Ch.217: Hundred Years of Pain; Thousand Years of Suffering

Since the robe was already being worn, there was definitely no way it could be burnt now, lest Xie Lian get burnt along with it.

Xie Lian suggested, "I'll just keep the robe on me for now. It's not like it can suck my blood, and Ling Wen shouldn't be able to give any more commands either."

A draft of blue smokey mist blew by, and where Ling Wen had been standing now had only a blue daruma doll. Its expression was very serious, and there even seemed to be scrolls in its arms. Xie Lian picked it up and tucked it away in his robes and the two left this side chamber, sneaking into the main hall.

It wasn't his imagination; the main hall of the Palace of Ling Wen appeared to be much gloomier than before. The mountains of scrolls of reports piled high from the ground up looked to be perilous and dangerous, like they would collapse at any given moment and crush the people below to death. The two didn't run into any guards as they sprinted straight for a set of crimson doors in the deep heart of the palace.

Before they even got close, Xie Lian heard a trembling, shocked voice.

"…How is this possible? How could this be?"

It was Guoshi! Could someone have gotten to him before they did? Xie Lian instantly kicked the door down and growled, "LET HIM GO!"

Sure enough, it wasn't only Guoshi alone inside the chamber. After the door was kicked down, everyone turned their heads to look at the new intruders. The shock on Guoshi's face still hadn't faded.

"…Your Highness?"

"…"

"…"

Guoshi didn't look up for more than a moment before his head lowered again.

"You just wait a sec—How could this be, what kind of luck is this?!"

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were both speechless.

Within the chamber, Guoshi and three others formed a full table, and they were in the middle of a heated game of cards, their passion and obsession blinding them from their surroundings.

While previously said to be three other "people", they weren't actually alive; they were roughly-crafted paper dolls, very crudely-made. Who knows what kind of bizarre spell was cast for them to move, and even play cards. As for Guoshi, his exclamations just now were only his laments after getting his hand of cards.

Xie Lian had originally thought that perhaps Guoshi might suffer torturous interrogation and would look rather ghastly, but he hadn't expected that Guoshi would actually still be playing cards at a time like this. While he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, the whole scene was incredibly dear.

How could it not be dear? Back then when he and Feng Xin resided at the Royal Holy Pavilion, whenever they went to look for Guoshi, seven out of ten times he would be playing cards, cards, cards! Over eight hundred years had passed, but seeing once again the Guoshi playing cards, it was as if it was only yesterday. Even the crazed passion on Guoshi's face was exactly the same.

He stared unblinkingly at the cards in his hands and spoke without looking back. "Your Highness, you've finally come. But let me finish this round first…"

Xie Lian just knew this was his old bad habit rearing its head, of recognizing no one when gaming was happening. Compared to the him at the Great Martial Hall, they were practically two different people, really quite the sad sight. Xie Lian went up to try to drag him away from the table.

"Master, what time do you think this is? Stop playing!"

Guoshi's eyes were red and he yelled, "NO, DON'T, LET ME FINISH!!! I'M ALMOST DONE! JUST THIS ROUND! LET ME FINISH THIS HAND! IT'S ALMOST DONE, I MIGHT JUST WIN THIS TIME!!!"

"You won't win, you really won't win!" Xie Lian cried.

…

Thankfully, this round really did finish fairly quickly. While Guoshi swore he was going to win, in actuality, he indeed did not win. He waved his hand and withdrew those three paper dolls, and Guoshi finally returned to his normal calm demeanor.

He sat poised, and said solemnly, "Your Highness, I knew you would come. I've been waiting for you."

"…"

"It didn't look like you were waiting for me at all…" Xie Lian thought. But of course, he didn't say so out loud, since respect for elders must still be maintained.

Guoshi continued, "I know you must have many questions."

Hua Cheng stood on the side, leaning against the door. He looked rather at leisure but was probably standing guard. Xie Lian also sat proper and poised before the Guoshi.

"Yes."

After a pause, Xie Lian asked, "First, I want to confirm, is Jun Wu…is he really White No-Face, and also the Crown Prince of Wuyong?"

"There's no need for doubt. He is," Guoshi replied.

"I have no relation whatsoever with the Crown Prince of Wuyong, right? We're two completely different people," Xie Lian asked.

"The only relationship you share with the Crown Prince of Wuyong is that he destroyed your kingdom, Xianle."

"…" Xie Lian said softly, "But, Guoshi, you once told me that you didn't know what White No-Face was, and you were certain he was born because of me."

"Your Highness, at the time, I genuinely did not know what he was," Guoshi replied. "And by the time I found out, it was already too late. And, to say he was born because of you was not incorrect."

"Just what exactly does that mean?" Xie Lian asked. "And, the same question as before—why did he want to destroy Xianle?"

Guoshi looked him in the eyes. "Because of that one phrase you said."

Xie Lian was taken aback. "The one phrase I said? What phrase?"

"Body in abyss; heart in paradise," Guoshi replied.

"…" Xie Lian was speechless for a moment. Then he asked incredulously, "…That's it?"

"That's it," Guoshi said.

"…Just that one line?" Xie Lian questioned. "What's wrong with those words?"

Guoshi replied darkly, "Everything. Everything started with that phrase of yours!"

Xie Lian could vaguely tell that what Guoshi was about to say next would be something he'd have a hard time swallowing. He wanted to call for Hua Cheng, but before he could do so, Hua Cheng had already come forward and sat down next to him.

"You saw those murals at Mount Tong'lu, correct?" Guoshi asked.

"Yes," Xie Lian replied. "Were you the one who left those murals behind?"

"Yes, it was me," Guoshi replied. "Every time Mount Tong'lu opened its gates, I would sneak in. On one hand, it was to prevent a new ghost king from being born, and on the other it was to use all manner of ways to leave some sort of clue to tell others about the Kingdom of Wuyong, and about the Crown Prince of Wuyong."

Xie Lian wondered solemnly, "Why not just tell people directly? Why must you use such a roundabout method?"

"Your Highness, why do you think there's now practically no one in the world who knows about the Kingdom of Wuyong?" Guoshi asked.

Before Xie Lian answered, Hua Cheng had spoken up. "Everyone who knew has been cleaned away, right?"

"That's right," Guoshi replied. "If the clues left behind were too obvious, or if word spread directly, then I would be in danger of exposure. Anyone who had seen might vanish from this world. It wouldn't matter how many people. Even if it was a city fortress, he could turn it into flat ground within three days. You should know I'm not joking."

Of course Xie Lian knew. And the ironic thing was, he was once thankful that Jun Wu had ascended and became a god instead of fallen into becoming a ghost, otherwise the world would fall into chaos.

Guoshi continued, "This is why I can't let him notice that there are still people in this world who know about those events. But still, I can't accept the fact that I'm the only one who knows. I thought, those who are attentive enough and brave enough would naturally discover the truth. Since I don't have the power to fight him straight-on, I'll just go more with the flow.

"Throughout the years, I've been hiding and running, and have concealed myself well. Except for that time eight hundred years ago I almost couldn't get away, he has never been able to capture me. He was able to this time because he discovered the murals I left behind in that divine temple within the red forest of Tong'lu, plus later on you correctly guessed his identity. And so it occurred to him that I might still be alive, and also left behind many things he didn't want people to know about."

Xie Lian remembered when they were passing through the last divine temple within the red forest of Tong'lu, the last couple of murals, the most important ones, were already destroyed by someone. At the time, both he and Hua Cheng suspected that someone was hidden inside the temple, but they weren't able to find the person. Now that he thought back on it, there was actually a very real possibility that White No-Face really was hidden in some corner within that divine temple.

Xie Lian asked, "But, Guoshi, why do you have to keep hiding and running?"

Guoshi replied, "Of course it's because of…"

"Betrayal," Hua Cheng said.

The word was a little sharp, and Guoshi gave him a look. However, Hua Cheng's expression did not change.

"You've betrayed him, right?"

"Pretty much," Guoshi said. "That's about it."

He turned to Xie Lian. "How do I say this, Your Highness…everything told by the murals is all true. The esteemed Highness, the Crown Prince of Wuyong, was like the one and only sun of the Kingdom of Wuyong. Back in the day when you were the Crown Prince of Xianle, however glorious you were, he was many times more.

"Me and my three peers, the four of us, were once his vassals. After the Crown Prince ascended, he appointed us all up to the heavens, and there we witnessed the many forms and colours of various celestial beings. Without any exaggeration, even within the sea of gods in the heavenly realm, he was also like the sun, shining so brightly that others next to him would lose their colours."

As Guoshi spoke, the smallest of smiles appeared unconsciously, just a flash. Xie Lian felt when he was addressing the other as "His Highness", he wasn't talking about "Jun Wu" nor "White No-Face", but that young Crown Prince of two thousand years prior.

"I think you've also told me something similar in the past," Xie Lian said.

"Have I? When people get old, their memory is bad."

"You have. But, you told me he didn't ascend. You told me that he died."

"That's probably because I'd rather he hadn't ascended," Guoshi said.

"Was it because the volcano of Mount Tong'lu erupted?"

Guoshi didn't answer his question, and only said, "His Highness' spiritual powers were too strong.

"In his dream, he foresaw the future of Wuyong as a sea of fire, and so he started thinking of ways to save his people. If the me of now was there, I would never have let him do so. But at the time, none of us thought things would turn out the way they did. We only thought that there were people who were going to die, so what's wrong with saving them?

"But, things weren't so simple.

"It was impossible to stop the volcano from erupting, and if we wanted no one to be hurt, then the only option was to migrate. However, the affected areas were too great; it wasn't just a matter of one or two city fortresses. To the nobles and the common people, the best way was to invade other Kingdoms, take over new land; otherwise, the other Kingdoms wouldn't so easily allow such a great number of people from Wuyong to move in.

"However, to His Highness, that wasn't an option at all. Blood would be shed in war, and once blood flows, eyes would grow red, people would turn violent, and they would become less than human.

"Still, the Kingdom of Wuyong dispatched troops. Wherever the soldiers went, not a single soul was left alive. Since the objective was to 'clear land' for future people of Wuyong to move in, the generals had given the order to slaughter the citizens of the other Kingdoms; the more the better. Blood flowed like rivers, corpses piled high like mountains.

"Once His Highness found out, he was very angry. As you all have seen, he descended upon the battlefield, and punished those soldiers of Wuyong."

When Xie Lian realized this was about the young Jun Wu, and also the young White No-Face, he felt rather intrigued.

Guoshi continued, "Yet, he wasn't the only one who was angry. This whole affair also angered the nobles of Wuyong, and also some of the people. Many went to the divine temple to question His Highness: we only wanted to survive, we needed more land, and we only invaded others because we had no choice, so how could we be wrong?

"The effect of this affair greatly exceeded all of our expectations, and it was becoming more and more serious, with some already calling for the desecration of his statues, the burning of his temples. But His Highness withstood all of it.

"He said, if Wuyong was the one being invaded, he would die defending the Kingdom, not allowing the enemy to step a single foot across the border. However, if it was they themselves,

they must never invade others. He earnestly requested for everyone to abandon war, and wait until he had built something—his Heaven-Crossing Bridge."

Guoshi said slowly, "There wasn't any more land in the mortal realm, so let's bring the people up the heavens to shelter them for a while. While this idea was practically impossible, all four of us believed in His Highness absolutely; convinced that he could do it. Or rather, we would do our utmost to support him in whatever he endeavoured. Of course, the other heavenly officials didn't think the same. The entire heavenly realm was against it, but His Highness still withstood it.

"He took on three things at once: the ignorance and grumbling complaints of the nobles and people of Wuyong, the incessant outrage of all the gods in heaven, and that giant Heaven-Crossing Bridge."

However, Hua Cheng snorted. "Against it? They probably weren't just opposing it."

Guoshi nodded slowly. "If it was only mere opposition, it wouldn't have mattered. But…"

Xie Lian could vaguely guess what had happened, but still he asked, "But?"

Guoshi said, "That bridge required an enormous amount of time and terrifying spiritual power to fully build, and His Highness couldn't be distracted at all. He had practically stopped going anywhere else, stopped doing anything else, and stopped listening to the prayers of believers. He could only focus on doing this one thing.

"However, a god that can only do one thing will never be able to keep followers. The first day he took on that bridge, the people were grateful to him and remembered him; the second day, the third day, the fourth day, were also the same. A month, two months, they still were grateful and remembered him. But, as time dragged on, it wouldn't do.

"The volcano hadn't erupted yet, but His Highness wasn't doing anything else and had been silently storing his powers. The people couldn't help but feel he wasn't as powerful as he once was, that he wasn't as dedicated anymore, even. At a time like this, inevitably, a new god would be worshipped.

"The Kingdom of Wuyong was greatly populated, its wealth abundant, and the power of belief of the citizens was also quite strong. This was obvious, seeing how His Highness prospered back then. There were many heavenly officials who had long been salivating over this domain and the believers within it, so…"

Xie Lian understood. He said, "So…the heavenly officials took advantage of this opportunity. They used the resentment and dissatisfaction the people of Wuyong bore from the descent of that Crown Prince to withdraw the troops. They tempted them, and divided his believers and the source of his spiritual powers…right?"