Unexpectedly, no one in the spiritual communication formation was listening to him. It seemed that something big had happened, and the priests were all arguing. Xie Lian heard Feng Xin shouting, "Your Highness? What did you say? It's a mess here..."

Xie Lian raised his voice and said, “Feng Xin! I said, Ling Wen is the one who created the Jin Yi Xian. She ran away wearing the Jin Yi Xian. Be careful of her!”

Feng Xin: "What?! Is there such a thing?!"

Xie Lian was about to elaborate when the noise in his ears suddenly stopped and he could hear nothing. He was stunned for a moment and said, "Everyone? Are you still here?"

After shouting a few times, no one answered. Hua Cheng said, "It's no use. The spiritual formation in the upper heaven was built by Ling Wen. She must have broken up the entire formation just now. We have to rebuild it."

Xie Lian asked, “What should I do?” Usually, he could contact the Heavenly Court through either the Spiritual Array or the Spiritual Text, or the Wind Master. He didn’t know the passwords of the other priests. Now, the Spiritual Text and the Wind Master were definitely hopeless, and the Array was also destroyed. What should he do?

Hua Cheng seemed to see his worry and said, "Don't worry, didn't my brother just explain the most important thing? Not all the priests in the heaven are good-for-nothings. Jun Wu is also in Xianjing recently, so just inform him."

Xie Lian thought the same and nodded. He ran wildly, over several hills, and had left the group of mages far behind, but Jin Yixian and Quan Yizhen could not catch up. Hua Cheng said again: "If brother still wants to investigate Jin Yixian, he should hurry up and chase him now."

Xie Lian shook his head and said, “That was before. Qiying has already gone after Lingwen. We have more important things to do right now. Sanlang.” He stared at Huacheng in his arms and said, “You seem to have changed again.”

Before, Hua Cheng was dressed as Lang Ying, and he looked like a teenager of fifteen or sixteen. It was difficult for Xie Lian to hold him, and even if he did, it would not look good. But now, Hua Cheng's size has shrunk again, and he looks no more than eleven or twelve years old. Xie Lian can already hold him with one hand and let him sit on his arm. But even if he is young, Hua Cheng's calm aura has not changed. He said, "It's okay. Brother, don't worry. The day of opening the mountain is approaching, and changing the form is just a stopgap measure. After this period, the original me will be back."

As he spoke, he untied the bandage on his face. On his snow-white face, a pair of dark and deep eyes looked at Xie Lian, and between his eyebrows and eyes, one could vaguely see a few traces of the handsome boy. Although it was a childish face, his expression was as unhurried as ever.

Xie Lian stared at him blankly without saying a word.

Hua Cheng frowned slightly and said, "Your Highness, you..."

Xie Lian suddenly stretched out his other hand and pinched his cheek.

Caught off guard, Hua Cheng's face was deformed by his pinch. He opened his eyes wide and said, "...Brother!"

Xie Lian laughed, “Hahahahahahaha… I’m sorry, Sanlang, you’re just too cute. I really couldn’t help it, hahahaha…”

“…”

Xie Lian gently pinched him and said softly, “Then, San Lang, will you continue to change? Will you become five or six years old? Or even a baby?”

Hearing his expectant tone, Hua Cheng said helplessly: "I'm afraid I'll disappoint my brother."

Xie Lian let go of his hand and smiled, “No, San Lang never lets me down. I’m really happy to have the chance to protect you.”

Hua Cheng whispered, "I'm not happy."

Xie Lian asked, “Why?”

Hua Cheng said in a slightly cold voice: "I... hate this look the most!"

Xie Lian actually heard a hint of hatred in his tone and was stunned. Hua Cheng lowered his head and said, "I don't want you to see me like this, and I don't want you to protect me!"

Maybe it was because Hua Cheng was getting younger, but his emotions seemed to have changed a bit. Xie Lian's heart moved slightly, and he quickly hugged him into his arms, patted his back gently, and said with a smile: "According to what you said, you have seen me in a mess many times, do I want to die? And you are not really useless now, you are just conserving your strength temporarily."

"..." Hua Cheng buried his face in his shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "It's different. Your Highness, I must be the strongest. I want to make myself stronger than everyone else. Only in this way can I..."

Although his voice was childish at the moment, it carried a hint of fatigue. Xie Lian said, "You are the strongest. However, you don't need to be like this all the time. Just... give me some face once in a while and let me protect you once, okay? Please, okay?"

After a long while, Hua Cheng finally raised his head from his arms, placed his hands on Xie Lian’s shoulders, looked at him, and said, “Your Highness, wait for me.”

Xie Lian said, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

Hua Cheng promised earnestly: "Give me some time, I will be back soon."

Xie Lian smiled and said, “Don’t be impatient, take your time.”

The next day, the two came to a small town.

Xie Lian led Hua Cheng by the hand, and the two of them walked slowly on the street, seemingly chatting casually. Xie Lian said, "The Tonglu Mountain has reopened, and the previous Ghost King was affected by the shock. Will the Black Water be affected as well?"

Hua Cheng held one hand in his hand, and put the other hand behind his back, and said: "Yes. But our situations are different, the way of cultivation is different, and the way of coping with stress is also different."

Xie Lian asked, “For example? How does he respond to stress?”

Hua Cheng said: "Maybe, hibernation."

Eight words suddenly appeared in Xie Lian’s mind: “Eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are hungry.”

Hua Cheng said: "When Heishui was a human, he was imprisoned. He only had one meal every three days in prison. Even if he was given swill, he had to eat it. His stomach was damaged by hunger. Sometimes he was overeating, and sometimes he was anorexic."

Xie Lian seemed to be thinking about something, and said, “No wonder he is so good at swallowing things.”

In fact, according to He Xuan's situation, he can focus on devouring hungry ghosts, because he has this attribute, and starving ghosts should be more to his liking. But among the more than 500 famous ghosts swallowed by the Black Water Mysterious Ghost, water ghosts accounted for the vast majority. I think he remembered Shi Wudu's face and did it intentionally to break his water magic. And if he swallowed too much, he would need to sleep and digest it after a period of time. Hua Cheng said: "That's right. By the way, Qi Rong's greed for human flesh is intended to imitate him."

Xie Lian was speechless for a moment, thinking, “How can eating humans and eating ghosts be the same?” After thinking for a while, he said, “Could that forest of hanging corpses be meant to imitate you?”

Hua Cheng said: "That's right. He also wanted the bloody rain, but he didn't know how I could do it, so he simply and crudely hung a row of dead bodies in the sky."

“…”

By now, Xie Lian could fully understand why it was so hard to describe Qi Rong. The formalities were fulfilled, but the taste was still low. He sighed and thought, "The millet was taken away by Qi Rong. I wonder if he ate it or threw it away. Wind Master... I wonder if Hei Shui took him away. I hope they are all safe." He then said, "Is everything okay in the ghost market? Will anyone go and cause trouble?"

Hua Cheng said: "Before I left, I had already sealed off the ghost market and released some false information about my whereabouts. Even if someone was looking for trouble, I wouldn't make it too difficult for them if they couldn't find me. But right now, there must be a lot of eyes watching that place."

Hua Cheng couldn't go back to the ghost market, and Xie Lian couldn't take him to heaven. It would be terrible if they were discovered by the priests, so the two of them wandered aimlessly in the crowd of the human world.

Xie Lian frowned slightly, “You spread the false news, but Lingwen leaked the real news. I still can’t figure out how she could see through you pretending to be Lang Ying.”

Hua Cheng said: "What I don't understand is another thing."

Xie Lian asked, “What?”

Hua Cheng said: "I have played tricks on that stinky Taoist priest 'Sky Eye Open' a few times. He is quite capable."

Xie Lian agreed, “Yes, that’s true. He does have real talent and knowledge.”

Hua Cheng said: "Well, then, why did he say that there is a ghost on your lips, brother?"

“…”

Xie Lian's hand tightened suddenly, but when he remembered that it was still holding Hua Cheng, he quickly relaxed. Hua Cheng said in a deep voice: "Brother, don't fool me with the words you use to coax those fools. Tell me what I did to you that night."

“…”

Xie Lian thought, “Maybe, it’s not about what you did to me, but what I did to you…”

Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he said, "Wait, Sanlang, look over there."

Hua Cheng said: "Brother?"

Xie Lian had already led him into a very luxurious and lavish shop on the side of the road. The shopkeeper looked at this strange combination of one big and one small, one Taoist and one vulgar, and said, "What would this Taoist priest like to order?"

Xie Lian lifted Hua Cheng up and said with a smile, “It’s not me, it’s him.”

Hua Cheng tilted his head in his hands.

After a stick of incense burned, Hua Cheng came out from the back room.

The clothes that Lang Ying wore originally were for a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, so they were no longer suitable for Hua Cheng. Xie Lian specially picked out a new one for him. As soon as he came out, Xie Lian's eyes suddenly lit up.

What a young man with skin as white as snow!

He was wearing a red dress that looked like maple leaves and a pair of deerskin boots with silver chains, looking handsome and impressive. He had loose black hair, and previously he had only braided a very thin braid on the right side of his cheek. Xie Lian couldn't help but braid one on the left side as well, making it symmetrical and even more playful. The most outrageous thing was his expression, which was full of pride and calmness. He didn't look like a child at all! Such a contrast made it impossible to look away. The girls who were shopping in the store were all stunned, and they gathered in a circle around him. They couldn't help but cover their chests and cried out "ouch, ouch".

Hua Cheng walked slowly to Xie Lian, who clapped his hands softly and said, "As expected, San Lang is still most suitable for red."

Hua Cheng pulled the small braid on his left side helplessly and said, "As long as my brother is happy."

Xie Lian put his arm around him, smiled and went to the front of the store to pay. Hua Cheng's clothes were not cheap. Xie Lian had no pocket money on weekdays, and would never go to such a store, but he had saved a small amount of money for repairing his house. Now, there was no need to repair it, and he didn't want to worry about other things. He bought clothes for Hua Cheng first. Just as he was slowly counting the copper coins and silver pieces one by one, Hua Cheng squeezed in front of him and slapped a piece of gold foil in front of the shopkeeper with a "pop".

Xie Lian: “…”

boss:"……"

Girls: “…”

Hua Cheng said: "No need to look for it. Brother, let's go."

He pulled at Xie Lian's clothes, put his hands behind his back and walked out of the store first. Xie Lian smiled and walked a few steps. Suddenly, Hua Cheng retreated back and bumped into his arms. Xie Lian held his shoulders and said, "What's the matter?" He looked up and saw a figure in the crowd on the street, and his heart was also lifted. At this moment, the boss said, "Do you two want to buy anything else?"

Xie Lian raised his hand and said, “Yes. Please take that piece of clothing down and give it to me!”