Wu De the donkey didn’t seem surprised; it grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. “How did you know that I am Long Er?”
“The only non-human thing I encountered from leaving the capital to entering Mu Xiao Mountain was you.” Bai Shuo sighed. “Do you demons all assume humans have no brains?”
“Don’t lump me in with that fiend,” Long Er the donkey shuddered. “Little Bai, when we escaped Mu Xiao Mountain, you used your blood to awaken that pig, didn’t you?”
A hint of caution flickered in Bai Shuo’s eyes.
“Relax, I don’t need much—just a small vial…” The donkey tapped its hoof, producing a small porcelain bottle on the ground. “As long as you give me a vial of blood, I’ll help you see that fool.”
“Deal.” Bai Shuo picked up the bottle without hesitation, nodding firmly.
A glint of mischief flashed in the donkey’s eye as it smirked. Bai Shuo suddenly spoke again.
“I’m curious: why didn’t the master of the Hao Yue Palace recognize you, even though he was looking for you? And…why does he call you Long Er when you’re clearly a donkey?”
“Well…” Long Er the donkey drawled, blinking. “Dawn’s almost here. Are you sure you want to waste your time on this?”
Bai Shuo paused, then climbed onto Long Er’s back without another word. “Take me to the Heavenly Prison!”
With a flick of its tail, the donkey glowed, and in a flash of light, both of them disappeared from the ancestral hall. The window creaked open, then closed softly behind them.
“Hey, Little Wood, wasn’t that girl quietly mocking you just now?”
In the courtyard, perched on a tree, a red-robed youth leaned against the branches as Long Yi the pig fluttered by with tiny wings, chuckling.
Fan Yue cast an expressionless glance at Long Yi.
Another flash of light, and the pair reappeared on the road to Chang’an, keeping a discreet distance behind the donkey’s hoofbeats. Though invisible to others, the donkey was in plain sight to Fan Yue.
“How’d you see through that fool donkey’s disguise? Even I didn’t catch it.”
Fan Yue yawned, uninterested in wasting energy on the pig.
Nearby, a sudden drumbeat startled the donkey, making it stumble. Bai Shuo nearly fell off, clutching its neck in alarm, terrified for her life.
Seeing her desperate grasp on life, Fan Yue’s lips curled slightly.
“Have you ever met anyone more afraid of death?” Fan Yue’s sudden question was abrupt and without prelude, leaving Long Yi blinking in confusion.
“She fears death so much, yet even as she fled, she didn’t leave that donkey behind.” Fan Yue’s smile was tinged with amusement. “Had I not knocked her out and sent her back to the capital with the Daoists of Mount Daze, while that fool A-Zhao was imprisoned, do you think that idiotic donkey could control her?”
Long Yi thought about it and had to agree. In all its thousands of years, it hadn’t encountered a young lady quite so persistent since the primordial gods were children.
Long Yi snorted, muttering, “Her blood’s already so limited—I’d hate to waste it, but that fool donkey sure is bold to even try! Say, Little Wood, why are we even following this donkey? Why don’t we just take this walking medicine jar and the fool donkey back to the icy north? Ouch…”
Long Yi’s rambling was abruptly cut off as he bumped into Fan Yue’s back, realizing they were at the turn to the Heavenly Prison. Not far ahead, Bai Shuo and the donkey had come to a stop.
Long Er suddenly glanced in their direction, but Fan Yue vanished, leaving the donkey confused yet unwilling to linger.
“Hold on tight!”
Before Bai Shuo could process, the donkey leaped into the Heavenly Prison, disappearing from sight.
Inside the entrance, Long Er blew a breath towards the guards and prisoners, causing them to slump into a deep sleep. With a flick of its tail, it revealed itself and knelt to let Bai Shuo down.
“He’s in there. Go quickly,” said the donkey.
The long passage was cold and chilling. Bai Shuo shivered as she turned and ran deeper into the prison.
“Little Bai, you only have the time it takes an incense stick to burn—don’t forget!” Long Er’s voice echoed behind her. The dim lights flickered, revealing prisoners who were thin as bones or had limbs broken, each in pitiful condition. Bai Shuo’s pace quickened until she stopped in front of an open cell.
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