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As they both laughed, much of the nameless jittery air cleared away.
They continued onward and passed by another statue that was lounging on a stone bed. Its entire body was covered with a layer of thin, smoke-like white satin. Xie Lian was very curious and was just about to pull off the white veil over the divine statue’s body when Hua Cheng unexpectedly seized his wrist.
“Your Highness!”
Ever since they entered this Cave of Ten Thousand Gods, Hua Cheng had mostly been calling him “Your Highness.” Xie Lian looked at him, and while Hua Cheng let go of his wrist, he still seemed a bit uncomfortable.
“I already know it’s a statue of me. I still can’t look?” Xie Lian asked.
“If gege wants to look at statues, the best one I sculpted remains to be seen. I’ll show you some other time. Don’t look at any of the ones in this cave anymore,” Hua Cheng said.
Xie Lian didn’t understand. “Why? I think all the divine statues in this Cave of Ten Thousand Gods were carved really well. Really. It’d be a shame if I never got to see them. Which reminds me, those murals—”
“I’ll go destroy them,” Hua Cheng said promptly.
Seeing that he really pla
Only then did Hua Cheng turn to face him. “…Really?”
Xie Lian held on to him and replied with the utmost sincerity, “Really. If you don’t want me to look, I won’t.”
Hua Cheng seemed to quietly sigh in relief, then he smiled. “They’re no good anyway. If there’s something you want to see, I’ll just paint it for you on the spot.”
This reaction made Xie Lian even more curious. But he didn’t want to spur Hua Cheng into destroying those precious murals, so he could only push down his own desires.
After taking a few steps, Xie Lian suddenly frowned. “…Some-thing’s not right.”
“What is it?” Hua Cheng asked.
Xie Lian turned to look at Hua Cheng. “White No-Face. Why would he come to Mount Tonglu?”
“Perhaps he hasn’t fully regained his powers, and he wants to use the Kiln to be fully reborn into this world,” Hua Cheng replied.
“If that’s true…would it mean he’s not currently a supreme?” Xie Lian wondered.
“That’s…not entirely impossible,” Hua Cheng said.
When White No-Face had dropped his disguise as Feng Xin and Mu Qing and attacked, his abrupt appearance had been both shocking and terrifying. Xie Lian’s first reaction was to assume that their opponent couldn’t be defeated, so he’d grabbed Hua Cheng and fled. But they hadn’t actually fought him directly for long, so they couldn’t precisely gauge White No-Face’s current strength.
Was he putting on a front? Or was he stronger than he seemed? Nothing could be determined from a rushed exchange of blows that only lasted for a few seconds.
“I assumed he’d gotten stronger when I saw those two fake skins,” Xie Lian muttered. “But maybe…he hasn’t completely recovered. Maybe he’s currently at his weakest. Otherwise, why would he come to Mount Tonglu? Maybe…I can give it a shot.”
Give it a shot and try to take him down!
“Good. I’ll go fight him,” Hua Cheng immediately replied.
Xie Lian instantly snapped out of it and hastily said, “No, don’t. Don’t face him directly. My giving it a shot will be plenty!”
Supreme Ghost Kings would normally never face each other in combat so easily, as evidenced by the way Ship-Sinking Black Water and Crimson Rain Sought Flower had been able to coexist in peace. This was because ghost kings weren’t like heavenly officials, whose profiles were well known to anyone who cared to keep track—from their strengths, to the parameters of their powers, to the size of their temples and number of worshippers. But ghost kings hid their true strength just as they hid their pasts. They possessed no knowledge of each other’s abilities, and no one knew the potential consequences of a fight between two supremes. This encouraged them to maintain the balance at all costs.
“There’s no need to worry,” Hua Cheng said. “The victor hasn’t been decided yet. Surely gege doesn’t believe I would let you face him by yourself?”
Xie Lian shook his head. “…It’s not that, San Lang. It’s that we’re not the same to him. He…won’t kill me, I can swear it.”
“Why?” Hua Cheng questioned.
After a moment of hesitation, Xie Lian chose not to explain. He only said, “You don’t know how terrifying that creature is—”
Hua Cheng cut him off. “Your Highness, I know,” he said grimly.
Only then did Xie Lian remember that Hua Cheng had also joined the Xianle army and personally experienced the Xianle battlefield. He’d seen the tragedy with his own eyes, the fields piled with corpses.
But Hua Cheng didn’t know. He hadn’t personally witnessed that horrific battle between Jun Wu and White No-Face. He had never crossed paths with White No-Face directly.
Having considered this, Xie Lian shook his head forcefully. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just…I just…I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Hua Cheng’s eye twinkled at this. A moment later, he smiled. “Gege, don’t worry. I’m already dead, so it won’t be easy for me to die again. Besides, have you forgotten what I told you before? Unless he finds my ashes, he can’t do anything to me.”
Xie Lian had forgotten entirely that the ashes were a factor. He quickly said, “Wait! Everything else aside, San Lang, your… Have you stored your ashes somewhere safe?”
“A long time ago,” Hua Cheng replied.
Xie Lian nodded, but a moment later he couldn’t help but double check. “Are you sure they’re properly hidden? That the hiding place is secure enough and won’t be found?”
“To me, it’s the safest place in the world,” Hua Cheng answered leisurely.
Xie Lian didn’t think there was anything absolute out there, however. “You’re completely sure?” he pressed.
Hua Cheng smiled cheerfully. “If their hiding place is destroyed, then there’s no need for me to exist either. Of course I’m sure.”
Although Xie Lian was rather concerned about what “no need to exist” meant, they weren’t in a safe place and there could be ears listening in. It wasn’t the right time to probe this subject deeper, so he let it go. But it made Xie Lian want to ask Hua Cheng—just how had he died?
Xie Lian really wanted to know, but he didn’t know how to ask. When mortals died, whether their souls could remain on the corporeal earth depended on their obsessions and attachments. In most cases, anguish and resentment were the strongest fixations. To become a Supreme Ghost King, one’s obsession would have to be extraordinarily intense. So Xie Lian was afraid that Hua Cheng wouldn’t be able to handle it if he asked about his death—it might cause him pain, like stabbing an old scar. And Xie Lian himself might not be able to bear the details either.
These past eight hundred years…how had Hua Cheng endured them?
A horrifying thought struck Xie Lian, and he was instantly awash in cold sweat. He quickly turned to Hua Cheng.
“San Lang!”
“What is it?” Hua Cheng answered.
Xie Lian’s fingers twitched slightly. “I…I have another question I want to ask you.”
“By all means,” Hua Cheng replied.
Xie Lian stared at him. “Other than in Xianle, did you encounter me at another place or time at any point in the past eight hundred years?”
Hua Cheng slowly turned his head to look at him. “Regretfully…though I never gave up and did my utmost to find you, I did not.”
Xie Lian pressed him. “Really?”