Upon hearing a sudden scream, Xie Lian's heart skipped a beat. Before his mind could react, his body had already rushed out. Outside the alley, a group of strange-looking demons and ghosts had formed a circle, shouting, "Caught him!"
"Beat him to death again!"
"That little thief has stolen so much from me, I swear I'll strip it all off him!"
Shi Qingxuan said, "Crown Prince, what's wrong?"
Xie Lian didn't answer, walking step by step towards the commotion. He walked faster and faster, then broke into a run, pushing aside a few people to see—a ragged young boy, no older than fifteen or sixteen, curled up on the ground, shivering.
Even though he was tightly holding his head, it was clear that his head was wrapped messily with several bandages, as dirty as his hair.
Wasn't this the bandaged boy Xie Lian had briefly met at Yu Jun Mountain, who then vanished without a trace despite searches?
No wonder the Spirit Communication Array had reported no results for days. If the boy had fled into the ghost realm, how could the heavenly realm's Spirit Communication Array find him among humans?
The ghosts Xie Lian had pulled away were furious and dragged him back. One ghost grabbed at the boy's bandages, saying, "This little freak must be uglier than me, that's why he's so afraid of anyone pulling these things off his face..."
Lang Qianqiu shouted angrily, "What are you doing!" He rushed forward and threw them off again. Shi Qingxuan couldn't stop him in time, only able to snap his fan and say, "Qianqiu, you promised not to act impulsively again!"
This time, Lang Qianqiu angered many people, who cursed, "Who are you to come out of nowhere?" and lunged at him. Lang Qianqiu said, "Sorry, Wind Master, this is the last time!" and started fighting them. Shi Qingxuan had no choice but to join the fray, unable to use spells without revealing their presence, resorting to fists and kicks. A few were still beating the boy, whom Xie Lian pushed away. He bent down to help the boy up, asking, "Are you okay?"
Hearing this voice, the boy flinched and looked at him, revealing a face covered in blood-soaked bandages, black and red, quite terrifying. This appearance was more frightening than when they last parted, but through the gaps in the bandages, his eyes were clear and bright. Yet, those dark eyes reflected Xie Lian's image, filled with fear and timidity.
Xie Lian held the boy's arm, saying, "Come on, stand up. It's okay now." But the boy suddenly screamed, pushed Xie Lian away, and jumped up to run.
Because this boy had once suffered from the human face plague, which was inevitably linked to the Divine Joy Kingdom, Xie Lian was deeply shaken upon seeing him, his mind a bit dazed. Caught off guard, he was pushed away, even dropping his hat. He paused, saying, "Wait!"
As Xie Lian was about to chase him, the ghosts he had pushed away came back to entangle him. The boy fled down the long street, bustling with people and ghosts. He ducked and weaved through the crowd, quickly disappearing. Ruoye was hard to use to catch someone in such a place. In desperation, Xie Lian said, "You two handle this! We'll split up and meet back here in three days at the latest!" Ruoye whipped out, sending several ghosts flying towards the two. He then grabbed his hat and chased after the boy.
He squeezed through the crowded street, shouting, "Excuse me! Excuse me!" The boy, used to hiding and escaping among humans, was naturally adept at running away. One moment Xie Lian could see his head, the next his back, and then he was gone, getting farther away. And whether it was an illusion or not, Xie Lian felt the street was getting busier, more crowded, making it harder to move. Distracted, he accidentally knocked over a few stalls, quickly apologizing, "Sorry! Sorry!"
The ghosts were not to be trifled with, cursing, "What's the use of sorry? Catch him!" Xie Lian suddenly felt a chill behind him, as if a hand was reaching for him. He turned and struck back, saying, "Who is it?!"
It was a tentacle that had appeared out of nowhere, and a group of ghosts surrounded him, voices of varying pitches encircling him, "Oh wow! Let's teach this pretty boy a lesson for causing trouble in the ghost market!"
A wave of demons and ghosts surged, threatening to separate him from the boy. Xie Lian struggled to pull away the tentacle, saying, "Everyone! I'm truly sorry, I didn't mean it. Can you let me find someone first, and we can discuss compensation later?"
The ghosts were relentless, "Dream on!"
In the pushing and shoving, the boy finally disappeared completely. Xie Lian stood there, not sure how he felt. Was he disappointed for not catching the boy, or relieved that a nightmare had moved further away?
Suddenly, the ghost crowd stirred, parting to the sides as if someone important had arrived. Xie Lian snapped back to reality, seeing a tall figure in black walking towards him from the parted crowd, saying, "Everyone, stop fooling around, let him go!"
The man in black, like many demons and ghosts on the street, wore a ghost mask with an expression of a helpless smile. The ghosts murmured, "The Crescent Moon Servant is here!" and finally released Xie Lian. It seemed this was a big figure in the ghost market.
Upon seeing Xie Lian, he bowed and said, "This Daoist, the City Lord invites you."
Xie Lian pointed at himself, "Me?"
The Crescent Moon Servant said, "Yes. The City Lord has been waiting for you at the Elysium Pavilion."
There was a collective gasp, "The City Lord invites him? Did I hear that right? The City Lord?" "Elysium Pavilion? That's the City Lord's private place, never open to outsiders!"
Someone coming from another street said, "Wait, isn't this the Daoist who won against the City Lord at the Ghost Gambling House today, no, who was taught a lesson by the City Lord?!"
Many eyes, at least as big as copper bells, stared at Xie Lian, forcing him to raise his hat to shield himself. The Crescent Moon Servant said, "Please."
Xie Lian nodded and followed him.
The crowd parted to make way, and the ghost servant led Xie Lian through it. No one dared to follow to see what would happen. After a stick of incense time, the two left the bustling street, walking into more secluded areas.
During this time, they spoke little. Xie Lian always felt the Crescent Moon Servant might disappear into the darkness, so he kept close. When he accidentally glanced at the ghost servant's wrist, he noticed a black curse circle.
This was something he was all too familiar with.
A curse shackle?!
He widened his eyes in silent shock, then heard the ghost servant say, "We're here."
Xie Lian looked up and found himself before a lake. Many ghostly fires danced on the water. By the shore stood a magnificent golden building.
Both the heavenly and ghost realms had splendid architecture. However, the heavenly realm's grandeur was solemn, while the ghost market's was flamboyant and gaudy. Even the three characters "Elysium Pavilion" on the building exuded a sense of enchantment.
A strange song drifted from within, light and soft, quite enchanting, as if many women were laughing and dancing as they sang.
Following the song, Xie Lian slowly walked in, lifting the beaded curtain, a warm fragrant breeze greeting him. He slightly turned his head, as if to avoid the intoxicating air.
The main hall of the Elysium Pavilion was covered with a thick carpet, made from the fur of some mythical beast, complete and whole. Many beautiful women with bare white feet and draped in gauzy clothes danced seductively, singing and dancing. The song was coming from them.
These women spun freely, like countless roses with thorns blooming in the night. As they passed in front of Xie Lian, they cast flirtatious glances at him. If a night traveler stumbled upon this scene, they might be more terrified or more entranced. However, as Xie Lian scanned the hall, his gaze went straight through the women. The first thing he saw was Hua Cheng sitting at the end of the hall.
At the far end of the hall was a long couch made of black jade, spacious enough for more than ten people to lie on, but only one person sat there—Hua Cheng. Before him, countless beautiful ghost women sang and danced, yet Hua Cheng didn't spare them a glance, idly staring at something in front of him.
In front of him was a small golden palace. At first glance, it looked like a heavenly palace. Upon closer inspection, the palace was made of intricately crafted gold foil, and what he was absentmindedly playing with was a piece of gold foil.
Building with gold foil. This game was something Xie Lian often played as a child in the Divine Joy Palace, similar to how common children stack stones to build houses. When he was young, he liked to gather things and didn't like to break them apart.
Once something was built, he didn't want anyone to touch it, wishing he could glue it together so it would never change. When he was even younger, if he saw his little house collapse, he'd be so upset he couldn't eat or sleep, needing his parents to comfort him.
Seeing the palace stacked with over a hundred pieces of gold foil, trembling and fragile, Xie Lian couldn't help but silently pray, "Don't fall, don't fall."
Unexpectedly, after a moment, Hua Cheng stared at the palace for a while, then suddenly smiled brightly, reaching out a finger to lightly flick the small golden palace—
With a crash, the entire palace collapsed.
Gold foil scattered everywhere. Destroying such a small golden palace, Hua Cheng's expression was somewhat pleased, like a child knocking over a toy block tower.
He casually tossed the piece of gold foil he was playing with and jumped off the couch. The dancing women quickly retreated to the sides, covering their mouths to stop singing. Hua Cheng walked over, stepping on the scattered golden pieces, saying, "Brother, since you're here, why not come forward? Could it be that after just a few days apart, you've become distant from San Lang?"
Hearing this, Xie Lian put down the beaded curtain, saying, "Earlier at the gambling house, it was San Lang who pretended not to know me first."
Hua Cheng had already reached his side, saying, "Lang Qianqiu was present. If I didn't act a bit, it might have caused trouble for Brother."
Xie Lian thought the act was indeed quite perfunctory. Perhaps Hua Cheng was also aware of Shi Qingxuan hidden among the ghosts, so Xie Lian didn't hide anything, saying, "San Lang is as knowledgeable as ever."
Hua Cheng laughed, "Naturally. Did Brother come specifically to see me this time?"
"…"
Honestly, if Xie Lian knew Hua Cheng was here, he might have taken the chance to visit, but this time wasn't intentional.
However, Hua Cheng didn't wait for his answer, smiling slightly, "Whether you came to see me or not, I'm happy."
Hearing this, Xie Lian was startled. Before he could say anything, the women on either side giggled softly.
Hua Cheng turned his head slightly, and they quickly bowed and retreated, leaving the grand hall empty except for the two of them. Hua Cheng said, "Brother, come sit here."
Xie Lian followed him, smiling, "Is this your true appearance?"
Hua Cheng paused slightly.