Hua Xianle

Chapter 91:

Arriving home was chaotic at best.

No sooner had the Hua Family stepped through the threshold did Hua Cheng collapse. Needless to say, this caused everyone in the vicinity to panic. Xie Lian immediately brought him into their shared bedroom, laying him out on the bed and checking his spiritual reserves. Doing so revealed that the Calamity was almost drained of his power, left with enough to function a little else.  

Hua Ying guiltily admitted that when he took command of Wu Ming, not initially recognizing the Ghost King, he had siphoned away his power to ensure his obedience. It was something he learned to do with the more willful undead that did not immediately bow to him. Thankfully, it was not permanent, and with a little rest and meditation, Hua Cheng would recover swiftly.

When the initial panic died down, everyone immediately greeted their prince and welcomed him home, not showing any signs of hostility or fear even when he was leaking resentful energy everywhere. But Hua Ying, mind clouded from resentment and heart riddled with guilt for causing his A-Die to collapse, ran away from all of them and locked himself up in his room.

Knowing that forcing the issue would be detrimental, Xie Lian instead turned his focus to little Mo Xuanyu. He gave the boy to Meng Shi, requesting she draw the boy a bath and see to it he was fed. Initially, the boy didn't want to leave his “Ghost-gege” alone, but the promise of seeing him later and some sweets urged him away. By the time he was finally coaxed from the room, the Weis arrived.

“We came as soon as we could,” Granny spoke up, flanked by both Wei Ning and Wei Qing. “How is he?”

Xie Lian smiled sadly at them and looked toward Hua Ying’s room.

“He is not acting like himself. I do not know what happened to him in those three months, but his experiences have left him skittish and scared. He locked himself in his room after his A-Die collapsed.”

“Is the Lord fine now, Your Highness?” Granny asked as she gently laid a hand on Xie Lian’s arm in comfort.

“He is resting for now, Granny. Do not worry about him. I can take care of my husband, but A-Ying needs to be checked right now, I’m afraid he is hiding an injury from us.”

“That sounds like Hua Xianle,” Wei Qing remarked with annoyance, though there was palpable relief in her voice. “Wei Ning, with me.”

The siblings slipped past the Heavenly Emperor, making their way toward Hua Ying’s bedroom. Normally, Wei Qing would have barged right in when the prince was feeling ill. However, she stayed her hand this time. A lot could happen in three months, especially at the hands of her sadistic ex-family. At least for a while, she would need to tread lightly around Hua Xianle.

She reached up, preparing to knock on the door before it opened on its own. She was startled by the sudden movement, which turned to horror when she saw the dilapidated state of her martial brother. Beside her, Wei Ning instinctively pulled her back, summoning Jìn è in the form of a chain whip. She felt equally on edge, meeting the bright red eyes of Hua Xianle.

“Qing-Jie,” the prince rasped, his gaze distant and barely readable. Then his gaze fell on Wei Ning. “My Ghost General…”

“Hua Xianle…” Wei Qing whispered, hardly able to comprehend what she was seeing. Resentment was seeping off of the prince like a dark fountain and he had the complexion and gauntness of a fierce corpse. “What happened to you?”

Whether he didn’t hear her or was just ignoring her, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she did not like the way he was staring at Wei Ning.

“You’re like me,” he mumbled, head tilting in an almost animalistic way. “Your soul was not meant for purity. Allow me to fix that.”