“Listen, boy. You’re always so serious. You’ve got to relax a bit. That mood will naturally transfer to the one you’re speaking to,” the bard said as they walked out of the city centre, following the river north.

“Tell jokes, laugh a lot, and listen carefully. People love talking about themselves, so all you’ve got to do is nod along and ask a question or two at the right times.”

They walked past small canoes and bigger ships to a place where mushrooms had overtaken civilization, and humans had taken it right back. Here, fungal trees grew to be hundreds of feet in length, which was exactly the right kind of weird to house every type of cultivator.

“Positive memories. At the end of the day, you want to make the person you’re talking to think ‘I had fun today. We should do that again sometimes.’ That’s the very first step to making friends. Now, I said friends, not lovers, but we’ll get to that.”

Chen Hao nodded along before they suddenly stopped. Then, they gathered their qi and jumped, landing on top of a gargantuan oyster mushroom. Here, a whole row of houses stood without any regard for structure or safety—the only important thing was that the spiritual force here was much higher than average.

Yang Ming halted before a small house with a yellow roof and wide, circular windows. He faintly knocked on one before breathing in and stretching out his hands in front of him. Gently, like holding an infant, he caressed the air, causing the wind to twist and twirl before it materialised in front of him as a transparent harp. As the shadow of a woman fell onto the window, the bard looked up, singing with a quiver in his voice.

My dear, open your eyes,

Your smile is my greatest prize.

So wake, my love, and greet the dawn,

With you, I’ll find my sorrows gone.

So if they wonder about my days,

Say I was lost in your loving gaze.

Tell them it was all worthwhile,

For you are the reason why I smile.

Both Chen Hao and Jun listened from a distance, watching how a young woman with long, wavy black hair and freckles on her face warmly smiled at Yang Ming. The bard continued singing, and they both truly looked like they were in love. She spoke of her troubles, and he carefully listened, getting angry when she did, and sighing when the story reached its end. With a kiss on the cheek, he promised he would visit more often, and that he was awfully busy nowadays, but he would make time just to listen to her talk.

When he returned to the boy, he looked slightly exhausted, but there was still a beaming smile on his face.

“See? That wasn’t so hard. It takes practice to keep the conversation entertaining at all times, but I know you’ve got talent, kid. Alright, now, we’ve got a few more houses to visit today, so let’s pick up the pace. You would be surprised about how much you could learn about the city by doing this.”

The bard skipped along, but upon seeing Chen Hao not matching his enthusiasm, he turned back to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought… It seemed like the two of you loved each other.”

“We do. I love her more than anything else in this world.”

“So, why are we visiting more houses?”

To that, Yang Ming sighed.

“It might seem arrogant as to what I’ll say, but, at the end of the day, I’m a hopeless romantic. My heart falls for every woman—every tear-ridden story, every happy moment shared. I cannot be shackled down by just one Daoist partner like many old-fashioned cultivators might believe to be right. It would be like clipping a bird’s wings and asking why it doesn’t sing its beautiful song anymore.”

“Yet, I’ve never lied to anyone. They all know it, and I know that they shed tears at night thinking about it all. But each and every time my heart burns with passion, so does theirs too,” he said, once again sighing.

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“But, let’s save the more serious talks about emotions and all that for nighttime. Now, normally, I would have a lot of advice for young cultivators on how to talk to women, but none of that matters when you look like you do. Just be confident and stay true to your beliefs. Besides, I can see that you’ve already got someone you’re thinking of, isn’t that right?”

Chen Hao blushed, hanging his head low as they walked along. When the boy needed silence, Yang Ming allowed him to think, and when there arose the need for conversation, he was there to fill the air with laughter and joy. For the first time in a while, hours felt like minutes, and before they even realised it, the sun had set in the distance.

“Alright. Last one for the night. I’ve taught you a lot today, haven’t I? I’ve got a tiny favour to ask of you. See that big guy over there? Just distract him for a few seconds while I slip inside the cabin.”

The two of them stood on a majestic dragon boat that softly swayed on the river. If the city was threatening and menacing, then this was where people went to let loose a little. Currently, they were hunched down, close to the prow of the ship, where a section of it had been turned into a restaurant/tavern mix. A VIP section, so to say, was past the bolted-down tables and the general rabble that had gathered around. There, in front of a cabin door, stood an eight-foot-tall man, completely bald and with bulging muscles. His face looked like the mightiest of pit bulls, and his arms put tree trunks to shame.

“Him?”

“Yeah. Just for a few seconds. Here, I’ll give you a little help,” he said, pushing the boy forward, making him stumble right into the menacing bodyguard. The man grunted like a pig.

“Watch where you’re going. There will be no next time.”

“A-aha. Sorry about that. I was just looking for the bathroom. My…my dog’s sick,” Chen Hao quickly improvised, pointing at Jun, who froze like a deer in the spotlights.

“What the fuck? What you mention me for?” Jun quickly barked, backing away in haste.

“Really sick. Look at him,” the boy continued, awkwardly laughing.

“Looks fine to me. Maybe you’re the one that should get checked out,” the man said, pushing Chen Hao away, making him stumble back a few paces. The boy wildly glanced around for Yang Ming, letting out a sigh of relief once he didn’t see the man.

“Warn me the next time you do stuff like that. We could’ve had a better plan,” Jun scolded the boy, starting to walk back to the tables. Unfortunately, Chen Hao’s acting was so bad that the huge man suspiciously glanced back and slowly opened the door, where he promptly saw Yang Ming holding the General’s daughter’s hand.

“You BASTARD! Her father told you to never approach her again! I’ll skin you alive if it’s the last thing I do!” The bodyguard roared with anger, circulating qi and turning his body to steel in an instant.

“Ah, darn. I’ll see you later, okay? I miss you a lot,” he said to the woman before stepping on air and somersaulting above the charging cultivator. The beautiful woman said something in response, waving off a few shadows that were beginning to chase the bard. She also began yelling at the bodyguard, but he was too enraged to see any reason.

“Crap. It’s always that stupid bull who doesn’t see reason. She’s got proper protectors, yet he insists on hanging around everywhere she goes.” He complained, plucking an invisible string and causing a crescendo of wind to impact the man, pushing him back.

“Screw this. I’m not a fighter. Let’s run!”

As he said that, Yang Ming grabbed Chen Hao’s hand and leapt off the boat. The boy stumbled, but upon stepping onto solid air and not falling, he began to use his Typhoon Steps, conjuring a mighty hurricane behind them. Like a solid steel rocket, the bodyguard leapt off the boat and soared through the air, drawing two oversized sabres from his waist. In the process.

“Remember, boy. Always have a backup plan in case something goes wrong.”

With that, he put two fingers to his mouth and let out a shrill whistle before mimicking the sound of a flute. The river below them began to ripple and stir, and a moment later, a gargantuan sturgeon, more than a hundred feet in length, leapt above the water. Opening its terrifying jaws, it devoured the steel man in one bite before plunging back down with a huge splash.

“Ahahaha. That’s what he deserves. Don’t worry—someone will get him out in an hour or two. At worst, he’ll just be wet and grumpy,” Yang Ming laughed and laughed until tears were running down his face as they both dropped down into the city proper.

“A fish? How did you get it to listen to you?”

“Everyone’s got to have their secrets, however big or small they might be. Don’t worry about it too much,” he said, straightening his clothes as he began to proudly walk throughout the streets. “Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah. Though you could’ve gone less into detail about some things,” the boy said, scratching his chin as he remembered the various “tips” he had given him regarding a certain girl in his mind.

“Well, at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. Make sure whoever you’re with has a fun time,” Yang Ming laughed, pulling out a small, white bottle of rice wine.

Though they spent a bit more time together, the adventure-filled day had to come to an end at some point, and eventually, Chen Hao went back to his room, settling into meditation.

When morning came around, the very first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a frozen-over handprint on this window. Next to it was a message written in blood.

“We’ll be seeing each other a lot today.”