Just as Ling Wu was racking her brains for how to fob Qingchen off, his words took an unexpected turn: "Today is the Dragon King of the Western Sea's birthday banquet. This morning he sent a spirit crane over with an invitation. You've been cooped up long enough, Ah-Wu—come along with your master."
The moment she heard she was being taken out, how could Ling Wu possibly sit still?
Aiyaya, Master really does understand me.
So this was what they meant by "after bitterness, sweetness"?
She fought down a grin that threatened to split her face and headed for her room as she spoke. "Don't rush, Master. Let your disciple tidy up a moment."
One dressed to be seen for a banquet, of course.
Qingchen gave a soft "Mm," which passed for consent.
On the way to the Dragon Palace of the Western Sea, Ling Wu buzzed with excitement. Word had it the palace was wealthy beyond measure and gorgeous with it—treasures everywhere, seated on the seabed, larger than any mortal emperor's palace, laid out with impeccable taste. And the Dragon King's sons and daughters were famously beautiful, too.
She dared not imagine how friendly the scene ahead would be to her eyes.
The Dragon King of the Western Sea lived up to his name as a venerable elder immortal—the banquet today was roaring with life. Besides her master and herself there were plenty of other immortals, most of whom Ling Wu recognized; they'd been at the last trial assembly too.
But when her gaze landed on Guyuan, she couldn't help wondering.
Nobody had told her the undersea realm and the underworld were on speaking terms!
Inviting a ghost to a perfectly good birthday banquet—how inauspicious could you get!
Perhaps he felt her stare, for Guyuan suddenly looked her way, arched a brow, and mouthed something like, We meet again.
Oh, heaven preserve me—demons and devils, begone!
Ling Wu snatched her eyes away. She had no intention of getting mixed up with him.
Credit where due, though: the Dragon King took this banquet seriously, and the food was superb! Even the immortal peaches, freshly ripened up in the Celestial Realm, were on his tables. Unlimited. At every table.
One little girl who loved immortal peaches was amply satisfied.
As the feast hit its stride, more and more immortals came to toast Qingchen. He rarely showed his face at such gatherings, apparently, so now that they'd finally caught him, a few extra cups were only right.
Qingchen just smiled that gentle smile and accepted every cup that came his way.
By the time one pot of wine stood empty and they still showed no sign of releasing him, Ling Wu was getting annoyed.
She was his disciple, was she not? Squeezing her aside so they could drink—what was the meaning of this?
Besides, wine bruised the body. Master's eyes had gone glassy; it made her poor heart tremble, terrified he'd keel over the next second.
As far as she knew, Qingchen was no drinker.
Well, drunk or not, she was here—she'd get him home to Kunlun in one piece, surely.
The trouble was the maids. One after another they clustered around her master, eyes soft as silk, glances landing on his face every few breaths. Woman to woman, Ling Wu could read them perfectly.
Just like the maids at the Shen estate—these ones were waiting for her master's strength to give out so they could step in and "attend" him!
Not on her watch! Nobody attended her master better than she did!
So she pushed through the crowd, fought her way to his side, and while the immortals were busy calling for a fresh pot, said to Qingchen, "Master, drink less!"
A sheen of moisture had gathered in his eyes. He smiled. "It's nothing. This wine doesn't intoxicate."
If your face weren't flushed pink right now, she'd have believed him!
Before Ling Wu could press further, a cup thrust over by some immortal cut her off: "One more cup, Divine Sovereign. It's been over a hundred years since we last parted. I've tried many a time to visit you at Kunlun, but never once caught sight of you—your disciples all say you're busy. Busy with what, I wonder?"
Qingchen drained the cup in one go, still smiling mildly. "Trivial matters."
It was only then that Immortal Lord Wenqu finally noticed Ling Wu beside him. He narrowed his eyes, studying her, as if some half-remembered face had surfaced—his gaze turned strange.
"This young friend looks so familiar. Have we met?"
Before Ling Wu could answer, Qingchen stepped forward, blocking his line of sight, and said softly, "This is my disciple. The first time I've brought her out. Immortal Lord Wenqu must be drunk."
Wenqu held his cup in one hand, rubbing his forehead with the other, the drunkenness deepening on his face.
"Too long without wine—I have indeed overdone it today. Forgive me, Divine Sovereign."
"It's nothing."
Ling Wu, though, was baffled. Why wouldn't Master let her talk with the immortals? He'd announced she was his disciple but never told Immortal Lord Wenqu her name—costing her a perfectly good chance to make an immortal friend!
She'd wanted to ask who she reminded him of, too!
Just then a maid came gliding over, whispered something to her master, then turned her gaze on Ling Wu.
After Qingchen nodded, she approached with graceful steps and bowed. "If this fairy is visiting the Western Sea for the first time—by the Dragon King's order, we are to show first-time fairy guests around, so you may get to know the place and find it easier to return next time."
Now THAT was hospitality!
Not that she knew the Dragon King from Adam—the invitation would never land in her hands. Which meant there would be no "next time."
But Master had just nodded. Refusing to go would make Kunlun look discourteous.
Fine. With this many immortals about, what could possibly happen to her?
Before leaving, Ling Wu leaned in and lowered her voice: "Master, your disciple will be right back. Don't drink too much."
What if some maid propped him up and steered him into some nameless side chamber, hmm? His reputation would never survive it!
Qingchen nodded, eyes smiling. "Call for me if anything happens, Ah-Wu."
Then he formed a seal, lightly tapped her hand, and laid a shared-sensation spell over the two of them.
Before she could ask what the spell did, the maid was hurrying her along: "Come along, fairy—the others are waiting."
Ling Wu hurried to catch up.
Plenty of fairies were visiting the Western Sea for the first time today, and the whole lot of them, in every color of the rainbow, huddled together looked from a distance like a flowerbed—dazzling to the eye.
Being the last to arrive, she'd missed the getting-acquainted rounds. The others had already grown chummy and now clustered together trading gossip about everyone around them. Ling Wu had no interest in squeezing in; she stood in a corner and shuffled along with the crowd.
Ah, if only she had a handful of melon seeds.
The fairies spoke neither loudly nor softly, but even from a distance Ling Wu caught every word. Gossip and melon seeds—made for each other.
When talk turned to the Dragon King's sons and daughters, the fairies got even more worked up. Weighing them from every angle, they agreed the Third Prince of the Western Sea was the best-looking of the lot. Rumor had it the Third Prince had been gifted from childhood, and now stood but one final love-tribulation away from ascending to High God. If only anyone knew which mortal household he'd been reborn into, the fairies would have swarmed him ages ago.
After all, the Third Prince was still a blank page where feelings were concerned—prime time to be sweet-talked.
Good grief. Not an ounce of restraint among them!
They burrowed deeper and deeper into the topic, each adding her two cents. Ling Wu wondered idly: this Third Prince—was he really more handsome than her master?
For as long as she could remember, her senior brothers had said Master's looks were without equal in the three realms. Even before his ascension, fairies had lined up hoping to become his dao-companion, and he'd turned every one of them down with courtesy. If he truly wished to know someone, no amount of scheming by Wen Yao could stop him.
She was still thinking it over when one of the fairies mentioned her master's name.