Overjoyed, Hongjun was about to call out to his father when Chong Ming abruptly turned his head away.
“A…choo!” Chong Ming gave an earth-shattering sneeze—a fireball the size of a horse cart hurtled from the main hall toward the unbroken chain of peaks beyond, exploding against the mountainside with a thunderous boom.
The servants of Yaojin Palace shouted in alarm as the ground bucked violently beneath their feet.
“An earthquake!”
“A…choo!” Another fireball smashed into the white jade pillars of the main hall. Hongjun squawked and grabbed the carp yao, making a break for the courtyard, where he dove headfirst into the pond.
“Achoo—achoo! Achoo!”
Chong Ming sneezed thrice in rapid succession. Fireballs erupted all around him, igniting the parasol trees in the courtyard and engulfing Yaojin Palace in a sea of flames.
“Help! Fire!”
A fireball landed in the courtyard’s pond. “Ouch—hot! Hot!” the carp yao yelped. Hongjun sprang back out of the pond with the carp in his arms, scurrying around beneath the flaming parasol trees like a rat. After tossing the carp over the palace wall, he turned and raced back to Chong Ming.
“Dad!” Hongjun burst into the main hall, which was already ablaze. Chong Ming shot Hongjun a glance, his hand cupped over his nose and mouth. “Dad!” he began, “I just wanted to help—”
Chong Ming turned away, sucking in a sharp breath. Unable to hold back any longer, he sneezed explosively. Flames licked at the sky, enveloping the main hall in a sea of fire and surrounding Hongjun in the conflagration. Chong Ming darted forward and dragged Hongjun into his chest, protecting the youth in the circle of his arms.
A strident phoenix cry pierced the heavens as a pair of shimmering, multicolored wings burst from Chong Ming’s back, glowing with orange light as they closed over Chong Ming and Hongjun to shield them from the flames. Their clothes burned away, leaving them naked, but Chong Ming was unscathed; as a phoenix, his divine powers of self-protection allowed him to emerge from the blazing inferno without harm.
Hongjun poked his head out and looked around. Lit by the true fire of Samadhi, the main hall of Yaojin Palace burned with unquenchable brightness.
Birds filled the sky, arriving from all directions. Like a waterfall flowing in reverse, they rushed up from the slopes below to douse Yaojin Palace in snow from the Taihang Mountains. The blizzard hissed as it melted, smothering the flames in an instant.
Two hours later, Hongjun stood outside the study, his face still streaked with soot.
“Aiya!” Hongjun yelped as the ruler smacked his palm.
“How many times is this now?!” Chong Ming had changed into casual clothes and was holding the ruler in his hand. “Explain yourself!” he said coldly.
Hongjun faltered; Chong Ming brought the ruler down once more, and the youth cried out again in pain.
“Are you so desperate to burn to death?” Chong Ming demanded furiously. “Stand outside in the front courtyard till nightfall, or there’ll be no dinner for you!”
The third time Chong Ming swung the ruler, he used such force that tears sprang to Hongjun’s eyes. “Go face the wall!” Chong Ming snapped.
Hongjun could only hang his head, trudge over to the courtyard, and stand facing the wall. The carp scratched his scales and scurried after him. He squatted down beside Hongjun and collected some melted snow to drink.
Chong Ming was fit to be tied. To think that such a disaster should befall him while he was simply lying around at home! Stalking out of the palace, he raised two fingers to his lips and whistled. Birds rose up from all directions to carry away the burnt branches and broken bricks that had been crushed under the weight of the snow.
“I warned you not to be so reckless,” the carp yao said beside Hongjun. “How many times has it been? Your dad was already in a bad mood today, too.”
“How could I know he would sneeze?” Hongjun protested. “I spent three years scouring the mountain for that snow lotus pollen!”
“The physicians have said it a hundred times,” the carp yao responded. “There’s no antidote for fire venom, so stop meddling.”
Hongjun went silent. After only a few minutes of standing, he began shifting from foot to foot in boredom. He examined the scorch marks on the courtyard wall, where the streaks of ash resembled a landscape painting. Hongjun reached out and rubbed his fingers over the surface, smoothing the silhouette of the mountain until he was satisfied. The result looked rather like a painting rendered in splashed-ink style.
“Your dad’s going to scold you again for getting your hands dirty!” the carp yao warned.
“I’ll wash them before I eat,” Hongjun hastily responded.
Black smoke was still rising over the main hall late in the afternoon. The lingering warmth of the embers had melted the snow, leaving puddles everywhere among the wreckage. Taking in the scene, Chong Ming felt like weeping but couldn’t quite muster the tears.
An avian screech split the air as a great black bird draped in golden light winged its way through the Taihang Mountains. Upon landing, Qing Xiong transformed and walked through the courtyard, gaping in shock.
“What happened?” Qing Xiong asked a young attendant, dismayed. “Was there an attack?”
The attendant dared not answer, saying only that His Majesty, Chong Ming, awaited him in the side hall. Qing Xiong turned and strode over.
“Qing Xiong!” Hongjun rushed toward him with a joyous cry. With a flying leap, he hugged Qing Xiong around the neck and clambered onto the man’s back.