Not sure if it was an illusion, but Xie Lian felt that Hua Cheng's shoulders seemed to stiffen for a moment.

After a moment, Hua Cheng said calmly, "I told you that next time I see you, I will use my original appearance."

Xie Lian smiled, patted his shoulder, and said sincerely, “Very good.”

Neither teasing nor comforting, he said nothing more, just taking it easy. Hua Cheng smiled, and this time, his expression was truly normal. The two walked a few steps, and Xie Lian suddenly remembered an important thing that he had not yet confirmed with Hua Cheng. He took off the silver chain on his chest and said, "By the way, is this something you left behind?"

Hua Cheng glanced at the ring and smiled, "It's for you."

Xie Lian asked, “What is this?”

Hua Cheng said: "It's not a valuable thing, just take it for fun."

Although he said so, Xie Lian knew that this thing must not be that simple, and said, “Thank you very much, Sanlang.”

Seeing him put the ring back on, Hua Cheng's eyes flickered. Xie Lian looked around and said, "When I heard you say you were going to Jilefang in the gambling house, I thought Jilefang was some kind of brothel. Now it seems more like a singing and dancing place."

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Brother, what are you talking about? I never go to places with fireworks."

This really surprised Xie Lian, and he asked, “Really?”

Hua Cheng said: "Of course I take it seriously."

The two walked to the black jade couch and sat side by side. He then said, "I built this place for fun. It's considered one of my residences. Come and hang out when you have time. If you don't have time, just ignore it."

Xie Lian said, “So this is your home.”

Hua Cheng corrected her, "Residence. Not home."

After chatting for a while, Xie Lian said, “Sanlang, I have something I might need to ask you for help. I wonder if you are free.”

Hua Cheng said: "What's the matter? You can tell me directly if you have something to say at my place."

After a moment of silence, Xie Lian said, “I was dealing with some things in Yujun Mountain before, and I met a young man who might have some connection with my homeland.”

When he heard the word "origin", Hua Cheng narrowed his eyes and said nothing. Xie Lian continued, "But I didn't handle it properly at the time and scared him away. Later, I asked someone to search for his whereabouts, but I never saw him again. I was wandering around in your ghost market just now, and it seems that I ran into him by accident. Sanlang is the owner of this place. I wonder if you can help me find him? The young man had bandages on his face and just ran away from the gate of Ji Le Fang."

Hua Cheng didn't say much. He stood up and whispered a few words, as if he was communicating with someone. After a while, he sat down again and said with a smile, "Okay, wait."

He was the master of the Ghost Market, so naturally he could do things more conveniently than him. Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Thank you so much again.”

Hua Cheng said: "That's nothing. But, are you just going to abandon Lang Qianqiu like this?"

Xie Lian thought, if Lang Qianqiu was here, he would be so straightforward, and it was hard to say what would happen next. It would be better to meet up later. He said casually, "I was at the gambling house just now. His Highness Taihua may have caused you trouble. I'm sorry."

Hua Cheng's face showed that contemptuous smile again, and he said, "No way. He is not qualified to be a problem."

Xie Lian said, “His Highness Taihua is just like that by nature. When he saw that gambling game, he felt that he had to stop it, so he acted on impulse.”

Hua Cheng said calmly: "That's because he has too little experience. Between letting himself live ten years longer and letting the enemy live ten years less, he chose the latter without hesitation. This is human hatred." After that, he sneered again, crossed his arms, and said: "A fool like Lang Qianqiu can also ascend to heaven. There is really no one in the heaven."

“…”

Xie Lian rubbed his brows with a guilty conscience, thinking, “You can’t say that. After all, a rag collector like me can ascend to heaven…”

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Sanlang, this may be overstepping the mark, but I'll still say one more thing. Your gambling house is very dangerous, and I'm afraid something will happen one day."

This kind of gambling, betting on men and women, betting on people's lifespans and sudden deaths, is really a sin. Moreover, it's okay if it's a small fight, but if the bet is too big one day, the heaven will not be able to sit idly by sooner or later. Hearing this, Hua Cheng looked at him and said, "Your Highness, have you asked Lang Qianqiu why he rushed out?"

Xie Lian was slightly startled, not knowing why he suddenly asked this question. Hua Cheng continued, “I guess he must have told you that if he didn’t do it, no one else would do it.”

Xie Lian said, “You guessed right. He did say that.”

Hua Cheng said: "Then, I am in the exact opposite situation. If I don't control this kind of place, someone else will. It's better to control it in my hands than in someone else's."

Xie Lian understood.

Everyone has their own path. He didn't know what the situation was in the ghost world, so it was not easy to say more. Hua Cheng said again: "But thank you for your concern, brother."

At this moment, Xie Lian heard a voice coming from the door. A young man said, "City Lord, I have found the bandaged boy."

Xie Lian looked towards the door and saw a masked young man in black standing at the entrance of Ji Le Fang. Outside the beaded curtain, he was bowing slightly. And the one he was holding in his hand was the ragged bandaged boy.

Hua Cheng said without even turning his head, "Bring it here."

The young man in black came in with the boy and gently put him on the ground. The bandaged boy probably knew he couldn't run away, so he just lowered his head after being put down. Xie Lian accidentally glanced at the young man's wrist and suddenly found that there was a black curse circle on his wrist.

He is very familiar with this thing.

Cursed shackle!

The young man brought the person over, bowed again, and then left. Xie Lian should have looked at him a few more times, but there were people who needed his attention more. He leaned closer to the young man and quickly said, "Don't be afraid. I was wrong last time, and I won't do it again."

The young man had a pair of big eyes, full of doubt and uncertainty. Perhaps he had already escaped several times and didn’t have the energy to run anymore. He glanced at him, then at the small table on the black jade couch. Xie Lian followed his gaze and saw a plate of brightly colored fruits on the small table.

I guess this boy has been hiding for a long time and hasn’t eaten for many days. Xie Lian turned to Hua Cheng, but before he could say anything, Hua Cheng said, “As you wish. No need to ask me.”

Xie Lian didn't care to be polite anymore and said, "Thank you." He took the plate of fruit and handed it to the bandaged boy. The boy snatched the plate away and started stuffing the fruit into his mouth without hesitation.

It seemed that he had been hungry for many days and was very hungry. Even when Xie Lian was at his most desperate and hungry like a wild dog, he might not have eaten as fast as he did. Xie Lian didn't know what to say, so he could only say, "Slow down."

After a pause, he tried to ask: "What's your name?"

The boy ate while trying to speak, but he couldn't speak clearly. Hua Cheng said, "He may not have spoken to anyone for many years, so he doesn't speak very well."

Indeed, it seemed that the young man had barely spoken to Xiaoying, so it was probably a long time ago. Xie Lian sighed, "Take your time."

At this moment, the young man suddenly opened his mouth and said: "... Firefly..."

Xie Lian immediately looked at him and asked, “What did you say? Are you talking about Miss Xiaoying?”

The young man nodded, pointed at himself, and said, "... Firefly."

Xie Lian understood and said, “You mean, I can call you Ying?”

The young man nodded again. At this time, he had already devoured the entire plate of fruit. Xie Lian saw that the bandage on his face was stained with blood, black and red. He thought for a moment and said in a gentle voice, "You have a wound on your face. It looks serious. Let me take a look at it for you."

When this was mentioned, the young man's eyes showed fear again. However, Xie Lian kept persuading him gently, so he sat down obediently.

Xie Lian came up to him, took out a bottle of medicine powder from his sleeve, and was about to remove the stained bandage. Hua Cheng said, "Let me do it."

Xie Lian shook his head and slowly untied the messy bandage on the other end.

Sure enough, although the boy's face was a bloody mess, those horrible human faces had all disappeared, leaving only a series of bright red scars.

The last time I saw Junshan, although he had burns on his face, there was not so much blood on the bandage. This young man really used a knife to cut or scratch the faces left by the human face plague.

As Xie Lian applied the powder to the boy's face, his hands were shaking slightly. At this time, Hua Cheng held his wrist and said, "Let me do it."

Xie Lian shook his head, gently pulled away his hand, and said in a deep voice, “No need. I can do it myself.”

Eight hundred years ago in the Imperial City of Xianle, many people infected with the human face plague had nowhere else to go and would choose to do this. The scene was truly a living hell. Some made mistakes and cut the wrong places with their knives, bleeding to death. Some had their human faces removed, but the wounds could never heal.

As Xie Lian wrapped new bandages around him layer by layer, he found that the boy's face shape and facial features were actually quite regular, with a straight nose and distinct black and white eyes. He should have been a handsome young man, but now he had such a suffocating appearance. He was the same as those people. Even if the deformed face was removed, it was still a face that would give people nightmares at a glance, and it would never be able to return to its original appearance.

Xie Lian finally put a new bandage on him and asked in a trembling voice, “Are you from Xianle Country?”

The young man looked over with his big eyes. Xie Lian asked several times, but he just shook his head. Xie Lian asked, “Who are you?”

Ying seemed to think for a moment before answering, "...Yong...An..."

This young man is actually from Yong'an Country!

Xie Lian felt his vision go dark for a moment, and blurted out, “Have you ever seen… Bai Wuxiang?”