[The Council Hall, Inner Yard]
As Jiang Bianyan sipped his cup of hot tea, his thoughts were somewhere else.
It wasn’t until he had gotten into the Inner Yard that he’d discovered the tense atmosphere of the place, where everyone was ready to strike out at anything. It differed totally from the Outer Yard, and the two locations felt like two different worlds to him.
He frowned as he shot a glance at the men-in-black under the tree by the old pagoda next to the entrance. “Palace Lord Ye, is there a need to have such a conspicuous presence?” he asked.
Jiang Bianyan simply didn’t believe that they positioned there those people for him. There was only one possibility—the “Holy Servant” mentioned in the letter had requested help.
“Is there such a need, you ask?”
Ye Xiaotian put his cup of tea down and replied, “The three of you have come a long way, so I’ve arranged for your lodging for the duration of your time here.”
He didn’t even bother explaining.
“Conspicuous presence, you say?”
“I wish we could have a more prominent presence!”
Jiang Bianyan touched his grey sideburns and wore a rather irked expression.
He had not seen Ye Xiaotian bear any semblance of a pleasant disposition ever since he entered the spirit palace. He cursed to himself—God damn it!
Qiao Qianzhi noted the prevailing tension and elaborated. “Hall Master Jiang, there are some minor incidents in there that need to be attended to. I beg your forgiveness for not being a good enough host.”
Despite his more amicable tone and choice of words, his persuasions were identical to that of Ye Xiaotian.
“The Tianxuan Gate is in great peril, and it would have been better if they had sent us a more formidable force.”
Yet there was only one who was considered formidable enough in their group.
But it didn’t matter—it would not do them any good getting on their bad side. He only hoped they would stay out of their way, at least.
Jiang Bianyan could tell that the two officials were desperate. Curious to find out more, he asked, “minor accidents?”
Qiao Qianzhi looked at the spirit wheel in Zhao Xidong’s hand. Four pearls were flickering, and they looked like they would be snuffed out at any moment.
“Just some private matter.”
Cheng Xingchu was already fuming by then, on account of how these officials were being evasive with them, although it was they who asked for help to begin with. In his view, this was nothing less than an act of contempt to the three of them.
He was just about to speak when he caught sight of a silver-haired young man on the main seat, and it caused him to swallow what he was about to say.
“If I’m not mistaken, that would be the ‘Spirit Curtain Wheel of the 12 Pearls,’ am I correct?” An icy, calm female voice filtered from his side.
Qiao Qianzhi looked at her and answered, “That is correct.”
“The wheel is spiritually tied to the Tianxuan Gate, a treasured realm of the spirit palace. Judging from what I see, I suppose there have been some incidents at the Tianxuan Gate?”
The three of them were quite taken aback, noting how perceptive the girl was. Such a measure of knowledge and judgment was not something common among most folk.
Zhao Xidong cast his eyes upon the girl’s veil. He was instantly enraptured by the mere sight of her eyes and wondered how he would react if the veil was removed.
“May I…”
“Yu Zhiwen,” she replied, and there was a slight crease seen on the veil as she smiled.
“Good name, indeed.”
Those alluring eyes of hers enraptured Zhao Xidong right away. Having just broken up with his girl recently, he simply could not resist her charm and stuttered.
“M-My name is Zhao Don…”
“Umm, no, Zhao Xidong.”
He puffed his chest, holding his head high, and said, “A pleasure to meet you.”
He put the spirit wheel aside and rubbed his hand on his clothes nervously before extending his hand.
However, the girl had no intentions of shaking hands with him at all.
Zhao Xidong quickly directed his hand to Cheng Xingchu. His movement was so fluid that it took no more than half a second and barely appeared awkward.
“Cheng Xingchu.”
The young man hesitated briefly before deciding to give them all face. He felt a great sense of anxiety after what he had just been through.
As soon as their hands touched, Zhao Xidong pulled his hand back as if it had electrocuted him. He then discreetly rubbed his hand on his clothes and returned to where he stood.
“Well met,” he said, but he kept his eyes on Yu Zhiwen instead.
Cheng Xingchu’s mood had just gotten even worse.
Is there anyone in this spirit palace with any sense at all? Why is it that there only seemed to be lunatics around here? Gosh, this place is sickening!
He then ambled awkwardly and returned to where he stood.
“It is said that the Tianxuan Gate is very similar to the ‘Shengxuan Gate’ of the Central Region Holy Palace. I wonder if I’d one day have the pleasure of visiting it,” Yu Zhiwen said.
Haha, haha, haha…
Qiao Qianzhi laughed for a bit and then noted that everyone was wearing a peculiar expression. He covered his mouth right away and said, “you seem to know your stuff, girl. It’s something that you know of that holy palace.”
“It’s a pity that the Tianxuan Gate only opens once a year, and the opening for this year was already used up two days ago.”
“It would be near impossible to get inside, but if you all were to stay around, you will be able to see the gate opened again.”
There was a tinge of disappointment in her eyes. “That would be a pity.”
Qiao Qianzhi then shifted his focus back to the wheel and said, “the reason we have requested your aid has something to do with the matter of the Tianxuan Gate, anyway.”
“However, it remains to be seen if we would eventually need you, Hall master Jiang, to assist us.”
“If what happens in the Tianxuan Gate is indeed just minor accidents…”
The hallmaster shifted the topic back to the minor accidents, and Elder Qiao interjected right away. “It is getting late, and truth to be told, something has happened inside the Tianxuan Gate that needs our immediate attention. I hope you would understand.”
He rose right away and cupped his hands at Jiang Bianyan, before turning to Ye Xiaotian and said, “we can’t afford to wait any longer.”
Ye Xiaotian nodded and appeared at the entrance of the Council Hall with both Zhao Xidong and Qiao Qianzhi.
Cheng Xingchu raised his eyebrows, baffled at what he just saw.
He had finally seen how the Tiansang Spirit Palace treated their guests.
The persons-in-charge first humiliated one of the guests, then simply left them hanging without bothering to do much with them. He wondered if said persons-in-charge would just kick the three of them out if they weren’t in the mood.
“Hallmaster Jiang, I don’t see why we should stay back in this place. How about we just leave? This is humiliating!”
Jiang Bianyan simply sipped his tea nonchalantly and truth to be told, he had become curious about what happened in the spirit palace, wondering if they had to deal with problems both inside and out.
He was still a hall master and yet, that was the treatment he received, which made things even more peculiar.
He had his business to attend to with the spirit palace, yet judging from the situation, it was yet time to do so.
“Doesn’t matter. If you’re tired, just head out and rest at the place they’ve prepared for us. I’ll stay and look around.
Cheng Xingchu rolled his eyes deep down and said nothing more. He rose and left right away.
“Ms. Zhiwen, let’s go out and take a break.”
He began walking and noticed that no one was moving behind him. He turned around and saw that there was no longer anyone around.
Cheng Xingchu went outside the hall and saw the two of them looked at the men-in-black curiously.
“…”
Damn it!
He stomped furiously for a bit before leaving where he stood right away.
…
Qiao Qianzhi took out a purple array wheel without saying much.
He had initially thought that the reinforcements from the Holy Divine Palace would have been worth waiting a little longer, yet those three were all who came. It made him feel like the time he had spent chatting with them had been an utter waste.
“Tianxuan Gate, open.”
He shouted, and spirit energy churned all around them. Array patterns shimmered in midair and a rustic gate flickered into existence.
The red patterns materialized and the door rings bearing the motif of a ferocious beast were visible again—and the Tianxuan Gate appeared before their eyes.
All the law enforcers that were gathered there became anxious. It was the first time in history that the Tianxuan Gate had been opened before the three stipulated days.
Training inside it for a single day would have been equivalent to having trained outside for months. Therefore, to Qiao Qianzhi, the time lost was extreme.
Yu Zhiwen’s eyes lit up. “This is the Tianxuan Gate?” he asked.
“Indeed.”
Jiang Bianyan nodded slowly, and said, “This treasured place alone has allowed the Tiansang Spirit Palace to stay afloat, among all the spirit palaces with longer histories in the surrounding cities.” One could imagine just how valuable the Tianxuan Gate truly was.
Yu Zhiwen looked at that huge black gate that was over 10 meters tall and thought differently about it.
If even the Tianxuan Gate, located in a place like Tiansang Spirit Palace, was already something this grand, she wondered just how magnificent the Shengxuan Gate of the holy palace would be.
“Get ready!”
Ye Xiaotian gave his order and all men-in-black readied themselves.
BOOM!
Qiao Qianzhi put his hand on the gate and pushed hard.
Raging spirit energy gushed from the crack that was gradually widening. Instantly, everyone looked sharp.
CREAK! THUD!
The gate, only half-opened, suddenly got stuck and trembled.
“What is happening?”
Everyone panicked, wondering why the Tianxuan Gate would get stuck.
It was something unheard of and had never happened before.
Qiao Qianzhi’s pupils dilated when he realized something amiss. He immediately turned around to look at Zhao Xidong.
CRACK!
The fourth white pearl above the Spirit Curtain Wheel of the 12 Pearls finally gave in and cracked.
Zhao Xidong was so shaken that his eyes looked dead.
The fourth pearl cracked. So, this means…
The prophecy has come true?