Crown Prince and Ghost King

Chapter 48

Without the gathering of ghosts taking place, Mount Tong'lu was eerily silent.

So quiet that Xie Lian could hear the crisp sound of their boots stepping on crunchy leaves and scattered branches, crackling on gravel paths and clicking on paved roads.

Because it was deserted, the only sign of life the occasional wild animal scurrying around in fear, it took the couple less than half the time they needed when it reopened to reach the first temple. Looking at it without the urgency of fighting ghosts prickling under his skin, Xie Lian could finally take in the grandiose appearance of the building, truly spectacular even in shambles.

It still hurt him to gaze upon it, as it was a reminder of how painful it was to have divine temples burned to the ground, but the feelings was vastly less severe than the first time he saw the place.

Still, Hua Cheng tangled their fingers together, holding his hand tight and refusing to let go.

Up until that point, climbing up through the forest and then through the ruins, both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng had been busy talking with He Xuan and Shi QingXuan. Apparently, the ghost decided to take advantage of Lang QianQiu being "a total blind idiot" to go back up to the heavens and clear both his name and the Wind Master of any doubts and veiled accusations.

At first, Xie Lian didn't want to hear it, not trusting Lang QianQiu with GuZi – though he did reprimand He Xuan for calling him an idiot – but after giving it some thoughts, it was a sound plan. It wasn't likely for Lang QianQiu to be able to leave PuQi Shrine, if Xie Lian fixed his blessing around it in a way that prevented him from doing so. He also truly believed the martial god would make no attempts at causing harm to GuZi.

Lang QianQiu knew a bit too well how painful it was to lose his family; to inflict such a pain on someone as young as a child... he wasn't evil, he wouldn't do it.

If anything, GuZi would either ignore the god or learn to know him. Lang QianQiu was just a bystander in a situation he had no voice in anymore.

So, the Crown Prince gave his permission and He Xuan lost no time. As soon as Lang QianQiu was settled in the shrine, he went back up to the Heavenly Capital and successfully cleaned his name. Jun Wu, as suspicious as he was, truly found no incriminating evidence that could expose Ming Yi as fake.

Thanks to that, Shi QingXuan was also able to go back, and those same heavenly officials who doubted him and talked behind his back changed attitude completely, day to night.

After hearing that, Xie Lian still decided to cut communication with them for the time being. He didn't want Jun Wu to snoop around in their communication array, since he probably knew how to do it, not while he was back at Mount Tong'lu.

The last thing he wanted was for the heavens to accidentally discover something they shouldn't know, such as the location of Hua Cheng's lair in that territory or whatever information they were there to gather. He even resorted to talk about He Xuan by referring to him as Ming Yi, never bringing up the fact he was actually Black Water and not the real Earth Master.

Sometimes, it was better to be safe than sorry.

All that talking kept them company for almost a whole day, an on and off conversation that broke a deep yet comfortable silence.

Now, though, there were other things to talk about.

After taking a deep breath to calm down his emotions, Xie Lian squeezed Hua Cheng's hand and stepped once more inside the burned temple.

Immediately, the familiar sight of blackened walls made his resolution falter, but the hesitation only lasted for a fleeting moment. He reminded himself that it wasn't his temple, that it was a place built many years before he was even born, and that contributed at least a little bit to ease his overwhelming anxiety. As much as he wished to, Xie Lian didn't want to be sympathetic yet.