Chang'an lay under an ink-black night, with only a lone moon hanging high above, as though it wished to witness all the joys and sorrows of the mortal world.
Within the Imperial City, lights blazed brightly.
The golden radiance that had torn through the sky did not pause atop the city walls, instead plunging straight into the depths of the imperial palace.
As the glow faded, several figures appeared.
The emperor came running from afar, stumbling as he went, with the old eunuch close behind him and gasping for breath.
"Gu Yue!"
The emperor barely stopped ten paces before the figures, his outstretched hand hanging in midair.
Only after clearly seeing that the young woman's face remained as cool and distant as ever did the Great Tang Son of Heaven's shoulders, tense for days, suddenly slump.
"It's good that you're back... good that you're back."
Jiang Yuechu stood where she was, looking at the man before her, who appeared somewhat haggard from having gone a night without sleep. The hostility she had brought back from Five Immortals Mountain quietly dissipated by more than half.
She casually adjusted her sleeve and called out blandly, "Imperial Brother."
That single "Imperial Brother" made the Li Clan emperor's nose sting even more.
Only then did he notice the group behind Jiang Yuechu.
A Daoist child who looked only seven or eight years old stood with his hands behind his back, surveying the palace's soaring eaves and interlocking brackets with an old-fashioned air.
A burly, dark-faced man with a bronze ring hanging from his nose had his neck hunched, seemingly somewhat intimidated by this place.
As for the last one...
It was Old Flood Dragon, bent over and wearing a thoroughly fawning smile.
The Daoist child and Old Flood Dragon were familiar enough.
But this