谢怜 | Xie Lian

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The third and final time that Xie Lian ascended was approximately eight hundred years after his first. No one had ever managed such a feat before, so many were taking bets on how long the God of Misfortune would last this time. His ascension shook the Heavenly Realm so hard that a bell fell from its tower onto another martial god, and many palaces were destroyed so temporary ones had to be built. Ling Wen, a scholar who handled many of heavenly affairs, said that the damages would cost him eight million eight hundred and eight thousand merits to repay the damages done. Unfortunately, he had no worshippers that would translate into merits - so could not pay it back right away.

Xie Lian entered the communication array of the Upper Court only to be faced with Mu Qing, who also happened to be the martial god the bell fell on top of. While he wasn't hurt and managed to split the bell in half, their reunion was awkward as Xie Lian forgot his voice over the long years. Just as he was being reminded, another voice entered and demanded to know who had destroyed his palace. This was none other than Feng Xin, who had also become a martial god after their parting. Thus many were witness to the most awkward reunion ever, though Xie Lian did his best to be friendly - if not distant.

It wasn't long before Ling Wen told him of a task that was requested of him by the Heavenly Emperor, one that would pay him in merits should he succeed. She tried to offer him spiritual weapons, but he stated that he wouldn't be able to use them. This is due to the fact that he has the punishment shackles still on from all those years ago. With that, Ling Wen attempts to get him help from a couple of martial gods by asking in the array, only to have Mu Qing point out that it was for Xie Lian, thus no one dared to offer to help the God of Misfortune. So he set out on his own, intending to aim for a nearby location, but as he descended, his sleeve somehow caught on a cloud and sent him tumbling a three day's journey away.

Upon making it to Mount Yujun, Xie Lian took a moment to have a cup of tea nearby, and an unusual silver butterfly found him. When he turned back to his table, two young men were seated with him - both looking as though they'd come for his head. However, Ling Wen told him that two individuals from the Middle Court had come to support him. They were Nan Feng and Fu Yao, two subordinates to Feng Xin and Mu Qing respectively. He had to make sure that they were here voluntarily, and that they knew who he was in relation to their generals. Fu Yao has many eyerolls stocked up in regard to the two of them, not to mention that they both fight since their generals don't get along. To top it off, they state that they are here without letting their generals know they've gone or who they're working with.

Neither of them have been briefed on the situation, so Xie Lian explains that seventeen brides have gone missing over a long period of time, and it appears as if something is tearing apart the escort. A wealthy man attempted to ensure his daughter had enough protection, only to fail, so he put a lot of money into making a fuss in the temples, so the Heavenly Realm would do something about it. They took shelter in a Nan Yang (Feng Xin) temple where they see a young woman whose skirt has been slashed inappropriately, Xie Lian sacrificed his robe to cover her up - though he earned a slap as he appeared out of nowhere and attempted to put it on her. Fu Yao and Nan Feng begin to fight much like their generals used to, using Xie Lian as a weapon, until it becomes physical. This is put to a stop when the thrice-ascended god moved to eat a meatbun that fell on the floor, so he used the opportunity to calm the situation.

The next day, the three men return to the tea house, where they intend to discuss a strategy. Before they can come to a conclusion other than to "kill it", they're distracted by a bridal procession that's making a spectacle of itself. This was unusual as with the disappearances, most are more subdued, but as it turns out, the bride was nothing more than a large - and poorly made - doll. An altercation happened between the leader of this group and Xie Lian after the former got into a heated argument with the girl from the night before. The trio decided to do their own "fake" procession through the mountain, only with Xie Lian playing the part of the bride.

It is with the young girl's help that he has a fitting wedding dress and make-up in the case of tricking the wrath-level spirit. With some borrowed men from the lord's manor, they set out with Xie Lian on a sedan. Not much time passes before he starts to hear the sound of laughter and a song that no one else can hear. It implies that the bride must not smile on her trip across the mountain, yet he has been smiling since getting on the sedan. Shortly after that, they're attacked by both wolves and lowly creatures called binu that work in swarms. Xie Lian ordered his two assistants to retreat and protect the hired men, while his white silk Ruoye handled several enemies on its own.

When he's alone, a figure approached his sedan and reached inside to help him out - there is no malice detected, so he doesn't attack, only take that offered hand. Xie Lian saw nothing much of his would-be suitor, only his vambraces and boots with silver chains. The suitor leads him through the forest, frightening the wolves and pulling out an umbrella to shelter him from something dripping from above. An array set upon the mountain is carelessly crushed beneath his foot, allowing mortals to pass through, but that is a problem for later. When the suitor goes to reach for his veil, Ruoye strikes out intending to captor the other, but the form breaks into hundreds of silver butterflies. Xie Lian decided that this was the ghost groom they were seeking, and continued on with the current mission.

His mysterious suitor had brought him to an abandoned temple of Ming Guang temple, a martial god that was popular in this area. Inside, he found the seventeen bodies of the kidnapped brides, all of them dead, standing as if waiting. A noise alerted him to a presence coming closer, and Xie Lian posed as one of the many brides - only to have to strike out when the wrath starts to look at the faces under the veils. It fled, and he moved to give chase, only to run into the group of men that had the fake procession in search of the bounty. He also reunited with his two assistants and the young girl from before, almost all of the players were gathered together. Inside the temple, the men begin to pull the veils off the deceased brides, despite Xie Lian's warning not to. This caused the young woman and the leader of the hunters to get into a fight, a bandaged young man hit the leader in the head with a rock, causing the hunters to chase after him into the dark woods. Many return covered in blood, and Xie Lian revealed that there were corpses hung in the trees, cut up, so they would rain down blood. His two assistants tell him that this is the work of the Night-Touring Green Lantern near-supreme ghost, prompting Xie Lian to describe his experience with the mysterious suitor.

Both of the assistants claim this is someone else, and Fu Yao decided to return to the Heavenly Realm to seek out assistance to deal with the mysterious suitor. Turning his attention back to the ghost groom, he learned that the young girl was taking care of the bandaged youth, and she firmly believed that he couldn't be responsible for the disappearances. Xie Lian then asked her about the Ming Guang temples in the area, learning that any that are in construction end up getting destroyed, thus they built a Nan Yang temple instead. This struck a chord within him, and he instructed Nan Feng to subdue the eighteen ghosts, to which the younger man was confused about why there was one extra.

Xie Lian stayed at the temple to protect the people, while Nan Feng took to the forest to chase after the brides that went astray. He used Ruoye to form a protective barrier where the mortals would be safe, as he used the veils to obscure the vision of the brides. During all of this, he contacted Ling Wen to ask about Ming Guang's love life and learned about Xuan Ji - a general during his mortal life that became obsessed and jealous. She tried to give up her country's secrets, even going so far as to break her own legs in order to keep General Pei. In the end, it wasn't enough, and she killed herself, all of that anger and jealousy following her into the beyond, turning her into a wrath. He came face-to-face with the wrath, but the leader had woken and decided that the bandaged boy would do for the money. This attracted Xuan Ji's attention, she killed the leader before setting her sights on Xie Lian. Just as he was going to subdue him, the young girl tried to strike, but instead was mortally wounded. After Xuan Ji was bound with Ruoye, Xie Lian said that he would look after the bandaged boy if he needed food, attempting to soothe the girl in her final moments.

It was at this time that reinforcements arrived in the form of General Pei Junior, who took Xuan Ji to be suppressed under a mountain, filling in the missing pieces of her story to Xie Lian. After everyone was dispersed, Xie Lian turned his attention to the bandaged boy, noticing there was fresh blood, and intended to treat his wounds. However, what he saw under the bandages was none other than the Human Face disease. The expression on his face was enough to scare the boy, causing him to flee and vanish from sight for a long period of time. Upon Fu Yao and Nan Feng's return, he told them that the boy had the disease, the three of them searching for the boy they now knew was no longer human, but a ghost from the past.

Upon returning to the heavenly realm, Xie Lian is invited into the communication array where they are discussing the case. There is talk of how to get Xuan Ji to tell them about the whereabouts about the Green Lantern Qi Rong, and how he granted her an extra boost in power, those bodies in the forest were a "tribute" to her benefactor. No one has heard of the child spirit that he heard on the sedan either, nor sign of the ghost boy with the Human Face disease. When he inquires about the youth with the butterflies, Xie Lian is told that he has met Hua Cheng, Crimson Rain Sought Flower. Black Water is a water supreme ghost that doesn't stir up much trouble, Green Lantern is a crass near-supreme, and White-Clothed is dead - as Xie Lian is aware of.

They go on to explain that unlike the others, Hua Cheng is the most feared and worshipped of the Four Calamities. That he rose from Mount Tonglu after defeating tens of thousands of other ghosts, that he ascended to godhood only to refuse and become a Ghost King, that he was a fool that was tortured by the death of lover. No one could say what he truly looked like, or what his actual name was. The only story that had any facts to back it up was that he came to the heavenly realm and challenged thirty-five gods to a competition. He bet his own ashes and called for each god to descend to the earth and become mortal again. Thirty-three accepted, and between martial gods and civil gods - Hua Cheng won each time, and each one of those gods refused to honor their end of the deal.

In the end, Hua Cheng lit up tens of thousands of temples in a single night. Since they took up the challenge willingly, the Heavenly Emperor could do nothing to help them when they complained. Unable to admit defeat, they broadcast the challenge into the dreams of mortals in hopes of gaining favor only to lose all of their followers to the Ghost King. Without their believers and temples, all thirty-three gods were erased from existence. The only two who did not take up the challenge were Feng Xin and Mu Qing, yet they did not escape Hua Cheng's wrath. Every time parades crossed honoring the two, it would turn bloody - silver butterflies could be seen flying away from the scene.

Even after hearing all of this, Xie Lian could not picture those silver butterflies, nor the man who commanded them as something to be feared. It only peaked his interest in the one named Hua Cheng. With that settled, Xie Lian spent the next while in heaven, trying to make friends among the other heavenly officials, only to find awkward silence on the other end. Eventually, the wealthy lord paid up after mourning his daughter, and Xie Lian was able to pay back all of those merits he owed from the rough ascension. However, there were no temples or believes for the Prince of Xianle - not anymore. So he descended to earth in a hamlet called Puqi to start his own shrine, as dilapidated as it was.

Knowing he needed a few things, he walked to the next town over to go scrap collecting, finding a ride on a hay cart for the way back. With he knowledge of current mortal affairs so dismal, Xie Lian started looking into things - luckily, he was sharing his cart with a red-clad youth who was quite knowledgeable. After finding out more about the Water god, he asked the youth some questions about Hua Cheng. Along the way, Xie Lian learned that Crimson Rain Sought Flower came from the ghost holding an umbrella over a flower in the middle of a blood rain - after he had cleaned out a nest. That Hua Cheng had removed his right eye in a fit of madness, and that there was a custom in the ghost world where one might give their ashes to a special someone - even though it literally meant placing their life in the other's hands.

They spent the ride talking and sharing half of an old meatbun, when suddenly, the ox refused to move and they discovered that they were out on Zhongyuan. Xie Lian was quick to have Ruoye form a protective barrier around the entire cart, it also rendered them invisible to the eyes of the ghosts, but they had to be quiet. Unfortunately, the cart driver needed to be knocked out so they could pass by stealthily. They only managed to go unnoticed for a while, but nearby some spirits were being destroyed so many of the ghosts remembered there had been a moment where they couldn't walk through, even if they saw nothing. Xie Lian broke the barrier and urge the cart on until they came to a fork in the road - his own luck was too bad, so San Lang proceeded to try only to come up good on both paths ahead.

Even still, the ghosts caught up and surrounded them, yet before he could do anything, something spooked the ghosts and they fled. Suspicious of his new companion, Xie Lian offered a palm reading to check if San Lang had fingerprints - as lower level ghosts had trouble with finer details. Nothing was amiss there, and they reached the shrine safely. After inquiring about the youth's plan for lodging, he said that San Lang should stay with him at the shrine. Once the cart driver was gone, the two went inside where they once again discussed the Crown Prince of Xianle, which San Lang said that he could paint an image of him for the shrine as he was aware of what the god looked like. He also stated that he thought Jun Wu (the Heavenly Emperor) must hate the Crown Prince for banishing him twice.

The next day saw the shrine with a brand-new, perfect image of the Crown Prince, to which Xie Lian checked San Lang's hair under the pretense of fixing it. Later on, San Lang left momentarily in order to get an axe to replace the curtain for a proper door on the shrine while Xie Lian fixed a meal. This was the moment that the villagers brought a haggard cultivator to the shrine who had come in search of help. He had claimed to have escaped a place called Banyue pass, and that half of the people that pass through all disappear.

Once upon a time, Xie Lian had been to Banyue Pass, but it was no longer the place he remembered. Now it was nothing but a desert of death and sand. The cultivator spoke of how there was an evil cultivator who had taken over. However, before more could be asked, San Lang questioned if the man had run all the way to Puqi Shrine without stopping, to which he replied in affirmative. This bother Xie Lian as well, so the cultivator was tested with water - found out to be merely a skin being manipulated by someone else. After dispatching it, he went to ask in the communication array about Banyue Pass only to be met with dead silence and the Wind Master throwing merits around.Ling Wen contacted him privately only to say that he should not look into the matter, which Xie Lian said he wouldn't, yet fully intended to anyway.

His temporary companion wanted to go along, saying that he knew the story of the evil cultivator, only to be interrupted by Fu Yao and Nan Feng showing up at their door. They "volunteered" once again to be his helpers, though both were suspicious of San Lang, who teased them. Nan Feng went to draw a teleportation array on the wall while San Lang told him of the evil cultivator. Turns out that approximately a hundred and fifty years ago, the cultivator had once been the state preceptor - one of two (though the other had nothing to do with Banyue Pass). They went to war with the Central Plains over the border, the brutish warriors of Banyue following in the wake of their demonic arts preceptor. The Kingdom of Banyue was annihilated, but the resentment of its soldiers permeated the land until it was nothing but a desert. Some say that the soldiers still walk the sands and this is why travelers who pass through go missing.

With that, they use the teleportation array to quickly travel to a location near Banyue pass - then spend the night and much of the day traveling to the Gobi Desert. They stop to take a break in an empty, abandoned building where Nan Feng and Fu Yao attempt to test San Lang with true form revealing water and a demon detecting sword, but the former doesn't work, and the latter broke in the sheathe. While they are resting, Xie Lian spotted two figures - one dressed in black, the other a female in white heading in the direction they need to go. With that, they group sets off again where the wind starts to blow harshly against them, making their journey much harder. In the middle of trying to speak, Xie Lian is lifted into the air by a tornado. He attempted to have Ruoye grab on to something solid, but it grabbed San Lang by mistake! A second try has Ruoye snatching up Fu Yao and Nan Feng next. The third try is more successful, as it grabbed a large boulder and reeled them in.

As it turned out, the boulder is hollow inside, making it a good shelter from the tornado, and had been used as such in the past. Once inside, Xie Lian asked if the state preceptor of Banyue was male or female, to which San Lang replied that it was a woman. He questioned if perhaps that was the woman he saw in the sands, but didn't know who the other was - as he was certain it wasn't the other evil cultivator mentioned earlier. Upon taking a seat on a stone, it's San Lang who pointed out that there is writing upon it, yet before he can decipher much they discover a small group of merchants being led by a young native named A-Zhao. Once the two groups settle, Xie Lian and Sang Lang read the stone - which turned out to be the memorial tablet for General Hua. They relay a summary of the story, and the merchants laugh when they learn the end essentially amounts to "he tripped and died". To which San Lang tricked them into thinking that kowtowing before the stele would grant them safe passage through the desert.

Of course it would be at this moment that a snake snuck up on them, which San Lang caught and incapacitated it before it could hurt anyone. This was no ordering snake, but one that was breed with a scorpion so the back end had the tail of one. That made them extremely deadly to get stung or bitten by, with only one cure in the entire world. Soon the cave was filled with them, everyone hurried to get outside without being attack, only for one of the merchants to end up poisoned. San Lang knew of a cure that lay within the walls of the Kingdom of Banyue, even heavenly medicine could only extend the man's chances. It was during this that one of scorpion-snakes was about to strike San Lang that Xie Lian caught it, yet wasn't quick enough to stop the tail before it sunk into his hand.

Once the threat was neutralized, San Lang used a very compliant Ruoye to tie up his wrist so the poison couldn't spread, then made a cut so he could suck out as much as possible. After this, San Lang's behavior was quite odd in Xie Lian's eyes - unable to see just why the youth was angry and quiet. They left Fu Yao behind with the merchants, and brought along A-Zhao as their guide to the city, even though it wasn't far. Inside they saw the Sinner's Pit, a place where they dropped prisoners in to face dangers below. Hanging above it was a body, though they couldn't make out many details before someone came their way.

Upon hiding they saw it was the white female cultivator and her companion - who was also female. It was the one wearing black robes that sensed something was off, attacking the place where Nan Feng and A-Zhao was hiding. Nan Feng decided to play bait and lead them both away so the others could continue on their way. With a little knowledge from San Lang, they headed towards the palace in search of the shanyue plant. They searched the weed-filled courtyard for the plant, but what Xie Lian found was the youngest of the merchants among the greenery. Not only him, but three others had come with to look for the plant. Unable to send them back on their own, he resigned himself to letting them be. San Lang was the one who found a leaf to use on Xie Lian's hand, crushing it and applying it himself.

A shout came from nearby, so he went to investigate. There he found a whole field of shanyue plants - all of which San Lang had skipped over for good reason. The field was fertilized with human bodies, one of which was still alive! Only his head could be seen above the soil, and he claimed to have been there for fifty or sixty years. What more, he said that there was a familiar face among the group gathered there. Before this information could be shared, one of the merchants got too close - too greedy, and the man planted in the ground used his tongue to kill him with the world's worst wet willy. With this, the fertilizer merchant called out that he had captured several people, bringing the warriors of Banyue down upon them before they could escape.

All of them were witness to the man in the ground saying that he had helped them, and he'd been promised freedom. To which the general pulled him out of the ground to reveal that the rest of his body was nothing but a skeleton before killing him. Xie Lian understood enough of the native language to put together that their group wouldn't be killed yet, so they walked along, ending up at the Sinner's Pit. Along the way he realized that there was an array over the pit, which prevented people from escaping via the only opening - the top. He also learned that the general's name was Kemo, and that inside the pit were hundreds or thousands that he called "brother". They also got to see the young woman that was strung up over the pit, who appeared to have been there recently.

When Kemo started talking about throwing two of them in, A-Zhao lunged at the general and was flung into the pit, where it sounded like he was ripped to shreds at the bottom. Before the youngest merchant could be tossed in, Xie Lian tried his hand at communicating with the general. Offering himself up instead, only to be turned down so they could talk. In that time, San Lang moved to the edge of the pit, and jumped off with a carefree smile. Xie Lian tried to save him using Ruoye, when that failed due to the array, he tried to jump in only to be grabbed by Kemo. So instead, he was willing to drag them both into the pit and had that white silk wrap around the hulking warrior. They were at a stalemate until the girl hung from the pole broke free and tossed the rest of the Banyue warriors into the pit, which distracted Kemo long enough for Xie Lian to make them both fall in.

He quickly released the warrior and moved away during the plummet, expecting to splat on the ground below, not be caught in the arms of an unseen figure. In the dark of the pit, he asked if his savior was San Lang, even going so far as to feel him up a little. Once they reached the bottom, he wanted to be put down, but San Lang refused. With their closeness, he realized that San Lang had no heartbeat, no breath. There were also no other sounds coming from the pit anymore, meaning all of the warriors were dead except for Kemo - killed by the red-clad youth. In a fit of rage, Kemo attacked and was easily dodged - a weapon shining in the dark and hurting the giant warrior. Once Xie Lian was put down, and Kemo was exhausted, he began to ask questions. He learned that the girl hanging from the pole was the state preceptor, not the two wandering around earlier, and that she had betrayed her men - allowing them to be slaughtered by the enemy. This is why the Banyue warriors hunted her down and hung her from the pole on the regular, as she also was the one responsible for putting those now-dead warriors in the pit.

After convincing Kemo that they were there to kill the state preceptor, he told them the story of how she was only half-Banyue. That her parents lived on the border and divorce amicably, only for her mother to die later and leave her alone. She was not treated kindly, so thus left Banyue for Yong'an, only coming back years later having learned dark magic and how to control the scorpion-snakes. Many were afraid of her, but an incident out in the desert had gained the trust of Kemo. She had saved his men, and even buried the dead, so Kemo vouched for her to the point that she was risen to state preceptor. It was later, when war was beginning again that things went wrong. She raised her men's spirits, only to later open the gates to let in the Yong'an army.

Kemo and his men died, but their spirits lived on to hunt down and hang the state preceptor over and over again. When the warriors became wraths, she pushed them into the pit. It was all Kemo could do to catch people who came into Banyue for shanyue herbs after being bitten or stung by the deadly hybrid creatures to feed them to the men in the pit. As Xie Lian was pondering this story, the state preceptor jumped down to find out what was happening. She appeared cordial with Kemo, even though he hated her, and was pleased that the others were dead as it meant they were all free now. She wasn't hostile to Xie Lian and San Lang either, even removing the barrier so they could leave.

It was at this point that Fu Yao appeared at the lip of the pit, only to join them at the bottom after realizing Xie Lian was down there still. As they were catching up, Kemo lunged for the young woman and began to beat her, something she allowed. She stated that she could no longer control the scorpion-snakes, yet he didn't believe her. After a few moments, Xie Lian could no longer stand by and watch her get beaten, only to realize that he knew her. This was the girl from his past, from his time as "general Hua". When it became clear to Fu Yao that Xie Lian was the same captain as the one from the memorial, he was astounded.

After hearing the tale of General Hua, they turned back to Banyue to ask her why she betrayed the kingdom, and why she opened the gates. However, she refused to say, so Fu Yao could only handcuff her with Immortal Binding Ropes. She did say that she could no longer control the scorpion-snakes, at least not all of the time. Xie Lian asked her to summon one now, to which one appeared. Yet Banyue said she could not control nor did she summon the creature. More began to appear from the pile of bodies, filling the pit so that the only safe place was where San Lang was standing (thus Xie Lian too) and none were attacking Banyue. Xie Lian tried to get Ruoye to fly up and grab on to something to pull them out, only to have it come back unsuccessfully.

Looking up revealed more were falling from above, and Fu Yao used fire to set up a net to burn as many as possible. Fu Yao wanted to accuse both Banyue and San Lang, questioning where Xie Lian stood - to which he wittingly replied that he would stay where he was, as being next to San Lang meant there were no snakes. When the fire net ran out of energy, Xie Lian was pulled back next to San Lang, who had opened up an umbrella to ensure no snakes fell on them. Only Fu Yao and Kemo continued to be attacked by the creatures, yet he believed that there was a sixth person down here. When Banyue went silent, San Lang began to fight the mysterious sixth person, until Xie Lian pointed out he knew exactly who it was after a small comment from Fu Yao.

It was none other than General Pei Junior - or a form of him in A-Zhao. Everything made sense: the snakes appearing in the cave, telling the merchants how to get to Banyue, acting out of character to get into the pit. He also discovered that Pei Xiu was that young Yong'an boy hanging around them back in his days as General Hua. Pei Xiu explained that Banyue had always been loyal to Yong'an, that she infiltrated the enemy forces, especially after learning that even the citizens of Banyue were going to mingle in the cities of Yong'an only to set off explosives. Hence, Pei Xiu led an army of two thousand to kill everyone in the kingdom. He was also the reason travelers were getting bitten, then captured when looking for the antidote. Saying that he did not regret it.

A voice called out from above, stating that his words had been heard. In the next instant, they were all swept up in a wind tunnel and deposited at the top with the two female cultivators and Nan Feng. At the top, Xie Lian learned that the female cultivator in white was actually the Wind Master - though her form was different, hence why she wasn't recognized. The woman in black was also one of the five elemental masters, though wasn't stated as which. They learned that Pei Xiu fed the Banyue warriors so that the heavens wouldn't notice his past deeds, nor could he eliminate them all without drawing attention. However, now his actions would be known to all of the Heavenly Realm, which would make Pei Ming angry. The Wind Master told Xie Lian to leave this matter be, and that she would handle it - as she had more back-up than he did. She would also leave the matter of Banyue to him, ensuring that she was not taking blame for Pei Xiu's actions. With that, they left in a gale of wind.

Only he, San Lang, Nan Feng and Banyue were left behind - and she was unconscious. They went to collect herbs before returning to the merchants to apply the antidote, with the other three merchants returning after burying their dead and also getting more herbs. Then Xie Lian led the merchants out of the Gobi desert before using a teleportation array to get back to Puqi Shrine. Nan Feng seemed to intend to stick around right up until the point where Xie Lian said he would make food for them, then faked an emergency call to fleet. Saying he would be back soon. So Xie Lian turned to ask what Hua Cheng wanted to eat, to which the other chuckled and said he preferred to be called San Lang.

With the confirmation that San Lang was actually Hua Cheng, the supreme, Crimson Rain Sought Flower, he questioned if San Lang was actually the one who took him away from the sedan on Mount Yujun. He also wanted to know why, to which San Lang replied that he was either there specifically for him or that he just had free time on his hands. Thinking about it and the last several days together, Xie Lian came to the conclusion that it was the latter. They bantered back and forth a bit, only to be interrupted by Banyue, who had been shrunk in a pot for safekeeping. She rolled the pot outside to look up at the sky and the other two followed. Banyue expressed worry for Pei Xiu, knowing that her actions against the kingdom had been her own doing - regardless of what he might have said to her.

She also spoke of several embarrassing things Xie Lian had said back when he was a captain, talking about how he wanted to save the common people. With all that happened, Banyue admitted that she felt like she had failed to do that, asking him why. In the end, he said that he had still not found the answer to how to accomplish it. After that, the two men went inside and talked more on Pei Xiu regarding why his clone did not take care of the Banyue soldiers - to which San Lang replied that clones are usually weaker. Xie Lian remarked that San Lang must have a powerful clone to have killed all those warriors, only to learn that this was the real one! He couldn't help himself and poked the other's cheek, complimenting how well done it was - surprising both of them. Though it was not his true form, so he asked if he could see it, and in the end San Lang said that next time it would happen.

They laid down to sleep, Xie Lian brought up something even more embarrassing from when he was even younger. He said that once he told a young child that if the child had nothing else to live for, then he should live for Xie Lian - to make him the meaning and reason. The god had no idea what happened to that child, but being that person for someone was a big responsibility he didn't know how to handle. San Lang questioned what Xie Lian would do if his real form was ugly - but the god said "nothing", he just wanted them to be honest with each other. In the morning, the chores were done, San Lang was gone, and Xie Lian had a crystal clear ring on a necklace around his neck.

He spent several days recuperating at the shrine before being summoned to the heavens to discuss the matter that happened at Banyue Pass. This is where he met General Pei Su for the first time, a general who wanted to cast the blame for his subordinate's actions onto someone else. Everyone also discovered that Xie Lian had been there with Hua Cheng, including Jun Wu, the Heavenly Emperor. Pei Xiu confessed to his crime for everyone to hear, and was banished from the heavens. Everyone but Xie Lian was dismissed.

It seemed that bringing everyone together had another motive behind it, and that was to take note of who might be missing, as someone had sent up a distress signal seven days prior near Ghost City. Jun Wu wanted to assign Xie Lian to the job of finding out what this was about, and worried about the prince having ties with Hua Cheng - the supreme who ran the city. Xie Lian wasn't worried, and accepted the mission and the partner of the Wind Master. He was surprised to find that the Wind Master, Shi Qingxuan, is actually a man who simply poses as a woman for fun. After declining Shi Qingxuan's idea of both of them posing as women to sneak into Ghost City, they trailed behind a group of female ghosts to get inside.

They were shortly separated, where Xie Lian was accosted by a woman from a brothel who tried to get him to come inside with her. However, he defused the situation by saying that he can't get erect, making the woman feel better that her prior attempts failed. It was after this that he realized he had lost Shi Qingxuan in the city, and they couldn't rely on the communication array as it would alert the ghosts to their presence in the city. So he wandered until he came upon a gambling den, and curiosity took him inside. As it turned out, this den was owned by Hua Cheng, who also happened to be in attendance on this particular day.

He was simply watching others bet when Lan Qianqiu - Martial God of the East and prince of Yong'an - came storming in to protest loudly and violently. The other prince nearly revealed his heavenly status, but stopped before fully exposing himself, though it caused him to get hung up in the air by Hua Cheng. As it turns out, Shi Qingxuan had invited the other god along on their mission, and this was where they'd planned to meet up. Xie Lian attempts to make a bet on reclaiming Lan Qianqiu back from the gambling den, only to get personal "lessons" from Hua Cheng himself. It's clear to everyone that the Ghost King allowed Xie Lian to win, and the three left the den in a hurry, only stopped so that Xie Lian could hand over a prize of a half-eaten meatbun for his first failed attempted at gambling.

They wandered the city for a little bit before Xie Lian caught sight of the bandaged boy from Mount Yunjun getting harassed by local ghosts for stealing. While his two new allies dealt with the ghosts, Xie Lian attempted to chase down the boy, only to get caught up by unhappy ghosts that had been caught up in the chase. It was only when an officer of Hua Cheng's palace came to fetch him that he escaped trouble on the streets. While he was guided to Paradise Manor, he noticed that the guide had on a cursed shackle - same as he did, at the manor where he was able to properly meet up with the ghost, and asked for help locating the boy within the city. To which, Hua Cheng promptly had the boy brought in so Xie Lian could attend to his new mutilated wounds and offer him a place to stay at Puqi Shrine. The boy stated that he was not a citizen of Xianle, but of Yong'an; and he had never seen or connected with the White-Clothed Calamity.

After sending the boy to rest, Hua Cheng left to attend to some business and Xie Lian was curious about where the boy had been placed. It was in that wandering that he saw the same attendant as before, sneaking about the manor. Remembering why he was in the city, he followed. If it turned out to not be related to his case, then he could report the suspicious activity to Hua Cheng. The attendant led him down at seemingly dead end hallway, only to reveal that rolling dice into a statue's held plate could grant access to hidden locations. Not wanting to immediately follow, he turned around and ran into Hua Cheng. The Ghost King took him to see the armory, before giving him the armory. Having heard about Hua Cheng's special scimitar, E'ming, he asked to see it. After spending time with the very alive weapon, they had a banquet, where Xie Lian noticed that one of the serving woman was actually Shi Qingxuan in disguise.

After retiring to a room for the night, he met up with Shi Qingxuan, and they went to investigate that strange statue with a little bit of borrowed luck from Hua Cheng. They faced down large, vicious earthworms in tunnels, and nearly naked cannibals, until reaching a pitch-black room holding a prisoner. As it turned out, it was the Earth Master Ming Yi, who was the black-clad woman back at Banyue Pass and Shi Qingxuan's friend. With another roll of the dice, Xie Lian stepped out in midair and fell into Hua Cheng's lap. The Ghost King was seated in the armory with the bandaged boy, Lang Ying, at his feet. After pushing Hua Cheng out of the way, they were joined by Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi.

They learned from Hua Cheng that Ming Yi had been a spy as his subordinate for ten years, something he suspected, but could never prove. Until seeing the female Ming Yi at Banyue Pass, which resulted in their current situation. While Hua Cheng and Xie Lian were at a standstill, Shi Qingxuan took the lead and unleashed winds into the space. A small fight ensued before Lan Qianqiu crashed through the roof. When he saw an opportunity, Xie Lian grabbed a weapon off the wall and blocked both of their attacks - absorbing the impact of it and injuring himself in the process. While everyone was blinded by the clash of Xie Lian's borrowed weapon and E'ming, he set the roof on fire so that they could escape. Ruoye bound them together and the winds carried them away.

Upon reaching the heavens, Lan Qianqiu grabbed Xie Lian's injured arm and accused him of being the State Preceptor of Yong'an in front of many other Heavenly Officials. The Preceptor who murdered his parents.

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