Chapter 35 - Unexpected Visit

I fell asleep in her embrace and when I woke up it was already late afternoon. Ling wasn’t with me, so I grudgingly got up and found a set of new clothes by the foot of the bed. They weren’t as fancy as my usual ones, but since the others would have been lost when the boat exploded, I wasn’t going to get picky.

I was sore all over and my joints felt squeaky, which was a testament to the time I had spent in bed.

I would have to begin training again in the morning. But for now, a very late breakfast was in order.

“His highness awakens, finally!”

I looked at the strange company sitting around the bonfire, blinking in surprise, all but ignoring the comment of the unknown man as I searched for Ling. She was on another bonfire with a group of elder women.

They seemed to be chatting amiably and Ling looked happy, so I let her be and instead turned to the man who had addressed me before. He was grumbling about ‘lack of respect’ and ‘younger generations’.

“If you want to be respected, show some respect yourself.” I glared at the older man who clearly was unused to being talked back by anyone.

His face purpled and he glared at me “You ungrateful little twit. I’ll-”

“You’ll what, old man? Talk me to death?” I glared back. I wasn’t at my 100%, but I could still kick his butt if I put my mind on it.

He stood up, intending of telling me off when he was suddenly hit in the head with a frying pan, and he cried in surprise and pain, sitting right back in his place.

“Shut your trap, you dickless old fart!” an even older woman glared at the guy and his anger wilted under her unflinching stare. “You don’t get to treat my guests however you like.” She then rounded on me “And you, young man. I expected better manners from a nobleman.”

I nodded her way “Apologies Zumu, I got carried away.”

She hummed but smiled at my apology. And then ordered a few girls to serve me, at this I turned to Ling and saw her watching me earnestly. It was clear that she wanted to come to me, but something… or, more likely, someone was keeping her away.

“Ogle at your woman in your free time, you will see each other again soon enough.”

I raised an eyebrow at the woman’s tone but said nothing and I sat where the girls took me. They then placed a plate of soup in front of me. One of them made a motion to feed me, but I stopped her with a glare.

She instantly went to her knees in apology.

“Do not think ill of these creatures” the old woman said. “They’re used to feeding my patients, and most can’t even move on their own, much less eat.”

I held the old woman’s gaze while I searched for poison or other toxins in the broth. There were none.

She smiled at me.

“Cautious, aren’t we?” Her tone was pleasant.

“Trust but verify” I answered her with a Russian proverb to see her reaction. She nodded sagely before smiling.

“Truer words have never been uttered by a boy so young.”

I shrugged. I picked up the plate of food that the girls were now too wary to feed me and began wolfing down the food.

“How long was I out?” I asked the old lady once I had finished the plate, and was promptly served another, this one too I scanned for poisons, and ate right after confirming its properties.

“Three days and three nights.”

I nodded, not really surprised. It was usual for me to sleep for one or two days after challenging a Heavenly Tribulation because it used up my Chi… exactly as it had happened during our previous fight.

“You don’t seem surprised” she mused out loud “and your wounds healed up faster than I thought possible…” She eyed me pensively.

I raised an eyebrow at her unasked question. If she thought I was going to give her free information, she was sorely mistaken.

The old woman chuckled and finally sat directly in front of me, on the other side of the bonfire. “Your group is very interesting. You all arrived here wounded and weary, but in that time, none of your companions have said more than five words about it. I’m wondering… was it something illegal?”

I blinked at her over the flames. Then I rolled my eyes. “No. Let’s just call it being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

She nodded sagely, “Very well.”

So, these people didn’t know who we were… that could work in our favor until we knew the identities of our enemies.

The strangest thing about our previous fight was that, other than Weng, the two leading figures had been foreigners. From northern Europe now that I was able to place their accent.

I had no idea that Vikings or their ilk had traveled as far as China.

As I ate, I analyzed the people around me. Most looked like weary travelers, some were bandaged, but they all seemed to hold the old woman in high regard. If I was reading things correctly, this woman was a healer and just about everyone here was or had been a patient of hers.

What worried me was the vibe I got from the old woman… as if she weren’t completely there. Like a mirage or vision.

She had helped us, true, but I couldn’t help but feel wary of her.

And I hadn’t spotted Fa Min anywhere.

When I finished my food, I stood up and stretched. “Thank you for the meal” I gave the old woman a slight bow and turned to leave.

“Where are you going, young man?” She asked me.

At that moment I felt everyone’s eyes on me… making me even warier of our host.

“To stretch my legs.” I wasn’t lying.

Her eyes closed for a moment before she nodded and added “Do not cross the tree-line unless you’re ready to leave.”

“Mm.”

I went on my way, feeling her eyes on my back.

The cold really came down when I walked away from the bonfire, but I shrugged it off with a bit of fire-breathing.

I walked silently to the very edge of the tree line, taking note of how quiet everything was. There were no birds nor crickets singing. No sound whatsoever. Even the sound from my feet on the ground seemed muffled.

I picked a tree from the line the old woman had spoken about and stared at it. Finding nothing wrong, I closed my eyes and instead tried to reach out with my elemental senses. True enough, the tree was there, the mass. But the light of its spirit was stronger… almost as if it had a mind of its own… like no other tree or plant I had been in contact with before.

“What are you doing?” A young and clear voice called me from behind.

I ceased my investigation.

One of the women that had tried to feed me before was staring at me from a few paces back.

Even in my meditative state, I had failed to notice her approach.

‘Maybe they are all ninjas?’

I looked back to where the huts were, and sure enough, there was some light, but also a shadowy figure at the border between light and darkness.

“Aren’t you cold?” she asked again, making me face her. She was closer now and wearing a heavy winter coat on her shoulders.

“No.” I frowned “What are you doing here?”

She smiled at me. It was truly a beautiful smile with dimples and all… if I hadn’t been wary already, I might have fallen for her almost ethereal beauty.

“That was my question.” She pouted, taking a step closer. Up close, her beauty almost hurt, and I frowned, for looking her in the eye was giving me a headache.

I turned away to stare at the tree from before, and gently caressed its surface “These trees are old and wise.”

I heard her hum, even closer than before. “Do you not fear them?” her tone was genuinely curious.

I laughed.

In my previous life, I had always loved the outdoors, and now that I lived in a world where everything was green, that love only grew. That was one of the reasons why I couldn’t stand being cooped up in the palace for too long.

“Fear them?” I asked and turned to her with a pleasant smile. “No, not at all. I love them.”

She was but a step away from me. Her presence, her smell, her smile. Everything was overwhelming, making my head hurt.

I felt something click in my head and my vision changed. On the left, there was this beautiful girl looking at me innocently, but on the right side of my vision, there was a giant being made of light looming over me and reaching for me.

I immediately took a step back and sighed when my sight became normal once again. That’s when I saw her hand outstretched toward where my face had been.

Her face was that of surprise, but also wariness.

“Who are you?” we asked at the same time. She scoffed at my question and frowned looking at the trees.

“What is your name?” I asked this time, watching as her gaze came back to me with a raised eyebrow. “I have a feeling that that question is more important than my last.”

She laughed. It was a truly pleasant sound, like the ringing of a bell.

“You are interesting” she said, coming closer to me again. This time, my head wasn’t hurting as before, but I could see her aura grow brighter as she closed the distance. “You seem older than you are.”

I raised an eyebrow. If she wasn’t going to answer my questions directly, then I had to find a way to discover her identity without asking outright.

Thinking back about the spiritual beings I had been taught about, I tried the first name that came to mind “where is Shancai?”

She shrugged “That boy is doing his rounds-” she suddenly caught up with what she had just said and glared at me “You tricked me!”

I smiled pleasantly, “You weren’t answering my questions.”

She scoffed and crossed her arms looking mortified. After a moment she sighed “Who am I then? Let me hear you say my name.”

I cupped my fist and gave her a polite bow, like the ones I reserved for Bai Fan “You are Guanyin, goddess of mercy and compassion.”

She sighed and turned to the trees before addressing me. Seeing that I wasn’t making a move or kowtowing to her, she stopped herself from talking and instead fully turned to me, surprise was written all over her face.

“What?” I asked, but she kept staring at me. After a moment she shook her head, her cheeks growing a little red.

“You are nothing like the other men I’ve met.”

I conceded with a nod. “What brought you here, my lady?” She glared at me, and I blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Aren’t you going to use my name?”

“Should I? It would sound rather intimate, don’t you think?” the pink glow in her cheeks grew. “We’ve only just met; it would be rather impolite for me to call a lady such as you by name.”

She bit her lip but nodded.

“Will you tell me your name now?” the goddess said without looking at me.

“Don’t you know it? I rather think that this meeting is nor fortuitous, my lady.”

“Just say it.” She glared at me and I shrugged.

“Shen Long Mu.”

Gone was her glare and frown, replaced by her beautiful, bright smile. “A pleasure meeting you.” She offered a tiny bow, to which I answered with one of my own.

“Likewise, my lady.” We shared a moment in silence, where we stared at each other “so… to what do I owe the honor of a visit from the gods?”

“Well, the others wanted to know how you created that big light in the swamp. I simply wanted to meet you.” Her smile was contagious, and I soon found myself trying hard not to laugh and her bubbly disposition. “How can someone so destructive feel so much compassion?”

I raised an eyebrow but sighed. I’m sure she had been referring to me feeling dejected at the destruction brought by my magic. I didn’t much care for the lives of the assassins, but I mourned for the animals and plants that had been erased too. “It is…. complicated.”

The goddess rolled her eyes “of course it is. You wouldn’t be interesting otherwise.”

I shrugged and turned to place my hand on one of the trees around us. I closed my eyes to try and connect with it again, and this time I said out loud what I had wanted to communicate to the tree before. “I’m sorry I killed your brethren, and the animals living there.” I felt its spirit ‘turn’ to me with curiosity. I shared some of my memories with the spirit and later felt it accept my apology in silence.

I smiled and had to wipe my eyes when I came back to my senses.

“You know, I believe this to be the first time that a mortal disregards me to speak to someone else.” Guanyin was staring intently at me, and for a moment I thought that she might be jealous, but I denied such a thought the next instant.

“It was what I came here to do before I received your pleasant interruption, my lady.”

She laughed. “Oh, dearest Mu, the kindness of your words is lost if you lace them with sarcasm, didn’t you know?”

I shrugged, “It is a pleasant interruption, but an interruption nonetheless.”

She nodded sagely before staring at my face once again. “So…?”

I stared at her “So…?”

She crossed her arms over her chest again “How did you do it?”

I blinked at her “I was unaware the great goddess Guanyin was also a messenger to the gods.”

The woman frowned “I am not. But I have been asked to ask you since I was already planning to come to see you.”

I nodded “You can tell the other gods to not worry. I won’t be using that magic again. And neither do I plan to teach it to-”

“That wasn’t the question” she interrupted me, her soft smile turning to a glare. “We want to know how you did it.”

“Ah, so it’s ‘we’ now?” her glare intensified, and I decided that playing coy with a deity was probably the stupidest thing I could ever do. “Fine, fine.”

I scratched my chin, looking at the dark sky for a way to explain physics to a spiritual being.

“Ok, first of all, you must understand that water is formed of tiny particles.”

“You mean droplets?”

I shook my head. I felt like I was trying to explain quantum physics to a child “No, smaller. So small that they aren’t visible to the naked eye.”

“But then, how do you know they exist?” her face held bewilderment. Clearly, gods were as knowledgeable as the people of the time… or maybe it was just this goddess.

I smiled at her “We don’t normally see gods, yet how do we know they exist?”

Her face became pensive “but… ok, never mind that. Let’s continue.”

I nodded “It is almost impossible to separate these tiny particles… unless you have an ample source of energy.”

“So… the storm?”

I nodded and she smiled. It truly felt like giving classes to a child “Yes, when the lightning from the sky hit my water dragon, these particles grew excited and some separated. Now, if they aren’t together, these particles are highly volatile. When the fire whip hit the water dragon, the energy from these particles was released in an instant. The light was one of the results of the explosion. It’s followed by immense heat and a wind force equivalent to that of a tornado.”

She was nodding sagely, even if I knew she understood little of what I had said.

“How did you find out about these… particles?”

I shrugged, “It’s not a place where someone can go.”

She stared at me, probably gauging if I was telling the truth or not. “And… you promised to never use this magic again, right?”

I wasn’t keen on burning to death or killing and destroying the land like before. “Yes, never again. Next time I find myself surrounded; I’ll think of another way to get out of that situation.”

The goddess nodded “very well.” Then, far too fast for me to reach, her hand grabbed mine and she pulled me to her with a strength that betrayed her divine nature.

Before I was able to comprehend what had happened, she kissed me on the lips.

I stiffened. So surprised that even my mind was completely blank.

She released me after a moment that felt like an eternity.

Guanyin smiled tenderly at me, patting my left cheek. “I hope she’s able to heal you. It would be a pity for such a handsome face to be marred by a scar.” Her hands went down to mine as I stared at her in bewilderment. “What? Didn’t think we goddesses liked kissing?”

I shook my head no and cleared my throat before giving voice to my thoughts “It’s the first time I ever meet a deity. I wasn’t sure what to expect.”

She nodded sagely. “Well, I’m glad to be your first. Be on the lookout for Huxian and Jiutian Xuannu, I heard they were interested in you too.” I paled, making her giggle.

Guanyin turned back to the bonfire and began walking away “Don’t tell anyone about me, will you?” she sent a glance my way. One that was full of promises…

Or maybe it was threats.

I wasn’t completely sure which.