Chapter 40 Elysium Pavilion and the Divine Music 2

Xie Lian felt that Hua Cheng's shoulder seemed to stiffen for a moment, but then he returned to his usual self, saying, "I told you before. Next time we meet, I'll show you my true face."

Xie Lian smiled genuinely and said, "That's good."

Without teasing or comforting, he treated it naturally. Hua Cheng smiled, and this time, his expression was truly normal. After a few steps, Xie Lian suddenly remembered something important. He took off the silver chain from his chest and said, "By the way, did you leave this?"

Hua Cheng glanced at the ring and smiled, "It's a gift for you."

Xie Lian asked, "What is it?"

Hua Cheng replied, "It's nothing valuable. Just wear it for fun."

Even though he said that, Xie Lian knew it must be incredibly valuable and said, "Thank you, San Lang."

Seeing Xie Lian put the ring back on, a light flickered in Hua Cheng's eyes. Xie Lian looked around and said, "When I heard you say you were coming to the Elysium Pavilion, I thought it was some kind of pleasure house. But it seems more like a place for music and dance."

Hua Cheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Brother, what are you talking about? I never go to those kinds of places."

This surprised Xie Lian, and he asked, "Really?"

Hua Cheng replied, "Of course, really." They walked to the side of a black jade couch and sat down together. He continued, "This place is something I built for fun. It's one of my residences. I come when I have time, and if I don't, I leave it be."

Xie Lian said, "So it's your home."

Hua Cheng corrected him, "A residence. Not a home."

Xie Lian asked, "Is there a difference?"

Hua Cheng replied, "Of course there is. A home has family. A place where one person lives isn't called a home."

Xie Lian felt a slight pang in his heart. By this definition, he hadn't had a "home" for over eight hundred years. Although Hua Cheng didn't show any loneliness, Xie Lian felt they might be similar in this way. Hua Cheng added, "If it were a home, even a small place like the Pugilistic Shrine would be a thousand times better than this Elysium Pavilion."

Xie Lian agreed wholeheartedly and laughed, "San Lang, you're truly a person of deep emotions. But comparing the Pugilistic Shrine to this place is quite embarrassing for me."

Hua Cheng laughed heartily, "What's there to be embarrassed about? To be honest, even though the Pugilistic Shrine is small, I find it much more comfortable than this Elysium Pavilion. It feels more like a home."

Xie Lian said warmly, "Really? Well, if you don't mind, you're welcome to stay there anytime you want. The door is always open for you."

Hua Cheng's eyes curved with a smile, "Brother, you said it. Then I'll take you up on that offer. Don't complain about me being a bother later."

Xie Lian replied, "I won't, I won't! By the way, San Lang, I might need to ask you for a favor. Do you have time?"

Hua Cheng said, "What is it? In my place, just say what you need."

Xie Lian said, "Earlier, I dealt with some matters at Yu Jun Mountain and met a young boy who might have some connection to my old kingdom."

Hua Cheng narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Xie Lian continued, "The boy was so frightened he ran away, and I couldn't find him for a long time. I was wandering around your Ghost Market and discovered he ended up here. San Lang, since you're the owner of this place, could you help me find him? The boy's face is covered with bandages, and he just ran away from the front of this Elysium Pavilion."

Hua Cheng laughed, "Alright, I got it. Don't worry, just wait."

Xie Lian sighed in relief and said, "Thanks again."

Hua Cheng said, "It's nothing. But you just left Lang Qianqiu like that?"

Xie Lian thought, if Lang Qianqiu were here, his straightforward nature might cause more trouble. It'd be better to meet up later. He casually said, "Earlier at the gambling house, Prince Taihua caused you trouble. I'm sorry."

Hua Cheng's face showed a slight disdainful smile, "No problem. He's not qualified to be a bother."

Xie Lian said, "About the things he broke..." Hua Cheng laughed, "For your sake, I won't hold him accountable for the damages. Just let him wander around on his own."

Xie Lian asked curiously, "San Lang, if a god is wandering around your territory, you don't care?" Was Hua Cheng really that fearless?

Hua Cheng laughed, "You don't know. Brother, although this place is known as a chaotic hell with demons running wild, everyone wants to take a look. Even many of those heavenly officials up there pretend to despise it, but secretly they come here in disguise for their dealings. I've seen it many times. If they don't cause trouble, I don't bother. If they do, it's a good opportunity to catch them all."

Xie Lian said, "Prince Taihua wasn't really trying to cause trouble. He just felt he had to stop that kind of gambling and acted impulsively."

Hua Cheng said calmly, "That's because he hasn't seen enough of the world. Choosing to make an enemy live ten years less over living ten years more himself, that's human nature." He crossed his arms and added, "If someone like Lang Qianqiu can ascend, the heavenly realm must be really lacking people."

Xie Lian rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit guilty, thinking, "You can't say that. After all, I've ascended three times myself..."

After a moment of hesitation, he said, "San Lang, what I'm about to say might be overstepping, but I still want to mention it. Your gambling house is very dangerous. Could it cause trouble?"

Gambling with lives and quick deaths is truly sinful. Small bets are one thing, but if it gets too big, the heavenly realm won't be able to ignore it forever. Hearing this, Hua Cheng looked at him and said, "Your Highness, did you ask Lang Qianqiu why he had to intervene?"

Xie Lian was slightly taken aback, not knowing why he asked this. Hua Cheng continued, "I bet he told you that if he didn't do it, no one else would."

He guessed it exactly right, clearly understanding Lang Qianqiu's character. Xie Lian said, "He did say that."

Hua Cheng said, "Well, I'm the complete opposite. If I don't control this place, someone else will. Better it be in my hands than someone else's."

Xie Lian, always knowing how to maintain good relations, nodded and said, "I understand."

It seemed that while Hua Cheng was a person of emotions, he cared more about the power he could control than Xie Lian had imagined. Hua Cheng added, "But still, thank you for your concern."

Just then, someone outside said, "City Lord, we found him and brought him."

Xie Lian looked towards the door and saw the Crescent Moon official standing outside the beaded curtain, slightly bowing. In his hand, he held the ragged bandaged boy.

Without turning his head, Hua Cheng said, "Bring him over."

The Crescent Moon official brought the boy inside and gently placed him on the ground. Xie Lian couldn't help but glance at the boy's wrist to check for any curse shackles, but the official quickly withdrew, and there was someone else who needed his attention more. Xie Lian quickly said to the boy, "Don't be afraid. It was my fault last time, and it won't happen again."

The boy's big eyes were filled with uncertainty. Perhaps he was too tired to run or knew he couldn't escape. He looked at Xie Lian, then at the small table beside the black jade couch. Following his gaze, Xie Lian saw a plate of brightly colored fruits. The boy must have been hiding for a long time and hadn't eaten for days. Xie Lian turned to Hua Cheng, but before he could speak, Hua Cheng said, "Feel free. No need to ask me."

Xie Lian didn't stand on ceremony, saying, "Thank you," and handed the plate of fruit to the bandaged boy. The boy grabbed the plate and started stuffing his mouth.

He must have been starving. Even when Xie Lian was at his lowest, eating like a wild dog, he never ate as ravenously as this. Xie Lian said, "Take it slow." After a pause, he asked, "What's your name?"

The boy, while eating, seemed to want to speak but couldn't articulate clearly. Hua Cheng said, "He might not have spoken to anyone for many years and doesn't know how to speak well."

Indeed, the boy hadn't spoken much even with Xiao Ying, so it had probably been like this for a long time. Xie Lian sighed, "Take your time."

The boy devoured the entire plate of fruit like a storm. Xie Lian saw the bandages on his face stained with blood, black and red, and after a moment of thought, he said gently, "You have wounds on your face, and they seem serious. Let me take a look."

At the mention of this, fear appeared in the boy's eyes again. But with Xie Lian's gentle persuasion, he obediently sat down. Xie Lian took out a bottle of medicinal powder from his sleeve and slowly began to untangle the messily tied bandages.

Sure enough, the boy's face was a bloody mess, but those terrifying human faces were gone, leaving only red scars.

When they first met at Yu Jun Mountain, the boy's face had burn marks, but there wasn't so much blood on the bandages. The boy had indeed used a knife to cut or scrape off the human faces left by the human face plague.

As Xie Lian applied the medicinal powder to the boy's face, his hands trembled slightly. Hua Cheng held his wrist and said, "Let me do it."

Xie Lian shook his head, gently freeing his hand, and said in a low voice, "No need. I'll do it myself."

Eight hundred years ago, in the Celestial Music Kingdom's royal city, many infected with the human face plague, having nowhere to turn, chose to do the same. The sight was truly hell on earth. Some, in their desperation, cut in the wrong places and bled to death. Others, even after removing the human faces, never healed.

As Xie Lian wrapped new bandages around the boy's face, he realized that the boy's features were actually quite handsome, with a straight nose and clear eyes. He should have been a handsome young man, but now he had a face that would haunt anyone's nightmares.

Even after removing the deformed human faces, this was still a face that would make anyone who saw it have nightmares, never to return to its original appearance.

Finally, after reapplying the bandages, Xie Lian asked in a trembling voice, "Are you from the Divine Joy Kingdom?"

The boy's big eyes looked at him. Xie Lian asked again, and the boy shook his head.

Xie Lian asked, "Then who are you?"

The boy struggled to answer, "Eternal Peace!"

The human face plague had only broken out in the Divine Joy Kingdom. But this boy claimed to be from the Eternal Peace Kingdom!

Xie Lian's vision darkened, and he blurted out, "Have you seen the White-Clad Calamity?"

The White-Clad Calamity, the source of the plague, the harbinger of doom.

He was the nightmare of the previous generation of heavenly gods before the Blood Rain Seeker appeared. If it weren't for Emperor Jun Wu personally destroying him, this nightmare might have continued to this day.

This "Supreme" always wore a white mourning robe, with flowing sleeves and a mask of joy and sorrow.

The mask of joy and sorrow was a mask with the right half crying and the left half smiling, both happy and sad. Seeing him meant that place was about to fall into chaos.

In the final battle, Xie Lian stood on the city walls of the Celestial Music Kingdom's royal city, his face covered in soot and tears, looking down in confusion. In the blurry view, only a white figure stood clearly outside the city among the corpses, with flowing sleeves. Xie Lian looked down at him, and the white ghost looked up, waved at Xie Lian, and smiled.

That mask of joy and sorrow was a nightmare that Xie Lian couldn't shake off for hundreds of years.