"The army surrounded the great figure. I remember how they bared their long teeth against him, chattering and banging their fists against the ground. Even the monk was stunned. He told us to back away slowly. When we were a safe distance away, we heard the great shadow screech. We had to cover our ears – it was so loud. Even the monkeys quieted down and drew back in fear."
"The giant figure they wanted to kill leaped high into the sky, throwing away its cloak. It… it was a giant red bird when it soared into the sky, black as the night. It flew into the bright sun, into Wei Fang, but when it descended, landing onto the snow…it was some kind of giant primate made of red jade."
"I… I remember everything around me spinning when that thing fell back onto the ground. The monk was telling us all to flee, but… I never managed to find the others. We were separated. I tried to survive on my own, but it was very difficult. I suffered through the snow for many days, barely avoiding enemies and surviving the cold. Crossing the Great River was the worst ordeal, but through luck and the enchanted shenyi (robe) the monk had given me beforehand, I managed."
"Fortune fell on me again and I found this cabin, but that was when it all ran out. I foraged for something to eat, something to warm myself, but more often than not, I didn't find anything I could kill on my own. On better days, I would come back and boil the ice and snow for water and… then maybe find it in me to sleep."
Wu Chaoxiang's ended his narration there and sniffled sullenly.
With the way he began sobbing again, it was clear that an extensive epilogue wasn't needed. The rest was easy on the imagination. It probably wasn't some beast that put an end to him. It was a miracle that he'd even managed to survive even for a few days in the blizzard.
It was foolish and hypocritical, but the little monkey couldn't help but judge Wu Chaoxiang for his self-pity.
He sighed. His greatest take-away from the phantom's story was of course…
'Again, with the Imp King.'
This monster had apparently been challenged by an army of warrior monkeys however many years stood between now and Wu Chaoxiang's death.
The part where the Imp King turned into a bird had shaken Yun Jieshi.
Was the Imp King also the black-feathered bird?
Strangely enough, it was Hua Dongmei's words that made him doubt and believe this sentiment at the same time. The fairy had said that even the Imp King wouldn't dare cross the Gap for fear of the black-feathered creature.
But then, she had also said:
Old Lan said that the world once tried to devour the Imp King, but he was too quick. She says there are many of these gaps all around the world – on the ground, in the sky, in the seas – and that the Imp King changes his shape to avoid them. He has evaded death by the world's effort so many times.
'Just what is going on in this place?' Yun Jieshi thought, both frustrated and fearful.
The Imp King's powers were great, greater still than Bei Jun had made them seem.
The little monkey scowled. A fleeting thought crossed his mind.
'Do all these powerful creatures possess the ability to change their shapes? Bei Jun is a tortoise that looks like a fish and now here's the Imp King who can freely change his shape.'
The pitch of Wu Chaoxiang's sob stole the little monkey from his thoughts.
Yun Jieshi scratched his chin. He wasn't sure what to do now. He had extracted everything immediately useful to him from the phantom, and had every intention to help him, but… how?
Taking a breath, he said:
"Where did you die, Wu Chaoxiang? Was it here in this cabin?"
It took the phantom the better part of ten seconds before he sobered up and answered:
"I don't remember."
'Figures.' Yun Jieshi screwed his lips. He scoured the cabin. When his eyes met the carving that said Feng again, he rubbed his little hands and sat down comfortably. He stroked his ruan, seeking inspiration. It was at times like these that he desperately wished it would work, and that it could actually save Disharmonised phantoms.
The sap from the wineskin could seemingly cure Disharmony as well, but…
Pressing the ruan's string, even if it was to no effect, gave him an idea. It was morbid, but not at all bad.
"What do you miss about your life? The woman you loved? Your work? Your family?" he asked Wu Chaoxiang.
The phantom looked up at him. He considered the question, his face switching to a series of contours. When finally he decided on an answer, he wiped his nose and said:
"I… I miss Ying Yue the most. Without her, I would never have been bold enough to sell my beauty products. I would have feared that men would continue to call me the peddling mei ren yu (mermaid). But because of her, I did it anyway. I earned a small fortune from catering to those highborns who wanted skin as smooth as silk and powders so fine they made them look like ghosts."
"Even Ying Yue's family supported me. They helped me with deliveries and spread my brand, unlike my own family." Wu Chaoxiang paused. His face strained. "Without Ying Yue, I would have hated my father and cursed him. She was the one who taught me to obey the old saying. Parents are alive, do not travel far."
The answer stunned Yun Jieshi. A smile was forced onto his face.
He had expected some hysterical unfocused raving that would likely drive Wu Chaoxiang to the same fate as Feng Jie Hong, but no.
Here was a phantom who wasn't too far gone after all.
Yun Jieshi felt a little jealous. Li Chyou wasn't enough of a tether to his past life, and neither was his own father. Yun Jieshi had readily accepted that he would be forgotten and that his father would eventually move on with his life.
"What… important…?" Qui Tian's question from a few days ago threaded through the little monkey's head. He remembered the answer he had given her. It gave him a surprising dose of strength.
"Do you believe death is strong enough to tear you and Ying Yue apart, Wu Chaoxiang?" he said.
The phantom gave Yun Jieshi a bizarre look.
"What do you mean? Even powerful experts from all the Sects I know are not immortal. Death takes everything away from them, even their strength. Why would that be any different for me?"
Yun Jieshi smiled. In a blink, he began carrying himself as the Discount Sage.
"I know many couples whom even the King of Hell couldn't separate after death. Love, ideas, bravery… These things don't die upon one's demise. Not always. Sometimes, it depends on who was appraising the true worth of that love, idea and bravery," he said, deepening his voice with each word. "If I was watching your life, keenly looking at the way you and Ying Yue shared love, do you think I would view it as something pure and true?"
Something must have softened Wu Chaoxiang's eyes. The way his vision seemed to sink into Yun Jieshi's electric blue eyes told the little monkey that he was on the right track.
The phantom answered with surety in his voice and tone. He even sat up straight.
"Without a doubt… Sage."
The last word took Yun Jieshi by surprise, but he kept going.
This was what he was supposed to do, wasn't it?
Even though he felt like a liar, a conman cheating someone out of their grief, he sensed himself imposing some form of profundity on Wu Chaoxiang. He had to keep going.
"You are confident," he said.
He strummed the Harmonizing Psalm of Zhan Hao to produce a single weak tune.
"Death is a winter.
All is stone, save for my heart,
- a Phoenix's ember."
Wu Chaoxiang's brows rose.
The poem must have done something for him that even the Discount Sage didn't understand.
And indeed, Yun Jieshi didn't understand either when the phantom was suddenly bathed in lucent gold and began floating in the air.