A Love Supreme: The Story of Donghua Dijun and Bai Fengjiu

Revelations II: First Encounters

The trip to Abraxas Valley was short, and only a stone's throw from the Holy Blue Sea, much to Donghua's delight. Like the Divine Palace at the Holy Blue Sea, both rested on clouds. However, compared with the terrain of the Holy Blue Sea, Abraxas Valley was mostly flat. There were just two mountains and separated by the Tiān Mìnɡ River, which flowed in between. Nuwa's palace was at the foot of Mount Zhèngyì, on the east side of the Tiān Mìnɡ River. Therefore, they had to cross the river to reach the entrance at the foot of the mountain.

Bai Zhi was first to arrive at the river's edge. Looking for clues that would help them gain entry, he saw a plank-like structure, with eight posts, partially submerged in the water and a prismatic wall that shimmered as the sunlight sparkled against the water. Bai Zhi looked at the men who'd just arrived and said, " There's a force field I've never seen before", as a flock of Héyīn birds gathered near the river's edge and began chirping melodically. "It's Héyīn sorcery. This type is a combination of creation sorcery and music. It requires the creation of a musical instrument with water. After you've created the flute, just play what you hear to disarm the shield and raise the bridge," Zhe Yan said and pointed to the Héyīn birds. "I'll do it", Donghua said. Just as he was about to do the spell, the force field vanished and tremors formed beneath the water's surface as the bridge slowly emerged from the water.

Astonished and skeptical about what they had just witnessed, the men cautiously walked across and stopped outside the entrance to the Hall of Celestial Occularis. At that moment, they heard a swishing sound, as the Occularis became illuminated. Millions of tiny white orbs covered the walls, the intertwined vines pulsed and sparkled with anticipation to meet its prospective visitors. Unlike its progeny the Miohua Mirror, the Celestial Occularis lacked the capacity to display the past lives of mortals or deities. Instead, it sensed evil deeds done in the past and known to immediately devour a person with dark energy in seconds, upon detection. For that reason, Si Ming, who had never seen the Celestial Occularis, was hesitant to enter and fell behind the group. He looked down at the various bone shafts strewn along the sides of the corridor and a few bone fragments lying in the corner close to the entrance. He broke out in a cold sweat.

Donghua, Bai Zhi and Zhe Yan were in front of him and were halfway through the corridor when they heard the clicking sound of Si Ming's metal fan opening behind them, which sent echoes through the hollow tunnel as it reverberated. The three men turned around and looked to see what happened. Zhe Yan looked at Si Ming and said with a chuckle, "Si Ming, now isn't the time to practice your dance moves. Stop messing around." "I can't go", Si Ming said, frozen at the entrance. "Why not?", Bai Zhi asked as he silently grew impatient. Donghua walked towards Si Ming, who was trembling and shaking his head as he said " I c-can't. I swear I didn't mean any harm, and it was so awful and it was just that one time. From now on I swear I won't- "ENOUGH", Donghua yelled as he forcefully shook Si Ming, causing his bun to unravel. Si Ming's eyes were gripped with fear. He hyperventilated as he envisioned himself dying painfully, at the hands of Donghua. "Waa!", he shrieked as tears began to form in the wells of his eyes. Donghua hadn't lost his patience yet, and asked in a subdued tone, "Si Ming, why are you like this? What did you do?, he asked "D-D-Dijun, I f-f-f-fed s-s-sweet and s-s-sour f-fish you made f-for Liansong and me, t-to the pet fox Jiheng brought to you last year," he whined. Bai Zhi and Zhe Yan laughed loudly, their laughs reverberating through the tunnel. Donghua took pity on him, for he knew Si Ming was an academic scholar, not a swordsman. Donghua also knew his cooking skills were less than impeccable. Alright, he was a terrible cook, he admitted to himself, but no one in Heaven dared to offend him.

With raised eyebrows as a tacit warning to calm down, Donghua released Si Ming and said, "This is a trivial thing. There's no reason for you to be frightened. Get a hold of yourself. We are leaving the same way we came, right side up and without injury. Let's go", he said, and turned around to catch up with Bai Zhi and Zhe Yan, who'd just reached the end of the corridor and were waiting for them. Si Ming took a deep breath and briefly leaned against the outer wall to regain his composure. After a minute, he stood up, fixed his bun and followed Donghua, who was still walking. Si Ming walked at a reasonable pace, still frightened as he heard the crunching of bones beneath his feet. He wondered why he didn't hear those sounds when Bai Zhi and Zhe Yan walked through earlier and decided living mattered more than questioning such trivial things, and began to pick up the pace. When Donghua finally caught up with Bai Zhi and Zhe Yan, they were looking at Si Ming, who was three-quarters of the way, and soon to catch up. Bai Zhi said, " Zhe Yan, on these occasions, it would be good to have some liquid courage on hand in moments like this. Donghua looked at Si Ming and chimed in, "He could definitely use an extra set of balls". "I'll get right on that", Zhe Yan said with a chuckle.