That group of little green ghosts agreed with Qi Rong loudly. He probably remembered the able subordinates he’d worked so hard to raise and continued.
“Too bad that fiery, good woman Xuan Ji was captured by those two shameless Pei curs and was wronged so miserably. She can’t be saved, even now!”
Xie Lian couldn’t fully agree with those words. Indeed, Xuan Ji had a tragic story to tell, but not everything was General’s Pei’s fault like Qi Rong described. After all, those ten brides were kidnapped by Xuan Ji herself, and she was the one who killed them in cold blood. Fiery for sure, but whether or not she was a good woman was debatable. But to say Little Pei only ascended because he kissed up to General Pei was something Xie Lian couldn’t agree with at all. After seeing so many ascend and fall over the years, there was one thing Xie Lian could say with absolute certainty: the skilled may not always ascend, but the ascended are always skilled. If one was powerless, then no matter who promoted them, they would not be able to overcome their Heavenly Tribulation and could at most be an official in the Middle Court. The only other issue was that ability did not equal status and that luck was also an important element—otherwise, Pei Xiu would’ve established his own independent temple by now.
Obviously, those things weren’t within the realm of consideration for Qi Rong. He swore like there wasn’t a single person in the Three Realms he didn’t want cursed to death. He called Pei Ming a rotten manwhore, Little Pei a kiss-ass, Jun Wu a faker, Ling Wen a damned bitch, Lang Qianqiu a moron, Quan Yizhen dog shit, the Water Master blackhearted, the Wind Master a tramp—he probably didn’t know Shi Qingxuan was actually a man. If Xie Lian wasn’t seeing it now with his own two eyes, he wouldn’t be able to believe anyone could be so resentful. Finally, Qi Rong made it to the main point, which was how Hua Cheng and that lurking Ship-Sinking Black Water looked down on him. They were mere supremes; one day for sure he’d make them kneel before him.
Xie Lian knew he should be angry hearing this, but because it was impossible to imagine how that would ever play out, he couldn’t help but find it hilarious instead. He stole a glimpse at Hua Cheng. Hua Cheng himself didn’t react but was instead still staring at that kneeling stone statue.
Finally, thank the gods, Qi Rong seemed to be assuaged by his tirade of abuse and changed the subject. “How did that thing go that I sent you guys to do? Have Quan Yizhen and that manwhore Pei started fighting yet?”
He sat down as he spoke, lounging on his luxurious throne. He raised his legs and rested his boots on the shoulders of the statue, using it as a footstool.
Xie Lian had been holding on to Hua Cheng’s arm and stopped him immediately when he felt him shuffle a step forward. He worried that his tug back might not be enough, so he drew another word in Hua Cheng’s palm: “Thanks.”
Hua Cheng recognized the word. He lowered his head and glanced at Xie Lian, who was watching him with gratefulness in his eyes, thanking him for his good intentions. Then Xie Lian shook his head lightly and drew the words “listen” and “heaven.”
Judging by Qi Rong’s talk, it seemed he sent some henchmen to complete a task, and it had something to do with those two heavenly officials. It couldn’t be anything good, so Xie Lian had to keep listening. As for the statue getting used as a footstool, considering he’d been used as a threshold before, this really meant nothing to Xie Lian. It was only a piece of rock, not really him. Although he had only written those three simple words, when their eyes met, Xie Lian knew Hua Cheng had understood their meaning. Hua Cheng slowly gripped his hand tight and turned his head away, so Xie Lian could no longer see his expression.
A little green ghost spoke up. “We’ve followed our king’s instructions and spread the rumor that Pei Ming wants to make Pei Xiu the Martial God of the West. It’s becoming more and more of a riot by the day, so we used that as an excuse and desecrated hundreds of Ming Guang temples disguised as devotees from the Palace of Qi Ying. And no one was the wiser! Ha ha ha, my king may not know, but all his devotees are really stupid! They saw us smashing temples and smashed along with us with even more enthusiasm!”
Qi Rong approved. “Keep fueling them! Quan Yizhen can endure it, but I refuse to believe that manwhore Pei can put up with it!”
Even if the rumors they were spreading weren’t exactly false, malicious talk like this was still full of ill intent. Especially vile was doing something as unscrupulous as disguising themselves as mortals to sabotage temples and incite discontent. No wonder that whenever Qi Rong was mentioned, everyone in the heavens said that although he wasn’t that capable, he was truly extremely annoying.