Ling Wen approached the throne, dressed all in black and without a word or smile, drew a line through an item on her memo. "My Lord, there are a few heavenly officials still on patrol in the mortal realm, unable to return."
Jun Wu nodded, "They have already reported in."
Ling Wen acknowledged the response, and Jun Wu turned to Xie Lian, "Xianle, I'm sure you are curious as to why you have been summoned here today."
Xie Lian still had his head bowed, "I can guess. However, I had assumed the matter with General Pei Junior was already settled."
Just then, a man's voice rang out, "Whether if it's been settled is yet hard to say."
The voice that came behind was lyrical, and when Xie Lian turned his head to look, a martial god stepped into the great hall, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, he walked towards the front. When he passed by Xie Lian, he stopped in his step, and the corners of his lips lifted, "Your Royal Highness. I've heard much about you."
This martial god looked to be about twenty-six to twenty-seven years old, graceful and confident in his actions. Looking at his face, Xie Lian thought he looked even more handsome than that statue he saw at Mount Yujun, and it's the kind of handsome that could definitely steal hearts. Xie Lian didn't respond, and he continued, "Our Little Pei has been in your care."
'I've definitely offended him.' Xie Lian thought and returned the greeting, "Please don't trouble yourself over it. I've heard much about you as well."
The words 'I've heard much about you' were certainly not a lie. In the past few days, Xie Lian skimmed through his scroll and briefly read through the legends of some of the more famous heavenly officials, and one of them was General Ming Guang, Pei Ming.
This Martial God of the North was skilled in battle, but the most talked about amongst the mortals was stories of his many affairs, good and bad, within wanton alleys. The good had stories like Pei Ming using copious amounts of gold to help save a pitiful prostitute from the brothels; she fell in love with him and forever remained pure and true to await his return. The bad had stories like Pei Ming crossing thousands of miles to spend a one-night stand with a married woman, etc., etc. On some level, Pei Ming was an awe-inspiring man.
After reading through his stories, Xie Lian thought it was quite unbelievable that after so many years, only one Xuan Ji came out of that way of life.
Because Pei Ming was skilled in both battle and in love, many of his rivals and fellows loved cursing him to go die, and even better if he'd die from syphilis. But, his life force was tough, and he never got infected with anything even after the many flowers he'd picked; he wouldn't die, and he'd even live longer than most of his fellows! Until finally, one day he lost a battle, and everyone laughed thinking at last it's his end! But then lightning crashed, and thunder roared – in that moment of danger, he ascended to the heavens.
Those who didn't die in his hands probably all died from outrage.
After ascension, Pei Ming didn't change his way of life, and the scale of his tales of promiscuity greatly expanded. From fairies and lady officials to female ghosts and demons, as long as they were beautiful, he would pluck them. Nonetheless, his favourite type was still the charming ladies of the mortal realm. Many indecent love stories all had him starring as the main male lead, and if it wasn't for Xie Lian's method of cultivation that demanded purity of body and of mind, he'd probably read a couple of those books just out of curiosity.
Thus, other than the Martial God that ruled the North, the mortal realm also worshipped him as the God of Love. Even some officials would turn around and secretly pray to him should they bump into him in the heavens, hoping for some fortune in love. It had to be said that although similar, that title was definitely better than Feng Xin's unwarranted title 'Ju Yang'.
All the heavenly officials present in the hall knew in their hearts what each of the "I've heard much about you" meant, and many roared with laughter in their minds. After the pleasantries, Xie Lian said, "What does General Pei mean by 'Not necessarily settled'?"
Pei Ming snapped his fingers, and a corpse floating in midair suddenly appeared in the middle of the great hall.
Strictly speaking, this floating body was an empty shell. It had no soul, completely empty on the inside and covered in blood from head to toe, he appeared no different than a corpse. To have something of this sort appear before an elegant crowd like the heavenly officials was a shock. A moment later, Pei Su was also brought in, but he still looked indifferent and apathetic even with shackles binding his person, his head bowed low, unspoken.
"General Pei, what's the meaning of this?" Xie Lian asked.
Pei Su knelt down within the Great Martial Hall, and Pei Ming replied, "A few days ago, I went to visit Little Pei, and he mentioned something interesting."
Pei Ming paced half a circle around Xie Lian and smiled, "I'm quite familiar with Little Pei's ability. Even if his clone's powers are reduced and nowhere near the same as his true self, it's still quite competent. It's still capable to fight evenly with a 'Savage'. However, he told me there was a mortal that was able to beat him to the point where he had to relent. Now isn't that interesting?"
Pei Ming continued, "And so I questioned him, and apparently, at the time, there was a red-clothed young man next to Your Royal Highness while you were at the Banyue Pass."
Hearing the words "red-clothed" made all the officials present shift expressions. Then, Pei Ming's following words made them all agitated. He said, "And this young man, in the dark, was able to eradicate all the menacing Banyue soldiers in a flash."
"Now, Your Royal Highness. Might you enlighten us who this red-clothed young man might be?"
If it wasn't a 'Savage', then it must be a 'Supreme'. And one that could kill hundreds of 'Savage's in a flash, dressed all in red.
Anyone could guess who that young man could possibly be, yet no one wanted to be the first to say the name. Xie Lian stole a glimpse at the mute Pei Su and replied a little unnaturally, "Ahem, really? About that. I really don't remember it well. There was also a caravan that was trapped in the Banyue Pass at the time, and we spent a few days together, so maybe it was someone from the caravan."
Pei Ming smiled, "That can't be right, Your Royal Highness. According to Little Pei, you and that young man were abnormally close, not like someone you've just met for only a few days. How can you not remember?"
'No, you're wrong. That was the truth. It really was only just a few days.' Xie Lian thought. Nevertheless, his expression gave nothing away.
Just then, from the sidelines, a white-clad cultivator casually waved his whisk and spoke up, "General Pei, you've only heard Little Pei's side of the story. Little Pei has committed a crime; he's currently in detention soon to be exiled. Whether his words are believable needs to be discerned, no?"
"Then we shall see if General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen can give us a hand." Pei Ming replied.
Following his line of sight, Xie Lian found Feng Xin and Mu Qing, standing separately on the southwest and southeast corners of the hall.
Feng Xin still looked the same as in his memories; standing tall and straight, his eyes determined, and brows always slightly furrowed, as if there's always something annoying him, but really he's not annoyed at all. Mu Qing, on the other hand, was somewhat different than what he remembered. Although his face was still pale as chalk without much blood, his thin lips pursed, his eyes half-lidded, yet there's a cool air of 'don't talk to me' surrounding him. He stood with his arms crossed, a finger on his right hand tapping his left elbow softly, looking like he was either at ease or more like he was scheming something.
The two were definitely good-looking men, but each had their own flaws. Hearing Pei Ming calling them out, they both looked towards Jun Wu at the same time. It was only until Jun Wu gave a slight nod before they stepped forward reluctantly. This was the first time since Xie Lian's third ascension that he'd come face to face with the two of them. He could sense all the eyes on them going wilder.
Wild was inevitable. The Great Martial Hall was the number one martial palace of heaven; non-heavenly officials had no entry rights to discuss matters. The first time the Crown Prince of Xianle ascended, Feng Xin and Mu Qing were his deputy generals. At the time, they were only low-ranking officials from the middle court without even the right to run errands within the Great Martial Hall. And now, not only could the junior officials of back then now stand in the hall, their rankings were even higher than that of their old master, truly a turn of fate!
The three of them looked at each other, eyes flitting all over, stealing glimpses at each other but pretending not to care, who knows what the other two were thinking. However, Xie Lian could roughly guess why Pei Ming had called them out to help.
As suspected, Pei Ming said, "General Nan Yang and General Xuan Zhen had both fought with Hua Cheng before. I'm sure they have the authority to speak on the weapon of that person."
So the point of bringing forth the empty shell A-Zhao was for all to inspect its wounds. Feng Xin and Mu Qing slowly approached the floating body. Xie Lian himself took a few steps forward to take a look, but there was so much blood darkened to black spots, it was hard to tell anything. The other two, face austere, took their time in their inspection.
Finally, they raised their heads and swept a look at each other, neither of them wanting to speak first. Ling Wen spoke up from next to the throne, "Generals. Conclusion?"
It was Feng Xin who spoke first, his voice dark, "It's him."
"The scimitar E'ming." Mu Qing added.
Among all the heavenly officials present in the Great Martial Hall, it was probably only Xie Lian who didn't know the significance of those words.
The scimitar E'ming was the very same freakish weapon Hua Cheng had used when he singularly challenged the thirty-three officials and beat them to a pulp, decimating their soul and dignity!
Within the Great Martial Hall, the heavenly officials started whispering to each other, the eyes watching Xie Lian unreadable. Pei Ming had attained his objective, "Much thanks to the two generals for confirming this fact. If the red-clothed young man who traveled next to Your Royal Highness really was that person, then this whole matter is going to be more complicated."
The white-clad cultivator from before spoke up again, "General Pei, are you saying His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Xianle colluded with a Supreme Ghost King specifically to frame General Pei Junior?"
Both times when that cultivator spoke, he was on Xie Lian's side, so he had to take a look at who exactly this curious fellow cultivator was. What he saw was a cultivator with clear, bright eyes; he had a whisk between his arms, a long sword carried on his back, and a folding fan tucked in his white-jaded belt. His form was graceful and elegant, his expression spirited. He looked familiar but Xie Lian couldn't recall when he had met anyone like this.
Pei Ming also glanced at him, but like an irritated elder who didn't want to deal with children, he shook his head and waved dismissively, withdrawing the floating empty shell that was A-Zhao, then turned around and continued his argument, "It may not be collusion. Except, that person is powerful and wicked; who knows if he might've used deceptive tricks to blind His Royal Highness."
His intention was to make Hua Cheng out to be the real perpetrator behind the chaos of Banyue Pass! Xie Lian rebuked, "General Pei, even if you don't believe me, you should still believe in the Wind Master. Back in the Sinner's Pit, General Pei Junior admitted to the crime of luring passersby to the Banyue Pass with his clone, and the Wind Master heard everything."
Pei Ming glanced at the white-clad cultivator again. Xie Lian continued, "Besides, since we're both here at the Great Martial Hall, you can very well ask our lord whether if I have traces of any spells of deception on my person."
Jun Wu, who sat high above, remained calm and unchanging, meaning Xie Lian was cleared. Xie Lian then continued, "General Pei, let's keep things clear and separate. Let's not talk about whether if the young man I traveled with was Hua Cheng or not, and even if he was confirmed to be Hua Cheng, it has nothing to do with what General Pei Junior had done. A Supreme Ghost King might have the worst of names on people's lips, but not everything can be blamed on him either."
His expression was composed and neutral when the name was uttered, but many in the hall had cold shivers run down their backs. Pei Ming replied, "No matter what, I believe this affair needs to be reexamined. It'd be best if the Guoshi Your Royal Highness has taken away, Ban Yue, could be brought in for interrogation too."
To interrogate her for what? Force her to lie? Xie Lian hadn't yet responded when someone else spoke up first. Pei Su looked as if he didn't want to remain in the Great Martial Hall anymore and said in a low voice, "General. Let it go."
"What?" Pei Ming was irritated.
"There isn't any spell of deception. It's all my doing, I've disappointed you." Pei Su confessed.
Pei Ming was just in the middle of clearing his name, but he himself went and said this. Pei Ming turned cold and said darkly, "What enchantment concoction did that Ban Yue Guoshi feed you? Shut your mouth."
However, Pei Su raised his head, "Let it go, general! Little Pei isn't afraid to admit to things I've done. Since I've been caught red-handed, then I'm not afraid to receive whatever the punishment."
Pei Ming's face was written full of the shock of: you've always been so mature and competent, why did you suddenly go nuts today? And he was just about to kick Pei Su over the head to wake him up when Jun Wu spoke up, "Enough."
The moment he spoke, Pei Ming withdrew his leg and bowed. Jun Wu spoke languidly, "The matter of the Banyue Pass is settled. Take Little Pei down and exile him in the next few days."
After some silence, Pei Ming acknowledged, "Yes, my lord."
Xie Lian only just breathed in relief when Pei Ming continued, "But Nan Yang and Xuan Zhen have proven that the wounds on that empty shell were indeed inflicted by the scimitar E'ming."
"I understand." Jun Wu replied, "That is a whole other matter."
"Pray my lord will look into this matter." Pei Ming said.
"I will naturally investigate. Ming Guang and fellow deities have no need for concern."
After a pause, Jun Wu continued, "You are all dismissed for today. Xian Le, you stay."
It looked like Xie Lian would be personally interrogated. The heavenly officials had nothing left to say and bowed their heads, "Yes, my lord."
Dismissed, the other heavenly officials exited in their groups of two or threes. When Feng Xin passed by, he glanced at Xie Lian looking as if he had something to say, but stopped himself. Xie Lian smiled at him, and he was startled before hurrying away. Mu Qing, however, walked past never sparing a look, as if Xie Lian never existed. That white-clad cultivator walked over with his whisk in hand and a huge smile ready to speak when Pei Ming, who had just lost favor, walked over too with one hand resting on his hilt and the other man rubbed his nose and said helplessly, "Qingxuan, for your brother's sake, can you not stir up trouble?" The smile disappeared from the face of that white-clad cultivator. "General Pei, there's no need to use my brother against me, I'm not afraid of him." "You–" Pei Ming was enraged but couldn't do anything. Finally, he pointed at him, "You... You've really done Little Pei in now. Two hundred years of exile."
The white-clad cultivator swung his whisk wildly, "That's Little Pei's own doing, this has nothing to do with me!" Looking like he didn't want to continue to quarrel with Pei Ming, the white-clad cultivator ran off. Xie Lian thought Pei Ming might stick around to taunt him further, but he didn't and exited the hall willfully. In the large and spacious Great Martial Hall, the only one who remained besides Jun Wu and Xie Lian, who was below the throne, was actually the Crown Prince of Yong'An, Lang Qianqiu. Xie Lian was curious, why did he stay? When Xie Lian approached, this guy had his eyes closed, fast asleep while standing.
Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and feeling quite awed, he gently tapped the young man's shoulder. "Your Highness. Your Highness?"
Lang Qianqiu woke with a jerk, "What's happened?!"
"Nothing's happened. The meeting is over," Xie Lian explained.
Having just woken up, Lang Qianqiu was still a little dazed and asked in confusion, "Over? Just like that? What did we all discuss? I didn't hear anything?"
"If you didn't hear anything then nevermind," Xie Lian said, "It wasn't anything important anyway. Come now, time to go back."
"Oh!" Lang Qianqiu left, but when he reached the doors he looked back, still confused but gave Xie Lian a big smile, "Thanks for waking me!"
Xie Lian waved at him with a smile. When finally everyone had cleared out, Xie Lian slowly turned around. Jun Wu also descended from the throne, hands behind his back, and came before Xie Lian, "Crimson Rain Sought Flower. The scimitar E'ming."
Xie Lian was like a cat picked up by the back of his neck, and he involuntarily straightened up.
"So. What is going on?" Jun Wu asked.
Xie Lian looked at him, then suddenly kneeled.
Before Xie Lian's knees touched the floor, Jun Wu reached out and held his elbow, preventing him from kneeling. He sighed, "Xian Le."
Xie Lian straightened once more, his head bowed, "I'm sorry."
Jun Wu watched him, "Then do you admit to your wrongs?"
"I do," Xie Lian replied.
"Then why don't you tell me what the wrong is?" Jun Wu questioned.
●MXTX Author Notes: Everyone knows me, right? Other than the main ship, everyone is straight. There are no male characters who will spark love with the Gong or Shou. I see in the comments section, a lot of people are torn over this, and I feel the understanding is a bit off, so let me explain again here: SV is SV, MDZS is MDZS, and TGCF is TGCF. SV being the first novel has many exceptions so it's out of discussion. MDZS and TGCF are both main ships only, okay. I've said this more than once already during MDZS' serialization, and I've mentioned this repeatedly again in many other places. Especially MXY. While he's also a little gay, but he died from the get-go, so he doesn't count as a formal character... Everyone can make up headcanons as they like, as long as the main ship isn't broken or switched, it's fine. But personally, my work definitely veers towards having only one gay couple, so this work has no plans for a side ship. I'm saying this for the sake of avoiding completely unnecessary disputes. ——In this text, to become a god, one must first become a hero, which is one who is special amongst mortals. Only a properly ascended mortal can become a heavenly official. How do their servants become proper officials? They have two options: first they have to be adept at a particular skill, and enter either the Martial or the Civil rank. Second, they have to have the luck. If they have good luck, then there's a good chance. If they randomly find some spiritual potion on the side of the road, that works too.
The officials in the Middle Court are those brought in by the Upper Court as deputy generals or servants. Basically if you're on good terms with the big guns, they can pull you up. Although not a full-fledged official, you're still part of the heavens, so there's all sorts of people. So say a heavenly official had a close relationship with you or if they thought you have a bright future, they'll promote you first. As long as you have the skill and chance, you can become a big gun yourself too!