Chapter 48: Fight for Commendation, Eming Battles Ruoye

The scimitar shook more and more uncontrollably. Xie Lian was at a loss for how to respond, and he gently stroked along the blade's spine.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't see it was you. I won't do it again."

After stroking it a few times, Eming's eye squinted, and the trembling finally stopped.

Xie Lian then asked, "Where's your master?"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind. "Pay it no mind."

Xie Lian looked back and immediately rose to his feet, surprised and delighted. "San Lang? What brings you here?"

Behind him was a youth who strolled easily toward Xie Lian with an air of playful arrogance. It was Hua Cheng. He had once more tied his black hair into a crooked ponytail and was dressed in a white tunic, his red outer jacket tied around his waist; his sleeves were rolled up, revealing those firm, pale white arms, and the tattoo on one of them. As he walked, the little silver bells on his boots jingled capriciously. He looked very much like a strapping, free-spirited lad next door. He smiled at Xie Lian, a stalk of grass dangling from his lips.

"Gege."

Xie Lian had originally planned on visiting Hua Cheng to give proper thanks after settling the two children, but here he had showed up first. Lazily, Hua Cheng sauntered to his side and pulled the silver scimitar from the ground with a single hand. He looked it over, then rested it on his shoulder.

"Gege is busy here. There's no need to trouble yourself to make the trip when I can come over on my own. You also forgot this."

A bamboo hat hung on Hua Cheng's back, and he removed it to hand it over. Xie Lian had forgotten it at the mansion of the wealthy merchant, and he was slightly taken aback.

"It completely slipped my mind," he hurriedly said. "Thanks for going to the trouble."

As he spoke, he suddenly remembered what he had told Hua Cheng after a certain incident the night before: "I'm looking for my bamboo hat, my bamboo hat is missing."

This had been nonsense uttered in a state of confusion, but Hua Cheng actually had gone and found his bamboo hat. Xie Lian felt a wave of embarrassment and feared Hua Cheng would tease him for it. Fortunately, Hua Cheng didn't even mention the incident and changed the subject with a smile.

"Gege picked up two more kids?" he commented as he patted Guzi's head, ruffling his hair into a mess.

Guzi seemed to be scared of Hua Cheng, and he rushed to hide behind Xie Lian.

Xie Lian chided him, "Don't worry, this gege is a good person."

"Nah, I'm a very bad person." Hua Cheng replied.

Although that was what he said, he flicked his hand and a tiny silver butterfly flipped out of his sleeve; fluttering its little wings, it flew errantly toward Guzi. Guzi's inky little eyes bulged as he stared in fixated wonder at the tiny silver butterfly, and he reached out to try to catch it in spite of himself.

With that, his suspicion toward Hua Cheng dropped significantly. Hua Cheng nonchalantly glanced at Lang Ying, but this gaze was quite different from the one he turned on Guzi. When Hua Cheng looked at Lang Ying, his eyes were cold and sharp, utterly unfriendly. Lang Ying lowered his head and shrank behind Xie Lian anxiously.

"If you're gonna come, just come," Xie Lian said, bamboo hat in hand. "What are you doing cleaning Puqi Shrine?"

"It was just a bit of tidying," Hua Cheng replied. "Don't you think everything feels so much more refreshing now that all the trash is cleared out?"

"…"

Xie Lian remembered the missing Qi Rong and wondered, Did Hua Cheng actually throw him out with the garbage?

There was a sudden wail from behind Puqi Shrine.

"HUA CHENG, YOU FUCKER, GO TO HELL AND GET BOILED IN A POT OF FRYING OIL! MURDER! HUA CHENG IS COMMITTING MURDER!"

Guzi cried, "Dad!"

He dashed over on his little legs, and Xie Lian hastily followed. A small creek ran behind Puqi Shrine; it was where Xie Lian usually did laundry and washed rice. At the moment, it was instead Qi Rong who was being dunked in the water, his body bound tightly by Ruoye. He desperately tried to keep his head above water and roared for all he was worth.

"I WON'T GET OUT, I REFUSE TO GET OUT! I will stay in this body until it dies! I won't surrender!"

Hua Cheng spat out the stalk of grass. "You take yourself for some kind of a hero? Useless trash."

"…I captured him a few days ago on some mountain," Xie Lian explained woefully. "He's possessing someone and won't come out. The man is still alive, so if we forcibly rip out Qi Rong's soul, the flesh won't survive. Honestly…does San Lang have any idea what we can do?"

"Hm? You want ideas on how to make him suffer a fate worse than death?" Hua Cheng asked. "There's plenty of options."

That was obviously a threat. Qi Rong cussed.

"YOU TWO! Broken pot with a rotten cover to match! Hearts of snakes and scorpions! Gurgle gurgle gurgle…"

He hadn't finished before he was submerged in the creek again. Whenever Xie Lian saw Qi Rong, he was filled with both anger and sorrow, remembering how his mother's corpse had dissolved to ash. Nevertheless, that body belonged to another, so it had to be preserved. Thus, he fished Qi Rong from the creek and dragged him to the front door of Puqi Shrine.

Qi Rong hadn't eaten for a full day and night, so his stomach was shriveled with hunger. After Hua Cheng's bullying, he was full of rage but had no energy. Appearing truly wretched and pathetic, he wolfed down the meat pies Guzi had snuck back from the wealthy merchant's house, leaving not a single crumb. Xie Lian shook his head. He noticed that Qi Rong's limbs were stiff, probably from some petrification spell cast by Hua Cheng.

"Ruoye, return," Xie Lian called.

Ruoye had spent days binding Qi Rong and was feeling extremely aggrieved for it. With that call, it immediately whooshed over and wrapped itself in loops around Xie Lian's whole body like a white snake. Xie Lian pushed open the door and comforted it as he did so, untying it from his person.

"All right, all right. I'll give you a bath in a bit, don't feel bad. Go play over there."

Thus, Ruoye dragged its bandages and listlessly floated to the side. Hua Cheng also casually tossed Eming over, and Eming assumed a dignified pose upon landing. Ruoye had been moping facing the wall, but it suddenly discovered a shimmering silver scimitar leaning against that same wall. It very carefully approached. The eye on Eming's hilt twirled and looked over, its gaze calculating.

Fangxin remained somber and unmoved, making no show of acknowledging anything.

Xie Lian had spent the past few days studying up on cooking and felt he had perhaps gained considerable insight; his heart was full of confidence. Wanting to show off his skills and properly host Hua Cheng, Xie Lian bade him stay for a meal, to which Hua Cheng of course cheerfully agreed. Xie Lian had bought a bunch of groceries on the way back from town, and he piled them on the altar. Picking up the butcher knife, he chopped and sliced, the pots clinking and clanking. The altar table could be used as a desk, kitchen island, and dining table as well; cutlery could be set upon it, children could sit all around. One could say it was a table of a hundred uses.

Hua Cheng leaned against the wall and watched for a bit. Finally, he couldn't watch anymore and spoke. "Do you need help?"

Xie Lian was at the height of his fervor and dismissed him. "No need. Ruoye's help is plenty."

To demonstrate, he threw out a few bundles of firewood that hadn't yet been chopped. Pah! Like an attacking viper, the white silk bandage whipped the logs, and chunks of wood originally thick as thighs were instantly chopped into thin sticks of kindling.

Having shown off its skills, Ruoye arched into an odd, exaggerated form in front of Eming and Fangxin, like it was demonstrating its strength and beauty. Said demonstration didn't last long—Xie Lian moved again to place a plate on the ground before tossing over a big cabbage. Ruoye was just about to strike when suddenly, Eming's eye flashed. It flew off the ground and whirled out shimmers of silver light. Leaves of cabbage filled the air, and they landed on the plate thinly and cleanly chopped. Xie Lian squatted to pick up the plate and praised Eming aloud when he saw the results.

"Amazing. You cut better than Ruoye!"

Ruoye instantly pressed itself against the wall, looking like someone backing away with nowhere left to run. Eming spun its eye wildly and appeared fully smug, as if it were floating on cloud nine. Fangxin continued to remain unmoved.

Xie Lian hadn't noticed the little battle between the spiritual weapons, so focused was he on dropping all sorts of different vegetables and seasonings into the pot. However, he still had the mind to ask, "By the way, San Lang, how long are you staying this time?"

Hua Cheng had been observing Xie Lian the entire time; he looked like he wanted to advise him in some way at first, but in the end he smiled and said nothing of the sort.

"Depends. If nothing's going on in Ghost City, I'll stick around to play for a few days. I hope gege won't mind me hanging around."

"Why would I?" Xie Lian hastily assured him. "As long as you don't mind my place being a bit cramped."

Xie Lian chattered animatedly, telling Hua Cheng all about how Lan Chang threw around blame and caused trouble the moment she set foot in the Palace of Divine Might. Of course, he refrained from mentioning how he himself had been accused, as well as the whole business with dripping blood on Yanzhen. Then again, he remembered Jun Wu saying Hua Cheng had planted a spy in the Heavenly Realm, so maybe Hua Cheng already knew everything that had transpired. Fortunately, Hua Cheng only looked contemplative and made no show of whether or not he already knew.

Xie Lian asked idly, "San Lang, who do you think the father of the fetus spirit is?"

Hua Cheng looked up and smiled faintly. "Hard to say. Maybe that Golden Belt really was just something she picked up off the ground."

A vague response like that wasn't remotely Hua Cheng's usual style, and it rather puzzled Xie Lian. But soon, the bubbling pot stole his focus.

After two incense time, he opened the cover to the pot.

Usually, all Qi Rong ate were offerings that the villagers had made to Xie Lian. It was never anything more than steamed buns and pickles, noodles and eggs, wild fruits and such other things, but at least it was food fit for humans. The moment the pot cover opened and the smell of its contents wafted outside Puqi Shrine, Qi Rong started screaming curses.

"GOD FUCKING XIE LIAN! BLACKHEARTED SNOW LOTUS! You might as well just stab me dead right now! So acting good by fishing me out was all to make me suffer this torture?! I'VE SEEN THROUGH YOU!"

Before opening the pot cover, Xie Lian had been full of confidence. Now he doubted himself again—he had tried his best and exerted so much effort, but it had still resulted in this…entrée. Hua Cheng was watching; whatever should he do? Was he really going to make Hua Cheng eat something like this?! Listening to Qi Rong scream bloody murder, Xie Lian became even more demoralized. Seeing that Hua Cheng had crossed his arms and was about to go outside, Xie Lian raised a hand to stop him.

"Never mind him." Xie Lian sighed and portioned out a bowl of the substance that had formed within the pot. "Don't eat anything from this pot. Just wait for me for a second."

Then he went outside. He ushered Guzi and Lang Ying to go get a bucket of water, sending them away from the premises. Xie Lian squatted down with the bowl, looking pleasant and airy.

"Little cousin, it's time to eat."

Qi Rong was shocked and terrified in equal measure. "What. What are you doing?! WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING?! Xie Lian, I'm warning you, a human life is at stake here! YOU BETTER THINK THIS THROUGH! Whoever the hell can stomach that shit will break free from the bondage of the Three Realms, flee the wheel of dharma, no one…"

Qi Rong trailed off when he saw Hua Cheng ladle himself a full bowl, then sit next to the altar table inside the shrine and take a bite, his face unchanging and steady as the mountains. Qi Rong was shaken to the core. A thought he'd never had before flashed through his mind:

As expected of a supreme!

Xie Lian pushed the bowl against Qi Rong's face as he said calmly, "It's fine if you don't want to eat it. As long as you come out, that is."

That was never going to happen. Qi Rong clamped his teeth shut, but Xie Lian squeezed his cheeks and easily forced open his mouth, dumping the contents of the bowl straight down his throat.

A sharp scream shot to the skies above Puqi Shrine.

The bowl in Xie Lian's hand sat empty. Qi Rong lay sprawled on the ground, wearing a twisted, scrunched-up expression. Even his voice was hoarse, like an old man wasting away.

"…I…hate…"

Seeing as Qi Rong still refused to exit the body even with a full bowlof Xie Lian's cooking forced down his throat, Xie Lian didn't know whether to be reassured or anguished. He really wanted to force Qi Rong out as soon as possible, but since he hadn't succeeded…it almost seemed to prove that this dish he had cooked with all his heart wasn't so bad after all. Perhaps it was even worth being proud of. Turning around, Xie Lian saw that the bowl in Hua Cheng's hand was almost empty. He was eating leisurely, looking at Xie Lian as he did. Xie Lian's eyes lit up, and he rose to his feet.

"San Lang, are you finished?"

He thought he had botched the meal at first and been too embarrassed to offer it to Hua Cheng. Who knew Hua Cheng would take the initiative to help himself?

Hua Cheng chuckled.

"Yeah."

"…" Xie Lian prodded very carefully for his opinion. "What did you think?"

Hua Cheng slurped up the remaining broth and smiled. "Not bad. The taste is a bit strong; try making it a little milder next time."

Xie Lian sighed a breath of relief and nodded. "All right, I'll remember that. Thanks for your feedback."

Qi Rong groaned, "UUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"