Chapter 88: Vow to Never Forget, Never!
It was the very first divine statue the people built for him, and it was also the most magnificent and stately divine statue.
In the past, seeing that version of 'himself', Xie Lian had always simply accepted it without thinking there was any problems. Yet at this very moment, he felt that golden, scintillating giant figure endlessly foreign and couldn't help but think: 'Is that really me?'
On the side, Feng Xin and Mu Qing went about separately to check to see if there were any trapped victims that wasn't yet found. That flicker of bemusement flashed by quickly, and seeing the crowds settling, Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief.
But before that breath was completely exhaled, he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his body, and his heart tightened.
That Celestial Pagoda was too tall and too heavy after all.
That divine statue also seemed to think its burden strenuous, its hands slightly trembling, its feet sinking into the ground, and that gigantic golden body was also slightly bent from the pressure; only that smile remained unchanging. Seeing this, Xie Lian immediately cast another spell. However, when the spell was cast, his heart dropped. Not only did the golden statue not straighten up, it was pressed down even further, looking like it might not hold on any longer.
Xie Lian's hands, too, started trembling. He had never felt like this before. As far as he knew, whatever mountain he'd punch, that mountain must fall; should he stomp, the earth would quake. He had never felt so deeply this concept called "strength falling short of desire".
With no other choice, Xie Lian gritted his teeth and leapt into the air, landing and seating himself on the foot of that gigantic golden statue before he raised his hands to cast spells once more with force. This time he entered the front lines himself, and sure enough that golden statue rose again, its head shot up, raising that leaning Celestial Pagoda up once more.
Although he managed to bear its weight, both Xie Lian's back and his mind were already rolling with cold sweat. However, the countless people outside the palace were ignorant of his unspeakable hardship and were already approaching to prostrate at the miraculous golden statue wave by wave, hollering, "His Highness the Crown Prince has shown his divine spirit before us in the kingdom's time of need!"
"YOUR HIGHNESS YOU MUST SAVE US!"
"SAVE THE PEOPLE! PROTECT THE WORLD!"
Xie Lian was gritting his teeth, and it was a while before he spoke with difficulty, "Everyone please stand up and back away. Go further, don't stand around here, I..." He trailed off, suddenly realizing he was actually running out of breath. His voice was drowned in tide-like cheers, and the more he wanted to amplify it, the smaller he found himself to be. Xie Lian took a deep breath and was about to shout when a hand suddenly grabbed his ankle. He looked down and it was Qi Rong. He immediately said, "Qi Rong, hurry and go tell everyone not to hang around here, the pagoda might collapse!"
Those words were blurted out unintentionally, and when Xie Lian realized what he had said, his blood ran cold.
The him in the past, nevermind speaking those kinds of words, even the thought of them would never have entered his mind. Even if the sky was going to fall he'd believe he could support it. But the him now, he realized something alarming: he no longer believed.
Not only did the people stopped believing in him, even he could no longer believe in himself.
Qi Rong responded instantly, "How can it collapse? Aren't you holding it up?!"
Hearing him, Xie Lian felt his heart drop again. Qi Rong didn't notice his darkening expression nor his eyes going wild at all, "Cousin, let me help you."
Xie Lian was taken aback, "Help me? How?"
Qi Rong immediately said without thinking, "Didn't you say you know how to inflict the Human Face Disease? Tell me how to do it, and I'll help you curse Yong'an. I'll help you kill them!"
...So he did hear everything they discussed when he was hiding under the bed!
Xie Lian was growing weak from rage, "You— you fool! Do you know what a curse is?"
Qi Rong replied looking nonchalant, "I do. Isn't it just a curse? Cousin let me tell you, I have quite the talent in this area. I curse my dad often, maybe he even died from my curses, you..."
"..." Xie Lian couldn't listen anymore and said, "Just go."
"No! NO!" Qi Rong exclaimed, "Fine, don't tell me how to cast the curse.Then tell me... how can I avoid getting infected by the Human Face Disease?"
Xie Lian's heart continued to drop, and Qi Rong added, "You know how, right? You knew why the soldiers weren't getting infected, no? Cousin, tell me why. Please?"
There were still many palace attendants gathered nearby, and who knew just how many ears were listening. Xie Lian was afraid leaking that information might start something, so he remained silent. However, sure enough some people couldn't hold it back any longer and raised their heads to ask, "Your Highness! Is that true?"
"You really know how to cure the Human Face Disease?!"
"Why didn't you say anything?"
The eyes of those people along with Qi Rong were all going wild, and Xie Lian kept his mouth shut tightly, squeezing out but a few words, "NO! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"
There was a small disturbance in the crowd but it didn't escalate. Just then, Feng Xin returned. He saw from afar Qi Rong leaning near Xie Lian and shouted, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!"
Xie Lian immediately ordered, "Feng Xin, come take him away!"
Feng Xin acknowledged and came forward, but Qi Rong latched on to Xie Lian and cried impassionedly, "Cousin, you're going to defeat Yong'an and chase them all away for sure, right! YOU'LL PROTECT US FOR SURE, RIGHT! RIGHT?!!"
If this was a few months ago maybe Xie Lian would still emphatically answer with fervor: "I will protect you all!" But now, he didn't dare. Qi Rong's expression was exceedingly agitated, and Xie Lian was slightly puzzled watching him, because he knew very well that Qi Rong was not the type to be concerned with the kingdom nor its people. Even if the kingdom was doomed, he should be more scared than anything, so why was he so agitated? A moment later he suddenly remembered something. That father of Qi Rong seemed to also be from Yong'an.
Hearing no response from him, Qi Rong's voice suddenly grew cold, "COUSIN! YOU WON'T REALLY LEAVE IT BE, RIGHT? ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LET US BE TRAMPLED AND RIDICULED BY OTHERS LIKE THIS? DO WE REALLY HAVE NO OTHER WAY?!"
At his demand, Xie Lian could feel his heart breaking. Because, he realized, Qi Rong wasn't wrong. In the face of everything, he really... really didn't know what to do!
"Let me go request the king to detain him again." Feng Xin said.
Even whilst being taken away Qi Rong was still struggling, and he roared, "YOU HAVE TO HOLD ON! YOU CAN'T FALL!"
He couldn't fall!
Xie Lian himself knew that he couldn't afford to fall. Even if the nearby civilians escaped, this Celestial Pagoda must not fall. If it collapsed, not only would the centuries old royal monument be destroyed, the main part of the Martial Deity Avenue along with many residences would all be demolished. Moreover, within the pagoda were countless rare treasures, centuries old scrolls passed down from countless ancestors of generations past. They couldn't be moved in time, and if the pagoda collapsed, they would all be gone. If it collapsed, it would also bring down with it the eminence of royalty in the Kingdom of Xian Le.
However, his spiritual power, like the water source of Yong'an, seemed to be draining by the day. In order to support that gigantic golden statue, he couldn't leave for the moment, and could only pass on the duty of guarding the fortress city to Feng Xin and Mu Qing, while he himself staunchly remained where he was, and meditated in forced calm. Because that five meters tall golden statue was the divine statue worshipped on Mount Taicang within the Huang Ji Pavilion, after Xie Lian summoned it over, the devotees had no idol to worship and the swarm of them came over too to pray to it under the open skies. Although this was the palace and outsiders shouldn't have been able to enter, yet first the earthquake had collapsed a part of the palace walls; second it was chaos within the royal capital and there weren't enough authority to go around; and third, any more oppressive authority might cause another riot, so the people had to be let through.
Xie Lian chose to settle where he was, and the king and the queen would visit him everyday. Days passed in a blur as he spent all of his power holding that Celestial Pagoda up on one hand, and on the other trying to restore energy, waiting for the day he would be released. The king didn't have it any easier than him; his hair was now more white than not, and even though he was obviously in his prime, he looked to be over fifty. When the father and son saw each other, although unspeaking, yet they were more at peace with each other than ever before.
The queen watched Xie Lian grow up, and had only ever seen her beloved son in a state of elegance and divinity, yet now, watching him miserably guarding the place, exposed to the harsh elements and still refusing to let anyone close to help cover him, she was filled with sorrow and grief, standing under the scorching sun herself to shield him from the rays with an umbrella. After a while, Xie Lian was afraid she'd be tired, and spoke up, "Mother, go back, I don't need this. Don't come near here, and don't let anyone else come close, I'm scared that..."
But what he was scared of in the end never left his lips. The queen's back was facing the devotees gathered there, and having held back for some time, at last tears still streamed down, "My child, you've suffered. Why... why would such punishment befall you!"
In order to hide her sallow and pale face, the queen's make up was heavy, yet with tears, the foundation still melted, revealing a woman who was no longer youthful. She grieved for her son, cried for her son, but she didn't dare cry out loud, scared that the people would notice. The king held her shoulders, and Xie Lian watched her in a daze.
The first thing people thought of when they're in a state of suffering was their loved ones, and to Xie Lian, that person was no doubt his mother. Maybe saying it out loud would be pointless, but after days of exhausting strain, having been cut down again and again by knives, at that moment, he really wanted to turn into a ten year old child and run into his mother's embrace to bawl.
Yet, every road walked that led to this day was chosen by himself. His parents' were already in a difficult situation, and with so many citizens watching, he could not show a trace of weakness. If even he couldn't hold on, who could?
Thus, Xie Lian spoke against his heart, "Mother, don't worry. I'm alright. I'm not suffering."
Suffering or not, only he knew in his heart.
A few palace attendants came to assist the king and the queen, and after they reluctantly left, Xie Lian passed out for a short while, exposed under the scorching sun. An unknown amount of time passed, and when he opened his eyes again, dusk was settling in the skies, the setting sun shone its last rays, and below him there weren't many devotees left.
However, when he looked down, he saw that not far from his person was a small, lonesome flower.
Xie Lian wasn't very sure just when that such a flower was placed, and he extended a hand to pick it up.
It was a tiny flower. A flower that was snow white, its stem lush green, its stalk thin and weak, carrying tear-like dew, looking pitiful. The faint fragrance was familiar, and although ordinary, it was touching.
He held the flower tight in spite of himself, and pressed it near his heart.
Just then, a sudden stench of blood overtook that faint fragrance. Xie Lian looked up and his sight was muddled as a shadow came at him screaming, "WHY! WHY!!"
Startled, Xie Lian pushed that person away and tried to bring forth strength, "WHO?!"
That push made that person tumble and roll on the ground. Xie Lian still had to support that five meters tall golden statue and didn't dare to rise, and didn't dare to go close, but it only took a second for him to recognize who it was. That individual only had one leg – it was the young man who once gave him an umbrella and the one he personally amputated!
That young man was covered in blood, his palms bloody. He had actually came crawling using both hands and foot, and there was a horrifying trail of blood behind him. He sat up with difficulty and Xie Lian asked dumbfounded, "Why, why are you here? Weren't you recuperating at BuYou Forest?"
That young man didn't answer him and crawled closer using his limbs. Because he only had one leg, it was a horrifying sight. Xie Lian exclaimed, "You–!"
That young man lifted the pant leg of his remaining right leg up in a fit, demanding, "WHY!"
Upon a closer look, on his right leg was a twisted human face!
This was one of the things Xie Lian worried about the most, and sure enough it happened. If he wasn't already seated, he might have fallen over. That young man slapped at the ground and roared, "WHY DID YOU CUT MY LEG OFF! IT STILL RELAPSED! MY LEG IS ALSO GONE! WHY?! GIVE ME BACK MY LEG! GIVE ME BACK MY LEG!"
That rainy day, that young man was face full of smiles when stuffing that umbrella into Xie Lian's hands, yet before him now he was in a state of madness, and the difference was too striking, Xie Lian's mind was in chaos, a complete mess, and his voice trembled, "I..."
It took him moments before he snapped out of it and said, "Let... let me help you!"
Immediately he casted a spell to suppress the evil poison on that young man's leg. Yet unexpectedly the sound of wailing came from all around, and several people also came at him, crying: "Your Highness save me!"
"Your Highness, SAVE ME!"
"YOUR HIGHNESS, LOOK AT MY FACE, I'VE CUT HALF MY FACE SO WHY IS IT STILL NOT HEALED, WHY? JUST WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO CURE IT?"
"YOUR HIGHNESS, LOOK AT ME, LOOK WHAT I'VE BECOME!"
Scene after scene of bloodiness continued to be shoved before him, and Xie Lian's eyes were wide with shock, waving his hands in who knows what direction, mumbling, "No, I don't want to look, I DON'T WANT TO LOOK!"
Turns out, once all the Human Face Disease patients from BuYou Forest relapsed, a riot erupted and they actually fought through the soldiers and doctors guarding and nursing them, escaping the camps to come look for him!
Since they had all escaped, if he didn't immediately suppress their infection, the disease might spread faster. Xie Lian closed his eyes and tried to transfer power, wanting to help alleviate their symptoms and relieve their pain for the time being. However, just when that group was taken care of, immediately more poured in to surround him: "YOUR HIGHNESS, ME! HELP ME TOO!"
Surrounded by over ten people, Xie Lian faintly felt the golden statue above seemed to be swaying, and fear filled him, "Wait, wait! I–"
Someone couldn't hold back and cried, "NO, I DON'T WANT TO WAIT, I'VE ALREADY WAITED FOR TOO LONG!"
"YOUR HIGHNESS, WHY WOULD YOU TREAT HIM BUT NOT ME?"
Soon, the voices around him changed:
"HOW COME WHEN YOU TREAT HIM HE WAS GOOD AS NEW, BUT I'M NOT ANY BETTER? AREN'T YOU A GOD? WHY ARE YOU SO UNFAIR! I DEMAND JUSTICE!"
Xie Lian argued back, "No, I'm not being unfair! This isn't on me, your symptoms are different –"
"IF YOU'RE GOING TO HELP, HELP ALL THE WAY. NOW YOU WANNA DROP EVERYTHING, WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU PLAYING AT? IS IT UP TO YOU?"
Xie Lian was having trouble catching his breath, "I'm not dropping anything, I'm just– just wait –"
"DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO CURE THIS DISEASE?"
Xie Lian opened his mouth, "I—"
"IF YOU KNOW WHY WON'T YOU TELL US???"
Xie Lian grabbed his own head, "I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"
"YOU'RE LYING! I ALREADY HEARD SOMEONE TALKING, YOU KNEW! I'VE SEEN THROUGH YOU! YOU WON'T TELL US BECAUSE YOU JUST WANT US TO KEEP BEGGING YOU LIKE THIS SO YOU CAN TRICK OUR DONATION MONEY! LIAR! YOU'RE A LIAR!"
"WHAT'S THE CURE, JUST TELL US! TELL US NOW!!!"
Xie Lian's face was white as a sheet, his eyes blank, with countless hands shoving him around, and there was even a pair maliciously strangling him, until finally something hilarious happened. He was clearly a god of heaven, but at that moment, there was a tiny voice crying at the bottom of his heart: "...save me–"
There seemed to be someone pulling those hands away, but at the same time not, he wasn't very sure, only that those faces full of bloody scars, those people missing limbs looked as if they were going to shred him to pieces and devour him. Who knew how long it'd been when in the far distance came the demon-like wails of a horn. The masses only cared for their own cries and tearing, ignoring that horn completely, but Xie Lian snapped out of it instantly. That was the sound of Yong'an's victory horn!
He couldn't sit there nor hang on any longer. His body bent and he keeled over. At the same time, that five meters tall gilded figure he worked so hard to uphold mimicked his movement, and as if it suddenly lost life, it collapsed boomingly.
Soon, along with it, was another loud, rumbling sound, and that gigantic and heavy Celestial Pagoda came crashing down, crumbling like that golden statue.
The gilded figure shouldn't have broken, yet because Xie Lian had injected too much spiritual power into it, hoping it'd hold up that Celestial Pagoda, it had long become fragile. The patients that escaped BuYou Forest were fleeing, dying, getting hurt. Within the palace and upon the streets, the people ran madly, some dodging the fragments of that Celestial Pagoda, some dodging those horrifying disease victims. With both hands grabbing his own head, Xie Lian ran and stumbled out of the gates of the city fortress.
The fortress towers were ablaze, the smoke black and heavy, and Xie Lian rushed up to the terrace, passing by numerous distraught soldiers fleeing. Once at the terrace he didn't know what to do either, and could only look down below in bemusement. Without knowing when or how, tears had streamed down his ashened face. In that blurry field of vision, corpses filled the fields, and only the silhouette of a white-clothed individual was distinct, his large sleeves fluttering. That figure wasn't a youth but a man, and when he turned his head, he saw Xie Lian from afar, waved at him in a carefree manner, and looked as if it was about to disappear.
Seeing this, Xie Lian cried sharply, "DON'T GO!!!"
The first two times he saw him, he used his fake skin. This time, Xie Lian's guts told him, this must be his true form! Thus, he crossed over the fortress wall without hesitation and leapt, jumping off the walls.
In his life, Xie Lian had jumped from an extreme height countless times. Depending on his strong spiritual power and his martial might, he could land safely every time. Every time he was pleased and full of pride. Every time, it was the very picture of a celestial descent they spoke of in the legends. This time, however, he was no longer a legend.
When he landed, it wasn't steady and his foot twisted. A needle sharp pain instantly shot from his leg to his entire body.
He had broken his leg.
Breaking a leg wasn't really anything, and it soon healed. Only, ever since that day, it was like Xie Lian had become an entirely different person.
It was like he had lost his spirit and no longer divinely invincible. After the first defeat, there would be a second, and then a third... he didn't want to unsheathe his sword nor enter the battlefield anymore, but because there was no one who could shield and replace him, he could only bold-headedly go forth. Once on the battlefield, he didn't slack off either; he really did his utmost, but for some reason, even though he was clearly a young man barely past twenty, the hand holding the sword was already shaking like that of an aged elder.
Shuddering with a heart filled with fear, yet he couldn't explain who or what exactly he was afraid of. In the end, the soldiers who used to revere him gradually lost patience.
Xie Lian knew that a rumour had started going around among them: How is he a martial god? More like a god of misfortune!
However, he couldn't rebut, only because he himself started wondering: had he really, maybe, turned into a god of misfortune?
It would've been good if that was the only issue, but to the Kingdom of Xian Le, the real dooming catastrophe was the Human Face Disease, and finally, it had completely lost control.
Five hundred, one thousand, two thousand, three thousand... in the end, Xie Lian no longer dared to ask just how many people were affected today.
As if like his final sentence, that day, the heavenly realm finally opened its gates to him and sent a message: Your Highness, it's time to return to the Heavenly Court.
What would be waiting for him when he returned he couldn't say. For once Feng Xin and Mu Qing looked agitated. Xie Lian however, had his mind on something else. He said to the two, "Before we leave, I want to go somewhere to have a look."
"Where?" Feng Xin asked.
"The Huang Ji Pavilion." Xie Lian said.
After a moment of silence, Feng Xin said, "Don't."
But Xie Lian had already walked away by himself. "Your Highness!" Feng Xin cried, but seeing that he couldn't be stopped, he and Mu Qing could only run to follow.
The three of them hiked up the mountain on foot.
The Huang Ji Pavilion was where Xie Lian's first holy temple was erected, and it was also there where his first divine statue was built. However, under the instructions of Guoshi, those three thousand disciples had already been sent away, and the Huang Ji Pavilion now was only an empty establishment.
When they reached halfway up the mountain, Xie Lian looked down. He could see fire ablaze everywhere in the royal capital, the flames reflecting a sky full of stars, a beautiful sight to behold. Feng Xin however, yelled angrily, "Those mad men!"
Xie Lian only watched the flames, his eyes unmoving, and Feng Xin shouted again, "Stop looking! There's nothing good to see!"
In the past recent days, Feng Xin had yelled at Xie Lian countless times: Do you enjoy straining yourself, or what? But truthfully, Xie Lian didn't know what he wanted to do. He only knew that once another one of his temples got burnt down or desecrated, he couldn't help but want to go take a look. Yet once he'd seen, he couldn't speak nor stop anyone, and could only stand there and watch. What's there to see? He didn't know either.
Just then, the light of fire blazed up on the Crown Prince Summit. Feng Xin was aghast, "They couldn't even let the Huang Ji Pavilion go?! Did someone dig their ancestors' graves or som..."
He trailed off and shut up. This was because he realized, before them, the sufferings of many of those from Xian Le were worse than the joke of "digging ancestors' graves".
However, that fire wasn't great, and it soon died down, seeming to have been extinguished by someone. Now Feng Xin was surprised. These days, there were only people who dared to set fire, not extinguish fire. If there was anyone who would step in and talk down or stop those angry mobs from setting fires and destroying temples, then they would be treated like the very 'God of Misfortune' Xie Lian himself, and get beaten to death. Because of this, the three of them no longer dared to reveal their spirit before mortals, and had long hidden away their forms.
All along the way up the mountain the three could hear the sounds of a brawl, and once they reached the Crown Prince Summit, sure enough, that Xian Le Pavilion had already been mostly torn down, leaving only the frame and walls of the great hall. That giant divine altar no longer had a divine statue, and there was a gang of hoodlums fist-fighting in front of that decrepit hall entrance, screaming as they fought: "YOU FUCKING MUTT! SHITTY BRAT! DID YOUR WIFE LOSE HER FUCKING VIRGINITY HERE OR WHAT, IS THIS BROKEN SHRINE YOUR PRECIOUS DICK OR SOMETHING?!"
Just one look and Xie Lian knew that those people didn't come to destroy his temple out of anger. They were only a group of gangsters who'd only dream of chaos and were either taking advantage of it, or was simply playing around and came to burn the temple down for fun. However, at this point he didn't really care what kind of people were tearing his temples down. Just then, in that crazed brawl, the exceedingly vicious voice of a boy broke through and rang to the night sky: "SCRAM!!!"
Listening closely, it was actually one person fighting many. Moreover, that one person was only ten something years old, still very much a child, but even then he was relentless and didn't seem to be losing ground. However, it was still one against many after all, and that boy's face was already covered in blood and grime, littered with blue and purple, and cuts all over, so much so his actual appearance was no longer recognizable.
"That brat will definitely grow up to be a good man!" Feng Xin commented.
Just then, there was a malicious glint in one of the men's eyes as he lifted a giant rock from the ground and was about to bash it on the back of that boy's head. Xie Lian saw and waved his hand once. The rock in that man's hands instantly rebounded, smashing into his own face, and he screamed as blood splattered out of his nose. That boy was stunned, but immediately whipped around and raised his fist for another bout of berserk beating. His fighting stance was too terrifyingly overbearing, scaring away that gang of young men, and they pointed at him as they fled, shouting empty threats, "FUCK! JUST YOU WAIT! WE'VE GOT MORE GUYS AND WE'LL GET YOU!"
That boy sneered, "YOU DARE COME BACK AND I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!"
Those guys were terrified and ran faster. With the brawl over, that boy rushed to a small mound with a fire that was already extinguished, and vigorously stomped on it, killing the last bit of sparks, before entering the great hall. He picked up a piece of paper from the ground, carefully flattening it, and hung it in mid air before finally, he sat down and leaned against the altar, zoning out.
Xie Lian walked over, lightly sweeping past and leapt onto the altar, and discovered what that boy hung in the air was a painting. The brushwork was rough, obviously done by someone who had never learned how to paint. Yet every stroke was serious and sincere, depicting the solemn figure of the God-Pleasing Crown Prince. It seemed this was used to replace that divine statue he had summoned away.
"It's pretty well painted!" Feng Xin remarked.
After the past many days, Feng Xin finally saw someone who would still defend Xie Lian, and was already so excited he almost joined the fight earlier to help the boy out, so obviously he harboured good feelings for the kid. Mu Qing however, only looked down, his eyes shimmering as if recalling something, but didn't say a word. Xie Lian raised his hand and gently flicked that painting.
It wasn't particularly obvious; it only looked like a breeze blowing by. Yet, that boy shot up the head that was laid on his hugged knees, that tired injured face instantly lighting up, and he called out, "Is that you?"
"That brat's pretty sharp?!" Feng Xin was amazed.
"Let's go." Mu Qing said.
Xie Lian nodded lightly and was about to turn around to leave when that boy pounced on the edge of that altar, his breathing slightly accelerated, "I know it's you! Your Highness, don't go! I have something to say to you!"
Hearing him, the three of them were taken aback. That boy seemed to be quite nervous, his fists clenched, "Even though, your pavilions and temples are burnt down, but... don't be sad. I will build you many more temples in the future; bigger, more elegant, better than anyone else's. No one will be able to compete with you. I will!"
"..."
The three were speechless.
That boy's attire was dirty and unkempt, his face muddy and grimy, covered in bruises and cuts, looking sad and pathetic, yet he spoke such ambitious, bold words, sounding truly laughable, making one feel rather complicated. Seeming to be afraid his voice might not reach the ear of the other, he circled his hands around his mouth, cupping them, and shouted towards the painting hung above the altar, "YOUR HIGHNESS! DID YOU HEAR ME? IN MY HEART, YOU ARE GOD! YOU ARE THE ONLY GOD, THE ONE TRUE GOD! DID YOU HEAR ME?!"
He screamed himself hoarse to the point where the entire Mount Taicang seemed to be echoing his voice: — DID YOU HEAR ME!
Xie Lian suddenly burst out laughing. This laugh came too abruptly, making both Feng Xin and Mu Qing jump. Xie Lian shook his head as he laughed. That boy obviously couldn't hear him, yet he seemed to have sensed something, his eye bright, looking around. Suddenly, a drop of ice cold water fell on his cheek. That boy's eye bulged, and in that instant, in his eye was the reflection of a snow white figure. He blinked, and when he opened his eye again that reflection was gone.
Seeing that Xie Lian actually showed himself for a second, Feng Xin spoke up, "Your Highness, just now, did you..."
Xie Lian looked dazed, "Just now? Oh, my power's drained, and it slipped just now."
That boy straightened up, rubbed hard at his eye, as if trying desperately to retain that ephemeral shadow. Xie Lian, however, closed his. A moment later, he spoke, "Forget it."
There was finally a response yet it was those words. That boy's eye first lit up, his lips curling, but soon after it became shock, and the curve of his lips fell, "...What? Forget what?"
Xie Lian breathed a sigh and said to him in a soft voice, "Forget me."
That boy was stunned and silent. Xie Lian continued to talk to himself, "Let it go. Soon, no one will remember anyway."
Hearing this, that boy's eye widened, and silently, a stream of tears rolled down and washed a trail of pale white on his grimy face. He swallowed hard and gaped, "I..."
Feng Xin seemed to not be able to bear the sight anymore, and spoke up, "Your Highness, don't say anymore. You're breaking the rules again."
"Hm, I'm done. But, I've already broken so many rules, just a few words won't hurt." Xie Lian said.
He didn't let that boy hear the last line. The three descended from the altar and walked towards the entrance of that broken great hall. The winds of the night blew, and Xie Lian shook his head.
He was still a heavenly official for the time being and technically he couldn't feel 'cold'. Yet, at that very moment, he really felt a bone-biting chill.
Just then, unexpectedly, that boy they left behind in the great hall suddenly muttered, "I won't."
He clearly couldn't see Xie Lian and company, but he somehow accurately grasped the right direction and charged out, shouting to their retreating backs, "I WON'T!"
The three of them turned their heads, and saw the single eye of that boy, so bright it pierced the soul; that battered face was both furious and sad, both joyous and wild.
In the midst of pouring tears, he cried: "I WON'T FORGET."
"I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!!!"
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●MXTX Author's Note: We've finally reached this point... in a broken and defeated temple with a soon to be forgotten god and a young devout follower was the first image that floated in my mind for this novel, and was also what first gave me the impulse to write it. I'm the kind that would write up an entire book just for a scene... all this plot planning exhausted me...
Alright, the second book is done. The third book will return to normal/present timeline.
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END OF BOOK 2