That afternoon, Rong Chen Zi first brought He Bang to see Liu Qinfang. Qingxuan had arranged a clean room for her, and Liu Qinfang had already settled in. Rong Chen Zi could not very well go in at this point, and Ye Tian, having traveled such a long way, was currently resting. He Bang, on the other hand, had done very little walking all the way there and was now unable to sleep.

The great He Bang swaggered into Liu Qinfang’s room. Rong Chen Zi, worried she might do something improper, hurried in after her. Seeing her come in, Liu Qinfang showed no unusual reaction. Her expression was timid, and she seemed the sort who was habitually quiet and reserved.

He Bang looked her over front and back and all around, peering at her until the girl was nearly pressing herself against the wall — only then did He Bang turn to look at Rong Chen Zi: “I don’t sense anything out of the ordinary.”

Rong Chen Zi frowned. He had already used his compass to check earlier and found nothing unusual either. At this, he let himself relax somewhat. His manner toward Liu Qinfang was that of a senior figure: “This humble Daoist will send someone to notify Cabinet Elder Liu at once. I will have a frank conversation with him about your situation. Do not worry — he will not strike you again.”

Liu Qinfang kept her head bowed and did not look at him, appearing shy and fearful of strangers. When he spoke, she only occasionally gave a silent nod.

Rong Chen Zi had Qingxuan prepare some everyday necessities for her, and though he remained puzzled, he could think of no immediate solution — there was nothing to do but wait for Cabinet Elder Liu to arrive and speak with him then. In any case, the most pressing matter at hand was still the affair in Li Family Settlement.

He walked He Bang back to her room, then went to find Ye Tian. A short while later, the two of them had packed their things and were about to set off together with Li Juqi for Li Family Settlement.

Before leaving, Rong Chen Zi naturally had to let He Bang know. He Bang was sprawled across the bed with flower candy peanut brittle wedged under her stomach. Qingyun was still working on how to make flour taste like turtle dove, so the turtle dove and mushroom soup had yet to arrive.

Worried she might get too sweet, Rong Chen Zi first fed her some plain water, then said: “Xiao Ye and I are going to Li Family Settlement. Do you want to come?”

He Bang tilted her head and thought it over: “Li Family Settlement… is there anything good to eat?”

Rong Chen Zi was not especially eager to bring her along. Li Family Settlement and Lingxia Town were separated by only a single mountain, but it was far less prosperous than Lingxia Town. In terms of terrain and feng shui, the two places formed the shape of a lion — the lion’s mouth at Li Family Settlement, the lion’s tail at Lingxia Town. From a feng shui perspective, the lion consumed the financial energy of Li Family Settlement, while depositing it back at Lingxia Town — which was why Lingxia Town had always been flourishing, while Li Family Settlement was sparsely populated. At present count the whole settlement came to barely a hundred households, and there was genuinely nothing good to eat there.

On top of that, the roads were unpaved and the muddy tracks were difficult going. She would be better off staying at the temple, where at least there were people to prepare different foods for her each day.

Rong Chen Zi went into the inner chamber to change his clothes. While he was dressing He Bang slipped inside. Rong Chen Zi was mildly startled but made no move to shield himself from her. She circled around him sniffing like a little puppy, then suddenly hugged him from behind around the waist: “Zhiguan, you said last time that you’d give me some of your flesh once we got back to the temple!!”

Rong Chen Zi was doing up the ties of his robe. The situation in Li Family Settlement was unclear, and he had made up his mind to go back on his word: “I never said any such thing.”

The great He Bang began pounding him with her soft fists: “You absolutely did! A man of the cloth doesn’t tell lies, you know!”

Rong Chen Zi wrapped his hands around her fair, delicate wrists, not daring to grip too hard, and murmured to soothe her: “I’ll be gone a few days. I’ll give it to you when I get back.”

He Bang pouted: “You’re going out again. You never have time to be with me.”

Rong Chen Zi finished tying his outer robe: “If nothing comes up, I’ll definitely be back tonight. All right?”

He Bang was not very happy, and lay on the carved bed without speaking. Her long hair spilled out like ink in water, her skirt soft and light as feathers, and the red thread and gold bells at her ankles gleamed against skin like white jade — extraordinarily alluring. Rong Chen Zi steadied his thoughts and spoke in a gentle voice: “Be good. I’m going now. I’ll bring you back something to eat tonight.”

He Bang then pursed her lips and agreed: “Then come back early.”

Rong Chen Zi murmured his assent and stroked her hair: “Be well-behaved. The Guangyu Temple at the end of the year has a temple fair — I’ll take you.”

He Bang wrapped her arms around his neck. Her voice was tender as the very tips of young bamboo shoots in early spring: “Give Zhiguan a kiss before you go.”

Rong Chen Zi hesitated briefly — but looking at brows like distant mountain peaks and eyes like pools of mist, he was immediately bewitched. He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to those lips, bright and soft as a fresh-bloomed flower. The movement was swift, like a dragonfly barely grazing the water’s surface.

Yet his face grew faintly flushed, and he did not meet He Bang’s eyes directly: “I’m going now. If you’re hungry, ask Qingxuan for food. If I don’t come back tonight, remember to soak in water yourself.”

He Bang gave a nod and released his neck.

Rong Chen Zi walked out of the inner chamber and out through the door, and still could not help giving Qingxuan yet another detailed briefing about all the matters pertaining to this river clam. He felt he could practically write a comprehensive manual on the care and feeding of sea emperors.

After Rong Chen Zi left, only He Bang remained in the room. Qingxuan, of course, had to keep a proper distance, and seeing nothing for her to need, he left as well. He Bang bolted the door, lay down on Rong Chen Zi’s bed, made a quiet hand seal, and proceeded to displace her soul.

Once her soul departed from her body, it drifted straight to the spring behind the mountain. She slipped into the water and used the water-escape technique — and within moments she had entered the sea.

The sea surface was a pale, shallow blue. A few wisps of cloud drifted through the sky, and drifted too across the face of the water. The great He Bang was in no hurry, swimming leisurely back toward the Sea Emperor’s Palace, amusing herself along the way with interesting things she encountered on the road.

The customs of the sea clan differed somewhat from those of those who dwelled on land. Underwater, brightness and darkness did not mark day from night — the sea clan measured time by the tides. Most sea creatures could also see perfectly well underwater, and as a result the ocean floor was suffused year-round with a vibrant, thriving energy.

The great He Bang played for a while in a cluster of coral, then became aware of a problem — she had gotten lost.

“Should have stolen the old Daoist’s compass before I left…” she muttered to herself as she swam forward. Fortunately she encountered a dugong with a bit of spiritual cultivation. This creature paid no mind to whether the dugong was willing or not, immediately performed a soul-seizing technique, and rode the dugong onward toward the Sea Emperor’s Palace.

As it turned out this dugong was also a great eater — it consumed several tens of pounds of seagrass per day, and as for exercise, it was thoroughly averse to it. Even though He Bang was only a soul at present and had no physical form or weight, this creature’s swimming speed was no more than six or seven li per hour.

He Bang fumed — yet fortunately this stretch of sea was not large. The dugong waddled along at its own pace, and eventually they arrived.

He Bang drifted into the Sea Emperor’s Palace. Being an inner cultivator, her spirit-sense was most formidable, and the palace guards did not detect her at all. She wandered through the palace in a circle — Chunyu Lin was nowhere to be seen, and being a mere soul she couldn’t eat anything, so she was terribly bored.

After waiting about two quarters of an hour, there was a sound of guards bowing in salute outside. Chunyu Lin entered slowly, a furrow between his brows, as if something was weighing on his mind. He Bang flung her arms wide and launched herself at him like a bird taking flight: “Chunyu Lin! Oh, Chunyu Lin — I am dying for your scallion-braised sea cucumber!!”

Chunyu Lin seemed not to have expected her to be here. His expression flickered briefly, then returned to its customary gentleness: “Then why not come back, Your Highness? This subordinate will make you salt-and-pepper peach shortbread — how does that sound?”

He Bang’s mouth watered at once: “Yes please. Qingxu Temple is vegetarian all day long — I’m practically turning into a flour dumpling. And the old Daoist is going off to fight monsters — I am absolutely not going along to fight monsters with him!!”

Chunyu Lin stroked her long hair: “Mm. The flesh of an immortal is really not so wonderful as all that — the risks are great, and Rong Chen Zi holds a highly respected position within Daozong, and has a junior brother who serves as Imperial Preceptor besides. One wrong step and you might bring the whole of Daozong down upon you. If Your Highness wants good things to eat, I can add a few more dishes each day — would that not be simpler?”

He Bang, which was rare for her, grew serious: “No. The immortal flesh must be obtained.” She looked directly at Chunyu Lin. “And I have already thought of a way. Listen carefully…” She leaned close to Chunyu Lin’s ear and spoke in a low voice. The longer Chunyu Lin listened, the graver his expression grew. “Your Highness, this subordinate’s only concern is…”

He Bang’s expression was resolute: “Concern won’t help. Do as I say.”

She composed her expression, and the authority of the Sea Emperor radiated from her — a force not easily challenged. Chunyu Lin found it difficult to argue further.

In the gap between their conversation, a guard suddenly came to report: “Grand Priest — the sea clan on the Li Family Settlement side has crossed into our territory again and is stealing our sea fish!!”

He Bang was still sniffing at the pastries on the table. Chunyu Lin picked her up: “In the more than a month since you’ve been away, the sea clan on the Li Family Settlement side has been coming every day to steal our fish.”

He Bang was indifferent: “Then let them steal!”

A guard couldn’t help it and laid out the arithmetic for her: “Our fish were purchased from the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea — one tael of silver per ordinary fish, five taels for beautiful ones, ten taels for large varieties, and the whales and sharks with combat capability that can serve as guards are priced by weight — a truly enormous expenditure!”

He Bang was still sniffing at the pastries, entirely unbothered: “Go away, stop bothering me with these things.”

The guard grew anxious. It was Chunyu Lin who spoke quietly: “The silver we spend every year on sea fish could buy Your Highness ten years’ worth of salt-and-pepper peach shortbread.”

He Bang looked up and immediately exploded with fury: “What?! Where are these wretches?!”

Chunyu Lin led her toward the boundary between the Lingxia and Li Family Settlement sea territories. Along the way, He Bang caught sight of a school of lantern-eye fish and was so enchanted she could not be moved. Chunyu Lin sighed, and could only remind her: “The people of Li Family Settlement are stealing our sea fish, Your Highness.”

He Bang puffed out her cheeks and refused to budge. Chunyu Lin had no choice but to coax her along: “Come along, Your Highness — your salt-and-pepper peach shortbread is being stolen away at a visible rate before your very eyes!”

Only then did He Bang follow him urgently toward the boundary of the two sea territories.

The sea emperor of Li Family Settlement was a great white shark — one who ordinarily relied on being the local shark to bully outsiders from other territories. When He Bang surfaced from the sea, they were still in the process of hauling up fish from the Lingxia territory. Those fish had already, in He Bang’s eyes, automatically transformed into salt-and-pepper peach shortbread.

She emerged from the water, condensing water into a garment. The sea-colored robe rippled and swayed in the wind, and behind her, long trailing ribbons of silk swept back into the deep water. In this moment she bore not the slightest resemblance to a glutton. Her gaze was cold as the glaciers of the far north: “What trifling creatures dare to violate my sea domain?”

Her voice spread across the sea surface, carried by the water in all directions — nearly every sea creature in the area was startled alert. The great white shark of Li Family Settlement was still somewhat intimidated by the sight of her. He cultivated the martial path, and in terms of raw power Chunyu Lin was not his match. But his inner cultivation was far inferior to He Bang’s.

If the two of them joined forces, his inner cultivation would certainly be destroyed — and once his inner cultivation was destroyed, there was nothing left for him. He was still hesitating. He Bang, however, did not hesitate at all. She extended her left hand slightly, and Chunyu Lin immediately presented her ceremonial staff. Her staff was made from the bone of a sky-soaring serpent, with two blood pearls set in the head — pearls that the great He Bang had cultivated with her own life-essence blood. For someone as averse to pain as she was to have nurtured these two blood pearls at all was testament enough to their preciousness.

The moment this staff appeared, every sea creature with the slightest trace of spiritual energy scattered and fled. The seawater surged with unease. He Bang raised her staff in her left hand — she was left-handed: “Good grief — He Bang doesn’t show her power, and you lot think I’m a dugong? Watch while I beat you into something ‘like a waterfall flowing eloquently’!”

“…” Chunyu Lin, who had been positioning himself in front of her ready to intercept the great white shark at any moment, could not help saying under his breath: “Don’t misuse idioms. ‘Speaking eloquently like a river’ means speaking at great length and without stopping, like a waterfall.”

He Bang was genuinely surprised: “Oh? It doesn’t mean vomiting in great quantities like a waterfall?”

“…It does not.” Chunyu Lin was exceptionally patient.

He Bang formed a hand seal with her fair fingers, still entirely unabashed: “Oh well. No matter. That great white shark has never studied — it can’t read anyway. Compared to it, even I’m way ahead, I’m practically its ancestor.”

“…It is Confucius…” Chunyu Lin’s jaw twitched.