Turning Themselves In

At this moment, inspiration struck Lu Yang like a bolt of divine revelation, illuminating his future and destiny. All men must die, whether at the hands of Immortal Ying Tian or Immortal Kirin. Either way, he was a dead man. If Immortal Kirin ever saw this, Lu Yang had no idea how he could possibly survive. "What 'A-He'? I'm not Immortal Kirin." As the head of the Five Ancient Celestials, the Immortal Fairy stood upright and walked tall. Masquerading as Immortal Kirin would be completely beneath her dignity. "You're not?" Jin Caiwei looked at the Immortal Fairy with deep suspicion. *Does he take me for a fool? Who is he trying to deceive?* If he wasn't A-He, how could he be on such intimate terms with Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi? "She truly isn't our husband." Looking down at the little runt, Ao Ling wore a faint, teasing smile. "Little girl, affairs of antiquity are tangled and complex. How could someone like you understand?" "Don't call me little girl!" Jin Caiwei flared up in fury. She hated being called that most of all, especially by Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi! Even so, hearing Ao Ling's words, could it be that Lu Yang really wasn't Immortal Kirin? Jin Caiwei grew uncertain. Her understanding of ancient affairs was indeed far from comprehensive. For instance, she knew nothing at all about the ancient Heavenly Court, whereas Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had long been members of it—a clear disparity in information between them. "If he isn't Immortal Kirin, who else could he be?!" Among the Four Ancient Celestials, only Immortal Kirin fit every criterion. Had there been no outsiders present, Ao Ling wouldn't have minded telling Jin Caiwei of Elder Sister Immortal's identity, but now was clearly not the time. Ao Ling turned her eyes to the only outsider present. "Who is this person?" "His name is Xia Tian. A subordinate I just took in." "A subordinate?" Ao Ling took a closer look at Emperor Xia. She knew how impossibly high Elder Sister Immortal's standards were; she would never take in a lackey at random. For this man named Xia Tian to become Elder Sister Immortal's subordinate meant he had to have something extraordinary about him. Yet this man's cultivation appeared quite mediocre. In an actual fight, even Senior Brother Lu Yang could probably beat him. What about him had caught Elder Sister Immortal's eye? Oh well, no need to overthink it. Elder Sister Immortal always had her reasons. Faced with three half-immortals, Emperor Xia wasn't daunted in the slightest. They were merely half-immortals. He had the Old Ancestor backing him and was the Old Ancestor's spokesperson in the present era; in terms of status, he was on equal footing with half-immortals. *Still, can I even get the satisfaction of revealing my identity on an incognito tour now?* Emperor Xia thought to himself: *How come when my eldest son goes out, he gets to enjoy life, whereas whenever I step out, I either run into people clamoring to execute me or bump into three ancient half-immortals? Neither is a good opportunity to reveal my identity.* "Lianyi, have those fellows lying on the ground go to the Ministry of Justice to turn themselves in. I have things to talk about," the Immortal Fairy said, gesturing to the terrified marauder cultivators. "All right." Jiang Lianyi approached the marauder cultivators. They desperately wanted to flee, but pinned under draconic might, they couldn't budge an inch. Jiang Lianyi channeled her rudimentary Law of the Jungle Dao fruit and imprinted a mark upon each marauder cultivator, placing them completely under her control. Seeing this, Jin Caiwei let out a cold snort. She recalled that Jin Que also bore one of Jiang Lianyi's Law of the Jungle marks. That had occurred on the eve of the Demon Empire's founding ceremony. Clan Head Jin had inadvertently barged into an inn and encountered Jiang Lianyi shortly after her resurrection. To keep things quiet, Jiang Lianyi had forbidden Clan Head Jin from uttering a word about her. Though Clan Head Jin had kept silent, Jin Caiwei had clashed with Jiang Lianyi more than once and recognized at a glance that the mark was Jiang Lianyi's doing. "The seven of you are to go to the Ministry of Justice to turn yourselves in and confess all the crimes you have committed. However, you must not disclose the slightest information regarding me, Ao Ling, or Jin Caiwei." For them to be marauder cultivators meant this was far from the first or second time they had done such deeds. After all, Jiang Lianyi, Ao Ling, and Jin Caiwei were figures of sensitive status. If the Ministry of Justice learned that they had come to the Imperial City, Emperor Xia would surely find out as well, easily inviting trouble out of thin air. The fewer troubles, the better. "Understood!" the seven marauder cultivators cried out in unison. Ao Ling withdrew her draconic might. The seven marauder cultivators got up unsteadily, looking no different from usual, yet the destination they headed toward was a place they would never have set foot in before. Naturally, they had no desire to turn themselves in to the Ministry of Justice, but under the influence of the rudimentary Law of the Jungle Dao fruit, no resistance was permitted; they could not even display an unwilling expression. *** Ministry of Justice. Ever since tossing the hot potato of the Fourth Prince back to His Majesty, Xu Xin felt a massive weight lift from his chest, and his steps had become noticeably brisk. The subordinates he had trained were also capable of holding up the sky on their own. During his closed-door cultivation, they had performed their duties diligently, managing the ministry's cases in an orderly fashion and even revising the latest edition of the Body Seizure Law. Xu Xin even felt he was not far from the Tribulation Transcendence stage. A cheerful mood aided breakthroughs—this was known as nurturing one's nature through the heart, an exceedingly wondrous state. "I wonder how Daoist Buyu's youngest disciple is doing now. Speaking of which, that kid really is a rare talent." Xu Xin shook his head with a chuckle. After emerging from seclusion, he had heard plenty of news regarding Lu Yang: dominating his peers with invincible might during the great battle in Luotian Forest, composing verses at the Lotus Pavilion that won the favor of Ye Mengyin, and so forth. Setting aside his stubborn insistence on executing nine familial clans, this youngest disciple of Daoist Buyu was still far more pleasing to the eye than Daoist Buyu himself. At that moment, the Vice Minister of Justice walked in, hesitating with words on the tip of his tongue. "What is it?" Xu Xin was in high spirits, his tone gentler than before. "Reporting to Your Excellency, outside... Never mind, perhaps Your Excellency should go see for yourself." The Vice Minister felt that Xu Xin might not even believe it if he said it, so it would be better for him to witness it in person. "Very well." Xu Xin went with the Vice Minister to the reception hall, where he saw seven familiar figures. "Shi Lei, Bai Yiwen, Zhao Tuo..." These were all retainers of the Fifth Prince. As if completely oblivious to Xu Xin's presence, Shi Lei poured out the offenses they had committed like beans spilling from a sack. "Under His Highness the Fifth Prince's orders, we leaked the imperial examination questions to make a profit..." "To win over officials, His Highness the Fifth Prince had us arrange positions in the imperial court for their sons and nephews..." "At this auction as well, someone bought an item His Highness the Fifth Prince had set his eyes on. Even after His Highness revealed his identity, they refused to show him any face and bought the item at an exorbitant price, bringing humiliation to His Highness. We received orders to snatch the item back by any means necessary, after which we disguised our identities..." As retainers of the Fifth Prince, everything they did was inextricably tied to him. Xu Xin: "..." *Wait a minute, the Fourth Prince's business just ended, so how is the Fifth Prince popping up now?!* *Did the seven of you see the Fourth Prince get arrested, discover a conscience, and suddenly see the light to turn yourselves in as a group?* "Wait a moment. Why are you suddenly turning yourselves in?" Xu Xin couldn't help asking. These seven hardly seemed like the type to undergo an attack of conscience. Under the influence of the rudimentary Law of the Jungle Dao fruit, Shi Lei and the others could not disclose any intelligence about Jiang Lianyi or the other two ancient half-immortals. And since it was the Immortal Fairy who had initially ordered Jiang Lianyi, and Jiang Lianyi who had ordered the seven of them... "Lu Yang told us to turn ourselves in."