone into the distance, that tiny, little red flower was still swaying in the wind.
———–
●Pot Bottom is that layer of rice at the very bottom of the cooking pot that’s usually burnt.
———–
End of Book 4