Chapter Five: The Joint Trial by the Three Judicial Offices

Within the Celestial Prison, Sun Xuluo crouched motionless in a shadowy corner.

Three days had passed. Ever since he had been dragged inside, he had remained in that same position, as though he had entered a state of meditation.

In the silence of the cell, a succession of footsteps suddenly sounded, approaching Sun Xuluo directly.

Before long, the footsteps stopped, followed by the sound of the cell door opening.

“So many people have come to watch me die? My, what a grand occasion for me, Sun Xuluo!”

Golden Wolf Star spoke in a resonant voice. “Sun Xuluo, you rebelled against the Cloud Summit Palace, plotted against the Primordial Lord and your fellow officials, and violated several celestial laws. You should have been executed on the spot. Yet Heaven is vast and the earth bears virtue. In accordance with the principle that every evil and every crime must be made known to the world, the three tribunals of the Cloud Palace will now jointly hear the case concerning your rebellion. Do you have anything to say?”

“A joint hearing by the three tribunals? I am now imprisoned, so who is in charge of the Celestial Dipper Tribunal?”

“Naturally, it is Warm as the Wind. In addition to presiding over the Celestial Dipper Tribunal, drafting the celestial laws, and supervising their enforcement, the Star Lord is currently serving as acting head of the White Tiger Palace.” Jade Blackstone answered solemnly.

Sun Xuluo gave a bitter laugh. “Then his appointment is perfectly legitimate. I was the one who reached too far before. That position should have been his from the beginning.”

Jade Blackstone sneered. “You brought this upon yourself. Desire clouded your judgment.”

Sun Xuluo shook his head. “You would not understand. To me, the fairy maiden’s command stands above everything. No matter how difficult it may be, I will help her achieve it.”

“You know perfectly well that there is no possibility between the two of you. She has no idea of your feelings.”

“When I love someone, I do not need them to know. As long as she is happy, that is enough.” Sun Xuluo suddenly lifted his aged, dispirited face and smiled at Jade Blackstone.

Jade Blackstone frowned. “Look at that face of yours. You look like the fairy maiden’s grandfather. What do you expect others to think?”

Struck in the place where his heart hurt most, Sun Xuluo let out an involuntary sigh. “Ah! I fell in love with her when she first awakened my spiritual nature. I can only blame my own dull aptitude. I did not ascend to the divine realm until I was fifty-five, and by then my appearance had already been fixed in this aged form.”

“If you had abandoned your clan’s affairs and devoted yourself wholeheartedly to cultivation as I did, how could you have ascended more than twenty years later than me?”

“I cannot compare with you. My heart is not as ruthless as yours. You could abandon your position as clan chief and king, but I could not. It took our Sun Clan great difficulty to catch up with the Lan and Tian Clans. I could not allow the Sun Clan to be destroyed in my hands.”

Jade Blackstone sighed softly as well, then waved to his subordinates. “Take him away.”

The Hanging Mirror Tribunal, under the authority of the White Tiger Palace, stood on the sunlit southeastern slope of Emerald Subtlety Mountain. It was only half an hour from the Cloud Palace prison at the foot of the mountain.

The tribunal was especially solemn and imposing today. From far away, soldiers of the Twelve Guards could be seen stationed along the road, carrying golden battle-axes and wearing black helmets and black armor. The sight alone left many guilty prisoners trembling with terror before they had even reached the tribunal.

“Golden Dog Star has certainly made a fine institution of this place!” Sun Xuluo exclaimed as he surveyed the arrangements from inside the prison cart.

“Did you ever imagine that one day you would come to the Hanging Mirror Tribunal in this condition?” Jade Blackstone asked mockingly.

“Yes. I often came here in the past, mostly on official business from the Celestial Dipper Tribunal. I never imagined that I would arrive today as a condemned criminal. Truly, no one can predict the turns of fate.”

The main gate of the Hanging Mirror Tribunal stood open. Golden-axe warriors lined the entire way from the blue-stone road outside to the great hall within the government office.

“With nothing but these ceremonial guards stationed here, are you not afraid that I might escape?” Sun Xuluo chuckled as he looked at the warriors around him.

“They are all elites of the Twelve Guards, each of them close to the divine realm in cultivation. Besides, an inescapable net has already been cast. Where could you possibly run?” Jade Blackstone answered his taunt without haste.

“Do not try to fool me by calling them elites. Everyone knows that the ninth rank of the immortal realm and the first rank of the divine realm are separated by far more than a single rank. Ten ninth-rank immortals might not even get close to a first-rank divine cultivator.”

Sun Xuluo scoffed at Jade Blackstone’s claim.

“You are certainly sharp-tongued. Save it for the court.” Jade Blackstone pressed his lips together and ignored him.

The prison cart came to a steady stop in the square outside the tribunal offices. Two golden-axe warriors stepped forward and escorted Sun Xuluo into the main hall.

The hall was already filled with people. The presiding judge and the assisting Star Lords had taken their seats, while those observing from both sides had fallen silent. Every gaze was fixed upon Sun Xuluo.

“Quite a gathering today!” Sun Xuluo said with a smile.

The drum of intimidation thundered from the hall.

Outside, the golden-axe warriors struck the blue bricks in rhythmic unison with their battle-axes. The tremendous clamor was enough to frighten the courage out of any criminal.

After the third round of drums, Golden Dog Star struck the judge’s table with his wooden block and shouted sternly, “Sun Xuluo, today the three tribunals jointly hear your crimes: rebellion against the Cloud Palace, plotting the deaths of the Primordial Lord and your fellow officials, and attempting to overthrow the Cloud Summit Palace. Why do you refuse to kneel?”

Sun Xuluo gave a mocking laugh. “I am the Spirit Bond Star Lord, personally appointed by the Primordial Lord. Even before the Lord and the Divine Sovereign, I need not kneel and pay homage. Why should I kneel before a group of Star Lords without titles?”

Golden Dog Star suddenly understood. He drew an imperial edict from his robes and tossed it at Sun Xuluo’s feet.

“If you had not mentioned it, I would have forgotten. The Primordial Lord has issued an order stripping you of your title as Spirit Bond Star Lord. You now hold neither office nor authority. You must kneel in court.”

Sun Xuluo’s hands trembled as he picked up the edict and carefully folded it shut. The vermilion seal of the Lord and Divine Sovereign seemed to be pressed directly against his heart. He lowered his head, and his legs slowly gave way beneath him.

Golden Dog Star asked without expression, “Who stands before the court?”

“Sun Xuluo.”

“Of what clan?”

“The Sun Clan.”

“The charges brought today are that you colluded with the Dark Fiend to plot against the Primordial Lord and your fellow officials, and sought to overthrow the Cloud Summit Palace. Do you admit your guilt?”

“I do not. I was merely acting on behalf of the fairy maiden of Lanling, assisting Serpent Lord Song Xiang in bringing order to the court. What crime have I committed?”

Sun Xuluo held himself perfectly straight and spoke with forceful conviction.

His words drew a collective gasp from everyone present.

Golden Dog Star considered the matter for a moment, then beckoned to the left and right. The officers in charge of the Celestial Dipper Tribunal and the Four Frontier Tribunal, Golden Ox Star and Golden Dragon Star, came forward.

The three men had only just stepped behind the curtain at the rear of the dais when another person followed them inside. Golden Dog Star was about to turn and rebuke the intruder, but after recognizing him, he changed his words.

“Golden Sheep Star, is the Flying Fish Bureau now taking part even in the confidential deliberations of the three tribunals?”

Golden Sheep Star stood expressionless, holding a long saber across his arms. His tone was even. “Naturally. The Primordial Lord has ordered that our Flying Fish Bureau participate throughout this joint hearing. Every detail and every word exchanged must be recorded and reported to the Primordial Lord.”

Golden Dragon Star snorted. “They say that the Flying Fish Bureau under the Vermilion Bird Palace controls all intelligence under Heaven. Not merely the small realm of the Cloud Summit Palace—even the slightest stir anywhere in the world is said to escape no spy of yours. And yet this man turned the Cloud Palace upside down and ran rampant throughout the world, without your people discovering a thing. Could it be that the Flying Fish Bureau knows only how to eavesdrop?”

Golden Sheep Star was not offended. He simply stood to one side, treating himself as no more than a pillar against the wall.

“Do not bother with him. I called you here to discuss what Sun Xuluo just said. He claims that he acted only under the orders of the fairy maiden of Lanling. Since she left the Cloud Palace, neither her title nor her authority has been revoked.” Golden Dog Star spoke quietly.

Golden Ox Star snorted. “That old fox has spent so many years immersed in the celestial laws that he drafted and amended many of their articles himself. No one understands the statutes better than he does. He must know that if he insists he acted on the fairy maiden’s orders, no one can convict him. What a cunning old bastard.”

Golden Dragon Star consoled him. “Do not take it too seriously. Does saying he acted on her orders make it so?”

“Whether he truly acted under her command or not, any order without the Primordial Lord’s seal is nothing but wastepaper.” Golden Sheep Star reminded them from the side.

“We know that perfectly well. But what if he claims that the Primordial Lord was absent from the Cloud Palace, and that extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures?” Golden Dragon Star asked.

“What is there to fear? The fairy maiden was absent from the Cloud Palace as well. All the evidence lies with that Song Xiang. Once we break Song Xiang, there will be no difficulty in bringing Sun Xuluo down.” Golden Dog Star replied.

“Good! Then we shall proceed with that strategy once we return.” Golden Ox Star struck his palm with his fist.

The four men emerged from behind the curtain one after another and took their seats behind the judicial table.

Golden Dog Star struck the judge’s table and demanded sharply, “Sun Xuluo, you just claimed that you acted under the fairy maiden’s orders. Do you possess her imperial edict? Present it at once.”

Sun Xuluo sneered. “Of course I do. I have been in charge of the Celestial Dipper Tribunal for so many years. How could I not know the consequences of acting without an order? It is in my robes. Send someone to retrieve it.”

A bailiff hurried over to Sun Xuluo, searched inside his robes, and pulled out a piece of silk. He then ran back and presented it to the Star Lords of the three tribunals.

Golden Ox Star glanced over the writing on the silk and demanded sternly, “How can you determine from this alone that it is truly the fairy maiden’s edict?”

“Can you not see her seal upon it? Besides, Song Xiang possesses a token belonging to her, something she carries close to her person. I have seen it more than once. How could I be mistaken?” Sun Xuluo replied.

“But,” Golden Dragon Star said with a genial smile, “this document bears neither the Primordial Lord’s annotation nor the Primordial Lord’s seal. You dared to act recklessly on the strength of this alone. If that is not rebellion, what is?”

“The Primordial Lord was absent from the palace at the time. Whom could I have found to affix the seal? Whom could I have asked to make the annotation? The celestial laws do not state that the fairy maiden’s orders become invalid when the Primordial Lord is absent. What the law does not prohibit, it permits.”

Sun Xuluo raised his proud head and stared at the three Star Lords above him.

The three men behind the judicial table exchanged glances. For a moment, they had no answer to his argument.

“What if Song Xiang was lying?” Golden Sheep Star said from the observers’ bench.

The remark inspired the officials of the three tribunals. They immediately demanded in unison, “Exactly! What if that old Song Xiang was lying? What if the letter and the token are forgeries?”

“Impossible! Summon him here and let us confront each other face-to-face.”

Golden Dog Star gave a thunderous shout.

“Summon Song Xiang!”