Heya! Sorry for updating late. I was quite busy this past few weeks so I couldn't really focus on writing :(
Ch.53: Truth or Deception; Difficult to Discern 3
Xie Lian shouted, "Qi Rong, you shut your mouth!"
"Too late for that, your highness." Pei Ming said even if said prince wasn't present at the moment. "The cat's out of the bag."
Lang Qianqiu turned his head angrily, "Why does he have to shut up? Because what he said is the truth?? In that Gilded Banquet, you and An Le both struck; one killed my entire family, and the other finished the blow to my father. You're all lying to me?!"
"To be fair, your father wanted to kill his people so he's excused." Qing Xuan said.
Xie Lian responded hurriedly, "Don't listen to–" Qi Rong cut in, "OF COURSE IT'S ALL A LIE! You're so stupid, if not you, then who else do we deceive? If not for some rando spoiling our plans, Xianle would've already taken your fucking life at the age of twelve, instead of giving you the luxury to grow up and ascend!"
Many winced.
"Twelve? That young? How can anyone be so cruel to want to kill a kid?" Pei Su said with a frown.
'I wonder who.' He Xuan thought while casting a glance at Wu Du who remained unaware.
"Twelve?" Lang Qianqiu repeated. The biggest thing that happened when he was twelve was that kidnapping, saved by Xie Lian. He demanded, "That year, the muggers who intruded the palace to kidnap me was sent by the people of Xianle?"
"Congratulations, you finally grew a fucking brain." Qi Rong sneered.
"Look who's talking." Feng Xin murmured.
"Duh!" Qi Rong clicked his tongue, "Did you think any ordinary assassins can just kidnap the Crown Prince from hundreds of royal guards? Please. I was the one who helped An Le on that."
"I mean, that's true." Yushi Huang said. "Without any help from the inside, no one could come close to you."
"...I know." Qian Qiu mumbled, feeling stupid for trusting someone like An Le.
Lang Qianqiu nodded, "Helped? Good. I understand. So my friends are all fake. The people of Xianle never cared for our amity. Your Prince An Le never possessed good intentions, and instead came for our lives."
"Your ancestors were the one who started the war, though." Mu Qing bluntly stated.
He turned to Xie Lian, "So, everything you told me was false too."
Qi Rong pretended to look surprised, "Come, come, come, hurry and let me hear what my saintly cousin told you!"
Many looked curious as to what the prince told Qian Qiu considering that he was the child of his country's enemy.
Lang Qianqiu ignored him and continued to address Xie Lian, "You said YongAn and Xianle were but one nation at their roots; whatever conflicts the royals had with each other had nothing to do with civilians. Both sides used to be one family, and under our generation's rule, there could be changes for the better. As long as the people were happy, it didn't matter what the royal house was named, and both sides could let go of their grudge and unite in time. All that was false. All nonsense, bullshit, lies!"
"Bwahahaha, that really is something my saintly cousin would say!" Qi Rong immediately burst out laughing.
"Sigh, he really is too optimistic in life." Wu Du said with a sigh. "That, or he's just extremely foolish and failed to see the rebellious nature of his country."
"Probably neither." Feng Xin murmured. "He probably hoped it would come true and removed all the obstacles in that stupid prince's way, even if it's his own descendants."
This was what Xie Lian didn't want to hear the most. He cried immediately, "No! It's not false! Think: under your rule, weren't there real changes?"
Lang Qianqiu closed his mouth, his breath held.
The Qian Qiu of the room also looked on with held breath, wanting to hear from his mentor's own mouth that his efforts weren't in vain and that he did good. After all, no matter what happens, his guoshi was one who never lies so hearing him praise Qian Qiu would be like freeing him from his self doubt and hate.
Xie Lian continued, "Didn't you do really well? Didn't the remnant citizens of Xianle integrate peacefully with the people of YongAn? There were less and less conflicts and riots, so how could any of it be false?"
The dull look in Qian Qiu's eyes brightened a little, realizing that what his guoshi said was true before tears ran down his face.
'Guoshi,' he thought with a broken heart. 'how can you still praise me after everything I did? I don't deserve it. I don't deserve you.'
There was a moment of silence, and tears rolled down Lang Qianqiu's cheeks, "But... but what about my parents? YongAn and Xianle uniting was their greatest wish, that's why they granted the princely title "An Le" to your last royal bloodline. Their wish came true, but what of their end?"
Qi Rong clicked his tongue, "What a whiny crybaby, just like my saintly cousin once upon a time! You came crying for your old man, old hag; I haven't even fucking harassed your ancestors for MY old man and old hag!
"So even the green ghost cares about his family." Pei Ming said as Qi Rong just scoffed.
Fucking uniting YongAn and Xianle was their wish? What pretty words. An Le, An Le, settle first, joy after; you think I can't tell it means you YongAn dogs want to walk all over the heads of Xianle for the rest of our lives?"
Xie Lian yelled angrily, "QI RONG, STOP YOUR MADNESS!"
"My madness, huh, it seems like my cousin crown prince has forgotten his own people." Qi Rong mocked with a slightly bitter tone. He knew his cousin was a peace-loving person, it was why he respected him as a child. But now, when their country was in ruins, he still strive to be good? Qi Rong finally realized that his cousin wasn't good-hearted, just a foolish child who didn't get to face reality until now.
Really, reality should slap him in the face.
Lang Qianqiu on the other hand, glared at Qi Rong, tears still falling from his eyes, "You're the mastermind behind the massacre of my clan? And you're part of the plot behind the Gilded Banquet too?"
Qi Rong snickered, "Yes, I'm part of it. An Le was part of it too. And your master! Us three people of Xianle all made part. Hahahahaha..."
Qian Qiu flinched, his fists curling into a ball. He really wanted to make the ghost shut up but found himself unable to move. He quickly looked accusingly at Lynn, only to realize that it wasn't her but him. His legs wouldn't move because he was too shock at the news he was receiving.
'Damn it.' he thought frustratingly. 'Why do I fail at all the simple things?'
Suddenly, halfway through his laugh, Lang Qianqiu's longsword abruptly swung down and struck. Qi Rong yelped, and his person was sliced into two!
"More!" many demanded, blood-thirsty as some closed their eyes, not wanting to see the bloody scene.
Qi Rong didn't care as he just let out a laugh. "It looks like you didn't learn my cousin's patience."
'Did he forget how the prince punched him?' Ling Wen thought with a raised brow.
It was an exceedingly gory scene, both halves of his bodies were rolling around the ground, and his upper body cried, "IT' DOESN'T HURT! IT DOESN'T HURT! IT DOESN'T HURT ONE BIT! COMPARED TO THAT PUNCH FROM COUSIN CROWN PRINCE, YOU'RE NOTHING! HAHAHAHHAHAHA!"
"Of course he isn't anything." Hua Cheng scoffed. "He's a weakling compared to gege."
"Everyone is compared to his highness." Pei Su said, earning a nod of approval from the red ghost.
Lang Qianqiu didn't say a word, grabbed him by the head and picked it up. Qi Rong was still spouting insults, but Xie Lian had noticed something off with Lang Qianqiu's expression and said hurriedly, "Qi Rong, stop talking if you value your life!"
Qi Rong stubbornly ignored the sudden tinge of pain in his heart. It seems that even after centuries of not talking, there is still a small part of him that loves his...cousin.
Xie Lian always treated others with kind respect, yet Qi Rong was someone that couldn't be faced normally; he knew this, so every time he faced him, Xie Lian didn't want to be polite at all, and unconsciously became rude himself.
"Aww, I feel special." Qi Rong said dryly.
"You better appreciate it." Hua Cheng said darkly.
Lang Qianqiu dragged Qi Rong's upper body and came to the giant boiling, bubbling cauldron. "Do you usually use this cauldron to cook humans?"
Having been dragged around, Qi Rong's bloodied carcass drew a thick trail of blood on the ground, "Yea, so?"
"Are you stupid? Isn't it obvious that he plans on throwing you there?" Yin Yu asked incredulously.
"So?" was Qi Rong's reply.
Without another word, Lang Qianqiu let go of his hold.
"AAAAAAHHHH HAHAHAHAHA —"
It was hard to discern whether if Qi Rong was screaming or laughing, and the moment he was dropped into that cauldron, his flesh was instantly burnt and boiled to mush.
Many looked surprised that Qian Qiu had the audacity and courage to brutally throw someone, even if it's a ghost, in the cauldron. It was understandable, though, considering the things the ghost did.
Xie Lian had not expected this development; his pupils shrank and he blurted, "QIANQIU!"
"Tch." Mu Qing scowled, not understanding how the prince could care for such a disgusting person, both dead and alive.
I̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶a̶s̶e̶,̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶e̶p̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶a̶f̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶?̶
Lang Qianqiu responded sharply, "What? How many people has the Green Ghost Qi Rong eaten? We can't teach him what it feels like to be cooked? He's the enemy that murdered my clan, am I not allowed to make him suffer???"
"Careful with who you direct your anger at, prince." Feng Xin, Mu Qing, and Hua Cheng simultaneously said with dark gazes.
Of course he could. So, Xie Lian couldn't say anything, and he also had no right to say anything. Yet, no matter as the Crown Prince of a mortal kingdom, or the martial god of the east of heaven, Lang Qianqiu had never done a thing such as this. He had always been straightforward in fights and never used any cruelty. These actions were far from the Lang Qianqiu Xie Lian knew.
"Is he forgetting the fact that the Lang Qian Qiu literally buried him alive?" Mu Qing asked with a frown.
"To be fair, he probably believed that the prince would die in less than a week." Yushi Huang said.
"Still doesn't excuse him for burying someone alive!" Qing Xuan added in anger on behalf of her friend.
After being thrown into the boiling water, after a while when Qi Rong was fished up, his body no longer retained the shape of human, and instead resembled a melted lump of skin and flesh, bones poking out in some areas, terrifying to behold. Yet he seemed quite pleased and was still guffawing, "Congratulations, cousin! Look at your good disciple! His wings have hardened! He's cruel and knows how to torture now!"
"Yuck." Ban Yue said, gazing at the screen with disgust before Pei Su covered her eyes.
"No need to watch this part." he said with the girl nodding in agreement, letting him cover her eyes obediently.
Lang Qianqiu released his hold again, and Qi Rong was once again submerged into the bubbling cauldron. This time when he was dropped, it seemed even his bones were dissolved by the boiling liquid. Qi Rong didn't float up again, and only remnants of some green cloths emerged on the surface. After a while, having still not seen his shadow, Xie Lian couldn't help but call out, "Qi Rong!"
No one reacted anymore, knowing that the prince will always care. He had a big heart, too big in other people's opinion.
His younger cousin, who once upon a time couldn't shut up about his cousin the Crown Prince, had idolized him and praised him for everything he did. However, after the fall of Xianle, he had turned into a madman completely. He led the burning of his temples, the desecration of his palaces, and commissioned the kneeling Crown Prince statues everywhere, affixing them as thresholds. To make Xie Lian suffer, he could do anything. Xie Lian had done his best to put up with that behaviour, and if it involved others, he'd do his best to obstruct; until finally when he could no longer tolerate it, he could only keep away and practice out of sight, out of mind.
Many glared at the green ghost again.
"The audacity." Yizhen said with disappointment. "Should have just fought head on instead of being a coward and doing underhanded methods."
Afterwards, they'd lost touch for many years, and Xie Lian thought Qi Rong had passed away.
"He technically did." Qing Xuan said cheekily.
Who knew that after so long he would suddenly meet a figure of the past and see that face that so resembled his. He really couldn't tell whether if there was any feelings of nostalgia or remorse. After all, the only ones left from the royal house of Xianle were them two. But they hadn't even seen each other for that long before he died before him, and he was even cruelly killed by a Lang Qianqiu who couldn't even use wooden rods to punish. So much happened in such a short period of time, Xie Lian hadn't even sorted the thoughts in his head, his heart a mess.
Qi Rong stubbornly refuses to show how deeply the words on the screen affected him as he started feeling slight regret on what he did for his cousin. After all, no matter what he did, his cousin never tried killing him. In fact, he even just endured it silently.
'Such a foolish person.' he thought, his usual malice gone.
Lang Qianqiu stood next to the cauldron with his head lowered, unspeaking. Just then, Hua Cheng spoke up, "He didn't die."
Lang Qianqiu raised his head to look at him. Hua Cheng continued, "You don't think this is actually revenge? You only killed one of his many clones. If you want to exterminate him completely, you need to find his ashes."
'Really, Hua-chenzhu?' Yin Yu thought, feeling that his boss was petty towards the green ghost for still having some affection left from his highness.
"Thanks for reminding me," Lan Qianqiu said coldly, "I will definitely capture him with my own hands and use his ashes to pay respects to my esteemed father and mother. When that happens, I will come and tie things up with you. Guoshi, don't you dare think about running away!"
"I'm sure I won't harm him." Qian Qiu assured the glaring eyes. "I probably just meant it in the way that we need to talk and understand the entire story because it still wasn't complete."
The amount of eyes glaring at him lessened but there are some remaining ones.
'He's starting to become an obstacle for Xian Le.' Jun Wu thought.
As he ended his words, he gripped his longsword and struck, slashing the cauldron, and turned abruptly to walk away. Boiling water spilled from the cauldron, and liquid filled with slithers of bones poured onto the ground. Xie Lian wanted to chase after him, but he knew that it wouldn't be of use.
"Yes, don't chase after me, Goushi." Qian Qiu agreed. "I need to calm down first."
He braked in his step and stopped, standing still, unable to speak. Hua Cheng approached him, "He just found out the truth, so it's better to let him be by himself and cool down."
Xie Lian was dumbfounded, "Why must he know the truth? Was the truth that important?"
"It is." Qian Qiu answered although he knew his guoshi wouldn't hear him. "At least I now know who really killed my parents and my sin against you."
"You know apologizing isn't enough." Hua Cheng said.
"I know." Qian Qiu said while bowing his head. "I'm willing to do whatever to earn his forgiveness."
'Help me get together with him and I'll forgive you or leave our sights forever.' Hua Cheng immediately thought but didn't say, knowing it wasn't his place to.
"Very important." Hua Cheng replied, "He needed to know what was done by you and what wasn't, and why you had to do what you did."
Xie Lian whipped around in a fit and said coldly, "What's the use of knowing everything so clearly? Would I be any more blameless if I killed less people? Would things be less hard??"
"Of course it does change things." Yushi Huang said. "You don't deserve the anger he had for you."
Hua Cheng didn't respond. A burst of anger rolled up from Xie Lian's chest, and he didn't even know who to be mad at. He blurted, "And what shitty hardship have I experienced? His majesty the king father had always wanted to integrate the two clans, did I not kill him? Prince An Le was the last to my family's bloodline, did I not kill him? No matter what it's all my fault, so if all the blame goes to me what's wrong with that? What's there to be afraid of? Whatever comes at me, I can't die anyway! I did this. I bring misfortune. And now I've brought it to Prince An Le, to Qi Rong, and to everyone in Xianle. Is it not better to hate one instead of all? Must he think that everything I taught him was false, and nothing more than empty bullshit???"
Many winced at his words, feeling it echo in their hearts as they realized the depth of self-hate the prince had on himself and how selfless he can be.
"What happened to him that made him like this?" Qing Xuan asked no one in particular, tears falling from her eyes before she leaned closer to He Xuan for comfort. "Hey, Ming Yi, isn't he too cruel on himself?"
"...He is." He Xuan agreed awkwardly, doing his best to ignore the body heat of Qing Xuan.
Some really wanted to know who, why or what happened that caused the prince to become like this, accepting the blame when he was innocent.
Hua Cheng watched him quietly and didn't argue. The two stared at each other, and suddenly Xie Lian covered his face with his hands, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, San Lang. I've gone mad. I'm sorry."
Hua Cheng's gaze softened. 'You're never at fault, gege. I'm actually glad I was able to help you release your feelings that you've been bottling up for so long.'
"It's nothing. It's my fault." Hua Cheng said.
"They're very similar." Ban Yue noticed. "Both selfless and willing to blame themselves for something they didn't do."
"No, you're not at fault. This is my problem." Xie Lian slumped to the ground, holding his head, "What a mess. What a disastrous mess."
Qian Qiu once again felt guilty for making his guoshi suffer and vowed to stop acting like a brat in front of him.
After a moment, Hua Cheng sat down next to him, "You weren't wrong."
Xie Lian held his head and said nothing. Hua Cheng continued, "The YongAn king was killed to protect the remaining people of Xianle. Prince An Le was killed to prevent the two clans from fighting. In the end, to die in the hands of Lang Qianqiu, the murderer faced justice. Three lives exchanged centuries of peace, it's worth it. If it was me I would've done the same. Listen to me."
His voice was firm with no room for doubt. "You weren't wrong. No one could've done it better than you."
Feng Xin and Mu Qing, who both wanted to find faults on the ghost, found themselves once again lost at how...perfect he was to Xie Lian. The two looked at each other and, for the first time in forever, agreed to have a truce in order to learn whether he deserves to be their prince's...ugh...lo...lover or not.
Xie Lian was quiet. After some time he finally said, "I just don't think it's right."
He slowly lifted his face, "I just don't think it's right for someone to have been kind but received a bad end."
'Ironic coming from you.' Lynn thought.
"Even if it's fake, I wanted Qianqiu to remember that his benevolence to Xianle would be reciprocated. Doing the right thing will open endless paths. Not like now, where he thinks everything I told him, everything he believed in, were all false, lies, deception. That everything was goddamn bullshit! I just..."
Qian Qiu released a heavy breath, tears still streaming down his face.
'I really don't deserve to stand in a position similar to you.' he thought bitterly. 'Is it too late to leave?'
He raised his right hand, and said while looking at it, "...I don't want to see anyone go through what I've gone through."
Many focused, wondering if they'll learn something the prince experienced.
Hua Cheng listened silently. Xie Lian felt self-conscious about the vulgar words he used and apologized again, "I'm sorry. But look how incredibly silly things are in this world. The first few generations of YongAn rule was filled with violence and cruelty, but none died in tragedy. When it came to Lang Qianqiu's parents, all they wanted was to do some good, do something great, but ended the way they did."
"General Hua really should look at a mirror and see that his words should also be said to him." Ban Yue said. "I've never seen anyone as good as him yet he suffered for so long."
She then glared at Jun Wu. "You people don't deserve hi-"
Pei Su immediately covered her mouth, not wanting her to offend the emperor and get herself killed.
"I apologize, your majesty." Pei Su said seriously with a bow. "She didn't mean it."
"It's fine." Jun Wu waved it off, appearing kind. "What she said was true, the heavens don't deserve Xian Le."
'And you think he deserves you?' Lynn mocked in her head.
The king of YongAn honoured him as the Guoshi, and treated him with the utmost respect. Even at the end of his life, he passed on without any signs of that trust dispersing.
"Because he doesn't know your true identity." Pei Ming said. "f you revealed yourself before, do you really think the king will still be as kind?"
"Of course he wouldn't." Ling Wen replied. "No one would if they find out that the prince of their enemy was alive."
Xie Lian's eyes looked far ahead but unfocused and whispered, "I really can't forget... the look on his face when my sword penetrated him."
"And isn't that punishment enough?" Yushi Huang said.
Hua Cheng said softly, "Forget about it. That was Qi Rong and Prince An Le's fault."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
Xie Lian shook his head, and buried it between his knees, his voice exhausted, "...And everything was going just fine too."
"Well, as they said, the truth will never be hidden forever." He Xuan said, feeling pleased when he saw Wu Du slightly flinch.
When Lang Qianqiu's father first ascended the throne, his first rule was to break the culture of oppressing the people of Xianle. The people of Xianle and the people of YongAn finally experienced peace among each other for the first time; there was finally winds of change, finally a sign of integration, finally hope for leaving conflict behind, and Prince An Le had to pick that time to awash the Gilded Banquet with blood.
"There can never be true peace, especially if the two countries have their own royalty." Ling Wen said. "The only solution is to force the enemy to submit by force or rule along side each other."
"I know, we were foolish." Qian Qiu said self-depreciatingly.
That night when he escaped and found Prince An Le, he was originally going to warn him never to stir up troubles again. Yet, after the last descendant of his royal house discovered his true identity, he excitedly grabbed hold of him, and asked him to join his grand scheme of revenge and recovery of their kingdom.
Qian Qiu sunk lower to the ground, hearing that his friend for so many years didn't even hesitate in the thought of harming him. It seems that their friendship was only one-sided and he was the fool for believing in him.
His eyes were red with passion, his voice high with excitement; he first swore to spill blood at the Gilded Banquet, then annihilate Lang Qianqiu, and cause havoc in YongAn. They would do this even at the cost of destroying the growing amity amongst the two peoples; at the cost of all the lives that remain from Xianle; at the cost of dragging all of YongAn, royalty and common alike, to the depths of hell.
"He's crazy." Yushi Huang, a princess from before, said with disgust. "How can he willingly make a plan that can easily kill the common people who were innocent? From his own nation, no less."
"Revenge makes a person crazy." He Xuan said.
But in the end, what was killed was killed, what was murdered was murdered. However just the reason, however compelling the reason, the truth was he killed with his own hands an honourable king who had truly wanted to eradicate discrimination, and the last blood descendant of his family in this world.
So, he deserved all the blame.
"No, you killed a crazy man seeking revenge and a wary king who was willing to kill the innocence just because of a couple of people." Qing Xuan corrected. "Sigh, I kind of wish his highness is here to listen to us tell him this instead of him sleeping and still blaming himself."
"Oh, about that, no worries, I recorded your words and will let him hear it when he wakes up." Lynn assured. "Let's just let him rest for now."