Old Man Sikong

“Waaah...”

“Don’t cry.”

“Waaah...”

“Please, just don’t cry.”

“Waaah...”

“I’ll take you to eat something delicious.”

“Wha... what are we eating?”

“...”

In a lonely stretch of wilderness, a pale-skinned girl sat on the ground with her knees drawn up, pouting and crying at the top of her lungs. Chu Liang stood to one side, looking rather helpless as he coaxed her again and again.

Earlier, in order to protect Liu Xiaoyu, he had wrapped the little girl up like a rice dumpling and launched her away, telling her to wait for him right there. But then too many things happened afterward, and in the chaos he nearly forgot all about her.

The green-leaf magical artifact had flown several hundred miles before its true energy ran out and it came crashing down in this patch of desolate land. With no spiritual power left to sustain the defensive array, the leaves of the wrapping simply opened.

After Liu Xiaoyu came out, she had obediently waited here.

And waited.

By the time Chu Liang followed his connection to the artifact and finally found her, it was already deep night. The little girl had waited herself into drowsiness and hunger, nearly falling asleep.

The moment she saw Chu Liang, all her grievance surged up at once. She cried for a long while before finally calming down.

“I’ll take you back. You can eat anything you want,” Chu Liang promised at once when he saw her mood begin to soften.

When he brought her back to South Gate City, the touring performance had already come to an end. The crowd was pouring out in waves, and this grand spectacle, viewed from any angle, had been dazzling enough to leave one thoroughly exhilarated.

What had happened earlier was bound to spread across the Yu Dynasty in no time. In a sense, Xue Lingxue ought to thank Chu Liang as well. This performance tour would draw a level of attention that was ordinarily impossible to reach.

The Phoenix Princess brightened the instant she saw Liu Xiaoyu. “Whose little girl is this? She’s so adorable...”

“Master, this is the koi that I mentioned before, the one who transformed into human form,” Chu Liang said softly.

“Oh? So this little thing’s a spirit creature? Even better—that makes her more fun.” The Phoenix Princess’s eyes lit up. She pulled Liu Xiaoyu close and gave her head a good rub.

Still, it was a good thing that his master liked this little fish. Chu Liang had originally been thinking that if they truly couldn’t find the girl’s sister, he would bring her back to Silver Sword Peak and settle her there for the time being.

On the one hand, it felt cruel to simply leave her to fend for herself. On the other hand, having a koi around was genuinely helpful for opening treasure chests, cultivating, and all sorts of other activities; the boost was immediate and obvious.

“Waaah...” Liu Xiaoyu’s hair was rubbed into a wild mess. Pouting, she said, “Weren’t you going to help me find my sister and take me to eat good things...?”

“No problem,” Chu Liang said with a smile and a nod.

By then, everyone had already returned to the Li family estate. He first had people prepare a meal, then told his master what he had in mind.

After the Phoenix Princess learned about the little girl’s background, she wrapped an arm around her and said, “Come back to Shu Mountain with us. I’ll help you find your sister. If we can’t find her, then from now on I’ll be your sister!”

Chu Liang drew a sharp breath. “Master, isn’t that a little inappropriate?”

If Liu Xiaoyu became his master’s younger sister, then by seniority wouldn’t he have to call her his aunt?

“True enough. Leaving a spirit creature like this on Shu Mountain would be improper too.” The Phoenix Princess considered it for a moment. “If it comes to that, I’ll take her as my junior sister instead. Then she’ll count as a disciple of Shu Mountain too.”

Well.

She simply had to be one generation above him, didn’t she?

Liu Xiaoyu was happily eating, and when she heard this, she immediately looked up with delight. “Okay, thank you, Sister Phoenix.”

Chu Liang’s brows drooped.

All right. That settled it.

...

Shu Mountain, Solitary Peak.

This peak stood at the edge of the sea of clouds, somewhat apart from the rest of the mountain peaks, as if it did not quite belong. Set alone and remote, it had earned its name.

On Solitary Peak there was a Dragon-Fishing Pool, and beside it sat an old man with thick white hair, dressed in a loose white robe. He sat by the water with a long fishing rod in hand, as though fishing, or perhaps dozing.

Everyone in the Shu Mountain sect knew that Elder Sikong had been fishing here for more than a hundred years.

Among the thirty-six peak masters, he was the oldest and most senior, sharing the same rank as the four mountain-guarding elders and even a few years older than the sect master of Shu Mountain.

Some of the disciples he had taken in his youth were already the peak masters of other mountains. These days, Solitary Peak no longer recruited disciples widely; only a few people remained to inherit the odd and marvelous divine arts he had passed down.

Chu Liang, who had grown up on Shu Mountain, was actually meeting him for the first time.

Because he was the best diviner on the mountain.

“Uncle Sikong, I need a favor from you.” The Phoenix Princess brought the two youngsters over and ran straight to the edge of the Dragon-Fishing Pool without the slightest hesitation.

Everyone knew Elder Sikong was here, but few dared to come disturb him. After all, in Shu Mountain he was almost like an old immortal.

But the Phoenix Princess paid none of that mind.

Partly because she truly rather liked little Liu Xiaoyu, and partly because this visit was for the matter she had promised earlier: helping her find her sister.

The girl’s sister was still lost somewhere unknown. If they could confirm she was near South Gate City, then perhaps the Confucian method of calling a name to find a person might still work. But with no idea where she was now, divination and deduction had become the best choice.

To Chu Liang and the younger generation, Elder Sikong had always seemed a bit mysterious and eccentric. But seeing him in person now, Chu Liang realized he was just a kindly old grandfather with a warm smile and no trace of arrogance.

He looked no different from the old men who sat beneath the village tree at the entrance, playing chess.

Seated beside the deep, silent silver water, fishing rod in hand, he had let more than a hundred years drift by.

The old man smiled at the Phoenix Princess, then at Chu Liang and Liu Xiaoyu standing behind her. “You’re here to ask about this little girl, aren’t you?”

“You really are an old immortal, aren’t you? You saw right through it at a glance,” the Phoenix Princess praised at once, quite willing to flatter him when asking for a favor.

“The fortune of a koi is abundant. Even without coming to me, she would still have her wishes fulfilled in time,” Elder Sikong said as he slowly drew a turtle shell from his chest. “Those you are meant to meet, you will always meet in the end.”

“Don’t give me any of that mysterious stuff. Just help us take a look at where her sister is, and we’ll go straight there,” said the Phoenix Princess.

She had always been blunt and found this sort of riddling speech unbearable.

“Heh heh, you...” Elder Sikong shook his head helplessly.

Liu Xiaoyu spoke up then. “Grandpa, please. Even if we can’t find my sister, I at least want to know whether she’s safe... I’m so worried about her.”

“All right, all right.” Elder Sikong nodded with a smile.

He raised the turtle shell. From the tip of his right index finger, a blue flame sprang up and burned beneath it. Golden patterns lit up on the shell, flickered around for a moment, and then it cracked open with a sharp noise.

Elder Sikong studied the裂痕, then after a moment of thought looked up at Liu Xiaoyu. “Your fate lies on Shu Mountain. Stay here in peace. In days to come, you may yet have your chance to become a dragon. Your sister’s fate lies elsewhere, and she has her own Dragon Gate to pass through...”

“She...” Liu Xiaoyu blinked. “She’s all right?”

“Not only is she all right, she’ll live very well. The two of you sisters will meet again in the not-too-distant future.” Elder Sikong’s voice was calm and steady, carrying a reassurance that settled deeply in the heart. “If you go looking for her now, you may only disturb her fate. Better to wait for the right time.”

“Oh...” Liu Xiaoyu nodded softly. “All right.”

Though a little disappointed, she seemed less worried after hearing the old man say that something good was likely to happen.

He sounded very trustworthy.

After finishing their business, the three from Silver Sword Peak were about to leave. Chu Liang had just turned to go when Elder Sikong called out, “Young man, what is your name?”

“Me?” Chu Liang said. “This junior is Chu Liang.”

Elder Sikong looked at him for a long moment, his expression thoughtful and faintly puzzled. After a while, he nodded. “I’ve remembered it. Go back now.”

Chu Liang was a little confused, but he did not ask further. He simply turned and left with his master again.

Long after they were gone, Elder Sikong was still gazing in the direction they had departed, his pupils contracting slightly as he pondered something.

Suddenly, the fishing rod beside him gave a faint tremor.

“Hm?”