Xie Lian pinched his earlobe and said, “One of  the earrings is missing.”

Xianle people believe that the ultimate perfection of Taoist practice is "harmony of yin and yang" and "hermaphroditism". Gods are infinitely changeable and naturally not bound by gender. They can be male or female. Therefore, this concept is also reflected in the design of Yueshen clothing. Throughout the ages, the clothing and attire of each generation of Yueshen warriors have both male and female clothing forms and details, such as  earrings and pendants. When Xie Lian played the role of Yueshen warrior, he pierced his ears and wore a pair of  earrings .

They were a pair of extremely gorgeous crimson coral beads, radiant and lustrous, extremely rare. However, when Xie Lian gathered his hair just now, he discovered that only one of the original pair of red coral beads was left.

When he said it was lost, Mu Qing's originally relaxed expression suddenly stiffened a little, but the other two didn't notice it at all. Feng Xin first searched the room inside and outside, came in empty-handed, and said, "You are so forgetful that you can even lose something you wear on your ears. I didn't see it in the Fairy Music Palace, I'll look for it on the way out, make sure you didn't lose it during the Heavenly Festival Tour."

Xie Lian was also puzzled, but he didn’t care. He said, “It’s possible. If it can’t be found, then just let it be.”

Mu Qing took the broom he usually used to sweep the floor and said calmly, "The pearl is very precious. If you can find it, you should look for it. See if it fell under the bed or the bottom of the cabinet." Then he started sweeping. Xie Lian said, "Or call a few more people to help look for it."

Feng Xin said casually: "There are too many people and too many hands. If something is not found, it may be stolen or hidden by someone else."

Mu Qing had been quietly checking under the bed, but when he heard this, a trace of paleness flashed across his face. He stood up abruptly, and the broom in his hand snapped in two. Xie Lian was immediately startled.

After coming out of the Shenwu Palace, Feng Xin had been quite critical of Mu Qing, but he didn't get angry. Seeing that Mu Qing got angry first, he said angrily, "Why did you break things all of a sudden? Who pissed you off?"

Mu Qing said coldly: "Just say what you want to say. Why are you making insinuations? It's none of my business that the beads are missing."

Feng Xin has always been outspoken, but this is the first time he has heard someone accuse him of innuendo. He laughed angrily and said, "Why don't you say this to yourself? What did I say? I didn't say you stole it. You are just walking into this trap. Do you have something to hide?"

Xie Lian came back to his senses, and felt something was wrong. He sat up from the bed and said, “Feng Xin, stop talking!”

Mu Qing's forehead suddenly showed three or four blue veins. Feng Xin really didn't think much about it, and asked inexplicably: "What's wrong?"

Xie Lian couldn’t explain to him, so he could only say to Mu Qing, “Don’t get me wrong, Feng Xin just said that casually, it wasn’t directed at you.”

Mu Qing clenched his fists and unclenched them, but in the end he didn't continue to attack. However, his eyes gradually turned red, and he turned to Xie Lian, staring at him and said word by word: "You... don't keep your word."

Xie Lian said, “No, I didn’t!”

Mu Qing closed his mouth and took a few breaths, then glared at Feng Xin with resentment in his eyes, and without saying anything more, he rushed out of the door. Xie Lian jumped off the bed and tried to chase him, but was grabbed after a few steps. Feng Xin said, "Your Highness, you don't even have shoes on! What does it look like to go out with your hair disheveled?"

Xie Lian said, “Help me stop him!”

Feng Xin said, "Put on your clothes and shoes first, and tie your hair up. Why bother with him? He is usually gloomy and sinister. Who knows what touched his nerves and he got sick for no apparent reason."

Mu Qing had already walked away, and Xie Lian saw that he could not catch up, so he had to grab a hair tie and hastily tied his hair. As he did so, he sighed, “He’s not sick, you just happened to say the wrong thing by accident.”

Feng Xin took out the white Taoist robe that Xie Lian usually wore from the closet and threw it to him, saying, "What did I say wrong?"

Xie Lian said as he put on his boots, “I can’t tell you. Anyway, come with me to find him and tell him that it was all a misunderstanding and that he is not being targeted.”

Feng Xin frowned and asked, "Is there anything you can't tell me?"

Xie Lian kept silent. Feng Xin became more suspicious, and thinking about Mu Qing's resentful look just now, he suddenly asked: "Did he really steal your things?"

Xie Lian quickly gestured to keep quiet, saying, “No! No!”

Seeing him like this, Feng Xin became more certain and said, "So that's it! No wonder his face suddenly changed, it turns out he was hurt. When has he ever done such a thing?!"

Xie Lian said, “Don’t be so loud!”

Feng Xin lowered his voice and said, "How could you not tell me about this? Tell me now."

Seeing that he was already suspicious, Xie Lian said helplessly, “It’s not stealing, but… Well, let me start from the beginning. Do you remember that two years ago, not long after I entered the Huangji Temple, I once lost a piece of gold foil?”

Hearing this, Feng Xin's eyes widened, he slapped his thigh and said, "That time?!"

Three years ago, Xie Lian begged and pleaded with his parents and finally got them to allow him to practice in Huangji Temple before he came of age. It took a year, and after the Xianle Palace was built, he finally went up the mountain happily.

Xie Lian didn't bring much luggage with him when he went up the mountain. Just two carts of books and two hundred famous swords. But Queen Min loved her son very much and was afraid that he would live a lonely and miserable life on the mountain. Later, she sent twenty servants to Mount Taicang, as well as four carts of the prince's favorite things. They were pulled up Mount Taicang in a grand manner, including a set of gold foil palaces with a total of 108 pieces.

Building a temple with gold foil was a popular game among the nobles of Xianle. At that time, this wave of luxury things on the mountain caused a little discussion. The people in Huangji Temple were all serious Taoists who were not familiar with the temperament of the prince. Although they did not dare to say much, they were muttering behind their backs: Is the prince here to practice or to have fun? What is the fun of a royal nobleman? What can he build?

Feng Xin heard the discussions and wanted to refute them, but Xie Lian told him to ignore them and said with a smile, "It's human nature. In the future, they will naturally know whether I am just joking and who is the number one disciple in Huangji Temple in this lifetime."

However, not long after, something happened.

Xie Lian sent back all the servants and four carriages that the Queen had arranged for him. When he counted the luggage, he found that one piece of gold foil was missing from the 108 pieces.

After the gold foil was brought to Mount Taicang, it never left the Xianle Palace. It was either lost on the road or stolen. When Xie Lian didn’t find it on the road, he casually mentioned it to the Imperial Master. The Imperial Master was furious when he thought that it might have been stolen and that someone in the Huangji Temple might have been tempted by the gold foil. He was determined to find the gold foil even if he had to dig three feet into the ground. If it was found in someone’s place, he would be severely punished. So, the entire Huangji Temple, more than 3,000 people, did nothing else. They were caught off guard and were suddenly driven out to form a team to check the Taoist temples one by one.

After a lot of fanfare and exhausting work, when they had searched more than half of the way, Xie Lian suddenly changed his mind and said sorry for causing trouble to his fellow disciples. He suddenly remembered that he had lost a piece of the gold foil palace when he was in the palace. In other words, there were only 107 pieces of gold foil originally.

In order to find out where the missing gold foil was, the Huangji Temple went to great lengths that night, and everyone was exhausted. In the end, when they were sweating profusely, His Royal Highness suddenly said this, and all the previous efforts were wasted, which inevitably made many fellow disciples complain. So, for a while, they all secretly said that he was the Crown Prince, so what he said was what it was. They just hoped that they would have a better memory next time and remember such an important thing before the investigation. Feng Xin squatted down and listened in anger, but Xie Lian told him not to worry about it and wait for the future. Later, Xie Lian really crushed the three thousand disciples and became the undisputed number one in Huangji Temple. Because he was indeed quite friendly and did not abuse his power, gradually, his reputation and reputation among his fellow disciples improved again. Feng Xin did not remember things, so he forgot about the original part. Who knew that when it was mentioned again today, he suddenly realized it, and was shocked and angry: "The gold foil was taken away by Mu Qing???"

Xie Lian said, “Shh!”

After making sure that no one was around, he said, "The gold foil fell off while stumbling on the way up the mountain, and Mu Qing picked it up from the bushes while passing by carrying water. He put it under his bed and didn't know what to do with it. As a result, the Imperial Master suddenly attacked at night and drove everyone out to search their bodies and rooms. I didn't know him at the time, but I saw a servant with a bad look on his face. Later, when he was sitting outside and brought tea up, he whispered to me privately, and then I knew what happened."

Feng Xin said, "Taking without reporting, isn't that stealing??? So in order to help him conceal this matter, you told people that the gold foil was lost in the palace???"

As he spoke, Xie Lian finished getting ready and went out, saying, “That’s it.”

Feng Xin was furious and followed him out the door, saying, "Your Highness, do you know how many people talked behind your back when you first came to Huangji Temple?"

Xie Lian said, “Keep your voice down. He looked really bad at the time, very pale. The other people in Huangji Temple didn’t like him to begin with. If I told anyone, wouldn’t his life be ruined? He and I are of different identities, and our situations in this matter are also different. The consequences are totally incomparable.”

At this time, several Taoist priests came over, bowed respectfully, and greeted him with smiles on their faces, “Your Highness!” Xie Lian smiled back, and the two groups passed by each other. He said to Feng Xin, “Look, I said I would wait for the future. Now, don’t I get along well with all of you fellow disciples? Who dares to say anything bad?”

The two went to Mu Qing's Taoist room, but didn't see anyone, so they went out to look for him. Feng Xin said, "I felt strange at the time. I didn't know you lost a piece in the palace. You didn't tell me about this for two years, and you told me that you met him when he was sweeping the floor!"

Xie Lian said, “He later asked me not to tell anyone. Since I promised, of course I couldn’t tell anyone, not even you. Now that you know, I have broken my promise. But you must not tell anyone else.”

Feng Xin said, "How can this be considered a breach of trust? You didn't tell me that. He was the one who let himself slip out of guilt and was caught by me."

Xie Lian threatened, “No, no, you must swear that you will never tell anyone about this. Otherwise, I will break off our friendship and you will not be able to get a wife.”

Feng Xin was furious and said, "You break up with me! The next day after we break up, everyone in Xianle will know one thing: His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was strangled by his own garters while getting dressed - OK! Don't tell anyone. Who the hell is interested in gossiping about it?"

After a pause, he continued, "He may think that I am targeting him because I know he took the gold foil. In fact, I just don't like people like him. A grown man who thinks about this and that all the time must have suspected you and told me a long time ago. The concubines in the palace don't have as many twists and turns as him. It's annoying to see them."

Xie Lian said, “It’s not as bad as you say. There has never been anyone who has lost anything in Huangji Temple before, which means this is his first time. In the final analysis, it’s because of his mother… Well, anyway, he has promised me again and again that he will never do such a thing again. It’s not too much to give him a chance. He has done it. Besides, if Mu Qing didn’t cooperate with me when the kid fell today, the end of the Heaven Sacrifice Tour would not be so beautiful.”

Feng Xin sneered, "You have already completed the three rounds and your name will go down in history. Of course, he doesn't need to continue to trouble you. Your Highness, I tell you, I don't believe a word he said in the Shenwu Hall today. Everyone in Huangji Temple knows that the state master doesn't recognize his relatives when he plays cards. He chose to say it at that time, and refused to say whose orders he was following, as if he would do whatever he could."

Xie Lian shook his head slightly and said solemnly, “Actually, speaking of this matter, I probably didn’t think it through in some ways. I knew that Mu Qing was not well-received, and I originally wanted him to help me with things more. People would know that he was my attendant, so they would naturally be more polite to him. But I didn’t expect that others would be so rude to him. Not only did he fail to get things done, but he also made his subordinates angry. If you look at him from the other side, you will find that his strange temper is understandable.”

Feng Xin disagreed strongly and said, "That's just his weird temper. Why are you taking it on yourself? You are the Crown Prince. Who are you trying to honor? Are you owing someone else? Your Highness, I really don't understand why you think so highly of him."

Xie Lian smiled and said, “Feng Xin, do you know that many people in this world are just stubborn stones in my eyes?”

Feng Xin was puzzled. Xie Lian walked with his hands behind his back and said, "Stones are easy to find, but jade is hard to find. Over the years, in the martial arts world, I have only seen two people who can be called jade. One is you. The other is him."

He suddenly stopped, turned around, and said with a bright look in his eyes, "I really think that Mu Qing is a very talented person. Is it possible that such a beautiful jade should be covered in dust and not be able to show its beauty just because of its origin and temperament?"

Xie Lian said resolutely, “No! I think this is wrong. You ask me why I think so highly of him? It’s the same reason why I think highly of you. I will make sure that those who should shine will shine. Moreover, I don’t believe that good intentions will bring bad results.”

Feng Xin also stopped and scratched his head after listening. He said, "Anyway, it's fine as long as you know what you want. How you do it is up to you."

Xie Lian said, “Hmm. So, where did Mu Qing go?”

At this time, several other people came over, holding baskets in their hands and playing along the way. When they saw Xie Lian, they were all overjoyed and called out in unison, "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Xie Lian also smiled in response. The men came over and presented the basket to him, saying happily, "Your Highness, would you like some cherries? They have been washed in mountain spring water, so they are very clean and very sweet."

The basket was full of bright red cherries, which were very lovely. Xie Lian and Feng Xin picked a few and ate them. They were extremely sweet. The Taoist asked, "Just now when we came here, I vaguely heard His Highness asking about Mu Qing. Are you looking for him? We came from the cherry forest and seemed to have seen him there."

Xie Lian said, “Is that so? Thank you for telling me.”

So, the two of them headed towards the cherry forest. On Mount Taicang, in addition to the maple forests that covered the entire mountain, there were also many fruit trees, including peach, pear, orange, and cherry trees. The fruit trees were nourished by mountain springs, bathed in mountain mists and sunlight and rain, and the fruits they produced were rich in spiritual energy. In addition to being presented to the imperial palace, the remaining fruits were only provided for the disciples in the temple to pick and eat when they were tired of practicing. They were hard to find outside the Huangji Temple. The cherry trees, one by one, had strings of red coral-like fruits hanging among their new green leaves, which looked very beautiful. Xie Lian and Feng Xin walked for a while, looking for Mu Qing in the woods. Not long after, they heard the sound of a dispute faintly coming from the front, and they could not help but stop.