He always appeared stern and upright, so Chaosheng kept a respectful distance. Xiang Xian was different. With this pretty youth, he couldn’t resist ruffling his hair, like a young lord teasing a cat, full of gentle warmth.
“Will you take us to Kaifeng?” Chaosheng asked.
“Of course!” Xiang Xian said. “And Hangzhou too. My ancestral home’s in Kuaiji—Jiangnan’s waterways are beautiful.”
Xiao Kun packed the tent into his Five Treasures Bag, fetched the horses. Xiang Xian did the same. Chaosheng told Xiao Kun, “Xiang Xian says he’ll take us to Kaifeng for fun.”
Seeing Xiao Kun’s sour face, Xiang Xian quickly amended, “But I have business first. Your Highness, running into you two makes things easier.”
“Big Brother, have you been to Guanzhong?” Chaosheng asked Xiao Kun, not entirely forgetting him.
“No.” Xiao Kun was annoyed with Xiang Xian, not Chaosheng, so he answered amiably. “I’ve barely left Liao Kingdom borders my whole life.”
“Chaosheng!” Xiang Xian called. “Come ride with me—I’ll take you?”
Xiao Kun took a deep breath. Xiang Xian added from behind, “You scout ahead. I’ll protect Prince Chaosheng for you.”
Xiao Kun was clearly cursing inwardly but held his temper and rode ahead steadily.
“Let’s go! Giddyup!”
Xiang Xian and Chaosheng laughed and chatted merrily behind, while Xiao Kun scowled. They left the hollow, heading for Guanjiangkou.
“Why did enemies come last night?” Chaosheng asked curiously from the rear.
Xiang Xian: “No idea. Ask our big brother.”
“Don’t ask me!” Xiao Kun replied bluntly. “Xiang Xian! I’m not your brother!”
They passed through the hollow onto the official road. Chengdu lay in the basin plain, a different vista from the rugged Shu Roads—winter fields harvested, haystacks dotting the landscape, the wind carrying the scent of burning grass.
“Big Brother, was that a demon?” Chaosheng asked. “Did the Monsters in Qingcheng Mountain spot us?”
When Chaosheng asked, Xiao Kun answered seriously. “Possibly a probe.”
“You flew here on a dragon and got spotted en route?” In half a day, Xiang Xian had learned Chaosheng’s full story, including their departure from White Jade Palace to Chengdu.
Xiao Kun ignored him.
“Probing what?” Chaosheng pressed.
“I don’t know,” Xiao Kun said, answering only Chaosheng. “The enemy had no clear goal—appeared briefly then fled. The only reason is to test our Cultivation Base and strength.”
Xiang Xian said, “I hadn’t shown myself yet. Clearly aimed at you two.”
“Mm.” Xiao Kun’s expression softened slightly.
Xiang Xian suddenly added, “Kunlun emissary.”
“He doesn’t know who ‘Mu’ is.” Xiao Kun knew what Xiang Xian meant—the prophecy. Shuhu had told them a figure named “Mu” stole the Demon Seed and was nurturing it with the earth’s Baleful Qi. Kunlun’s people would reveal “Mu’s” true identity.
“Maybe when I meet him, I’ll know?” Chaosheng said.
“Your Highness, do you know Spells?”
“Just call me Chaosheng!” Chaosheng said.
“I’m both lazy and dim. Didn’t learn much at White Jade Palace—didn’t need Immortal Techniques. But I brought some Magic Treasures down, which might come in handy. Oh! I’m Innate Divine Wood Essence, so healing minor wounds should be no problem.”
“Chaosheng healed plenty on the road,” Xiao Kun explained.
Xiang Xian nodded, realizing this youthful Immortal was innocently pure, yet his Cultivation Base was no trifle. He’d be a mighty aid against the Heavenly Demon. Even if Chaosheng were a mere mortal, Xiang Xian would have liked him—for such unguarded, childlike innocence was rare in all his travels.
The road from Chengdu to Guanjiangkou ran along the river. Since Li Bing’s water control in Qin times, Dujiangyan had sustained nearly ten million souls in Bashu for a millennium—and would for millennia more.
By midday, spotting the Min River, Chaosheng cheered, “Such a big river!”
His reaction reminded Xiang Xian of his own first visit to Bashu with his master, finding it endlessly amusing.
Guanjiangkou, less grand than Chengdu, thrived thanks to Dujiangyan. The world’s premier irrigation system brought endless bounty—no floods or droughts. Proximity to water and Qingcheng Mountain’s wonders made it a trade hub for eighty li around, prosperous since Han and Tang.
Entering Guanjiangkou, Chaosheng wanted to dismount. Xiang Xian had no objection. They led the horses, strolling the streets with him. Built along the Min River, a massive wooden bridge spanned the canals, dividing the town east and west. In winter’s farm idle season, the market bustled. Nearby farmers arrived by donkey cart to barter—livelier even than Chengdu.
“Is this your first time in the Land of Heaven’s Prefecture too?” Xiang Xian handed his horse to the waiter outside the inn and said to Xiao Kun, “Want me to show you around?”
“Have you been here before?” Xiao Kun asked.
“About ten years ago,” Xiang Xian said. “It’s still the same.”
“In some places in the mortal world, the common people could barely clothe themselves and went hungry,” Xiao Kun said. “In others, there were song and dance, with rice and fish in abundance.”
“Chaosheng!” Xiang Xian called out.
Chaosheng had already run ahead to a stall making sugar figures. Xiao Kun said to Xiang Xian, “Let’s go to the Erwang Temple.”
“No rush,” Xiang Xian said. “Let’s gather some intel first. I promised Shan Yu Hong I’d capture some demons for her.”
Xiao Kun wanted to get straight to business and inquire about the Heart Lamp’s location, but Xiang Xian and Chaosheng wouldn’t listen to him, so he had no choice but to follow along. It was Chaosheng’s first time entering this dazzling world, and he was utterly dazzled. Xiang Xian laughed and said, “This is Agarwood from The Lotus Lantern.”
“Oh, oh!” Chaosheng took the sugar figure and couldn’t put it down. “Who’s Agarwood? Buy me another one! I want to bring it back for Chang Ge.”
