Chapter 46: Little Disaster |
[February 22, 2021] . . .
The water was full of immortal essence so it wasn’t good for Shěn Lí. Sure the strong essence washed away the miasma on her, but it also served to diminish her demon powers. Just bathing for an hour exhausted her as much as if she had participated in a big battle. She would have to wait until after the banquet if she wanted to restore her powers.
A cold smile appeared on her face. She knew what they were trying to do. By weakening her, she would be less a of threat to them. Hypocritical immortals . . . they were always on guard even though the Demon realm already surrendered.
A loud bang came from outside the hall. It was followed by a roar so loud it felt as though the pillars would crack.
Shěn Lí raised a brow. There were monsters in the Immortal realm too? She dressed and tied her hair up. Once done, she opened the door into the hall in anticipation of a fun show.
A huge white lion stood atop an equally huge rosy cloud.
It rushed at Yōu Lán in a mad frenzy. The hall attendant, though pale faced with fright, covered Yōu Lán while Yōu Lán looked frantically for an escape. But the lion managed to force Yōu Lán into a corner anyway. There was nothing more the attendant could do, so she rolled under the lion’s belly and fled in fear. Left alone, Yōu Lán trembled fearfully. Her lips were pale as she stared blankly at the lion.
The lion roared and raised its claws to strike Yōu Lán.
Shěn Lí frowned. She flashed in front of Yōu Lán and blocked its paw with one arm. She didn’t have the strength to push the lion back because her qi foundation was unstable, so all she could do was block the attack.
She and the lion were at a stalemate.
Yōu Lán suddenly spoke up from behind her. “I do not require the assistance of someone from the Demon realm.”
“OK.” Shěn Lí lowered her arm.
Yōu Lán was immediately greeted with the lion’s murderous claw. She hadn’t expected Shěn Lí to drop her arm like that. She gasped in fright. The claw stopped abruptly within a hair’s width of her cheek.
“If you want to keep your face, say please.” Help doesn’t come cheap. Ask for it appropriately.
Yōu Lán didn’t dare turn her head. She reached blindly out to grab at Shěn Lí’s clothes. Her voice was filled with fear and reluctance. “Please . . . please I beg of you . . .”
This goddess . . . Shěn Lí really didn't know what kind of attitude would satisfy her.
She laughed to herself a little. Then with a low grunt of effort pushed the lion’s arm away while simultaneously grabbing Yōu Lán by the waist and pulling her tight against her side. Then she jumped over the lion’s head and landed some distance behind it.
Shěn Lí looked down at Yōu Lán who was limp in her embrace. “Originally if you hadn’t asked me, I wouldn’t have saved you. But we came to the hall together. It would have been too much of a coincidence if something happened. People would have gossiped and I didn't want that.”
Yōu Lán, who had just escaped catastrophe, couldn’t be bothered to verbally spar with Shěn Lí. She was busy staring at something behind Shěn Lí. Whatever she saw made her face look even worse.
Shěn Lí turned around. The white lion had already crossed the distance and was about to greet them with its giant claws. Shěn Lí could have dodged it easily if she wasn’t burdened with carrying Yōu Lán. If the attack connected, Shěn Lí guessed she would suffer pain for a few days. Yōu Lán, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t make it.
There was no time to think. Shěn Lí hugged Yōu Lán against her chest and braced for impact from behind.
The lion’s claw shredded Shěn Lí’s back, letting fly flesh and blood against the columns. Yōu Lán screamed in fright. It was the first time she’d witnessed anything so gory.
The white lion paused as it got ready to swipe a second time. In the break, Shěn Lí tightened her grip on Yōu Lán and rolled out of range just in time to escape the second strike.
Yōu Lán’s hand came away bloody after accidentally touching Shěn Lí’s back. Her lips trembled as she spoke. “Are . . .are you OK?”
Shěn Lí didn’t even grimace. It was just a flesh wound. When she saw how the white lion stared at Yōu Lán as it got ready to pounce again, she knew something was up. “What did you do? Why is it so mad at you?"
Yōu Lán didn’t answer. She was staring mesmerized at the blood on her hand.
Shěn Lí knew she couldn’t fight the lion, not after bathing in the water. From her experience fighting animals, she knew they normally retreated if they couldn’t win for certain. Her intentions weren’t to kill the white lion, just push it back. She would win if she could out bluff it.
Yōu Lán, who was behind Shěn Lí, suddenly felt hot. She looked up in a daze. The glow of light on Shěn Lí’s profile was so enchanting that Yōu Lán momentarily forgot the other person was a woman.
Shěn Lí’s eyes flashed red and the air shifted. Yōu Lán thought she heard a phoenix’s cry loud and clear across the horizon. The air suddenly felt hot, scorching her body.
Not to be outdone, the white lion roared fiercely back. Both kings were vying for dominion.
Any of the other immortals who were around had already been pushed back by the hot air. Yōu Lán was the only one who saw the red light engulf Shěn Lí’s eyes completely.
There was another extremely loud, clear cry. The waves of heat battered the white lion until with a sudden whoop, its body started shrinking. It shrank and shrank until it was just a ball of white fur curled shivering in the now all-too-big cloud.
The volatile atmosphere dissipated. Shěn Lí only managed to take one step forward before a hand grabbed her clothes. She turned to look at Yōu Lán.
“It’s dangerous. Don’t go. Wait for the generals to come. “
Shěn Lí raised a brow at this. Unexpectedly this goddess knew to be gracious and thoughtful. Shěn Lí grabbed Yōu Lán’s hand and said, “It’s not a big deal.” She turned away so she missed Yōu Lán’s expression.
Yōu Lán touched her hand again. Her gaze as she stared after Shěn Lí’s back was complicated. [notes]
Shěn Lí walked to the white furball, leaned over and picked it up. It whimpered as it looked at her with pitiful eyes shimmering with tears.
Shěn Lí did not show mercy. She shook it hard. “Speak! What kind of villain monster are you?”
The furball trembled even harder.
“Your Highness! Your Highness, please be merciful!” A white-bearded, grandfatherly immortal holding a duster ran towards Shěn Lí. He gave a fisted salute once he reached her. “This is Little Disaster, a divine beast raised in the Celestial realm, Immortal High God Xíng Zhǐ. It is definitely not a monster!”
Xíng Zhǐ’s pet? Shěn Lí tossed the dog to the old immortal to hold. “Is High God trying to be a divine farmer now? Does he need to try his hand at everything?”
“My goodness. From Your Highness’s voice, it sounds like Your Highness blames me for this?”
All the immortals bent down and saluted at the sound of the voice. The bearded grandfather hastily put Little Disaster on the ground. Then he leaned down and saluted as well. “It was this insignificant immortal’s fault.”
Xíng Zhǐ stopped to help the grandfather up. Then his gaze shifted to Shěn Lí. “Are you injured?”
Shěn Lí fisted her hand and bowed in greeting. “Thanks to the blessing of the gods it is merely a flesh wound.”
Though Xíng Zhǐ managed to keep his emotions in check, he couldn’t quite keep his fingers from twitching. He leaned down and picked up Little Disaster then patted its head. In turn it rubbed its head against Xíng Zhǐ like it had been wronged.
“What’s going on?” Xíng Zhǐ asked softly.
Grandfather white beard answered. “Following High God's orders, I brought Little Disaster to the western sky from the Celestial realm. But as soon as we arrived here, Little Disaster began to behave strangely. I could not keep hold of Little Disaster and he hurt Her Highness and Goddess Luò Tiān, so I am to blame for this incident.”
Xíng Zhǐ silently looked to Yōu Lán for a moment before speaking. “Little Disaster’s sudden madness was not your fault. Send Her Highness back to the western sky and have someone look at her wounds.” He walked to Yōu Lán and helped her up. “Follow me.”
Yōu Lán nodded. Her face was still very pale.
. . .Shěn Lí didn’t wait for an immortal doctor to dress her wounds. Not trusting anyone in the Immortal realm, she wrapped her wound and changed her clothes herself.
She saw that the bearded grandfather was outside in the back courtyard. He was about to put Little Disaster on a tether. She stopped him by saying, “Leave him be.”
He hesitated. “But if he hurts Your Highness again . . .”
“It’s useless to tie him down when he’s behaving. And the rope won’t hold him if he misbehaves. So just save the rope and everyone’s time.” Besides Shěn Lí was no fool. How could a divine beast go mad without reason? Since Xíng Zhǐ went out of his way to speak privately with Yōu Lán, Shěn Lí was reasonably sure it had something to do with the goddess. Yōu Lán was probably at fault somehow.
Shěn Lí sighed. It had only been a few days since she arrived, but so much already happened. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, she had been attacked several times. Perhaps her eight characters[notes] were fated to be inauspicious with the Immortal realm.
Bearded grandfather thought about it for a moment. He was not particularly keen on the idea of tying Little Disaster up. “That is fine. If Your Highness wishes, please feel free to play with Little Disaster. High God originally brought him over to keep Your Highness company.”
Shěn Lí stiffened upon hearing this. She pushed the door open and went back inside.
He acted familiar but remained distant. He was considerate, but was unconcerned. Such a contradiction. Shěn Lí sat in her room thinking about it for nearly half a day trying to understand the man.
She felt like she and that doggy furball were alike. Fun to tease when remembered. Fun to pass the time with when together.
. . .A light knock sounded on her door later that evening. Shěn Lí opened it to find a hot meal on the floor. She picked it up and brought it back inside her room. She wasn’t shy about eating and dug right in. She smiled. Apparently his cooking skills had not rusted.
A hint of bitterness wove itself inside the nostalgia that crept into her heart. Though things were the same, the people had changed.
Shěn Lí gathered the dinnerware and opened her door to place it outside. This time when she did, she saw Xíng Zhǐ come out of the room across from hers. It wasn’t his bedroom, but she often saw him go in and out of it.
Shěn Lí didn’t say anything, but she did give him a nod before closing her door.
The “Was the food good?” stuck in his throat. Xíng Zhǐ stared at the closed door. The smile that suddenly came to his face was sardonic. There were a bunch of things he wanted to ask, like,
“Did you like the meal?”
“How is your wound? “
“If you get bored, you can play with Little Disaster. He won’t hurt you now . . .”
There were so many things he wanted to say but the other party didn’t give him a chance.
Was this what it felt like to win some, lose some? Advance then retreat?
. . .Shěn Lí couldn’t sleep that night so she went out and walked around the courtyard. The moon was a magnificently bright orb shining its light on the world below, brightening up the night air with its reflection.
Shěn Lí noticed a sliver of light peeking under the door opposite her room. It was the room Xíng Zhǐ often used. It wasn’t his bedroom, but he went there often. What was inside? Rare treasures? She glanced at Xíng Zhǐ’s bedroom. His door was closed. Curiosity got the best of her and she walked quietly to the room opposite hers.
She opened the door, then stepped inside before carefully closing it behind her again. In the room was a privacy screen. It wasn’t decorated with the usual scenes of nature, instead it depicted a dark blue sky graced with a canopy of stars that seemed to move and shift with an iridescent light.
How magical. Were there treasures hidden behind it?
She walked around to the other side of the screen and stepped into what felt like another world. There was no floor beneath her feet, no ceiling above her head. She felt like she had walked inside the painting, into an otherworldly sea of stars and clouds.
The stars, it looked like there were words engraved on them. Shěn Lí squinted.
She was shocked.
“God Guān Yuè, God Luò Xīng, God Qīng Yè . . .”
This . . . this was a shrine for the gods!
“It’s best to not be in here.”
Xíng Zhǐ’s voice was soft, but it was enough to scare Shěn Lí. She turned around to look at him. Her expression, her humongous eyes, Xíng Zhǐ couldn't help but smile.
“Didn’t I tell you before?”
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