Chapter 937: Second Visit to the Hall of Sinners

"Does it make a difference who goes to jail among us?" Lu Yang thought. "If you go to jail for me, Immortal, I'll still be in the mental space. It's as if jailing you means I'm no longer in the Sinner's Hall."

The Undying Immortal's willingness to take full responsibility for her actions was truly rare.

Though it was of little practical use.

It was nonetheless very rare.

"Do I also need to be imprisoned?" Bai Ye asked, taking over from True Master Zhuiyue.

"When night falls, Tree Ancestor, you may emerge," Luo Hongxia replied. Bai Ye hadn't done anything wrong, so there was no reason for him to be incarcerated.

"Oh, very well," Bai Ye assented, withdrawing and returning control of the body to True Master Zhuiyue.

"Tree Ancestor, please wait," Luo Hongxia called out, stopping the Tree Ancestor. "There is one more matter that requires your consent."

"What is it?"

"Previously, we were unaware that you possessed sentience, Tree Ancestor. The Immortal Palace has been felling and selling moon laurel trees without seeking your permission, and we are deeply remorseful. These moon laurel trees are your property, and the spirit stones obtained from their sale rightfully belong to you. Please inform us when you first gained sentience, so the Immortal Palace can accurately calculate the spirit stones to be returned."

Bai Ye found Luo Hongxia's explanation a little difficult to grasp, but he understood the gist: she intended to give him spirit stones.

"Spirit stones are of no use to me. You may keep them. As for felling and selling the trees, please continue as you always have."

"Your benevolence is truly appreciated, Tree Ancestor," Luo Hongxia said with a bow.

The moment the Moon Laurel Tree Ancestor gained sentience and became a "person," ownership of the Great Snow Mountain's moon laurel trees transferred from the Immortal Palace to Bai Ye. However, since the Immortal Palace was unaware of Bai Ye's existence at that time, their felling and selling of the trees lacked criminal intent and therefore did not constitute a crime.

Now that the Immortal Palace is aware of Bai Ye's existence, they cannot fell or sell moon laurel trees without his explicit consent.

The Sinner's Hall.

"Palace Master, what brings you here?" Elder Moran, clad in a black lotus-patterned dress, asked with surprise.

Even more surprising was that Luo Hongxia had brought two young children with her.

"You have children?"

As the overseer of the Sinner's Hall, Elder Moran rarely had the chance to leave, and thus remained unaware of recent external events.

Instantly, she imagined a scenario: Luo Hongxia and Daoist Buyu had secretly developed feelings for each other. However, Daoist Buyu, having many enemies, couldn't publicize their romance, forcing them to meet in secret, eventually even having two children. Now that Daoist Buyu had ascended to the Tribulation Transcending stage and feared no enemies, Luo Hongxia finally felt bold enough to announce their relationship, taking their children to meet everyone...

Luo Hongxia's eye twitched, sensing that Junior Sister Moran's gaze was rather peculiar.

Junior Sister Moran had always possessed a vivid imagination, and Luo Hongxia wondered what new fantastical scenario she was concocting in her mind.

"Recently, some unexpected incidents occurred in the Immortal Palace, causing all the disciples, including Lu Yang, to shrink in size. This little one is Lu Yang."

"That's quite astonishing!"

"So, is Lu Yang here to visit the Sinner's Hall again?"

"He's planning to stay for five days."

Elder Moran paused, then grasped Luo Hongxia's implication.

"You're truly planning to emulate your master and serve a stint in our Sinner's Hall."

Lu Yang was speechless.

"Elder Moran, you must have misunderstood something about me," Lu Yang thought.

"And who might this be?"

"Her identity is inconvenient to disclose. You only need to know that she committed theft. Due to special circumstances, she is confined to the Sinner's Hall during the day but is permitted free movement at night."

True Master Zhuiyue, mindful of her image, wished to keep her transformation into a small girl a secret from outsiders, hence her request for Luo Hongxia's discretion.

"A privileged inmate?" Elder Moran, having guarded the Sinner's Hall for a millennium, had never encountered a prisoner with such freedom.

Luo Hongxia was speechless.

"How am I supposed to explain this?" she wondered. "In a sense, she truly is a privileged inmate."

Typically, Elder Moran would be responsible for incarcerating inmates, but since Luo Hongxia had come in person, Elder Moran decided to let the Palace Master handle this important task herself.

As they stepped inside the Sinner's Hall, they heard Qu Ling's voice, brimming with resentment: "My dear disciple, I can't believe you have the audacity to show your face here again!"

"To dare to imprison your own master — what an act of utter defiance!"

"Silence!" True Master Zhuiyue snapped, visibly displeased. "Even *I* have to come in when I make a mistake! Who do you think you are?"

Normally, if anyone dared to speak to Qu Ling in such a manner, she would have erupted in a furious rage. Yet, for reasons unknown, being reprimanded by this small figure instilled in her an instinctive sense of dread, preventing her from retaliating.

"Who are you?" Qu Ling eyed True Master Zhuiyue with a mix of surprise and uncertainty, utterly perplexed as to why she felt afraid of this young girl.

"You are not worthy of knowing."

"You!"

Luo Hongxia cast a sidelong glance at Qu Ling. "Out of respect for you as my master, I offer you a word of advice: treat this person with respect, or you will have deep regrets later."

Qu Ling merely snorted, saying nothing further.

"Are you... Daoist Lu Yang?" Xue Shilou rubbed his eyes, wondering if his recent bloodline awakening was causing his vision to blur.

Just a few days ago, Daoist Lu Yang was over a meter tall; now he seemed to have shrunk to barely a meter.

Lu Yang inwardly groaned, realizing he had forgotten this detail. He had intended to keep his reduced size a secret, but now Xue Shilou, an outsider, was aware.

The Undying Immortal coughed, trying to help Lu Yang maintain his dignity in front of outsiders: "Ahem, I am currently cultivating the Immortal Longevity Art, and a minor mishap occurred during practice. For a few days each year, I temporarily shrink. The outside world is too dangerous, with too many enemies, so I come to the Sinner's Hall to seek a bit of peace and quiet."

"Ah, I see," Xue Shilou said, enlightened. "Then Daoist Lu Yang, you must still be careful when cultivating. That technique sounds quite perilous."

"Is that really true?" Xuanyuan Tianhen asked, looking unconvinced.

"Of course it's true," the Undying Immortal stated casually, attempting to project the air of a Ministry of Punishments official inspecting prison conditions. However, Lu Yang's diminutive stature meant that no expression or posture could convey such an imposing demeanor.

The inmate Lu Yang had previously seen, who was incarcerated in the Sinner's Hall for theft, had already been released after serving their sentence, conveniently vacating a space for True Master Zhuiyue.

The Undying Immortal was housed in the cell next to True Master Zhuiyue's.

The Undying Immortal made her bed, then gleefully jumped onto it, a sense of familiarity washing over her.

"It feels just like I'm in the mental space," she remarked.

"Well, not entirely. The bed in the mental space is still more comfortable."

The Undying Immortal closed her eyes, her consciousness shifting back to the mental space.

"Xiao Yangzi, come on, let's have a snowball fight!"

Lu Yang sighed. "Immortal, it makes no difference whether you're in jail or not."

He had previously complained that the Sinner's Hall imprisoned cultivators of too low a rank. Now, it was high enough, with even Immortals entering its confines.

"Master, Lu Yang vanished after passing the hot springs. Has something happened to him?" Lan Ting asked, worriedly approaching Luo Hongxia after not seeing Lu Yang for a full day and night.

"...It's not exactly an 'incident,' but he is currently residing in the Sinner's Hall."

"Huh? That's not an incident?" Lan Ting exclaimed. Then, she understood: it was because he had inadvertently entered the hot springs.

She was certain that Senior Brother Lu Yang must have had his reasons for acting as he did.

"If you wish to see him, you may visit him in the Sinner's Hall," Luo Hongxia replied, feeling that this "good disciple" was beyond hope and might as well be given to the Wen Dao Sect.