Chapter 2:
Shadows of the Past
QING XIONG SNATCHED at Hongjun and dragged him off his back. He tickled the youth, eliciting peals of laughter, before forcing him to stand before him properly. “Have you been making trouble again?”
Hongjun’s hands were still covered in ash, which he’d wiped all over Qing Xiong’s face. He pointed at the dark streaks and broke into another fit of giggles. As Qing Xiong stood bewildered, Hongjun recounted the day’s events in vivid detail. Qing Xiong couldn’t suppress a chuckle as Hongjun described the way Chong Ming had lost his composure.
They laughed together for a while before Hongjun looked at him seriously again. “What did you bring back for me this time?” he asked. “Hand it over!”
“I brought nothing,” Qing Xiong responded.
Skeptical, Hongjun stepped forward to pat Qing Xiong down himself. Qing Xiong always went around bare-chested; the only place gifts might be hiding were his pants pockets. Hongjun was about to start digging when Qing Xiong said solemnly, “I really didn’t bring anything this time.”
“No books, no food…” Hongjun’s face fell.
Qing Xiong laughed. “You’ve already finished the books I gave you last time?”
“I’ve read them so many times they’re falling apart.”
Seeing Hongjun’s disappointment, Qing Xiong couldn’t resist teasing him. “Where’s your Zhao Zilong?”
“He’s here.” Hongjun called out and the carp yao bounded over. The creature’s half-carp-half-man appearance was the result of a failed attempt to cultivate into human form. Hongjun had stumbled across him in the Taihang Mountains five years ago and taken him in. The carp yao’s appearance had happened to come just before one of Qing Xiong’s visits, during which Qing Xiong had gifted Hongjun a collection of short stories about the heroes of the human realm’s Three Kingdoms. In his excitement, Hongjun had promptly named the carp Zhao Zilong after the legendary general of Shu Han, and declared that he would surely leap over the Dragon Gate to become a powerful dragon one day.
With a magician’s flourish, Qing Xiong finally produced something from his pockets—a treasure hanging from a gold chain, which he dangled before Hongjun. The moment Qing Xiong took it out, the entire courtyard lit up with a brilliance that matched the blazing sun in the sky.
“What is it?” Hongjun asked in astonishment.
From the chain hung a delicately wrought pendant of metal and stone, ringed with mechanical components that enclosed a tiny crystal orb, which glowed with a soft white light like a lamp.
“I’m leaving this in your care for now.” Qing Xiong smiled as he untangled the chain and placed the necklace in Hongjun’s hands. “It’s a spiritual device. I don’t have the nerve to teach you how it works, though… Your dad would rake me over the coals. The crystal is fragile—be careful you don’t break it. I’ll show you what to do with it later.”
Itching to examine his exquisite gift immediately, Hongjun hastily bobbed his head in agreement before scurrying off with the pendant cupped in both hands.
“He’s already sixteen.”
Chong Ming had been drinking tea when Qing Xiong entered the ancillary hall. Qing Xiong knelt before the table and shot Chong Ming a glance.
“He decided to wreak havoc again today, so he’s being punished,” Chong Ming explained dispassionately.
“A youngster like him is bound to cause a little trouble,” Qing Xiong said. “The two of us and Kong Xuan were the source of no shortage of chaos back in our day.”
Chong Ming arched a brow. “He’s not ready yet.”
“I received a letter last night from the Department of Demonic Exorcism in the human realm,” Qing Xiong responded. “We have less than four years until the heavenly demon Mara returns to this world. The letter is a summons calling young exorcists of talent to gather in Chang’an—presumably in preparation for Mara’s resurrection.”
Qing Xiong tried to hand Chong Ming the letter, but Chong Ming wouldn’t look at it. With a flick of his fingers, a blazing ball of fire shot from his hand. Qing Xiong snatched the letter back to save it from being burned.
“Chong Ming, the yao have run rampant over the Divine Land while those in the Tang dynasty capable of stopping them have grown fewer in number each year. We’re out of time.”
Chong Ming at last turned to look directly into Qing Xiong’s eyes. “Do not forget that we, too, are yao.”
“Oh, so you do remember,” Qing Xiong said. “And here I thought my liege, the yao king, had forgotten.”
Chong Ming’s aura surged as if flames raged within his body. His brow creased in anger as he glared at Qing Xiong.
In the study, Hongjun was trying to pry the pendant open with two of his throwing knives. When that didn’t work, he attempted to cut through the mechanical rings with a pair of sharp shears. Finally, he resorted to smashing the pendant with a hammer, but even after whacking it until sweat dripped down his forehead, he still couldn’t extract the tiny crystal in its center.
“Ahhhh—” Hongjun picked up a bronze vase, sorely tempted to smash the little thing with it next.
“Why are you so determined to take it apart?” the carp yao piped up from beside him. “His Highness Qing Xiong told you to be careful with it.”
“I just want to take out the crystal,” Hongjun replied. “I want to set it in the hilt of my sword.”
“That’s no ordinary light it’s giving off.” The carp yao clambered onto the table, hopped atop a book, and flopped down. The radiance of the pendant reflected in his fishy eyes.
Hongjun examined the necklace. “The rings on the outside are charmed, but to do what? Are they a seal? This light is so pleasant.”
“Just looking at it makes me feel warm and cozy,” the carp yao said. “I can feel my mood improving already.”
Hongjun picked up the pendant. “Let’s go ask Qing Xiong about it.”
“You’re not done with your punishment yet!” the carp yao reminded him, but Hongjun had already flitted away with the necklace in hand.
The setting sun bled across the sky and into the mountains as birdsong rose and fell among the peaks. As Hongjun approached the ancillary hall, he heard a fierce argument coming from inside. Startled, he ducked behind a pillar.