Chapter 28p1
Ming Jian Su was exceptionally skilled at “selling” her sword. Feng Chiyue was instantly persuaded. If Ming Jian Su was too busy to spend time with her, then it was better to let the sword shoulder some of the burden.
“Aren’t you going to the Celestial Feather Ministry today?” Ming Jian Su asked.
“Rest,” Feng Chiyue replied lazily. She had no desire to move, let alone go to that dreadful Celestial Feather Ministry. She wrapped her arm around Ming Jian Su’s waist, her fingers gently caressing her through the thin robe, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
Ming Jian Su’s breath quickened. She let out a soft hum and pushed away Feng Chiyue’s wandering hand. “I’ve been absent for a while. I need to explain things to the Heavenly Emperor,” she said.
Feng Chiyue rested her chin on Ming Jian Su’s shoulder, looking at her with a hint of disappointment. “Can’t you just send a message through the Chaos Mirror? Do you really have to go in person?” she asked, her voice laced with displeasure.
“Wouldn’t that be disrespectful to the Heavenly Emperor? Too audacious?” Ming Jian Su replied. The Heavenly Emperor wouldn’t deduct her salary for this, but with his stingy nature, he would probably hold a grudge. That meant her share of the rewards might be reduced. After all, he was the Heavenly Emperor, chosen by the Mandate of Heaven. She had to give him some face.
“Respectful?” Feng Chiyue looked at her suspiciously, then gently nibbled her earlobe. “You, Ming Jian Su, you have someone else in your eyes now. Does that mean you’ll have someone else in your heart soon?”
Ming Jian Su was used to Feng Chiyue’s strange focus. “Of course not,” she said without hesitation. “Besides you, Junior Sister, no one else is worthy of my attention.”
Feng Chiyue finally smiled in satisfaction. She released Ming Jian Su and started dressing herself.
Shortly after they got up, a whooshing sound, accompanied by a clap of thunder, exploded outside Dong’e Mountain. A foot-long, purple-red token shot towards them like lightning, aiming for Feng Chiyue. Feng Chiyue didn’t even flinch. She sat down on a chair, allowing Ming Jian Su to comb her tangled hair.
When the token was about five feet away from Feng Chiyue, a blinding sword light, as radiant as a starry river, erupted, intercepting the token with a loud clang. The lightning surrounding the token dissipated, and it fell to the ground, seemingly unwilling to give up, twitching like a fish out of water before finally falling still.
After carefully placing a crescent-shaped ornament on Feng Chiyue’s forehead, Ming Jian Su turned to look at the token. “It’s a Criminal Pursuit Thunder Token from the Grand Decree Temple of the Celestial Pivot Department,” she said, her brow furrowed. She quickly understood the reason. After the sudden deaths of so many feathered immortals last night, Danxue Mountain couldn’t possibly ignore it. But she believed she had erased all traces. They couldn’t possibly know it was them. “I’ll handle this.”
“Of course you will,” Feng Chiyue snorted. She had no desire to deal with such matters. She didn’t even look at Ming Jian Su. “Come here, lower your head,” she said, and with a finger stained with lip rouge, she dabbed it on Ming Jian Su’s lips.
In the Grand Decree Temple of the Celestial Pivot Department.
The officials noticed that none of the Criminal Pursuit Thunder Tokens had returned and hastily reported it to Junior Monarch Yun Ze. According to the laws of the Heavenly Court, the tokens were used to apprehend suspected criminals. If anyone resisted, their crime would be considered more severe, and officials would personally arrest them. However, to save effort, the Grand Decree Temple often issued the tokens before a verdict was reached, leading to a gradual decline in their power.
“Are the Phoenixes resisting the decree? That’s typical of them,” Junior Monarch Yun Ze said, frowning slightly. “You go to Dong’e Mountain.” But then, he remembered the recent rumors on the Chaos Mirror and changed his mind. “No, I’ll go myself.”
Yun Ze was a man who enjoyed making a grand entrance. Four black dragons pulled his ornate chariot through a storm of thunder, arriving at the cloud-wreathed Dong’e Mountain within a quarter of an hour. The two attendants at the front of the chariot lifted the curtains, and after a moment, Yun Ze, his face as handsome as jade, stepped out.
“Sound the Kui Drum,” he commanded.
The two attendants immediately understood. They took out the Kui Drum and started beating it, producing a sound like a thousand thunderbolts exploding in the sky. Whenever officials from the Celestial Pivot Department went out on official business, they would sound the Kui Drum to warn everyone: “The Celestial Pivot Department is at work. All others, step aside.”
Waves of sound echoed through the air.
Zhu Wan, practicing her swordsmanship in the mountains, was startled. What was happening now? She frowned, wanting to investigate the source of the noise. But as she took a step, she saw her Master, emanating an otherworldly aura, emerge from the Dharma Hall. Feng Chiyue, who should have been on duty, was leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed, her eyes gleaming, a spring in her step.
Romantic encounter, returning soul… one word after another popped into Zhu Wan’s mind, her rusty brain suddenly whirring to life. She pinched herself, the pain making her gasp. It wasn’t a ghost or a phantom. Her Master had secretly returned.
Outside the mountain.
Yun Ze stared intently at Dong’e Mountain. Although the elders of Danxue Mountain had accused Feng Chiyue and the Phoenixes of killing their clansmen, he didn’t believe they were truly capable of such a feat. To silently kill so many immortals within the territory of Kunlun Mountain was too far-fetched.
However, Danxue Mountain had made a big fuss, so he had to put on a show. He couldn’t simply dismiss them. The Heavenly Emperor was also displeased with Feng Chiyue’s actions in the Celestial Feather Ministry. Perhaps they intended to use this opportunity to completely suppress her, preventing her from causing further trouble.
As Yun Ze pondered the Heavenly Emperor and his colleagues’ motives, his mind wandered. However, the attendants accompanying him remained vigilant, their gazes fixed on Dong’e Mountain. Suddenly, a figure dressed in blue, a color recognized by even a three-year-old child in the Immortal Realm, appeared in the sky. “J-J-Junior Monarch…” one of the attendants stammered.
“What is it?” Yun Ze snapped, startled out of his thoughts. Seeing his two subordinates staring in shock and terror, as if they had seen a ghost, he felt his face burning with shame. How could such incompetent fools be part of the Celestial Pivot Department? How did the Heavenly Mechanism Department even select their officials? Yun Ze suppressed his anger and finally sensed the shift in the energy around them. He looked up, equally startled.
Hadn’t he just seen a ghost?
Damn it, why was it the East Abode Master?
He had expected Feng Chiyue to resist the decree or surrender, but he hadn’t anticipated the return of the supposedly dead Ming Jian Su!
Ming Jian Su looked at the stunned Yun Ze and smiled faintly. “Fellow Daoist Yun Ze, what brings you to Dong’e Mountain? Has someone violated the laws of the Heavenly Court?”
Yun Ze masked his surprise and bowed to her. The East Abode Master wasn’t dead. She had returned to the Heavenly Court. Why hadn’t there been any news on the Chaos Mirror? If she was here, could they still arrest Feng Chiyue? How would he explain this to Danxue Mountain? His mind raced. He forced a smile and said, “Fellow Daoist Dong’e.” He didn’t mention that Ming Jian Su was considered “dead” in the Heavenly Court. Instead, he directly stated his purpose, putting all the blame on Danxue Mountain. “The elders of Danxue Mountain have accused Minister Feng of the Celestial Feather Ministry of murder. Although I don’t believe it, I still have to come and inquire.”
Ming Jian Su didn’t believe his lies. Not a single word from those Heavenly Court officials could be trusted. That Criminal Pursuit Thunder Token was still in the Dharma Hall. “My Junior Sister is kind-hearted, innocent, and naive. How could she possibly kill anyone? Are those fellow Daoists from Danxue Mountain confused?”
Yun Ze felt a twinge of discomfort. A month ago, he would have believed those words without hesitation. But after the incidents of “the Supreme Palace’s cauldron being destroyed” and “the West Sea Dragon’s scales being plucked,” he believed that using words like “kind-hearted” and “innocent” to describe Feng Chiyue was an insult to language.
He knew Ming Jian Su was protective of her junior sister, so he didn’t badmouth Feng Chiyue directly. Instead, he used the elders of Danxue Mountain as a shield. He sighed softly. “I share your sentiments, Fellow Daoist. But those from Danxue Mountain claim that Minister Feng overturned the cauldron of the Supreme Palace, proving her considerable power.”
Ming Jian Su smiled “kindly.” Two sword lights swirled around her, their intent as sharp as frost in the depths of winter. “My Junior Sister is benevolent. Why would she attack the Supreme Palace’s cauldron for no reason?”
Yun Ze: “…” Did these two have a misunderstanding about the word “kindly”? He was here to investigate the mysterious deaths of those feathered immortals. He tried to steer the conversation back on track. “I–” he began, but then he heard the frantic snorting of the dragons pulling his chariot, as if they were being stalked by some terrifying creature.
“I understand, Fellow Daoist Yun Ze. You’re saying that Jing De Immortal Monarch, disrespectful of his seniority, bullied my Junior Sister for no reason, right?” Ming Jian Su offered him a grateful smile. “I was trapped on the battlefield between the Immortal and Demon Realms and was unaware of the events in the Immortal Realm. Thank you for informing me of the truth.”
Yun Ze was confused.
What truth? Hadn’t he said nothing?
“I still have matters to attend to, so I won’t keep you any longer. I’ll visit the Celestial Pivot Department another day,” Ming Jian Su said, emphasizing the word “visit.”
Yun Ze returned to his chariot in a daze and hurried back to Kunlun Mountain, his chariot crackling with thunder and lightning. It wasn’t until he was halfway there that he suddenly snapped out of it.
Ming Jian Su had risen from the dead! Did the other immortals know? He no longer cared about the “murder case” in Danxue Mountain. He hastily took out the Chaos Mirror and sent messages to all his fellow Daoists who had exchanged name seals with him. Then, he posted a message in the public pavilion of the Chaos Mirror.
Ming Jian Su was back. Those who were hoping to see Feng Chiyue suffer a tragic fate would be disappointed.
However, the comments below were different from what he had expected.
— Ah, the heavens have eyes.
— The East Abode Master is back! Does that mean she won’t leave Dong’e Mountain again? She’ll be like before, won’t she?
— The Celestial Feather Ministry… can it return to normal?
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