第29章 老子偏要三家开坛

Less than an hour after the envoy group's disciples left with their conditions, a reply arrived at the Reception Courtyard.

The purple letter paper bore only two lines of text.

The Imperial Blood Appraisal follows ancient protocols.

For outsiders to intervene is to insult the Ji clan.

Gu Qinghe finished reading and pressed the reply onto the table.

"Ji Jingyao refuses to agree."

"He will agree."

Li Sanshun picked up the imperial envoy group's roster and flipped to the page for Bai Chongshan.

"They are the ones in a hurry to test the blood; why should we be anxious?"

Gu Qinghe walked to the window. Many disciples had already gathered outside the Law Enforcement Hall, and several Medicine Peak deacons were also inquiring about the Old Infant Case.

The fact that the envoy group had issued a formal invitation could not be kept secret.

The news that Li Sanshun was suspected to be the fifteenth infant who went missing twenty-one years ago had already spread. Some said he was a royal bloodline lost to the world, while others claimed he was using a forged seal to cling to the imperial family.

If the Reception Courtyard gave another push, the charge of impersonating royalty could be pinned on him.

Gu Qinghe closed the window.

"Ji Jingyao can stall, waiting for the sect to force you to the Reception Courtyard first."

"Then I will make it impossible for him to stall."

Li Sanshun took paper and brush, rewriting the blood appraisal protocol.

Three sets of appraisal instruments would be provided by the Tai Xuan Sect, the imperial envoy group, and the Alchemy Alliance, respectively.

When drawing blood, the three blood vials would be placed together on the Questioning Dao Platform. Each blood sample would be divided into two vials—one for testing and one for verification—with all three parties applying seals to the caps.

The instruments had to be opened and inspected before being placed on the platform.

The entire process would be recorded by Image-Recording Arrays.

If the results differed, all verification disks and remaining blood samples would be sealed on the spot; no one would be allowed to take them away.

Gu Qinghe read it through.

"One clause is missing."

She added a few lines at the bottom of the paper.

Each party would provide two witnesses. Every step—drawing blood, sealing vials, opening disks, and applying stamps—required the signatures of all six people. Bai Chongshan was not to have sole contact with the blood samples.

Li Sanshun pointed to the final sentence.

"Delete this one for now."

"Are you afraid he'll use it as an excuse to refuse?"

"Let him take the stage. If he hides below, how can I catch him in the act?"

The protocol was copied into three versions.

One was sent to the Reception Courtyard, one to the Deliberation Hall of the Tai Xuan Sect, and the final one to the Alchemy Pavilion established by the Alchemy Alliance at the foot of the mountain.

After midday, someone arrived from the Deliberation Hall first.

The Second Elder of Law Enforcement Peak personally brought the sect's reply. The Tai Xuan Sect could provide the verification disk and open the Questioning Dao Platform, but they were unwilling to let the Alchemy Alliance intervene.

"The imperial envoy group has already expressed their dissatisfaction."

The Second Elder placed the official document on the table.

"The Sect Master is in seclusion and has not emerged, and the elders do not wish to blow this matter out of proportion. You should go to the Reception Courtyard to complete the appraisal first; if there is truly a problem with the instruments, the sect will investigate on your behalf."

Li Sanshun picked up the document.

"Once I enter the Reception Courtyard, whose blood is it, whose disk is it, and whose result will it be?"

"Ji Jingyao has guaranteed with the reputation of the imperial family that there will be no tampering with the appraisal."

"Is the Kin-Seeking Document found in Du Heng's medicine furnace also a matter of imperial reputation?"

The Second Elder did not try to persuade him further.

The charred seal, the Grey Feather Talisman Paper, and the name of Bai Chongshan all matched. The envoy group needed to avoid suspicion now; a mere guarantee was useless.

Li Sanshun placed the document back on the table.

"If the sect is afraid of offending the imperial family, I will invite the Alchemy Alliance myself. If the Questioning Dao Platform is not lent to me, I will conduct the test at the entrance of Law Enforcement Peak. There are plenty of people who want to watch anyway."

The Second Elder glanced at Gu Qinghe.

"Has the news already reached every peak?"

"The envoy group spread it first."

Gu Qinghe took out the purple invitation.

"They claim Li Sanshun refused the imperial blood appraisal, casting suspicion of impersonation. If we test behind closed doors now, even if the result is true, people will question it."

The Second Elder put away the document.

"I am returning to the Deliberation Hall."

Before nightfall, the Alchemy Alliance's reply arrived.

The Alchemy Pavilion was willing to provide a set of verification disks and two alchemists, on the condition that all three sets of instruments be subjected to an inspection for medicinal properties, and that after the blood test, the copies of the recordings be handed over to the Alchemy Alliance for safekeeping.

Li Sanshun agreed on the spot.

Early the next morning, the Questioning Dao Platform opened.

Hundreds of disciples from Law Enforcement Peak, Medicine Peak, and the Outer Sect arrived. Chains were drawn around the platform, six Image-Recording Arrays were placed in different positions, and three long tables were set up on the stage.

The Tai Xuan Sect's verification disk was the first to arrive.

The instrument was sealed in a wooden box, escorted by the Second Elder and a deacon from the Artifact Storage Pavilion. The two opened the seal in public; the surface of the disk was clean, and there were no signs of use within the Ancestral Blood Slot.

The people from the Alchemy Alliance then took the stage.

The verification disk brought by the two alchemists was stored in a jade box, with seven seals applied to the exterior. After inspection, the alchemists took six empty blood vials from their medicine chest.

"Each blood sample will be divided into two vials."

One of the alchemists lined up the vials.

"The numbering on the bottom of the vials will be decided by a three-party draw, to prevent anyone from identifying the vials in advance."

A wave of discussion rippled through the crowd below.

With the vials numbered randomly and the verification disks opened in full view of everyone, it would be much harder for the imperial envoy group to control the outcome.

As the hour of Chen was about to pass, the people from the Reception Courtyard had still not appeared.

A Medicine Peak deacon grew impatient.

"If the envoy group does not recognize the triple blood appraisal, can we still test today?"

Li Sanshun sat at the edge of the platform.

"Test. If the imperial family doesn't show, it counts as them forfeiting."

"Without the imperial verification disk, how can you prove your identity?"

"I never begged them to recognize me as kin. It is they who are chasing me for my blood."

Soon, people under the Questioning Dao Platform began to nod in agreement.

The imperial envoy group had taken the initiative to issue the invitation, and now that they refused to accept a public inspection, it was indeed indefensible.

After another half-quarter of an hour, a troop of imperial guards finally appeared on the mountain path.

Ji Jingyao walked in front, followed by eight guards and four clerks. Bai Chongshan was also in the group, his right hand covered by a black leather glove, his arms cradling a long wooden box.

This was Li Sanshun's first time seeing this Elder Bai.

He was over sixty, of short stature. As he descended the steps, his left hand remained steady on the wooden box, while his right hand exerted very little force.

Bai Chongshan walked onto the Questioning Dao Platform and placed the wooden box on the imperial long table.

Ji Jingyao did not take a seat.

"Li Sanshun, the imperial blood appraisal has continued for hundreds of years, and never has an outsider been allowed to re-verify it. Inviting the Alchemy Alliance onto the stage today has already broken the rules."

Li Sanshun pointed below the stage.

"Twenty-one years ago, fifteen infants were snatched away from various places; who was following the rules then?"

"The Old Infant Case has yet to be cleared; it cannot be conflated with kin-seeking."

"A kin-seeking seal was burned out of a medicine furnace, and Bai Chongshan manages the complete seal. Does Your Highness still wish to separate them?"

Several guards gripped their weapons.

The Law Enforcement Peak disciples also leaned forward a few steps.

Ji Jingyao raised a hand, and the guards retreated to their original positions.

"The envoy group is willing to accept the triple blood appraisal."

The discussion below the stage grew louder.

Ji Jingyao took out an imperial command token and pressed it onto the blood appraisal protocol.

"If the appraisal results prove that you possess the bloodline of the Ji clan, you must return to the Imperial City with the envoy group."

"Fine."

Gu Qinghe looked up at Li Sanshun.

This condition was even more ruthless than the original. Once all three verification disks produced the same result, the envoy group would be able to take him away in public.

Li Sanshun took another piece of paper.

"I have conditions as well."

Ji Jingyao looked down at it.

"If the results prove I have imperial blood, the Old Infant Case shall be investigated jointly by the three parties. The fifteenth restricted file, the infant-rearing medicine lists from twenty-one years ago, and all imperial kin-seeking documents must be fully disclosed for verification. No one is permitted to remove the witnesses."

"Are you negotiating conditions with the imperial family?"

"It is you who want to test my blood."

Ji Jingyao stared at him for a moment, pressed the command token into the vermilion ink, and stamped it below the protocol.

"Granted."

The six witnesses signed in turn.

All the Image-Recording Arrays were activated.

The Alchemy Alliance alchemists walked to the imperial long table, preparing to inspect the final set of instruments.

Bai Chongshan undid the copper clasp on the wooden box, revealing the verification disk inside.

The moment the lid opened, Li Sanshun's nose twitched.

A faint scent of medicine drifted from the Ancestral Blood Slot.

He stepped forward, reaching out to block the Alchemy Alliance alchemist.

"Wait, no one is allowed to touch this disk!"