Within the seaside side hall, the sea wind was shut out by protective wards.
Zhu Changli, Wu Tingchao, and Li Fuyuan sat in silence for a long while.
That earlier question—“What if the current Sea Goddess remains silent?”—was like a stone sinking into the depths of the sea. Once it fell, there was no echo.
All three understood that the current Sea Goddess’s stance was the true key to this matter.
Tantai Jingyue was the Heir to Hai Ruo recognized by the Divine Palace.
More importantly, she was the one whom the current Sea Goddess had personally brought back years ago, personally instructed, and personally acknowledged.
Without the Sea Goddess’s approval, no amount of support from the Divine Palace’s Nine Halls could have elevated Tantai Jingyue to her present position.
Thus, they could object to the final rankings.
They could rage over the Divine Maiden’s loss of prestige.
They could even vent their anger on the Tianyuan Sect and Jiang Qingwan.
But they could not bypass the Sea Goddess and directly cast doubt upon Tantai Jingyue.
For that would not merely be questioning the Heir to Hai Ruo. It would be questioning the Sea Goddess’s choice all those years ago.
And it would also be questioning... a deity.
The first to speak was Li Fuyuan.
As the master of the Department of Justice, he had always placed the greatest importance on rules. Even now, his voice was calmer than those of the other two.
“Jiang Qingwan has already received her reward before the crowd.”
“Cang Xuanzi personally announced the final rankings.”
“Guests from the Four Provinces have yet to depart from Cang Province.”
“If the Divine Palace makes any excessive move now, it will be no different from wearing the words ‘sore losers’ on our faces.”
Wu Tingchao retorted coldly, “Then are we simply to let cultivators from the three provinces leave carrying the news that the next Sea Goddess was defeated by a disciple of an outside sect?”
Li Fuyuan did not deny the gravity of the matter.
He merely lifted his gaze toward the pitch-black sea beyond the side hall.
“The more so, the less we can afford to act rashly.”
Zhu Changli stood in the hall, his expression so dark it seemed as though water might drip from it.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.
“We go to the Tide-Listening Divine Hall.”
Wu Tingchao and Li Fuyuan both turned to look at him.
Zhu Changli said slowly, “We will not question Jingyue.”
“We will only seek the Sea Goddess’s guidance on three matters.”
“First: are the Taixu final rankings to stand as they are?”
“Second: should an additional prayer rite be held for Jingyue, to reassure the various branches of the Water-Worshipping Faith and the believers of Cang Province?”
“Third: during the final round of Ascending to the Moon and Climbing to Heaven, did anything unusual occur within the Mirror Sea...?”
The three questions sounded proper enough.
Yet all three men knew that each was a probe.
If the Sea Goddess flew into a rage, they could seize the opportunity to make things difficult for the Tianyuan Sect and recover some of the face they had lost.
If the Sea Goddess approved a supplementary rite, they could build momentum for Tantai Jingyue once more and restore the Divine Maiden’s diminished majesty.
If the Sea Goddess admitted that something had gone wrong in the Mirror Sea, then Jiang Qingwan’s victory might not be beyond dispute.
But if the Sea Goddess confirmed that there had been no anomaly in the Mirror Sea...
Zhu Changli did not allow himself to continue that line of thought.
If there was nothing wrong with the Mirror Sea, then what, exactly, was wrong?
The thought was too cold, too weighty.
So weighty that even he, the Priest of Fate, did not dare give it voice lightly.
...
By the time the three men left the seaside side hall, the night had grown very deep.
In the direction of Welcome Island, lights and music still accompanied the banquet for guests from every quarter. The visitors laughed and conversed as fragrant spirit wine filled the air, as though the day’s struggle over the final rankings had ended with the presentation of rewards.
Yet deep within the Divine Palace, all was quiet—as though it were another world entirely.
Sea mist drifted slowly between the palace halls.
Water lanterns floated soundlessly beneath the eaves, bathing the long corridors in a dim blue glow.
The three priests proceeded along the inner palace waterways.
The closer they drew to the Tidewatching Divine Hall, the quieter the tides became.
By the end, even the sound of waves striking the shore seemed to have been swallowed by some invisible force. Only the faint rustle of their robes brushing through the sea mist remained.
Wu Tingchao had been the most forceful in the side hall.
Yet as he truly approached the Tidewatching Divine Hall, he too reined in all his anger.
Zhu Changli’s expression was calm, though the fingers hidden within his sleeve tightened slightly.
Li Fuyuan remained silent throughout the journey.
The Tidewatching Divine Hall was no ordinary palace.
It was the dwelling of the current Sea Goddess.
In the eyes of countless followers of the Water-Worshipping Sect, it was the place where the deity listened to the tides and gazed down upon the mortal world.
Even they, priests of the Divine Palace who held authority over the Nine Halls, could only request an audience outside its doors.
The Tidewatching Divine Hall stood atop a field of black reefs.
There were no guards before it.
Only a long staircase formed from seawater slowly rose from below the reefs, leading to the tightly shut gates.
The three arrived before the hall and stopped together.
Zhu Changli was the first to bow.
“Minister of Destiny, Zhu Changli.”
Wu Tingchao and Li Fuyuan followed with salutes.
“Minister of Tides, Wu Tingchao.”
“Minister of Punishment, Li Fuyuan.”
“We request an audience with Hairuo.”
No answer came from within the hall.
The three maintained their bows. None of them raised their heads.
Sea mist drifted silently across the steps.
After a long while, a curtain of water slowly descended before the hall gates.
No figure could be seen beyond it.
Only a faint voice came from within.
“Speak.”
She had not permitted the three of them to enter.
Zhu Changli’s heart sank slightly.
Yet he did not dare hesitate. At once, he reported the outcome of the ceremony once more.
The three trials of the Grand Void Myriad Phenomena had concluded.
Jiang Qingwan had taken first place on the final rankings.
Tantai Jingyue had come in second.
High Priest Cang Xuanzi had publicly proclaimed the champion, and the Divine Palace had already bestowed its rewards.
Zhu Changli spoke with great care.
He allowed no resentment into his words, nor did he mention the three priests’ departure from the high platform earlier.
Behind the curtain of water, Hairuo remained silent.
Only after he had finished did she speak calmly.
“Once the final rankings have been posted, they become the outcome of the ceremony.”
Zhu Changli’s heart sank again.
The meaning of those words could not have been clearer.
The final rankings could not be changed.
The Divine Palace had to acknowledge Jiang Qingwan as the champion.
In the end, Wu Tingchao could not hold himself back. He raised his eyes and said,
“Lady Hairuo.”
“Though the final rankings have been decided, once this matter spreads, the world will remember only one thing.”
“The Heir to Hai Ruo was defeated by a disciple of an outside sect.”
The curtain of water trembled faintly.
In that instant, the tide before the Tidewatching Divine Hall fell utterly still.
Zhu Changli and Li Fuyuan were both shaken to the core, nearly turning to look at Wu Tingchao.
Are you mad?
Was that something one could say before the Tidewatching Divine Hall?
The next moment, both of them dropped to their knees without hesitation.
Wu Tingchao, too, realized that he had misspoken. His face changed, and he immediately bowed low, pressing his forehead to the ground.
“Lady Hairuo, forgive my indiscretion. I spoke out of turn.”
A suffocating silence descended before the hall.
After a moment, Hairuo’s voice came again.
“A defeat is a defeat.”
“If divine majesty must be preserved by concealing a single defeat, then it is not true divine majesty.”
All three priests fell silent.
She had not rebuked Wu Tingchao.
Yet her words weighed more heavily than any rebuke could have.
With his head lowered, Zhu Changli continued,
“Lady Hairuo is wise.”
“Though Jingyue placed second, the Divine Maiden’s bearing remains undiminished.”
“However, today’s ceremony is attended by guests from all four provinces, and the various branches of the Water-Worshipping Sect will surely be watching its outcome.”
“To reassure the faithful, and to let the guests from the four provinces witness the Divine Maiden’s majesty anew before they leave Cang Province, should the Divine Palace hold an additional Divine Might Prayer Rite for Jingyue?”
This proposal was not meant to overturn the final rankings.
It was merely intended to restore some of the prestige the Cangming Divine Palace had lost today.
Zhu Changli spoke with the utmost deference.
Yet from behind the curtain of water, Hairuo’s reply came swiftly.
“No need.”
The fingers hidden in Zhu Changli’s sleeve clenched once more.
Wu Tingchao’s expression darkened as well.
After a moment, Hairuo added:
“Jingyue has no need to prove herself to the masses.”
The water curtain dripped softly.
Every drop seemed like a cold gleam suspended above the heads of the three men.
Those words sounded as though she were defending Tantai Jingyue.
But to the ears of the three priests, they were more like a barrier, shutting every question outside the curtain of water.
Jingyue did not need to prove herself.
Therefore, they could not demand that she do so.
At last, Li Fuyuan raised his head and asked the third question of the night.
His tone was calmer than Zhu Changli’s.
“Lady Hairuo.”
“In the final round of Ascending to Heaven by Plucking the Moon, Jiang Qingwan emerged from the mirror realm before the Divine Maiden.”
“The Taixu final rankings also named her champion.”
“During that time, the Divine Palace’s water mirror was unable to observe what occurred within the mirror realm.”
He paused, looking toward the curtain of water.
“May I ask, Lady Hairuo—”
“Was there anything unusual about the Mirror Sea today?”
The instant this question fell, the tides before the Tide-Listening Divine Hall came to a complete standstill.
Zhu Changli said nothing.
Neither did Wu Tingchao.
They both understood that this was the truly critical question tonight.
If something had gone wrong with the Mirror Sea, then Jiang Qingwan’s victory could still be investigated.
But if nothing had gone wrong with the Mirror Sea—
Then the anomaly was...
Behind the water curtain, Hairuo remained silent for a long time.
So long that the three could almost hear the pounding of their own hearts.
In the end, she did not answer “yes.”
Nor did she answer “no.”
She merely said, in an even tone, “The Mirror Sea has its own laws.”
Li Fuyuan’s gaze flickered.
That answer gave them nothing to seize upon.
Hairuo had neither admitted that the Mirror Sea had malfunctioned nor affirmed that it had been without fault.
She had pushed everything back onto the Mirror Sea itself.
Li Fuyuan still wished to press further.
But before he could speak, the tidal aura before the hall suddenly intensified.
An indescribable pressure descended upon the souls of the three men.
The three priests immediately pressed their foreheads deeply to the ground once more.
Hairuo’s voice remained calm, but it was colder than before.
“You need only remember three things.”
“The final rankings cannot be changed.”
“Jingyue must not be dishonored.”
“This matter ends here.”
As the final words fell, the figure behind the water curtain blurred completely from sight.
Zhu Changli, Wu Tingchao, and Li Fuyuan bowed their heads in unison.
“We respectfully obey Lady Hairuo’s command.”
They dared not ask another question, nor were they permitted to.
Hairuo had personally drawn the line.
Jiang Qingwan’s title as champion could not be challenged.
Tantai Jingyue’s dignity could not be insulted.
The Mirror Sea had its own reasons. They were not to ask any further questions.
...
The three left the Tide-Listening Divine Hall.
Only after the temple, standing upon its black reef, vanished once more into the sea mist did Wu Tingchao speak coldly.
“Lady Hairuo is protecting Jingyue.”
Zhu Changli did not refute him.
Of course Hairuo would protect Tantai Jingyue.
That was hardly surprising.
Yet precisely because of that, the doubts weighing on his heart grew even heavier.
Hairuo had not said that there was anything unusual about the Mirror Sea.
Nor did they say that anything was amiss with the Mirror Sea.
Nor was Bu Yi permitted.
They were not even allowed to continue discussing it.
Li Fuyuan said slowly, “The more strictly they forbid us to ask, the more it suggests there are things that cannot be asked about.”
Wu Tingchao looked at him.
“You think… there’s a problem too?”
He did not say that person’s name, but they all knew whom he meant.
Li Fuyuan did not answer.
That was not something they could say too plainly.
Even with no one else around, they still could not openly blaspheme the Heir to Hai Ruo.
Zhu Changli gazed toward the distant Mirror Sea and finally spoke in a low voice:
“Tomorrow, have Luo Chenbi, the Mirror Priest, come to the Hall of Fate.”
Wu Tingchao asked, “Anything else?”
Zhu Changli fell silent for a moment.
“Retrieve the old records from before and after Jingyue entered the palace.”
Li Fuyuan’s brows drew together.
“Zhu Changli, do you know what you’re investigating?”
“Lady Hairuo told us to stop here.”
Zhu Changli did not turn around.
In the night, his voice was so low that it seemed almost swallowed by the sea mist.
“I’m only doing this for the Divine Palace…”
“For the countless faithful of Cangzhou…”
“Some things must be made clear.”
No one spoke again.
The three figures gradually disappeared along the waterways of the inner palace.
…
The Hall of Listening Tide slowly returned to silence.
The curtains of water receded.
The current Sea Goddess sat alone upon the divine throne.
There were no lamps burning in the hall.
Only a pool of still water reflected the moonlight.
She raised a hand, and the surface of the pool brightened in response.
Within the water appeared the sight of Tantai Jingyue standing beneath the final rankings that day.
White robes. Bare feet. An expression as cold and clear as ice.
Hairuo lowered her eyes and watched for a long time.
Many years ago, when she had first brought Tantai Jingyue back to the Divine Palace, the girl had still been very young.
Silent, quiet, pale.
Like a moon veiled in sea mist.
The surface of the water rippled faintly.
Beside Tantai Jingyue’s reflection, another indistinct watery shadow emerged.
That shadow was exceedingly faint.
Hairuo lifted her hand and brushed it across the surface.
The shadow vanished without a sound.
Once more, only Tantai Jingyue’s reflection remained in the hall.
The water grew still.
Yet in its deeper reaches, it seemed that two moon-shadows still lingered—one bright, one dim—gazing at each other from afar through the ripples.
