Forbidden Read!
Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Redder Clothes than Maple Leaves, Snow White Skin

The teenager's face showed a mocking expression, yet he still seemed to have an expression of inexplicable calmness as if he knew everything. Even though she had the voice of a teenager, her voice was a little deeper compared to that of a boy her age and was very pleasant to hear. Xie Lian sat upright on the ox cart, still seriously concentrating. He pondered for a moment before saying, "The Blood Rain Reaching Flower, sounds rather impressive. Friend, will you tell me how he can be called that name?"

As a courtesy, Xie Lian decided not to add the word 'young' after the word 'friend'[1]. The teenager sat down casually, with the hand she placed on her raised knee. He tidied the cuff up his sleeve before nonchalantly saying, "The story behind it isn't that impressive. The mention was only because Hua Cheng had once exterminated another ghostly nest, and when he finished, a rain of blood started to fall all over the mountain. As she left, she saw the flower that was hit by the blood raindrop pitifully on the side of the road she was walking on, so she decided to open her umbrella to shade the flower."

[1] The pinyin letter referred to here is ⁇ which directly translates to 'little friend' but in this context can be understood as 'young friend'. Basically, although it would be more natural for Xie Lian to say that (because she was so old haha), she chose not to add it in her honor.

Xie Lian imagined the scene and only felt that amidst the rain of blood and wind, there was some elegance and sentiment intertwined within. He recalled, the legend about how the red-clothed ghost that burned thirty-three temples, before he said with a laugh, "Does Hua Cheng often fight wherever he goes?"

The teenager replied, "Can't be said often, I think it depends on his mood."

Xie Lian asked, "What kind of person was he before he died?"

The teenager replied, "He's definitely not a good person."

Xie Lian asked, "What does her face look like?"

When the question was asked, the teenager raised his eyes to look at him. He tilted his head from side to side before standing up and walking towards Xie Lian, then again sat down beside her. The teenager answered him with a question, "Do you think? What's his face like?"

After looking at her more closely, Xie Lian felt that this teenager was more attractive when viewed up close. In addition, the face of this teenager also had a kind of good looks that gave a slight impression to someone like being attacked, like a sharp sword being unsheathed. It was an extremely dazzling image that could not be seen directly by someone; making anyone not dare to look straight into his eyes.

Their gazes only met for a moment, and Xie Lian could not even bear to continue staring at him. After slightly bowing his head to the side, Xie Lian said, "Being a famous Demon King, it can be assumed that he has changed his appearance a lot, so he should have a lot of appearances."

When the teenager saw how Xie Lian had turned her face away, the teenager raised an eyebrow and said, "Right. But sometimes he still used his original appearance. The appearance we're talking about is her real self."　

Xie Lian was not sure if her feelings were wrong, but she felt as if the distance between the two of them was getting further and further. So, she once again turned her head back before saying, "Then I feel her real self can definitely be a teenager like you."　

Hearing him, the teenager's mouth curved upwards before he said, "Why is that?"　　

Xie Lian said, "It's not 'why', since you can say anything, then I can think of anything as well. Everything can be anything we want."　

The teenager laughed twice before saying, "Maybe... Although, he was blind in one of his eyes."　

He tapped the dot under his right eye and said, "This one."　

That statement is not something that people do not know. Previously, Xie Lian had also slightly heard of this. In a certain version of the legend, Hua Cheng wore a black blindfold on his right eye, covering his eyes that had been lost. Xie Lian said, "Then, do you know what happened to her eyes?"

The teenager replied, "Nhn, that question, a lot of people want to know it too."

When other people wanted to know what made Hua Cheng lose his right eye, they actually just wanted to know what his weakness was. But when Xie Lian asked that, she was purely curious. Xie Lian had not said any further words before the teenager said, "He dug out his own eyes."

Surprised, Xie Lian asked, "Why?"

The teenager replied, "He's crazy."

...After the craze, he even dug out his own eyes. Xie Lian's curiosity towards the Blood Rain Reaching Flower, this Red-clothed Demon King, continued to grow. According to him, it was not as simple as just 'crazing', but since the teenager had already said it that way, there might not be a more detailed explanation. Xie Lian further asked, "Then, does Hua Cheng have any weaknesses?"

Xie Lian did not expect any answer from the boy for this question, but she thought she would ask him who knew there was a result. If Hua Cheng's weakness could be easily noticed by others, then the subject being talked about was not Hua Cheng. But, who would have thought that the teenager would answer without hesitation, "Had it."

If one could obtain the ashes from a ghost, then they would have the power to command the ghost. If the ghost disobeyed their orders, one could destroy the ashes, which would extinguish their form and leave their souls shattered and scattered. That's general knowledge. However, when the one being talked about here was Hua Cheng, even that general knowledge would not mean much. Xie Lian laughed and said, "I'm afraid no one can find his ashes. So, this weakness is the same as her not having it."

The teenager replied, "Not really. There are also situations where a ghost would take the initiative to give his ashes."

Xie Lian said, "Like how did he challenge those thirty-three Heavenly Officials to fight, by giving his own ashes as a bet?"

Mocking, the teenager said, "No way."

Although he did not say that completely, Xie Lian could still hear the meaning behind his words. Maybe he meant 'How could Hua Cheng lose?'. The teenager continued, "There is a tradition in the Ghost Realm. That, if a ghost had chosen someone, then they would have entrusted his ashes to that person."

In reality, it was the same as giving up his own life into the hands of someone else. For such devotion, what kind of touching story can one imagine? Lured to it, Xie Lian said, "So it turns out even the Ghost Realm will have this kind of sentimental habit."

Xie Lian guessed that was the problem. If there were demons in this world who would deceive or captivate the human heart, then there would also be humans who fooled demons. There will be many exploits and betrayals that continue. He said, "If it were handed over sincerely, but the result was only broken bones and scattered ashes, it would indeed make one's heart sad."

However, the teenager laughed before saying, "What is there to fear? If it was me, after giving my ashes away, I wouldn't care if that person wanted to break my bones, or spread my ashes, or just throw them away for fun."

Xie Lian smiled before she suddenly remembered that regardless of how the two of them had talked for so long, she still did not know the name of the teenager. He said, "Friends, how should I call you?"

The teenager raised his hand to place it over his eyebrows, covering his eyes from the reddish-orange sunset glow. He narrowed his eyes, making it seem like he didn't like the sunlight very much. He said, "I? In my family, I was third. Everyone calls me San Lang[2]."

[2] This can be roughly translated as 'third son' if used by family members, but it can also be used as affection between lovers.

The teenager did not take the initiative to tell Xie Lian her real name, so Xie Lian did not ask further. He replied, "My family name is Xie, and my name is Lian's single character. Seeing you heading in this direction, did you also go to Puji Village?"

San Lang leaned against the haystack. He tucked his hands under his head as a pillow and crossed his legs before saying, "I don't know. I chose the path at random."

There seems to be a story behind what he has said. Xie Lian said, "What's wrong?"

San Lang sighed before casually saying, "There was a quarrel at home, and I was expelled. I walked for a while but there was nowhere to go. Today, I was so hungry that I almost fainted at the end of the main road, and it was only then that I found a place to lie down."

Although this brat's clothes looked quite casual, the quality was excellent. Moreover, with his subtle manner of speech and how he seemed to be very reserved, had the time to read this and that, who knew everything the most, Xie Lian had long suspected that she was a young master from a wealthy family who ran away to play. A pampered little boy who had been wandering around alone outside for so long must have faced many hardships along the way. It was something that Xie Lian could relate to. Hearing that he was hungry, Xie Lian started rummaging through his pockets, but could only find one piece of steamed bread. When she realized that the bread was not moldy, she felt good in her heart before she said to the teenager, "Do you want to eat it?"

The teenager nodded, so Xie Lian gave the steamed bun to him. San Lang looked at him and asked, "You don't have any more?"

Xie Lian said, "I'm fine, I'm not hungry."

San Lang pushed the steamed bun back to him and said, "I'm fine too."　

Seeing that, Xie Lian took back the steamed bun to then split it into two halves. He then once again gave it to the teenager in half and said, "Then you take half, and I'll take half."

It was only then that the teenager was willing to take the steamed bun, biting it with him as they sat side by side. Seeing how she sat by his side and bit the bread while looking to stay quite well, Xie Lian could not help but feel as if she had wronged him somewhere.

The oxcarts moved up and down along the uneven mountain road, pulled slowly as the sun began to gradually set in the west. The two of them sat on the wagon and continued to talk. The more they spoke, the more Xie Lian felt how strange this teenager was. Despite her young age, her every word and action had an impression of her. He seemed completely unperturbed, as if in the vastness of the distance between heaven and earth, there was nothing in this world that he did not know about or made him mess up. It made Xie Lian believe that she understood many things, and was quite mature despite being very young. However, at times, he would also express the enthusiasm that a youngster in general had. When Xie Lian said that she was the Master of the Pu Qi Temple, the teenager said, "Pu Qi Temple? It looks like there's a lot of water chestnut to eat there, I love it. Who was the Temple built for?"

After once again being asked the question that caused this headache, Xie Lian coughed softly and said. "Crown Prince Xian Le. You may not know about him."

A lazy smile appeared on the teenager's face, but before he could answer, the ox cart suddenly jolted in a sudden shock.

The two swayed him over the wagon. Xie Lian was worried that the teenager would fall so she stretched out her hand to hold him. But who would have thought, the moment he touched the teenager, San Lang acted as if he was burned by something hot and forcibly released Xie Lian's hand.

Even though his expression had only slightly changed, Xie Lian still felt it. He thought to himself, maybe this brat actually hates him? But during this trip, obviously they were busy talking. However, right now, there was no time to think any further about it. Standing up, he asked, "What happened?"

The old man who was riding the ox cart said, "I don't know what happened either! Old Huang, why did you stop moving? Come on, get on the road!"

At that moment, the sun had already set and dusk had come. But the ox carts they were riding in were still inside the mountain forest; where the scenery there looked gloomy and dark. The old cow stubbornly remained silent and did not move from its place, refusing to move and being temperamental. All the pressure the old man made had no effect on the cow, as he acted as if he wanted to bury his own head into the ground. His tail swayed like a whip as the cow continued to make noises. Xie Lian felt that something was amiss and was just about to jump out of the wagon, when suddenly, the old man pointed at something in front of there and started shouting.

Xie Lian turned around, only to see in front of the mountain road there, many clusters of green flames in the east and west were burning faintly. The white-clothed group held their heads as the group walked slowly towards them.

Seeing that, Xie Lian immediately said, "Protect!"

Ruoye broke away from her wrist before circling the ox cart, creating a ring floating in the air that protected the three of them and the cow. Xie Lian turned her head and said, "What day is this?"

The old man had yet to reply when the teenager behind him said, "Festival of Ghosts."

In the middle of the seventh month, the Ghost Door opened. He did not see the date when he left, but today just so happened to be the Ghost Festival day!

Xie Lian lowered her voice and said, "Don't walk carelessly. We've met crime today. If we walk the wrong path, we won't be able to go back."

Seriate...