By the time Zhu Changli arrived at the Main Council Hall, the priests of the Ten Offices had already begun to gather.
Every water lamp in the hall was lit.
Yet their glow held not the slightest warmth. It merely illuminated the faces of those present, making their solemnity all the more pronounced.
The High Priest, Cang Xuanzi, sat in the seat of honor. His deep-blue ceremonial robes fell over the jade steps, and his expression was as grave as the sea.
Li Fuyuan, Wu Tingchao, Shui Guanlan, Luo Chenbi, Qi Zhaoye, and the others were already in the hall.
On ordinary days, when the Ten Offices convened, the atmosphere was solemn and dignified, yet there was always a sense of calm confidence—as though everything remained firmly under control.
But at this moment, that composure had vanished from every face.
When Zhu Changli entered, Ling Chaosheng, the priest of the Sea Affairs Hall, was presenting an urgent tide report to the assembly.
The scroll of water-rippled silk unfurled.
A map of the tide lines in the Eastern Sea appeared before everyone.
The blue lines that had once been steady were now mostly covered by glaring dark red.
Ling Chaosheng’s voice was low.
“The tide lines in the depths of the Eastern Sea have surged.”
“Black whirlpools have appeared around the Sea Eye.”
“Several sea-beast nests are already showing signs of unrest.”
“Inland tides have begun to flow backward into several coastal towns.”
At that, he raised a hand and pointed to the western side of the tide map.
“More seriously, the sea level off the coast of Yunmeng City is several feet higher than usual.”
“This means the disturbance in the Sea Eye is no longer confined to the deep sea. It has begun to affect the coastal waterways of Cangzhou.”
“If it continues to spread, the entire water system of Cangzhou will be dragged into it.”
“At that point, it will not be only the Cangming Divine Palace that suffers.”
“It will be the countless people of Cangzhou.”
Shui Guanlan, the priest of the Ritual Hall, frowned deeply.
“Have we identified the source?”
Ling Chaosheng shook his head.
“The tidal force is coming from the depths of the Sea Eye.”
“The Sea Affairs Hall has sent in tide-sensing talismans three times, but each one was shredded by the black tide before reaching the outskirts.”
“The coastal ritual altars also attempted to suppress the tide with an array.”
“It was useless.”
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Everyone understood that under normal circumstances, any disturbance in the Sea Eye should be dealt with by the current Hairuo.
Hairuo pacified the sea.
That was the foundation upon which the Cangming Divine Palace had been established.
It was also the foundation of the people of Cangzhou’s faith in the Divine Palace.
Yet this time, the Hairuo Hall had remained unresponsive.
Shui Guanlan said in a low voice, “The Ritual Hall has sent people to seek instructions from Lord Hairuo several times.”
Ling Chaosheng continued, “The Sea Affairs Hall also used a tide command to request an audience.”
“There was still no response.”
As soon as those words fell, the expressions of the ten priests grew even graver.
No one dared to say aloud that something might have happened to Lord Hairuo.
From the seat of honor, Cang Xuanzi slowly spoke.
“The Sea Eye cannot remain disturbed for long.”
“Since Lord Hairuo has given no response, the Divine Palace must choose someone else to pacify the sea.”
With those words, everyone in the hall realized that the true subject of the meeting had arrived.
After a brief silence, Ling Chaosheng, the priest of the Sea Affairs Hall, spoke first.
“I propose that the Divine Maiden preside over the Sea-Calming Rite in Hairuo’s stead.”
Quite a few people in the hall raised their eyes toward him.
Ling Chaosheng continued, “Tantai Jingyue is the Divine Maiden of the Divine Palace and the candidate to become the next Hairuo.”
“She should have begun familiarizing herself with the Sea-Calming Rite and the Sea Eye’s divine authority ahead of time.”
“Now that the Sea Eye is in turmoil and Lord Hairuo has given no response, it is only right and proper for the Divine Maiden to preside over the rite in her stead.”
The priest of the Ritual Hall, Shui Guanlan, pondered for a moment before nodding as well.
“The priest of the Sea Affairs Hall makes a valid point.”
“The Sea-Calming Rite is, after all, an important ceremony through which the Divine Maiden establishes her authority.”
“In previous years, even when the Sea Eye was calm, the candidate for Divine Maiden still had to undergo a minor Sea-Calming Rite before succeeding, in order to demonstrate her divine nature and destiny.”
“Though the present situation is dangerous, it is also an opportunity.”
Those words were brutally practical.
The Grand Taixu Myriad Phenomena Ceremony had just ended.
Tantai Jingyue had lost to Jiang Qingwan, and rumors were already circulating inside and outside the Divine Palace.
If Tantai Jingyue could now stand in for Hairuo and suppress the disturbance in the Sea Eye, she would not only reassure the people of Cangzhou but also restore the dignity of the Divine Maiden.
It would make everyone understand that victory and defeat on the Taixu Rankings were merely a contest among the prodigies of the four provinces.
The one who truly protected Cangzhou’s waterways and suppressed the Sea Eye of the Eastern Sea was still the Divine Maiden of the Cangming Divine Palace.
The priest of the Prayer Hall, Yun Wanshuang, spoke softly.
“If the Divine Maiden presides over the Sea-Calming Rite, the faithful throughout Cangzhou will feel much more at ease.”
“What happened at the Grand Taixu Ceremony was, in the end, merely a contest between cultivators.”
“But the Sea Eye concerns the lives of countless people.”
“The common people will remember who stepped forward when the tide was about to arrive.”
Many of the priests in the hall slowly nodded.
It was precisely because every one of those words made perfect sense that Zhu Changli’s heart sank further.
Nothing they had said was wrong.
But they did not know the truth.
Tantai Jingyue was not lacking in experience.
Nor was her mind unsettled.
Her problem did not lie in her abilities at all.
It lay in her destiny.
Her divine nature was incomplete.
The part she was missing was within that little girl from Luoxia Village.
How could Tantai Jingyue pacify the sea in such a state?
At last, Zhu Changli spoke.
“I object.”
Every gaze in the hall turned toward him.
Wu Tingchao frowned.
Li Fuyuan also looked at Zhu Changli, his eyes darkening slightly.
Zhu Changli suppressed the turmoil in his heart and tried to keep his tone steady.
“Jingyue has yet to formally inherit Hairuo’s divine authority.”
“The Grand Taixu Myriad Phenomena Ceremony has only just ended. Her mind may not yet be stable.”
“The disturbance in the Sea Eye is of the utmost importance. If we rashly have her preside over the Sea-Calming Rite and something goes wrong, the consequences will be immeasurable.”
Shui Guanlan said, “The Lord of Fate’s concerns are not without reason.”
“But the Sea-Calming Rite is not something the Divine Maiden must shoulder alone.”
“The Ten Offices will assist with the rite, the High Priest will oversee it, the Sea Affairs Hall will suppress the tide, and the Ritual Hall will arrange the ceremony…”
“Each office will perform its own duty. That is precisely the safest arrangement the Divine Palace can make.”
Zhu Changli continued, “I suggest that the Ten Offices go together to the Hairuo Hall.”
“Let us request Lord Hairuo’s intervention once more.”
“If Lord Hairuo still gives no response, we can then discuss another method of pacifying the sea.”
Wu Tingchao said coldly, “Lord of Fate, the tide in the Sea Eye will not wait for us to discuss the matter again.”
He looked at Zhu Changli, his tone plainly displeased.
“The black tide in the Eastern Sea has already overflowed, and the sea level outside Yunmeng City has risen several feet.”
“If we delay any longer, every coastal city will suffer.”
Shui Guanlan added, “The Divine Maiden will have to bear this responsibility sooner or later.”
“The Divine Palace needs her now, and so does Cangzhou.”
Ling Chaosheng’s voice was even more direct.
“If the Divine Maiden does not even dare to preside over a single Sea-Calming Rite, the rumors following the Grand Taixu Ceremony will only grow worse.”
“Once the people lose faith, it will become even more difficult for the Divine Palace to suppress the panic caused by the disturbance in the Sea Eye.”
Zhu Changli fell silent.
Of course he knew that everything they had said was true.
But they did not know the real key.
Tantai Jingyue did not merely have a chance of failing.
She was fundamentally incapable of truly suppressing the Sea Eye.
At the very least, she should not be pushed before all of Cangzhou at a time like this.
But he could not say that.
Without Lord Hairuo’s permission and without any preparation, if he exposed the secret of the twin Hairuos in the Ten Offices’ council hall, he would not be saving Tantai Jingyue.
He would be overturning the entire Divine Palace on the spot.
That would unleash a calamity even more terrifying than the disturbance in the Sea Eye.
Cang Xuanzi, seated in the place of honor, had not immediately stated his position.
He looked at Zhu Changli, and his gaze gradually deepened.
Zhu Changli’s objection had come too swiftly. It did not resemble ordinary caution.
Cang Xuanzi spoke slowly.
“Zhu Changli.”
“Why are you so certain that the Divine Maiden cannot preside over the Sea-Calming Rite?”
Once again, every eye in the hall turned toward Zhu Changli.
Zhu Changli’s heart tightened.
He could only suppress his emotions and answer calmly:
“It isn’t certainty.”
“It’s that we cannot afford to gamble.”
Cang Xuanzi continued:
“If the Divine Maiden is not to preside, then who else can stand in for Hairuo and calm the sea?”
Zhu Changli had no answer.
The water lamps in the hall burned in silence.
For the first time, he felt the weight contained in the title Lord of Fate.
Lord of Fate.
Lord of Fate.
The debate did not last long.
The disturbance in the Sea Eye would wait for no one.
In the end, Cang Xuanzi raised his hand, and every voice in the hall fell silent.
The High Priest’s old yet steady voice rang throughout the main assembly hall.
“In three days, we shall hold the Sea-Calming Ritual.”
“The Divine Maiden, Tantai Jingyue, will stand in for Lord Hairuo and preside over it.”
“The Ten Offices will serve as assistant officiants.”
“All other offices will take their designated positions.”
The priests lowered their heads in unison.
“Yes.”
Cang Xuanzi’s gaze finally fell upon Zhu Changli.
“Lord of Fate.”
“During the Sea-Calming Ritual, the Divine Maiden’s fate cannot be allowed to suffer even the slightest mishap.”
“You will oversee this personally.”
Zhu Changli’s heart sank.
Of all people, it had to be him.
Of all things, he had been assigned to safeguard Tantai Jingyue’s fate.
He knew that Tantai Jingyue’s destiny was incomplete.
He also knew where the missing part lay.
Yet now, everyone was forcing him to personally send Tantai Jingyue to the Sea-Calming Ritual.
Zhu Changli lowered his eyes.
Only after a long while did he slowly accept the order.
“Yes.”
…
The meeting of the Ten Offices came to an end.
The priests departed one after another and began preparing for the Sea-Calming Ritual three days later.
Everyone set to work.
Zhu Changli alone did not return to the Hall of Fate.
He went by himself to the Hall of Listening Tides.
The air outside the hall was thick with mist.
The doors were tightly shut.
Rows of divine lamps burned before the entrance, yet their flames held no warmth. They seemed submerged beneath the depths of the sea.
Zhu Changli stood outside the hall, gazing at the closed doors without moving.
After a long time, he gathered up his ritual robes and knelt before the hall.
This time, he concealed nothing.
“Lord Hairuo.”
“I, Zhu Changli, Lord of Fate, secretly searched the old archives, traveled by night to Luoxia Village, and met in secret with Jiang Huaichao, a former member of the Divine Palace.”
His voice was quiet, but every word was pronounced with utmost clarity.
“I saw Shui Hua.”
“And I confirmed…”
He closed his eyes.
“The matter of the twin Hai Ruo.”
“This was not something I should have investigated without permission.”
“Please, Lord Hairuo, punish me.”
“But now the Sea Eye is in turmoil. The meeting of the Ten Offices has decided that, in three days, the Divine Maiden Tantai Jingyue will stand in for you and preside over the Sea-Calming Ritual.”
“The Divine Maiden’s godhood is incomplete. She absolutely cannot stand in for you to calm the sea.”
“If she is forced to take part in the ritual, she will fail.”
“The Divine Palace will descend into chaos.”
“Cangzhou will descend into chaos as well.”
At this point, a trace of urgency finally broke through his restrained voice.
“I beg you, Lord Hairuo, to intervene.”
“I beg you to issue a divine decree.”
“I beg you… to stop this.”
The Hall of Listening Tides remained tightly shut.
From within came only the sound of the tide, one wave after another.
It was like the weary, silent sigh of something.
Zhu Changli knelt there for a very long time.
Long enough for the stone steps beneath his knees to be soaked by the night dew.
Long enough for the flames within the divine lamps to dim by the slightest degree.
Hairuo still gave no response.
Zhu Changli slowly raised his head and stared at the closed doors.
At last, he realized that he could wait no longer.
If he continued to remain silent, Tantai Jingyue would fail at the Sea-Calming Ritual.
She would fall from the divine throne.
Her entire life would be ruined.
She would become, in the mouths of the people of Cangzhou, “the Divine Maiden who could not calm the sea.”
The failure of the Taixu Myriad Forms Ceremony could still be dismissed as a contest among prodigies.
But if the Sea-Calming Ritual failed, it would be proof of the Divine Maiden’s and the Divine Palace’s incompetence.
The people of Cangzhou would never forgive a Divine Maiden who could not calm the sea.
Neither would the Divine Palace.
He had to make a choice.
On one side was Shui Hua in Luoxia Village.
On the other was Tantai Jingyue.
Neither of them should have been his to choose between.
Yet fate had placed the knife in the hands of the Lord of Fate.
Zhu Changli closed his eyes.
After a long while, he slowly rose to his feet.
The doors of Hairuo’s hall remained tightly shut.
He said in a low voice:
“Lord Hairuo.”
“If this is a sin…”
“Then let me, the Lord of Fate, bear it.”
Zhu Changli turned and left the Hall of Listening Tides.
In the depths of the night, he walked toward the Divine Maiden’s Palace.
