Volume Two, Chapter Twelve: The Five Elements and Six Harmonies

For a long moment, Hanyu and Meiniang were lost in thought. When they finally returned to themselves, they exchanged a smile and, as if by prior agreement, crawled over to Yibing’s feet, both calling out in unison, “Hey, do you still have any rations left?”

“Here!” Hong Kun hastily pulled out the remaining food.

At this point, all other thoughts dissipated from their minds, which, in a way, brought a sense of relief. As they divided up the rations Hong Kun had brought, they began to whisper quietly among themselves. Only the Master Tai Miao remained seated in deep meditation, undisturbed.

“Brother Hong, how did you manage to find us?” Jin Guishan asked.

“It was thanks to your bamboo dragonfly!” Hong Kun replied, rolling his stiff neck, sore from craning it for so long.

“That makes sense! I usually keep that bamboo dragonfly under my pillow. The moment I realized something was wrong, I tried to nudge it out, but just as it was halfway out, Ye Boyang burst in. I could only hope for the best and whispered for it to go to Banyue Mound and deliver a message. Honestly, I doubted it could even free itself from under the pillow,” Jin Guishan said with a wry smile.

“No wonder it only arrived this morning! Likely, last night, someone from Zhengjia Sect found it by accident. It’s been scorched by fire—now I understand why it felt as if it’d been burned with some evil flame!” Hong Kun realized as he spoke.

“Sigh, and now you’re all in trouble because of me,” Jin Guishan said regretfully.

“Nonsense! It’s not over yet!” Hong Kun quickly comforted him. For some reason, he couldn’t help but place his hopes on that divine tortoise.

“Brother Mu…” the chubby girl noticed Yibing clutching half a baked bun, not eating.

“Huh? Oh!” Yibing swallowed hard and quickly handed over the half bun.

“It’s been almost three days since we last ate!” The plump girl devoured it in one bite. Jin Guishan smiled awkwardly, and Hong Kun also managed a soft chuckle.

In just half an hour, Master Tai Miao and her companions had risen to two-thirds the height of the tower, while Hong Kun and the others hovered three inches above the ground. The earlier camaraderie faded, and once again, a heavy silence fell over the group.

“Thank you for that lotus seed, though what a pity…” the chubby girl sighed softly. Yibing shook his head vigorously.

“Oh!” Suddenly, Yibing remembered something. He hurriedly pulled out his uncle’s incense pouch and poured out the lotus seeds into his palm. “I wanted to give them to Auntie, but she refused… Sigh…”

With a thud, Yibing’s hefty backside crashed to the ground, making the entire pagoda tremble.

“What happened?” Master Tai Miao opened her eyes in alarm.

“I came down?!” Yibing touched his head in confusion.

“Uh-oh!” Only then did Yibing realize the six lotus seeds had vanished.

There was no need to search; everyone could see where they’d gone. Five lotus seeds floated around Yibing’s waist, orbiting him like stars around the moon.

“Brother…” Yibing stared at Hong Kun in terror, who was equally dumbfounded.

Yibing tried crouching; the five lotus seeds followed him down. When he sprang up, they rose with him. No matter what he did, they revolved around his waist, inseparable.

“The light orb above your head…” Hanyu cried out. The large, glowing orb that had hovered above Yibing’s head had vanished.

“Little Fatty!” Master Tai Miao suddenly called out.

“Yes!” “Yes!” Yibing and the chubby girl answered in unison.

“Not you!” Master Tai Miao waved dismissively at the chubby girl.

“Are those the Hell Lotus Seeds?” she asked, looking intently at Yibing.

“Yes! There were seven originally, one…” Yibing began to explain.

“I didn’t ask for your life story!” Master Tai Miao cut him off. “Do you have anything else on you?”

“Anything else?” Yibing held up the divine iron, but Master Tai Miao shook her head.

“Nothing else, then!”

“See if you can go downstairs!” Master Tai Miao’s brow was furrowed with confusion.

Startled, Yibing turned and rushed toward the stairs, only to be bounced back. Disappointment swept through the group. Yibing rubbed his head, then swung his great axe at the stairway. There was a thunderous crash, but nothing seemed to change. Cautiously, he tested the threshold with his foot—only to step right through.

Just then, a flash of golden light blazed. Before him appeared a general clad in golden armor and helm, sporting a curled mustache and shifty little eyes that darted about.

“What manner of demon are you?” Yibing recoiled in fright.

“Who’s a demon? I am Tower Guardian General Chi Wu!” Before he finished, a golden serpent spear appeared in his hand.

“You’re no demon? You’re helping the Zhengjia traitors trap all these Daoist friends!” Hanyu retorted sharply.

“Hah, and you’re not a demon yourself!” Chi Wu shot back.

“…I am, but they’re not!” Hanyu nearly stumbled over her words.

“Whether you are or not, it’s none of my concern!” Chi Wu said brusquely.

“Not your concern? Some ‘Guardian General’ you are!” Meiniang sneered.

Chi Wu turned away, embarrassed, and glared at Yibing. “Who exactly are you? It’s been a thousand years, and you’re the first!”

“The first what?”

“Who are you, really?” Chi Wu pressed, ignoring the question.

“Yibing of Banyue Mound,” Yibing replied, thinking it wise not to reveal his real name.

“Heh, you do look the part,” Chi Wu eyed him up and down.

“Let us out, or else…” Yibing brandished his axe meaningfully.

“Hmm? Something’s not right!” Chi Wu peered at the divine iron, then at the five lotus seeds orbiting Yibing.

“Indeed, I find it baffling myself!” Master Tai Miao interjected. Chi Wu glanced up at her.

“He has the five elements, but not the six harmonies?” Chi Wu frowned in deep perplexity.

“General, those Zhengjia Sect members who caught us have allied with the Jade-Faced Gentleman, Master Bao Pu, and other fiends, harming cultivators from all walks. By blocking our path, aren’t you aiding the wicked? That hardly befits your title!” Hong Kun protested, bowing with cupped hands. Even Hanyu was startled by his eloquence.

“Alas, I have no choice! Whoever holds the tower commands me!” Chi Wu sighed.

“Let us out, and we’ll take the tower. Then you’ll answer to us!” Yibing said confidently.

“You? You’d have to defeat me first…” Chi Wu caught himself, realizing he’d said too much.

“Yibing, fight him!” Hanyu urged impatiently.

“Mind your own business!” Chi Wu snapped.

“Hah, he knows he can’t beat you—go fight!” Hanyu grinned broadly.

“Who says I can’t beat him? Don’t be fooled by his fancy weapon. I’m no mere guardian—if you kill me once, the tower will resurrect me. Besides, you couldn’t defeat me anyway! Don’t even dream of getting out of here!” Chi Wu twirled his mustache, eyes glinting.

“Don’t listen to him! He can only revive so many times—just beat him a few more!” Hanyu declared, unimpressed. Chi Wu’s face turned pale.

“Then let’s have at it!” Yibing, resigned, hefted his axe.

“Wait! Though you may not best me, it’s been a thousand years—I should give you a chance. Since I am a Guardian General, I can’t be so crude. Let’s have a contest of wits!” Chi Wu’s little eyes darted cunningly.

“A contest of wits? Clearly he knows he’d lose in a fight. Don’t bother wasting words!” Meiniang laughed.

“Nonsense!” Chi Wu raised his spear defensively.

“Yibing, do as he says!” Master Tai Miao suddenly commanded, leaving no room for argument. Hanyu opened her mouth, but in the end, said nothing.

“Heh, at least someone here is reasonable!” Chi Wu nodded in respect to the master.

“Uh, alright then!” Yibing reluctantly put away his axe, transforming it into a belt around his waist.

“Splendid item! You’re quite someone, aren’t you?” Chi Wu eyed the divine iron greedily.

“So, what’s the contest?” Yibing grew anxious, glancing at Master Tai Miao, who had risen another inch.

“Oh!” Only now did Chi Wu return to himself, wiping the drool from his mouth. “Let’s have an eating contest!”

“An eating contest? I thought this was supposed to test our wits!” Meiniang protested.

“It’s all the same!” Chi Wu shot her a look and continued, “We’ll see who can eat the most meatballs!”

Yibing’s mouth watered uncontrollably, and he nodded enthusiastically. The chubby girl swallowed hard.

“Very well!” Chi Wu grinned wickedly, waved his hands, and the golden spear disappeared, replaced by two heaping platters piled high with steaming meatballs. The delicious aroma made several stomachs rumble in anticipation.

“How do we compete?” Yibing snatched a platter at once.

“Whoever finishes first wins!”

“Alright!” Yibing grabbed a meatball and stuffed it into his mouth. The flavor was heavenly—even better than the scent. One, two—he devoured them, half a platter gone in no time, like a whirlwind.

“Can you still eat?” Chi Wu, hiccupping, could hardly believe his eyes. These were no ordinary meatballs—they were Yang Fire Balls, refined with Samadhi True Fire. An average person would be scorched inside after just three.

Yibing, unable to speak, nodded vigorously as he continued to wolf them down. Chi Wu, clearly frightened, focused all his energy on shoving the meatballs into his mouth. He hadn’t come to compete in appetite, but now he had no choice but to force them down.

“I’m done!” Yibing looked up just as Chi Wu struggled to choke down his last meatball.

“Wow, Yibing wins!” the chubby girl cheered.

Chi Wu, waving his hands frantically, finally swallowed the last bite, gasping, “No, no, it’s a tie!”

“Shameless! You said whoever finished first would win!” Hanyu nearly leapt up in anger.

“Finishing the platter doesn’t mean eating every last morsel!” Chi Wu grinned slyly.

“You…” If Hong Kun hadn’t held them back, Hanyu and Meiniang would have lunged at him.

“There’s more… hic…” Chi Wu hiccupped uncontrollably. Two more platters of meatballs appeared in his hands.

“Wonderful!” Yibing didn’t wait for Chi Wu to speak, grabbing a platter and stuffing his mouth, leaving Chi Wu scrambling to keep up.

“Enough! Hic… hic… enough!” Seeing that Yibing had only one meatball left while he still had five or six, Chi Wu gave up entirely.

“Let me finish!” Yibing quickly popped the last meatball into his mouth.

“I lose! I lose! I wasn’t here to compete in eating, but fate had to pit me against a glutton like you—heaven’s will!” Chi Wu laughed at himself.

“General?” Yibing scratched his head in puzzlement.

“Don’t you notice anything different about these two platters of meatballs?”

“Different? Well, the first platter was delicious, but the second got a bit greasy,” Yibing said sheepishly.

“Heavens! The first were Yang Fire Balls, refined with Samadhi True Fire—ordinary people can’t eat more than three before being burned up. The second were Yin Fire Balls, also made from Samadhi True Fire—they freeze the heart and lungs, and most can’t manage three. But you…” Chi Wu shook his head in disbelief.

“Really? They tasted a bit like two things I’ve eaten before,” Yibing licked his lips.

“What things?” Chi Wu’s little eyes sparkled.

“My master’s Primal Chaos Gold Pellet, and my uncle’s Mysterious Yellow Gold Pellet…” Yibing replied uncertainly. Those candy-like balls had a similar taste.

“Hahahaha!” Chi Wu burst into wild laughter, glanced at Master Tai Miao, bowed slightly, and vanished.

“Yibing, pull the master down quickly! Don’t let her keep rising!” Hong Kun, who had been watching anxiously, finally spoke up.

“My apologies!” Yibing rushed over and grabbed Master Tai Miao by the sleeve. With a gentle tug, she descended rapidly.

“I’ll take you down!” Yibing said, leading her toward the stairs.

There was no longer any barrier at the stairway. They reached the fourth floor smoothly, but as soon as Yibing let go, Master Tai Miao began floating upward toward the fifth floor. He quickly caught her sleeve again.

“If I hold you, you won’t float away!”

“With so many people, how will you manage to hold everyone?” Master Tai Miao shook her head.

When Yibing led her back, everyone looked crestfallen.

“What happened?” Hanyu asked anxiously.

“If I let go, the master floats up again!” Yibing pouted.

“The ball of string!” Cheng Yan suddenly exclaimed.

“That’s right! Cheng Yan, you’re brilliant!” Hanyu cried. Cheng Yan blushed.

“Here!” Mo Yan had already produced a ball of string.

Yibing took it, leaving a meter or so, and first tied it around Master Tai Miao’s ankle. Then, with another length, he tied it to Jin Guishan’s ankle, and so on, stringing everyone together like candied hawthorns on a stick.

“Can you still walk?” Hong Kun frowned worriedly.

“No problem!” Yibing replied, and strode downstairs, dragging the group along like a string of kites. Though it took some effort, it was manageable, and soon he had towed everyone safely to the fourth floor.