TGCF Extras

TGCF Extra - Chapter 249 - 252

I got lazy so I just decided to put it all in one chapter

[TGCF Extra - Chapter 249]
The Curious Incident of His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince's Memory Having Wandered Away 4 - I meet you again.
The directions that the person in the ghost mask had given were not complicated: just head a few li[1] southwards, on a certain mountain in a certain lair[2]. Xie Lian was also confident that a regular person would not be able to match him, as he was now, in speed, and that he would arrive at the location faster than San-lang's underling.

Indeed, after an hour, he had fought and killed his way to the place, a frenzied battle the moment he entered the mountain, with the cries and howls of the spirits and beasts on the mountain.[3] Finally, he found that certain mountain with that certain lair.
Even though the monster appeared to of some influence, with three hundred to four hundred strong lackeys guarding the entrance for him, to Xie Lian, this was no different from just having three or four strong lackeys guarding the entrance. At first, he had been worried that the enemy would be extremely strong, and did not act rashly, but after patiently staking out the vicinity of the lair for a while, listening to the lackeys' idle chatter, he discovered that the monster had gone through more than enough these past few days.
"...... That's right, that's right, shan-zhu[4] only managed to escape from a stinky cultivator with difficulty. They[5] were frightened half to death, and came back with injuries. The moment they returned, they gave up their original lair in a great panic[6], and fled here."
"I see! I've been wondering why they'd suddenly summon all of us away - so, it's because they're
afraid that the cultivator will be back for revenge!"
"There's no reason for them to be afraid. That cultivator was bitten a few times by shan-zhu. Even if he wakes up now, he'd definitely be all in a muddle, unable to even find where the northern direction is."
"How can they not be afraid? Shan-zhu is a few centuries old and a famous monster,and yet, I heard that this cultivator had emerged suddenly out of nowhere, and with two strikes beaten them until their nose had gone crooked and their eyes crossed. If not for the fact that the cultivator seemed to have some injury on his body, giving shan-zhu an opening to land a few bites, I'm afraid shan-zhu would not have been able to return."
"Goddamn, how can a wild cultivator be so powerful!"
Having listened up to here, Xie Lian felt that it was more or less enough. He walked out casually, and greeted them warmly, "Hello."
The crowd of little monster lackeys were greatly startled, and leapt up, crying, "Who's there!" "Where did this pretty boy[7] come from?"
Xie Lian gave a small smile, and without sparing any time to explain, directly slaughtered his way into the lair. Just casually reaching out to grab, and he'd catch a few tens of them; and just casually flinging them aside, he'd flung them a few tens of zhang[8]. Even without magic, he still managed to give the crowd of lackeys such a fright, that their shrill cries filled the air without pause: "What's up
with this pretty boy!!! He looks so genteel! Why is he so rough and violent!!!"
And so, in this manner similar to plucking wild grass, Xie Lian stepped into the lair unimpeded. He had been prepared to do great battle with a great monster, but who knew that upon entering the lair, what he saw was a creature who had taken on human form, and who was rolling around on the ground, hugging his stomach and moaning and wailing.
At first, Xie Lian thought that it[9] was just putting up a pretence, but taking another look, it did not appear to be the case. Its stomach was greatly bloated, as though it had swallowed something incredibly fearsome, and so, Xie Lian crouched down and said, "What's wrong with you?"

Perhaps that monster was in so much pain that it was delirious, for upon seeing Xie Lian, it let out a great cry, "You came at the right time! You! I'm not eating anymore! I don't dare eat anymore! Never again will I dare! Let me return the thing I swallowed back to you! I can't digest it, I can't digest it ah!"
Xie Lian said, "Are you mistaking me for someone else? You haven't swallowed anything of mine, so what are you returning to me?"
But that monster continued to roll on the ground in great pain, and could hardly be bothered to reply. Feeling at a loss, Xie Lian proceeded with drawing a talisman first, deciding to capture it first before clarifying things with it. But curiously enough, the moment he slapped on that talisman, that monster unexpectedly turned into a large and roly-poly budaoweng[10], with a stomach that was much larger and rounder than other budaoweng, incredibly comical. Xie Lian found it both hilarious and starting. He examined the talisman he had drawn, wondering how it could have turned into this. Did he draw
a couple of strokes wrongly?
But this was not much of a huge problem either. This battle was simply easy to the extreme, and when Xie Lian emerged from the mountain depths, the day had brightened. He kept the budaoweng in his sleeve, and hurried back towards the city.
Now that he had done something for that San-lang, Xie Lian's felt happy, and had already begun to think about how he would present the captured monster to San-lang. He secretly warned himself, that if San-lang gave a surprised expression, he should still maintain a reserved front, and not reveal any of his delight. Having been out roaming and sprinting all night, Xie Lian's legs were sore, and so, he sat at a stall along the way, and got a free bowl of tea to drink.
As he drank, he suddenly heard someone from behind him, rush towards him and yell, "Xie Lian!"
Immediately, Xie Lian put down the tea bowl.
Who was this person, to be so greatly daring as to directly call out his name in the middle of the main street? Even amongst the royal household, few would be so disrespectful; didn't everyone address him as taizi dianxia with great deference and reverence?
Turning his head to look, that person was unexpectedly a commoner. He was carrying a large wooden box, and strode forward with great steps, yelling, "Wait! Wait up! You forgot Xie Lian! Bring him along too!"
So he wasn't calling out to him, but someone who had the same name as him! But Xie Lian found this even more curious. Even though he did not really care about taboos on avoiding names and such like, but to think that someone would dare to have the exact same name as him, that was
surprising!
But he immediately realised, the "Xie Lian" which that person spoke of was not a human.
A man was sitting near Xie Lian. The person who was carrying the box walked up and sat beside this man. He patted the wooden box, and said, "I've brought Xie Lian along. Remember to bring him to that person whom your family serves today! Don't dismiss the superstition. if you don't display the two of them together, there would be a lot of bad luck!"
"Yes, yes. Naturally, I know it......"

Xie Lian was simply unable to bear it any longer, and opened his mouth, saying, "Excuse me......"
As one, the two people turned their heads and looked at him. Xie Lian said, "Please forgive this one for being presumptuous. Excuse me, what's in this box?"
That person said, "Haven't I said it already. It's Xie Lian inside."
Xie Lian did not understand: "But...... Isn't Xie Lian the taizi dianxia?"
The two people seemed to find it very funny, saying, "No one said he wasn't the crown prince ah. He always was to begin with. Look!" Saying that, they opened the box.
Xie Lian's eyes widened. Unexpectedly, within that wooden box, was a tiny worship altar, and within that altar was a plain and rustic-looking statuette of a god, of a cultivator dressed in white with a
straw hat on his back. He did not recognise it.
"......" Xie Lian was completely unable to comprehend it, and said, "Are you saying that this statuette is of the Xianle crown prince, Xie Lian?"
"Who else?"
Other people had started to gather around, one after another, half of them looking at him as though he was a rare one: "You young people are really strange, and you look like a cultivator too, so how is it that you don't even know such a simple thing?"
The other half were looking at this "statuette of a god": "Wow! The carving of this scrap-picking immortal is not bad! Looks woeful enough."
"Yes, full of tragedy and woe. One look and you immediately feel that it's a likeness of misfortune!"
"Great, great! The uglier it looks like now, then it would look even better when that other one helps him break away. Display them together for eight days at most and the results will show."
"....."
With ignorance, Xie Lian said, "Scrap-picking immortal? How did he become a scrap-picking immortal?"
The surrounding crowd said, "Cultivator, you really are very strange ah! Xie Lian was always a scrap-picking immortal to begin with!"
"......"
Xie Lian was generally not someone who was easily angered, but at that moment, he felt slightly annoyed.

Anyone who listened to other people laugh and mock them for picking scraps wouldn't feel very happy about it. In a moment, he stood up, and in a deep voice said, "Does everyone have some dissatisfactions with the Xianle royal family? Even if there is, the way you're insulting the crown prince like this, is not in keeping with etiquette."
The crowd looked at each other, and laughed at him, saying, "What are you saying? In keeping with which country's etiquette? Xianle country was destroyed more than eight hundred years ago!"
......
An hour later, Xie Lian was still in somewhat of a muddle as he walked down the main street.
It was too frightening. Everything he had received just now, was simply too frightening as far as he
was concerned.
"How was Xianle country destroyed? Aren't my royal father and mother still alive and well? And how could it have been destroyed by me? I lost a battle? I destroyed my country? And I was cast down twice? I became a scrap-picker?"
He questioned himself over and over again, and told himself over and over again: It was impossible. Impossible. Impossible!
He tried to convince himself: "All of this simply isn't real, there must be some villain making trouble behind the scenes."
However, everything felt off-kilter: The strange accents, the strange clothing and the strange buildings, and even the strange Feng Xin and Mu Qing, all of them were telling him that this was not a nightmare, and this place was also not some illusion. No demon or monster would have been able to create such a vast and realistic illusion.
Eight hundred years had really gone by.
How could eight hundred years have just gone by? How did he become like this after eight hundred years?
Xianle country was destroyed; his royal father and mother were dead; Feng Xin and Mu Qing had ascended. And he had become a scrap-picker.
How did it become like this?
It couldn't be like this. It shouldn't have been like this!
Xie Lian walked faster and faster, until, in the end, he had begun to run, as though a vast and boundless darkness was pressing hard behind him, about to devour him. Suddenly, a red silhouette flashed by, and a lanky figure appeared before his eyes, saying, "Daozhang, where did you go? I searched high and low for you for a long while."

It was San-lang. He was still smiling, and as he said that he made to come over and take Xie Lian's hand, but upon seeing him, Xie Lian felt goosebumps rise all over his body, and he yelled loudly, "Don't come near me!!!"
His cry had an immediate effect. San-lang paused, but his expression did not change. He said, "What's wrong?"
Xie Lian clenched his fists tightly, and coldly said, "Just who the hell are you? What do you plan to do?"
San-lang said, "I had thought that we had gotten along quite well yesterday, and no longer cared about these small bothers."
Xie Lian said, "You lied to me."
After a moment of silence, San-lang said, "So you already know."
Xie Lian said, "I already know that it's now......" Eight hundred years later.
Typically, he would not have taken so long before realising that those things were not quite right, but this person had deliberately kept things from him, keeping him charmed and deceived and confused until he couldn't even have figured out which way was north; otherwise, how could he had discovered the truth only after a day?
San-lang took a step towards him, saying, "Dianxia."
Xie Lien took many more steps back, yelling, "Don't come closer!!! If you come any closer, I'll hit you!" Both his voice and his body were trembling. Xie Lian was extremely terrified.
What he was terrified of wasn't some demon or monster, nor was it of the man before him who could mean good or evil. He was terrified of this entire, strange world. In this world, he was without glory that he could be proud of, without loyal subjects, without his parents who loved him dearly, without his own country, without believers who loved and respected him. Nothing, nothing, he had absolutely nothing!
But San-lang took yet another step towards him, saying, "Don't be afraid, dianxia." "......"
Hearing this sentence, Xie Lian's expression changed.
He suddenly recalled, within those fragmented memories, the man who said in a deep voice by his ear, "Don't be afraid, dianxia."
How could he not have realised it?
The manner of speech and voice of both men, were identical!

So angry was Xie Lian that he trembled, as he said, "It's you...... It's really you......"
Thinking about how this person had deceived him and led him around in circles, while he had felt nothing but gratitude and was full of good feelings, and even called him "gege" - Xie Lian was unable to bear it, and his anger skyrocketed. He lashed out with a strike, crying, "You liar!"
This strike squarely hit San-lang's chest. Xie Lian readied himself to strike a second time, but discovered that he was somehow unable to move.
It was his own body, that was stopping him!
Xie Lian could not understand what was going on, but San-lang had grabbed ahold of his hand. Xie Lian was startled, and immediately cried out disjointedly, "Don't touch me! You, you liar, you lied to
me. I'll never believe you again. You......"
But San-lang said quietly, "Dianxia, believe me."
Xie Lian cried angrily, "I'll never believe you!!! I'll! ......"
However, just like how his attack had been stopped, the "will never you" that should have followed, somehow could not leave his lips.
The concern and pain in this man's eyes was a completely and utterly genuine. Anyone who saw a person show such an expression to another person, would no longer suspect his sincerity.
As though desiring to seal Xie Lian away from this strange world which terrified him, San-lang finally drew him into an embrace, his lips kissing his hair lightly, and in a warm and gentle voice, said, "Don't be afraid, dianxia. It's all in the past. Dianxia. You've made it through."
"......"
After a long while, Xie Lian's body finally softened.
Now, throwing aside all his shame and frustration, and thinking carefully: within the fragmented scenes in his dream, the voice of the man who had called out to him, had always been warm and gentle to the extreme, without even a hint of coercion.
As for himself...... Even though he had indeed begged for mercy and cried, but he could tell from listening, that there wasn't even a hint of unwillingness. It was just that, before now, he had been
unwilling to confront it directly, and so he had not discovered it.
At least Xie Lian finally knew why it was that, the moment he saw this man, he could not help but want to trust him. Unfortunately, the "him" after eight hundred years, had a relationship with San-lang that was...... not quite simple.
He thoroughly gave up fighting against his body, and went along with his heart's desire, burying his face against San-lang's chest. He said, his voice muffled, "We......"
San-lang said, "Hn."

After a long silence, Xie Lian mumbled, "Why...... did I suddenly clean forget everything that happened in these eight hundred years?"
San-lang said, "It's my fault. The previous day, you suddenly received a prayer in the middle of the night, and left in too much of a hurry. I didn't help you restore your magic, and didn't tell you in time that when the monster bites you, it swallows memories."
Xie Lian said, "Then this simply wasn't your fault. It was me who was careless." San-lang said, "Dianxia would never be at fault."
Xie Lian forced a smile, then said again dispiritedly, "Then, San-lang, how did I...... cause the destruction of Xianle country?"
After all, he had treasured his people so much, and it had been his ambition for Xianle to continue to prosper for another thousand years.
San-lang hugged him even tighter, and said with conviction, "It was not your fault." Xie Lian mumbled, "How did I fail so badly? How did I become like this?"
Who did not start of by wanting to accomplish grand feats which would move the heavens and the earth, and live on through the ages? While perhaps only one in a million people would truly be able to make this dream become reality, but Xie Lian had never once doubted that he would be that one in a million.
Perhaps this was the reason why San-lang had not let him discover that eight hundred years had gone by.
San-lang said, "You did not fail."
Xie Lian shook his head, saying, "But I don't have any believers anymore." San-lang said, "You do."
Just thinking about it made Xie Lian grieve. He said, "I'm a scrap-picking immortal. I pick scraps. Of course no one would be my believer, and no one would take me as a god. Who would respect a scrap-picking immortal?"
This was completely unlike what his dream had been.
But San-lang said, "Haven't I already told you? You have a believer."
Xie Lian lifted his face. San-lang gave him a small smile, saying, "Dianxia, I said that you would be able to meet Hua Cheng very soon. Right now, you've met him."
"......"

Xie Lian lifted his head, and gazing at his face, said, slightly confused, "San-lang, you...... when did you recognise me?"
Hua Cheng said, "From a very long, very long time ago, even before you had ascended." Xie Lian slowly blinked.
Hua Cheng said again, "Dianxia, perhaps the "you" now, might feel that the "you" after eight hundred years is a huge failure. Perhaps you feel disappointed, and unable to accept it. But please believe me, it's not like that."
His bright left eye gazed at Xie Lian, and the look in his eye was as soft and gentle as his voice.
He said, "You saved me. I've always looked at you.
"In this world there are countless people who are more "successful" than you, but none of them could have saved me like you did, and none of them could have done those things you did —
"You have no idea how much courage you gave me, for me to become the me today. "In my heart, you are forever my only god."
Xie Lian said, "And you are forever my most devoted believer."
Barely had he finished speaking, when he came to himself. That sentence which he had said just now, was something he had instinctively said in the moment as a response, as though he had heard such a treasured promise before. But San-lang started to smile, and held up his hand, kissed the back of his hand, and said, "Yes."
"......"
After a long while, Xie Lian seemed to have come to a decision, and retrieved the budaoweng of the monster from his sleeve, saying, "Was it this monster which swallowed my memories?"
Hua Cheng received that monster, saying, "So it was indeed dianxia who destroyed his new lair." Xie Lian nodded his head, saying, "To recover my memories, I would have to act on him here, yes?"
Within Hua Cheng's palm, that budaoweng opened its large mouth. From its mouth flew out a few specks of light, like fireflies, which flew and surrounded Xie Lian. Hua Cheng said, "Catch them, and
you would be able to retrieve those eight hundred years of memories."
Hearing this, Xie Lian reached his hand out to them. However, just before he touched them, he stopped.
Recovering these eight hundred years of memories, would be as though reliving those eight hundred years, once again experiencing everything which had happened: the agony of the hundred swords stabbing his heart, the shame of having being defeated utterly, the anger of being powerless and unable to do anything.

Even though he knew that all this would actually be over in a moment, but his fingertips still trembled slightly.
Hua Cheng stood behind him, letting him feel as though his back was resting against a sturdy wall. He heard Hua Cheng's voice from behind him, "Don't be afraid, dianxia."
Xie Lian tilted his head back slightly, and Hua Cheng wrapped his arms around his waist, saying, "Believe me. No matter how long it takes, I will always wait for you. You will still meet me again."
That's right. They would still meet again.
And so, Xie Lian reached his hand towards the lights.
Like stars, the specks of light dissolved into his fingertips. There was a great brightness before his
eyes, as though something burning hot was approaching. Before that bright light reached him, Xie Lian said, "I am very glad to have met you."
After he said this sentence, the specks of light dissolved into his body and disappeared. Xie Lian slowly toppled forward, and was caught by Hua Cheng.
After a long while, Xie Lian finally began to stir. The moment he opened his eyes, Hua Cheng said in a low voice, "Gege?"
Xie Lian slowly gave a light smile, and reached out a hand, caressing Hua Cheng's face, and said, "...... I meet you again."
Hua Cheng began to smile too, saying, "Didn't I say it. Believe me."
Xie Lian sighed and said, "Does this count as us having waited for each other again for another eight hundred years?
Hua Cheng said, "Didn't I say it, no matter how long it takes, I will always wait for you. However......"
He pulled Xie Lian up. The two of them stood face to face, and Hua Cheng held his hand tightly, saying with a smile, "Right now, I don't want us to be separated again for even a moment."
There was no way of changing the past.
EIght hundred years ago, the seventeen-year-old Xie Lian who was everyone's pride, had no way of knowing what the future had in store for him. Fate had given him two doors. The path of a martial
god left a fleeting but indelible impression; in a brief moment a demon had met an immortal on a bridge. And he had opened both doors.
After that, he was alone in the turbulent waves of being powerless and unable to return to the heavens, and he struggled to eke a living through those long and tortuous years. Pain, anger, disappointment, hate, despair, insanity. A heart as indifferent as dead ashes.
And after that, the dead ashes reignited back to life.

However, all of these were already in the past. *
"Gege, welcome back."
"Hn......"
"Look, I said that you would still meet me again. I didn't lie to you." Xie Lian aimed a look at Hua Cheng, and said, "Really?"
Hua Cheng smiled slightly, and said, "Of course. When have I ever lied to dianxia? Gege, I......" "......"
"......"
Xie Lian reached his hand into the breast of Hua Cheng's robes, and took out a piece of paper, reading out loud, "'Having received San-lang gege's care, Lian has no way to repay you, and am willing to exhaust what little power I have, to help gege solve his problems, and so will leave for a while. May San-lang gege not be worried, for Xian will be back shortly after leaving.'"
San-lang raised a brow, and brought his hands behind his back and did not speak. After Xie Lian finished reading out loud, he copied Hua Cheng's manner and raised a brow, saying, "San-lang gege, good gege, you truly are good ah."
Hua Cheng laughed, saying, "Whether I'm good or not, wasn't gege clear on this point from very early on?
Xie Lian's face turned slightly red, and he said vaguely, "..... I'm not sure what you're talking about. In any event, you've gone too far in these couple of days, and you should reflect."
Hua Cheng said with seriousness, "Gege, don't be like that. These two days, I've been constantly treating you with courtesy and decorum, and resisting has been very hard on me."
Xie Lian said, "Since when did you treat me with courtesy and decorum. You clearly...... clearly......" Clearly teased him, and teased with great delight. Thinking about how, in those two days, he had become the naive, silly, and pampered[11] little seventeen-year-old dummy, tossed and turned this way and that as Hua Cheng played with him... as Xie Lian once again recalled what happened with
perfect clarity, he was simply unable to look directly at himself, and he could not help but moan, and massage his temples. His expression entirely serious, Hua Cheng said, "Really, even if I am scolded as a despicable, shameless, indecent asshole,[12] San-lang has no complaints or regrets."
"......"
"If gege is unhappy, he can continue to scold me. It doesn't matter to San-lang." Xie Lian was simply unable to listen further.

Massaging his temples, he slipped away. When Hua Cheng turned his head, the other person had disappeared. He said, "Gege? Don't run away, alright, it's my fault, gege!"
Don't call gege anymore!
—–
Translator's notes:
[1] 里 [li]. A traditional Chinese unit of measurement, now standardised to about half a kilometre. [2] 洞府 [dongfu]. I translated it as "lair", but a dongfu is a bit more than that. A more accurate
description would be... a place where a spirit or magical creature dwells? The other closest English equivalent I could think of was "grotto", but a grotto - associated with faeries and such like in western
folklore - doesn't quite have the right connotation for this context, I think.
[3] 山魈夜猫鬼哭狼嚎 [shan xiao ye mao gui ku lang hao]. A 山魈 or shanmao can refer to a type of mandrill primate, but also a one-legged creature/monster which dwells on the mountains in Chinese folklore. A 夜猫 or yemao literally translates into night-cat, but also can refer to an owl. 鬼哭狼嚎 [gui ku lang hao] is literally, the cries of ghosts and the howls of wolves.
[4] 山主 [shan zhu]. The lackeys' honourific title for the monster, lit. lord / owner of the mountain. (Like how Hua Cheng's subjects in the Ghost City refer to him as 城主 [cheng-zhu] or lord / owner of
the city.)
[5] Chinese pronouns are divided into male 他, female 她, and gender-neutral / it 它 (used for
animals or inanimate objects, not people) - all of them pronounced as ta. The way the lackeys are speaking in Chinese is more colloquial, and omits pronouns when referring to their big boss monster. However, later on in the chapter when Xie Lian encounters the monster, he uses the gender-neutral
它 (see translator's note 9). However, I didn't think it would be appropriate for the lackeys to refer to their boss as an "it" in English, so I used "they/them" here.
[6] 屁滚尿流 [pi gun niao liu]. Lit. (so frightened and panicked that it was) farting and pissing non- stop.
[7] 小白脸 [xiao bai lian]. Lit. "little white face", used to describe a young man with a pretty face. It's not really a compliment, and is usually used in a teasing (at best) or derogatory (at worst) context. I
just find it incredibly funny that Xie Lian was referred to as one here.
[8] 丈 [zhang]. A traditional Chinese unit of measurement. I think the modern equivalent is about 10 feet? So Xie Lian was flinging these monsters a few hundred feet in one toss.
[9] See translator's note 5. The sentence here uses 它. Unlike the monster's lackeys, I don't think Xie Lian would have any issues with using "it" to refer to the monster.

[10] 不倒翁 [bu dao weng]. A toy that's shaped sort-of like an oval, with a heavy base. The idea is that you can push the toy down, and it would stand or bounce back up, i.e. it doesn't fall down (不倒).
It's also what Hua Cheng transforms Lan Qianqiu, Qi Rong into in book 1.
[11] Exactly what Mu Qing had described Xie Lian in chapter 246 / part 1 of the Amnesia extra.
[12] See how Xie Lian had scolded Hua Cheng at the start of chapter 248 / part 3 of the Amnesia extra.
[TGCF Extra - Chapter 250]
The Demon King's Bedtime Story - Reading Material for Children
Hua Cheng was ill.
Although it was a small illness, but the fact that a demon king could actually fall ill, was very curious and unexpected.
As such, when Xie Lian returned to Qiandeng Temple, and went to check on Hua Cheng's handwriting practice as usual, but instead saw that Hua Cheng's face was slightly flushed, he was greatly worried.
After pressing Hua Cheng down on the altar – yup, just the other day, they both had a round on this wide and spacious altar; after all, there weren't any [god] statues – Xie Lian reached out a hand, and after checking his cheeks and forehead, grew even more worried: "That's really hot."
Hua Cheng smiled and said, "I naturally get hot when I see gege, and when gege touches me I get even hotter."
XL found himself at a loss, be he hurriedly pretended that he was in red in the face from exasperation, saying, "Your mouth is still so dishonest even when you're ill."
Hua Cheng innocently replied, "What did I say? I'm super honest. Gege, don't be worried, it's a small thing, no big deal."
But Xie Lian could hear how Hua Cheng's voice was lower and more hoarse than usual, and a small crease appeared between his brows as he said, "Then you should rest properly. I'll accompany you here for these few days, until you get better."
Saying that, he took the pen-brush, ink, paper and sand which Hua Cheng had been using for his
writing practice and brought them beside the altar. Hua Cheng patted the place beside him, saying, "Won't gege join me on the altar?"
Once he got onto the altar, he could forget about any rest for these few days. Xie Lian tactfully said, "I'd best not, my San Lang has overexerted himself already."
Hua Cheng said laughingly, "Nonsense, if it's gege, why should San Lang fear overexertion?"

Xie LIan decided not to play along with him anymore, and concentrated on writing out practice lines [for Hua Cheng to copy]. Hua Cheng turned his body around, propped his cheek on a hand, and stared at Xie Lian's face.
No matter how many times this happened, XIe Lian would always start blushing beneath his gaze. He said uncomfortably, "...... San Lang, look at the practice lines, not at me."
Hua Cheng sighed and said, "Gege, to be frank, my head hurts the moment I look at this trifle, but because it's written by gege, I can't bear not to look. Who knows, maybe this illness was caused by looking at too many practice lines."
Xie Lian said, "Since when was there such an illness."
Hua Cheng laughingly said, "How about I look at gege instead, gege looks so much better than
these practice lines, who knows, maybe if I look [at gege] more, I would recover."
Xie Lian found himself at a loss and yet wanting laugh, and he put down his pen-brush, shaking his head as he said, "Why are you even more fond of talking nonsense these days... nothing proper comes out of your mouth. Alright, I get it, I'll listen to you. Instead of looking at the practice lines, what should we do?"
Hua Cheng said, "Actually we don't have to do anything, I just want you to accompany me, it won't be long before I get better."
Xie Lian touched his forehead again. Although this person had a manly, handsome face, but the way he was acting cute and spoiled now, made Xie Lian think of a little child who buried himself beneath a warm nest of blankets in winter and peeked out with a red face, making the heart feel very fond. After thinking for a bit, he said, "How about this: just as well, I picked up this thing today."
He reached into his sleeves, and fished out something, saying, "This a an old, no longer wanted book I collected today, which I was about to read. Let me read you a story."
In his hands was a very old and small book, tattered, its pages yellowed, with the curious scent of books and ink. It must have been flipped through countless of times.
But Hua Cheng said, "I don't want to listen." Xie Lian asked curiously, "Why?"
Hua Cheng lazily replied, "After all no matter how you spin it, it's all stories about the other heaven officials, and I'm all too clear about their their useless and irrelevant doings. It's already nothing
worth listening to, why should I trouble gege to specially read them to me?"
That was true too. After all Hua Cheng was the man who best grasped the black history of the three realms [tn: ghost, human, heaven]. Hua Cheng said, "If gege must read something to me, why not tell me something else? Like, a story about you."
Xie Lian smiled, saying, "Of my affairs, is there anyone else beside you who is more clear about them, or who has seen more than you?"

Hua Cheng said, "Then tell me again. I want to listen. It will never be enough no matter how much I listen."
Xie Lian knew that Hua Cheng meant what he was saying, and he carefully combed the hair by Hua Cheng's cheek. He gave a casual glance [at the book], and suddenly exclaimed, "San Lang, this book seems to be written about you and me."
"What?"
Xie Lian flipped through the book again, saying, "Really. There are lots of references to a "great ghost king in red robes" and a "rag & bone immortal". Aren't these you and me?"
Hua Cheng also seemed interested, saying, "Oh? What's written?"
Xie Lian was also very curious why the people would have spun a story of him and Hua Cheng, and so he opened the collection of stories, and began to read it to Hua Cheng, "Once upon a very long time ago, there was a great ghost king who loved to wear red robes. Although the great ghost king was very powerful, and had accumulated a few mountains of gold and silver, but he was very unhappy. This was because he was very lonely, and greatly wished for a wife of his own..."
"......"
Xie Lian gave a puff of laughter, not quite able to continue reading, saying, "A lonely ghost king waiting in an empty nest...... hahaha......hahahaha......"
Hua Cheng raised a brow, saying, "That's not wrong. At that time gege was not around, and I was very lonely."
XIe LIan's face heated, and he continued to read on.
Once upon a very long time, there was a great ghost king who only loved to wear red robes. Although the great ghost king was very powerful, and had accumulated a few mountains of gold and silver, and had more money than he could spend, but he was very unhappy. This was because he was very lonely, and greatly wished for a wife of is own.
But he waited for a few hundred years and still he did not meet his heart's beloved. So, he consulted an old immortal who was greatly skilled at calculating fortunes, where is my wife?
The old immortal told him, "You will meet the person you are waiting for on a mountain. Your wife will be dressed in bridal clothes, and be brought to marry you on a wedding sedan."
The great ghost king was determined to find his wife, and so he went to that mountain, where he waited patiently.
In the meantime, somewhere very far away, there was a rag & bone immortal.
The immortal collected rag & bone scraps, and as such he was the poorest amongst the heaven officials, poorer even than most mortals.

But although he was very poor, but he was very kind. One day, on his way back from collecting scraps, he saw a maiden crying by the roadside, and asked her, "Maiden, what is it that has made you so upset?"
The maiden cried as she said, "I am to marry, but on the day of my wedding I will need to cross a mountain, and on the mountain lives a ghost groom, who snatches brides who are passing by. Only a few have been rescued. I will be snatched away and killed!"
The rag & bone immortal felt great sympathy for her, and also being determined to help the people get rid of harm, decided to take the bride's place in the wedding procession, and kill the monster.
The rag & bone immortal had two friends. Because one of them was irritable, and one of them was very petty, so let's differentiate them by calling the irritable immortal and the petty immortal. While bickering with each other, they also told the rag & bone immortal, "That ghost groom must be a great
ghost king, with a terrible temperament, and also very crafty, with the greatest dislike for gods and immortals. If he catches you, he will definitely eat you!"
But the immortal insisted on going, and so, they made a sedan for the immortal. On the day which the wedding procession was to set off, the immortal wore a set of beautiful bridal robes which he had borrowed the Lady Feng Shi [tn: Wind Master], and disguised as the bride, sat in the sedan chair, and was carried up the mountain by the pair of bickering friends.
In the pitch darkness of the night, a ghostly wind blew, and as the sedan was carried up the mountain, not a single person was in sight. The immortal waited and waited, until finally the groom he was waiting for to receive him, arrived,
Raising his veil to look, the immortal discovered to his surprise, that the great ghost king was unexpectedly an extremely handsome youth.
And what made him even more surprised, was that the youthful groom was very courteous, and seemed as though he had good upbringing, warm and gentle and caring. He did not shed his human facade to reveal a ghastly [green-faced and sharp-toothed] "true face", and nor did he force him to do anything bad. Indeed, he was hardly like the terrifying, great ghost king of legend.
The mountain was very large, and the great ghost king took the immortal to his lair, saying to him, "From now on, I am your husband, and you are my beloved wife. This entire mountain belongs to me, and now belongs to you too, you can go anywhere you want to explore. But remember, at the back
of the mountain there are two houses, which you must never go to."
The immortal asked, "Why?"
The ghost king who was the groom replied, "That is my secret, you don't need to know. But, even if you want to go there you also won't be able to, because I have erected barriers before those two
houses, and you must have something from my body in order to pass through the barriers." The immortal continued to ask, "What things?"
The ghost king answered, "One of the houses holds dirty rubbish, and you must use something from my body that can be touched, and a lot of it, in order to open the barrier; one of the houses holds a powerful magical treasure, and you must use something from my body that can't be touched, but which is very hot, in order to open the barrier."

Of course the immortal did not listen to him. Although he pretended to be very obedient when in front of the great ghost king, but the moment the ghost king was away, he sneakily flew to the back of the mountain. Indeed, as expected, from the house that held dirty rubbish, came terrifying screams and calls for help.
The immortal suspected that the missing brides were all imprisoned in there, and so, he was determined to steal something from the great ghost king's body, to open up the mystery house.
But, what could he steal?
The great ghost king had a head of crow-black and lustrous hair, that he sometimes left loose, and that he sometimes tied up crookedly. The first plan which the immortal thought of, was to steal a few strands of hair every day. As such, he asked, "Please, may we live together in the same home?"
His groom said very courteously, "Of course we may. We are husband and wife after all."
And so, this way, they moved in together into the same room. But even though they slept in the same bed, the immortal refused to let the groom remove his clothes, and so, the great ghost king graciously refrained from touching him.
But, as the immortal discovered very quickly, not a hair did his groom shed. No matter that he helped him comb his hair every morning everyday, or while sleeping at night, on the pillow, the bed, the floor, the comb - none of them had a strand of hair!
This was frustrating. The immortal took hold of a sword, and thought of waiting for the great ghost king to fall asleep before using the opportunity to cut off a lock of hair. But the great ghost king was very watchful, and the moment he drew close, the great ghost king opened his eyes. But although the immortal was caught red-handed, he remained very calm. To prevent the great ghost king from becoming suspicious of him, he immediately cut off a lock of his own hair and gave it to him.
Receiving it, the great ghost king was very happily.
Very soon, the quick-witted immortal thought of another plan. He said to the great ghost king, "Please, may I kiss you?"
His groom said, pleased, "Of course you may, we are husband and wife after all."
And hence, the immortal took the initiative to embrace the ghost groom, and kissed him for a long time with great might, before finally tasting a tiny bit of the ghost groom's flavour, and he hurriedly closed his mouth and ran to the back of the mountain.
But after he arrived, he discovered that this still not did not work. This was because he needed lots and lots of that something, and what he had was not enough. He still could not enter the house, he could only stick his head in, but his body had no way of entering.
The rag & bone immortal felt a little despondent. He had originally thought that it would be simple to steal something from the great ghost king's body, and never thought that it would be this hard.

He remembered his good friend, Lady Feng Shi, and so paid a visit to FengShui Temple [tn: Wind Water Temple], where he asked, "What else can I do to get something from the great ghost king's body that can be touched, and a lot of it too?"
Lady FengShi said, "Dai! [tn: like an exclamation] That's too simple. Take on a female appearance, and consummate the marriage [tn: lit. enter the marriage chamber], and you'll have it!"
The immortal shook his head frantically. His immortal cultivation method had a rule, that once he lost his virginity, his powers would suffer a great damage. How could he go with this plan?
At this moment, Lord Shui Shi [tn: Water Master] returned, and having heard what the Lady had said, angrily shouted, "Outrageous! How could you say something so immoral!"
Once Lord Shui Shi was angry, he would use money to club people to death, and so the rag & bone immortal hurriedly fled. As he ran, he thought of his other two very good friends, the irritable
immortal and the petty immortal, and so he looked for them and asked them what he ought to do. The irritable immortal and the petty immortal were again bickering, and as they bickered they told
him some bad news: because too many people had been snatched away, the heaven officials were about to attack the mountain, and apprehend the great ghost king!
The immortal was greatly shocked, and began to worry. By now he had discovered that this youthful ghost king would not do anything bad, and thought perhaps there was some sort of misunderstanding, or maybe what was locked away at the back of the mountain was not those brides, but something else.
However, because the rag & bone immortal was very poor, he also had no influence, and no one listened to him. The immortal was very anxious. If he did not discover the truth soon, then the great ghost king might be surrounded and attacked by the heaven officials.
Left without any other option, the immortal could only run back to the great ghost king to ask, "Please, could you consummate our marriage with me?"
His groom beamed as he said, "Ah, of course I can. We are husband and wife after all." And so, the rag & bone immortal and the great ghost king consummated their marriage.
Midway, the immortal was afraid that the great ghost king would not leave him with a lot of that very important thing, and so embraced the great ghost king tightly as he cried, "Can you give all of it to me? And give it to me a few times?"
His groom warmly and gently said, "If that's what you wish."
The immortal answered, "I do..."
And so, the quick-witted immortal had his wish and obtained the thing which he had been looking for. Something from the great ghost king's body that could be touched, and lots and lots of that thing.
The next day, the immortal took the thing which he had spent all night begging from the great ghost king, to the house in which hid the dirty rubbish. This time, he could finally enter.
Once he opened the entrance, the immortal discovered many corpses all messily strewn about, and some of them even decomposed to white bone!

These corpses were all dressed in wedding garments, and unfortunately appeared to be the missing brides. His hopes dashed, the immortal was shocked and upset. He looked back, and suddenly discovered that, at some time unbeknownst to him, someone stood behind him - unexpectedly, at some time unbeknownst to him, the great ghost king was standing there!
The immortal had a great shock. He recalled what the irritable immortal and the petty immortal had told him, that the great ghost king was extremely crafty, and also greatly disliked gods and immortals. He was now at his wit's end. Could it be that the great ghost king had in actual fact long since seen through him, and had been stringing him along all this while?
Angry and hurt, the immortal began to flee, running faster and faster. But, who knew, he could not run out [of the house]. It turned out that he had run too fast, and the thing which the great ghost king had given him, had fallen out, and so he was again blocked by the barrier in front of the house.
The great ghost king caught up and, embracing the immortal in one swift move, finally explained what was going on.
It turned out, the great ghost king was not abducting people to eat them, he was just waiting here for his fated person. One day, a wedding procession accidentally bumped into him while he was out on a stroll, and the groom in the procession was so frightened that he himself fled, abandoning his bride who sat on the spot crying.
The great ghost king was not looking for trouble. The bride said that she did not wish to marry such a man, and so did not go back, but left on her own. Later on, after he encountered a few other similar events, the great ghost king decided that he may as well, while waiting, also start testing the newly- weds. If the groom dared to risk himself to protect his bride when faced with ghosts and ghouls, the great ghost king would not cause difficulties for the couple, and let them go. But if the vile groom pushed his own bride to the ghouls in order to buy some time to escape, then the groom would be caught and imprisoned in this house.
Because these people were not right and moral in their hearts, they would often kill each other, in the end becoming white bones. These were the corpses which the immortal saw. As for their brides, some of them had since gone home, while others had escaped with their lovers to somewhere far away, wandering the world together, or safely setting up their own homes.
The great ghost king said, "I've been waiting for you for a few hundred years, gege, and I finally have you."
Having resolved the misunderstanding, the two of them embraced each other. In order to leave the house, the great ghost king again gave the immortal lots and lots of his thing. But unexpectedly, and suddenly, there was a great rumbling noise from the sky. It turned out, the heaven officials, having feared the great ghost king for a long time, were seizing this opportunity, and finally starting their
attack on him!
The rag & bone immortal rushed out and after a round of fierce battle, pushed back a ring of heaven officials. But the heaven officials had caused the mountain to collapse, trapping the great ghost king beneath the mountain.
The mountain was too tall, and the immortal, afraid that that the great ghost king would be crushed, desperately tried to use his shoulders to hold it up. Just at that moment, he suddenly recalled that there was still another mystery house which he had not yet opened, and surely the powerful magical

treasure held in that house, could be used be used to push aside the great mountain. And so, he rushed into the mountain cave. Upon entering, he discovered to his huge delight, that the great ghost king was standing there safe and sound, and even stronger and more powerful at that!
The two of them broke out of the mountain, and together chased away the heaven officials who had been causing trouble. Finally, they sat shoulder to shoulder on the mountain top, and watched the cloud trails and stars left in the wake of the heaven officials as they fled.
The immortal asked, "Didn't you say, the house which held the dirty rubbish needed something from your body that could be touched, and a lot of it, before it could be opened; while the house which held the magical treasures needed something from your body which could not be touched, but was very, very hot, before it could be opened?"
The great ghost king beamed as he said, "Yes. And that thing, isn't it something which gege has had
since very early on?""
The immortal finally understood. That thing, was the burning heat of the ghost king's love for him.
And so, the rag & bone immortal and the great ghost king happily entered into the marriage chamber together, nevermore to part.
"......" "......"
Having finished reading out the story, Xie Lian was still stupefied as he said, "What on earth was written? Doesn't this story go overboard? No no no, this......"
What was this mess? How could it be called a story???
But Hua Cheng was already laughing so hard that he had collapsed on the daybed. Xie Lian said, in a puzzled manner, "It's completely inaccurate! How did this story originale? Is it to do with what happened at Jun Shan [tn: Jun Mountain]? What happened wasn't like this...
Isn't it completely distorted? Furthermore, is it really alright to let children read this sort of story? It's too inappropriate. Who wrote this?? And all these characters who seem very familiar but are just a little off, what's up with them......"
On a closer look, although the stories in this book appeared to be innocent romances at first glance, like something one might read to children as a bedtime story, but the contents were extremely spicy, so much so that it was even harder for someone to look one straight in the eye compared to simple
erotica. But upon reading to the end, there was also a sort of curious and inexplicable feeling, causing Xie Lian suspect if the problem lay with himself.
Hua CHeng said, "Hn? But it's not completely distorted. At least some points are correct. For example, I do indeed call gege, 'gege'. Another example, at Jun Shan I did indeed go to receive gege's bridal sedan. And another example, that night when we consummated, gege did indeed......"
Xie Lian had thought that, after all these years, he had cultivated a sufficiently thick skin, but who knew, a pink blush still frequently rose on his face when he was before Hua CHeng. He said, "How

did they even know something like that! ...... and, and besides those things, nothing else was correct......"
Although he knew that many blindly-spun folk stories were miles away from the original, and it was not odd for them to morph into goodness-knows-what after countless embellishments, but to see it with his very own eyes was still shocking to the extreme. There were many times in the middle where was too embarrassed to read on, but was forced by Hua Cheng to carry on reading to him. It made Xie Lian want to hit him, but at the same time he just could not bring himself to land a blow. Hua Cheng's expression was still unfazed, as he said, "Clearly, someone in the know had let slip a few tiny details, and people strung them together, added a few details, and threw in some speculation, to arrive at this."
Xie Lian tossed aside the collection of stories, saying, "Let's not read such a messed up, pointless
book anymore. Get some proper rest."
But Hua Cheng brought his hands together and begged, "I think it's well-written, and shows talent. When I listened to gege read the story I felt as though I was full of energy. Gege, please read another."
Xie Lian refused flatly, "No." "Gege, my head hurts." "This......"
"Gege."
"...... alright."
It was after all rare for Hua Cheng to be ill, and given that Xie Lian was already usually giving in to Hua Cheng's wishes and demands, how could he resist at this time?
Even if he was embarrassed, he just had to bear it. He once again picked up that yellowed little book, and lay down beside Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng wrapped his arms around Xie Lian's waist, and Xie Lian steeled himself and continued to read on.
"Once upon a very long time ago, there was a handsome and young crown prince who was cultivating on a remote mountain. One night, he met a mysterious guest......"
—
[TGCF Extra - Chapter 251]
Aiyah! Thousand God Cavern – Lots of Huahuas and Lianlians!
As Xie Lian laughingly pushed Hua Cheng - who was pressing down on him to the point that he could hardly breathe - off his body, their passionate mood having yet to fade, Xie Lian suddenly thought of something, and casually said, "Oh yes, San-lang, in the Thousand God Cavern......"

Hua Cheng's arm came up once again to Xie Lian's chest. As he played with goodness-knows-what, he said lazily, "Hn? What about the Thousand God Cavern."
Xie Lian said, "Nothing much, I just suddenly thought of it. With Tonglu's eruption, would the many statues in the Thousand God Cavern have been fine?"
If that were indeed the case, it would be a huge pity. After all, every statue in there had been crafted by Hua Chen painstakingly, and he liked them all. Hua Cheng said, "No. I had erected a barrier even before that. Even if Tonglu collapsed entirely, the cave would still be fine."
His interest piqued, Xie Lian said, "Really? That's great, then it will indeed be alright. I want to go over to take a look. Can I?"
Hua Cheng seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then casually smiled in response, saying: "Sure.
Of course gege can go over to take a look anytime he wants to."
His interest climbing, Xie Lian, "Then let's go tomorrow. After all, Tonglu has been unlocked, and can be entered anytime."
Hua Cheng raised a brow, saying, "Tomorrow? Alright."
He did not express any objections, and nor did he say much more, but the next moment, he flipped back on top of Xie Lian.
Xie Lian wasn't sure if he was mistaken, but in the latter half of the night, he was tumbled even more vigorously by Hua Cheng, such that after barely two rounds, Xie Lian was forced to cry for mercy, before passing out into slumber.
He should have been able to sleep soundly until the day brightened. But less than an hour later, Xie Lian felt in his sleep, a movement beside his body. When he opened his eyes to look, the other person was already gone.
Startled, all sleepiness fell away, and Xie Lian at up in an instant.
After a perfunctory clean-up, Xie Lian slowly got off the day-bed, and pushed open the door to leave, thinking, "Where did San-lang go?"
Going missing all of a sudden, in the middle of a night's sleep - it was indeed the first time something like this happened. After circling Ji Le Manor once without even seeing the shadow of the person, Xie Lian remembered that there was a room in Ji Le Manor that was used for teleportation, and so
he went to have a look. As expected, someone had opened the door to that room.
He remembered that a different array had been drawn on the door previously. And now, the cinnabar used to draw the new array had not yet even dried. Without thinking further, Xie Lian pushed the door and went in. When he emerged again, what was outside the door was not Ji Le Fang, but pitch darkness.
Xie Lian closed the door, and held up a flame in his palm, illuminating his surroundings. When he saw the sight that greeted him, he was stunned.

To think that the destination of the distance-shrinking transportation array, was a dark and gloomy giant cave.
The Thousand God Cavern!
Why would Hua Cheng go to the Thousand God Cavern on his own, in the middle of the night? Didn't they agree to go together tomorrow? Why did he come here first tonight?
Shaking his head, holding out that flame, Xie Lian began to walk slowly in the dark and cool cave.
The sounds of his footsteps echoed all around him. The gauze veils which were used to cover the faces of the statues[1], had been removed. In the darkness that surrounded him, countless of faces, identical to his, maintained their silence. Just thinking about this image, still evoked some terror. As Xie Lian passed a cave chamber, his gaze swept by casually. Within the cave was a statue of 'The
Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods', a warm and kind expression in its brows and eyes, standing with a flower and a sword held in its hands, its posture beautiful.
The number of statues here, at the highest estimate was a thousand, at the lowest estimate at least a hundred. It was unfathomable how many long hours and how much painstaking effort Hua Cheng had spent to carve everything, and who knew how long the statues had spent in the darkness, silent.
This thought occurring to him, Xie Lian sighed. Facing the statue, he bowed his head slightly, murmuring, "It must have been very lonely."
He was referring to the person who had carved the statues, and also to the statues. The statue of 'The Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods' nodded.
Xie Lian: "......"
This was too frightening.
After standing frozen for a while, Xie Lian finally figured out what had happened. It was largely because his magical energy had just been topped up, and his entire body, from head to toes, was brimming with magical energy. Because of this, his standing here affected the statues, causing them to come to life.
Xie Lian hastily reined in his magical energy, but it was too late. The statue of 'The Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods' had started to take a few steps. Because it had been afflicted by Xie Lian's magical energy, which had been so abundant to the point of overflowing, and yet because no one was trying to control it with serious intent, its movements were clumsy, and it tripped and fell with a
"dong".
Xie Lian hurriedly helped him up, saying, "Careful!"
Helped up by him, the small smile on the statue's face remained unchanging, and it even slightly raised its head, a noble and proud expression on its face, as it nodded at him in thanks. Seeing its proud demeanour, Xie Lian couldn't help wanting to laugh, but resisted, saying, "Have you seen Hua Cheng?"

Statues could make simple noises, but didn't know how to speak, unless it was a statue of a god who had passed the gift of languages and tongues. When the statue of the Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods heard his question, he revealed a confused expression, as though it did not who he was talking about. Xie Lian suddenly understood – the him at that time did not know Hua Cheng. And so, he changed his question, "Have you seen a person dressed in red?"
At that, the statue finally gave a smile, and nodded its head aloofly. Xie Lian said, "Do you know which direction he went towards?"
Such a big cavern, and he wasn't familiar with it either, so his only fear was getting lost. The
statue hm-ed, and pointed out a direction for him. Xie Lian said, "Many thanks your highness."
After walking for a bit, he turned back. The statue of the Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods seemed to have rapidly grasped the mechanics of walking, and was even practising swordplay where it was, the posture graceful and excellent, as though performing before the gaze of thousands
of audience at the festival.
A pity, there was no one to admire.
After not too long, Xie Lian once again encountered another fork in the path. Naturally, he readied himself to ask another statue for help, and walked into the nearest cave.The moment he entered, he saw a human-shaped figure sitting on a stone altar, clutching a jar of wine and drinking desperately.
Xie Lian: "......"
In a flash he snatched the wine jar away, saying, "Stop drinking!"
That statue was also of him, just that its face was slightly clearer, and its white clothes no longer as luxurious. When Xie Lian had snatched the wine jar away, it tried to snatch it back, but in its muddled state could not, and grew so angry that It could only turn in a circle, before suddenly hugging Xie Lian and crying noisily.
Xie Lian was dumbfounded, and said, "You don't need to cry ah......"
The statue cried even harder, as though it had been wronged and bullied endlessly, and no longer snatching for the wine, just hugged Xie Lian and refused to let go. Xie Lian didn't know that he was such a sticky drunk, and had no choice but to hug the statue too, gently rubbing its back, comforting him, "It's alright, it's alright......"
On a second look, the wine jar in his hand did not even contain wine, so it didn't matter if he returned the jar to the statue, and he said, "Have you seen a person dressed in red? Which way did he go?"
The statue pointed him towards a path, and Xie Lian returned the wine jar to it, before continuing to move onwards. The statue had stopped crying, hugging the wine jar as it sat on the ground, once again falling into a stupor.
Turning his head back look at it, Xie Lian sighed, and continued moving forward.
After yet another while, he heard a ga-zhi ga-zhi sound, like the sound of metal chains scraping against each other, as he came before an expansive cave.

A swing had been affixed from the roof of the cave, and on the swing sat a statue, in high spirits, full of youthful energy, dressed in the clothes of a son of the royal family. It was him at approximately sixteen or seventeen years old. The statue held on to the metal chains of the swing, doing its best to send itself aloft. But because it was sitting on the swing, it was simply unable to lift itself off, and it showed a frustrated expression. Seeing the situation, Xie Lian came up and helped it with a couple of pushes.
The swing finally began to fly, and with that the statue that was dressed in many robes, was finally happy. Xie Lian seized the opportunity to ask, "Have you seen a person dressed in red? Which way did he go?"
The statue clutched the swing with a hand, and pointed out a direction with its other hand. Xie Lian pushed him again a couple of times, and said, "Alright, goodbye."
But after the swing lifted up about ten more times, it gradually came to a stop. Without anyone to push it, the statue of the youth sat there again in a daze, once again showing a frustrated expression.
After for a while, XIe Lian estimated, "This should be it."
At that moment, he suddenly heard a small sound that was muffled and full of pain, and he couldn't help but startle. "What's that sound? ...... Panting?"
That sound came from the cave just ahead. Xie Lian walked in to take a look. Set within the cave was a stone altar, and on that altar, seemed to be a statue lying down horizontally, a white gauzy cloth covering it from its head to its legs and hanging towards the ground. The figure beneath the gauze was indistinct, sometimes curling up into a ball, sometimes tossing and turning, as though the person beneath was being tortured and was struggling in the torment.
"......"
Xie Lian was about to go up and pull off the gauze, a hand from behind him covered his eyes. A low voice came from the same direction, sighing, "Gege."
Xie Lian gave a laughed, and said warmly, "San-lang, do you think that just because you won't let me look, I won't know what this is?"
After a long while, Hua Cheng sighed again, saying, "Gege, I was wrong."
Xie Lian took Hua Cheng's hand off, and looked back, saying, "Wen rou xiang[2]?"
Standing behind him, was a tall and lanky man dressed in red. As expected, he was Hua Cheng.
Caught on the spot, a hand on his forehead, he finally admitted, "...... yes."
No wonder. As to be expected, no wonder Hua Cheng had always refused to let him look. Xie Lian said, "You coming here tonight, was your intention to hide away this statue before I came?"
Hua Cheng looked in another direction, and said, "Yes."
Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Did he really not dare to let him see this statue so much?

He said, "Why hide it? Actually, it's not really a big thing. It's just that now, a tricky problem has appeared......"
And that tricky problem was, Xie Lian's arrival had unintentionally caused all the statues to be able to move.
This in itself wasn't a big thing, but for this special statue, it would have been very painful. This was because, the statue beneath the gauzy cloth, was one carved of Xie Lian at seventeen, in the cave in the wilderness, struck by the wen rou xiang.
For the other statues, be it practise sword play, drink, swing on a swing, whatever they wanted to do was fine. It was just this statue that was unlucky, having been afflicted by the terrible venom of the flower demons. This meant that after it came to "life", it had to suffer the torment of the venom.
The heavy panting coming from beneath the gauzy cloth was full of unbearable pain, and listening to
it, Xie Lian could hardly bear it. Remembering that soul-wrecking and bone-aching night, he said, "...... this is surely too pitiful. If I were to leave now, would it revert to just being a statue?"
If so, then it wouldn't need to suffer such torment. But Hua Cheng said, "I'm afraid not. After all, gege's magical energy is more or less at its strongest point now, and all the statues in this cavern have been affected by you. Even if you left, they would continue to move for a long while."
That was simply far too painful. Xie Lian said, "Then...... is there another way?"
Hua Cheng always had a plan. He nodded his head slightly, and said, "This was what I was sorting out just now. Gege, come with me."
He led Xie Lian into another cave. The moment they entered, Xie Lian's eyes widened faintly. Standing in the cave was the statue of a male, its figure tall and lanky, its brows and eyes handsome, the corners of its mouth slightly curved, an eye patch where its right eye would have been, more or less resembling the red-garbed person in front of him who had led him here.
To think it was a statue of a ghost king! Xie Lian said, "This is......"
Hua Cheng said, "This was something I had hurriedly carved after I discovered that the situation was not right. Having not done it for many years, I'm a bit rusty. Gege, take a look, does it look like me?"
After examining it careful for a while, Xie Lian said, "Very like! But......"
Hua Cheng said, "But...... what?"
Xie Lian smiled and said, "But not as good-looking as you are in person."
Hua Cheng laughed too.
Following up swiftly, Xie Lian spoke again, "And so, San-lang, the plan you spoke of, was it......"

Was it to let this ghost king statue, help the god statue which had been poisoned by the wen rou xiang venom, "release the venom"?
After staying silent for a while, Hua Cheng forced a smile, recovered his composure, and fixing his gaze on Xie Lian's face, said, "Yes."
At first, Xie Lian did not notice the slight cautiousness in his expression, and thought, "Surely this method is too......"
Although it was one method of curing it, with immediate effect, but even just thinking about it felt absurd to the extreme – to put it bluntly, wasn't it to use the ghost king statue to break into the body of the statue of himself as a youth, and from there to release the venom?
Even saying it out loud felt difficult/
As he struggled for a response, Hua Cheng suddenly went down on a knee before him. Xie Lian was startled, and hurriedly tried to pull him up, saying, "San-lang?" What was he doing?
Hua Cheng said quietly, "Your highness, I was disrespectful."
Xie Lian was unable to pull him up, so he crouched down to join him and, uncomprehending, said, "How were you disrespectful?"
But Hua Cheng stared at him, and lightly sucked in a breath, saying quietly, "Your highness, please believe me, it was because there was no choice today that I came up with this. Even though I had personally carved that god statue, but, I never had even a bit of blasphemous intent or disrespect towards the statue of your highness. If your highness feels that this method is not appropriate, I'll find another method."
At last, Xie Lian realised why Hua Cheng was being so sombre.
Going to the root of it, towards the whole matter of him having personally carved so many statues of Xie Lian, Hua Cheng was ultimately worried that Xie Lian would find him offensive, his actions perverse. To bring up this method now, it was inevitable that he would be even more worried that Xie Lian would think that his head was full of nonsensical thoughts and that his sentiments were not respectful.
Xie Lian smiled as he sighed, and with both hands pulling on Hua Cheng, finally pulled him up to standing. He said, "Of course I believe you. I know, that you've always been very respectful of me."
But, "never had even a bit of blasphemous intent or disrespect", that was harder to say. After all, if one kept track, since Hua Cheng returned after turning into butterflies, every three or five days, he
would want to "blaspheme" the god at Qiandeng Temple, growing more and more daring.
Xie Lian coughed, saying, "I feel that this method...... doesn't have anything bad. It's very good, very good."
But, thinking about what this method essentially was, his cheeks heated up slightly, and he felt that his speech was perhaps too reserved. Meanwhile, the Hua Cheng who had received his permission gradually recovered his calm. Xie Lian placed his hands on the shoulders of the ghost king statue, and said, "Shall I give this statue a spark?"

Hua Cheng blinked, and laughed slowly as he said, "If gege is willing, I won't refuse."
Xie Lian nodded. Immediately, the statue lightly arched a brow. Seeing the situation, Xie Lian couldn't stop himself and retrieved his hands, saying, "This way it's far too similar!"
As though having felt something, a few figures slowly appeared outside the cave. A few of the god statues gathered around curiously, as though wanting to look at the new statue in this cave which did not resemble the rest of them. The ghost king statue appeared to have noticed them too, and blinked its eye, and its brow lifted even higher as, though thinking about goodness only knew what, even as it appeared to be searching for something. With a mix of coaxing and shooing, Xie Lian finally managed to push aside the group of statues of himself, but after glancing from the corner of his eye, suddenly said, "Where's the wen rou xiang statue?"
He had started to use this directly to refer to that unfortunate statue. At some unknown time, only a white gauzy cloth had been left on the stone altar, and that prone wen rou xiang statue had disappeared!
Xie Lian reflected on what a disaster it was, and even Hua Cheng, who had followed behind with his hands behind his back, raised his brows. Xie Lian said, "The Thousand God Cavern is very large, it wouldn't have been awen rouble to leave in such a short time. Let's hurry up and look for it!"
But Hua Cheng said, "I'm afraid not. Gege, look."
He pointed towards the ground. Xie Lian came over to look, and only then did he discover, that the ground had a circle array, drawn directly into the rock with an extremely strong finger strength.
Teleportation array! How much of Xie Lian's magical energy did this statue absorb, to be able to draw a teleportation array with its bare hands?! Xie Lian wanted to faint on the spot.
That statue was of him when he had been afflicted by the wen rou xiang. What if it ran into mortal females after its escape? What type of strange and bloodthirsty legends would arise after today??? He said, "When did he run off? Where could he run off to?"
Hua Chen said, "Gege, don't panic. First, think, if it was you who had been afflicted by the wen rou xiang at that time, who would be the first person you would look for?"
This was not a difficult question. Xie Lian was originally not too anxious, and he calmed down quickly, saying, "I would look for......"
Before he could finish speaking, a message on the spirit communication array appeared. Caught unprepared, XIe Lian raised his hand and received it, and heard Feng Xin's voice ring loudly by his ear, "Your highness! Something terrifying[3], there was a creature impersonating you just now!"
...... as expected! At that time, Xie Lian's strongest and most effective assistants were Feng Xin and Mu Qing, and if something like that happened, he would naturally look for them first!
Thank goodness the statue looked for Feng Xin first instead of running wildly in the streets. Xie Lian released a breath, and hurriedly said, "No, no! That's not a creature, and it's not impersonating me."
Feng Xin was shocked. "What do you mean??? Not a creature and not an imitation? Don't tell me it's you yourself??? That can't be!"

Xie Lian: "Not that either! Alright, what's it like now? Have you caught it? Don't let it escape!"
But Feng Xin said, "Too late, it's already escaped!"
Xie Lian said, "What? That's bad!"
Feng Xin: "Yeah, that's bad. Naked and running around, what would people say when they see that?!"
Xie Lian: "Wait, what did you say? Naked? I...... no, it isn't wearing any clothes???"
Feng Xin said, "More or less! It's wearing clothes, but not much, all broken and raggedy as though someone had torn it up. Oh yes, if it's not a creature and it's not an imitation, then what on earth is it? What the heck is going on? It looked to me like a statue...... wait, a statue?" He exclaimed, "Did it escape from that place in the bottom of Tonglu? What are you guys doing???"[4]
Xie Lian also could no longer quite remember how much clothing he had been wearing when he had been struck by the wen rou xiang. At that time, it had felt unbearable, and he may have torn his own clothes up in his stupor. He said, "I'll explain later! I'm coming over immediately!"
Having said that on this side, he disconnected the spirit communication array and said to Hua Cheng, "San-lang, we need to go to Xinxian City[5]!"
On the other side, Hua Cheng had already sorted out the newly-carved ghost king statue, turning it into a smaller statue that could stand in the palm of his hand. He said, "Alright!" and drew an array in seconds. Barely any time had passed, when the two of them directly appeared in Xinxian City's Nanyang Palace. The moment the door opened, they saw Feng Xin, and the moment Feng Xin saw Hua Cheng, his eyes grew round, "Blood Rain Reaching for the Flowers? What are you doing here too? What did you come to the heavens for?!" A Devastation-rank ghost king, all day refusing to stay obediently in his territory, instead going up to the immortals' city whenever he felt like it – this was far too inappropriate!
Hua Cheng ignored him, and cocking his head to listen for a moment, said, "Where's the bulletin? Surely the Upper Heavens is not just all words and no follow-up action."
Feng Xin naturally knew what bulletin Hua Cheng was talking about. Wasn't it the "The Upper Heavens must report for a whole year on the heroic exploits of Blood Rain Reaching for the Flowers as he rescued the gods" bulletin? A vein pulsed in his forehead, and he said, "What's there to report on in the middle of the night! Everyone needs to rest, we'll report on it in the day!"
At that, Hua Cheng made an "Oh" sound, as though to indicate that he would not pursue the matter further. Xie Lian said, "Alright, as everyone wishes! More importantly, where's the "me" that you saw? Which way did it go?"
Feng Xin pointed at a direction, saying, "He ran there, I was just about to give chase, the two of you can come along!"
Suddenly, the feeling of an ominous premonition appeared in Xie Lian's heart, and he said, "Let me ask, that direction, could it be......"

Feng Xin said crisply, "The direction of Xuanzhen Palace." Xie Lian: "......"
Hua Cheng said in a deep voice, "Go!"
The two of them didn't dare to delay, and hurried to Xuanzhen Palace, bursting in through the main door and rushing in immediately. Upon rushing in, they saw Mu Qing sitting on the altar, looking as though he had just seen something unthinkable, his entire person in a state of dumb shock. Xie Lian went up to him and waved a hand before his eyes, saying, "Mu Qing?"
Seeing Xie Lian, he finally regained his wits, but his expression remained one of extreme shock, and only after a long while did he say, "Xie Lian, what are you doing?"
Xie Lian: "...... I did something? I...... I too don't know what I did? Please tell me?"
Mu Qing, still staring, said, "Why did you run into my palace just now, in the middle of the night, with your clothes in disarray?"
"......" Hua Cheng smirked[6]. Xie Lian said, "Don't speak in a manner that causes people to have misunderstandings! Whatever it was that you saw just now, that definitely wasn't me!"
Mu Qing rubbed at half of his face, as though he wished he could dig out whatever he had seen from his eyes. With a pale and sickly pallor, he said, "Even if it wasn't you, its connection with you is inescapable! It's a statue from that cavern, isn't it? What are you guys doing, letting such a statue that is harmful for society's morals, run loose in the middle of the night – surely Blood Rain Reaching for the Flowers and you do not need this type of play?!"
Hua Cheng said mockingly, "What's that got to do with you?"
Mu Qing said angrily, "What do you mean, what's it got to do with me. This is my palace!" Hua Cheng said leisurely, "Rebuilding the immortals' city, I had a role in it too."
It was the truth, for the Upper Heavens had suffered great damage previously, and so a number of gods had to secretly beg the head of the ghost city for help. Calculating it properly, it would not have been possible for Xin Xian City to have been built without Hua Cheng. Xie Lian said, "We weren't playing around. This was an accident. Where is it now?"
Mu Qing said, "He snatched a sword from me, and ran......"
Even without him having to say more, Xie Lian knew where it would have gone. From the garden outside Xuanzhen Palace, came a dang dang[7] noise. At the same time, the tiny statue of a ghost king which Hua Cheng had brought, dropped down itself and hopped, and hopped, towards the garden.
Xie Lian rushed out immediately. As expected, that wen rou xiang statue, was standing at the fake mountain in the garden!
The clothes of the statue were in disarray, revealing more than half of bare shoulders and chest. The clothes on the bottom also had pieces that there were and pieces that were missing, giving a

suggestive appearance overall. The design of the statue's face was yet another level, its brows drawn together tightly, almost as though one could see the red flush staining its skin and the thin layer of sweat covering it – to call it a piece of uncanny workmanship would not be too far off the mark. And before their eyes, the statue was holding the sword it had snatched from Xuanzhen Palace – dang dang, dang dang! – and trying its best, again and again, to stab itself. Naturally, it had thought of doing what Xie Lian had done that first time, using self-injury to release the venom.
But because stones formed in Tonglu were strong, the sword just could not pierce through, but instead bent and broke. The statue seemed to despair, and raised its palm, looking as though it was about to hit its head until its skill shattered. Xie Lian hurriedly called out, "Stay calm! Stay calm!"
The statue looked at him blearily. Xie Lian flew across and, with a blow, knocked the statue off the fake mountain, causing it to fall into a hole in the cave where it was unable to stand. And Hua Cheng
darted to Xie Lian's side, and threw down something. It was the statue of the ghost king!
Rather than say that the ghost king statue had been thrown down by Hua Cheng, it could also be said that it had struggled to free itself upon seeing the youthful statue god, and with one struggle left his palm. It reverted to its original size mid-air, and landed on top of the body of the god statue, covering it. From beneath it came a startled breath. Xie Lian hurriedly jumped off the fake mountain, and pushed Mu Qing, who had ventured over after hearing noises, back towards Xuanzhen Palace, saying, "There wasn't enough time! I'm so sorry, let us borrow your precious ground for a bit!"
Mu Qing was shaken. "What were you two doing just now?" Xie Lian said, "I'll explain another day. A thousand apologies!"
Hua Cheng said languidly, "What's there to apologise for? Haven't you saved this person's life lots of times?"
Mu Qing: "No, you'd better explain it clearly now. I seemed to have seen you throw a you down, and he threw a him down. My eyes aren't mistaken, right? So what on earth are the two of you doing? What's happening right now in the fake mountain?"
At that, Xie Lian began dragging him back inside the palace by his neck. "A terrible emergency! Really, Mu Qing, don't go over there! Why would you want to bring suffering onto yourself?"
Mu Qing roared, "Xie Lian!!! What did you guys do in my palace? I'm fucked, I'm really fucked!"
"It wasn't us! This is just an accident, there really wasn't enough time...... and you're rambling again!" *
After an hour, the two statues finally used up the magical energy which they had gotten from Xie Lian and Hua Cheng.
Going into the fake mountain to have a look, Xie Lian immediately rested his forehead in his hand.

As Hua Cheng sorted out the statues, Xie Lian stood at the side, silently blocking Feng Xin and Mu Qing who had wanted to come over and take a look. He said sincerely, "You wouldn't want to see this."
Feng Xin was naturally not a curious person, and sensing that something was not good, immediately had the wits to back away in defeat. Mu Qing, however, was unable to let it go, and his face was as black as the base of an old pot, and furiously flung his sleeves and muttered, "I simply can't believe...... I just can't believe it! To think there's such a thing! To think that such a thing could happen in my palace!" After that, it was as though his soul had floated out of his body, and he was no longer able to look directly at the fake mountain in his own palace. Xie Lian very much suspected, that he would be levelling this area with a blow later on.
To speak the truth, Xie Lian himself didn't have much confidence. To think that there could be such a ridiculous accident, he really didn't know if he should feel embarrassed. Looking back at the two sta
– no, as of now, they should be considered "one" statue, he said, "They'll...... remain like that?"
Hua Cheng said, "Just like that. Anyway, they can't be separated."
Xie Lian covered his face.
Which heaven official had a statue in such a position! What if someone saw it? It was just simply too improper. How infuriating!
He moaned, "...... San-lang, these...... hide them well. Don't let anyone see them." Hua Cheng laughed. "That's a given. Gege can relax."
After bringing these two statues which had become one, back to the Thousand God Cavern, and back to their original place, Xie Lian finally wiped the sweat off his brow.
And the other Xie Lian(s) in the Thousand God Cavern once again gathered around curiously, and had to be once again coaxed away by Xie Lian: "It's indecent, don't look. It's indecent, don't look."
The statues had no choice but to leave. Although they did not get to look at the final position of that statue, they kept looking back as they walked away, as though envious that the wen rou xiang "Xie Lian" finally had a "companion".
The wen rou xiang venom had been released, but the other statues were still lacking something. The Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods didn't have an audience, the drunken one had no one to help up, the one on the swing didn't have anyone to push it......
Xie Lian couldn't help but feel greedy, and thought, "If only every Xie Lian had a Hua Cheng, then
that would be alright."
Unexpectedly, Hua Cheng also said the same thing out loud, "Gege, don't you feel, that it would be better if every Your Highness had a San-Lang?"
Two people had come together easily. There and then, they stayed on in the Thousand God Cavern, where they displayed their skills.
In moments, Xie Lian witnessed with his own eyes the process of how Hua Cheng turned a clumsy- looking rock into an exquisite stone statue. The skill was indescribable, because Hua Cheng was

simply too fast for him to have a clear look at what Hua Cheng was doing. Thinking about how Hua Cheng had melded technique with method from early on, Xie Lian only had praises left.
All in all, Hua Cheng turned around and, from a ground strewn with broken rock pieces, lifted a newly carved child, its hair messy, its clothes ragged, its face covered with bandages, looking very pitiful. And in its hands it clutched something which he would not let go of. Xie Lian placed his hand on the child's head. Almost immediately, it blinked, and turned its head looking all around it. Seeing that there was someone holding onto the back of its collar, it gave a vicious kick.
Hua Cheng seemed to have anticipated that it would do such a thing, and dodged easily, holding it into his arms and letting it struggle and kick as it would. Xie Lian did not expect that the little Hua Cheng would be so fierce-spirited, and unable to hold back a laugh, said, "Ai, how fierce!"
Hua Cheng tsked, and threw him aside. Thus thrown, the child fell sprawled onto the ground with a
"dong", but it got up again very quickly, and stared at Hua Cheng with a fierce glare. Xie Lian was worried that it had fallen too hard, and extended an arm towards it, saying, "San-lang, you were too vicious! What if it gets damaged in the fall?" If one was really counting, this child was practically a new-born!
But Hua Cheng said, as though nothing was the matter, "It's alright. He's[8] very tenacious."
The child was incredibly fierce towards Hua Cheng, but towards Xie Lian it was friendly and companionable. Seeing Xie Lian gesture towards it, it was just about to go towards him, when at that moment, the statue of the Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods that was not too far away, seemed to sense something, getting up from its place and walking over, its gaze fixed in their direction.
Seeing the statue of the Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods, the child froze, and the one eye that was visible through the bandages grew really large, and it sprinted over noisily, as though wanting to catch him, to fall against the front of his robes, but at the same time didn't dare get too close, as though afraid of dirtying the god's robes. Only after a long while, did he carefully raise out his hand, opening the palm which he had just now stubbornly refused to open.
It turned out, hidden within his palm, was a flower.
As though receiving the flower, his royal highness, the crown prince, gave a small smile, and raised out a hand, and of his own initiative carried him up, and the two of them left happily together. Looking at them, one of them had finally found someone to appreciate his swordplay, and one of them had finally found someone he could offer his flower to.
Watching them, Xie Lian felt quite reassured, when he suddenly thought of another question, and said, "San-lang, when you're done carving, won't this cavern be filled with lots and lots of statues of
you and statues of me? Would they get each other mixed up? After all, another of them look alike." But Hua Cheng laughed quietly and said, "No, they won't."
"Why?"
Hua Cheng repeated, "They won't."

He lifted his gaze to look at Xie Lian, and with a faint smile, said, "Even if 'Your Highness' gets it wrong, 'I' will never get it wrong. Because each Hua Cheng will forever be the follower of only one Your Highness, will only be devoted to one person. And so, they never will."
And Xie Lian gazed at him, and said, "I, too, won't get it wrong. Each Xie Lian's most devoted follower, will forever be just the one, 'I' will forever remember this. I......"
Having said that, he suddenly felt oddly embarrassed.
The two of them now, were like two small children, ardently declaring to one another that "The person I like the best will forever be you, and only you". Even though it was sincere, it was also very childish.
Even though it was childish, it was also very sincere.
After a moment of silence, Xie Lian gave a light cough, and said, "Then.....next, let's carve for the crown prince, his highness, on the swing, a ghost king, his mightiness, to push the swing."
Without anyone to help it push the swing, it looked very lonely and distressed. Hua Cheng said happily, "Alright."
Xie Lian said again, "What about that one drinking wine? That one's rather tough to figure out. It seems all muddled up, and even cries. Ai, there are too many statues in this place, goodness knows when we'd be done carving for each and every one?"
Hua Cheng laughingly said, "What are you afraid of? Let's just take our time, eventually they'll meet."
Smilingly, Xie Lian nodded his head too, saying in a light voice, "Hn, they definitely will meet."
Within the cavern, two statues that were originally separate, had now joined together into one.
Embracing each other tightly, gazing at each other's faces so close to their own, their gazes and their bodies tangled together, never to be undone – that was truly being together, never to part.
Translator's notes:
[1] 神像 (shen xiang), lit. god (shen) statue/image (xiang). Because it's a bit of a mouthful, I'll just be translating this as "statue(s)", unless it's necessary to distinguish between the different types of
statues, e.g. "god statue" vs "xxx statue".
[2] 温柔乡 (wen rou xiang), the shapeshifting sex-pollen flower creatures from book 2. Literally
translates to "gentle (wen rou) village (xiang)".
[3] 活人见鬼 (huo ren jian gui), lit. "a live person sees a ghost". An exclamation used when you see
something terrifying or bizarre in a possibly supernatural way.
[4] I love the number of question marks and exclamation marks in this conversation. And I love how Feng Xin automatically assumes Hua Cheng's involved too.
[5] 新仙京 (xin xian jing), lit. new immortal city. Just like how there's a ghost city where ghosts live, there's an immortal city where gods/immortals live.

[6] Literally, Hua Cheng's eyes narrowed (眯了眯眼, mi le mi yan) – which is used to describe
someone smiling in a manner that results in the eyes becoming like slits. Unfortunately, "narrowing his eyes" doesn't have the correct nuance in English.
[7] Like a metallic clang.
[8] Thus far, the Chinese word for "it", 它, has been used when referring to the statues. But here, Hua Cheng uses the word for "he", 他. Assuming it's deliberate, I guess we could regard it as Hua
Cheng talking about himself. One of the few times we get Hua Cheng pov, really! Mind, the words for "it" and "he" sound the same in Chinese (ta), so Xie Lian would not have heard the difference.
[TGCF Extra - Chapter 252] The Ghost King's Birthday
  Recently, something important and urgent has emerged.
Because of that, Ghost City was in a state of great anxiety. When Xie Lian found out what incident he meant, he was as surprised as the ghost had secretly told him, his heart filled with worry, "Birthday?"
"Correct!"
It is true. Chengzhu from Ghost City [1] Hua Cheng - no matter how old he changes, his birthday will come!
[1] Chengzhu = city governor, ruler, overseer, etc.
Xie Lian was completely unprepared for this. Feeling very uneasy, he said, "this, this... what did San Lang do on his birthday in the past?"
The ghosts excitedly replied in chaos, "How festive !!!"
"Not much, we were just making a fuss aimlessly ..."
"But Chengzhu doesn't care at all?"
Hearing this, Xie Lian said, "What do you mean he doesn't care?"
The ghost replied, "That Chengzhu never celebrates his birthday."
"Well, he never cares what we do on his birthday. He never even paid attention to the gifts people sent him. Every year it's just us playing around and having fun on our own. "

"Dear Chengzhu forgot many things. Looks like he never even remembers when he was born in the first place! "
Xie Lian thought for a moment, and immediately made up his mind. Since Hua Cheng didn't care about his previous birthdays, this time Xie Lian had to find a way to make this birthday extraordinary - and make it a little more interesting, so that at least he could be happy on that birthday. But what's the difference between Hua Cheng's birthday and Xie Lian's, compared to those without a birthday? Aren't they the same?
First of all, he had to give her a birthday present. Xie Lian was deep in thought - what should he give him?
The ghosts stared at him, "Xie Daozhang [2] are you thinking about what gift you want to give Chengzhu?"
[2] Suffix for Taoist priests
Xie Lian, "Mm. I'm a little embarrassed to say it, but... I'm not sure what your Chengzhu will like. I'm afraid I might give him something that doesn't suit his taste... "
The pork butcher said, "Yo, what are you really worried about. If it's something Big Uncle... [3] Xie Daozhang gave, I think our Chengzhu will be happy regardless of what kind of gift you will give. "
[3] Xie Lian is old, isn't it www.
"Yes. I bet even if you give him a piece of scrap paper, he will be happy. How is it that... the gifts given by Great Uncle Xie Daozhang can be compared to gifts given by others! "
Xie Lian laughed slightly, thinking that this attitude might be too narcissistic and reckless,
and a little less sincere, "We can't say that. Choosing a gift must be done carefully and with consideration. Do you have any suggestions? "
After all, Hua Cheng had been in Ghost City for many years; and maybe the residents of this Ghost Town would have a better understanding of what he liked. With a little bit of

exchange of opinion, if Xie Lian thought harder, he would find a suitable and extraordinary gift he could give Hua Cheng. And indeed, all the ghosts there say, "We have it, we have it, we have it!"
As they talked, dozens of chicken claws, pork feet, octopus feet and the like began to collect, creating a pile of all kinds of things. Xie Lian is unfamiliar with these things. Being surrounded by ghosts there, he thought it was really amazing. Thus he decided to take out what looked like a mysterious and elegant jade bottle, asking, "Oh? What is this?"
The one who gave the bottle replied, "That is the number one seduction medicine! You only need to use a few drops, and I guarantee that the passion and love of the person you are about to medicate will skyrocket, falling head over heels for the medic! And it doesn't have any side effects! "
"... ..."
Xie Lian replied firmly, "Thank you for the advice. However, love must come naturally from the heart. How could we use potions to control it? It would be better if no one used this from now on. "
The ghost who presented the bottle spoke in fear, "Yayayaya, don't use it. But actually we don't use something like this, I only got this because Xie Daozhang asked for advice ah! "
Xie Lian didn't know whether to cry or laugh, thinking, "Why do you think I should give this kind of medicine to Hua Cheng?" She smiled, "I'm afraid that your Chengzhu won't use this
medicine either."
All the other ghosts were frantically pushing the ghost away, screaming, "Exactly! If Chengzhu wanted someone, would he even need to use such medicine? Really!"

Xie Lian thought, this is a big truth. For example, on her own - she didn't even need that kind of medicine - and she had fallen head over heels as soon as she saw Hua Cheng. Too bad.
In order to stop his embarrassing thoughts and blushing face, he quickly grabbed another box. He opened it, "What's in here? Pearl? Panacea?"
The ghost who gave the box replied, "It is a pill containing a child!" "... ..."
Xie Lian didn't even need to ask what was the use of this pill. He immediately closed the box with a "plaque" sound, said helplessly, "All this ..."
How could he give something like this to Hua Cheng?
After all, with the help he had, Xie Lian knew he would not find any useful advice. She tells the ghosts there to secretly plan something for the demon king's birthday and surprise Hua Cheng, while he goes off to think.
Maybe he had thought too much about this - the frustration showed on his face. Today, he was helping Hua Cheng practice calligraphy and thinking of other ideas when suddenly a voice came from beside him: "Gege."
Xie Lian stopped thinking, tilted his head, "What's wrong?"
Hua Cheng looked at him. He put his brush down, "Am I wrong? Gege seems worried about something. If you don't mind, can you tell us what's bothering you and share your worries with San Lang? "
Xie Lian's heart tightened. He immediately put on a stern face. Warn, "You can't put down
your brush. Don't be lazy. Raise your brush and continue. "
Hua Cheng chuckled, and picked up his brush again, casually sighing, "You caught me." Seeing him return to work, Xie Lian let out a sigh. Who knows, after writing two lines, Hua Cheng casually said, "But recently, Gege is a bit unusual".
Xie Lian stiffened again, but his face remained calm, "Oh? Like what?"

Hua Cheng actually gave her a little look, smiling, "I think... too obedient".
Xie Lian smiled, "Aren't I always like this?"
Xie Lian is desperately running out of ideas for a birthday present to give Hua Cheng. He decided to take the plunge - he'd first ask a few useless questions to see if something was missing, and then play around with it a little. With an indifferent face, Xie Lian said, "San Lang, let me ask you something".
Hua Cheng, "Mm? What is that?"
Xie Lian, "Do you think something is missing somewhere?"
Hua Cheng, "Lost? What does Gege mean? Are you missing something? " Xie Lian, "Oh, no... I'm talking about you. Just asking ... "
Too bad he doesn't dare to talk too bluntly, like asking the question "what do you like, what do you want". In order to prevent Hua Cheng from realizing that something was up, he could only make small talk like that. But doing it like that made it even more difficult to find what Hua Cheng wanted. It made Xie Lian a little nervous.
Hua Cheng, "Me? What do you think Gege is missing? " ...... It is true. Xie Lian could only feel a little embarrassed.
Hua Cheng spoke again, "Why is Gege asking me this?"
Xie Lian was afraid that he would be caught. Feeling wary of the wind [3], he pushed it hard with his hands. Hua Cheng had never stepped up his guard against Xie Lian, so he was pushed away with a "thump," leaning back on the bed [5] with his eyes wide open - that was not what he thought. He smiled, "What is Gege doing? Being this aggressive, you ... "

[4] Something that could be said like, "That child!"
[5] An ancient Chinese hybrid with a low sofa-bed
Without waiting for him to finish his sentence, Xie Lian bravely walked over, stopping his words.
And just like that, Hua Cheng was no longer in the mood to continue asking questions. He grabbed his arm and reversed the positions of the two of them - whatever Xie Lian did didn't matter anymore.
Thinking alone seemed completely useless, so Xie Lian decided to ask for help. And the first people he turned to help were, of course, his two competent former subordinates.
The three of them sit in an unknown secret broken shrine. After a brief silence, Feng Xin asked, "Why are you looking at me?"
The other two people stared at him, not saying a word.
They can't help it. Among the three of them, only Feng Xin already had a wife [6]. Logically, he must know what makes the person he loves the happiest. But Feng Xin's face turned gloomy from their gaze. He said, "...... looking at me like that is useless. I only gave him one thing. " It was the golden belt, which Xie Lian gave him.
[6] I don't know if what is meant here is that Feng Xin really married Jian Lan or just because it was between the three of them that Feng Xin had the first partner.
Mu Qing was utterly in disbelief when he found out that Xie Lian would drag him along to ask such a thing - it was already very polite for him to limit his gaze. He wanted to finish this ordeal quickly, saying, "That's a great idea ah. Giving him a belt was really nice
too. Why don't you just give him a gold belt ah? "
Xie Lian automatically ignored the strange tone in his voice, saying "I've lost all my golden belts long ago." I don't have it anymore!

Mu Qing's tone grew even more strange, "Isn't your situation much better now? The streets are filled with temples and worshipers. You just need to appear in their dream and ask for a belt and they will give you one. "
Xie Lian, "It is meaningless. If I had to ask a devotee to present a gift for me, wouldn't that be too reckless? "
Seeing that his strange tone had no effect on Xie Lian, Mu Qing's tone returned to normal, saying, "Why are you so troublesome? You can make one for him. "
Xie Lian quickly replied, "What a great idea! But I don't know how. " "You can study."
Xie Lian, "That's right. Of whom?"
Mu Qing impatiently said, "How do I know? You can ... "
Before finishing his sentence, Mu Qing realized that this time, the other two were staring at him.
After two shichen [7], Xie Lian's hands and fingers appeared to be injured dozens of times, wrapped with bandages many times so that his hands wouldn't be covered in blood. In his hand was a ribbon-shaped object with unclear shape and intent.
[7] Two shichen = 4 hours
Mu Qing couldn't take it anymore. "What is this?"
Xie Lian sighed, "Belt".
Mu Qing, "I know this is a belt. What I'm asking is, what have you sewn on that belt? What is the meaning behind those two nuts that you have sewn? "
Xie Lian, "These aren't nuts! Can't you see that they are two people. " In order to let them see clearly, he even showed it, "These are the faces of two people - these are the eyes, the mouth is here ..."

After seeing that they were two heads, Mu Qing said in an extraordinary way, "Why would anyone sew two large heads on this belt? Can this even be used? Your taste in clothes isn't all that bad, but why could something like this be created from your hands? "
Xie Lian couldn't help it either. He was much better at repairing houses and building wells and walls. He can do it fast and very well. But it seemed that from birth he had never been very good at household chores directed at women - once he got hold of the needle and thread or cooking pot, the situation got out of hand. She stared at her hands, draped like
zongzi - although they didn't hurt, she didn't get any better at sewing. He could only feel helpless, saying, "... I will change the design."
But the wooden planks had become a boat [8], how could he possibly change them? He added a bunch of petals around the two heads, turning them into two familiar and awkward flower heads. Feng Xin and Mu Qing's faces were pitiful.
[8] Chinese idiom: raw material has become a finished product, like the idiom rice has turned into porridge.
Green veins appeared on Mu Qing's face, "I can even teach pigs. Why are you like this? Did you even sew your own palms? "
Feng Xin, "When did you ever teach pigs? Tell a lot of baseless lies! "
Without any manners, Mu Qing said to Xie Lian, "Just give up. You don't have the talent for this. " It's not every day that she says "you don't have talent" to Xie Lian - saying it confidently feels good enough. Feng Xin couldn't listen to this any longer, saying, "Can you stop talking? You don't even praise Dianxia [9] in the slightest; wearing clothes and making
clothes are two different things! It's not even that bad - this belt is still wearable. "
[9] Suffix for royal people. "Your Excellency"
Mu Qing, "Alright then, why don't we give this belt to you. If you dare to wear it, I won't say anything else [10]. "
[10] 服气: "I will admit that you are right", and "I will give you concessions / respect you"

Before Feng Xin could answer, Xie Lian quickly hid the embarrassing and terrible belt, "It can't be used. I'll keep it, okay! "
This kind of thing, really can't be used as a gift!
Feng Xin and Mu Qing didn't help much, so Xie Lian decided to turn to someone else.
"Gift? Taizi Dianxia [11], you are really asking the right person. Thinking about that time, * I * [12]...... what treasures have I never seen before? "
[11] Your Majesty the Crown Prince
[12] * I *: he wanted to refer to himself with a more respectable pronoun "I" that was different from the normal "I", but decided to correct himself.
The two of them crouched by the side of the road. Shi QingXuan - with his disheveled hair, passionate character, and talkative mouth - one could tell that he was an expert in this field with just a glance. Xie Lian humbly accepted his teachings. Shi QingXuan confidently said, "There are unclaimed treasures out there, but if you want to acquire them, you will have to do a lot of work."
Xie Lian quickly said, "It doesn't matter. It's exactly what I want. " The more effort it takes to obtain something, the more valuable it must be, so doesn't that mean the gift will definitely feel more sincere? The best treasures to acquire are the hardest treasures in the world - treasures that no one person can ever get. If he got it for Hua Cheng, it would be a meaningful gift. Imagining that his gift could make Hua Cheng raise his eyebrows or smile a little, Xie Lian couldn't hold back his excitement, and he became even more excited to try this idea.
Shi QingXuan thought for a while, then said, "Xingtian Hu! [13] Taizi Dianxia should have heard it before, right? This Hu is very precious. If you put it under the night sky, the stars and moon will be reflected in the wine, and it will absorb the spiritual energy from the sky, earth, sun and moon. The cup is not only elegant, but it can also aid cultivation... "
[13] Hu. Hu = cup to hold alcohol (or other drink)

Who knows, the more Xie Lian listened, the more he had a bad feeling in his chest, and he quickly interrupted, "Wait."
"What is wrong?"
Xie Lian stretched out his hand to show a size comparison, said, "QingXuan, what are you talking about, is black jade this big? And within that jade there are hints of starlight? "
Shi QingXuan was confused, "Eh? How did Taizi Dianxia know? Have you seen him before? " "... ..."
He didn't just see it. Last month, he tried pouring water to drink. Because he forgot his hand was injured, he lost his grip, and crushed the hu.
At that time, Hua Cheng immediately came over to inquire about the injury to his arm. Xie Lian, seeing how beautiful the hu was, asked Hua Cheng what to do and if it could be
fixed. Hua Cheng instead said that it was nothing, that it was just a toy. He didn't even look at the shattered pieces before telling his underlings to sweep and throw them away, and took Xie Lian away to take care of his arm.
Now that he thought about it, didn't he destroy what Shi QingXuan called a rare precious treasure - Xingtian Hu ?!
Xie Lian felt his heart turn cold, "This... might not be very suitable. What about other treasures? "
"Oh." Shi QingXuan couldn't think of anything else, so he grabbed his hair, thought for a while before saying, "How about a BaHuang brush [14]! This brush is hard to believe is truly amazing. The hair used for the brush is extracted from the tail end of an ancient
animal. The handle is made of a branch at the top of the Yuzhu Tree [15]. If that brush is not used, the hair will grow... "
[14] Fancy name BaHuang = Eight Directions (?)
[15] Yuzhu = lit. translation: bamboo jade. Scientific name: polygonatum odoratum
Xie Lian said, "Yuzhu leaves are green?"

Shi QingXuan, "That's right! Taizi Dianxia, how do you know about this too? Have you seen him before too? "
How could he not have seen it. It was the brush that Hua Cheng used to practice calligraphy every day. She would blame her unpleasant handwriting on her bad brush, and throw it on the floor. Sometimes he kicks it somewhere. Xie Lian often had to find it, pick it up and clean it before putting it in a safe place.
"......" Xie Lian said, "This one... might not be suitable either. How about the others?"
As Shi QingXuan gave dozens of suggestions, Xie Lian realized that the legendary and rare treasures he spoke of were all very familiar to him. And they were all very pitiful - they were the stools Hua Cheng had used as a footrest or carpet on the floor. If they weren't toys he used for his entertainment, they were discarded, and lost items.
That makes perfect sense. What kind of treasure in this world has Hua Cheng not seen and yet been able to obtain?
So getting a gift for the demon lord wouldn't work using this idea.
Like a doctor who was desperate to use every treatment he knew [16], Xie Lian almost asked everyone he could. However: Quan Yizhen only knew how to give gold - Hua Cheng was not short of money; Pei Ming - this guy only knows how to give gifts to women. If you ask him what to give a man, he can't say anything proper; Ling Wen - although he had several other heavenly officials to help, heaven could not function without his presence, and he was no longer locked in prison [17] - he was always surrounded by documents that nearly knocked him out. He no longer knows how to do anything but process official
documents, and prefers to have quiet in a prison cell.
[16] Idiom: doing whatever a person can to fix the problem.
[17] Book spoiler 5.
No one could help, and Hua Cheng's birthday was only 2 days away. Xie Lian really has no idea.

She stayed up all night, her eyes red. At least when the sky was almost dawn, he thought of something to give.
As soon as her mind cleared up, she quietly got out of bed, looking beside her at Hua Cheng who was fast asleep.
Hua Cheng's hair was dark like a crow, and his eyelashes were like varnish. With both eyes closed, you couldn't tell that he had lost his eyes. His handsome face and natural hostility emanated from his sleeping face. Looking at her now, she looked gentle somehow.
Xie Lian's heart was touched. He stretched out his right hand, hovering over Hua Cheng's face. But because she was afraid that she might wake him up, she withdrew her hand. Who knows, even before he got out of bed, his waist tightened, and it turned out that he was being held back by an arm. A lazy voice came from behind, "Gege, why are you up so early?"
Hua Cheng is awake!
His voice was low, a little hoarse, as if he was half dreaming, half awake. Xie Lian was caught red-handed and pulled back onto the bed. Feeling very guilty, he calmly replied, "Oh, someone sent their prayer."
Hua Cheng approached him, and kissed his ear, saying, "The sun hasn't risen yet. Who went to pray so early in the morning? Are they looking for trouble? "
Perhaps it was her guilt, but when Xie Lian listened to the voice beside her ear, her face felt hot, "I don't just accept prayers. I still have some piles of prayers ... "
When he spoke, he felt that speaking in his current position was a little difficult. When he
tried to get up again, Hua Cheng also sat up, wrapped his arms around his neck, rested his head on his shoulders, "If it's piled up, then why not delay it a little longer? Gege worked too hard last night. Sleep a little longer. "
Xie Lian struggled against that person's alluring voice and arms, barely able to do it, "I ... ... have been putting it off for a long time, I can't put it off anymore ..."

Hua Cheng, "Oh. Then I'll go with you? "
Xie Lian quickly said, "No need. I won't be long. I will be right back. You must rest!"
Hua Cheng, "You really don't need me to go?"
Xie Lian, "No need! You can't come with me. Of course, you absolutely can't come! "
Hua Cheng opened his eyes [18] slightly, "Why?"
[18]: Chinese does not distinguish "one eye" and "two eyes"
"......" Xie Lian choked. In an instant, she quickly turned around, grabbed Hua Cheng's hands
and stared at him, seriously saying, "You. Must practice calligraphy. "
Hua Cheng innocently looked at him, blinking his eyes. Xie Lian sternly said, "You must stay at this temple today to practice calligraphy. I'll check it out when I get back! "
Hua Cheng looked even more innocent, tilting his head. But in the end he obediently replied, "OK".
Xie Lian struggled to finally get over the situation, frantically getting off the bed. Hua Cheng leaned back slightly on the bed, squinting at Xie Lian as he panicked and fled the room. Hua Cheng smiled and lay down again, using his arm as a pillow.
Xie Lian first went to the barren desert to take what he wanted, then went to Tonglu.
Within the Tonglu mountain forest is a small house. Entering it, Xie Lian saw Guoshi [19], with three empty shells by his side, playing mahjong with a serious face. Without saying a word, Xie Lian turned to leave, but as soon as Guoshi saw him, his eyes lit up, shouting, "Stay there!"
[19]: Xian Le Guoshi - advisor to the Xian Le Kingdom. Mei Niang Qing.
Xie Lian knew that there was only one situation where Guoshi would tell him to 'stay there' when he was in the middle of mahjong. Indeed, the next time Guoshi pulled up the table, said, "Let's stop playing, I have something to do so I have to go! Taizi is back! Do you need me for something? "

Turning his head, Xie Lian saw three empty shell people lying on the floor, knowing full well that Guoshi must have been on the verge of losing the game. She guiltily said, "It's not really that important."
However, Guoshi quickly said, "No, no, I saw how hard your face was. It must be something very important! The game can wait, let Weishi [20] help you! "
[20]: Weishi = "I, your teacher". My pronoun for honorable teacher
"... ..."
But when Xie Lian explained why he was here, Guoshi changed his expression. The two of them sat on a rough looking bench as Xie Lian listened to Guoshi lecture him, "It's not an important event. Just birthdays - yet you spend a long time thinking about it, running around, just thinking about such things! "
Xie Lian knew that there was no way for him to explain it to this person, and even if he did, this person would not understand his intentions. He rubbed the space between his eyebrows until they turned red, "I've got the ingredients. I just don't remember how to make the Xian Le Key to Longevity that I got as a child. I'd like to ask Guoshi for advice - you don't have to do anything, I'll make it up myself. "
Guoshi still didn't seem to understand it, saying, "You don't have to prepare any birthday gifts. You even belong to him, what other gift does he want ??? "
"... ..."
His words sound like "you are the best gift yourself", right? Xie Lian really couldn't stand this kind of logic; she didn't even want to think about it, slapping her forehead, thinking,
"I'm not that smart."
Seeing her shake her head in serious protest, Guoshi said, "You really are useless. You, are the only god in heaven who rose three times! Flower Crown Martial God! Xian Le
Taizi! Who at 17 has the courage to declare to the whole world that you will save everyone! At 18 ... "

Xie Lian immediately said, "Guoshi! Stop! Guoshi! Do not say that again! Stop!"
There's nothing to be proud of about this bleak history!
Guoshi looked at her with a complicated expression, looking annoyed that the iron had not been hammered into steel [21], he said, "Taizi Dianxia, you really don't need to underestimate yourself too much."
[21] Upset that Xie Lian hasn't learned his lesson.
Xie Lian, "I'm not looking down on myself, it's just ..."
It's just that, when it comes to people you admire, you naturally want to give them the best in the world. But you always think that you are still not good enough.
Seeing her in such trouble, Guoshi sighed. He put his hand on his sleeve, thought for a moment, "Making the Key to Longevity, right? Wait, I'll think about it. It's been so long, I don't dare say I remember all the crafting and ceremonial procedures. "
Xie Lian, "It doesn't matter. If you don't remember, I'll make it up with the procedure I can remember. With enough faith, it will work. "
Suddenly, Guoshi looked at him, "Why don't you ask him?" [22]
[22] Book spoiler 4. Main character spoiler, but not relevant to this chapter
"... ..."
He did not say the name, but Xie Lian knew who he meant.
Jun Wu was suppressed by Tonglu, deep underground.
After being silent for a while, Xie Lian still shook his head.
After staying in Tonglu for most of the day, Xie Lian returned to Ghost City.
At this time, there were only a few shichens before Hua Cheng's birthday would take place. The ghosts and Xie Lian agreed beforehand that they would pretend nothing happened, and secretly decorate the city. Xie Lian walked into a small shop. Not long after, a group of ghosts also came, anxiously and confusedly asking, "How? How?"

Xie Lian thought that they were almost acting like thieves, "How is your Chengzhu? Did he find anything out of the ordinary? "
The ghosts replied, "No, no. Chengzhu has been inside the Qiandeng Temple [23] all day ". [23] Qiandeng Temple = Temple of a thousand lights / lights
Xie Lian found it a little strange, "All day?"
"Yes! Chengzhu's mood seems quite good today. Uncle... Xie Daozhang, have you prepared a birthday present for Chengzhu? "
Xie Lian felt a little comfortable now, took from his sleeve the Longevity Key he had made so much effort, smiled, "It's ready."
The ghosts celebrate. They talked about how to prepare for tomorrow's birthday celebration when Xie Lian started walking back to Qiandeng temple. Inside, Hua Cheng was, in fact, practicing his handwriting.
To think that without Xie Lian's insistence, Hua Cheng would practice calligraphy on his own - that was truly extremely rare. Looks like he really is in a good mood. Looking at the poor Bahuang brush in his hand that was used to write perverted ugly characters, Xie Lian felt it was a little funny, shaking his head. Hearing that Xie Lian had returned, Hua Cheng put down the brush, releasing him from his agony. She softly smiled, "Gege is back? Great timing, look what I did today. "
Xie Lian smiled, "OK". He walked forward. At that instant, his face froze. He stopped in his tracks, frowning.
Hua Cheng immediately sensed something was amiss. In the next second, he was beside Xie
Lian, "What's wrong?"
Xie Lian's expression immediately returned to normal. "It is okay".
It is nothing. Just now, he felt a slight pain in his heart.
Hua Cheng never let her act carelessly, and walked over to grab her wrist, "Where are you going? Are you hurt again? "

Xie Lian, "No".
This is the truth - he wasn't hurt. The last few days, he had spent running here and there, and he had not encountered anything dangerous. Hua Cheng pondered for a while, and left when he didn't find anything abnormal [24]. Xie Lian also checked himself, but couldn't find anything, thinking that the pain might be just an illusion. He smiled, "Maybe it was a sprained muscle [25] ah. Let me see what you are doing today? "
[24] I believe he checked his pulse in the same way the ancient Chinese doctor examined
them for a person's vital signs. In the drama, they can even check the pulse to detect pregnancy...
[25] Muscle sprains sound like a big deal, but I can't put it into words. Xie Lian's sentence really means, "the tendon or muscle may have sprained somewhere."
Hua Cheng then smiled, taking her hand, "Come here."
Before Xie Lian could answer, his heart suddenly ached again.
This time, it was definitely not an illusion! He clearly felt that, if the first felt like he had been stabbed, the second was a pain like sharp nails. If Hua Cheng accidentally looked away, Xie Lian might not be able to say "It's okay" this time.
Xie Lian didn't want to surprise Hua Cheng for now. After the two of them played around at Qiandeng temple for a while, he found an excuse to go and examine himself more closely.
He put his hand down after that, looking serious.
There was actually nothing wrong with her, otherwise Hua Cheng would know when he grabbed her wrist.
So why did his heart hurt from nowhere?
After pondering, Xie Lian guessed that it might be a curse or some kind of poison, but he wasn't worried - at least, not for now. Hua Cheng's birthday will soon be celebrated. If something happened now, Hua Cheng wouldn't be happy to celebrate, and instead healed his wounds. Xie Lian was used to enduring pain, so it seemed like he had never experienced

things like this before. He decided not to think about it for now, and waited until the day was over before silently healing himself.
At night, because it was almost time, Xie Lian returned to the Qiandeng temple. Hua Cheng was still inside, bored to death, pretending to be serious about practicing his calligraphy as he carelessly scribbled paper and made trash. Xie Lian couldn't help laughing, but before he could laugh he felt his heart ache again. Using her fingers to massage her chest was also useless. He thought, "Looks like this thing is quite strong ... ... I'll hold it a little longer."
He took a deep breath, walked out and said softly, "San Lang? I need your help with something. "
Hua Cheng put down his brush, "What is that?"
Xie Lian, "Please close your eyes."
Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows, but did not ask any further. She closed her eyes. Xie Lian took both hands, smiled, "Follow me."
It's like the opposite of what happened at Yu Jun Mountain. Hua Cheng smiled, "OK".
Xie Lian guided his two hands as they slowly walked to the door. "Be careful with the door frame."
Who knew how long Hua Cheng had been walking around Qiandeng temple - he naturally didn't need to be guided around the buildings. But he still waited for Xie Lian to remind him before lifting his leg. The silver chains on his boots clinked as the two of them exited through the large door, arriving at the main street.
After walking for a while, Xie Lian said, "OK, open your eyes."
Hua Cheng did as he was told. At that moment, his pitch black iris was like a burning candle, shining in an instant.
The streets were covered with lanterns, looking much cleaner than before. It's as if every household is working hard to clean it up, replacing everything that is broken with a new installation. The roof also glowed as if new. The ghosts surrounded them quietly, not daring

to make a sound. As soon as Hua Cheng opened his eyes, they noisily made a fuss, shouting "Happy birthday Chengzhu ah!" Plus a few other mixed phrases such as "May you live a long and happy life together" and "May you give birth to children soon". That's so annoying! Seeing the extremely bad results, Xie Lian slapped his forehead. They had been practicing for so long and successfully synchronized beforehand; why now does it sound messy ?!
Hua Cheng was expressionless, looking almost completely unmoved. He raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing? You guys are annoying to death. "
The ghosts had given up everything they had practiced, saying, "If it's irritating to death, so be it! There's no one here after all, ah! "
Hua Cheng sneered. Turning around, he saw Xie Lian behind him, his hands hidden behind him. "San Lang, I heard ... today is your birthday?"
Hua Cheng looked as if he was waiting for this, crossed his arms and tilted his head. Seeing Xie Lian, he smiled, "Mm. Yes."
Xie Lian gently coughed a few times, then suddenly jumped up, placing the Key of Longevity pendant on Hua Cheng's neck. "This... I made this in a hurry, but I hope you don't mind!" That Key to Longevity was engraved with the same kind of pattern on the vambraces on her wrist - maple leaves, butterflies, beasts, etc. It is very subtle, and contains very strong spiritual power. One could tell from the first glance that it was an extraordinary item. The ghosts exclaimed happily, "Wow! Looks too good! What kind of treasure is this !? "
"Ah! Only Chengzhu is suitable for this kind of treasure! And only treasures like this are a match for Chengzhu! "
Their cheers were blown to the extreme. Xie Lian didn't know whether he wanted to laugh or cry - he became even more nervous, but didn't know if he should ask Hua Cheng what he thought of the gift. Hua Cheng also didn't say anything, but his eyes were very bright, and he seemed to want to smile. He took the key, as if he wanted to speak.
Who knows, at this point, something happened.

Xie Lian's knees suddenly became weak, and he began to fall.
This is so sudden. The cheering ghosts suddenly let out a horrified voice. Hua Cheng's smile immediately faded, quickly catching him before falling. He said, "Gege? What is wrong?"
Xie Lian's face turned pale. He shook his head, forced a smile, "It's nothing ..."
Without finishing his words, his throat closed.
Shit, it's back!
The pain appeared out of nowhere again. And this time, the pain was even worse than
before. It was as if his heart was falling apart.
Xie Lian's luck was bad, but he never expected that this pain would come so suddenly with every pain more painful than the previous one, and even now - at such a bad time!
He was still calm, but the pain continued. It felt as if someone took a walnut nail and slammed it repeatedly into his heart. Xie Lian was in so much pain that he had difficulty breathing. He couldn't lift his head, and his forehead broke out in cold sweat. Hua Cheng's expression changed completely. "Dianxia ?!"
He grabbed Xie Lian's wrist, but couldn't find anything wrong. "Dianxia! Where did you go yesterday?!"
There is fear howling everywhere. Xie Lian opened his mouth, and, as if something had been nailed in his throat, he couldn't even speak.
Hua Cheng's arms embraced him trembling. Seeing Hua Cheng's previously calm face now turn into a face that looked extremely impatient and terrified, Xie Lian's heart felt as if it had been crushed by a large hammer. As if he couldn't take it anymore, he fell unconscious.
Before he lost consciousness, his mind was filled with the words, "I'm sorry."
After all, today was Hua Cheng's birthday.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Lian suddenly woke up. Taking a deep breath, he stared at the ceiling thoughtfully, his mind blurry, "This is... a Qiandeng temple? How can I... fall asleep? "

He slowly got up when suddenly an arm supported him. Hua Cheng's voice was
nearby. "Dianxia?"
Xie Lian raised his head and saw his face. His expression was burning. Xie Lian was startled; just as he was about to speak, he felt an intense pain in his heart again.
This woke him up completely. Its entire body arched, and its fingers were about to claw at its chest with great force as if it wanted to pluck out its own heart. Hua Cheng immediately lowered his wrist, saying, "Dianxia!"
If Hua Cheng didn't act fast, Xie Lian might have actually dug five bloody holes into his chest. Just then, a voice from nearby said, "I think something is wrong here, why don't you let go first!"
Mu Qing is here. Hua Cheng said, "What are we going to do if I let him go and he injures himself ?!"
Feng Xin's voice immediately came, "I'll hold it for you! If we don't hurry up and find out what's wrong, the pain won't stop! "
Xie Lian's body bent, and he felt another hand grabbing his wrist. After hearing this, Hua Cheng's movements stopped, and he let go.
Surprisingly, as soon as he let Xie Lian go, the pain disappeared. Xie Lian can move now, and when he turns around, he sees Feng Xin and Mu Qing standing by the bed. They may be called upon to help. Hua Cheng stood nearby, staring at him.
Seeing him, Xie Lian's pain returned again. Mu Qing, seeing the change in his expression that flashed across his face, said to Hua Cheng, "Stand further! Looks like he feels sick if he
is near you or looks at you! "
Hearing this, Hua Cheng froze, his face looking extremely terrifying. Not knowing what to say, he quickly left, leaving the place. As soon as he disappeared from Xie Lian's sight, the pain in his heart also quickly subsided.

With pain that came and went, Xie Lian had gone completely insane. Taking a deep breath, he spoke with difficulty, "This ... just ... what's going on ah?"
Mu Qing and Feng Xin held him back, stopping him from seeing Hua Cheng. Mu Qing said, "That's our question to you! What is wrong with you? You must have caught something! " Xie Lian, "...... If I caught something, how could I not know?"
Apart from that, Hua Cheng had checked it out too. Mu Qing, "In that case, have you been going anywhere strange these past few days?"
Xie Lian, "Recently, I only went to Tonglu Mountain, and... Guoshi Tomb"
Mu Qing furrowed her brows, "What? Guoshi's Tomb? What is Guoshi's tomb? "
Hua Cheng was standing outside, but he understood, "Fang Xin Guoshi's Tomb?"
Xie Lian, "San Lang, you must enter ..."
Hua Cheng's serious voice came, "Gege has to get well. I'll check it out. "
Xie Lian immediately said, "I'll go too!", But when he got up, he felt so sick that he had to lie down again. She didn't hear Hua Cheng say anything more after that, so she must have left already. Xie Lian wanted to push himself up again. Mu Qing, "I think you should stop running around. Don't walk anymore! "
Xie Lian was held by four hands, struggling, "It's not that I haven't felt pain before. I will get used to it after a while. " Just because she was in pain, didn't mean she would let that stop her from seeing Hua Cheng ah.
However, Mu Qing said, "You are willing to endure pain, but your San Lang definitely doesn't want it."
Xie Lian was shocked. She thought about how Hua Cheng's face looked the moment before she passed out, then thought about how Hua Cheng would look when she realized she would be in pain every time she approached him. His breath stopped and his heart ached, his face immediately turned pale. Feng Xin and Mu Qing both looked at him. Stunned, Feng Xin said, "Didn't Xueyu Tanhua [26] leave already? Why is he still in pain? "

[26] Xueyu Tanhua = 血雨 探花 - the rain of blood reaches the flowers
Mu Qing was very sharp-minded, "Are you thinking about it now?"
Xie Lian grit his teeth, endured the pain for a while before forcefully replying, "What... is that... I can't even think about it?"
Mu Qing, "Don't think. The more you think, the more you suffer. I'll get water for you. " Xie Lian didn't even have the strength to shake his head. Mu Qing got up to pour water on him, and he closed his eyes, barely calming his heart. But the calmer his heart, the more
worried he became. She didn't know what kind of curse was attached to her so neither she nor Hua Cheng could figure out what it was. To think that Hua Cheng would go alone to find out, Xie Lian wasn't sure. At this time, Mu Qing gave him a cup of tea.
It was a snow white tea glass. Hua Cheng used it last night. Thinking of this, Xie Lian's face once again ran out of color, and he lied without a word. With one glance Mu Qing could tell to whom his mind had flown back. With the teacup still in his hand, Mu Qing's face darkened, "Why does everything remind you of him? Do you want to die ?! "
Xie Lian, "...... how could I possibly control it?"
If 'not thinking about someone' was something as easy to do as the people in this world said, that would frustrate anyone even more.
Mu Qing, "I'm going to knock it down. Save him from trying to control his mind. "
However, being Xie Lian's former subordinate, Feng Xin would absolutely not beat Xie Lian. Of course, he would not allow others to hit Xie Lian around him. He immediately said, "No! You'd better talk to him more, distract him, so he'll stop thinking about Xueyu Tanhua.
"
Mu Qing, "What can I talk to him about? As if he wouldn't start thinking about Xueyu Tanhua regardless of what I said? Make him pass out better! "

Feng Xin, "You can't hit him! He couldn't think of anything else if we all played Chengyu Jielong [27], right? I bet he can't. I'll start, 'Shoubi nanshan (Age as long as the southern mountain)'! "
[27] Chengyu Jielong: Dictionary says: a game in which the last word of one Chinese idiom (chengyu) is the first word of the next. Each chengyu usually comes in four words. In the previous translation the name was the Idiom Train. Sort of like Shiritori
Mu Qing really hated this game, but he still played the next round sadly, "...... 'Shanqiong
Shui'e (barren mountains, ferocious waters) [28]'. "
[28] To describe an inhospitable environment
There is nothing Xie Lian can do. Weakly continued, "...... 'E'zi duoju' (Violence purple replaces red truth) [29]......"
[29] Describes something evil that has replaced something good, or is presented as something good. Confucius hated purple and liked red, associating the color with bad and good characters
When she finished her turn, she curled up again. Mu Qing was confused, "How could this make you think about it? It's not even connected! "
Xie Lian thought, how could it not be related? Red. Red. Dark red clothes. If he thought of the crimson clothes, how could he not think of Hua Cheng?
Because he was so tormented, he couldn't take it anymore. With a burst of strength, he struggled free from the two holding him back, and rolled off the bed with a "bam"
sound. Feng Xin and Mu Qing knew he had tremendous explosive power, so they were
trying to strengthen their own strength. But even that wasn't enough to endure it. Seeing him run away, the two of them rushed to subdue him, but Xie Lian gave them a slap which sent them back to the ground, unable to get up. Mu Qing lifted her head, saw Xie Lian escape through the door. "Where are you going? Do not run!"

But Xie Lian was already running as fast as he could. He pulled two exquisite dice from his sleeve, threw them, and clumsily rushed through a door.
Hua Cheng once said, if Xie Lian wanted to see him, he would meet him no matter what number he got from the dice. Rushing through the door, Xie Lian didn't even know where the dice would take him, but as soon as he fell through the door, he fell into someone's arms. Hua Cheng's voice came from above his head, slightly surprised, "Dianxia!"
Xie Lian quickly held onto it, as if afraid that he would disappear. "San Lang! Do not go. I
want to stay with you ... "
Hua Cheng seemed like he wanted to hug her right away, but her arms froze
halfway. Barely holding back, he said, "Dianxia, come back. Your pain will get worse. "
But Xie Lian gritted his teeth, hugged him even harder, his voice trembled, "If it hurts, then it doesn't matter !!!"
Hua Cheng, "Dianxia!"
If she was just sitting elsewhere, dying from the thought of Hua Cheng, then why not die in pain while tightly hugging Hua Cheng. The more it hurt, the tighter his arms were around it. Xie Lian's head was covered in sweat, his words intermittent, "Wait for me. Only a while. I will be fine. I'll get used to this. I'm really good at enduring pain. If you are beside me, I can endure the pain. If you leave, then...... I really can't stand it...... "
Hearing this, Hua Cheng was shocked for a long time. He quietly spoke, "Dianxia ah ......" His voice was mixed with sighing and pain, and he looked even more tormented than Xie Lian. Xie Lian held him, waiting for the unbearable torment to pass.
As he calmed his breath, a voice came from behind, "This thing was forged using your mask, right?"
In the middle of his dizzy head, Xie Lian had just realized where they were. It was a lonely and sinister tomb - Guoshi's tomb that he had visited two days ago. The person standing behind them, and looking tall, was Lang Qianqiu.

When Xie Lian first arrived, he was already delirious, so he didn't see a third person
here. Realizing it now, naturally he couldn't feel embarrassed. At this time, Feng Xin and Mu Qing also caught up. Mu Qing had just been slapped by him so hard that he couldn't get up from the floor, and was so angry that the green veins on his forehead might never disappear. He shouted, "What are you running for? Two people, four hands - can't stop
you! —- What's in the purgatory of this place? It's like a tomb! "
Feng Xin also looked around, "This is a funeral, right? The tomb someone had dug
before. So this is Fang Xin Guoshi's grave? " He looked at Lang Qianqiu. Stunned, Feng Xin said, "Why is Taihua Dianxia [30] here too?"
[30] Taihua Dianxia = Lang QianQiu, prince of Yong'an Kingdom
Lang Qianqiu didn't look too good, answering, "I felt something strange going on at the Guoshi Tomb, so I came to take a look".
He came to see her, and happened to run into Hua Cheng and Xie Lian. He pondered something, did not bother to say hello or explain further. Looking at Xie Lian, he asked again, "Did you use that silver mask to fake the Key to Longevity? Did you come two days ago and take the mask? "
Hesitating, Xie Lian nodded.
When he was in the Yong'an Kingdom which was designated as Guoshi long ago, he always wore a silver mask. The silver on the mask was extremely rare, being crafted from half a jin [31] demon silver. It didn't just cover her face - its true strength was that it could reflect spells and protect them. After Fang Xin Guoshi "died", the mask was buried with him,
placed in the same coffin.
[31] 1 jin = 0.5 kg
To give someone a gift, it must be something very precious to itself. Xie Lian thought very hard, and finally remembered that he once possessed a treasure like this. It was very useful, and had helped her several times. He liked the mask, but didn't take it with him when he

crawled out of the coffin, so he rushed to Guoshi's Tomb in the middle of the night, dug up his own grave, and got the mask back. He melted the mask into silver metal again, and faked it back into the Key to Longevity Self-Protection.
Everyone had strange expressions. After all, no one had ever visited Guoshi's Tomb - the weeds had grown several feet tall. Even though he came back, Xie Lian didn't even sweep the tomb, and instead dug up his own tomb ...... no one else could do something like that! After a moment of embarrassment of silence, Xie Lian saw Lang Qianqiu's strange
expression, explaining, "I didn't take that mask from your family. I used the silver demon I subdued to forge... "
If it was something that belonged to the Yong'an imperial family, he absolutely wouldn't melt it down and turn it into Hua Cheng's birthday present. He had no idea that Lang Qianqiu still occasionally visited Guoshi's Tomb - he thought that after burying him, Lang Qianqiu would leave and never care about this tomb again. If he had known, he would at least have put the excavated earth back into his tomb so that Lang Qianqiu wouldn't be shocked enough to check what happened.
Lang Qianqiu stared blankly, then angrily said, "I'm not angry about that!"
Hua Cheng stared at him, his eyes a little cold. Lang Qianqiu's face flashed a terrified expression. When Xie Lian saw the silver key, he suddenly frowned as if he was thinking of something.
Looking at Lang Qianqiu, he realized that he had the same expression. Hua Cheng naturally took notice. "The problem is in this lock, right? Dianxia, do you know what that is? "
Xie Lian does have a clue. He could guess what was going on, but didn't know how to say. However, Lang Qianqiu spoke up on his behalf, his face turning blue.
He said, "It was himself".
Hua Cheng coldly said, "What do you mean?"
Xie Lian frantically interrupted, "Qianqiu!"

Lang Qianqiu looked at him, but continued, "After the Liujin Banquet, I brought him here." Xie Lian, "Stop talking".
Lang Qianqiu looked at him, and stopped talking, maybe because he didn't know how to explain next either. But even if he didn't speak, the other people present were able to continue his explanation.
After the Liujin Banquet, Yong'an Taizi Lang Qianqiu arrested Fang Xin Guoshi [32]. In retaliation, he nailed her to the coffin alive. The coffin is located in a lonely countryside, and
everyone is forbidden from visiting his grave to pay their respects. Of course, not many people would come to visit.
[32] The over-romanization may be confusing: After the banquet, Lang Qian Qiu captured Xie Lian, who was the head priest, and nailed him to a living coffin.
At that moment, when the walnut nail pierced Xie Lian's heart, the blood from him stained the silver mask he was wearing. The evil energy from the silver demon absorbed the blood - even if it left its body, it never died. And when Xie Lian returned to dig his own tomb and took the mask to make the Key to Longevity, he woke up the blood, and the blood returned to his body.
No wonder why when Hua Cheng and himself checked his vitals, they couldn't feel anything extraordinary - the source of the problem was his body - his own blood. Of course they couldn't detect it as strange!
Hua Cheng moved. Xie Lian couldn't see his expression clearly, frantically enduring it. "San Lang!"
Lang Qianqiu killed him for revenge. Emperor Yong'an did indeed die at his hands, and in return, he was nailed to the coffin. Xie Lian's breath shortened. And once again his heart ached, he groaned and couldn't take it anymore. Hua Cheng's expression turned
fiery. "Dianxia?"

Lang Qianqiu hesitated, seeing that Xie Lian's face was as white as paper, he asked, "I... do you need my help?"
Xie Lian knew that he was going to ask, quickly answering, "It's okay, it's okay. I don't need your help, Qianqiu. It's none of your business, and it's not your problem. I'm just
clumsy. You don't have to get yourself involved in this matter. "
Mu Qing also thought that Lang Qianqiu, as the victim's family and the culprit in this scenario, was in a somewhat awkward place. He said, "Indeed. Taihua Dianxia you don't
have to be responsible for her. Go home. "
A moment passed quietly before Lang Qianqiu answered, "OK".
Even though he said 'okay', he still didn't leave. No one else could care about that, because Xie Lian was in such pain at the threshold of his body falling on the floor. However, even in her current state, she embraced Hua Cheng in a deathly grip, unwilling to let her go. Feng Xin said, "Let's solve this problem first! ... Dianxia? How are you??"
Xie Lian is still fighting tooth and nail. After the "ka" sound came from elsewhere, he fell silent. Her face was covered in cold sweat as she was in Hua Cheng's embrace, motionless. Hua Cheng hugged her firmly, her voice calm, "OK, Dianxia. The pain has stopped, hasn't it? "
It was then that everyone realized that in his hand was crystalline silver powder. The Longevity Key that he cherished and wore near his heart had disappeared.
If the Key to Longevity is destroyed, then Xie Lian's blood that has been dyed with evil energy will also be calm. So Hua Cheng held onto the Key to Longevity and gently crushed it
into pieces.
Lian Xie's breath returns to normal. Tilting her head, she could see sparkling silver seeping through Hua Cheng's fingers. He looked at Hua Cheng, and for some reason, his heart hurt a little again.
He muttered, "Mm ... it doesn't hurt anymore".

After finally releasing his curse, Xie Lian bid farewell to Feng Xin, Mu Qing, Lang Qianqiu and the others. Together with Hua Cheng, they walked slowly towards Ghost City.
As the two of them walked side by side, Xie Lian's face felt hot during their journey home. This was Feng Xin and Mu Qing's fault.
Just before their two groups parted ways, Feng Xin wiped her sweat and asked, "So why is Dianxia being like this every time she sees Xueyu Tanhua? What's with that evil
blood? Does that blood want him to suffer? "
Xie Lian himself knew exactly why. Hearing her ask this question, she interrupted, "Don't think too deeply about this!"
Feng Xin suspiciously asked, "Why can't you think more deeply? What if this happens again? At least we have to understand why. "
Mu Qing snorted, "Can't you see? The blood had left his body for years. After returning to its original body, the blood needed to readjust, so it did all those strange things. If her heart is calm, then she will be fine... "
However, if his heart was restless and his heart rate increased, the blood would become excited and cause him excruciating pain. This will bring him back to life from the pain of having a walnut nail stabbed through his heart.
Xie Lian could not tell Hua Cheng's expression at that moment, but he could only think that he would lose face in front of Hua Cheng for the rest of his life.
What Mu Qing was trying to say was - didn't that just mean that every time he saw or thought about Hua Cheng, his heart would race with madness? So that's why he's in so
much pain!
Thinking of this, Xie Lian's heart beat even faster.
Fortunately, no matter how fast his heart beats now, he won't be in pain. Hua Cheng, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, "Dianxia." Xie Lian immediately replied, "What's wrong?"

Hua Cheng, "How long were you in the tomb?"
Xie Lian was shocked. He replied, "I don't remember it clearly."
After all, it was for a very, very long time. So long that he didn't even want to count. Pain, hunger, loss of blood, hallucinations. At first he didn't want to move, but then he regretted it, and violently hit the casket to crush it and escape. But finally he allowed himself to sink back into the boundless darkness.
It was not as strong as the unavoidable pain, cursed from being stabbed a hundred times by
the sword. But it was a persistent pain that seemed to last forever.
He sighed. Hua Cheng immediately asked, "What's wrong Dianxia? Are you still in pain? " Xie Lian shook his head. After a while, he sadly said, "San Lang, I'm sorry ah."
Hua Cheng asked, "Why are you apologizing to me?"
Quitting in his footsteps, Xie Lian said, "Today is your birthday. I want you to celebrate well, but instead make you waste your birthday by trying to break the curse. "
She originally hoped to endure it until the birthday ended, but in the end she couldn't.
Xie Lian, "Even the gifts I have prepared for you must be destroyed to destroy my curse".
In fact, it had to be crushed by Hua Cheng's own hands. Thinking about this from the start, Xie Lian thought that today was not good at all. He felt very sad.
However, Hua Cheng said softly, "Dianxia."
He stopped his steps, "I have got the gift you gave me."
Xie Lian was surprised, "What did I give you?"
Please don't say something like 'you are the best gift', it will be even more embarrassing.
Hua Cheng looked at her, speaking in a low voice, "Dianxia said, even if it gives you pain, you still want to see me. Even if it hurts you, you don't want to leave. "
"... ..."
Hua Cheng, "I'm happy" .

Thinking back to when he grabbed Hua Cheng and stated those words, Xie Lian cleared his throat, pretending to naturally cover his own face. However Hua Cheng suddenly grabbed her, hugged her tightly.
Shocked, Xie Lian pressed down on his chest, hearing it tremble as he spoke in a low voice. Hua Cheng, "Really, I'm so happy."
I'm very happy too, Xie Lian thought.
In the hundreds of years that have passed, even if it was painful, Hua Cheng never thought
of giving up on him.
Xie Lian, who had realized this, was certainly the one who felt the happiest.
Hua Cheng, "But even if I'm happy, I don't want to see you endure such pain again."
The two of them return to Ghost Town. The ghosts there felt so anxious all day long. Seeing the two of them return peacefully, they immediately changed from turbulent to celebrating hastily. Hua Cheng remained the same, did not care to care, and entered the Qiandeng temple with Xie Lian. But when they went inside, they found that there was more to the inside. Hua Cheng, "Who put all this here?"
Xie Lian looked - inspecting the items, he said, "Eh? They look like gifts? This one is from Yushi Daren [33] right, fresh produce like this... This is from QingXuan? ...... This must be from General Pei...... "
[33] Daren = honorable title for official.
He looked at it all for a moment, smiling, "San Lang, this is a birthday present to demon king Gexia [34] ah."
[34] Gexia = honorable title for someone in power.
While he didn't mention whose birthday was coming when he'd spent the past few days asking for advice on what birthday gifts to get, everyone could guess who it would be. On the other hand, Hua Cheng had absolutely no interest, "Don't look, Gege. Throw everything away later. They take up space. "

Looks like he really intends to make someone throw it away. Xie Lian quickly said, "Why don't we save it? They send their salute, ah... Wait, why are they here, who brought
him ??? " Xie Lian could see seductive potions and pills containing children among the piles of gifts. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, tossing it aside as if it were a sweet potato burning a hand. Hua Cheng seemed to be interested in these things, taking it to be seen, "What is this?"
Xie Lian quickly blocked his path, "Nothing good at all! Do not see!"
In the end, after a moment of conflict, Xie Lian gave Hua Cheng a handmade belt to replace the Key to Longevity.
When Hua Cheng saw him, he laughed until he could barely breathe - even though the ghost never needed to breathe in the first place. After all, he hugged her and kissed her for a while, praised her endlessly, praised Xie Lian until she felt embarrassed, lying on the bed pretending to be dead.
What made Xie Lian want to pretend to be dead even more was, the next day, Hua Cheng actually put it on, getting ready to leave as if nothing was wrong. When Xie Lian saw that, he almost fainted, immediately got off the bed and clung to him. He begged her half a day before Hua Cheng forcefully promised to turn the belt over so that the side with the embroidery would be hidden from the public. Xie Lian had actually barely escaped the fate of having his handicrafts publicly humiliated.
But because Hua Cheng made what happened that day a big problem, heaven and purgatory all know that Xie Lian passed out from the pain on his birthday. Once they
learned the reason behind it all, heaven and purgatory now all knew that Xie Lian had fallen deeply in love with Xueyu Tanhua. At least, this is the last word of the story.