The whole weird world is waiting for me to go to heaven

Chapter 707: A hasty conclusion
The news of the murder of the great priest Li shocked the people like a thunderbolt and caused an uproar.

But it was quiet up there.

A day later, the temple came forward to explain that the immortal body of the great priest Li was torn into pieces because of falling from a high altitude, which was purely an accident.

The matter passed.

The collapse of the Heavenly Stairs also showed that the Supreme God was unwilling to accept the coffin of the Great Priest Li, and had to bury it on the Temple Mountain.

The day after the funeral, the procession of Grand Priest Mei also left the city smoothly.

The Divine Blessing Pilgrimage of the ninth year of Jinghe officially began at this time.

……

“If we weren’t afraid of delaying the divine protection tour and causing greater disasters, perhaps we should let the Temple judge how the affairs of the great priest Li could be handled so hastily.” A fifth-rank priest shouted, dissatisfaction evident in his words.

He had a rough appearance and a voice like thunder. He didn't seem to care that this was not in the temple, but in the Purple Palace, and in front of the emperor.

Of course, the emperor did not show up as usual, but hid behind the dark veil. A bright yellow figure could be vaguely seen in the curling green smoke.

The eldest princess sat on a rosewood chair, sipping tea elegantly, seemingly indifferent to all this.

On the other side, in a higher position, sat the High Priest Lou, who was also the only High Priest still in Chang'an.

She was fiddling with some inky silk ribbon in her hand, just waiting for the farce to unfold below.

"The great priest Li was clearly murdered, and the whole world knows it. How could the Dali Temple close the case so hastily? Does this make sense?" another pot-bellied fifth-rank priest also shouted.

Dali Temple Minister An Yong bowed and answered: "This case is handled entirely based on the evidence provided by the Jinwu Guards. According to the records in the file, the great priest Li died from the backlash of his magic. The Dali Temple cannot overturn this conclusion out of thin air."

Now the ball is in the hands of the Jinwu Guards.

General Han Xuan immediately responded: "The Jinwu Guard handled this case completely impartially. Except for many areas of the temple that are not allowed to be investigated, everything that can be investigated has been investigated."

Speaking of this, the faces of several temple priests became uneasy.

Han Xuan pretended not to know and continued, "There is no sign of any invasion by outsiders, but some traces of evil energy were found... This may be related to the corpse pit on Temple Mountain..."

"Shut up!" The rough fifth-rank priest suddenly shouted angrily, "How can you tarnish the reputation of the great priest Li!"

The fat fifth-rank priest narrowed his eyes coldly and said in a drawn-out tone:
"Yes, everyone knows that General Han's position as a member of the Jinwu Guard is just due to some nepotism. His ability to handle cases... still needs to be studied. I personally think that we should not believe it completely."

This sentence directly points to a fact that is known to everyone and that Han Xuan has been unable to escape - he has a powerful wife.

Although it is far away in the north, its power is so great that even the three high priests have to give it some respect.

"No matter what, I am also the general of the Jinwu Guard. I have been loyal and dedicated to my duties and have a clear conscience." Han Xuan bowed his hands with a steady tone.

"If you are really loyal and dedicated, why do you rescue the blasphemer in private?" The elderly Dali Temple Minister suddenly asked hoarsely.

He also looked back and said, "Lin Shaoqing, tell me what you think."

Lin Shaoqing, who had been quietly standing behind, stepped forward and said respectfully, "General Han, we in the Dali Temple were ordered by the Temple to arrest blasphemers, but General Han repeatedly tried to stop us, and even put these people in jail. Later, they disappeared from the jail. What is his intention?"

This question made everyone's attention focus on Han Xuan.

From this point of view, the so-called death of the great priest Li was just a gimmick, and the real thing to argue about was this.

General Han's eyes were slightly cold, as if he knew this would happen, and he said:

"According to Tang law, if someone is found to have endangered the country or posed a serious threat to the people, he should be exiled to the northern border and be responsible for strengthening the Great Wall. Now everything I have done is in accordance with legal procedures. Why do the Dali Temple Minister and the Shaoqing seem to be unaware of this when they should have read Tang law carefully?"

After a pause, he slowly said, "Or maybe he has other intentions, and he has kept these hidden dangers to Chang'an in the Dali Temple prison... Could it be that he wants to raise evil soldiers in Chang'an?"

This is a heart-breaking statement.

Immediately, a low gasp sounded, and the atmosphere in the hall froze for a moment. An Yong immediately lowered his voice and said angrily: "Han Xuan, what can we plot? Isn't it all for the Tang Kingdom? Ahem..."

This sentence made the old man gasp for breath and almost fainted. Fortunately, Lin Shaoqing supported him and relieved the pent-up air in his chest, and he finally recovered.

A deep voice suddenly rang out from the silent veil: "Regarding the matter of the blasphemer, the Dali Temple should still follow the procedure and exile him to the northern border. Keeping him in Chang'an is not a good idea. If an outbreak occurs, there will be no way to resolve it."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole hall fell silent.

Who would have thought that the emperor, who had always been quiet and inactive, would suddenly speak?

Moreover, His Majesty continued, "Are you right, Grand Priest Lou? You are the only Grand Priest in the city now. If something goes wrong, I'm afraid..."

The great priest Lou seemed to come to his senses, put away the ink in his hand, and said slowly with a blank expression: "Your Majesty has some truth in what you said. An Qing, go with... General Han to transfer those blasphemers. Remember to move them in batches to avoid any chaos."

After he finished speaking, he glanced deeply at Han Xuan, who was keeping his head down and saying nothing.

An Yong was still angry, his face flushed and he had difficulty breathing.

Great Priest Lou stretched out his hand and flicked lightly, and a ray of divine light instantly penetrated into An Yong's body. He immediately regained his vitality, and even his old body seemed to be a little younger, with a rosy face.

He also heard what was said just now.

There is no room for argument.

So he lowered his head and replied "yes".

"Also, we were just talking about the Great Priest Li. Don't deviate from that."

The emperor's voice was heard again, fair and powerful.

"Han Xuan, what do you think?"

"In reply to your Majesty, my reasoning is very simple."

Han Xuan stepped out and bowed. This time his back seemed to have some kind of support and looked particularly straight.

"Just one sentence - according to the status and cultivation of the Great Priest Li, who in Chang'an can do something to him without anyone noticing?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes fell on the great priest Lou, and then quickly looked away.

Of course there was another one, but he just left Chang'an.

So someone suggested: "Great Priest Mei just left, he should not have gone far, why not..."

The great priest Lou looked gloomy and said, "This matter has passed. Don't let it affect the Divine Blessing Tour. Next year will be that important moment, and we must not let it go to waste."

"Isn't that right, Your Majesty?" She looked deep into the veil and asked softly.

"Of course, what Grand Priest Lou said is exactly what I want."

This sets the tone.

The emperor also said: "Regarding the new high priest, we will first list the candidates, evaluate them for a period of time, and then report to the temple after the new year."

This is also a must.

The great priest Lou had no objection: "That's natural."

The expressions of the four fifth-rank priests below all changed slightly, while Priest Yan just lowered his head and said nothing.

This morning the morning session ended.

And the news that Emperor Li Zhou seemed to intend to personally take charge of government affairs had just begun to spread out of the imperial city.

I want to speed up, but I feel like there are some things that need to be explained and laid out...