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But instead of bantering with Wang Chen, Sir Mountain-River was seated cross-legged in the open area between the cages. He was working on cultivation. His facial expression was serious and determined, as if he were trying to make it very clear to any onlooker that he, Sir Mountain-River, was a person with staunch discipline. Maybe he was in jail, but he wasn’t going to forget about cultivation. Any location could be a place for Sir Mountain-River to hone his temperament.

As for Wang Chen, his true form had emerged from his coffin. He sat cross-legged in his cage, his facial expression incredibly solemn. His hands were clenched into fists as if he regretted a huge mistake. Under his control, his Smokewight doppelgänger was currently writing some sort of essay onto the wall of the cell. It was a very, very long article, and it appeared to be all about Wang Chen’s faults. From the expression on his face, it really seemed that he was determined to criticize himself. Anyone who saw him would feel deeply moved.

And then there was Kong Xianglong. His situation was more dramatically exaggerated than any of the others. He sat cross-legged in his cell, facing the wall, with his back to the door as he loudly gave voice to his regrets.

“I really messed up big this time, Duskspirit. The palace lord only locked us up for a month, but I don’t think that’s enough. I need more punishment. I can’t let the old man down. Come, Duskspirit. You stand in for the palace lord to beat me. Only if you do that on a daily basis will I feel slightly better.”

As he spoke, Kong Xianglong’s facial expression went from being regretful, to angry, to wistful, to proud. He seemed to be putting all of his inner distress and other emotions on full display.

Duskspirit stood behind Kong Xianglong, holding a rod in her hands. Nodding gravely, she said, “The fact that you can admit your error shows that you’ve grown up some, Big Bro Kong. You used to be too impulsive. But then again, I have my own faults. I think we need to keep each other in check.”

As Duskspirit spoke, she viciously hit Kong Xianglong on the back with the rod, causing loud smacking sounds to echo out.

After seeing all of this, Xu Qing bowed his head and quietly entered his own cell. Sitting down, he took out a bamboo slip and his iron skewer, then slipped manacles onto his wrists. His motions seemed smooth, almost rehearsed, as if he always did this when coming back from his shift. With the manacles on, Xu Qing solemnly began using the iron skewer to carve all the swordsages rules onto the bamboo slip. Line after line, he wrote, as if he had done this day after day as a way to admit his faults. It really looked like he was pouring his thoughts onto the bamboo slip. What was more, the fact that he had put the manacles on himself made it seem like he was truly being strict with himself.

Time ticked by. About an hour later, a cold harrumph filled the cell block.

“You’re like a bunch of wolf pups. Very clever.”

As the voice filled the cell block, the palace lord appeared. Sir Mountain-River looked up and, seeing the palace lord, quickly scrambled to his feet, clasped hands and bowed, his face a mask of regret. Wang Chen also stood and bowed to the palace lord from within his cell. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it and averted his eyes, his facial expression full of regret. Kong Xianglong and Duskspirit did the same thing, as did Xu Qing.

As they bowed in greeting, the palace lord clasped his hands behind his back and walked around to inspect them.

“You five have got some skills. After your extraction mission, you actually chased the Black Guard cultivators all the way to the border! Since you obviously have so much energy to burn, I think I’ll add to your burden. Sir Mountain-River, after you leave custody, you’ll add a part time shift to your schedule at the Law Enforcement Office. You can spend time there catching criminals.

“Wang Chen, since you love sleeping in a coffin, you’ll start working part time during the night shift with Patrol.

“You’re adding a night shift too, Duskspirit. I happen to know that the Inspections Division is short-staffed. You can start working part time there.

“Kong Xianglong, you seem to have a hard time remembering swordsage rules. Therefore, your part time assignment will be in the Hall of Regulations. Your main responsibility will be lecturing people who break the rules.

“And as for you, Xu Qing, since you’re so energetic, in addition to working as a guard in Unit D, you can start working part time as a Unit C jailer.”

Everyone kept their heads bowed and looked as apologetic as possible.

“In addition, I’m giving all of you a mission. I want you to run a secret investigation. We’ve received reports from spies indicating that a lot of immortal puppets have appeared among the Holytides. We have the feeling the Demi-Immortals have brokered a secret weapons deal with the Holytides. It’s a very sensitive matter, so I want all of you to use every skill and ability at your disposal to get to the bottom of it here in the county capital. Whoever can dig up hard evidence will receive a grade-two battle credit along with 500,000 military credits.”

Xu Qing’s eyes lit up, and the other four reacted similarly.

500,000 military credits was a big sum, and that wasn’t to mention a battle credit! Battle credits were very difficult to earn. In fact, for all intents and purposes you couldn’t earn it. It was only given out when you went on an extremely dangerous and potentially deadly mission.

To date, only Kong Xianglong had earned one battle credit, and it was only grade three. He had earned that previously when he accepted a mission to go into deep cover in Holytide territory, at the risk of his life. But now they had a chance to earn a grade-two battle credit, merely by finding evidence that the Demi-Immortal and Holytides were working together.

When the palace lord saw their eyes glittering, he nodded. Without another word, he turned and left. After he was gone, the cell block went quiet for a moment.

Everyone exchanged glances, and they could all see how much they longed to earn that battle credit. Finally, they took deep breaths and went back to what they had been doing before.

Two hours went by.

Finally, Kong Xianglong cleared his throat. “He’s gone.”

Sir Mountain-River exhaled and flopped onto his back.

Wang Chen’s Smokewight doppelgänger disappeared, and his true form sighed. He had been putting on his act for so long he felt like his face was stiff.

Duskspirit put away the rod and started tenderly applying medicine to Kong Xianglong’s back. Kong Xianglong didn’t seem worried about such minor injuries. He actually looked very pleased as he hefted a jug of alcohol.

“It’s a good thing I reacted quickly, otherwise we would have been in big trouble. I just knew the palace lord was going to make a surprise inspection. Xu Qing, you did a wicked job of adapting. The palace lord knows what we’re really like, but he’s just too straight-laced. Everything comes down to the rules with him. Showing him what he wants to see is the real key.”

Kong Xianglong looked around a bit nervously; whenever he mentioned the palace lord, he felt a bit antsy.

Xu Qing took off his manacles and walked out of the cage, all the while thinking about the situation with the Demi-Immortals.

Walking over, Wang Chen kept his voice low as he said, “Big Bro Kong, how did you know the palace lord was coming?”

Kong Xianglong laughed heartily. “I have my ways. And they’re top secret!”

“Top secret? Well, never mind then. Oh, by the way, Big Bro Kong, are you very familiar with the Demi-Immortals?”

Kong Xianglong shook his head. “Not very. But I’m confident I can get to the bottom of this immortal puppet situation. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

Sitting back up, Sir Mountain-River said, “Does this have something to do with our last mission? Don’t tell me that the intelligence report from that extraction mission was about this situation?”

“I doubt it’s that simple,” Xu Qing said.

Duskspirit’s eyes flashed. “It doesn’t matter either way; the Demi-Immortals have crossed the line. Immortal puppets are essentially weapons of war. I can’t believe they would dare to sell them to the Holytides!”

“There’s no point in overthinking things, especially right now,” Kong Xianglong said. “Once we’re out of here, we can all use our various methods of investigating the situation.”

They continued to discuss the matter until it was time to rest.

The remainder of the month flew by.

***

One cloudy, rain-swept afternoon, the time came for them to be released.

When the doors of the prison opened, Sir Mountain-River was the first to rush out into freedom. Wang Chen was right behind him. Kong Xianglong and Duskspirit weren’t in as much of a hurry, and Xu Qing was more relaxed. For Xu Qing, the last month hadn’t been much of a deviation from his normal life.

“I hope we can all be together the next time we’re all locked up,” Kong Xianglong said, sighing.

Xu Qing was going to reply when something caught his attention in the distance.

A woman approached, walking beneath an oil paper umbrella, flanked by a group of handmaidens. Her long, plum-colored garment swayed as she walked, making her look like a blooming violet in the rain. She was elegant, refined, and gentle as she waved at Xu Qing. She was none other than Arch-Immortal Plumdark.

When Kong Xianglong saw that someone had come to meet Xu Qing, he and Duskspirit turned to leave. Glancing at Arch-Immortal Plumdark, he then looked at Xu Qing and winked. He looked like he was even going to say something, but then Duskspirit dragged him away.

Xu Qing hesitated briefly, then approached Arch-Immortal Plumdark. As he neared, a handmaiden hurried forward, opened an umbrella for him, and led him to Arch-Immortal Plumdark.

“Arch-Immortal,” he said by way of greeting, clasping his hands and bowing. He knew she didn’t like being addressed as ‘Senior,’ but just using her name didn’t seem right, so he stuck with her title.

She stood beneath her umbrella smiling gracefully. Then she handed her umbrella to him. He took it, and she stepped next to him so they were standing together beneath the same umbrella. She had obviously spent time on her makeup, and her hair was coiled atop her head. Her face was absolutely flawless, and though her eyes were always beautiful, there was something even more dazzling about them today. She looked natural, unrestrained, valiant, and formidable.

“Let’s go,” she said with a smile.

Considering she was so close to him they were nearly touching, Xu Qing felt very stiff. Looking up at the dark sky, he wondered where she planned to take him.

Seeing his hesitation, she smiled softly and said, “I’m taking you to meet two of my friends. We talked about this before. Did you forget?”

Her eyes shone in a way that would cause anyone she looked at to feel their heart racing.

Xu Qing bowed his head in acknowledgement and let her lead the way.

Together they walked, under the umbrella. One wore a violet gown. The other wore a white robe. The colors created an obvious contrast, and when you added the rain into the picture, it made a lovely scene.

Floating up into the air, they headed toward the city, specifically, a place called the Apricot Flower Pavilion. It wasn’t a restaurant. Rather, it was more like a private resort filled with small pagodas and kiosks, ponds, and waterside pavilions. Rising above the buildings were green pine trees and emerald cedar trees. Given the rainy weather, it looked very charming. There were ornamental rocks, flower arrangements, bonsai trees, vine formations and bamboo. All of it was immaculately cared for.

In the middle of it all was a four-sided pavilion where a few dozen handmaidens waited on call. Each of them was incredibly good-looking and youthfully exuberant. However, they were mere foils for the three women inside the pavilion. Just like the plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, these three women were all spectacularly beautiful, yet were unique in their own right. [1]

One of the women wore a bluish-green daoist robe. She had bright eyes and pearly teeth and was currently playing a song on a flute. Her music drifted amidst the wind and rain, sounding very free and beautiful. [2]

Another woman wore a dark blue gown tied with a green sash, which created the perfect contrast to her snow-white skin. She sat there very properly, and from her bearing, she seemed like someone from the Senior generation. Her fingers danced on the strings of a zither, which she played in company with the flute. The two instruments harmonized perfectly. [3]

There was another woman present. She wore exquisite court attire, and had a face as pure as a lotus flower. Her expression was tranquil and indifferent, as though the impurities of the mortal world couldn’t affect her.

While the other two women sat, she stood. Her face was curved in faint smile, and as she looked up at Arch-Immortal Plumdark and Xu Qing approaching under the umbrella, she spoke in a soft voice.

“Long time no see, Big Sis Plumdark.”

When the woman in court attire spoke, the other two women stopped playing their instruments. The one with the flute and the daoist robe looked over and smiled amiably at Arch-Immortal Plumdark.

As for the woman in the blue gown with the zither, she looked like someone from the younger generation. When she saw who was approaching, especially Xu Qing, her fingers froze in place, and a complicated expression appeared on her face.

That woman was Yao Yunhui.

1. The plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum are known as the “four gentlemen (among flowers).” They convey pride, quietness, firmness, and brightness. Don’t forget that “Plumdark” is not a 100% direct translation of her name, and the plum is referring to the color, not the fruit or flower. ☜

2. The type of flute mentioned here is a Western transverse flute, or a concert flute. In other words, it’s the common type of flute from the West (as opposed to the “dizi” flute that Arch-Immortal Plumdark taught Xu Qing to play). ☜

3. The Chinese text doesn’t actually say what instrument she’s playing. It emphasizes the act of playing the music on strings, rather than the instrument itself. However, based on the context and the word, it’s fairly obvious she’s playing a zither. In this case, it’s a ‘guqin’ zither, which is much smaller than the ‘guzheng’ zither I mentioned a while back in the footnote. While the guzheng zither is usually placed on a stand, the guqin zither can just be put on a table. Here’s what it looks like. ☜