“What a guy. Your Highness, I don’t know how you managed to befriend him, but you’re very lucky.”
It was rare for Xie Lian to hear someone tell him he was lucky. He glanced at Shi Qingxuan and smiled.
“Really? Maybe. I think so too.”
Behind them, Feng Xin continued to wipe his face wordlessly. When the two turned their heads, they saw his face covered in white strands, miserable and unkempt, and they had to work to hold back their laughter.
“Sorry about that,” Xie Lian said.
That counted as an apology on Hua Cheng’s behalf. Feng Xin finally picked off all the white strands from his face.
“I’m not as skilled as him, so there’s nothing to say.”
The three of them then conducted a final sweep of all the caves, double-checking to make sure there were indeed no more humans or anything else left behind, before riding a draft of wind back to the Heavenly Court.
Once they passed the gates, they saw that the streets were filled with crowds of junior officials from the Middle Court, moving about, checking every nook and cranny of every palace as if they were about to face a grave enemy. When they finally arrived at the Palace of Divine Might, the main hall was already filled with heavenly officials of the Upper Court, and even from afar they could hear them arguing. The first thing they heard was:
“Hua Cheng dares accuse the Upper Court of the Heavens of sending a spy, how ludicrous! Why would the Heavenly Realm need to send a spy?”
Xie Lian and Shi Qingxuan cleared their throats lightly when they heard. Sending a spy was most likely the truth. Nothing had been settled yet, and the officials already couldn’t wait to start blathering. If the accusation was indeed true, wouldn’t they be putting their foot in their mouth?
The three entered the hall with Shi Qingxuan in the lead. When the crowd saw him, they greeted, “The Lord Wind Master has returned!” “Thanks for your hard work!” But all eyes were on Xie Lian. They were about to press for more but saw Feng Xin emerging from behind them, looking like he had crawled out of a bloody pond, his face dark. Everyone was frozen to the spot and immediately turned their eyes away. After all, no one wanted to be loudly cursed out in the great hall. Only Mu Qing held his gaze. He not only didn’t care to avoid him, but he purposely stared, his intent more than obvious.
Xie Lian raised his eyes and saw Jun Wu seated above on his throne. With a hand propping up his head and fingers pressed against his temple, his eyes were closed and he looked exhausted. Xie Lian could understand exactly how he felt.
In the past, there might not have been any conferences or meetings of this sort for months at a time. But with all the incidents that had happened recently, the Palace of Divine Might was filled to the brim time and time again; it was as if there was a situation every day, and they’d have to convene twice for each. If Xie Lian were in his shoes, he’d be tired too. Besides, there were many that wanted to have their voices heard, and they babbled away.
One of the officials exclaimed, “He came and went as he willed. Scary to think he was able to connect the Palace of Xianle to somewhere else. Now that he showed he can easily kidnap His Highness who offended him, who knows if he’ll kidnap any other heavenly officials. We can’t possibly let this go! We need to stop him right now!”
If this were the Mortal Realm, it would be akin to a rebel digging a tunnel beneath the royal palace and sneaking about freely. Of course people were uneasy. No wonder the Middle Court officials were busy searching and safeguarding the grounds. Mu Qing, on the other hand, had something else to say.
He said coolly, “Hua Cheng has so many devotees, and he lords over Ghost City. Something minuscule like burning his Paradise Manor would be nothing to him. He might not have broken into the Heavens just because His Highness offended him.”
Shi Qingxuan immediately countered, “General Xuan Zhen, you’re mistaken. Everyone heard Hua Cheng admit it himself. Speaking of, which general is responsible for security this month? Isn’t it a dereliction of duty that the Palace of Xianle had the connection spell cast upon it without that general even noticing?”
Pei Ming had been standing quietly on the side, unperturbed and with his arms crossed. When he heard Shi Qingxuan, he spoke up. “Me.”
Shi Qingxuan had accidentally remembered wrong and thought it was Mu Qing on duty, but he’d ended up calling out Pei Ming, and now things were somewhat awkward. However, Pei Ming didn’t push off the blame.
“I’m on duty this month. This is my oversight.”