Gods Appointing Gods Lesser Than Ghosts Devouring Ghosts

Xie Lian continued, "I dare say that Scholar He has the birth name Xuan. And, the details of his birth are exactly the same as My Lord's."

To commit fraudulent deeds and deceive the heavens couldn't be managed so casually, and not just anyone would do. There were certain requirements that needed to be met.

From the three questions that Reverend of Empty Words asked when it first captured Shi Qingxuan, it firmly retained two things: first, the name of its prey contained the word "Xuan"; second, the birth information of its prey. However, it didn't recognize the prey's face, and had needed Shi Qingxuan to approach for it to see. Since the Shi family was speedy in remedying the situation, other than those two items, the Reverend probably knew nothing else.

Thus, if there must be one who could take Shi Qingxuan's place to take on his misfortunes, it must be a male who was born the same year, same month, same day, same time, and their name must contain "Xuan".

How difficult must it be to find such a scapegoat. The world is vast; even if Shi Wudu used his everything to search, there still might not be one. Using the powers and influence of his Water Master status, he cast the net and actually found someone. And it was one who possessed the potential to ascend, about to go through his first Heavenly Calamity!

Such luck, how could he let it go? Compared to arduous cultivation, this was a convenient shortcut. If he missed this chance, it might not come again!

Having made it to this point, Ming Yi seemed to also have drawn the same conclusions, and his face was growing darker. Shi Qingxuan first nodded, then suddenly seemed to have remembered something. He looked to Hua Cheng, who was leaning against the door. After all, something like this shouldn't be discussed before a ghost. However, Hua Cheng only chuckled with his arms crossed.

"No need to look at me, Lord Wind Master. The one you should worry about isn't me, I've nothing to do with this whole business. Instead, why don't you concern yourself with whether anyone else in the Upper Court has gotten ahold of this weakness of your brother's?"

Ming Yi accused darkly, "You really do have spies in the heavens."

Hua Cheng replied lazily, "Don't you already know that?"

The Lord Earth Master was originally sent to the Ghost City to investigate this, but it seemed that the spy was planted deeply, and even after over a decade they still weren't found out. Hua Cheng said this whole business had nothing to do with him, so naturally Xie Lian believed him and didn't think more on it. Yet, Hua Cheng also said "why not worry about others in the Upper Court", which reminded Xie Lian of another thing.

So he asked, "Lord Wind Master, that night at the Terrace of Cascading WIne, why did you open the doors to the protection array yourself? Did someone call you out? Who was that person?"

"Yeah," Shi Qingxuan replied. "It was the Reverend of Empty Words. It said…"

Xie Lian crossed his hands into his sleeves. "How did it know your verbal password?"

"…" Ming Yi's face was dark. "Isn't it because this guy just had to go around and make friends, yapping nonstop whether others are free or not! He talks too much!"

Shi Qingxuan was aggrieved. "Ming-xiong, you can't say it like that. The ones who call on me are all heavenly officials of the Upper Court, I've never given anything personal away to that creature!"

"Since that Reverend of Empty Words has been lying low for so many years, now that it's returned and can even uncover Lord Water Master's…secret…so thoroughly, then for it to figure out Lord Wind Master's verbal password shouldn't be hard," Xie Lian said. "Someone must've leaked your verbal password. Whether intentional or not, it's still worth investigating."

Ming Yi added, "So? Did you see what it looked like? What did it do after calling you out?"

"…" Shi Qingxuan's head seemed to start hurting. "I don't know what it looks like. It cast a spell, I couldn't see clearly."

He was vague and didn't say what he saw either. Ming Yi was becoming frosty. Xie Lian figured it was probably the gorey scenes of the Bloody Fire Social, and those were certainly difficult to describe. A moment later Shi Qingxuan sighed.

"I'm the useless one. If I could have ascended on my own, none of this would have happened."

Shi Qingxuan's original fate was probably considered pretty good in mortal terms already, otherwise that Reverend of Empty Words wouldn't have set its eyes on him. However, it still might be a long way away from ascension. Those who could ascend were all protected by spiritual aura, and inhuman creatures would have a hard time doing anything to them. Besides, what monster or demon would want to mess with a future heavenly official?

Whether a person could ascend didn't depend on how smart they were; intelligence and effort might not matter at all, and exploiting rare treasures and devices certainly wouldn't increase chances. Sometimes, it's just like that. Ten years of study couldn't compare to natural wit and talent; a hundred years of bloody struggles couldn't compare to a moment's enlightenment.

If it wasn't written in fate, then it wasn't. The Water Master could spend all he wanted on his younger brother, but without that fate, Shi Qingxuan would very well be stuck in the Middle Court and become nothing more than the leading lamb of junior officials. That he was able to make it to where he was today, to shine with endless glory, was all because his older brother robbed something that belonged to another and gave it to him. If he had even a shred of conscience, it wasn't hard to imagine how it must feel after having learned the truth.

If the exchange had never happened, then the one who possessed the real potential to ascend, how glorious would he have been today?

Having thought this, a light suddenly went off in Xie Lian's mind.

"No," he said. "Lord Wind Master, the one who called you out wasn't the Reverend of Empty Words."

Shi Qingxuan raised his bowed head. "Huh? That voice definitely belonged to it, I wouldn't have mistaken that."

"No no, it was its voice, but that doesn't mean the body still belonged to it," Xie Lian said. "Everyone, do you remember? The prey the Reverend of Empty Words set its eyes on all died by way of suicide. Except for one person."

After a pause, he continued, "How did Scholar He die? How was it portrayed at the Bloody Fire Social? Was it suicide?"

Shi Qingxuan's eyes grew wide. "It wasn't suicide. It was…"

"Exhaustion," Ming Yi said.

"That's right!" Xie Lian exclaimed. "Even though he was hounded by misfortune, to the end never once did Scholar He think of killing himself."

He said somberly, "Think about it. This man had an abnormally strong determination. Having been struck by so many unfair, unjust encounters, if this was a typical person he would've long since given up or ended everything. Yet he always fought back; he never backed down over anything. I think that, perhaps, once the Reverend of Empty Words found him, it never managed to suck what it wanted—fear. The cause of his death wasn't suicide because of fear and despair. After the Reverend of Empty Words clung on to him, it didn't eat good fruit, but a steel plate instead. It broke its teeth, losing thoroughly in the end."

Listening to him, Shi Qingxuan shook his head and sighed earnestly. "…I really am nothing compared to this man."

Xie Lian continued, "He died filled with murderous intent and resentment. I don't think a battered soul like that would rest in peace. If not at peace, it would thirst for revenge.

"So, Lord Wind Master, I believe the current 'Reverend of Empty Words' couldn't possibly be the same one that sought you when you were born. Instead, it was Scholar He who stubbornly fought back 'til the end, and bit back at the Reverend. Or rather, He Xuan!"

Shi Qingxuan and Ming Yi were both stunned by his claim.

Hua Cheng added quietly, "Ghosts devouring ghosts."

When humans eat humans, at most, the stomach gets stuffed. When ghosts devour ghosts, with the correct method, they can absorb the other's powers and abilities and use them as their own.

"This can also explain why the 'Reverend of Empty Words' knew so many of the details of this whole affair," Xie Lian said. "A monster like it is dull and eccentric, it shouldn't be so intelligent. However, the one that's now returned to pursue you two is a…"

He wanted to use "hybrid", but it didn't feel accurate. Just then, Hua Cheng supplied, "Enhanced entity."

"Right," Xie Lian said. "After Scholar He swallowed up the Reverend of Empty Words, his mind was in complete control. The him now not only possesses the ability to curse, he's also very clever. And, it possessed bottomless resentment towards the two of you."

So, even though it already knew Shi Qingxuan's verbal password, it didn't cast a death curse through the private spiritual communication array at the start. Instead, it tightened the snare gradually, forcing Shi Qingxuan to plug his own ears, shut his own eyes, and lock himself in an empty room. Like a cat that caught a mouse, it wouldn't kill immediately, and would play and play until the mouse killed itself from terror.

A moment later, Ming Yi said, "Now that it's come to this, what do you plan to do?"

Everyone looked to Shi Qingxuan. Shi Qingxuan had already messed up his own hair from all the unconscious scratching.

He responded bemusedly, "…Well, don't look at me??? I…I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO EITHER!!! I just…I just don't know how to look at my brother now…"

It was his blood brother, after all, and this heinous crime, harming the life of another, was committed for his sake. So, it was understandable if he didn't know what to do for the moment.

Shi Qingxuan added, "But, I gotta beg everyone here to absolutely keep this a secret! Just for now. Just give me a little time to think…just what to do. Even though I've been thinking for days now, I had never thought, anyway, I just need time to calm down, and reflect…"

Towards the end he was rambling, and his eyes were unfocused.

Shi Wudu kept saying he was going to "treat Shi Qingxuan's illness", but what illness was there to treat? Unless it was his fall from divine grace, his change back into a mortal. His "illness" could only be cured if his fate was changed again and he ascended once more. Although it'd be difficult to find another qualifying candidate, who knew what other evil spell Shi Wudu would come up with? No wonder Shi Qingxuan was whining about becoming a mortal and abandoning his godhood, desperate to flee.

As for that scroll about the Reverend of Empty Words that was filled with errors, no doubt it was made to mislead Shi Qingxuan, making sure he didn't discover the truth. Who knows if it was put together by Shi Wudu or Ling Wen, but at the beginning when Shi Wudu needed to find a qualifying candidate, he must've needed the help of the Palace of Ling Wen. Did Ling Wen herself really know nothing of this? If there was a heavenly official like Shi Qingxuan who ascended this way, would it be possible that there was a second, or a third, or even more other heavenly officials who ascended the same way?

If that was the case, then it'd be horrifying. The world would be turned upside-down. This must be treated with the utmost gravity. Other than Hua Cheng, who wasn't involved and was at ease, enjoying himself, everyone else in the little cottage was all gloom and doom, as if a great enemy was about to descend upon them. Just then, there was commotion outside the cottage; there were oxen mooing furiously, and even more farmers shouting.

"Stop! Stop!"

"What are you planning, so full of killing intent!"

Xie Lian moved to the door and peeked out through the crack. "It's General Pei."

Pei Ming had only just been beaten down by Quan Yizhen, fighting in a brawl, yet he appeared perfectly fine standing outside. Before him was a leaning stone slab marking the boundary, and he seemed rather wary of it, afraid to enter rashly, so he remained standing there with a sword in hand. The farmers gripped their pickaxes and sickles, their faces written with unwelcoming expressions. That black ox in the paddy blew out a few heavy breaths from its large nostrils, and suddenly stood on its hind legs. An instant later it became a large, buff man; rather handsome, with a small steel nose-ring.

He laughed. "Well I'll be, ain't this General Pei. What a rare guest. What winds blew My Lord over today? Lemme say this first, we've got nothing to do with your Little Pei."

Xie Lian knew it. Earlier, when he saw that black ox in the paddies, he recalled a faint impression. Sure enough, this place was Mount Yulong; Rain Master country. Back then, it was also this Ox-xiong who lent the Rain Master Hat for Xie Lian to create rain. The years had gone by, yet it was impressive as always, and still plowed the fields with honest strength.

Shi Qingxuan also squeezed over to the crack in the door, speaking to Xie Lian, "That ox from Rain Master's household. He's a good guy."

Pei Ming had once suffered a loss at the hands of the Rain Master, so naturally he was courteous and polite at the moment. "Please, no need to flatter me. Pei didn't come to seek the Ruler of Yushi¹. May I inquire if Lord Wind Master had come by your esteemed country?"

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Translator Notes:

¹"Yushi" means "Rain Master". The Rain Master was the ruler of the Kingdom of Yushi, which just means the Kingdom of Rain Master. Can't tell if MXTX just got lazy with this name, lol. (pls love the rain master)