Ch.208: Ghost Enters the Mirror; Nowhere to Hide
Even after having fumbled and stumbled onto the main avenue of the Heavenly Capital, Xie Lian was still covering half of his face with his hand, wobbly and unsteady the entire way. While none of the junior heavenly officials rushing about on the street dared approach him to ask about it, nonetheless they all stared at him strangely, and Xie Lian quickly dropped his hand, straightening his back, and rubbed his mouth unnaturally, muttering, “My lips kind of hurt, don’t know what’s going on, haha…”
The looks the junior officials gave him became even stranger.
Just what did you have to do for your lips to hurt?
It really did kind of hurt actually. Earlier when he jumped up to crush the kiss, he used too much force, and Hua Cheng most likely felt the crash, but after Xie Lian had pressed close he could feel very obviously that Hua Cheng seemed to have smiled. He didn’t dare to think more on the subject and hurried onwards with his head down, and the other heavenly officials didn’t stop him either, all rushing down their own ways.
Perhaps it was because the reopening of Mount TongLu had become too hectic an affair, and the air of the entire Heavenly Court was solemn and uneasy. Within the Great Martial Hall, there were already many heavenly officials gathered. While the resentful spirits of Mount TongLu were sent in all directions, the majority were sent to the most populous royal capital. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng had toiled until now because they chose the heaviest and roughest task; everyone else only faced about a few hundred of those creatures and had long since finished them off. Pei Ming, Feng Xin, and the others had already come up, returned to the Heavenly Capital, their faces tired with fatigue. However, when Xie Lian crossed into the hall and looked up to greet people, the first one he saw was Lang Qian Qiu who he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Lang Qian Qiu’s face was dark, and when he saw Xie Lian he was also taken aback, then he twisted his head around.
The crowd were all deep in their thoughts and unspeaking. Jun Wu sat on the top on the throne, and when he saw Xie Lian had come, he rose a little, ready to speak, but Lang Qian Qiu stepped forward first, “My Lord, I heard you’ve already caught the Green Ghost Qi Rong.”
Jun Wu looked at him, “That’s correct. However, the Green Ghost Qi Rong, the female ghost Xuan Ji as well as others were not captured by my own hand. They were all consigned by Yin Yu of Ghost City.”
Only then did Xie Lian notice that Yin Yu was present too. It couldn’t be helped, Yin Yu really had no sense of presence. Speaking of, this was the first time Yin Yu had entered the Great Martial Hall. Other than the highest ranking of heavenly officials, no other subjects could step foot within this hall without Jun Wu’s permission. In the past when Yin Yu was a heavenly official, he didn’t have the right to enter since his rank was too low. Yet now that he had “Willingly fallen” to the Ghost City, he could finally enter formally, truly a complicated feeling.
Lang Qian Qiu cut right into the subject, “Qi Rong is the enemy who destroyed my clan, pray my lord leave him at my disposal.”
Jun Wu glanced at Xie Lian and hummed for a moment, “It’s not that handing him over to you would be a problem, however, I ask you, what comes after you have dealt with the Green Ghost Qi Rong? What will you do?”
Originally, when Lang Qian Qiu had left, he threatened that after he was done with Qi Rong he would come looking for Xie Lian, and this was something Jun Wu had known. Lang Qian Qiu’s voice was hard, “That will not be my lord’s concern. My lord can’t possibly plan on acquitting Qi Rong just because I don’t answer this question, and prevent me from avenging my family?”
In the past, he rarely spoke within the Great Martial Hall, and even when he did it’d be something silly, yet now when he spoke up, his expressions and his tone of voice were filled with resentment. This was not a good state to be in, and Pei Ming spoke up, “Your Highness Tai Hua seems to have quite the temper today, eh? Of course my lord doesn’t plan on acquitting…”
Just as he was trying to smooth things over, the sound of commotion came from outside the hall, and someone charged in, “My lord, I can’t wait any longer!”
It was actually Mu Qing. He was donned in black, his face grim too, and several of the martial officials behind him were supposed to be apprehending him, but how could they possibly be capable of it? So they came rushing in too, “My lord, we were just sending General Xuan Zhen to…”
Jun Wu sighed, his hand supporting his cheek and waved, “I understand. Step down.” A moment later, he lifted his head and gazed towards Mu Qing, “And so?”
Mu Qing proclaimed with a steel voice, “So I cannot continue to endure this baseless accusation. Hasn’t my lord already captured that woman? I want to confront her face on!”
Lang Qian Qiu spoke up too, “My lord, please hand me the Green Ghost Qi Rong as well!”
The two both spoke with raised voices, making the scene appear riotous, and it was giving Jun Wu headaches, “Silence! Can you both not wait until I have finished dealing with Mount TongLu?”
Mu Qing reasoned, “If my lord needs to manage the resentful spirits leaked from the Kiln, then you need hands. What’s the use in keeping me locked up? Why not clear my name so I can return to my service to the Heavenly Court. As long as my lord bring her up to have me confront her, the truth will come out!”
His words were logical, and if he wasn’t given his way, he would probably be relentless, so Jun Wu could only command, “Bring up the female ghost Jian Lan.”
Soon after, Jian Lan was brought forth. In her arms was a bundle that looked like swaddling cloths, and it emitted a chilling black aura. From within the bundle, something tragically pale that resembled a hand but not, something that resembled bones but not, poked out, baring its teeth and claws, but was forcibly stuffed back into the bundle. She wasn’t restrained with her arms twisted back by the arresting officers, probably to give Feng Xin face. Feng Xin swallowed lightly, meeting his eyes with hers for a moment before Jian Lan looked away first. Then, Feng Xin’s gaze fell on the ’swaddling cloths’ in her arms, and his look grew even more complicated.
Mu Qing on the other hand, was already at the end of his patience, and the moment she came up he spoke up, “I don’t know why your son must slander me, but it knows for sure I’m not the culprit. It must be under someone else’s control.”
He was losing his composure like this, but Xie Lian could understand, since Mu Qing was someone who cared about face deeply, and to have a chamber pot sitting on his head for so long, even going as far as to affect his duty in the Upper Court, he was naturally filled to the brim with raw temper. Jun Wu questioned, “And by your conjecture, who do you think is controlling it?”
Mu Qing didn’t speak, but his gaze moved and everyone could tell he was looking at Jian Lan.
The veins on Feng Xin’s forehead instantly popped, “What are you trying to say? Do you think she would purposely have her son slander you??”
Mu Qing withdrew his gaze and replied, “I didn’t say anything of the sort.”
“Then why were you looking at her?” Feng Xin exclaimed, “She bears no grudges for you so why would she do such a thing?”
Mu Qing glared at him, “There’s certainly no grudges between us, but who knows about with you.”
“And what do you mean by that?” Feng Xin demanded, “Just have everything out all at once.”
Mu Qing glanced at Xie Lian, “You acquainted the Lady Jian Lan during the time of His Highness’ first banishment, right?”
The other officials also followed along and looked to Xie Lian.
Xie Lian: “???”
How did he get dragged in again?
Feng Xin glanced at him too and gritted with quiet anger, “What does that have to do with anything?”
Mu Qing stopped caring and let everything go, thoroughly ripping things out into the open, “Of course it has to do with everything. At the time, life by His Highness’ side was staggeringly difficult, and you also hated me, the one who had returned to the Middle Court, to the bone. You love digging through my history to berate my wrongs, and since she’s your bedmate, how could she not hate me by this subliminal influence? Who knows, maybe she also started hating His Highness because in the end, you still didn’t take her away, and instead chose to continue your wretched loyalty, it was practically abandoneme…”
Feng Xin couldn’t bear this anymore and roared, “STOP YOUR BULLSHIT!!”
His fist flew out and Mu Qing raised his to return the blow. Jian Lan went up to stop them but that fetus spirit started cackling weirdly, much like the chaotic cries of old crows, exceedingly horrifying. Pei Ming and Yin Yu both pulled Feng Xin and Mu Qing back separately while Quan Yi Zhen was standing on the side staring, seeming to be contemplating who’d win if they started a fight. In any case, it was a mess in the hall. Xie Lian stood there quietly for a good while, hanging his head, then after a moment, he sighed, and reminded, “My lord, the priority right now should be to find White No-Face and manage the human face disease. It’s the person we captured earlier who is the most important piece of the puzzle.”
Jun Wu couldn’t watch any longer either and waved his hand, “…Take the female ghost Jian Lan and the fetus spirit away. Bring forth the Guoshi of XianLe.”
Mu Qing shouted, “NO! I GOTTA SEE… WHAT??”
Feng Xin was also dumbfounded, “BRING WHO??”
The two both looked to the entrance of the hall, and wasn’t the one brought over by a martial official none other than the Guoshi of XianLe whom they were both very familiar with, Mei Nian Qing?
Feng Xin and Mu Qing were both flabbergasted. Feng Xin ventured, “Guoshi? It really is Guoshi?” Mu Qing didn’t say anything but he was also stunned and unsure. They couldn’t be blamed. In truth, even now Xie Lian still felt things were kind of surreal, and he couldn’t connect this man with the Guoshi who once asked him the question of “Two Men and a Cup of Water”.
Mei Nian Qing stepped forward languidly, brushing past Xie Lian. Jun Wu sat overlooking the great hall, “Xian Le, when we were down below, you seemed to have something to say.”
Xie Lian inclined his head slightly, “Yes.”
Thus, he picked out the important bits and reported his journey to Mount TongLu, and the incidents that occurred while exploring the Kingdom of WuYong. The more the crowd listened the wider their eyes became, never mind Feng Xin and Mu Qing. After the report was done, Jun Wu spoke up slowly, “And yet I have never heard of the Kingdom of WuYong before.”
The other officials all agreed, “I’ve never heard it before either…”
“It was two thousand years ago after all.”
“Traces of it must’ve been wiped intentionally.”
Mei Nian Qing hadn’t spoken a single word throughout it all. Xie Lian turned to him, “Guoshi, the Crown Prince of WuYong is White No-Face, am I right?”
“Yes.” Mei Nian Qing answered.
He knew it!
Pei Ming spoke as he mused, “Then who left those murals behind? And who destroyed the last painting?”
“I don’t know who left those murals behind,” Xie Lian responded, “But I think the last painting was destroyed by White No-Face or his subordinates. After all, he didn’t want anyone to know of his identity.”
He turned to Mei Nian Qing, “And you are the subordinate of the Crown Prince of WuYong.”
Which made him the subordinate of White No-Face.
“…”
Mei Nian Qing didn’t speak. Xie Lian had a sudden urge to ask him, back when XianLe fell, had Guoshi known that creature was White No-Face? Which also meant, they were colluding, and Guoshi was even a helper?
However, in the end he asked a different question instead, “Where is White No-Face right now?”
“…”
“Why did White No-Face have to bring ruin to XianLe?” Xie Lian questioned.
“…”
“Why do you want to kill me?” Xie Lian demanded.
Mei Nian Qing finally spoke up, “Your Highness, I never wanted to kill you.”
“Then why were you coming for my throat down there?” Xie Lian asked.
Mei Nian Qing asked back, “If I strangled you, would you have died? Would the one next to you allow me to succeed?”
That’s true. But that didn’t mean Mei Nian Qing didn’t have a killing intent, since his reaction was completely subconscious at the time. Mei Nian Qing probably knew he couldn’t convince Xie Lian so he stopped trying to argue.
After a moment of silence, Xie Lian finally asked the question he wanted the answer to the most.
“What did you want to awaken in me?” Xie Lian asked.
Jun Wu had told him Guoshi seemed to want to awaken something within him, but what could it be?
Mei Nian Qing stared at him strangely. Inside his sleeves, Xie Lian’s hands were clenched into fists, “Guoshi, go ahead and tell me.”
Xie Lian had always felt vaguely uneasy. The path of fate of that Crown Prince of WuYong was so similar to his own, could there really be some sort of hidden connection between himself and White No-Face?
This was something he must verify, since he couldn’t allow a creature like White No-Face to have any sort of connection to himself. Yet he was also very afraid that White No-Face really did have something to do with himself.
Mei Nian Qing watched him, and a moment later, he replied, “Your Highness, these questions you ask, it’s not quite the right time for me to answer them. Even if I do answer, you might not believe me.”
After a pause, he continued, “However, there is one thing I can answer you right now.”
Mei Nian Qing slowly enunciated each word, “Right now, White No-Face is inside this Great Martial Hall. He is standing right before me!”
Who’s standing right before him?
Xie Lian was!
Xie Lian instantly backed a few steps away, seeming to want to avoid being in that spot. The closest next to them was Feng Xin and he exclaimed, “Guoshi, you… you open your eyes and look properly who the person is in front of you. It’s His Highness! Your disciple!”
However, there were other voices too. Further away, there were heavenly officials who covered their mouths and whispered, “Could it be… that His Highness and White No-Face share… a split soul?!”
“What’s a split soul??”
“It’s when a person’s soul is split into half, or broken into two sides. Each half has its own memories, and their personalities and skills would be different too. Perhaps even the appearance could be different as well…”
“…That’s very possible.”
“I’ve heard of cases like that too!”
“If it’s really like that what should we do? His Highness the Crown Prince is the White-Clothed Calamity???”
Such voices were coming from all around, and Xie Lian himself started to doubt too: Was he White No-Face??? Had it always been like this???
Could it be that it was he himself who had brought ruin to XianLe, that it was he who tortured himself for eight hundred years? Everything up until now, it was all himself to blame???
It was clamouring noise all around within the hall, all the heavenly officials were whispering with various expressions, and even Feng Xin didn’t know what to say anymore or what to believe. As for Jun Wu, he stood up and said, “Xian Le, calm yourself!”
Xie Lian was falling apart, “I… I…”
Was everything really all his fault???
If it really was him, then what should he do? He didn’t know!
Just as he was drowning in confusion, a voice suddenly rang in his mind:
“No! I can swear that you are you, you’re not anyone else. Trust me!”
“…”
San Lang. San Lang!
Hua Cheng had said once that it couldn’t be him. It could never be his fault!
Having thought this, Xie Lian’s mind instantly cleared, and he steadied himself, standing his ground. Jun Wu however, had already descended from his throne and came to his side, “Xian Le! Calm down first…”
Xie Lian was just about to look up to give a composed response when unexpectedly, right then, Mei Nian Qing suddenly reached out and pulled out the sacred sword hung on Feng Xin’s waist, and lunged at Jun Wu!
All the heavenly officials cried out. However, both Jun Wu and Xie Lian were martial gods, the best in their field no less, so why would they care for such a low level sneak attack? The point of the blade hadn’t even touched Jun Wu before Xie Lian’s fingers had already flashed out as fast as lightning and seized that shining, snow white blade, catching it right before his eyes!
Feng Xin came back to his senses and immediately rushed up to restrain Guoshi. That he dared to conduct assassination within the Great Martial Hall, and in front of so many martial gods too, he was asking for his death. Feng Xin exclaimed, “Guoshi, what you’re doing is pointless!”
However, while Mei Nian Qing struggled uselessly, he roared at Xie Lian at the same time, “LOOK!!! TAKE A LOOK, QUICK!!!”
Yin Yu rushed up, “Your Highness! Are you alright? What’s happened?”
From afar, Mu Qing was alarmed, “Look at what? What does he mean? What is he planning?”
It was pandemonium, but for a good while, Xie Lian hadn’t moved a muscle.
It wasn’t because of anything else. It was because he saw something reflected on that snow white blade.
A face.
The composed and handsome face of a youth.
And on this face, there were three other faces growing on it!
Those three tiny faces were squished on this person’s face, ruining that handsome complexion, making it appear chillingly horrifying. Even the five features seemed to be contorting. Half of the face appeared to be crying while the other half appeared to be smiling.
That face should’ve been infinitely familiar to Xie Lian. Yet right then, from the mirror-like blade, the face was so foreign it was terrifying, so much so that Xie Lian was drenched in cold sweat.
Only then did he remember that this sword Feng Xin carried with him was HongJing, the mirror that revealed evil. When ghosts entered the mirror, they could not hide.
From this angle, what HongJing reflected wasn’t his own face, but the face of the one who was standing behind him. And, upon that face was a pair of dark, solemn eyes that were currently watching him closely.
Xie Lian’s pupils slowly shrank. It was as if his movements had slowed, and as his mouth opened slowly, his wrist suddenly stiffened.
A powerful hand had seized his wrist, and behind him, Jun Wu smiled, “Xian Le, what are you looking at?”
———-
●MXTX Author Notes: Same old rules, don’t spoil or give hints. Of course Xie Lian and White No-Face aren’t the light and dark side of the same person, or reincarnations. They’re two completely different people. The story will explain.
———
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