Xie Lian said: "I..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sudden sharp pain as Hua Cheng exerted a little force, causing him to reflexively shrink back.
Although Hua Cheng's movements were very restrained, and this level of pain was nothing to him, for some reason, he found it hard to hide his pain in front of Hua Cheng. It might be because Hua Cheng spoke to him first, making him want to hold back, but he failed instead. Sensing Xie Lian's withdrawal, Hua Cheng immediately tightened his grip on his ankle and said softly, "It's okay. It will be over soon. Don't be afraid."
Xie Lian shook his head. Over there, Hua Cheng became even more gentle, worked quickly and soon as he raised his hand again, he had taken out a small needle, saying: "Alright, it’s all done."
Xie Lian focused his gaze and saw the needle tip glistening with a malicious light. Hua Cheng slightly clenched his five fingers, crushing it into a wisp of black smoke that dissipated into the air. Seeing this, Xie Lian temporarily set aside his unease and focused, saying: "Such heavy resentment. An ordinary fetus spirit wouldn't have such strong spiritual power."
Hua Cheng stood up and said: "Exactly. So, it must not be a normally deceased fetus spirit."
At this moment, a masked person entered with their head lowered, holding a pottery jar in both hands, and presented it to Hua Cheng. Xie Lian instinctively checked if there were any cursed shackles on the person's wrist, but this time, their sleeves were tightly bound.
Hua Cheng received it, held the pottery jar with one hand and glanced at it, then turned around and handed it to Xie Lian, who was sitting on the black jade couch.
Even before Xie Lian moved closer, he heard a muffled crying of a child and something seemingly thrashing around inside, causing the pottery jar to sway slightly, almost unable to stand steadily, increasing his vigilance further.
As he took the pottery jar, Xie Lian slightly lifted a corner of the seal on it and peeked inside for just a moment before a chill ran up his spine.
Inside, there was a mass of something that resembled a fetus, though it had grown arms and legs, they were limp, and the head was hidden in darkness. Altogether, it looked like a mass of deformed internal organs.
This was its true form!
Xie Lian immediately resealed the jar and said: "So that's how it is."
He had heard of cases where people would look for pregnant women who hadn’t reached full term, forcibly cut the child from the womb, and use it as a ghost to perform some spells, harm others, protect themselves, or guard a house to bring fortune. It seemed this fetus spirit was the product of such an evil practice, and its mother might have once been a believer of Xie Lian, or else she wouldn't have placed Xie Lian's protective charm in the unborn child's clothing.
After pondering for a moment, Xie Lian said: "You caught this fetus spirit. San Lang, would you mind if I take it to investigate? Because I had encountered it once before at Yu Jun Mountain, this is the second time it appeared in front of me. I’m not sure if this is a coincidence or if there's some connection."
Hua Cheng said: "Take it if you want. Even if I wasn't around, you could catch it by yourself."
Xie Lian laughed: "That's true, but San Lang catching it was much easier than me."
He had spoken casually, but Hua Cheng said: "Really? If I hadn't gone, what method were you planning to use to capture it? Were you going to eat it and then swallow your sword too?"
"..."
He really hit the mark with that.
Although there was no displeasure on Hua Cheng's face, Xie Lian inexplicably felt that he might be a little angry.
Intuition told him that answering incorrectly would make Hua Cheng even angrier. Not knowing how to respond, he suddenly felt a contraction in his stomach and involuntarily said: "...I'm a bit hungry."
"…"
After saying it, Xie Lian was a bit too embarrassed to look at what expression was on Hua Cheng's face. He could only honestly explain: "This time I'm genuinely hungry..."
After a while, Hua Cheng finally chuckled softly.
With this laugh, it was as if the clouds had dispersed in front of Xie Lian, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Hua Cheng, half-laughing and sighing, nodded and said: "Alright."
Originally, Hua Cheng had wanted to host a banquet for him at the Elysium Pavilion, but as soon as Xie Lian heard the word "banquet," he knew it was bound to be extravagant and volunteered to go out for a walk and find a bite to eat, and Hua Cheng agreed.
The Elysium Pavilion was quite warm, and soon after they entered, their soaked clothes were dry. However, the female attire Xie Lian wore was exceptionally eye-catching, so he borrowed a set of clothes from Hua Cheng and changed into a clean white robe. After that, the two went out, and even from a distance, they could still hear the crying of the fetus spirit, calling "Mother" persistently, showing its tenacity. However, since the ghost market was already filled with the wails of ghosts, this crying sound was not unusual in the midst of it all.
The ghost market street remained bustling, with both sides lined with stalls selling unique snacks. Though the ghosts were still the same, their attitudes towards Xie Lian had changed drastically from the last time he visited. Walking side by side with Hua Cheng, those fantastically looking shopkeepers greeted them with smiling faces, vying for their attention eagerly, almost bending over, reminding Xie Lian inexplicably of the phrase "the fox borrows the tiger's might."
Beyond their respectful attention to Hua Cheng, thousands of eyes were darting toward Xie Lian with even more fervent interest, seeming to size him up and speculate on the identity of someone who could walk alongside the master of the ghost market. This made him suspect whether he had made the wrong decision. Surrounded by the tumultuous flow of monsters and ghosts, with the focus of all upon him, Hua Cheng appeared to be entirely accustomed to it, asking him: "What do you want to eat?"
Finally spotting a stall that didn't have peculiar offerings, Xie Lian thought to settle it quickly and said: "Let's try this one."
But Hua Cheng said: "Not this one."
Xie Lian was puzzled: "Why not?"
Hua Cheng didn’t answer but gestured for him to see the inside of the stall. Xie Lian peeked in and saw that the stall owner was so thrilled at their presence that he was nervously and vigorously wiping the tables and chairs, all with... his tongue.
"…"
Though the large, long tongue left the pots and pans shimmering with water beads and a near-new luster, Xie Lian decisively gave up on this place and moved on quickly. A few steps later, he spotted a chicken soup shop that looked clean and fresh with its decorations. The sign outside read, "Farm-raised old chicken, slow-cooked exquisite broth. Freshly made, guaranteed clean," and he stopped, saying: "Ah, there's chicken soup, how about we have a bowl?"
Hua Cheng again said: "Not this one either."
Xie Lian understood and asked: "Is there something wrong with the plates or the chickens?"
Hua Cheng led him into the shop and pulled open a curtain, signaling Xie Lian to look. Curiously, Xie Lian peeked inside and was speechless. There, inside a large pot in the kitchen, a man with a big red rooster crest on his head was happily bathing in boiling water. Nearby, there were also many barrels filled with salt, pepper, herbs, and other seasonings. From the front hall, a customer yelled: "Boss, more salt! It's too bland!"
The man then grabbed a large handful of seasonings and rubbed them onto himself while scrubbing his back with a towel for better flavor. Finally, he crowed loudly: "Cock-a-doodle-doo—!"
Xie Lian let down the curtain and silently retreated.
After walking a considerable distance, they finally found a place with a sign saying "Authentic Human World Cuisine." Even though Xie Lian was skeptical of this "authenticity"—for example, he doubted human chefs would use meat from hard-to-hunt large mythical beasts for barbecuing—this was already comparatively normal.
As soon as the two of them sat down, a crowd of ghosts who had been trailing them eagerly came forward, generously offering side dishes. A butcher ghost was slapping a pale human leg on his shoulder and said in a gruff voice: "Lord of the City! Want fresh thigh meat? Just got this in!"
The other ghosts shouted: "Get out of here! Do you think the Lord of the City and his friend would eat that stuff? You think he's the Green Ghost? Maybe if you chop off your leg it could be edible!"
"The bloody smell is so pungent, don't make them queasy!"
The pig ghost actually lifted a pig's trotter and said: "If the Lord of the City and his friend have good taste, what's a leg worth, I'll chop it off! Let me tell you all, my leg meat is definitely chewy!"
Xie Lian couldn't help but laugh and lowered his head to drink porridge. Hua Cheng ignored them, and all the ghosts’ enthusiasm turned towards Xie Lian, offering earnestly:
"Local delicacy, brain fluid! Selected top-quality monster brains, all cultivated for over fifty years! Smell that rich fragrance!"
"This duck blood is very good, gaa. Take a look, gaa, I just cut it from myself, gaa. Want to try it, gaa."
"Our fruits are genuine grave-grown, we don't even pick them if they're not from corpses, no fooling..."
Offer after offer came in, leaving Xie Lian overwhelmed, thanking them continuously. Not wanting to dampen their fervent enthusiasm, but finding some of the delicacies truly hard to look at, he busied himself while noticing Hua Cheng across the table, resting his chin in his hand, watching him with a smile. Xie Lian glanced around, cleared his throat quietly, and softly said: "...San Lang..."
At this, Hua Cheng said: "Brother doesn't need to pay them any mind. They’re just acting up with excitement."
One ghost immediately said: "The Lord of the City must not say such things! We don’t get excited over just anyone; if the Lord of the City is our grandfather, then his brother must be, what, our granduncle..."
"Yes, when the granduncle comes, of course, we get excited!"
Xie Lian couldn’t help but laugh, thinking what kind of nonsensical absurdity this was. Hua Cheng also scolded: "Stop with the nonsense. Shut up!" The ghosts all hurriedly said: "Yes! The Lord of the City is right. We’ll shut up. Not granduncle!"
But just then, some giggling female ghosts couldn’t hold it in and blurted out: "Hey! Aren't you the Taoist brother who told Lady Ghost Lanchang that you can’t perform last time?"
"…"
Xie Lian nearly spat out a mouthful of porridge on the spot.
It was as if they had uncovered a great secret, causing the crowd to exclaim: "Oh my heavens! It's true!"
"It's him, it's definitely him! Lady Lanchang spread the word all over the place!"
Several clever ghosts tried to cover the mouths of the ones who blurted out, but Hua Cheng had surely heard it. Xie Lian remembered that the last time he was harassed by a female ghost, he had casually blurted out that he couldn't perform as an excuse. It was also laughed at by a crowd of ghosts at the time, but he had faced it calmly. Now, with it brought to Hua Cheng's attention, he couldn’t bear it, feeling embarrassed enough to choke on his porridge. He said: "I..."
Hua Cheng seemed to be patiently waiting for him to continue. But what could he say about this? Could he seriously and earnestly argue that he wasn't impotent?
So Xie Lian had no choice but to say: "...I'm full."
He actually was full, so after speaking, he stood up and hastily left the stall. Behind him, the ghosts, holding their carefully prepared specialty snacks, wailed: "L-lord! Are you done eating?"
Hua Cheng followed and took a moment to glance back, once again telling them: "Scram!"
The ghosts promptly dispersed again. Xie Lian walked aimlessly for a while ahead, and seeing that no ghosts were following, slowed down to wait for Hua Cheng. Shortly afterward, Hua Cheng walked up with his hands behind his back and said, quite seriously: "I didn’t know Brother had such an affliction."
Xie Lian immediately said: "I don't!"
And helplessly added: "…San Lang."
Hua Cheng nodded and said: "Alright. San Lang understands. Won't say it again."
He looked as if he was sincerely obedient and well-behaved, but it was clearly pretended, and Xie Lian said: "You are really insincere."
Hua Cheng laughed and said: "I swear, in all realms, you won't find anyone more sincere than I am."
Hearing this familiar line from their usual exchange, Xie Lian also laughed.
After a moment, he seriously said: "San Lang, do you know where the Thousand Lantern Temple is?"