The mountain-guarding disciple held the gift list and stood below the Questioning Dao Platform.
Three groups had arrived outside the mountain gate.
The first bore the insignia of the Third Prince's residence and had brought spirit stones, pills, and brocade robes.
The second came from seven branches of the Ji clan in the imperial capital.
The third was a motley assortment.
There were merchant houses, apothecaries, old officials, retainers, and even several wooden crates with no indication of where they came from.
Li Sanshun took the gift list.
"His bloodline hasn't even been verified, and his father's already claiming him."
Ji Jingyao folded up the Red Invitation Card.
"The paper crane Bai Chongshan sent back to the imperial capital only said that the Third Prince's lost bloodline had been found. It didn't mention that the Verification Disk had been tampered with."
"When he sent the good news, the reexamination hadn't finished."
"So these congratulatory gifts shouldn't have been sent."
Li Sanshun handed the gift list to Gu Qinghe.
"Close the mountain gate. Don't let the gift-bearers in, and don't carry anything into the disciples' quarters."
The mountain-guarding disciple looked troubled.
"The people from the Third Prince's residence are still waiting for Young Master Li to open the gate. They said they want to watch the gifts being put into storage."
"Let them wait."
"The envoy also wants you to write a receipt for the gifts in your own hand."
"Let him keep waiting."
Li Sanshun walked down from the Questioning Dao Platform.
Bai Chongshan was still standing among the imperial guards. Two Law Enforcement disciples watched over him, and the search of his Storage Bag was not yet complete.
When he heard that the mountain gate had been closed, Bai Chongshan spoke.
"The congratulatory gifts from the imperial capital represent the imperial clan's dignity. Turning the envoy away is tantamount to rejecting the Ji clan."
"I don't even know who my father is. Which Ji clan am I supposed to recognize?"
Li Sanshun stopped in front of him.
"You're so concerned about the gifts. What's inside them?"
"How would I know?"
"You sent the paper crane, and you summoned the people."
Bai Chongshan gripped the custody token.
"I only reported the Blood Mirror's results to the imperial capital."
"False results."
"The results produced by the Imperial Verification Disk haven't been revoked."
"Fine. Keep carrying that burden."
Li Sanshun pointed at the disassembled Verification Disk.
"The Blood-Revealing Talisman, Blood-Drawing Thread, and residue from the Blood-Changing Pill have all been sealed up. When Du Heng arrives to identify you, let's see how many more rounds you can keep this up."
Bai Chongshan fell silent.
Gu Qinghe called in twenty Law Enforcement disciples. All the gifts outside the mountain gate were carried to the front courtyard of Law Enforcement Peak.
Each crate was given its own number.
The names of the gift-bearers, where they had come from, who had handled each item, and the styles of their seals were all recorded in a ledger.
The three wooden crates from the Third Prince's residence were inspected first.
The first contained five hundred low-grade spirit stones.
The second held ten bottles of Yuan-Nourishing Pills and two bottles of Pulse-Protecting Pills.
The third contained a gold-embroidered robe, with a jade token from the Third Prince's residence hanging from its belt.
Li Sanshun lifted the jade token with his scabbard.
"The robe hasn't even been worn, but the status is already hanging from the belt. Afraid people won't know who to kill?"
Qi Shouxuan stood beside the table where the gifts had been sealed.
"The imperial branches have been fighting among themselves for years. The Third Prince has no adult legitimate sons. If another blood descendant really has appeared out of nowhere, plenty of people will set their sights on you."
"That's why Bai Chongshan picked this father for me."
Li Sanshun put the jade token back in the crate.
Being a direct descendant of the Third Prince sounded prestigious, but for him, it was a trap.
The moment he entered the imperial capital, every branch would investigate his background.
Bai Chongshan could take him away under the pretext of bringing him to the prince. He could also use the imperial clan's infighting to get rid of him. Once Li Sanshun was dead, the Old Infant Case would be all but impossible to pursue.
Worse still, the false news had already spread.
Among those who had sent gifts, it was impossible to tell who had come to offer congratulations, who had come to claim him, and who had come to kill him.
Gu Qinghe added a line to the gift ledger.
"All gifts are to remain sealed and must not be used. The gift envoys must provide their names and lodgings. None may leave Tai Xuan Sect territory before they have been questioned."
The envoy from the Third Prince's residence finally entered the front courtyard.
He introduced himself as Feng Jing, in charge of the imperial capital's external affairs. He had brought four attendants, and the moment he entered, he asked to see Li Sanshun.
"When His Highness heard that his lost blood descendant had been found, he ordered us to hurry here, day and night. The gifts have already arrived. Why does Young Master Li refuse to accept the seal?"
Li Sanshun sat behind the table and glanced through the gift list.
"How long did it take you to get here from the imperial capital?"
"We came by flying boat. Two hours."
"Who gave you the news?"
"The residence received an imperial transmission."
"Whose seal was on it?"
Feng Jing took out a sheet of Grey Feather Talisman Paper.
It said that the Blood Mirror had confirmed the result and that the Third Prince's lost blood descendant had returned to the clan. At the end was a private seal used for searching for relatives, along with Attendant Bai Chongshan's seal.
It had been sent just before the reexamination began.
Li Sanshun sealed the talisman paper in an Evidence Bag.
"Go back and tell the Third Prince that a false talisman was found in the Blood Appraisal Disk. My relationship with him hasn't been decided yet."
Feng Jing was stunned for a moment.
"The imperial capital has already posted notices to inform every branch. Even the Imperial Clan Court has prepared a new family register."
"Who told you to move so quickly?"
"Finding a direct descendant is a major matter. How could we delay?"
"You couldn't delay, so you didn't even check if the news was true?"
Feng Jing looked at the sealed gift crates in the courtyard.
"If Young Master Li doesn't believe us, you can return to the imperial capital with me and have the Ancestral Temple Blood Instrument verify your blood again."
"You're trying to take him away too?"
Gu Qinghe set the Major Case Order on the table.
"Bai Chongshan is suspected of falsifying the Blood Mirror results. Until the investigation is complete, Li Sanshun will not leave Tai Xuan Sect. Envoy Feng, if you're willing to cooperate, start by telling us who you contacted after receiving the transmission."
Feng Jing refused to disclose the imperial clan's internal affairs. He left behind the imperial transmission and withdrew with his attendants to wait at the Reception Courtyard.
The inspection of the remaining gift crates continued until nightfall.
The seven branches of the Ji clan had sent all kinds of things. Some sent spirit stones, some weapons, and one even sent a copy of the family register, forcibly adding Li Sanshun's name to the Third Prince's branch.
The remaining two dozen or so gifts were even more chaotic.
Nine had no names attached.
Gu Qinghe ordered her people to open the first unmarked wooden box.
Inside was a piece of century-old warming jade.
The second contained three Detoxification Pills.
The third was empty, but a Spirit-Peering Talisman had been stuck to the bottom. Once the lid was opened, its runes would record the aura of whoever opened it.
A Law Enforcement disciple removed the Spirit-Peering Talisman and placed it in an Evidence Bag.
"Someone sent gifts to confirm whether Li Sanshun was staying on Law Enforcement Peak."
The next few gifts also turned out to be suspicious.
A belt had Breath-Tracking Incense tucked inside.
A bottle of pills concealed a Message-Transmitting Insect Egg.
Another greeting card had been coated with Spirit-Drawing Powder. If Li Sanshun opened it himself, people could track him for three days.
Li Sanshun looked at the things spread across the table.
"Bai Chongshan didn't send good news. He sent out a hit list."
Once the news reached the imperial capital, everyone hiding around Tai Xuan Sect had sprung into action.
Some were confirming his identity.
Some were investigating where he lived.
And some were waiting to strike.
The last unmarked greeting card was thin and bore no seal on the outside. Gu Qinghe opened it with silver tweezers. There were only eight characters on the paper.
The old bloodline returns to the furnace; Ding Fire awaits its master.
A few black fragments clung to the corner of the paper.
Li Sanshun leaned close and took a sniff.
[Detected iron filings from the Ding-Character Furnace.]
[Mixed with blood rust and Earth Fire ash.]
[Residual aura matches half of the Blood Token.]
He took half of the Blood Token out of his Storage Bag.
It had come from the underground stone chamber beneath the North Mountain Herb Garden. The same black fragments clung to its broken edge. At the time, they had only determined that the iron filings had been scorched by Earth Fire; they had never found their source.
Gu Qinghe placed the greeting card beside the Blood Token.
The grains of iron, the smell of blood rust—they all matched.
"The Ding-Character Furnace isn't in the imperial capital." Qi Shouxuan flipped through the sect's old records. "Twenty-one years ago, Tai Xuan Sect had only one Earth Fire furnace with a Ding designation."
"Where was it?"
"The West Mountain Old Mine."
Gu Qinghe's hand stopped on the page.
At the words West Mountain, she took off the Storage Bag she carried and pulled a blackened identity plaque from its deepest compartment.
Two characters were carved into it.
Zhou Huai.
The life flame on the identity plaque had already gone out.
Li Sanshun looked up at her.
Gu Qinghe placed the plaque beside half the Blood Token.
"Zhou Huai died a long time ago. I never told you."
Li Sanshun picked up the plaque.
"You hid his death. Who were you trying to make think he was still alive?"
Gu Qinghe turned over the plaque, revealing a fresh scratch on the back.
"If you want to know what the Ding-Character Furnace is hiding, come with me tonight to the place Zhou Huai left behind."
Before you continue