Forbidden Read!
Chapter 11 (part 2)

Chapter 11 (part 2): Ancient Temple Locked in the Mountain, Hanging Corpse Forest

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Right at that moment, the strange sound of a clock bell sounded.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!" Reverberated loudly three times. Xie Lian was instantly engulfed in a dizzy feeling. He asked, "What happened?"

As she re-observed her surroundings, all the brides there swayed around before falling to the ground. Only their arms were still raised, pointing to the sky. The villagers also fell and did not get up again. It was as if they had all lost consciousness due to the ringing of the bells of the clock that split the ears.

Xie Lian also felt somewhat dizzy. With one hand on his forehead, he exerted his body to stand up, yet his legs felt limp making him half-kneel on the ground. Fortunately, someone helped him. When he raised his head to see who it was, he was Nan Feng.

As it turned out, after the seven brides entered the forest, they had all spread out in different directions. Nan Feng basically had to scour the entire mountain to catch them all and had just returned. Seeing his calm demeanor, Xie Lian immediately asked, "What's with the sound of those bells?"

Nan Feng said to him, "Don't worry, they are reinforcements."

Following his line of sight, Xie Lian suddenly realized that a line of soldiers had appeared in front of the Ming Guang Temple.

That line of soldiers wore armor, shining in divine power as a powerful aura emanated from them. At the very front stood a tall and handsome young general. He's definitely not an ordinary person. The general walked with his hands clasped behind his back. As soon as he was in front of Xie Lian, he slightly bowed, and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince."

Before Xie Lian could even open her mouth to ask, Nan Feng said in a low voice, "He is General Pei."

Xie Lian immediately glanced at Xuan Ji who was on the ground, and repeated, "General Pei?"

This General Pei was not as he had imagined, nor was he at all similar to a Divine statue. The divine statue was depicted with a pattern of heroism, while its face was filled with arrogance. It was an invasive and powerful type of good looks. Meanwhile, although this young general was also quite handsome, his appearance was gentle, while his face looked peaceful like cold jade. It had no killing intent, and was filled with an unperturbed calm. You could say that he is a general, but it is not strange if anyone claims that he is a strategist.

General Pei looked at Xuan Ji on the ground and spoke, "Ling Wen Palace Hall told us that the situation at Mount Yu Jun had little to do with Ming Guang Palace, so this subordinate rushed over here. I didn't expect that this situation really had a rather deep relationship with us. For inconveniencing you, I am very grateful, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Xie Lian thanked Ling Wen in her heart. In what ways did the efficiency of Ling Wen Palace decrease? "I also thank you for troubling you, General Pei."

But when Xuan Ji, who was thrashing, faintly heard the word "General Pei", he suddenly lifted his head and loudly shouted, "Pei Lang, Pei Lang! Is that you, have you come? Have you finally come?"

After being tied up by Ruoye, no matter how wildly she moved out of happiness, she could only kneel down. But who would have thought that when he saw the General, his face immediately turned pale. "Who are you?!"

On Xie Lian's side, she was telling Nan Feng about the summary of her situation with the groom's ghost. When he heard Xuan Ji's question, he asked, "Isn't he General Pei? Has he waited too long so that he can't recognize her anymore?"

Nan Feng replied, "He is General Pei. But not the person he's been waiting for."

Xie Lian felt strange. "Don't tell me there's two General Pei?"

But Nan Feng replied, "Right, there are indeed two!"

As it turned out, General Pei who was eagerly awaited by this female ghost Xuan Ji was the main god of the Ming Guang Temple, while the one in front of them was the vice god. He was also a successor of General Pei's family. To distinguish the two of them as they were summoned, everyone summoned a god in front of them this "General Pei Kecil". In the true Ming Guang Temple, it was necessary to honor them with positive and inverted moon blocks[1].

[1] Something commonly used in temples and shrines, especially when one wants a reply from the god they worship.

General Pei was the main god in the temple, so his Divine statue faced the door of the temple. The Divine Statue of Little General Pei was positioned behind his statue. However, even though one was from the previous generation and the other from the next generation, they looked like brothers. But for two people from the same family to ride, it could be considered a very strange story that could be captured by one's imagination.

Xuan Ji looked around but still did not find the person he wanted to see among the soldiers. He gloomily asked, "Where is Pei Ming? Why didn't he come? Why didn't he come to see me?"

General Pei Kecil slightly nodded his head, replying, "General Pei is busy with important matters."

Xuan Ji muttered, "Important matter?"

Under her long hair, her tears began to fall as she said, "I've been waiting for her for centuries, what important matter does she have? In the past, to meet me, he would cross half the border within one night, so what important matter could he have now? So important that he won't even see me once? Important issue? He doesn't actually have one, does he?"

General Pei Kecil said, "General Xuan Ji, please leave immediately[2]."

[2] Here, this is more figurative than literal. What he said was basically telling Xuan Ji to stop his struggle and cooperate with his arrest.

Two Ming Guang Temple soldiers came out from the row formation and walked over. Ruoye quickly jumped off Xuan Ji's body and wrapped around Xie Lian's wrist affectionately. Xie Lian gently patted him twice to comfort him.

Xuan Ji let the two soldiers catch him as he knelt there in a daze. Then, suddenly, he began to thrash, pointing to the sky as he cursed, "Pei Ming! I curse you!"

His screams are very sharp. Xie Lian stared blankly before she thought, "Isn't this cursing her predecessor while in front of their successor?"

Xuan Ji kept shouting to himself in a hoarse voice, "I curse you, you better never fall in love with anyone. Otherwise, if such a day comes, I curse you to be like me, forever and forever, to burn incessantly by love! Let the fire of love burn your whole body and everything!"

At this time, General Pei Kecil said to Xie Lian and the others, "Sorry for my disrespect and wait a moment." He raised two fingers and lightly pressed them onto his temple. That movement was a movement to activate the spiritual communication array, so he must be communicating with someone. After a while, he muttered "hmmm", before lowering his hand and returning it to the back. He turned towards Xuan Ji and said, "General Pei wants me to deliver the message―'It's impossible.'"

Xuan Ji screeched, "I curse you―!!!"

Little General Pei slightly raised his hand, and ordered, "Take him away."

Two soldiers picked up Xuan Ji who was struggling violently and dragged him away. Xie Lian asked, "Little General Pei, may I ask, how will Xuan Ji be dealt with?"

General Pei Kecil replied, "He will be held under a mountain."

Searching for a mountain to hold him back, this was indeed a method often used by the heavens to deal with demons and ghosts. After muttering to himself for a moment, Xie Lian said, "This hatred of General Xuan Ji is quite heavy. Since he was constantly thinking of hatred after committing treason against his kingdom and how his legs were broken because of General Pei, I was worried that holding him back would not last long."

General Pei Kecil moved his head, and said, "He said he committed treason and broke his leg because of General Pei?"

Xie Lian replied, "He did say that before, that because of General Pei, he ended up with his current condition. For what the truth is, I don't know."

General Pei Kecil spoke, "If it should be said like that, then fine. It is true that he committed treason for General Pei. But the details may be different to what others think. After he and General Pei parted ways, in order to urge him to stay, General Xuan Ji did not hesitate to hand over his own military intelligence. However, General Pei was unwilling to accept that unfair advantage and rejected his offer."

...Xie Lian never thought that her sentence, 'I betrayed my kingdom for you', turned out to have such truth. He asked, "Then when he said his leg was broken because of General Pei...?"

General Pei Kecil replied, "He broke his own leg."

...He broke it himself?

General Pei Kecil replied, flat and firm, "General Pei does not like strong-minded women, and Xuan Ji's nature is strong-willed. That's why they can't stay together for too long. General Xuan Ji was unwilling to let go of General Pei, so he told General Pei that he was willing to make sacrifices and change himself. Therefore, he voluntarily removed his martial arts and broke both of his own legs. In this way, he did the same as breaking both of his wings and tying himself to General Pei. Despite all that, General Pei did not abandon him. He took her and took care of her, however, he still did not want to make her his wife. Since the long-held wish he had could not be fulfilled, General Xuan Ji killed himself in hatred. Not for any other reason, but just to make General Pei feel sad. But, forgive me for speaking frankly―"

General Pei Kecil's explanation was refined and polite from start to finish. With an overly calm expression he said, "But that's not going to happen."

Xie Lian rubbed her forehead. He didn't say it, but he thought to himself, "What kind of person are they?"

Little General Pei spoke again, "As for who is right or wrong, I don't know. I only know that if from the very beginning General Xuan Ji was willing to let go, things would not end like this. Your Highness the Crown Prince, this subordinate must leave now."

Xie Lian replied, clenching her hands to pay her respects and watching them leave. Nan Feng gave his personal assessment, "Freak people."

Xie Lian thought to herself, she herself also became the laughingstock of the three realms, the famous freak; not the place to criticize others. For the matter between General Pei and Xuan Ji, unless they were directly involved, it was better not to comment on who was right or who was wrong. He could only pity the seventeen innocent brides, the military officials and the stretcher bearers who had escorted them. It was truly an unexpected disaster.

Speaking of the brides, he immediately turned to look at them, only to find the corpses of the seventeen brides all showing different stages of change. While some turned into white bones, others began to rot and give off a very strong foul odor. The smell woke everyone on the ground. As the villagers slowly began to come to their senses and understand the situation, it was another round that greatly shocked them.

Xie Lian took this opportunity to babble at them and spread some doctrines about good and bad karmic retribution. He told everyone that once they went down the mountain, they had to pray a lot for the brides. In addition, they should try to think of a way to tell the families of the brides so that their bodies could be claimed. They obviously shouldn't do something like selling corpses or other embarrassing deeds.

After experiencing such a turbulent night, and without the presence of a leader causing trouble, how could anyone who listened to his explanation dare to say otherwise? One after another, they all agreed with their bodies that looked trembling in fear. They all felt as if they had just had a nightmare. Only then did they realize how they were all acting as if they had been possessed last night. With so many people dying and becoming victims, how could they at that moment be filled with thoughts of making money?

After thinking about all that, they all felt afraid of themselves. Last night, because everyone was doing it, they relied on the fact that they were numerous and that someone was leading. Thus, their imbecile selves rushed with the flow. Now, still with the feeling of fear still lingering in their hearts, it was best to repent and pray for blessings.

The dawn has not yet come. Inside the mountain, there were still wolves waiting to create trouble. Nan Feng had just completed his exploration around the mountain, but he had already been tasked with leading a large group of people out of the mountain. Regardless, he did not complain at all, and agreed with Xie Lian to discuss about the hanging corpse forest and the follow-up later together.

After the bandaged teenager woke up, he once again sat down near Little Ying's corpse, hugging her. Without saying anything, Xie Lian sat down next to him. After squeezing his brain for a while and just as he was about to say something to comfort him, he suddenly realized that the bandaged teenage head looked bloody.

If it was the blood from the corpse forest, it should have been dried up already. But this blood was still flowing endlessly, so it was possible that he was injured. Soon, Xie Lian said to him, "Your head is hurt, take off your bandage and let me help you see it."

The teenager slowly raised his head, his two red eyes looking at Xie Lian hesitantly. Xie Lian smiled slightly, and told him, "Don't be afraid. If you are injured, you must be treated. I promise I won't be afraid of you."

The teenager looked hesitant for a moment, before turning around and slowly opening the bandage on his head. His movements were extremely slow, and Xie Lian waited for him patiently. He was already thinking about what he should ask next. 'This king definitely could not stay at Mount Yu Jun, but where could he go? It's not that he can go back to Heaven with me. Even I myself do not know when I can get my food, I need to think of a reliable plan to put it somewhere. Moreover, there was the Green Ghost, Qi Rong...'

At this point, the teenager had finished taking off his bandage and turned around.

And when Xie Lian clearly looked at that face, she felt as if in a split second, all the blood on her body dried up.

Seriate...