This time, the two fell into another narrow hole, except the ground was hard and dry, and this new space was extremely cramped. This fall was painful, and the two tumbled and knocked into each other. Xie Lian was used to enduring pain, so he didn’t make a sound, but Shi Qingxuan cried out. That left Xie Lian’s ears in pain, instead, from the screaming.
Worried something might have happened to him, he called out, “Lord Wind Master, are you okay?”
Shi Qingxuan’s head was at the bottom, and his legs were in the air. “I don’t know if I’m okay. I’ve never fallen like this before. Your Highness, working with you is really too thrilling.”
Xie Lian couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at that as he finally realized that the two of them had fallen into a hole in a tree. He crawled out of the hole with great difficulty and extended a helping hand to Shi Qingxuan.
“Thanks for all your hard work.”
“You’re welcome,” Shi Qingxuan replied.
He pulled on Xie Lian’s hand and climbed out of the hole, dirty and disheveled, his silk dress in tatters. When he got out, he put a hand over his brow to block out the stinging brightness of the sun.
“Where’s this?”
“As you can see, it’s a forest in the deep mountains,” Xie Lian replied. He looked around and said, “I think the stone doors are a spiritual device with the same function as the Teleportation Array. Different rolls on the dice will take us to different places. I wonder if we rolled any of the right numbers.”
Shi Qingxuan crossed his now-bare arms and contemplated seriously. “Using the Teleportation Array just once requires an immense amount of spiritual power. That Crimson Rain Sought Flower created something like these stone doors just to prevent people from snooping around… It speaks volumes about his immense spiritual powers and how deeply calculating he is.”
Although he appeared solemn, his unkempt appearance with bare arms and bare feet made it really difficult for him to come across as serious. Instead, he looked, well, hilarious. Xie Lian held back his laughter with immense difficulty as he thought of the way Hua Cheng always lightly curled his lips and shook his head.
Rather than calculating, it’s more that he’s…mischievous, Xie Lian thought.
The two had only just emerged from the hole in the tree, and not a few steps after did a bunch of naked people suddenly jump out from the nearby bushes and surround them. They started jumping, howling as they did so.
“OOOOOOOOOOH!!”
“…”
The two were deeply shaken, and Shi Qingxuan cried, “What’s this now?!”
Xie Lian raised his hand. “Don’t panic, don’t panic! Let’s take a look first.”
He studied them and realized they weren’t actually naked; they were wearing animal skins and leaves and looked like they were ready to drink blood. They were holding long spears made of branches with sharp stones fastened at the ends as spearheads, and when they smiled at the pair, their teeth were jagged and sharp like saws.
The pair bolted without a word.
Shi Qingxuan shouted as he ran, “My brother used to tell me about this—that deep in the southern mountains, there are many fierce spirits that feast on human flesh! He told me never to come to such a place on my own! Is that what we ran into?!”
Xie Lian was practiced in the art of escape, so his demeanor and manner were far more relaxed than Shi Qingxuan’s. He replied calmly, “Mm, that’s very possible. Either way, we need to find the exit. Let’s see if there are any more stone doors nearby!”
The fearsome spirits ran after them, screaming and howling tirelessly. At first, Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan could only run for it, not fight back. Heavenly laws dictated that, should gods descend to the Mortal Realm, they should never presumptuously use their powers to oppress mortals. This law was to prevent heavenly officials from bullying mortals and creating disasters born of the abuse of their power. But these spirits kept hurling sharp rocks and branches at them, and without warning, one such branch scraped Shi Qingxuan’s cheek.
Now this was absolutely unacceptable. Shi Qingxuan felt his face and found the faintest bloody scratch. He saw red. With a roar, he came to a sudden stop. He spun around and shouted, “You ignorant, violent hillbillies! Not only did you not bow before me, the Lord Wind Master, you dared to ruin my face!! Unbelievable!!”
He pulled out his Wind Master fan, flashing it open with a powerful whoosh, and swung with force—their attackers were instantly blown off the ground and sent flying meters away, crashing into nearby trees and howling as they hung off the branches. The two could finally stop running, and they took in deep breaths trying to calm their heartbeats. As they panted, that thought came to Xie Lian again: It’s such a hassle being a heavenly official… Gods, humans, ghosts, no one has it any easier…