“Did Mish Vermillion Bird save me?” Angelina asked, exchanging a glance with Ryuho.
“Yeah, I think so!” he replied.
Afterward, they turned to face the bronze door. The words “Capture the dragon” were engraved upon the depiction of the Blue Dragon.
“What does it mean?” Angelina asked.
Ryuho furrowed his brow. “Is it a riddle? I have no idea what to do…”
As both children cocked their heads, the three long-tailed lizards returned from the briar. Each one was carrying something in its mouth. After placing those objects in front of Angelina, they scurried into the thicket again.
“Am I supposed to choose one of these?” Angelina asked, examining the objects carefully. First was a pagoda tree branch bearing fruit, flowers, and buds. Second was an ornamental hairpin made from bamboo. Third was a silver tally in the shape of a sleeping cat. When Angelina looked at the door closely, she found three holes in which the objects would fit.
“I’ve got it!” Ryuho shouted.
“What do you mean?” Angelina asked.
“It’s a riddle—just like I thought! And the answer’s gotta be the hairpin!”
“How come?”
“It’s made from bamboo, right? To write the Jinlongian character for ‘basket,’ you draw the bamboo radical over the dragon radical! If you imagine using a bamboo basket to capture a dragon, you’ll always remember that character! Junshi taught me that the other day!”
“That’s amazing, Ryuho! You’ve been working hard on your studies.”
“Yeah, I’m amazing!” Ryuho cried out, wagging his tail and grinning smugly. “I’m the king of studying!”
Angelina stuck the bamboo hairpin into the bronze door. Shortly thereafter, the door creaked open of its own accord. Unlike before, the briar path beyond the portal was broad enough for two people to walk down. Ryuho wouldn’t have to worry about getting stuck by thorns any longer. As such, he transformed into a human and took Angelina’s hand.
“We did it, Lina!” Ryuho cheered, swelling with satisfaction. “And this is pretty fun! Will we need to use these objects? Let’s take ’em with us!”
Angelina picked up the pagoda tree branch, and Ryuho picked up the silver tally. Then, they dashed forward to solve the next riddle.
“It’s here, Lina!” Ryuho shouted.
They stopped before an iron door with a depiction of the Black Tortoise engraved upon it. The words “Insert your gift to the emperor” were also etched into the door.
Angelina cocked her head. “My present to Fodder? What could that be…?”
The silver tally was magnificent and seemed deeply connected to the imperial family. Conversely, the withered pagoda tree branch was the shabbiest of the objects.
Ryuho held out the silver tally in his hand to Angelina. “This one’s the nicest, don’tcha think?”
In response, the snake coiled around the Black Tortoise spun around three times.
“Three times…” Angelina mumbled, considering the matter intently. “Is that some kind of hint?”
Ryuho pointed to the pagoda tree branch in Angelina’s hand. “There are three things attached to that branch. Could it be referring to the flowers, fruit, and buds?”
“Flowers, fruits, and buds…” Angelina repeated. “Oh, wait! The Three Ducal Ministers are related to the pagoda tree, too!”
Ryuho furrowed his brow. “What are the Three Ducal Ministers?”
“A long time ago, three pagoda trees were planted in a garden, and the Three Ducal Ministers had chairs made from them. We learned that from Junshi, remember? Those ministers are sometimes called the Three Pagoda Trees.”
“Oh, yeah! Those are the three great ministers who serve the emperor, right?”
“Exactly,” Angelina confirmed. “And I think this might be a rod, not a branch.”
“I think you might be onto something! If you place the tree radical next to the character meaning ‘to present,’ it becomes the character for rod!”
Encouraged by Ryuho’s words, Angelina placed the branch in the Black Tortoise’s mouth. Without delay, the iron door rumbled open. Thus, Angelina and Ryuho headed towards the next door. After continuing down the briar road, they arrived at a small shrine with a silver door. The door had been decorated with something like an astrological chart containing depictions of the four deities. However, the pieces had been scattered like a puzzle, and the Jinlongian character for child had been engraved twelve times on top of the chart.
“What is this supposed to mean?” Angelina muttered under her breath.
“The character for ‘child’ has two different readings,” Ryuho said while cocking his head. “Is it supposed to be kokoko or shishishi? And does it have anything to do with this tally?”
Ryuho stared down at the silver tally in his hand. Unfortunately, the door had no grooves in which the tally would fit. Unsure what else to do, Angelina touched the silver door. The puzzle pieces moved up, down, left, and right.
“It’s moving!” she cried out in alarm, whipping her hand back.
“Should we solve this puzzle?” Ryuho asked.
“But we don’t know what the characters mean.”
“Let’s just do what we understand for now!”
Angelina nodded. “Mishter Black Tortoise goes on top. These five stars form a straight line down the middle, and this symbol that looks like the tsu character goes beside it.”
It did seem to be an astrological chart.
“It’s the celestial poles and the Four Advisors,” Ryuho said. “In that case, the Blue Dragon goes on the right.”
“Yep! Mish Vermillion Bird goes on the bottom, and Mishter White Tiger goes on the left.”
The two children worked together to solve the puzzle. Yet, when they completed the astrological chart, each of the Four Divinities had a groove carved beneath their feet where the tally would fit. In other words, the grooves were shaped like a sleeping cat.
“How are we supposed to know where to put the tally?!” Ryuho shouted, ruffling his hair in frustration. “Those characters must be a hint.”
“But how are we supposed to read them?” Angelina asked. As she sank into perplexed contemplation, the magic bookmark around her neck radiated pale light. “Oh, right! My bookmark from Mish Wicker Cabinet!” She held up her bookmark and began reading the characters. “Let’s see here… Child of a cat. Kitten. Child of a lion. Cub.”
Both children came to the same conclusion simultaneously and grinned at each other. “It’s gotta be this one!” they cried out in unison.
Together, they placed the tally into the groove beneath the White Tiger’s feet. The silver tally wasn’t a cat but the White Tiger’s cub. After returning to its parent, the tally sank into the silver door, which opened without a sound.
A beach lay beyond the door. Considering Mt. Jinlong didn’t face the ocean, the Bai Ze must have created this world through his power. The pure white, unadulterated sand took on the shape of stars. As Angelina and Ryuho took a step forward, the sand crunched beneath their feet. Meanwhile, the warm and gentle sea breeze caressed their skin.
A white beast stood before them, its back facing the ocean. The creature had three eyes on the center of its forehead, each shining with a black luster like outer space. A lion’s mane grew around its face, and a goat’s beard grew from its chin. Two bull horns grew from its head, and its feet were horse hooves.
The Bai Ze—a nigh mythical, supposedly omniscient beast that understood language—stood there. As the creature fixed its calm gaze on the children, its mane billowed solemnly in the breeze. Angelina and Ryuho both held their breaths, rendered speechless. All the while, waves lapped against the shore, and sea birds soared across the sky.
“Introduce yourselves, future rulers of nations,” the Bai Ze instructed.
Gasping, Angelina bowed with her hands locked together in front of her chest. Ryuho scrambled to do the same.
“I am Angelina Xin Lei.”
“And I’m Ryuho Ruo.”