A slender figure stood at the prow, one hand on the railing, gazing silently at the stars ahead. Footsteps approached, and then a voice as cool and clear as struck metal spoke up. "Crown Prince Jiang?"
Jiang Yuwang turned. When he saw it was Li Hanguang, his expression eased a little. "It's you."
Li Hanguang came to the railing and stood beside him. "Crown Prince Jiang, I just saw Prince Jintian, the Dark Emperor's crown prince, Miss Xiling and some others gathered together. They must have been discussing tomorrow's task. I thought you'd be there too. You didn't go?"
Jiang Yuwang's face changed slightly. He pressed his lips together. "Xiling Sang and her brother went as well?"
"Yes." Li Hanguang spoke as if it were nothing, as if he hadn't thought about what he was saying. "Miss Xiling and Prince Jintian are inseparable. Wherever Prince Jintian is, Miss Xiling is sure to be there. As I passed, I vaguely heard that Prince Jintian will team up with the Xiling family. He'll protect Miss Xiling, and Young Master Xiling will protect Princess Shangjin, so they can look after one another."
Jiang Yuwang said nothing. Li Hanguang didn't notice his expression at all and sighed. "They're family, after all. Outsiders can't compete with that kind of trust. They can even show each other their treasures and techniques. It looks like first place this time will go to either the Dark Emperor's crown prince or Prince Jintian."
"Your power is no weaker than Ji Shaoyu's, from what I've seen," Jiang Yuwang said. "Don't you want to contend for it?"
"What is there to contend for?" Li Hanguang smiled and shook his head. The wind was strong this high up, and his hem snapped and fluttered, making even his voice sound distant. "Last time I got lucky and fought Crown Prince Xuan to a draw. But a trial isn't the same as a duel. Treasures, information and money decide it. Anyway, we all have the same task this time. If one person finds the answer, everyone else can pass along with them. I'm new here and I don't understand anything yet, so tomorrow I'll follow Prince Jintian's arrangements. He looks very sure of himself and should finish the task easily. Having a teammate like Prince Jintian is really a stroke of luck for the rest of us."
Jiang Yuwang let out a faint scoff. "He spends most of the year away from Yongtian Palace and always sits at the bottom in ordinary tests. But every time the year-end exam comes around, he suddenly figures everything out without being taught and gets a high score. If you go with him, he'll score high himself, but the others may not."
Li Hanguang looked astonished. "Is that so? The instructors have said the exam questions are kept secret and nobody can know them in advance. Prince Jintian must simply adapt quickly."
Jiang Yuwang curled his lip in mockery. "Perhaps. Yongtian Palace is in the Central Heavenly Realm, and the Yellow Emperor decides everything there. The exam may be secret from everyone else, but not necessarily from his own family."
Li Hanguang seemed not to know how to answer and only smiled faintly. Jiang Yuwang also felt he had gone too far. How Ji Gaoxin got his grades was something they all understood without saying, but it was wrong of him to say it aloud in front of an outsider. He took a deep breath. "I spoke carelessly. Those were just wild words. Don't take them to heart."
"Crown Prince Jiang, there's no need to be so formal," Li Hanguang said. "Among all the immortals in the Heavenly Realm, you're the only one willing to lend me a hand. How could I pass your words on to anyone? Rest assured, I understand."
Li Hanguang's eyes were sincere, and Jiang Yuwang's irritation soothed considerably. He had watched this sort of thing for many years and should have gone numb to it long ago, but a moment earlier, for some reason, his feelings had surged and he'd had to speak. Luckily Li Hanguang could be trusted. Otherwise, if those words got out, Jiang Yuwang would be cast as the villain.
The ship was full of friends and relatives, yet the only one who could understand him was a demon he had met not long ago. Jiang Yuwang felt a pang of sorrow, and with some real sincerity he warned him, "We reach Fanghu Wonderland tomorrow. You should go back and rest early too. After this, there will probably be few chances to rest easy."
The Five Emperors each had their own channels of information and knew what was happening in the Heavenly Realm. The White Emperor had warned Xi Jiuge a few days ago, and the Red Emperor had received the same news: the Yellow Emperor meant to test the younger generation, and Fanghu Wonderland was a whetstone set for Ji Gaoxin and Ji Shaoyu. The rest of them were basically there as sparring partners. Otherwise an ordinary year-end exam would never be held in such a remote place.
Any merit earned on this trip would belong to Ji Gaoxin and Ji Shaoyu, while the danger would be shared by everyone. Jiang Yuwang had no wish to be a stepping stone for those two. Out of friendship, he gave Li Hanguang a hint. Whether Li Hanguang could read between the lines was up to him.
Li Hanguang, of course, understood perfectly. He didn't care about his exam results. But as the saying goes, the best way to break up a pair of lovers is to make them travel together. This group had come to Fanghu Wonderland for a trial, with both competition and danger, which was ideal for inflaming conflicts.
His first target was Jiang Yuwang. Jiang Yuwang had an old grudge and a tangled emotional history with Ji Gaoxin, which made him very easy to turn against him. Li Hanguang would first stir up his resentment toward Ji Gaoxin. Then, once they were in the secret realm tomorrow, he would watch for his chance and make sure the two of them clashed.
His goal was to break up every pair of brothers and every pair of lovers on this trip before the secret realm was over.
On the surface, though, Li Hanguang remained as harmless as ever. He thanked Jiang Yuwang softly and watched him walk back to his room. Once Jiang Yuwang was gone, Li Hanguang stayed at the railing and gave a quiet laugh. "Divine Maiden, it's late. Aren't you resting either?"
Xi Jiuge came out slowly from behind him. She glanced in the direction Jiang Yuwang had gone, then looked at Li Hanguang with open suspicion. "Why did you go looking for Jiang Yuwang alone? What did you talk about?"
A sincere smile hung at the corner of Li Hanguang's mouth. "Just what the Divine Maiden heard. I came to ask how tomorrow's task should be handled. It's my first year-end exam and I feel unprepared, so I wanted to ask someone."
Xi Jiuge had finished her cultivation and come out for a walk, and had happened upon Li Hanguang talking with Jiang Yuwang. She had arrived late and only heard Jiang Yuwang telling Li Hanguang to get some rest early. She hadn't heard anything before that.
Still, her instincts told her something was wrong. Li Hanguang and Jiang Yuwang normally kept their distance and seemed to have nothing to do with each other. Why were they standing so close in a place with no one around?
Xi Jiuge wasn't fooled by the smile on Li Hanguang's face and kept her wary eyes on him. "There's nothing shameful about asking for advice on the exam. Why did it have to be Jiang Yuwang?"
Li Hanguang's lips curved as he looked at her. "I actually wanted to ask the Divine Maiden. But... the Dark Emperor's crown prince is also on the ship, and I was afraid it would put you in an awkward position."
Xi Jiuge stopped in front of Li Hanguang and tilted her head slightly, studying him inch by inch. "Since when does anyone else get to decide my affairs?"
Li Hanguang leaned back against the railing. Xi Jiuge stood facing him, directly into the wind, her long hair blown wildly behind her. Li Hanguang raised a hand to shield her from the wind at the prow and smiled. "That's good. Divine Maiden, how is the injury on your body?"
"What injury?" Xi Jiuge gave him a cold glance and warned, "Don't change the subject."
"All right." Li Hanguang nodded meekly. "A shoulder injury is the hardest kind to heal. I brought ointment with me. If the Divine Maiden needs it, I'll go and fetch it right now."
Xi Jiuge narrowed her eyes. Her good temper was close to running out. "No need. You're changing the subject again. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Li Hanguang's eyes looked as if they had scooped up a handful of water, brimming with laughter, and combined with his looks it made him seem both innocent and bewitching. He kept his gaze on Xi Jiuge. "I wouldn't dare. Divine Maiden, I hear Fanghu Wonderland is dangerous. I'm a stranger here and really don't dare act alone. Tomorrow, may I rely on the Divine Maiden?"
Xi Jiuge stared at him in silence, thoroughly disgusted, then turned and walked away. "No."
Li Hanguang stayed at the railing and watched her go. The long wind rolled in from behind him. The night was so thick it seemed ready to swallow their small ship at any moment, yet Li Hanguang's sleeves drifted lightly and his face was like jade, startlingly white against the dark.
He kept his eyes on her back. As she was about to go through her door, he called, "Divine Maiden, it's late. Get some rest."
Xi Jiuge closed the door without expression.
A strand of long hair swept across his eyes. Li Hanguang pressed it down, and as he turned, he glanced, seemingly by chance and yet precisely, at the corridor on the other side.
From his angle he could see only the corner. Beyond it was quiet, as if no one were there.
A faint smile crossed Li Hanguang's lips and vanished in an instant. Long after he had left, Ji Shaoyu slowly stepped out from behind the corner and stared silently at the spot where Xi Jiuge and Li Hanguang had been speaking.
Xi Jiuge was injured? When had that happened? Why didn't he know?
And how did Li Hanguang know the injury was on her shoulder?
·
Early the next morning, the cloud boat descended slowly through the clouds. The leading divine official stood at the prow with his hands behind his back. "You should all be clear on this year's exam task by now, but I will repeat it one last time. Recently, many gods have gone missing without explanation. At first their families thought they had gone out to train and paid no attention, but the number of missing people kept growing until it could no longer be ignored. After His Majesty the Yellow Emperor sent people to investigate, they found that the last place every missing person was seen was Fanghu Wonderland. His Majesty takes the matter very seriously, so he has made it the year-end assessment for Yongtian Palace. You are ordered to find the missing gods and investigate why they disappeared."
As the official spoke, the boat sank lower, until at last it gave a gentle shudder underfoot and settled steadily on the ground. The official pointed at the canyon ahead. "This is Fanghu Wonderland. Beyond this point there are no guards. You will have to find your own way and explore on your own. I will wait here. Whoever first finds the missing people and returns to the ship with evidence will be first in this year-end exam."
He cupped his hands to everyone on the ship and said, "The secret realm is perilous. Take care, all of you. I will be here to welcome your victorious return."
The people on the ship had long since grown impatient. The moment the official finished, some leapt off in a rush and shot toward the canyon like lightning. The task was timed, and everyone wanted to seize the initiative and be first to obtain the evidence.
Streaks of light flew off one after another. Ji Shaoyu walked up to Xi Jiuge. "Jiuge, let's go too."
Xi Jiuge nodded. She pressed two fingers together and swept them lightly out of her sleeve, and a small, delicate leaf came to rest in front of her. She stepped nimbly onto the jade leaf boat, which instantly blurred into a shadow and flew swiftly and unseen toward the valley.
Ji Shaoyu followed. Xi Jiuge flew fast, and he trailed behind her. One in front and one behind, they swept silently over the open country.
The other teams chatted and laughed as they went. Only these two moved in an unusually stiff silence. After a while, Ji Shaoyu asked casually, "Jiuge, are you injured?"
Xi Jiuge was studying the scenery below with full attention. Ji Shaoyu wasn't hurrying to look for evidence and somehow had the leisure to make small talk. She had no wish to answer him, but remembering their engagement, she replied civilly, "No. We're too high up to see anything. Let's fly lower."
Xi Jiuge brought the boat down on her own. The jade leaf passed through the treetops and wove nimbly between the trunks. The forest was full of obstacles, and anyone who didn't want to slow down had to give the magic tool their full concentration. Even so, Ji Shaoyu still had the leisure to talk. "Jiuge, you and Li Hanguang seem to be on good terms?"
Xi Jiuge grew a little impatient. Why did one person after another think she was on good terms with Li Hanguang? She wanted to kill him. Was that what they called good terms? She said flatly, "We're schoolmates, nothing more. We're already inside Fanghu Wonderland and need to find evidence quickly. Don't get distracted by irrelevant things..."
Before she could finish, a scream came from ahead. Xi Jiuge started and looked straight toward the sound. "That sounded like Ji Ningsi. They may be in danger. Let's go and see."