Chapter 84

Chapter 84: Aftermath Three

The streets of the Imperial Capital carried a distinctly different atmosphere from that of Jinling City.

The south was elegant and graceful.

The north was dignified and steady.

The leaves of the parasol trees above swayed with the wind, the green reflected in her eyes, casting cool shadows on the ground. Mingyue tilted her head back, absentmindedly gazing at the greenery at the entrance of the court, her mind wandering.

It had been a long, long time since she had come back to the Imperial Capital.

In her childhood, after her father passed away, she lived with her elder brother at her grandfather's house for a few years. Even though those years were distant, they remained deeply ingrained in her memory.

Li Hesen was right.

She and Mingye truly were just passing guests of the Li family.

There had been quite a few cold words spoken.

When she was young, Mingyue had resented it.

But now, looking back, even though her grandfather rarely concerned himself with the Ming siblings, he had never let them go hungry or lacked security, and he even entrusted the third-generation eldest son, Li Hesen, to Mingye for guidance.

...Though, Li Hesen was kind of a failure.

The emotions and kindness in all of this were difficult to express.

Now that Mingyue had grown up and become more mature, she could understand the complex feelings of love and hate intertwined.

The affection from a generation above.

Had her mother not died early due to being implicated by her father, with her grandfather’s stern and conservative personality, he would have likely been very fond of Mingyue, who resembled Li Lan in appearance.

But in the face of reality, discussing any possibility of the past was meaningless.

Life can only follow one path, while wishing for another.

Mingyue regretted the mistreatment from her childhood, yet she was also grateful for the kindness hidden within the coldness at that time.

Behind her, at the court's entrance, Guo Tianyang was discussing something with Li Xianzhou. The accused in this case, Spirit-Sealing Academy, had formed a team of fifteen. It mostly included the heads of those who had been left behind at the thunderstorm scene, as well as the few leaders who had led the majority underground to avoid the danger. They were all representing Spirit-Sealing Academy as the accused and rushed overnight to the Imperial Capital to the private tribunal of the Spiritual Mediums Association.

The trial at the Spiritual Mediums Association was very strange.Unlike the proper, well-organized judicial proceedings in the mortal realm, this trial felt more like a game of rock-paper-scissors, best of five. It was chaotic and unstructured, yet it carried a heavy, oppressive weight.

The first round had just ended, and Mingyue only felt the chill slowly dissipate from her body when she saw the sunlight on the floor at the entrance of the court.

It felt like a narrow escape from death.

The courtroom was practically an ice cellar.

The chief judge presiding over this lawsuit was a Mr. Zombie. He neither belonged to the underworld nor the mortal realm, neither alive nor dead, sitting rigidly and motionlessly on the platform. He listened to the accusations and rebuttals below with great composure.

The defendants in this case were from the two branches of the Spirit-Sealing Academy of the Imperial University, a group of living people.

The plaintiffs were the organizers of the exam, representing the Underworld.

Well, after escaping death for half a month, Mingyue finally realized who the main examination supervisors for this round of the exam were.

The Spirit-Sealing Association was merely ornamental.

As a few people walked out of the courtroom, Su Hui and several waiting students from the Imperial University rushed to greet them.

The key figures from the two branches gathered together, speaking in voices neither too loud nor too soft, unable to be heard in the courtroom. However, Mingyue could still barely make out their words:

"...Thank you, Teacher Li, for mediating."

"You're too kind. Losing this lawsuit wouldn't benefit us at the Spirit-Sealing Academy either..."

"No, no, no, you're too humble. We know this case shouldn't have been presided over by this chief judge. Thank you for your hard work."

"Although the zombie suffers from injustice in the mortal realm and is uneasy in the grave, this judge is five hundred years old. He has been blackmailed by the Underworld as an interdimensional being for three hundred years, unable to reincarnate. Even though he's a judge and should uphold fairness, this isn't a case on the ledger of life and death, so he can't completely disregard his personal feelings."

"To know the background of the chief judge, Teacher Li, you really are well-informed."

"It's nothing, the Spirit-Sealing Academy has a lot of miscellaneous files from both the mortal and underworld realms. I just pulled up some records last night."

Su Hui: "..."

If you want to flaunt the historical prestige of the Spirit-Sealing Academy, just say it outright!

What kind of person is this!

Li Xianzhou's words carried his usual style, subtly showing off without trying.Mingyue, squatting at the door and counting ants, could practically imagine the expression on Su Hui's face at this moment.

Su Hui: Embarrassed yet polite smile.jpg.

The second round was likely to begin soon.

Mingyue, understanding the situation, quickly ran out to buy some water and came back to hand it to her seniors.

Guo Tianyang rubbed the head of the junior, feeling satisfied in his heart: "Not bad, let's go, senior will treat you to Quanjude."

Lv Xingru, who was nearby, rolled her eyes: "No good deed goes unpunished, this is either scheming or theft."

Guo Tianyang glared: "What are you talking about! I’m clearly thanking the junior for the bottle of Assam tea!"

Mingyue: "…"

Mingyue forced a smile, a few yuan's worth of Assam tea exchanged for a few hundred yuan's worth of Quanjude, sure, this is very Spirit-Sealing-like.

Mingyue pouted: "Senior, let's not even talk about what you're up to."

"But, going to Quanjude so recklessly... we're probably going to have to wait in line for a long time."

Guo Tianyang: "…"

Guo Tianyang: "Oh, right."

Mingyue: "…"

Mingyue fumbled through her wallet, searched for a while, and finally pulled out a card. "Never mind, I'll treat you guys."

The Celestial Chosen Pavilion could walk freely in the Imperial Capital.

This was something that Li Hesu, the guy who could break wind without even needing a kick, often bragged about when he was a child.

Mingyue had always lacked a sense of reality.

She had always been this way.

The Ming family estate in South Huaxia was also a stronghold, but no one had ever said Mingyue had an aristocratic demeanor.

It wasn't until this moment, when she held the VIP card stamped with the Tai Chi seal of the Celestial Chosen Pavilion and directly entered the restaurant, that Mingyue vaguely realized, oh, maybe Li Hesu wasn't lying to me after all.Guo Tianyang, after separating from the main group, completely lost the composure of a senior from the fourth year, chattering non-stop from behind:

"Oh my God, Lu Ge, did you see the look on the manager’s face when Mingyue showed that card?"

"Yeah, I saw."

"Ugh, it was like showing up at the street with a Bugatti Veyron just to grab some skewers."

"Hey, watch it, Mingyue is walking in front."

"Hahaha, I was just about to say, from now on, I’m gonna brag to everyone that my direct junior is related to the Celestial Chosen Pavilion, hahaha."

Mingyue: "…"

Along the way, many customers stared at the three of them like they were crazy.

Guo Tianyang: "What do you think, do you think I’ll get a discount on the Celestial Chosen Pavilion’s talismans in the future?"

Lv Xingru, with dead fish eyes: "No, stop dreaming."

Mingyue: "…"

Mingyue held her breath: "Senior, I can really hear you, you know."

The three of them indulged in the delicious food of the Imperial Capital.

At the table, two fourth-year students sighed in unison:

"I really didn't expect this, a lawsuit that seemed serious actually brought the Great Buddha from the Underworld here."

"Watch your words, Guo Tianyang, what Great Buddha?"

"Come on, weren’t you surprised when you saw the Black and White Impermanence standing at the plaintiff's bench?"

"Surprised, yeah, I definitely didn’t expect them to come."

"I thought it was just some usual small matter, didn’t expect this case to be so big."

"Maybe, the Impermanence ghosts came to the Imperial Capital, but not for us little guys."

"What do you mean?""Rumor has it that there are signs of the Reincarnation Cycle being rebuilt. As the land where the Dragon Qi gathers, the Imperial Capital is one of the possible places where the Reincarnation Pool could 'revive.'"

Mingyue, who had been devouring a duck's butt, suddenly paused.

Guo Tianyang: "…"

Guo Tianyang was stunned, "When did this happen? Damn, Lu Xingru, how do you know everything?"

Lu Xingru, expressionless: "You should read more journals."

Guo Tianyang was at a loss for words: "Wait... how did they detect these signs?"

Lu Xingru: "There are always people capable of big things."

"It’s just that collecting data is more difficult and troublesome, but it’s not like there’s no trace."

"The Reincarnation Cycle is based on the 'input' and 'output' of souls in the human realm within a given time period."

"When the Reincarnation Pool collapsed last century, the output was almost zero."

"As a result, the paper’s author continuously monitored for five years, with monitoring points in four directions of China, and found that there are signs of 'revival' in the output."

"—Mingyue, stop eating. This is an important point, the paper has already been published, and it will be on the exam."

Mingyue: "…"

She was suddenly called out and almost choked.

Guo Tianyang opened his mouth but couldn’t speak, finally managing to say, "Oh my god."

"Is that for real?"

Lu Xingru was enjoying the feeling of being the sole holder of this information, sipping his tea, and smiling, "Why would I lie to you?"

Mingyue coughed, realizing it was time to make a comment: "Five years of effort, this author really has a strong will."

Lu Xingru glanced at her: "You’re missing the point."

Mingyue chuckled awkwardly, the words stuck in her throat, neither swallowing nor speaking them out.

She suddenly realized she had just learned something truly significant.Half a month ago, she had always considered the incident in the fissures of Fengdu as just a small anomaly.

She never expected that this anomaly, left unchecked for just a moment, would grow into a gigantic flying dragon.

If we follow Lu Xingru's reasoning, the Wuchang Ghost came to check the changes in the Yin-Yang realm of the Imperial Capital, searching for the Reincarnation Pool.

In that case, Mingyue could only lament for them in advance. This trip was bound to be a waste of time.

She clearly remembered, that night when she fell off the cliff into the fissure, encountering all kinds of ghosts and strange events.

The Reincarnation Pool was not in the Imperial Capital, nor was it in any ancient site of China.

Not in Chang'an or Jinling, not in the Dragon Qi or Phoenix Qi.

It was none of those.

It was deep underground in Fengdu, in the darkest depths.

Mingyue distinctly remembered the direct and straightforward testimony of that Reincarnation Ghost.

A ghost with no causal relationship, no reason to deceive the living.

Moreover, the ghost’s appearance was so strange, Mingyue doubted she would ever encounter another like it in her lifetime.

It had no causal chain attached.

Just a naked soul about to be cast into the Reincarnation.

But even so, Mingyue worried that her words might not be enough to convince others.

Besides, Fengdu and the Underworld were not on good terms, and now they were coming to deal with the Ghost Slayer. The real question in Mingyue’s mind was how to use this precious information to give the Ghost Slayers an advantage.

No rush, no rush.

Think it through slowly.

If she couldn’t figure it out, she’d have to seek advice from someone more experienced in the industry.

Mingyue thought to herself.The second court session dragged on for three hours.

Mingyue, as one of the defendant representatives, answered two rounds of questions, and by the time the case was wrapping up, it felt like the waiting had taken forever.

The zombie judge finally dropped the gavel, announcing the end of the session.

The living people all let out a collective sigh of relief, while simultaneously expressing their sincere envy, jealousy, and frustration toward the certain judges and plaintiffs in the room who didn't seem to need to breathe.

The crowd dispersed.

Mingyue had already walked to the door when she realized she had forgotten her case notes. She quickly rushed back, only to find the hall eerily empty, with only Bai Wuchang standing in the plaintiff's seat.

No shadow, chillingly silent.

The courtroom was eerily quiet.

The young girl rushed towards the defendant's seat.

Bai Wuchang's presence was overwhelming, standing motionless, turning the solemnity and authority of the courtroom into an eerie, deathly silence, like a crematorium.

Mingyue: "......"

Mingyue felt like even her footsteps were a sin.

She gave a quick, forced smile to the ghostly figure, grabbed her notes, and dashed toward the exit.

Behind her, Bai Wuchang called out.

"From the Ming family, this generation, Ming Er."

Mingyue: "......"

Fortunately, my legs are short. Otherwise, if you called out like that, someone with long legs would have run off by the time you finished calling.

"Ah, what is it?" Mingyue answered.

Bai Wuchang: "Come closer."

"I have something to entrust to you."

Mingyue: "......"

It was like being struck by five thunderbolts!