[And for the third or fourth time... THIS NOVEL CONTAINS SPOILERSS!! And upcoming is the spoiler for TGCF chap 93 – 95]
That night, Xie Lian was once again dressed in fluttering soft women's clothes. Although he was no stranger to crossdressing by now, it was his first time pretending to be a pregnant woman. He put on makeup, then stuffed a pillow into his belly. He then laid on the bed in one of the chambers of the wealthy merchant's mansion. Although he knew he put himself in a ridiculous situation again, he was calm and composed. Lying on the bed, Xie Lian slowed his breathing; it didn't take long before he fell deeply asleep.
There was a plausible reason as to why he was sleeping like a pregnant woman in the merchant's mansion. Earlier that day, on investigation, he found out that there was a monster in the shape of a black smoke devouring the unborn child of the marchent's mistress. The wealthy merchant was frightened out of his wits. He still had another mistress who was also pregnant. Thus, he begged Xie Lian to slay the monster so that he could have his son in peace. And so, Xie Lian decided to help out.
An unknown amount of time passed before Xie Lian slowly opened his eyes. Before his vision was no longer the bedchamber of that wealthy merchant's mistress, but an exquisite pavilion. Xie Lian looked around a bit, and learnt that the exquisite room was a bedchamber of a woman probably from hundreds of years ago. She had drawers filled with children's toys and clothings. The room screamed out the essence of a loving mother. Although everything around looked exceedingly realistic, Xie Lian knew he was in the made-up dream of the black smoke monster and so, he stayed cautious all the time. Then suddenly he heard a series of teehee sniggles in the dead silence.
The whereabouts of that sniggles were obscure, but the more Xie Lian listened to it, the more familiar it became. Xie Lian raced his mind trying to remember where he had heard it before... Just where?
Then it hit him, and in his mind rang the voice of a small child:
"New bride. New bride, new bride in the red bridal sedan.
"Brimming tears, past the hills, smile not under the bridal veil..."
It was the voice of that child spirit he heard at Mount Yujun when he was in the marriage sedan! Back then it was only him who heard the voice of the child spirit, and now the child spirit was appearing before him again. Was this a coincidence? Or was it intentional?
Then the sniggles stopped abruptly. A chilling voice came from the child spirit that stopped laughing, "Mom."
Xie Lian still couldn't tell where the voice was coming from and after some silence, the voice of that child called out again, "Mom. Hug me."
This time, Xie Lian finally figured it out _ that voice came from his belly!
As soon as Xie Lian noticed it, the child spirit ran out of his belly. The spirit scrambled away and disappeared after it spewed out lumps of thread that were originally in the pillow Xie Lian had stuffed in his belly. The spirit wanted to devour the 'child' in Xie Lian's belly as it did with the pregnant woman's child. But it only ended up devouring the pillow's threads instead. For some reason, Xie Lian felt greatly irritated by it.
Taking out his sword, Fangxin, Xie Lian repeatedly attacked the spirit monster. The child spirit ran away swiftly. Xie Lian followed but his foot accidently stepped onto a sharp nail. The child spirit giggled as he saw Xie Lian falling for its trap. The nail pierced through Xie LIan's foot and the pain throbbed through the leg, but Xie Lian wasn't someone who would be fazed by something like this. Despite the throbbing pain, Xie Lian continued attacking with Fangxin. After a while, he had forgotten about the nail in his foot, and was already running like the wind.
The child spirit knew that he would not be able to overpower Xie Lian like this and so with a whoosh, the child spirit ran out of a window. Xie Lian immediately followed and looked through the window. That place was supposed to be a dream world created by the child spirit so he was prepared for any kind of weird scenes, but he was haunted by what he saw. Outside the window, there was no sight of streets, no mountains, no pedestrians; only a deep, bottomless lake. On the other side of this lake was a house, and in that house ran around a very familiar young boy in black robes. Xie Lian would never mistake him for someone else. Wei Ying ran around in that house very much like he would do either at Paradise Manor or Puqi shrine. He looked happy and carefree and didn't seem to notice at all that, just above his head, was a thick, black swirl of smoke, giggling and cackling, crying crisply.
Xie Lian's heart instantly dropped. He gripped the windowsill, about to call and warn Wei Ying, but then he remembered that opening his mouth would be the same as inviting the child spirit over and was stumped on what to do.
Just then, Wei Ying seemed to yawn and that black smoke gathered and looked as if it was about to sneak into his mouth. The defences of a child's body were very weak and even without permission maybe that thing could intrude. Xie Lian knew that Wei Ying was not a little child and that he had already formed a golden core, strong enough to even hunt monsters. However, in the heat of the moment, Xie Lian couldn't think of it all and he shouted,
"CLOSE YOUR MOUTH AND RUN! GO FIND YOUR A-DIE!!"
The moment the words came out, the house on the other side disappeared and a cloud of black smoke exploded in Xie Lian's face. Even though Xie Lian closed his mouth tight, he could already feel a stream of cold air going down his throat; that black smoke entering his stomach. Xie Lian immediately took out his protective charms and the herbs he had on him and swallowed them forcefully. It didn't take long before his throat itched, and that cloud of black smoke was retched out!
Xie Lian covered his mouth with his sleeve, coughing non-stop, choking with tears. His mind was rapidly thinking of a way to counter it. After that cloud of black smoke was puked out, it still swirled and clung onto his body. Thus, Xie Lian raised himself onto the windowsill, and with a leap, he jumped into the lake outside.
*Splash, and Xie Lian plunged deep into the lake. He held his breath, and assumed a meditating positing; letting his body sink into the bottom of that freezing lake. Once his heartbeat returned to normal, he looked up and saw the black fog swirling above, sealing the surface of the water. When he emerged, he must take in a deep breath, and should he inhale, he'd for sure suck that child spirit into his stomach. If a full-grown man was to have a giant, swollen belly, it definitely wouldn't be very funny.
However, jumping into the water was just to give himself some time to think. After a few seconds, Xie Lian came up with an idea and started to swim up to the surface. But before he could reach the surface, a muffled, deep sound of sloshing water came from above, and suddenly, a vast, burning, vivid crimson-red appeared before his eyes.
Thick, winding raven-black locks filled his vision, splashes and air bubbles bubbled furiously, and nothing could be seen clearly. Xie Lian blinked, trying desperately to strip away the thousands of crystal-like bubbles. But then, he felt a pair of strong arms. One hand circled around his waist, and the other grasped his chin.
In the next second, something cold and soft covered his lips.
In that instant, Xie Lian's eyes bulged. Never in his life had anyone treated him this way before. However, this person was swift like the devil, and appeared so suddenly that before he even had the chance to defend himself, he'd fallen into such a state. Freaking out, he was flustered and his limbs were thrashing, desperately trying to push the other away; instead, he choked on large mouthfuls of water, gurgling out strings of of bubbles. This was a big no-no underwater. Thus, the hand around Xie Lian's waist held him tighter, their bodies pressed closer together, and his struggling hands were firmly folded and crushed against his own chest; making him unable to move. The cold and soft sensation still securely sealed his lips. Xie Lian's heartbeat was starting to rise up when the kiss deepened and a stream of gentle, chilled air slowly passed through. Even though he was deep under water, Xie Lian felt as if a strong current of electricity run though his whole body. Dumbfounded and helpless, as he began to accept his fate, Xie Lian finally saw clearly the face of this person. It was Hua Cheng.
The moment he realized it was Hua Cheng, he stopped struggling, and innumerous random thoughts popped into his mind, all inappropriate for the time and place. He was lost in thoughts as he gazed motionlessly at that pale handsome face. Just then, Hua Cheng suddenly opened his eyes.
To be staring into those dark eyes at such a close distance, Xie Lian instantly froze, and soon after he started struggling again, his arms flailing; like a duck so dumb and awkward it was drowning itself. The flailing arms were easily stopped by Hua Cheng and with his arm still firmly around Xie Lian's waist, he took him and swam towards the surface speedily. It didn't take long before the two broke through the surface.
The water was freezing and the air was cold, yet, Xie Lian's whole body was burning up as if he just got electrified. The moment they floated to the top, Xie Lian wanted to turn away, but that cloud of black smoke was still swarming above the waters. When it saw someone emerge from the surface, it immediately launched towards them. Xie Lian had only turned his head a little bit before Hua Cheng pulled him back with a hand behind his head. Their lips hadn't separated for even a second before they were pressed tightly against each other once more. Xie Lian's lips were aching and numb from the kiss, feeling as if he was going to lose his senses. If this was anyone else, he would've long since stabbed with his sword, but this just had to be Hua Cheng. He was completely at a loss on what to do, his tears ready to fall from distress. Just then, beyond Hua Cheng's face, he saw thousands upon millions of silver butterflies break through the water next to him.
Accompanied by a sharp trill, that thick rain of butterflies shot out from the surface like bullets; their wings reflecting a cold glare, sharp like blades. Within moments, that child spirit screamed from the slashing; the black smoke dispersed, and it tried to flee in all directions. However, the web of those butterflies enveloped from the earth to the heavens, sealing it within. During all that, Hua Cheng's eyes had never lifted even once, and with Xie Lian in his embrace they once again dove into the waters. After a while, the two lips finally parted.
Once separated, another stream of air bubbles spewed from Xie Lian's mouth, and Hua Cheng freed a hand, tossing out dice. The dice spun wildly in the water, whirling out a strong current before finally stilling. Then, the two once again broke through the water surface.
The two swam towards the shore and this time, Xie Lian could see lights and buildings in a distance but his mind was in no state to determine where he was right then. He also saw from the corner of his eyes, the silver butterflies taking away that child spirit in their captivity.
Then, the two of them climbed ashore, sitting heavily onto the ground. Looking at each other thus, Xie Lian was finally able to take a good look at Hua Cheng. The red-robed man sitting in front of him was as handsome as always, the small droplets of water hanging on him made him shimmer brighter than the waters. His locks were exceedingly black, his skin extremely white, and on the right side of his cheek was a very thin, small braid, a red string threading through it intricately. Above Hua Cheng's forehead was a widow's peak, and it made his face look even more shapely and alluring. The black eyepatch that covered his right eye emitted traces of killing aura, softening that refined charm, making his good looks reach an almost perfect balance.
Xie Lian had seen Hua Cheng for as long as seven years, but Hua Cheng seemed to be exceedingly handsome in that moment, as if he was the lone shining moon in the darkest of the night. His mind wondered through various words of praise as he looked dumbfoundedly at the Ghost King's face. Hua Cheng's brows were knitted, as if trying to hold back; after panting softly a few times, he opened his mouth to speak, his voice distinctly lower than all the time Xie Lian had heard him.
"Your Highness, I..."
From the hair on his head to all over his body, including the pink fluttering women's dress he was wearing, Xie Lian's entire person was dripping with water. His lips were swollen, his eyes blank; it was only after a good amount of disoriented daze before he mumbled, "I...I...I..."
His stammering "I"s continued, before suddenly he randomly blurted out, "I'm a little hungry."
Hearing this, Hua Cheng was taken aback.
Xie Lian hadn't yet recovered from the shock, and said in a state of jumbled mess, "No. I...I...I'm a little sleepy..."
He flipped around, his back facing Hua Cheng, and bent down to his knees, his hands fumbling around as if he was looking for something.
Behind him, Hua Cheng asked, "What are you looking for?"
Xie Lian continued to crawl on his fours as he mumbled, "I'm looking... I'm just looking for my...ah...my hat! My bamboo hat. Where's my bamboo hat??"
If anyone else saw this scene playing out, they would certainly comment, 'He's done for. There's no helping him now'. But in reality, it was only because Xie Lian had never experienced something like this before, and it was with Hua Cheng. The shock was too great, making him lose it a little.
"..."
"I'm sorry", Hua Cheng said after a moment of silence.
Feeling that the voice behind him was coming closer, Xie Lian jumped to his feet and cried, "I'M LEAVING NOW!!"
This cry was like a cry for help. Hua Cheng hastily said, "No!"
Xie Lian hurriedly tried to run away, but within a few steps out, his foot twisted, and he fell back onto the ground. Looking back, there was a trail of blood behind him; that nail deeply embedded in the bottom of his foot was completely stuck in.
Hua Cheng immediately seized his ankle, his voice alarmed, "What's wrong?"
Xie Lian immediately tried to pull his leg back, "Nothingnothingnothing, it doesn't hurt at all. It's fine!"
Hua Cheng was slightly angered, "How can it not hurt?!"
Then his hands moved_ he was actually going to remove his boot!
Startled, Xie Lian crawled forward again, exclaiming as he crawled, "NO, NONONO. THERE'S NO NEED!!"
Xie Lian kept yelling and trying to crawl away, but Hua Cheng held onto him, rendering him unable to move anywhere else. This alerted everyone else on the shore. A roaring crowd, all who-knows-what-kind of weirdos all chattering and blabbering came to surround them, clamouring.
"WHO GOES THERE! HOW DARE! DON'T YA KNOW WHAT THIS PLACE IS? ARE YA DONE WITH LIFE OR DID YA WANNA DIE AGAIN? I... BLIMEY, AIN'T THIS MY LORD?!"
The crowd of ghosts immediately hollered in unison, "GOOD DAY! YER OL' LORDSHIP!"
Xie Lian let out a wail in his head, wishing desperately he could cover his face with his hands. This was the Ghost City!
There were familiar faces in the group of ghosts that gathered. Xie Lian, Hua Cheng and Wei Ying often went for a walk in the Ghost City together and Banyue would come along whenever she was in town. Everyone in the Ghost City knew them, Xie Lian knew that everyone in the Ghost City knew him too. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng on the shore were both drenched from head to toe, with Hua Cheng still holding on his ankle and him on his fours trying to run away. This was such a shocking scene that it finally snapped Xie Lian, making him redder than he already was.
The crowds watched from afar, not daring to come close. They already knew their Lord didn't like it if they yelled senseless things in front of his family. Xie Lian was thankful that they weren't saying anything else but just knowing that he was being watched in such a state kept him blushing beet red.
In the middle of the chaos, Xie Lian's head shot up as if he remembered something. He immediately turned back to Hua Cheng whom he was trying to run away from just moments ago. Xie Lian grabbed onto Hua Cheng's robes, his eyes bulging and his voice high.
"A-Ying! Where's A-Ying?! San Lang? He arrived back to you yesterday right? I just saw A-Ying in that place and the child spirit was going to enter him! San Lang, A-Ying's alright, right? Tell me he's alright."
"A-Ying's alright."
"You... You're not lying, right? Then where is he? Why is he not with you??"
"Baba...?"
Xie Lian was still tightly gripping onto Hua Cheng's robe and almost sitting on the person as he asked nervously. Then when he heard the familiar boy's voice from behind, Xie Lian immediately turned his head to the voice.
And coming out from the crowd of ghosts were their two children, Wei Ying and Banyue, dressed in similar black robes with red patterns.