Chapter Six: Closing the Case

One by one, the summons echoed from the main hall. The guards, who had been waiting for a long time, brought Song Xiang out of the neighboring prison cart.

"Is it finally my turn?" Song Xiang asked, looking at the two guards with a beaming smile.

The guards in golden armor ignored him, their expressions completely hidden behind their faceplates save for a pair of sharp, piercing eyes.

One of them gave Song Xiang a shove and urged, "Hurry up, don't drag your feet."

Song Xiang took a step forward, the shackles on his hands and feet clanking loudly.

A moment later, he was escorted into the grand joint-trial hall.

"By the grace of the Lord Sovereign, remove the prisoner's shackles," Lou Jinguo announced in a resonant voice, conveying Zhuohua’s decree. "The Sovereign God's decree states: considering Song Xiang's advanced age, his shackles shall be removed for the duration of the trial, and he shall be granted a seat."

Two bailiffs immediately stepped forward to remove the dragon-locking chains from Song Xiang's hands and feet, bringing over a chair to place behind him.

"This young man Zhuohua is actually quite merciful." The old Song Xiang stretched his hands and legs, pulled the chair over, and sat down straight and proper.

"Who stands before the court?" Lou Jinguo struck the gavel upon the desk and demanded sternly.

"This one is Song Xiang."

"Of which clan?"

"The Python Clan of the Xiqi Continent."

"I ask you, Star Lord: did you take Fairy Lanling's personal letter and token to find Ri Xuluo, demanding that he assist you in seizing the Cloud Crest Palace? This is a joint trial by the Three Tribunals; consider your words carefully before you speak them."

"I did indeed take the fairy's letter to find him, and I presented the token," Song Xiang answered loudly.

Ri Xuluo instantly perked up, shouting at the presiding Star Lords behind the desk, "You all heard him! He was the one who came looking for me, it was him!"

Lou Jinguo glanced at Ri Xuluo, then turned back to question Song Xiang. "Was the token genuine or false? Present it for examination."

A bailiff approached Song Xiang, holding out an open hand to demand the evidence.

Song Xiang glanced at the bailiff, then looked up at Lou Jinguo on the dais, and immediately chuckled, "I was lying to him. There's no need to examine it."

At these words, everyone present was utterly dumbfounded.

Lou Jinguo abruptly stood up, leaned forward, and sternly interrogated, "Song Xiang, the court of law is no child's play!"

Song Xiang shook his head. "It's no child's play anymore! I've thought everything through over the past few days. When it comes to martial prowess, I can't beat that young man Zhuohua; when it comes to depth of scheme, I can no longer win against him either. That day, he crushed the very last shred of my grand ambitions. So be it, so be it. Let the humiliation of being subdued by the Xuanhuang Immortals belong to the past."

Beside him, Ri Xuluo stared at Song Xiang in sheer disbelief. "Impossible! I personally verified the handwritten letter and the token. The handwriting was unmistakably the fairy's own, and the seal at the bottom was hers as well. As for that token, I was the one who originally presented it to the fairy; I could never mistake it."

Song Xiang burst into hearty laughter, rocking back and forth. He patted Ri Xuluo on the shoulder and said, "My dear brother, your weakness is simply too easy to exploit. When I was plotting this matter, I learned that ever since you were enlightened by the fairy, you harbored a deep admiration for her, a longing you couldn't shake off all these years. As it happened, I possessed a letter the fairy had given me during the Ancient War, so I used the trick of replacing the plum with the peach to forge the letter you saw."

"And the token? Where did you get the token?" Ri Xuluo refused to believe it and pressed on.

"Oh! You mean that piece of jade pendant? On the very first day after I surrendered to the Cloud Crest Palace, Sovereign Zhuohua and Fairy Lanling took me on a tour of the scenic wonders of Cuiwei Mountain, and the fairy casually gave it to me. She said this item had just been presented by Ri Xuluo, and she was bestowing this exquisite jade pendant upon me as a welcome gift. At the time, to make my story more convincing, on the spur of the moment I pulled this item out. Who would have thought that the moment you saw it, your eyes would glaze over and you would believe me completely?"

"It's all fake! It's all fake!"

Song Xiang continued, "If you had bothered to scrutinize it even slightly back then, you would have known there was a problem. The fairy's divine sense is merely in this void; how could she possibly carry her seal around with her?"

"It's all fake! It's all fake!" Ri Xuluo kept repeating those words.

With a sharp crack, Lou Jinguo's gavel fell once more, and the final, resounding verdict was made public:

*Whereas Ri Xuluo heeded the incitement of Song Xiang of the Python Clan, conspired to harm the Sovereign and his colleagues, and intended to subvert the Cloud Crest Palace, Song Xiang is hereby sentenced to the punishment of thunder and fire, expelled from the Python Clan, forbidden from ever setting foot in the Cloud Palace for all eternity, and condemned to be jointly executed by the Xuanhuang Immortals. Ri Xuluo is sentenced to the punishment of thunder and fire, with the extermination of his nine clans. Descendants of the Ri Clan shall forever be barred from holding official posts in the Cloud Palace. All other accomplices are sentenced to imprisonment, exile, or beating in accordance with the severity of their crimes. This verdict shall take effect from the date of the Sovereign's approval.*

With the newly approved verdict document in hand, Zhuohua descended into the heavenly prison.

"Doumuxie, how are you faring?" Zhuohua asked, looking through the bars at Ri Xuluo inside.

With unkempt hair and reeking of filth, Ri Xuluo raised his head. Greasy streaks gleamed across the black stains on his face. He did not stand, nor did he kneel, but instead said lifelessly, "I am no longer a Star Lord."

"Do you regret it?"

"I regret it! I regret dreaming dreams I had no business dreaming, and dragging my family and clansmen down with me," Ri Xuluo said with a helpless shake of his head.

Zhuohua listened for a moment before continuing, "I can let bygones be bygones regarding your actions, and I can also spare your family and clansmen."

In Ri Xuluo's dead, dull eyes, a flame was suddenly ignited by something, making them burn brightly for a fraction of a second before extinguishing just as quickly.

"I committed crimes so grave; you have no reason to spare me! You must not let me off—it does nothing for your reputation. Zhuohua, you must harden your heart. Only by hardening your heart can you achieve greatness."

Zhuohua let out a soft chuckle. "I will look after my own reputation. Right now, the Cloud Palace faces formidable enemies, and it is a time when every capable hand is needed. You must use this guilty body to wash away the stain on your family and your clan. I want you to die on the battlefield rather than be blasted into fine dust by the nine-heaven thunder and fire."

Ri Xuluo dropped heavily to his knees, his tears carving two deep trenches through the grime on his face. "Sovereign, there is bitterness in my heart! For all these years, I have worked diligently for the Cloud Palace, yet you have always treated me with cold detachment, as if a Cuiwei Mountain stood between us. Could it simply be because we were enlightened by the fairy?"

Zhuohua shook his head. "No. Both you and Yuhishi performed admirably without a single flaw. However, we can no longer rely solely on the immortal clans. Those rising demons, spirits, and even the Pu people are all demanding a place for themselves in this heaven and earth. If I were to continue as before—blindly suppressing them while elevating you—what outcome would you expect? Although this world belongs to us, the Xuanhuang Immortals, it also belongs to the demons, spirits, and mortals."

Ri Xuluo nodded slowly. "So, you promoted Lin Bai to represent the demons in governing the Azure Dragon Palace, and you promoted Qin Ying to represent the spirits in governing the Vermilion Bird Palace. Is that right?"

"Precisely! I must give hope to the other races, letting them know that they will not be oppressed by the Xuanhuang Immortals for generation after generation. As long as they strive sincerely, one day they will be able to cross the threshold of the Cloud Crest Palace and attain the Dao. Only by giving them hope can the Xuanhuang lineage endure and prevent its own decline and decay!"

"So all those years of covert struggle were merely tying the Sovereign's hands!" Ri Xuluo covered his face and wept bitterly.

"Very well. It is good that you have come to understand! You shall temporarily step down as palace master and pass the burden to Niujinniu. Go to the Directorate of Astronomy and apply your specialty in the art of spiritual resonance; there will be many opportunities to use it ahead. I will grant amnesty to those you implicated, though they shall no longer hold their former key posts. As for your family, I will properly resettle them in a new location. You need only focus on your duties with peace of mind."

A jolt ran through Ri Xuluo's heart, but calmness quickly returned. He prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed. "I thank the Sovereign for sparing my life. Ri Xuluo will surely redeem himself through meritorious service to repay the Sovereign's grace."

Zhuohua turned and strode out of the gloomy dungeon.

Upon returning to the Lingjue Palace, he found Yu Changsheng and Lansheng sitting in the main hall, engaged in a heated discussion.

Yu Changsheng was the first to stand, offering a bow to Zhuohua before indignantly complaining, "Sovereign, you've come just in time. Come and judge who is right between us."

"Oh? What is the matter?" Zhuohua asked with a curious smile.

Yu Changsheng gestured toward Lansheng's severed arm. "Lansheng claims that his severed arm will grow back, and that it only requires a certain star in the heavens to flash once. I argue that this arm is a vessel of flesh and blood; once severed, it can never grow back because the meridians and flesh have been broken. How could a new one possibly sprout?"

Lansheng also rose with a cheerful smile, bowed to Zhuohua, and said, "I explained it to him, but he simply refuses to believe that as long as a star in the sky twinkles, I can possess a brand-new arm."

Zhuohua laughed out loud and teased, "Did the two of you place a wager?"

"We did not," both shook their heads.

Zhuohua put on a disappointed expression. "You really should have wagered something so that I could share in the good fortune."

Lansheng smiled brightly. "Your Majesty is quite the schemer—that way you'd win either way!"

The two exchanged a smile, leaving Yu Changsheng entirely bewildered.

Zhuohua smiled at him and said, "Changsheng, indeed, as long as a star in the sky flashes, a new arm will grow back for him before long."

Incredulous, Yu Changsheng dropped his jaw and pointed at Lansheng's arm.

Zhuohua nodded, then instructed him, "You may return for now. When the time comes, I will have you come and see."

Though Yu Changsheng remained thoroughly unconvinced, he knew the Sovereign would not tease him idly. He bowed and turned to leave the Lingjue Palace.

Seeing that he had departed, Zhuohua pulled Lansheng over to the Xuanhuang Mirror, pointed to a scene reflected within it, and said, "I called you here today to show you this. The new star of the nine heavens is about to erupt prematurely, and your arm will heal all the sooner."