Two days later, Zhuang Shaoqin returned to the palace and reported the matter to His Majesty. The Emperor pressed repeatedly for a solution, and Zhuang Shaoqin could only tell him the truth, which greatly displeased the imperial heart. On the third day, a Daoist practitioner presented a strategy to the Emperor, claiming he had a method to harmonize the sinister energy in the imperial mausoleum — but it required five hundred young boys and girls to be offered in a blood sacrifice.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Shaoqin was inwardly shocked beyond measure. Several Daoist priests in the palace also urged in the strongest terms against it. But no one had a better solution, and the Emperor, in a burst of fury, castigated Zhuang Shaoqin and the others severely, then issued an order demanding that every prefecture and region send up young boys and girls.

Zhuang Shaoqin was furious. That very night, he mounted his sword and flew back to Qingxu Temple.

At that moment, He Bang was feeding Rong Chen Zi water. She saw him arrive with a face full of fury, and asked only mildly, “What has happened?”

Zhuang Shaoqin took the water cup from her hand and drank half a bowl himself. “What a disgraceful ruler! He actually listened to the slander of a petty schemer and plans to conduct a blood sacrifice with five hundred young boys and girls. The souls of children may be pure, but to have them slaughtered so unjustly — how could they not harbor resentment? Resentful energy mixed into the dragon energy is no different from sinister energy.”

He Bang smiled faintly. “You, as the esteemed National Preceptor, should have no difficulty obtaining a registry of the parents of these several hundred children, I trust?”

Zhuang Shaoqin was still somewhat hesitant. “Xiao He, I understand your determination to save Senior Brother. But this involves several hundred lives. If Senior Brother knew of this, he would absolutely never allow us to sacrifice hundreds of lives to save him. I can easily get close to the Emperor — killing him would be simple as breathing. Perhaps…”

“Silence!” He Bang helped Rong Chen Zi lie down, pulled the blanket up and tucked it carefully around him. “Taking his head would be no great difficulty. But do you know what the heavenly dao would decree for the crime of murdering the true dragon son of heaven?! You could be cast into the animal realm, never to be reborn as human! Listen — among all the parents who are to surrender their children, find one who is strong and bold, get me their birth date and time, and bring it to me.”

Zhuang Shaoqin was still worried. “Don’t do anything rash. If this is discovered, it would be a crime of clan extermination.”

He Bang narrowed her eyes at him. “And could he chase all the way into the water and catch every last river clam to execute them?” Zhuang Shaoqin was helpless. “I am not joking with you.”

He Bang pushed him out the door. “Go, go already. Such a nag!”

One month later, the palace forcibly drafted several hundred young boys and girls from all across the land, filling the common people with grievance and fury. Three days later, in the night, the Emperor was assassinated. Someone had used an extremely sharp, slender bamboo tube to pierce his heart, causing him to lose too much blood and ultimately succumb.

And even the consort sleeping at his side had not seen the killer.

The palace fell into chaos. Qingxu Temple remained, as ever, a place of quiet.

Ye Tian entered Rong Chen Zi’s room to find Yugu supporting Rong Chen Zi upright while He Bang fed him a soup. The soup was vivid red, like blood. She couldn’t help drawing closer. “What is this?”

He Bang laughed and shooed her away. “Medicine. Would I really harm him?”

Ye Tian set down the sweet soup she had brought and stood to one side. Her eyes were still red and swollen. “I keep dreaming about Senior Brother lately — always thinking of so many things from long ago. With this happening so suddenly, I feel as though the sky itself has gone dark. Panbang, are you all right?”

He Bang fed Rong Chen Zi one spoonful at a time. “All right — what of it? Not all right — what of that?”

Ye Tian turned to look at her. “Panbang, I’m frightened — truly frightened. Master is gone. Zhenren Yuyan grows more haggard by the day — he is nearly wearing himself to nothing. Second Senior Brother is willing to go back to that palace, and his heart holds only the authority of National Preceptor. If Zhenren Yuyan too… what will become of Qingxu Temple afterward?”

He Bang looked back at her. She had once been tall and full-figured, but now she was gaunt to the bone. Those eyes that had once been resolute were now full of helplessness and unease. She had cultivated the Dao all her life, and yet had been showered in love and affection from birth. Though she was not spoiled in the manner of ordinary young women, she had never weathered upheaval. Even when Daoist Master Zixin had passed to the immortal realm, it had been Rong Chen Zi and Zhuang Shaoqin who handled everything entirely. Her only task had been to grieve.

He Bang set down the bowl and slowly opened her arms to hold her. “Zhiguan will wake up. Shaoqin still carries you all in his heart. Qingxu Temple will be safe and sound. Don’t be afraid.”

In He Bang’s embrace, Ye Tian suddenly burst into tears — she had borne too much worry, and her heart was too small to hold so much weight. “If you hadn’t saved me back then, your hand would have been fine, and you wouldn’t have fallen into the Resonant Serpent’s hands. Senior Brother would have been fine too. It’s all because of me! Why didn’t I just fall on my own back then — if I had fallen, Senior Brother would have been all right!”

He Bang gently patted her back, her voice tender. “No one needs to fall. We are all going to live.”

This was the first time Ye Tian had shown her vulnerability before anyone — and it was before this river clam. She stepped out of He Bang’s embrace and wiped her tears, her voice still thick with emotion. “Panbang, sometimes I truly wonder if your feelings for Senior Brother are not real. And at other times, I’m afraid that you’re putting on a brave face and suffering in silence.”

He Bang smiled faintly, then picked up the bowl again and continued feeding Rong Chen Zi his soup. Beside her, Yugu grew indignant. “How can you say such a thing? My mistress has done everything for Zhiguan with her own two hands. Zhenren Yuyan scolds her every day and you say nothing — but you question her feelings?”

He Bang gave her a light kick, her voice still very quiet. “Tiántian, right now I am the most powerfully cultivated individual in the entire demon realm in terms of internal arts. He Wei carries the bloodline of an ancient preternatural beast, and has also obtained the Heaven Fire Spirit Essence — its strength now is only slightly inferior to Jiang Haoran’s. It is my disciple, and moreover still carries one of my pearls within it. It would never dare defy my will. As long as it is in my hands, the demon realm will not stir up any trouble. Daozong lacks capable people right now — even if the old man passes on, Daozong will not be overturned. Shaoqin is in the palace, and our Daoist order will continue to hold sway in this dynasty. Nothing will change. Don’t be afraid.”

That unhurried, undisturbed tone settled hearts with no need for more. Ye Tian drew a deep breath and nodded firmly. “Mm.”

From that point on, He Bang began sleeping late and rising early, drawing upon the essence of the sun and moon every day to store up spiritual energy. There were times Ye Tian went several days without catching a glimpse of her. Even Zhenren Yuyan felt that her presence had grown remarkably faint — when he wanted to vent his anger by scolding her, he had to search half the mountain to find her.

Before long, word came from the palace that the Emperor had been assassinated. The capital went under emergency lockdown, and Zhuang Shaoqin could not move about freely. Not until the end of the tenth month did a new Emperor ascend the throne. To win the hearts of the people, the new ruler adopted the advice of Zhuang Shaoqin and others, and released the several hundred young boys and girls who had been forcibly conscripted earlier. The matter of sacrificial offerings to the imperial mausoleum faded away without resolution.

In the eleventh month, Zhuang Shaoqin found a moment to return to Qingxu Temple. Ye Tian was still angry with him and would not see him, so he had no choice but to seek out He Bang. He Bang was pleased to see him come. “Shaoqin, doesn’t Zhiguan look as though his color is much better?”

Zhuang Shaoqin took his pulse, and found his vital energy full and flowing to a degree that surpassed even before, and he could not help feeling a measure of joy. “I hope Senior Brother wakes soon.”

He Bang leaned against Rong Chen Zi’s arm, her eyes soft as water. “He will, certainly.”

Yet Zhuang Shaoqin still had something he wanted to ask. “You… how exactly did you obtain the former Emperor’s heart’s blood?”

He Bang finished wiping Rong Chen Zi’s hands and face, and passed the towel to Yugu. “Very simple. I appeared in a dream to a child’s father, and told him that if a new Emperor took the throne, there would be a general pardon, and his child would be spared. Then I gave him a bamboo tube and taught him a concealment incantation. He was very clever — he used the concealment incantation to slip into the palace, killed the Emperor, and I obtained a bowl of heart’s blood in the process.”

Zhuang Shaoqin also privately broke into a cold sweat. “Xiao He, there is actually something I have always wanted to ask.”

He Bang was unconcerned. “Ask.”

“That time — when the Emperor dreamed of a swarm of ants devouring a serpent — was that your doing?”

He Bang glanced at him, then gave a faint smile without answering. Zhuang Shaoqin drew a sharp breath. “I have long wondered about it. The imperial ancestral mausoleum was a matter of the strictest secrecy. After being wounded, the Resonant Serpent could barely look after itself — how could it have found its way there? You deliberately revealed the mausoleum’s location to it, luring it there. Then you appeared in a dream to the Emperor and sent us to subdue it — all so that the dragon energy would dissolve its sinister energy, and after a hundred-odd years, when the dynasty’s fate had run its course, you could bring it out to cultivate anew. That was a fine scheme.”

“What is wrong with it? Sealing the Resonant Serpent within the imperial mausoleum would extend the dynasty’s national fate by at least fifty years. I never intended to harm the Emperor. Had he not triggered the mausoleum’s mechanisms on his own initiative, intending to trap us all and destroy us, which caused Zhiguan’s soul to be damaged, why would I have needed to take a bowl of his heart’s blood?” He Bang touched Rong Chen Zi’s forehead, then pressed it to her own to compare the temperatures, and smiled with languid warmth. “This is cause and effect. In the end, this was all brought upon himself.”

Zhuang Shaoqin looked at Rong Chen Zi, asleep and unresponsive on the bed. “As for that fish demon — you truly did put your whole heart into him. Even with only a wisp of soul remaining, you held on with such reluctance.”

He Bang lowered her gaze. “Shaoqin, you and I are different. Your heart is large — it can hold so many people. But my heart is small. What it can hold is very little. And so every single person within it is extraordinarily precious.”

“But… you still let him go in the end.” Zhuang Shaoqin sighed softly. He Bang had already made her peace with it. “I said — my heart is small, and can hold very little. For someone to come in, someone else must leave.”

She pressed her face against Rong Chen Zi’s cheek, smiling with both satisfaction and sly delight. “You can pity me all you like for now. But once Zhiguan wakes up, all you’ll be able to do is envy me!”

Zhuang Shaoqin curved his lips faintly into a smile, yet his gaze was fixed on Rong Chen Zi lying on the bed. “Truthfully, I already envy Senior Brother a little right now.”

That winter, Zhenren Yuyan began coughing blood. Ye Tian and his disciples attended him without leaving his side, day or night. Zhuang Shaoqin was kept busy as well — with the new Emperor freshly enthroned, his own position was still not yet stable, and he inevitably had to put in greater effort.

On Rong Chen Zi’s side, naturally only He Bang was there to care for him. He Bang drew upon the essence of the sun and moon for him every day. By now the dragon energy within his body flowed smoothly, yet the whole of him still had no awareness.

Zhenren Yuyan, leaning on his walking staff, came through the door and sat at the bedside. His beard had gone entirely white, and he had the look of a man who would not survive to the next winter. Qingxuan followed behind him, equally heavy-browed. Zhenren Yuyan took Rong Chen Zi’s pulse once more, and somehow, inexplicably, Rong Chen Zi’s body had adapted to the dragon energy. His breath now flowed smoothly and his spiritual energy was abundant — and yet he still had not awakened.

Zhenren Yuyan sat there sighing long and deeply. Then, without warning, the three-eyed serpent that He Bang had named He Wei crawled in. Seeing He Bang was not there, it was somewhat disappointed. But then it noticed Zhenren Yuyan sitting there with a cloud over his face, and felt compelled to offer some words of encouragement. “Zhenren, in my view, Zhiguan is already fully recovered. The fact that he hasn’t woken up might just be because the stimulation hasn’t been strong enough. He’s always been someone who despises evil and is moved to action by it. If he were to see a truly bad person — who knows, maybe he’d snap awake on the spot, infuriated back to consciousness!”

“…” Zhenren Yuyan had no goodwill toward He Bang, and even less toward He Wei. Daozong’s purpose had always been the slaying of demons and the exorcising of evil — how could it keep company with demons? At this moment he treated He Wei’s words as though they had not been spoken.

Fortunately, He Wei’s skin was thick enough, and it took no offense. “Qingxuan, where’s my master?”

Qingxuan regarded it as something of a junior martial sibling, and was far more amiable toward it. “Shi… ahem, Her Majesty has been away quite often lately. She seems to be gathering spiritual energy. Go check the back mountain.”

He Wei gave an affirmative and headed off toward the back mountain, its tail held high — a dried fish dangling from the tip of it.

After He Wei left, Qingxuan said quietly, “Zhenren, this junior thinks what He Wei said also has some logic. Maybe if we give Master a bit of a shock… Master might actually wake up?”

Zhenren Yuyan was utterly without options. When one is desperate, one clutches at anything. He sighed quietly — as long as things didn’t get too out of hand, they might as well try.

The young acolytes thought through every possible thing that might shake Rong Chen Zi awake. So first came Qingxuan throwing open the door from far away, calling at the top of his voice: “Master! Master! The water vat in our dining hall has caught fire — Master, wake up, quick!”

Then came Qingsu right on his heels: “Master! Master! The Resonant Serpents are out devouring people again!”

Then came Qingyun charging in: “Master! Master! The authorities want to buy Qingxu Temple and turn it into a foot-washing establishment…”

…

Three days of such commotion, and Rong Chen Zi still had not stirred.

On this particular day, taking advantage of the warm sun outside, He Bang moved Rong Chen Zi out into the courtyard to sit in the sunshine. She sat at the edge of the pool playing in the water. The lotus blossoms secretly gathered from Guanyin of the South Sea bloomed year-round in the pool, and He Bang sat with Rong Chen Zi beside the water for a while. Seeing no one else around, she began quietly undressing.

Her skin was soft and tender, and she had never cared much for the constraint of clothing. Now that there was no one to manage her, she was even more unrestrained. The weather was warm besides, and there was water and sunlight — she simply wanted to soak in the water. She lay draped across Rong Chen Zi, looking this way and that. “You’re still not waking up??” Rong Chen Zi naturally did not react. He Bang proceeded to remove her robe and skirt one piece at a time, setting them on him. “Then you hold my clothes for me.”

She had stripped herself clean with a few quick movements, and slipped soundlessly into the water like a fish. She played and frolicked in the water for a while, then rose to the surface. Pale golden sunlight blended with the water’s sheen and cast a soft, radiant halo around her. Her silken black hair was soaked through, clinging tight to her body — the contrast of black and white making her skin appear all the more luminous as jade. She stretched lazily, balanced on the tip of one foot atop a lotus blossom, raised both hands in a hand seal, and slowly drew forth a pearl — more perfectly round and translucent than any ordinary pearl.

The pearl hovered above her open palms. All the sunlight around it seemed drawn inward, flowing into it in a slow, steady stream. Its light shimmered and turned, a cascade of five colors.

“He Bang!!” He Bang was in the midst of absorbing the essence of the sun when a furious shout rang out behind her. She turned her head — and there on the rattan chair sat Rong Chen Zi, his face a mask of fury. “You… in broad daylight — how dare you dress like this! What if someone sees you?”

He Bang recalled her inner dan and tilted her head at him. “Dress like what? I’m clearly not wearing anything at all!”

Rong Chen Zi’s limbs had been inactive for a long while, and they were stiff and uncooperative. He made a labored effort to stand, pointing at He Bang, his hand trembling with agitation. “Get up here right now! Put your clothes on this instant!”

He Bang stood motionless on the lotus blossom. This all felt too much like a dream. She was afraid that if she stirred even slightly, she would wake — and wake to find Rong Chen Zi still lying in the rattan chair, unresponsive to any number of her calls.

But Rong Chen Zi’s voice had drawn the others. First came Yugu, who had been keeping watch outside. She rushed in, her voice even louder: “Zhiguan! Zhiguan, you’ve finally woken up!”

Rong Chen Zi was still holding He Bang’s clothes in his arms. He feared Yugu’s voice would bring more people, and grew all the more urgently flustered. Not daring to speak loudly himself, he pressed his voice down low. “I’ve barely just woken up and you want to vex me to death?”

He Bang narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment, then finally gave a light leap and landed at the pool’s edge. Rong Chen Zi immediately wrapped his outer robe around her. Next to arrive were Qingxuan and Qingsu, who, abandoning all propriety, threw their arms around Rong Chen Zi. They managed only to call out “Master” before they could say nothing more.

Then Ye Tian came running in as well, and the whole of Qingxu Temple was roused. Rong Chen Zi, however, had other things on his mind. “Back to the room. Get your clothes on immediately!” He Bang turned and ran for the bedroom. Rong Chen Zi quickly added another directive: “In the inner chamber to change!”

Zhenren Yuyan, hearing the commotion, also hurried over. Rong Chen Zi let them gather around him. This awakening — there was much to be said, between all of them. Rong Chen Zi saw how haggard and worn Zhenren Yuyan and Ye Tian both looked, and his heart was filled with guilt and sorrow. He knelt at Zhenren Yuyan’s feet. “This junior has been incompetent and caused you worry, Zhenren.”

Zhenren Yuyan reached down and helped him up, his eyes warm with emotion. “As long as you are well. As long as you are well.”

“Senior Brother!” Ye Tian embraced him tightly. Tears soaked through his robe. Rong Chen Zi patted her back, his voice low and soothing. “It’s all right now. These days have been… hard on all of you.”

Many more words were spoken among them all. Eventually, mindful of his condition, Zhenren Yuyan sent the others out. “Channel your energy and check whether anything within your body still feels out of place.”

Rong Chen Zi nodded. Zhenren Yuyan stepped out of the room and drew the door closed behind him.

Rong Chen Zi immediately pressed the pine-on-a-mountain painting in the room, slipped into the inner chamber, and found He Bang still seated on the bed, wrapped in a single robe, staring at a pile of clothing laid out before her with a look of deep deliberation. Rong Chen Zi frowned. “Not changed yet?”

He Bang was utterly aggrieved. “I was trying to decide which outfit looks nicest!”

Rong Chen Zi’s heart softened in an instant, beyond all measure. He stepped forward and pulled He Bang into a tight embrace. “Xiao He looks beautiful in anything. In everything. Always the most beautiful.”

After a very long while, He Bang hugged him back. “Zhiguan, you won’t leave again, will you?”

“I won’t.” Rong Chen Zi pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Never again.”

He Bang opened her mouth and bit down hard on his shoulder. “If you ever leave again — run me through with a sword before you go.”

Rong Chen Zi’s heart felt as though a needle had been driven through it. “Foolish talk.”

Rong Chen Zi had only just awakened. Visitors came without end — Daozong, old friends, the faithful — all wishing to pay their respects. Zhenren Yuyan, perpetually concerned about Rong Chen Zi’s condition, kept them all at the door.

Rong Chen Zi’s body was fully recovered, yet he seldom received guests. He Bang had been especially clingy with him lately. One day, while he was wiping down He Bang’s shell, he was startled to notice she had grown much thinner — even the shell was smaller. He was inwardly alarmed, and only then did he notice that she never slept well at night, and had been eating very little of late.

Rong Chen Zi arranged for Qingyun to prepare her best dishes every day, and also pretended not to see when Yugu made meat dishes. But she still could not eat much, and spent her days clinging to his side, looking everywhere for him the moment he was out of sight for even an instant.

Late in the night, deep in the quiet, she tossed and turned once more, unwilling to sleep. Rong Chen Zi pulled her into his arms and coaxed her softly. “I am here. Sleep.”

He Bang pouted. “I can’t sleep. What if I fall asleep, and you fall asleep too — and then you don’t wake up again?”

Rong Chen Zi held out his hand for her to lick. “What would it take for you to eat properly and sleep properly?”

He Bang wrapped her arms around his neck, her great round eyes staring up at him. “How about I just eat you up? Swallow you down, and then I won’t have to keep thinking.”

Rong Chen Zi unfastened the ties of his collar and turned to press her beneath him, utterly generous. “Eat then.”

The lamp in the room was extinguished. After a long, long while, He Bang’s voice finally drifted out. “I meant eat with the mouth on my head, you awful man!!”