Heaven Official's Blessing CHAPTER 9

 

Heaven Official's Blessing 

 BOOK 1: CRIMSON RAIN SOUGHT FLOWER

Ch.9: Mountain-Locked Ancient Temple; Forest of Hanging Corpses

 

Fu Yao noticed that Xiao Ying was shrunken in the crowd, and frowned. “Why is there a woman here?” 

While his tone wasn’t furious, it didn’t mean well either. When Xiao Ying heard him she bowed her head. 

Xie Lian explained, “She was worried, so she came over to look.”

Fu Yao questioned the others, “Did you all come up with her?” 

The crowd was a little uncertain at first, but then they replied:

“Don’t remember.” 

“Can’t tell.”

“No, when we came up she wasn’t there, right?!” 

“Either way I didn’t see her.” 

“Me neither.” 

Xiao Ying quickly said, “It’s because I was following secretly…” 

The little mob boss immediately cut her off. “Why did you follow in secret? Are you guilty of something? Are you the Ghost Groom in disguise?”

With such an accusation, the space near Xiao Ying immediately cleared out, and she waved madly. 

“NO… No, I’m Xiao Ying, I’m the real one!” She turned to Xie Lian. “Young Master, we just saw each other! I helped you put on makeup, helped you dress…”

Xie Lian said, “...”

Everyone turned their eyes on him, and some started to whisper among themselves. He vaguely heard the words “hobby,” “abnormal”, “unbelievable”, and he cleared his throat.

“This was a mission requirement. Mission requirement. Nan Feng, Fu Yao, you…” 

He turned his head, and only then did he notice that Nan Feng and Fu Yao had been staring at him with odd looks in their eyes this whole time, and their feet very rigidly pulled some distance away from him.

The way they were staring at him gave Xie Lian goosebumps. He said, “...Is there anything you two want to say to me?”

How could he possibly know that the cosmetic work of the girl was so gifted that his brows were shaped elegantly, his face was fair as jade powder, and his lips were touched with rouge. If he didn’t speak, then he was entirely a gentle, demure, and beautiful mature lady. This gave the two a grave shock and mired them in disbelief, making them question their lives and feel uncomfortable all over. The face was still the same face, but they completely did not know who they were talking to anymore. 

Fu Yao looked to Nan Feng. “Was there something you wanted to say?” 

Nan Feng immediately shook his head. “There’s nothing I want to say.” 

“...Why don’t you guys just say something,” Xie Lian said.

Just then, someone from the crowd spoke up: 

“Eh? This is the Temple of Ming Guang?”

“There’s actually a Temple of Ming Guang on this mountain? Amazing, I’ve never seen it before.”

The crowd all started to look at the wonder. 

Xie Lian suddenly said, “That’s right, the Temple of Ming Guang.” 

Nan Feng could tell something was off about his tone. He asked, “What is it?” 

Xie Lian replied, “The north is clearly General Ming Guang’s territory; it’s not like worship of him isn’t prospering. But how come there’s only the Temple of Nan Yang at the foot of Mount Yujun?” 

That the Lord Official had prayed to the Heavenly Martial Emperor was easy to understand, because the Heavenly Martial Emperor was the number one martial god in the past thousand years, and his status was higher than General Ming Guang; naturally the higher up you prayed, the more guarantee there was. However, General Ming Guang and General Nan Yang were equal in status, with not much difference. If it must be debated, then General Ming Guang possessed nine thousand temples, over a thousand more than Nan Yang, so it was really hard to imagine why they would seek from afar and forgo what lay close at hand.

Xie Lian wondered, “Technically, even if this Temple of Ming Guang on Mount Yujun was overtaken and people couldn’t find it, then they could’ve clearly built another Temple of Ming Guang; why build the martial temple of another god?” 

Fu Yao could understand. “There must be another reason.” 

“Right, there must be another reason that would make the people in the Mount Yujun area never build another Temple of Ming Guang,” Xie Lian said. “Can either one of you lend me a bit more spiritual power? I’m afraid I’ll have to go ask…” 

Just then, someone made a commotion, “Whoa, there’s so many brides!” 

That voice had come from inside the temple, and Xie Lian whipped around. He told that group to properly stay in the open ground in front of the temple, but they completely ignored him and went into the temple!

Nan Feng shouted, “THE SITUATION’S DANGEROUS, DON’T RUN AROUND!” 

However, that little mob boss rebuked, “Don’t listen to him guys, they won’t dare to do anything to us! We’re good citizens, as if they’d actually dare kill us? Get up everyone, get up get up!” 

He egged people on and over half of the group actually started to move, running into the temple along with him. 

Fu Yao flicked his sleeves and said apathetically, “Let them be. Those unruly people.” He sounded extremely disgusted, and didn’t want to care anymore. 

However, inside the Temple of Ming Guang there came a wail. “THEY’RE ALL DEAD PEOPLE!” 

The little mob boss was also alarmed. “ALL DEAD?!” 

“ALL DEAD!” 

“This is evil business, how come this one hasn’t rotted yet even though it looks like she’s been dead for decades??” He quickly turned around and got over it, however. “Doesn’t matter if they’re dead. Transport all the corpses of the brides down the mountain; wouldn’t their families still have to pay up?” 

Xie Lian’s eyes slowly darkened. The group thought about it; that certainly made sense. Some sighed in amazement, some grumbled, and there were those who became happy again. 

Xie Lian stood at the temple entrance. “Why doesn’t everyone come outside first? The air in the back of this temple is heavy with corpses; without any ventilation for years, it’ll be bad if normal folks were to breathe it in.” 

This sounded very logical and the group didn’t know whether they should listen. 

Xiao Ying begged in a small voice, “Everyone, let’s not be this way? It’s so dangerous here, why don’t we listen to this young master first and go out to sit…”

But this group didn’t even bother to listen to Xie Lian, so why would they listen to her? No one paid attention. Xiao Ying didn’t give up, however, and repeated herself a few times. 

The little mob boss even directed them: “Pick for the fresh corpses, guys, who knows if the families of the ones that are too old are still alive, so don’t waste your energy hauling those.” 

There were even those who praised him for being clever and able. Xie Lian really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this, and when he saw there were people touching where they shouldn’t, he warned aloud. 

“Don’t remove the veils! That veil can separate the aura of the corpse and the aura of yang. There’s a lot of you and the aura of yang is too abundant; if they suck it in, it’s hard to say what will happen.” 

However, in order to pick out the freshest corpse, the group of men had already pulled off pretty much all the veils. Xie Lian exchanged a look with Nan Feng, who had come to the door, and shook his head, knowing they couldn’t stop them. After all, it wasn’t like they could beat the men to a bloody pulp so they couldn’t move; otherwise, if something happened, wouldn’t they lose the ability to run? A very hopeless situation. 

Just then, one of the burly men removed the veil of one of the brides and exclaimed, “My god, this little hussy is hella cute!” 

The men all came to surround the corpse.

“She didn’t even get married yet, right? What a waste to just die like that.”

“Her clothes are a bit tattered, but she’s the prettiest!” 

This bride probably hadn’t been dead for too long, the skin of her face was still rather supple. 

Someone said, “Dare you to feel her up?” 

The little mob boss replied, “Why would I be afraid?” 

Then he pinched the corpse’s face twice. It was so silky-smooth that it made his heart itch, and he reached out ready to touch it again. Xie Lian couldn’t bear to watch anymore, and was about to stop him when Xiao Ying rushed over.

She exclaimed, “Don’t do this!” 

The little mob boss shoved her backhandedly and yelled, “DON’T GET IN MEN’S WAY!”

 

But Xiao Ying climbed to her feet again and cried, “You’re going to incur Heaven’s wrath like this!”

 

The little mob boss was furious now, and cursed. “FUCKING HELL! This ugly freak is really nosy!”

 

He cussed as he moved to kick her, but Xie Lian easily lifted the back of Xiao Ying’s collar with one hand and pulled her away. Yet unexpectedly, they heard a THUD. 

The little mob boss yelled, “WHO HIT ME?!”

 

Xie Lian turned back to look. The little mob boss was bleeding from a gaping wound in the head after having been hit, and there was a bloodstained rock on the ground. 

Xiao Ying was stunned for a moment before quickly apologizing. “Sorry, sorry…I was scared and accidentally threw it…” 

 

However, even if she was eager to take the blame for it, no one would believe her, because the direction was all wrong. This rock was hurled from a window behind the little mob boss. When the little mob boss had yelled, everyone had turned to look in that direction, just in time to see a flash of a shadow outside the window. 

The little mob boss hollered, “IT’S HIM! That ugly freak with bandages on his face!” 

 

Xie Lian stuffed Xiao Ying into Nan Feng’s hands and strode a couple steps forward. Propping his right hand on the window lattice, he flipped over and ran towards the forest in pursuit. A few of the bolder ones who had their eyes on the bounty followed after him and leaped out the window as well. However, when Xie Lian reached the edge of the forest, he suddenly caught a whiff of blood. 

Sensing something off, and with alarm bells ringing in his mind, he suddenly halted in his steps and warned, “Don’t go in!” 

 

He had shouted his warning, but those few people thought, “I’ll chase even if you don’t,” and charged into the forest without even stopping. The others who had originally gathered in the temple poured out too. Seeing that Xie Lian had stopped at the edge, those who weren’t as bold crowded around to watch. Before long, they heard a few screams. A few shadows stumbled out from the forest. These were the few people who had barged in first earlier, and now they were staggering out. When the crowd saw them after they stepped under the moonlight, they were instantly scared out of their wits.

 

They were still living humans when they had entered. How did they become bleeding humans when coming out?

From their faces to their clothes, these people were red all over, with their blood gushing forth like a spring. If a person could truly bleed this much, then they would definitely die, but these men were still walking towards them, step by step. Everyone retreated in unison out of terror until they were behind Xie Lian. 

Xie Lian raised his hand. “Calm down. The blood isn’t theirs.”

 

Sure enough, those few men said, “Yeah! The blood isn’t ours. It’s…it’s…” 

Even a face covered in blood could not hide their horrified expressions. The group followed those men’s eyes and looked into the forest; it was pitch-black, so they could not see exactly what lay within. Xie Lian took over a torch, took a few steps forward, then raised it to probe ahead. Something in the darkness dripped onto the torch, giving off a “SIZZLE” sound. He glanced at the torch before looking up. After composing himself for a moment, he raised his hand and then tossed the torch up.

Although the torch that had been hurled up had only illuminated the area overhead for an instant, everyone still got a clear look of what had been above the trees. 

Long black hair, deathly white faces, tattered military officers’ uniforms, and arms dangling in the air. 

The swinging corpses of more than forty men, suspended upside-down at varying heights on the trees. No one knew for how long their blood had flowed, but they had yet to dry up. They dripped and dripped, forming a terrifying scene: a forest of hanging corpses, amidst a falling rain of blood. 

This group of people outside the forest were all strong, burly men, but how could they have ever seen such a sight? They were all petrified from the shock, and it was silent all around. When Nan Feng and Fu Yao came over and saw this scene, their expressions froze. 

After a moment, Nan Feng said, “Green Ghost.” 

Fu Yao agreed, “Indeed. It’s his favorite trick.” 

Nan Feng turned to Xie Lian. “Don’t go over. It’ll be a bit of a problem if it’s him.”

Xie Lian looked back and asked, “Who are you talking about?”

Nan Feng said, “A ‘Near-Supreme’.” 

Xie Lian asked, puzzled, “‘Near-Supreme’? You mean, close to the power level of a Supreme?”

“That’s right,” Fu Yao said. “The ‘Near-Supreme’ Green Ghost is a malicious creature who has been evaluated by the Palace of Ling Wen to be close to that of a Supreme. He adores games like this forest of hanging corpses. You can say he’s famous.” 

Xie Lian thought, “That’s really unnecessary. If you’re a Supreme, you’re a Supreme. If you aren’t, then you aren’t. Just like there’s only ‘ascended’ and ‘not ascended’; there’s not ‘near ascended’ or ‘about to ascend’. Adding a ‘near’ only makes it awkward for everyone.”

He recalled the time when that young man had led him all the way here; there had been the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the surface of the latter’s umbrella. Could he have held up the umbrella in order to shield him from the blood rain of this corpse forest? 

He let out a soft “ah” right then, and the other two immediately asked, “What’s the matter?”

Thus, he gave a brief account of how he had met a young man while he was in the sedan, and how that young man had brought him here. 

When he was done, Fu Yao said skeptically, “I noticed the enchanted array on this mountain when I came up. It’s extremely ruthless, but he broke it so handily?” 

Xie Lian thought, “Rather, he crushed it under his heel, without paying it any mind12. ” He said, “That’s right. This ‘Near-Supreme’ Green Ghost you speak of, could that be him?”

Nan Feng considered it a little and said, “I’ve never seen the Green Ghost before, so I can’t say. Does that young man you saw have any distinctive features?”

“Silver butterflies,” Xie Lian said. 

Earlier, when Nan Feng and Fu Yao saw the scene of the forest of hanging corpses, their expressions could be said to be calm, but the instant those two words left Xie Lian’s mouth, he could clearly see the drop in their expressions. 

Fu Yao exclaimed in disbelief, “What did you say? Silver butterflies? What kind of silver butterflies?” 

Xie Lian realized that he had probably said something significant, and explained, “They’re like silver, yet also like crystal. They don’t seem to be living creatures. But, they look quite pretty.”

He saw Nan Feng and Fu Yao exchange looks, with expressions so grim their faces were almost green. 

After a while, Fu Yao said in a heavy voice, “Leave. Right now.” 

“We haven’t settled the case of the Ghost Groom yet, how can I leave?” Xie Lian said. 

“Settle?” Fu Yao said. He turned back and sneered. “Seems like you have really tarried too long in the human realm. This Ghost Groom is merely a Savage. Even the Green Ghost of this hanging-corpses forest is merely a ‘Near-Supreme’, as pesky as he might be.” 

After another pause, he suddenly said in a stern voice, “Do you know who the master of those silver butterflies is?”

Xie Lian replied honestly, “I don’t.” 

“...Even if you don’t, there isn’t time for me to explain now,” Fu Yao said stiffly. “In short, he isn’t someone you can handle. You’d better hurry back to Heaven and ask for reinforcements.”

“Then you head back first,” Xie Lian said. 

“You—” 

Xie Lian said, “The master of those silver butterflies never showed any hint of malice. Even if he does harbor malice, and if he’s really as terrifying as you say, then everyone for several miles within the perimeter of Mount Yujun wouldn’t have been able to escape from his hands. All the more reason someone has to stand guard here at this time, so why don’t you go back first and see if you can help me seek reinforcements?” 

He could tell that Fu Yao didn’t want to remain here and deal with so many troublesome matters. If that was the case, then all the more, he mustn’t force him to do it. Fu Yao was a clear-cut man by nature, and so he really left on his own with a flick of his sleeves. Xie Lian turned towards Nan Feng and was about to probe further about that young man when there was another commotion in the crowd.

Someone shouted, “We caught him! We caught him!”

Now Xie Lian didn’t have the time to probe. He asked, “What did you catch?”

Once again, two bloody figures walked out of the forest. One was a burly fellow, one of those few who had charged into the forest earlier. Pretty gutsy, to think he was not scared off by the blood rain in the corpse forest. The other one was a young boy being dragged along by him in a firm grip; his head and face were messily wrapped with bandages.

Xie Lian still remembered what the Tea Master he had met earlier in the small shop had said: “Apparently this Ghost Groom is an ugly creature with his face covered in bandages. And it’s too ugly, no women love it. That’s why it couldn’t stand to see others getting happily wedded.” 

At that time, they thought that it might be a rumour. Who would have guessed that there was really such a person? 

There might really be such a person, but whether he was the Ghost Groom was a different matter altogether. He was just about to take a closer look at the bandaged boy when Xiao Ying rushed over.

She yelled, “YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG PERSON! This isn’t the Ghost Groom. He isn’t! “

The little mob boss said, “He was caught red-handed, and you still say he isn’t? I…” He paused, as if something had suddenly dawned on him, then he continued, “Oooh, no wonder why I was thinking that you’re always acting so strangely, and keep insisting ‘he isn’t’, ‘he isn’t’. So you’re in cahoots with this Ghost Groom?!”

Stunned, Xiao Ying hurriedly waved her hands. “No, no, I’m not. He’s not, either. He really didn’t do anything. He’s just an ordinary…ordinary…” 

The little mob boss pressed on aggressively, “Ordinary what? Ordinary ugly freak?” He grabbed the bandaged boy’s hair a couple times at random and said, “Then why don’t we take a look at how this ‘ordinary’ Ghost Groom looks like, for him to love stealing others’ women so much!?”

His random grabbing made a mess of a few strips of the bandages, and the bandaged boy instantly held his head and screamed. His cries were full of fear. It was sad and shrill, and very pitiful at the same time. 

Xie Lian grabbed hold of the little mob boss’s arm and said, “That’s enough.”

When Xiao Ying heard that young boy’s screams, her tears tumbled down. Seeing Xie Lian reaching out to stop the little mob boss was just like seeing hope, and she hurriedly grabbed his sleeves and begged. “Young…young master, help me, help him.”

Xie Lian cast her a glance, and Xiao Ying let go of his sleeve embarrassedly, as if afraid he would detest her touchy-feely hands and would not want to help her anymore. 

Xie Lian soothed, “It’s fine.” 

He took another look at the bandaged boy with a bloodied head, and realized that the boy was also peeking at him with wide, bloodshot eyes through the gaps in the bandages under his arm. He took just a peek, then immediately lowered his eyes and hurriedly secured the bandages again. Although he did not reveal his face, a patch of skin on his face had been exposed, and this bit was already very horrifying, as if it had been burned by fire before. It was not hard to imagine how scary the face that laid under the bandages was. The bystanders sucked in a breath while the boy shrank even more.

Xie Lian noticed that the way these two cowered were exactly the same. It was as if they did not dare to step into the light, nor dare to see other people all year round. He sighed inwardly to himself again. 

The little mob boss at the side was wary. “What are you scheming? We are the ones who caught the Ghost Groom.”

Xie Lian let go of him and said, “I’m afraid the Ghost Groom won’t let you catch him that easily. My friend searched around here earlier, but he didn’t find him. It’s possible this boy came much later. The real Ghost Groom should still be here.” 

Xiao Ying mustered up her courage. “You want the reward money…but you can’t just catch anyone at random to make up the numbers…” 

On hearing this, the little mob boss clearly wanted to beat her again. He had been causing trouble since earlier, and Xie Lian finally couldn’t endure it anymore. He waved his hand and Ruoye flew out to give the little mob boss a slap with a THWACK that sent him falling over. Nan Feng seemed to have reached his limit too, and immediately followed up with a kick. The man finally toppled to the ground and remained still. This person was a shit-stirrer, and once he remained immobile, the crowd did not know who to take aim at and so they all became very well-behaved. The commotion died down after a few scattering outcries here and there. 

Xie Lian thought, “Finally, we can deal with the issue now.” He sized up the young boy on the ground for a moment, then asked, “Were you the one who threw the rock by the window earlier?” 

His voice was gentle. The bandaged boy, who was trembling uncontrollably, peeked at him again and nodded. 

Xiao Ying said, “He doesn’t want to harm anyone. He just wanted to help me when he saw that little mob boss looking like he was going to hit me…”

Xie Lian asked the young boy again, “Do you know what’s with all those corpses hanging in the forest?”

Xiao Ying said, “I don’t know what’s going on, but he’s definitely not the one who hung them up...”

The bandaged boy trembled and shook his head repeatedly. 

Nan Feng, who was at the side staring at him, suddenly said, “How are you related to Green Ghost Qi Rong?”

Xie Lian gave a slight start on hearing this name. The bandaged boy, however, obviously looked blank. He showed no reaction to this name, and he did not dare to reply to Nan Feng either. 

“He…He’s too afraid to speak…” Xiao Ying explained. All this while, she had been trying her best to protect this strange boy. 

Xie Lian said in a gentle voice, “My lady Xiao Ying, what exactly is the matter with this child? Tell me everything you know.” 

Xiao Ying seemed to summon up a little courage on seeing Xie Lian, the light from the fire shining brightly on her face. She was no longer avoiding it. 

Wringing her hands, she said, “He really didn’t do anything bad. This child simply lives on Mount Yujun. Sometimes, when he’s too hungry, he’ll run down the mountain to steal some food. There was one time he coincidentally went to my house to steal…I saw that he can’t really talk and there were injuries on his face, so I found some cloth for him to bandage himself with. I’d also give him some food sometimes…” 

Xie Lian had initially thought them to be a couple, but now that he learned of all this, Xiao Ying’s reciprocal protection of him was more like that of an older sister, or even an elder taking care of him. 

She added, “Later, many people thought that he was the Ghost Groom. I couldn’t convince them, so I could only hope that the real culprit would be quickly captured…I thought, since this young master could so capably act as a bride to catch the Ghost Groom, then at the very least you won’t get the wrong person, because he would never, ever hijack the wedding sedan. But the moment I headed out, I heard that the little mob boss and the rest wanted to search the mountain today too. I was really worried, so I secretly came up to take a look.”

She stood guard before the young boy like she was afraid the others would hit him again, and defended him further. 

“He really isn’t the Ghost Groom. Look at him, it’d only take a few people to beat him like this. How in the world could he defeat so many military officers escorting the bride’s sedan...” 

Xie Lian and Nan Feng exchanged glances, both equally finding this to be a headache. 

If it was as she said, then wasn’t this young boy completely unrelated to this incident? 

Bandaged boy, “Savage” Ghost Groom, “Near-Supreme” Green Ghost, and that powerful, influential master of the silver butterflies, whom all heavenly officials turned pale at the mere mention of his name. To think this small Mount Yujun would see a never-ending flow of strange guests. This was truly a tough case to deal with. Who was who? What was the relationship between who and who? Xie Lian felt his headache intensify several times over. He rubbed his forehead and temporarily stopped thinking about how much truth there was in Xiao Ying’s words. 

He suddenly remembered something he had been meaning to ask, and said, “My Lady Xiao Ying, have you always lived near Mount Yujun?”

Xiao Ying replied, “Yeah. I’ve always lived here. I can guarantee that he has never done anything bad here.”

Xie Lian said, “No, I wanted to ask you something else. Are there no other Temples of Ming Guang built in the vicinity of Mount Yujun, other than the one on this mountain?”

Xiao Ying was taken aback. “Um…” She thought about it, then said, “There should have been others, I think.”

On hearing her words, Xie Lian suddenly had the vague feeling that he had grasped hold of something significant.

He asked, “Then, how come I only saw a Temple of Nan Yang at the foot of the mountain, but not a Temple of Ming Guang?”

Xiao Ying scratched her head. “It was indeed built before. But I heard, it seems every time construction of a Temple of Ming Guang was in the works, there would always be a fire for some reason halfway through...Some people say that it was probably because General Ming Guang could not guard this place for some reason, so they switched to General Nan Yang...”

Nan Feng noticed Xie Lian’s frozen expression and asked, “What’s the matter with you?”

Xie Lian suddenly realized that it was all too simple.

The brides who could not smile; the temple that caught fire for no reason; the temple of Ming Guang locked away by the enchanted array in the mountain; the majestic Martial God statue of General Pei; the Ghost Groom who had disappeared into thin air after being wounded by Ruoye—

All too simple!

It was just that there was always something else interfering and diverting his attention all this while, that he hadn’t realized such a simple truth right from the start!

He forcefully seized hold of Nan Feng and exclaimed, “Lend me some spiritual powers!” 

Nan Feng was startled by this grab. He hurriedly struck a palm with him in mid-air and questioned, “What’s the matter?” 

Xie Lian dragged him and ran. “I’ll explain later. Think of a way to subdue the corpses of those eighteen brides first!”

Nan Feng said, “Have you gone dumb? There are only seventeen brides’ corpses. You are the eighteenth!”

Xie Lian said, “No, no, no.” 

He explained, “There were only seventeen before, but now there are eighteen. Among the eighteen brides’ corpses, one is fake—the Ghost Groom is hiding among them!”

FOOTNOTES:

12 The word Fu Yao used for “easily” is [随手], which means “Casually” or “Conveniently”, but in literal terms it means “Going with the hand”. Xie Lian punned it by thinking no, that youth used his foot, not hand. Thus, the word choice here is trying to keep in the spirit of the original pun.

CHAPTER 10