One Tail at a Time

The Riddle Master - 3

"Pituresque I am to those who fear my cold yet enlightened heart."

This is the final clue, and there is nothing to see, because The Demon Overlord and the King are quietly contemplating on their clouds as to it's meaning while Shifu is still trying to break through the final barrier having already figured it out, and until he does, we are left waiting to see who will make it through first because this last barrier is looking to be exceptionally difficult to break through, even for Shifu.

Meanwhile, we too are quietly going over this very involved yet final clue because it looks as if there are three things being referred to which all lead to the one answer and having broken it down into its 4 parts, its just too hard and it's making my head spin, so I just let my brothers do the thinking so I can send Shifu my positive thoughts in the hope that they might help.

"This could be anything at all...." Chang Shan groans with a look of admiration on his face which is focused on Shifu who is now quietly standing on his cloud with his eyes closed concentrating. If anything, its getting a bit boring standing here waiting around for them to get moving again, so I take the time to look out towards the rest of the spectators who have all settled down after Shifus warning and like my brothers, they too are trying to figure out the clue.

Only a few do look our way from time to time, only it is when I catch sight of two boys standing apart from the rest and wearing the same garb that the Demon supporters are wearing that I notice one of them smiling at me. I don't know who he is and nor was he with the group that were making fun of me before, but his face is kindly and he looks kind of nice in his purple robe, so I smile back at him.

And suddenly his cheeks begin to redden a little, which makes me smile more because he now reminds me of Shanhu who's rosy cheeks never really dim. The boy glances away towards the Demon Overlord for a little while, so I turn my attention back to my brothers who are too engrossed in the clue to notice that my attention back on the boy who keeps stealing glimpses of me. It seems kind of weird to say this, but though his cheeks remind me of Shanhu, his smile reminds me of Zhen Zhen. It seems genuinely warm and friendly that I can't help but smile back and nor can I help staring at him.

He is a little taller than me, though not as tall as my brothers, which makes me think he is about my age

I guess it's because I've never really known anyone outside of Kunlun Mountain and my family before, and those I have met, haven't been all that kind. So his smile and shy backwards looks towards the Demon Lord kind of feels special. But soon my attention is drawn back to my brothers, when Shanhu grabs hold of my hand, because its looking as if the race is now back on.

Only the moment my attention is back on the arena, then a sight I though I would not see, has my heart beat speeding up. My father and Zhe Yan are here and the energy they have brought with them, is so lively that I can't help but jump and down in excitement! Zhe Yan is laughing though he looks a little tired, while father is looking super eager to solve the next clue, and so for a little while we watch with bated breath as all five High Gods fight their own private battles.

Shifu is still struggling to get through the barrier and the Demon Lord is smiling which means he is close to solving the riddle and joining him, while the King is frowning deeply so he is nowhere near solving it. Father on the other hand is busy watching Shifu which could mean he has already solved it and is just paying attention to the spells being woven, whereas Zhe Yan is too drunk to do anything having brought a few bottles of wine with him to dull the boredom because it is obvious that he is only there to offer father as much support as he needs, and his laughter is once again distracting all of them.

And suddenly the air splits as the Demon Overlord races through the barrier. It is so unexpected, that Shifu is momentarily stunned but after a few seconds and having read the energy that is left behind and therefore the final spell, he too is flying through the barrier for the final lap.