Heaven Official’s Blessing

Ke Mo was stirred into a frenzy again by his words. “I will never be loyal to her again! I will never forgive that slut!”

He immediately launched into another vile, lengthy diatribe. Ke Mo was so worked up that his speech was launched at rapid fire speed, so much so that after a long while Xie Lian wore a stupefied expression on his face. He could not understand a single word. He whispered furtively, “San Lang, San Lang.”

San Lang answered promptly, “He’s swearing up a storm. He says that the Preceptor betrayed their country, opened the city gates, allowing the soldiers from the Central Plains to massacre everyone within the city, and threw his brothers-in-arms down into this hell hole. He wants to hang her to death again a thousand times, no, ten thousand times.”

Xie Lian broke in hurriedly, “Wait, wait!”

How could this be, there are clearly two gaping holes in this narrative!

First of all, the ‘female official wandering about in the city’ that Xie Lian mentioned, was referring to the woman clothed in white. But now, Ke Mo kept cursing at Ban Yue’s State Preceptor as a ‘slut’ and claims that she pushed his brothers into this hell hole. Earlier, when the maiden in black had swept his officers and soldiers down from the wall, Xie Lian had heard Ke Mo raging at her. Adding on to the fact that Ke Mo wanted to ‘hang her to death again a thousand times’—-Xie Lian suddenly realized that they don’t seem to have been talking about the same person at all.

{T/N: Recap, in the previous chapter when the maiden in black attacked, Ke Mo had said “It’s this slut again!”}

Secondly, the Ban Yue nation was betrayed by the State Preceptor of Ban Yue?!

Xie Lian interrupted him to say, “General, the State Preceptor of Ban Yue you were talking about, is the girl in black who was hanging from a pole over the Sinner’s Pit?”

Ke Mo replied, “Who else if not her?!”

“……”

So the maiden in black who was swinging like a corpse from the pole was the real State Preceptor of Ban Yue!

But if that was the case, then just who was the female official in white who said she wanted to drag them out to kill them, whilst strolling idly within Ban Yue’s city walls? And who is the young woman in black who was accompanying her?

The maiden in black possessed incomparably strange martial arts, she was capable of sweeping tens of soldiers down from the wall in the blink of an eye in a single, powerful move. Why would she be hanging over the Sinners’ Pit?

Chapter 26 : Obscure Hua Lian Fall Into the Sinners’ Pit at Night (III)

The State Preceptor of Ban Yue

The longer Xie Lian listened, the odder he found it to be. And the more he thought about it, the more confusing it became. In the end, he spoke up, “General, if I may ask……”

Ke Mo refused him angrily, “Stop asking! After killing my soldiers you still want to talk? I won’t answer anymore, come at me!”

“I was the one who killed them,” San Lang offered. “He did nothing. You can answer him, then come and fight me.”

He certainly sounded very reasonable. Ke Mo spat, “You are all lackeys sent by her, it’s the same thing!”

Xie Lian spoke quickly, “General Ke Mo, aren’t you misunderstanding something. Our purpose for coming here to the Gobi desert was to root out Ban Yue’s State Preceptor, how could we have been sent by her??”

{T/N: 国师 (Guó shī) – lit. Teacher of the State}

When he heard that they were here to get rid of the State Preceptor of Ban Yue, Ke Mo fell silent. After a while, he said, “If you were not sent by her, why did you kill all my soldiers?”

“Isn’t it obviously because you tried to chuck us down here, and we had no choice but to act in self-defense?” Xie Lian reasoned.

Ke Mo snorted. “Nonsense, I did not chuck you down. I even grabbed hold of you just now. It was the two of you who insisted on jumping down yourselves!”

Xie Lian said obligingly, “Yes yes yes, we wanted to jump in ourselves. General, we are now all trapped in this pit together, how about putting aside our differences for now. Why did the State Preceptor of Ban Yue open the gates to allow the army to massacre the city?”

Ke Mo refused to listen to reason, and continued nursing his grievances. “The both of you are too despicable, you ganged up on me.”

Xie Lian said helplessly, “I only thrashed you once, really. I didn’t do much.”

To be honest, he doesn’t actually mind being accused as underhanded or despicable or whatnot. If the situation calls for it, he’s not above leading a hundred people to gang up on one person, much less two against one. One on one? Hah, no thanks. But earlier, San Lang clearly had the upper hand even while carrying him around, and even told Xie Lian that he didn’t have to step in. But Ke Mo somehow leapt to the conclusion that he would have won in a one on one fight. Xie Lian was quietly upset on San Lang’s behalf. But based on Ke Mo’s temperament, using words would be more persuasive than brute force. Xie Lian can coax him, slow and easy, no problem.

However, San Lang obviously had no patience to spare. “It’s best if you answer him, for the sake of your soldiers,” he drawled.

Ke Mo said, “You’ve already wiped them out, using them to threaten me is useless.”

San Lang replied, “But the bodies are still here.”

Ke Mo seemed to be still trying to drag his way up. He asked warily, “What do you want to do?”

San Lang said, “That depends on you. What do you want me to do?”

As Xie Lian listened, he could already imagine the way San Lang’s eyes would be curved as he continued, “Do you want them to be well and healthy in their next lives, or do you want them to be reborn looking like a slab of bloody paste?”

Ke Mo was dazed for a moment, then comprehension hit him. “You?!”

The people of the Ban Yue nation observed strict funeral rites. They believed that the state of the bodies of the dead would reflect their appearances at rebirth. For example, if the body was missing an arm, this person would have a malformed arm in their next life. If the bodies in this pit were really pulped into bloody paste, wouldn’t they be better off not being reborn?

Ke Mo was a Ban Yue citizen through and through, it ought to scare him. Sure enough, they could hear him grinding his teeth from the other side in the dark. In the end, he said grudgingly, “Don’t touch them! They were all valiant soldiers. They were already unfortunate enough to have been stuck in this Sinner’s Pit for so many years. I don’t know if your killing them could be considered as having set them free at last. But they should not be dishonored any further.”

He hesitated, then asked, “You’re really here to kill Ban Yue?”

{T/N: Not a typo. This will be clear in the next chapter.}

Xie Lian replied gently, “My word of honor. Know thyself, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. The past deeds of Ban Yue’s State Preceptor are not well known to outsiders. General Ke Mo has worked with her before, hence I hope you can shed some light on her so that we may have a clue on how to go about.”

{T/N: An idiom from The Art of War. Full quote: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”}

Perhaps it’s because they were facing a common enemy, or perhaps he had no way of climbing out of the abyss after falling in. Ke Mo sat on top of the mountain pile of corpses of his soldiers, disheartened, and seemed to temporarily shelve his enmity. “You don’t know why she opened the city gates to allow the Yong’an people in? It’s because she wanted to take revenge on us. She hates the Ban Yue nation!”

“Why would she hate the Ban Yue nation?” Xie Lian asked, perplexed. “Isn’t the Ban Yue’s State Preceptor a Ban Yue citizen?”

Ke Mo replied, “Yes, but not exactly. She is of mixed-blood, half of her is of the Yong’an race!”

“Ah……”

It turns out that Ban Yue’s State Preceptor had a Ban Yue mother and a Yong’an father. And in this frontier, prejudices ran high, both countries loathed each other. The husband and wife from different tribes did not have it easy, and after several years, the Central Plains man could no longer endure that sort of life. He left the border and returned to the bustling and prosperous nation of Yong’an.

Although the couple had mutually agreed to part, not long after, the Ban Yue woman died from pent up heartbreak. They left behind a seven to eight years old daughter with no one to look after her. She lived, constantly hungry. The parents had been held in contempt, their offspring was equally discriminated against. The Ban Yue people had tall and strong statures, both men and women were robust and held it as a standard of beauty. And this girl, being of mixed blood, stood out among the other Ban Yue children like a sore thumb, appearing particularly petite and frail. She was constantly bullied as a consequence, and grew more and more gloomy and eccentric. The children of Ban Yue refused to play with her, but some Yong’an children were willing to accept her.

When this little half-breed was ten years old, a revolt broke out at the frontier. The armies of both sides clashed, many lost their lives, and the little half-breed disappeared.

She had neither friends nor relatives in Ban Yue. Even after having gone missing for several years, no one cared to ask after her. However, everything changed when she returned.

In those past few years, she had actually trekked through the Gobi desert by herself and entered Yong’an. And who knows if she had had a fortuitous encounter, for when she came back, she possessed terrible, magical skills. Not only that, she was also capable of controlling Bai Yue’s most feared creature—- the venomous Scorpion-Tailed snake.

Her return was met with awe, admiration, and dread. The maiden’s disposition had not changed, she remained as gloomy and unapproachable as before. There were plenty of Ban Yue’s citizens who had bullied her mercilessly before, but now she held an official post in the royal palace, serving as a high-ranking mage. If she still nursed grievances, wouldn’t she seek them out to cause trouble?

{T/N: 法师 (Fǎshī) – can refer to one who has mastered the sutras (Buddhism), or a wizard/sorcerer}

Xie Lian broke in, “I take it there were many Ban Yue people who attempted to slander her.”

Ke Mo gave a ‘hmph‘. “More than that, they directly approached the imperial palace and beseeched the ruler to hang her, claiming that she was the devil sent by the Scorpion-Tailed snakes to destroy the Ban Yue nation. But they did not succeed.”

Xie Lian attempted to guess, “She sentenced them all to hang?”

Ke Mo appeared scandalized. “You Yong’an people, are your brains all filled with nothing but murder and torture? No! I protected her.”

Xie Lian said feebly, “I said I’m not from Yong’an…… never mind, forget it.”

At that time, Ke Mo held the rank of General. Once, he traveled to the desert with his soldiers to launch an attack on some desert bandits, and brought the young court mage along with him.

The group of bandits were cunning, they built their den below the surface of the sand. There were heavy casualties on both sides during every encounter. Ke Mo was victorious, but the sand had collapsed on them in the underground den due to the fierce fighting. A violent sand-storm was heading their way, they could not linger. Ke Mo led some of his soldiers to withdraw, but the rest, including the mage, could not escape in time.

He led his men to safety, and they remained sheltered while waiting for the howling wind and sand to pass. Ke Mo then turned back, planning on excavating his soldiers to give them a proper burial. But when he arrived, he found the mage had single-handedly dug out a large underground cave, and had dragged the wounded soldiers in to shelter them from the storm.

The bodies of the deceased had also been dug out and neatly arranged. Everything had been done with her bare hands. When Ke Mo and his soldiers arrived, the mage was bloodied and tattered, waiting quietly for them at the mouth of the cave like a small, lonely little wolf.

Ke Mo said, “Since then, I thought she was very good and capable, and had absolutely no intention of harming the Ban Yue nation. I vouched for her, and I defended her against those with malicious designs.”

Ke Mo himself had been weak and sickly as a child, and had suffered the same humiliation. He saw himself in the maiden, and sympathized with her. And so he paid her special attention, and found her to be an extraordinarily skilled mage. Thereupon he spoke highly of her, and strongly endorsed her for the seat of State Preceptor, and per the records written by later generations—-she became the Ban Yue nation’s most devoted State Preceptor.

Until another war erupted. The Yong’an nation had sent an army to encircle and attack the Ban Yue nation.

Ke Mo said, “Both countries had been in a state of hostility for a long time. She set up an altar to offer sacrifices to Heaven, and said it was to call for protection for the soldiers of Ban Yue.”

Thus bolstered, the soldiers were in high spirits and eager for blood as they defended the city gates. Arrows flew, boulders were hurled, boiling oil was poured, swords rose and fell for days on end.

And when the battle was at its most intense, the State Preceptor suddenly opened the city gates.

With the gates wide open, tens of thousands of soldiers and armored horses poured into the city and began a frenzy of slaughter. In a flash, the whole city turned into a bloodbath!

Ke Mo had been locked in a bitter struggle with the enemy troops at that time. When he heard that the State Preceptor had opened the city gates, he went mad with rage. He fought dauntlessly, but was unable to turn the tides of fate.

Ke Mo ground his teeth. “At that time, I found out that she had long colluded with the enemy’s high ranking officials, and had made arrangements to let them in. But even if I was fated to perish in battle, before I die, I must kill that traitor!!! So I led a squadron of soldiers to the city gate’s tower, dragged her down, and hung her to death over the Sinner’s’ Pit. That’s her hanging from the pole!”

By the time the main forces left, the whole of Ban Yue had turned into a dead nation. The general and soldiers who fell in battle, and the State Preceptor who was hanged to death, were all unable to leave the ruins, but their hatred for each other endured.

Xie Lian mused, “So, you lead the Ban Yue soldiers under your command to search for the State Preceptor, and each time you find her, you will hang her over the Sinners’ Pit again?”

“Hanging her a hundred thousand times would not be enough!” Ke Mo sneered. “Because she would turn up here and there, seizing my Wrath soldiers, and throwing them into the Sinners’ Pit! She set up a powerful spell array around the pit which only she can undo, anyone who falls in can never climb back up. I was betrayed by her, the soldiers died tragically in war, our grievances are heavy. Only the flesh and blood of the Yong’an people can dispel our hate, which would allow us to gradually depart. Otherwise we will never be free, doomed forever to wail at night!”

{T/N: One of the 4 types of ghosts. After Wrath comes Devastation.}

“So you’ve been incessantly grabbing people and throwing them down here to feed the soldiers, right?” Xie Lian said.

“What else would you have me do?” Ke Mo demanded. “Just sit and listen to them wailing and crying below?”

“The people you threw down were all brought here by you?”

“We cannot stray too far from Ban Yue. But luckily, the snakes here are fond of causing mischief. They like to crawl out of the ancient city and go around biting people. The caravans whose people were bitten would enter this city to look for the Kindred Moon herbs.”

“That head which was buried by the imperial palace was your doing as well?”

“That’s right. The man who was buried in the ground there tried to rob the imperial palace of its treasures. But all of our country’s valuables have long since been looted by the Yong’an people centuries ago.”

Xie Lian asked, “Why did you just bury him instead of throwing him down here?”

Ke Mo replied, “The herbs need fertilizer to grow well. Else how would we manage those snakes? We don’t want to run into those creatures either.”

{T/N: The implication here is that those herbs act as a snake repellent as well, because XL has not seen any snakes since entering the city either.}

Something’s not right, Xie Lian thought.

If Ke Mo and his party were this dedicated to ensuring the Kindred Moon herbs grow well, to the extent of using a living man to fertilize the soil, it goes to show that even if they were no longer living, breathing men, their fear of the Scorpion-Tailed snakes had not diminished one bit.

So in fact, when they had been alive, they must have been even more terrified of the snakes. Since the Ban Yue’s State Preceptor was capable of controlling such a lethal weapon, how could she have been so easily captured at the city gate’s tower by the Ban Yue soldiers and subsequently hung to death?

According to Ke Mo, in these past two hundred years, they had been nabbing the State Preceptor over and over again, and had been stringing her up over and over again. Xie Lian felt that if he were in her shoes, with such a powerful weapon in hand, he would never allow any enemies near enough to harm him.

As for those Scorpion-Tailed snakes who liked to crawl out of the city to go around biting people, is it mere happenstance? Unlikely, it seemed more like they had been drawn out. So was this a deliberate action by the State Preceptor? Doesn’t it seem like she was making it easier for Ke Mo to kidnap people to feed his soldiers? Does this not contradict with the story of both sides being sworn enemies?

So are they just pretending to be enemies? But what’s the point in doing so?

And before the whole situation had dissolved into one mess after another, there is still one more riddle—- and that is the identities of the female official in white and her companion. Xie Lian decided to probe further. “General, when we entered the city earlier, we saw two female officials on the streets, one dressed in white and one in black. Do you know who they are?”

Before he could receive a reply, San Lang whispered, “Shhh.”

Though puzzled, Xie Lian immediately fell silent. Intuition told him to look up.

Amidst the backdrop of the squared night sky, the half-moon continued to shine bright and cold.

However, by the side of the moon, he finally saw a person at a distance. The upper half of a small, black silhouette was stretched over the pit, peering downwards.

After looking for a moment, the half-figure suddenly became a full figure—– the person had jumped down.

As the person was hurtling towards them, Xie Lian could see clearly. This person, was the State Preceptor of Ban Yue who had been hanging from the pole over the Sinners’ Pit!

Chapter 27 : Obscure Hua Lian Fall Into the Sinners’ Pit at Night (IV)

The Ban Yue Nation’s scrap collector recounts a fortuitous meeting

After the Ban Yue’s State Preceptor jumped down, she immediately spoke in the Ban Yue dialect, “Ke Mo, what happened?”

Once she opened her mouth, her voice sounded far different from what Xie Lian had imagined it to be. Her tone was cold, but it could not disguise how young the speaker was. She sounded like an unhappy little girl talking to herself, instead of a callous and powerful evildoer. If it was not for the fact that Xie Lian has pretty good hearing, he may not have heard it clearly at all.

Ke Mo snarled, “What happened? They’re all dead!”

The State Preceptor asked, “How could they all be dead?”

“It’s because you threw them all down here and trapped them in this cursed place!” Ke Mo spat.

The State Preceptor ignored him. “Who’s here? There’s one more person.”

In fact, down here in the pit, besides Ke Mo, there should be two other ‘people’. But San Lang has neither breath nor pulse, the State Preceptor of Ban Yue could not detect his presence at all. Additionally, it had been a chaotic mess above, there was no way to keep track of who had jumped down and who had run off. And so she thought only Xie Lian alone was present.

Ke Mo said, “It’s them, they killed my soldiers, are you happy now? Everyone is finally dead!”

The State Preceptor was silent for a long while. Suddenly, a burst of light flickered into existence. It illuminated a young girl in black holding a small flame in the hollow of her palm.

The girl looked to be only seventeen to eighteen years old. She was garbed in plain black, and her eyes were deep and dark. She wasn’t ugly by any means, and was actually rather pretty. But she wore a deeply unhappy expression, and her forehead and the corners of her mouth bore some bruising. All this was thrown into sharp relief by the flames.

Truly, if Xie Lian had not sought for confirmation earlier, no one would have expected this pale young maiden to be Ban Yue nation’s State Preceptor.

The flames in her hand also illuminated their surroundings. At her feet, the bodies of the Ban Yue soldiers in armor littered the ground.

Xie Lian could not resist throwing a quick look sideways.

Because the flames summoned by the State Preceptor were rather small, most of the Sinner’s Pit was still hidden in the gloom. Their bodies were still mostly shrouded in shadow, but from the dim light cast by the small, flickering flame, Xie Lian could make out a figure dressed in red by his side.

It may be a trick of the eye, San Lang has always been taller than him, but right now he seemed to be even taller than he remembered. Xie Lian’s gaze slowly traveled upward and paused when it reached the youth’s throat. Then, it continued up and hovered over the graceful jaw.

The upper half of the youth’s face was still hidden in the dark, but the lower half seemed subtly different from before. It was still beautifully elegant, but the cut of his jaw seemed even more defined. As if having noticed Xie Lian’s gaze, the shadowed face tilted slightly, then turned towards him. There was a faint curve at the corners of the lips.

Moved by the urge to get a better look, Xie Lian unwittingly took a step towards the youth.

At this moment, they suddenly heard Ke Mo give voice to a miserable howl. If one had to guess, it was likely that Ke Mo has finally seen the devastation around him with his own eyes, and was struck with anguish. Xie Lian came to himself with a start. He turned around and made for the source of the noise. Ke Mo was cradling a head in his arms, and the State Preceptor was quietly listening to him wail and cry without any trace of emotion on her face. She merely nodded and said, “Good.”

The grieving general was furious. “Good? Good?! What the hell do you mean?!”

The State Preceptor replied, “Because now we can finally be free.”

She turned around and pinpointed Xie Lian accurately in the dark. “You guys killed them?”

Xie Lian said, “It was an accident.”

Ke Mo roared, “What baldfaced lies are you spouting?!”

Xie Lian replied unabashedly, “Life is full of accidents ah!”

The State Preceptor glanced at him, but could not make out his mien. She asked, “Who are you people?”

Strangely enough, this sentence was spoken fluidly in the standard Han dialect. Xie Lian replied, “I am an Official from Heaven. This is…… my friend.”

{T/N: Mandarin}

Ke Mo could not understand them, but he could tell that they were not quarreling. He asked warily, “What are you talking about?”

The State Preceptor’s eyes slowly moved over Xie Lian and paused on San Lang. Then she looked away. “No Heavenly Official has ever stepped foot here. I thought you people have long since turned your backs on us.”

Xie Lian had been quietly prepared to have to fight with the Ban Yue’s State Preceptor, but unexpectedly, she did not seem inclined to fight at all. He was left feeling somewhat surprised. The State Preceptor asked, “Are you getting out or not?”

Xie Lian replied, “Of course we want to get out. But the spell array above is preventing us from doing so.”

The State Preceptor took a few steps to the side of the Sinners’ Pit, raised a hand and slapped her palm on the wall once. She turned around and said, “I’ve removed the spell array. You may go.”

“……”

Isn’t this being too accommodating!

Xie Lian was already at a complete loss for words. At this moment, a voice echoed down from far up above. “Wei! Is anybody down there? If not I’m leaving!”

It was Fu Yao’s voice.

Xie Lian seemed to hear San Lang by his side make a ‘tsk‘ sound. He raised his head, and sure enough, he could make out a dark figure gazing down. He called out, “Fu Yao! There’re people down here! I’m down here!”

After that, he also waved his arms. From above, Fu Yao sounded disbelieving. “Seriously, why are you even down there? What else is there besides you?”

Xie Lian replied, “Well…… there are a lot of things down here besides me. How about you see for yourself.”

Fu Yao apparently agreed that it was better to see for himself rather than continue listening to him. With a rumbling boom, he lit up a giant fireball and tossed it down.

Instantly, the entirety of the Sinner’s Pit was illuminated by the blaze like a small sun had descended. Xie Lian was finally able to clearly make out his surroundings.

Surrounding him in all directions were piled up mountains of corpses, the ground awash in a sea of blood. The bodies of numerous Ban Yue soldiers were stacked up on one another, their bright armor forming a stark contrast against the dusky skin of their faces and arms and the dark blood trickling down in rivulets. Xie Lian was standing on the only spot in the entire Sinners’ Pit that wasn’t occupied by a corpse.

This was all done in the brief moment after San Lang had jumped down into the deep, dark pit.

Xie Lian turned his head to look at the youth beside him again.

Earlier in the dark, he had the vague notion that San Lang suddenly seemed to be taller than he was before, and he had also faintly perceived some other subtle differences. But right now, under the blazing glow of the fireball, the one standing by his side was still the same, handsome youth. Catching his gaze, San Lang gave him a faint smile.

Xie Lian lowered his head to look at San Lang’s wrists and boots. Nothing has changed. There was nothing there that could have made the soft, tinkling sounds he had heard earlier.

At this moment, there came a muffled thud. Fu Yao has jumped down as well. Xie Lian asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be watching over the people with the caravan?”

Having just arrived at the bottom of the pit, Fu Yao wrinkled his nose at the heavy reek of blood. His brows were drawn into a frown as he flapped a hand before his face in a futile attempt to clear the air. “None of you came back after three hours, so I figured that something may have happened. I drew a ward around them and told them not to stray, before coming over here,” he deadpanned.

Xie Lian said, “You shouldn’t have just dumped them. A ward doesn’t last long. What if they start to worry that you’ve abandoned them and go wandering around?”

Fu Yao replied, “Let them wander if they will, not even a team of horses can hold fools back once an ill notion strikes their fancy. What’s up with these two here? Who are they?”

He eyed the other two people in the pit guardedly, but quickly realized that Ke Mo, who was prone on the ground and barely able to budge, was already thoroughly beaten up all over, whilst the Ban Yue State Preceptor merely hung her head silently. A faintly puzzled expression crawled over Fu Yao’s face. Xie Lian began explaining, “This is the Ban Yue nation’s general, and this is the Ban Yue nation’s State Preceptor. They’re now……”

He broke off when Ke Mo suddenly leapt up. After having lain on the ground for so long, he had finally mustered enough strength to clamber to his feet with a thunderous roar and aim a strike at the State Preceptor with his palm. A burly, hulking man attempting to hit a petite young girl, was a scene Xie Lian has never come across. But Ke Mo does have grounds to hate the State Preceptor, and the State Preceptor could obviously have dodged the blow, but she did not. She was flung to the ground like a broken doll. Ke Mo panted angrily, “Where are your Scorpion-Tailed snakes? Come on, summon them to bite me to death! Release me from this hell!”

The State Preceptor said softly, “Ke Mo, my snakes no longer obey me.”

Ke Mo sneered derisively, “Then how come they’ve not bitten you to death yet!”

“……” The State Preceptor whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Ke Mo said, “Do you really hate us so much?”

The State Preceptor shook her head, but Ke Mo grew even angrier. “You’re really pissing me off! If you don’t hate us, why did you betray us?! You despicable traitor, turncoat, thankless self-seeker!!”

Fu Yao watched as the one-sided fight escalated in intensity, with one doing the beating and the other being beaten up. He frowned. “Hey, what the hell are they talking about? Should we stop them?”

Xie Lian could not stand being a silent spectator any longer, he stepped forward to pull Ke Mo back. “General! General! How about you tell us who the Yong’an villain was instead, we……” Suddenly, the State Preceptor grabbed hold of his wrist.

{T/N: 贼 (zéi) – thief, traitor, saboteur, evil. This term did not turn up in any of the previous chapters, so I think it’s referring to the one Ban Yue colluded with to open the gates.}

The sudden grip on his wrist was tight and unyielding. Xie Lian’s heart sank at the thought that she must have been feigning before to plot against them. But when he lowered his head, the State Preceptor was half sprawled on the ground, the corners of her mouth bruised purple, her head lifted to look back at him. She remained mute, but her pitch-black eyes were boring into him with startling intensity.

A vague, distant memory of a small figure rose, and seemed to overlap with the sight before him. Xie Lian blurted, “It’s you?”

The State Preceptor also said, “General Hua?”

{T/N: 花 (Huā) – Flower. So it’s General Flower… lol.}

This exchange caused everyone in the pit to stare at them blankly. In a single step, Fu Yao darted forwards and stunned Ke Mo with a blow. He asked, “You know each other?”

But Xie Lian had no mind to spare to answer him. He crouched down and took hold of the State Preceptor’s shoulders, studying her face carefully.

The distance between them earlier had made it difficult to get a good look, and the girl’s appearance had changed after growing up, not to mention that it has been over two hundred years since he last saw her. All this was to say, it was not surprising that he had not recognized her immediately. But now that he’s gotten a good look, there was no mistaking that face!

Xie Lian was speechless for a good long while, before he finally uttered, “Ban Yue?”

The State Preceptor grabbed his sleeves, a rare trace of emotion on her face. “It’s me! General Hua, do you still remember me?”

Xie Lian said, “Of course I remember you, but……”

He stared at the girl for a moment, then sighed. “……But, how did you end up like this.”

A hint of sadness flickered in her eyes at his words.

She whispered, “I’m sorry Colonel……I, I messed up.”

{T/N: 校尉 (xiào wèi) – colonel, about 2-3 ranks below General, based on the ancient Chinese military hierarchy}

First there was a general, then a colonel, how could the others listening in not catch on? Fu Yao looked stunned as he mumbled, “Colonel? General? You? What is going on?? What about that General’s burial mound then?”

Xie Lian nodded. “That’s my burial mound.”

“Didn’t you say you were just collecting scraps here two hundred years ago???” Fu Yao exclaimed.

Xie Lian said, “This…… is a bit hard to explain. That was my original intention back then.”

On one day two hundred years ago, for whatever reason, Xie Lian could no longer wander about aimlessly in the East. Opting to lie low until the fuss died down, he decided to head South through Qinling to seek new lands and new scraps to recycle. And so he set off, compass in hand.

{T/N: 秦岭 (Qín lǐng) – a mountain range in Shaanxi forming a natural barrier between the Guanzhong plain and Han River}

But the longer he journeyed, the more discouraged he became. Why do the roads and landscape seem wrong? The roads should be heavily shaded with foliage, with bustling signs of humanity along the way, so why did his surroundings seem to grow more and more barren and desolate?

Despite mounting doubts, he still steadfastly stuck to the direction he had chosen, until step by step, he arrived at the Gobi dessert. After being buffeted by the winds and swallowing several mouthfuls of sand, he finally realized that the compass he had brought was broken.

The compass had been pointing him in the wrong direction all along!

Ah well, there was no helping it. And so, with the mindset of “since I’m here, may as well take a look at the desert scenery”, he adjusted his direction, and began trudging northwest. He finally reached the border, and temporarily settled himself somewhere near the Ban Yue nation.

Xie Lian continued, “I initially intended to only pick up scraps and whatnot around the vicinity. But the border was in a state of unrest, there were always plenty of deserters, and the army would go around randomly seizing people to replenish the numbers.”

San Lang asked, “So you were forced to join the army?”

Xie Lian replied, “Well, I was grabbed. But it was all the same to me anyway, since I was enlisted, may as well go along with it. Later, after driving away some bandits several times, I was somehow promoted to colonel. Those who wanted to honor me would call me General.”

Fu Yao looked at him doubtfully. “But why did she call you General Hua? Your surname is not Hua.”

Xie Lian flapped a hand to dismiss it. “Don’t mind it. At that time, I just came up with a name on the spot for them, I think I was called Hua Xie.”

{T/N: 谢 (xiè) – The same ‘Xie’ in Xie Lian’s name. A point I find interesting, is that ‘xie’ can mean ‘thanks’, but can also mean ‘wither’ when referring to leaves/flowers. So Hua Xie means withering flower.}

San Lang’s expression changed subtly upon hearing that name, and the corners of his lips seemed to curve into a brief smirk. Xie Lian did not notice this, and continued, “Battles occurred frequently at the border, and many children were orphaned. During my free time, I’d sometimes play with them. And one of them…… was called Ban Yue.”

When fighting against bandits, Xie Lian was undoubtedly the bravest and strongest soldier amongst them. No one dared to stand in his way, and no one dared to stand too near him either. But when there was no fighting going on, it seemed that pretty much anyone could order him around.

One day, he made a fire against a sand wall, and used his own helmet to cook in. As he cooked, the odor of food drifted in the air and drew the annoyed attention of several other soldiers, who came and kicked over his makeshift pot of food. Aggrieved, Xie Lian went to pick up his helmet. When he turned back, he was stunned to see a filthy and bedraggled waif of a child squatting on the ground, reaching for the hot mush which had been spilled, heedless of the scalding heat. Alarmed, he had cried out, “Don’t! Wait wait little one, you-!”

As expected, the child blew twice on the hot food that had been picked up from the ground, and stuffed it into her mouth. Then she gave an ear-piercing shriek, retched, and burst into tears with a waaaah. Xie Lian was given such a fright that he picked her up upside-down and ran about frantically. It was a while before the child finally spat back out everything she had swallowed. Relieved, Xie Lian crouched down, mopping at his own sweat as he said gently, “Are you alright now, little one…… sorry ah, but please please don’t tell your parents what happened here, and next time don’t simply pick things up from the floor to eat…… wait wait whatareyoudoing!”

The child’s eyes were brimming with tears, but she still tried to pick up the food to eat again. When Xie Lian grabbed her, he realized that the child’s belly was practically sticking to her spine.

For one who has starved to this extent, they would be willing to eat anything. Despite being sickened to tears, they would still be willing to eat.

Xie Lian was at a loss, and could only think of retrieving the last of his own rations to give to her. After that, he frequently caught the girl secretly peeping at him from hidden corners.

From his impressions of her, this child called Ban Yue seemed to wear a perpetually unhappy expression, and her face and body were always marked with bruises. Every time he spotted her, she would always be staring at him fixedly, just like the way she was looking at him now. Because the child Ban Yue was excluded from the other groups of children, asides from Xie Lian, only a young Yong’an boy who lived in the same border would sometimes look out for her, so she would always trail after these two people.

She was a quiet child, but she could speak the Han dialect, so Xie Lian had never been able to figure out where she came from. Since there did not seem to be anyone minding the child, Xie Lian would sometimes bring her around with him. When he had time to spare, he would teach her some songs, how to tumble and wrestle, and even stage some rock smashing performances, and so on. Their relationship had been pretty good.

{T/N: Click for pic. The principle of the act is that the rock absorbs the inertia of when the hammer comes crashing down, so the person suffers very little impact.}

Xie Lian said, “I thought the ‘Ban Yue’ of ‘Ban Yue State Preceptor’ was referring to the country’s name. I didn’t realize that the State Preceptor’s name was actually Ban Yue.”

Fu Yao said, “So what happened next?”

Xie Lian replied, “Next…… what happened was pretty much the same as what was inscribed on the stele at the General’s burial mound.”

{T/N: A stele is a slab (either made of wood or stone) that is generally erected as a monument or funerary memorial. Click for pic

San Lang had been silent up to this point. “The inscription on the stele said you died,” he noted.

When reminded of the stele again, Xie Lian felt a little depressed.

Aren’t eulogies supposed to sing exaggerated praise for the dead, and paint a beautiful commemorative picture of the dearly departed? Exactly what was so amazing about being demoted till he could be demoted no further? Even if he could overlook that, did it have to describe his humiliating death in such excruciating detail as well???

While sheltering from the sand storm and reading the text on the stele, his eyes had started twitching once they reached this particular passage. If it had not been for the fact that San Lang could decipher the Ban Yue script as well and had also been standing right next to Xie Lian, he would have skipped over the part depicting his ignoble death entirely and pretended it didn’t exist. Even he himself had nearly choked, how could he blame others for laughing out loud? Still, the people who had sought shelter at his own burial mound from the wind and sand had seen the inscription describing his past deeds on the stele, and had even broken into a lively discourse about him, interspersed with guffaws. How could he bring himself to ask them not to laugh? Actually, he had been feeling a little glum about it all. Xie Lian felt that the space between his brows must be red by now from all his kneading. He said, “Ah, that, of course I didn’t die. I faked my death.”

Fu Yao looked at him incredulously. Xie Lian hurried to explain, “I really couldn’t get back up as there were too many feet trampling over me. Faking death was the only option.”

Actually, Xie Lian couldn’t really recall the specifics of his ‘death’. He couldn’t even really remember why the two countries kept clashing with each other either, just that it was over some little matter which had been blown out of proportion. He hadn’t wanted to fight at all, but at that time, he had already been demoted to the bottom-most rung, so no one had been willing to listen to him. Both sides were already berserk with blood lust, and when Xie Lian rushed out, somehow, he was suddenly met with both swords and knives.

Fu Yao began chastising him, “You must have stuck yourself in the middle and pissed both sides off, didn’t you? Else why would they immediately chop you down when you showed up? And you knew that they hated you, you could have just avoided the mass of people, why did you have to charge in headlong? If you had wanted to avoid them, you definitely could have.”

Chapter 28 : Obscure Hua Lian Fall Into the Sinners’ Pit at Night (V)

Who’s Making Mischief!

Xie Lian said, “I really can’t remember anymore!”

Even though he’s more resilient than a roach, being hacked at like that was still a bit too much. At that time, his immediate thought had been, “I can’t go on like this ah!” and then he promptly toppled to the ground. While playing dead, he was trampled on a goodly number of times until he finally fainted. It was only when he was choking on water that he regained consciousness. Turns out, after the battle had ended and the cleanup commenced, all the dead bodies had been unceremoniously dumped into the river. Xie Lian floated along with the current like so much discarded debris and was eventually washed ashore in Yong’an country. After spending three to four years nursing his injuries, he packed up, picked up a functioning compass and once again set off on his long delayed journey. At long last, he arrived at his original destination in the South, and no longer paid attention to the affairs of the Ban Yue nation.

{T/N: 百打不死 (Bǎi dǎ bùsǐ) – lit. beat hundred times, won’t die}

Ban Yue again said softly, “I’m sorry.”

Fu Yao frowned. “Why does she keep apologizing to you?”

San Lang suddenly spoke. “Earlier, Ke Mo said that the Ban Yue State Preceptor only left for the Central Plains after a revolt broke out. Was this revolt in any way related to you?”

At this reminder, Xie Lian also recalled the inscriptions on the stone stele. He blinked and seemed to vaguely remember something. “Ah, I think……”

Ban Yue said, “It was to save me.”

Everyone turned to look at her. She lowered her head and said in an undertone, “General Hua was trampled flat because he was trying to save me.”

“……”

Xie Lian was suddenly visited by the vivid memory of being violently crushed under hundreds and thousands of stomping feet. He curled an arm around himself out of reflex, then realized that two pairs of eyes were regarding him with intense scrutiny. He froze, then hastened to say, “Nono, not flat, not flat at all!”

For whatever reason, Fu Yao seemed irked by his reply. “Oh, you were really quite the hero weren’t you,” he said, a peculiar lilt to his tone.

Xie Lian waved a hand and said airily, “You flatter me. Besides, unless I’m mistaken, I just happened to be at the scene and decided to bring the child away, before immediately making good my escape. But before I could withdraw, I ran into both armies instead……”

“If that was the case, how could you have possibly forgotten?” Fu Yao demanded.

“May I remind you that I’m already a couple hundred years old?” Xie Lian said. “A lot of things can happen in one year, even a person can be completely unrecognizable after ten years. This incident happened a very long time ago, I can’t possibly remember each and every detail clearly. What’s more, a lot of things are better off forgotten. Rather than reminiscing on how I was repeatedly stabbed and trampled some hundred years ago, isn’t it better to savour the memory of the delicious meat bun I had yesterday?”

{T/N : Meat bun (usually pork). Click for pic.}

“I’m sorry,” Ban Yue said.

Xie Lian sighed. “Ban Yue ah, saving you was my choice, it wasn’t your fault. If you must apologize, then perhaps you should be saying it to someone else.”

Ban Yue looked startled, then lowered her head silently.

Xie Lian added, “But…… it may be that my impression of you still remains at how you were two hundred odd years ago. I find it hard to believe that you would actively scheme for vengeance’s sake and betray the trust of those who depend on you…… would you be willing to tell me what really happened? Why did you open the city gates?”

Ban Yue considered his words briefly, then shook her head and remained mute.

Xie Lian said, “Then, why did you send the snakes out to attack people?”

This time, Ban Yue chose to reply him. “I didn’t send the snakes.”

Xie Lian paused in surprise. “What?”

Ban Yue repeated, “I didn’t send the snakes, they went on their own accord. I don’t know what happened, but they no longer obey me.”

Fu Yao’s lips thinned from impatience. Ban Yue said, “General Hua, I’m telling the truth.”

Before Xie Lian could say anything, Fu Yao cut in brusquely. “Save it, everyone says the same thing once they’ve been caught. I’ve heard these excuses many times before. Intentional or not, it doesn’t change the fact that people have been bitten by your snakes while crossing through the pass. Hands out now, it’s time to go.”

Ban Yue fell silent and obediently stretched out her hands. Fu Yao immediately shook out a length of Immortal Binding Rope from his sleeve and proceeded to tie her and Ke Mo up. “Alright, we’ve settled what we came to do, case closed!”

San Lang spoke up lazily from the side, “She has no reason to lie.”

Xie Lian too, felt that he couldn’t just allow the matter to drop. He said to Ban Yue, “Are you not able to summon the Scorpion-Tailed snakes at all?”

Ban Yue replied, “I can call on them. They do listen to me for the most part, but sometimes they don’t. I don’t know why either.”

“How about you call the snakes out now, let us have a look,” Xie Lian suggested.

Earlier, Ban Yue had been kneeling in front of him. Now she finally stood up and nodded. Before long, a purplish-red Scorpion-Tailed snake slithered out from under one of the corpses and reared its head, its tongue flickering silently at them. Xie Lian was about to cautiously venture closer for a better look when he spotted Ban Yue’s eyes widening slightly, a peculiar expression on her face. Xie Lian’s heart sank as he thought, Oh no.

Sure enough, after tasting the air with its tongue, the Scorpion-Tailed snake’s jaws suddenly gaped wide, its fangs glistening threateningly in the air as it struck at him!

Even though the snake’s attack was abrupt, Xie Lian had been on his guard. He could anticipate the snake’s moves clearly, and stretched out a hand to seize the snake. But before his hand could even reach the snake, there was a sudden ‘ pēng‘ sound, like something had exploded. He stared blankly at the snake as it fell limply to the ground, it’s innards spilling out like a flower in bloom. And what was more, the explosion itself was very neat, not a single drop of venom had splashed out.

Xie Lian immediately recalled the time before they entered Ban Yue nation. A snake had died in a similar manner. Well then, it wasn’t much of a guess as to who had done it. Before he could even shift his gaze towards San Lang, a long arm clad in a red, narrow sleeve stretched out in front of him, blocking him off from Ban Yue. From the side, Fu Yao said coldly, “As expected, she was trying to trick you. Did you really think the snake could have successfully bitten him under these circumstances? Idiot.”

Ban Yue’s face had turned rigid at the sight of the snake. At Fu Yao’s words, her head jerked up quickly. “It wasn’t me. I said some snakes wouldn’t listen to me, that snake was one of those.”

Fu Yao gave a derisive snort. “And who’s to say if that snake hadn’t been acting on your orders instead?”

Ban Yue said hollowly, “I didn’t even summon this snake here.”

Xie Lian opened his mouth, but spotted two deep magenta Scorpion-Tailed snakes writhing out from beneath the corpses, hissing menacingly as they slithered towards them. Immediately after, a third appeared, then a fourth, then a fifth…… from within the corpses and every nook and cranny in the rocks, a multitude of Scorpion-Tailed snakes began swarming out!

Everyone’s eyes fell on Ban Yue who was crouched on a pile of corpses. Bright beams of light burst forth from Fu Yao’s hand. “Tell them to back off, surely some of them still obey you,” he snapped at Ban Yue.

Ban Yue’s brows drew together tightly in concentration, as if attempting to figure out how to drive the snakes away. Yet more and more Scorpion-Tailed snakes continued to pour out, forming a large writhing mass that continued to draw near them. While one or two snake bites would not kill them, they’d be hard-pressed if it were a hundred or a thousand. And even if they didn’t die, they’d still be a very sorry sight indeed. Xie Lian raised a hand, ready to put Ruoye to action, but then he saw the snakes halting several feet from them. As if reluctant to get any closer, they formed a grotesque, hissing circle around them.

A sudden flash of realization hit Xie Lian, he turned to look at San Lang. The youth stood straight-backed beside him, his eyes fixed on the Scorpion-Tailed snakes with an air of arrogant contempt. The Scorpion-Tailed snakes seemed deterred by his haughty gaze and recoiled. Bit by bit the snakes retreated, heads lowered to the ground in submission.

However, they also seemed to be driven by some strange force which did not permit them to give up their attacks and retreat. And so the Scorpion-Tailed snakes changed their target and began slithering towards Fu Yao instead. With a casual wave of his sleeve, Fu Yao sent a blaze roaring at the them, charring a ring of snakes.

But this cannot last long. “Let’s leave this pit first,” Xie Lian suggested.

At his unspoken command, Ruoye unraveled and flew upwards with a whoosh. But before long, Ruoye returned with another whoosh. Xie Lian was faintly startled. He said to the white silk coiled around his wrist, “Why did you come back? The spell array has been removed, there’s nothing blocking your way. Go go.”

But Ruoye remained wrapped around his arm, shivering as if it had met with something unspeakably horrible up above. While Xie Lian was still trying to coax it, something fell down from above and landed with a smack against Fu Yao’s shoulder. When Fu Yao grabbed at it, his expression abruptly changed. He brought the thing in front of him for a look—-what had dropped out of the sky was also a Scorpion-Tailed snake!

Caught unprepared, Fu Yao was bitten. He abruptly flung the snake at Ban Yue. Ban Yue reflexively reached out with her bound hands and caught it. The purplish-red snake wound its body around her pale wrist but did not make to attack. At this moment, another dull thud sounded, and a second snake landed on the ground!

Xie Lian could roughly guess why Ruoye had refused to go up. When he raised his head, from the faint rays of moonlight, he could just barely discern hundreds of small specks of purplish-red snakes hurtling down from the top of the Sinners’ Pit.

It’s raining snakes!

Seeing how the purplish-red dots were rapidly getting closer, Xie Lian said, “Fu Yao! Fire! Send the fire upwards, deal with then while they’re still in midair!”

Fu Yao bit down on his palm, breaking the skin. With a wave of his hand, he sent a single bead of blood flying up, before transforming it into a blazing shield of protective flames. The barrier of fire was suspended ten feet in the air, and the Scorpion-Tailed snakes which collided against it were rapidly incinerated to ashes. The rain of snakes was effectively cut off.

At this momentary reprieve, Xie Lian relaxed a little. “Great! Thanks a lot, Fu Yao!”

This level of magic would inevitably drain a huge chunk of their spiritual energy. Fu Yao’s face was already showing the beginnings of strain. He turned and also drew a circle of flames around them on the ground, crisping the snakes there. “Do you still insist that they do not obey you?” he growled at Ban Yue. “If you are not the one manipulating them, why are the snakes not attacking you?”

San Lang grinned. “Maybe you’re just unlucky? They’re not attacking us either ah.”

Fu Yao whirled to face them, his eyes raking over the both of them, expression grim. At this, Xie Lian felt some misgivings, but the beginnings of a hunch about their present situation was also forming. There isn’t enough time to sort his thoughts, and he really doesn’t want to see them get into a brawl right now. “We should get out of here, it’s best to figure out what’s wrong with these snakes first,” he urged.

Fu Yao’s mouth stretched in a sneer. “Figure out what’s wrong? If the Ban Yue State Preceptor is not the one lying, then it’s the thing next to you that’s making mischief!”

Xie Lian’s gaze flitted from Ban Yue to San Lang. “I don’t think its them.”

Although his tone was mild, it brooked no argument. This was the conclusion he has arrived at after much thought, but Fu Yao was sure to assume that he was deliberately shielding them. The fire illuminated the twisted expression on Fu Yao’s face, as if he didn’t know whether to laugh or implode in fury. “Your Royal Highness, can you ditch this ignorant act of yours. Do you still remember who you are? That thing beside you, surely you have long since known what it is, you must have realized by now!”

Chapter 29 : White Wind Master; Swirling Sandstorm

Well, what would you like to eat then, Hua Cheng?

Xie Lian shifted to face Fu Yao and, intentionally or otherwise, when he took a step forwards, he shielded San Lang from view. “There is no need to remind me of who I am. On this, I am most clear.”

“Then why the hell are you still standing there by his side?” Fu Yao seethed.

Xie Lian’s reply was frank. “Because…… I won’t be bitten by the snakes if I stand next to him.”

“……”

San Lang choked a little at his answer, then burst into laughter. Fu Yao’s expression was thunderous. “You……”

His face grew steadily darker, then suddenly turned entirely black. Not just his face, Xie Lian’s entire view also bathed in pure darkness.

Turns out that the protective barrier of flames that Fu Yao had put up earlier, as well as the ring of fire he had drawn on the ground, have suddenly gone out!

In the darkness, Xie Lian heard San Lang snicker as he said, “Pathetic!” He felt an arm loop over his shoulders. Immediately after, Xie Lian heard something slamming hard and fast right above them in quick succession. Bang bang! It sounded like a torrential rainstorm striking and bouncing off a parasol.

Needless to say, now that the protective barrier has vanished, the purplish-red snakes had begun raining down on them in a veritable deluge again. And there is a parasol propped above them, deflecting the snakes!

Xie Lian caught a whiff of a heavy scent of blood. He was about to make a move, but San Lang said, “Don’t move. Nothing would dare come over here, if it knows what’s best for them.”

His tone was calm and confident. The first part of his sentence was spoken gently, his voice mellow, but the later part was laced with arrogance. Xie Lian had not been worried to begin with, but then he heard Fu Yao bellowing angrily somewhere ahead. It seems that the rain of snakes had poured all over his head. Xie Lian urged, “San Lang!”

San Lang immediately said, “No.”

Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or tear at his hair. “Do you know what I was about to say?”

San Lang replied, “Don’t worry yourself. He won’t die.”

At this moment, a shriek sounded from somewhere laterally ahead of them. “BAN YUE! If you want me dead just let them bite me and get it over with. What the hell are you playing at?”

Ban Yue protested, “It wasn’t me!” In all likelihood, Ke Mo had been battered awake by the snakes, found himself buried in a seething mass of slippery bodies, and immediately determined this to be Ban Yue’s way of tormenting him.

Xie Lian said, “Fu Yao, can you still light up a fire? Cast another flame spell!”

Fu Yao was gnashing his teeth. “That thing by your side is suppressing my magic, I can’t light any fires!”

Xie Lian’s heart sank, but San Lang said, “I didn’t.”

“I know you didn’t,” Xie Lian said. “And that’s precisely why this is strange. Ban Yue and Ke Mo are bound by the Immortal Binding ropes so their powers are restricted, I’ve run out of spiritual energy, and you’re not suppressing Fu Yao. Does that not mean that there is a sixth person in this pit?!”

Fu Yao was incensed. “Are you possessed! There’s no damned sixth person here, no one else has come down from up there!”

At this moment, they heard Ban Yue’s startled voice. “Who’s there?!”

Xie Lian said, “What’s wrong Ban Yue? Is there someone by your side?”

Ban Yue replied, “There’s a……” Her sentence ended here and her voice faded away. Xie Lian exclaimed in alarm, “Ban Yue?!”

Fu Yao was still thrashing about within the nest of snakes. For a brief moment, a white light shone like a beacon within the pitch darkness accompanied by a ripple of explosions. He warned, “Be careful, she may be luring you over to her!”

Xie Lian said, “Not necessarily. Let’s save her first!” He was about to dash into the rain of snakes, but then he heard San Lang’s voice by his ear. “Alright!”

Xie Lian felt a hand fasten on his shoulder, and then they were suddenly whirling out together. He realized with a start that the youth was actually handling a parasol with masterful skill. With one arm fastening Xie Lian to his side, San Lang surged forward in an attack. Within the inky darkness, sparks of silver flickered, accompanied by clear, ringing chimes. Suddenly, there was an ear-piercing screech of metal on metal which split everyone’s eardrums.

“Oh?” San Lang said. “So there really is a sixth person. How interesting.”

Xie Lian could not tell how the youth handled his weapons, nor what his weapons even were. But right now, it was clear that his weapons have been met with someone else’s attack!

The other person was silent. Xie Lian could hear the whistling sound of blades cleaving the air, and deduced that another attack has been launched. From time to time, sparks burst out in brief flashes, shining stark within the darkness, but winked out just as quickly as they came. It did not suffice to illuminate the enemy’s face. Xie Lian trained an ear on the ongoing battle, and at the same time he called out, “Ban Yue, are you there? Can you answer me?”

There was no reply. Fu Yao huffed. “Mayhap the person you’re both fighting with is her!”

Xie Lian said, “No, this is definitely not Ban Yue!”

Just like how they had beat Ke Mo in the dark earlier, San Lang moved around languidly like he was merely humouring his opponent, except that he was a little more attentive this time. Their opponent had explosively powerful martial skills, and they handled their weapon smoothly and skillfully. Ban Yue’s build is petite. The brief flashes of light had illuminated a powerful looking arm, and the strength with which it wielded their weapon was clearly beyond Ban Yue’s capability. Hence it is impossible for their opponent to be her. But who could this sixth person be? And when did they even turn up to begin with?!

{T/N: I used ‘they’ to be gender neutral, but really it’s referring to only one person.}

“This sort of traitor who sells out her country is no different from that female ghost, Xuan Ji,” Fu Yao retorted “Why are you so insistent on trusting her?”

{T/N: Reminder, Xuan Ji was the ghost who murdered the brides and broke her own legs to get her former lover Pei Ming (aka General Pei) to see her again.}

Xie Lian said, “Fu Yao, can you stop being so irritable? You…… wait wait, what did you just say?”

Fu Yao crossly slapped at several Scorpion-Tailed snakes and sent them flying away with an explosive blast. “I said, why do you trust her so much? Just like how you trust that thing by your side!”

But Xie Lian said, “No, I wasn’t talking about this—– you said Xuan Ji. You mentioned Xuan Ji didn’t you?!”

“What of it?! What’s that got to do with anything!”

But Xie Lian held his breath for a moment, then suddenly said, “You can stop now! There’s no need for you to hide, I already know who you are!”

The sound of clashing blades did not waver. Their opponent paid no heed to him, but Xie Lian wasn’t overly concerned. “You think my words are only meant to trick you? General Pei Junior?”

Chapter 29 : White Wind Master; Swirling Sandstorm

Well, what would you like to eat then, Hua Cheng?

Fu Yao looked bewildered. “Who are you talking to? General Pei Junior? Have you gone mad? With the kind of status General Pei Junior holds, don’t you think everyone would know of it if he descends?”

Xie Lian nodded. “What you said is true. However, what if it was not his true, divine self that came down?”

In the dark, the sound of blades clashing seemed to freeze for a moment, then immediately continued.

Xie Lian said, “My realization came pretty late. In fact, this should have occurred to me long ago.

“I knew that there have been strange happenings at the Ban Yue pass for nearly two hundred years, but no Heaven’s Official has ever ventured to take notice of it. Since everyone else was reluctant to touch on the subject, it could only mean that someone has been deliberately suppressing the matter, and they dared not offend this person. But I wasn’t familiar with the rest of the Heaven’s Officials, so I dared not venture any guesses or make bold speculations as to who this big-shot is.”

Xie Lian had only been reminded of the matter when Fu Yao mentioned the female ghost, Xuan Ji.

When on the subject of Xuan Ji, one would inadvertently connect her with the two generals from the Pei family. The North is the domain of the two Pei generals, and Fu Yao had once mentioned in passing : before General Pei Junior ascended to Heaven, he had once commanded the massacre of everybody in a captured city.

{T/N: Refer chapter 12, on Pei Su’s (aka General Pei Junior) brief history}

Which city was massacred?

It could very well have been the ancient country of Ban Yue!

This sort of thing is not unheard of among the officials of the Court of Heaven. In order to attain success, bloodshed has often been necessary. But then again, slaughtering the innocent folk in a captured city was not something one could brag about either. If word of it gets spread too far and wide, it would be difficult to attract new worshipers, so it was often necessary to cover up these matters. Even if everyone in Heaven knew of it, the polite thing to do would be to gloss over the subject. After all, unless one was harboring some sort of deep grudge or planned on causing mischief, who would go around digging up other people’s shameful histories and drawing the ire of their backers?

Xie Lian said slowly, “The face which was buried in the ground said, among us, there was someone who had been present fifty to sixty years ago. I thought his words were but lies to trick us to get closer, but now it seems that it spoke the truth.

“The one I suspected most was you. The caravans follow you, it’s no chore for you to lead them anywhere you wished. In all the years I spent in Ban Yue, I have never come across a single Scorpion-Tailed snake, yet you lot managed to come across such a rare, venomous creature while seeking shelter from the sand storm.

“When I agreed for you to come with us to seek the Kindred Moon herbs, you even left them with very specific directions to the ancient city of Ban Yue, just so if any of them couldn’t wait for our return, they could go ahead and serve themselves up to be slaughtered. Earlier at the top of the Sinners’ Pit, I did say that if anything were to happen I would step forth first. But you suddenly lost your head and jumped in for no reason, despite having been calm from the start.”

Xie Lian paused briefly before summing it up. “Your actions have been bizarre and senseless all along, but it took me this long to figure it out. It really was slow of me, isn’t that right? General Pei Junior? Or should I call you—– Ah Zhao!”

Deathly silence ensued.

After a long while, a flat, cold voice said, “Has it ever occurred to you, that the face in the ground may have been referring to the youth in red by your side instead.”

Flames blazed up within the Sinners’ Pit, illuminating two figures in bloody crimson facing each other.

One was San Lang in red who had already stowed away his weapons, looking calm and serene. The other was a plain garbed young man who was still holding a sword out horizontally before him, seemingly reluctant to back down.

Because the plain cotton of the young man’s clothing was soaked in blood, it gave the impression that he was dressed entirely in red. His expression was cold and remote, with a body slung over one of his shoulders. It really was Ah Zhao.

In fact, whether it is the deity General Pei Junior or Ah Zhao, that dull and stony expression he favored had always been the same. But Xie Lian’s thoughts had not led him in that direction, so he did not make the connection between these two people earlier.

The person he held draped over his shoulder was Ban Yue. Xie Lian guessed that he had released the snakes to distract them and steal Ban Yue away during the ensuing chaos, but since his mask has now been torn off, there was no longer any use in doing so. The snakes writhing on the ground and those still hailing down from above suddenly fell still. With a skillful twist of the wrist, Ah Zhao sheathed his sword with one hand and lowered Ban Yue to the ground with the other. Ke Mo gaped at him. “Who are you? Didn’t you fall to your death?”

Ah Zhao’s gaze did not waver from San Lang. “Ke Mo, you’re still the same after hundreds of years,” he replied curtly in the Ban Yue tongue

Ke Mo gave a start of recognition at his blandly indifferent tone, then rage suddenly suffused his swarthy features. “……It’s you!!! Pei Su?!”

If it wasn’t because he was firmly tied up by the Immortal Binding ropes, he probably would charged at the young man like a furious bull.

“General Pei Junior, the Scorpion-Tailed snakes do not only obey Ban Yue,” Xie Lian probed. “The snakes which would attack travelers at will were controlled by you, weren’t they.”

“En, it was me,” Pei Su admitted. He seemed strangely pleased.

“Did Ban Yue teach you how to control the Scorpion-Tailed snakes?”

“She did not. But I can learn her ways on my own.”

Xie Lian’s brows rose. “Indeed, General Pei Junior is truly gifted.”

He paused, then asked, “When did you two first meet? And how did you meet?”

Pei Su gave him a brief look and said, “General Hua.”

Xie Lian was baffled. “Why are you also addressing me this way?”

Pei Su said mildly, “Do you not recognize me, General Hua?”

“……”

Then Xie Lian recalled.

Hazy memories surfaced of Ban Yue as a child being ostracized by the other Ban Yue children, only a young Yong’An boy would occasionally take notice of her. Like Ban Yue, the boy was also taciturn by nature. Many of the children at the frontier were born to the soldiers defending the borders, and they tended to join the ranks after growing up as well. Could it be……

“It’s you?!” Xie Lian exclaimed. “I really only just recognized you.”

Pei Su nodded. “It’s me. I too, only just recognized you, General.”

No wonder. Turns out Ban Yue and the military official she colluded with have known each other from way back!

Xie Lian said, “Did Ban Yue really open the city gates because of you?”

Ke Mo spat at the floor, then began bucking around. “Untie me,” he demanded. “Let me and this despicable wretch Pei Su fight it out to the death!”

Pei Su replied coolly, “Firstly, we have already fought it out two hundred years ago, and you lost. Second, dare I ask which part of me is despicable?”

Ke Mo drew himself up angrily. “If it wasn’t for the two of you colluding to strike at us from inside and out, how would we have lost?!”

Pei Su’s lips curled in a faint sneer. “Ke Mo, stop deluding yourself. During the siege, even though I only brought two thousand men with me, as far as I’m concerned, breaking through the city gates was only a matter of time. ”

Xie Lian could not help blurting out, “Wait wait, you were sent to attack a whole country with only two thousand soldiers? Wasn’t it tantamount to suicide? Could it be that you were even more detested within the army than me??”

“……”

Pei Su stopped talking. It seems like he had hit the mark. Xie Lian added, “Since victory was in your grasp, why then did you ask Ban Yue to open the city gates for you?”

Pei Su said bluntly, “Because I wanted everyone in the city dead.”

Xie Lian squinted at him. “What do you mean? Since you were already winning, what need was there to massacre everyone?” It can’t be some kind of hobby right!

Pei Su said, “It was precisely because we were winning, that the massacre was necessary. And it had to be done quickly and immediately, sparing no one.”

Xie Lian noticed the grand way he emphasized on ‘sparing no one’. “Reason being?”

Pei Su replied, “The night before the siege, many of the Ban Yue family heads convened and came to an agreement on one thing.”

“What was it?”

“The Ban Yue people are naturally fierce with tendencies toward violence,” Pei Su explained. “They deeply hated Yong’an. Even if they knew that defeat was imminent, they would not submit to it. So all of Ban Yue’s men, women, children, elderly, were instructed to prepare one thing with utmost haste.”

Xie Lian could already faintly guess at what it was, and the word Pei Su spat out confirmed his guess:

“Explosives!”

Pei Su drew his words out carefully. “They had decided that if the walls of the city fall, all the inhabitants would conceal these explosives within their bodies and immediately flee in different directions. They would then enter Yong’an and try to cause a ruckus to draw as large a crowd as possible, then set the explosives off. Even if they die, they will bring as many Yong’an people down with them as they could. Even if their nation has been vanquished, they would see to it that the ones who had defeated them would know no peace.”

Hence it had been necessary to cut down all these civilians in one stroke before they could make a run for it……

Xie Lian immediately turned to look at Ke Mo. “Is this true?”

Ke Mo replied proudly, “Yes!”

San Lang lifted a brow. “How very vicious.”

He said this in the Ban Yue tongue. Ke Mo’s face contorted in rage. “Vicious? What right do you have to call us vicious? If it were not you people who attacked us first, we would not have been forced to this. You destroyed us and we retaliated in turn, how are we in the wrong?!”

“Very well,” Pei Su said. “How about we start from the beginning? How many times have the Ban Yue people at the frontier stirred up trouble without reason? How many Yong’an caravans and travelers on the way to the Western Regions been maliciously intercepted by the Ban Yue nation? You people knew full well that there were horse thieves amongst you who specialized in deliberately barricading roads and wantonly plundering and slaughtering the Yong’an people, yet you sheltered them. The soldiers that Yong’an sent to round up these thieves and murderers were killed by you on grounds of trespassing. So tell me, have we not the right to deem you vicious?”

Although his speech was impassive and his tone inflectionless, every word was sharp and incisive. Ke Mo said, “But that was because you people first forcefully occupied our lands, so we struck back.”

Pei Su said, “The borders between the two countries have never been clearly delineated, how was it considered forceful occupation?”

Ke Mo said, “Both sides have already marked out the territories long ago, but you people reneged on it!”

Pei Su returned, “The division of the territories was only agreed on your end, when has Yong’an ever acceded to it? Your so-called division of territories was to give us all the barren wastelands whilst you people kept all the oases for yourself. Ridiculous, no?”

Ke Mo was enraged. “The oases have always belonged to us. Generations of Ban Yue people grew up at the oases!”

Both parties obstinately stuck to their side of the story. Listening to them bicker incessantly was enough to make Xie Lian’s head throb. When he recalled how he had been caught in between both opposing armies and suffered a terrible beating two hundred years ago, he felt his face aching dully again. Pei Su turned away from Ke Mo dismissively and said to Xie Lian, “As you can see, the rights and wrongs of earthly affairs can never be clearly grasped. Only through force may the victor be decided.”

Xie Lian said, “I agree with the first half of that statement.”

San Lang said, “I agree with the second half.”

Ke Mo’s anger subsided slightly, then he suddenly said, “The Yong’an people for the most part are shameless, and you are the most shameless one I have ever met. Pei Su, you are a cold-hearted man. Your killing us had never been for the sake of your country, nor was it to save your people.”

Pei Su fell silent.

Ke Mo continued, “You were the son of an exile, scorned and despised by everyone. You only wanted to gain a foothold and establish yourself within the Yong’an army’s ranks and climb up the ladder, which was why you absolutely had to win that hopeless battle. But it’s a pity that Ban Yue thought highly of you. She was used by you, and betrayed us for the likes of you.”

Xie Lian asked, “But General Pei Junior, aren’t you a descendant of General Pei’s?” With the protection of such a renowned ancestor whose fame spread far and wide, it ought not have been necessary to stoop to such tactics right?

“He may be related to General Pei, but who knows how many branches there are in that family tree,” San Lang said.

Ah. That is to say, if Pei Su had not had the ability to ascend to Heaven on his own merit, he was unlikely to have received any blessings from this old ancestor of his.

“Ban Yue was my subordinate,” Pei Su said mildly. “She went to Ban Yue nation and concealed herself there on my orders. She is of Ban Yue blood, and also of Yong’an. She chose a side and stuck to it, she has never betrayed her country. The Ban Yue people are sinister and capricious. I do not regret putting them to death.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded from above. “WELL SAID! What then, of those travelers whom you lured through the pass to their ends in this pit for so many years, dare you claim their deaths were deserved as well?”

Chapter 29 : White Wind Master; Swirling Sandstorm

Well, what would you like to eat then, Hua Cheng?

The voice had sounded from above their heads. Xie Lian immediately looked up in surprise. “Which esteemed lord has arrived?”

There was no answer. Instead, he heard some strange whooshwhoosh sounds, like swift gusts of winds. The sounds grew steadily louder, and as it neared, Xie Lian realized that what he heard was really the roar of surging winds!

The howling gale hit them abruptly. Before he could so much as blink, Xie Lian found his feet leaving the ground as he was bodily swept up by the winds!

The cyclone swirled and howled in the Sinners’ Pit as it snatched them all up and sent them hurtling out toward the skies!

Xie Lian immediately turned and grabbed hold of San Lang who was the closest to him. “Be careful!”

San Lang calmly wound an arm around him in turn. Xie Lian felt himself spinning through the air, his world turning upside-down as they were blown out. Then the winds died. For a brief moment, they remained suspended in the air, before falling down.

Xie Lian promptly shook Ruoye out. “There’s nothing scary here anymore,” he said hurriedly. “Be good now Ruoye, come out and save us!”

He gave Ruoye two quick pats to coax it, and Ruoye finally unfurled and lengthened out. However, empty space and barren landscape surrounded them, and the Sinners’ Pit at the bottom offered no purchase for it to grab on to. Ruoye flew out, made a turn, then flew back into its hiding place. Resigned, Xie Lian began adjusting his posture in the air in preparation for a nasty landing.

In the past, he would have landed headfirst and stuck himself three feet deep into the ground. But this time, just before he hit the ground, San Lang effortlessly turned him around so that he actually managed to land on his feet. When he found himself standing firmly on the ground, Xie Lian was still busy feeling amazed until he spotted a figure in black staggering over towards them.

Xie Lian stared for a moment. “Nan Feng!” he exclaimed in delight.

It really was Nan Feng, and he was cutting quite a sorry figure indeed. His clothing was in tatters, and he was covered head to toe in dust like he had rolled several rounds on the ground in a brawl while being trampled by horses for a whole night. Nan Feng silently held up a hand when he heard Xie Lian’s call, and wiped at his own face, seemingly having lost the will to live. Xie Lian reached out to support him. “What happened to you? Did you get beaten up by those two ladies?”

As he spoke, his eyes were drawn to two silhouettes behind Nan Feng, walking towards them. One of them was the woman in white, her horsetail whisk resting in the crook of her arm. She beamed at Xie Lian. “Hello, Your Highness.”

Despite feeling utterly clueless, Xie Lian’s manners kicked in at her friendly greeting. Not knowing how to address her, he returned her smile and waved. “Hello to you too, friend.”

The young woman in black was silent and aloof as she sauntered over, sweeping a cool, detached gaze over them. She did not spare Xie Lian more than a cursory glance, but her eyes wavered for a moment when they rested on San Lang. Her footsteps faltered as she regarded him in suspicion.

The wind earlier had sent everyone spiraling out of the pit in one powerful gust. The two women walked past Xie Lian and stopped directly in front of Pei Su. Pei Su did not seem in the least bit surprised to see them. After all, when he had been acting as Ah Zhao, he had already caught a glimpse of these two within the city. He knelt down before the woman in white, his head lowered. “Lord Wind Master,” he said softly.

Xie Lian was stunned.

So the woman he had always taken to be some form of demon or evil spirit that had popped out of nowhere was actually a Heavenly Official? And the Wind Master at that? The same Wind Master who had thrown out a hundred thousand merits in the spirit communication array?!

But then again, there was probably nothing wrong with that. Back then, the woman in white had said something along the lines of “where did those people run off to, do I really have to drag them out one by one to kill them”, which certainly sounded ominous and gave him the impression that she was out to murder them. But in fact, “those people” may have actually been referring to the Ban Yue soldiers instead. But his first impression of her had been too vivid, and so her every movement had seemed to carry ill-intent to him.

Awe and reverence danced in Xie Lian’s heart at this Heavenly Official who could scatter out a hundred thousand merits like so much confetti with a wave of the hand. “Why didn’t you tell me she was the Wind Master earlier?” he sighed at Nan Feng. “I actually thought she was some kind of snake or scorpion demon. It was really rude of me.”

Nan Feng’s face was dark. “How would I know that was the Wind Master?” he gritted out. “I have never seen the Wind Master looking like this before. The Wind Master has always been…… forget it.”

Xie Lian nodded understandingly. The Wind Master is likely wearing a guise. He did not pursue further and asked instead, “Why would the Wind Master be here in Ban Yue?”

“Here to help,” Nan Feng said curtly. “They were wandering around in Ban Yue city earlier to look for those Ban Yue soldiers.”

Ah. Xie Lian’s mind swiftly recalled the time he had asked about the happenings in Ban Yue pass in the spirit communication array. During the ensuing silence that had followed his query, the Wind Master had suddenly thrown out a hundred thousand merits which drew away everybody’s attention. In all likelihood, the Wind Master had taken note of his interest.

As he mulled over his thoughts pensively, on the other side, the Wind Master had crouched down in front of Pei Su. “Xiǎo Pei ah, I heard everything.”

{T/N: 小 (Xiǎo) – little. Pei Su is usually called General xiǎo Pei (General Pei Junior) to differentiate him from General Pei. The Wind Master calling Pei Su ‘Xiao Pei’ aka ‘Little Pei’ is actually kinda cute.)

Pei Su lowered his head. The Wind Master said, “Do you admit to having lured travelers into the Ban Yue City in these past two hundred years?”

Having already been caught, Pei Su did not try to defend himself. “It was me,” he said quietly.

The Wind Master asked, “Why?”

Pei Su paused, then said, “The Wind Master has long since been suspicious of me. Are you not able to guess?”

The Wind Master lifted a brow. “Because these tortured souls are ironclad evidence of your bloody and brutal past when you were mortal, and may one day hinder your path in ascension to glory, no?”

Pei Su declined to comment. Xie Lian had been listening from the side and could not stifle his curiosity any longer. “But wait, why didn’t you just kill them off directly? Why did you have to feed them living people to appease them instead? How is this different from using one man’s flesh to assuage the hunger of another man?”

{T/N: Meaning to solve a problem by creating another problem.}

But San Lang said, “He cannot.”

Oh right. In the Upper Court of Heaven, a Heavenly Official like Pei Su is bound to have eyes trained on his every move. There were many matters he could not directly involve himself in. His divine self could not come down to wipe these aggrieved souls out, nor could he send troops on his behalf to eliminate them without drawing too much attention. In order to ensure that this matter would remain hidden, he could only covertly send down this puppet, Ah Zhao.

By using the Scorpion-Tailed snakes that were Ban Yue’s famed pets to attack travelers and draw them here to be cast into the pit and assuage these grievances, it was the perfect plan to kill with a borrowed knife.

The Wind Master continued, “Your family’s General Pei would not have done such a thing. I’m afraid this time you’ve crossed the line somewhat.”

A Heavenly Official from the Heavenly Court sending down a puppet to Ban Yue pass to wreak havoc for almost two hundred years by luring numerous travelers off the beaten path into the hungry mouths of dead Ban Yue soldiers. However you looked at it, this was no trivial matter. Pei Su’s head bowed. “This youngster understands.”

The Wind Master twirled her horse-tail whisk. “It’s good that you understand. Take a good long look at yourself and reflect on your actions. We’ll talk again once we’re back up.”

“Yes,” Pei Su murmured.

After the Wind Master was done extracting a confession out of him, she stuck the horse-tail whisk into the back collar of her robes and got up. She turned to smile at Xie Lian and cupped her hands in greeting. “Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to meet you at last, I’ve heard so much about you.”

Time for proper formalities then. To Xie Lian, the phrase “heard so much about you” was hardly complimentary, but since it was just a few words spoken out of courtesy, he returned her smile. “No no, to be able to meet the esteemed Wind Master, the pleasure is mine.”

The Wind Master said, “I’m really sorry about what happened earlier.”

Xie Lian gave her a blank stare. “Earlier? What happened earlier?”

“Did you not encounter a sandstorm in the desert earlier?”

Xie Lian absently recalled being fed a mouthful of sand. “Yes.”

The Wind Master said apologetically, “I started the storm.”

“……”

The Wind Master said, “I raised the sandstorm to keep you guys away from the Ban Yue Kingdom. But not only did you not get blown away, you somehow managed to find your way into the city instead.”

As Xie Lian listened, he found it to be increasingly strange. Again, the issue of the sandstorm being created to keep them away from Ban Yue Kingdom was brought up. What does this mean?

He held back and listened silently, waiting to see what else she had to say. “In this matter however,” the Wind Master added. “It is best if Your Highness does not involve himself in it.”

Xie Lian darted a quick glance at Ban Yue who was still curled up on the ground, a sense of dread building up in his heart.

He had always been worried. Once this issue is brought up to the Heavenly Court, it is feasible that some Heavenly Officials may add or subtract the evidence recorded with a few strokes of their brushes as they pleased, thereby portraying General Pei Junior as entirely blameless in this matter, with Ban Yue as the scapegoat. For the Wind Master to tell him to keep his nose out of the affair, does she mean to protect Xiǎo Pei?

Without batting an eyelid, Xie Lian took a single step forward, coming to stand in front of Ban Yue. “I am already neck deep in this,” he said mildly. “It’s a little pointless to tell me not to involve myself now ba.”

The Wind Master gave a little laugh. “Be at ease. You can bring the State Preceptor of Ban Yue away with you first.”

This went entirely against Xie Lian’s expectations. As he gaped foolishly for a moment, the Wind Master added, “We have already heard everything we need to know about this matter. Even though she’s on the cusp of turning into a Wrath, while I was exploring the inner city earlier, I saw the Ban Yue State Preceptor trapping the Ban Yue soldiers in spell arrays she set up, before releasing the mortals that had been captured by the soldiers. Not only does she do no harm, she even goes out of her way to rescue lives. I will only be bringing away General Pei Junior and Ke Mo with me. You need not worry that I will drag in someone to be a scapegoat.”

{T/N: Ghosts are ranked as Fierce, Severe, Wrath, and Devastation. Wrath ranked ghosts could massacre a whole city.}

Relieved, Xie Lian said, “Shame on me! It was I who was overly suspicious.”

The Wind Master replied, “It’s perfectly normal to be concerned. I do not deny there are indeed a lot of underhanded practices up in the Heavenly Court.”

The young woman in black who had been standing by the side finally lost her patience. “Done talking? Can we go now?”

“Oi!” the Wind Master retorted. “What are you in such a rush for? I’ll talk all I want!” Despite her words, she was already trotting towards her companion. Drawing a folding fan from her waist, she said to Xie Lian, “Your Highness, if there is nothing else, let’s meet again in the Heavenly Court?”

At Xie Lian’s nod, the Wind Master flicked open the fan with a snap. The front of the fan showed the ‘风’ character in bold strokes, and on the back were three flowing lines depicting the movement of a breeze. Presumably, this was the Wind Master’s divine weapon. She flapped the fan three times facing upwards, then flipped it over and fanned thrice again.

{T/N: 风 – wind}

Suddenly, a burst of wind swept through the plains, whipping up the fine sand and gravel in dizzying twists. Xie Lian lifted his sleeves to block the wind. By the time the winds died down, the two women, Pei Su, and Ke Mo were no longer there, leaving behind only Xie Lian, San Lang, Nan Feng, and Ban Yue who was curled up on the ground.

Chapter 29 : White Wind Master; Swirling Sandstorm

Well, what would you like to eat then, Hua Cheng?

Xie Lian lowered his sleeves and asked foolishly, “What just happened?”

San Lang strolled over towards him. “Something good.”

Xie Lian looked at him. “Something good?”

San Lang said, “Something very good. By asking you to not get involved, the Wind Master was helping you.”

Nan Feng walked over as well. “Yes. You were handling this matter from the beginning to the end, and now all that’s left is to report the situation to the Heavenly Emperor. Just keep yourself out of this bit.”

Xie Lian understood. “It’s because of General Pei, isn’t it?”

“Correct. You’ve managed to royally piss off General Pei this time,” Nan Feng said.

Xie Lian chuckled. “Well, I had already anticipated offending at least one person long ago. It doesn’t really matter who it is.”

Nan Feng frowned. “Do not take my words for a jest. Asides from the Palace Hall of the Supreme Martial God, the Ming Guang Palace Hall holds the most power. General Pei places great importance on Xiǎo Pei, and has always wanted to kick Quan Yi Zhen down to make way for Pei Su. He’s sure to come looking for trouble with you.”

{T/N: General Pei is the deity protector of the North and is also known as General Ming Guang, which means ‘bright light’. Temples dedicated to him (and General Pei Jnr) are called Ming Guang temples. The Palace Hall of the Supreme Martial God belongs to the Heavenly Emperor.}

“Is Quan Yi Zhen the Martial God of the West that you spoke of?”

“Yes. Quan Yi Zhen is also newly come to his position. He and Pei Su ascended at around the same time. He’s fairly young and is somewhat…… but he’s still not someone to be taken lightly. General Pei deliberately allowed Pei Su to wrest away believers from the West, and Pei Su had spared no effort in doing so. He would have only needed a few more years to succeed, but then you turned up and ruined all his plans. I don’t think Pei Su will be lucky enough to pull through this unscathed. If he ends up being demoted, it won’t be smooth sailing for you either.”

Xie Lian rubbed at the space between his brows and secretly resolved to be more careful while eating, drinking and walking in the future. But San Lang disagreed, “There’s no need to worry. Pei Ming is a proud one, it’s beneath him to stir up trouble for others.”

Nan Feng shot him a quick look. Xie Lian said, “What about the Wind Master? By asking me to steer clear of this, does she mean to shoulder the responsibility instead? Wouldn’t she end up offending General Pei? No no, I think we should call her back. Nan Feng do you have the pass code for the Wind Master’s spirit communication array?”

Nan Feng snorted. “Worry about yourself first. General Pei may dare move against you, but he won’t touch the Wind Master. She may be younger than you, but she fares a great deal better than you.”

“……”

Xie Lian’s silence was not because he received a blow to his self esteem, merely that he was lost in his thoughts. I don’t think there’s anyone in the Upper Court of Heaven who could possibly fare worse than me, right?

San Lang chuckled. “The Wind Master has a strong backer, so it’s not surprising for her to fare well.”

Xie Lian asked, “Are you referring to the young woman in black that was with her? She was also very formidable.”

“No,” San Lang replied. “But the one in black is certainly powerful. Unless I miss my guess, she is likely one of the five elemental masters of Wind, Water, Rain, Earth and Thunder. I wouldn’t recommend offending her.”

To be able to call up a windstorm in the middle of the dessert, the Wind Master would naturally be brimming with powerful magic. And the young woman in black had been even more formidable. Xie Lian thought back to how she had seemed to perceive something questionable about San Lang, and said uneasily, “I agree.”

But there was one more thing on his mind, although Xie Lian did not give voice to it. Having a strong backer does not necessarily mean a smooth future. Once, there was a time when the Crown Prince of Xian Le had the support of Jun Wu, the supreme Martial God and Heavenly Emperor of the three realms. But did he not still end up a failure in the end?

Xie Lian picked up his bamboo hat from the ground and patted the dust from it, relieved to see that it had not been flattened. He looped it around his neck and let it rest against his back, before sizing up Nan Feng briefly. “Have you been chasing and battling with those two ladies the entire way?”

Nan Feng’s expression turned dark. “Yes. All the way.”

Xie Lian patted his shoulder. “It’s been really hard on you.” Having said that, he suddenly recalled another person who had also suffered miserably. Turning around, he asked, “Where is Fu Yao?”

“Wasn’t he looking after those who were poisoned?” Nan Feng said.

Ever since they were blown up by the gale, no one had seen Fu Yao. In fact, from the moment Ah Zhao revealed himself, Xie Lian had not noticed his presence at all. Either Fu Yao had made good his escape during that time, or he had run off after the winds had tossed them out of the pit.

Xie Lian was not overly worried about him. If he had to guess, Fu Yao had probably wanted to wash his hands clean of this mess and had slipped away in a hurry. Then he gave a start at Nan Feng’s words. Poisoned! “The Kindred Moon herbs!” they exclaimed in unison.

San Lang said, “No hurry, daybreak has just arrived.”

However, how could they dawdle when lives are at stake? Although it has not yet been twelve hours since the snakes first attacked, who knows what obstacles may delay them along the way? Xie Lian immediately lifted Ban Yue over his back and made a mad dash for the palace grounds.

When he arrived, he laid Ban Yue down and proceeded to pull up large handfuls of the Kindred Moon herbs. The face in the ground was still there, bloody and mangled amidst the scattered bones.

In the past, Xie Lian would have considered digging a hole to give it a burial. But firstly, he was in a rush to bring back the herbs to the poisoned. And secondly, the man had already been buried in the ground for over 50 years. In all likelihood, he may not want to return to the earth. Strangely though, the body of the merchant was missing. Xie Lian paused, baffled.

From within the palace halls, San Lang brought out a small clay pot. Xie Lian perked up at the sight. “Great, many thanks San Lang!”

Ban Yue was weakened and could not be roused. Xie Lian shrank her and stowed her into the clay pot.

{T/N: Trapping evil spirits or demons in magical containers such as gourds is a regular theme in Chinese stories. Imagine evil genie cartoon Jafar sucked into his lamp. Yea.}

After plucking the herbs, they finally rushed back. It was now four hours since they first encountered the Scorpion-Tailed snakes.

At the place where Fu Yao painted the circle, there were still several people staying obediently within the array. After receiving the medicine from Nan Feng, the elderly man’s condition began to improve. Another dose of the Kindred Moon herb on the wound itself, and he was up and walking after a short rest. Xie Lian did not think it necessary to inform him what had been the Kindred Moon herb’s fertilizer.

{T/N: Quick reminder, the elderly man, Uncle Zheng, is the leader of the caravan band and was the first one bitten by the snakes. Tian Sheng is his nephew.}

After a period when their nerves have begun to settle, they began to fret. “Where’s Tian Sheng? Why have they have not returned yet?”

Xie Lian had been anxious to pick the herbs earlier, and there were no Ban Yue soldiers left in the ancient city anyway, so he had not given any thought to looking out for Tian Sheng and the rest. He was just about to turn back for them when he heard a boy shouting, growing steadily closer and louder.

Xie Lian turned to look. It was Tian Sheng. The youngster was clutching armfuls of the Kindred Moon herbs, and there were two other merchants behind him, panting and puffing for breath.

After a round of questioning, this was what had transpired. After Ban Yue swept the soldiers down into the Sinners’ Pit, she whisked away Tian Sheng and his companions. Tian Sheng and the merchants with him had been terrified witless, but after Ban Yue brought them away, she had pointed out a path for them and sent them off. Having escaped with their lives, they immediately went to gather the Kindred Moon herbs, buried the body of the dead merchant, and desperately hurried back, but were still several steps behind Xie Lian and the rest.

In short order, the caravans were escorted out of the desert, and things finally come to an end.

However, when they were parting ways, Tian Sheng stole over to seek him out, and said mysteriously, “Gēgē, I have something to ask you.”

Xie Lian, “Ask away.”

Tian Sheng, “Are you a god?”

{T/N: In most Chinese religions/folklore, there are many many deities. So unless it’s a title like Martial God or God of XX, I will not be capitalizing the G.}

“……”

Xie Lian was surprised and somewhat touched.

There had been a period of time when he had been desperately shouting, I am a god, I am His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but no one had believed him. This time, he had not even said anything but was asked instead if he was a deity. It really made him feel shocked and moved.

Tian Sheng immediately added, “I saw you using magic! Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Xie Lian privately thought, It’s not like anyone would believe you anyway……

“We owe you our lives,” Tian Sheng continued. “If not for you, I would have been kicked into the pit by that horrible group of ghost soldiers. When I get home, I’ll build a temple and dedicate offerings to you.”

Xie Lian’s face finally cracked into a smile as he watched Tian Sheng pat his chest proudly while outlining the “very very big” temple with grand gestures. “Well then, you have my thanks.”

San Lang was standing near him, chuckling quietly to himself. But Xie Lian did not think he was mocking the child’s overestimation of his own abilities.

Although the child does not know how large of an undertaking building a temple would be, and that this may not actually be feasible in the end, Xie Lian was nonetheless happy with the earnest promise.

After much wheedling and badgering, Xie Lian caved in and hastily came up with the title “God of Scraps” to please the youngster. Then he waved and quickly walked away. Nan Feng cast the Distance Reducing Technique and sent them back to the Pu Qi Shrine.

Open the door, shake out the straw mat, splay down on it like a corpse. Xie Lian did all this seamlessly. San Lang sat himself down next to him, resting his chin on one hand as he gazed at Xie Lian. Xie Lian heaved a sigh. “How long have we been gone?”

San Lang said, “About three to four days.”

Xie Lian heaved another sigh. “Only three to four days. Why is it so tiring then.”

After ascending to Heaven, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say he had been frequently working till he was dog tired. Done sighing, he turned his head up and said, “ Yi, Nan Feng, why haven’t you gone back to report?”

{T/N: yí is an expression of surprise.}

Nan Feng said, “Report what?”

“Aren’t you an official from the Nan Yang Palace Hall?” Xie Lian replied. “Won’t your General be looking for you if you were absent for three to four days?”

“My General is currently not in the Palace Hall. He won’t bother himself with me,” Nan Feng said.

Xie Lian crawled back to his feet. “Okay, you staying here is good too.”

Nan Feng asked warily, “What do you want?”

Xie Lian replied pleasantly, “I’ll cook a meal for you. My treat as thanks.”

Nan Feng’s face immediately twisted. He lifted a hand and pressed two fingers to his temple as if he was receiving a message through the spirit channel. Then he got up and said, “Something came up at the temple. I’ll be leaving first.”

Xie Lian lifted a hand. “Ai, Nan Feng, don’t leave yet. Why did something suddenly crop up? You’ve really worked hard this time……”

Nan Feng roared, “It’s REALLY urgent!” Xie Lian watched as he rushed out the door, then sat back down on his straw mat. “Guess he wasn’t hungry,” he said to San Lang.

Before San Lang could frame a reply, there was a ‘bang’ at the door. Nan Feng had turned back and was standing stiffly at the doorway. “The both of you……”

Xie Lian and San Lang were sitting side by side on the woven straw mat. Tilting his head, Xie Lian asked, “What about the both of us?”

Nan Feng pointed a finger at San Lang, then at Xie Lian. He was silent for a long moment, before finally uttering, “I’ll be back.”

Xie Lian said, “You’re always welcome.”

Nan Feng’s gaze swept towards San Lang again for a moment, then slammed the door shut and left. Xie Lian crossed his arms thoughtfully, and cocked his head at San Lang. “Seems like it’s really something urgent.”

He glanced at the youth again, then smiled. “Since he’s not hungry, how about you?”

San Lang answered with a grin of his own. “I’m hungry.”

Xie Lian beamed and got up again. As he turned around to tidy up the table of offerings, he said, “Alright. What would you like to eat then, Hua Cheng?”

There was silence behind him. Followed by a low chuckle.

“I would still prefer to be called ‘San Lang’.”

Chapter 30 : Poking the Ghost King, Seeking the True Form (I)

However, can I see what you really look like?

Xie Lian, “Blood Rain Seeking Flower?”

Hua Cheng, “Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

Xie Lian turned around with a smile. “It’s the first time I’ve heard you address me this way.”

The youth in red sat on the straw woven mat, one leg casually bent before him. Likewise, he was also smiling. “How does it feel?”

Xie Lian thought for a moment, then admitted frankly, “It feels……. rather different from when others call me that.”

“Hm, how is it different?” Hua Cheng asked.

Xie Lian tilted his head, his eyes narrowed contemplatively as he said, “I’m not too sure, it’s just……”

When others greet him as ‘Your Royal Highness’, it was either perfunctory and detached in nature, such as Ling Wen. Or, like the vast majority, the title ‘Your Royal Highness’ would be squeezed out between smiles which contained more teeth than sincerity. Such as when one called a hag a beauty, their seemingly courteous greetings were deliberate and carried a heavy flavour of mockery and derision.

{T/N: Quick reminder. Ling Wen is one of the Civil goddesses, and the first person to greet Xie Lian during his third ascension.}

But when Hua Cheng called him ‘Your Royal Highness’, there was a deep sense of reverence in it. Therefore, Xie Lian could not help but think that Hua Cheng’s way of addressing him as ‘Your Royal Highness’ sounded markedly different, although he was hard-pressed to put this feeling into words.

“At Mount Yu Jun,” Xie Lian said. “The bridegroom who led me away was you, right?”

Hua Cheng’s lips curled up in a smirk. Xie Lian then realized how ambiguous his words seemed and hastened to correct himself. “I mean, the one who posed as the bridegroom at Mount Yu Jun to lead me away was you right?”

But Hua Cheng said, “I did not pose as a bridegroom.”

Well, he wasn’t exactly wrong. At that time, the youth indeed did not try to deceive Xie Lian by claiming to be the bridegroom. In fact, he didn’t say a single word at all. He only stopped in front of the wedding sedan and stretched out his hand. It was Xie Lian himself who had willingly followed him!

Xie Lian said, “Alright. Why were you at Mount Yu Jun then?”

Hua Cheng said, “There can only be two possible answers to your question: First, I went there expressly to seek out Your Royal Highness; second, I was just passing by and felt bored. Which do you think is more likely?”

Considering the number of days the youth had spent idling by his side, Xie Lian said, “I would not presume to say which is more likely…… but you really do seem to have much free time on your hands.”

His eyes traveled over Hua Cheng, then flitted back up. After a long while, he nodded. “You…… are somewhat different from how the legends portray you.”

Hua Cheng changed his posture but his cheek remained propped on one hand as he gazed at Xie Lian attentively. “Oh? Then how did Your Royal Highness deduce that I am Blood Rain Seeking Flower?”

Xie Lian’s mind conjured the memories of the bloody rain pattering down on the parasol, the silvery chimes of metal on metal, and the icy cold touch of the vambraces. You weren’t exactly taking pains to conceal your identity, he thought.

What he said was, “No matter how we tested you, you were absolutely foolproof. That must mean you have already reached the ‘Devastation’ state. You’re clad entirely in crimson, like maple leaves, like blood. You seemed omniscient and omnipotent, absolutely fearless. With such a bearing, asides from the ‘Blood Rain Seeking Flower’ who could make the Heavenly Officials’ faces fall at the mere mention of his name, I can’t really think of anyone else.”

Hua Cheng laughed. “Should I take your words as flattery?”

Xie Lian thought, Isn’t it already obvious?

Hua Cheng’s smile faded a little. “Your Highness, pretty words aside, aren’t you going to ask about my purpose for approaching you?”

Xie Lian shook his head. “If you do not mean to tell me, it would be no use for me to ask. That, or you may not be telling me the truth.”

But Hua Cheng said, “Not necessarily. Moreover, you can always drive me away.”

Xie Lian replied, “With someone as powerful as yourself, even if I were to drive you away, should you really mean me harm, you could simply change your appearance and approach me again, no?”

The two of them looked at each other and smiled. Suddenly, a rattling sound shattered the brief moment of silence that had fallen in the Pu Qi Shrine. The two of them turned towards the source of the noise, only to see a small, black clay pot rolling around on the ground.

It was the small clay pot in which Ban Yue had been housed. Xie Lian had originally placed it by the straw mat, but now it had somehow toppled over and was rolling towards the door. The wooden door which Hua Cheng made blocked its path, and the clay pot began knocking against it. Worried that it would knock itself to pieces, Xie Lian opened the door. The little clay pot then rolled itself all the way out till it reached the grass.

Xie Lian followed the pot. When the pot reached the grassy turf, it righted itself. Despite being nothing more than a pot, it somehow gave one the impression that it was gazing up at the starry night sky.

Hua Cheng also followed him out of the Pu Qi Shrine. Xie Lian spoke to the pot, “Ban Yue, you’re awake?”

Fortunately, it was already very late when they returned from the desert. Otherwise, there would be people witnessing Xie Lian standing outside in the middle of the night, asking a clay pot if it was feeling alright. No doubt such a peculiar sight would have stirred them to a tizzy.

After a beat, a muffled voice came from the little clay pot. “General Hua.”

Xie Lian settled himself down beside the pot. “Ban Yue, did you come out to look at the stars? How about you come out of the pot first.”

Hua Cheng stood nearby, leaning against a tree. “She just left Ban Yue City, it’s better if she stays inside a little while longer,” he said.

After all, Ban Yue had been staying within the confines of the Ban Yue City for over two hundred years. It may be difficult for her to adapt to the sudden change in surroundings.

“Then it’s best if you stay inside for a bit longer,” Xie Lian agreed. “Rest and recuperate. This place is my sanctum, you don’t have to worry about anything else.”

The pot shook twice in reply. After a moment’s consideration, Xie Lian added, “Ban Yue, none of what happened was actually your fault. Your Scorpion-Tailed snakes were……”

Ban Yue said, “General Hua. I couldn’t move previously, but I could hear everything.”

Xie Lian went still at her words. Then he realized that Pei Su had only sealed her ability to move, but had not sealed her consciousness. “Alright then.”

It’s just as well that she’d heard everything.

The pot asked, “General Hua, what will happen to General Pei Junior?”

Xie Lian tucked his hands into his sleeves, sighing, “I don’t know. But…… one should accept the punishment for one’s crimes.”

The pot was silent for a long while, then it shook twice again. This time, Xie Lian finally figured out that this wobble was meant to convey a nod.

“Actually, General Pei Junior is not as bad as you think,” Ban Yue offered.

“Is that so?”

“En,” Ban Yue said. “He’s helped me before.”

{T/N: En is a sound of agreement or affirmation. If there is a question mark before it, En?, then it’s a sound of inquiry.}

And suddenly, more memories flooded into Xie Lian’s mind.

Ban Yue had been frequently beaten up. To quote the words of some Yong’an children, she “has a face that’s just asking for it”.

Xie Lian only found out about this long after getting to know her. Because no matter how many beatings Ban Yue had suffered, she would never tell anyone. It wasn’t until Xie Lian happened to come across a group of children shoving her face down into the mud that he realized how the bruises on her face came to be.

But after a while, when he asked her about the incident again, she could only remember the boy who had pulled her out of the mud pit and lent her a handkerchief to wipe her face, and that she must wash the handkerchief before returning it to him. The rest had all been forgotten.

She could not remember those who had hit her. But anyone who has helped her would be engraved in her memory for a lifetime.

Ban Yue added, “Ke Mo accused me of being charmed by him, that I was but a tool used by others. But regardless of whether I had been used or not, I had willingly opened the city gates.”

Xie Lian did not know what to say, but he felt a corner of his heart suddenly soften.

He hurriedly patted the pot consolingly and said, “Alright, it’s all in the past now. By the way, Ban Yue. ‘Hua Xie’ was just a name I made up, and I have not been a general for a very long time. You don’t have to keep calling me General Hua.”

Ban Yue asked, “What should I call you then?”

This question posed another problem. If Ban Yue calls him ‘Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince’ with her usual earnest fervour, it would definitely feel more than a little peculiar. Xie Lian is not a stickler for titles, and had only been trying to change the subject. He backtracked, “Never mind, it’s up to you. General Hua is fine too.”

It’s just that, there really is someone with the surname ‘Hua’ here as well, so things may get confusing if she goes about calling ‘General Hua’. Xie Lian’s brows furrowed lightly. ‘Hua Xie’ was a name he made up by taking the first word from ‘ Flower Crown Martial God’ as his surname. Could ‘Hua Cheng’ be a pseudonym as well? For the both of them to pick the same word as their surnames seems a rather strange and quirky coincidence.

{T/N: Huā means Flower, General Hua = General Flower. In Chapter 4, it is stated that XL’s statues of worship were sculpted with lots and lots of flowers because…. he is pretty. So he ended up with the sobriquet “Flower Crown Martial God”. Hua Cheng = Flower City}

He heard Ban Yue say again, “I’m sorry, General Hua.”

Xie Lian reined back his wandering thoughts and said a little glumly, “Ban Yue, why do you keep apologizing to me?” Does his appearance somehow evoke too much pity in people?

Ban Yue said, “I wanted to save the common people.”

Xie Lian: “………………”

Ban Yue, “General Hua, these were your words back then.”

Xie Lian: “? ? ?”

He immediately clutched the pot, flustered. “Wait, wait!”

Ban Yue, “Wait for what?”

Xie Lian snuck a quick peek at Hua Cheng who was still leaning against the tree with his arms crossed, before lowering his voice in a whisper, “Did I really say something like that?”

Such pompous words were certainly something that he had loved to recite back when he was in his teens, but after a couple hundred years it should never have crossed his lips again. Hearing this sentence again out of the blue felt too incredible for him to accept.

But Ban Yue insisted, “General, these were your words.”

Xie Lian protested weakly, “I didn’t……”

Ban Yue continued mercilessly, “Oh yes, you did. Once, you asked me what I wanted to do once I grew up. I said I didn’t know, and you said, How could that be? I asked, What about you? And you said, When I was a kid, my dream was to save the common people!”

“……”

So that’s how it was. Xie Lian was horrified. “This! Ban Yue, why would you still remember such nonsense!”

Ban Yue said, “Was it nonsense? But General Hua, I think you meant every word you said.”

Xie Lian looked up at the moon helplessly. “Haha…… is that so. Maybe. I can’t really remember what I said back then.”

Ban Yue added helpfully, “You also said, ‘Always do what you think is right!’, ‘Nothing can stand in your way!’, ‘Even if you fall a hundred times, you must get back up a hundred times!’. And many more.”

“Pfft……”

Xie Lian didn’t have to turn around to know that Hua Cheng was definitely laughing at him under the tree.

It’s too late for Xie Lian to stopper up the pot now anyway. He thought, ……what utter nonsense…… why did I like saying such things? ……I’m not that kind of person…… am I that kind of person? ?

“But, I don’t know what is right and what is wrong anymore,” Ban Yue said.

Xie Lian went still at her words.

“I dreamed of saving the common people, like what General Hua said. But I ended up destroying the Ban Yue nation.”

Ban Yue sounded bewildered and lost. “And it seemed like no matter what I did…… the outcomes were always terrible. General Hua, I know what I did was wrong, but can you tell me where I went wrong? What must I do before I can accomplish what you said…… to save the common people?”

“……”

“I’m sorry Ban Yue,” Xie Lian murmured. “How to save the common people…… I didn’t have the answer to this back then, and I still don’t have the answer now.”

Ban Yue was silent for a moment, then said, “To be honest General Hua, I don’t really know what I’ve been doing these two hundred years. I’m such a failure.”

Xie Lian felt even more depressed. He thought, I’ve been muddling along blindly for eight hundred years, am I not a bigger failure……?

Leaving Ban Yue to calm down and quietly contemplate the stars alone in the pot, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng went back into the Pu Qi Shrine.

After closing the door, Xie Lian suddenly spoke up, “Ban Yue stayed willingly in the Ban Yue pass, not because she had turned into a Wrath. That’s why she was trapped there.”

{T/N: Ghosts are ranked as Fierce, Severe, Wrath, and Devastation. In this context, it infers that Ban Yue was not shackled by her grievances, but her desire for atonement. }

From the start, she could not forget that she was the one who had opened the city gates, and had never tried to justify her actions with excuses such as ‘for the good of the people’. In order to help the soldiers of the Ban Yue nation vent their grievances and move on sooner, she allowed Ke Mo and his soldiers to capture and kill her over and over again.

Xie Lian shook his head. “In fact, if General Pei Junior had really wanted to get rid of those Ban Yue soldiers and avoid discovery by the Upper Court of Heaven, he could have just quietly sent a puppet down to clean up those Ban Yue soldiers. Why did he have to use such a method instead.”

Hua Cheng said, “The powers of a puppet are greatly decreased. You’ve seen that puppet that Pei Su created, Ah Zhao. It wasn’t able to eliminate that many Ban Yue soldiers in one go. Feeding them with living flesh and blood to disperse their resentment is simpler and a great deal quicker.”

Xie Lian asked, “Why was it so important to be quick?”

Hua Cheng replied, “Maybe he wants your little friend Ban Yue to suffer fewer hangings.”

Xie Lian was silent for a moment. “What about those mortals then?”

Hua Cheng’s voice dipped. “To Heavenly Officials, the lives of mortals are insignificant. Pei Su is a typical example of a Heavenly Official from the Upper Court. As long as he is not discovered, snuffing out the lives of a few hundred people is no different from trampling a few hundred ants.”

Xie Lian gazed at him quietly. He recalled how after San Lang had jumped down into the Sinners’ Pit, the Ban Yue soldiers inside had been wiped out in the span of a single breath. He turned around, saying, “A puppet’s powers will be decreased, you say? From what I’ve seen though, this puppet of yours is pretty incredible.”

San Lang quirked a brow at him. “Of course. You’re looking at the real thing.”

Shocked, Xie Lian spun back around. “Huh? This is your true self?”

Hua Cheng deadpanned, “Guaranteed genuine, otherwise returnable.”

If anyone was to blame for what happened next, it was that Hua Cheng’s words and expression seemed to be inviting a potential buyer to verify the authenticity of his goods. And so, before Xie Lian even realized what he was doing, he had already lifted a finger and given Hua Cheng’s cheek a poke.

Then Xie Lian came to himself with a horrified start.

He had only been overly curious about what the skin of a Ghost King would feel like, and his body had not consulted with his brain first before acting. After the poke, he was mortified.

Hua Cheng seemed faintly startled by the poke to his face as well, but he remained calm and his expression quickly smoothed out again. He said nothing, his brows lifted even higher as he looked at Xie Lian expectantly, as if waiting for an explanation, amusement evident in his eyes.

Of course, Xie Lian was not able to come up with a plausible excuse for his behavior. He stared at his own finger for a long moment, then tucked it away out of sight. “……Not bad.”

Hua Cheng finally burst out laughing. Folding his arms over his chest, he tilted his head at Xie Lian. “What’s not bad? Do you mean that this skin is not bad?”

Xie Lian said sincerely, “Yea, it’s pretty good. But……”

Hua Cheng, “But?”

Xie Lian gazed at his face fixedly and hesitated. Finally, he said, “But can I see what you really look like?”

Since Hua Cheng had said “this skin” just now, it shows that even though his presence was genuine, he was wearing a different skin. This appearance of a youngster is not his true form.

This time, Hua Cheng did not answer immediately. He lowered his arms by his sides. It may be Xie Lian’s imagination, but his eyes seemed to grow darker. Xie Lian’s heart tightened.