Yin Feixue slung an arm over Xue Cuo’s shoulder, clearly delighted by whatever thought had struck him. “Come now. Let’s share a bed tonight and talk till dawn.”
Xue Cuo pushed away Yin Feixue’s furry paw. “Your Majesty’s kindness is noted, but I’m not fond of sleeping. Perching on the mast for a night suits me well enough.”
The two of them jostled about atop the mast, shoving back and forth.
Below, the little demons craned their necks, clutching wine jars, their eyes stinging from the sea wind.
They exchanged bewildered looks. One piped up, “What do we do now?”
The crow spirit flapped its wings, croaking twice. “Clear off, clear off. Let’s go back to drinking.”
Before long, the two figures on the mast had vanished.
Xue Cuo stood outside the cabin door.
He had no intention of humouring Yin Feixue, but the tiger was somehow aware of Xue Cuo’s curiosity. He had murmured something in his ear.
Clutching his wine jar, Xue Cuo narrowed his eyes. “Truly?”
Yin Feixue arched a brow. “When have I ever lied to you?”
Xue Cuo gave a dismissive snort, took a swig from the jar, wiped his mouth, and muttered, “I’ve no interest in watching.”
“In that case, I’ll go back down for a drink.”
Xue Cuo lifted his wine jar in farewell. “Safe journey.”
He had taken only a few steps when Yin Feixue suddenly turned. “Xue Yinbing, don’t tell me you truly dislike the demon clan?”
Dislike the demon clan? How did that arise?
Xue Cuo merely frowned and stayed silent.
The sight only worsened Yin Feixue’s irritation, though being born free-spirited, he refused to press him.
“I’m going.”
He had just stepped away when he halted, slowly turning back. A pale, slender hand was tugging the hem of his robe.
Lowering his gaze, he found Xue Cuo gripping his clothes with one hand, head bowed. With the other, he raised the wine jar for another swallow, then wiped his face. “Go.”
Yin Feixue’s ears twitched.
Silence lay behind the door. Xue Cuo, tipsy from the wind, perched on the railing, hair drifting like loose threads.
Creak—
The door, shut tight a moment ago, swung open. Xue Cuo cast a slow glance over the figure within, raised his wine jar, and drank.
“Well? It’s not warm without fur. Come then, let’s talk through the night.”
A hand emerged from the room. It was long-fingered, smooth as jade, unmistakably a man’s, devoid of the tiger’s snowy fur.
He leaned forward. A flash of silver hair, silk-bright, and a profile like sculpted stone swept past. He seized Xue Cuo’s wine jar along with Xue Cuo along and hauled him bodily inside, slamming the door after them.
The cabin lamps flared.
Light spilled over the sea, laying down a soft, glowing sheen. No outsider could see a thing.
They sat opposite each other, drinking in turn. Their cups met with a clear chime. Yin Feixue said: “To the Great Dao,”
A moment passed. The casual, beautiful silhouette reflected upon the water raised its cup in return, lightly touching Yin Feixue’s. “To Your Majesty.”
They drank until they were thoroughly drunk.
During a lull, the great ship lurched violently. Somewhere on deck, a demon shouted, “Something under the ship! Light the torches!”
“Monkey Three, Monkey Four. Arms out! Anyone who dares harm the sons of Tiandu City shall pay dearly!”
“Fetch the King!”
“Look! His Majesty’s over there!”
Xue Cuo staggered drunkenly; Yin Feixue was even worse, reeling with heroic enthusiasm. Hearing the commotion, the pair flew straight out of the cabin. Beneath the water lurked a massive creature. It was some sort of fish that was drawn by the torchlight. It opened its maw wide, intent on swallowing the vessel whole.
Yin Feixue wavered, drew his black blade, and leapt into the sea. The little demons crowded the rails, plunging in after him like dumplings. “This is the end! His Majesty can’t swim! Quickly, save the tiger!”
Xue Cuo squinted blearily. All at once, three or four small boats burst from the water, bristling with shrimp soldiers and crab generals. At their head stood a tiny turtle holding a water-staff. “This is a robbery!”
“Hand over a hundred thousand spirit stones, or we’ll sink your ship and slaughter the lot of you!”
The demons would not stand for such insolence. Weapons were seized; squads formed… five to a team, ten in a line. Their leader, brimming with martial vigour, brandished his magic weapon and roared, “Rob us, will you? Men! At my command!”
The little turtle hopped furiously. “Don’t refuse a toast only to drink a penalty! And do your homework. This sea bears our name!”
“Release the fish!”
The giant creature surged up, striking the ship. But did not connect. It looked up in confusion.
The entire vessel glowed with talisman-light and floated serenely above the waves.
“Who’s helping us?”
The demons followed the trail of light, then looked up to the young man in blue at the mast… and erupted: “It’s King Xue!”
With no need to hold back, Yin Feixue let loose entirely. It wasn’t long before—
A great fish burst from the sea with a pitiful cry, flinging an avalanche of small fish and shrimp onto the deck. It transformed into a burly, battered man, trembling behind the little turtle, covered in wounds.
“Tiger. T-there’s a tiger in the water…”
Realising they had encountered a true menace, the turtle panicked and urged his men to withdraw at once.
“Trying to flee?”
Yin Feixue shook the water from his hair and leapt onto the shrimp soldiers’ deck. Blade-light surged in every direction, flattening them in droves.
At that instant, a blue figure landed beside him. Both men reeked of strong wine. Xue Cuo swayed, bracing one hand on the little turtle’s shoulder.
Yin Feixue pressed his blade to the turtle’s neck, smiling without warmth. “Hand over everything you’ve got. Delay even a breath, and I’ll take your life.”
The shrimp soldiers gaped, the turtle turned ashen.
The other human took a leisurely sip of wine, pressed the jar to a shrimp soldier’s forehead, and murmured, half a beat behind, “This is a robbery.”
The shrimp soldier: “…”
The great ship returned triumphant, laden to the brim.
On the beach, the little turtle and the disarmed shrimp soldiers and crab generals wept as though their hearts were breaking. Ten years’ worth of savings… all gone. How could he face his ancestors now? When would he ever gather the materials needed to break the Dragon Palace’s seal?
“Ancestor!”
The little turtle wept until he was hiccupping, then suddenly sprang to his feet and bolted for the sea. He slid along the beach on his knees, carving two long tracks in the sand.
He snatched out the dragon pearl and hurled it into the waves, sobbing, “Where exactly is this opportunity you spoke of? Stop talking in riddles. I can’t understand you. Draw me a picture instead, wuuuuu—”
The sea shimmered. A faint silhouette surfaced upon the rippling light: a figure in blue, seated atop the mast.
The little turtle hurriedly rubbed his eyes and peered. When he made out the shape clearly, he brightened at once, wiping his tears and springing upright. “Green robes! We need to find someone in green!”
The dragon pearl rolled out of the water, dumbstruck by this declaration. After a long moment, it gave a faint crack, a tiny fissure splitting across its surface as it wilted in despair.
On the other side of the beach, the demons were beside themselves with joy, rolling about in an enormous heap of spirit stones and treasures.
Xue Cuo narrowed his eyes, swaying, close to toppling over. The drunkenness had hit him completely; his eyelids barely held themselves open.
“Xue Yinbing.”
“Hm?”
He turned… and suddenly felt weightless. The world spun. Instinctively he reached out to steady himself, grasping a handful of smooth, cool silk. It was silver, gleaming faintly beneath the moonlight.
He lifted his eyes.
Silver hair. Golden eyes. Too bright. Too sharp.
Seeing him drunk and dazed, on the verge of pitching into the sea, Yin Feixue simply scooped him up and tossed him into his den, then flopped down beside him. The two of them fell fast asleep in a heap.
They slept for three whole days.
Three days later.
Xue Cuo woke with a pounding headache. A huge white tiger lay sprawled across the bed, fluffy chest exposed, limbs thrown wide, tail dangling over the edge as it hooked a wine jar, muttering in its dreams.
Xue Cuo listened for a moment… then his expression darkened.
He fished out the paper dolls Xiaojia and Xiaoyi, sketched talismans onto them, and tapped his fingers together. “Rise.”
By the time Xiaojia and Xiaoyi had finished their chores, Xuan Zhao’s voice echoed out suddenly: “Awake?”
Xue Cuo jolted. He gulped a mouthful of tea and, feeling vaguely guilty, asked, “Master Xuan… how many days has it been?”
“Three days.”
“Three days. We should be near Qianyun City, then.” Xue Cuo thought for a bit, took up his brush, and drew several more talismans. Without gold ink he had to settle for ordinary ink.
Once they were done, he left them beside Yin Feixue, donned his bamboo hat, and leapt straight out of the window.
“You’re just going to run?” Xuan Zhao asked.
Xue Cuo yawned, stepped lightly onto the sail using the Supreme Freedom Technique, and looked ahead. Qianyun City lay just beyond. He stretched lazily. “I’ve proper business to attend to. Mountains and rivers will meet at some point; fate will bring us together again.”
“Oh, and Master Xuan. Why are you speaking in such… clipped phrases?”
Xue Cuo coughed twice. “Don’t tell me you’ve been punished by Her Ladyship?”
Xuan Zhao chose to remain silent. “….”
Xue Cuo used a talisman to drift ashore. There were far fewer travellers around Qianyun City than before.
He stopped by a tea stall to inquire. The stall keeper shrugged. “There’s been a divine oracle. Says an evil spirit from outside has come. To protect the good folk of Qianyun City, they’re tightening entry and exit until it’s caught.”
So it was the chaos he’d caused during his nocturnal visit last time.
Those things would rather kill in error than let one slip. If he entered now, he would be delivering himself straight into their claws.
…
Inside Qianyun City.
The Four Gods sat together in council.
The Fox God, sharp-tongued and draped beneath a red cloth, snapped, “Shiliu, this is entirely your fault! It happened on your territory, and the troublemakers were your people. Don’t think you can wriggle free!”
The Shiliu God flared up. “If not for your blasted mist, would the Crow and Chongming have started fighting? Would that brat have escaped?”
“Enough,” Chongming’s voice rasped. it was a far cry from the sanctified composure before. Three holes marred that once-beautiful face, as though pecked out by birds. “Do not speak of it again.”
Shiliu and the Fox God fell silent, exchanging looks, tutting. By rights, the Fox God’s mist merely entwined yin and yang. Chongming was yin, the Crow was yang. Caught unawares, the two should have gone up in flames like yin and yang unable to restrain themselves, swept into union.
Instead, when Shiliu and the Fox God arrived, the Crow had grown to celestial height and was smashing Chongming into the ground.
Chongming, originally a centipede spirit, prized those many beautiful legs… and the frenzied Crow had torn off two or three.
For the two of them to sit calmly together now was entirely the result of frantic negotiation by Shiliu and the crow god.
The Fox God said in a strange, lilting voice, “Ten thousand years ago, we were mere fodder in the great calamity, barely clinging to life until today. Now we finally have a chance to rekindle Xianghuo reincarnation, to attain a True God’s rank. Yet you would jeopardise the rebirth of the Water Spirit Lord’s divine foetus for a single insignificant human. Utterly backwards.”
Shiliu slammed the table. “That’s no ordinary thief. He carries a tortoise shell… and a trace of dragon qi. More like a Turtle Minister of the Dragon Palace.”
“Dragon Palace? Hoho. He’s fooled you all.”
Chongming said coldly, “There’s a familiar aura about him. More like… like…”
“Like what?” Shiliu demanded.
Chongming snorted, a crack of thunder bursting from it. “The Five Direction Goddesses.”
“What?!”
The four gods jolted. The Fox God sprang from his seat, red cloth flailing in genuine alarm.
Chongming continued, “When I was trapped in Gu Xue Ridge, the Goddess of Reincarnation fell there. I spent ten thousand years cultivating a strand of her foetal fire. That night, as the human fled, a wisp of that fire left with him. He is very likely a disciple of one of the Five Goddesses.”
Shiliu hissed and slumped back into his chair. “If it’s them, we may have to abandon Qianyun City.”
The Crow sneered, “Five Directions, Four Directions. What are they? The great calamity has opened anew. They’re nothing but stray dogs like us, scrambling to survive before the new heaven-gods. What do they count for?”
Shiliu sighed. “You’re young. Born after the tail-end of the God-Slaying War. You don’t know their power. When the true bodies of gods still walked the earth, no one dared provoke the Five Goddesses.”
The Crow blinked. “Gods… walked the earth?”
“Ten thousand years ago,” said Shiliu, “the boundary between humans and gods was not so distant. Trace it back far enough, and the bloodlines of gods and men meet in a common…….”
“Shiliu,” the Fox God cut in, “save your strength for your worshippers’ births. If you’re determined to die, don’t drag me with you!”
Shiliu fell quiet before continuing, “So, Reincarnation is the least likely. She was lured to Gu Xue Ridge by her human Dao-partner, threatened with her newborn child, and slain by her own hand. When she fell, her divine kingdom collapsed, new authority rose, and a new god was born. Thus, the one that night could not have been Reincarnation.
“The Nine-Bend Yellow River Goddess challenged the Dao itself and perished. Only a tiny earthly river remains… silent for ten thousand years. Unlikely to be her as well.”
The Fox God interjected, “Most likely is the Great Loch… the goddess whose kingdom still lingers.”
Shiliu nodded grimly. “If it truly is her, we’re in trouble. Of the five, she is the most enigmatic, with no clear divine mandate.”
Chongming licked her lips. “That boy smells of perfection. If we consume him, our earthly kingdom will grow ever more complete.”
“Are you prepared to face the Great Loch?”
Chongming’s mouth curved, greed gleaming. “If our kingdom rises, what fear do I have of a little goddess who has slumbered for ages? Let me ascend… and those old gods will brew my tea, warm my quilts, scent my pillows.”
The other gods burst into approving laughter. “Good!”
