Of course, he would never say this out loud.
But it's no wonder that Nan Feng and Fu Yao's expressions changed whenever they heard about the Silver Butterfly.
It seemed they had suffered at the hands of the master of those butterflies alongside the two officials they served.
A divine official asked, "Your Highness, what did Hua Cheng do to you when you met him?"
The tone sounded more like they were asking, "Did you lose an arm or a leg?"
Xie Lian replied, "He didn't do much, just..."
At this point, he found himself at a loss for words, thinking, "Just what? I can't exactly say he just hijacked my bridal sedan and led me around, can I?"
After a moment of silence, he said, "He just broke the illusion array set by Lady Ghost Xuan Ji on Yu Jun Mountain and took me inside."
All the officials were puzzled and silent. After a while, one of them asked, "What do you all think?"
Just by listening, Xie Lian could imagine the officials shaking their heads and shrugging:
"No opinion, absolutely no opinion!"
"No idea what he's up to, it's creepy."
"Who knows what Hua Cheng is thinking, he's always been a mystery..."
Even though he had been briefed on how troublesome Hua Cheng was, Xie Lian didn't find him all that terrifying.
In fact, he felt that Hua Cheng had helped him this time.
In any case, the first prayer he received after returning to the heavenly realm seemed to have been completed just like that.
As mentioned earlier, all the merits from the Yu Jun Mountain trip were credited to him.
Although the magistrate took a long time to remember to fulfill his vow due to his daughter's death, and did so with a heavy heart, in the end, after some leniency, the merits added up to 8,888,000.
Xie Lian, now free of debt, felt light-hearted and decided to be a good god.
He hoped to become at least half a friend to the other officials.
The Spirit Communication Array in the heavenly court was usually quiet, but when busy, it was bustling.
When the officials were in a good mood or saw something interesting, they would chat and joke a bit.
Although Xie Lian couldn't distinguish who was who, he listened quietly.
But he couldn't stay silent forever, so after listening for a while, he would occasionally say something gently:
"That's really interesting."
"I read a beautiful little poem, let me share it with everyone."
"A very effective tip for relieving back and leg pain, let me share it with everyone."
Unfortunately, every time he shared these carefully selected and beneficial contents, the Spirit Communication Array would fall silent.
Eventually, Ling Wen couldn't hold back and told him privately, "Your Highness, what you share in the array is good, but even the officials who are hundreds of years older than you wouldn't share such things."
Xie Lian felt a bit down.
He wasn't the oldest, but why did he feel like an old man who couldn't keep up with the younger officials?
Perhaps he had been away from the heavenly realm for too long and was out of touch with the world. He decided to give up and wasn't bothered by it anymore.
However, there was one problem: so far, no one in the mortal realm had built a shrine for him. Maybe there was one, but the heavenly realm hadn't detected it, so there was no record.
Even the earth gods had small shrines, yet he, a proper god who had ascended three times, had no shrine or followers. It was quite embarrassing.
But the embarrassment was more for the other officials; Xie Lian himself didn't mind. One day, on a whim, he thought, "If no one wants to worship me, I can worship myself, right?"
The officials didn't know how to respond.
Who ever heard of a god worshiping himself?
Being a god to this extent, what kind of feeling is that?
Xie Lian was used to the awkward silence whenever he spoke and found it amusing. Once he made up his mind, he descended to the mortal realm.
This time, he landed in a small mountain village called Pugilistic Village.
It was more like a small hill than a village. Xie Lian saw the beautiful green hills and clear waters, with fields stretching endlessly, and thought, "I've really landed in a good place this time."
Then he noticed a crooked, dilapidated house on the hill. When he asked around, the villagers said, "That house is abandoned, no owner. Sometimes vagrants sleep there for a night, stay as you like."
It was perfect for him, so he approached it.
Up close, the small wooden house looked even more rundown.
Two of the four corner pillars seemed rotten, and the whole house creaked in the wind, as if it might collapse at any moment.
But this was still acceptable to Xie Lian, so he went inside and started tidying up.
The villagers were surprised to see someone actually planning to live there and gathered to watch.
The villagers were very kind, not only giving him a broom but also a basket of freshly picked water chestnuts when they saw him covered in dust.
The water chestnuts were peeled, white, tender, and juicy.
Sitting at the entrance of the broken house, Xie Lian ate them with his hands together in gratitude and decided to call the place Pugilistic Shrine.
The shrine already had a small table that could be used as an altar with a few wipes.
After some work, the villagers realized the young man was setting up a small temple and were even more curious, asking, "Who are you worshiping here?"
Xie Lian cleared his throat and said, "Well, this shrine is dedicated to the Crown Prince of Celestial Music."
Everyone looked puzzled, "Who is that?"
Xie Lian said, "I... I don't know either. Seems like a crown prince."
"Oh, what does he do?"
"Probably ensures safety." And collects junk.
The villagers eagerly asked, "Does this Crown Prince bring wealth?"
Xie Lian thought, not being in debt is good enough, and gently said, "Unfortunately, it seems he doesn't."
The villagers suggested, "You should worship the Water Master, for wealth! Sure to have lots of incense!"
"Or worship True Lord Ling Wen! Maybe our village will produce a top scholar!"
A shy woman asked, "Um... do you have... do you have that..."
Xie Lian kept smiling, "Which one?"
"True Lord Juyang."
"......"
If he really opened a Juyang Temple, Feng Xin might shoot an arrow from the sky!
After roughly cleaning the Pugilistic Shrine, he still needed some incense burners and other items.
But Xie Lian completely forgot the most important thing—a statue. He put on his hat and left, realizing there was no door either.
Thinking the house definitely needed repairs, he wrote a sign and placed it at the entrance: "This shrine is a dangerous building, sincerely seeking kind donors for repairs, accumulate merits."
He walked seven or eight miles to the town.
What was he doing in town? Naturally, to find something to eat, going back to his old trade.
In myths, gods don't need to eat, but that's debatable.
The truly powerful can absorb the spiritual energy from sunlight and rain. But the question is—why would anyone want to do that?
Some officials, due to their cultivation methods, need to keep their bodies clean and can't touch mortal food.
If they do, it's like eating poison or dirt, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea. However, they don't go without food; they eat spiritual fruits and birds that extend life and enhance spiritual power.
But Xie Lian didn't have this problem. With his curse, he was like a mortal and could eat anything.
Having been through many battles, he could eat anything and survive, whether it was a month-old bun or moldy cake.
With such a resilient body, he did okay while collecting junk. In fact, collecting junk made money, while opening a shrine lost money.
He looked like a handsome, ethereal figure, which gave him an advantage when collecting junk.
In no time, he had gathered a big bag. On the way back, he saw an old yellow cow pulling a cart piled high with straw.
Remembering seeing this cart in Pugilistic Village, he guessed it was going the same way.
He asked if he could hitch a ride, and the cart owner nodded, allowing him to climb on with his bag of junk. Once on, he noticed someone already lying behind the straw.
The person was lying leisurely with one leg propped over the other, seemingly napping with their arms as a pillow, looking quite relaxed.
Xie Lian envied this comfortable posture.
The pair of black boots were neatly worn, fitting snugly on the long, straight legs, quite pleasing to the eye.
Remembering the boots he saw under the veil on Yu Jun Mountain, he couldn't help but take a few more glances, confirming there were no silver chains on these boots.
He wondered, "Which young master is out playing?"
The cart swayed slowly along the road. Xie Lian, wearing his hat, took out a scroll to read.
He usually didn't pay attention to news from the outside world, but after several awkward silences, he thought it best to catch up a bit.
The cart swayed for a while, passing through a maple forest.
Looking around, he saw green fields and vibrant red maples, with a touch of mountain charm and refreshing grassy scent, quite intoxicating.
Xie Lian couldn't help but pause and take it in.
When he was young, he trained at the Royal Extreme Temple, built in the mountains, surrounded by endless maple forests, golden and fiery.
This scene inevitably brought back memories.
After a while, he lowered his head to continue reading the scroll.
The first line he saw read:
Crown Prince of Celestial Music, ascended three times. Martial God, God of Calamity, God of Junk.
"......"
Xie Lian said, "Well, thinking about it, a Martial God and a God of Junk aren't too different. All gods are equal, all beings are equal."
At this moment, a light laugh came from behind him, and a voice said, "Really?"
The young man lazily said, "People love to say all gods and beings are equal. But if that were true, the heavenly gods wouldn't exist."
The voice came from behind the straw on the cart. Xie Lian turned to look and saw the young man still lying there leisurely, not intending to get up, so he smiled and said, "You have a point."
He turned back to continue reading the scroll, which also said:
Many believe that as a God of Calamity, the Crown Prince's handwriting or portrait has a cursing effect. If placed on someone's back or a household door, it brings bad luck.
"......"
Such comments made it hard to tell if they were talking about a god or a ghost.
Xie Lian shook his head, unable to bear reading more about himself, and decided to learn about the current heavenly officials to avoid any embarrassment.
Remembering the villagers mentioning the Water Master, he looked for information and found:
Water Master Wudu. Controls water and wealth.
Many merchants have a Water Master statue in their shops or homes for financial luck.
Xie Lian was puzzled, "How can a water god also control wealth?"
The young man behind the straw spoke again, "Trading and transporting goods mostly rely on waterways, so before setting out, merchants burn incense at the Water Master's temple for a safe journey, promising offerings upon return. Over time, the Water Master gradually gained control over wealth."
It seemed the young man was explaining to him. Xie Lian turned around and said, "Is that so? Interesting. This Water Master must be a great official."
The young man chuckled, "Yeah, Water Tyrant."
Judging by his tone, he didn't seem to hold the official in high regard, nor did it sound like praise. Xie Lian asked, "What does Water Tyrant mean?"
The young man lazily replied, "When a ship crosses a river, whether it passes or stays depends on him. If you don't offer tribute, he'll capsize you. Quite domineering, so they nicknamed him Water Tyrant. Like True Lord Juyang or Sweeping General."
Famous officials often had nicknames in both the mortal and heavenly realms, similar to Xie Lian's titles like "Three Realms' Laughingstock" or "Notorious Oddball," among others.
Usually, calling an official by a nickname was very disrespectful, like calling Mu Qing "Sweeping General" to his face would make him furious.
Xie Lian noted not to call them that and said, "I see, thank you for explaining."
After a pause, finding the young man's talk interesting, he added, "Young friend, you know a lot for someone so young."
The young man said, "Not much. Just idle, with time to read."
In the mortal realm, there were many booklets about gods and ghosts, big stories and small tales, some true, some false.
It wasn't surprising the young man knew a lot. Xie Lian put down the scroll and asked, "Then, young friend, you know a lot about gods, but do you know about ghosts?"
The young man asked, "Which ghost?"
Xie Lian said, "Blood Rain Seeking Flower, Hua Cheng."
Upon hearing this, the young man chuckled softly and finally sat up.
When he turned his head, Xie Lian was momentarily dazzled.
The young man looked about sixteen or seventeen, wearing red clothes brighter than maple, with skin white as snow, bright eyes like stars, and a playful smile.
He was exceptionally handsome, with a touch of wildness in his expression. His black hair was loosely tied, slightly askew, looking very casual.
As they passed through the fiery maple forest, leaves danced around, with one landing on the young man's shoulder. He gently blew it off, then looked up at Xie Lian with a half-smile and said, "What do you want to know? Ask away."