Chapter Eleven: The Divine Beast Competes for a Husband

The next day, Kunlun Void officially opened its gates to welcome the ascendant immortals. Early in the morning, I went to Bai Hao’s residence. The courtyard was already locked up. I quietly transformed into my true form and flew overhead to have a look—indeed, the place was empty, its occupant gone. “He’s already gone to the Jade Purity Realm. The High God has taken him; he must now serve there.” My heart felt a pang of disappointment.

In front of the medical pavilion, about a dozen wandering immortals were gathered, all eager and determined to find the Jade Purity Realm on this journey.

“Though we have fallen ill upon arriving at Kunlun Void, pain cannot hinder our resolve! We are gathered here by fate. My name is Hui Ping, and I’m willing to lead us, to support one another through hardship and joy alike!” The leading immortal roused the group’s spirits.

“Agreed! We will share hardship and joy together!” everyone responded with enthusiasm.

I joined their ranks.

The town’s streets and alleys were plastered with notices, explaining there was no map for the Jade Purity Realm, that false maps were deliberately harmful, and that immortals should beware for their own safety. There were also warnings about imposters claiming to be the High God of the Clouds—no one should trust such claims before entering the Jade Purity Realm, lest they be deceived. I thought to myself, the High God of the Clouds has not lost his wits yet.

At the foot of Kunlun Void, a single entrance had been established, surrounded by crowds of immortals and their mounts. Notices were posted: mounts were not allowed on the mountain. Some noble disciples were distressed, ordering their attendants to quickly craft sedan chairs, only to be informed they must proceed on foot. So, some called their attendants to walk with them, hoping to be carried if they grew weary, but were warned that if they let others carry them, their qualification would be revoked. Many disciples complained and turned back.

A steward earnestly pleaded with his young master, “No, young master, the Immortal Lord does not expect you to succeed in apprenticeship, only that you must reach the Jade Purity Realm and gain experience.”

“My father just wants me to die on Kunlun Void!” the young master grumbled bitterly.

Amused by the scene, I whispered to myself, “The High God of the Clouds is being quite fair.”

“You yourself can’t find the way, yet you mock others.” Someone beside me spoke quietly, the voice and tone oddly familiar… I hadn’t noticed when an immortal had appeared at my side, cloaked with a fur hat pressed low, concealing his face. This attire was reminiscent of Bai Hao’s street garb…

I bent down to peer under the brim of his hat.

“All right… stop looking… yesterday’s swordplay was taught for nothing.” The immortal spoke helplessly.

“Bai…” I called out.

“Don’t shout…” Bai Hao murmured.

“How did you get here?” I asked, both surprised and delighted, lowering my voice.

“I’m climbing with you all,” Bai Hao replied.

“Are you here to guide us?” I asked in a hushed, happy tone.

“No. The route is yours to find,” Bai Hao said.

“Did the High God send you?” I pressed.

“Mm,” Bai Hao affirmed.

I was nearly jumping for joy, whispering, “Even if you’re not guiding us, at least you’re company. The High God is too considerate!”

Bai Hao smiled without speaking.

Entering the mountain with Hui Ping’s group, everyone discussed routes. I grinned at Bai Hao, thinking everything could be resolved perfectly. He could reach the Jade Purity Realm, I could climb with him for the spectacle, bear witness, and need not worry about him being dragged down or seeking death again. I could make amends for the wrong done to Dongfang Mo, and then go to Penglai to seek an apprenticeship. It was simply perfect, and I felt overjoyed!

“Stop grinning like a fool. No immortal mountain would accept you as a disciple looking like that,” Bai Hao said.

I stuck out my tongue and hurriedly sobered up.

Suddenly, a large hand slapped my shoulder, nearly knocking me flat. A rough, hearty voice sounded by my ear. “Fellow immortal! Let’s keep each other company!”

“Who are you?” I asked reflexively.

“I am Wang Tianhou of East Mountain, Xiuli.” A tall figure appeared before me, blocking half the sunlight.

“Your name is Xiuli?” I asked, suppressing a laugh. What a burly physique for such a gentle name. Wang Tianhou was a branch of the dragon clan, and yet here was such a straightforward, naive child.

The immortals all saluted Xiuli. He frowned and roared, “Enough with the formalities! What’s the point? Are you treating me as a friend or not?” His roar shook the heavens and earth; several young immortals nearly wet themselves.

“Do you have a younger brother named Shanhe?” I teased.

“No! Shanhe is my sister!” Xiuli explained earnestly, and I had to fight back laughter—these names! Their parents were truly unmatched talents among immortals.

“Who called me?” The thunderous voice was even bolder than Xiuli’s. The other half of the sunlight was blocked out. Shanhe, dressed as a man and resembling Xiuli, lacked her brother’s real beard; instead, she had smeared black charcoal or something similar across her chin and cheeks to mimic a beard. She looked every bit the sturdy fellow, but her large hands cradled a bouquet of delicate pink flowers.

“This is my sister, Shanhe. We’re both here to seek apprenticeship and learn the arts,” Xiuli introduced.

Everyone greeted her, but Shanhe ignored the formalities, scolding Xiuli, “Brother! Who told you to reveal I’m a woman!” With her booming voice, had her brother not said so, I’d never have guessed she was female.

“No matter! We’re all friends here! What are you doing with those flowers? Are they for me?” Xiuli asked naively.

“They’re for our High God of the Clouds!” Shanhe’s face blushed with shy delight.

I turned away, pulled my sleeve over my mouth, and feigned a cough, then stifled my laughter silently. I imagined Shanhe, with her beard, presenting pink flowers to an old male god, and as I chuckled, I tugged Bai Hao’s sleeve and whispered, “Your High God is about to have a peach blossom romance!”

Looking up at Bai Hao under his fur hat, his expression was dark. I quickly stopped laughing, thinking perhaps I’d gone too far with the joke.

Xiuli and Shanhe, siblings both naive and adorable, brought laughter to the group. Yet after only a day’s journey, as the sun began to set, trouble arose. Shanhe’s pink flowers seemed to have found a new master.

“Brother! I belong to him now! I won’t seek apprenticeship; I want to marry him!” Shanhe declared to Xiuli, pointing at Bai Hao before everyone.

I stared at Bai Hao, dumbfounded. Just days ago he was ready to jump into the abyss in despair, and now, in a single day, he’d won over this burly maiden? I sidled up to him, half-jokingly whispering, “Is she yours now?”

Bai Hao’s hat remained low, obscuring his face as he replied gloomily, “Don’t listen to her nonsense.”

I chose to believe Bai Hao. Besides, everyone had been together; Shanhe must have been captivated by Bai Hao’s extraordinary bearing and handsome appearance.

“Wait until after apprenticeship!” Xiuli admonished his sister.

I thought, despite his rough manners, this brother had his priorities straight.

Xiuli then shouted at Bai Hao, “Hey! Brother-in-law! What’s your name?” Xiuli, too, was getting carried away.

“Husband! What’s your name?” Shanhe asked Bai Hao.

“If you call him husband, why ask his name?” Xiuli retorted.

“If you call him brother-in-law, why ask his name?” Shanhe protested.

“Just call him husband!” Xiuli roared.

“Just call him brother-in-law!” Shanhe thundered.

Bai Hao’s face was as dark as water.

Afraid he’d take it to heart, I quickly made up a reason, “This immortal already has a wife.”

Shanhe, hearing this, was even more disgruntled, “Divorce her! Or I’ll just eat her!”

“Outrageous!” Bai Hao rebuked.

Seeing Bai Hao so angry, I hurriedly hushed him, signaling not to provoke these two half-beasts. Though his cultivation was high, these two were born with great strength and weren’t to be trifled with.

“You dare scold me! I’ll eat you first!” Xiuli bellowed at Bai Hao, instantly revealing his true form, towering nearly thirty feet tall, stomping Kunlun Void so hard it trembled. Birds and beasts scattered in terror. Some timid little immortals huddled together, trembling, while others fled blindly, striking their heads against stone walls, blood streaming.

“If any of you try to leave, you must witness my sister’s wedding! Otherwise, I’ll eat you!” Xiuli roared.

Shanhe transformed as well, echoing her brother, “Yes! Witness my wedding!”

She even knew about wedding witnesses… I was both amused and exasperated.

“Just agree to them, immortal friend; being her husband won’t kill you. Otherwise, all these immortals will die with you,” Hui Ping urged Bai Hao. The others nodded in fear, “Yes, yes!”

These shameless scoundrels! Before climbing the mountain, they spoke of sharing hardship and joy; now they pushed him out. I cursed them inwardly.

“Bai Hao, I’m sorry,” I whispered to him.

“What?” Bai Hao asked, confused.

“Pushing you off the cliff before was better than falling into this girl’s hands. With this situation… could you really fight her off if she tried to take you?” I joked.

“Ridiculous,” Bai Hao lightly rebuked, then asked me calmly, “You seem so relaxed; do you have a plan?”

“I won’t let her take you away.” I smiled secretively.

“Just agree to them, immortal friend! It’s only a wedding!” someone urged.

“Yes, hurry up! If not for us, at least for yourself.”

“A tall wife is nothing bad; older women are treasures…”

Hui Ping and the others continued persuading Bai Hao.

Unable to endure their betrayal, I shouted sharply, “If you have any shame, shut up! Was your talk of sharing hardship and joy all nonsense?”

Raising my voice and summoning all my immortal power, I shouted to Shanhe, “Shanhe, if your brother eats your future husband, no other handsome immortal will ever dare marry you! You’ll never find a husband! Is your brother really your kin, treating you like this?” My voice echoed through the mountains.

Shanhe, enraged, yelled at her brother, “If you eat him, I’ll never get married! Are you really my brother? How dare you eat my future husband!”

“So what if I eat him? I even dare to hit my own father!” Xiuli roared.

“I dare to hit my brother!”

“If you hit me, I’ll hit you back!”

The two beasts began to brawl, tearing at each other, sending sand and stones flying, snow swirling in a darkened sky.

I pulled Bai Hao behind a rock, stifling laughter—these two, fierce yet so foolish.

Bai Hao remarked calmly, “Your strategy of sowing discord and using others to do your bidding is well executed. But if this chaos triggers a Kunlun Void avalanche, none of us will survive.”

My laughter froze. “Ah? Why didn’t you say so earlier! What should we do?”

Bai Hao smiled faintly. “Watch.”

“Watch? Wait to die?” I asked.

“What do you think we should do?” Bai Hao countered.

“Oh, I have no plan. Then we watch,” I shrugged.

We found a higher vantage point. Bai Hao stood with hands behind his back, while I sat hugging my knees, watching the beasts fight. When viewed properly, their duel was quite spectacular—Bai Hao seemed even more entertained by the spectacle than I.

As the battle raged, a crane’s cry sounded overhead and an immortal descended from the sky. Clad in white, with fair skin and a fiery red mark between his brows, he landed, brow tightly furrowed, commanding presence, and scolded the beasts, “Bold creatures! How dare you behave so wantonly in Kunlun’s sacred land!”

He summoned two immortal ropes, binding Xiuli and Shanhe by the neck. The more they struggled, the tighter the ropes became, until the beasts, unable to endure, shrank into the size of puppies. The immortal picked up the two small beasts and flew away.

“Isn’t that the High God of the Clouds? He looks so authoritative!” I asked Bai Hao.

“No, that’s Lord Bai Ze, the High God’s attendant. He’s responsible for your safety,” Bai Hao replied.

“Oh, so this is the Bai family’s domain—so many with the surname Bai. Even the attendants are so dignified and martial. In the Jade Purity Realm, who’s stronger, him or you?” I asked.

“None as formidable as you,” Bai Hao said helplessly.

I chuckled. If an avalanche were triggered, I would indeed be the most formidable.

The group continued on, but Hui Ping politely and firmly dismissed Bai Hao and me, implying Bai Hao had caused trouble and I had insulted them.

“He did nothing! He’s clearly the victim!” I protested.

“You two are skilled and daring, and we respect that. However, our paths differ. We cannot travel together,” Hui Ping said courteously.

“How so? Aren’t you seeking apprenticeship? When faced with villains, you don’t help, but blame your own. What logic is that?” I demanded.

Hui Ping saluted the sky respectfully. “Precisely because we seek to apprentice ourselves to the incarnation of the Star of Light, the High God of the Clouds, we pursue brightness and do not associate with gloom.”

“You’re the one bringing gloom! The Jade Purity Realm’s medical pavilion saved you—your body, but not your heart!” I rebuked Hui Ping.

He was mortified and angry. “Low-level immortal! If you continue to speak disrespectfully, I’ll show no mercy!”

“If you had any guts, you’d have stood up to Xiuli and Shanhe! Is bullying a low-level immortal honorable?” I scolded.

Hui Ping, enraged, tried to attack, but was held back by the others.

“Yu Fei… don’t force things,” Bai Hao said with his usual composure.

“I’m not forcing anything. Traveling with them would disgust me!” I said angrily.

“All right, calm yourself,” Bai Hao soothed.

Thus, Bai Hao and I were “abandoned” by the group…

“Hypocrites! False righteousness!” Watching the immortals depart, I couldn’t help but curse them again.

“They brought it on themselves,” Bai Hao said serenely.

“Why did the mountain’s immortals have their powers sealed by dragon energy, yet Xiuli and Shanhe could still use their strength to roar and cause trouble?” I wondered aloud.

“Divine beasts and dragon clan branches are immune to the dragon energy,” Bai Hao explained.

“Oh, that’s rather unfair. What now?” I asked him.

“You go your way, I’ll follow you,” Bai Hao said.

“Can you give me a hint about the route?” I asked with a grin.

“No,” Bai Hao refused flatly.

“I won’t tell the High God of the Clouds,” I whispered, leaning closer.

“No,” Bai Hao’s expression was stern.

I sighed, dispirited. “Now I have to walk alone again, get lost for ten days or so, and by the time I arrive, the contest will be over, Dongfang Mo might be gone, and there’ll be no spectacle to see.”

“If you can’t find the way, you’ll just wander lost,” Bai Hao said, unsympathetic.

I joked, “Don’t gloat. If I wander lost in Kunlun Void for a lifetime, you’ll have to keep me company for a lifetime; if for two lifetimes, then two. If I can’t find the path, I’ll just stick to you.”

“Then I won’t bother with you anymore.”