Crown Prince and Ghost King

Chapter 49

Thinking about it, it made no sense. He was so young, and yet he knew about things that not a single book in the Royal Palace ever mentioned. Scratch that, every book the Royal Palace could set its hands on. Xie Lian studied so much and so many topics, he would have remembered at least the name and some general history if he ever ran into that kingdom.

But he didn't, and so did no one else.

Moreover, the king and queen of XianLe took Mei NianQing under their wing before many other teachers, seeing the potential he had and his extremely extensive knowledge about cultivation methods. Unless he was immortal, the Guoshi was too young for Xie Lian to believe he learned about a fallen kingdom with no traces in history books and scrolls before becoming a preceptor himself. Sure, prodigies existed everywhere, but it was far too unrealistic.

What truly sealed the deal, though, was seeing his face painted on the murals. When Xie Lian finally remembered the person he was reminded of was none other than his Guoshi, everything clicked in place.

Although...

Now Xie Lian didn't know what to think of his Guoshi.

He always respected him, despite clashing with his judgment at some points, but now... now that he knew Mei NianQing probably used to be close to Bai WuXiang, the god had no idea what to make of the situation.

What person was he, really?

And could Xie Lian even judge him?

How could one go about defining good and evil, after all?

«San Lang... do you think Yin Yu will be able to find my Guoshi before Qi Rong breaks through? I really don't want to deal with both problems at once», the god sighed, sinking into his welcoming embrace soon after crossing the threshold of their room. «We don't have much to base ourselves on».

Hua Cheng hummed in response, carefully sliding out the pin from Xie Lian's hair and undoing his signature bun, so he could card pale fingers through silky ebony locks: «Yin Yu is coordinating with He Xuan, he'll be able to find him in no time with his help», he said, reassuringly. Having someone up in the heavens was, ironically, truly a blessing. It was easy to see the world, from up there, if one genuinely wanted as much. Such a shame that the heavens preferred a blind kind of unassuming peace, most of the time.

To that day, the ghost was still glad to have jumped back down to hell, when he ascended to godhood.

«We still have a couple days. I'm sure you'll be able to sort things out with Mei NianQing before having to deal with that trash»

Following those words, Hua Cheng planted a gentle kiss on Xie Lian's forehead, moving a hand down to soothingly stroke at his back: «Everything will be fine», he tried to reassure him some more, holding his beloved tight. «And if we don't make it in time, I will ask He Xuan to keep an eye on Qi Rong when he breaks through».

«It's not even Qi Rong himself the one who really bothers me», Xie Lian sighed, warmth spreading throughout his soul in the embrace of his husband. «It's everything else. It's how he might react to Lang QianQiu still having GuZi, and it's how the heavens might react despite what I told them».

Sometimes a scare was only a scare, after all. What if they tried something against his cousin all the same? Qi Rong wasn't like Hua Cheng or He Xuan, who didn't really care about harming heavenly officials that didn't wrong them. Moreover, just like Hua Cheng and He Xuan, he also had grievances with at least one god. It didn't help that the god in question was currently babysitting his adopted son.

Xie Lian wanted to be present to act as a mediator, without involving He Xuan in the mess. While it was useful to have him in the heavens, for that particular issue he couldn't do anything.