Venerable Skysoar stood there silently, and after a moment, it was as if she finally came back to herself.
Suddenly, this disheveled young woman let out a cheer and rushed over, snatching the hairpin from Quinn Shepherd's hand. She kicked Quinn off his feet, sending him sprawling to the ground, and began pummeling him with fists and kicks, her assault fierce and relentless.
A swarm of bamboo-riding critters charged forward as well, their bamboo steeds thumping and whacking Quinn in a chaotic flurry, the blows landing with loud pops and cracks.
Moon-Venerable, Annie, and the others stared in shock, while Dragon-Qilin simply squinted, sprawled out on the ground, dozing and paying no attention at all.
"Steal my hairpin, will you! That’s what you get for stealing my hairpin!"
Venerable Skysoar kept up her barrage, shouting, "That’s what you get for sneaking off! And for sneaking back again! Do you know how hard it was for me to wait?"
Quinn curled up on the ground, clutching his head, begging for mercy.
Venerable Skysoar was still furious, raining blows as she raged, "Do you have any idea how bitter these years have been for me? After you left, everyone said I was wrong. Only I knew I was right, and you’re the proof!"
As she beat him, her eyes reddened, and she began to cry, tears streaming down as she kept hitting Quinn.
"Everyone said I was crazy. Even Cloud, even Moon, they all thought I was wrong, that I would never succeed!"
"I wished so much that you were by my side, even if you only said one thing to me—just once—that I was right!"
"But you just had to run off, just had to vanish!"
"I’ll beat you to death!"
...
She collapsed onto Quinn, sobbing uncontrollably like a girl who had held back her grievances for years. One hand clutched the Peach-Wood Hairpin tightly, while the other gripped Quinn’s collar, terrified he would disappear again.
This feeling—others might never understand it. But Quinn understood all too well the loneliness that comes from setbacks and the world’s misunderstanding.
At times like this, all a companion needs is to hear, "You’re right," and it gives them the courage to keep going, to push through the thorns ahead.
Quinn had experienced it, and so had Venerable Skysoar.
Quinn had Dragon-Qilin—even if Dragon-Qilin didn’t really understand him, at least he’d offer encouragement.
Venerable Skysoar had nothing at all.
Moon-Venerable helped her up, but Venerable Skysoar immediately threw herself onto Moon-Venerable’s shoulder, bawling, one hand still clutching Quinn’s sleeve as if afraid he’d vanish again.
Quinn brushed the footprints off his clothes and grinned. "If you hadn’t succeeded, how could I have come back?"
"I know I can succeed!" Venerable Skysoar insisted stubbornly.
Quinn burst out laughing, then, growing serious, said, "You are right."
"I know!"
After a long while, Venerable Skysoar finally calmed down. She tossed Quinn aside and began turning the Peach-Wood Hairpin over and over in her hands, scrutinizing it. Moon-Venerable pulled Quinn aside to find a clean spot for tea—which, in Venerable Skysoar’s courtyard, was no easy task.
But those little bamboo-riding ponies were still hammering away at Quinn’s legs and feet. He tried waving them off several times, but when that failed, he could only give up.
Annie, meanwhile, bustled about with the six transformed Heavenly Dragons, helping Venerable Skysoar tidy her room and courtyard, neatly stacking all her written notes and calculations.
"Annie, you sorted this scroll wrong," Dragon-Qilin remarked with a glance.
"Wrong?" The little ponies perked up, abandoned Quinn, and rushed at Dragon-Qilin, unleashing a flurry of blows. Dragon-Qilin kept right on sleeping, utterly unfazed.
Moon-Venerable glanced at Quinn, then at Venerable Skysoar, who was sitting there grinning foolishly with the Peach-Wood Hairpin in her hands. She blinked and asked tentatively, "Mu, are you really from the future?"
Quinn took a sip of tea, nodded toward Annie, and smiled. "In the future, you'll take in this girl and give her the name Annie. Her mother will bring her to you herself, and she'll feed you until you're plump and white."
Moon-Venerable looked Annie up and down, then burst out laughing. "Nonsense! There's no way I'd let her fatten me up! What, do I give her to you afterward?"
Quinn smiled faintly, set down his teacup, and asked, "Did Cloud-Venerable go to Heavenly Court to lodge a complaint?"
Moon-Venerable nodded, her gaze growing distant. "Not long after you disappeared, Venerable Vast-Sky, acting on the Ancient-God Emperor's orders, founded the Dragon-Sky Heavenly Court to rule over all demigods. The demigods have risen fast, especially here in the Earth-Mother Origin World; their power grows stronger every day. Humans and demigods clash more and more, but humans are still weak. Even allied with other postnatal races, we're still bullied by the demigods. It's been a hard road."
Quinn looked at her face; the once gentle Moon-Venerable had grown much more resolute.
"We joined forces with the postnatal races and fought countless battles against the demigods—winning few, losing many."
Moon-Venerable gave a bitter smile, fiddling with her teacup. "On the surface, it looks like a fight over territory and interests between demigods and the postnatal races. But really, it's all about dividing spoils. Only, we're not the ones dividing them—the ancient gods are. The reason we keep losing is that we're unwilling to sacrifice to the ancient gods."
Quinn's heart stirred.
Moon-Venerable continued, "Every time we fight the demigods, armies of gods and demons gather, and we have to hold bloody sacrifices—offering up living beings to the ancient gods, begging them to descend and help us fight. Mu, you're from the future. In your era, do you still use living creatures as sacrifices to summon ancient gods during wars?"
Quinn shook his head.
Moon-Venerable asked, "Guess what we use as offerings to those greedy ancient gods?"
Quinn shook his head, his voice hoarse. "I don't want to guess."
"When people are desperate, they'll do anything."
Moon-Venerable drained her teacup in one gulp, as if it were strong liquor burning her throat. She coughed, finally recovered, and sighed, "Too bad it's not wine. Back when the humans were cornered, besieged by demigods at the Sky-River Heavenly Court and Jade Capital City, we ended up sacrificing to the ancient gods."
Her voice grew bitter: "The gods who defended Sky-River Heavenly Court offered themselves up—sacrificing themselves to the lofty ancient gods, treating themselves as livestock, as food. The ancient gods descended, but Vast-Sky's side also sacrificed, bringing down another batch of ancient gods. Do you want to guess how that war ended?"
She didn't wait for Quinn's reply, but laughed out loud: "Both sides had ancient gods, both sides were killing madly, sworn enemies! Everyone thought it would be a bloodbath beyond imagination, but the ancient gods on both sides actually negotiated—they played peacemakers!"
Her expression turned sharply mocking, her words squeezed through clenched teeth: "The two groups of ancient gods chatted amiably, struck a peace pact, told us to let go of our hatred, and made the demigods retreat from Sky-River Heavenly Court! Some demigods couldn't accept it, protested noisily, and got eaten by the ancient gods—then things quieted down. Only then did we realize..."
Her face twisted with even deeper scorn: "Turns out we’re all just food, all livestock—the entire Earth-Mother Origin World is one giant farm! Mu, this is a livestock pen! We’re just the ancient gods’ herds! They used to eat us directly, now they’re ‘civilized’: they make us fight each other, force us to sacrifice ourselves for them to eat!"
She seemed truly drunk on tea, slumped over the table, sobbing: "What the hell is a Heavenly Venerable, what the hell is a God-Emperor, what the hell is a Cloud Heavenly Emperor or Vast Heavenly Emperor? All just lead sheep and hunting dogs! We’re just the ancient gods’ herders and hounds! Mu, these years have been so hard for us..."
Quinn placed his hand gently on her shoulder and said softly, "I know all of it. But I also know that one day, in your hands, the age of ancient gods will end. They’ll never dare treat us this way again."
"Really?" Moon-Venerable looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.
Quinn nodded.
Moon-Venerable straightened up, smoothed her messy hair, and forced a smile: "This tea is too intoxicating. I lost my composure—don’t mind me."
Quinn gave her a gentle smile. "Without you, there would be no us in the future."
Moon-Venerable felt deeply comforted, her spirits lifted. She continued, "Cloud-Venerable has become Emperor—the first to reach the Emperor’s Throne. But the ancient gods’ rule over the Origin World and the heavens is still deeply entrenched. Vast-Sky’s talent is monstrous; he’s about to reach the Emperor’s Throne too. This time Cloud-Venerable went to the Dragon-Han Heavenly Court, not just to complain about demigod oppression, but also to meet Flame-Venerable."
Quinn’s heart stirred.
Moon-Venerable watched his expression and said, "He wants to use Flame-Venerable to connect with Vast-Sky. Do you know what he’s trying to do?"
Quinn’s eye twitched. He nodded lightly, his voice hoarse: "Invite Flame-Venerable, Vast-Sky, God-Emperor Jadecrest, and Galen the Ancestral God-King into the Heaven Alliance—to overthrow ancient-god rule together."
Moon-Venerable nodded, smoothing her hair again. "Are we doing the right thing?"
Quinn’s eye twitched again. He wanted to tell her that if they did this, Cloud-Venerable would die for it. He wanted to say the Heaven Alliance would never be the same, that it would fall into the hands of the demigods.
He wanted even more to tell her that it was precisely their decision today that would let the Heaven Alliance replace the ancient gods and become the new, terrifying rulers.
But when he opened his mouth, the words just wouldn’t come.
He couldn’t tell them.
No matter how terrifying the future Heaven Alliance might become, it’s still not as dreadful as the ancient gods now. Joining forces with Vast-Sky and the others is the best choice for humanity at this moment.
If this alliance is broken, the age of ancient gods will continue, and the Origin World and all the heavens will remain a giant livestock farm.
A true companion stands by your side and tells you you’re right.
Yet Quinn found it so hard to say those words.
"You’re doing the right thing," he said calmly.
Moon-Venerable smiled. "You’re from the future. If you say we’re right, then we must succeed in the end. Thank you, Mu."
She stood up, laughing. "The courtyard’s finally clean. Annie, come here—bring your lantern and go with your young master."
Annie whirled over, her eyes sparkling. "Call me sister!"
Moon-Venerable tugged her ear, growling, "What did you say?"
Annie finally behaved, grabbed her lantern, and woke Dragon-Qilin. He was still being pummeled by the little bamboo ponies, but with a yawn, he stood up and shook them off.
"Chief, where are we going?" he asked curiously, trailed by a gang of bamboo ponies still kicking at his tail.
Quinn looked to Moon-Venerable, who smiled. "There’s been trouble on the human border lately—demigods sneaking in, as if searching for something. I didn’t go with Cloud-Venerable to Heavenly Court because I wanted to see what they’re up to. Since you’re here, let’s go see for ourselves!"
Quinn hesitated, then nodded. "All right. I’ll wait for Cloud-Venerable to return and talk with him before I leave. Let’s use my palanquin—it’s fast."
"Sister Ling, want to come too?" Quinn asked.
Venerable Skysoar rushed over, shoved the hairpin back into Quinn’s hand. "Of course I’m coming! Wait for me!"
Suddenly remembering something, she called Moon-Venerable over and whispered, "I haven’t gone out in years—I’m a little nervous. Help me get washed up and dressed."
Moon-Venerable couldn’t help laughing. "Sister, you do remember you’re a woman?"
"Don’t tease me. If I embarrass myself, it’s on you all too."
The two women went off to get ready, but Venerable Skysoar had no spare clothes. Moon-Venerable fetched some from her own palace. The long skirts and sleeves felt awkward, but Skysoar braced herself and came out anyway.
Quinn’s eyes lit up. "Sister Ling and Sister Yue, you’re both beautiful."
Moon-Venerable blushed, while Skysoar grumbled about the impractical clothes—the skirt too long, the sleeves too fussy, getting in the way.
They boarded the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Palanquin and headed for the human border. Moon-Venerable opened the window and looked down. "Demigods have been popping up here lately, always searching for someone. I’ve already sent scouts—news should come soon."
They landed in a small border town—mostly mortals, few cultivators.
Sky-River Heavenly Court was prosperous, but humans in the Origin World still lived in hardship—though better than the early Dragon-Han era, they could barely scrape by.
Demigods still roamed the border. As Quinn’s group landed, the sky suddenly darkened. Quinn looked up to see a massive bird with blue-gold wings flying in from afar, blocking the setting sun.
The bird cried mournfully as it flew: "Grant, Grant—"
"A flood’s coming!" The townsfolk panicked, scattering in all directions.
The giant bird landed just outside town, squatting like a new mountain. On its back was a palace; outside its pillars, a man was tied up, chest bare, impaled by a spear and barely alive.
Moon-Venerable started forward to ask, but Quinn stopped her, shaking his head. "I know the people in that palace, and the man on the pillar isn’t any good. Leave them be."
A woman strode out of the palace, whip in hand, and lashed the man tied to the pillar—again and again, until he was covered in wounds.
Not satisfied, she took out an ox-ear knife, sliced meat from his chest, pried open his mouth, and forced him to eat his own flesh.
"I’ve heard of them!"
Moon-Venerable exclaimed, "I’ve long heard there’s such a weird couple in the Origin World—the woman comes out every day to beat the man, tormenting him in every way. Today I finally see it for myself."
Quinn said, "That man is a demigod, once a notorious villain. He’s been punished by the gods—now he’s just a scapegoat."
Moon-Venerable asked, "What about the woman?"