Qingqing collapsed on the ground at his words.

“Great, merciful god,” Qingqing begged, sounding genuine this time. “I was forced! Save me!”

Huayu nodded.

“If you take sole responsibility for your crimes and willingly repent in this monk’s tower, I shall forgive your sins and allow you transcendence to Shenjie in a thousand years’ of time.”

Qingqing thought for a moment and seemed to decide that Fa Hai’s tower was better than whatever her mistress’s punishment would be.

Huayu looked at Fa Hai.

“Oh, uh, yes.” Fa Hai came out of his dumbfounded stupor and reached into his sleeves, producing a small pagoda. The pagoda immediately lit up, basking Qingqing and Susu in a golden light. Huayu blocked Susu from the light.

As the light swallowed Qingqing, she screamed, “You think you won? Because you got rid of butterflies and tortoises? There is still the Purple Omen. My mistress knows—”

Then she disappeared.

“Qingqing!” Susu whispered.

“Honorable abbot,” Huayu turned to Fa Hai. “Will you forgive the snake, given her ignorance?”

Fa Hai appeared flattered by Huayu’s sudden politeness.

“Er, of course, since she hasn’t harmed mortals herself. But I have one condition, she has to stay away from mortals the rest of her life, including her human husband, Xu Xuan.”

Before Huayu could respond, Susu shrieked.

“I’ve already lost my sister. You will not take my husband from me!” She sobbed.

“Your union was unnatural, your relationship based on lies. If your so-called husband saw your true form, do you think he would still love you?” Fa Hai sneered.

Sylvestris’s lips trembled but she nodded.

“You asked for it,” Fa Hai said with a sigh.

He stuck up his khakkharra. Clouds began to swirl and almost immediately, Xu Xuan fell from the sky, scattering herbs everywhere.

He picked himself in bewilderment.

“I was just on the mountains, how—”

He noticed Huayu on the cloud and fell down again.

“G-g-god?”

Fa Hai stuck out his chest and stepped in front of Xu Xuan.

“Uhem. I, Fa Hai, the disciple of the venerated Sixth Patriarch Huineng,” he said importantly. “I have summoned you because of your wife.”

“Susu?” Xu Xuan noticed her crumpled by the doors of their house. “What is wrong? Why are you so pale? Is the baby upsetting you?”

Susu just dove into his arms and sobbed quietly.

Fa Hai reached into his sleeve and produced another item.

“Your wife is not human. Look into this mirror to see your wife’s true form.”

“Precious, what is he—”

Then he caught the sight of the mirror. In the mirror, Xu Xuan appeared to be holding a giant serpent.

Xu Xuan looked between Susu and the mirror in horror.

“Your wife is a hundred-year-old snake. You married a yaoguai,” Fa Hai explained.

Xu Xuan looked as though Fa Hai had swung a hammer in his face. He sat very still. Susu gazed at him hopefully, but Xu Xuan’s eyes were glued to the reflection in the mirror. She touched his hand, but he flinched.

The light in her eyes dimmed. Slowly, she turned into her snake form.

Xu Xuan yelped and leapt back from her glistening scales.

“Ssstupid human,” Susu hissed. “Ssssss… I’ve been waiting to eat your heart sssssss. Had I known that monk would meddled in my businesssssssss, I would’ve killed you long ago.”

I thought it could not be clearer that Sylvestris meant to drive him away, but Xu Xuan didn’t realize.

“No, it can’t be true. No, it can’t be true.” Xu Xuan mumbled as he scrambled backwards.

“Not just your heart, your brain, but your lungsss, your gutsss…” Susu slithered towards him.

Xu Xuan turned and ran down the alley, not looking back. When Xu Xuan disappeared from view, a drop of tear rolled out of Susu’s snake eyes. Slowly, she transformed back.

“See? He cannot accept who you are,” Fa Hai gloated. “Go back into the forests and live out your years. If I catch you fraternizing with mortals one more time…”

“You should’ve left them alone.” I leapt out of the tree in anger. “They weren’t bothering anyone.”

“Who are you?” Fa Hai demanded.

“She is with me,” Huayu said, swift and rough.

“Oh, a goddess. I apologize.”

“The only thing you need to apologize for is misconstruing the Buddha’s teachings,” Huayu said with a frown. “You forget the Dharma—”

“Sylvestris!” I shouted.

Susu had plunged a dagger into her chest.

I rushed to Susu’s side. She looked deathly pale. A ball of something floated out of her mouth.

She tugged on the bottom of my dress to pull me close.

“Give this to him,” she said with fading eyes.

“What is it?” I whispered. I stared at the pale face of the girl I used to hate.

“That is her chi. She has released all of it,” Huayu answered.

Sylvestris nodded with the faintest trace of smile.

“Have him put a little in the potions that he prescribes… it will help the patients heal. I won’t be around to do it anymore… Tell him stop looking for herbs in the mountains. They don’t work well, and I can’t place them around the trails anymore for him to find easily.”

“Be with him if you love him so much. Don’t worry about this monk!” I yelled, shaking her.

Sylvestris sighed.

“Xu Xuan has a good heart, but he… lacks courage,” she said with affection. Her eyes were open and dreamy. “I… would rather let him go… than have him live in constant fear by my side.”

Her voice faltered into stillness. Her eyes remained open, staring in the direction Xu Xuan had gone.

“Your punishment is complete,” I whispered. I shut her eyes gently and laid her body on the ground. Then I grabbed the ball of chi and ran down the alley, ignoring the mortals that were coming outside to see the commotion.

Eventually, I found Xu Xuan sprawled on the banks of West Lake with a bottle of wine in his hand.

“I married… a monster.” He was mumbling between sips.

I hoisted him up by his neck and slapped him across the face until my hand hurt.

“Why does it matter what she was? She is the same girl who saved your life, who slaved away for your business, who sacrificed herself so you could live happily! She loved you and did everything for you. Yet you can’t look past her appearance!”

“But I’m a human, an esteemed doctor, and she is a yaoguai—”

I threw him on the ground. His red eyes focused on me stupidly.

“See this? This is what healed all of your patients, not your stupid herbs. She had been draining her chi, her life source, little by little to help you. What did you do in return?”

Xu Xuan stared at me.

“Susu! Where… where is Susu?” He finally asked, fear dawning on his face.

“Dead.”

As I walked away, tears blinded my eyes. Susu’s death had opened up something inside me. I was crying for her, and somehow for the villagers and for myself. Eventually, I noticed mortals dropping to their knees as I passed. I wasn’t dumb enough to think that it was because of me. I turned around. Sure enough, Huayu was flying behind me on his cloud.

“Step on,” he ordered.

“No thank you,” I mumbled.

“Do you plan to climb to Shenjie again?” I heard him say.

I realized with a start that I didn’t have any chi left and forgot to make arrangements for a ride back to Shenjie. Without him, I would be stranded.

His hand was extended. On them I could see the calluses from holding weapons, the green veins under the sun-tanned skin, the powerful tendons that jutted sharply from his wrists. His fingers wrapped around my hand as he pulled me up. We shot up into the sky.

I stared at Huayu’s back as lakes, mountains, forests, and clouds soared underneath us. Suddenly, a pain slashed at my heart like the claws of a beast... an unexplainable pain that made tears come to my eyes. I bowed my head, and fat drops of tears splattered on my shoes.

A familiar handkerchief appeared.

“Thank you,” I said and hastily wiped my eyes with the handkerchief. I expected to see ridicule in Huayu’s face, but his eyes were gentle. He had beautiful eyes. They were black yet seemed to be many colors. As they stared at me intently, my heart skipped a beat.

“What is wrong?” He asked, to my surprise.

“I failed,” I murmured. The lake that I had plunged into hours ago was now below us. From the banks came the hoarse cries of Xu Xuan.

“You succeeded. Susu had to die so Sylvestris could return to Shenjie,” Huayu replied, somehow knowing the purpose of my mission. “As for Xu Xuan, he will live in regret for the rest of his life.”

“But she could have lived happily ever after and then died of old age! She could have given birth to her child and raised him or her to adulthood!” These words bubbled up like a volcano. “I know you gods think mortal life experiences are fleeting, but our emotions are real.”

“You are a god too,” Huayu reminded gently.

“I don’t belong in Shenjie,” I said bitterly. “Everyone laughs because I was thrown out by you. I literally went through hell to just get here, I had to blackmail Bullhead into helping me—”

“So that’s what happened.”

“—so I can save the villagers. But it’s all for nothing. They are still burning in hell.”

A little sob came to my lips.

“What do you mean?” Huayu asked.

“After you left, I decided to kill myself to go to Yodu to find the villagers. When I woke up, I was about to be transported to the deepest level of hell, for no reason at all. The villagers were burning in hell! Someone planted these crimes in their life scripts. Someone wanted us in hell. This is actually one of the reasons I came to Shenjie… to ask for your help.”

Huayu frowned.

“If what you say is true, then I shall personally ensure your villagers are reincarnated into comfortable lives as compensation.”

I said “Oh” in a stunned voice. It was that easy.

“If and only if you promise that you won’t investigate the matter any further.”

“But the one who plotted this is still out there—”

“And they are neither your responsibility nor your concern.”

“My people ARE my responsibility and my concern. I will not let whoever killed them get away with it even if you reincarnate all of them as kings and queens! I will avenge them.”

He turned to me slowly.

“Do you always hold a grudge?” He asked. As his black eyes bore into mine, I remembered.

“Why did you wreck my dates? Why did you give me that hairpin?” I demanded.

Huayu turned away quickly.

“That’s classified information,” he replied.

My lips parted in a mix of surprise and anger. I never expected him to skirt around my accusation.

“Let me out,” I said.

Huayu only glanced at me.

“I will do nothing of the kind. It will be dark soon. Countless yaoguai will find a goddess with no chi an easy target. In fact, Empress Vesper was crazy to let you go to the mortal world, unchaperoned, without chi, and without experience.”

A frown descended upon his face.

“I wanted to,” I quickly said. “I… missed the mortal world.”

His face softened, and he spoke no more.

A delicate wisp of cloud glided across the sun, the pattern of sand when one drew a broom across it. The light dimmed, casting his features in half-shadow. The wind carried his scent to my nose. I stopped myself from breathing too deeply, in case he thought I was sniffing him. My impression of Huayu improved. Despite our past disagreements, he saved my life and buried the villagers. As busy as he was, he helped me once again. I was grateful, but a simple thank you seemed superficial.

“I’m sure you are prepared for what Chila is plotting, but be careful,” I blurted out. “She wants to find Arum’s Treasure.”

“How do you know her intention?” Huayu asked sternly, but I saw a gleam of admiration in his eyes.

“Mojie must be responsible for the massacre of my village,” I continued, peeking at him to see if I was on the right track. “But I don’t understand how they managed to alter the villagers’ life scripts. Their influence doesn’t extend to Shenjie or Yodu. Yet if they had gone through all the trouble to get me in Shenjie, why haven’t they made further moves? Heaven knows they had plenty of chances at the Baishi Ceremony.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny the validity of your accusation,” Huayu replied.

“I was talking to myself,” I snapped in annoyance. “Has your highness sunken to eavesdropping on what a girl mumbles to herself?”

“Pardon me, I thought only the mentally ill talked to themselves.”

I could not think of a good comeback, so I fumed in silence.

The sky returned to the familiar bright, bold blue. I saw that we were rapidly coming upon the western edge of Shenjie.

“Kunlun Palace?” He asked. His eyes reflected the blue tint of the sky and the gentle bed of clouds.

“I’ll get off where you get off,” I said quickly. I wanted to prolong this ride with Huayu for as long as possible.

Surprisingly, he didn’t refuse.

I wished that time would pass slower, but Huayu soon landed the cloud at Azure Vault Palace. Until that moment, Huayu almost felt like a friend. Now we were back in Shenjie, he was the heir, the general, and a stranger again.

“Ziyan,” he called.

It was the first time he said my name. I whirled around.

“Don’t look for the answers to your questions. You needn’t worry about being harmed. Your safety is my responsibility—”

My eyes widened, and he paused.

“The safety of all in Shenjie is my responsibility,” he cleared his throat and said. “If you want to go visit the mortal world, take a soldier from my army. I—”

He never finished because Obe rushed out to greet him. I stared as Huayu disappeared behind the back gates. Obe remained behind to stare daggers at me.

“I’m sorry for lunging at you! Get over it,” I exclaimed.

“You think I’m upset over your vulgar behavior? I’m upset over the obstacles you created for his highness!”

“What?”

“Her majesty, Empress Vesper, has withheld his highness’s military provisions!” Obe spat before he, too, disappeared behind the gates.