That night.

Gui Heng knocked on Wei Ming's door, poking his head in cautiously. "Your Highness called for me?"

"Come in and sit." Seeing him arrive, Wei Ming put down the book in his hand, moved from his desk to the small couch by the window, and personally poured some tea. "There are a few things I want to ask you."

Ever since returning from the Longshan Imperial Palace, Gui Heng had been idling about Prince Duan's Manor. Whenever Wei Ming asked when he planned to ascend to the heavens, he would just laugh it off and promise "next time for sure," clearly not taking his mandated duty of pursuing the fugitive to heart.

But now, it seemed Wei Ming had to be glad to still have this makeshift strategist by his side.

Gui Heng approached and sat down, asking curiously, "What does Your Highness want to ask?"

Wei Ming said abruptly, "You've actually already guessed, haven't you."

"Pfft—"

Gui Heng nearly spat his tea to the heavens, asking in terror, "Wh-wh-wh-what? What did I guess? I don't know anything! Am I about to be silenced?"

Wei Ming took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "You saw everything. At this point, it's useless to play dumb."

"Ah! Ah—" Gui Heng had a sudden realization and made a throat-slitting gesture. "You're talking about that matter... Rest assured, Your Highness, my lips are sealed. I absolutely won't tell anyone."

"A misunderstanding," Wei Ming said. "I called you here precisely to ask you about this. Is there some misunderstanding or obstacle between Chi Lian and Emperor Cangze? Or did Emperor Cangze have another love interest in the past?"

Gui Heng shook his head like a rattle. "Since the founding of the Heavenly Court, the Emperor has resided high above the Nine Heavens. If he truly had a love interest, it would have spread in all directions long ago. Besides, the Emperor doesn't have the kind of temperament to make empty promises and let others bear a false reputation for no reason."

Wei Ming said, "In that case?"

Gui Heng reeled these off as if listing his family heirlooms: "There are many rumors and anecdotes about the Emperor in the White Jade Capital, but only two are even slightly ambiguous: one, he took special care of Immortal Venerable Qingyang, treating him differently from other immortals; and two, he was excessively indulgent toward Immortal Lord Chi Lian, to the point that everyone suspects Chi Lian is his illegitimate son."

Wei Ming's eyes were blank as he murmured, "...It can't be."

Could it be that after all this trouble, it was neither about being a substitute nor a benefactor, but because Chi Lian genuinely saw him as his own father, and that's why he rejected him without hesitation?

Gui Heng peeked at his expression, which looked as if he'd been struck by lightning, and started to chuckle, "Hehehe."

After he finished laughing, he offered some insincere comfort, "Emperor, don't doubt yourself. They're just rumors, don't take them seriously. Everyone knows they were made up to slander you. However, it's enough to show that your past affection for Chi Lian was so great that even a passing ant couldn't bear to watch. Unless Chi Lian is a wooden post, it's impossible he didn't feel anything."

Wei Ming said, "Then what about Chi Lian's feelings for Emperor Cangze?"

Gui Heng wore an expression that said 'are you spouting nonsense with your eyes wide open?': "Why don't you go take a look at that head of white hair of his before asking me? He's gone through life and death for you, and you still say this? If Chi Lian has no feelings for the Emperor, I'll cut my head off and give it to the Chestnut Tiger."

"Don't be so gory," Wei Ming said with a frown. "Then why do you think he rejected me?"

Gui Heng said in shock, "What?"

His voice was loud enough to wake every rooster in the Capital. "He rejected you? He actually rejected you? Who gave him the gall to dare refuse the Emperor's confession of love?"

Wei Ming was already starting to regret all the decisions he had made tonight. He shouldn't have returned to the Capital from Mount Ying in the first place. If he hadn't returned to the Capital, he wouldn't have met Chi Lian. If he hadn't met Chi Lian, he wouldn't have met Gui Heng, and he wouldn't have fallen into this miserable state of being both heartbroken and angered to death by an idiot...

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Emperor! Don't be like this, you mustn't give up on yourself..." Gui Heng frantically grabbed onto Wei Ming, who couldn't listen anymore and was about to leave. "How can you run away from home over a minor setback? Chi Lian must have his own unspeakable difficulties."

Wei Ming: "What difficulties?"

Gui Heng hemmed and hawed, racking his brains for a long time, before his eyes suddenly lit up. He slapped the table and said, "Right! It's because Emperor Cangze personally established a heavenly law that the Heavenly Race cannot intermarry with the Human Race. The paths of immortals and mortals are different. He must have considered this point and that's why..."

His voice grew fainter and fainter under Wei Ming's condescending gaze, finally turning into a couple of weak, dry laughs.

Wei Ming said coldly, "When you need me, you keep saying I'm Emperor Cangze, but the moment marriage is mentioned, you admit I'm a mortal?"

"Heh, immortals and mortals are different... The difference is that mortals are not one ten-thousandth as fickle as you immortals, who specialize in toying with others' feelings."

Gui Heng looked at his dark eyes and, in a daze, thought Wei Ming was going to eat him alive. Terrified, he instantly transformed into a ball of green light, preparing to flee. Before he could fly to the door, he heard Wei Ming grind his teeth and say in a light, cool voice, "Tell him the only reason I can accept is that he doesn't like me. As long as he says it plainly, I will never bother him again."

"But if he uses his difficulties as a shield, rejecting me while saying it's 'for my own good,' I will pester him to the very end. Even an immortal can't bully people like this."

The green light circled Wei Ming once, dropping two teardrop-like specks of fluorescence into his hand—they were the hot tears shed by Immortal Lord Gui Heng, moved by this affectionate speech. Then, it slipped away silently through the crack of the door.

From that day on, Chi Lian never again came to visit on his own initiative, and Wei Ming never saw him in the palace either. Compared to their frequent encounters every few days before, the current situation was enough to show that the Grand Preceptor was deliberately avoiding him.

Although he couldn't see the person, Wei Ming always had the feeling of being watched in secret. The gaze wasn't aggressive, yet its presence was palpable. It was like how the Chestnut Tiger at home would sometimes hide on the roof or behind a curtain, coldly watching Chunzhi spin around in circles anxiously looking for it, but never making a sound.

Wei Ming ground his teeth like an owner preparing to deal with a difficult kitten, and decided to teach him a lesson.

Two more days passed. A memorial was submitted via the Dali Temple to Emperor Qiansheng's desk. The next day, an imperial edict arrived at the government office, appointing the fourth prince, Wei Ming, as the imperial commissioner, to set out for Liang Continent on a chosen day to investigate the Zhongyuan Sea God Grand Festival case reported by the Liangzhou Prefecture.

Wei Ming gladly accepted the edict and went home to pack his things, preparing to leave the Capital to investigate the case.

Inside the Zixiao Academy, after Chi Lian heard the news brought by Ye Jintan, his hand trembled, and unable to control his strength, he crushed a black-lacquered, inlaid box with a "crack." Ye Jintan was just a sandalwood tree spirit who had taken human form less than a hundred years ago. Facing a True Immortal's anger for the first time, he was instantly and firmly pressed to the ground by the overflowing pressure.

Chi Lian took a deep breath to calm himself, reined in his aura, and said in a low voice, "My apologies. You may leave first."

Ye Jintan scrambled up with a limp, afraid that if he said one more word, Chi Lian's anger would flare up again and take his life. He quickly tucked his tail between his legs and scurried away.

"Tsk, tsk." After Ye Jintan had gone, a figure leaped down from the roof, landing lightly and silently. He sat across from Chi Lian with one leg crossed over the other and began to speak gloatingly, "Let me see who's getting anxious? Oh, it's our cold-faced, cold-hearted Grand Preceptor who keeps people a thousand li away~"

Chi Lian: "..."

Gui Heng continued, "Well now, it's truly become 'a thousand li away'."

It was inconvenient to use spiritual arts in the palace, but Chi Lian could bear it no longer and kicked the chair out from under him.

Gui Heng leaped up nimbly, dodging while laughing. "Now you know how to be anxious and worked up? Why were you putting on an act of wanting to cut off all contact for life earlier, hiding in the Zixiao Academy, too afraid to see him?"

Chi Lian was in no mood to bicker with him seriously. He frowned and said, "Everything was fine, why did he have to go on a long journey at this particular juncture?"

Gui Heng rarely saw him look so frustrated and stifled. Although he wasn't the cause, it didn't stop him from feeling a sense of glee from having the upper hand. He laughed, "And where do you think this juncture came from?"

Chi Lian: "..."

"His Highness is now in charge of the Dali Temple. This case has been in his hands for a long time. He didn't bring it up sooner or later, but chose this exact moment. Isn't it just to have a ready-made reason to be apart for a while?" Gui Heng said. "I've only ever seen the Emperor manipulate others; when has anyone ever manipulated him? For you to make him go this far, that's some skill."

Chi Lian scoffed, "Spare me. It's just going out to handle a case. No need to blow it out of proportion."

Gui Heng sneered, "Oh, please. If you really think this has nothing to do with what happened before, were you just crushing that box for fun because your hands were itching?"

Chi Lian was speechless.

Gui Heng waited a moment for Chi Lian's mood to calm down a little before saying seriously, "You avoid him, so he makes you worry about him twice as much. Your lips refuse him, but your heart can't lie. It's already like this, and you still won't admit it? It's clearly mutual affection. Must you wait until you've missed your chance in the future to feel regret?"

Chi Lian sat there ramrod straight, like a divine statue carved from white jade, his heart seemingly made of stone as well. "Regretting what you never had is better than seeking a moment's pleasure only to wish in the end that you had never obtained it at all—at that point, it wouldn't just be regret, but tragedy."

Gui Heng asked, puzzled, "I've been wanting to ask for a while now, what exactly are you worried about? The way you say it, it sounds as if you getting together with His Highness would cause the heavens to collapse, the earth to sunder, and the Three Realms to fall into chaos."

"A common saying in the White Jade Capital is 'The highest state is to be devoid of emotion.' The Heavenly Court doesn't forbid the Heavenly Race from marrying, but look at the immortals at the rank of Immortal Venerable and above—which one of them has married? Even the Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Empress each rule their own domain, acting only as a nominal couple," Chi Lian said. "Immortals cultivate the Great Dao, and the Great Dao does not tolerate partiality. To have a preference is to damage one's path of cultivation. Not to mention, the Emperor himself wields the Heavenly Dao of the Mortal Realm. If he were to run into any trouble because of this, the Three Realms would truly fall into chaos."

Gui Heng drew out a long "Ohhh." "So you're rejecting him because you're afraid the Emperor will develop a Heart Demon because of you?"

"Although saying it like this makes it sound like I'm thinking too highly of myself, it is the truth." Chi Lian sighed. "Besides, who knows how much of his memories from his mortal reincarnation the Emperor will retain? When he one day returns to his divine position, with so many pairs of eyes in the Heavenly Court watching him like tigers, how should he deal with me then?"

Gui Heng muttered, "I feel like you're worrying a bit too far ahead. The Emperor hasn't even said anything. How could he bear to deal with you?"

"It is precisely because the Emperor is currently a mortal, unaware of the cause and effect, and acting solely on impulse, that I must worry," Chi Lian said helplessly. "I'd love to just throw caution to the wind, but he isn't my His Highness alone."

"He is the Emperor Cangze of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths..."