As the Zen Child spoke, the atmosphere in the great hall kept changing.
Beyond their shock, people found it utterly absurd.
A moment earlier, the buildup had been so tremendous, with the sects and the Imperial Court sending messages one after another, as though a storm were about to break over the mountains and the Netherworld were about to invade. Bu Qiuxiao had slapped the table and risen-and a moment later, that important figure from the Netherworld had simply died.
The little black stray cat sensed something amiss, gave a frightened meow, and ran off into the distance again.
A question suddenly occurred to everyone. The Zen Child had said that the Twelfth Priest was at Cold Mountain and had been killed by a Daoist Friend from Green Mountain, but Green Mountain lay far away in Southern Heaven, tens of thousands of li from Cold Mountain... There was clearly something suspicious about this, but many had not yet gathered their wits, and even those who thought of it found it inconvenient to say aloud.
Autumn light and shadow spilled down outside the hall. The bells had fallen silent, and Bai Zao's voice rang out again.
"Why would a Daoist Friend from Green Mountain be there?"
The sky was vast. No two birds would collide unless the goshawk had long been ready to strike.
Jing Jiu did not answer that question. Gu Qing answered instead.
He said calmly, "Because this is what we ought to do."
This answer was entirely in keeping with the Green Mountain Sect Master's position and the manner of an Orthodox Leader, which of course meant it was bland official talk.
Like Zhao Layue, Gu Qing had already guessed Jing Jiu's arrangements, though he had not personally seen Tong Yan enter the Netherworld through the Heavenly Access