Blocking the Way

Over the next few days, the journey was peaceful and uneventful.

Ever since her previous outburst, Lin Qingyan seemed like a completely different person.

She no longer mentioned guarding against inner demons, nor did she act overly determined, and she certainly didn't pull any more stunts about knocking him out with lightning.

She simply stayed quietly by Gu Chengyin's side.

Clinging to him, nestling in his arms, resting against his chest.

Like a cat that had found the most comfortable position, she refused to move even an inch.

Gu Chengyin looked down at the fairy in his arms.

These past few days, Lin Qingyan had been incredibly well-behaved.

No fussing, no arguing, no causing trouble.

Even when he occasionally zoned out to think about things, she no longer pressed him with questions. She just stayed quiet, waiting for him to snap out of it on his own.

It was as if that day's tantrum had exhausted all her misbehavior.

Gu Chengyin reached out and gently stroked Lin Qingyan's hair, his movements tender and careful.

Sensing his touch, Lin Qingyan slightly lifted her head and glanced at him.

Her eyes were as cold and aloof as ever, but beneath that icy exterior, there was now an added layer of softness.

Lin Qingyan did not speak. She merely rubbed gently against his palm, then lowered her head and continued to snuggle.

Outside the carriage, the inspection team continued their advance.

The three carriages from the Celestial Master Mansion followed at a steady, unhurried pace.

Three Golden Core venerates sat upright in their carriages, their divine sense constantly enveloping Gu Chengyin's carriage, not daring to relax for a single moment.

However, they only enveloped it; they dared not probe inside the carriage even the slightest bit, because Lin Qingyan was sitting in there.

Over these past few days, they had not noticed anything unusual.

That Lord Jingzhe was surprisingly quiet.

And that Junior Preceptor Gu was surprisingly well-behaved.

Although the three Golden Core venerates were somewhat puzzled.

They didn't dare to ask.

Nor did they dare to let their guard down, so they could only continue to keep watch.

To prevent Gu Chengyin from suddenly running away at any moment.

...

Luodu.

The city walls towered high, the city gates were majestic, and the coming and going of pedestrians and merchants was endless.

The inspection team's grand procession moved slowly toward the city gates.

According to custom, when such a group entered the city, they only needed to show their identification to pass straight through.

Not to mention that the sect inspection team had already been here once.

But today, an unexpected incident occurred.

The procession stopped in front of the city gates.

Chen Busha sat on his horse, looking at the group of people blocking their path, his brows furrowed tightly.

People from the Luodu Censorate.

People from the Luodu Ministry of Justice.

People from the Luodu Ministry of Rites.

Three groups of people stood neatly blocking the city gates. The few leaders were all dressed in official robes, their expressions solemn.

Alarm bells rang in Chen Busha's mind.

He dismounted, walked forward, and cupped his hands in greeting to them:

"My lords, what is the meaning of this?"

The leader of the Luodu Censorate was a middle-aged imperial censor with a thin face and sharp eyes.

He glanced at Chen Busha and skipped the pleasantries, getting straight to the point:

"Deputy Group Leader Chen, we have been ordered to come and verify the status of the imperial criminal, Gu Chengyin."

Chen Busha's brows furrowed even tighter.

Imperial criminal.

The term sounded jarring to his ears.

Chen Busha knew about the imperial edict; Gu Chengyin hadn't hidden it from him.

At the same time, Gu Chengyin had handed over the responsibility of the entire sect inspection team to Chen Busha.

So he knew the whole situation from beginning to end and had been trying to figure out a solution.

Chen Busha's plan was to first return to the Divine Capital, then go find Luo Zhao to see how this matter could be resolved.

After all, Gu Chengyin was the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Princess, the big boss of the Crown Princess faction.

No matter what, he had to protect Gu Chengyin.

But now, people from both the Luodu Censorate and the Ministry of Justice had shown up at the same time.

Saying they needed to verify the status of the imperial criminal Gu Chengyin to ensure he hadn't escaped midway.

This was originally a standard procedure.

When escorting an imperial criminal, the cities passed along the way all had to verify the prisoner.

But this time, the situation was special.

Chen Busha didn't want Gu Chengyin to return to the Divine Capital actually being treated like an imperial criminal.

That would be a slap in the face to the entire Crown Princess faction.

Even Luo Zhao's prestige would suffer as a result.

Chen Busha's mind raced, but his face remained impassive:

"My lords, Junior Preceptor Gu is indeed in the procession."

"But his status is special, and the matter of his escort is naturally handled by Lord Jingzhe."

"If you wish to verify, why not wait for Lord Jingzhe to..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the middle-aged imperial censor:

"Deputy Group Leader Chen, we are acting on orders."

"According to the laws of Great Luo, when escorting an imperial criminal, any city passed must verify the criminal's status to prevent escape."

"This matter is fully compliant with the law. We ask Deputy Group Leader Chen to cooperate."

Chen Busha's brows twisted into a knot. He was just about to find an excuse to brush them off.

When suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind him:

"What's going on here? Why so lively?"

Chen Busha turned to look.

Gu Chengyin was walking over from the procession, his pace unhurried and his expression calm.

He was dressed in casual clothes, a green robe, looking as elegant as jade, not at all like an escorted imperial criminal.

Lin Qingyan was following right beside him.

This Jingzhe of the Celestial Master Mansion still wore her usual cold and detached expression.

Standing beside Gu Chengyin, her gaze lightly swept over the middle-aged imperial censor blocking the way.

Chen Busha hastily cupped his hands:

"Junior Preceptor Gu, Lord Jingzhe."

Gu Chengyin gave a slight nod, walked to Chen Busha's side, and let his gaze fall on the middle-aged imperial censor in their path.

He had heard the commotion from inside the carriage.

The inspection team was stopped from entering Luodu because they needed to verify the status of him, the imperial criminal.

Gu Chengyin had laughed right then and there.

It was just showing his face, after all.

Anyway, Luodu was just a passing stop; the Divine Capital was the main event.

He got out of the carriage and came over just to see what kind of tricks these people could play.

But what Gu Chengyin hadn't expected was that the tricks these people were playing were far more interesting than he had imagined.

When the middle-aged imperial censor saw Gu Chengyin appear, his face suddenly changed.

His gaze swept up and down, scrutinizing Gu Chengyin.

From head to toe.

From toe to head.

Then his face completely darkened.

The middle-aged imperial censor snapped his head to look at Chen Busha, raised his finger to point at Gu Chengyin, and shouted angrily:

"Deputy Group Leader Chen! What is the meaning of this!"

Chen Busha was taken aback.

The middle-aged imperial censor's voice grew even louder:

"Gu Chengyin is an imperial criminal of the court, a condemned man by His Majesty's own decree! Why is he wearing no cangue! No shackles!"

The middle-aged imperial censor was so furious his beard trembled:

"Are you not afraid that Gu Chengyin might run away!?"

As soon as these words came out.

Chen Busha was dumbfounded.

Including the sect inspection team behind him—hundreds of people in total—everyone froze upon hearing this.

Wait...

Was this imperial censor crazy?

Did he even know what he was saying?

Put a cangue on Gu Chengyin? Put shackles on Gu Chengyin?

How dare he say such a thing?

Who was Gu Chengyin?

He was the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Princess! The Chief Director of the Internal Affairs Department! The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites! The Marquis of Equal Standing!

He was also the Sect Master of the Azure Sword Sect! The heir of the Immortal Clan!

And most importantly, he was Luo Zhao's betrothed!

Who would dare put a cangue on such a person? Who would dare put shackles on him?

Yes, the Luo Emperor had issued an imperial edict.

Using the excuse that he had usurped the position of Sect Master of the Azure Sword Sect, he had ordered Lin Qingyan to personally arrest Gu Chengyin and bring him back to the capital.

But so what?

If there were to be a cangue or shackles, it would be up to Lin Qingyan to put them on!

If Lin Qingyan didn't say a word, who would dare touch this bad luck?

Besides, what if they returned to the Divine Capital and Gu Chengyin ended up completely fine?

What if this imperial edict was just meant to put pressure on Gu Chengyin, and not actually meant to do anything serious?

Were such things rare in officialdom?

Leave some leeway in your actions, so that you can face each other amicably in the future.