The Sea Clan members near the Imperial Sea Palace had all been sent away by Chunyu Lin. The deep sea at this moment was entirely tranquil. Rong Chen Zi slowly released He Bang’s wrist. He Bang pressed her lips together. With a bare hand she gripped the ice spike and pulled with force. Rong Chen Zi let out a pained groan, and fresh blood burst from his chest.

The fragrance of an immortal’s blood and flesh dispersed in all directions, and every member of the Sea Clan caught that scent — half-medicinal, half-floral, a fragrance that drove one to madness.

He Bang filled a bowl of ice with some of it. Chunyu Lin held the sharp edge of his Moon ring to Rong Chen Zi’s throat, but his expression was deeply somber: “He said he defiled your honor. What does that mean?”

He Bang played dumb: “What, what does it mean? The blood smells wonderful — have a taste.”

Chunyu Lin refused to be distracted. He pushed away the ice bowl she offered: “You slept with him?” He Bang said nothing, and seeing that Rong Chen Zi’s wound was still bleeding without stop, she ducked her head and licked at the wound. That small, dainty pink tongue pressed against the wound, and Rong Chen Zi extended a hand to try to push her away — but ultimately he was too gravely injured and could do nothing about it.

Chunyu Lin’s face was full of rage: “You really slept with him?!” He yanked He Bang upright with one hand, his voice ice-cold: “Just for the sake of immortal flesh, you could sleep with another man?! Do you know what it means to be—”

His words were not yet finished when an ice spike pressed against his throat. The sharp tip of the ice spike had already pierced the skin at his throat. He Bang’s voice was calm, yet carried within it an intangible distance: “My Great Priest — since when, in this seat’s presence, have you been permitted to be so presumptuous?”

Chunyu Lin slowly got to his feet. Something in his eyes seemed to shatter: “Hm — ah, what am I, after all? Nothing more than a reserve provision you brought along from the Jialing River. What right do I have to interfere with Your Majesty?”

He turned his face away and paid He Bang no further attention. He Bang was so angry she was flushing with shame, and she stepped forward, pinched his lips open, and poured the blood from the ice bowl into his mouth. Chunyu Lin was forced to cough and splutter from the choking, blood seeping into his red robes, spreading out in fine, delicate threads — exquisitely beautiful.

Up on the red algae sea, Rong Chen Zi was already on the verge of death. He Bang stood beside him for a moment. Only after a very long time did she say: “It would be a shame to eat him all at once and have none left… ” She suddenly let out a quiet sigh and said softly: “Preserve him as salted meat.”

There was none of her usual excitement when she spoke of a delicacy. After saying so, for some reason she sighed again.

Chunyu Lin said nothing more to her. His Moon ring appeared, and he moved to slice through Rong Chen Zi’s throat. Then a fierce flash of light burst through the deep sea — someone’s sword intercepted the Moon ring’s edge. He Bang quickly formed a protective barrier. Around them, voices suddenly erupted into clamor: “Over here — hurry!”

Chunyu Lin’s brow furrowed. He Bang was also somewhat bewildered: “The Dao Sect’s people have come?”

The voices drew closer, a chaotic tumult of sound — by the sound of it, no fewer than a hundred people. A blue-robed Daoist’s sword came at a diagonal slash, and Chunyu Lin was driven back three steps. The newcomer’s cultivation was actually on a par with Rong Chen Zi’s. He Bang hesitated no longer, seized Chunyu Lin, and retreated back into the Imperial Sea Palace, sealing the palace gates.

Within moments, however, she sensed something was wrong: “They couldn’t possibly have contacted so many Dao Sect members in such a short time. We’ve been tricked!”

The two of them opened the palace gates and gave chase — just in time to see several figures fleeing in the distance ahead. Chunyu Lin was about to pursue when He Bang reached the edge of the red algae and discovered that something had been scattered in fine fragments all along the path. She picked one up and found it was a spiced sunflower seed, still faintly carrying the fragrance of an immortal’s flesh.

She held one in her mouth for a moment, and then suddenly waved her hand: “Let it go.”

Chunyu Lin’s expression turned anxious: “If we release Rong Chen Zi, the Dao Sect will learn what happened here and will certainly come seeking vengeance. At that point—”

He Bang regarded him steadily, and said quietly: “I said let it go.”

Chunyu Lin dared say no more.

The Dao Sect made no further moves. That night, He Bang lodged in the Imperial Sea Palace. The deep sea was so quiet that even the sound of the tides could not be heard. She woke in the middle of the night and, out of reflex, reached her hand to the space beside her — touching only cold crystal and the stone columns of zircon on all four sides of the bed. No midnight snack, and no warmth of Rong Chen Zi.

She rose and wrapped herself in her robe, walking along the path paved with sea shells to Chunyu Lin’s bedchamber. Chunyu Lin’s anger had not yet cooled, and he had not said a single word to her all day.

She poked him in the small of his back: “Chunyu Lin, I’m hungry.”

Chunyu Lin lay with his eyes shut, not moving a muscle. She stood there for a moment, then finally, with shameless thickness of face, squeezed in beside him and nestled against him to sleep. Chunyu Lin ignored her at first, but once she had drifted gradually into sleep, he gently drew her waist into his arms. Her waist was incredibly soft and yielding. Chunyu Lin suddenly found himself entirely without sleep.

When Rong Chen Zi woke, he was in Qingxu Temple. Ye Tian, keeping watch at the bedside, saw him wake. She didn’t cry out or shout — she simply let joy and warmth filter through her eyes: “Older Martial Brother — you’ve finally woken.”

Rong Chen Zi wanted to speak, barely parted his lips, and felt a sharp stab of pain across his chest, his throat as though scorched by fire. Ye Tian quickly took the water beside the bed and fed it to him by the spoonful.

“Don’t speak yet. Your injuries are not light. Everyone in the temple is well — they’re only anxious about your condition. Qingxuan — Qingxuan — their eyes have gone red from staying up so long. Second Senior Martial Brother extracted a pearl from inside your body and said that if it had detonated, the consequences would have been unimaginable.” She moistened Rong Chen Zi’s dry lips with clean water, her voice gentle: “I won’t ask anything for now either. We can talk about everything once your wounds are healed.”

Rong Chen Zi gave a faint nod. Ye Tian pressed the back of her hand to his forehead to test his temperature and tucked the blanket snugly around him: “Alright, rest first. I’ll go tell Second Senior Martial Brother.”

She walked out the door. Rong Chen Zi closed his eyes.

A group that included Qingsu were decocting medicine. A blue-robed Daoist sat by the door, constantly adjusting the proportions of various medicinal herbs. Qingxuan was writing out a list. Ye Tian strode over, her footsteps as light as a bird’s: “Second Senior Martial Brother, Older Senior Martial Brother has woken!”

The blue-robed Daoist was Rong Chen Zi’s martial brother, Zhuang Shaoqin, the current Imperial Preceptor. Upon hearing this, he only nodded, and then instructed Qingxuan to add a measure of blood amber to the medicine list.

The temple’s affairs continued as usual in these days. With He Bang gone, there were fewer incidents, and also less liveliness. Added to this, Rong Chen Zi’s wounds were serious, and the atmosphere in the temple was inevitably somewhat subdued.

Zhuang Shaoqin had not gone to see Rong Chen Zi. He had used a great quantity of guardian grass — which when it encounters a person emits a cry like a hundred voices — and had indeed startled He Bang off and rescued Rong Chen Zi. Afterward he had intended to invite the Dao Sect to discuss the matter. As the current Imperial Preceptor, the Dao Sect’s people would have to give him that much face regardless. But Ye Tian was apprehensive: “Second Senior Martial Brother, regarding the matter between this He Bang and Older Senior Martial Brother… do you know about it?”

Zhuang Shaoqin raised an eyebrow: “What matter?”

Ye Tian’s expression flushed slightly, but she finished what she had to say: “The last time the Sea Clan caused trouble, the Dao Sect entered the Imperial Sea Palace to investigate. Older Senior Martial Brother, worried that it would provoke another dispute over her, privately brought her back to Qingxu Temple. This Sea Emperor… is a woman.”

Zhuang Shaoqin nodded: “I’d naturally heard something of that.” He gave a low laugh: “But Senior Martial Brother Rong Chen Zi, that man… ha ha — such a man, so indifferent to such charms — could something really have happened between them?”

Ye Tian’s expression became grave: “Yes.”

Zhuang Shaoqin’s laughter stopped abruptly: “…This Sea Emperor really does have some remarkable ability — I’m beginning to feel rather curious about her.” His eyes took on a look of anticipation. Ye Tian stomped her foot: “Second Senior Martial Brother!!”

Zhuang Shaoqin came back to himself: “Go on.”

“Afterward, Yuyang Zhenren suspected that Senior Martial Brother had concealed the Sea Emperor in secret, and Senior Martial Brother, with no other recourse, admitted before everyone… that she was his personal cultivation vessel. The assembled persons then withdrew. If this were now to spread abroad — admitting that she is the Sea Emperor — I fear that the Dao Sect’s assembled members might grow suspicious, and it would harm Senior Martial Brother’s reputation.”

Zhuang Shaoqin nodded slightly, lightly tapping the tips of his fingers: “There is reason in this — and moreover, if there was truly a physical intimacy between them, given Senior Martial Brother’s nature, he would absolutely not agree to seeking vengeance.” He considered for a moment: “But a mere Lingxia Sea Clan daring to set its sights on Qingxu Temple — whoever one might be, it absolutely cannot be overlooked or excused!”

Ye Tian took up some plain congee and, as she left, gave a final reminder: “Second Senior Martial Brother must not be careless. Although I have never crossed hands with this He Bang, she is absolutely nothing like that great white shark from the Li Family Settlement.”

Zhuang Shaoqin didn’t seem particularly troubled: “Even so formidable a person is only an inner cultivator.” He then suddenly went off on a tangent: “Even our Senior Martial Brother — that man of stone — had worldly feelings stirred within him. This He Bang — is she very beautiful?”

Ye Tian hesitated for a moment, then gave only a cold sniff, picked up the congee, and left. Zhuang Shaoqin began to drift into idle speculation: “How beautiful would she have to be for that to happen…”

Shortly afterward, his disciples Zhuang Haotian and Zhuang Haoyu walked in: “Master, the invitations to the Dao Sect have been written. Shall we send them out now?”

Zhuang Shaoqin raised a hand to stop them: “Don’t alarm the Dao Sect just yet.” People always said that beauty clouds the mind — but his own mind remained clear enough. He had no illusions about being able to overcome this He Bang in the sea: “If only there were some way to lure her out of the water.”

With those words, Qingyuan spoke up from over to the side: “Martial Uncle, if you want to lure her out of the water, it isn’t as though there’s no way to do it…”

The next day, Rong Chen Zi was still confined to bed. Zhuang Shaoqin took Qingyuan and his two own disciples down the mountain. Qingyuan set up a large pot by the seaside. Zhuang Haotian and Zhuang Haoyu arranged the dry firewood they’d carried down the mountain into a frame, set a board atop it, and Qingyuan gave a live demonstration of frying leek pastries on the spot.

His culinary skills had recently advanced by leaps and bounds. The fragrance of leek and egg drifted along the surface of the sea and refused to disperse. He Bang was currently in a state of vexation — Chunyu Lin was still angry and refused to make food for her. By now she was so hungry she felt as though her front and back sides were stuck together.

And at this moment, the fragrance of leek was all the more enticing. She swam up to the surface, craning her neck out — and without even a detour, followed the fragrance straight over.

Beside Qingyuan, both Zhuang Haotian and Zhuang Haoyu were swallowing their saliva. Only Zhuang Shaoqin’s face wore a look of astonishment: “This… will this really lure in the Sea Emperor?”

Before Qingyuan could answer, his expression suddenly became sober: “She’s coming.”