The phoenix palace went absolutely silent. Numerous gazes locked onto Xu Qing. Meanwhile, Princess Anhai’s expression flickered.

The imperial bells almost never rang nine times. But just now, they had, indicating that something momentous had happened. There would obviously be major repercussions. Then, at almost exactly the same moment, a contingent of imperial guards showed up and told Xu Qing to come with them to the imperial palace. Though it seemed like an invitation, the somber and desolate aura of the guards made it clear it was more than that.

Most importantly in this maelstrom of events was that, though it might seem far-fetched, a lack of caution could lead to death. It didn’t matter that Xu Qing had a shocking background and also controlled one-and-a-half regions. If something very dramatic happened that related to the survival of humankind as a whole, then there was no question about which of the two the emperor would view as more important.

At first, Princess Anhai looked confused. But then her eyes filled with determination. Rising to her feet, she coldly said, “How impudent!”

The golden-armored imperial guards didn’t so much as twitch in response to her words. They kept looking at Xu Qing. However, one of them stepped forward, faced Princess Anhai, and bowed.

“Your Majesty, these are orders from the emperor.”

Frowning, Princess Anhai said, “What happened that requires Region Lord Xu to go to the imperial palace?”

She was hoping to get some more information for Xu Qing about why this was happening. That was about all she could do. If he knew the reason, then at least he could prepare himself for what was to come.

The guard who had stepped out hesitated, looked around, and then shifted his gaze back to the frowning Princess Anhai. Taking a few steps forward, he projected a message to her that no one else could hear. In response, Princess Anhai gasped and shivered. Her face fell, and she looked at Xu Qing with a complicated expression.

When Xu Qing saw that, he wondered more than ever what had gone wrong. Although he had no idea, he kept his expression neutral as he rose and walked over to the imperial guards.

They quickly got into formation around him. Although it looked like they were providing a respectful escort, there was also something about it that made it seem like they were arresting him.

Just as he was about to step out of the hall, Princess Anhai gritted her teeth and projected a message to him.

“The guard didn’t tell me much. Just that… the Creation Division has been locked down. It seems there might have been something stolen from there!”

Xu Qing stopped in place, turned, and clasped hands respectfully to her. Then he left her mansion and went in the direction of the imperial palace.

It was night, and it was still raining. Thunder crashed overhead. Under normal circumstances, few people would go out in such inclement weather. But this night was different.

Xu Qing saw imperial guards hurrying around everywhere. They all seemed to be going in different directions, such that an ordinary person wouldn’t have any idea what they were up to. But Xu Qing got his start in the Violent Crimes Division, so he could pick up on the clues.

They’re expanding the range of the lockdown. Are they locking down the entire imperial capital?

Thinking back to the message from Princess Anhai, Xu Qing immediately thought about his Eldest Brother. Given everything he knew about the Captain, it seemed entirely possible that he might have tried to steal something from the Creation Division. However, if that was true, the Captain would definitely have been careful not to leave behind any clues that point to Xu Qing. As such, Xu Qing eliminated that as a possibility.

With that possibility out of the way, I have to wonder what exactly was stolen that would cause the emperor to summon me for an audience.

The only thing connecting him to the Creation Division were the Dawning Suns. Except, he had explained that situation already, so it didn’t seem likely that was why he was being summoned.

Could it be because of someone else I’m connected to?

Unfortunately, he had too few clues to work with to get him anywhere close to an explanation.

As Xu Qing pondered the situation, lightning crashed around them. Eventually, they crossed the rainbow ridge and reached the imperial palace. In the illumination provided by the lightning, Xu Qing’s pupils constricted as he realized there was another person being escorted into the palace.

It was Ningyan. That caused everything to click. Ningyan was somehow connected to the Creation Division. And the item that had been stolen was almost certainly a Dawning Sun.

Yet there were things that didn’t add up. First of all, Xu Qing knew for certain that Ningyan had been spending all his time lately working on cultivation. Second, Ningyan’s cultivation base was too low for him to do something so dramatic and somehow escape.

What was more, it seemed almost preposterous that a Dawning Sun could have been stolen. The Dawning Suns were prized treasures of humankind, and weren’t things that could be easily lost. They would definitely be under tight guard. And it didn’t seem necessary to store them at the Creation Division itself.

As he pondered such matters, his gaze turned grim. Walking into the imperial palace, he soon reached the Immortal Reception Plaza in front of the main palace hall. There were golden-armored cultivators everywhere, all of them pulsing with killing intent. It created a very stifling atmosphere. That, coupled with the crash of thunder, created a pressure that caused even the raindrops to tremble.

Ningyan was also trembling. Two guards clamped their hands onto his shoulders and forced him into a kneeling position in the plaza. Rain poured down, soaking him. He was nervous and also confused. He had no idea what was happening, as he had been working on his cultivation in his mother’s shrine hall when the guard burst in and dragged him away.

He wasn’t the only one present. There were others. All were cultivators from the Creation Division, a total of a few dozen people.

Also present was Ninth Prince, who had likewise been forced into a kneeling position by two imperial guards. His head was bowed, and his expression was one of pure bitterness.

When Xu Qing arrived, the gazes of numerous imperial guards locked onto him as he was escorted over to the other ‘guests.’

When Ningyan saw Xu Qing, his eyes glittered with both hope and surprise.

Xu Qing looked at him and nodded. Not saying anything, he stood to the side.

The guards behind him were about to put their hands on his shoulders when he looked over his shoulder at them, his gaze calm. That gaze caused the guards to clasp hands and step back.

Xu Qing was now the only new arrival left standing. The rain didn’t touch him.

Time passed, and the thunder grew louder.

Occasionally, people would hurry into the palace and enter the hall. Inside the hall, lamplight indicated that some ceremony was underway. The imperial capital’s grand spell formation was fully activated, covering the entire city so that it was possible to enter, but not leave.

Xu Qing closed his eyes and pondered the matter further, trying to inwardly confirm whether his speculations were correct. 𝓯𝙬𝓿.

Eventually, when the sky turned bright, an old man emerged from the palace hall. It was the chief minister. He looked down at the plaza and all the kneeling figures in it.

“Earlier in the night,” he said in a grim voice, “the Creation Division was robbed. A Dawning Sun, which had been placed in a special spell formation here for research purposes, was lost. All of you here are suspects in the preliminary investigation. And that’s especially true of Twelfth Prince.”

His last sentence coincided with a loud crash of thunder that shook everything.

Ningyan shivered, his expression one of disbelief. “That’s impossible! I’ve never even been to the Creation Division. I—”

He was interrupted by a cold harrumph from inside the palace hall. It was even louder than the thunder, shaking the plaza and causing the minds of everyone present to spin.

“Chief Minister, show the evidence to this unfilial son of mine!”

The chief minister waved his right hand, causing a jade slip to fly out. As it hovered in midair, it projected an image for all to see. The image depicted some top secret location. Most of it was blurry, but there was a person, visible clearly from behind. That person looked very much like Ningyan. In fact, just as the recorded image was about to end, that person slowly turned, revealing the side of his face.

He looked exactly like Ningyan! Then the image vanished. Next, the chief minister performed an incantation gesture, causing a stream of energy to appear. It was Ningyan’s energy.

“That image was extracted from the past by the use of a heavenly king divination magic. It shows exactly what happened in the Creation Division. The energy was collected by the imperial capital’s grand spell formation, also extracted from the past of the Creation Division. The emperor himself bore witness to the process.”

After the chief minister was done speaking, the emperor spoke again in a cold voice. “What do you have to say for yourself, you unfilial son?”

The stunned Ningyan was at a loss for words. He hadn’t done anything, but that image and that energy really did point to him as the culprit.

Far off on the horizon, the sun was rising. Though there were still a lot of clouds, as well as rain, the light of the sun still spread, eventually reaching the Immortal Reception Plaza. Even as darkness and light transposed, a bell appeared in midair above the plaza. It was the Immortal Questioning Bell.

If Ningyan wished to speak, he could do so in the presence of the Immortal Questioning Bell. However, the evidence against him was so overwhelming that all he could do was smile bitterly.

Xu Qing looked up at the palace hall. He had seen the image from earlier, but still felt that something suspicious was going on. He refused to believe that the emperor would be careless enough to overlook important evidence. So he walked forward until he was next to Ningyan.

Before Xu Qing could speak, however, Ningyan tightly grabbed the hem of his own robe. He slowly looked up, his expression twisted and his eyes full of disappointment and also fury at this outrageous situation.

“Father, I know you don’t like me,” he said loudly. “I know that in your heart, you think of your twelfth son as dispensable. I don’t have much natural aptitude. I’m not eloquent. I’m not charming and charismatic. Nobody wants to get too close to me. Well, I don’t care about all that!”

Ningyan’s emotions stirred as he slowly rose from a kneeling position until he was on his feet! His action of standing was profoundly meaningful. It showed that he had suppressed any sense of fear or reverence he had for his father. He had crushed his tendency to be a yes-man, and as the rain poured down, he gave voice to the pressure that had existed in his heart for years.

“Father,” he said loudly, “you exist high above everyone else, like the clouds in the sky. To you, I’m like a useless nobody. I might as well be mud. But… so what? This place is my home, but at the same time, it’s not. I actually like Sea-Sealing County a lot better. I know all imperial princes have the surname Guyue, but I prefer to be just plain old Ningyan!

“If you hadn’t forced me to come back, I never would have come! Therefore, if you want to baselessly pin this crime on me… well I won’t stand for it! I, Ningyan, didn’t have anything to do with it! And I’ll prove it with the Immortal Questioning Bell!”

Ningyan jumped up and viciously rapped his knuckles on the bell. The bell tolled, deep and resonant. It could confirm the truth of words, and it could verify the condition of the heart.