The uproar of cheers that met my ears as I landed almost knocked me down. I was pulled into the crowd of soldiers, rough hands clapping my back.

“You're the one that got us all those talismans, aren't ya?"

"Nice work lassie! Spared us loads of work!” Some of the soldiers were shouting.

“But who are you?” I asked. “I didn’t—”

But Daoxu had now pushed his way to the front. “Why didn’t you tell me his highness approved of your idea? That day he showed up at the fundraiser, I was scared to half to death. But to think he was your biggest backer.”

I stared at him, hearing but not understanding.

“His highness didn't just reprint the life scripts, he also publically expressed support for the fundraiser himself. We almost have one talisman per soldier now. All the soldiers are ecstatic. They've been dueling with them all day. Are you here to practice too?”

“Um,” was all I could utter. I looked back at Huayu. He was gazing down, but I could not discern his face. If he thought I needed to be protected like some delicate flower, then I was going to prove him wrong.

“Punch me,” I said to Daoxu.

Daoxu blinked. "Are you sure? I weigh 50 jin more than you. I can fight most of the men here. I wouldn't want to hurt-oof"

He shut up by virtue of a bony shoulder into his chest. The casual condescension was grating on me. I didn't need protecting. I couldn't let myself be coddled.

The soldiers around us roared in laughter as Daoxu stumbled backwards.

“Size doesn't equate skill, Daoxu,” I taunted.

Daoxu tilted his head. "True, but enough size will always beat skill. An elephant doesn't crush an ant through martial arts."

Then he ducked under my arm. My eyes widened as Daoxu stepped in way too close. Then the sky and earth spun. Thud. My breath coughed out of my lungs.

I winced. Maybe I deserved that. I got up. "Again" I said to Daoxu, who was patiently waiting. He closed his eyes, and acuiesced.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

I groaned. I hadn't done Daoxu justice with my "size vs skill" comment. He was skilled. Very. Judging by the knotted muscles in his arms, he trained every day.

Yet some part of me couldn't accept this result. Daoxu's shifu was General Guan Yu, Huayu’s first-in-command. Wasn't Huayu the greatest warrior in Shenjie? How could his disciple be beaten so easily? Obviously, Daoxu thought so too.

“How are you so bad?” asked Daoxu incredulously as I landed on my back for the fiftieth time. The hub of soldiers drawn to a fight had long dissipated out of boredom.

Daoxu extended a hand to me, which I took. My frustration was not directed at Daoxu, but at myself for being weak. "Even considering the weight difference, I shouldn't be this much better than you. Have you and your master been going on missions?"

“What..." I caught my breath. "What mission?”

“Missions down in the mortal realms of course. It is the duty of we gods to protect the mortal realms. There are always yaoguai to be vanquished, and mortals to be protected.”

“How did you convince him to take you on missions?” I asked.

Daoxu frowned. "I didn't have to. Once he saw that I was able to accept him and respect him as my master, he naturally allowed me to accompany him."

His words rang in my head. Respect to a master as was due from a disciple. I reviewed the last few days in my head, paling with every memory. Could it be that Huayu had been refusing to train me because of my lack of respect?

“Do you still want to spar?” Daoxu asked.

I charged towards him, like a bull, but he ducked my strikes, swift as a cat. My footsteps grew unsteady, and my knees shook. I pinched my thigh until I stopped swaying. I must not lose again.

I lunged at him and reached towards his feet. Expecting my legs but sartled by my arms, Daoxu sidestepped to ward me off. But as I struck him, he lost his balance and fell on top of me.

“Practical experience, my ass. I just needed to get creative,” I said, heaving underneath his weight.

A shadow descended. And suddenly, Daoxu was lifted off me, or thrown off, by how far away he landed.

“Are you ok?” Huayu asked quickly. His face was white, and his voice urgent, but his concern only stoked my anger. I could beat them all if he just taught me some moves. It was his fault I looked stupid and weak.

“Your last advance was improper,” he continued.

“I wouldn’t know, would I, having never been taught,” I retorted.

“Even so, you are unlikely to beat any of them, ” he said.

“So I should just lose?” I demanded.

A small smile broke out on Huayu’s face. He shook his head.

“Do you recall the sixty-four hexagrams in your manual?” He asked.

I nodded.

Huayu waved his hand, so that the clouds above us formed sixty symbols. With a flick of his fingers, the hexagrams rearranged themselves in different positions.

“Follow the hexagrams in these positions. You will not lose,” Huayu instructed.

I took a good, hard look at the circles and the lines. Then I ran off to grab Daoxu.

“Go away. I want to improve, and I can’t when I keep winning,” Daoxu said impatiently. His right foot swung towards mine again. I immediately stepped toward the position of the first hexagram.

Daoxu’s foot missed me by inches. He looked stunned. I quickly took the second and third steps. No matter what moves Daoxu took, he could not even touch me. After I finished the sixty-four positions, Daoxu was the one bent over and panting.

“How were you doing that?” He asked. Just then, a bell rang.

“It’s time for dinner,” he said cheerily. “Eat with me and reveal your secrets!”

Before I could answer, Huayu flew over us. His cloud narrowly missed Daoxu, leaving a film of water over his head.

“You will be forgoing dinner and training all night. During battle, regular meals are a luxury,” Huayu’s magnified voice sounded over the training grounds.

There was a collective groan at this announcement.

“As a reward for your hard work, Peaches of Immortality will be served to you for breakfast.”

The groans turned to cheers. Everyone returned to training with renewed vigor.

“Never mind about dinner,” Daoxu said, his eyes followed a muscular soldier twice the size of me. I watched as he chased after him, asking for a duel.

I casted a cloud and flew to Huayu.

“What are these moves call?” I asked.

“Lotus Steps,” he replied with a hint of a smile. “If performed right, your opponents will never be able to get near you.”

My laughter died in my throat.

“How do I fight anyone then!”

“It is better to hide than fight. Any sort of confrontation is risky.”

“Sounds strange coming from someone known for taking risks,” I replied with a frown.

He stared at me in the eye.

“There are some risks I’d rather not take,” he said quietly.

I was confused by what he meant, but before I could ask, a fizzling sound startled both of us. There was a small cut on my ankle. The red contrasted alarmingly with my skin. As my blood dripped onto the ground, it bubbled. Huayu kneeled down and pressed his finger to the wound. A gentle breeze rustled the nearby trees, also rustling my heart like a caressing hand. The scratch healed at once.

I went to bed tired and sore, a familiar feeling I often had when harvest season began in the village. But instead of a sound sleep, I dreamed of the Goddess of Flower.

The flowers opened and closed to release an intoxicating fragrance. Songbirds nestled on tree branches, humming softly of the delights of paradise. It was the garden, made more magical by floating white wisps I had never before seen. A girl stood in the center, pruning the wisteria as she hummed a tune. For some reason, I knew at once that she was the Goddess of Flower.

She was trimming the rosebush when Huayu landed in the garden with Obe.

“You are injured,” she exclaimed, pointing to the cut on his hand. She pulled a thread of chi to direct onto his wound.

Obe stepped in front of Huayu as if she held a poison instead of a cure.

“She is feigning assistance to near your side,” Obe whispered loudly.

This was their first encounter, I realized. I didn’t want to watch, and I didn’t need to see, but I could not wake up.

The Goddess of Flower retracted her hand but walked towards them.

“Brilliant armor and sparkling weapons,

won you the prestige of a prince.

But the poison of snobbery and the stench of arrogance,

Has you bound in chains,” the Goddess of Flower scoffed with each step she took.

Insults in verses… forget cursewords, this was the highest level of diss! Despite my jealousy, I couldn’t help but marvel at her quick wit.

“How dare—”

Huayu silenced Obe with his hand. A tiny smile came upon his lips.

“Excellent poem. I apologize for our insolence,” he said. His voice sounded like the roaring of waves on the wings of a gentle breeze. I had heard it many times, but my heart still danced to the tune.

The Goddess of Flower was also not immune. Faint patches of pink appeared on her cheeks.

“I should apologize too. I only recently gained human form and don’t really know how to talk properly. In facy, I have never stepped out of this garden,” she said softly. Then her face lit up. “But I daresay there isn’t a garden anywhere as fine as mine!”

She pranced around introducing all the plants, like a child showing off her prized possessions. The Goddess of Flower was not the prettiest deity that I’d seen, but her eyes were so bright one could light candles in them, and her smile… I could not look away. Neither could Huayu, it seemed.

He was not in the usual hurry that I knew but followed her patiently as she talked.

“These flowers may look ordinary now but don’t underestimate their potential.” She wagged her finger. “I used to be one of them. Then I gained consciousness, and then human form. Someday, they will too. When there are enough of us, we shall enter the Baishi Ceremony together to gain godhood, unless no one wants us.”

“Someone will want you,” Huayu replied.

“Thank you. My dream is to help all the plants in the garden to live happily ever after. They are my friends and my family. If only there was more water for everyone…” There was a definite longing in her voice.

The mist rose.

He returned the next day without Obe, and the days after. He was curt of words, but his eyes always followed her busy figure. There was an undisguised softness in his face when she spoke with him.

One day, Huayu returned with a water dragon.

“How did you find one?” The Goddess of Flower exclaimed in delight.

“Where there is a will, there is a way,” Huayu replied as the dragon drenched her garden. It was indiscriminate in its spraying despite Huayu’s attempts to control it. Soon the Goddess of Flower was running around trying to stay dry. Then she ran headfirst into Huayu.

“If I were her, I would kiss him,” I thought. The Goddess of Flower did not disappoint. She pulled his head down and kissed him. As they kissed, Huayu discreetly snapped his fingers. The dragon turned its spray the other way.

I woke up breathlessly. It wasn’t enough that I was jealous of the Goddess of Flower, I was now dreaming of her.