“Another Maritime Alliance matter? What’s the state of Liao Kingdom now?” Everyone cared most about external affairs.
“Destroyed.” Xiang Xian said. “They say the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures will be returned in a month.”
The crowd sighed in lament, and someone added, “Such a great war exposed Great Song’s army in utter rout to the Jin Kingdom—trouble will follow.”
“Indeed.” Xiang Xian sat in a corner of the cell and replied, “Today, I warned the Official Family that the nation will perish.”
“And then?” someone asked.
“So here I am, aren’t I?” Xiang Xian’s response drew roaring laughter.
Before the laughter faded, Guo Jing rushed into the prison.
“Oh my heavens!” Guo Jing nearly tripped on his own Daoist robes. “What in the world have you done?!”
Guo Jing was over fifty, a match in age for Zhao Ji, but well-preserved: fair skin with a rosy glow, jet-black hair, a voice like a bell, full of vigor—clearly from ample tonics, resembling an enlightened immortal. Yet now he was utterly flustered, come to interrogate his subordinate who had committed the grave offense of defying the emperor. What madness had seized him?
“National Advisor is here!”
“National Advisor!”
Many prisoners mocked him. Someone asked, “I hear the National Advisor scatters beans masterfully, worth ten thousand troops—is that true?”
Guo Jing ignored the inmates and approached Xiang Xian’s cell. “What did you say before the Official Family today!”
“All truths.” Xiang Xian replied.
“What madness possessed you?” Guo Jing anxiously pressed. “You shouldn’t mix with Kang Wang. Why not inform me first before barging into Chongwen Court? Who told you to discuss state affairs? No—you cursed the nation to ruin!”
Xiang Xian replied, “What then? Someone had to say it. If not me, would it not happen?”
“What did you actually see?” Guo Jing asked. “It shouldn’t be—you’re a Pure Yang Body and Wisdom Sword Successor; you can’t be possessed.”
“I’m not possessed!” Xiang Xian could not help retorting. “Lord Guo, I sought you out; you told me to decide myself. How many times have you visited the Exorcism Division in two years? If I told you the details, how would you warn His Majesty? Would you report it? Only if the sun rose from the west!”
“Keep your voice down…” Guo Jing frantically gestured, lowering his voice to question Xiang Xian thoroughly about the journey. After hearing it all, he gaped, at a loss.
Xiang Xian sat cross-legged in the cell corner, spreading his hands to indicate it was done.
“You even met someone from the Xiao Family?” Guo Jing’s eyes darted as he probed.
Xiang Xian nodded. “Who is he?”
Guo Jing stroked his beard without answering. “Did you find the Heart Lamp?”
“No leads,” Xiang Xian replied. “My Wisdom Sword alone can’t hold out. According to Xiao Kun, he’s the Liao Exorcism Envoy of Great Liao’s Demon-Exorcism Division—perhaps he knows where the Heart Lamp is.”
Guo Jing grunted. “No matter. With two years left, we can take our time.”
Outsiders said Grand Demon-Exorcist Guo Jing spent his days refining elixirs and talismans, seeking mortal wealth over immortality. But as head of the Exorcism Division, he believed Xiang Xian’s tale and did not dismiss it as insanity.
“The Crown Prince has already pleaded for you.” Guo Jing quickly devised a plan. “In a few days, the Official Family will question you personally. Xiang Xian, then you say…”
Guo Jing beckoned Xiang Xian close to the bars. Xiang Xian reluctantly leaned in.
Guo Jing whispered, “Say it was Lord Zhong Shidao, who can’t stand Lord Tong, and taught you these words…”
“National Advisor! Teaching your subordinate to frame the loyal again?!” The other prisoners had overheard and jeered, sparking laughter.
Guo Jing irritably turned back. Xiang Xian pushed him away, signaling to stop—it was too embarrassing.
“First, we get you out.” Guo Jing said kindly. “The future is long. You can’t fight the Heavenly Demon from prison. Once out, we can plan, right?”
“Yes, yes.” Xiang Xian had no desire to argue further. If not his superior, he would have given him a taste of Taizu Long Fist.
Guo Jing’s face grew solemn. He instructed a bit more: the court factions clashed chaotically; avoid rashness, preserve yourself first, and wait for his maneuvers.
With that, Guo Jing hurried off, not forgetting a mocking jab at the other prisoners.
“Lord Wang, Lord Zhang,” Guo Jing said sarcastically, in Tong Guan’s style, “Do stay locked up a while longer.”
After Guo Jing left, curses erupted from the various prison cells again. Xiang Xian found it irritating, with all the labels of “traitor to the country” and “demonic Daoist” feeling like endless slaps across his face.
“Shut up, all of you!” Xiang Xian roared, and the prison finally fell silent.
Xiang Xian leaned against the cell wall, his fingers hanging down under the moonlight, casting long shadows.
Sometimes, he always felt that the ways of the world should not have been like this.
He remembered when he had trained alongside his master Shen Kuo. Shen Kuo had once told him: There are many things in the human world that you must see and understand with your own eyes.
Back then, Xiang Xian had been full of youthful vigor, convinced that no expert in the world could match him. He preferred to overpower everything with brute force. Wielding the Wisdom Sword and possessing the once-in-a-century Pure Yang Body, all demons and evils fled before his aura. Whenever he summoned the Wisdom Sword, every demon, ghost, and monster within ten li scattered in panic. Even the Blood Jiao Dragon that ravaged one region was no match for him.
But soon he discovered—just as his master had said—that power could not solve every problem. Even with heaven-piercing abilities, he could not beat Emperor Zhao Ji like he had beaten Wanyan Zonghan and expect him to awaken. Nor could he force others to submit through martial might.
