311 Zai Ai’s Proposal
[POV: Zai Ai]
The chaos of the sudden battle slowly ebbed, replaced with order. The camp was repaired with practiced efficiency, the war tent propped once more. Adventurers moved briskly, but the air remained taut with unease as Zai Ai’s presence was like a sharpened saber laid across their throats.
“I can’t believe I am saying this,” muttered Yi Qiu, his pride dragged like chains, “but I suppose I am willing to compromise if it means uncovering the Heavenly Temple’s secrets.”
The Holy Spirit nodded. “I thank you, Master Yi, for your understanding.”
Zai Ai said nothing. Instead, she retrieved her construct, the scattered pieces folding neatly back into her pocket space, as if nothing had ever been unleashed. Her eyes swept over the camp’s defenses, and she snorted. “Let me do your wards. They are mediocre at best. You can’t expect to remain hidden for long with these shoddy formations.”
The adventurers gave her a wide berth as she walked the fringes of the camp. None dared to block her path; their fear was palpable, but also pragmatic.
Tao Long, however, kept pace at her side. His spear remained slung over his back, his eyes steady but cautious.
While she knelt to inscribe the first sigil into the earth, he asked, “Your draconic construct… it was accurate. How did you do it?”
Her hands moved with practiced certainty, qi pouring from her fingertips into the soil. Without looking at him, she replied coldly, “If you thought I had a hand in your kin going missing and dying, then don’t look to me. The golden age of dragon hunts was beyond me. You ought to know better, as Shouquan’s disciple, as a so-called ardent follower of Ward’s ideals. That’s the reason you joined Ward, isn’t it? Protection of dragonkind, or whatever pitiful shelter Shouquan could offer?”
Tao Long’s jaw tightened, but his voice remained steady. “And now that my master is gone, I can only rely on His Majesty Nongmin to safeguard the hidden lands of dragons.”
Zai Ai barked a bitter laugh. “Don’t put too much hope in him. The Empire is already finished. I saw the grand formation surrounding it, the same array the Heavenly Temple unleashes in every Cleanse. If they find your kind, they’ll harvest them like cattle, just as they did with countless other races that once roamed this Hollowed World.”
“You know, you don’t believe that… You know Nongmin…”
“He’s dead to me, so don’t talk about him in front of me.”
Her words fell heavy, but her hands never slowed. With a flick of her wrist, the first ward lit up, a subtle shimmer cloaking the perimeter. She moved on, and Tao Long followed still.
Annoyance bled into her tone. “What do you want? Stop following me.”
“I’m keeping watch,” Tao Long said, his steps even. “You nearly killed Dave after all.”
She paused, turning just enough to glance at him. “Dave? So he has a name?” Her lips curled faintly with disdain. “It sounds strange in my tongue.”
“You can also call him Dai Fu,” Tao Long replied calmly. “It’s the closest appropriation of his name in Common.”
Zai Ai scoffed softly, but said no more. She turned back to her work, weaving the second, then the third sigil. Each was tied to an elemental node: metal, wood, fire, water, and earth. Slowly, a five-point formation began to take shape, a lattice far superior to the crude three-point array the adventurers had used before.
Tao Long remained at her side, never interfering, but never leaving. And though his presence needled her, Zai Ai pressed on, intent to finish the warding. One by one, the points lit, until the camp was wrapped in a veil of elemental illusion, so seamless that even seasoned temple spies would have difficulty piercing it.
Suddenly, a shimmer broke the night air. Zai Ai stiffened, her hand brushing against Raindrop’s hilt as the spirit beast she had once expelled from her disciple’s body padded into view. Its golden fur glowed faintly with an inner radiance, its eyes uncharacteristically sharp, glinting with wisdom far beyond the reach of mortal beasts. Yet its face was round, innocent, and almost too cute. It was enough to unsettle her more than any killing intent could.
Tao Long’s expression shifted. He straightened, then clasped his fists and bowed deeply, his voice steady as he spoke. “Greetings… How may I be of service?”
They were quiet for a moment.
“Guardian beast… I see.”
Zai Ai blinked. Only then did she realize the two were conversing in Qi Speech. Her lips curled in faint disdain. “I never thought I’d see a dragon be so respectful… to a dog.”
Tao Long shot her a measured look but said nothing of her scorn. Instead, he gave her one last bow. “I will leave the two of you to yourselves. Lady Zai, please, don’t cause any more trouble than you already have.”
“Wait—” she started, but before she could finish, Tao Long leapt skyward. His body vanished in a spark of lightning, leaving her alone with the creature.
The beast barked at her, its almost childlike voice resounded clearly in Qi Speech. “Please, call me good boy!”
“I will not call you that,” Zai Ai snapped, her patience thinning already.
“Awwww…” the dog whimpered, its ears drooping.
Zai Ai narrowed her gaze. “What are you?”
“Dog,” the beast answered with no hesitation.
Her brows twitched. “Who are you, then? Do you have a name?”
The creature sat on its haunches, tilting its head with exaggerated thoughtfulness. “Hmmm… the closest thing I have to a name you can call me is Animal Soul, rawr~!”
Zai Ai pinched the bridge of her nose. “Did you just… try to roar?”
The beast rolled on the ground, flailing its legs playfully. “I’m trying to be cute!”
“Animal Soul is not a name.”
“That’s the closest thing I have to a name,” the dog replied cheerfully. “And no, we don’t want a name.”
Her eyes narrowed. “We?”
As if hearing her very thoughts, the beast wagged its tail. “Yup! There were six of us, each representing a part of the being you know as Da Wei… and I know as my progenitor. It’s complicated, but I guess he’s in the middle of self-discovery.”
Her grip tightened on her sleeve. She had thought her anger spent for the night, but hearing that name again brought bile to her throat. Da Wei, the man she despised most in this world, perhaps second only to Nongmin. And now, a fragment of him lay sprawled on the dirt before her, wriggling like a pup.
The Animal Soul rolled onto its back and stretched its limbs. Its voice chimed again in Qi Speech, almost singsong. “Belly rub?”
Zai Ai froze, utterly stumped. Her mind screamed to draw Raindrop, to cleave this ridiculous thing into nothingness. Yet her body refused, not out of mercy, but disbelief. With a sharp turn of her heel, she ignored the beast entirely and strode back to the camp.
The Animal Soul bounded ahead of her, golden fur glinting in the fading light, tail wagging in a blur. It turned suddenly, crouched low, and dropped a stick at her feet. “Fetch?” it barked, its Qi Speech almost playful.
Zai Ai stopped in her tracks, staring at the stick. “Leave me alone, you darn mutt—”
“I am sorry,” the creature said, ears drooping. “I just want to cheer you up.”
Zai Ai frowned, exhaling sharply through her nose. “I don’t need cheering from you or from anyone.”
The dog’s whimper echoed faintly in the riverside air. “But why do you want to be sad… when you can be happy?”
For a heartbeat, Zai Ai thought she might laugh at the absurdity of it all. Here she was, a Tenth Realm cultivator, arguing philosophy with a dog. She looked away, her voice dry. “Because that’s the way we are. Being happy or sad isn’t a choice, but a naturally occurring phenomenon.”
The Animal Soul tilted its head, staring at her with eyes too sharp for its silly tone. “But you are a human. You are beyond your base instincts, and if you choose to act on it, you can be happy. I can’t do that. I am a dog. We are creatures of instincts, and we only feel happy when we are full, get to play, and are satisfied. Right now, I am unsatisfied… because you don’t want to rub my belly!”
Zai Ai froze, utterly speechless. The sheer gall of this creature was maddening. Yet, in the end, something in her weary bones relented.
By the river, she sat with the dog, her calloused fingers brushing over the softness of its golden fur. Slowly, she gave in, rubbing its belly, even hugging it close against her. For all its ridiculousness, the warmth was grounding.
The Animal Soul’s voice softened. “Do you know? Dogs can smell emotions.”
Zai Ai arched a brow. “Is that so?”
“I can smell you are really scared.”
Her hand paused mid-stroke. Her lips parted, but no immediate retort came. At last, she asked quietly, “Is there something I can do?”
The dog’s tail swayed lazily. “Only you know the answer to that… But do you know? Petting cute dogs like me also cheers you up.”
Zai Ai pulled her hand away, her expression shifting to steel. She looked directly into its eyes.
“I want to talk to him. Da Wei. Can you do that?”
The Animal Soul grew still. Its playful air vanished, replaced with a rare silence. For a long moment, it only stared at her. Slowly, the dog nodded.
Golden fur shimmered and dissolved into motes of light. Before her eyes, the form reshaped. When it ended, the ridiculous dog was gone.
Standing before her was a man with short dark hair, emerald robes draped elegantly over his frame, and a face that carried both charm and danger.
It was Da Wei.
“That scared the shit out of me…” he muttered, brushing imaginary dust from his shoulder. “I was in the middle of a meeting…”
When he turned to face her, there was no majesty and no crushing divine presence. Instead, he grinned like a street performer. “Yo, yo, yo~ Da Wei is here. How may I be of service?”
Zai Ai shut her mouth before words could escape. She stood frozen, deliberating whether to walk away from this fool who wore the face of her greatest fear.
Da Wei rubbed his chin, tapping it as if pondering. “I thought you were going to punt me or something. By the way, I wouldn’t dodge, because I think you do deserve to vent. But… hmmm… why did you call me?”
Her throat felt dry, but she forced the words out. “Can you wake up my… disciple? I mean, my son?”
His grin faded into something softer. “I can, but I won’t. I will not take away the one chance my… avatar… has in reuniting with Joan. So no. But—” he raised a hand to forestall the anger rising in her eyes, “—I am willing to try, once they’ve reunited with each other. You have my word.”
Her fists clenched. “Does my son hate me?”
Da Wei shook his head immediately. “Nope. He cherishes you. After all, you are his mother, blood or no blood. But the jerks upstairs decided to screw with him and use him as a pawn in their games. They almost succeeded. But they didn’t. And now your son paid the price.
“But not all hope is lost. Because I am willing to forgive, not because it was my right or something I was owed, but because it was the right thing to do. I believe in second chances. And I hope you do too.”
Her breath caught, and for a fleeting moment, her iron mask faltered. “Can we… still be family, even after all of this?”
Da Wei’s smile returned, though gentler this time. “Of course you can! Second chances are for everyone, or everything. There are definitely exceptions to the rule somewhere, but…”
Her eyes narrowed. “You have this… effect on people around you that I just can’t put into words. Just who are you, really?”
He chuckled, though it lacked its earlier bravado. “Just a really, really lost soul who is trying to find his way forward. And I might not even have a soul!”
Zai Ai couldn’t tell if he was joking. Yet, within him, she still sensed the trace of that Animal Soul, the silly dog that had been rolling at her feet moments ago.
Da Wei scratched his cheek awkwardly. “This might come off as weird and intrusive, and I do plan to give you space… but I have to ask. Do you know of the Hollow Star?”
At that, her lips curved into a cryptic smile. “I will tell you if you wake Mao Xian again.”
Da Wei’s humor drained from his face. He sighed, self-deprecating and weary. “Oh man… I knew it wouldn’t be easy…”
“What’s the problem? I am not so foolish as to rely on someone’s word so one-lopsidedly. That’s a very important lesson I learned the hard way from Nongmin, and never again would I fall for the same honeyed words…”
Da Wei sat cross-legged on a patch of grass, fiddling with a reed he had plucked from the riverbank. His posture was careless, but his presence radiated a weight that gnawed at the edges of Zai Ai’s composure. He looked like no more than a young man with mischievous eyes, yet she knew this was the very being whom lords and sect masters whispered of as the Unholy Taint.
“You don’t make it easy to despise you,” Zai Ai admitted under her breath, her eyes lingering on the water’s reflection rather than his face. “But I will need more than just your word.”
“I understand,” Da Wei replied cheerfully, tossing the reed away. “It’s my curse, you know? Being hated… But I get it… I’d rather be hated outright than leave people confused, but alas…” He stretched, hands folded behind his head. “Anyway, you called me here, and I answered. What else is gnawing at you, Lady Zai? Just so you know, I am willing to negotiate, but not if the interests of my people are harmed.”
Zai Ai hesitated. Her heart was torn between suspicion and the faint sliver of hope that her disciple could return. “If I am to accept your talk of second chances, then I must ask for one of my own. I don’t care for the Empire’s fate, nor for the schemes of the Heavenly Temple. But Mao Xian…” Her voice trembled, the steel in it threatening to break. “He is everything I have left.”
Da Wei’s expression grew uncharacteristically grave. “You want him awake now. I already told you, I won’t steal away my avatar’s one chance to reunite with Joan.”
“Then let us bargain.” Her eyes sharpened, glittering with determination. She stepped closer, her qi pressing against him like a blade unsheathed. “In exchange for my aid, my knowledge of arrays, my wards, and my skills as an artisan, you will awaken Mao Xian. Not tomorrow. Not a decade from now. When the deed is done.”
“What deed?” His voice was calm, but his gaze locked on her like a hawk’s.
“The Nameless City.” She said it without hesitation. “I will help your Holy Spirit claim what lies within. Whatever that wretched city holds that you seek, I will pave the way. My formations will cloak his steps, my artifacts will break their walls, and my craft will turn what little army you have into a force fit to stand against angels.”
Da Wei leaned back, studying her as if weighing the truth behind her words. “And in return?”
“You will wake him,” she declared firmly. “You will release my son from that slumber. If you do this, I will tell you something no one else can: the location of the Hollow Star.”
“Deal.”