“I…” Xie Lian said.
Before he finished his sentence, he felt Hua Cheng squeezed with a bit of force, a
series of pain crawled up his leg, and he couldn’t help but shrink back.
Although Hua Cheng’s strength was already extremely controlled and this little bit of
pain was nothing to Xie Lian, but for some reason, in front of him, Xie Lian seemed to
be unable to hide away his pain. Maybe it was because of what Hua Cheng told him
beforehand and he tried too hard to hold back and it backfired on him. Sensing Xie Lian
shrinking back, Hua Cheng instantly held his ankle tighter and reassured with a soft
voice, “Don’t worry. It’ll be over soon. Don’t be scared.”
Xie Lian shook his head, but Hua Cheng’s hands had become even gentler, his hand
operating speedily, and when he raised it again, that tiny little needle was already
extracted. “Alright, it’s done.”
Xie Lian focused his eyes and saw the tip of that needle was glistening with vicious
poison. Hua Cheng closed his five fingers and crushed it easily into a small waft of black
gas, dissipating into the air. Seeing this, Xie Lian put aside all his discomfort and
commented soberly, “What heavy air of grudge. A typical fetus spirit shouldn’t have
spiritual power this strong.”
Hua Cheng stood up, “You’re right. So, this fetus spirit must not be from a normal
miscarriage.”
Just then, a masked man entered with his head down, a clay pot presented with both
his hands, and he handed it to Hua Cheng. Xie Lian unconsciously checked to see if
that man’s wrist still carried that cursed shackle, but this time the man’s sleeves were
tied down fully and completely. Hua Cheng took the pot with one hand and glanced at it,
then turned around to pass it to the Xie Lian sitting on the black jaded divan. Xie Lian
hadn’t yet reached over and the muffled sound of a child crying could be heard from
within, and it seemed something was madly knocking about, making the clay pot shake,
unable to remain standing up, so he became more cautious.
When he took that clay pot, he peeled up a small corner of the seal and peeked in, and
could feel a sense of dreadful cold rush up his spine.
Inside the pot laid a puddle of something like a fetus. Although both the arms and legs
were grown out, they were weak and powerless, and the head remained obscured in
the shadows. All in all, it was no more than a lump of twisted organ.
This was its true form!
Xie Lian immediately resealed the pot and said, “I see.”
He once heard that there were those who would search for pregnant women who hadn’t
yet reached term, and they would cruelly cut out the children from the women’s wombs,
transforming the fetuses into little demons to perform spells, urging them to do harm,
either to protect the castor or for the protection of a dwelling and luck. By the sight of
this, that fetus spirit was no doubt the product of such an evil spell, and its mother might
very well have been Xie Lian’s worshipper once, otherwise there wouldn’t be his
protection charm tucked in the clothes of that child yet born.
Xie Lian hummed then said, “This fetus spirit was captured by you, but would San Lang
mind if I take it back with me to investigate? Because I’ve already bumped into it once
before at Mount YuJun, and since this was the second time it’s appeared before me, I
don’t know if it’s mere coincidence or if there’s some kind of a connection.”
“If you want to take it, then just take it.” Hua Cheng said, “Even if I didn’t appear you
would’ve still captured it.”
Xie Lian chuckled, “Be that as it may, San Lang still caught it so effortlessly, much more
so than if I was to try.”
It was an offhand comment, but Hua Cheng remarked, “Is that right? And if I didn’t
appear, how did you plan on capturing it? Eat it into your stomach then swallow the
sword too?”
“…”
He had actually hit it right on the mark.
There wasn’t any trace of displeasure on Hua Cheng’s face, but Xie Lian somehow felt
maybe Hua Cheng was a little mad.
Instincts told him that if he didn’t answer right, Hua Cheng would become angrier. Just
as he was thinking of a response, he suddenly felt his stomach shrink slightly, and
without thinking, Xie Lian said, “…I’m a little hungry.”
“…”
It was only after the words had left his lips did Xie Lian realize what he had said. Too
embarrassed to see the reaction on Hua Cheng’s face, Xie Lian explained himself
honestly, “This time it’s true…”
A moment later Hua Cheng finally “pfft”-ed and laughed out loud.
Once he laughed, it was as if all of Xie Lian’s gloomy clouds dispersed, and he sighed a
breath of relief. Hua Cheng on the other hand, was half laughing, half sighing, and
nodded his head, “Alright.”
Hua Cheng had wanted to keep him and set out a feast at Paradise Manor, but when
Xie Lian heard “set out a feast” he knew it’d be too big of a deal, and suggested instead
that the two go out for a stroll and find something to eat at the same time. Hua Cheng
agreed to it.
It was quite warm within Paradise Manor, and while the two entered dripping wet, they
were both dried soon after. However, Xie Lian’s dress in women’s attire was awfully
conspicuous, so he still borrowed a set of clothes from Hua Cheng, changing back into
clean, white robes. Afterwards, the two set out, and even after having walked for quite a
distance the wailing of that fetus spirit could still be heard, the cries of “mom” ringing in
the air, demonstrating its dogged tenacity. However, there were already howls and wails
of demons and ghosts all over the Ghost City, and so its cries were drowned within, not
the least bit noticeable.
The main street of the Ghost City was bustling as always, and either side of the street
were stalls selling exotic foods. Although the demons and ghosts remained the same
ones, their attitudes towards Xie Lian were completely different than the last time he
wandered. Hua Cheng walked next to him, shoulder to shoulder, and the bizarre looking
stall owners all came out to greet them with smiles, fighting each other to welcome them
into their abode, bowing almost halfway, reminding Xie Lian of a random idiom: The fox
assuming the power of the tiger*.
Other than paying respects to Hua Cheng, there were hundreds and thousands of eyes
watching Xie Lian with heated eyes, as if judging and conjecturing. Just who was he to
be able to walk shoulder to shoulder with the Lord of the Ghost City? This made Xie
Lian wonder if maybe he made another wrong decision. To be positioned in the flowing
current of monsters and demons, before the eyes of millions, Hua Cheng seemed to be
quite at home, and he asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Finally seeing a stall that was selling something that wasn’t that weird, Xie Lian wanted
to end things quickly and said, “This one’s fine.”
However, Hua Cheng said, “Not this one.”
“Why?” Xie Lian was curious.
Hua Cheng didn’t say a word, but gestured for him to look inside. Xie Lian took a look,
and when the stall owner saw them stopping before him, he rubbed his hands in
excitement as if waiting to welcome them in, nervously wiping the tables, chairs, and
benches vigourously. However, what he was using to clean the furniture was his tongue.
“…”
Although the bowls and cutleries were dripping with shimmering beads of water after
having been licked by that wide and long tongue, reflecting a shine that made them look
brand new, still Xie Lian decided to abandon that stall resolutely, and hurried away. After
a few steps, he saw another stall; a chicken soup shop that appeared cleanly put
together, the sign in front of the door said “Home raised chicken, slow cooked broth.
Made fresh, guaranteed clean”. Xie Lian stopped, “Oh, chicken soup. How about a
bowl?”
Hua Cheng, however, said again, “Not this one either.”
Xie Lian blinked, “Is it a problem with the plates or is it with the chicken?”
Hua Cheng brought him into the shop, pulled aside a set of curtains, and gestured for
Xie Lian to look. Curious, Xie Lian poked his head in, and immediately became
speechless. Inside the kitchen was an enormous pot, a roaring fire beneath it, and
steam rolled out of it. Inside the pot was a large man with a bright red cockscomb on his
head and he was simmering in the boiling waters happily taking a bath. Next to the pot
were many buckets and they contained salt, pepper, herbs, and other such seasonings.
In the shop front a customer yelled, “BOSS, ADD MORE SALT TO THE SOUP! IT’S
TOO PLAIN!”
As he bathed, that man grabbed a large handful of seasoning and smeared it on
himself, rubbing them hard into his body with a towel, increasing the flavour. Then, he
let out a long crow: “COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!”
Xie Lian dropped the curtains and silently walked out.
After making a large round, the two finally found a shop, its specialty being “Authentic
Delicacies of the Mortal Realm”. Although, Xie Lian was suspicious of just how
‘authentic’ it was. For example, as far as he knew, mortal chefs wouldn’t use the meat of
large, hard-to-hunt monsters to make skewers. Nonetheless, in comparison, this shop
was the most normal.
The moment the two sat down, the crowd of ghosts who had been following behind
immediately approached and surrounded them, attentively soliciting to add more dishes
to their meal. That hog butcher carried with him a thick, white human leg, slapping at it
soundly, and cried with a rough voice, “MY LORD! DO YOU WANT FRESH THIGHS?!
THIS JUST CAME IN!”
The crowd yelled at him, “GET OUTTA HERE! D’YA THINK THE LORD’S FRIEND
WOULD EAT THAT SHIT? YA TAKIN’ HIM FOR THE GREEN GHOST? MAYBE YER
OWN THIGHS WOULD BE MORE EDIBLE!”
“WHAT A STRONG STENCH OF BLOOD! YER DISGUSTING PEOPLE!”
That hog actually raised one of his pig legs and shouted, “IF MY LORD AND MY
LORD’S FRIEND LIKE IT, MY OL’ LEG IS NOTHING, I’LL BUTCHER IT! LEMME TELL
YOU, MEAT ON MY OL’ FLESH IS DEFINITELY FULL OF FLAVOUR!”
Xie Lian couldn’t help but smile and ate his porridge with his head down. Hua Cheng
ignored them pointedly, so that crowd of ghosts and demons fervently tried to push their
goods unto Xie Lian, blabbering:
“Street food specialty: brain juice! Brains of monsters specially picked, each one with
cultivation of over fifty years! Smell this delicious fragrance, my good sir!”
“This duck blood pudding is really good, quack! Look, quack! It’s freshly cut from me
own flesh, quack! Won’t you give it a try, quack!”
“Our fruits are authentic fresh fruits of graveyards, we don’t pick the ones grown on
dead bodies, it’s true, not a word of lie…”
Mountains and mountains of food were given, so much that Xie Lian was having trouble
seeing all of it, and he thanked them endlessly. He didn’t want to put down this wave of
fervent affection, but at the same time, so much of those exotic street foods were really
hard to accept, and in the mess of things, he saw Hua Cheng sitting there, his hand
supporting his cheek, watching him with a big smile. Xie Lian looked around him,
cleared his throat, then whispered in a small voice, “…San Lang…”
Only then did Hua Cheng speak up, “There’s no need to mind them, gege. They’re only
overly excited because there’s a guest.”
A ghost immediately said, “MY LORD, DON’T SAY THAT! IT AIN’T LIKE WE GET
EXCITED OVER JUST ANYONE! IF THE LORD IS OUR GRAND DADDY, THEN THE
LORD’S GEGE IS OUR GRAND UNCLE*…”
“YEA! OF COURSE WE GOTTA GET EXCITED WHEN GRAND UNCLE COMES
AROUND!”
Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, wondering whatever the heck were they
even saying, and Hua Cheng too, shouted, “Stop that nonsense! Shut up!” The crowd of
ghosts hurriedly acquiesced, “YES SIR! MY LORD IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
WE’RE SHUTTING UP. IT’S NOT GRAND UNCLE!”
Just then, unexpectedly, a few of the female ghosts who had been giggling on the side
finally couldn’t hold back anymore, and called out, “Hey! You… weren’t you that
daozhang gege who told Lan Chang you couldn’t get it up?”
“…”
Xie Lian almost spat out his mouthful of porridge on the spot.
It was like that crowd of ghosts had discovered a major secret and they exploded,
“HOLY SHIT! YOU’RE RIGHT!”
“IT’S HIM IT’S HIM IT’S HIM! LAN CHANG WAS GOING AROUND TELLING
EVERYONE!”
The smarter ghosts were hastily smothering the mouths of those chattering ghosts,
however, Hua Cheng had no doubt heard. Xie Lian peeked up and saw Hua Cheng
cocking an eyebrow, watching him with an unreadable eye, as if trying to make sense of
what “get it up” had to do with Xie Lian. Originally, that was the excuse Xie Lian had
used when that female ghost had been clinging onto him, and even though he was
made fun of by the crowd at the time, he could face it like it was nothing. Yet now that it
had been thrusted in front of Hua Cheng, Xie Lian couldn’t endure it, wishing
desperately he could just choke himself to death with a mouthful of porridge.
“I…” Xie Lian started.
Hua Cheng seemed to be waiting patiently for him to continue, but how could something
like this possibly be explained? Was he really going to argue with a straight face that he
was not, in fact, impotent?
Xie Lian finished lamely, “…I’m full.”
That wasn’t a lie, he really was full, so he stood up immediately and hurried out of the
stall. Behind him, that crowd of ghosts carried their mountains of delicacies and exotic
dishes howling nonstop, “MY, MY LORD! YER NOT GONNA EAT ANYMORE?!”
Hua Cheng ran after him too but took a spare moment to look back and ordered again,
“Scram!”
That crowd of ghosts hastily scrammed again. Ahead, Xie Lian walked randomly, but
seeing that those ghosts and demons didn’t follow, he slowed his pace to wait for Hua
Cheng. It didn’t take long before Hua Cheng came forward with his hands clasped
behind him, speaking in a serious voice, “I hadn’t known gege has such an unspeakable
affliction?”
Xie Lian immediately cried, “I DON’T!”
Then he lamented woefully, “…San Lang.”
Hua Cheng nodded, “Very well. San Lang understands. I won’t speak another word on
the subject.”
He put on the face of one extremely good and obedient, but very obviously faking it. Xie
Lian remarked, “You’re so insincere.”
Hua Cheng laughed, “I promise, you will not find another person who is more sincere
than me in this world.”
Hearing that familiar response, Xie Lian laughed too.
A moment later, he asked in a sobering voice, “San Lang, do you know where Qiandeng
Temple is?”
———–
●[狐假虎威] ‘The Fox Assuming the Power of the Tiger’ - one who is weak
appearing to be strong only because they’re next to someone powerful.
●The Chinese have a very strict hierarchy by age, and addressing another by a
title older than one’s own generation is meant as a form of respect since one is
lowering one’s own status. The ghosts here are saying whatever in order to
please Hua Cheng and his friend, it has nothing to do with Hua Cheng’s actual
age.
Conversely, Qi Rong addressing himself as ‘This ancestor’ is him shamelessly
raising his own self importance.
———-