Two hours later, Chu He asked gently,
“Weren’t you going to flatten this broken shrine, handsome?”
Zhou Hui stood on the mountainside, staring at the continuous shrine in the night and the hibernating magic dragon, like a mountain range, hovering in the void above the shrine, his face full of astonishment.
That 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 was not the reflection of the shrine’s lights on the snow, but the light and shadow cast by the huge scales of the magic dragon in the void.
“…Is this thing a gatekeeper beast?” Zhou Hui said in amazement. “How did I not know the little Japs were raising this kind of mascot?!”
The phoenix held back a laugh. “After all, it’s a shrine with history. It’s not surprising that it’s hiding this kind of thing. But don’t worry, this dragon’s rank is lower than mine. I’m an ancient divine bird, after all… If I had to say, its rank is only a little higher than yours.”
Zhou Hui immediately exploded. “What did you say?!”
“Your original form! I’m talking about your original form!” Chu He emphasized. “You, as the only demonic beast in the six realms to enjoy wisdom and happiness, why are you comparing yourself to a reptile? You’re already at the pinnacle of demonic beasts, you know? What’s there to be afraid of!”
Zhou Hui: “…”
Chu He urged, “Quick, take me in a tank and run it over! Flatten the shrine, catch this snake, and take it back for Jia Louluo as a late-night snack!”
“…” Zhou Hui looked at the mountain-like dragon head in the sky and asked after a long moment, “…Are we really fighting?”
“Yes, we are.”
They looked at each other, the cold wind howling over the snow.
Zhou Hui said tragically, “Alright.” Then, like a hero off to a grim battle, he rolled up his sleeves and took two steps forward.
Chu He blinked and said, “Hey, hey… wait…”
Zhou Hui didn’t look back.
“Wait, Zhou Hui!”
Zhou Hui walked toward the magic dragon without hesitation.
“—Zhou Hui!” Chu He hurriedly pounced and grabbed him. “Wait, I’ve thought about it again. Saving people is more important right now. Let’s go find your daughter for the next life first. We can let this dragon get fatter before we deal with it!”
However, Zhou Hui instantly entered Chow Yun-fat mode. “Hey, no, no! If my wife tells me to fight, I must fight. To fulfill my promise to my wife…”
“No, no, no, my wife is going to save my daughter now. Saving my daughter is more important!”
“My daughter is nothing compared to my wife. I can’t be a scumbag who breaks his promise in front of his lover…”
Chu He hugged Zhou Hui from behind with both hands, using all his strength to barely hold him back. “I’m sorry, I was joking! Who told you to face such a big dragon head-on? Don’t be silly!”
“No!” Zhou Hui said emotionally, his voice as heavy and impassioned as a movie hero about to meet his doom. “I promised you I would be the top man in the demon world and take you to flatten this shrine! I can’t break my promise even if I have to face a mountain of swords and a sea of fire! —It’s just a mere magic dragon. How could I let it make me betray your love and faith?!”
“Don’t climb up the pole just because I gave you a rope, okay!” Chu He said angrily. “Whether you fight this dragon or not, you are the top man in the demon world! To me, you are! Stop talking nonsense, go in, save the person, and let’s go!”
Zhou Hui finally turned his head and looked down at his little phoenix. “You should have said so earlier.”
Zhou Hui dusted off his sleeves and sauntered toward the snow-covered mountain gate, leaving Chu He standing there, his brow twitching slightly.
The magic dragon coiled in the void, its huge body rising and falling slightly with its breath, like the trembling earth’s veins before a volcanic eruption.
Chu He caught up with Zhou Hui in three steps and glanced at him. As expected, Zhou Hui’s handsome face had a hint of a punchable smile, making one want to grab his spiky hair and smash his head against the wall.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Zhou Hui smiled without answering.
“…Hey,” Chu He hesitated for a moment and finally asked, “Actually, you could have taken on that magic dragon, right?”
Zhou Hui still didn’t answer. They walked side by side in the snow, their feet making crunching sounds.
“I could have, but it would have taken a bit of effort.” After a long moment, under the phoenix’s persistent gaze, Zhou Hui finally admitted, “I just wanted to see you angry and regretful, unable to help but confess to me, admitting how much you care about me, and then looking embarrassed…”
The phoenix’s bright eyes blinked, then were forcefully averted. He said coldly, “What does it matter whether I admit it or not? The objective fact won’t change because of words.”
“You’re right, but I just want to hear it.”
They walked in silence for a while in the mottled shadows of the snow. The empty shrines on both sides of the mountain path receded behind them, the cold wind carrying a slight whistle-like whimper.
“Are you angry?” Zhou Hui asked.
Chu He didn’t speak. Zhou Hui was shocked. “Are you really angry?!”
Zhou Hui grabbed Chu He, only to see that the latter was intently looking at his palm, where there was a small, flickering route map. “—I’m looking at where Yan Lanyu and the others are. What did you say?”
Zhou Hui let out a sigh of relief, a hint of imperceptible disappointment flashing in his eyes. “Nothing.”
Chu He looked down at the route map with a blank expression.
At that moment, Zhou Hui inadvertently glanced at his profile and suddenly noticed that his cheeks, almost hidden in his upturned collar, were a little red.
The redness was not obvious in the dim light, but his eyes were clearly brighter than usual. It was like that year when Valentine’s Day had just become popular in the human world. Zhou Hui had also learned from humans and had plucked a few flowers on his way home to give to his wife. The phoenix’s face had shown an undisguised happiness and a slightly embarrassed expression.
Zhou Hui smiled silently. “Phoenix?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know what ‘tsundere’ means?”
“…”
The corner of Chu He’s mouth twitched slightly. A moment later, he asked back, “Do you know what ‘yandere’ means?”
Zhou Hui had only meant to tease and was completely unprepared for this question. He was a little stunned. At that moment, Chu He looked up and suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure flashing at the entrance of a shrine not far away. He immediately pulled Zhou Hui, and they both hid in the shadow of a corner.
A few seconds later, footsteps approached from afar. Maha, Aida Yoshihide, and several Esoteric School disciples came along another mountain path, heading toward a vermilion torii gate and a temple with paulownia wood and green tiles deeper in the shrine.
“What’s ‘yandere’?” Zhou Hui was still thinking about the previous topic.
Chu He immediately made a “shh” gesture.
Zhou Hui was about to say that they couldn’t hear from so far away, and if they could, he would rush out and make spicy peacock stew out of big furball… when he suddenly saw Maha inadvertently turn his head, his gaze falling in their direction.
In the snow, his long silver hair shimmered with a flowing light, his eyes had an inorganic sense of detachment. Aida Yoshihide walked beside him and immediately asked, “Is something wrong, Your Highness?”
Maha’s fingertip slipped, and the phone made a “whoosh—” sound of an in-game explosion.
Maha looked down and saw he had passed the level.
“Nothing.” He said nonchalantly and immediately began to focus on the next level.
In their hiding place, Zhou Hui was furious. “He’s playing Candy Crush! He’s playing Candy Crush too! —I knew that brat was copying me. Is my persona something he can just imitate?! I’m going to charge him a copyright fee!”
Chu He kept covering his mouth.
Not far away, Aida had already prepared the next phone and was about to offer it up. Seeing that Maha had passed the level, he was a little at a loss. He was stunned for a few seconds before he hurriedly handed the phone to a disciple behind him to hold. “That… Your Highness, the demon has already brought Yan Lanyu’s body and is waiting at the altar. We shouldn’t delay any longer. Do you think we should…”
“Should what?”
Aida Yoshihide looked at Maha’s face, who didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids, and said with difficulty, “…Should we perform the ritual to extract the mirror’s heart now?”
Maha glanced at Aida, his eyes full of lazy astonishment. “In such a hurry?”
“Yan Lanyu was ‘smuggled’ back to the Esoteric School with the help of your demon’s power. If we are discovered, China will definitely send people to intercept. If this gets blown up, this whole matter might be for naught—”
“What does that have to do with me?” Maha said lazily. “I’ve been very comfortable in the Esoteric School these past few days. I was thinking of staying for a few more days.”
Of course you’re comfortable! You’ve crushed hundreds of phones in half a month! You kick down houses when you’re unhappy! You eat whatever delicacies you want. Everyone who sees you immediately kowtows and prostrates themselves, afraid that if they catch your eye, you’ll grab them and eat them raw!
Aida Yoshihide was angry but didn’t dare to speak. He bowed deeply. “Yes, yes—our small matter is of course not worth mentioning. What I’m worried about is that if people from China come and make a big deal out of it, the fact that we secretly offered Japan’s national treasure, the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, to you will be discovered…”
It had to be said that after half a month of getting along, Aida Yoshihide had a better understanding of the Peacock Great Wisdom King’s personality. As expected, Maha seemed a little moved upon hearing this and pondered for a moment before saying, “Hmm, that’s a bit troublesome…”
The several Esoteric School disciples behind him simultaneously showed expressions of relief.
However, Aida Yoshihide knew it wouldn’t end that simply. As expected, in the next second, Maha returned to his game and said without looking up, “But it’s fine. If someone tries to snatch the sword, I’ll just eat them. Problem solved.”
Esoteric School disciples: “…”
Aida looked at the nonchalant expression on Maha’s incomparably beautiful face and felt a chill shoot up his spine like lightning.
“This… Your Highness Ming Wang,” after a long while, Aida finally managed to squeeze out a smile, though it was twisted with undisguised strain. “How about this? If you extract the Yata-no-Kagami as soon as possible, I will set up a memorial tablet for you in the Esoteric School, with incense and offerings, to ensure you can visit and rest at any time. How about that?”
Several disciples simultaneously showed expressions of terror, but Maha was indeed very interested. “—I can stay for as long as I want?”
Aida gritted his teeth. “Yes, Your Highness is welcome to visit at any time.”
Maha started to laugh.
“—It doesn’t matter,” he said leisurely with that somewhat demonic and somewhat innocent smile. “When I want to come, I’ll just come over, eat a few people, and leave. It’s the same whether you welcome me or not.”
Aida couldn’t say a word. Under the reflection of the snow, his face looked exceptionally ugly.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll help you take out the Yata-no-Kagami, and then I’ll go to the sea of blood and come back.” Maha stretched long and contentedly. “Phew—if I don’t go back to the sea of blood soon, that idiot Jia Louluo might think I’ve gone 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 and pointed the way, leading the Peacock Great Wisdom King toward the shrine.
The several Esoteric School disciples behind them followed quickly, leaving a trail of messy footprints in the snow.
In the corner, Zhou Hui shot to his feet, furious. “—Why doesn’t he just eat Jia Louluo! Hurry up and eat him! After he eats him, I’ll have a reason to catch him and slaughter him too, and make a plate of Beijing roast duck rolls!”
The phoenix coughed, stood up, and slowly brushed the snow off his clothes. “This is what you call yandere…”
Zhou Hui gritted his teeth, his heart full of grief and indignation. He deeply felt that with one son copying his game and another son copying his face, this life was simply unbearable. As expected, it was right for the sea of blood demons not to have children. Offspring were all competitors and should be caught and eaten as snacks when the wife wasn’t looking.
“Yan Lanyu should be locked up in the altar. The Esoteric School can’t sever the connection between him and the Yata-no-Kagami themselves, so they asked Maha to help.” Chu He waited for those people to walk away before pulling Zhou Hui and following them. “Stop thinking about nonsense. The proper thing to do is to go and get little brother Yan, who is going to be your daughter in the next life.”
Zhou Hui was still grumbling unwillingly, but Chu He held his hand and followed the direction of the Esoteric School people.
Aida Yoshihide and the others were no threat, but Maha, as the Peacock Great Wisdom King, was a veritable fighting machine. The two of them carefully concealed their auras, leaving no footprints in the snow. After walking for a few minutes, they finally arrived at the main hall, the deepest part of the shrine complex, which even the shrine’s internal staff were usually not allowed to approach.
Several Esoteric School disciples stood guard in front of the tall paulownia wood gate. Zhou Hui stepped onto the stairs and snapped his fingers cleanly.
Instantly, the several disciples all tilted their heads and fell to the ground silently.
The dark clouds dispersed, and the light of the snowy moon appeared. Rows of red wooden pillars stood in the moonlight, their depths unseen. Candlelight shone through the ajar temple door. Chu He gently leaned against the door and looked inside.
The grand hall was magnificent. A circle of bamboo curtains around the altar was rolled up, revealing three layers of beautifully decorated wooden doors. On the central white jade platform, a young man’s figure lay quietly. It was the unconscious Yan Lanyu.
Beside the white jade platform stood a completely black, gaunt monster—that was the demon.
It was unknown on which day Maha had been in a good mood and refined this hybrid of a demonic beast and a hungry ghost. From its demonic aura, it had at least a thousand years of cultivation. No wonder Yan Lanyu had been caught off guard in Beijing and then taken out of the country, and even Zhou Hui couldn’t stop him.
Aida and his two trusted disciples waited anxiously in the grand hall. Maha casually tied up his hair, kicked off his shoes, and walked barefoot onto the altar. He stood by the white jade platform and glanced at Yan Lanyu.
“…Why does he look a little familiar?” he said inexplicably.
Aida didn’t dare to answer and just bowed deeply. “Your Highness Ming Wang, is there a way to extract the Yata-no-Kagami?”
Maha stared at the grayish-white fragment on Yan Lanyu’s chest, reached out and touched it with his fingertip, and after a long moment, shook his head. “No.”
“Wha-what?!”
“I just can’t take it out.” Maha casually stuffed the fragment back into Yan Lanyu’s collar and said, “The heart of the Yata-no-Kagami is not on him. This fragment is empty… Before this little brother came, he wrapped the mirror’s heart in half of his soul and gave it to someone.”
