#official one

[ainomica]

“But that alone shouldn’t have made him suspect a change of fate had occurred,” Xie Lian stated.

“That’s why he impersonated the real Earth Master and infiltrated the heavens to investigate,” Hua Cheng replied. “Pretty brave, if I must say so myself.”

HC: *calls everyone trash even though they aren't that different from his beloved Gege*🤬😑🤪

Also HC: "Damn , black water buddy! you are genuinely cool"😎🙏🏼💪🏼

You have to be extremely impressive to make Chengzu give you compliment without a hint of sarcasm. Not friends my arse!

......

“Worthy to be called brave and astute, indeed… If only he hadn’t killed the real Earth Master and dragged over two hundred fishermen into his mess.”

However, Hua Cheng had to correct him on this point. “Gege, I don’t know if he’s the one who killed the real Earth Master. But I’m afraid someone else dragged those fishermen into the storm on the East Sea.”

OH HO HO DEFENSE LAWYERING NOT-FRIEND- HE BUDDY!?

I don't think HX killed the earth master either. I think it was genuine circumstance going out of hand( and [SPOILER] giving HX a hand by moving up the calamity date as well so the whole scheme works) with that Earth Master original flavor doing himself in with that dragon flare.

Also thing of note here is that this means HC does not know for sure so he basically let Black water have FREE RUN of his manor to store his victim and do whatever!? BOI WHAT👁👄👁

[ainomica]

Shi Qingxuan couldn’t help but steal a glance at Hua Cheng. Although he stopped himself quite quickly, Hua Cheng didn’t miss it. He smiled.

“What’s with that look? Personally, I think Lord Earth Master is the more suspicious one here. Don’t you agree?”

Ming Yi’s eyes also swept over.

“Rather than worrying about who meddled after the fact, consider whether the array he drew was wrong from the start,” Hua Cheng pointed out.

Ming Yi neither refuted nor acknowledged the accusation, but Shi Qingxuan couldn’t let this line of questioning continue.

HC just loves setting things on fire and then putting the fire out HAHAHAHAHAHA

[ainomica]

“...” Xie Lian deliberated for a moment, but in the end, he still asked, “May I ask how your Chengzhu is doing right now…?”

Lang Ying nonchalantly swayed back and forth next to Xie Lian.

“Chengzhu is very busy at the moment,” the ghost-masked man replied.

BUSIEST MAN ON PLANET AS ONE CAN SEE🤫🤣

Funny man Yin Yu should be a thing. The "over him" YY is fanon and boring.

[ainomica]

“If gege must go, then go without worries. I’ve got hands to spare; someone will take care of the shrine while you’re gone.”

Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for San Lang. It’ll be better if there’s someone here to watch over things.”

Hua Cheng smiled. “Yeah. There needs to be someone watching over things.”

“Watching over” obviously meant different things to the both of them, but neither pried deeper. Ming Yi moved the altar table away and began drawing the Teleportation Array

Did not notice this one before but really...how can people say that HC and other Gong characters of Mxtx have no interiority beyond existence for Shou when lines like these gives more than enough clue!?

[ainomica]

The bone dragons circled them, eyeing them with predatory gazes, but soon they could hold themselves back no longer and ferociously dove in. Xie Lian gripped Fangxin tightly, but as he waited for the right moment to strike, he heard Hua Cheng click his tongue in annoyance.

The bone dragons were already within arm’s reach and ready to tear them apart, but upon hearing that sound, their killing intent immediately vanished. The fanged mouth that had been ready to snap Xie Lian’s throat instead inched forward and nudged at Fangxin, as if pecking it with tiny kisses.

Xie Lian was utterly confused.

He remained dumbfounded as the four bone dragons scampered away like they were scared, tails between their legs. Xie Lian was left speechless, and he floated there in sheer bewilderment, but Hua Cheng had already continued swimming.

“Gege, you see that? If you plan on raising pets in the future, definitely don’t consider those things. They’re useless trash.”

“...”

Pets?!

“No, I don’t need any pets…” Xie Lian replied weakly.

Chengzu how can you be so mean to your fish children! uwu🥺

Laffin how he let XL battle with four of them for moral boost when he could have just told them to scram LMAO

[ainomica]

People who say HC has no life our interests beyond XL ...like how do they read Blackwater arc, see him genuinely help , compliment and lie on behalf of his friend to the love of his life that might have cost him his relationship he wanted for centuries, and think LOL he is a "Simp"( affectionate pretending but its derogatory) ???

Its not a coincidence that the only person who ever got a compliment without sarcasm out of him beside XL is someone WHO IS LIKE HIM in almost every aspect. That the God he finds admirable beside XL is also someone who was one rise wonder like HIM too.

HC might like to think he is living his life for XL and his values but frankly he lives a life defined by his own set of rules and morals. This is why those 800 years of separation exists. It made him grow to be a person who knows who he is and can rely on himself, let others rely on him. A role he was better suited to be than relying on as a worshipper or subject under someone else.

[ainomica]

Hua Cheng was briefly silent before he answered. “I don’t know either. Black Water is rather eccentric; he languished alone in misery for far too long. No one can understand what he’s thinking.”

“No one can understand what he’s thinking.” Xie Lian remembered that this was similar to remarks many of the heavenly officials in the Upper Court had made about Crimson Rain Sought Flower.

Ship-Sinking Black Water had emerged from Mount Tonglu after slaughtering millions of ghosts, and Crimson Rain Sought Flower had done the same. He Xuan had suffered alone for ages, and Hua Cheng couldn’t have suffered any fewer years of solitude.

Two sides of the same coin. If anyone can understand what is going on inside his head, it would be you Chengzu 🙏🏼