Xie Lian turned his head,
Looking at the dejected kneeling stone statue not far away,
He said, "Qi Rong is right about one thing. I'm quite a failure. "
Hua Cheng calmly said, "You even believe the words of trash like Qi Rong. Other than being unkillable and running fast, what else does he have? For more than eight hundred years, he can't even make it to the top. Even if I beat him, my hands would be dirty. "
The corner of Xie Lian's mouth twitched. He thought, unkillable and running fast,
Wasn't he the same? Didn't he also muddle along for more than eight hundred years,
But he could only muddle along like this?
Originally, when he saw Lang Qianqiu ascend as the Eastern Martial God,
He became a Heavenly Official in the Heavenly Court and was still the same as before,
He still went straight to the point,
He would still doze off during the boring meetings, and he was still quite gratified. However,
From this moment onwards,
He didn't know how Lang Qianqiu would change in the future. He went to chase after Qi Rong, and after he caught up,
How would he settle things with him when he returned?
Xie Lian stood up and slowly walked to the side of the stone statue. He turned to the front of the stone statue,
That face was exactly the same as his, except that it was carved into a crying expression,
Its face was full of tears,
It cried until its facial features were distorted and extremely ugly. After staring for a while, Xie Lian sighed softly,
He placed his hand on its head and poured a force down.
When he removed his hand again, two cracks quietly climbed up the stone statue's cheeks. Then, this crying face shattered. The stone statue collapsed and turned into countless small stones that fell to the ground, unable to be pieced together again.
When Xie Lian turned around again, he had already returned to his usual gentle and calm face. He rubbed the space between his eyebrows and said, "I'm afraid there are still a lot of living people hidden in Qi Rong's lair. I'll go look for them and let them all out."
Hua Cheng also stood up and said, "Let's go."
During the chaos just now, the green-lamp imps in Qi Rong's lair fled in all directions. Those who didn't escape hid in the dark, not daring to come out. The two of them searched around and casually caught a few unlucky imps. They forced them to lead the way and found several caves used to store 'fresh ingredients'. After a rough count, the number of living people that Qi Rong had caught to eat was no less than three hundred. They were either nearby villagers or passing travelers.
As the two of them walked, they opened the prison doors and released the prisoners. While doing these things, Xie Lian's mood slightly calmed down. In addition, he also had some free time now, so he chatted with Hua Cheng for a bit. After thinking for a bit, he said, "Oh right, San Lang, there's something I still want to ask you."
Hua Cheng asked, "What is it?"
Xie Lian asked, "How did you know that Qi Rong was the one behind the Gilded Palace incident?"
Even if he didn't know why Hua Cheng brought him and Lang Qianqiu to the Green Demon's lair, he knew now. Hua Cheng's objective was to let Lang Qianqiu personally hear Qi Rong reveal the truth about what had happened in the Gilded Hall.
Xie Lian replied, "Qi Rong doesn't know about my affection. If he knew, he would've long since gone to pester me. Back then, although I discovered that Xian Le's old royal family had secretly made many moves, I didn't know that Qi Rong was controlling them from behind the scenes. How did you know? How long ago did you learn about this? "
"It's not early." Hua Cheng clasped his hands behind his back and walked shoulder to shoulder with him. "I've interacted with Qi Rong a few times, so I know his background. Qi Rong was from Xian Le when he was alive and extremely hated Yong An. He was used to using methods to sow discord and fan the flames to create trouble. Yong An Country's numerous assassinations against the royal family were all controlled by him. However, he had always hidden it well. "
Xie Lian shook his head. "So it turns out he already had a criminal record. Fortunately, he hid it well. If he didn't hide it well, and the people in the Heavenly Court found out that he interfered with human affairs, they wouldn't have let him off. "
Hua Cheng said, "Washing the Gilded Palace in blood is very consistent with his usual style of doing things. Therefore, I always thought that he was the mastermind behind this incident and that Grand Preceptor Fang Xin was his person. However, Lang Qianqiu went to the Heavenly Court and said that Grand Preceptor Fang Xin was you. In that case, Fang Xin and Qi Rong couldn't be on the same side. "
Xie Lian's footsteps slightly slowed down. It seemed that Hua Cheng clearly wasn't in the Heaven Realm, yet he knew everything that had happened in the Divine Martial Palace. Moreover, not only that, he was also very clear about the history between Xie Lian and Qi Rong.
Hua Cheng continued, "However, I'm still inclined to believe that the mastermind behind this incident was Qi Rong. At least, he was definitely the one who made the first move. After Lang Qianqiu's father ascended the throne, the situation of the ordinary Xian Le citizens improved greatly. They no longer thought about revenge and restoring their country like before. The only one who could possibly still want to rise up was the Xian Le royal family. At that time, the only descendant of the Xian Le royal family was Prince An Le. If Qi Rong wanted to instigate someone to rise up, it would definitely be him. It just so happened that this person mysteriously died not long after the Gilded Banquet. Moreover, he didn't have any medical history. Isn't this obvious? "
Xie Lian nodded. Hua Cheng said, "Therefore, he was most likely killed, and the reason for his death was related to the Gilded Banquet. My initial guess is that it was done by the Yong An Royal family. However, if it was them, it doesn't make sense that the Xian Le citizens weren't implicated. After thinking about it, I can only deduce the current conclusion. "
Xie Lian smiled and sighed. "There are so few clues, yet you can deduce it so accurately."
Hua Cheng said, "It's not difficult. I just wanted to have a good understanding of the people involved in this matter. "
Xie Lian said, "Indeed, I understand them very well. However, there is a very important premise in your deduction that I don't quite understand. "
Hua Cheng said, "Which one?"
Xie Lian said, "Why do you believe that the Gilded Banquet was definitely done by Qi Rong first?"
Hua Cheng said, "I don't believe that it was definitely done by him. I just believe that it definitely wasn't done by you."
Hearing this, Xie Lian's smile disappeared.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Why?"
Hua Cheng said, "If you admit that the Gilded Banquet was washed with blood and used other reasons, then it is possible that it was indeed done by you. However, the Emperor of Yong An Kingdom is diligent and has won the hearts of the people. However, Lang Qianqiu said that the reason you told him at that time was that you 'couldn't bear to see them sit in this position'. "
He said, "This is indeed a very standard declaration of a usurper. However, if it came from your mouth, then it is a clumsy self-defilement. "
Hearing the word 'self-defilement', Xie Lian laughed silently. "Self-defilement? Have you ever thought that in my heart, I might really be thinking that way? Perhaps in the depths of my heart, there are a few traces of resentment hidden? "
Hua Cheng said, "So what if you think? You won't do that. "
Xie Lian shut his mouth tightly. After a while, he finally said, "San Lang, actually, I'm not like what you think I am."
"You — —" He closed his eyes and shook his head, as if he didn't know whether he should say it or not. Hua Cheng said, "You can say it, there's no harm."
After hesitating for a while, Xie Lian still said, "I feel that in this world, people shouldn't have too much hope for anyone."
"Oh," Hua Cheng said, "What do you mean by 'having too much hope'?"
Xie Lian said, "Don't imagine a certain person to be too beautiful. If they don't interact for a lifetime and only look at an illusory shadow from afar, then it's fine. However, if they get to know each other and gradually get to know each other, one day, they will eventually discover that this person is different from what they imagined. At that time, they will be very disappointed. "
However, Hua Cheng said, "Not necessarily. I don't care if other people are disappointed or not. But for some people, the existence of a certain person in this world is in itself hope. "
Although his words didn't specify who "some people" was and who "certain person" was, and his tone was also flat, as if he was just casually refuting, Xie Lian's heart suddenly floated and floated.
He stopped walking and couldn't say anything for a while. After a while, he suddenly said, "San Lang, who exactly are you?"
Hua Cheng also stopped walking and turned around to look at him.
Xie Lian met his gaze and seriously said, "You know who Qi Rong is and you know his ins and outs. You know who I am. I know how to draw the Crown Prince Pleases the God. You know me like the back of your hand. You know a lot. Maybe even more. "
Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Don't I always know a lot?"
Xie Lian shook his head and said, "It's not the same."
His left hand propped up his right elbow and his right hand rubbed his chin. Slightly lost in thought, he said, "I always had a feeling that you are an old friend of mine. You should have known me from a long time ago. Maybe it was when I first ascended. No, maybe even earlier. But … I really don't remember when I have seen someone like you in the past. "
A person like Hua Cheng, after seeing him once, would definitely never forget him. Xie Lian also didn't break his head and lose his memory. If he had seen him before, there was no reason for him not to remember.
Xie Lian stared at him and said with slight confusion, "Who exactly are you? Have I seen you before? "
Hua Cheng didn't answer and only smiled slightly. Xie Lian immediately reacted. This question was really extremely inappropriate.
The real name of a ghost was usually a secret. Unless it was a patient like Qi Rong who couldn't be guessed with common sense, otherwise, how could it be casually told to others?
He hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, don't mind me. I was just asking casually. You don't need to answer me, it doesn't matter who you are. "
At this moment, Hua Cheng's eyes slightly narrowed. Xie Lian sensed something and looked back. He only heard a commotion coming from a cave not far behind them. A clear female voice said, "I told you, transforming into a female not only makes your mana stronger, even your luck is better! You still don't want to. How about it, did you see that? This time you bet correctly!!! "
It was Shi Qingxuan's voice. Xie Lian blurted out, "Master Feng!"
Sure enough, a white-clothed female priest ran out of the cave. When she saw Xie Lian, her eyes lit up and she said, "I found it, His Highness the Crown Prince is here!"
However, immediately after, she saw Hua Cheng behind Xie Lian and her expression changed. She jumped back and held the Master Feng's fan horizontally in front of her. Xie Lian didn't have time to speak. At this moment, a man's voice came from inside the cave. "Did you find him? How is it? "
The sound of footsteps approached and a figure flashed out. It was actually Feng Xin. He held a black longbow in his left hand. When he saw Hua Cheng, he immediately pulled the silver-white bowstring and entered a vigilant stance. Hua Cheng sneered and didn't make any comments. Xie Lian hurriedly said, "Let's talk, put away your weapon first."
The four of them met in the Green Ghost's lair, facing each other. Feng Xin pulled the bowstring to the fullest. A wisp of spiritual light condensed into the shape of an arrow in his right hand and aimed at Hua Cheng. He took the lead and spoke in a deep voice, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, come over first."
Feng Xin's bow was a gift from Jun Wu. It was called the Divine Wind Bow and was a magic weapon that gave people a headache. Xie Lian was afraid that he would really shoot the arrow, so he moved in front of Hua Cheng. Who knew that Hua Cheng would pull him from behind and Xie Lian was pulled back again.