The child hesitated for a moment, and then he replied, “Honghong-er.”16
Xie Lian smiled. “That’s a rather cute nickname. I’ll call you that from now on.”
Honghong-er seemed shy whenever they talked, and he kept his head bowed low. Dusk was approaching, and lights were ignited in the palace temples on each of the mountain peaks in the far distance. Among them, the brightest was of course the highest peak, the Divine Might Summit.
Atop the Divine Might Summit, within the Palace of Divine Might, it was as bright as day, and the lights gathered like stars on the peak. Xie Lian sighed as he watched.
The sigh wasn’t born of sadness but from scenery that emanated such beauty and magnificence. Every bit of light within the hall was an offered Everlasting Lamp. Each lamp contained a devotee’s most sincere prayers. The more Everlasting Lamps there were within the temple of a god, the more powerful that god. The chance to offer a lamp within the Palace of Divine Might of the Royal Holy Temple was difficult to buy even with a thousand gold. Wealth, power, ability, passion, affinity—at least one of those five conditions must be fulfilled to enter the temple to offer light. Yet there were so many in the world who had none of those five.
The four of them stopped, gazing spellbound upon the Palace of Divine Might that shone like the sun, their expressions dissimilar. Just then, a somewhat familiar voice called out to them.
“Your Highness!”
Xie Lian looked back and saw a fair-faced young man hurrying toward him. It looked like the trainee who guarded the entrance of Sixiang Palace, and Xie Lian composed himself.
“Zhu-shixiong, what’s the hurry?”
Zhu-shixiong noticed Mu Qing standing behind him and felt awkward, so he spoke pretending not to have seen him. “State Preceptor has been asking after you for a while. He’s at the Palace of Divine Might right now, waiting for you.”
Xie Lian was taken aback hearing this, but he figured it had to be about the incident during the Heavenly Ceremonial Procession the day before. “Very well. Thank you, shixiong.”
Xie Lian had Feng Xin and Mu Qing take Honghong-er back to the Palace of Xianle, then he headed toward the Divine Might Summit.
Outside the great hall, clouds born from the incense vessel floated and wrapped around the Palace of Divine Might, giving it a dreamlike look. On either side of the vessel there were long rows of bright Everlasting Lamps hung in the air in neat lines that made a wall of lanterns. Every Everlasting Lamp had the name and prayer of the light-offerer inscribed in proper and dignified clerical script. Once inside the hall, there were rows upon rows of even more Everlasting Lamps hung on each wall. The lamps offered within the Palace of Divine Might were, of course, even more valuable than the ones outside.
Inside the massive temple, at the very front, the Chief State Preceptor was offering incense before the statue of the Heavenly Emperor, and the three Deputy State Preceptors were behind him, uniformly prostrating before the divine statue.
Xie Lian nodded when he entered. “State Preceptor.”
The State Preceptors finished paying their respects before they turned to him and motioned for him to come forward. Thus, Xie Lian approached, took an incense stick, and also paid his respects with sincerity.
It was a moment before the State Preceptor finally spoke.
“Your Highness, the four of us have deliberated. In regards to the Heavenly Ceremonial Procession, there are but two ways to resolve the problem.”
“Please, do tell, State Preceptor,” Xie Lian said.
“The first method,” the State Preceptor said, “is to find the child who disrupted the procession, and then we shall conduct a ceremony. At the very least, one of his five senses must be sealed as penance.”
Xie Lian’s head shot up.
“No.” He then repeated definitively, “Absolutely not.”
The State Preceptor nodded. “I expected this response from you. So we’ve put the weight of our consideration on the second method.”
“Please, do tell,” Xie Lian said solemnly.
“The second method,” the State Preceptor said, “is to have Your Highness publicly repent before the people of Xianle, ask the heavens for forgiveness, then face the wall in reflection for a month.”
“Not possible,” Xie Lian said leisurely.
The State Preceptor was taken aback. “We’re not really asking you to face the wall to reflect, you just have to look like you are…ahem.” He suddenly remembered they were before the statue of the Heavenly Emperor and immediately corrected himself. “As long as you are sincere, it will suffice.”