Благословение Небожителей. Том 6 (ЛП) - Мосян Тунсю

“…How can I possibly let go?” he whispered.

Xie Lian couldn’t speak, being held so tightly in his arms. And then Hua Cheng whispered something else in his ear. Xie Lian’s heart was pounding so wildly he thought it might jump out of his chest…when he suddenly felt his body release.

The Command Talisman that Mu Qing stuck to his back had finally been released.

Even though Hua Cheng said he wouldn’t let go, he still loosened his embrace just a little and let Xie Lian leave his hold once he released him from the Command Talisman. Xie Lian took a deep breath, then leapt to his feet and charged over to the pool of blood on the ground.

“Feng Xin? Mu Qing? Are you two all right?!”

Mu Qing’s injuries were more severe; blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and the light in his eyes had faded. But Feng Xin still had breath left, and he gripped Xie Lian’s hand tightly.

“Your…Highness…”

Xie Lian clutched his hand in turn. “What? What do you want to say?”

Feng Xin swallowed a mouthful of blood and managed to grit out, “Watch out…for Hua Cheng… Don’t go near him… He…he’s a monster!”

It seemed that Feng Xin had used up all that remained of his strength to give Xie Lian that warning before he died. Unexpectedly, the expression on Xie Lian’s face gradually calmed.

“Monster?” He let go of Feng Xin’s hand and rose to his feet. “I wonder. Is he more of a monster than you two?”

That shocked Feng Xin. Without pausing for a response, Xie Lian drew Fangxin and pierced Feng Xin’s heart, nailing him dead to the ground in a flash!

“Your Highness, you…!” Feng Xin sputtered in shock, but before he could finish, he stopped breathing.

Xie Lian withdrew Fangxin from Feng Xin’s heart and shook it clean of blood before he retreated to Hua Cheng’s side. He kept his sword pointed at the corpses on the ground all the while.

“Now that blood has been spilled, there’s no need to keep talking through those skins.”

“Ha ha ha…”

A jeering laugh echoed from the ground. Mu Qing’s body had been sliced in half at the waist, but its head twisted around to show that it was the one laughing.

Its upper half was sprawled facedown, so even if it turned its head, its cheek should have still been pressed to the ground. But the corpse’s head kept turning until it was fully backward and lifted it, laughing at Xie Lian all the while!

As suspected, these were not the real Feng Xin and Mu Qing but impostors from who-knew-where. The real Feng Xin and Mu Qing were still trapped in those giant white chrysalises trying to gnaw themselves free. That was what Hua Cheng had whispered when he released Xie Lian from the Command Talisman.

Their faces were pale not from shock or horror, but because they weren’t human to begin with!

Xie Lian flashed his sword. “Feng Xin” and “Mu Qing” both smiled chillingly and replied in unison:

“As you wish.”

They then melted into puddles of something that resembled thick blood. Hua Cheng moved to shield Xie Lian. The two bloody puddles flowed across the ground and merged into one, bubbling like they were boiling. Soon, the pool formed into the shape of a man. A chill spiked up Xie Lian’s spine from waist to neck as he watched that indescribable mass contort itself and grow bit by bit.

Soon, “Feng Xin” and “Mu Qing” were completely gone. The person who had replaced them was a tall, slender young man dressed in white.

Judging by his size, the young man seemed to be about seventeen or eighteen years of age. He was wearing a mask, half of it crying, half of it smiling. While his face couldn’t be seen, a youthful, crisp, bright voice came from behind the mask.

“How are you, Xie Lian?” he asked warmly.

Xie Lian’s lips twitched unconsciously, and his mind went numb. Hua Cheng had been shielding him, but now the ghost king raised his blade and lunged at the man!

The white-clad man was dauntless in the face of Eming’s wicked sharpness, and the blade missed him by mere millimeters as he sidestepped. In the span of a second, he flashed behind Hua Cheng. He reached for Xie Lian like he wanted to touch his face. Silver light streaked, and Hua Cheng blocked that hand, shielding Xie Lian once more.

Hua Cheng’s voice was cold. “Keep your filthy hands off him.”

He threw the warning right back at him! The white-clad man’s right hand was severed by Eming’s slash, and the limb fell to the ground.

But the man seemed like he’d barely noticed the injury. He simply shook out his expansive sleeve to briefly hide the severed limb, then shook the sleeve back again. A new hand had grown in the old one’s place.

His fingers curled into claws, and he aimed directly for Hua Cheng’s right eye!

It all happened in under a second. Hua Cheng dodged just as fast, but the attack still left two bloody scratches on his cheek.

For the first time, Hua Cheng faced an opponent he couldn’t overtake in speed. His gaze turned sharp, and he changed tactics on the spot—he called forth millions of wraith butterflies, and they swarmed the man in a frenzy. The myriad butterflies wrapped the white-clad man inside a large, shimmering silver chrysalis, but that likely wouldn’t last long. Hua Cheng was about to grab Xie Lian when the silver butterflies shrieked and exploded into sparkling powder!

Seeing the subtle change to Hua Cheng’s expression as so many wraith butterflies were destroyed at once, Xie Lian knew that this wasn’t good. The white-clad man had blown apart the wraith butterflies, and now he was hidden within the shimmering silver powder that choked the air. His newly grown hand struck out once more, aiming again for Hua Cheng’s right eye!

This time, it was Xie Lian’s turn. He pulled out Fangxin and slashed! His strike didn’t just chop off the white-clad man’s hand, nor his entire arm—it very nearly bisected him entirely.

Seizing the chance, Hua Cheng called out, “Your Highness, let’s go!”

Xie Lian knew they shouldn’t get entangled in this fight, and that they should quit while they were ahead. He retreated, and the two rushed out of the cavern together. They bolted down the dark tunnel, unhampered by any obstacles.

“It’s him! He… He really didn’t die!” Xie Lian exclaimed as he ran.

Hua Cheng led the way. He was faster and dashed easily, setting up butterfly formations and silk traps along the way to trip up any pursuers. “He might not be the original.”

Xie Lian came to an abrupt stop and clutched his head. “No…I can feel it. He’s the same! Not only is he still alive, but he’s even stronger than before. Something let him be reborn… How else could he transform so easily into Feng Xin and Mu Qing? It’s very difficult to impersonate heavenly officials—it should be nearly impossible to create fake skins of them!”

Hearing his tone go frantic, Hua Cheng also stopped and turned back. He took Xie Lian’s hand and gripped it. “Don’t be scared, Your Highness. He might not really be stronger. There’s another possibility—he could be very familiar with Feng Xin and Mu Qing! That’s why he could create fake skins of them. He must be someone all of you—”

Before he finished, Xie Lian’s gaze fell to the hand that was clutching his own. Hua Cheng’s words and expression both froze. He paled and withdrew his hand, tucked it behind his back, and turned to continue onward.

Xie Lian, however, didn’t follow.

“San Lang,” he called out.

Hua Cheng’s body stiffened. He paused in his step but didn’t look back. He only acknowledged, “Your Highness,” in a carefully calm voice.

“A lot just happened, and everyone’s a little flustered and confused,” Xie Lian said from behind him.

“Mm,” Hua Cheng answered.

“Everything is still kind of confusing, but I want to take the time to ask you a question,” Xie Lian continued. “I hope you’ll answer me honestly and seriously.”