(1) Brought to Justice

On the road back to Gu City, Rong Heng and Yinglan could hardly have dreamed that Ziyuan would appear before them without a word of warning, with Mo Ying trailing at his back. Rong Heng had been to the Celestial Court only once, and did not know Mo Ying well — among the Celestial Court's many princes he had met him but the once in passing. Ziyuan, however, was another matter entirely: he was the prince the Celestial Sovereign prized above all others, the most conspicuous presence in the whole of the Celestial Court. How could Rong Heng fail to know him on sight?

　　"Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince..." Rong Heng started at the sight of him.

　　"Elder Brother... Tenth Brother..." Yinglan cried out at the same moment, and warily pulled Rong Heng behind her.

　　"So you still remember you have a brother? I thought you'd lost all feeling for your own kin, running off to consort with a little demon." Seeing this, Mo Ying flared with anger and leapt furiously in front of Yinglan to lay into her.

　　"How dare you, insolent golden-winged bird-demon, take the Celestial Court's Eleventh Princess hostage?"

　　"Which of your eyes saw him take me hostage? Don't slander a man with bare-faced lies!" Yinglan, indignant, squared off against Mo Ying without a second thought.

　　"And so what if he's a demon? Does an honest, upstanding demon offend you somehow?"

　　"Enough!" Seeing the two of them squabbling, Ziyuan barked out a rebuke.

　　"If you do not return to the Celestial Court, do you mean to drag the demon clan down with you? The Celestial Court's armies are already encamped outside Gu City. Would you rather watch the demon clan's blood run in rivers? Or see both clans broken in ruinous war?" Ziyuan's face hardened, stern.

　　"Father raised an army over so small a matter — the fault is entirely his own overreaching. If anyone wants to see the demon clan's blood flow, it's him, not me."

　　"Silence!" Ziyuan's displeasure showed plainly now, a shadow of anger crossing his face.

　　"As the Eleventh Princess of the Celestial Court, to speak ill of your father the Sovereign — what crime is that, do you suppose? And rather than reflect on your own wrongdoing, you argue back with such conviction — what manner of conduct is this?"

　　Ziyuan flung his sleeve back, his anger rare enough to startle Yinglan into silence at once. At this, Rong Heng stepped around Yinglan from behind, walked up before Ziyuan, folded his hands, and knelt.

　　"Whatever wrong I have done, let me alone bear its weight. I beg Your Highness and the Celestial Sovereign to be merciful, and not let your anger fall upon the demon clan." He knocked his head to the ground three times, then continued: "The night the birthday feast ended, the Princess disguised herself as my attendant and left the Celestial Court together with my father and me. I knew full well who she was, yet pretended ignorance — which is as good as helping her flee in secret. Seeing her happy and carefree in the mortal world and the demon realm, I too was glad in my heart, and so I stayed at her side the whole way, helping her evade the Celestial Court's pursuers. This fault is mine. I beg Your Highness to punish me for it."

　　"Rong Heng..." Seeing him step forward to take the blame upon himself, Yinglan tugged frantically at the hem of his robe.

　　"None of this is your fault... My father has three thousand beauties in his harem and children past counting — does he even care about me? The Celestial Court is a joyless place. Is it truly a fault that I left it to see the world a little? There is nothing the Celestial Court lacks except broken rules by the score. I was the one who turned my back on that place first. You looked after me the whole way — what fault is there in that?"

　　"Only those of great and abundant fortune are ever born into the Celestial Clan. Think how many souls across the Three Realms long for such fortune and never attain it — and you cast it aside like a worn-out shoe, calling it joyless? Truly, born into blessing and blind to it!" Mo Ying could not help bursting out again to scold Yinglan.

　　"I have only ever heard that water flows downhill while men climb toward the heights. And here is the Eleventh Princess of the Celestial Court, of all people, yearning for the depths — worse, it seems, than any mere mortal."

　　At these words from Mo Ying, Yinglan's own temper caught fire.

　　"Who's high and who's low? You're the one with eyes that judge by rank..."

　　"Tenth Brother! Silence!" With the two of them on the verge of open combat, Ziyuan's brow furrowed, his expression darkening. Yet his attention remained fixed on Rong Heng.

　　Rong Heng, in a moon-white long robe cinched at the waist with an ink-black sash neither too tight nor too loose, showed off a powerfully built frame. Golden-winged bird-demons were by nature fierce and violent, yet nothing of that temperament could be sensed in him — beyond a well-tempered vigor, what showed most in the play of his brow and eyes was a settled resolve. He was the son the demon king Rong Yin was proudest of, graceful in every exchange, his cultivation already surpassing what his years would suggest — which was precisely why he had been allowed to show his face at the Celestial Sovereign's birthday feast. And yet his very first appearance at the Celestial Court had landed him in a disaster of this magnitude; no doubt Rong Yin's head was aching fiercely over it.

　　"You admit your guilt?" Ziyuan studied Rong Heng intently, his expression unreadable.

　　"I do."

　　"Do you understand that returning to the Celestial Court to accept punishment may well destroy your entire cultivation — and worse, may cost you your life?"

　　"I did not know it before. Now I do." Rong Heng's face was set, resolute.

　　"So long as Your Highness spares the demon clan, I am willing to return with you to the Celestial Court and accept whatever punishment is due."

　　"Have you lost your mind?" Seeing this, Yinglan was frantic as an ant on a hot skillet, pulling at Rong Heng's robe.

　　"I forbid you to go." She stamped her foot in desperation.

　　"That Rong Heng has had the good fortune to spend these days at the Princess's side is already more than enough to content him. The Princess is of noble, exalted birth — even if foolish hopes ever rose in my heart, they were always in vain. This much is enough... Rong Heng dares ask for nothing more..." As he spoke, a bitter ache rose in his chest; he gently patted the hand clutching his robe, and murmured gentle words to comfort Yinglan.

　　"I won't have it..." Yinglan burst into desperate sobs, and with a thud dropped to her knees before him.

　　"This is my fault. You should not be the one to bear it." In no time at all, Yinglan's tears were falling like rain.

　　"I will go with my brother back to the Celestial Court to receive my punishment. You... you... go back... to Gu City..." Yinglan was already crying too hard to finish her sentences properly.

　　"You are a demon. Even... the Celestial Clan... can barely... barely... endure... such punishment... If you go... there is only... only... death waiting... I... I... forbid... you to go."

　　"It was Rong Heng, lost in delusion and vain longing, who let himself blunder from one folly into the next, until both clans stood with swords drawn. My father worked so hard to build this friendship with the Celestial Clan — it must not be destroyed for the sake of my own selfish feelings. If sacrificing myself alone can dissolve this conflict, then it is Rong Heng's duty, and none can take it from him." Rong Heng took up Yinglan's hand and spoke slowly, without haste.

　　Ziyuan studied the young man before him carefully, and felt within himself a quiet admiration. Though he had lost his head a little, blinded for a time by first love, and committed his share of foolishness, here was still a fine young talent — one who knew how to take responsibility and where to yield. Even in a moment like this he showed no panic, his manner calm and composed; small wonder his father doted on him so. Ziyuan was about to speak further when suddenly a gust of wind whipped up a blinding storm of sand across the sky, and through it came Rong Yin with his men, who seized Rong Heng by the arm and hauled him up, snarling, "Come with me, now!"

　　Caught off guard by Rong Yin's sudden appearance, Rong Heng froze for an instant before being dragged away, as Rong Yin tried to use the cover of the swirling sand to flee back toward Gu City. But he did not reckon on Ziyuan's clear Celestial Sight, which the driving sand could not obscure in the least. With two fingers of his right hand tracing a small circle in the air, Ziyuan cast a binding spell that froze in place the men Rong Yin had brought to cover his retreat, leaving them unable to move a muscle. Ziyuan instructed Mo Ying to keep watch over Yinglan, then set off swiftly after the father and son.

　　Rong Heng, coming to his senses, strained with all his strength to break free of Rong Yin's grip, but Rong Yin's power far exceeded his own, and try as he might he could not shake loose. He had no choice but to plead with him gently.

　　"Father, think again! Your son may escape for a moment, but not forever. Having done wrong, I should have the courage to bear it — I must not let the whole demon clan pay the price in my place. You are my father, but you are also the Demon King. To let private feeling override public duty — this you must never do."

　　"Unfilial wretch! You still dare say such things?" Rong Yin's temper ran hot; this son of his had always known when to advance and when to yield, always acted without a shred of hesitation, and so had earned his deep trust — which was precisely why he had failed to notice, until now, that his son had been secretly shielding the Celestial Court's Eleventh Princess, letting matters spiral to this irreversible point, until regret came too late.

　　"You know it was wrong, and still you did it? Is that not deliberate defiance? Get back home, I'll beat the life out of you!"

　　"Father..."

　　Before Rong Heng could say more, Ziyuan appeared, stepping past the two of them.

　　"Demon King, a moment." Ziyuan turned to face them both, unhurried.

　　"Since death awaits either way, why not grant your son's wish and let him go to the Celestial Court to receive his punishment?"

　　Clearly Ziyuan had heard every word of Rong Yin's tirade against his son.

　　"I had long heard that His Highness Ziyuan's cultivation runs deep and true. Meeting you today, I find the report was no exaggeration."

　　As Demon King, Rong Yin's own cultivation stood at the very pinnacle of the demon realm — even Celestial beings of lesser attainment fell far short of him, and as for a green newcomer like Rong Heng, ordinary celestial soldiers and generals were no match for him at all, let alone the Demon King himself. And yet Ziyuan had broken free, without the least apparent effort, of the storm of sand meant to entangle him and the considerable number of demon subordinates set against him, and had then overtaken the pair to bar their way — without even trying particularly hard, Ziyuan had delivered Rong Yin a resounding wake-up call. The gap between their cultivations was not a matter of a hair's breadth, and this nameless pressure bearing down on him told Rong Yin, in no uncertain terms, that this did not bode well.

　　"The Celestial Court's great army is already encamped outside Gu City, and war between our two clans hangs by a thread. This Prince has no love for bloodshed, and wishes only for peace under Heaven. Your son, unafraid of death, has shown uncommon courage, and with the greater good of both clans in mind, has no wish to spark a war either — he is willing to go to the Celestial Court and submit himself for judgment. The Demon King is a man of wisdom; surely he can see clearly where right and priority lie."

　　"Pity the hearts of parents everywhere — to go to the Celestial Court for punishment, is that not simply to take my son's life?" Rong Yin, unwilling to give up, pressed his case once more; whatever else, a son's one life was a treasure beyond price, not something to be given up lightly.

　　"What parent could watch their child walk to his death and feel nothing? I beg Your Highness to be merciful, and grant my son a path to live." Rong Yin released Rong Heng, folded both hands, and bowed deeply to Ziyuan.

　　"As the saying goes, without rules nothing can be made square or round. The Celestial Court has its laws — does the demon clan not have its own as well? The demon clan's rules are none of the Celestial Court's business to comment on, and so long as each realm of the Three Realms keeps to its own place, the Celestial Court's many rules are likewise none of your concern. But this matter, unfortunately, touches the Celestial Court's Eleventh Princess, and your son has more than once deceived the men the Celestial Court sent to find her. Rong Heng is your beloved son, just as the Princess is my father's beloved daughter — as fathers we feel much the same. Otherwise he would never have sent this Prince to lead an army in search of her. I am not my father the Sovereign; I cannot promise you Rong Heng's pardon. I ask the Demon King's understanding." As he spoke, Ziyuan returned the bow, folding his hands to Rong Yin as well.

　　The Demon King's words were gracious enough on the surface, but in secret he was already working a spell, trying with all his effort — though he well knew he was no match for Ziyuan — to send Rong Heng back to Gu City. Yet however many times he tried, nothing came of it; every casting of his simply vanished without a trace, like a drop of water swallowed by the sea. A chill of alarm shot through him; he looked up and opened his own Celestial Sight, and broke out in a cold sweat. All around him shimmered a flowing golden light — Ziyuan had, without so much as a ripple, already laid down an unbreakable barrier. No wonder nothing he cast could carry his son away. He had long heard that Ziyuan's cultivation ran deep, but having never crossed blades with him, he had had no way to gauge its true measure; today, in the span of a single moment, he found himself utterly outmatched, his weakness laid bare. Only then did he understand Ziyuan's generosity — the Prince had built him a graceful way to step down without losing all face. He had lost the substance of the matter, but Ziyuan had not stinted him the appearance of dignity. Ziyuan had no wish to spark open war, and taking Rong Heng away was a necessary choice; he could easily have simply seized him by force, yet instead chose the course that let Rong Yin keep the most dignity while also defusing the danger of war between their peoples. This was the whole of Ziyuan's careful intent.

　　"Your Highness speaks the plain truth..." Rong Yin, knowing the tide could not be turned, sighed, and helplessly asked Ziyuan whether he might accompany his son to the Celestial Court.

　　"Whether he is injured or dies, his father ought to be there — and if there is a body to collect, someone must be there to do it... Your Highness has no power to grant my son pardon, but surely you can permit a father the small mercy of accompanying his son to trial and to punishment?" Rong Yin's heart had gone to ash; knowing Rong Heng's fate today was sealed, he sighed again, his voice hollow.

　　"After you, Demon King." Ziyuan raised his hand, and the barrier fell away at once.

　　"We return to the camp first. Once the army breaks camp, we will go back to the Celestial Court together. This Prince will not use the demon-binding rope — the Demon King's word is worth a thousand pieces of gold, and he will surely keep faith rather than flee in secret."

　　"Yes." Rong Yin answered with careful deference.

　　Ziyuan's tone had been gentle throughout, yet beneath it lay both the soft hand and the iron fist. Rong Yin knew well that under Ziyuan's watchful eye there was no advantage to be gained, and with his own son now standing apart from him in heart, all that was left was to bow his head and behave.

　　They walked the rest of the way in silence, father and son ahead, Ziyuan following behind — outwardly as if he treated them with all courtesy, in truth as if he held them both on a leash. Rong Yin had grievances enough but nowhere to voice them, and could only bow his head and follow Ziyuan silently back to camp, where they rejoined Mo Ying and Yinglan, and set out with the great army on the road back to the Celestial Court.