Благословение Небожителей. Том 6 (ЛП)

Xie Lian was shocked as well that Mu Qing would immediately go back on his word. He wouldn’t have been deceived so easily had it not been for his wholehearted trust in both of his once-subordinates.
“Who has the time for you to go one-on-one right now?” Mu Qing said. “He’s doing it on purpose; it’s easy to see that he’s dragging things out to give Hua Cheng time to catch up. Do you see the state he’s in right now? Completely enchanted! No matter what you tell him, nothing will get through. Once they meet, Hua Cheng will probably only need to charm him with a few lies and he’ll believe him, just like someone who’s under a fox spirit’s thrall.”3
Feng Xin considered this and decided that what Mu Qing said made some sense. “Your Highness,” he sighed, “we didn’t intend to deceive you, but his behavior toward you is really…unseemly. I can’t even speak of it! Please, just come with us.”
“Let’s go,” Mu Qing said.
Mu Qing’s words weren’t a suggestion or a plea—they were a command. He must have stuck a Command Talisman on Xie Lian’s back, drawn in his own blood. A Command Talisman could ostensibly make its target obey the spellcaster’s every whim, but in reality it could only realize simple commands like “do not speak,” “walk,” “stop,” “run,” and so on. More complicated commands were harder to execute, and the talisman couldn’t confound the target’s mind. Only powerful ghosts like the Brocade Immortal could manage such things.
The two hurried along with Xie Lian in tow again, but they were stopped by a pile of rubble blocking the way.
Feng Xin saw that their path had been cut off and wondered aloud, “Why are there rocks blocking the way? We can’t go any farther.”
“Weren’t you the one who knocked them down? Why are you asking me?” Mu Qing said.
“You were the one leading the way, so you’re the one who messed up. Why are we somewhere we’ve already been, anyway? Why would you circle back around?” Feng Xin questioned.
Mu Qing refused to be questioned. “What a joke. I don’t know the roads here, so how could I possibly lead? Haven’t we been running around randomly all this time?”
Sensing that they were about to get into another argument, Feng Xin waved it off.
“Never mind, it’s not worth wasting my breath on you. Let’s just dig through this!”
Hua Cheng was pursuing them from behind, so they could only go forward—retreat wasn’t an option if they wanted to avoid running into him. Blocking roads was easy, but digging through that blockage was much harder. They made Xie Lian stand obediently in a corner while Feng Xin rained down random punches on the boulders, and Mu Qing, with bulging veins, swung his mighty zhanmadao to shatter the rocks. They cleared the path in no time; rubble rolled and dust clouded the air. But just as they were about to call Xie Lian over, they saw a red-clad figure standing in the now-open passage amidst clouds of settling dust.
Xie Lian’s eyes instantly lit up. It was Hua Cheng!
The ghost king’s gaze was cold. He stood silently with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Why won’t you go away?!” Feng Xin blurted.
This man was the very definition of persistence. They had left him in the dust, so how had he managed to appear ahead of them? How long had he had been standing there, waiting in silence as they cleared away the obstacle blocking their way to deliver themselves right into his hands? He was frighteningly tenacious and sinister.
Feng Xin and Mu Qing quickly backed away, putting some distance between them. Hua Cheng didn’t look at them. His gaze moved to the side of the tunnel, and he took a step in Xie Lian’s direction. Feng Xin and Mu Qing realized why he was here and rushed to Xie Lian’s side in a flash to guard him.
“Don’t come any closer!” they both shouted at once.
Hua Cheng’s expression turned extremely dark.
Normally, if someone dared to tell Crimson Rain Sought Flower to stay away, he wouldn’t give a damn; he’d simply laugh and approach anyway. But at that moment he seemed genuinely wary, not daring to move recklessly. He paused in his step.
 
After a moment, he finally spoke. His words came slowly, and his tone was calm. “What do you two mean by this?”
Feng Xin, however, cut straight to the point. “You don’t need to pretend anymore! We know this is your old lair. We’ve already seen what those divine statues are, and the murals too—we’ve seen everything!”
Hua Cheng wasn’t directly facing them; he stood at an angle. The hands tucked behind his back seemed to jerk at Feng Xin’s words, and two of his fingers curled stiffly inward.
“His Highness…saw it too?” he asked softly, inclining his head.
His voice was very, very quiet. While he still sounded unfazed, his voice was slightly cracked and obviously strange.
No! Xie Lian cried mentally.
The truth was that he hadn’t seen much, but at that moment Xie Lian could neither move nor speak. He could only lean dutifully against the wall in the corner—which made it look like he was hiding behind the other two. It must’ve seemed like he was afraid to face Hua Cheng and refused to speak with him.
Feng Xin drew his bow. “That’s right. We now understand your…intentions. With respect for your position as a ghost king—if you still know self-respect and conduct yourself with any dignity—we ask that you don’t come near His Highness again.”
Xie Lian’s feelings were like a cottage on fire, black smoke roiling heavy and thick. Hua Cheng should’ve noticed that something was amiss, and Xie Lian could only hope that he would question him directly to find out what was wrong.
But Hua Cheng’s current state seemed to render him unable to notice a thing.
“Don’t go near him?” he said coldly. “What right do either of you have to say that to me?”
Not waiting for their response, Hua Cheng’s eye flashed dangerously.
“But you’ve reminded me that we have unfinished business to settle!”
The moment he finished speaking, countless shrieking silver butterflies shot forth toward them. In the face of such an attack, a spiritual shield was the only option. Feng Xin and Mu Qing cried in unison, “Shield!”
The butterfly deluge was blocked by the formless spiritual shield and shattered into shimmering silver light, which rapidly recrystallized into new silver butterflies and attacked once more. The onslaught was completely unstoppable—Feng Xin and Mu Qing gave ground slowly as they kept their shield up, and Hua Cheng steadily advanced step by step. The whirling winds raised by his spiritual aura stirred his raven hair, and it danced wildly with every gust. The mad fury and violence in his eye was on full display under the blinding light of the silver butterflies.
Defending alone wouldn’t get them anywhere. Feng Xin and Mu Qing exchanged a look, silently agreeing to go on the attack. They maintained the spiritual shield as they charged forward; then, with weapons flashing, the three began to fight in the narrow stone corridor. Feng Xin battled the wraith butterflies while Mu Qing faced Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng flung out an arm, and the scimitar Eming appeared in his left hand, ready to strike!
This was the first time Xie Lian witnessed Eming fighting seriously. The scimitar was long, slender, and chillingly murderous, and it gleamed with threatening silver light—it was truly a wicked blade overflowing with evil!
The battle was truly thrilling to behold. Hua Cheng stood his ground even when fighting two against one, and Xie Lian watched unblinkingly with bated breath. With a flick of Eming’s blade, Mu Qing’s zhanmadao was knocked off course and into the rocks. Although Mu Qing still had a grip on the hilt, the blade was stuck—he couldn’t yank his weapon out. This only shocked Mu Qing for a moment, but Hua Cheng’s fist was already swinging right into his jaw. The punch sent Mu Qing flying through the air, and he finally lost his grip on his saber’s hilt.