Night fell, and torrential rain poured down.
The once-glorious princely residence was lit by only a few palace lanterns, illuminating the rain dripping from the eaves.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared, jolting their eardrums with pain. The Princess Consort and concubines hid indoors, while the Imperial Prince sat uneasily in the outer room. News had arrived at dusk: the Divine Master had slandered him before the Imperial Court, and the ministers had all echoed him. Perhaps Imperial Guards would storm into this courtyard tomorrow...
But the Divine Master was insidious and ruthless; he would never delay. Since he had already revealed his intent to eliminate dissidents, death might come before dawn tomorrow!
His poor old imperial father was muddleheaded, obsessed with immortality and lost in cultivation. How laughable—he was being manipulated in another's palm without even realizing it.
Ever since he had been granted a title and built this residence, leaving the imperial city years ago, the Divine Master had entered the palace. None of the imperial princes had possessed any voice since then. The Divine Master's disciples often mocked them openly and subtly, leaving them without a shred of dignity. Now, they could not even keep their lives.
"Ah..."
A sigh vanished into the sound of rain.
A divine general had appeared, and an eminent monk had come calling. Whether the old and young within the residence could survive this ordeal remained unknown.
Inside a pavilion in the courtyard.
Old Hui Xian sat in meditation like an ancient, weathered tree. Scriptures murmured from his lips. Before him, the blue smoke from the incense burner rose straight upward in a single line, while the oil lamp illuminated the kind and benevolent faces of gods, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas.
Little Stone and the Snake Demon Boy stood on either side. The Snake