Chapter 21 - 12 (II): A Ghost in Red Sets Fire Upon the Military and Civil Temples
Finally obtaining the name of that red-clothed young man, Xie Lian was ineffably in a good mood. He smiled and said, "So his name is Hua Cheng? Hm, this name suits him quite well."
Upon hearing his tone and words, all the Heaven Officials on scene were rendered somewhat speechless. A short moment later, Ling Wen softly coughed and asked, "This... Your Highness the Crown Prince, have you heard of the so-called Four Great Calamities?"
Xie Lian thought to himself: "It's a shame, but I only know of the Four Famous Tales."
The aforementioned Four Famous Tales were highly praised anecdote stories of the time before the four Heavenly Officials from the Heavenly Court ascended— The Young Lord Who Poured Wine, The Crown Prince Who Pleased God, The General Who Broke His Sword, and The Princess Who Slit Her Throat. Of the four tales, The Crown Prince Who Pleased God was in fact referring to the sudden appearance of Xian Le's Crown Prince during his martial performance. How the four tales came about was not particularly due to which heavens' officials had more power but rather, which one of their tales was more profound, spread the furthest amongst mortals who shared their tales with enthusiasm.
News from outside the realm was always something Xie Lian was bad at keeping up with. To say he was ill-informed and ignorant couldn't be closer to the truth. The only reason why he came to know about the Four Famous Tales was because he was one of the four tales himself. The phrase 'Four Great Calamities' was probably the new popular term that came after the four tales, but Xie Lian had never heard of it. However, since it contained the word 'Calamity', it couldn't be anything good.
He said, "I feel sorry for saying this, but I haven't heard of it before. Might I ask what the Four Great Calamities are?"
Mu Qing answered coolly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince trained in the mortal realm for centuries yet remains ignorant of such news. It really makes one curious as to what you have been doing all this time down there."
Naturally, it was eating, sleeping, selling skills and collecting scraps. Xie Lian laughed as he said, "As a regular person, there are many things you could be busy with and it could get rather hectic. It is not any easier than being a Heaven Official.
Ling Wen answered, "The Four Great Calamities, and please take note, Your Highness. They are the Black Water Submerging Boats, Green Light Wandering Nights, White-Clothed Calamity, and Blood Rain Reaching Towards a Flower. Those refer to the four Demon Lords of the ghost realm that have caused the Heavenly Courts a great deal of headaches."
Mortals, when one walked upwards, they become a god; when one walked downwards, they become a ghost.
The immortal gods established Heaven as their residence, severing themselves from the mortal realm and living high above as they overlooked the mortal world and all living beings. As for the ghost realm, it has not yet separated from the mortal realm. Demons and ghosts share the same realm as the humans. While some hide in the shadows, others take on human forms and mix amongst human crowds, wandering amongst them.