Gods and Ghost Hear the Tale of the Blood-Soaked Fire Social

Xie Lian immediately rose to his feet. Shi Qingxuan, too, stomped a foot down on the table, rolling up his sleeves as if ready to charge right down.

Xie Lian hastily held him back and said, "It's nothing, don't worry, Lord Wind Master, please calm down."

"IS IT NOTHING EVEN WITH EYEBALLS SQUEEZED OUT???" Shi Qingxuan was quite alarmed.

"It's nothing," Xie Lian reiterated. "What a rare opportunity, to witness a Bloody Fire Social!"

Shi Qingxuan immediately dropped the leg that was on the table, and asked, "Bloody Fire Social? What's that?"

The two sat down anew, and Xie Lian explained.

"Different regions have different kinds of Fire Socials; the Bloody Fire Social is a special type, extremely rare. I've only heard about it, I've never seen it before. Since their performances are gruesome and freakish, and their makeup artistry is an untold secret that isn't passed down, there are getting to be fewer and fewer of them."

Shi Qingxuan was stunned. "Makeup artistry? That's all fake? Th-th-th…that's just too real. And here I thought they had been transformed by evil!"

His words weren't exaggerated, and Xie Lian sighed in awe.

"There are many extraordinarily talented people in the world."

Watching those performers in the parade, not only did they have weapons "deeply embedded" in their skulls, some also had exposed innards, missing limbs. They were crawling on the ground, crying and howling; there were a few carrying a large wooden stack, with a woman hung on one of the beams, a rope wrapped around her neck as if she was hung to death. Then came two who were dragging the two legs of a woman; that woman herself had her clothes all ripped into rags, her face down dragged along the road the entire way, leaving long trails of blood. This was truly a very real vision of hell. Even though it was clearly a performance done by humans, it was more horrifying than the ghosts of Ghost City. In comparison, Ghost City was almost like a bustling human market. Just how was all that makeup done? Even if Xie Lian had heard of this tradition, at first glance he'd also almost thought it was the coming of ghosts.

There were quite a few women and children who tried to squeeze to the front of the crowd to spectate out of curiosity, but screamed from fright and backed away after having actually seen.

Shi Qingxuan commented, "Your Highness, didn't you say that the point of Fire Socials was to celebrate? Who celebrates like this? People are running scared, and those little girls are going to have nightmares. Do people really feel happy watching these kinds of performances?"

It really was hard to tell whether people would feel happy after watching such performances. However, in truth, slaughter and the sight of blood did create excitement in people. Whether or not there was fear, after the initial shock was over, a rush of adrenaline would be produced in the heart. There was slang for Bloody Fire Socials such as this, called "Stabbing Ecstacy". Xie Lian figured it meant: once a person was stabbed violently to death, the heart would be filled with ecstasy.

There was a thirst for slaughter deep in the hearts of humans.

Of course, Xie Lian didn't say that much on the subject, and only watched intently for a while. In that impressive parading troupe, there was a pale- faced man dressed in black; his form tall, but skinny as a twig. His hand gripped a weapon, and he struck towards the head of one of the lavishly- dressed performers. That knife instantly penetrated through the other's skull, and he took out a long spear right after. He hoisted the other up and hung them in the air, cruel and gruesome, as if it was a real murder happening right there. The crowd screamed in waves of horror, though some also cheered.

"I'm guessing they're enacting a tale," Xie Lian said. "That black-clad man should be the protagonist and the people he killed should be the antagonists, the villains. This entire story is expressing the defeat of evil and the proclamation of good."

Having said that, something clicked in Xie Lian's mind. He said, "Lord Wind Master, watch closely."

"I am watching," Shi Qingxuan said.

"No, I'm telling you to watch for the story," Xie Lian explained. "Watch for the characters they're performing, and the kind of story this is. There must be a reason why that Reverend of Empty Words brought you here, and picked today of all days. Maybe it was so you'd watch this Bloody Fire Social."

That black-clad man had a deep frown, looking to be in severe agony. While "butchering" hundreds of "villains" in the troupe by himself, he himself was also pierced by all sorts of weapons all over his body. At the end, he carried a number of mangled "corpses" with white bandages around their throats and lowered his head, unmoving. It was an ending where all perished together. As one troupe went past, another troupe followed and continued to perform, and the parade cycled around thus.

"Have you all figured out what the story was about?" Xie Lian asked.

Shi Qingxuan knitted his brows and said, "No. I don't think I understand. He's doing nothing but killing people."

Next to Xie Lian, Hua Cheng said lazily, "Seems it's not a widely-known story. Ask a local and see if it's someone of renown from around here."

Coincidentally, that waiter came by again to bring their orders. He inquired, "Honoured guests, how's the show? Is it exciting?"

"It's good. Very exciting," Xie Lian responded. "May I ask, who is the character this town's Bloody Fire Social is enacting?"

Sure enough, that waiter said, "Oh, outsiders usually don't know, and always have to ask. The Fire Social of our town Fu Gu enacts the story of a legendary character. This was passed down through word of mouth, but many centuries ago, there was a scholar here named He.

"Although the family of this Scholar He was very, very poor, he was quite a talented man. He was a scarily intelligent youth, and picked things up quickly and precisely. He was also known everywhere as a good son; there's really nothing bad to say about the guy. Unfortunately for him, he was just very unlucky, and nothing good ever lasts.

"He studied hard and took national state exams. Even though he clearly did well, the best of them all, because he didn't pay up a greeting gift to the examiner, he offended the officials. They hid his test scrolls, exchanging them for blank ones, and for years he couldn't land a rank.

"He got engaged; his fiancee was a childhood friend, beautiful like flowers, kind and compassionate. But both his future wife and little sister were kidnapped by a wealthy household, who turned them into bed attendants. One wouldn't obey and was beaten to death, the other couldn't bear the shame and committed suicide. He went to quarrel, but those criminals turned around and accused him of committing adultery instead. He was locked up in jail, and almost died from starvation.

"His old ma and pa, seventy years old, begged for mercy for him, kowtowed their heads an entire night, but it was no use. He was jailed for two years before he was released. His mom had no one to take care of her and was long dead from illness, and his dad had to labour for the family by himself and had only but a breath left. He couldn't study anymore and got into business, but because he was too good at it, the other merchants ganged up on him to suppress him. All the money he made was cleaned away, and instead he drowned in debt."

"…"

"So what do y'all think?" That waiter sighed aloud. "How can anyone be so unlucky?"

Xie Lian cleared his throat quietly and said earnestly, "Yeah."

How could someone other than him be this unlucky?!

After having lamented, that waiter's face changed, looking cheery and alive. "And then that man went crazy; just completely mad. One night, the day before the last day of Autumn, he took up a bunch of weapons and butchered everyone who had hurt him! It was a bloody sight, flesh and gore flying all over, extremely satisfying! Since all those he killed had bullied all the people in town for ages, everyone cheered for him. So that's why, every year on the day before the last day of Autumn, the town commemorates him with a Bloody Fire Social. Pray Lord Scholar He watch over us and kill all the villains."

Although it was supposed to be the defeat of evil and the triumph of good, it seemed like nothing ended well. That waiter went away, and Xie Lian saw Shi Qingxuan had a face of contemplation.

He asked, "Lord Wind Master, do you have any thoughts?"

Shi Qingxuan snapped out of it and said, "I'm having some baffling thoughts, but…it's too confusing, so I can't put my finger on it. What about you, Your Highness?"

"I'm thinking, could the Reverend of Empty Words be this Scholar He in a past life?"

During their exchange, the next troupe had started performing the same story again. Shi Qingxuan looked over.

"His past life?"

"That's right," Xie Lian said. "Monsters that are similar to humans are usually born from an individual's extreme grudge or obsession. For example, I hear there's a monster in Dongying called 'The Bridge Princess'; it was formed by the grudge of women. Some say it was from the grief of women who waited for husbands that never returned, and others say it was the madness of jealousy. If the Reverend of Empty Words came from the misfortune of someone, it's not impossible to say it was formed by that person's jealousy of another's fortune, or the hatred of his fate."

"Check for landmarks. Match the timeline," Ming Yi said.

"Right. This needs to be verified," Xie Lian said.

To find out if this theory stood, they must investigate how many hundreds of years ago this "Scholar He" character appeared. If his appearance was later than the earliest record of the Reverend of Empty Words, than this theory would not hold.

Shi Qingxuan nodded, pondered, but still said, "And another thing…"

Just then, a booming voice suddenly came from below, laughing heartily.

"JUST WAIT! YOUR CLOSEST FAMILY, YOUR BESTEST FRIEND, THEY WILL ALL DIE TRAGICALLY BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Hearing this, Shi Qingxuan's face immediately changed. He slapped down on the table with his left hand and leapt from the window of the restaurant, light as a feather.

That voice had come from the parading troupes!

Xie Lian yelled from atop the building, "LORD WIND MASTER! COME BACK!"

Shi Qingxuan landed in that crowd of bloody, live dead people. He raged, "COME THE HELL OUT! COME OUT!!!"

However, those performers all bore wooden expressions; no one cared for him, and they continued to march like they were in a dream state. Shi Qingxuan was getting pushed around all over by the flowing crowd, and couldn't figure out just who looked fishy. This one looked suspicious, and he'd whip out his Wind Master fan to knock at them, but then another over there would look more suspicious. If he struck wrong, then it'd be a life on his hands.

Hua Cheng pushed the veggies he hadn't touched on his plate into a smiley face, never having looked up once. "It's useless. It's too easy for a thousand-year old monster to hide its foxtails."

Amidst such a freakish parade, it was too easy for anything unhuman to infiltrate. Besides, the Venerables of Empty Words already took on the forms of humans; nevermind the Reverend, who was the strongest among them all.

A moment later, Ming Yi jumped down too and pulled Shi Qingxuan out. The group of them left the main street, walking towards that Temple of Wind and Water. Shi Qingxuan's hand that gripped his Wind Master fan was still trembling, but rather than fear, it was more from anger. A small pot of wine from the restaurant hung from his hand; after walking for a while, he took a long drink from the pot before the seething redness of his eyes faded away.

"Ming-xiong, maybe you shouldn't be my best friend for the time being. Wait 'til I've killed that thing first!"

Ming Yi, however, instantly said without holding back: "Who's that. I've never been."

"…" Shi Qingxuan was outraged. "MING-XIONG THAT'S TOO MUCH. CAN YOU NOT TURN YOUR BACK ON PEOPLE SO FAST WHEN THINGS GET TOUGH???"

The two of them were bickering and noisy, and Xie Lian shook his head, bringing out two little objects from his sleeve.

"Here, Lord Wind Master. I think you'd best use these after all."

Shi Qingxuan took the objects. "Ear plugs?"

Xie Lian nodded. "The idea might be a little dumb and it doesn't help the root problem, but it still works for the time being. As long as you can't hear, that creature can't do anything to you. I cast an array, the verbal password is 'By Heaven Official's Blessings, No Paths are Bound'. Let's just talk in the array, if we need to talk to you."

Shi Qingxuan plugged his ears and sure enough, he could hear nothing after. The four entered the array one after the other. Just then, Xie Lian suddenly heard Hua Cheng's voice floating next to his ear:

"Gege, gege."

Xie Lian looked over and saw Hua Cheng was blinking at him. His lips weren't moving, but his voice was still resounding in his ear.

"Didn't you say you wanted to talk to me? You won't come to me, so I'm reaching out to you."

Xie Lian smiled and replied, "Well, you're the one who set your password to something like that."

"Fine, fine. My bad," Hua Cheng said.

Shi Qingxuan adjusted the ear plugs and saw the two of them were looking at each other, smiling without saying a word.

He asked in the communication array, puzzled, "Your Highness, Crimson Rain Sought Flower, what are the two of you doing? Did you exchange verbal passwords? And now you're exchanging secrets?"

Xie Lian cleared his throat, and said in the communication array with a serious voice, "Nothing of the sort."

Hua Cheng raised his brows slightly and passed him another message. "You liar."

Xie Lian slipped in his step.

Looking only straight ahead as he walked, pretending to be serious, he replied, "San Lang, stop teasing me…I need your help with something."

The two of them walked side by side, not looking at each other.

Hua Cheng asked, "What is it?"

Xie Lian replied, "Work with me to test and see if someone is the Reverend of Empty Words."