Silver light flickered wildly. Without thinking, Xie Lian's first reaction was to shield himself with his hand. Wrapped around his wrist was the Ruoye ribbon, which would automatically defend him in times of danger. However, the silver butterflies didn't attack him; instead, they flew past him, heading towards the two people who had just been fighting behind him.
Feng Xin and Mu Qing had suffered from these deathly butterflies before and knew how dangerous they were. They wouldn't be careless. Almost instantly, they raised their hands together and shouted, "Shields up!"
Thousands of silver butterflies rushed at them, their wings flapping like a fierce wind. An invisible barrier stopped them in front of the two, and the butterflies hit it with a sound like heavy rain, creating bright white sparks like fireworks. They had put up two spiritual shields in front of them. But even though the shields blocked the butterflies, they were relentless and endless, like moths to a flame, crazily attacking. Even with the shields up, the two were being pushed back by the barrage of butterflies.
Caught off guard, they were at a disadvantage. Without the shield, the butterflies would get too close; with the shield, they couldn't draw their weapons. Both Feng Xin and Mu Qing were silently cursing, gritting their teeth to hold on. Feng Xin glanced at Xie Lian, who was still standing in front, and immediately shouted, "Your Highness, be careful! Don't stand there, come behind the shield!"
To their surprise, when Xie Lian turned around, he was unharmed and looked puzzled, saying, "Huh?"
The two looked closely and almost coughed up blood in shock. Xie Lian was holding a deathly butterfly in his palm, looking a bit confused. When the swarm of butterflies had rushed past, one had flown slower than the rest, struggling in front of Xie Lian. Seeing it trying so hard, Xie Lian couldn't help but extend his hand to support it. The butterfly happily flapped its wings in his palm, not leaving. Seeing this, Feng Xin's forehead veins popped, and he shouted, "Don't touch that thing with your hand!!!"
Just then, Xie Lian's wrist was suddenly grabbed, and he was pulled into the darkness behind a large door.
Even in the darkness, he felt no fear or alarm. This darkness felt like a gentle armor, not threatening but oddly comforting.
Though the person behind the darkness hadn't shown themselves, the arrival of the silver butterflies made it clear who it was. Mu Qing, in disbelief, said, "You have some nerve to cause trouble in the Immortal Capital, aren't you too bold!"
A voice laughed, "Right back at you. Aren't you being bold by coming to the Heavenly Court, my territory?"
Even though Xie Lian had guessed who was holding him, hearing that familiar voice so close still made his heart skip. Then he heard Feng Xin say, "Hua Cheng, the Emperor is in the Immortal Capital, let him go!"
Hua Cheng scoffed, "Let's see if you have the ability to make me."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door slammed shut!
Xie Lian felt Hua Cheng holding his hand tightly, leading him quickly. It was dark all around, and the sound of silver chains on black boots rang in his ears. The ground was uneven, not the bright streets of the Immortal Capital, but a wild mountain valley.
Hua Cheng must have used the Shrinking Earth Technique to connect the door of the Divine Joy Palace to this valley. But connecting a place in the Immortal Capital to somewhere else with this technique wasn't easy. Non-divine beings couldn't do it. How did he manage it? Xie Lian was about to ask when a loud shout exploded in his ear, "Your Highness! Where are you?!"
The shout was from Feng Xin. Though the voice was in his ear, Feng Xin wasn't in front of him. He was shouting through the Spirit Communication Array. Xie Lian's eardrums hurt from the shout, and many divine officials were startled, asking nervously, "What's wrong, General Nan Yang? What happened?"
Mu Qing also entered the array, saying, "Something's wrong! Where's Ling Wen? Quickly inform the Emperor, Xie Lian has run away!"
He usually spoke gently and politely, but now he sounded a bit frantic. Ling Wen said, "What? I'll go check the Divine Joy Palace!"
A divine official exclaimed, "The Crown Prince ran away? Wasn't he confined in the Divine Joy Palace?!"
Shi Qingxuan also joined the array, saying, "I just saw a bunch of middle-tier martial gods outside the Divine Joy Palace, only allowed in, not out. How could he run away?"
Feng Xin added, "He didn't run, he was taken! Your Highness, can you hear us? Where are you now?!"
Hearing he was taken, everyone was even more shocked, "This is the Immortal Capital, who would be so bold!"
Everyone started shouting, demanding answers. The affair with the National Teacher and Lang Qianqiu wasn't settled yet, and now Xie Lian was gone after being confined by the Emperor. This was just more trouble and gossip.
They had to find him quickly. Ling Wen went to check the situation, trying to locate Xie Lian, while Feng Xin and Mu Qing shouted in the array, looking for available martial gods to help chase. Shi Qingxuan sent out several waves of merit.
The Spirit Communication Array was in chaos, and Xie Lian couldn't get a word in. He took a deep breath, ready to shout for everyone to calm down, when Hua Cheng suddenly turned and lightly placed two fingers on his temple, laughing, "Haha, long time no see, everyone."
With those two fingers, Hua Cheng connected to the Heavenly Court's Spirit Communication Array through Xie Lian. His calm greeting was heard not only by Xie Lian but also by all the divine officials in the array, plunging them into a deathly silence.
"......"
In everyone's hearts, there was a silent roar.
No wonder it was so bold. It turned out to be him!
Hua Cheng continued, "I don't know if you missed me, but I certainly didn't miss you."
"......"
In the Heavenly Realm, many divine officials secretly thought about him every day, but hearing he didn't miss them, they silently recited, "Heavenly blessings, nothing forbidden, thank you, thank you, please continue not to miss us." Hua Cheng then chuckled, "However, I'm quite bored lately. If anyone is also bored and wants to spar with me, you're very welcome."
"......"
In this situation, his meaning was clear.
"If any of you dare to chase after us, next time I'll come looking for that person to challenge."
This challenge was sure to be a loss if accepted, and refusal would be a disgrace. Wasn't it an outright threat?
When they first heard Xie Lian had run away or been taken, the array was in an uproar. It was a rare disturbance, and everyone was very concerned. A few martial gods had even volunteered to join the chase.
But after Hua Cheng's three sentences, they all disappeared. If the Emperor ordered someone to pursue, they had no choice, but now it was just chaos, and no one wanted to get involved. No one wanted to be remembered by Hua Cheng.
So they pretended not to be there while closely following the situation, their hearts in turmoil: This Blood Rain Flower is too reckless, daring to come to the Heavenly Court to take someone, and that someone is the laughingstock of the three realms—what's the deep grudge or what is this about???
The array fell silent, with only Feng Xin's angry voice, while Hua Cheng removed his fingers and said to Xie Lian, "Ignore them."
Xie Lian blurted out, "San Lang..."
But Hua Cheng released his hand, saying, "We're not far from the Immortal Capital, let's go."
His voice was low, without any emotion. And the way he let go of Xie Lian's wrist was so quick, it was almost like he was shaking him off. Xie Lian was suddenly reminded of the first time they met when he had shaken off Hua Cheng's hand, and he was stunned.
He had wanted to ask Hua Cheng why he suddenly appeared. Though he hadn't thought it through, he vaguely felt maybe Hua Cheng was there to save him, so when he called out "San Lang," he felt a bit happy.
But when Hua Cheng let go, Xie Lian suddenly realized: Why did he think Hua Cheng was there to save him? Not to mention whether Hua Cheng would closely follow his movements, he had just burned down the Elysium Pavilion and escaped from the Ghost Market.
Wasn't it more likely Hua Cheng was there to hold him accountable or demand compensation?
The Earth Master had gone undercover in the Ghost Realm and was caught and interrogated by Hua Cheng, but that was because the undercover mission was inherently wrong. But he had infiltrated the Ghost Market, dug around the Elysium Pavilion looking for someone, and set it on fire. Although the main fire was caused by Shi Qingxuan adding wind, it was his initial fire in the armory that started it. If not for him, others might not have thought to set a fire, so he bore the main responsibility.
As they walked, Xie Lian felt more and more guilty and couldn't help but say, "...San Lang, I'm sorry."
Hua Cheng suddenly stopped and said, "Why are you apologizing?"
Xie Lian also stopped and said, "I went to the Ghost Market to investigate the Earth Master's disappearance and didn't tell you the truth before. You treated me so well, but I burned down your Elysium Pavilion. I really feel bad about it."
Hua Cheng said nothing. Xie Lian knew his "I feel bad" didn't carry much weight, feeling even more guilty, he lightly coughed and said, "But I think I'm about to be demoted. Once I'm down, I'll find a way to make it up to you, see how I can..."
Hua Cheng interrupted, "Why should you make it up to me?"
His tone was a bit harsh, as if he couldn't listen anymore, and he turned around abruptly, saying, "Did you forget I injured your arm with a knife? I hurt you, not the other way around. Why should you make it up to me?"
Xie Lian didn't feel any pain in his right hand, almost forgetting it was injured. He was startled and then remembered, "You mean my right hand? It's fine, it healed quickly. And it was my own fault for trying to block it, I can't blame you."
Hua Cheng stared at him, his left eye shining brightly. And Xie Lian suddenly realized, it seemed like he was trembling.
After a moment, he realized it wasn't Hua Cheng trembling, but the curved blade E-Ming at Hua Cheng's waist.
The silver blade hung against the red clothing, shaking non-stop. If it were on a child's face, that child would be crying loudly right now.