"The Fourth Imperial Grandson of the Imperial City is here! Li Sanshun, come out of the hall to meet him!"
Qi Shouxuan raised a hand and took back the Gold Blade. The Mystic Bird Old Token on the table slipped into his sleeve as well.
"Don't mention the Seal of Destiny for now."
Li Sanshun nodded. The imperial delegation had arrived at a suspiciously convenient time. Zhao Chong had entered the Ninth Floor of the Scripture Pavilion fifteen days ago, and today someone had come to their door with a portrait. The two things were likely connected.
Outside the side hall stood more than twenty guards in golden armor. The Cyan Gold Flying Boat hovered above the plaza, its underside array patterns breathing out spiritual light. The main-peak disciples had no choice but to take a detour.
The young man leading them looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He wore a long robe embroidered with python patterns and a royal jade pendant at his waist. He was Ji Jingyao, the Fourth Imperial Grandson of the Shunchang Imperial Clan.
Ji Jingyao's elderly attendant unfolded a portrait.
The child in it looked about seven years old. His clothes were ragged, and a faint scar marked the outer edge of his left eyebrow. His features bore a strong resemblance to Li Sanshun as he was now.
"You're Li Sanshun?"
"My sect registration was just completed. I doubt there's another one."
Ji Jingyao stepped closer, his gaze settling on Li Sanshun's waist. When he saw no Gold Blade there, his brows drew down slightly.
"The Third Prince's line disappeared many years ago, but Grandfather never stopped searching. Half a month ago, the Imperial City received a secret report saying that one of the new disciples at Tai Xuan Sect closely resembled an old portrait. I came under imperial decree to make inquiries and take you back to the Imperial City to verify your identity."
The elderly attendant handed a scroll of golden documents to Qi Shouxuan.
"If you truly are descended from the Third Prince, the Imperial City will restore your name and grant you an Imperial Grandson Mansion. Your monthly cultivation resources will be on par with those of the imperial direct line. Someone will also provide all the pills you need for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment."
The disciples at the edge of the plaza listened with envy.
An Imperial Grandson Mansion, monthly allowances for the direct line, pills for Foundation Establishment—any one of those would far surpass what disciples of Xuan Chu Academy received.
Seeing Li Sanshun remain silent, Ji Jingyao assumed the boy from the mountain village was stunned.
"Pack your things. There's an empty room on the flying boat. You'll leave with me today."
Two guards in golden armor walked toward the side hall entrance.
Li Sanshun took the Kin-Seeking Document and read it line by line, then turned it over.
"This says 'make inquiries,' 'verify,' and 'search.' It doesn't say 'arrest' or 'forcibly take back.' Fourth Imperial Grandson, did you bring the wrong document?"
The two guards stopped in their tracks.
A note of scrutiny entered Ji Jingyao's eyes.
"You're connected to the Third Prince's line. I'm taking you home. That's hardly an arrest."
"Whether we're family hasn't been established. All I know right now is that I'm a disciple of Xuan Chu Academy at Tai Xuan Sect. The sect hasn't expelled me, and the Imperial City hasn't confirmed my identity. It makes no sense for me to follow strangers just because of a portrait."
The elderly attendant scolded him. "His Highness came in person to seek you out. That is an enormous honor. Countless people would beg for an opportunity like this, and you dare quibble over the wording of a document?"
Li Sanshun pointed at the child in the portrait.
"Portraits can be forged, and reports can be false. What if someone picked up an orphan at random and passed him off in the Imperial City as someone from the old records? Who would take responsibility if something went wrong? Being cautious spares the imperial clan trouble, too."
Qi Shouxuan picked up the thread.
"Li Sanshun has passed the Immortal-Asking Stairs and left his aura on the sect register. As long as the sect hasn't struck his name from the rolls, he's protected by its rules. The Imperial City's document only authorizes inquiries. Tai Xuan Sect cannot simply hand over a disciple."
Ji Jingyao looked at Qi Shouxuan.
"Grand Elder Qi, are you obstructing the imperial clan's search for its family?"
"I'm only following the document. If Your Highness brought an imperial decree ordering us to detain him, Tai Xuan Sect would naturally accept it. This document is not enough."
The atmosphere on the main-peak plaza grew stifling.
The guards in golden armor gripped their sword hilts. The Tai Xuan Sect disciples standing outside the side hall tightened their hands around their swords as well. Three other attendants aboard the flying boat had yet to show themselves. If a fight broke out, no one would come away unscathed.
Ji Jingyao raised a hand, signaling the guards to step back.
"How would you like to verify his identity?"
"The imperial clan must have a bloodline test. Let the sect send someone to observe, so both sides can accept the result."
"Fine. We'll conduct a public bloodline test at the Questioning Dao Platform on the main peak in three days. I'll provide the Imperial Blood Appraisal, and Tai Xuan Sect may inspect it."
Li Sanshun returned the document to the elderly attendant.
"Until the results are in, I'll stay in the sect."
"I agree." Ji Jingyao straightened his sleeves. "Three days should be enough to think it over. The life of a mountain orphan and that of an imperial heir are worlds apart. Some people spend their entire lives without ever reaching the position you've attained today."
"The higher the position, the harder the fall. I'll make sure I can stand firm first."
Ji Jingyao stopped trying to persuade him and turned toward the flying boat.
As the elderly attendant put away the portrait, a gust of mountain wind blew past and flipped it over. Li Sanshun glimpsed a string of Imperial City archive numbers on its back.
Ink covered the characters at the beginning. Only the final number remained.
Fifteen.
He took a step forward.
"Where did this portrait come from?"
Ji Jingyao turned around.
"An old imperial archive."
"You received a secret report half a month ago, and today you brought an old archive portrait to Tai Xuan Sect. Who sent the report?"
"That has nothing to do with you."
"What does the fifteen on the back of the portrait mean?"
The elderly attendant immediately rolled up the portrait and put it in his storage ring.
Ji Jingyao stared at Li Sanshun for several breaths.
"Once your identity is verified in three days, I'll let you look through the imperial archives. The more questions you ask now, the more trouble you'll invite."
A boarding ramp lowered from the flying boat, and the guards in golden armor filed aboard. Ji Jingyao didn't leave Tai Xuan Sect. Instead, he had his men settle at Guest-Welcoming Peak.
After the delegation had gone, Qi Shouxuan took Li Sanshun back to the side hall.
"What did you see?"
"The portrait's serial number also ended in fifteen. Zhao Chong entered the Ninth Floor of the Scripture Pavilion fifteen days ago, and the Imperial City received a report half a month ago. The two may not be a coincidence."
Qi Shouxuan took out a communication jade slip. The Law Enforcement Hall still hadn't responded.
A main-peak disciple guarding outside hurried into the hall.
"Grand Elder Qi, the Law Enforcement Hall's Communication Array is back online. The disciples on duty said someone used a high-level token to seal the array's core just now. They couldn't send any messages out."
"What about Zhao Chong?"
"They're checking."
Qi Shouxuan hurried with Li Sanshun to Law Enforcement Peak.
The entrance to the underground cells was already surrounded by law-enforcement disciples. The Spirit-Sealing Talisman on the cell door was intact, and the array lock showed no sign of damage. The four disciples assigned to guard it were all still at their posts.
Gu Changyue stood outside cell number fifteen, holding a broken Spirit-Locking Chain.
The cell was empty.
Half a bowl of cold rice remained by the wall. Zhao Chong's blood from his interrogation was still on the floor. The array hadn't been forced, yet the cell door had been lawfully opened once before the shift change.
Gu Changyue handed the duty roster to Qi Shouxuan.
"The one who opened the door used an internal Law Enforcement Hall token. The records show it belonged to someone with elder-level authority. There's no record of Zhao Chong leaving the underground cells, and the guards never saw anyone escort him out."
Qi Shouxuan finished reading the roster.
"A Foundation Establishment cultivator can't vanish into thin air. Lock down Law Enforcement Peak and account for everyone."
An array-inspection disciple ran out of the cell, carrying a shattered identity tablet.
"Hall Master Gu, Zhao Chong's life tablet left in the cell has gone dark, but his body isn't here."
The portrait Ji Jingyao had brought was still on Li Sanshun's mind. Fifteen days ago, the Scripture Library's array had malfunctioned. Now Zhao Chong was missing from cell number fifteen. And on the back of the portrait, there was that same number: fifteen.
Someone rushed into the Law Enforcement Hall.
"Hall Master, we just checked the Back Mountain Teleportation Array. Half an hour ago, someone left the sect with a token. The name registered to it was yours!"
Gu Changyue took the array disk. When he saw the mark on it, his expression darkened.
"Seal off the mountain. Check my Law Enforcement Token."
The disciple on guard at the cell door stood there, his throat tight.
"Hall Master Gu, Zhao Chong's cell is empty!"
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