Crown Prince and Ghost King

Chapter 23

---.-.-.-.-. --> this is just a big POV change. I don't think it was necessary, but I'm paranoid so I added it.

^^^^^^^ --> steamy Hualian scene, everybody. You have been warned ;)--

«You forgot as well, didn't you...?».

Still shaken by the tumultuous epilogue of that day, Feng Xin glared at the untouched cup of tea in front of him, elbows securely resting on the table and fingers on his temples. Truth be told, the martial god ended up getting so influenced by the reputation Xie Lian racked for himself that he completely forgot how dangerous His Highness could be with a sword.

With all the fuss of him becoming the Laughingstock of the Three Realms, his martial god status plummeted in the shadows and never resurfaced until that day.

Mu Qing, for once not fighting him, was sitting on the opposite side of the table, fingers tensely intertwined in front of his face. He was so tense, in fact, that Feng Xin could see the strain in his hands, even while resting is such a normal position.

Feng Xin knew how deadly Xie Lian could be. He saw him train, was at his side basically for his entire mortal life and a good deal of the immortal one, witnessed him fight both against his masters and on a real battlefield. If he wanted to spill blood, his blade would be swift and skilled in doing so.

Lang QianQiu charged at him with the full strength of his spiritual power, yet Xie Lian was able to nullify his efforts in less than e second, without using even a single bit of his own spiritual power.

Even Pei Ming, one of the most powerful martial gods of the Upper Court, had been rendered speechless in front of that demonstration of physical prowess.

Right after Lang QianQiu lost his duel, an outcome that traumatized many officials to the bone, Jun Wu declared the matter settled and ended it there. Lang QianQiu wasn't injured, so Crimson Rain couldn't be held responsible for any crimes, and with the truth of Master FangXin revealed there were no accusations held against Xie Lian either. No one even tried to ask for a punishment following the confession of having killed Lang QianQiu's father; he wasn't the first heavenly official to have killed someone, and he had valuable reasons backing him up, alongside the fact that he already provided to his punishment himself by losing against Lang QianQiu.

Speaking of which, he was instructed by Jun Wu to find Qi Rong and the answers he needed without putting on a reckless act. A way to teach him a lesson, for sure.

After that, Xie Lian informed the other Crown Prince of the general whereabouts of Qi Rong – no one ever dreamed to ask how he knew about it – and then left with his husband for Ghost City, with the approval of Jun Wu.

And now, they were left behind, trying their utmost to understand what the hell had been going on in all those years Xie Lian spent wandering as a Scrap Immortal. Maybe also trying to dispose of the piss-inducing fear of Hua Cheng himself suddenly appearing in the Heavenly Capital.

Feng Xin saw a good handful of civil gods straight up faint as soon as Crimson Rain fucked off with His Highness, and he couldn't blame them.

He still remembered his own terror, when Hua Cheng turned his glaring gaze to him and Mu Qing after beating the shit out of thirty-three between civil and martial gods. Feng Xin was so sure he was going to die right then and there that he didn't stop shaking until every single trace of the ghost's presence dissipated around him.

Not that he would ever admit it out loud, but he understood that unmanageable fear all too well.

«Fuck, I... what do we do now? Are we leaving Xie Lian like that?».