Where Immortals Once Walked

The Monster Emperor let out a long sigh and turned to walk away. “You may spend the night in Sweet Spring Hall. But tomorrow morning, you will go up the mountain with me and turn yourself in.”

“After this, I will no longer be able to enter the palace to visit you.” State Preceptor Qing Yang remained kneeling, tears streaming down her face. “Please, take good care of yourself!”

* * *

Lingxu City passed through its most turbulent night in nearly a century.

The Heavenly Palace guards who usually defended Mount Xu entered the city without a word, openly armed and carrying torches as they besieged the Spring Palace.

In the hearts of the common people, those two places were almost equally sacred, equally lofty, and unreachable. Yet today, they had staged a scene of their own kind attacking their own.

It was simply unbelievable.

For some people, a monument in their hearts collapsed all at once.

Moreover, it was rumored that the Heavenly Palace guards had launched an assault, while the disciples of the Spring Palace held the gates and refused to come out. Cannon fire boomed over the small mountain, and though the onlookers at the foot of the mountain stretched their necks as far as they could, all they could see was half the sky lit red by the blasts.

Fushan Yue maintained the belief that those who accepted advice would live well and would simply return to Fleeting Thoughts Manor, sending people out only to gather information.

Roughly six hours later, the first piece of firsthand news arrived.

The Heavenly Palace guards had stopped attacking and withdrawn back to Mount Xu.

The Spring Palace had not been breached. Dozens of disciples were wounded, but no one had died.

At the time, Fushan Yue and He Lingchuan were roasting meat over a fire on the grass. Hearing the report, Fushan Yue took a bite of roasted lamb leg. “Looks like the Heavenly Palace guards didn’t go all out either.”

“Well, it’s still the Spring Palace.” If it were somewhere else, Bai Ziqi could probably have blasted the place into rubble in under an hour.

Of course, the Spring Palace’s defensive array was excellent too. He Lingchuan had seen that with his own eyes.

Even if State Preceptor Qing Yang confessed and submitted to the law this time, a new state preceptor would still take charge of the Spring Palace in the future. After all, this was one of Lingxu City’s famed institutions of real power. If the heavenly gods truly bombarded it into ruins, how different would that be from smashing Lingxu City’s face and slapping the Lord Emperor again and again?

Not to mention, Lingxu City still had so many foreign guests. They could not very well disgrace themselves before the entire world.

Therefore, Bai Ziqi’s siege of the Spring Palace had at most been for show, a display to go through the motions. Once the effect was achieved, he stopped.

“This is meant to pressure the Lord Emperor into dealing harshly with State Preceptor Qing Yang,” said Fushan Yue leisurely. He Lingchuan saw that this fellow was not the least bit anxious over what made the Lord Emperor anxious, nor angry over what angered the Lord Emperor.

This bastard really doesn’t seem to understand the duties of a subject.

“Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai’s methods being this forceful still went beyond my expectations.” After clashing with Bai Ziqi a few times, He Lingchuan had some understanding of the man’s temperament. He was a smiling tiger, someone who rarely offended people to their faces.

Now, he had directly brought the Heavenly Palace guards to bombard the Spring Palace. This was completely out of character for him. It could only be because he was carrying out the heavenly gods’ demands.

Do the gods believe it necessary to put such pressure on the Lord Emperor?

“The Heavenly Palace guards withdrawing means the gods have issued new instructions,” Fushan Yue said. “Guess where State Preceptor Qing Yang is now?”

“State Preceptor Qing Yang won’t be captured so easily.” He Lingchuan pondered. “The gods don’t dare overdo things either. Hm, if I were to guess, the Lord Emperor flew into a rage, and the gods may have made some concessions?”

Fushan Yue immediately felt something was wrong. “Wait, you’re saying State Preceptor Qing Yang can escape punishment?”

He was not afraid that State Preceptor Qing Yang would flee. No matter how noble her original status had been, once she became a fugitive, she would be pulled down from her altar and subjected to the verbal condemnation of Beijia’s monster commoners. The vassal monster states would be delighted to see that.

However, Fushan Yue was worried that State Preceptor Qing Yang still had some way to escape culpability. In that case, wouldn’t everything he and his father had done become useless?

“Completely escaping punishment is impossible, but State Preceptor Qing Yang still has some advantages in hand.” He Lingchuan analyzed carefully. “The way things develop from here may not align with your wishes.”

Fushan Yue sat up straight. “Speak. I’m listening.”

“State Preceptor Qing Yang and the Lord Emperor have known each other for many years. Their relationship is deep, and she is a loyal imperialist. Whether considering past affection or the present reality, the Lord Emperor may want to handle her leniently.” The wine was warm now, and He Lingchuan lifted the cup and took a sip. “Just look at how unusually aggressive the gods’ orders to Bai Ziqi were. That alone shows they had also anticipated the Lord Emperor softening, so they tried to force him through action.”

“They must have spent a great deal of effort on the plan to besiege the Spring Palace. As long as State Preceptor Qing Yang remained in the Spring Palace, her fate would be hard to predict.” He said slowly, “But once State Preceptor Qing Yang heard the wind shift, she didn’t entangle herself with them at all. She simply lifted her leg and ran. That was probably outside the expectations of both the gods and Shuang Ye.”

Fushan Yue’s expression darkened slightly. He had worried about this already, and He Lingchuan had merely said it aloud.

“If State Preceptor Qing Yang wasn’t caught—and that’s very likely—then the chance that she escaped into Heaven-Reaching Palace in time is very high. In other words, she may be hiding inside Heaven-Reaching Palace right now. Lingxu City is enormous, but that place is one of the few where the Heavenly Palace guards wouldn’t dare trespass lightly.”

Fushan Yue nodded.

“Bai Ziqi also believes she’ll sneak into Heaven-Reaching Palace, so let’s assume she has already met the Lord Emperor.” He Lingchuan continued, “This is the last chance she has won for herself. Tonight, she must persuade the Lord Emperor to spare her.”

The more Fushan Yue thought about it, the angrier he became. “Would the Lord Emperor dare risk universal condemnation?”

“Where are there so many things that invite universal condemnation?” He Lingchuan laughed despite himself. “In the end, it only depends on whether what she says or what she presents can move the Lord Emperor.”

“That old demoness still has cards in her hand?” Fushan Yue let out a breath. “Right, she’s a cunning old fox who’s lived for nearly two hundred years. How could she not leave herself any backup plans?”

“The elixir of youth case has already fermented in Lingxu City for a month. She’s had plenty of time to think about a way out.” He Lingchuan’s expression turned serious. “She is a state preceptor of Beijia, someone who has stood unshaken through more than a hundred years of storms. How could she be simple?”

That the elixir of youth case could even implicate State Preceptor Qing Yang this time was largely due to luck.

If He Lingchuan had not barged in recklessly from the side, who knew when all of Xi Yunhe’s arrangements would have taken effect?

If State Preceptor Shuang Ye had not pushed from behind, He Lingchuan alone could never have accomplished this.

“Think carefully. What mistake did State Preceptor Qing Yang commit that truly deserves ten thousand deaths?”

Fushan Yue frowned. “Privately refining and selling the elixir of youth. Does that not count? The gods explicitly forbade it.”

“The gods explicitly forbid many things. Does everyone obey?” He Lingchuan glanced at him. “Descendants of the State of Yuān are forbidden from leaving the Twilight Plains. Any who violate this are to degrade themselves to the status of pariahs. That is also a divine prohibition. When you brought Little Peach back into Chiyan territory, did you care?”

Fushan Yue rubbed his nose and had nothing to say.

True. He himself was a classic example of knowing the law and breaking it, and he had broken Lingxu City’s law, too.

Otherwise, when they crossed the border, how would Zhongsun Mou have had the chance to wave that prohibition like an imperial command and make trouble for him with all his might?

“Privately selling the elixir of youth is illegal, but privately buying it is illegal too. Look at how many powerful people in Lingxu City bought it. Did they truly fear that law?” He Lingchuan said softly, “With State Preceptor Qing Yang’s identity and status, she was supposed to enjoy considerable privilege. How could she commit one crime and be treated the same as commoners?”

The saying that when a prince breaks the law, he is punished like a commoner sounded satisfying, but anyone who believed it was a fool.

In reality, the higher a person’s rank and authority, the greater their margin for error.

A crime that would cost a commoner their head might, for such people, amount to a demotion of a few ranks and half a year’s salary as a fine.

Their office was their token to offset crimes.

The most typical example He Lingchuan could see was Fan Sheng.

“Twice, he attempted to take the life of a Chiyan envoy and obstructed the progress of a major case. If any commoner dared to do that, they would lose their head. But look at Fan Sheng, he’s now gone to the eastern front to gild himself.”

The Lord Emperor’s punishment for him was like making him drink three cups of wine as a penalty.

Steal a hook and be executed; steal a country and be made a lord. That was naked reality.

Fushan Yue, of course, acknowledged this principle too. “Indeed, sentencing can be heavy or light depending on the target.”

“The prohibition itself isn’t important.” He Lingchuan took another drink. “What matters is who the gods want to use the prohibition to settle accounts with.”

“If you dissect the case, State Preceptor Qing Yang ordered her subordinates to kill some monster commoners and refine some forbidden medicine. That’s basically all, isn’t it? Have Lingxu City officials never done anything more outrageous?” After wandering Lingxu City these past days, He Lingchuan had truly heard an endless number of absurd stories from nobles and students, any one of which could casually shatter his worldview.

And what he had heard was only the tiniest bit of the surface.

How much filth and rot had a six-hundred-year imperial capital hidden away? Those things could not see the light. Once they did, something huge would happen.

“So, as long as the Lord Emperor is determined to protect her, and as long as the gods stop pursuing the matter relentlessly, it’s not impossible for State Preceptor Qing Yang to have hope.”

Fushan Yue’s face stretched long. This was what he least wanted to hear.

“Of course, the matter has already blown up this much, so State Preceptor Qing Yang will definitely pay a heavy price.” He Lingchuan patted his shoulder. “You don’t need to be too discouraged. As for the elixir of youth case, the heavenly gods and the Lord Emperor will have to give you and the vassal monster states an explanation. The fact that the crime has been pinned on State Preceptor Qing Yang means you’ve already won. What more do you want?”

Fushan Yue thought it over, then handed him two lamb ribs, roasted until fragrant and crisp. “Here, eat!”

“Oh, speaking of Fan Sheng, someone else was also ordered to rush to the eastern front.” Fushan Yue added casually, “The Qingwu General. He set out yesterday.”

He Lingchuan had not yet bitten into the meat, but stopped. “General Hong finally got his wish?”

“Yes. Who wouldn’t want to go earn some military merit?”

He Lingchuan smiled. “You don’t.” Fushan Yue had finally become the Chiyan Crown Prince. All he wanted was to secure his seat.

Fushan Yue laughed heartily. “That’s right. I don’t.”

He was already Chiyan’s crown prince, the only seedling of the old Fushan Family. What more military merit did he need to compete for?

Just then, an attendant came to report.

Other nobles had sent people to offer condolences and concern.

“Condolences and concern my ass! They just want to pry information from me.” Fushan Yue knew exactly what they were thinking. “These bastards are born rats. I only went to the Spring Palace once, and they all know already!”

The heavenly gods sending troops to besiege the Spring Palace was earth-shaking news to the dignitaries of Upper Lingxu City.

Figures from State Preceptor Qing Yang’s faction probably felt like the sky was collapsing at this very moment.

And many others are probably rejoicing, aren’t they?

After eating and drinking his fill, He Lingchuan returned to his room. The Soul-Stealing Mirror, which had held itself in for four hours, immediately asked him, “Hong Chenglue has already gone to the eastern battlefield. You’ve lost the chance to confirm whether he was Hu Bin!”

He Lingchuan splashed cool water onto his face to dispel the heat. “You’ve got it backward.”

“Huh?” The mirror did not understand. “How did you confirm it?”

The moment he heard that Hong Chenglue had gone east, the layer of suspicion in He Lingchuan’s heart had already dispersed.