Heaven Official’s Blessing
Chapter 214 :
Breaking the Standstill; A Well-Timed Gift
2
Hua Cheng hadn’t even walked over before
Xie Lian had already forcefully glomped over.
This was a powerful glomp, and Hua Cheng actually
wasn’t pushed back for a few steps by the
force, not even a wobble. He only placed his
hands on Xie Lian’s back, chuckling lightly
without speaking. Xie Lian was just feeling
cheered when he suddenly remembered another
thing and quickly said, “Wait, San Lang!
The Empe… Jun Wu is quite wary of you, and
you should’ve been guarding the human array
at the royal capital. He must’ve sent eyes
down to watch you, so if you vanished all
of a sudden, wouldn’t he notice? Besides,
is it really alright for the Wind Master to
be guarding the array by himself?”
However, Hua Cheng replied, “Don’t worry,
Gege, that’s already been taken cared of.
No flaws will be exposed for the moment.”
Xie Lian figured he probably blocked the eyes
Jun Wu sent or left a clone down below, so
he didn’t press for more on how things were
taken cared of. Just then, Hua Cheng remarked
leisurely, “It seems, Gege really missed
me very much.”
“…”
Xie Lian remembered the messed up, inadmissible
words they exchanged through spiritual communication
in front of Jun Wu, then noticed how he himself
was currently holding Hua Cheng tight, not
letting go, and he immediately loosened his
grip, straightening himself, and replied with
a schooled voice, “…En, en. You said we
needed to enlist the help of someone, so that
someone was Lord Rain Master.”
Hua Cheng smiled at him cheerfully, “Correct.
The Rain Master has been in the lower realms
for years, and just so happened to be roused
by the opening of Mount TongLu. To return
to the heavens to check things out is perfectly
logical. And, if Jun Wu refuses to allow her
up without proper reasons, the Rain Master
would no doubt notice things amiss. So, of
course he had to let her come back up. Gege,
don’t worry, it’s fine, you can keep holding
me like that, I don’t mind.”
Xie Lian softly cleared his throat, “No,
it’s alright, thank you…But why can’t
he do anything to the Rain Master?”
“Gege might not know this. The Rain Master
is a heavenly official who manages agriculture.
This godly position might seem dreary on the
surface without any major benefits, so most
aren’t interested, but it’s actually quite
unique, Currently, there’s only Yu Shi Huang
who is a heavenly official that manages agriculture.
Xie Lian mused and deduced the intricate reasons.
Hua Cheng continued, “If the Rain Master
was killed directly, and a better heavenly
official couldn’t be found to replace her,
the people put food above all else; if agriculture
isn’t running smoothly, the world will be
thrown into chaos. You don’t let people
eat, people won’t give you a job. Besides
being displeased with the Rain Master, the
people of the world might also begin to be
dissatisfied with the great god above Rain
Master’s head, which means, if he wasn’t
careful the fire can burn all the way onto
him. If things aren’t controlled adequately,
it might incur riots to topple gods.
Which was to desecrate his temples and topple
his divine statues, just as what the people
of XianLe did once.
Hua Cheng added, “On top of that, the Rain
Master doesn’t establish temples or shrines,
hasn’t resided in the Heavenly Capital for
years, and has no desire to be promoted, so
there isn’t really anything to hold against
her with. Externally, it’s hard for him
to find a proper reason to banish the Rain
Master so it’s difficult to make a move;
internally, his position can remain stable
so long as the Rain Master continues to manage
agriculture, so, he would keep up the pretense
for as long as he can. Deceive her first,
and decide what to do after should the truth
come out.”
Xie Lian was relieved, “I see, thank goodness,
that was close. That Lord Rain Master would
help really is coming to aid in a time of
need. Hopefully her acting is extraordinary.
Oh by the way, we must go find Head Priest
first! There are many things that I must ask
him to get proper answers.”
The two didn’t dally any longer and sped
out of the XianLe Palace. The moment Xie Lian
crossed over the threshold he was startled
by the row of guards watching the entrance,
and was just about to whip them out with RuoYe
when he noticed each of them were like wooden
dolls, and not just in posture, but even their
expressions didn’t change. They were all
petrified by Hua Cheng.
As they went, Hua Cheng’s vambraces shimmered
silver, transforming into silver butterflies,
and they gradually lost colour, hiding into
the air. There were probably hundreds of thousands
of deadly spirit butterflies by now that were
dispersed throughout the Heavenly Capital.
Along the way, they’d suddenly go up or
go down, abruptly hide or appear, perfectly
dodging every patrolling guard.
Hiding in an alley while watching troops of
patrolling guards stomp by, Hua Cheng said
standing next to Xie Lian, “After this stretch,
we’ll take the path above.”
Xie Lian nodded and leapt onto the roof following
Hua Cheng. The two fled across the roofs one
after the other, leaving no traces behind.
A short while later, Xie Lian dropped onto
the edge of an eave and abruptly stopped,
looking back at Hua Cheng seeming to be pensive.
Seeing him stilled, Hua Cheng also stopped,
“What is it? Have you noticed something?”
Xie Lian frowned slightly and nodded, and
said pensively, “No. It’s just, it feels
like this scene had played somewhere else
before…”
Before he finished, Hua Cheng suddenly hugged
his waist. The next moment, the two ‘fell’
from the rooftop.
Xie Lian only felt the world spin, going topsy
turvy, his bamboo hat slipping off from his
back, about the fall to the ground, and he
swiftly and lightly snatched it back.
Meanwhile. Hua Cheng held him in his embrace
as the two hung upside down down the eaves
of some roof while above them, something pata-pata
crawled past rapidly.
Xie Lian was no stranger to that sound – it
was the sound of the fetus spirit crawling!
Who knows whether if it was patrolling in
a showy manner or what. Just then, another
voice came from below, “Cuo Cuo, Cuo Cuo?”
Jian Lan!
Xie Lian cried “oh no!” in his head. That
fetus spirit was still on top of the roof,
and if Jian Lan was to walk over from below,
wouldn’t they be discovered? Xie Lian couldn’t
be sure what Jian Lan’s reaction would be,
whether if she’d still be grateful for Hua
Cheng saving her life or if she would yell
to alert people.
Those light and hurried steps were coming
closer and closer and was just about to turn
the corner when thankfully, right then, that
fetus spirit finally jumped down the other
side of the roof.
The two immediately flipped over and hopped
on top of the building. Xie Lian let out a
breath of relief.
When Jian Lan peeked out from the corner of
the wall and saw her son who had jumped onto
the ground, she’d also let out a breath
of relief and came out, “Cuo Cuo! Don’t
run around randomly, this is a strange and
unfamiliar place, rather scary, if you ran
off and disappeared, mom won’t even know
where to go to find out… why did you come
here?!”
She casually glanced around and saw the establishment
plaque of this palace, and backed away a couple
steps. It was only after seeing this reaction
that Xie Lian remembered that the golden palace
beneath their feet seemed to be the Nan Yang
Palace .
Which meant, Feng Xin was currently locked
inside here!
Jian Lan must also know this, and her face
twitched lightly. A moment later, she looked
down to scold that fetus spirit, “What are
you doing coming here?!”
However, that fetus spirit was hugging something
white and chunky, “crunch crunch” like
it was gnawing at it. Jian Lan then yelled
at it, “What’s that? What are you blindly
eating? Spit it out!”
Xie Lian looked closely and discovered that
was a solid, big white radish, and didn’t
know whether to laugh or cry. No need for
her to say anything, that fetus spirit obviously
also thought it didn’t taste good, and p-tui
p-tui, spat the radish forcefully out, shrieking
as he did so, like it was throwing a tantrum.
Jian Lan instantly went up to cradle it, coaxing,
“Okay okay okay, Cuo Cuo is a good boy,
if it doesn’t taste good then just don’t
eat it anymore. Only poor bastards and silly
gods like to eat those things, we don’t
eat those.”
Only a birth mother could cradle such a deformed
and horrifying creature in her arms and still
comfort it in a gentle voice. That fetus spirit
wiggled is chubby white body in her arms and
purred happily.
Xie Lian watched this scene play out and a
sudden inexplicable sympathy grew in his heart,
but he was also puzzled, “How is there such
a large white radish in the Heavenly Capital?”
Hua Cheng raised his brows and replied, “Gege,
have you forgotten? It’s the gifts grown
from the earth, the souvenirs the Rain Master
brought you.”
“…”
So that was the present the Rain Master gifted
him!
Xie Lian tried to imagine what Jun Wu’s
face would look like when he opened that wooden
box to see it was a giant white radish, but
it was impossible to imagine, his attempt
a failure. It appeared that after Jun Wu had
finished inspecting the gift and determined
it to be nothing suspicious, he casted the
giant white radish off to feed this fetus
spirit.
It was practically like feeding a dog.
At first after that fetus spirit had spat
it out, it kicked that giant white radish
away in disgust, but after hearing Jian Lan’s
words, it seemed to be pensive, then leapt
out of its mother’s embrace, hopping over
and picked it up with its mouth before hopping
into the palace. If Xie Lian didn’t look
closely, it did look like a smooth skinned,
hairless white dog. Jian Lan called out, “DON’T
GO IN! THAT’S…”
The soldiers guarding before the Nan Yang
Palace were probably informed by Jun Wubeforehand
that this fetus spirit was his pet or hunting
dog, and they didn’t blink nor did they
stop it. Without any choice, Jian Lan could
only follow it inside. That fetus spirit seemed
to be harbouring deep animosity towards Feng
Xin, and Xie Lian was worried that it would
cause harm to Feng Xin. He turned his head,
“San Lang?”
On the tip of Hua Cheng’s fingertip rested
a transparent butterfly, “A deadly spirit
butterfly is already perched on her person.”
Xie Lian nodded, and the two monitored the
situation inside the Nan Yang Palace. They
saw Jian Lan was bent low, sneakily slipping
into the palace as if she didn’t want anyone
to discover her, and she whispered, “Cuo
Cuo–”
However, it was impossible not to be discovered.
That fetus spirit hopped into the main hall,
and there was one man meditating in the main
hall. He blinked open his eyes and they met
hers, both of them taken aback.
Feng Xin was stunned first then delighted,
rising to his feet, “Jian Lan! Why have
you come? Are you alright? You’ve come just
in time, help me…”
Just then, that fetus spirit suddenly started
howling, jumping between the two, spitting
that giant white radish onto the ground, and
kicked it forcefully with its back legs. That
giant white radish with a few bites missing
was sent flying and smacked squarely on Feng
Xin’s face, creating a big DONG! Noise!
After it kicked the radish it was also feeling
rather proud and pleased, crying WAH-LAH!
Randomly, cackling evilly, as if it was waiting
for its mother to praise itself. Feng Xin
was almost knocked out by this thing, and
a line of blood instantly streamed down from
his nose. He wiped it away and yelled angrily,
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STAY STILL, WILL YOU!”
He was fierce, but that fetus spirit was even
more ferocious, and screeched at him while
slithering its tongue. Feng Xin took a sharp
step forward, ready to grab for him, but got
his arm bitten by its wide, bloody mouth,
and couldn’t get rid of it no matter how
hard he tossed his arm.
This familiar scene was both horrifying and
hilarious, and when Feng Xin couldn’t be
rid of it no matter what, he was even more
outraged, “WHAT THE FUCK!!! WHAT THE ACTUAL
FUCK!!! ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A BEATING?? WHAT
THE HELL!”
Jian Lan had snapped out of it too and cried,
“STOP! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO YELL AND
BEAT HIM??”
To be yelled out, Feng Xin was startled, and
half of his spirit diminished as he argued,
“He… he recognized a crook for a father!!
Why would he be on Jun Wu’s side… How
did he turn out like this??”
Jian Lan clicked her tongue, “How? Isn’t
it because of you?! “It’s the father’s
fault for only raising without educating”*,
if it wasn’t you slacking off on your duty
as the father, would your own son be dug out
from his mother’s womb to be made into something
like this? WHAT THE HELL? THE HELL YOU GAVE
LIFE TO!”
With every reproach Feng Xin backed a step,
and his voice also diminished greatly, “But…
but I didn’t know about this at all. And
at the time, it was you who told me to scram…”
“HA!” Jian Lan exclaimed, “I told you
to scram to help you! You come to this bitch’s
bedside everyday with that godforsaken gloominess,
you think I don’t know what you’re thinking??
You had to serve that crown prince of yours
and collect enough money to redeem my freedom
at the same time, you were battered and bruised,
tired and annoyed! You were too embarrassed
to just toss your sleeve and leave, then I
might as well send you off!”
“I was very tired at the time!” Feng Xin
cried, “But I was never annoyed with you!
I wanted to redeem you!”
Jian Lan jabbed at his chest, “PLEASE! Redemption,
redemption, you knew very well in your heart
whether if you could actually redeem the price
tag of this bitch with the meagre skills you
had back then! You’d wish you could split
every penny in half and spend it as double
everyday, going on the streets each day to
busk and still had to go back to pay your
respects to your crown prince and your ol’
emperor, it’s already pretty good that I
didn’t throw myself at you to add to your
burdens. Expecting you to redeem my freedom?
WHAT A DREAM!”
“You didn’t say this at the beginning,
we’ve even made promises! I always keep
my words…”
Jian Lan cut him off, “There’s plenty
of promises, swears, and oaths out there,
but think a bit for yourself, what have you
given me, huh? Other than that golden belt,
oh, wait, it was ONLY that golden belt, and
you even exhorted over and over never to sell
it!”
Feng Xin had been backing step after step
by her jabbing, his expression both stiff
and shamed.
The more Jian Lan spoke the angrier she became,
“OR, did you mean that godforsaken protection
charm? My heart must’ve been smeared with
pig’s grease to believe that shitty protection
charm could protect anyone! There was barely
any good luck, BUT THERE SURE WAS A SHIT TON
OF BAD LUCK! YOU, had less and less money,
but your temper was bigger and bigger, what
was I to do if I didn’t let you go, HUH?
TORMENT YOU TO DEATH THIS WAY?? TORMENT YOU
TO THE POINT WHERE YOU’D COMPLAIN ABOUT
ME HATE ME ANNOYED WITH ME AND NO LONGER WANTED
TO SEE ME EVER AGAIN??”
“…”
It wasn’t just Feng Xin, even Xie Lian who
was currently above the Nan Yang Palace didn’t
know what to say anymore.
So this was how it was.
Xie Lian recalled many things. The early morning
departures and late night returns of back
then, the exhausted Feng Xin, the randomly
happy, randomly depressed Feng Xin, and the
Feng Xin who tried once to borrow money from
Xie Lian with great difficulty.
The insignificant unusual gestures suddenly
all had an explanation.
Feng Xin was Xie Lian’s servant, his good
friend, but not his slave. He could’ve built
his own home, had his own family, and he had
actually already met those people, but the
encounter just had to be during Xie Lian’s
first banishment, the toughest days they suffered
back then.
At the time, Xie Lian was having trouble surviving
himself, so how could he possibly have noticed
those details.
He was suffering, Feng Xin was also suffering.
Everyone was suffering. And in the end, the
two finally couldn’t keep it going. Perhaps,
Jian Lan had long foreseen this ending.
But, even if it was during that period of
time, Feng Xin still did his utmost to try
and support him.
He’d even gifted Jian Lan his protection
charms that no one cared for anymore, and
told her that this thing could grant good
luck, which was why Jian Lan would carefully
put it away, tucking it in the little robes
of the unborn child.
Of course, in the end, it was proven that
that protection charm didn’t bring them
any good fortune at all.
Jian Lan looked as if she said things she
shouldn’t have, and picked up the fetus
spirit on the ground in a hurry turning to
leave. Feng Xin called out, “JIAN LAN!!!”
He pulled at his hair, and actually looked
to be at a loss, sighing and lamenting.
“Come… come back.” Feng Xin begged,
“I’m still… Sigh, I still feel I, I…
I want to take care of both of you. I should
take care of both of you. I have a duty, I’ve
promised you.”
Jian Lan turned around and stared at him intently
for a moment, tightening the hug of the fetus
spirit in her arms, and humphed, “No need.
I know, you’re disgusted with this son of
yours. It’s nothing but some demonic creature
in your eyes. It’s fine, I’m not disgusted.”
Feng Xin finally came back to his senses and
countered, “I’M NOT DISGUSTED!”
“Then how come you’re so mean to him every
time?” Jian Lan questioned, “Can you really
take him for your own son?”
“As long as it can return to the right path,
how can I not?” Feng Xin replied.
Jian Lan sneered, “Then let me ask you again:
you’re a heavenly official, do you dare
to recognize it as your son?”
Feng Xin was taken aback.
This reaction was natural. That fetus spirit
clung in its mother’s arms, baring its teeth
and growling at him, like it was an ugly,
poisonous vermin that wasn’t fully grown,
or perhaps like a crippled baby savage beast,
but either way it was not human.
What kind of heavenly official would dare
admit to such an affair? To recognize such
a demonic creature as their own son? This
was definitely a giant stain, and his worshipers,
his merits, his reputation, would all be greatly
affected!
End Chapter
