Fanfiction3: A-Li's Three Lives, Three Worlds - Chapter 79 (Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世十里桃花)
Chapter 79
“You failed.”
The Observer paused from performing his next spell midway and glared at the immortal he called His Employer.
He gritted his teeth. How dare he. These immortals… so arrogant and undeserving. Did they even understand how long it had taken his Kin to do the Second Creation? For him to construct Kunlun? Or to design and then build the 36 Heavens? Their powers had made them complacent ... and at the same time impatient for more power.
“Stop punishing Pet. It’s not his fault that he came up against somebody better than him.”
Pet whimpered and began crawling away.
The Observer’s eyes narrowed further down on his Employer. Then he moved to chase, one foot ending up to step on Pet’s hand.
“You think to escape?” He growled at the massive cause of his disappointment.
“Zhu Ge, Pet is too simple. He’s still very much an animal. Can you blame him when he does not have better sparring partners?”
He already knew that to be a problem. He had never been the strongest martial artist himself yet with years behind him, he had given his best to train Pet. Lacking expertise in discipline, he had made up for it by ensuring Pet was well-fed. A mistake, maybe. Hunger might have been the better teacher.
“I know that Pet can defeat the best in our ranks,” With a lot of flourish, his Employer swished his robes and sat down. “But that’s not enough. The Crown Prince had the very best martial arts teachers growing up. His Father, His Uncle, the entire Kunlun Mountain—“
He released his foot from Pet’s hand. “I know that already.”
It irritated him to no end how the Heavens blessed the Crown Prince with endless good fortune. Being born to the apex of Immortal families, trained by the best teachers, winning the love of his Beloved’s mortal form, and being able to cross to Hùndùn? Who knew what else Nüwa had taught him by now? Li had increased his cultivation by several levels, which had even enabled the Crown Prince to see past his illusion.
“Zhu Ge, are you listening to me?”
He snapped back to the present and just barely stopped himself from inflicting harm on the puny immortal who kept interrupting his thoughts with his trifling babble.
“I can get you a Trainer for Pet.”
As if. “We’ve already gone through many. All end up being eaten for being too weak.”
His Employer grinned. “Oh, but this one’s special. Give me a few days to fetch him. I guarantee you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
This was where his Employer came in handy time and again. Affluent and powerful, the immortal had been able to pool in power and resources where and when needed, which made up for his unbearable pomposity that rivaled Fuxi’s.
“Will I?” He asked, pursing his lips so he wouldn’t smile.
“You will.”
***
The Blue Lotus Festival of the East River Tribe was well-underway by the time two immortals got off a boat at the pier. Ambulant vendors rushed to meet the new arrivals, all refused but for one who managed to sell one of the two a stick of candied hawthorns. After the vendors came the hawkers who offered rooms at nearby inns for a commission — all of those refused as well.
Instead, the two men walked toward the main street. Bright streamers hung above the path of the streets where merchants from all over the immortal lands converged with makeshift stalls and tents side by side to sell their wares.
“Mister, where did you come from, and where are you going?”
The two men turned to see a boy who looked to be about ten human years stare at them with pure curiosity in his face.
They were surprised but not disappointed. The incident at Fusang Island had the Celestial forces on high alert. Of course, The Storekeeper would be cautious when sending his messengers.
“We are lost,” they offered the simple phrases that served as their code. “Can you show us the way?”
The boy stretched out his palm, asking for payment. One of the men fished out a nondescript copper coin shaped like a hexagon and gave it to the boy, who took out a similar-looking coin from his own pocket and put them together.
With a grin, he waved his hand and ran.
“Follow him!” The taller of the two men told his companion.
They weaved through shops and shoppers. Deeper and deeper they went into town until they got to what could only be the warehouse district. The air smelled dank once again. There were fewer people milling about here — mostly workers pulling on carts— and yet the boy led them in even deeper.
Finally, the child stopped in front of a ramshackle shop where two tall Demons stood as guards. The boy showed them the coin, and one of the men waved them closer.
“Stop,” the men commanded before they could cross the threshold.
“Who sent them?” Came the deep, disaffected voice from the other side of the door.
“This coin came from Heng, Lord,” replied one of the guards.
Pressure from above fell on the two visitors. They tried to fight against it but it forced them down so that one side of their cheeks laid flat on the ground.
“How dare he send envoys here when it was his big mouth’s fault that my supply chain for Indomitable Ore from Fusang Island is now cut off by Celestial Troops!”
The pressure kept building until the man holding a stick with an unfinished candied hawthorn cried, “Lord, we do not know the history you have with Heng, only that we were sent here to fetch you.”
“Fetch me? By whom?”
“By the one who ordered the siege to Fusang Island, Lord!”
The pressure lifted and the sound of a chair being moved from inside could be heard. “First, I was betrayed and now I am being summoned by the one who bled me dry in the East. What does the one who ordered the siege to Fusang Island want?”
“They need your skills, Lord.”
“Do they? And what do they have that I could possibly want?”
The two men looked at each other. The response was expected, given who this immortal was.
“Forgive us, Lord,” they apologized right before they released six devices that comprised the Bagua Prison. A mere second later, they had captured their prey.
***
Youchao leaned against his closed left fist as he stared at the intricately-framed mirror in front of him, flicking the fingers of his right hand now and then to change the scene.
The business of searching for His Beloved had become a challenge since he had killed the child her mortal form carried. Even using this looking glass that he had built to look into the billions of worlds in the Trichiliocosm hadn’t been helping any. The other indicator of her presence in the mortal worlds had been quiet for over 200 years, and there was no way she could have been a human during all that time.
So search for her he must, until he could find a way to bring her back for good.
A servant announced that his men had arrived. His envoys bowed assiduously, obviously pleased with themselves.
“We have him, Master. He did not resist.”
The Observer looked up and… began to laugh at the sight of the young man the people of the underground called The Storekeeper. So it was true! What irony.
The Storekeeper was not restrained, but stood calmly before him, looking him up and down with the air of a man who knew his worth. Unafraid. Cocky. Unbearably young.
Still chuckling, the Observer waved him closer. “When I was told whose son you are, I thought the people around me must be joking. But it is true! One look at you and your lineage is clear.”
The young man’s face remained skillfully blank but The Observer wasn’t easily fooled. There had to be questions. Many questions. And he had them too.
“I wonder what your illustrious parents would think if they knew what you do. Would they disown you?”
The Storekeeper’s brows drew together just a fraction. “There is nothing wrong about being a businessman,” he said. His voice was smooth yet sharp and deep enough to convey the authority someone so young had to wield like a weapon if he wanted to hold his position in a world of cutthroats.
The Observer chuckled. “A businessman to questionable characters? You are nothing but a mercenary, boy.”
The anger was a welcome sight on the young man’s face. “And what about you? You know me but I have yet to know you. Who are you?”
The Observer— no, the Heavens had already taken that sight and right away from him— turned and with the flick of his finger, pulled his guest’s neck into the mercy of his left hand. Enough with the insolence.
“You are wrong. I do not yet know you, Bai Gun Gun. But I will now.”
Bai Gun Gun did not shrink back. The beautiful face was devoid of emotions again, but his eyes a stormy black.
“I am a High Prince of the Celestial Kingdom. How dare you put your hand on me!” he growled.
Formidable little warrior. If he wasn’t pressed for time, The Observer would have considered having some fun with this one.
“You think I can’t? Then let me show you who I am.”
He released his spiritual pressure, allowing the boy to see part of his glory. It physically manifested as the light of a thousand suns and not even pressing his eyes shut could save Bai Gun Gun from the sensory onslaught.
With his right index finger, he touched the space between Bai Gun Gun’s brows, to show the boy snippets from his past: His beast form. The beginning of the First Creation marked by Pangu’s sacrifice. The finishing blow that ended the First Creation. The beginning of the Second Creation. And his Father Dong Hua’s first appearance when the Old God broke out of a rock. Charming.
The memories he showed the boy were vivid and deliberately overwhelming so that Bai Gun Gun was shaking violently by the time he was done. His point proven and satisfied, he let go of Bai Gun Gun. Dijun’s son collapsed on his knees and began retching on the floor.
Not quite as strong as he liked to appear, was he.
He dimmed his spiritual pressure, finally sparing Gun Gun’s eyes, and cringed at the sight of red liquid on the floor.
Blood. It had never failed to make him feel queasy, which was why he rather confined himself with engineering and numbers and left the business of war and the bloodbath it necessitated to the rest of his Kin.
He turned his gaze to the greenery outside.
“W-who are you?” Now the voice was brittle and there was no authority anymore. Ah, but he had sympathy for the young, for the overblown confidence that made them do the most daring things with no thought to the consequences.
The Observer paused for a moment. It had been a long time since his own name passed his lips. He savored the moment, took a deep breath, formed the words: “I Am Youchao.”
Seeing the boy’s eyes dilate pleased him.
“Wipe your mess!” he commanded.
Bai Gun Gun’s hands trembled as he took off his coat, and like any lowly servant, began wiping off the blood on the floor. The boy was panting and still trying to catch his breath.
“Bow.” He commanded after the mess was gone.
Bai Gun Gun swayed as he stood up, then steadied himself. Obediently, he raised his arms and touched the backs of his hands against his forehead.
“I, Bai Gun Gun, humbly greet Youchao Dijun,” he announced then began performing the three ceremonial kneelings and nine knockings.
Youchao took his seat while Bai Gun Gun went through the ceremony. His lips stretched toward his ears. It had been thousands upon thousands of years since somebody had bowed to him. Had it always felt so good? Or was he so pleased because the salutation came from this particular boy, who had so much pride packed inside his body?
“Are you afraid?” He asked once the salutations were done and Bai Gun Gun was kneeling upright before him.
“No.”
Youchao sneered when he caught the boy hiding his trembling fingers by clenching his fingers into fists. Such willful courage. Indeed, Bai Gun Gun was his Father’s son.
Without a warning, he performed the Truth Seeker spell. A line like liquid mercury connected to his pulse latched into Bai Gun Gun’s heart.
A loving fondness for his parents. Respect for Tianjun. Admiration and jealousy toward Li.
Good.
He removed the spell, just as his tea finished brewing.
“What—“ interrupting himself, Bai Gun Gun shook his head and stared at him.
“You mean to ask what I just did to you?” Youchao lifted the kettle and poured himself a cup of tea.
“No.”
A little liar, too. He lifted his eyebrows.
“No, Youchao Dijun, I meant to ask with your permission… what are you doing aligning with the Celestial Rebel Faction?”
Courageous and loyal? That was unusual for mercenaries.
“They are but a means to my end,” he shrugged. “A nuisance at times but they serve their purpose.”
“And what is your end, Youchao Dijun?”
Youchao took a longer look at the youth’s face. It was made for vanity and belied the calculating mind behind it. This pleased him. This Bai Gun Gun was an unexpected gift.
“Justice and Retribution.”
He watched with satisfaction as Bai Gun Gun’s eyes lit up with something that looked very much like intrigue to him.
* * *