Crown Prince and Ghost King

Chapter 40

Soon after Xie Lian took a seat in front of the Heavenly Emperor, clad in a much younger-looking skin compared to his true self, Hua Cheng followed suit and sat down beside his husband. He was clearly displeased upon being seen like that by Jun Wu, but at least he didn't try to make a witty remark. It was improvement, since the last time.

Jun Wu leisurely poured three cups of tea before pushing two of them in the direction of Xie Lian and his ghost husband: «You didn't come back to report after I gave you the task of retrieving the Brocade Immortal», he answered, speaking calmly. «Naturally, I had to come down personally to see».
Quan YiZhen, while he also seemed to think that reporting to the emperor was unneeded, took his leave from Xie Lian's side and Jun Wu noticed almost immediately. That told him the Brocade Immortal was dealt with, since Quan YiZhen wouldn't leave that matter unfinished. Even if it was aggravating, that a martial god would refuse to report a mission complete in such a dangerous situation, Jun Wu was aware of the fact that they needn't to worry about it anymore.
However, Xie Lian never reported as well, and he also didn't bring the Brocade Immortal up to the heavens to detain it once more.

«Oh, I see».
A bead of sweat formed on the nape of Xie Lian's neck; was Jun Wu there to demand the Brocade Immortal be handed over? The god hoped not. Not only he made a promise to Ling Wen, to give Bai Jing back to her, but he also needed to make sure the ghost robe was as far away as possible from its rightful owner while the arousal of ghosts was still very much happening.
He couldn't say that to Jun Wu now, could he?
Xie Lian didn't mind being kicked out of the heavens, he had a life already built outside them. Ling Wen wasn't so lucky, and she was also absolutely needed in the Heavenly Court.
After pondering over what road to take, sipping a tea that now tasted like ash, the Crown Prince came to a decision when his teacup was empty.
«My Lord, with all due respect, I'd prefer keeping the Brocade Immortal under my watch until the arousal of ghosts is over», he said, looking up to him. «It's tightly sealed in a safe place, and will not be a danger for the time being».
Of course, he didn't add that Bai Jing took a liking to Hua Cheng and actually calmed down because of that, otherwise who knew what kind of plot the Emperor could materialize from that information. It was already enough that he supported Xie Lian, but outright ignoring a possible betrayal surely would not be something he was willing to do.

On that, he could trust him. Of all the heavens, right now Xie Lian was the most acquainted with ghosts. Even Jun Wu himself wasn't as knowledgeable, though he did know more than anyone else under him. Thus, he believed him, and nodded: «I can trust your judgment on that, XianLe. However – and he put down the teacup, tracing the rim with the pad of a finger – I need to know what you intend to do with it after Mount Tong'lu seals up again».
At that, he saw Xie Lian's eyes drift downwards for a second, and a pang of suspicion aroused in his heart: «Xian Le, be honest with me».

Honesty... it wasn't something to give too freely.
Xie Lian sighed: «My Lord, the Brocade Immortal will be moved to a different place and kept there», he said, dancing around the truth as if his words where thin veils to carefully thread through the air. «It's clear that the Great Martial Temple cannot hold it, so we found another solution that will keep it away from the mortal realm for as long as it's dangerous».
The solution, of course, was to put in back in Ling Wen's hands, and trust her on redeeming the ghost robe in order to give it a body once Mount Tong'lu would open once again in the future. But that much he couldn't possibly tell Jun Wu, unless Ling Wen herself wanted to uncover her secret.
As much as he respected the Heavenly Emperor, some things were more important than others.
«I trust my Lord to understand why this is necessary», he added, putting his hands together and slightly bowing his head.

Jun Wu felt like there was something missing, from what Xie Lian told him. He didn't mind the offhand comment about the Great Martial Temple being unreliable, it did turn out to be as such when the first arousal happened, but there was still something off.
Well, it wasn't the time to press the matter, so he moved onto the next reason why he descended: «XianLe, the martial gods couldn't stop the gathering of ghosts. Although we managed to cut down the number quite considerably, the fight at Mount Tong'lu cannot be avoided now».