The bell drifted in silence, watching Su Yan work. A thought flickered through its bronze mind — un welcome, uninvited.
If this continued, would Yuan Qi become the next Jin Buyi?
The snake was stubborn, greedy, and far too fond of complaining. But he had followed Su Yan through death and worse. If Su Yan vanished again, if some new power wiped his memory and dropped him in a village somewhere, Yuan Qi would search. He would complain the entire way, but he would search.
Unless he got hungry and decided to split the inheritance first.
"A-Ying has quite a hoard," the bell mused. "Spirit herbs from hidden realms, treasures from the Minor Xuantian. That snake has probably been planning to divide the spoils since we left Yongzhou."
It floated after Su Yan, resolve hardening. "I will make him search. Even if he forgets, I will remember. Until I rust through and forget myself, I will not stop."
* * *
Su Yan found the golden rune buried in a corner of Jin Buyi's fading mind. It shone with a light that hurt to look at — the work of his own hands, from a life he had never lived.
He touched it. Memories stirred, not his own, but echoes of himself. He saw prison after prison, cube upon cube of the same rune, each holding a different version of him. Body, Inner Realm, golden core, furnace, soul — all locked. Only the true spirit remained free, too vast for any seal to hold.
"The me from the Shang era solved this," Su Yan murmured. "He found the flaw in the prison rune and hid the answer here."
That version of himself had faced the same problem — every insight erased by the fog the moment he grasped it. So he had done what Su Yan was doing now. He wrote it down. He encoded it in a form the fog could not touch.
Su Yan studied the golden rune, and the ghost of a smile crossed his face. For a moment, he forgot he stood inside a dying bird's memory.
* * *
Jin Buyi dozed on the Fusang tree, its breath stirring flames among the branches. In its dreams, old wars replayed in fragments — battles it could not name, allies it could not recall.
Its eye cracked open. Something below smelled like food.
"A big worm," it muttered. "Early bird catches the worm. Heaven pities the hungry!"
It struck. Its beak hammered against the space-cage holding Yuan Qi, sparks flying. The prison rune held, barely, but the bell's seal was not meant to withstand a primordial beast.
"Divine Bird! Divine Bird!" The refugees rushed over, waving their arms. "You promised the恩人! This is his friend! You must protect him!"
Jin Buyi paused. White feathers hung from its face like ceremonial tassels. It squinted at Yuan Qi, then at the refugees.
"Ah. I remember."
The refugees conferred in worried whispers. "The divine bird's memory is not good."
They were right. Moments later, Jin Buyi had pecked a hole in the cage and gripped Yuan Qi's scaly head in its beak, trying to pull him free like a worm from mud.
"Divine Bird! No!"
Jin Buyi dropped the bloodied snake. "My mistake. Is the worm alright?"
It smacked its beak, savoring the taste it had almost enjoyed.
The refugees assigned a permanent watcher. They held up signs reminding the bird of its duties. Jin Buyi read the sign beside Yuan Qi and suppressed its appetite.
"A good friend!" it announced, delighted.
* * *
Su Yan emerged from the memory feeling as though he had lived another life. He blinked at the sunlight, disoriented, and saw Yuan Qi lying nearby with a dented skull.
"What happened?"
Jin Buyi shook its head vigorously. "Enemies. Probably. I forget things."
Su Yan fed the ancient crow a mixture of Primal Dao Essence and longevity medicine drawn from his own secret realms. The bird's eyes cleared. Its memory of recent events sharpened.
It became sly. It decided never to admit what it had done.
Su Yan worked through the runes he had learned and reversed the prison seal on Yuan Qi. The second seal — a different rune, deeper and stranger — remained beyond his skill.
Yuan Qi stirred, touched his bloody head, and glanced at Jin Buyi. "I... fell. On a rock."
Jin Buyi raised a wing and mimed a thumbs-up.
A refugee approached. "A young man outside claims to be the恩公的 old friend. Name of Xue Ying'an."
Su Yan straightened. "He's alive?"
Xue Ying'an strode in, grinning like the sun. "I told my master I found the immortal spiritual root! He didn't kill me! You were wrong about everything!"
Su Yan laughed. "Then I owe Li Xiaoke an apology."
The bell rang with relief. "I told you my master was righteous!"
"You did," Su Yan admitted. "I didn't believe you."
Xue Ying'an's eyes shone. "My master wants you at Jiucai Ridge. He said to invite the Undying Immortal personally."
Su Yan packed his things. The old crow stretched its neck down.
"Boy. No one has spoken my name in thousands of years. You walked my memory. You know it."
Su Yan laid his palm against the bird's weathered feathers. "Jin Buyi. The Jin Buyi who is never left behind."
The crow raised its head and laughed — a crackling, ancient sound. "I have a name! I am Jin Buyi! Never left behind!"
Su Yan walked down the mountain road with Yuan Qi and the bell. Behind them, the crow kept laughing, and in its laughter, memories stirred that had slept for longer than empires.