Since that time, things got out of hand.
Over the next hundred years, seventeen brides disappeared around Yu Jun Mountain.
Sometimes, there would be peace for over a decade, and other times, two brides would vanish in just a month.
A terrifying legend quickly spread: a ghost groom lived in Yu Jun Mountain, and if he took a liking to a woman, he would kidnap her on her wedding day and devour the wedding party.
This matter originally didn't reach the heavens because, although seventeen brides went missing, thousands more were safe.
People figured that since the brides couldn't be found or protected, they just had to deal with it.
Fewer families dared to marry off their daughters in that area, and local weddings became quieter affairs.
However, the seventeenth bride's father was an official who adored his daughter.
Hearing the rumors, he carefully chose forty brave warriors to escort her, yet she still disappeared.
This ghost groom had stirred up a hornet's nest.
The official couldn't handle it on his own, so he angrily teamed up with fellow officials, performed a series of rituals, and even distributed aid to the poor as advised by a wise person.
This caused such a commotion that it finally caught the attention of the gods above.
Otherwise, the faint cries of ordinary people would never reach the ears of the heavenly gods.
Xie Lian said, "That's the gist of it."
Seeing the two others looking uncooperative, he wasn't sure if they were listening.
If they didn't, he'd just have to explain again.
Nan Feng looked up, frowning, and asked, "Is there anything in common among the missing brides?"
Xie Lian replied, "Some were rich, some poor, some beautiful, some plain, some were wives, some concubines. In short: no pattern. There's no way to determine what the ghost groom's taste is."
Nan Feng nodded, took a sip of tea, and seemed to start thinking. Fu Yao, however, didn't touch the tea Xie Lian offered.
He just calmly wiped his fingers with a white handkerchief, his expression indifferent, and said, "Crown Prince, how do you know it's definitely a ghost groom? It might not be.
No one has ever seen it, so how do you know if it's male or female, old or young? Aren't you assuming too much?"
Xie Lian smiled and said, "The scroll was compiled by the civil officials of Ling Wen Hall, and 'ghost groom' is just a term used by the common folk. But you make a good point."
After chatting a bit more, Xie Lian found that these two young warriors were quite clear-headed, and although they seemed unfriendly, they were straightforward in discussing matters, which was reassuring.
Seeing that it was getting late outside, the three left the small shop for now.
Xie Lian put on a bamboo hat and walked a bit, then noticed that the other two hadn't followed. Puzzled, he turned back to see them also looking puzzled at him. Nan Feng asked, "Where are you going?"
Xie Lian replied, "Looking for a place to stay. Fu Yao, why are you rolling your eyes again?"
Nan Feng asked, puzzled, "Then why are you heading towards the wilderness?"
Xie Lian was used to sleeping rough and was naturally planning to find a cave to light a fire after being reminded.
He realized that since Nan Feng and Fu Yao were warriors under martial gods, if there was a Nan Yang Temple or Xuan Zhen Temple nearby, they could go there instead of camping out.
Soon, they found a rundown earth god shrine in an inconspicuous corner.
It was cold and deserted, with a small, round stone earth god. Xie Lian called out a few times.
This earth god hadn't been worshipped or called upon for years.
Suddenly hearing someone call, it opened its eyes and saw three people standing in front of the shrine.
The two on the sides were shrouded in a flashy aura, making their faces indistinguishable. Terrified, it stammered, "Do the three immortal officials have any orders for me?"
Xie Lian nodded and said, "No orders. Just asking if there's a city god temple nearby dedicated to General Nan Yang or General Xuan Zhen?"
The earth god didn't dare delay and, after calculating, said, "Five miles from here, there's a city god temple dedicated to General Nan Yang."
Xie Lian clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you." The earth god, blinded by the two auras, quickly disappeared. Xie Lian took out some coins and placed them in front of the shrine.
Seeing some scattered incense sticks nearby, he picked them up and lit them.
During this, Fu Yao rolled his eyes so much that Xie Lian almost wanted to ask if his eyes were tired.
After five miles, they indeed found a city god temple, bright and lively by the roadside.
Though small, it was bustling with people.
The three of them concealed their presence and entered the temple, where a clay statue of the Nan Yang Martial God, armored and holding a bow, was enshrined.
Seeing this statue, Xie Lian couldn't help but think, "Hmm..."
In this rural temple, the statue's craftsmanship and painting were rough, looking quite different from Feng Xin, as Xie Lian remembered him.
However, poorly crafted statues were common for the gods.
Some gods couldn't even recognize their own statues.
Since few craftsmen had actually seen the gods, the statues were either excessively beautiful or ugly, identified only by specific poses, artifacts, or attire.
Generally, the wealthier the area, the more the statues matched the gods' preferences. In poorer areas, the craftsmen's taste was worse, resulting in less appealing statues.
Among the gods, only Xuan Zhen's statues were generally well-made. Why? Because while other gods ignored ugly statues, Xuan Zhen would secretly damage them, forcing people to rebuild, or send dreams to express dissatisfaction.
Over time, followers knew to hire skilled craftsmen.
The entire Xuan Zhen Hall was meticulous like their general.
After entering the Nan Yang Temple, Fu Yao spent an hour criticizing the Nan Yang statue's twisted shape, garish colors, poor craftsmanship, and peculiar taste.
Xie Lian saw Nan Feng's forehead veins starting to pop out and thought it was best to change the subject.
Just then, a young girl entered to pray, kneeling devoutly. Xie Lian gently said, "Speaking of which, True Lord Nan Yang's main influence is in the southeast. It's surprising to see such strong faith in the north."
People built temples and shrines as imitations of the heavenly palaces, and the statues were reflections of the gods themselves.
Temples gathered followers and attracted worship, becoming a vital source of power for the gods.
Due to geography, history, and customs, different regions worshiped different gods. In their own territory, a god's power was strongest, known as the home advantage.
Only the Emperor Jun Wu, with followers everywhere and temples in all directions, was unaffected by this.
Having a temple in a non-home area thriving was good news for Nan Feng, but his expression was not pleased. Fu Yao smiled slightly and said, "Yes, very popular."
Xie Lian said, "But I have a question. I wonder..."
Nan Feng said, "If it's 'I wonder if I should say it,' then don't."
Xie Lian thought, "No. I mean 'I wonder if anyone can answer.'"
However, he sensed that saying this would be unwise and decided to change the topic again.
Unexpectedly, Fu Yao casually said, "I know what you want to ask.
You're wondering why there are so many female worshippers, right?"
Xie Lian was indeed curious about this.
Typically, martial gods had fewer female followers, except for him eight hundred years ago. The reason was simple: he was handsome.
He knew it wasn't because of his virtue or power, just that his statue was good-looking, and so were his temples.
His temples were mostly built by the royal family, and the statues were crafted by the nation's finest artisans, modeled after his face.
Moreover, because of the phrase "heart in paradise," craftsmen liked to add flowers to his statues and plant flower trees around his temples.
Thus, he was also known as the "Flower-Crowned Martial God." Female worshippers liked his handsome statue and the floral temples, so they were willing to pray to him.
But generally, martial gods had a fierce aura, and their statues were often sculpted to look stern, fierce, or cold, which deterred female worshippers.
This Nan Yang statue, while not fierce, was far from attractive, yet there were more female worshippers than male ones.
Nan Feng clearly didn't want to answer this, which puzzled Xie Lian. Just then, the girl finished praying, got up to take incense, and turned around.
As she turned, Xie Lian nudged the other two. They were initially impatient, but seeing what he saw, their expressions changed.
Fu Yao said, "Too ugly!"
Xie Lian paused before saying, "Fu Yao, you shouldn't speak about girls like that."
To be fair, Fu Yao was being honest.
The girl's face was flat, as if it had been slapped, and her features were so plain they were almost unfairly described as "ordinary."
If one had to describe her, "crooked nose and slanted eyes" might be the closest.
But Xie Lian didn't even notice if she was pretty or not. The main issue was the huge tear in her skirt, impossible to ignore.
Fu Yao was initially shocked but quickly composed himself. Nan Feng's forehead veins disappeared instantly.
Seeing his drastic change in expression, Xie Lian quickly said, "Don't panic. Don't panic."
The girl took incense and knelt again, praying, "Nan Yang General, please help catch the ghost groom soon, so no more innocent people suffer..."
She prayed earnestly, unaware of the three people squatting at the statue's feet.
Xie Lian felt a headache coming on and said, "What do we do? We can't let her leave like this. She'll be stared at all the way home."
Moreover, the tear in her skirt seemed deliberately cut with a sharp object, so she wouldn't just be stared at but also ridiculed, which would be a real humiliation.
Fu Yao indifferently said, "Don't ask me. She's not praying to our Xuan Zhen General. I see nothing."
Nan Feng, on the other hand, was speechless, his handsome face turning pale.
A proud young man rendered mute, he was of no use. Xie Lian had to step in himself. He took off his coat and threw it down.
The coat floated over the girl, covering the unsightly tear in her skirt. The three of them sighed in relief.
But the sudden gust startled the girl. She looked around, took the coat, hesitated, and put it on the altar, still unaware.
After finishing her prayer, she was about to leave.
If she went out like that, she'd be too embarrassed to face anyone.
Seeing the other two were either frozen or useless, Xie Lian sighed. Nan Feng and Fu Yao felt a breeze as Xie Lian appeared and jumped down.
The temple's lighting was dim, and his sudden appearance startled the girl. She saw a shirtless man reaching out to her and screamed.
As expected, a scream. Xie Lian was about to speak when the girl quickly slapped him, shouting, "Help!"
With a loud smack, Xie Lian took a slap.
The slap was so crisp that the two squatting on the altar flinched.
Despite the slap, Xie Lian wasn't angry.
He just pushed the coat into her hands and quickly whispered something.
The girl was shocked, touched her back, and her face turned bright red, her eyes filling with tears.
Whether from anger or embarrassment, she clutched the coat and ran off, leaving Xie Lian standing there.
The temple was empty, and a cold wind blew through, making it suddenly chilly.
He rubbed his face, turned to the other two, and said, "Alright. It's fine now."
As soon as he spoke, Nan Feng pointed at him and said, "Are you bleeding?"
Xie Lian looked down and said, "Oh."
He had taken off his coat, revealing a body like white jade.
But his chest was tightly wrapped in layers of white cloth, even his neck and wrists were bandaged, with countless small wounds peeking out, quite shocking.
Thinking his twisted neck should be healed by now, Xie Lian began unwrapping the bandages. Fu Yao glanced at him and asked, "Who?"
Xie Lian replied, "What?"
Fu Yao asked, "Who did you fight?"
Xie Lian said, "Fight? No one."
Nan Feng asked, "Then how did you get all these injuries?"
Xie Lian said, confused, "I fell."
"......"
These were the injuries from three days ago when he fell from the heavens. If he had fought someone, he might not have been hurt this badly.
Fu Yao muttered something, not a compliment, so Xie Lian didn't ask. He finished unwrapping the thick bandages. The next moment, Nan Feng and Fu Yao's eyes focused on his neck.
A black collar encircled his snow-white neck.