"open--"

With a long, full-throated shout, the bright red brocade fell to the ground. The crowd of a thousand people immediately burst into cheers that reached the sky.

This is a golden statue of the prince. He holds a sword in one hand and a flower in the other, which means "having the power to destroy the world, but not losing the heart to cherish flowers". The statue has a soft face, long eyebrows, beautiful eyes, nice lips, and a slightly raised mouth, as if smiling. He is affectionate but not frivolous, ruthless but not indifferent, a compassionate and handsome face.

This is the 8,000th Prince’s Palace in the Land of Xianle.

Three years after ascending, eight thousand temples had been erected on flat ground. Such unprecedented and enthusiastic pursuit was absolutely unprecedented and unparalleled.

But the 8000th Hall is not the most luxurious statue of the prince. The peak on Mount Taicang where His Royal Highness the Prince lived when he was a young man has now been named "Prince Peak". It was there that the first Fairy Palace was built. After the first statue of the prince was cast, it was also there that His Majesty the King personally unveiled it. That statue of the prince was five meters tall, and the craftsmanship was even more vivid. It was made of pure gold, and it was a genuine "golden body".

There is an endless stream of pilgrims in Xianle Palace, and the threshold is broken. The incense burners in front of the temple are full of incense sticks of various lengths, and the merit boxes are taller and sturdier than those in ordinary temples. If they are not made bigger, they will be filled with offerings in less than a day, and later people will not be able to put in. As soon as you enter the temple, there is a clear water pool, which is also filled with coins. The green light is shining under the sparkling water. The old turtles in the pool are hit by the coins of the pilgrims on the stone bridge every day and shrink into their shells and dare not stick their heads out. No matter how the Taoists try to dissuade tourists, it is useless. The tall and wide red walls of the palace are full of plum blossoms, and countless bright red blessing ribbons are tied to the branches. In the sea of ​​flowers, the red ribbons flutter in the wind, and the scene is prosperous.

Inside the main hall, Xie Lian sat upright beneath his statue, overlooking everyone. No one could see him, but he could sit and watch the pilgrims below talking about:

"Why is there no cushion for kneeling and worshipping in the prince's palace?"

"Yes, the temple master also said that we can't kneel. The temple is open now, so why can't we kneel?"

One person said, "This is your first time in Xianle Palace. It's like this everywhere in Xianle Palace. I heard that after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascended to heaven, he sent dreams to many temple priests and abbots, saying that those who believe in him don't have to kneel. Therefore, there is no place to kneel in the Crown Prince's Palace."

Although no one else could see him, Xie Lian nodded. Unexpectedly, the others laughed and said, "What kind of logic is this? Aren't gods meant to kneel? It must be a rumor."

Xie Lian choked. Then he heard someone else agree, "Yes, you have to kneel. Kneeling shows your sincerity!"

"It doesn't matter if there's no futon, let's kneel on the ground."

So, one of them knelt first, and immediately, a large group of people around him followed suit and knelt on the ground. Hundreds of people crowded inside and outside the temple, knocking and worshipping in front of the statue, one after another, chanting something, secretly making wishes and praying for blessings. Xie Lian quietly hid away, thinking: "Forget it, take your time."

The next moment, countless noisy voices came towards him from all directions like huge waves.

"Please get admitted to high school! Get admitted to high school! I must get admitted to high school this year! If I win, I will fulfill my wish!"

“Have a safe trip!”

"The girls I like all like my senior brother. Please make him uglier. Please."

"Damn it, I don't believe I can't give birth to a big fat boy!!!"

...There were all kinds of requests, Xie Lian felt overwhelmed, and quickly made a gesture to block out all the noise. Just as his ears had quieted down, he heard a loud shout, and a man in black covered his ears with his hands and ran out from the back of the hall, roaring, "What the hell is this!!!"

The pilgrims were completely unaware of his presence and continued to kowtow. Xie Lian heaved a sigh of relief, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "Feng Xin, thank you for your hard work."

Xianle Palace was so popular that Xie Lian could hear more than a thousand prayers every day. At first, he rushed in with a sense of novelty, doing everything himself. Later, there were too many people praying, so he gave some to Feng Xin and Mu Qing. They went through the prayers and selected the ones that needed attention and gave them to him.

After Mu Qing finished her prayers, she would report to him and never complained. However, Feng Xin could never understand why some people just wanted to ask for things blindly, even for sexual harmony. Xie Lian was a martial god, how could he care about such things? If things went on like this, other priests would also be dissatisfied, implying that they were occupying the toilet without doing anything, and that they wanted to win over all the believers even though they could not care about it. There was nothing to say. Feng Xin could not put down his hands that were covering his ears, although covering his ears was actually useless. He said, "Your Highness, why do you have so many female believers!"

Xie Lian put his hands up in his sleeves, sat in the swirling cloud of incense, and said with a smile: "Isn't it good to have more female believers? There are beauties like clouds, pleasing to the eyes."

Feng Xin was horrified: "Not good at all. It seems that the female believers have no other wishes except to be good-looking, marry well and give birth to sons. None of them are serious. I get a headache just looking at them!"

Xie Lian smiled and was about to reply when suddenly, the crowd started to stir. The two looked outside the hall and heard someone saying in a low voice, “Little Mirror King is coming! Hurry up and leave! Little Mirror King is coming!”

When they heard the words "Little Mirror King", they seemed to have heard "Big Demon King". They were all terrified and scattered. In an instant, as if a tornado had passed through, the pilgrims who were originally worshiping the statue had all fled. In a moment, a young man in a cloak and elegant clothes, holding a glass lamp in both hands, stepped over the threshold and walked in with a swagger. If you don't look at his eyes, this young man looks three or four points similar to Xie Lian, but looking at his eyes, you feel that he is too flamboyant and bright. Who else could it be but Qi Rong?

Now, Qi Rong was already seventeen or eighteen years old, with a mature face and calm demeanor, and he had some of the demeanor of a noble man. He entered the door, but did not allow his followers to come in. He held the lamp in both hands, walked into the hall, lifted his cloak, knelt on the clean ground, raised the lamp above his head, and bowed solemnly several times. The two people on the altar looked at each other, Feng Xin smacked his lips, and Xie Lian understood the impatience in his eyes.

Three years ago, when Xie Lian left the imperial city to travel, Qi Rong was still in confinement. After returning, he did not have time to see his cousin. That night, he flew away in his sleep. In the past three years, Xie Lian has sent many dreams to his parents, the imperial teacher and others, and once to Qi Rong, warning him to be kind to others, restrain his temper and not act recklessly. As a result, Qi Rong actively participated in the construction of palaces, temples, donations, and offerings of lamps.

Although he worked very hard and was very pious, he still got into trouble from time to time, which made Feng Xin so tired that he had to clean up the mess. Therefore, Xie Lian could understand why Feng Xin was impatient.

Over there, Qi Rong finished his worship and complained, "Brother Crown Prince, this is the 500th lamp I have offered to you. As your brother, you are so loyal to me. When will you come to see me? Even if you send me a dream, it will be fine. My uncle and aunt miss you so much, but you ignore us. You are really arrogant and cold."

He didn't even notice Feng Xin standing next to him and reminding Xie Lian, "Don't pay any attention to him. The Emperor has told you that unless it's a serious matter, a priest must never appear in front of mortals without permission. Relatives should be especially careful."

Xie Lian said, “Don’t worry, I will know.”

Qi Rong stood up holding the lamp, took a pen, and began to write on the lamp. Xie Lian and Feng Xin had a psychological shadow on him, and couldn't help but lean over to see what he wrote. Seeing that it was normal peace and prosperity, and not praying for someone's family to be beheaded at the entrance of the vegetable market, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Qi Rong writing neatly, Xie Lian couldn't help but think of another thing.

When Qi Rong just returned home with his mother, a group of princes and nobles went to Mount Taicang to pray for blessings. Qi Rong's mother had eloped with a low-class person and fled back. She didn't dare to go out to see people, but she also wanted to pray for her son, so that he could broaden his horizons and not stay with her all day and become a frog in a well, so she asked the queen to take Qi Rong with her.

Although he tried to keep a low profile, scandals among nobles always spread faster than an arrow with wings. Who in the imperial city didn't know what was going on between him and his mother? Therefore, the noble children on the street consciously excluded Qi Rong and didn't talk or play with him. Xie Lian saw the swing and ran up to play. All the children of the same age played with him, taking turns to help His Royal Highness push the swing, and they were proud of it. When Xie Lian swung to the highest point, he accidentally looked down and saw Qi Rong hiding behind his mother's shadow, poking his head out and looking up at him enviously.

Arriving at the Shenwu Hall, after the adults finished offering the lanterns, they went to ask for divination, interpret the divinations, and talk with the imperial masters, leaving a group of children in the Shenwu Hall to offer the small lanterns and play. Qi Rong met the Queen for the first time, and he didn't know that the Queen had already offered a lantern for him and his mother. Seeing the exquisite and beautiful lanterns, he also wanted to offer lanterns and pray for blessings. He was young and didn't know much, so he asked people everywhere how to write a blessing for his mother. Several children from the same clan as Qi Rong usually hated him at home. Influenced by their elders, they felt that his mother and son had brought shame to their family, so they deliberately played tricks on him. Xie Lian concentrated on writing his own lantern, put down the pen, and heard someone laughing behind him. The laughter was not right. Looking back, he saw Qi Rong with his hands stained with ink, holding a lantern like a treasure, and preparing to offer it with a smile on his face. On the lantern, the nine words "May my mother and I die soon, Qi Rong" were written crookedly.

Xie Lian smashed the lamp on the spot and flew into a rage.

He was not very old at that time, but he frightened all the noble boys to their knees, not daring to speak. After he vented his anger, Xie Lian personally rewrote a lamp for Qi Rong, and no one dared to do bad things to him anymore. Later, when he went down the mountain, he went to play on the swing again. This time, Qi Rong ran out from behind the queen and took the initiative to push the swing for him from behind. He was shorter than Xie Lian, but he pushed very hard. People still looked up at him from below, but their eyes changed from envy to admiration. Later, he became Xie Lian's tail, following behind his "prince cousin" all day long.

We must admit that Qi Rong used to be a relatively normal person, but somehow he became more and more crooked. However, in the past three years, Xie Lian had too many people and things to pay attention to, so he had no time to pay attention to his old friends, and I don’t know if he has improved.

Thinking of this, Qi Rong had finished offering the lamps and was about to leave the hall. Unexpectedly, as he was leaving, he bumped into someone behind him. Qi Rong stumbled, turned around abruptly, and started to curse without even looking at him: "What the hell? Are you blind or are you dead standing there? Why don't you just get out of the way?"

When he opened his mouth, Xie Lian and Feng Xin both covered their foreheads, thinking, "Nothing has changed. It's still the same!"

Perhaps it was because he lived with his father until he was five years old, and inevitably he was infected with the atmosphere of the market and his father's bad temper. Even if the queen patiently taught Qi Rong later, once he got excited, he would, in the words of the imperial teacher, "show his true colors." The one who blocked Qi Rong's way was a ragged young man, about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, carrying a simple bag, a pair of straw sandals that were almost worn out, and dusty. However, although the young man looked haggard, his lips were dry, and his cheekbones were slightly sunken, his facial features were very handsome, and he was thin but not weak, with a bright look in his eyes, and said, "Where is this place?"

Qi Rong said: "This is Xianle Palace, the Prince's Palace!"

The man murmured, "Prince's Palace? Prince? Is this really the imperial palace?" He saw the statue in the palace, which looked golden in the reflection of the clear gold, and asked again, "Is this gold?"

He actually thought the temple was too magnificent and mistook it for the imperial palace. An attendant came forward to drive him away, saying, "Of course it's gold. The Prince's Palace is the Prince's Temple, not the Prince's Palace in the imperial palace! You don't even know where this place is, where did you come from, you savage?"

The man asked, "Where is the palace?"

Qi Rong narrowed his eyes and asked, "Why are you asking this?"

The other party said seriously: "I am going to the palace to see the king. I have something to tell him."

Qi Rong and several attendants all laughed, with contempt on their faces, and said, "Where did you come from, you country bumpkin? What do you want to do in the palace? And to see the king? I'm afraid you won't even be able to enter the palace when you get there."

The man was not moved by the ridicule at all and said, "I'll try. Maybe it can work."

Qi Rong laughed and said, "Then go and try it." He raised his hand and pointed in the opposite direction. The man said, "Thank you." He put his bag on his back and walked out of the temple. When he reached the stone bridge, he suddenly stopped and looked down. Through the clear water, he could see layers of coins sinking to the bottom of the pool.

The young man seemed to think for a moment, and the next moment, he climbed over the bridge railing and jumped into the pool.

He was very agile. After jumping into the pool, he bent down and scooped up handfuls of coins from the bottom of the pool, stuffing them into his arms and bag. Xie Lian and Feng Xin were stunned because they had never seen anyone who dared to rob even the gods’ money. Qi Rong was also stunned, and then he flew into a rage, rushing over and slamming the fence, shouting: "Fuck! What are you doing?! Hurry up and pull him up!!! I really fucked!!!"

Several attendants also jumped into the water to pull the man, but the young man was very skilled. No one could do anything to him, even with punches and kicks. Qi Rong was furious, and a group of Taoists in the temple were helpless. The young man scooped up a heavy load of coins and was about to climb ashore with his bag on his back. However, he stepped on moss, slipped, and fell on his back in the water. The attendants took the opportunity to capture him and brought him ashore. Qi Rong kicked him and cursed, "How dare you steal this money!"

When Qi Rong raised his leg, Feng Xin stood beside him, watching the opportunity and blocking it. Therefore, although Qi Rong's kick was powerful, it didn't hit the opponent hard. Although Qi Rong couldn't see him playing tricks on him, he still felt something was wrong, as if a ghost was pressing on his leg. He felt the same way after seven or eight kicks, which made him feel a little depressed. The young man coughed a few times, perhaps because he choked on the water, and said, "The money is just in the pool, why can't I use it to save people?"

Qi Rong was not happy with the kicking and finally got annoyed and asked, "Who are you saving? Who are you? Where are you from?"

He asked this question simply to frame the young man and put him in jail, but the young man was honest and answered, "My name is Lang Ying, and I live in Yong'an. There is a drought there, no water, and the crops can't grow. Everyone has nothing to eat and no money. Here we have water, food, and money. They made a statue out of gold and threw the money into the water. Why can't they give us some?"

Yong'an is a big city in Xianle Country. Xie Lian stood up, looking solemn, and said, "Feng Xin, is there a drought in Yong'an recently? Why haven't I heard about it?"

Feng Xin turned around and said, "I don't know. I haven't heard of it either. Can I ask Mu Qing later?"