Two hours later, Chu He asked gently, “Weren’t we here to flatten this wretched shrine, handsome?”
Zhou Hui stood halfway up the mountain, staring dumbfounded at the endless expanse of the shrine complex stretching into the night, and the massive magic dragon hovering in the void above it like a hibernating mountain range.
The magic dragon completely covered all visible space above the shrine. If humans could see it, they would realize that the mottled light on the ground wasn’t the reflection of the shrine’s torches on the snow, but rather the light and shadows cast by the dragon’s colossal scales in the void.
“…Is that thing a watchdog?” Zhou Hui said in shock. “How come I didn’t know these guys kept a mascot like that?!”
Chu He stifled a laugh. “It’s a historic shrine, after all; it’s not surprising they have something like this hidden away. Don’t worry, though—this dragon is lower in rank than me. I am a primordial divine bird, after all… If we’re being precise, its rank is just a bit higher than yours.”
Zhou Hui immediately flared up. “What did you say?!”
“Your true form! I mean your true form!” Chu He emphasized. “As the only demonic beast in the Six Realms to enjoy the bliss of wisdom, why are you comparing yourself to a reptilian long-worm? You already stand at the pinnacle of demonic beasts, what are you afraid of it for?!”
Zhou Hui: “…”
Chu He urged him on, “Quick, drive me over there in a tank and run it over! Flatten the shrine, catch that snake, and take it back as a late-night snack for Jia Louluo!”
“…” Zhou Hui stared at the mountain-sized dragon head in the sky. After a long pause, he asked, “…Are we really fighting it?”
“We’re fighting it.”
The two looked at each other as the freezing wind howled across the snow.
“Alright,” Zhou Hui said solemnly. Stepping forward with a tragic, heroic air like a warrior off to a fatal battle, he rolled up his sleeves and took two steps.
Chu He blinked and said, “Hey, hey… wait…”
Zhou Hui didn’t look back.
“Wait, Zhou Hui!”
With absolute resolve, Zhou Hui kept walking toward the magic dragon.
“—Zhou Hui!” Chu He hurriedly lunged forward and grabbed him. “Wait! I thought about it again. Saving people is more important right now. Let’s go find your daughter for your next life first. We can leave this dragon until it grows a bit fatter!”
However, Zhou Hui instantly switched into dramatic movie-hero mode. “Oh no, no! My wife told me to fight, so I must fight! To fulfill my promise to my wife…”
“No, no, no, your wife wants to save your daughter now! Saving your daughter is much more important!”
“A daughter can’t compare to my wife. I can’t be a scumbag who breaks his word to his beloved…”
Chu He wrapped his arms around Zhou Hui from behind, using every ounce of his strength just to hold him back. “I was joking, I’m sorry! Who told you to take on a dragon that massive head-on? Don’t be stupid, okay?!”
“No!” Zhou Hui said passionately, his voice heavy and stirring like a tragic protagonist about to face his demise. “I promised you I would be the man at the pinnacle of the Demon Realm, and that I would take you to flatten this shrine! Even if a mountain of daggers and a sea of flames stand before me, I will not break my word! —It’s just a mere magic dragon, how could it ever make me fail your love and faith?!”
“Give you an inch and you take a mile!” Chu He snapped angrily. “Whether you fight this dragon or not, you are the man at the pinnacle of the Demon Realm! To me, you already are! Stop talking nonsense, let’s get inside, save him, and leave!”
Zhou Hui finally turned around, looking down at his little phoenix. “See? It would’ve been much easier if you just said that in the first place.”
Dusting off his sleeves, Zhou Hui casually strolled toward the snow-covered mountain gate, leaving Chu He standing there with his eyebrows twitching slightly.
The magic dragon remained coiled in the void, its massive body rising and falling slightly with its breaths, like the tremors of the earth before a volcanic eruption.
Chu He caught up to Zhou Hui in a few quick steps. Glancing sideways, he saw that Zhou Hui’s handsome face indeed bore a deeply punchable grin, making Chu He feel a sudden urge to grab him by his spiky hair and smash his head against a wall.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Zhou Hui smiled but didn’t answer.
“…Hey,” Chu He hesitated for a moment before finally asking, “You actually could take on that magic dragon, couldn’t you?”
Zhou Hui still didn’t answer. The two walked side by side over the snow, their footsteps making a rhythmic crunching sound.
“I could take it, but it would require a bit of effort,” Zhou Hui finally admitted under the phoenix’s persistent gaze. “I just wanted to see you get all anxious and regretful, unable to stop yourself from confessing your love to me, admitting how much you care about me, and then getting all embarrassed…”
The phoenix’s bright eyes blinked, then he forcibly averted his gaze and said coldly, “Whether I admit it or not changes nothing. Objective facts do not alter because of words.”
“You’re right, but I still just want to hear it.”
They walked silently for a while through the mottled shadows on the snow. On both sides of the mountain path, empty shrines receded behind them as the cold wind whistled softly.
“Are you mad?” Zhou Hui asked.
Chu He didn’t speak. Zhou Hui panicked. “Are you really mad?!”
Zhou Hui grabbed Chu He, only to see that the latter was focusing intently on his palm, which displayed a small, glowing route map. “—I’m tracking where Yan Lanyu and the others are exactly. What did you say?”
Zhou Hui let out a sigh of relief, though a faint hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes. “Nothing.”
Chu He looked back down at the map, expressionless.
Just then, Zhou Hui caught a glimpse of Chu He’s profile and suddenly noticed that his cheeks, nearly hidden inside his raised collar, were slightly flushed.
The faint blush wasn’t obvious in the dim light, but his eyes were noticeably brighter than usual. It looked just like that year when Valentine’s Day first became popular in the human world; Zhou Hui had copied the humans and picked a few flowers on his way home to give to his wife. Back then, the phoenix had that exact same expression—an inability to hide his joy mixed with a slight shyness.
Zhou Hui smiled silently. “Phoenix?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know what tsundere means?”
“…”
Chu He’s lips twitched slightly. A moment later, he countered, “Do you know what yandere means?”
Zhou Hui had only intended to tease him and hadn’t expected this counter-question at all, leaving him stunned for a moment. Right then, Chu He looked up and suddenly spotted a figure flashing past the entrance of a nearby shrine. He immediately yanked Zhou Hui back, and the two ducked into the shadows of a corner together.
A few seconds later, footsteps approached. Maha, Aida Yoshihide, and several disciples of the Esoteric School came down another mountain path, heading toward a deeper part of the shrine complex marked by a vermilion torii gate and a hall with a green-tiled paulownia wood roof.
“What does yandere mean?” Zhou Hui was still preoccupied with the previous topic.
Chu He immediately made a “shh” gesture.
Zhou Hui was about to say that they were too far away to be heard, and that if they were overheard, he would just rush out and turn his eldest son into a spicy peacock hotpot… when Maha suddenly turned his head casually, his gaze sweeping over toward their hiding spot.
His silver hair shimmered under the snow, and his eyes carried an inorganic, detached coldness. Walking beside him, Aida Yoshihide noticed this and immediately asked, “Is something wrong, Your Highness?”
Maha swiped his finger across his screen, and his phone let out a loud CRASH explosion sound from his game.
Maha looked down. He had cleared the level.
“Nothing,” he said carelessly, instantly starting the next stage.
In their hiding spot, Zhou Hui was furious. “He’s playing Candy Crush! He’s actually playing Candy Crush too! —I knew that brat was copying me! Does he think he can just steal my persona?! I’m going to charge him copyright fees!”
Chu He kept desperately covering his mouth.
Not far away, Aida had already prepared another phone to hand over, but seeing Maha clear the level, he was momentarily at a loss. He froze for a few seconds before hastily passing the phone to a disciple behind him to hold. “Um… Your Highness, the Demon has already brought Yan Lanyu’s body to the altar and is waiting. Time is of the essence, should we…”
“Should we what?”
Aida Yoshihide looked at Maha’s face, which showed a supreme indifference as he didn’t even bother to raise his eyelids, and said with difficulty, “…Should we perform the ritual to extract the mirror’s heart right now?”
Maha glanced at Aida, his eyes filled with a lazy astonishment. “So impatient?”
“We used the power of the Demon under your command to ‘smuggle’ Yan Lanyu back to the Esoteric School. Once China finds out, they will definitely send people to intercept us. If things escalate, this entire operation might fall through—”
“What does that have to do with me?” Maha said languidly. “I’ve been very comfortable staying at the Esoteric School these past few days. I’d like to stay a few days longer.”
Of course you’ve been comfortable! You’ve crushed hundreds of phones in the past half-month! You kick down buildings whenever you’re unhappy! You eat delicacies at whim, and everyone bows and scrapes the moment they see you, terrified they’ll catch your eye and be swallowed alive!
Aida Yoshihide swallowed his anger, not daring to speak his mind, and bowed deeply. “Yes, yes—our trivial matters are naturally not worth mentioning. I am merely worried that if China sends people and escalates things, the fact that we secretly offered Japan’s national treasure, the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, to you might be discovered…”
It had to be said that after spending the past two weeks together, Aida Yoshihide had gained a decent understanding of the Peacock Great Wisdom King’s personality. Sure enough, Maha seemed slightly swayed upon hearing this. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Hmm, that would be a bit troublesome…”
Behind him, several Esoteric School disciples simultaneously let out sighs of relief.
However, Aida Yoshihide knew it wouldn’t end that easily. Sure enough, the next second, Maha returned to his game without looking up. “But it’s fine. If anyone tries to steal the sword, I’ll just eat them. Problem solved.”
Esoteric School disciples: “…”
Looking at the utterly casual expression on Maha’s breathtakingly beautiful face, Aida felt a chill run down his spine like a bolt of lightning.
“This… Lord Wisdom King,” after a long pause, Aida managed to force a smile, though it was visibly distorted. “How about this? If you extract the Yata-no-Kagami as soon as possible, I will establish a tablet for you at the Esoteric School to provide constant incense offerings, ensuring you can visit and rest here whenever you please. How does that sound?”
Several disciples looked terrified, but Maha, as expected, looked quite interested. “—I can stay for as long as I want?”
Aida gritted his teeth. “Yes, we would welcome Your Highness anytime.”
Maha laughed.
“—It doesn’t matter,” he said leisurely, carrying a smile that was both slightly demonic and strangely innocent. “Whenever I feel like coming, I’ll just come over, eat a few people, and leave. It makes no difference whether you welcome me or not.”
Aida couldn’t utter a single word. Reflected by the snow, his face looked exceptionally pale.
“Then it’s a deal. I’ll help you extract the Yata-no-Kagami, and then I’ll make a trip to the Sea of Blood before coming back.” Maha took a long, comfortable stretch. “Phew—if I don’t go back to the Sea of Blood soon, that idiot Jia Louluo might think I’ve gone missing somewhere… So annoying. If he weren’t my own brother, I would have eaten him long ago. Where is the Demon?”
Aida hurriedly forced a smile to guide the way, leading the Peacock Great Wisdom King toward the divine hall.
The Esoteric School disciples behind them quickened their pace to follow, leaving a messy trail of footprints in the snow.
In the corner, Zhou Hui stood up abruptly, absolutely fuming. “—Why didn’t he just eat Jia Louluo?! Go ahead and eat him! Once he eats him, I’ll have a perfect excuse to capture and slaughter him too, just in time to make a platter of Peking duck rolls!”
Phoenix coughed lightly, standing up and unhurriedly brushing the snow off his clothes. “That is what you call a yandere…”
Zhou Hui gritted his teeth in bitter resentment. He felt deeply slighted by the fact that one son copied his gaming habits while the other copied his face—this life was getting impossible to live. As expected, it’s a good thing creatures from the Sea of Blood don’t usually have children. Descendants are just competitors; they should all be snatched up and eaten as snacks when the wife isn’t looking.
“Yan Lanyu should be locked inside the altar. The Esoteric School can’t separate the connection between him and the Yata-no-Kagami on their own, so they asked Maha to help.” Seeing that the group had walked far ahead, Chu He pulled Zhou Hui along to follow them. “Stop overthinking nonsense. Our main priority right now is to get young Master Yan out—the one who’s going to be your daughter in your next life.”
Zhou Hui was still grumbling half-heartedly as Chu He held his hand, guiding him as they stealthily tracked the Esoteric School group.
Aida Yoshihide and his men were nothing to worry about, but Maha, as the Peacock Great Wisdom King, was a literal walking artillery battery. The two carefully concealed their auras, leaving no footprints on the snow. After walking forward for a few minutes, they finally arrived before the main hall located at the deepest part of the shrine complex—a place even the shrine’s internal staff were normally forbidden to approach.
Several Esoteric School disciples stood guard before the tall paulownia wood doors. Zhou Hui stepped onto the stairs and crisply snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the disciples’ heads tilted simultaneously, and they collapsed silently to the ground.
The dark clouds dispersed, and the brilliant light of the snowy moon finally broke through. Rows of red wooden pillars lined the area, stretching deep into the moonlight. Candlelight spilled through the cracked doors of the hall, and Chu He leaned in slightly to look inside.
The grand hall was magnificent. The bamboo curtains surrounding the altar were rolled up, revealing three tiers of beautifully adorned wooden doors. On the central white jade platform lay a quiet, young figure—it was the unconscious Yan Lanyu.
Guarding the side of the white jade platform was a pitch-black, gaunt creature—the Demon.
This hybrid of a demonic beast and a hungry ghost was something Maha had refined whenever he was in a good mood. Judging from its demonic aura, it had at least a thousand years of cultivation. No wonder Yan Lanyu had been caught off guard in Beijing, subsequently being taken out of the capital and the country before even Zhou Hui could intercept them.
Aida stood inside the hall with two of his trusted disciples, waiting anxiously. They watched as Maha casually tied up his hair, kicked off his shoes, and walked barefoot onto the altar, casting a glance at Yan Lanyu on the white jade platform.
“…Why does he look a bit familiar?” Maha said, puzzled.
Aida didn’t dare answer directly and merely bowed deeply. “Lord Wisdom King, is there a way to extract the Yata-no-Kagami?”
Maha stared at the ash-white fragment on Yan Lanyu’s chest. He reached out to tap it with his fingertip, then shook his head after a long pause. “No.”
“W-What?!”
“I’m saying it can’t be extracted.” Maha casually stuffed the fragment back into Yan Lanyu’s collar and said, “The Yata-no-Kagami’s heart isn’t on him. This fragment is empty… Before this kid came here, he wrapped the mirror’s heart inside half of his own soul and gave it away to someone else.”
