According to the arrangement made by Lu Ming and his father back then, when his official appointment was over in three years, he would go to Green Mountain if Jing Jiu met with some sort of misfortune; or he would go back to Zhaoge City if Jing Jiu came out unharmed.
Since he hadn't heard anything regarding Jing Jiu, Lu Ming was supposed to keep waiting outside the city, but he couldn't help but want to go back home to see his wife and father.
He went back to Zhaoge City without informing anybody. But he was stopped by somebody before he could get back to his home.
The person who stopped him was Gu Pan, his assistant when Lu Ming served in the Magic Army. Gu Pan was a typical external disciple of the Center Sect working in the imperial court.
Gu Pan grabbed Lu Ming with a big smile on his face and insisted on inviting Lu to have dinner with him without considering Lu's wishes on the matter. Lu Ming understood Gu Pan's intention and didn't decline the invitation, wearing a smile on his face.
The purpose of this invitation to the dinner in Zhaoge City was either to discuss business or to establish connections.
When Lu Ming saw Prince Jing Xin walk out from behind the pearl curtain, he wasn't surprised. He bowed to Jing Xin courteously.
Prince Jing Xin was quite amicable that day. He mostly talked about the county the scenery outside Zhaoge City while eating and drinking. It wasn't until the alcohol got to his head that he put down the chopsticks quietly.
It was unclear when Gu Pan had left the two of them alone in the room.
"My loyalty to my father is absolute, and my ability is also indisputable; otherwise, the scholars of the One-Cottage House wouldn't support me."
Prince Jing Xin looked in Lu Ming's eyes and said sincerely, "What I don't understand is why my emperor father hasn't changed his attitude toward me. Is he still testing me?"
Lu Ming thought that His Highness had thought too much about it, but what he said was different from his true thought: "Maybe it has something to do with the Green Mountain Sect."
Prince Jing Xin shook his head and said, "No, the Green Mountain Sect hasn't applied their full force; and this is Zhaoge City, you know."
Lu Ming was well aware that Prince Jing Xin's sincere and honest statement was not meant for him to hear but rather his father, so there was no need for him to respond.
State Duke Lu had never been a popular figure in the imperial court, but someone like Prince Jing Xin knew clearly that State Duke Lu was the Emperor's most favored chancellor, and had always been.
When the dinner was over, Lu Ming returned to the State Duke Manor and repeated what Jing Xin told him to his father, then asked, "What is the situation now?"
The rivalry for the position of emperor had become more intense in the Royal Palace, but it didn't have as much to do with the officials of the imperial court. It depended on the Emperor's and the major Cultivation sects' attitudes toward the matter.
The One-Cottage House sent a scholar to the Palace of Prince Jing Xin and the Center Sect to ask Yue Qianmen, the Qianyuan Valley Master, and Xiang Wanshu to stay at the palace.
To have this elder of the Lianxu State staying at the Palace of Prince, the Center Sect's attitude was evident, or perhaps quite forceful was the better phrasing.
In comparison, the attitude displayed by another orthodox leader, the Green Mountain Sect, was ambiguous. Gu Qing had taught the second prince Jing Yao for three years, and the Green Mountain Sect hadn't sent anybody else to the palace. The rumor that two immortal masters, Mei Li and Lin Wuzhi, would soon come to help Gu Qing hadn't been actually happened. This meant that the nine peaks had different opinions on the issue.
Having listened to his father's description, Lu Ming fell silent for a long time before asking, "What is the situation with the Immortal Master Jing Jiu?"
The support of Prince Jing Yao by the Green Mountain Sect all came from Jing Jiu, and he was the only one who could influence the Emperor.
However, Jing Jiu hadn't shown up, and the situation would only get worse as the days went on.
State Duke Lu came to his senses by now and asked angrily, "How come you came back so suddenly?"
Lu Ming replied helplessly, "Does it really mean that I can't come back home as long as he is not out?"
State Duke Lu said worriedly, "He had said that he would be able to come out in three years at the earliest. This year happens to be the third year; we should know in next few days if he had mt with any issues."
Lu Ming thought Jing Jiu might not be able to come out even though he said that he would come out in three years, at the earliest.
The neighbor of the State Duke Manor had been renovating during the last two years.
No matter how low a profile Jing Shang kept, he couldn't prevent those who were determined to do so from finding out. His house and courtyard had been expanded a great deal, increasing threefold.
Jing Li grew older. The youth of fifteen years had realized that the white cat was not an ordinary demon cat. From the day he realized this, Jing Li showed a more respectful attitude toward the white cat, and cultivated more diligently. He didn't dare play cards with the white cat every day like he had done when he was younger.
The white cat was quite satisfied with his changed attitude; but he found that it was not so easy to forcefully change Jing Li's attitude, since people by the family name Jing were all fairly stubborn, and that no threat or reward worked for the Jing family members.
One night, Jing Li walked to the deep part of the backyard after finishing his meditation, passing through a patch of bamboo forest, and arrived at the newly built yard wall. He stepped on a rock and peered over the wall.
It was a large and beautiful manor house on the other side of the yard wall; it was unclear which high ranking official the manor belonged to. The Jing House became the neighbor of the manor house after its expansion.
There were a few lake rocks on the other side of the wall. A young girl stepped on the rocks by the yard wall and smiled at Jing Li; she seemed quite happy.
Jing Li and that young girl started chatting, like they had done in the past.
The white cat crouched on the yard wall on the other side, snorting. He pulled back his gaze from the young couple and looked at Taichang Temple close by.
Spring had arrived.
After rainfall from the previous night, the wetted eaves of Taichang Temple appeared even more gloomy and dark, just like the horns of an old dragon.
The white cat gazed at the place quietly.
He had no idea whether Jing Jiu was dead or alive in Taichang Temple.
As a cat, he didn't know so much about this sort of thing.
The Fiend Prison was located deep in the underground of Taichang Temple.
There was a green valley in the deep part of the Fiend Prison.
There was a bamboo chair by the purple flowers and green grass.
Jing Jiu was lying on it.
In truth, the word "lying" was incorrect.
He was actually floating above the bamboo chair, and he floated a bit higher now, hovering silently in midair, his white cloth dangling on the bamboo chair, which looked like those female magicians performing on the stage while wearing a long dress.
The Underworld Emperor came back from the broken cliff of the valley, and the dark cloud followed him like his shadow, a sign of bad luck.
In comparison to three years ago, the Underworld Emperor had gone through a noticeable change; the expression in his eyes was more peaceful, and his energy was more vigorous. No hint of misery could be found on his face; he was instead composed and relaxed.
Along with the ringing of a bell, lightning formed in the clouds, letting out a sound resembling the breaking of chopsticks. Those invisible mosquitoes were nowhere to be found.
Jing Jiu opened his eyes, awake.
The Underworld Emperor looked at him and said, "I didn't expect you to wake up so soon."
"It's normal," said Jing Jiu.
He had told State Duke Lu that it would take three years at minimum.
It had been three years by now.
Jing Jiu drifted to the ground soundlessly, as if he were a weightless dried leaf.
His looks were exactly the same as they had been three years ago, still so perfect, and his temperament was still so nonchalant and aloof; yet, something seemed slightly different about him.
His energy seemed cleaner.
And his body seemed lighter.
He looked like a patch of cloud, lighter than a falling leaf, giving one the feeling that he didn't tangibly exist in this world.
What he had been cultivating was evidently the Soul-Fire of the Underworld; but why did his energy feel so light and clean, full of fairy aura?
With his white cloth tousling, it seemed that Jing Jiu would drift away with the wind, like a man of the fae.