This was also Xiang Xian’s initial purpose in coming to Shu Region—to investigate Wushan Holy Land—while Xiao Kun sought the Heart Lamp. As if fated, they met again, and both matters progressed—a rare fortune.
“Time to go.” Xiang Xian looked out the window; daylight had broken.
Chaosheng asked: “Where to today?”
Xiao Kun: “Make a horseshoe turn.”
Chaosheng: “?”
Chengdu remained cloaked in heavy fog. The Golden Dragon rose from behind the inn and flew out of the city.
Chaosheng asked: “Are we going to Wushan?”
The Ba Region was a land of mountains, peaks everywhere. Even knowing the Demon Clan Holy Land was in Wushan, the entrance was hard to find. Xiang Xian paid it no mind. After the three rode the dragon from Chengdu, they vanished southeastward.
But the next moment, Xiao Kun landed several li outside the city. He, Xiang Xian, and Chaosheng switched to walking back toward Chengdu.
Chaosheng: “???”
Xiang Xian asked: “How much do you know about Yao Ji?”
Chaosheng had no memory of White Jade Palace’s past. After all, he had once been a fruit, only becoming human for a short sixteen years. After Pi Changge brought him back to Kunlun Mountain, all the divine servants had already left. He could only learn roughly of the past glory and each servant’s character from the Pixiu’s retellings—and even then, he often mixed them up.
“Yao Ji and Qingluan were the two great divine servants under the Queen Mother of the West,” Chaosheng said. “Yao Ji transformed from a lingzhi mushroom, Qingluan from a bird. Yao Ji went down the mountain early. After the Queen Mother of the West left Shenzhou, she no longer stayed in White Jade Palace.”
Xiang Xian: “Where did the Queen Mother of the West go?”
“Immortal Realm.” Chaosheng explained, “Chang Ge said the immortals and gods each have their domains, also called ‘Heaven Beyond Heaven.’ From some point in time on Shenzhou Great Land, the deities left one after another, opening their own small worlds in Heaven Beyond Heaven.”
Xiang Xian nodded. Perhaps it was an agreement among the gods, or after some great war, but that era was too ancient, with no textual records.
“And Qingluan?” Xiao Kun asked.
“Went with the Queen Mother of the West.” Chaosheng answered. “What are we going back for? Can we buy Sugar Oil Fritters?”
“Nothing.” Xiang Xian said. “Just look around, eat later. Too filling first thing in the morning.”
They reentered Chengdu, weaving through misty alleys back to Qingyang Palace. Xiang Xian waited by the wall for a moment, and A Huang flapped in.
“This morning, upon hearing you’d left, she entered the underground palace,” A Huang said. “Disciples guard the outside.”
This was the first time Xiao Kun heard A Huang speak.
“Shh.” Xiang Xian preempted Xiao Kun’s question. “A Huang has always spoken; he just dislikes chit-chat. Outwardly cold and ruthless, inwardly passionate as fire…”
A Huang: “Xiang Xian, don’t slander me! Shut up!”
“Let’s go in.” Xiang Xian leaped lightly, scaling Qingyang Palace’s high rear wall. Xiao Kun pulled Chaosheng along and followed.
“Watch out for her magic treasures.” Xiao Kun reminded softly.
“You still haven’t explained to me even now,” Xiang Xian said as he hurried along the wall base. “What method did you use to see evil in her heart… I detected nothing.”
Xiao Kun: “You judge demons solely by Master’s bell. As Deputy Emissary of the Exorcism Division, your senses are too dull.”
Xiang Xian: “Yes, yes, you’re the sharpest.”
“Someone’s coming!” Chaosheng still didn’t know their plan, but the tension was thrilling. Qingyang Palace’s defenses had clearly strengthened—gates shut tight, disciples patrolling everywhere.
Before the unassuming underground palace entrance by the pavilion, sentries stood every three and five steps.
Xiao Kun: “When Shan Yu Hong sent us after the Flower Demon, I knew she meant no good. Very likely, she’s the ‘disciple’ Lady Hua Rui mentioned. Someone who harms even their master—how good could she be?”
Xiang Xian: “That’s obvious hindsight. Before seeing Lady Hua Rui, how did you know she was…”
Chaosheng: “Ah, someone’s coming!”
A disciple approached their hiding stone, seemingly to rest. Xiang Xian reached out lightly from behind, tripping him and locking his throat, immobilizing him. He looked at Xiao Kun: What now?
Xiao Kun knelt on one knee, leaning close. His eyes glowed an eerie blue in the fog.
The disciple’s face filled with terror. Xiao Kun whispered: “What is Shan Yu Hong sneaking around in the underground palace for?”
Meanwhile, deep in Qingyang Palace’s underground palace.
Scriptures hung on all four walls. In the circular chamber’s center, the Demon-Suppressing Banner was laid out. Lady Hua Rui was released from the red cloth, manifesting in the underground palace, but bound by countless golden chains from the scriptures.
Shan Yu Hong held a cane in her right hand and the Heavenly Pearl in her left, facing Lady Hua Rui.
“Chang Qin,” Lady Hua Rui said softly, “since you seek eternal life, why not go to Kunlun?”
“You thought what I wanted was mere immortality? What meaning is there in eternal life obtained at the cost of completely severing ties with the mortal world?” Shan Yu Hong said softly. “Master, what I seek is Hui Lun—the Hui Lun that you, Yao Ji, and all of you possess… The cycle of seasons turns, even through reincarnation and rebirth as a human once more, retaining memories of the past life, still possessing one’s cultivation base.”
Lady Hua Rui let out a sorrowful sigh.
Shan Yu Hong continued, “Forty years ago, you should have left. No, ever since Meng Chang bid you farewell, this bond was no longer possible. Come, Master, pass on your final skills to your disciple as well, and go in peace.”
