Shi Qingxuan saw his face and cried, “It’s you!”
That man didn’t seem to expect guests and was taken aback—he looked as though he wanted to say “it’s you!” as well, but alas, he held back. Xie Lian calmed Ruoye, who was ready to attack.
“So you two know each other?”
After crossing so many hurdles and finally finding someone, Shi Qingxuan looked relieved. He was about to respond when the man cut in.
He said in a tone that left no room for dispute, “No.”
Shi Qingxuan raged at those words and pointed at him with his fan. “Is it so shameful to know me? What hurtful words, Ming-xiong! I’m your best friend!”
The man denied it resolutely. “I have no friends who would run around in that sort of attire.”
“…”
Shi Qingxuan was still in his tattered purple silk dress, truly…a shameful sight. Xie Lian wanted to laugh at the thought that there were really people in this world who would claim to be someone’s “best friend” to validate themselves. It was definitely Shi Qingxuan’s style. But “Ming-xiong”？ If he remembered the five elemental masters correctly, the Earth Master’s name was Ming Yi.
Xie Lian spoke up. “Are you perhaps the Lord Earth Master?”
“It’s him. You’ve met before,” Shi Qingxuan replied.
Xie Lian looked Ming Yi over and wondered, “Have we?” He didn’t recall ever meeting such a character.
“You have,” Shi Qingxuan confirmed.
“We have not,” Ming Yi asserted.
“Yes, you have!” Shi Qingxuan said exasperatedly. “Before, at Banyue Pass! You guys didn’t forget that fast, did you?”
“…”
Seeing Ming Yi’s face go from ghastly pale to ashen grim, Xie Lian finally remembered! When they first met at Banyue Pass, wasn’t there a black-clad lady with Shi Qingxuan?
Hua Cheng had told him at the time that the black-clad person wasn’t the Water Master but was surely one of the five elemental masters. As expected, Shi Qingxuan was not only passionate about transforming into his own female form, he was also passionate about dragging others into doing the same. No wonder the black-clad lady looked extremely pissed off at the time, like she was disgusted. Recalling how Shi Qingxuan tried to wheedle him into “joining in the fun,” Xie Lian realized that it’d truly been a close call and was glad he didn’t give in.
“Lord Earth Master, are you the one who sent forth the Ascending Fire Dragon?” Xie Lian asked.
“I was,” Ming Yi answered.
They had found the right person. Xie Lian nodded and said, “Lord Earth Master is probably seriously wounded. We’d best make our escape now and talk later.”
Without any prompting, Shi Qingxuan knelt down and lifted Ming Yi onto his back. “Then let’s get out of here.”
The three retraced their steps, and Shi Qingxuan talked as he walked.
“I have to ask, Ming-xiong—aren’t you good at fighting? You were perfectly fine back at Banyue Pass, so how did you get beaten up this bad in a matter of days? How did you piss off that Crimson Rain Sought Flower?”
There was a bit of schadenfreude in his tone. Xie Lian mentally noted, He’s speaking as though he isn’t afraid of being punched. They are good friends indeed.
Ming Yi looked like he’d had enough of listening to Shi Qingxuan talk, and he spat, “Shut up!”
But this was also a question Xie Lian wanted the answer to, so he adjusted his wording: “Lord Earth Master, why would Hua Cheng give you trouble?”
Ming Yi didn’t tell him to shut up, but he didn’t answer either. Xie Lian turned his head to look at him and saw he had his eyes closed. After days of imprisonment and interrogation, and being so badly wounded, Ming Yi must’ve felt so relieved by their sudden rescue that he could finally relax. His questions weren’t urgent anyway, so Xie Lian didn’t try to wake him. The three ran up the stairs, and Xie Lian fished out his dice and rolled once more. He didn’t know what number he rolled out in the dark, only that before them he heard a soft clack. A crack peeked open and light seeped through. Xie Lian pushed at the door and was just wondering whether he’d have the chance to take Lang Ying away too, when unexpectedly, the first step he took was hollow.
The moment he felt himself fall forward, he cried, “Don’t come out!”
Xie Lian somersaulted through the air and fell on something hard. He felt brief relief that it wasn’t a bladed mountain or a sea of fire5 that he’d fallen into—until he looked up and realized that a bladed mountain or a sea of fire might’ve been better. Hua Cheng’s exceptionally handsome face was only inches away from his, his brows raised high and his gaze locked on him.