Heavenly Palace Raid, a Short Salutation to Scare the Gods
Silver shimmered turbulently, and without thinking, Xie Lian's first reaction was to block with his hand, and the RuoYe on his arm, if the situation called for it, would attack automatically. Yet, those silver butterflies never charged towards him, and instead, flew around him to attack the two behind who were fist fighting just moments ago.
Feng Xin and Mu Qing suffered before in the hands of those wraithe butterflies, knew how powerful they were, and didn't dare to be careless. They both raised their hands at the same time and cried, "SHIELD!"
Millions of silver butterflies jetted towards them, flapping their wings like blasting winds, but there was an invisible wall blocking them, and the butterflies smashed against it like a thunderstorm, hailing and battering. White lights flared from the friction like sparks. It appeared that the two had casted a spell to shield, but even against a magical shield the wraith butterflies were forceful and endless, crazy like moths to flames. Even with a spiritual defense the two seemed to be pushed back by the relentless deluge of butterflies.
A moment of carelessness and the enemy took the upper hand. If they didn't release the shield the butterflies will push closer, if they did, there'd still be no chance for them to grab for their weapons, and both Feng Xin and Mu Qing mentally swore, gritting their teeth to hang on. Feng Xin took a glance and saw Xie Lian was still standing where he was, his head lowered, and shouted immediately, "Your Highness, don't stand there, come behind the shield!"
Yet, when Xie Lian turned his head, not a single hair was harmed. He frowned, "Huh?"
The two looked closely and almost spat blood from angry shock on the spot. Xie Lian had in his hand a wraith butterfly, looking rather confused. Earlier when the butterflies were gusting through like wild winds, there was one that was a little slow and couldn't follow. It'd flapped with difficulty in front of Xie Lian, and he thought it worked really hard but the poor little silver butterfly couldn't fly anymore, so he subconsciously extended his palm just beneath it. That silver butterfly landed on his palm, wings still flapping, but refused to leave anymore.
Both Feng Xin and Mu Qing popped veins, "DON'T TOUCH THAT THING WITH YOUR HAND!!!"
Just then, Xie Lian felt a tightening on his wrist – someone had gotten a hold of him, and pulled hard. His entire person was pulled into the darkness beyond the door.
Yet, although he was shrouded in the dark, he didn't feel any alarm or insecurity. This darkness was like a layer of gentle armour; not only did he not sense danger, it actually somehow calmed him down.
Even if the person behind the darkness hadn't shown himself, but with the silver butterflies, would it be hard to guess who it was? Mu Qing cried in disbelief, "What impudence to come all the way to the heavenly court! What arrogance!"
A voice laughed, "We're all the same. Wasn't the Upper Court impudent in my territory?"
Even if Xie Lian already knew who it was that grabbed him, but hearing the familiar voice from so close, he was still a little startled. Feng Xin shouted, "Hua Cheng, the
Heavenly Martial Emperor is here in the Heavenly Court. You let him go!"
Hua Cheng clicked his tongue, "Then let's see if you have the skill."
As he finished his words, the giant doors closed heavily with a bang.
Xie Lian could feel Hua Cheng holding him tightly with one hand, taking him to an unknown destination. It was black all around them, and the silver bells on the black boots clinged and clanged in his ears. The ground beneath their feet were uneven; it really wasn't the bright, glorious roads of heaven, but moreso a wild valley.
Hua Cheng must've used the Distance Shortening array to connect the front gates of the Palace to Xian Le to some valley. But to connect the Heavenly Court to somewhere else using the Distance Shortening Array was no easy feat, at least, only a handful of heavenly officials could do it, so how had he done it? Xie Lian was about to speak when a voice exploded in his ear, "YOUR HIGHNESS! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
The angry roar came from Feng Xin. His voice was in his ear but his person was not. It was all shouted within the communication array. Xie Lian's eardrums hurt from the noise, and many of the heavenly officials were also blasted out, asking in fright, "What's going on, General Nan Yang? Did something happen?"
Mu Qing entered the communication array too, "Bad news! Where's Ling Wen? Report to the Emperor, Xie Lian's escaped!"
He usually spoke gently and courteously, but now his voice was laced with worry and anxiety. Ling Wen reacted immediately, "What? I'll go to the Palace of Xian Le to take a look!"
An official cried in shock, "The laug... His Royal Highness ran away? Wasn't he detained in the Palace of Xian Le?!"
Shi Qing Xuan entered the communication array too, "I just saw a bunch of Middle Court martial officials guarding the palace, you can only enter but not leave, so how could he escape?"
Feng Xin shouted, "HE DIDN'T RUN AWAY, HE WAS KIDNAPPED! Your Highness can you still hear us speak? Where are you right now??"
In that moment, everyone spoke, and they all talked loudly, each asking for answers.
The mess of the Guoshi Fang Xin and Lang Qian Qiu hadn't even cleared yet. Jun Wu detained Xie Lian, but the person in question was gone! Wasn't this starting more problems and gossip? Either way they must find the person first, so Ling Wen rushed to check on the situation, to see if she could locate Xie Lian. Feng Xin and Mu Qing were yelling within the communication array, looking for skilled martial gods to give chase, and Shi Qing Xuan released many more waves of merits. The communication array was in complete chaos, loud and tumultuous, to the point where Xie Lian couldn't even get a word in. He took a deep breath and was about to tell everyone to calm down when Hua Cheng suddenly turned around, and two fingers came forward.
Those cold digits gently touched his temple, and Hua Cheng laughed, "Haha. Long time no see. How's everyone doing?"
With the soft touch of his two fingers, Hua Cheng entered the heavenly communication array through Xie Lian. His casual greeting was heard not just by Xie Lian, but all the heavenly officials hustling within the communication array, and they all fell into a dead silence.
"..."
"..."
"..."
There was a silent uproar in everyone's minds.
No wonder!! Such arrogance could only come from That Person!
Hua Cheng continued, "I don't know if you all missed me, but I didn't think about any of you at all."
"..."
There were indeed many heavenly officials in the heavens who secretly thought about him everyday, but hearing that Hua Cheng didn't think about them at all, they all chanted heavenly blessings thank you thank you thank you please continue to never think of us. Then, Hua Cheng snickered, "However, I've been fairly free recently. If anyone is feeling bored and want to tussle with me, by all means they're welcome to."
"..."
Under the circumstances, his intent was more than obvious: "If anyone is brave enough to give chase, I'll challenge that person next time."
It'd be a challenge they're sure to lose and have their faces sweep the floor. Wasn't this a blatant threat??
Earlier when they heard Xie Lian ran away or was kidnapped, the communication array roared to life. It was after all a rare riot, and all cared deeply; some martial gods were even ready to heed the call, prepared to give chase. However, with only three lines from Hua Cheng, all such passion disappeared. If Jun Wu gave command to send whoever to pursue, then it couldn't be helped; it'd be official business. But this was something that just happened, everything was still a mess, so naturally no one wanted to bring trouble to themselves. No one wanted Hua Cheng to remember them. Thus, they all pretended they weren't present, but their ears were attentive to the development of this situation, and their hearts anxious and shook. This Crimson Rain Sought Flower was overly fearless! To come all the way to the heavens just to kidnap, and the kidnapped was that laughingstock of the three realms – was there some deeply rooted grudge or what???
Silence befell the communication array; only Feng Xin continued to swear, and Hua Cheng removed his fingers after making his speech. "Don't mind them." He said to Xie Lian.
"San Lang..." Xie Lian blurted, but Hua Cheng let go of his hand.
"We're too close to the Heavenly Court. Let's hurry." Hua Cheng said.
His voice was low, and his tone was hard to discern. Yet his letting go of Xie Lian's wrist was swift, almost as if shaken off. Xie Lian was immediately reminded of the first time they met and how he evaded his touch. Xie Lian froze on the spot.
He originally wanted to ask Hua Cheng why he'd appear so suddenly. Although he didn't think deeply about it, he sort of felt maybe he came to rescue him, so when he called out 'San Lang' just now, he was a little happy. But with how Hua Cheng shook off his hand, Xie Lian suddenly realized: why did he think Hua Cheng would come to rescue him? Nevermind thinking whether if Hua Cheng cared to follow his actions that closely, he'd only just escaped the Ghost City after setting Paradise Manor on fire. It was more likely that Hua Cheng came knocking for paybacks, for revenge?
Hua Cheng caught, imprisoned, and interrogated the Lord Earth Master who went undercover as a spy, that was the undeniable truth, but the fault naturally laid with the one who went undercover. Yet, he snuck into the Ghost City, burrowed all over Paradise Manor to find said person, and set off fire. Even if in the end Paradise Manor burnt the way it did was because Shi Qing Xuan fanned the flames, the first kindle in the armoury was started by him. Others might not even have thought of setting anything on fire, so no matter what Xie Lian needed to take responsibility.
The two walked, one behind the other. The more Xie Lian thought, the worse he felt, and the guiltier he became. "...San Lang, I'm sorry." He apologized.
Hua Cheng suddenly paused in his step, "Why are you apologizing?"
Xie Lian stopped too, "I went to the Ghost City for investigating the missing Earth Master. I didn't tell you the truth yet you treated me with utmost hospitality, but I even burnt down your Paradise Manor. I feel really bad."
Hua Cheng didn't say anything. Xie Lian also knew that "I feel really bad" really didn't amount to much, and felt even more ashamed. He lightly cleared his throat, "But I reckon I'll be banished soon. After I descend I'll for sure think of a way to repay you, see if I could..."
"Why do you have to repay me?" Hua Cheng interrupted.
His tone was a little hard as if he couldn't listen any more, and he turned around in a fit,
"Did you forget that my blade wounded your arm? I hurt you, not the other way around. Why do you have to repay me?"
Xie Lian never thought his right arm was in pain, and even now he completely forgot his right hand was injured. He paused then said, "My right arm? My right arm's fine. It'll be better soon. Besides, it only became like this because I rushed forward to strike, so you're not to blame?"
Hua Cheng watched him intently, his left eye unusually bright. Xie Lian suddenly noticed that he appeared to be shaking.
After a moment, Xie Lian realized it wasn't Hua Cheng who was shaking, but the scimitar E-Ming on his waist.
That silver scimitar, hung upon red robes, was shaking nonstop. The eye contoured by a silver line was also trembling. If it was the eye of a child, then this child, at that moment in time, must be bawling with tears.