A glimmer of light swept over her, and the donkey’s tail curled around her, whisking her back to the ancestral hall.
With a thud, Bai Shuo collapsed onto the floor of the hall as the donkey’s tail released her. She stared blankly ahead, her face deathly pale.
"Hey! Little Bai?!" Long Er’s voice, surprisingly youthful, shifted to its usual gruffness with a clearing of its throat. "White Girl?"
Bai Shuo remained motionless, still sitting dazed on the floor, her eyes hollow.
Long Er glanced anxiously out the window. If he didn’t awaken his soul’s power soon, he’d be found by that cursed icicle and end up as nothing more than a wooden decoration.
Growing impatient, he snorted, raised a hoof, and was about to nudge her awake when Bai Shuo suddenly lifted her head.
"Help me save him, and I’ll give you my life."
Long Er froze, eyes wide with shock, and then looked slightly guilty.
What?! She figured it out? How?
"Bai Shuo, what are you talking about? All I need is a single vial of blood… no need to bring life and death into this..."
"If all you wanted was a vial of my blood, you wouldn’t have taken such a risk. You could have just knocked me out and taken it. Demons are notoriously vengeful, yet after all I put you through at Mu Xiao Mountain, here you are, spinning circles around me and going along with my tricks. I kept wondering why.”
Her voice was soft but steady. “I once read in a book that demons and immortals don’t cultivate the same way. For demons, the most common method of cultivation is through consuming essence or blood—but there are rules. I suspect my blood is only useful to you if I willingly give it. Isn’t that right?”
Both immortals and demons could, in fact, absorb human essence and blood to aid their cultivation, but if they forcibly took it against the person’s will, they’d fall to the path of darkness. Years ago, the Nine-Headed Serpent was executed by the Celestial Emperor for violating this code.
Long Er had longed to awaken his soul’s power but needed Bai Shuo to willingly offer her blood. Otherwise, he’d be doomed to exist as a dark creature, constantly taking energy from living beings.
Long Er gave Bai Shuo a strange look and couldn’t resist asking, "White Girl, are you truly just a mortal?"
"Completely, without a doubt.”
“How could a mere mortal know so much?”
Bai Shuo sighed, walking to the window, gazing at the high moon. No one knew what thoughts filled her mind as she looked up.
“My greatest wish in life is to become an immortal. Since I was eight, I’ve read all the fantastical books about gods and demons I could find. I know these stories are mostly lies, but since they’ve been passed down, there must be a little truth in them, right? What I know, I learned from those books.”
She wasn’t lying. Over the years, Chong Zhao had spared no expense to collect tales of the supernatural for her, many written by actual Daoist cultivators. Though the contents seemed absurd to others, Bai Shuo knew some of it might be real.
“What’s so great about being an immortal?” Long Er scoffed. “Pretentious and hypocritical! Being a demon is way more fun!”
“That doesn’t matter.” There was something in Bai Shuo’s eyes—maybe regret, maybe resignation. “There’s no time to waste. If you help me save A-Zhao, I’ll willingly give my blood to you. My life for his.”
With her bluff called, Long Er knew he’d have no way to get her blood unless she agreed. If he couldn’t awaken his soul’s power, Fan Yue would eventually find him, and he’d be reduced to a block of lifeless wood. This was his only shot.
With a flash of green light, Long Er vanished, and in his place appeared a young boy in green robes. He wasn’t yet fully grown and had a small wooden hairpin in his hair. His green robe, patched and a bit loose, gave him the appearance of a scrappy child with a mischievous glint in his dark eyes.
"Fine, I’ll help you save that fool," the boy said in an unsteady, childlike voice. "But remember, you have to keep your word and not trick me!"
Long Er extended his hand to Bai Shuo. She looked at the small boy before her, then clapped her hand into his with determination. “It’s a deal!”
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