The endless legions of vengeful spirits dispersed and dissipated under the powerful glare of that spiritual light. A martial god clad in white armor broke through the clouds with sword in hand.
It was indeed Jun Wu. When the group saw him, it was as if they'd seen their parents reborn, or their savior. They all cried, "Ah! My Lord!" with tears practically streaming down their faces.
Each of Jun Wu's steps radiated glory as he languidly descended to earth. "Remain calm, do not panic. Is everyone all right?"
The four within the sword array quickly disassembled and returned to their original forms.
"My Lord, shouldn't you be guarding the Heavenly Capital? Why have you come personally?" Pei Ming asked.
"Lord Rain Master informed me through the communication array that Mount Tonglu's barrier had been broken. The circumstances are dire, and so I have come," Jun Wu replied.
Everyone looked over at the Rain Master, still riding atop the black ox.
So that's what happened, they all thought at once. Since the barrier had broken, communication spells must be functional again. But blood had rushed to their heads earlier, their minds filled with nothing but destroying the vengeful spirits. No one else had thought to attempt communication through the array.
Xie Lian took a step forward. "My Lord, it's White No-Face. He's returned."
Jun Wu nodded faintly. "I assumed he would be relentless."
"He's very elusive," Xie Lian said. "Now that you've come, we don't know where he's hidden himself."
"No matter," Jun Wu replied. "Let us settle the vengeful spirits before we seek him out."
Everyone looked to the sky. The rolling black clouds were being purified by the powerful light Jun Wu had brought forth.
"So you've stopped the birth of a new ghost king, right?" Pei Ming said.
"I guess so," Xie Lian said. "After all, nothing broke through the Kiln besides this."
Everyone's eyes moved to look in unison. The giant divine statue was still lying obediently on the ground where it was left when Xie Lian stopped controlling it. Now that it'd fallen down, the gigantic, exquisitely sculpted thing looked like a small mountain in its own right.
Xie Lian stood near it and raised a hand to pet its cheek, then turned to Hua Cheng. "San Lang, what should we do with it?"
Hua Cheng seemed deep in thought, but he snapped out of it when he heard the question.
"There's no need for gege to worry," he replied. "Let's leave it here until I can repair it."
"Can it be fixed?" Xie Lian asked.
"Of course, as long as the Kiln can be sourced for stone," Hua Cheng replied. "I'll mend it and make it stand once again."
"Then let's leave it for now," Xie Lian said. "The volcano is still erupting, and who knows when it'll be safe again."
Just then, the vengeful spirits in the air shrieked as one—they were swirling like a tornado, which then flew off into the distance. They couldn't tell what had triggered this change until they looked closer at where the spirits had gone—the underground holy temple of Wuyong.
The creatures would have been dispersed sooner or later with nowhere to hide from the powerful rays, but so many vengeful spirits had poured into the underground temple it was like the sky had been sucked clean. The spirits had vanished completely.
Mu Qing was dumbfounded. "What happened?"
"It's White No-Face!" Xie Lian cried, his dread growing. "He drew a Teleportation Array and sent the vengeful spirits somewhere!"
With a sweep of his hand, Jun Wu threw off the temple's roof; a large chunk of ground was peeled away as well. There was nothing inside except an enormous, freshly drawn array.
"What is he planning?" Feng Xin exclaimed. "Where's the array connected to? Where did he send them?!"
In the past, this would be where Ling Wen entered the picture—in less than half an incense time, the Palace of Ling Wen would have reported the location of every connecting point. But no one knew which civil gods had temporarily taken over the position, and not a single one of them could be found at this critical time.
"Fuck," Feng Xin cursed in outrage. "They usually hype themselves up to the rest of the heavens, fighting for a chance to show off. Well, now's their opportunity, but where the hell are they?! I'll never say the Palace of Ling Wen is inefficient ever again!"
"The royal capital," Hua Cheng said suddenly.
Everyone turned to him just as he let two long, slender fingers drop from his temple.
"He sent those creatures to several different cities. Only the royal capital is a confirmed target thus far—the evil qi in that area spiked suddenly."
So…the civil gods of the Upper Court were useless, and these heavenly officials had to rely on the head honcho of the Ghost Realm to locate the escaped evil beings. Many of them couldn't help but feel ashamed. But the situation was dire enough that their shame dispersed pretty quickly.
"We know exactly what the White-Clothed Calamity is planning: he's purposely sending those creatures to the most heavily populated places," Mu Qing said. "The royal capital is the most populated of all, so an outbreak of Human Face Disease would spread quickly; he obviously wouldn't pass it up."
"Let's take care of this quickly," Pei Ming cut in. "There's no time to waste. Things will get ugly if we delay for too long."
The gods serving as temporary substitutes in the Palace of Ling Wen were also a headache for Jun Wu, who had been rendered speechless. He turned to Hua Cheng. "Has our good sir determined where else they were sent?"
"I'm searching now; it won't take long. Yin Yu, you take over," Hua Cheng commanded.
"Yes, sir," Yin Yu quickly acknowledged.
Jun Wu was the one who banished him all those years ago. Although he had only been doing his duty, Yin Yu still couldn't help but feel nervous in his presence. After taking a moment to contact his subordinates in Ghost City, Yin Yu meticulously reported the general directions of each sighting.
"South 150 kilometers, north 135 kilometers…" Jun Wu turned to Feng Xin. "Nan Yang, you search south."
Feng Xin hesitated for a moment, not immediately heeding the order.
Xie Lian assumed it was because he wanted to search for Jian Lan and Cuocuo; he was just about to speak up when Feng Xin confirmed the order and walked away to draw an array for himself.
"I'll take the north?" Pei Ming spoke up knowingly.
"Naturally," Jun Wu replied.
Pei Ming nodded, then turned and walked away. Pei Xiu quickly followed, but Pei Ming turned to look at him.
"You're still injured, and the poison hasn't been cleared out of your system. Stay with Lord Rain Master for now."
Pei Xiu was puzzled. "General, I'm not, poi, soned?"
Pei Ming patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Your broken speech hasn't even healed, and you say you're not poisoned?"
Before he left on his own, he gave a curt nod to the Rain Master, who returned the courtesy.
"Qi Ying, why don't you go to the western territories?" Jun Wu continued. "Remember not to cause—" "Why am I going west?" Quan Yizhen asked, confused. "What exactly are we doing right now?"
"…" It was somewhat understandable that he hadn't kept up with what was happening, but he'd probably been totally confused this entire time. Why did he get beaten up? Why was he buried inside a wall? Why did he get turned into a budaoweng doll? And why did they want him to turn into a sword now? At no point during all of this had he figured out what was going on.
Seeing this, Yin Yu sighed. "I'll take him. I'll explain on the way."
There was probably no one else with the patience to tell him anyway.
"Okay!" Quan Yizhen said enthusiastically.
Although he waited and waited, Mu Qing's turn never came, and he couldn't help but ask, "My Lord, what about me?"
Jun Wu looked him over. "Xuan Zhen, have you forgotten something?"
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"You are currently under detention," Jun Wu said.
"…" Mu Qing's face quickly fell. He really had forgotten about that. And not just him; almost everyone had forgotten that he had escaped the Upper Court. He was suspected of creating the fetus spirit using wicked spells, and that suspicion hadn't yet been cleared.
"You do not have to get involved. Return to the Upper Court. Your confinement will be reinstated."
"My Lord…it really wasn't me!" Mu Qing cried.
"Once we get to the bottom of this affair and the truth is revealed, you will naturally be released," Jun Wu said. "It would be a blatant disregard of protocol if I did so now without reason."
Although Mu Qing clearly couldn't stand it, there was nothing he could do except quietly acknowledge the order. "Yes, sir."
Seeing Mu Qing so thoroughly beaten down and dispirited made Hua Cheng laugh unabashedly. Mu Qing shot him a look, then glanced at Xie Lian beside him. Although Xie Lian had no idea what he was thinking, his face was growing darker by the minute.
As for the rest, the Rain Master was not a martial god, so she didn't try to act tough. She simply made it clear that they should call for her if there was any need for her assistance, then left silently. Xie Lian naturally chose the royal capital, which was the most populous and the most difficult to deal with. As for Jun Wu, he would stay behind and face the three mountain spirits —and possibly White No-Face, who could still be lurking nearby. Hua Cheng tossed his dice to open the Teleportation Array, and he and Xie Lian left together.
***
It was already late night in the royal capital, and the streets were quiet.
The houses were equally silent and had their windows and doors shut tight.
Xie Lian and Hua Cheng emerged from one of the alleyways and started walking swiftly, searching for traces of nefarious creatures.
After a few steps, Xie Lian raised two fingers and pressed them against his temple, activating the communication array.
"My Lord?" he whispered.
"What is it, Xianle?" Jun Wu answered. "Have you reached the royal capital?"
"We've arrived. I want to discuss something with you," Xie Lian said.
"Did Crimson Rain Sought Flower do something to you?" Jun Wu asked.
"…" Hua Cheng seemed to sense something and cocked an eyebrow at Xie Lian.
"…No, he hasn't done anything to me. It's something else; the situation earlier was too urgent, and I didn't have a chance to speak." Xie Lian's tone turned serious. "My Lord, do you still remember my master?"
At the mention of that particular individual, Jun Wu seemed slightly taken aback. A moment later, he replied, "Do you mean the State Preceptor of Xianle?"
"Yes," Xie Lian said. "You must have had a lot of contact with him in the past. Did you ever notice anything odd about him?"
All ceremonies and services in the Kingdom of Xianle were conducted by the state preceptor; he was the bridge that connected mortals to the gods.
After a moment of silence, Jun Wu replied, "Yes."
Xie Lian held his breath. "…How was he odd?"
"Xianle, are you certain you want to hear this?" Jun Wu asked.
"Yes."
"Even if it disappoints you?"
Xie Lian glanced at Hua Cheng. "Yes."
It was a good while before Jun Wu slowly began to speak.
"That master of yours… Serving as the State Preceptor of Xianle was a gross underuse of his talents. His knowledge and skills are far beyond your imagination."
Xie Lian listened quietly. The next words made his heart sink.
"I believe that the state preceptor and I have spent, at minimum, an equal number of years in this world. He has, perhaps, spent far more," Jun Wu continued.
"…" A part of Xie Lian's conjecture had been verified. If the state preceptor had truly been alive for longer than Jun Wu, then it was even more likely that he was one of the Four Guardians of the Crown Prince of Wuyong!
"Why did you never tell me this before?" Xie Lian couldn't help but ask.
"Because for a long time, I could not be sure," Jun Wu said.
"Then how did you confirm it?"
"After Xianle fell, I found him and neutralized him. But it seems he still escaped in the end."
"…" It was a staggering idea that someone other than White No-Face could escape Jun Wu's grasp. Xie Lian had always assumed that the state preceptor had fled during the chaos of the war—he could've never imagined it was because Jun Wu had personally set out to finish him!
"Then… Then why did you need to neutralize him?" Xie Lian asked.
"And why didn't you tell me once you knew?"
"Your two questions are actually the same," Jun Wu said.
"What?"
"I mentioned that you may be disappointed when you hear this," Jun Wu said, "but perhaps you can now endure the feeling of being disappointed in another person."
Xie Lian's heart pounded faster and faster, and he unconsciously clutched one of Hua Cheng's hands tight. Hua Cheng's other hand rose to cover the back of his own.
"It was because I discovered," Jun Wu said, "that he wanted to awaken something within you."