Volume Four: The Wind Sweeps Away the Remnants The Four Lands Sink Beneath the Waves Chapter Twenty-Two: If All Were Equal

The sharp crack of that slap drew Qin Ying's attention.

Tears streaming down her face, she lifted her head and looked at him with questioning eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“I... I’m fine! How about you?”

“I... I’m all right, I suppose.”

A long silence followed.

“Why not go find Yuan Shang?” Qin Ying asked, trying to dispel the awkwardness.

“I promised Palace Lord Lin I’d keep an eye on you.”

“I’m fine! I just need to be alone for a while. Go help them. I’ll catch up with you later,” Qin Ying said.

Lan Sheng looked at her, then out over the endless expanse of sea, and nodded. “Come on then, sister. Hurry after us.”

With that, he formed a spell, tore away the Sun-Stabilizing Talisman, and released his beast mount. In one swift motion he swung into the saddle and rode off.

Watching Lan Sheng recede into the distance, Qin Ying felt once more the desolation and sorrow that had just vanished from her heart surge back to fill it. Tears welled up again without her meaning them to. She buried her head deep in her knees and, first muffling her sobs, soon gave way to loud, wrenching cries.

It was not that she did not want to go after him. By every reason and every feeling, she was desperate to find Zhuo Hua at once. And yet why did her heart resist so fiercely? When the two of them had stood before her, locked in an embrace and a kiss, it had felt as though a blade were carving her heart apart, piece by piece.

And she could not even fight back.

How cruel that this fiery devotion had already been given to you, cold as water.

Qin Ying shook her head, then raised her hand and released a jade vermilion bird. In midair she tore off the Sun-Stabilizing Talisman, and by the time the jade bird touched down, she had finished her incantation. A multicolored vermilion bird appeared before her, turning its head to preen the golden feathers along its neck with its bright beak.

Qin Ying stepped forward and stroked the ancient sacred beast, whispering softly, “Ran'er, even though he does not want me, I cannot not want him. Will you go with me to find him?”

The vermilion bird called Ran'er lifted its neck and gave a long, clear cry, then bobbed its head up and down, seeming to agree with Qin Ying.

Qin Ying smiled faintly. A crystal tear slid from the corner of her eye, and she affectionately rubbed her brow against Ran'er's head, murmuring, “Perhaps in this life, only you will never leave me.”

With that, she mounted the multicolored vermilion bird. Patting Ran'er's neck, she rose into the sky, turned halfway in the air, and sped away toward the southwest.

At that moment, the Dragon Palace beneath the Peng and Peng sea had been utterly transformed. Ruined walls and broken foundations lay everywhere, and wherever one looked there was only desolation. The former splendor of coral at every turn and pearls underfoot was gone forever.

At this moment, Lin Bai stood amid such a scene. The once magnificent Residence of the Duke of State of Peace had now become nothing more than an abandoned courtyard.

Upon learning of his younger brother's fate, An Chenfeng's face was like dead water. He had endured too many changes in one day; though grief filled his heart, not another tear could fall.

With a long sigh he said, “Chenyu can return to the Dragon Palace and rest in peace. That too counts as returning to where he belongs. I shall go at once and bring back his remains, then choose a day with my father and my two younger brothers for the funeral.”

Lin Bai's tears had already formed a line before him. Voice choked, he consoled An Chenfeng: “Brother Feng! The four of you and the three of us have played together since we were naked little brats, so much so that blood tie and affection could no longer be told apart. But after my fourth brother was born, everything changed. It was all Lin Xiaoyun's fault!”

His fury flared again at the end, and with a single punch he smashed a broken pillar that took three men to encircle into powder.

An Chenfeng patted his back and comforted him. “Lin Bai, the Dragon King is indeed guilty of monstrous crimes, but now that he has fallen, it would still be best, as his son, to bury him.”

“Chenfeng speaks rightly.” At the sound of the voice, the two turned and saw that Consort Chen had already changed out of her shattered armor and into a peach-colored court robe. Her valiant bearing had been replaced by gentleness and grace.

Lin Bai gathered his robes and knelt, bowing three times to the mother who had borne him.

An Chenfeng also dropped to one knee and clasped his fists. “The An family owes Your Majesty Consort Chen a tremendous debt.” He then struck his forehead to the ground three times.

Consort Chen bent down and reached out, taking Lin Bai by one hand and An Chenfeng by the other. “You two have both done well. Now that only you remain as the last shoots of the Lin and An families, you must stand together as brothers and restore the dragon race.” As she spoke, tears began to stream down her face.

The two rose. An Chenfeng said, “Your Majesty Consort Chen, now that Lin Xiaoyun is dead, the dragon race needs a new sovereign to lead everyone in rebuilding our homeland.”

“Lord An's words are true. The people's livelihood is withered, and every matter under heaven must be begun anew. We urgently need a royal scion of both standing and ability to bear the banner of the dragon race. I think, Bai'er, that you are now the sole remaining heir of the dragon royal line. As your mother, I mean for you to lead everyone out of this crisis.”

Lin Bai waved his hands repeatedly. “No, no! I left the Dragon Palace many years ago and have grown very distant from affairs there. Besides, the Dragon King cannot be chosen by us alone. It requires an official investiture from the Skyborne Palace, and the gold tablet and golden seal must all be in order. But right now, Yuan Shang...”

“The capture of Prince Yuan was merely an accident. But the dragon race cannot go a single day without a ruler! My An family is willing to support the Third Prince's succession to the throne.” An Chenfeng was now the head of the An family, and that family's support was vital to a court swaying in storm and wind.

Consort Chen comforted Lin Bai, saying, “Bai'er, though court affairs are cumbersome, you still have your mother. Go and do what must be done with confidence; I shall help shoulder the matters within the palace.”

Lin Bai was not a man of hesitation. “I can lead everyone in rebuilding our homeland during this period, but the matter of the Dragon King must wait until Prince Yuan returns to Cloud Palace before any decision is made. Moreover, Cloud Palace itself is now leaderless. I must return at once and steady people's hearts there. The affairs of the Dragon Palace will still need to trouble Mother and Brother Chenfeng.”

Consort Chen nodded with a smile. “Though this is a season of many troubles, and Cloud Palace has suffered disaster, I ought to be grieving. Yet seeing my son able, in such peril, to take up the burdens of both Cloud Palace and Dragon Palace, as a mother I feel only comfort. Go in peace and handle matters there! Here you have me and Chenfeng.”

After a simple funeral for Lin Xiaoyun, Elder Duke An, An Chenyu, An Chenlei, An Chendian, and the countless citizens who had perished in this calamity, Lin Bai bade farewell to his elders and transformed into a dragon as he departed.

Three months later, in West Ridge Continent, Moonview City.

A young man of refined features and commanding bearing crouched beside a wall in tattered, filthy clothes. His eyes were half closed, half open, and in the sunlight he was especially conspicuous.

Two bare-bottomed children ran up to him, giggling as they sang at him, “Pale face, tall as a pole, eating rotten rice, sleeping all day.” When they finished, they jeered with delight.

A middle-aged man rushed out of the shop, drove the noisy children away, then caught sight of the man by the wall and kicked him in disgust. “Get lost! Get lost! Look at you, near dead already. Don’t die at my doorstep. Go on, move!”

The young man grunted softly and opened his eyes to look at the middle-aged man who had kicked him.

“Pardon the disturbance.” He smiled apologetically, rubbed the shoulder that had been kicked sore, and turned to leave.

“No one knows where this piece of refuse came from, loafing about every day, eating and idling and doing nothing.” Bang. The man shut the front hall door.

Seemingly already used to such treatment, the young man shook his head and continued his unsteady way along the blue-stone road.

“Big brother! Big brother!”

A girl's voice called to him.

The young man stopped and turned. A girl only as tall as his shoulder had caught up to him. She was bright-eyed and white-toothed, her black hair cascading like a waterfall. Her fair cheeks were faintly flushed with red, and when she smiled, deep dimples appeared on both sides, with a hint of small tiger teeth, charmingly sweet.

“What is it?” The man, now turned around, looked somewhat indifferent.

Yet the girl still smiled brightly at him. “Are you hungry?”

“Me? Are you asking me?” The man was a little taken aback. After all, he had been wandering in Moonview City for more than half a month, and this was the first time anyone had asked him that.

The girl nodded earnestly and asked again, “Are you hungry or not?”

Subconsciously, the man touched his stomach. It seemed he had not eaten a proper meal in many days.

“I am.”

The girl broke into a grin, as though she had heard something wonderfully happy, and her face glowed with delight.

“For you!”

Two white steamed buns appeared before the man. He looked at the girl, who had stretched out her arms as far as she could, then looked at the buns, unsure what to do.

“Take them!” The girl was a little anxious; holding her arms up for so long was not easy for her.

“Ah... all right!”

The man reached out to take the buns, but seeing his own hands filthy beyond measure, he withdrew them again in embarrassment. Looking at the girl, he gave an awkward smile.

“What are you afraid of? It’s for you to eat, so it doesn’t matter.” The girl sounded a little reproachful.

“All right!”

He extended his hands and took the two buns, one in each hand. Then, hiding his face with a sleeve riddled with holes, he devoured one in great gulps.

Perhaps he had eaten too quickly, for the last bite lodged in his throat, unable to go up or down. The man thumped his chest in distress, one hand flailing wildly in the air for something to grab.

A slender, delicate hand caught that filthy hand and pressed a bottle filled with clear water into it.

The man seemed to see a savior. He hurriedly pulled out the stopper and drank ravenously, tipping his head back. Only after drinking half did he remember himself and hastily raised his tattered sleeve to hide his shameful state.

The absurd sight made the girl laugh out loud, a string of wind-chime laughter drifting down the ancient street.

“Please excuse my rudeness, miss.” The man was somewhat embarrassed. He drew a surprisingly clean handkerchief from his ragged sleeve and wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth with elegant care.

After finishing, he tucked the handkerchief back into the torn sleeve, then bowed deeply. “Thank you for this meal, miss. If I have the chance, I, Zhuo... ah... no, I, Yan, shall surely repay this kindness a thousandfold.”

“So you really are a fallen noble.” The girl tilted her brows and smiled at him with a playful glance.

The sudden remark left the man, who had just called himself Yan, somewhat at a loss.

“How can you tell?” he asked, puzzled.

“Don’t worry about that. Just tell me your name.” The girl kept smiling at him.

“My humble name is Yan Ruojun.” The man glanced at the golden sun hanging overhead and answered seriously.