1178 The Player on the Other Side
This bell asked the immortal and also asked the heart.
If the heart was sincere, the bell would ring.
From the moment Ning Yan knelt down until now, his mentality had been changing. When he knocked into the Immortal Seeking Bell and the bell rang, his soul seemed to have been cleansed.
This purification was cruel. It was like the struggle before a caterpillar transformed into a butterfly. His face was covered in blood and his internal organs were churning. At this moment, he barely lifted his head and looked at the palace above.
Vaguely, he seemed to see the expressionless and dignified Human Emperor sitting in the center of the palace.
“I didn’t do it.”
Ning Yan’s hoarse voice landed on the square and in everyone’s hearts until his body tilted and he fainted.
Xu Qing supported him and placed him on the ground. Regarding today’s matter, his heart fluctuated. Although all the evidence pointed to Ning Yan, Xu Qing believed that this wasn’t committed by him.
He didn’t have the ability or motive.
Xu Qing felt that it was impossible for the Human Emperor to be negligent about this. However… he still did it.
However, Xu Qing’s past experiences allowed him to know that he couldn’t just look at the surface of things.
Especially the actions of someone like the Human Emperor.
Xu Qing pondered. He recalled the imperial edict the Human Emperor had given Ning Yan after King Tian Lan died. It looked harsh but there was a deeper meaning in it. Moreover, it was glossed over with the words ‘unruly and undisciplined’.
‘Is this also a form of protection for Ning Yan by the Human Emperor?’
After that, Xu Qing recalled the way his master had told him to think. He put himself in the shoes of the Human Emperor and looked at the overall situation from the other party’s perspective.
‘If I were the Human Emperor and all the evidence pointed to my son, what would I do…’
‘The Human Emperor isn’t the emperor of one human or an ordinary father, he’s the emperor of the entire human race…’
‘There’s another point, and that is the time when the Grand Chancellor walked out. It happened to be the moment the Immortal Inquisition Bell appeared at sunrise.’
‘Is he using this opportunity to hint for Ning Yan to use the bell? Also to stimulate Ning Yan’s determination?’
‘Of course, there’s another possibility. In the eyes of the Human Emperor, Ning Yan is indeed dispensable and all the evidence points to Ning Yan. In his opinion, even if Ning Yan is wronged, he won’t be able to escape responsibility. He or the people around him must be one of the clues, so I was summoned.’
‘Perhaps all of this isn’t the case, and there’s another possibility that I can’t think of.’
Xu Qing fell into deep thought. He couldn’t guess the Human Emperor’s thoughts.
At that moment, the lingering sound of the bell slowly dissipated in the world. The Grand Chancellor lowered his head in front of the royal palace and waited for the decree. Not long later, an emotionless voice echoed out from the royal palace.
‘The Creation Palace’s people and others are to be imprisoned in the black dungeon.”
“Gu Yue Bi Xuan and Gu Yue Ning Yan are to be detained in the palace’s heaven prison.”
“A strict curfew is to be imposed inside and outside the imperial capital, with comprehensive surveillance by formations. All teleportation arrays are to remain closed. The curfew begins tonight. The Upper Mystic Five Palaces will conduct separate investigations into this matter and report back to me. The lost Sun of Dawn must be found within 20 hours.”
The black dungeon, located outside the palace and guarded by the Sword Holding Palace, detained only serious criminals. Throughout the years, all notorious criminals of the human race were imprisoned inside.
As for the heaven prison in the palace, it was even more special than the dungeon. It was the imperial family’s prison.
As the Human Emperor’s imperial decree was issued, thunder rumbled in the sky. The guards on the square stepped forward and brought everyone, including Ning Yan, away.
Xu Qing couldn’t stop them, nor did he have any reason to.
He looked at Ning Yan’s figure that was taken away and analyzed the Human Emperor’s imperial decree. From a negative perspective, to Ning Yan, this was a life-and-death tribulation.
However, from a positive perspective, it seemed like… this was also a form of protection.
After everyone was escorted away, the Grand Chancellor in front of the hall suddenly spoke.
“Region Lord Xu, His Majesty has summoned you to the hall.”
Xu Qing’s expression was calm as he walked forward and stepped onto the steps. He arrived in front of the Grand Chancellor and cupped his hands slightly.
The Grand Chancellor nodded and turned to walk in front. The moment the two of them stepped into the main hall, the people who were originally presenting themselves in the hall retreated one after another. Even the Grand Chancellor took a few steps back and waved his hand outside the palace, closing the gate.
Only Xu Qing and the Human Emperor were left in the entire hall.
Xu Qing lifted his head and stared at the Human Emperor before bowing.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
On the ninth platform of the hall, the Human Emperor, who was sitting there, emitted a pressure that distorted the void, causing everything in sight to be hazy. Only his eyes behind the tassels were exceptionally clear.
Cold and sharp, under his gaze, it felt as if one were in the depths of winter.
“Xu Qing, summon the Emperor Sword in your secret repository and tell it to slay me!”
The Human Emperor’s voice echoed in the hall, forming lingering sounds that didn’t dissipate for a long time.
Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t expect the first thing the Human Emperor said to be this. Hence, he stared into the Human Emperor’s eyes.
A while later, he summoned the Emperor sword in his secret repository. The sword… didn’t move.
The Human Emperor was still sitting upright. The fluctuations on his body were as usual and his eyes didn’t change at all as he calmly spoke.
“Do you know why the Emperor Sword didn’t move?”
Xu Qing shook his head.
“That’s because I haven’t let down the human race or the Great Emperor. I’m not your enemy!”
The Human Emperor’s deep voice echoed in the hall.
After saying that, the Human Emperor closed his eyes and ended this simple conversation.
After a long time, Xu Qing bowed and turned to walk toward the entrance of the hall. It was only when he reached the gate and was about to push it open that the Human Emperor’s last sentence rang out from behind him.
“Since Ning Yan chose you, his future shall be in your hands.”
The gate of the hall opened.
Xu Qing stood there and stopped for a few breaths. He then nodded and walked out. When he walked past the square and out of the palace, he stood under the golden-armored giant and turned his head to look at the main building in the distance.
‘What kind of person is the Human Emperor?’
There was no answer.
Xu Qing retracted his gaze and walked into the distance in the storm.
He didn’t return to the residence. Instead, he went to the Sword Holding Palace immediately and joined the Sword Holding Palace’s probe into the theft of the Sun of Dawn.
The Sword Holding Palace chose to accept Xu Qing’s arrival. Their investigation was swift. The first direction they locked onto was the imperial capital’s imperial mausoleum!
The imperial mausoleum, and not the ancestral mausoleum.
The latter was only reserved for the emperors, while the former was where the members of the imperial family were buried upon their death.
There, the Sword Holding Palace found a tomb.
That was… the tomb of Ning Yan’s brother, the Eleventh Prince.
Since the only clue was the figure and aura that appeared after rewinding time and Ning Yan had proved himself through Immortal Inquisition Bell, there was only one other possibility.
A person who looked exactly the same as Ning Yan and even had the same aura appeared in the Creation Palace.
As for using spells to change one’s appearance and aura, such a thing could be done in the mortal world. However, in the Wanggu Continent, unless one’s cultivation level reached the sky, it was impossible for them to disguise themselves from the Heavenly Kings, array formations, and secret techniques.
Moreover, the Human Emperor had observed the whole process.
Hence, Ning Yan’s brother was the first target to be investigated. They had to confirm if this prince had really died.
This was an old case but it had to be reopened now.
The results were quickly obtained. Through a series of methods, it was confirmed that the Eleventh Prince was indeed dead and buried in the tomb.
In the Sword Holding Palace, among those who participated in the investigation, someone proposed to investigate the cause of the Eleventh Prince’s death again. They felt that they might be able to obtain new clues through this.
However, this matter was stopped by the current Sword Holding Palace Master.
The Sword Holding Palace Master spoke meaningfully.
“This matter involves the imperial family’s secrets and has nothing to do with this case. Unless it’s specially authorized by the imperial decree, we will not get into it.”
Xu Qing was also among those present. He saw the Eleventh Prince’s tomb and recalled that Ning Yan had once told him that his brother and mother had died on the same day.
However, since it involved the imperial family’s secrets, it was difficult to continue investigating. As such, the clues couldn’t help but be interrupted.
However, there were still clues from other directions. Hence, the focus of the Sword Holding Palace’s probe was on the Creation Palace and the ninth prince. The Palace Master personally headed to the heaven prison to interrogate the ninth prince.
At the same time, the other palaces were also investigating separately. The directions of their investigation were similar as well as different. In the end, all the investigation reports had to be sent to the Human Emperor to be judged.
This approach, although slightly less efficient, didn’t differ too greatly. The most important aspect was that this method of investigation made it very difficult for anyone to show favoritism or tamper with the process. Every detail was thoroughly investigated.
Time flowed by and ten hours passed.
During these 10 hours, the entire Imperial City was sealed off. The emperor’s personal guards and the members of the Upper Mystic Five Palaces had almost completely investigated the Imperial City.
Numerous clues were gathered by the various palaces.
“The Second Prince sent requests to the Creation Palace to access the Sun of Dawn three months ago to empower his Taboo magic treasure. His application was repeatedly denied, leading to his growing resentment. Investigations reveal that his Taboo magic treasure possesses widespread destructive capabilities.”
“The eldest prince left the capital in a hurry yesterday on a mission to the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race. It’s worth noting that the Flame Moon Mystic Heaven Race has repeatedly requested a Sun of Dawn. The timing of the eldest prince’s departure is thought-provoking.”
“In the past month, numerous individuals from the Seventh Prince’s residence have been spotted near the outskirts of the Creation Palace. Furthermore, there have been clandestine communications between them and the Fifth Prince, who oversees the border defenses.”
“The aura of the Sun of Dawn once appeared in the Tenth Prince’s residence.”
“Seven days ago, a nonhuman race gazed for the Eighth Prince and proposed a secret transaction. We have found that the Creation Palace was mentioned, but the details are unknown.”
“Ten days ago, the Third Prince visited the Creation Palace and had a secret conversation with the Ninth Prince for an hour.”
These clues gazed normal but if one took a careful look, they would be shaken.
The clues showed the presence of hidden schemes!
This was the common understanding in the hearts of everyone who participated in the investigation, including Xu Qing.
Other than the Fourth Prince and the flirtatious Sixth Prince, all the other princes were more or less implicated in the case, each with varying degrees of suspicion.
This matter could no longer be explained by coincidence.
“There’s a huge hand behind the scenes, making use of the investigations of the various palaces to reveal many things.”
Xu Qing fell silent. He recalled the first time he saw Purple Green in the palace and the thoughts in his mind.
If one side placed a piece, then according to the rules of chess, the other side… would also place a piece.
The various palaces remained silent.
Finally, in the Sword Holding Palace, the current Palace Master shook his head.
“Someone forcefully revealed the hidden contest for the throne. They are using us to inform His Majesty and let him make a decision as soon as possible.”
“Otherwise… even greater undercurrents and eruptions might emerge at any time.”
“As for why the twelfth highness was pushed out, that person might be probing, or it might also be a form of deterrence.”
After saying that, the gaze of the Sword Holding Palace Master landed on Xu Qing.
“Xu Qing, how about you go and meet Ning Yan?”
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