Chapter 91-100
Ch.91: Temple of a Thousand Lights Endlessly Illuminating the Lingering Night
Xie Lian really didn’t think anyone would actually pass the wine cup to him.
Unfortunately for him he reacted too fast and took the cup without thinking, but the
moment he did, he froze. However, when he looked to who it was that passed him the
cup, the other party was also dumbfounded – it was Ming Yi.
Turns out, earlier when the wine cup made it into Shi Qingxuan’s hand, Shi Qingxuan
thought it’d be funny and purposely passed it on to Ming Yi. However, Ming Yi was busy
stuffing his face and drinking his wine, and didn’t even bother to look up before he
passed on the wine cup randomly. Only after the cup was passed did he realize what
had happened, and also became speechless. Right at the same time, the thunder
stopped rumbling, leaving only the two staring at each other blankly.
Although the one who received the wine cup was Xie Lian, everyone’s eyes moved to
Feng Xin and Mu Qing instead. It wasn’t hard to understand why; Xie Lian had not been
heard of for eight hundred years. If this was eight hundred years ago, there’d naturally
be plenty of plays depicting his heroism, but they were long lost to time. Besides, no
one would pick such a day to set up a stage especially just to put up a play for him.
Thus, if they had to find something with the character ‘Crown Prince of Xianle’ in it, then
it’d have to be plays with Feng Xin or Mu Qing starring as the protagonist.
This was because in the plays written for the two heavenly officials in the mortal realm,
there were times they’d bring out Xie Lian, usually as a foil, a minor character, or for the
sake of making the play even more exciting, some would write Xie Lian as the villain,
arranging for plots like how the lonely, abandoned Mu Qing would be bullied, or how Xie
Lian would rob Feng Xin of his beloved, etc. If such plays were really performed at the
Mid Autumn Banquet, it wouldn’t matter if the characters in question would be pleased,
the rest of the audience would definitely enjoy it. Xie Lian held that small jaded cup in
his hand, and some heavenly officials were already urging him: “Your Highness, come
come come, down the cup!”
A few joined in on the urging, and Feng Xin spoke up from far away, “His highness can’t
drink.”
The crowd was growing restless, “Just one cup! It won’t do anything.”
Jun Wu had been sitting with his hand supporting his temple without a word, but now he
too slowly straightened, as if to speak. Beside Xie Lian, Shi Qingxuan was also asking,
“Can you do it or not? If not then whatever, I’ll help you throw the hundred thousand
merits to drop the curtains.”
“...”
Xie Lian was afraid she really would just throw out a hundred thousand merits
impulsively. No matter how generous she was that wasn’t the way to do it. Besides, he’d
seen pretty much every play there was anyway, and there wasn’t anything worth paying
attention to, so he hastily replied, “No, no, a cup shouldn’t be a problem.” Then, he
emptied the cup.
Fine brew entered his throat, the area the liquid slid past was first cool then hot. Xie
Lian was feeling a little dizzy, but the taste of that refined drink pushed that dizziness
down in an instant. The curtains all around the small pavilion slowly lifted, and the crowd
moved their gaze, ready to focus on the play.
They were amazed by what they saw. Two figures stood on stage: one was in white,
face covered in foundation, looking windswept and dusty, a bamboo hat on his back, no
doubt he must be Xie Lian; the other was a figure in red robes, hair black like raven,
handsome and brilliant, eyes bright and lively, and the snake wrapped around his arm
was stripped away by ‘Xie Lian’. Instantly, that red robed man snatched that snake
back, ditched it aside, then held ‘Xie Lian’ hand without any intent of letting go.
Watching that scene play out, it was like a knife violently stabbed his heart.
That scene astonished all the heavenly officials waiting to watch a good show, and of
course, Xie Lian himself, too, was astonished. Just then, Jun Wu who was seated at the
head of the feast chuckled, “What play is this? Seems it’s never been seen before?”
Ling Wen immediately sent for someone to investigate then replied, “It seems this play
is called “Adventures in the Kingdom of BanYue”. It’s newly written so it’s never been
shown before. Tonight is the first time it’s performed in the mortal realm.”
Shi Qingxuan turned to Xie Lian, “It’s probably written by those merchants after they
returned from the Kingdom of BanYue that last time. The merits are saved, there won’t
be a need to pull the curtains.”
Xie Lian didn’t comment. For mortals to know about the affairs of the Kingdom of
BanYue the source could only come from those merchants. He recalled that there was a
boy named Tian Sheng in that caravan who did indeed say something along the lines of
worshipping him as thanks, so perhaps this play was commissioned by him? However,
he didn’t tell Tian Sheng his name, and a young boy shouldn’t have the ability to do
something like this.
On the other side of the stage, although the heavenly officials didn’t see the play they
expected, but the performance before them was even more exciting. After all, if the
rumours were true, then the role that red-robed man played was none other than Hua
Cheng!
There were plenty of plays about Crimson Rain Sought Flower in the mortal realm.
However, it’s usually something like “The Red Demon Burnt the Temples of Thirty-Three
Gods and Not Even The Heavens Could Do Shit”, “Crimson Rain Sought Flower Hung
the Martial and Civil Gods and Slapped Them Around with But One Hand”, etc.; the kind
of plays that would make those in the heavens cry silent tears, not wanting to find out
just how those plays turned out. In any case the protagonist this time was Xie Lian, and
for everyone, it never felt like he blended in to be counted as ‘one of us’, so just
watching the play did no harm. Besides, the stage of the play was intricate, the
production exquisite, the actors extremely well made up, truly a great work of
benevolence. Thus, there were many who inwardly enjoyed the show, commenting as
they watched:
“Is that true? It must be made up. Hua Cheng would never talk like that to anyone!”
“Nonsense! Pure nonsense!”
“Who do they take Hua Cheng for in this play?! Wake up! This isn’t a romantic play,
goodness, how daring!”
This was a play written especially for him after all, so Xie Lian watched it attentively. If
he must say so earnestly, it wasn’t a bad play. The actors looked good, the story was
good, just, as one of the ones portrayed, he had a very very small criticism: the two
protagonists seemed to be overly close.
The one who played him was a really good actor, but every time he opened his mouth to
call “San Lang”, while the tone wasn’t up and down and full of yearning, Xie Lian
thought it was even more unsettling than when ‘Lady Wind Master’ called ‘Lord Water
Master’ “hubbyyyyy” earlier. Also, there seemed to be too many little gestures; hooking
arms, hugging shoulders, carrying him; somehow, there’s something that’s not right.
However, if he really thought about it, when he called San Lang, that was indeed the
way he’d call him; those intimate gestures really did seem to have been done too. He
didn’t think there was anything wrong with it at the time, but watching it now, technically
there wasn’t anything wrong still. Looking at the other heavenly officials, although they
condemned it as nonsense on their lips, they seemed to be fully enjoying the show,
watching with their eyes unmoving, their interest enthusiastic, so Xie Lian kept his
mouth shut.
As they watched, Shi Wudu suddenly spoke up, “Who are those two little squires in the
back?”
Hearing the word “squire”, both Feng Xin and Mu Qing inconspicuously froze.
“They’re not squires.” Ling Wen replied, “They should be two junior martial officials from
the Middle Court. They were appointed by the Palaces of Nan Yang and Xuan Zhen to
help His Highness out at the time.”
That the Palaces of Nan Yang and Xuan Zhen would actually send people to assist Xie
Lian was truly extraordinary news, as impossible as Pei Ming courteously rejecting the
advances of a rare beauty, and all the heavenly officials turned to look. Ling Wen added,
“They went willingly.”
Xie Lian smiled, “I forgot to ask, how are Nan Feng and Fu Yao? How come I didn’t see
them come out to play today?”
“Nan Feng... is...” Feng Xin said.
Mu Qing said flatly, “Fu Yao is in detention.”
Feng Xin immediately said, “Nan Feng is also in detention.”
Xie Lian “Oh”-ed and commented, “Both of them are locked up? What a shame.”
Whilst they conversed the curtains dropped on that exhilarating play. Although it was
determined by everyone that it was written by an ignorant believer with obscene
intentions, watching an obscene Hua Cheng was still fully entertaining, and the crowd
applauded in cheer. However, Pei Su was exiled because of what happened at the
BanYue Pass, so after the entertainment was over, everyone still had to mind Pei Ming.
“How’s your Little Pei doing, General Pei?” Shi Wudu inquired.
Pei Ming poured himself a glass and drank, shaking his head, “How well can he do? His
heart isn’t in the right place, I don’t care anymore.”
Shi Qingxuan couldn’t listen anymore and jeered, “So, in General Pei’s eyes, where’s
the right place for his heart? Your Little Pei’s future is a future, but the little lady’s future
is nothing?”
Her tone was rude and Shi Wudu’s eyes swept over, “Qingxuan, mind your manners!”
The moment he reprimanded, Shi Qingxuan lowered her head demurely. Seeing this,
Pei Ming laughed, “Water Master-xiong*, your little brother is quite impressive, and only
you can keep him in line. Him messing with me isn’t really anything, but if in the future
he messed with the wrong people, they won’t let it go so easily for your sake.”
Shi Wudu opened his fan and continued to lecture his little brother, “Did you hear what
General Pei said? Also, how many times do I have to tell you not to walk around outside
in that form all the time, what a disgrace. I don’t care what appearance you like, you
must use your true form when you’re out!”
Although Shi Qingxuan loved her lady form passionately and wouldn’t stand for his
reprimand, still she didn’t dare oppose her brother. Xie Lian thought, ‘The Wind Master
says she’s not afraid of her older brother, but that doesn’t seem to be entirely true.’ Yet
unexpectedly, Shi Wudu ended the lecture with: “What if you bump into someone strong
in both spiritual power and ill intent like General Pei!”
Ling Wen laughed unkindly, and Pei Ming almost spat out his wine again. “Water
Master-xiong! If you keep that up we can’t be pals anymore.”
After the round of feast was past, in the midst of all the socializing and networking came
the final act of the night, the Battle of the Lanterns.
Within the Heavenly Court, all the candlelights and lamps were extinguished except for
the moonlight, and all was dim. The Banquet sat near the lake, and when the clouds
and mists on the surface was waved away, through the clear moving waters the deep,
dark mortal realm could be seen.
Battle of the Lanterns was a competition to see which heavenly official had the most
number of Blessings Lanterns offered from their largest, most renown temple. One
Blessings Lantern of Everlasting Light was hard to buy with a thousand gold, and would
not easily be extinguished. The order to the Battle of the Lanterns was formed from the
lowest count to the highest, and when it was an official’s turn, the lanterns offered by
their worshippers would float to the heavens, brightening the long, dark night, beautiful
and glorious.
The Great Martial Palace had nine-hundred and sixty-one this year, a count close to a
thousand, and also a number never reached before in history. All the heavenly officials
felt that next year the count would surely break a thousand, but that wasn’t the point. If
first place would always be first place, then first place would lose its meaning, so when it
came to Battle of the Lanterns, the Great Martial Palace was automatically removed
from the competition.
What was dumbfounding was the moment the Battle of the Lanterns began, the first one
up was the Rain Master. When Xie Lian saw that one little Blessings Lantern leisurely
and errantly float up in the sky and heard “The Palace of the Rain Master, one lantern!”,
he’d almost suspect maybe he did get drunk and hadn’t sobered up. There was no way
there was only one lantern. To make sure he wasn’t drunk, he asked Shi Qingxuan, “Is
that right?”
“It is.” Shi Qingxuan replied, “It really is just the one. And that one was lit by the bull
from the Rain Master’s own house for the sake of showing face at the feast.”
Self-offering. What a familiar sentiment. Xie Lian pondered, the Rain Master controlled
rain and was thus the god of agriculture. He guessed, “Is it because the worshippers of
the Rain Master are mostly farmers so they don’t have the funds for offerings?”
“Your Highness, do you have some kind of misunderstanding of farmers?” Shi Qingxuan
said, “A lot of farmers are wealthy, ok? This was only because the Lord Rain Master had
said it was better to farm than to use the money for offerings, so the followers had
always offered fresh fruits and vegetables instead.”
Hearing this, Xie Lian was extremely envious. ‘What a marvelous thing.’ he thought.
However, Shi Qingxuan added, “And then later the Lord Rain Master also said not to
waste anything, so usually after a couple days the worshippers would take home the
offerings and eat them themselves.”
“...”
At the beginning of the battle, the numbers were all scattered and sparse, the lights
belonging to the lower ranking officials, the count never reaching over ten and no one
paid it any mind. However, as the battle continued, as the light of the lanterns grew
brighter, the more everyone paid more attention. If it wasn’t for the designated heavenly
official who announced the count, it’d be impossible to count the lanterns floating up so
tightly knit. Xie Lian didn’t know at all what was going on so he didn’t comment on
anything, only focusing on appreciating the beautiful scene of lanterns brightening the
black, long night while listening to everyone else’s analysis of how the battle was going.
Although personally, he didn’t think there was really anything to analyze. After about two
incense time, it was finally time for the grand finale. The fight for top ten of the Battle of
the Lanterns at the Mid Autumn Festival had begun.
The bottom of the top ten, Xie Lian heard the announcer official shouting: “THE
PALACE OF QI YING, FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY-ONE LANTERNS!”
Quan Yizhen had long since left the feast, so when the other officials heard the count
the clicking of their tongues were not hidden. That Martial God of the West was young
but his headwind was strong. To other officials of around the same years of experience,
just two hundred Blessings Lanterns was already plenty, yet he more than doubled that
count, even Lang Qianqiu who ascended earlier didn’t have as many lanterns, so he
was definitely someone impressive. However, Xie Lian felt that young man really wasn’t
that well received in the heavens, because other than himself and Shi Qingxuan, there
was practically no one else who was sincerely awed by that number.
The next one, Palace of the Earth Master, four hundred and forty-four lanterns. Other
than sipping two more mouthfuls of soup, Ming Yi didn’t express anything else, yet Shi
Qingxuan was even more excited than he was, repeatedly claiming “too few, too few”.
Because no one else was very close with the lord Earth Master, they only clapped
politely to congratulate. Soon after, it was Shi Qingxuan herself; the Palace of the Wind
Master, five hundred and twenty-three lanterns.
How popular someone was was something easily seen. Once the lantern count for the
Palace of the Wind Master was announced, Shi Qingxuan hadn’t even said anything
and the applause from the banquet roared, hollers and cheers of
“CONGRATULATIONS!” and “AS EXPECTED!” everywhere. Shi Qingxuan was quite
proud, standing up to wave at the crowd and gleefully shouted at Shi Wudu, “Ge! I’m
eighth this year!”
She was acting like a child begging her parents for rewards after having been praised
by her teacher, and Xie Lian couldn’t help but smile. Shi Wudu however, berated, “Only
the eighth, what’s there to be happy about!”
His words were truly wildly arrogant. In the entire Heavenly Court, there was no one
who was a nobody. Yet, five hundred Blessings Lanterns, ranking high as the eighth,
became nothing more than “only eighth” from his lips, so then the ones who ranked
lower than eighth, wouldn’t they be worth less than that? It wasn’t like he didn’t know
what he said was arrogant either but he had to say it anyway, because he wasn’t afraid.
Shi Qingxuan’s face dropped. Shi Wudu fanned his fan and added with difficulty, “But,
there are more lanterns than last year. Next year must be better.”
Hearing this, Shi Qingxuan smiled and laughed again. At the banquet, it was only Ming
Yi who was stuffing his face without a care and not cheering for her, so Shi Qingxuan
smacked him twice, asking for some congratulations. Ming Yi ignored her completely
and continued to devour the food. Shi Qingxuan was outraged, demanding for him to
applaud her, and next to them Xie Lian was going to suffocate from laughing.
The next up, the Palace of Ling Wen, five hundred and thirty-six lanterns.
Amongst all the civil gods, Ling Wen was considered number one. However, not too
many civil gods congratulated him and instead it was the martial gods who sent their
regards. Xie Lian congratulated him from afar, and on this end, Shi Wudu and Pei Ming
demanded he hold a celebratory feast, while on the other end, grumbles from other
heavenly officials could be heard, complaining that Ling Wen only had so many
worshippers because she used a male form, that Ling Wen kissed the asses of martial
gods seeing how they were more popular at the moment and had no time for other civil
gods, that Ling Wen held the most feasts, that there’d be escorts at those feasts, etc.,
etc. Xie Lian shook his head and had only one thought in mind: it wasn’t easy being a
woman official.
Following Ling Wen were the Palaces of Nan Yang and Xuan Zheng, each counted at
five hundred and seventy-two and five hundred and seventy-three. Mu Qing looked
pleased while Feng Xin didn’t appear happy nor angry, seemingly uncaring. Xie Lian
was mystified, how did the count come so close? That’s too much of a coincidence? He
asked Shi Qingxuan in a low voice. Turns out, because the two of them had a similar
background, similar might, and territories right next to each other, plus their unfriendly
relationship with one another, the worshippers on both sides both fought each other to
win, vowing that however many lanterns the other offered, they must offered just one
more. They didn’t ask to be number one, only just better than the other. They’d use their
everything and every year there’d be victory and defeat.This year, at the very last
second, the Palace of Xuan Zhen finally squeezed out one more lantern, winning over
the Palace of Nan Yang. The worshippers looked like they won a battle and was crazily
celebrating. Hearing this, Xie Lian couldn’t help but think: ‘Rather than fighting each
other to death outside, shouldn’t those people go home to celebrate the holiday? It’s the
Mid Autumn Festival!*’
The next one, the Palace of Ming Guang, five hundred and eighty lanterns.
This number was quite impressive. Yet, Pei Ming didn’t look pleased because compared
to the year before, the number of Blessings Lanterns the Palace of Ming Guang
received was actually less. It was a shock to have something happen to the Deputy
General Pei Su, and this year they lost close to a hundred lanterns. If it wasn’t for Pei
Ming’s strong foundation, he just might have lost more. Neither Shi Wudu nor Ling Wen
congratulated him, and only patted his shoulders.
Up until now, Xie Lian discovered, the count for the Blessings Lanterns of those
heavenly officials were all very close together, only tens and twenties apart, no one
really standing out, which meant, everyone’s pretty much the same, and no one was
really winning. He was just thinking this when that announcer official shouted, “THE
PALACE OF THE WATER MASTER, SEVEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN
LANTERNS!”
The banquet was in an uproar and the sound of amazement was everywhere.
Once the heavenly officials all came to, they fought each other to send forth their
congratulations. Shi Wudu only sat there and didn’t rise, not looking like he was
particularly impressed, and that all this was perfectly natural. This was probably the
second heavenly official who came that close to the count of the Great Martial Palace in
the past several centuries. The first time Xie Lian ascended was too far in the past, and
the Blessings Lanterns back then were even harder to come by so it couldn’t be
compared. However, they say “Man Dies for Wealth, Birds Die for Food”*, the people’s
passionate love for money will never decrease, as expected of the God of Wealth!
Shi Qingxuan was even more excited than as if she was to receive seven hundred
lanterns, and applauded with force, shouting to Xie Lian, “IT’S MY BROTHER! IT’S MY
BROTHER!”
Xie Lian laughed, “I know, it’s your brother!”
At the banquet, it was still only Ming Yi who was working hard at eating, all by his
lonesome. Truthfully, Xie Lian thought out of everyone present, only he took the ‘feast’
literally and seriously, attending specifically for the food part, as if having played the part
of a spy at the Ghost City starved him and he was working to refill his stomach to the
brim tonight. When Xie Lian thought back to the street food sold at the Ghost City stalls,
he could understand wholeheartedly, and couldn’t help but wonder, would Hua Cheng
ever stroll through the Ghost City streets every now and then?
The most thrilling mystery had now been revealed, and tonight, each heavenly officials
watched plays to their hearts’ content, socialized, and now satisfied, they rose to their
feet ready to take their leave. Unexpectedly, Shi Wudu suddenly frowned, snapped his
fan shut, and spoke, “Wait.”
If anyone else were to say “wait” they probably wouldn’t be as effective. However,
someone like Shi Wudu was known as the ‘Water Tyrant’ for a reason. Like he was born
to give command, the moment he opened his mouth others couldn’t help but to obey, so
everyone sat back down in their seats, confused, “The top ten are out, does the Lord
Water Master have anything else to add?”
‘Was he going to give out merits too?’ Xie Lian wondered.
“The top ten are out?” Shi Wudu fanned his fan.
No one knew what he had meant, only Shi Qingxuan who suddenly cried, “...No. NO NO
NO. THE TOP TEN AREN’T ALL OUT! — Even if we count the Great Martial Palace,
only nine have been announced so far!”
Everyone was stunned and soon they started muttering, “Only nine?”
“Really, I counted, there really was only nine!”
“Someone else is ranked higher than Lord Water Master???”
“What?! Who can it be? I don’t know anyone like that?!”
Just then, a bright light white as day exploded into the blackened night.
That light was lanterns.
Like thousands upon millions of fish swimming through gorges to the sea, countless
lanterns slowly floated up.
They shimmered and gleamed in the dark night, radiant and brilliant, like floating souls
of a magnificent dream, exceedingly beautiful, brightening the blackened mortal realm.
In the face of such a striking sight, none could speak and all held their breaths, their
words broken.
Xie Lian watched that sky full of lanterns in dumbfounded awe. It was like his breathing
stopped and nothing could be heard, and he remained dazed for a good while. It was
only after some time before he realized something wrong.
The eyes of every heavenly official at the banquet were on him. Turns out, that
announcer official had raised his trembling hand and pointed at him.
Bewildered, Xie Lian asked, “...What is it?”
No one answered, and Xie Lian pointed to himself, “...Me?”
Next to him, Shi Qingxuan patted his shoulder once, “... Yes. You.”
“...”
Xie Lian was still in shock, “Me what? What about me?”
That announcer official swallowed a couple times with difficulty and finally spoke again.
Thus, the hundreds of heavenly officials present heard a voice trembling with disbelief.
“Qiandeng Temple*, the Palace of the Crown Prince, three... three...”
“Three thousand lanterns!”
——–
●‘Water Master-xiong’ is Pei Ming calling SWD ‘Water Master Bro’.
●The Mid Autumn Festival, like Lunar New Year, was a time for family reunions.
Xie Lian was amazed that MQ and FX’s followers would rather fight over offering
lanterns than go home and be with family.
●‘Qiandeng’ translates to A Thousand Lights
——-
Ch.92: Temple of a Thousand Lights Endlessly Illuminating the Lingering Night 2
Three thousand lanterns!
All was silent when suddenly, there was a tidal wave-like uproar.
Never, not even the Great Martial Palace that always sat at the head, solid as the
mountains, had anyone won three thousand lanterns in one night at the Mid Autumn
Festival Banquet. In fact, no one had ever imagined such a number. Even just one
thousand was already difficult to pass. Three thousand. That was truly unheard of, not a
precedent in history, and it was even more than the count of all the other top ten
heavenly officials added together!
One can imagine, at that moment, just how incredulous every official was, and some
even blurted out, “That must be a mistake!”
“It must’ve been counted wrong...”
Yet, nevermind thinking that that announcer official had been counting for the Mid
Autumn Festival’s Battle of the Lanterns for years could just happen to be wrong this
one time, just by looking at that massive band of flowing lights, even if they were to
backtrack a million steps, that number count couldn’t be wrong, and even if it was wrong
the miscount could only be less, not more. Thus, another heavenly official said, “Could it
be that those lanterns aren’t real Blessings Lanterns? Maybe they’re just ordinary
lanterns?”
That basically meant “It’s fraud!”, and there were a few who agreed. However, Shi
Qingxuan spoke up, “How can they be ordinary lanterns? Ordinary lanterns and the
Blessings Lanterns have completely different makes, and they can’t fly up to the
heavens, so how could these be fake?”
If it was Xie Lian who argued then the rest would probably continue to doubt. Yet
because it was Shi Qingxuan who spoke up, and Shi Wudu was also present, no one
dared say much else. Hitting a dead end, they changed track, “Everyone, where is this
‘Qiandeng Temple’? When was it built? Who built it? Does any heavenly colleague
know?”
The announcer official replied, “No... but “Qiandeng Temple” was clearly written on the
lanterns that floated up.”
“But I’ve never heard of any ‘Qiandeng Temple’?!”
“Yea, me neither!”
Xie Lian finally snapped out of his shocked reverie, and when he heard the complaints,
he said quite earnestly, “Everyone, truth to be told, not only have you all never heard of
it, I haven’t ever heard of it either.”
There was no way this came about naturally?!
All of the officials lost their minds, destroyed by this unexpected thunder, incredulous
and disbelieving, their tongues spitting with talk. Xie Lian really wanted to tell them: “It’s
only a game, why is everyone taking it so seriously?” However, first, very few took this
‘game’ as a game, and second, he ranked first place in this ‘game’, so if he said
anything he’d be asking for it. The other heavenly officials couldn’t say it either because
they didn’t place first, so if they said anything it’d be downplaying their not getting
number one, making it sound exceedingly awkward.
Just then, Pei Ming chuckled, “I did say that Crimson Rain Sought Flower didn’t kidnap
His Highness out of ill intent but no one believed me. Now will you all believe me?”
With his reminder, everyone was enlightened in an instant.
If it really was Hua Cheng, then, it wasn’t impossible for him to simply light up three
thousand Blessings Lanterns like it was nothing!
Was there anything going on between Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, and just what kind of
relationship did they have was truly a mystery. At the moment, the majority still thought
it was more believable to say Hua Cheng did this out of ill intent. There was no reason
why Hua Cheng who had always been unfriendly towards the heavens would suddenly
change his attitude in the face of Xie Lian. Yet, based on Hua Cheng’s inconceivable
lawlessness, he could very well become nice towards someone out of the blue without
reason. After this Mid Autumn Festival Banquet, it’d be hard pressed to say Hua Cheng
had ill intent. After all, it was three thousand Blessings Lanterns! Even for the Water
Master who controlled wealth, this wasn’t something he could do just because he
wanted to. Amidst all the chaos, suddenly, the sound of steady clapping came from the
head of the feast.
The officials looked to the sound and saw Jun Wu clapping slowly as he smiled to Xie
Lian, “Congratulations, Xian Le.”
Xie Lian knew Jun Wu intended to help take the heat off