Yan's fingers curled.
A flash of memory struck her.
A hall brighter than this one.
Blood on white robes.
Her knees hitting cold stone.
Voices above her.
Not worried.
Annoyed.
"She is too weak."
"Her body is unworthy of the title."
"Perhaps this is the karmic result of her parents' sins."
The memory vanished.
Yan swayed.
Jin Liwei's hand lifted.
He stopped before touching her.
That restraint — again — steadied her more than touch might have.
She breathed in.
Slowly.
Lu Si Cheng's voice lowered.
"When she collapsed, some among you called her broken body proof of sin."
The court went deathly silent.
Even Song Byin lowered his eyes.
Lu Si Cheng looked toward the elderly official who had spoken earlier.
"Do you remember who said it first?"
The elderly official's face drained of color.
"My lord…"
"Do you?"
His lips trembled. "I was not the only one."
"No," Lu Si Cheng said. "You were merely the first."
A murmur died before it fully formed.
Yan stared at the old man.
She did not know him.
But her fear knew him.
The realization was cold and ugly.
Lu Si Cheng turned slightly, his robes moving like still water.
"When Bai Qiuran arrived that day, he did not ask who approved the ceremony. He did not ask who signed the order. He did not ask who spoke first."
The name moved through the court like a blade.
Bai Qiuran.
Yan's father.
Several officials went pale.
"He drew his sword," Lu Si Cheng said. "And before I reached this hall, three divine formations had already shattered."
Jin Qiang snorted. "Only three because the fourth one ran out of stones."
No one laughed.
Except Ye Tianxin, softly.
Lu Si Cheng did not correct him.
"Had I arrived later, many seats in this court would still be empty."
The elderly official sat down without permission.
No one rebuked him.
Lu Si Cheng's gaze moved to Song Byin.
"And Xiuying?"
At the name, the air changed.
Not violently.
Colder.
The kind of cold that belonged beneath the earth.
Jin Fen stopped breathing for half a second.
Ran's expression lost its humor.
Huan Mei's eyes softened with something like respect.
Lu Si Cheng said, "Yan's mother did not rage in this hall. She did not raise her voice. She walked through the underworld and wrote down every name connected to the order."
One official's hand shook.
"She marked their karmic ledgers herself."
Yan did not understand the full meaning.
But the court did.
Fear spread faster than whispers.
Lu Si Cheng continued, "For three hundred years, every tribulation they faced came without warning. Every soul debt they hid returned with interest. Every blessing they tried to pass to their descendants cracked before reaching the bloodline."
His eyes became colder.
"That was mercy."
Song Byin's daughter had gone completely pale beside him.
Yan noticed her still staring at Jin Liwei, but now even that gaze had fear beneath it.
Mo Zun finally spoke.
"My lord, no one denies that mistakes were made in the past."
"Mistakes?" Huan Mei said.
The single word was soft.
The court flinched anyway.
Mo Zun bowed slightly. "Grave mistakes. But today's matter is different. The court is not asking to harm Goddess Yan. We are asking to prevent further disturbance."
Another official rose quickly, encouraged by Mo Zun's calm.
"If the Goddess of Reincarnation remains unstable, the wheel itself may be affected."
A second added, "If her seal continues to awaken without guidance, lesser realms may suffer."
A third said, "The court cannot simply trust emotion. Law exists because even powerful beings must be restrained."
Jin Qiang smiled.
It was not pleasant.
"Good. Then start by restraining your mouths."
"God of Destruction!"
"What?" Jin Qiang spread his hands. "You said powerful beings should be restrained. I am agreeing."
Ran coughed delicately.
Jin Fen looked deeply inspired.
Mo Zun ignored them and looked at Lu Si Cheng.
"My lord, the issue remains. A report was submitted. Evidence has not appeared. A mortal fire occurred. A divine seat awakened. If this court does nothing, we fail our duty."
Yan listened.
This was different from before.
Mo Zun was not shouting dignity like the others.
He was gathering their noise into one clean blade.
A final decision.
Lu Si Cheng saw it too.
"Speak plainly, then."
Mo Zun bowed.
"Until the accusations are proven, Goddess Yan's reincarnation seal should be inspected under court supervision. If her authority cannot stabilize, the remaining twenty-four cycles must proceed according to the Heavenly Pact."
The words struck Yan like cold water.
Twenty-four cycles.
Twenty-four more deaths.
Under their supervision.
The silver mark on her wrist burned.
Her legs weakened.
For one moment, the hall blurred.
A child running through snow.
A bride in burning red.
A prisoner laughing before the blade.
A mother reaching for a child she could not save.
Twenty-four more.
And this time, if her soul was unstable…
She might not return.
The thought did not come from memory.
It came from instinct.
A soul could only fracture so many times before the pieces stopped recognizing each other.
Yan's breath trembled.
Jin Liwei's voice cut through the roaring in her ears.
"No."
One word.
The entire court felt it.
Mo Zun did not look at him. "God of Death, this is not a personal matter."
Jin Liwei's eyes darkened. "You are asking to place her seal under the hands of the same court accused of feeding from it. That is personal enough."
The red seal at his throat glowed faintly.
Yan saw it.
Her pain had once crossed that seal. He had taken half of it without asking for gratitude. Without demanding trust.
Ran's sleeve pressed gently against Yan's fingers.
Not holding.
Just there.
Huan Mei stood behind her like a wall of blue silk and disaster.
Jin Qiang's aura rolled low and furious, but held back by discipline and his wife's presence.
Ye Tianxin watched the court with narrowed eyes, already calculating.
Lu Si Cheng stood before them all.
Her master.
Her master, whose name her mouth did not remember but whose presence her soul leaned toward like a wounded child toward home.
Yan closed her eyes for one breath.
Fear from the officials.
Strength from the people around her.
Both were real.
But only one was hers to choose.
She opened her eyes.
Mo Zun was still speaking.
"If there is evidence, present it. If there is a witness, summon them. If there is truth, let the Heavenly Pact hear it. But until then, the court cannot allow an unstable divine authority to move freely while accusations threaten the order of the realms."
Silence followed.
It was a trap.
Yan understood that much.
The officials had dressed fear in law, greed in stability, and cruelty in procedure.
Lu Si Cheng slowly lifted his hand.
The golden tablets brightened.
The Heavenly Pact was listening.
But before he could speak, Ye Tianxin stepped forward.
His fan snapped shut.
"Then let us discuss balance."