"Xu Fu?" Xu Ying frowned. The name scratched at something buried in his mind, but he couldn't place it.
He took the invitation from the young man's hands. The brushwork was elegant, ancient in style, carrying the weight of the Qin and Han eras. It read: "Four thousand years have passed since we parted. I have searched for you ever since. Today I return from the immortal isles, hoping to see you again. — Xu Fu."
Yuan Qi read over his shoulder and hissed. "Xu Fu? The same Xu Fu who led three thousand boys and girls across the sea to find the immortal isles for the First Emperor?"
Xu Ying turned to him. "Seventh Lord, is this Xu Fu famous?"
"Famous?" Yuan Qi's scales bristled. "He's a cultivator from four thousand years ago! He told the First Emperor that immortal isles existed beyond the sea, with undying immortals living upon them. The emperor gave him three thousand youths and sent him to find the elixir of life. He never returned. Some say he found the isles but kept the elixir for himself. Others say he never found them and hid from the emperor's wrath. Still others call him a fraud. Every book I've read mentions him!"
The young man smiled. "If my master were a fraud, he wouldn't be alive today. The First Emperor is dust, yet my master endures. Doesn't that prove he found the immortal medicine?"
Xu Ying set the invitation down. "Your master didn't specify when or where to meet. He only sent you with an invitation. That lacks sincerity. Go back."
"My master said," the young man replied, "that if the senior wishes to know his origins, he should come."
Xu Ying's heart slammed against his ribs. He studied the young man's face. "What else did your master say?"
"Nothing more. Only that the senior would definitely come."
Xu Ying laughed — the first time anyone had called him "senior." "Fine. Since Xu Fu extends such courtesy, how could I refuse?"
The young man bowed. "This disciple will guide you."
"What's your name?"
"Du Fei."
Xu Ying waved Niu Zhen over to take Du Fei to rest. "I need to prepare. Wait a moment."
He examined the invitation, turning it over. "Seventh Lord, this Xu Fu says he knew me four thousand years ago. How old am I?"
Yuan Qi glanced at the bell. It chimed once.
"Hard to say," the bell said. "You used to mention Sujiaping. We thought your mind was broken. Then we realized your memories were sealed. Then we learned you were three thousand years old. Then we learned you might be older than that."
It sighed. "Now you're four thousand."
Zhu Chanchan opened her mouth, thought better of it, and kept silent. "Maybe older than that," she thought. "In my era, there were legends of an undying immortal. Could it be him?"
She had forged treasures for the Zhou Son of Heaven and rarely left her workshop. She'd heard whispers of the undying immortal, never seen his face.
"A-Ying," the bell said, "your memories still aren't whole. You don't even understand this lifetime. In my view, you shouldn't meet this Xu Fu."
It paused. "Four thousand years is a long time. Sudden visits mean one of two things: borrowing money, or bad intentions."
Xu Ying shook his head. "He knew me four thousand years ago. He knows where I come from. I must see him. This might be the only chance to unravel my origins."
The bell saw his resolve and turned to Zhu Chanchan. "Ancestor Chanchan, don't you have treasures hidden in the mortal world? This journey feels dangerous. Retrieve them first."
Zhu Chanchan's eyes lit up. "My treasure is formidable. When the Zhou Son of Heaven ordered me to forge weapons, I collected the scraps and leftovers, piece by piece, until I had enough to forge something of my own!"
She flew off, laughing. "I sealed it before stealing the Tusita medicine. It's been so long, it'll take me a few days to find. You go ahead — I'll catch up!"
The bell turned to Yuan Qi. "She says she'll find us. How?"
Yuan Qi snorted. "How else? Through A-Ying's stone axe. She marked it. That's how we found him. She didn't mark us, did she?"
The bell's surface rippled with worry. "That's exactly what concerns me."
Yuan Qi laughed. "Ancestor Chanchan would never!"
Still, he checked himself thoroughly, just in case.
Xu Ying summoned the Niu brothers and instructed them to guard Mount Wuwang in his absence. The words came from Yuan Qi whispering in his ear — Xu Ying repeated them one by one, his memory too fragmented to manage on his own.
Once ready, he called for Du Fei. "Lead the way."
Du Fei bowed. "Your carriage waits below."
Xu Ying descended with Yuan Qi and the bell. At the mountain's foot sat a square carriage, its corners joined by dragonwood pegs, steps built into its sides. At each corner crouched a sword attendant, hugging a sword case, eyes fixed forward.
Xu Ying studied them. Du Fei smiled. "Seniors, they are Dual Refinement stage cultivators. Impressive?"
Xu Ying's heart skipped. Dual Refinement? Those cultivators had formed golden cores — a realm above his own.
He boarded the carriage. Incense burned. Maid-servants moved silently. He pushed open a window and watched the four attendants open their cases. Sword-qi poured out, wrapping the carriage in a cocoon of blade-light.
The carriage lifted into the air and shot forward.
Xu Ying recognized their technique: an incomplete Sword Control Art, performed by four cultivators in formation. Clever, but flawed.
"My master reconstructed the Sword Control Art," Du Fei said. "Does it please the senior?"
Xu Ying answered honestly. "It's mediocre."
Du Fei's eyes flickered. "Since my master holds the senior in such esteem, the senior must possess a superior technique. This nephew has learned a few tricks. Would the senior care to instruct me?"
He didn't wait for an answer. His shoulder twitched, and sword-qi lanced toward Xu Ying.
Xu Ying flicked his fingers. Du Fei's vision blurred. He grabbed for his throat — too late. The sword-qi kissed his skin and shattered.
Du Fei looked down. A second blade of qi had pierced his clothes at the heart, the point pricking but not breaking skin. It too dissolved.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. "His cultivation is far below mine. If not for that, those two strikes would have killed me."
Xu Ying had merely demonstrated. He hadn't meant harm. But Du Fei misunderstood, thinking Xu Ying too weak to penetrate his defenses.
"Your master and his disciples," Xu Ying asked, "are all cultivators? No nuo arts?"
Du Fei straightened, his arrogance subdued. "Master says nuo masters and nuo arts are heretical devils. A path to death. Why learn such things?"
Xu Ying nodded. Xu Fu wasn't wrong — nuo arts were riddled with traps. But escape the traps, and the path opened wide.
The carriage raced through clouds. Attendants rotated four times before they reached a mountain range. The vehicle plunged between peaks, descended, and settled on a summit.
Sword-qi chimed as it retracted into the cases.
Xu Ying stepped out. Sea air filled his lungs. Birds wheeled above cliffs, diving to skim the waves. Young men and women in white rode sword-qi in fours, racing the birds across the water.
"This way, senior."
Du Fei guided him up white jade stairs that seemed to climb forever. At the summit stood a main hall, and within it hovered a perfect cube of stone — one zhang to each side.
A man stood atop the stone. He wore black robes with crimson sashes. He looked no older than twenty or thirty, yet his bearing carried the weight of immortal realms. A scar shaped like a blood-red centipede ran from his eye down his cheek, ruining the celestial impression.
When he saw Xu Ying, his composure cracked. Ripples spread across the still water of his heart.
The stone carried him forward. He stopped before Xu Ying and bowed.
"Lord Xu," he said. "Four thousand years, and you haven't changed at all."
Xu Ying returned the bow. "You are Xu Fu? Forgive my poor eyes — I don't recognize you."
Xu Fu laughed. "The Deathless Immortal always forgets his past. I don't blame you. Lord Xu, back then you and I served the First Emperor's command and sailed together seeking the immortal mountains. You've forgotten, but I remember every moment. We crossed treacherous seas, slew countless demons, passed through ghost realms and thunder zones. We found Mount Fangzhang!"
He looked down at the stone beneath his feet and smiled. "Do you recognize this Mount Fangzhang?"
Xu Ying stared at the cube. "You mean..."
Xu Fu nodded.
Yuan Qi leaped from Xu Ying's shoulder. The bell flew from behind his head. "This is Mount Fangzhang?"
"Indeed," Xu Fu said. "One of the three legendary immortal mountains. Fragments of the immortal realm, fallen into the mortal world. Someone presented the Deathless Immortal to the First Emperor. I stopped the emperor from consuming you. I studied ancient texts and learned that you carried a great secret connected to these three mountains. I convinced the emperor to gather the era's strongest cultivators and break a crack in your memory seal."
Xu Ying's fists clenched. "You broke my memory seal?"
"We opened it," Xu Fu said. "Just a crack. But a crack was enough. The emperor ordered us — three thousand strong — to cross the sea and find the immortal mountains. We slaughtered demons, crossed straits, passed through ghost realms, survived thunder zones. We found Mount Fangzhang!"
He smiled. "Standing upon this mountain means standing in the immortal realm. Eternal life. Deathlessness."
Xu Ying's blood surged. Xu Fu knew everything about him.
Yuan Qi studied the mountain. "It's tiny. Barely enough room for two people."
"Yes," Xu Fu said.
Yuan Qi raised his head. "Then why did Xu Ying return to the mortal world alone? Where are the other three thousand youths?"
Xu Fu's gaze turned dark.
Yuan Qi flicked his tail. A green paper umbrella opened, blocking the sun. The bell silently positioned itself above Xu Ying's head.
Xu Fu sighed. "They died on the journey. As for Lord Xu... the seal broke too wide. It alerted those behind it. When I tried to share my joy with him, he vanished."
His face fell. "I was trapped on Mount Fangzhang, unable to find the road back to Yuanshou. I drifted on the sea. By the time I found my way home, the Qin and Han had passed. Two thousand years gone. The world had changed. I hid in the mountains, seeking answers, trying to solve the mystery of the ancient cultivators' disappearance, hoping to see Lord Xu again. Three thousand years of nothing."
He looked at Xu Ying, eyes burning. "Then the world changed again. And I heard Lord Xu's name once more!"
Yuan Qi interrupted. "If you sailed with A-Ying, your story should be recorded together. But books only mention you. Where's A-Ying's legend?"
Xu Fu's eyes gleamed. "Someone didn't want Lord Xu to appear in the world. They erased him from history. And he's not the only thing that's been erased." He extended his hand. "Come with me."