Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms

Chapter 16

There were no sky soldiers standing guard when we arrived at the Ninth Sky's southern gate, just a couple of tigers napping nearby, their orange-and-black fur sleek and shiny. With one glance you could tell that they were spirit creatures with extraordinary levels of cultivated spiritual energy.

"We may not have much defense at Qingqiu, but at least we have Mystic Gorge sitting there to watch over the place," I teased Ye Hua, tapping my fan. "Don't tell me your kingdom's most sacred realm only gets a couple of tigers?"

"The old Taoist prince is hosting an altar sermon at today's Taoist assembly. I expect they're all attending that," he said with a frown. He turned, gave a faint laugh, and said, "Qian Qian, I heard that you had regular discussions about Taoism with Yuan Zhen when you were down in the mortal world, helping him pass his calamity. I presume this means you have a deep knowledge and understanding of Taoism. The old Taoist prince has been complaining for years now about how there is no one in the sky who can rival him on the subject of Taoism and how lonely it has been standing on that high peak by himself out of everyone else's reach for so long. But now that you're here, what a wonderful opportunity for you two to hold a discussion or two."

I swallowed. "That's very kind of you," I said with an awkward laugh.

Outside the Ninth Sky's southern gate, there were boundless stretches of white clouds for as far as the eye could see, while within the gates it was a completely different story. The ground was made of gold, the steps of jade stone, the paths flanked by an emerald-green bamboo grove, and a thousand trails of propitious vapors. It completely surpassed the glitzy gold of the Water Crystal Palaces of all Four Seas. Luckily I had expected this and had tied the white silk around my head as a precaution. My eyes would have probably been destroyed by now otherwise. Every so often I heard the distinct call of a crane and the flapping of wings as one flew overhead. I gave an ardent sigh and took Ye Hua's hands. "Your family is so wealthy!" I exclaimed.

Ye Hua's face turned first white, then green. "Not all the palace quarters in the Ninth Sky are quite like this one," he explained. As we walked along, I paid close attention to the extravagant splendor of the Ninth Sky, so different from the terraced rice paddies and farmhouses of Qingqiu, although these were charming in their own way.

The few palace attendants we came across were all extremely circumspect and polite. None of them acted in the slightest bit taken aback by my strange silk-bound face. I was delighted to see them all acting with such deference as they paid their respects to Ye Hua.

I had heard that Ye Hua had been given his own government department and army to command when he was only thirty thousand years old, and it was at this time that the Sky Emperor had built him Xiwu Palace, as a gift.

Despite the fact that it was my first time coming to the Ninth Sky, I had a hunch that Xiwu Palace had not always been as dim and gloomy as it was now. It did not need anything as flamboyant as golden tiles and jade eaves, but Xiwu Palace could have done with a bit of brightening up.

By the time I had recovered my senses, Ye Hua was leading me toward the back gate. He was carefully examining the low wall near the back door, making rough measurements. He pointed to one wall and told me, "Jump."

"What?" I said in bafflement. He frowned, put his arms around me, walked along the wall to the spot he had just been pointing at, and leaped over with me into the courtyard.

Was jumping through walls what people did in the Ninth Sky rather than walking through doors? It seemed a strange habit . . . Ye Hua smoothed his sleeves, looked at me, and gave an awkward smile. "If we'd gone through the main door, it would have alerted everyone in all these courtyards of our arrival, and we would have had to put up with endless greetings and fuss. Jumping over the wall has saved us a lot of hassle."