chapter 4

At dawn, Zhenguan quickly located several graves and performed rites to subdue the corpses. Then he sent the prayer beads sliding between his fingers and summoned a blaze that devoured the painted walls. Before long, he found the gate of life: a cramped, low tunnel hidden beneath wild grass, narrow and dark.

Zhenguan told me to go first. He would follow.

I crouched to crawl inside when something cold brushed my foot. Looking down, I found a vivid green snake staring at me. I went silent. Then, after a moment, I screamed and leaped onto Zhenguan.

“Zhenguan! Snake! There’s a snake! It bit me—something feels cold around my waist. Has it climbed onto me? Ahhh, Zhenguan, kill it! Hurry!”

Slippery, icy creatures like that were terrifying. Worse than ghosts!

“That is not a snake around your waist.” His voice was faintly cold.

Highly suspicious, I reached down and felt something cool. Oh. A man’s palm. Had Zhenguan caught me around the waist so I would not fall?

I stole a glance at him, only to meet his chilly gaze.

“Get down.” What a frigid voice.

He certainly had not sounded like that last night, when he was kissing me.

I gave a quiet huff, tugged his sleeve, and refused to budge.

“No. Kill it first, then I’ll get down.”

“This humble monk does not take life.”

I muttered, “So you’ll let a creature take mine?”

He was lost for words. After a moment, he sighed. “Do you no longer intend to leave?”

“Of course I do.” I considered the problem, then gave him my most ingratiating smile and pointed at the black tunnel. “Zhenguan, shall we go out together?”

He refused without emotion. “It is too narrow.”

“It isn’t. Look.” I spread my arms around him as though taking measurements. “I’ll stay pressed right against you. I’m very slender. I hardly take up any room.”

He turned his face aside and released a heavy sigh. He did not refuse again. I had won.

I really must have lost my head. Who knew the tunnel would truly be this narrow?

We were pressed far too close. Blushing, I tried to edge backward.

“Do not squirm.” A hint of anger entered his cool voice.

I gave him a sheepish sidelong glance. The cinnabar between his brows had grown brighter again, while dark currents gathered beneath his eyes.

How strange. Sometimes that cinnabar blazed; sometimes it faded.

“All right. I won’t move…”

A soft gasp suddenly slipped into my ear. Was I truly that heavy? I stared at him in surprise, but the light was too dim to read his expression. He quickly turned his face away, braced himself with one hand, and continued climbing.

“Zhenguan, have you ever eaten meat? It’s delicious.” I licked my lips. I was so hungry.

“…No.”

“Wine?” How I craved it…

“…” He shook his head.

“Women?”

The man beneath me went rigid.

Oh? “Zhenguan, you’ve touched a woman!”

Light suddenly flooded my vision.

“We have arrived. Get down.” His voice was as calm and even as ever.

But I still wanted to ask what woman he had touched. On second thought, this was Zhenguan. How could he possibly have touched a woman? Never mind.

Two delighted voices rang out beside us.

“Senior Brother Zhenguan!” called a woman sweetly.

“Senior Brother Zhenguan,” said a man with respect.

I looked up and saw a Daoist nun in blue robes and a monk in gray.

Their gazes moved slowly from Zhenguan beneath me to my face.

The nun’s expression changed abruptly, fury written all over it. The monk rubbed his eyes, plainly unable to believe what he was seeing.

I waved at them brightly. “Hello, Zhenguan’s junior brother and sister. I am Zhenguan’s…” Unable to think of a good description, I changed course. “Zhenguan slept with me last night.”

“Get… down.” For the first time, Zhenguan’s voice showed some emotion.

It did not sound promising.