Chapter 29: Wind Master in White; Bellowing Sandstorms from Nothing

Xie Lian unconsciously stepped forward to stand in front of San Lang, "I know better than anyone where my place is," Xie Lian replied.

"Then how dare you still stand next to him?!" Fu Yao shouted.

"Because… If I stand next to him, the snakes won't come," Xie Lian answered earnestly.

"…"

Hearing the response, San Lang 'pfft'-ed and laughed out loud. Fu Yao became grimmer, "YOU–"

Grimmer and grimmer, his face suddenly turned completely black, and it wasn't just his face, but Xie Lian's entire line of sight dimmed into darkness.

The curtain of flames and the ring of fire created by Fu Yao were suddenly completely extinguished!

Xie Lian heard San Lang snicker and say, "Useless trash!" before gripping his shoulders to pull him close. Soon after, Xie Lian heard a sudden downpour of endless battering above them, like a thunderstorm hitting an umbrella.

Needless to say, it was the snake deluge that came pouring down crazily now that the defense barrier was gone. The open umbrella was blocking the downpour, and Xie Lian could smell the thick foul odor of blood. He was about to fight, but San Lang stopped him, "Don't move. No lowlives will dare approach."

His tone was confident; the first sentence was soft and gentle, the latter had a layer of arrogance. Xie Lian wasn't worried, but hearing Fu Yao's angry roars at the other end, sounding as if he was getting covered in snakes, he called out, "San Lang!"

San Lang instantly replied, "No."

Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "How did you know what I was going to say?"

"Don't worry so much; he can't die," San Lang said.

Just then, another roar came from a different part of the pit, "BAN YUE! If you want me to die, then have them bite and kill me in one go! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS??"

"It's not me!" Ban Yue cried. It seemed Ke Mo had woken from all the battering, discovered himself covered by countless snakes, and believed it to be Ban Yue's doing.

"Fu Yao, can you light another fire? Do it again!" Xie Lian shouted.

Fu Yao gritted his teeth, "That thing next to you is restricting my powers; I can't light anything!"

Xie Lian felt dread, and San Lang said, "It's not me."

"I know it's not you," Xie Lian said, "But that's precisely what's wrong. Both Ban Yue and Ke Mo are bound by the God-Binding rope; they can't use their powers. My powers are depleted, and you're not restricting anyone, meaning there's a sixth person in this pit?!"

"Have you lost your mind?" Fu Yao demanded, "What sixth person? There wasn't anyone who came down!"

"Who's there?" Ban Yue suddenly said.

"Ban Yue, what's happening? Is someone over there?" Xie Lian asked.

"Someone–" Ban Yue's voice disappeared halfway; whether her mouth was sealed shut, or she lost consciousness was not known. Xie Lian called out again, "Ban Yue?"

Fu Yao was still fighting snakes and was throwing spiritual energy everywhere, flashing here and there in the dark. "Be careful! She might be tricking you!"

"Not necessarily," Xie Lian shouted, "I'm going to save her first!"

Xie Lian was about to run into the snake deluge when he heard San Lang's voice next to his ear, "Alright."

Xie Lian felt the hand grasping his shoulders tighten, and in a flash, they were blitzing forward. Xie Lian realized in awe that the boy was advancing and attacking but with an umbrella in one hand and him in the other. In the darkness, silver shimmers flashed about once more, clanking and clinking, when suddenly, a sharp sound of two swords clashing rang in everyone's ears.

"Oh?" San Lang said, "There really is a sixth person. Interesting."

Xie Lian had no idea how San Lang was controlling the weapon or what kind of weapon it was, but whatever it was, it most certainly did come head to head with another!

The other party remained silent, and Xie Lian could only hear the sound of metal scraping metal as the fight intensified. From time to time, there would be sparks flashing in the dark, but each time it was so short-lived it was hard to see the other's face.

Listening to the fight, Xie Lian could feel Ruoye grip tighter and tighter, and had to murmur reassurance, "Don't be scared, relax. Relax a bit." Ruoye loosened, and Xie Lian called out again, "Ban Yue, are you conscious? Can you respond?"

No one responded. Fu Yao exclaimed, "Maybe the one fighting now is her!"

"No. This one is definitely not Ban Yue!" Xie Lian said.

When San Lang fought Ke Mo in the dark, he was light-footed and messing about, playing with him. This fight was also in the dark, but Xie Lian could tell San Lang was taking it more seriously. The other party was extremely skilled in martial arts and weaponry; Ban Yue was small and weak, just looking at her arms, it was obvious power and arms were not her forte, so it was impossible for her to be fighting San Lang. But who was this sixth person? When did they appear?!

Fu Yao griped, "Someone who would betray her own country is no different than Xuan Ji, why on earth would you still believe in her?"

"Fu Yao, can you not be so irritated?" Xie Lian said, "You… Wait. What did you just say?"

Fu Yao struck out another fist and blew away a bunch of snakes, "I said, why on earth would you believe in her the same way you believe in that thing next to you!"

"No, not that – you said Xuan Ji. You mentioned Xuan Ji's name, didn't you!" Xie Lian said.

"Yeah, so what?! She's completely irrelevant!" Xie Lian, however, held his breath. A moment later, he called out, "Stop fighting; there's no more need to hide. I know who you are!"

The sound of blades clashing never halted, the other party unaffected, but Xie Lian wasn't worried, "Did you think I was tricking you when I said I already know who you are? General Pei Junior?"

"Who are you talking to?" Fu Yao was dumbstruck, "General Pei Junior? Don't be crazy. Who do you think he is? If he descended, everyone would know!"

"You're very right," Xie Lian said, "But what if it wasn't his true self that descended?"

In the darkness, the fighting weapons faltered then continued anew. Xie Lian spoke, "It took me too long to figure this out. I should've known from the beginning."

"I knew that for close to two hundred years, there was something causing havoc, but none of the heavenly officials cared, and no one dared to speak of it, so there must be one or a number of officials keeping a wrap on this scandal. But because I wasn't familiar with many of the officials, I didn't dare to boldly pin this on anyone and never tried to boldly deduce just which heavenly official it could be."

It was Fu Yao's mention of Xuan Ji that reminded him. When it came to Xuan Ji, it wasn't hard to relate her to the two General Pei's, and the North was their territory. Fu Yao once said in passing that prior to his ascension, General Pei Junior slaughtered a city.

Which city?

It could very well be the Kingdom of Ban Yue!

The Upper Court wouldn't bat an eyelash at something like this; everyone needed to spill some blood if they wanted to do great things. But slaughtering a city wasn't anything glorious after all, and if the story got spread too far, it would affect the numbers of new believers, so of course, there would be some cover-ups after ascension. Thus, even if everyone knew something of the sort happened, they probably didn't know the details or care to know the details. Besides, if it wasn't for deep grudges, who'd had the time to care to dig his past and offend the support behind his back?

Xie Lian spoke slowly, "That mud face had said there was someone amongst us who already visited the fortress fifty to sixty years ago. At first, I thought he was lying to deceive us into approaching, but his words may very well contain truth."

"Before, in that group of people, the one I was the most suspicious of was you. The caravan followed you, and you could take them anywhere. I have never seen a single scorpion snake in the years I lived nearby Ban Yue, and from just seeking a random shelter from the sandstorm, they happen to show up?

"I asked you to come look for the Shan Yue fern with us, but just before we left, you gave the directions of the ruins to the others so they could follow in our steps if they could no longer sit still. Earlier, on top of the walls, I had already said if anything were to happen, I would go forward first; you, who is always calm, suddenly jumped, dying a meaningless death."

Xie Lian continued after a pause, "Your actions were strange and illogical. That it took me until now to realice who you are really was too late. Isn't that right, General Pei Junior? Or should I call your current name, A-Zhao!"

The silence that ensued was abrupt.

It was a moment before a cold voice came, "Have you never suspected that the mud face might be talking about the red-clothed boy next to you?"

A stream of flames suddenly lit up across the Sinner's Pit. Under the light, two bloody silhouettes were revealed. One was San Lang, dressed in red, proper and standing with his weapon already tucked away. The other was a plainly clothed young man with a sword held tightly in hand, still at the ready.

The plain-clothed young man was covered in blood, looking as if he was also dressed in red. His expression was cold and reserved, carrying someone over his shoulders. It was indeed A-Zhao.

To be fair, whether it be General Pei Junior, his true self, or A-Zhao, that composed calmness never changed; only, Xie Lian had never gone down that train of thought, so he didn't connect the two.

The one he was carrying over his shoulders was Ban Yue. It seemed he had called forth the snakes in order to steal her away during the chaos. Now that his identity was revealed, he had no more need to create havoc, and the snake deluge ceased bombarding. He sheathed his sword and gently laid Ban Yue down on the ground.

On the side, Ke Mo was shocked, "Who are you? Didn't you fall to your death???"

A-Zhao didn't spare a look at Ke Mo, staring instead at San Lang vigilantly. "Ke Mo, you really haven't changed in these past hundreds of years." He said in BanYuenese.

Perhaps the tone of this maddening calm was overly familiar; Ke Mo's face immediately scrunched up in rage, "… IT'S YOU!!! PEI SU!!!"

If not for the God-Binding rope solidly tying him down, Ke Mo would've lunged at him to fight to the death.

"General Pei Junior," Xie Lian said, "Those scorpion snakes didn't just listen to one command. You controlled all the snakes Ban Yue said no longer listened to her and went out to harm, correct?"

"En. I did it." He certainly admitted it easily.

"Did Ban Yue teach you how to control the scorpion snakes?" Xie Lian asked.

"She didn't," Pei Su said, "But how she does it, I could very well learn for myself."

"General Pei Junior is exceedingly intelligent after all," Xie Lian commented.

After a pause, he then asked, "When did you two meet? How did you two meet?"

Pei Su, however, gave him a look, "General Hua."

Xie Lian was puzzled, "Why are you calling me by that title too?"

Pei Su asked quietly, "Do you not recognize me, General Hua?"

"…"

Now Xie Lian did.

The beginning of it was kind of blurry. Ban Yue was bullied and ignored by other BanYue children when she was younger, and only a young boy of YongAn would sometimes pay attention to her. That boy was like Ban Yue and didn't talk very much.

Quite a number of children living on the border were from military families, and many also enlisted in the army when they grew older. Could it be…

"It's you?!" Xie Lian was surprised, "I can't believe it took me this long to realice it was you."

Pei Su nodded, "It's me. I've only just recognized General too."

No wonder. So it turns out, Ban Yue and the enemy general had known each other since long ago!

"Did Ban Yue really heed your order and open the fortress gates?" Xie Lian asked.

On the other side, Ke Mo spat and yelled, "Despicable Pei Su. Untie the ropes, let me fight him to the death!"

Pei Su said coolly, "First of all, we already had a battle to the death two hundred years ago, and you lost; second of all, how am I despicable?"

Ke Mo shouted, "IF YOU TWO DIDN'T COLLUDE, HOW WOULD WE LOSE?!"

"Ke Mo, don't deny it." Pei Su said, "Even though I only had a troop of two thousand with me at the time, breaking through the fortress gates was only a matter of time to me."

Xie Lian couldn't help but interrupt, "Wait a sec, you only had two thousand under you, and you were sent to invade a country? What's going on? Isn't that no different than sending you to your death? Were you perhaps even more elbowed out in the army than I was??"

"…" Pei Su stopped talking. It seemed Xie Lian had hit it on the mark. Xie Lian then asked, "If you knew it was a sure win, why did you have Ban Yue open the fortress gates?"

"Because I needed to slaughter the fortress city." Pei Su replied.

"What do you mean?" Xie Lian asked, "Since you were already going to win, why must you slaughter the city?"

"It was because victory was at hand, that we had to wipe out the city." Pei Su said, "And it had to be as soon as possible. Immediately. Leaving none behind."

That "Leaving none behind" was chilling. Xie Lian pushed, "And the reason is?"

Pei Su answered, "On the night before the invasion, many of the leaders of Ban Yue's major families gathered for a meeting, and decided on a secret plot."

"What plot?"

"The people of Ban Yue are violent in nature and hated Yong An to the bone." Pei Su said, "Even knowing they were about to be defeated, they wouldn't admit it. So the entire population of the kingdom, the young, the old, the women, and the men, all banded together to assemble this thing."

"What thing?" Xie Lian could guess, but he wasn't sure, and the word that came out of Pei Su's mouth confirmed his suspicions. "Explosives."

Pei Su slowly enunciated each word, "They had decided that if the kingdom was to fall, the citizens will each carry explosives on their bodies, escape to Yong An, mix into large crowded areas, and suicide bomb to cause riots. Meaning if they must die, then they will drag as many Yong An people down as they can with them. If the kingdom should fall, then they shall terrorize the country that brought their downfall!"

Which was why they had to be annihilated before those civilians had the time to flee.

Xie Lian instantly turned to Ke Mo, roughly summarized for him in BanYuenese, and asked, "Is this true?"

Ke Mo looked dauntless without any intention to conceal the facts, "It's true!"

San Lang raised his brows and commented, "How vile."

He said those words in BanYuenese, probably intentionally. Ke Mo replied angrily, "Vile? What right do you have to call us vile? If it wasn't for your assaults, we wouldn't be forced to make that move. You ruined us, so we sought revenge. How is that wrong?!"

Pei Su responded coolly, "Really now. How about we lay everything out in the open then?"

He tilted his head and said, "How many times have Ban Yue started riots near the border? How many caravans and travelers going to the West Plains from the Yong An were ambushed by Ban Yue? You intentionally sheltered the bandits that terrorized Yong An and killed our soldiers that went to wipe them out under the pretense of illegal border crossing. How is that not vile?" Pei Su spoke unhurriedly, and his tone was calm, but each word was sharp as knives.

Ke Mo argued, "What about you? Why not say you forcibly occupied our land first?"

"The border had always been ambiguous, so how can you say we forcibly occupied your land?" Pei Su countered.

"The lines were clearly drawn! It was you who didn't keep to yourselves!"

"The lines were drawn by BanYue; YongAn had never agreed to it. And your border had the oasis all to yourselves, leaving only desert land to us. What nonsense."

Ke Mo was red in the face, "The oasis was ours! It had always been ours!"

Both sides had their stories; just listening to them argue made Xie Lian befuddled. This hostility was making him remember how badly he got beaten up stuck in the middle of both sides, and he could feel the pain on his face resurface.

Pei Su seemed to have had enough of quarreling with Ke Mo, and he turned to Xie Lian, "So you see. There are many things in the world that simply can't be clearly defined or resolved. You can only fight."

Xie Lian sighed, "I'll agree to the first part."

San Lang, on the other hand, said, "Hm. I'll agree to the last part."

Ke Mo's anger was somewhat curbed, and he suddenly said, "The majority of YongAn people were shameless, but you were the most shameless I've ever met. Pei Su, you're a cold-hearted man. You didn't kill us for your country, and it wasn't for saving your people."

Hearing this, Pei Su fell silent.

Ke Mo continued, "You exiled son of man, looked down by all. You only wanted to secure your footing in the YongAn army in order to keep climbing up, so you had to win that battle. So sad that Ban Yue still thought you as good and was used by you, and betrayed us for the likes of you."

"But isn't General Pei Junior General Pei's descendant?" Xie Lian wondered. To have such a renowned ancestor watch over him, he couldn't have fallen so astray?

"He's not the direct descendant of General Pei." San Lang spoke up, "He's from however many branches out."

Pei Su said quietly, "Ban Yue had always been my subordinate, and only obeyed my command to infiltrate the Kingdom of Ban Yue. She is from both Ban Yue and YongAn; once she's chosen her side, she had to be loyal to that side, so there was no such thing as betrayal. The Ban Yue people are evil; I have no regrets in killing them."

Suddenly, a voice came from above, "Having no regrets in killing, well said! Will you say the same in regards to all the travelers who were mislead by you to this Pass and lost their lives in this pit?"

That voice had come from above everyone's heads, and Xie Lian instantly looked up, "Which great lord is here among us?"

There wasn't a response, but a sudden strange noise. WHOOSH WHOOSH, it was like the bellowing of wild winds.

When that sound finally came near, Xie Lian could finally say with certainty – it certainly was the bellowing of wild winds!

This abrupt gale entered the Sinner's Pit from above, swept all the way to the bottom, and rolled everyone into the air!

Xie Lian immediately grabbed for San Lang, who was the closest to him, and cried, "Watch out!"

San Lang caught him too, face unchanging. Xie Lian only felt a whirl of spinning, their bodies swiftly rising, and after a pause, they started plunging down.

Xie Lian threw out Ruoye and coaxed him in the midst of this chaos, "Alright, alright, everything's over. Hurry, my good Ruoye, come out and give us a hand!"

After a couple of pets, Ruoye finally reacted. However, with nothing in the air to grab onto other than a giant Sinner's Pit below, Ruoye flew about once and shrunk back. Feeling helpless, Xie Lian could only adjust his form for landing in the air. If it was like previous times, he would've cratered headfirst three feet into the ground, but this time, just before they hit the ground, San Lang reached out and gave him a pull, and he actually landed with his feet flat on the ground! When his boots firmly touched the ground, he was even a little incredulous. But that feeling went away real quick when a black-clad silhouette came stumbling before him.

Xie Lian saw who it was and delightfully called, "Nan Feng!"

It was Nan Feng indeed, but a disheveled Nan Feng. It looked as if he was rolled in grime ten times before getting thrown into a rambunctious den of beasts to spend the night. His clothes were tattered and bedraggled to the max; hearing Xie Lian's call, he only waved his hand and quietly wiped at his face, unable to speak.

Xie Lian lifted him to his feet, "What happened? Did those two ladies beat you up?"

Before his words fully left his lips, two figures appeared behind Nan Feng and strolled over. One of them was the woman cultivator in white with a whisk in her arms, and she greeted Xie Lian cheerfully, "How do you do, Your Royal Highness."

Although Xie Lian didn't know who this was, proper etiquette must still be kept; but he didn't know how to address her, so he could only smile back and wave. "Greetings, fellow cultivator."

The lady in black on the side glanced at Xie Lian coldly but didn't seem to care for him. When her eyes moved onto San Lang, however, she paused, seeming to think he was a dubious figure, and stopped for a moment.

The gusts earlier had blown everyone out of the pit, and the two ladies walked past Xie Lian, heading straight for Pei Su. He saw them approach and didn't appear surprised; after all, he had already seen them in town when he was still playing the part of A-Zhao. He knelt down where he was, bowed his head to the lady cultivator in white, and called quietly, "Lord Wind Master."

Xie Lian was stunned hearing those words.

And here he thought she was some menacing ghost or monster; who knew it was actually a heavenly official? And it was the Wind Master, the one that was throwing out ten thousand merits in one go in the communication array!

But now that he's thinking about it in detail, there wasn't anything out of place. At the time, she was saying something along the lines of "Where did they all go? Do I have to dig them out and kill them one by one?" and made him think she was after them. In reality, this "they" might not have meant them; it could mean the BanYue soldiers. Only, Xie Lian thought he was alone in this investigation and naturally thought the lady cultivators were strange and wicked.

To a heavenly official that could easily hand out ten thousand merits, Xie Lian couldn't help but feel a nameless reverence. He elbowed Nan Feng, "Why didn't you tell me this was the Wind Master sooner? And here I thought she might be some sort of snake spirit or scorpion spirit. What a disgrace!"

Nan Feng's expression darkened, "I didn't know it was the Wind Master. I've never seen the Wind Master like this before. The Wind Master had always been… nevermind."

Xie Lian understood. This was probably a fake appearance the Lord Wind Master was donning, so he didn't dig into it. He asked, "How did the Wind Master come to the BanYue Pass?"

"To help out," Nan Feng said. "When we saw them strolling in the streets earlier, they were actually looking for those BanYue soldiers."

Xie Lian recalled now that the first time he asked about the BanYue Pass in the communication array, in the midst of silent awkwardness, it was the Wind Master's sudden release of ten thousand merits that distracted everyone. The Wind Master probably already took notice of his query then.

As xie Lian mused, the Wind Master bent down in front of Pei Su, "Little Pei, I've heard everything, you know."

Pei Su hung his head. The Wind Master demanded, "Do you admit that in these past two hundred years, you were the one who lured all those travelers into the Ancient Kingdom of BanYue?"

Since he was already caught, Pei Su didn't argue and only replied solemnly, "It was me."

"Why?" The Wind Master demanded.

After a pause, Pei Su asked, "Lord Wind Master has long been suspicious; can you not guess why?"

"Is it only because these souls of the dead are the iron proof of the blood on your hands while you were human and would become obstacles for your climbing higher in the future?" Wind Master asked.

Pei Su neither agreed nor disagreed, and Xie Lian, who was listening on the side, couldn't help but ask, "If anything, why didn't you just kill them directly? Why must you use such a method as feeding them the living to appease their resentment? How is that different than using another's flesh and blood to quench the thirst of one?"

San Lang spoke up, "He couldn't."

That's true too. In the Upper Court, every move by a heavenly official like Pei Su was watched intently by countless eyes. There were many things he couldn't do directly; he couldn't use his true form to come down and kill off all those resentful spirits of these soldiers straightforwardly, and he couldn't send troops to annihilate them either. This was already a concealed affair; if there was too much of a stir, wouldn't it attract everyone's gaze? At most, he could only send a clone like A-Zhao down quietly.

Using the scorpion snakes that Ban Yue was known to be an expert in manipulating to go out and harm, attracting passersby in to feed the resentful spirits to disperse their resentment, no doubt it was a perfect framing scheme.

"Your General Pei wouldn't have done something like this at all," The Wind Master said. "This time, I'm afraid you've crossed the line."

As a heavenly official, that he would release a clone to cause havoc at the BanYue Pass for almost two hundred years, lure in numerous passersby down the wrong path and into the ruins, and die in the mouths of BanYue soldiers, no matter how he could spin it, it wasn't a small deal. Pei Su only lowered his head and said, "This young one knows."

The Wind Master swept the whisk, "As long as you understand. Reflect on yourself and think on it. We'll talk in the heavens."

"I understand," Pei Su said quietly.

Having finished with the talk with Pei Su, the Wind Master stuffed the whisk into the back collar of her robe, stood up, and smiled at Xie Lian. "Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I've heard much about you."

To Xie Lian, "Heard much about you" really wasn't a compliment, but nevertheless, it was meaningless pleasantries, so he smiled back, "I'm sure it's nothing. I've heard much about you as well, Lord Wind Master."

"Sorry about before, by the way," The Wind Master said.

Xie Lian paused, "Before? What happened before?"

"Didn't you all run into a windstorm in the desert?"

Xie Lian could remember the mouthfuls of sand and replied, "Yes?"

"I started that," The Wind Master said.

"…"

The Wind Master continued casually, "That windstorm was meant to stop you all from going near the Kingdom of BanYue, but you didn't get blown away, and ended up in BanYue anyway."

The more Xie Lian listened, the more he felt something wasn't right. Starting a windstorm to stop them from going to the BanYue Pass, and now this whole thing suddenly came into the open, just what did it mean?

Xie Lian didn't respond, biding to see what the other would say, the Wind Master then continued, "But, in regards to this whole ordeal, I would suggest Your Highness mind your own business and stop putting your hands where they don't belong."

Xie Lian stole a look at Ban Yue, who was curled up on the ground, and dreaded. He was already worried that if this scandal was to reach the Upper Court, the officials could easily muck up the truth, add strokes to where there wasn't, and have Ban Yue take all the blame while Little Pei ran off scot-free. With the Wind Master's sudden appearance, telling him not to mind this business, didn't this cement they will protect Little Pei?

Without changing his expression, Xie Lian stepped forward to stand in front of Ban Yue, hiding her behind him, and said warmly, "But I've already put my hands into this business, I can't possibly leave it now."

The Wind Master noticed his gesture and smiled, "Don't be concerned. You can take the Guoshi of Ban Yue away with you."

That was unexpected. Xie Lian was slightly taken aback, and the Wind Master continued, "While you were all in the pit, we've heard everything from up here. Although the Guoshi has turned into a 'Savage', when I roamed the city I saw that she had drawn the array to trap the Ban Yue soldiers and released all the captured mortals. She didn't hurt anyone and was even saving people. The only ones I'm taking are General Pei Junior and Ke Mo; you don't have to worry about me placing blames on anyone."

Xie Lian relaxed, "Much ashamed! I've been suspicious."

"It's normal to worry," the Wind Master said. "There's some unpleasant cultures up in the heavens after all."

The lady in black looked as if she couldn't stay for another moment and spoke up, "Are you done? If you're done then let's go."

The Wind Master rebutted, "Tsk! What's the rush? The more you rush, the more I wanna talk!" Still, she turned her head and smiled, taking out a folding fan from her waist and said, "Your Royal Highness, if there's nothing else, we'll see you in the Upper Court?"

Xie Lian nodded, and the Wind Master opened her fan. On the fan was the word for wind 'Feng' in a slant, and three inclining lines like the wind on the back. This must be the Wind Master's spiritual device. She fanned forward three times and backward three times. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew from the flat ground.

The wind drew dust and sand, and Xie Lian raised his sleeve to block off the debris. When the wind died down, the two ladies, Pei Su, and Ke Mo had all disappeared, leaving only Xie Lian, San Lang, Nan Feng, and the deeply asleep Ban Yue behind.

Xie Lian dropped his sleeve, still a little dazed, "What just happened?"

San Lang casually strolled over, "A pretty good thing."

Xie Lian watched him, "Is it?"

"Yeah. The Wind Master was trying to help you by telling you not to get involved."

Nan Feng walked over too, "That's right. You've dug in too deep in this business already. The only thing left to do is to file a complaint to the Heavenly Martial Emperor. Don't get yourself involved anymore."

Xie Lian got it, "Is it because of General Pei?"

"Correct," Nan Feng said. "This time you have thoroughly offended him."

Xie Lian laughed, "I knew I was going to offend someone one of these days, I guess it doesn't matter who."

Nan Feng furrowed his brows, "Don't think I'm joking. Other than the Great Martial Hall, the next most powerful martial palace is Ming Guang. General Pei thinks very highly of Little Pei and has always tried to boot Quan Yi Zhen. He's gonna come knocking, looking for trouble."

"Quan Yi Zhen is the Martial God that rules the West, right?" Xie Lian asked.

"That's the one," Nan Feng replied. "Quan Yi Zhen is also a new official. He ascended around the same time as Pei Su. He's young and a little… But very powerful. General Pei wanted Pei Su to take all the devotees of the West, and he's done well for himself, especially these past few years. Now with you dragging this scandal out into the open, it's not looking good for Pei Su; maybe he'll even be banished. If he gets banished, your luck is gonna turn for the worse too.

Xie Lian rubbed his forehead, mentally taking note that from now on he would have to be more mindful when eating, drinking, and walking. San Lang, however, didn't think it was a big deal. "Don't worry. Pei Ming is too proud. He won't do anything underhanded."

Nan Feng gave him a look. "What about the Wind Master?" Xie Lian asked, "She told me not to get involved, so she's the one who will file the complaint? Doesn't that mean she'll be the one offending General Pei? I can't have that. Let's call her back. Nan Feng, do you know the password to her personal communication array?"

"You needn't worry about the Wind Master," Nan Feng said, "General Pei can hurt you, but he won't touch her. She may be younger than you, but she's much more successful in the heavens."

"…" Xie Lian wasn't shocked into silence but was instead thinking, 'Who in the heavens is more of a failure than me? I don't think there's anyone.'

San Lang laughed, "With that backing, of course, she's successful."

"Are you talking about the lady in black? She looks to be a strong character too." Xie Lian remarked.

"No," San Lang replied, "But she should also be one of the five elemental masters that make up 'Wind, Water, Rain, Earth, Thunder'. Probably shouldn't offend her either."

The Wind Master could start a twister from nothing, obviously powerful. But the lady in black was stronger. Xie Lian recalled the way she watched San Lang as if she'd found out something and felt rather concerned. "I agree."

But still, there were words that Xie Lian thought didn't need to be said, and he swallowed them. He thought, 'Even with a strong backing, you may not be successful. Back in the day, the Crown Prince of XianLe had the support of the Heavenly Martial Emperor who ruled all three realms for a thousand years. He was still a failure.'

Xie Lian picked up his fallen bamboo hat, dusted it, seeing that it wasn't flattened, and breathed in relief. He tied it back around his neck and really looked at Nan Feng. "Were you fighting with the two ladies all this way?"

"Yes. We fought the entire way," Nan Feng replied, face dark.

Xie Lian patted his shoulders, "Thanks for your hard work." Suddenly, he remembered there was another one who worked hard, and turned around, "Where's Fu Yao?"

"Wasn't he watching the wounded?" Nan Feng responded.

Xie Lian didn't recall seeing Fu Yao after getting blown out of the Sinner's Pit. Actually, ever since A-Zhao revealed himself, there had been no more sounds from him. If he didn't leave back then, he must've left when the wind blew.

Xie Lian wasn't actually that worried. He figured Fu Yao didn't want to get mixed up in this mess, so he quickly ran off. But, having heard Nan Feng say "wounded," he came to in shock and both cried at the same time, "The ShanYue fern!"

"The sky only just lightened, no rush," San Lang said.

There is no such thing as "no rush" when it came to saving lives. Even if it was far from being 24 hours, who knows if anything might've happened in all that time? Xie Lian had no time to think about Fu Yao. He hurriedly carried Ban Yue on his back and ran towards the palace grounds.

Once at the palace, Xie Lian laid Ban Yue down and immediately picked a few large bushels of the ShanYue fern. That mud face was still on the ground, its face a bloody mess amongst its white bones. In the past, Xie Lian would've buried it, but first, he was in a hurry to save people, and second, that man was buried in the ground for fifty to sixty years; he must not want to go back. But the corpse of the dead merchant was missing, and Xie Lian stopped, puzzled. Just then, San Lang emerged from the palace with a small clay pot. When Xie Lian saw, he immediately called out, "Bless you, San Lang."

Ban Yue was weak and wouldn't wake up, so Xie Lian shrank her and tucked her into the pot. The group of them continued to collect the ferns and rushed back. It had been about eight hours since they left.

Returning to where Fu Yao had drawn the circle, Xie Lian saw that many were still within it, scared to venture out. The old man who had taken Nan Feng's pill was doing alright, and after applying the herb on his wound, he was able to stand and walk after resting for a while. Only, Xie Lian didn't think there was any need to tell them what the herb used to grow on.

After some time, the merchants were all calmed and began to worry, "Where's Tian Sheng? How come they haven't returned yet?"

Xie Lian was too busy picking herbs earlier and didn't bother with Tian Sheng and the others. He was just thinking about going back to the ruins to search for them when he heard the voice of a boy yelling gege and uncles coming closer. Xie Lian turned his head, and sure enough, it was Tian Sheng. The boy had a large bushel of the ShanYue fern in his arms, and behind him were two other merchants, all huffing and puffing.

Turns out, while on top the walls of the Sinner's Pit, Ban Yue swept the soldiers down, and Tian Sheng and the merchants captured them. They were terrified, but Ban Yue only led them down from the pit and directed them where to go before sending them on their way. They escaped, picked the herbs, buried the dead merchant's body, and ran back, yet still somehow was slower than Xie Lian.

In any case, Xie Lian escorted the caravan out of the Gobi desert and ended this journey.

Before they bid farewell, Tian Sheng snuck out to find him and whispered mysteriously, "Gege, I've got a question for you."

"Ask away," Xie Lian said.

"You're actually a god, aren't you?"

Xie Lian was astonished. But also a little touched.

In the past, there was a time when he'd holler and announce to the world, "I'm a god! I am the Crown Prince, Your Royal Highness!" and no one would believe him. This time, he hadn't even said anything, and the other party asked if he was a god, which deeply surprised him but also moved him.

Tian Sheng added immediately, "I saw you use spells! Don't worry, I won't tell."

'How would you even tell. No one would believe you…' Xie Lian thought.

Tian Sheng continued, "If not for you, I would've gotten thrown into that pit by those ugly ghost soldiers. When I get home, I'll build you a temple and worship you."

Xie Lian watched him pat his chest and make 'very big, very big' hand gestures and couldn't help but let out a laugh and smiled, "Then, thank you."

San Lang was standing on the side, and he chuckled lightly for some unknown reason. Xie Lian didn't think it was because he thought a child's naive words were ridiculous.

Although children have no idea just how much work went into constructing a temple, nevertheless, receiving such a promise, fulfilled or not, was still a happy occasion.

After much hassling, he had to leave behind a random title "The Scrap Immortal"; then he waved and walked off in the opposite direction. Nan Feng drew another Distance Shortening array and sent them all back to PuQi Shrine.

Opening the door, Xie Lian took the straw mat out, laid it open on the ground, and collapsed on it like a dead body. This was done all in one breath. San Lang sat himself down next to him, hand propping up his chin, and watched him. Xie Lian sighed, "How long were we gone?"

"Around three, four days," San Lang replied.

Xie Lian sighed again, "Only three, four days, why am I so tired?" Ever since he ascended, he was always worked to the bone like a dog, no lie. After he was done sighing, Xie Lian looked up, "Eh? Nan Feng? Why haven't you reported back yet?"

"Report back where?" Nan Feng asked.

"Aren't you the junior official of Nan Yang Palace? Won't your general miss you after three, four days?"

"My general isn't in the palace right now, so he won't miss me," Nan Feng replied.

Xie Lian rolled over and got up, "Alright. It'll be good too if you stay."

"What are you doing?" Nan Feng asked.

Xie Lian looked at him cheerfully, "I'm going to cook you a meal. As a reward for your hard work."

Nan Feng's face dropped drastically. He raised his hand, pressed two fingers together and touched his temple, as if receiving someone's private communication. He got up and turned, "There's an emergency at the palace, I'll see you later."

Xie Lian waved his hand, "What? Nan Feng, don't go! How can there suddenly be an emergency? I really want to thank you for everything–"

"THERE'S AN EMERGENCY!" Nan Feng roared and ran out the door.

Xie Lian sat back down on the mat and looked at San Lang, "I guess he's not hungry."

There was a loud bang before San Lang could reply, and it was Nan Feng who came back, having slammed open the door in a rush. "YOU TWO–¡!"

Xie Lian and San Lang were sitting together on the mat and both raised their heads to look at him, "What about us two?"

Nan Feng pointed his finger at San Lang, then at Xie Lian, his words stuck in his throat, unable to speak. Then finally, "I will be back!"

"You're very welcome to." Xie Lian said.

Nan Feng gave San Lang one last stink eye before closing the door and leaving. Xie Lian crossed his arms, tilted his head like San Lang, and said, "Looks like there really is an emergency."

He turned to look at the boy next to him and smiled cheerfully, "He's not hungry, how about you?"

San Lang smiled cheerfully back, "I'm starving."

Xie Lian grinned and stood up again, turned around and casually cleaned the altar table, "Alright then. What do you want to eat, Hua Cheng?"

Behind him, there was silence. Then chuckling.

"I still prefer the name 'San Lang.'"