Despite the pounding pain in his face and the dizziness in his brain, Bo hauled himself to his feet when he saw the face of his boss before them. His heart filled with a brief swelling of relief and joy before Rui Yifu's hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to the ground beside him with a hiss. Bo yanked his arm away, aware now of how sore it felt and rubbed it as he looked at Rui Yifu, "what was that for?" Yet as his eye went back to that familiar face he already knew the answer. That was not his boss, his boss wound not have such an empty smile. The smile looked pleasant enough, friendly even, but it went nowhere near his eyes.

"To what do we owe this visit?" Rui Yifu asked the visitor wearily. "We have nothing to offer you in return for your blessing of visiting us."

"You even know the proper phrases to say," the copy said with a light clap. "A polite Child of the Ancient Ocean is a rare find, so I'm very pleased right now."

"I'm honored," Rui Yifu said dryly.

"Rui, who is this?" Bo asked in a low whisper. He felt he should know but the pain in his face made it hard to think too deeply. Not that he was a man given to much deep thinking in the first place although he felt that should change if he survived. He looked over at the sleeping girl beside him, gently patting her head. She remained quiet and still, unperturbed by their visitor.

"The Jade Prince, or at least a puppet of his."

The visitor was still smiling, but now had pulled a fan from his sleeve and tapped it idly in his hand, "you don't know of me? Haven't you worked as a fisherman before young man? You should know me quite well!" He sighed heavily. "But that is not why I've decided to come and grace you all with my presence."

Bo decided he did not like this being, god or not.

"I heard you saying that the reason why there's been no beasts or other creatures to attack you is likely due to the white flame poisoned body, and you would be partially right," the Jade Prince explained almost idly. He tapped his chin with his fan as he looked upwards. "But another reason is simply because I won't let them. Even though this lies within my nephew's domain I can still exert enough influence to ensure a mostly smooth journey for you three. But do you know why I would do this?"

Bo decided to string together his most coherent thoughts and offer an answer before Rui Yifu could, "because you... uh... because this is good for you, right? Baichan's a monster and is causing you trouble, right?"

"Good boy!" Baichan smiled and nodded, "you figured that out all by yourself. My nephew certainly chose a smart student."

"Why do I have a feeling you're talking down to me?" Bo muttered, finding the effort to speak any louder exhausting.

"Baichan's existence as a whole being threatens you, doesn't it?" Rui Yifu said quietly, leaning against the plinth with his arm now resting on his knee. "You came from him, and he can return you to him."

The Jade Prince's eyes narrowed at Rui Yifu, "and what would make you think that? That's quite a terrible statement to make before a god, especially one who could easily crush the remnants of your people if I so wished."

Rui Yifu did not budge at the threat, "Baichan isn't just a threat to mortals, but to gods as well."

"He's quite a rude person," The Jade Prince said as he closed the distance between himself and the little group, allowing him to stand close enough that Bo could reach out and touch him if he wanted. But there was an unpleasant coldness around the Jade Prince, something that drove away any desire to touch him. "Liu Xie is rude as well, even disparaging a gift I gave to him recently as well as never coming to any of the parties I invite him to!" His face affected a slight pout, like a put out child, which did not look right to Bo who still saw the face as belonging to Liu Xie and not this annoying and self-absorbed god. "But Baichan, he's actually even worse. He also created towers meant to pierce our mother's body so as to drown humanity in her blood, and even more terrible would come to my parties and ruin them! Do you know how tiring it is to plan parties meant to accommodate hundreds of gods and to just have all that effort thrown out? We tired of his actions and locked him in the moon in what was supposed to be an eternal slumber, but even still he found a way to influence the world. Lady Cai and her husband did all they could, but even still..."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"So was Liu Xie created to counteract him then?" Rui Yifu sounded disinterested with his own question. Bo turned his head to get a better look at the man, and found his face was full of suspicion as he stared at the god.

"In a way yes, he was also made to ensure the White Flame would not go out of control by acting as a mind for it while the rest of him was asleep," the Jade Prince explained before turning his gaze over to the mute body of Zhu'er. His smile curled upwards, "ah! Is this Liu Xie's savage little child?" He said, leering over her. Bo moved to try blocking the Jade Prince's view of the child, yet felt something slimy wrap around his wrist to hold him still. Surprised and disgusted he looked down to see... no animal but the muck itself having risen to latch onto him. The Jade Prince meanwhile kept talking. "She looks a little filthy, and she is full of weeds, but her hair is a very lovely shade of red. She could grow up to be very beautiful!" He prattled on.

"What are you talking about?" Bo snapped, the pain from his burnt eye socket, his heart, and his irritation at the god coming out as venom in his words. "Stop being weird and just tell us why you've decided to actually show up! We're trying to rest before we go to that damn mountain and we don't need-"

"Bo, calm down-"

"Shut up Yifu!" Bo turned his words on his companion before hearing a shifting sound and a weight vanishing. He looked back up to see the Jade Prince now holding Liu Xie's sword, his fingers tracing down the worn sheath and the grotesque and strange hilt that looked unnervingly spine-like. "Hey that's not yours!"

"It's not yours either," the Jade Prince replied blandly, pulling the blade free. The blade looked chipped and dull in his hand, like any other old badly maintained sword. "Or maybe it is? It didn't swallow you..." he mused out loud with a smile. Then with little fanfare or warning, he shoved the blade into Zhu'er, who remained completely still as Bo and Rui Yifu yelled in shock and anger. All thoughts drained from Bo's mind, replaced immediately with fury. That was his little sister! He was not going to lose another sister, and he did not care if it meant going against a god. Bo felt a surge of energy fill his tired body and lunged for the god and then found himself facedown in the water with his chest burning in agony once more.

He got back to his unsteady feet to see the Jade Prince carefully holding a small head framed with long thick red hair, while a profusion of familiar white flowers were busy entwining themselves with little bones. Bo's eye focused on the bloodless head, Rui Yifu's screaming a distant noise.

Bo pushed himself forward again with a roar, hands outstretched for the head.

The Jade Prince simply took a step back, allowing Bo to crash against the plinth. Bo rasped as he tried to breath beneath his burning heart, turning around again as the Jade Prince casually tossed the sword towards Bo's feet.

"Why are you so angry?" The Jade Prince asked, clearly confused. "Don't you know she was already dead? If I had not intervened, she would have completely succumbed and been lost to Baichan."

"Shut up!" Bo said, before cold water wrapped around him and dragged him down. He flailed in its watery grip, ignoring the pain in his body as he focused all of his anger on the deity. "Shut up! I don't care about your excuses! That's my sister! GIVE HER BACK!"

The Jade Prince chuckled, "as loyal as a dog! Did you not hear me? This little girl was dead. Her body was only continuing because of the influence of the White Flame in her, and through that, Baichan's roots were able to grow." He tossed the head towards Bo, where it landed face up in the water, the hair quickly turning into a bloodlike swirl around it. "Here. Keep this seed and take it with you into the mountain. If all goes well, you'll get to say good bye."

Bo's sight was going red. Red with hair, red with blood, red with rage. He ground his teeth and roared like a wounded animal, still thrashing against the water that held him fast. The Jade Prince merely smiled, his form dissipating into mist just as a monstrous eel-shark lunged from the water, splashing through the mist and landing back into the murk where it writhed in its own impotent fury.