To the Sky Kingdom

by Tang Qi

  I went back to the Purple Bamboo Garden to take a rest.

  By the time my serving girl gently shook me awake, it was already pitch-black outside. I ate a few leisurely bites of food and asked her to bring out a lantern to carry as she accompanied me to the Lotus Bud Courtyard.

  It was hard enough for me to find my way around the imperial palace by daylight, but at night when all the palace lamps were shining and the whole place was filled with a hazy yellow glow, someone like me who had been there for less than two months found it impossible to tell one palace hall from another. My serving girl carried the lantern, pushing back flowers and parting willows as we walked along, completely familiar with the route. I followed her in silence, full of admiration for her sense of direction.

  As we were passing a garden pavilion, Yuan Zhen suddenly intercepted us. The serving girl gave a curtsy and uttered a respectful, “Your Majesty.”

  Yuan Zhen drew his hands up into his sleeves and accepted her praise with modesty. He glanced at me. “Master, I have a matter I would like to discuss with you,” he said in a stilted voice. “Would you please join me in the pavilion to talk for a moment?”

  I went over, noticing that he was looking slightly timid. I gave an involuntary shudder. I had left him looking after his father that afternoon. But his appearance concerned me. Could destiny have found another way of tangling his fate up with that of the beautiful woman? If so, Si Ming the Star Prince and his destiny notebook really were a force to be reckoned with. Yuan Zhen led me to the pavilion and sat down.

  A refreshing evening breeze was blowing from across the lake. I looked at the expression of yearning on his face and sat down on the stone bench in silence.

  For a while he simply sat there with a silly grin on his face. Then he reached into his sleeve and carefully removed something and held it out to show me. “Look, Master, isn’t it adorable?” I glanced at his hand and did a double take. I gave a sorrowful sigh. Yuan Zhen, oh, Yuan Zhen, you troublesome fellow. Do you have any idea what you have in your hand?

  Obviously not. Beaming with joy he said, “At noon when the boat was nearing the shore, I took up the back of the procession to order the officials. And that’s when Little Darling here dropped down from the sky. Oh, it wasn’t as small then. When it opens up its wings, it’s half the size of a house, and so powerful. It was going to land on me, but it’s such a thoughtful little darling that it was afraid of hurting me, so it retracted its wings until it was this size before hurtling into my arms.”

  The little darling nestling in Yuan Zhen’s arms was the giant Peng bird from the Great Buddha of the Western Paradise, only now it was no bigger than a magpie. It may have managed to shrink itself, but it had not managed to extinguish the golden light emanating from its body.

  Within the midst of this golden light, the bird hung its head, looking despondent. When it heard itself being referred to as Little Darling, it closed its eyes and trembled. I took a closer look and saw that both its legs were tied with immortal lock bells. They were used in the Ninth Sky to trap spirit birds and animals. No wonder this golden-winged Peng bird had not been able to return to its original form. At this size it was as vulnerable as a piece of meat on the chopping block and completely at the mercy of others.

  I had been concerned when I saw the giant golden-winged Peng bird floating through the sky at noon. It had been flying with such restraint that I worried it might strain a tendon. My fear must have been realized. Why else would it have hurtled into Yuan Zhen’s arms like that?

  While looking at the bells on the giant Peng bird’s legs I must have gone into a trance. “My former master gave these to me,” Yuan Zhen explained, snapping my attention back. “When I was twelve or thirteen, there was a she-lion spirit who lived behind our temple, and she used to go on and on about wanting to be our steed. Sometime later, she was abducted by a male lion spirit from the next mountain, and the bells have been sitting here ever since. But now Little Darling can use them.”

  Little Darling trembled again.

  “Ah,” I said, nodding. “You’ve obviously thought a lot about this, but have you considered that the creature you have in your hand . . . has an owner? If you decide to keep it, you might find yourself in trouble when its actual owner comes looking for it.”

  He frowned. “That’s why I wanted to discuss it with you, Master,” he said, a hint of reproach in his voice. “I know that you are a supreme being, so I hoped you would be able to help me. Little Darling is a spirit bird, and its owner is clearly not a mortal. I’m just an ordinary mortal with a limited lifespan. When I die and my body returns to the soil, Little Darling can naturally be returned to its real owner.”

  I looked at Little Darling, which was desperately shaking its head. Because it was in bird form, its neck was not as flexible as a human neck, and when its head moved, its whole body moved too. Yuan Zhen held Little Darling in front of me, saying, “Mistress, see how excited Little Darling became when he heard I wanted to keep him!”

  Little Darling collapsed in a heap, playing dead. Yuan Zhen looked at me with a mixture of hope and sorrow. My heart felt hot. I considered what he had just said and realized it had been a reasonable request. I had destroyed Yuan Zhen’s predestined love match, which was bound to make the next half of his life fairly dull. To raise a beloved spirit bird and keep it by his side was sure to bring him comfort and help him while away the years. And despite the fact that he called me Master, I had never given him an apprentice ceremony, which was not good form on my part.

  I was certain that if I were to go to the Great Buddha of the Western Paradise to explain the situation and ask if he would not mind lending his golden-winged Peng bird out for a little while longer, he was certain to be acquiescent.

  I gave a considered nod and said, “I agree.” Little Darling let out an unhappy caw. Yuan Zhen tucked Little Darling back into his sleeve and grabbed my hand with joyful excitement. “Are you really saying yes, Master? I’m not dreaming, am I? I thought I was being delusional just asking. I never thought that you would actually agree . . .”

  He would have continued talking, but at that moment a familiar voice resounded through the sky. “What are you two doing?” it asked. I looked up in surprise to find Ye Hua, who I had not seen in over a month, standing in midair, backlit by the cold, clear moonlight, his face impassive and his eyes shining as he watched Yuan Zhen and me. Behind him stood another immortal wearing a sapphire-blue tunic, a half smile on his kindly looking face.

  For over a month, apart from Phoenix Nine, the only faces I had seen were those of strangers. Seeing a familiar face, and the one of the very person I knew could release my sealed-off magic, I became very excited.

  In the play scripts I read in my spare time, old friends who reunited usually took each other by the hand and dragged each other off to a bar to share a drink and lament about how long it had been. That was what reunions between old friends should be like.

  Ye Hua and I had not been apart for long, but it had been an absence. Yet here he was, standing in midair, without even a proper greeting to offer me. I was not very impressed.

  Yuan Zhen took hold of my hand, trembling slightly. I gave him a reassuring look and turned to the two immortals standing in midair surrounded by steaming propitious vapors. “Come down from the sky, you two,” I reprimanded. “The moon shines tonight, and the wind is strong. You are in the presence of a mortal who can’t appreciate your immortal airs and grace. It isn’t fair to scare him like this.”

  I spoke with authority, and the immortal in the sapphire-blue tunic cupped his hands together and bowed to me before stepping down from his cloud. Ye Hua looked Yuan Zhen up and down and stepped off his cloud too.

  It turned out that Yuan Zhen really was one of those mortals unable to appreciate immortal presence. He had already had one big scare today. I was just about to call the serving girl with the lantern, who was still waiting by the path, and ask her to take him off to lie down, but when I looked up, I s
aw that she was on the ground, her lantern toppled onto its side. Apparently she was not one who was able to appreciate Ye Hua and his companion’s immortal presence either.

  Yuan Zhen’s hands were shaking more severely now. I gave a sigh. My first ever apprentice and he went weak at the knees at the mere sight of an immortal. I thought that gently stroking his hair might comfort him.

  I was about to reach out my hand but gave a jolt when I saw how red and shiny his face had become. His cheeks were as red as the yolk of a salted duck egg. Staring at me through sparkling eyes, he said, “M-M-M-Master, I’ve seen an im-m-m-mortal. I-I-I’ve seen my first immortal . . .”

  I retracted my hand in silence. He dashed joyfully over to Ye Hua, gave a humble bow, and said, “In ancient times, Xuan Yuan the Yellow Emperor practiced the cultivation of spiritual energy and built up virtuous karma. He reformed the military, researched meteorology, planted corn and grain, appeased the people, and divided the land into square plots, and by so doing, he attracted the attention of the phoenix that flew about the rafters. Has news of my father the emperor’s benevolence and impeccable behavior reached the sky and the gods too? Is that why you two immortal princes have arrived here in the middle of the night?”

  I gave a quiet sigh, followed by another. Oh, little one, no, it was not news of your father’s benevolence and impeccable behavior that reached the sky and the gods. It was news of the love calamities you and your father were destined for.

  Ye Hua looked Yuan Zhen up and down, a faint smile on his lips. He glanced at me and said, “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but this trip to the mortal world is a personal one. I’m here to visit my wife.”

  Yuan Zhen looked at Ye Hua and then followed the line of his eyes to me. He scratched his head in bewilderment. I smiled shyly at Yuan Zhen. “He’s come here to see me,” I explained.

  Yuan Zhen looked at me in astonishment. Ye Hua tilted his head, admiring the dark surface of the lake outside the pavilion. My destiny with Yuan Zhen had come to an end, I realized. Tomorrow I could leave.

  Ye Hua had arrived at just the right time. Immortal destiny had allowed them to run into each other today and had also given me an opportunity to excuse myself and say good-bye.

  Before I had the chance to think up a good excuse for leaving, the immortal in the sapphire tunic who had been standing quietly to the side used a golden light to strike Yuan Zhen on the forehead, toppling him face-first onto the ground.

  The immortal in the sapphire tunic gave me a reserved smile. “You mustn’t be concerned, Your Highness. All I’ve done is erase Yuan Zhen’s memory of seeing the prince and me tonight. Thanks to your gentle hands, His Majesty Yuan Zhen has a promising future ahead. My only fear is that seeing two genuine immortals might vex and bewitch him. Yuan Zhen has caused a slight change to the emperor’s destiny, which I have come here to remedy. I would be grateful, Your Highness, if you could point me in the direction of where I could find Phoenix Nine. I need to ask for her help.”

  This immortal in the sapphire-blue tunic was quite a smooth talker. The effect on Dong Hua’s destiny could in no way be described as a slight change.

  I was a magnanimous immortal and understood that he was completely within his right to reprimand us. He was so good with words and had this kind and gentle face, which made it hard to scowl at him and ask for justice for the way he had treated Yuan Zhen and the poor serving girl, both sprawled out on the ground.

  I decided to leave the mortals toppled over as they were. “If you rely on her to show you the way, you’ll be wandering around until tomorrow morning,” Ye Hua told the immortal dressed in sapphire blue. “You’ll go around the entire imperial palace before you happen upon the courtyard where Phoenix Nine lives. You’d be better off finding a local earth god to show you the way.” The immortal in the sapphire-blue tunic gave me a bemused look and went in search of this earth god. I gave a hollow laugh. Ye Hua was in a strange mood. His quiet words sounded bitter, and I wondered if someone in the Ninth Sky had upset him.

  I had already succeeded in my mission to help Yuan Zhen pass through his calamity, and Ye Hua had no reason to keep my magic sealed any longer. The immortal in the sapphire tunic managed to track down an earth god, and I followed the three of them to Lotus Bud Courtyard, saving me the hassle of finding my own way there.

  We were about to leave when I saw that Yuan Zhen was still sprawled out on the ground. There was a cold night breeze, and although Yuan Zhen did not have a frail build, he wasn’t particularly sturdy either, and it would be unfortunate if he were to fall sick on top of everything else that he had been through. I was a compassionate immortal, and more than anything I hated to see people suffer. So I got the immortal in the sapphire-blue tunic to cast a spell to transport Yuan Zhen to his bedchamber so he could lie down and rest in his bed.

  Ye Hua regarded me with cold eyes.

  As we were making our way through the palace, I worked out from what the immortal in the sapphire tunic had said that he had to be Si Ming the Star Prince.

  Ye Hua had told me that the Star Prince had a strange temperament, but he seemed very good-natured based on what I had seen of him this evening.

  Ye Hua must have come with Si Ming to help him remedy Dong Hua’s fate, and the comment he made about visiting me must have been just a joke. I could not pretend I hadn’t noticed the frosty atmosphere coming from Ye Hua. I turned to him and said, “I just heard you say that you’d come here to visit your wife, yet here you are rushing to Phoenix Nine’s living quarters. Could you have been won over by Phoenix Nine’s outstanding charm and grace and started to develop feelings for her?” I asked in a teasing tone of voice.

  He tilted his head and looked at me. I could not tell what he was thinking. There was a hint of a smile in his eyes, but he said nothing.

  Si Ming the Star Prince gave a chuckle from up ahead. “Prince Ye Hua has had a very busy day. He called me down from the Sky Empress’s Flat Peach Conference, explaining how some goddess had altered Yuan Zhen’s destiny and in the process accidentally altered Dong Hua’s too. Dong Hua won’t be able experience his predestined calamity now, and Ye Hua was worried that when he eventually returned to his immortal body, he might hold a grudge against the goddess in question. I hadn’t had a chance to taste a single one of the Sky Empress’s flat peaches before Prince Ye Hua was tugging me down into the mortal world to set things right. I was surprised to find that the goddess in question was Her Highness’s niece, Phoenix Nine. When I last saw Phoenix Nine, she was an upper immortal, but I hear she has become a goddess since then? That happened very quickly.”

  Ye Hua gave a cough, and I gave an awkward laugh. “Yes, it happened very quickly,” I said to Si Ming. “Very quickly indeed.”

  We arrived at the entrance to Lotus Bud Courtyard, and Ye Hua floated gently past me, saying, “Si Ming has come to remedy Dong Hua’s destiny, and I came with him so that I could see you.” He made himself invisible and dived through the main entrance to Lotus Bud Courtyard.

  I was taken aback.

  This earth god was an extremely alert and dutiful immortal. He led us to the doorway to Lotus Bud Courtyard and then retreated. Si Ming the Star Prince signaled politely that I should go ahead, which I did, transforming back into mortal form and following Ye Hua in through the entrance. Holding so many immortals at once would no doubt make Lotus Bud Courtyard an auspicious spot for a long time to come.

  Phoenix Nine was sitting under a lamp, looking miserably deep in thought. She was obviously reflecting over the events of that day and feeling ashamed of the way she had yelled in front all those officials and concubines. She did not appear the slightest bit disturbed to see three immortals appearing before her; she just looked over to the courtyard’s outer building and shouted, “Yu Dang, I have guests, bring tea—”

  I used a hand to cover her mouth. “Phoenix Nine, snap out of it!”

  She gave a jolt and started to shake. When she saw who I was, she threw her arms around me, and with a
sob in her voice, she said, “I really shamed myself today, Aunt Bai.”

  “Luckily Honorable Concubine Chen is just your borrowed mortal body,” I consoled. “She’s the one this shame will fall upon.”

  Phoenix Nine shook her head, still buried in my arms. “I’ve ruined the emperor’s destiny too. I’ve been thinking it all through very carefully. When I jumped off the boat and into the water to rescue the emperor, I noticed that the girl who’d been dragged into the river by the giant golden-winged Peng bird could swim. If I hadn’t meddled by diving in, she could have rescued the emperor, and the two of them would have still had their destiny intact.

  “I had been planning to return to Qingqiu after today. The emperor is not fond of Honorable Concubine Chen, and soaring up to the sky tonight wouldn’t have caused him any great distress. But by saving the emperor, I’ve meddled in his destiny, and when the emperor lost consciousness today, he was holding my hand the whole time. You didn’t see the way he looked at me when he awoke. It was with such deep affection it made me want to cry.”

  “Perhaps you misinterpreted the look,” I interjected. “You’d been in the water a long time yourself. Your eyes might have been full of water.”

  Phoenix Nine lifted her head, her eyes full of sadness. “He told me he wanted to promote me too.”

  I said nothing, just patted her on the back.

  Si Ming the Star Prince came over, carrying a cup of cold tea. “Are you saying that Emperor Dong Hua has fallen for you?” he asked excitedly. It was only then that Phoenix Nine saw the other two in the room, the other two immortals no less.