Ch.219: Hundred Years of Pain; Thousand Years of Suffering 3

Guoshi didn't answer him. He was now completely sunken into the undispellable terror that scene still brought him.

"Those faces hadn't seen light in a long time," he said. "So even the moonlight of the night was painful to them. When I suddenly removed the mask, it was as if they were shocked, and they squinted their eyes, their voices stopping. But after a moment, when they saw it was me, they began…to scream my name.

"I was completely stunned. I said earlier that I'd never seen anything more horrific than millions of people falling from the skies and burning alive in a sea of fire, but the scene before my eyes then was more horrifying than that by a million-fold!

"My hand that was holding the mask was shaking nonstop, and if it wasn't for my entire person being already petrified and frozen still, that mask would've probably dropped to the ground and woken His Highness. Meanwhile, those three faces seemed to be anxious to tell me something, the opening and closing of their mouths became even more erratic. But still they suppressed their voices, like they were afraid to wake His Highness.

"When I saw their appearance, I was both disgusted and scared, but I still couldn't help but be curious to find out what they wanted to tell me. So I bent down, held my breath, and leaned close to His Highness' face to listen.

"Coming so close, I could smell the thick stench of blood and rot that the medicinal herbs couldn't conceal. I heard them say, quick! Run away! His Highness has gone mad!

"Turns out, after the other three had left, they were still worried, so they secretly returned to find His Highness. Yet unexpectedly, they just happened to run into His Highness rushing a large number of people towards the direction of the Kiln. Only then did they find out that His Highness had never abandoned the idea of sacrificing the living. In a fit of shock and rage, they went to stop him and started a fight with His Highness. Yet unexpectedly, His Highness actually bore down and killed them, and threw them into the Kiln along with the others!

"The other citizens were of course burnt to dust and ashes after being thrown in. But the three of them were cultivated, and were also murdered by His Highness, so their resentful attachment was extremely deep. So their souls actually took his body as host, growing upon his person, and nagged at him in rage every day, hoping to prevent him from pursuing his terrible endeavours.

"As I listened, I felt horror and confusion, and I didn't know what to do at all. What was most horrifying about the situation was that I wasn't actually clear; was His Highness scarier, or those three things on his face?!

"Right then, I felt a hand rest on my head.

"I stiffened and slowly looked up, and saw His Highness.

"I don't know when he had woken. He and the three faces on his face, a total of four sets of eyes, were all staring at me!

"The expressions on those human faces became even more exaggerated. As they twisted, they tore at the gashes on his face, and blood streamed down.

"He stared at me for a long, long time, then, he sighed: 'Haven't I told you not to come in here?'

"Suddenly, I understood all the abnormal behaviour of these past few days. When His Highness discovered his face had grown three such creatures, he wasn't able to accept it. He couldn't tolerate this inhuman, demonic appearance in the mirror, so he smashed all of them. The bleeding was because he wanted to use a blade to slice them off; the rotting smell was because the injuries wouldn't heal. And no matter how many times he cut them, they would always grow back!"

Guoshi covered half of his face, his pupils violently shrinking.

He said, "I…instantly fell to my knees at his bedside. His Highness slowly sat up on the bed and said, 'Don't be afraid. They became like this because they betrayed me. As long as you don't do the same, I will still treat you as before. As long as you are my loyal servant, nothing will change'.

"But how could I not be afraid?! And how could nothing be changed? Everything had changed!

"His Highness was very smart. He had never had to watch people's faces, but after banishment, he had learned to observe expressions. He had guessed what I was thinking and asked me slowly: 'Are you leaving too, then?'

"To be honest, I didn't know. If he had only thrown the 'fiends' he spoke of into the Kiln, maybe I could've pretended nothing had happened, and I did say I could understand. But he had personally killed and thrown our best friends into the Kiln, too. We only had each other! This really was…madness. I…wasn't able to accept it.

"His Highness said to himself, 'It's okay, I had expected it, no one would stay after I've become like this. I can go on on my own. I understand now, I've always been alone!!! I DON'T NEED ANYONE!!!'

"His expression suddenly turned savage, and he stared at me unblinkingly as he strangled me with one hand, repeating nonstop: 'I can be on my own, all alone, alone, alone alone alone alone alone, I don't need anyone, I don't need anyone I don't need anyone I don't need anyone…'

"His Highness' strength is powerful. If he really wanted to kill me, my neck should've been snapped instantly without making a sound. But I didn't immediately die, and when he started to act up, my three friends all started screaming from his face. As if they'd done something to him, he started yelling from an agonizing headache, and I was also screaming. The five of us were all screaming wildly, yelling in madness, like we had all gone crazy. His Highness gripped his own head with one hand, and the other was strangling me harder. My vision was growing dark, I couldn't hold on much longer, but right then…I saw something underneath his pillow.

"Under his pillow was a sword. It was cushioned underneath when he slept, and it was a habit he developed after banishment. I caught hold of the hilt and pulled out the sword. The chilling light shimmered and His Highness laughed heartily, his eyes blood-red. He asked, 'Are you going to kill me too? COME! STAB ME, QUICK! STAB ME RIGHT IN THE HEART! YOU CAN ADD TO THE COUNT! I'VE GOTTA SEE WHO WILL BE THE LAST TO DIE! YOU LOT, OR ME!'

"Of course I didn't stab him. I only flashed the sword before him and cried with my everything: Your Highness! Your Highness! Please come back! Look at yourself! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE BECOME!!

"He had smashed all the mirrors, and it had been a long time since he last looked at his own reflection. The blade of that sword was sharp and bright; it reflected his appearance then, and he also saw his own face.

"When he saw himself in the mirror, he suddenly stopped. The strength His Highness used to strangle me did not lessen, but, after who knows how long, he looked and looked, and suddenly, two lines of tears streamed from his eyes.

"When I saw his tears, I couldn't help but cry too. That reflection on the sword, such ugliness! Even with just a glance I found it disgusting, so why did I make him look at himself like this, to remind him that he was now such an ugly creature? I still couldn't bear it, and the sword fell from my hand, dropping to the ground.

"In the end, His Highness threw me away forcefully and said, scram. I ran away crawling and stumbling."

Having listened to this point in one go, that breath held in Xie Lian's throat finally let go some.

Guoshi also lowered his hands. "I ran far away, and escaped the Kingdom of Wuyong. And it wasn't long before the volcano of the Kiln erupted once again. This time, the entire Kingdom of Wuyong was completely buried, not a single soul saved. An entire country disappeared just like that.

"I escaped this calamity, but afterward, I never heard any news of His Highness again. It was as if he was also buried along with the Kingdom of Wuyong.

"I've trekked to the heavens before, and I've also cultivated on my own, so I've some achievements. I maintained the state of my body and drifted aimlessly throughout the mortal realm. I had served His Highness since I was young, and now that I didn't need to serve him any longer, I actually didn't know what to do. His Highness was gone, my three friends were also dead. I created three empty-shelled fakes, and made the fakes speak in their voices to talk to me, and play cards sometimes."

Having heard "empty-shelled fakes", Xie Lian's expression grew solemn.

Guoshi continued, "Later, my magic improved, so I also instilled the skills of my three friends into the fakes."

Xie Lian asked softly, "Were they the other three Guoshi?"

No wonder he always thought the other three Guoshi were rather strange; they never acted on their own, and they never socialized with him one-on-one either. So they were fakes, and if they left Guoshi's side they would be exposed.

Guoshi replied, "It's them. So, I suppose you are also the disciple of my three friends. Alas, I'm not them after all. The skill I could instill into the fakes was only twenty or thirty percent of their true strength, so not much could be taught. And those three fakes that had kept me company for so long had also been long destroyed by him too.

"After another one or two centuries, the heavenly dynasty changed, and the heavenly officials of the past were all fading away. Gradually, a new batch of heavenly officials replaced them. However, none of that was any of my business, and I was just living, shamelessly waiting for death.

"Until one day, in some Kingdom, a crown prince was born under the Ominous Star. That was you, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Xianle."

It was here at last. The hands Xie Lian rested on his thighs clenched slightly.

Guoshi sat cross-legged, and spoke, hugging his arms. "I thought it was quite coincidental, very much an affinity. But in truth, by then Wuyong had been destroyed for many, many years. Of course there'd be one or two after some hundreds of years, so it wasn't really a coincidence at all. But still, with a feeling even I didn't understand, I casually made up a name and went and became the Guoshi of Xianle."

"I knew that name was made up…" Xie Lian thought.

"No offense to your Xianle," Guoshi said. "But to muddle in and get the Guoshi position was much too easy for me. There was only one problem, and that was people always thought 'without a beard one is incapable'; those who were young must be inexperienced and incompetent, and would be looked down upon. If I went to the interview with my current face I might not pass, so I changed my face a little, added some ten, twenty years, and sure enough, I muddled right in. But to be the Guoshi, it meant I had to speak to the heavenly officials of the heavenly realm directly.

"Thus, I came face to face with Jun Wu.

"Jun Wu's appearance and that of the Highness I knew was completely different. Still, I was too familiar with him after all. After exchanging words a few times, I already had my suspicions. But they were still only suspicions. And even if I was suspicious, I didn't want to expose anything.

"He had already turned into someone else completely, and the faces on his face had also vanished. I thought the resentment of my three friends had dispersed, and if that was the case, then there was no need to bring up any old history and break this peace. So wasn't it fine if we both pretended not to have recognized each other?"

"If it was me, I would probably do the same," Xie Lian said.

"But we still couldn't pretend to the end," Guoshi said. "Because we both saw you.

"Your Highness, you must've guessed by now why I had such high hopes for you. You're very much like him. So, I had hoped you would become someone like the god he had wanted to become, and do what he couldn't do. You could use your perfection to remedy our regrets."

Hua Cheng, however, said flatly, "You've been mistaken from the start. They're not alike at all."

Guoshi gave him a look and said, "Of course you'd say they aren't similar now, but back then they were very much alike. And the bad thing was, they were too much alike."

He turned to Xie Lian again.

"That time at the God-Pleasing ceremony, you saved a small child fallen from the city wall, and I wasn't too pleased. It wasn't just because that incident stopped the ceremony, it was more so because that incident was too conspicuous. You had aroused Jun Wu's attention.

"Jun Wu started talking to me about you. He was very interested in you, and every time we spoke of you, I could vaguely tell there was something not right. But I could tell he genuinely liked you; it was the delight of having found a suitable good sprout, and he was thinking of appointing you up. Only, every time I'd use all sorts of reasons to urge him not to do so."

Xie Lian didn't want to believe that Jun Wu's affection towards him was all fake, but when he heard Guoshi confirm them to be sincere, his feelings became complicated, hard to describe.

"The turning point was Yinian Bridge," Guoshi said.

Having heard those three words, Xie Lian snapped back to attention.

Guoshi said, "Do you still remember that ghost at Yinian Bridge?"

Xie Lian replied quietly, "That was my chance at ascension, of course I remember."

"I already sensed something was wrong when you ran into that ghost," Guoshi said. "This ghost haunted a broken bridge in the barren wild, was donned in broken armour, the flames of karma beneath its feet, and blood and sharp weapons covered its body, leaving footprints of blood and flames behind with every step, and those three questions it asked you—all of that made me very concerned, worried even, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what was wrong. And after defeating that ghost at the bridge, you ascended so quickly, I didn't have the chance to figure things out.

"Thankfully, after you ascended, Jun Wu's attitude towards you was good as always, granting you favours, thinking very highly of you, like nothing had changed. So I also told myself not to think too much.

"And then, it was the great drought of Xianle, the rebellion of Yong'an, and—the appearance of that creature, White No-Face."

Xie Lian held his breath and was hanging on to every word.

Guoshi said, "I said so before, but at first I didn't know what that creature was at all. Even if the Human Face Disease had manifested, I only had suspicions, since parasitic resentful spirits aren't anything new, it'd just never so widely spread before. Plus, I was fairly resentful towards fate, so in the beginning, I thought White No-Face was born of nature, that it was the heavens that wanted to punish you.

"But as you came more and more in contact with that creature, and the Human Face Disease was getting more and more out of control—plus many, many other things on top of that—all of it was forcing me to think of the worst-case scenario."

"Many, many other things?" Xie Lian asked. "What do you mean? Such as?"

"That family of three, who fell to their deaths at the gates of the royal capital of Xianle," Guoshi replied.

Xie Lian stopped breathing. "That…was…?"

"Afterwards, I examined the corpses of those three people," Guoshi said. "And I discovered they weren't human at all, but three empty shells."

Xie Lian exclaimed, "But empty shells are hollow; they don't have organs and they can't bleed??"

"There wasn't any need for organs," Guoshi said. "Falling from such a height, the innards would of course be damaged. Just stuff some mushed flesh in the belly of the empty shells and pour in some bloody fluids, that would suffice. Among my three friends, there was one who was an expert in creating such crafty things; the technique to craft empty-shelled fakes was his creation from the start. He only taught the skill to us. The method to create empty-shelled fakes wasn't as widespread then. So, since my friends were all dead, who do you think could make such realistic empty-shelled fakes other than me?"

Xie Lian hung his head, his pupils shrunken.

That family of three who fell to their deaths before the gates of the royal capital of Xianle was a direct catalyst of the war. And those lives weren't real at all, they were a trap!

"Then why…didn't you tell me at the time?" Xie Lian questioned.

"I didn't dare to," Guoshi said. "If it really was him and I told you, then with your personality back then, wouldn't you have charged right up for vengeance? That wouldn't have saved you or Xianle at all, and would only hasten your annihilation. Besides, even without those three empty shells, there would sooner or later be…"

There would sooner or later be some other incidents that'd spark war. Just like that missing dog inside the capital.

"Later, you were defeated. Xianle was also defeated. I really couldn't hold back any longer, thus, I first sent away everyone at the Holy Royal Pavilion, then requested for his grace inside the Great Martial Temple. Then, I unmasked him directly."

This was what Jun Wu had mentioned; their meeting of eight hundred years ago.

Guoshi said, "I questioned him on a lot of things, but he wouldn't admit nor deny anything. Finally, I asked him: Your Highness, just what exactly do you want?

"He finally answered. He said that he wants you to become his perfect successor. If there was anyone in the world who could understand him completely, it was you. Once he succeeded, then you would never betray him!

"I understood his intention. In the heat of argument, we started fighting with our fists. I can't fight at all, and if I should then I would die without a doubt. He could kill me without moving a single finger. But right then, his expression suddenly changed and he covered his face. I was startled, and only then did I notice that upon his face, those three faces surfaced again!

"Turns out they didn't vanish at all, and he had been suppressing them with his spiritual powers! And now, for some reason—perhaps it was because of his high emotions, or because of me— they had come out again! Just like that, my three friends came out to stir up a riot, causing him agonizing headaches, his expression terrifying. I once again used that chance to run away.

"I started drifting in the mortal realm once again, and this time I had to hide all over the place, too. I wondered, just how were things where the Kingdom of Wuyong stood, back then? Thus, I returned to look. What I hadn't imagined was, this time when I returned, I would make great discoveries. For some reason, the land that belonged to the past Kingdom of Wuyong was sealed completely, isolated from the outside world. I walked for a long time in that land, and ran into my three friends again."

"Were they those three mountain spirits, Old Age, Sickness, and Death?" Xie Lian asked.

"Correct," Guoshi replied. "The Kiln devoured their bodies, and the ashes of their bones that were burnt to nothingness mixed with the ashes of the volcano, and were then blown out. With time, more and more residue layered. After a thousand years, they had transformed into three large mountains, with parts of their souls resting within.

"Finding ways to communicate with the friends who had become mountain spirits took me a long time, but after I succeeded, I learned many things. Turns out, the previous dynasty of heavenly officials didn't fade away naturally. Instead, they were killed slowly, one by one, by him. He…slaughtered the entire Heavenly Court, leaving no one behind!

"After washing the heavenly realm with blood, he returned to the mortal realm once again. He patiently waited for a time, changed to a new name, forged a new identity, became 'a mortal man', then 'ascended'. All of the previous heavenly officials of the heavenly realm were dead, no one knew who exactly he was, and no one knew what he looked like before. The widespread backstory of 'The Heavenly Martial Emperor' in the mortal realm, his background, his literary references, his interesting hearsays, appearance, character…it's all fake. They're all intricate lies he fabricated!

"This Heavenly Capital is the new heavenly realm he single-handedly created that's completely under his control. As for the corpses and ashes of the heavenly officials of the previous dynasty, they're all mixed into the foundation of this Heavenly Capital, trampled and stepped on by him each and every day. Right now, perhaps there's also someone beneath your feet."

"…"

Guoshi continued, "The him of now is the number one martial god of the heavenly realm, looking glorious and scintillating on the surface. However, in his heart, an infinite darkness is suppressed deep within. Resentment, pain, anger, hatred…those things needed release. Only then could he maintain balance within himself, and continue to be the number one martial god who ruled all three realms without murdering everything.

"The once-Kingdom of Wuyong had been turned into hell, and the Kiln had been fed with countless numbers of the living and three former heavenly officials, so it already recognized him as the master. Thus, he would regularly release those dark emotions within the Kiln, using the millions of deceased souls of Wuyong as kindling to start the flames of karma, and forged many malicious things."

"The method in forging those malicious things is different than creating a Supreme, right?" Xie Lian asked.

"Indeed," Guoshi replied. "Supremes were something that came later, since he…changed the refining method."

"What do you mean by that?" Xie Lian asked.

"The quality and quantity," Guoshi said.

He gave Hua Cheng another look.

"You both must know already that a Supreme is only born once every hundred years, once every several hundred years even. So, they are extremely rare, and the difficulty in their creation is also immense. And, the past life of the Supreme is an independent existence. The Kiln only provides an environment to increase the process of their explosive birth. Those who can become Supremes can become Supremes anywhere, and would become Supremes sooner or later.

"In fact, the word 'Supreme' was extracted from the meaning of 'Peerless' and 'Top'. It doesn't have much connection with whether one was trained inside the Kiln. Still, to be able to endure the refining of the Kiln would certainly make one such an entity, since there aren't that many who could suffer through in the first place. Up until now, aren't there only three?"

Xie Lian glanced at Hua Cheng who was right next to him, and it just so happened Hua Cheng was also looking at him. Although he didn't know why Xie Lian looked over, he still smiled.

Guoshi continued, "However, the earlier productions of the Kiln weren't like this. In the early days, there'd be a session once every few years, and each time the results would be different, as batches and batches poured out. Perhaps this had something to do with his unstable emotions. Everything produced were monsters forged by his hatred and resentment, and there are probably a few familiar names among them. For example—the Reverend of Empty Words."

"The Reverend of Empty Words is also something born of the Kiln?!" Xie Lian exclaimed.

"Correct," Guoshi replied. "Those creatures, some have their own consciousness and broke away from him; some don't, and they could be considered as his clones. The Reverend of Empty Words had its own consciousness, and after it left, it even divided itself into many smaller clones. My three friends guarded the borders of the Kingdom of Wuyong to prevent those things from leaving the ward, while I spent my years in the outside world searching for those creatures, trying to fix the situation."

Xie Lian suddenly recalled the strange attitude Guoshi had when he saw Shi Qingxuan. "Master! Lord Wind Master…the skilled fortune-telling master who told Shi Qingxuan's fortune back then, the one who told his family not to host feasts, was that you?"

"Duh," Guoshi said. "Other than your master, me, which other skilled fortune-telling master could be this accurate? Which fortune-telling master would be so free, that a bowl of porridge could pay for a session?"

"…"

"That Reverend of Empty Words had wanted to try and devour the young Shi Wudu at first," Guoshi said. "But Shi Wudu, that little bastard was too vicious, difficult to deal with even at such a young age. Nothing could get to him, and he was afraid of nothing; his fate so tyrannical it couldn't be swallowed. If it tried to bite forcibly it might just crack all of its teeth in a bloody mess, so it could only turn to his common little brother, with a fate of wealth. Although it still didn't manage to bite, it caused so much grief that those two brothers couldn't live in peace; plus, it bit one who originally had the fate to ascend, so it wasn't aggrieved. That I didn't kill that thing dead really gets to me."

"It's already been killed dead," Hua Cheng said.

"Devoured by He Xuan, right?" Guoshi said. "I've heard. I was going to watch over the Shi brothers until everything blew over, but at the time the Kiln was about to open its gates, so I couldn't follow them closely for long before I had to return to the Kiln. And by the time I came back, things were already a mess. Shi Wudu had turned to wickedness and caused a huge havoc, completely out of hand! It gave me such a headache, even if I wanted to care, I couldn't at that point."

It really did turn into something that couldn't be minded even if he wanted to.

Guoshi added, "But truth be told, the Reverend of Empty Words wasn't even considered anything particularly powerful among those monsters; it just likes to go out to stir up trouble. Strictly speaking, it could only be considered a defective product, not even rankable. There were more, such as…"

Xie Lian said quietly, "Such as…the soul of the one who died in battle at Yinian Bridge?"

Guoshi sucked in a breath. "…It was him. Otherwise, why do you think I'd say everything started because of your one phrase? That ghost at the bridge was a black clone he forged out of the Kiln; every so many years it had to come out to haunt and kill to vent its hatred. But, you just had to defeat that monster!

"He could sense that the ghost at the bridge was killed by someone, so he descended immediately to see, and he saw you. And you. You just had to say that phrase to his face— 'Body in abyss; heart in paradise'. This was a mad jab at him, a fatal blow…

"This was the turning point of everything."