Chen Kuang stared at the woman before him, whose expression showed a trace of surprise. He felt as though he had fallen into an icy pit.
He was absolutely certain that any cultivator who heard the words "Elixir of Immortality" should never react like that!
Li Hongling had brought fifty thousand Zhou troops in search of it, bringing utter ruin to the Liang Kingdom. That cultivator named Wei Su had been stirred into action by those very words.
The Elixir of Immortality might not tempt this so-called "Compassionate Immortal" who said, "If the world does not listen, I will not persuade."
But she definitely should not have reacted as if she had never even heard the term before.
Something that abnormal had to be unnatural.
Chen Kuang instantly understood that someone had tampered with things!
Perhaps to keep the supposedly neutral Mysterious Divine Path Sect in the dark, or perhaps to keep everyone in the dark.
In short, it was possible that the words "Elixir of Immortality" had already become a taboo term.
Spoken aloud, it would be heard by others as meaningless noise, like, completely senseless.
But for those already in the know, it would still register correctly as "Elixir of Immortality."
A world where ears are deaf and lips are sealed.
As if someone had taken a carving knife and scraped away the ink from a bamboo slip, leaving no trace behind.
Only under such a condition would this woman look as though she genuinely had never even heard of the Elixir of Immortality.
And in a high-cultivation world like this, such a method wouldn't even be hard to achieve...
But this distortion of communication meant one thing: it was no longer possible to seek outside help.
Even this celestial woman of the Mysterious Divine Path Sect, standing right in front of him.
Now that his intentions had been exposed, and the one possible external force could no longer be baited with the elixir, she had instead become a new, impassable wall.
The stalemate had looped back to the beginning, he could only break out using forces within the game.
If...
If all he truly had was just knowledge of the Elixir's location.
Shen Xingzhu, seeing that Chen Kuang remained silent for a long time, said calmly:
"You're not blind. And you intended to stir trouble. I'll be informing Li Hongling."
Chen Kuang's heart seized up.
Shen Xingzhu seemed to have mistaken him for a disguised cultivator posing as a musician, and thus didn't question his sudden return of sight.
But he had been captured in the Jinghe Palace Hall, with a clear identity.
If Li Hongling interrogated even one more court musician, she would quickly deduce the truth, that he had consumed the Elixir of Immortality, and that was the source of these anomalies.
Chen Kuang drew a deep breath.
"Why? Since Immortal neither kills nor saves, should you not also refrain from meddling in all things?"
Shen Xingzhu looked up slightly and replied indifferently:
"Two days ago, I learned of your existence from Wei Su. I sought to lure Li Hongling to the battlefield, hoping to seize the chance to come to the Heavenly Prison."
"I thought you were just an ordinary mortal. Li Hongling likely wouldn't pay you much attention, and it would be easy. But only now, do I stand here."
So she had spent two whole days just to temporarily draw Li Hongling away from East Watchtower.
Shen Xingzhu said, "Do you know that the cultivators of Lingtai Mountain are attacking the city? The conflict is affecting tens of thousands of civilians."
"Lingtai is not weak, but if Li Hongling were to intervene, they would be no match for her. The battle wouldn't be so evenly matched."
"But she still hasn't moved."
The woman looked at Chen Kuang, her gaze faintly puzzled.
"She's waiting seven days. For you."
"My luring her away to confront that Taishu Zi from Lingtai was just a stopgap. She'll be back soon to keep waiting and in those seven days, how many more lives will be lost? That is a path without Dao. It weighs heavily on my heart."
"In a chaotic war, my strength is not enough to judge right and wrong in every case. I fear mistakenly killing the innocent."
Those exquisitely beautiful eyes were like pools of divine nectar, radiating compassion upon the world.
"After much thought, the best solution... is to swiftly resolve your entanglement with her, so that all may be spared needless suffering."
Shen Xingzhu.
"...You mean me?" Chen Kuang pointed to himself, face expressionless.
"In your eyes, I am the one responsible for the bloodshed outside the city walls?"
Shen Xingzhu nodded slightly. "Indeed."
What a ridiculous, absurd load of crap!
Not even going to consider the fact that he's still a prisoner in chains?
Shouldn't he be the victim!?
Resolve the entanglement?
More like resolve Chen Kuang!
Chen Kuang took a deep breath, eyes narrowing as though staring at a lunatic.
"If Li Hongling hadn't led an army to destroy Liang, would there even be a war? Why not talk about the root cause, if she stops now, pulls back her army, and releases the captives, everything would be fine!"
Shen Xingzhu replied with calm eyes: "I tried persuading her."
"And?"
"She didn't listen."
If the world does not listen, she will not persuade.
First came fury, then absurdity. The more Chen Kuang thought about it, the more absurd it became, until he couldn't help but laugh.
First quietly, then louder, slapping the Dragon-Gums zither on his knees as he burst into full manic laughter.
Seeing him seemingly fall into madness, Shen Xingzhu paused and added:
"Though Li Hongling will not withdraw her forces or release captives, she has promised me that she will not harm ordinary people."
"All palace attendants in this capital will not be tortured or killed indiscriminately. Only those with proven crimes will be turned over to the Secret Tribunal."
"All others will be drafted into the army as labor slaves."
"These past few days, I've been observing at the Secret Tribunal. Li Hongling indeed has not overstepped."
"There was just one exception-"
A flicker of disappointment flashed in Shen Xingzhu's eyes. "And now, you are no longer that exception."
Oh...
So the news he had heard from the prison guards before wasn't false after all.
It was thanks to Shen Xingzhu.
Chen Kuang's thoughts whirled and he suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"Does Immortal know that the secret tunnels beneath this Heavenly Prison are filled with gunpowder? Li Hongling appears to be pretending to obey while secretly preparing to slaughter even more innocent people..."
Shen Xingzhu said calmly: "I know."
"Then..."
Chen Kuang tried to continue, but Shen Xingzhu gently shook her head.
"She told me the gunpowder is to level the ruins after retreat, so the Liang palace can be more easily rebuilt."
That was the dumbest excuse he'd ever heard!
Chen Kuang gave up. He leaned back, rolled his eyes, and decided he was just going to die.
Shen Xingzhu waited for a bit. Seeing him remain silent, she added:
"General Li has a fiery temperament, but she would never joke about such matters. My Mysterious Divine Path Sect is known not only for compassion, but also for thunderous retribution."
"I believe she will keep her word. A person may be heartless, but not mindless."
Her soft, cold voice echoed through the cell, aloof and detached, as if untouched by the grime of the mortal world.
What a fool...
Chen Kuang sneered in his heart, mocking her with full scorn, but then froze.
Wait...
Something clicked as a spark of inspiration shot through his mind, like lightning bursting through his skull. A sudden, unshakable certainty filled his heart.
She was lying.
"I believe she will keep her word."
That sentence, was a lie.
Chen Kuang's heart nearly leapt from his chest. He snapped his head up, staring at Shen Xingzhu's back as she walked toward the door.
Behind her, the young man's voice drifted out faintly.
"...You're lying."
Shen Xingzhu froze in place.
Chen Kuang's certainty hardened.
"You're lying. You don't believe a word Li Hongling said..."
He exhaled sharply, unable to believe how ridiculous this situation had become.
"You're pretending to be ignorant, letting Li Hongling act with impunity, because you're certain she will betray her word and target the innocents."
"Maybe it's me. Maybe it's someone else. Maybe today. Maybe seven days from now."
"But you're waiting. Waiting for her, emboldened by this illusion of mercy, to overstep, to violate your Dao by using her power to oppress the weak."
"And when she does, you'll have the perfect excuse to execute her."
"Am I right?"
Shen Xingzhu slowly turned around.
Her eyes curved slightly, and she smiled.