Fight the Reverend; Crown Prince Takes Wind Master’s Place

However, no more sounds came from Shi Qingxuan.

Xie Lian was feeling unsettled. "Lord Wind Master, what happened to you? Are you still here? What's going on? Why aren't you saying anything???"

If he had only been taken away by rowdy night cruisers who were only seeking a bit of fun, he wouldn't be so quiet so suddenly. Had he met harm already? But being anxious and distraught was useless, since he didn't even know where Wind Master was.

The crowd finally quieted down and Ming Yi was finally able to push out from the Temple of Wind and Water. The heavenly realm had a decree to never use spiritual powers selfishly on mortals, nor to appear before them at will. If mortal lives were harmed or taken, it would be recorded and penalized. That decree certainly made things difficult for law -abiding heavenly officials, otherwise, with just a wave of their hands, those people would fly away like that roof. The crowd finally snapped out of it and started screaming wildly.

"IT, IT'S APPEARED! IT REALLY APPEARED!"

"THE MONSTERS HAVE COME!"

With that, the crowd broke up and dispersed.

"Lord Earth Master!" Xie Lian asked anxiously. "How come you didn't hold on to Lord Wind Master earlier? Have you seen him? When was he lost?"

"Ghosts snuck in and were ambushing people in the crowd," Ming Yi explained.

It seemed that he saw there were lives on the line and split his attention to go save them; attacking ghosts, but losing a friend.

"Let's split up and search!" Xie Lian said. "He shouldn't have gone far."

Suddenly, within the communication array came Shi Qingxuan's voice anew. He was laughing boisterously.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…."

This laughter came abruptly; at least there was finally something.

Xie Lian hurriedly asked, "Lord Wind Master! What happened to you just now, why did you suddenly stop talking? I thought something happened to you."

"HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA HOWCANANYTHINGHAPPEN TO THIS WINDMASTER I WASONLYTRYINGTOSCAREYOUALL HAHAHAHAHAHA MINGXIONGYOUBASTARD HOWDARE YOUNOTGRABHOLD OFME IF I DIE I'MDEFINITELYTURNINGINTOASUPREMETOCOME AND HAU N T Y O U u HAHAHAHAHAH…"

"Stop your haha-ing. Say something sensible!" Ming Yi demanded.

Xie Lian already knew that the more anxious and frightened Shi Qingxuan was, the more he would hahaha. In fact, he'd even forgotten to pause between words.

Xie Lian interrupted, "You didn't open your mouth to speak, did you? Your expression didn't show any obvious changes? Have you fought back?"

"I didn't speak. My expressions didn't change. I didn't fight back," Shi Qingxuan said.

Xie Lian relaxed his tone and said gently, "Very good. Lord Wind Master, listen to me. Everything's alright, don't be scared. Keep up the current status quo, and pretend you didn't notice anything. If you have something to say, just tell it to us here in the communication array secretly. Absolutely do not let that creature notice that you already know what it is. Slowly spread your spiritual aura and form a spiritual barrier to protect your person, that way you can at least ensure you won't trip or fall into a ditch. If any weapons should attack you, you'd be able to sense it too."

Shi Qingxuan's voice sounded like weeping without tears. "Oh. And then?"

Xie Lian continued, "And then take deep breaths. Just like that. Do it a couple times…do you feel a little better?"

His tone was very soft and gentle, quite effective when it came to comforting another.

Shi Qingxuan said, "Maybe a little bit. Thanks, Your Highness."

Xie Lian then tried probing. "Now…how do you think you would feel if you tried to open your eyes and sneak a look at that creature pulling you?"

Would he be able to hang on?

"I'll probably die," Shi Qingxuan said.

"…"

It seemed if Shi Qingxuan was to open his eyes, his terror would peak the moment the eyes could see, and he would turn into a most delicious and delicate meal for the Reverend of Empty Words. After that, he would probably lose all ability to fight. Besides, if the moment he opened his eyes, that thing was also staring back at him, the esteemed Wind Master would probably foam at the mouth on the spot and crash like a fallen star.

Xie Lian said, "Then you just keep your eyes closed."

"After it took you out of the Temple of Wind and Water, which direction did you go?" Ming Yi asked.

Right now, what they needed the most was Shi Qingxuan's location. Shi Qingxuan's eyes were closed and he couldn't see where he was going, but he should still have a general idea of his position, and could use the count of his steps to determine how far away he was.

Yet, Shi Qingxuan replied, "I don't know."

"You don't even know such a thing?!"

Shi Qingxuan was outraged. "Who in their right mind would remember those things? And didn't I think it was you pulling me?!"

On the side, Hua Cheng was still only observing, and was already bored to the point where he'd changed back into his red robes. Then he changed to black robes again. Then to white robes. Almost every time Xie Lian looked back, he would be donning a different appearance, and with every new look there were different hairstyles, and different accessories, and different boots, and so on; sometimes playful, sometimes elegant, sometimes deadly, sometimes glamourous. Xie Lian was growing dizzy from all the colours and kept looking back, unable to look away. The moment he realized what he was doing, he blinked fiercely, only just stopping himself from blurting out, "that outfit's not bad", or "that looks good".

He said instead, "Stop, stop, now's not the time to argue. With every word the Lord Wind Master takes another step, and the more he wanders the harder he'll be to find."

Shi Qingxuan moaned grievously. "I say, is it really that hard for you guys to find me? It's not more than fifty, sixty steps? It can't be over a hundred, and we're not even going that fast!!!"

Not over a hundred steps? Ming Yi immediately charged out, disappearing at the end of the street. Not long after, he reappeared fast as lightning before the entrance of the Temple of Wind and Water.

"Not there!"

Curses. "The Distance-Shortening array!" Xie Lian cried.

After that Reverend of Empty Words used that chaos to take the Wind Master out of the Temple of Wind and Water, it probably cast the Distance-Shortening array and sent them both elsewhere. Otherwise, in a distance within a hundred steps, he should've been easy to find. Once that spell was used, who knows where in the world they had been sent? Searching for the Wind Master now was no different than searching for a needle in a haystack!

They couldn't be careless in this affair, and Xie Lian immediately said, "I will go report this to the Heavenly Court."

However, Shi Qingxuan hastily stopped him. "Wait! Your Highness, don't go! You promised me to keep this a secret. My brother's third heavenly calamity is coming soon. The third one is huge, he can't be bothered right now!"

"Keep this up, I'll make you go through a trial right now," Ming Yi said.

Shi Qingxuan was enraged. "I said no and I mean it. How many eyes are watching my brother? This thing definitely picked this timing intentionally, I won't let it have its way! Never! Even if I die and my bones rot, it'll still have to be after my brother's completed his trial before I can be dug out!"

A moment later, Ming Yi relented. "Fine. Very good."

Xie Lian was sharp, and sensed that in his tone there was an oppressed wave of fury. It was an intense emotion that had never surfaced on him before, making Xie Lian feel rather unsettled. Unwilling for any other issues to start, he cut in.

"Lord Wind Master, is that creature still moving with you in hand?"

"Yeah," Shi Qingxuan replied. "It's dragging my arm."

"Is there anything notable on its body? Like a peculiar essence of evil, or a certain scent, feel, or something?" Xie Lian asked.

"No. There's nothing."

"What about your surroundings? Like, is the path under your feet jagged or smooth? Have you stepped on anything or kicked anything?" Xie Lian wanted to see if he could draw a general perimeter based on the surrounding environment.

"The path is very strange!" Shi Qingxuan said. "Very soft, very light, like clouds."

"…"

Xie Lian thought, "You're probably just weak in the knees from terror…"

Two out of five of Shi Qingxuan's senses were already sealed; it was hard to scrape together any clues, and it would only get more difficult from here. Although Hua Cheng had always been next to them, watching the show leisurely, him tagging along had always been only for entertainment. He had no attachment to Shi Qingxuan whatsoever, and as an entity of the ghost realm, he had no reason to help a heavenly official. Xie Lian also didn't want to trouble him and beg him for help all the time.

Thus, he steadied himself and said, "Lord Wind Master, I have a way for you to break away from that creature immediately. But, I need your permission."

Shi Qingxuan instantly replied, "Okay! I give you permission!"

However, Hua Cheng suddenly stopped him. "The Soul-Shifting Spell?"

"What?"

Xie Lian responded, "That's right. The Soul-Shifting Spell!"

The Soul-Shifting Spell was exactly as its name indicated; it was a spell to switch souls. Using one's eyes to see what another sees. This spell wasn't often used; first, it brutally burned spiritual power, second, very few were willing to give up control of their own bodies.

Hua Cheng's expression grew serious. "Gege, prudence."

"What're you gonna do if it faces you?" Shi Qingxuan asked.

"I'm not scared of it, so it doesn't matter," Xie Lian replied.

"Do it," Ming Yi said.

Hua Cheng, however, pressed again. "Gege, please reconsider."

Suddenly, Shi Qingxuan said, "It's stopped."

Hearing this, Xie Lian shouted in the communication array, "No more time to hesitate! Now!"

Shi Qingxuan gritted his teeth and said, "It's all up to you now, Your Highness!"

"Okay!" Xie Lian said.

Just as the words left his mouth, he closed both his eyes, and his body suddenly felt feather-light; light to the point it felt like he was floating into the heavens. Abruptly, it became exceedingly heavy, heavy to the point like he was going to bore into the earth. It was after a wave of nauseating whirling that his senses returned to him. He steadied his form, but his eyes were still closed. Not a single sound could be heard from his ears.

There was a hand grabbing hold of his arm, standing still.

Xie Lian opened his eyes in a flash. One hand removed the ear plugs, and the other flipped, seizing the Reverend of Empty Words in reverse.

He smiled. "Hi there."

Shi Qingxuan had his eyes closed for a long time, and it was pitch black all around. Thus, in the instant Xie Lian opened the eyes of this body, he hadn't yet adjusted to the darkness and couldn't see anything. However, what was grabbing onto him was now something he was grabbing onto. Ruoye wasn't around, so Xie Lian cast a hand- locking spell, and secured that hand like a steel cuff to prevent the other from escaping using magic.

Within the communication array came Shi Qingxuan's voice. "Your Highness! Are you alright? Maybe it's better if you switch back and I'll take over myself!!!"

It seemed Shi Qingxuan had also safely switched to his body. Xie Lian had a firm grip on that Reverend of Empty Words, and his leg shot out, kicking at it over thirty times.

"I'm fine!"

Since their souls had only just been switched, they would need time to adjust. Once he'd gotten used to it, his moves would become even more brutal.

"Your Highness, let me tell you the incantation for manipulating my spiritual devices; use as much of my spiritual power as you need, don't hold back!"

Xie Lian had no sword to wield, and flashed open the Wind Master fan. "Okay!"

Shi Qingxuan then added, "I'll tell you the spell for transforming into a woman too, I'm stronger in my feminine form!"

Xie Lian resolutely refused. "No. That's not necessary."

Hua Cheng spoke up gravely, "Gege, hurry and take a look at the surroundings. Tell me what place it is."

"No," Ming Yi said. "Tell us first what is fighting you right now."

During this exchange, Xie Lian's eyes had gradually adjusted to the dark environment. He squinted and looked at that black shadow before him.