"The Second Expedition?" Yun Jieshi said, furrowing his brows. His tail mirrored the explosive interest that shuddered out of him at the news by swaying to and fro vigorously.
Wu Chaoxiang remained stunned for a moment. He grappled tensely against his new reality once more until Yun Jieshi urged him to continue his story.
"Please. Tell me about this expedition," the little monkey said.
Wu Chaoxiang nodded. All of a sudden, he looked more timid than sullen and fearful. He couldn't bring himself to look into Yun Jieshi's eyes for reasons that became clear after he continued to speak.
"Where I'm from, the natural world, a monk once travelled through all the Eastern kingdoms preaching about this place. A place with more magic, treasure and culture than our own. At first, the rulers of all the kingdoms ordered that he be caught and executed, but they could never catch him. The more he appeared and spread his message, the more everyone – common people most of all – grew interested."
"After many years of this, his charm worked. The powerful Sects from my kingdom urged our ruler, the Tiangkong Yu (Sky Fish) to welcome the monk to the palace and hear his whole story. The Tiangkong Yu agreed and after hearing what the monk had to say, he was convinced. He trusted the promises the monk swore by – promises of unique magics, beautiful treasures and the greater connection to the doctrines of the gods."
Yun Jieshi frowned, but he barely shuffled where he sat for fear of disrupting Wu Chaoxiang from his narration. He didn't dare to ask questions either. The phantom grew more timid as he waxed on.
"So, long before my time, an expedition headed by the strongest experts from our kingdom's Sects traversed through the cordon of the world – the fogs, our people called them – to come here by the monk's guidance. The people awaited their return, hoping that they would bring back treasures and scriptures but that never happened. Decades and centuries passed and they didn't come. Only the monk showed his face again one day, and began to preach about this world again."
"Our people blamed him. They called him a liar, and a demon who had stolen the souls of our cherished warriors. But the monk refused to take responsibility or show remorse. He blamed the experts and even told the present Tiangkong Yu that if they didn't return, it was because they didn't listen to his instructions. The monk even urged him to gather more experts, those who would actually listen closely to his instructions without being arrogant."
Yun Jieshi scratched his cheek. This story sounded…odd. Perhaps the abundance of missing context made it seem more bizarre than it should have been because Wu Chaoxiang wasn't especially invested he talked about. Not yet, at least.
Who was this monk? The phantom described him as though he were some force of nature that couldn't be tamed by the powers of multiple kingdoms. Where did he even come from? Did he ever explain how exactly he was able to travel between worlds? These questions were branded onto Yun Jieshi's forehead as creases.
'They have Sects, though. Like the ones from those novels I read, right? I suppose that makes sense given what Feng Jie Hong said. He and his brother knew some type of power and they trained hard to become stronger. It must have been this Qi.' He shuddered in realisation. 'Wait! Were Feng Jie Hong and his brother part of these expeditions?'
This had to be true!
…But then Wu Chaoxiang was continuing with his story.
"At first, the Tiangkong Yu refused. Because of the experts who had yet to return, the kingdom was down many powerful warriors. So, the monk made a suggestion. He urged the king to amass a smaller group with young men of at least fifteen years from every family in the kingdom. On this next expedition, he claimed that he would venture with these young men and personally lead them through this world to look for the treasures he had promised, to search for the warriors that had been lost before, and then lead everyone back."
Yun Jieshi frowned. Judging by Wu Chaoxiang's expressions and gestures until now, he began to understand where this story was going. Barring the ridiculous fact that whoever this Tiangkong Yu was actually agreed to send more people to the Lower Southern Plateau…
"You didn't want to come, did you?" he said.
Suddenly, Wu Chaoxiang's face burned with fury.
"I wasn't a fighter! I'm no accomplished Qi expert! I had never held a sword in my entire life! But my stupid father… he insisted!"
Yun Jieshi was taken aback.
"When the Sects announced their yearly talent trials, he forced me to attend. And what happened?" The phantom pulled on his hair as though to rip it off. "Because of this cursed hair, everyone actually had high expectations of me. Theone kissed by the white lotus fire, they called me because of it. Because of that old myth from the North. Children born with white hair like mine were said to be special – one-of-a-kind talents with the Qi Constellation of fire. But I didn't have any innate potential at all. I didn't even have an ounce of Qi, and that made me that much more of a laughing stock when everyone learned about it!"
When Wu Chaoxiang simmered down to boil in his own fury, Yun Jieshi sighed.
He had thought as much.
No wonder the phantom had seemed ashamed to share this story.
After a little while had passed, the little monkey cleared his throat and said, "What were you good at then?"
Wu Chaoxiang lifted his head and fixed the little monkey with a complicated look. It became simpler by the second, though.
"I…I was good at making sweet-smelling perfumes, face powders, soaps and rouge. I made a good living with that and helping my uncle with fishing. In my country, the common man was only ever recognised if he could fight, fish or both, after all. I was even popular with the women from my village. T…There was a girl I planned to marry just as soon as I got my father's blessing." A bit of a smile had crept upon his face, but then it disappeared.
"But he was not satisfied with my living. When the Royal Army commanded every eldest son from every household to join the Second Expedition, my father forced me to go. If he had given me his blessing and allowed me to marry the girl of my dreams, I would not have counted for the king's decree, but…"
Yun Jieshi sympathised with the phantom's plight at once, but he didn't attempt to comfort him. Not yet.
"This monk then… He really led you all here safely?"
"Yes," replied Wu Chaoxiang, his face contorted.
"How did he do it?"
The phantom shook his head. "I have no idea what kind of Qi powers he used. None of us really did. We were all…ordinary. All I know is we crossed over from the natural world as easily as if we were pushing through clouds."
Yun Jieshi was a little disappointed by this. He had hoped he could find a connection between that and how he himself got here. His own experience did not have clouds tethered to it.
Beyond that though…
'If the Second Expedition consisted of ordinary people, then I suppose Feng Jie Hong and his brother belonged to the first.'
That had to be it, but just in case, Yun Jieshi asked the phantom.
Wu Chaoxiang looked at him oddly and then he furrowed his brows. "I think I remember that name. I've seen it somewhere."
Yun Jieshi reeled. "What? Seen it?"
But the phantom was looking elsewhere. He searched the right wall of the cabin with squinted eyes and pointed at it.
"There. I've seen the name there."
The little monkey investigated where the ghost noted. His sharp eyes spotted what Wu Chaoxiang was referring to.
"Oh. I see."
The name Feng was all he could clearly make out, carved into the wooden wall by something sharp – a knife perhaps. The rest was covered in soot and hard to read.
'This was their cabin, wasn't it?'
There was no doubt about it. Feng Jie Hong and his greedy brother had lived here during their stay in the Lower Southern Plateau.
Shaking his head, Yun Jieshi turned back to Wu Chaoxiang.
"What happened during the Second Expedition? Did you ever find the warriors who came before you?"
The phantom shuddered at the question. Terror filled his eyes. For Yun Jieshi, that was answer enough, but he waited patiently for Wu Chaoxiang to speak.
"We didn't get the luxury of doing that. We…we appeared in the middle of a conflict," said the phantom. "An army of thousands of monkeys with armour and weapons was standing against a tall shadow – giant figure, covered in some… strange thin cloak. It was war."