“…”

Although Hua Cheng only took a quick glance, Xie Lian believed that he would not have counted wrongly.

He spoke in a low voice, so no one could hear him except Xie Lian, who glanced around quickly.

Everyone here is holding hands. When did this extra person appear?

Could it be that Shi Qingxuan and the others had counted wrong? Xie Lian asked, “Are you sure there are this many people? Did you miss any?”

Shi Qingxuan assured him, "No! Didn't you say the number of people is important? So I kept counting, subtracting the ones who left, and it's 148. What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

It was not convenient to say it at the moment. If it was exposed rashly, it would only cause useless panic. It was also impossible to let everyone present point out who they did not know. After all, there were too many people and they did not know all of them. So, Xie Lian said, "No, I just confirmed it."

It was even more impossible for the sorcerers to count wrongly, because each family reported the number of people they had brought in, and then the Heavenly Eye opened and added them up. How could everyone not know how many people they had sent?

Xie Lian whispered, “When did this extra guy sneak in? What does he want to do?”

Hua Cheng said: "Either he sneaked in from the beginning, or he sneaked in with this group of sorcerers. And he must be a human."

At least it must not be a ghost. The people who make up this circle must all be living people, otherwise it would be impossible to trap these evil spirits.

Moreover, this person does not seem to want to be exposed for the time being. Because if he has already mixed into this circle, as long as he suddenly lets go and a loophole appears, the whole formation will be wiped out. But until now the circle is still stable, which shows that he has been playing the role of "iron bar" well.

They couldn't act rashly. If that person realized that he had been discovered, no one knew whether he would turn around and run away. In other words, now they had to find this person without being noticed, and pull him out without destroying the circle. This was really difficult.

However, Xie Lian soon came up with a solution. He asked, "San Lang, can your Death Butterfly just chase away the evil spirits without killing them? I mean, drive them in the direction you specify?"

Hua Cheng immediately understood what he wanted to do and said, "Okay."

Since this person joined on his own initiative, he must be no simple character and is not afraid of these evil spirits at all.

Then, thinking about it the other way around, if Hua Cheng manipulated the dead butterflies to force the vengeful spirits out of the circle, they would certainly be driven everywhere, trying to find a loophole to escape. Almost every mortal could become a loophole, except for one person.

He is the one who took the initiative to join!

Xie Lian said, “However, this method is very risky. If we’re not careful, we might scare the others into giving up, and then we’ll end up shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Hua Cheng said: "Don't worry, I will kill the evil spirit first."

The two of them discussed it, and Xie Lian suddenly said, “Everyone be careful! The vengeful spirit has suddenly become stronger! Hold on tight and don’t be afraid!”

Tianyan said, "What! How could he suddenly become stronger?!"

Huacheng stood still, while the undead butterflies chased the evil spirits in the circle. Others couldn't see clearly, but the magicians and sorcerers could see something. Tianyan said angrily: "Huacheng... Lord! What are you trying to do?!"

The two people in the circle had no time to pay attention to them, but just concentrated on observing. Sure enough, in the black air currents that were running all over the sky, there was a person who the group of resentful spirits did not approach at all, so there was a sudden empty space in front of him.

it's him!

Xie Lian stepped forward and grabbed both of the man’s hands, then simultaneously connected his left and right hands together, pulling the man out of the ring!

Tianyankai and the others were in a commotion: "What's going on?!"

Hua Cheng said rudely, "It's none of your business." Before he finished speaking, he had already flashed to Xie Lian's side, guarding against the man's sudden attack. Xie Lian firmly restrained the man and turned him around. The moment the two faces met, Xie Lian swallowed the word "who" that had already rolled to the tip of his tongue and opened his eyes wide.

Looking at that face, he murmured: "National Master, it really is you..."

The man was also stuck, and after a while, he murmured, "Your Highness the Crown Prince..."

This face should be very familiar, but it was very strange. In his impression, the Imperial Master should be in his early thirties, fairly calm, and with a robe on and a dignified look, he could be quite intimidating. But the man in front of him now looked only twenty-five or twenty-six years old, not much older than him.

Even when Xie Lian heard this voice in the body of the mountain monster in Tonglu Mountain, he kept wondering if he had heard it wrong. Even when Jun Wu told him that your master is not an ordinary person and you must be careful, he was still wondering if the emperor had made a mistake. However, the person in front of him could not be wrong. It was his master, Mei Nianqing, the last national master of Xianle Country!

The three of them were facing each other in a circle of more than 300 people, and the air seemed to be stagnant. As soon as Mei Nianqing reacted, he did something unexpected the next moment.

While Xie Lian was stunned, he suddenly counterattacked, pounced on him, and grabbed his throat with both hands!

However, Hua Cheng was standing right next to him, how could he succeed? He didn't even need to make a move, Mei Nianqing's body flew backwards and fell several feet away. Something strange happened, and everyone who was holding hands and forming a circle was shocked: "Why did they start fighting?!" "What are they doing?!" "Who are they hitting?!"

Hua Cheng said: "Brother! Are you okay?"

Xie Lian said, “It’s alright!” In fact, it looked like the Imperial Master was in more trouble. Mei Nianqing fell and spat out a mouthful of blood, then he got up and stumbled out of the crowd. Shi Qingxuan saw him rushing over here and said nervously, “What do you want to do! Hey, I warned you not to come over here? Your Highness, he wants to break through this circle!”

Xie Lian shouted, “Come back!”

Ruo Xie flew out in response! But before it could wrap around Mei Nianqing, a sword fell from the sky and stabbed in front of the national teacher, blocking his way; then, a white light suddenly appeared in the sky, and several light curtains poured down. Along with the light curtain, a white-armored warrior fell from the sky and blocked his retreat!

Mei Nianqing was blocked from front and back, with nowhere to escape. He turned around and happened to meet Ruo Xie who was dancing wildly with ecstasy. In a few swipes, he tied him up and threw him to the ground. Xie Lian stepped forward and asked, "Emperor? Why did you come in person?"

Jun Wu stood up and said solemnly, "The situation over at Tonglu Mountain has been stabilized for the time being. Let me come to your side to see what the situation is like."

Xie Lian asked, “How did you keep it steady?”

Jun Wu said: "A new boundary was set up to temporarily trap the three mountain monsters and other inhuman creatures."

Xie Lian was most concerned about the mountain monsters and other insignificant little demons, so he asked, “Then… where is Bai Wuxiang?”

Jun Wu shook his head slowly and said, "We didn't find him in Tonglu Mountain. I'm afraid he has already escaped to somewhere else."

Xie Lian looked around. A blinding light curtain surrounded them, separating them from the more than 300 people holding hands outside. Right now, the people outside the curtain could not see what was going on inside. He looked at the ground again. The Imperial Master turned over and saw Jun Wu. He probably remembered the previous fierce battle. His face was shocked and angry, but he knew the situation and dared not speak. Jun Wu also lowered his head slightly, looked down at him, and said slowly: "Imperial Master Xianle, long time no see."

Hua Cheng walked up slowly, took a look, and said, "This state teacher looks so weak, how did he escape in the first place?"

Jun Wu said: "He didn't escape by himself. At that time, he had three helpers with him. They were the other three imperial masters of Xianle."

Hearing this, Xie Lian couldn’t help but ask, “National Master, who… who are you?”

Mei Nianqing looked at Jun Wu with a gloomy face, clenched his hands, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged. He didn't know whether he hated Jun Wu for disrupting his plan or hated him for revealing his true identity in front of Xie Lian. After a long while, he whispered, "Haven't you guessed it, Your Highness?"

One of the four guardian gods of Prince Wuyong!

Xie Lian asked, “What about Prince Wuyong? Is he Bai Wuxiang?”

Hearing this, Jun Wu was startled and asked, "Xianle, who is Crown Prince Wuyong?"

Xie Lian then remembered that he had not yet had time to tell Jun Wu about the Wuyong Kingdom. Finally, the Imperial Master was captured. Xie Lian had many things to explain and many questions to ask, which were not convenient to deal with here. He said, "Emperor, let's go back to Heaven and talk about it."

Jun Wu said, "Okay." After a moment's silence, he added, "But most of the resentful spirits in the copper furnace have been transmitted to the imperial city. They cannot be suppressed in a short time. Even for me, it will take seven days and seven nights to completely purify them."

Does that mean we have to wait seven days before we can interrogate the Imperial Master? That would be too late, as Bai Wuxiang's whereabouts are still unknown! Xie Lian was just thinking about what to do when he heard Hua Cheng say, "Leave this to me. You just go up."

Xie Lian turned to look at him. Hua Cheng had already guessed what he was thinking and said, “No need to say anything else. I’ll wait for you here. If you really want to thank me, come down and find me soon.”

Jun Wu said: "Is this feasible?"

Xie Lian smiled and said, “Yes, that’s feasible.”

At this moment, a figure suddenly flashed on the light curtain, and a man rushed in from outside, limping and jumping, shouting, "Your Highness! Your Highness, what are you doing in there? Are you okay?"

It was Shi Qingxuan. It turned out that when Jun Wu came down, he pulled a light curtain to prevent others from seeing him. People outside didn't know what was going on and were scared to death. Shi Qingxuan volunteered to rush in to see what was going on. If it were someone else, they might have been stopped, but he had been a priest before, and the light curtain knew him, so they let him in. As soon as he came in, he was stunned: "Emperor, Emperor, Emperor??? Why... did you come down in person?!"

Jun Wu saw him, smiled slightly, and said, "Master Fengshi, how are you?"

“…”

Shi Qingxuan was embarrassed, feeling a little awkward. After all, he couldn't have been unaware that once the fact that Shi Wudu changed his brother's fate and sent him to heaven was exposed, it would definitely cause a big uproar. Seeing his former boss again at this time, he really didn't dare to think of anything else except shame and guilt. Jun Wu didn't say anything to him, but was still very polite and gave him enough face. Xie Lian took Ruo Xie, and Mei Nianqing slowly stood up by himself. Shi Qingxuan was embarrassed and asked in confusion: "Who is this? What's going on now?"

Mei Nianqing glanced at him and suddenly asked, "You are Shi Qingxuan, right?"

Shi Qingxuan was stunned and asked, "Who are you? How do you know my name?" Most importantly, how could he recognize me when he was in such a state? ? ?

Mei Nianqing snorted, "Your name is not a good one either."

Shi Qingxuan was puzzled: "Huh?"

Mei Nianqing didn't say anything else and followed Jun Wu consciously. He looked quite honest, probably because he knew that he had no helpers around him and he couldn't escape from Jun Wu even if he was not tied up.

Jun Wu said: "Xianle, I'll take him upstairs first. Will you come back later?"

Xie Lian said, “Yes.”

Jun Wu nodded to him. After the two men left, Xie Lian turned to Hua Cheng. Before he could say anything, Hua Cheng said, "Brother, don't worry. Just guard this circle and make sure they don't cause any trouble. It won't be a big deal."

Shi Qingxuan also said: "Your Highness, do you want to go up first? Go ahead, I will watch you too, don't worry!"

Xie Lian nodded and said, “Thank you for your hard work.”

In the past, Hua Cheng would probably answer "Nothing" or something like that, but this time, he crossed his arms and sighed, "Oh, it's really hard."

“…”

Xie Lian felt like he was hinting at something. Shi Qingxuan, however, was completely unaware and said cheerfully, “Yeah, just remember to reward us later. I suggest that we hold a banquet at the best restaurant in the Imperial City. How about that? Hahaha…”

He was still obsessed with holding a banquet at the best restaurant in the Imperial City. Xie Lian thought to himself, “…Master Feng, please stop talking. He doesn’t mean what you think…”

Hua Cheng shook his head, and casually played with the red coral beads hanging from the thin braid. He raised his eyebrows and said casually, "It would be fine if my brother was around. Thinking that my brother is going to heaven again and leaving me alone down there, well, I feel even more miserable."

Shi Qingxuan finally felt that it was a bit strange, but still couldn't figure it out. He said with a smile: "Xueyu Tanhua, why are you talking so interestingly? I thought you were saying that the Crown Prince is going back to heaven and you are lonely. Why do you act like a newlywed? Hahaha..."

“…”

Xie Lian thought to himself, “You’re not wrong, isn’t that what he meant?”

Shi Qingxuan laughed awkwardly for a long time. Xie Lian couldn’t help it anymore. He coughed lightly and said, “Master Fengshi, can you please go out for a while?”

Shi Qingxuan: “??? Why?”

Xie Lian was unable to explain, so he said, “You…just go out first. We’re just saying goodbye.”

Shi Qingxuan then went out in confusion. There were only the two of them inside the light curtain, no one else. Xie Lian turned around again. Hua Cheng was still looking at him with one eyebrow raised, as if waiting for him to say something or do something.

So, Xie Lian gritted his teeth and placed his hands stiffly on Hua Cheng’s shoulders. After a moment’s pause, he suddenly leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

After the kiss, he looked back guiltily, and when he saw no one around, he felt relieved. Unexpectedly, the next moment, his waist tightened, and it was Hua Cheng who hugged him, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Brother, are you being too perfunctory to me?"

There was a half-hearted dissatisfaction in his tone, which made people feel a little dangerous. Xie Lian was startled and said hurriedly, “No!”

Hua Cheng said, "Really? It wasn't like this when you asked me to borrow your magic power. If I don't lend you my magic power, will this be the only farewell I can get?"

“…”

Thinking about it this way, Xie Lian felt that it was not sincere. After a moment, he whispered, "...I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."

However, after apologizing, he actually thought more and more that it looked like that was what he meant. Alarm bells rang in his heart, fearing that Huacheng really misunderstood. Without waiting for his response, he jumped up and hugged Huacheng's neck and rubbed against him again. This time, he kissed Huacheng where he wanted.

Unexpectedly, Shi Qingxuan's voice suddenly came: "Your Highness, this is weird. You didn't even let me go after saying goodbye? I am... Your Highness, the Crown Prince? Are you leaving so soon?"

Xie Lian fled, tumbling and crawling.