Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 2

by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù

When Feng Xin passed by, he glanced at Xie Lian, looking like he had something to say, but he stopped himself. Xie Lian smiled at him, and he looked startled before hurriedly leaving after all. Mu Qing, on the other hand, walked past without sparing a look, as if Xie Lian didn’t exist. And yet, he deliberately took a path to pass in front of him.

Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry,

Jun Wu shook his head. “I should not comment on the friends you make, but I will still say this: be careful of Hua Cheng.” Hearing this, Xie Lian bowed his head slightly, keeping his eyes down and saying nothing. He should’ve responded with “Yes, My Lord,” as he should have been able to say yes with ease by that point. Yet, for some reason, he really didn’t want to say that particular “yes.”

Just then, Hua Cheng chuckled lightly from behind the curtains. Xie Lian’s heart skipped a beat.

The exquisite silver vambraces that Hua Cheng wore were as cold as ice, and yet his movements were careful, and he never allowed them to touch Xie Lian’s skin.

As he shook, Xie Lian lifted his eyes to sneak a peek at the other person and realized that Hua Cheng wasn’t looking at the gambling cup at all. Instead, he was watching him intently with the corners of his mouth curved up. Xie Lian couldn’t help but return that smile, but he immediately controlled himself when he remembered the crowd of humans and ghosts watching him from above and below.

Hua Cheng chuckled and softly whispered words of encouragement into Xie Lian’s ear. “Again?” It might have been because there were too many humans and ghosts packed into this Gambler’s Den, but Xie Lian felt his face starting to heat up. “Okay.”

This time, when he revealed the cup, it was two fours. “See, isn’t it a little higher this time?” Hua Cheng asked. Although Xie Lian felt that something was off, he still nodded his head. “Yes…it’s a little higher.” Hua Cheng encouraged, “You did well. Keep going.” With those words of encouragement coming one after another, for some reason, giggles could be heard all around the hall. Judging by the voices, it appeared they all came from female ghosts. Xie Lian also couldn’t figure out what exactly constituted the correct posture. At first, he simplemindedly paid close attention to how Hua Cheng positioned his hands, how he managed the pace, and how he grasped the cup. But now, he was letting Hua Cheng’s hands lead him and shook the dice blindly. As he shook, a suspicion in his mind grew stronger and stronger: Could San Lang be teasing me…?

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Even Lang Qianqiu couldn’t contain his surprise, and he sputtered, dumbfounded, “What…what’s the meaning of this? Are you saying that I…that I’m only worth a half-eaten bun?!”

Hua Cheng had also turned around, still with that half-eaten bun in his hand. He gave it a playful toss, then casually took a bite out of it, his gaze locked on Xie Lian as he did so. Xie Lian’s step faltered at the sight. For some reason, he suddenly felt that sticking around here a moment longer would be a very bad idea.

“Hey, hey, hey! Let’s teach this little pretty boy a thing or two! How dare he start shit in Ghost City!”

Seeing Xie Lian put the chain with the ring back around his neck, Hua Cheng’s eye shimmered brightly.

“Is that so?” Xie Lian said warmly. “Then if you like it, in the future, come over whenever you want. The doors of Puqi Shrine will always open for you.” Hua Cheng’s face lit up. “Since gege says so, then I’ll gladly take you up on your offer. Don’t think of me as a nuisance in the future.”

Nonetheless, Xie Lian still didn’t dare to let himself down too soon. He remained pressed against the ceiling as he inched forward silently, thinking that he resembled a gecko as he moved.

AND SO XIE LIAN bent at the waist and greeted it. “Hello there.” Hearing the greeting, that eye squinted harder, turning itself into a full crescent, like it was smiling. The large eye spun left and right, extremely lively, as if it wasn’t just a pattern carved onto a scimitar hilt but the real, living eye of a human. Hua Cheng’s lips curled upwards. “Gege, it likes you.” Xie Lian raised his head. “Really?” Hua Cheng raised his brow. “Really. It’s too lazy to spare a single glance at those it doesn’t like. In fact, there are very few that Eming actually likes.” Hearing this, Xie Lian smiled at Eming. “Thank you, then.” He turned to Hua Cheng. “I rather like it too.” At his words, the eye blinked madly, and the scimitar started shaking all of a sudden from where it hung at Hua Cheng’s waist. He reprimanded it, “No.” “‘No,’ what?” Xie Lian asked. “No,” Hua Cheng reiterated. Eming shook again, looking desperate to jump out of its scabbard. Xie Lian asked curiously, “Are you telling it ‘no’?” “Yes,” Hua Cheng deadpanned. “It wants you to pet it, but I’m telling it no.” Xie Lian grinned. “Well, why not?” He reached out. Eming’s eye instantly widened, like it was looking at him with great anticipation. I can’t pet here, poking the eye will hurt, Xie Lian thought, then lowered his hand and stroked lightly along the curve of the hilt. The eye squinted into a full crescent line and quivered even harder, as if it was extremely pleased and enjoying the touch very much.

When he said the word “abstinence,” Hua Cheng cocked his right brow, displaying an unreadable expression that could be either displeasure or annoyance.

hc punching air rn

Xie Lian regained his composure and replied, “Of course I remember. Back at the Paradise Hall, I was preparing for our mission.” Shi Qingxuan looked at him in confusion. “Really? What exactly did you prepare at the Paradise Hall? I only remember you playing around with Crimson Rain Sought Flower rolling dice. You guys weren’t even playing properly; you were feeling up his hands, and he was feeling up yours. What kind of new method was that?” “…”

Maybe there’s still some of that luck you borrowed from your San Lang left.” For some reason, Xie Lian felt a little embarrassed when he heard “your San Lang.” He wanted to explain, but at the same time, what was there to explain? If he tried, it would only be weirder, so he didn’t say anything in the end.

Shi Qingxuan was still feeling guilty about fanning the fire that burned down Paradise Manor, and he wished dearly that Xie Lian would ask him for a hundred things. “Whatever you need.”

Earlier, when the butterflies were gusting through like wild winds, there was one that was a little slow and couldn’t keep up with the rest. As it flapped arduously in front of Xie Lian, he had a simple thought: that poor little silver butterfly was working really hard, but it couldn’t fly anymore. And so he unthinkingly extended his palm just beneath it. Wings flapping happily, that silver butterfly had landed on his palm and now wouldn’t leave. Both Feng Xin and Mu Qing popped veins on their foreheads. “Don’t touch that thing with your hand!! Don’t you know what it is?! It’s dangerous!”

“San Lang, what does a roll of four open to?” “Depends,” Hua Cheng replied. “The door will open to whatever the roller fears most.” Just as Hua Cheng answered, Mu Qing coolly snapped, “You fought to roll first and rolled out a women’s bath! Give me the dice, I’ll roll!” Hearing “women’s bath,” Xie Lian covered his face with his hands. Feng Xin had always kept his distance from women, his face changing whenever women were so much as spoken of—it was as if the female sex were savage, wild beasts. To him, a women’s bath really was the scariest place on earth, worse than the immeasurable depths of tiger caves or dragon lakes.

AYO?‼️🫵

“I rolled snake eyes earlier. Does that mean every time I roll a two, I can see you?” As soon as he asked the question, he realized his words implied a bit too much, as if he had dearly wanted to see Hua Cheng. But Hua Cheng replied, “No.” Xie Lian felt a little awkward and scratched his cheek. “Oh. So that’s not it. I was wrong, then.” Hua Cheng, walking in front of him, said, “If you want to see me, it won’t matter what you roll. I will appear.” “…” Xie Lian swallowed hard and forgot everything else he wanted to say.

He took a few steps forward and approached the sword, gripped the hilt, and pulled it from the debris. “You asked for this,” he said softly. After hundreds of years, Fangxin had finally returned to his hands, and it moaned softly in Xie Lian’s grip. Standing close by, Hua Cheng’s eye also flashed sharply at the sound of that sword’s incessant cry.

even the sword wants xie lian

Xie Lian picked up the budaoweng doll and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The crown prince, once so highly venerated and worshipped, was sculpted into the form of one kneeling down and begging for forgiveness. These statues were placed in crowded areas of town so everyone was free to spit at or kick them when they passed and, in doing so, rid themselves of misfortune. Worse, some even had him sculpted prostrating and used the statue directly as a threshold so that tens of thousands would walk all over it. In the first ten or twenty years after the Kingdom of Xianle fell, those statues were a common sight in many cities and towns. And so how could Xie Lian not recognize his own back?

“how could xie lian not recognize his own back” IM CRYING??!

“Like ancestor, like descendant—that damned manwhore Pei Ming probably has sores all over his crotch. I should chop off both his and Pei Xiu’s rotten dicks and hang them at their temples, then whoever worships them will bleed pus with every step just like them!”

qi rong the man that you are <3

Not only has the Xie Clan of Xianle lost everything, now even the bloodline is cut! XIE LIAN! YOU UNLUCKY STAR, YOU GOD OF MISFORTUNE! YOUR EXISTENCE IS XIANLE’S GREATEST TRAGEDY! WHY WON’T YOU DIE? HOW DO YOU EVEN HAVE THE FACE TO KEEP LIVING?!”

Hua Cheng disagreed respectfully. “You never know. I don’t care if anyone else is disappointed. But to some, the very existence of a certain person in this world is in itself hope.”

Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry,

Xie Lian chuckled. “Next time,” he said sincerely. “Next time, if there’s a chance, I’ll definitely visit Ghost City again. I’ll help you lay bricks when you rebuild Paradise Manor.” “No need to lay bricks. Just sitting there and watching would be fine,” Hua Cheng replied.

“Xianle, in regards to your methods in managing this matter, you worked hard for nothing and pleased no one.” Xie Lian hung his head. “I know.”

Mu Qing wore a complicated expression, but after Xie Lian demonstrated a few moves, he started to watch seriously. Feng Xin, on the other hand, swung the now-properly-wrapped long saber and chased Xie Lian back onto the bed with it, scolding as he did so. “If you’re going to show off, at least put on your shoes before you do! You’re the crown prince! Hair loose and feet bare, what a disgrace!” Xie Lian was just at the height of his excitement when he got chased onto the bed like a duck to a pen. He sulked.

“No, no. You promise me right now that this stops here. Otherwise, I’ll break up my relationship with you, and you’ll be cursed to never find a wife!” Xie Lian threatened. Feng Xin snorted dismissively. “You, break up with me? The day after our breakup everyone in the Kingdom of Xianle will know one thing: His Highness the Crown Prince fainted from tying his sock strings too tight while dressing—FINE! I won’t say a word! Who gives a fuck about gossip anyway?”

Xie Lian recounted the crazy saga of Qi Rong’s driving. Qi Rong was furious, his eyes rimmed in red. “COUSIN CROWN PRINCE IS WRONG! I DIDN’T RUN OVER A SINGLE PERSON!” Xie Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “That’s because we stopped you!”

The State Preceptor wiped his cold sweat and suddenly backed dozens of meters away. “Your Highness, you really brought something you shouldn’t have up the mountain! That child is toxic! He bears a fate of extinction, the sign of the Star of Solitude!17 He is destined to bring destruction to all save for himself—truly the kind that evil loves most! Whoever touches him will have misfortune befall them, and whoever gets close will lose their life!”

“this sign can be nullified with the intervention of a saviour” OK OK

The Deputy State Preceptors blocked Honghong-er, and the State Preceptor backed away, yelling, “Make him leave the mountain, hurry! Don’t touch him, I mean it! That fortune is too toxic; don’t touch him!” The Deputy State Preceptors hurriedly moved aside, and Mu Qing and Feng Xin didn’t know whether to act. Seeing that everyone was avoiding him like he was poisonous vermin, the child was shaken and started thrashing even harder, biting and screaming with all his might. “I’m not! I’m not!! I’M NOT!!!” Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, encircling his small form. A voice came from above his head. “You’re not. I know you’re not. Don’t cry, now. I know you’re not.” The young child pressed his lips closed tightly, grabbing on to the pair of snow-white sleeves around his waist with a desperate grip. He forced himself to hold back for a long time, but in the end, he couldn’t. A stream of tears suddenly rolled down from that round, black eye, and he burst out into sobs. Xie Lian embraced him from behind and reiterated with conviction, “It’s not you. It’s not your fault.” Honghong-er whipped around, buried his face in Xie Lian’s chest, and wailed.

“When humans ascend, they become gods; when humans fall, they become ghosts.” Xie Lian gave it some thought. “Is there something wrong with that?” The State Preceptor replied, “Of course it’s wrong. Remember: when humans ascend, they are still human…when they fall, they are still human.”