Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 452 - 446: The Fire Burns at Bright Palace [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1
"Hmm?"
Zhao Gongming was startled and turned to Yao Shaosi with a puzzled look.
He frowned and said, "Make yourself clear. What exactly happened?"
Yao Shaosi was also stunned. You’re supposed to be omniscient and infallible, so why are you asking me!?
He was taken aback, then said, "Heavenly Lord, as you anticipated, Red Boy, the Six-Eared Macaque, and the others are indeed in league. They had plotted to escape, and today, they have vanished."
Zhao Gongming grabbed Yao Shaosi’s collar. "Clarify your words! What do you mean they’ve vanished?"
His eyes blazed with murderous intent.
Yao Shaosi was terrified.
He hurriedly said, "Vanished means vanished—they’re nowhere to be found! We’ve turned the Heavenly Prison upside down and still no sign of them!"
Zhao Gongming, unable to contain his anger, quickly turned and said, "Your Majesty, I must take my leave."
Without waiting for the Jade Emperor’s consent, he turned and departed.
Yao Shaosi paid his respects to the Jade Emperor and, upon receiving a nod of approval, turned and left as well.
The Jade Emperor’s expression darkened. He ordered a handmaiden to fetch the Sky-Gazing Mirror, which could display the situation inside the Heavenly Prison.
"Zhao Gongming has been too arrogant," he remarked. "He’s so conceited that he let the prisoners escape without even realizing it."
He snorted coldly. "I hope this teaches him a lesson and makes him understand not to be so arrogant and complacent, or he will make mistakes sooner or later."
Everyone was silent.
The Jade Emperor said indifferently, "Make a note of this incident."
Then he spoke no more of the matter.
The Officials in Charge of Royal Activities had already recorded the event; the Jade Emperor, for his part, was adding Zhao Gongming’s mistake to his own little book.
Should there come a time when he needed to act against Zhao Gongming, he could use this list as justification and reason.
The Jade Emperor murmured, "How can it be that there is truly no trace of them in the Heavenly Prison? Why is that?"
Although Zhao Gongming was now in charge of the Heavenly Prison, it had, in fact, been established by the Saints. It was entrusted to the Jade Emperor to maintain balance in the Three Realms.
Thus, the Jade Emperor was quite familiar with the Heavenly Prison. Even though he had delegated its management to Zhao Gongming, he still had complete knowledge of every activity within it.
Indeed, if he so wished, he could even trap Zhao Gongming inside the prison upon his entry and never let him out.
But there was no need for that.
The Jade Emperor carefully examined the conditions within the Heavenly Prison but still found no trace of Red Boy and the others.
Initially, he had thought that Red Boy and the others had merely used Divine Power to become invisible or were hiding. He assumed they aimed to cause confusion among the prison guards before making their escape in the chaos.
Yet, now he could not find them at all, which made him doubt whether his judgment was correct.
However, even if his judgment wasn’t correct, he still felt it improbable they had escaped. He firmly believed it was impossible for Red Boy and the others to leave the Heavenly Prison.
The Heavenly Prison had been established by the collective effort of the Saints. To date, no one had escaped its confines.
Except for one. That individual, who possessed world-altering abilities, had once been locked in the Heavenly Prison. After a long period of torment, everyone had let down their guard.
Then, that person used Great Spatial Divine Power to escape directly from the Heavenly Prison.
Across all existence, fewer than three possessed Great Spatial Divine Power, and each was a figure of renown and stature.
None of them would confront him, the Jade Emperor, merely for Sha Chen’s sake.
Moreover, one among them greatly desired Sha Chen and his secrets. How could such a person abet evil by helping them!?
The Jade Emperor could not fathom how Red Boy and the others had managed to break free.
Could it truly be as Zhao Gongming suggested, an inside job in collusion with the outside?
But that was even less likely. Zhao Gongming’s perception wasn’t as far-reaching as his own; in fact, the Jade Emperor had long been monitoring everyone connected to the Heavenly Prison, both inside and out!
He kept records of and closely watched anyone who had contact with Sha Chen, or even anyone who had contact with *those* individuals.
He even had those who might have a connection with Sha Chen—like Chang E, Kui Mulang, and the Jinghe Dragon King—under surveillance, or he had directly ordered them to take leave during this period.
There was simply no way for an inside-outside collusion to exist!
Since collusion from the outside was impossible and escape from within was unthinkable, the Jade Emperor naturally concluded they were still within the Heavenly Prison. They must have created some imperceptible space to hide themselves.
Then, they would seize the opportunity to escape during the ensuing chaos!
This, he believed, was the most likely course of events.
However, despite a thorough inspection and leveraging his complete control over the Heavenly Prison, he still couldn’t discover how Red Boy and the others had escaped!
The Jade Emperor even saw that Zhao Gongming had returned to the Heavenly Prison. He was dispatching his men to search for any trace of Liuer and the others.
But they found nothing.
Zhao Gongming was roaring in anger. He summoned everyone and forbade anyone from leaving the Heavenly Prison, including his two trusted disciples!
Afterwards, he used Divine Power or sheer intimidation to pressure everyone, trying to determine if there were any spies among them, or if Red Boy and the others had transformed into one of them.
Watching this, the Jade Emperor nodded slightly. This brute still has some cunning to have thought of this.
The so-called darkest place is under the candlestick.
The Jade Emperor also suspected that Red Boy and the others might have disguised themselves as one of the many individuals in the Heavenly Prison, be they officials or prisoners.
If they weren’t hiding in some corner of the Heavenly Prison, then they might have transformed into prison personnel, appearing brazenly within!
At this moment, the Heavenly Prison was in total chaos, with the prisoners constantly causing trouble and shouting.
However, after Zhao Gongming’s return, these prisoners became much more docile. Those who remained unruly were executed on the spot by Zhao Gongming.
Zhao Gongming killed some prisoners, then began interrogating everyone, including his close subordinates.
Later, he personally left the Heavenly Prison for the Lingxiao Palace to borrow the Demon-revealing Mirror, hoping it would help find traces of Red Boy and the others.
「A day passed.」
Everyone in the Heavenly Prison had been interrogated, and the Demon-revealing Mirror had scanned almost the entire prison, yet still, no trace was found.
It seemed Liuer and the others had truly left the Heavenly Prison.
Not a person nor a trace of their presence remained.
Beyond escape, they could think of no other possibility.
The matter began to spread, and the Heavenly Court was shocked.
The Jade Emperor himself could no longer remain passive. He personally went to the Heavenly Prison, using his authority to take direct control and search it thoroughly!
After half a day, they still came up empty-handed.
Everyone was stunned and dumbfounded.
They truly couldn’t fathom how Liuer and the others had escaped. It shouldn’t have been possible, yet it had undeniably happened.
While everyone was frantically searching for the Six-Eared Macaque and the others, news arrived: the Heavenly Court’s Horse Supervision had been razed to the ground, and the Bright Palace had been set ablaze.
The Jade Emperor was furious. For someone to dare attack the Heavenly Court at such a time was utterly audacious.
Seething with anger, he ordered a thorough investigation to find out who had stabbed them in the back.
His subordinates were meekly assenting, some terrified and unsure how to proceed. The messenger who brought the report hadn’t left, still standing there, panicked and anxious.
All the immortals stared at the messengers—it was Thousand-mile Eye and Downwind Ear, the two brothers.
They were terrified and trembling.
The Jade Emperor said, "Gao brothers, why have you not withdrawn yet?"
The Gao brothers, Thousand-mile Eye and Downwind Ear, trembled and hastily said, "Your Majesty, we have more to report. It concerns the identity of those who set fire to the Bright Palace and razed the Imperial Horse Supervisor!"
Everyone was taken aback, and the Jade Emperor was also startled.
Whoever committed such a heinous crime had revealed their identity!? Such gall!
The Jade Emperor roared, "Speak! Who possesses such audacity to burn down Our Bright Palace and destroy the Heavenly Court’s Horse Supervision?!"
Trembling, Thousand-mile Eye said, "Those who committed these acts are Red Boy and the Six-Eared Macaque! The Six-Eared Macaque shattered the Imperial Horse Supervisor with a single palm strike, slaughtering numerous heavenly horses. Afterwards, they proceeded to the Bright Palace. There, Red Boy unleashed his Samadhi True Fire, burning down the palace! He then fought Heavenly Official Dou, who was stationed there, and ultimately killed him!!"
HISS!
The immortals were aghast, and the Jade Emperor was utterly dumbstruck.
Who was Heavenly Official Dou? He was the one who had replaced Wang Lingguan after his death. His power was immense, a High Order Daluo Golden Immortal!
Such a powerful expert had been killed by Red Boy.
Yet no one here had known. This demonstrated the attackers’ swiftness—fast as the wind, merciless in slaughter, quick as lightning, gone in an instant!
Red Boy and the others alone couldn’t have killed Heavenly Official Dou so quickly. It was highly probable that the Six-Eared Macaque had concealed his true strength, and they had killed Heavenly Official Dou by joining forces!!
How despicable!!
The immortals were all stunned and utterly shocked.
The Jade Emperor was so enraged he nearly stumbled, but fortunately, those beside him were quick-eyed and swift-handed, supporting him.
He roared, "Apprehend them! Apprehend all of them immediately!!!"
