After passing through the surprisingly crowded Heavenly City, the last obstacle between Vahn and the Jade Palace was an inordinately long bridge spanning a bottomless chasm. Falling here meant descending to the Mortal Domain below, and, due to the restrictions against flight, anyone without the ability to survive crashing into the ground at thousands of kilometers per hour would invariably lose their life.
For reasons Vahn couldn’t understand, many of the worlds revolving around the cultivation of Qi had no upper limit to the speed at which a person could fall. Concepts such as friction still existed, but, due to the layer of Qi that covered their bodies, Immortals, Daoists, and Cultivators would find themselves accelerating to the point that a relatively short descent of a few hundred meters might kill them.
Fortunately, Vahn was far beyond the point that a fall could kill him. He could travel at such speeds that he could bore through entire planets without sustaining the slightest of injuries, so, if anything, the descent to the Mortal Domain would be a leisurely and nostalgic experience.
Guarding the inordinately long bridge connecting the Heavenly City to the Jade Palace was a young man with predominately white hair that extended past his hips. The tips of his somewhat wild and free-flowing bangs were tinged with black, and, despite possessing a pair of humanoid ears on the side of his head, there were two, rounded tiger-like ears protruding from the top.
As the wall dividing the Heavenly City from the rest of the Heavenly Domain ran from North to South, the gate most people passed through to enter the Jade Palace was the West. As a result, even without seeing the massive white tiger the man was lounging against, Vahn could already guess the man’s identity. After all, the tiger stripes on his face and his glacial blue eyes made it pretty obvious…
“Baihu.”
Hearing his name, the animalistic God ceased staring off into space long enough to acknowledge the existence of Vahn and his party. Instead of responding to Vahn’s address, however, he focused his gaze on the disguised Erlang Shen, asking, “What are you doing here, dog breath? Weren’t you punished to guard the Mortal Domain after attempting to bribe Yue Lao?”(A/N: Yue Lao is the God of Marriage that ties people together using the strings of fate.)
Snorting through his nose, Erlang Shen undid his transformation before answering, “I was asked to receive and escort one of the Jade Emperor’s guests. Move aside, stupid cat.”
Turning his attention from Erlang Shen, Baihu stared at Vahn for a brief moment before furrowing his brows when he saw Fenrir. Then, noticing the bulge near Vahn’s belly, he groused, “Another dog lover…” before asking, “What are you trying to sneak into the Jade Palace?”
Producing the same invitation letter he had shown at the Gate of Heaven, Vahn calmly explained, “I was allowed to bring along two companions. One of them is currently asleep so I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down and retracted your aura…”
Recognizing the spiritual imprint on the invitation letter, Baihu cupped his hands together in a lazy gesture of respect before sitting back down and making himself comfortable against his bus-sized animal companion. This caused Erlang Shen to shake his head in disapproval, but, instead of going out of his way to antagonize the legendary beast, he just looked towards Vahn and said, “Let’s go.” in a slightly exasperated tone.
Though he was half-tempted to invite his Baihu out, Vahn just smiled and waved towards the lazy-looking God in passing. The man furrowed his brows in response, but, rather than saying anything, he just snorted through his nose while his tiger companion exhaled through his nose in a manner remarkably reminiscent of a sigh…
…
..
.
With Erlang Shen and the Howling Celestial Dog leading the way, it wasn’t long before Vahn and Co found themselves in what appeared to be a completely different, extremely ancient world. They had been walking in a straight line, yet, as if they had stepped through time and space, the bridge led to a fantastical rock formation covered in glistening runes and lush vegetation.
“Once we pass through the Cavern of Reflection, we’ll be at the western entrance to the Jade Palace. I should warn you. Those with malicious intents or wicked hearts will find themselves unable to pass the trials ahead. If you would like to return, now is your last chance…”
To emphasize the severity of his words, Erlang Shen pointed to a few lines of runic text engraved in a nearby stone tablet. It was a little unorthodox, but, even at a glance, Vahn could recognize it as a type of Geass Roll. Instead of being a one-time use item, however, it was of the perpetual variety. In other words, entering the Jade Palace required consenting to and completing a Gift Game…
***
< Cavern of Reflection >
[Win Condition]
Complete the trials within the Cavern of Reflection.
[Hidden Conditions]
None
[Rules]
1: Participants must enter alone.
2: Participants are unable to lie within the confines of the Cavern of Reflection.
3. Participants may forfeit the game at any time.
[Restrictions]
1: Participants cannot leave the Cavern of Reflection before completing its trials.
2: The use of Gifts is strictly prohibited.
3: Destroying the Cavern of Reflection is strictly prohibited.
[Reward]
1: Entrance into the Jade Palace.
[Penalty]
1: Expulsion from the Heavenly Domain.
[Time Limit]
Unlimited
***
Though he wasn’t fond of the idea of entering alone, Vahn had innumerable ways to get around it. Instead, he gave Mikoto a gentle pat, stirring the mouse-like Pokemon awake before asking, “Feel like participating in a Gift Game?”
Poking her head out of Vahn’s tunic, Mikoto briefly looked around before spotting the stone tablet. After reading the rules and restrictions listed out, she issued an adorable yawn before climbing out of his tunic and answering, “Sure. Now is as good a time as any to participate in my first game.”
With that said, Mikoto jumped off of Vahn’s shoulder before scampering over to the Cavern of Reflection. Since the rules stated they would need to enter alone, she didn’t see in point in idling around. She was also pretty competitive at times, so, with Fenrir lagging behind, Mikoto intended to be the first to complete the trial.
Understanding Mikoto’s intentions, Fenrir furrowed how brows before spontaneously transforming into her human form. This caught Erlang Shen and the Howling Celestial Dog by surprise, as, in preparation for the banquet, Fenrir had worn a rather stylish yet form-fitting gown that matched the sensibilities of the Eastern Gods. It left her shoulders and part of her thighs exposed but it was still an extremely tasteful garb that resembled white and black martial arts apparel accentuated by an ornate teal sash, detached sleeves that vaguely resembled flowers, and a stylish purple cape.
“I take back my previous statement. Human or not, you’re a lucky man to have captured the heart of such a beautiful woman.”
After recovering from his brief stupor, Erlang Shen surprised Vahn with a toothy smile and a thumbs up while the Howling Celestial Dog adopted a remarkably human expression of regret. Both he and his wives also possessed human forms, but, compared to Fenrir, even his most beautiful wife would fall short.
With an uncharacteristically haughty expression on her face, Fenrir’s chest swelled with pride as she stared down at the Howling Celestial Dog. Before she could say anything unnecessarily antagonist, however, Vahn gently urged her forward by gently pressing his palm just above her tail. This caused her ears to twitch and her back to straighten as he said, “Go on ahead. If anything happens, be sure to contact me.”
Nodding her head in understanding, Fenrir cast one last taunting look towards the pouting pup before picking up her pace and dashing into the cavern’s entrance. It didn’t even take a full second for her figure to disappear completely, as, the moment anyone passed the invisible barrier covering the entrance, they were immediately teleported to an isolated dimensional space.
Having followed Fenrir’s departure with his eyes, Erlang Shen returned his attention to Vahn, asking, “Seriously, how did you tame a woman like that? She gives off the same impression as those high-brow women who seclude themselves in all-female sects. It’s no wonder she caught the attention of Little Moon.”(A/N: FYI, Xiao Yue and Little Moon mean the same thing.)
Though he was tempted to say he hadn’t tamed her, Vahn knew that wasn’t exactly true. There had been a time when Fenrir was basically his pet, and, even to this very day, there were moments when he had to give her guidance in response to her behavior.
Running his hand through his hair, a wry smile developed across Vahn’s face as he chose to answer in the most honest manner possible, asserting, “I’m not gonna lie. I was, and continue to be, one of the luckiest men in the world. Fenrir is just the tip of a very large iceberg when it comes to my luck with women. In fact, I often have to go out of my way to avoid increasing the size of my harem…”
Not expecting such a braggadocious remark, Erlang Shen stared at Vahn as if the latter was pulling his leg. With his Golden Eye of Truth, however, he could ascertain that Vahn was, indeed, telling the truth. This caused a bit of resentment to swell within the three-eyed God’s chest, as, despite being one of the most famous Warrior Gods affiliated with the Jade Palace, his luck with women was truly abysmal. He had even started to assume that someone had cursed him, as, despite proposing to a total of 937 women, every single one of them had refused his courtship…
Placing his hand on Vahn’s shoulder, Erlang Shen’s countenance became uncharacteristically serious as he said, “Brother…you must teach me your methods. Each of my brothers and sisters has already found a Daoist partner. I’m tired of eating dog food…”
Blinking in surprise, Vahn stared Erlang Shen up and down before briefly exchanging glances with the Howling Celestial Dog. In response, the ivory-white canine explained, “This fool is beyond hope when it comes to romance. He believes normal courtship practices are too roundabout so he ends up proposing the first time he meets a woman he likes. I even attempted to set him up with one of my daughters but he ended up complaining about how everyone in the Imperial Court would make fun of him for settling down with a dog…”
Turning a resentful gaze toward Erlang Shen, the Howling Celestial Dog adopted a gaze similar to a father who had all but given up on his son. In response, the three-eyed god nervously averted his gaze before softly muttering, “I at least want my first time to be with a beautiful fairy…”
Though the man had spoken in a voice that was clearly meant to be inaudible, both Vahn and the Howling Celestial Dog were able to hear him. As a result, Vahn was genuinely surprised, as, despite the moderately oppressive aura that radiated from Erlang Shen’s body, the man was actually very handsome. He was also the son of the Jade Emperor and possessed tremendous power. These two traits, alone, should have had women lining up from the Silver Bridge to the Jade Palace in an effort to become his wife…
As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn shifted his attention to the fiery third eye at the center of Erlang Shen’s forehead. He suspected this was the true reason the God hadn’t been able to find a partner. People didn’t really like having all their secrets exposed, so, even if there were women who harbored intentions toward him, they would be too afraid of being seen through. As for the women he had proposed to…well, Vahn would have to see it to understand how the man had erred…
Placing one of his own hands on the desperate-looking God’s shoulder, Vahn returned a friendly smile as he said, “Sure. Once the banquet has come to an end, we’ll discuss the matter over a few drinks. I can’t promise my advice will ensure you a wife but I should be able to correct the mistakes in your approach. Just promise me you’ll invite me to the wedding if things go well.”
Since he was always looking to increase his number of male companions, Vahn didn’t mind offering Erlang Shen a bit of advice. The latter could also tell he was being sincere, so, despite feeling more than a little awkward, an excited smile developed across his face as he threw his arm around Vahn’s shoulders and stated, “Of course!” before issuing a boisterous laugh…
…
..
.
(A/N: Alternate Titles: ‘Lazy tiger…’,’Fenrir being haughty-naughty (O w O)…’,’Howling Celestial Dog be like, “What’s wrong with dog food…?”‘)
