Chapter 8

ZHEN

"I think I'm turning back into a snake," Qing said.

Zhen's head whipped in her direction. The scaly green patch on Qing's arm and the forked edge of her tongue had disappeared

before they arrived in Changle. "What's wrong?"

Qing held up her reddened fingers. "I've been shredding ginger and chopping garlic until I can't feel my hands. And I've been

on my feet all day—my legs feel boneless."

Zhen poked her in the ribs. "Don't scare me like that."

"Two hundred kitchen staff had to spend the entire afternoon rushing around to prepare over fifty dishes, far more than this

snobbish bunch of nobles can finish." Qing rubbed her ankles ruefully. "This is the least efficient method of feeding ever."

The sky had darkened to cobalt, and Zhen and Qing were perched on the roof of the dining hall. Snakes were natural climbers, and for them, sneaking up to the roof unnoticed wasn't difficult. They were obscured by a row of ceramic figures along the ridge: a bird, a fish, a bull, and a lion. The red clay that cemented the glazed roof had weathered down and cracked, and they'd pried up a few tiles so they could peer at what was going on in the banquet hall below.

A square gold lacquered table stood at the north, facing the rest of the hall. Sitting against the high backrest of an armchair

was the prince of Wuyue, dressed in a regal yellow robe. To his left was an older man in a burgundy robe and a black gauze

hat.

From his high vantage, Zhen could see nothing more than the top of the prince's head. His hair was gathered in a perfectly

coiffed bun—the only indication of his youth was the gold hairpin that secured his topknot. Zhen still had a lot to learn

about human customs, but he knew that a man received a headpiece when he turned twenty.

"Humans are weird," Qing remarked. "So many have to toil to serve a few. That prince can't be older than a teenager. What

makes him more special than the rest? Who gets to decide?"

She had a point. Humans had a puzzling way of distributing power, placing it in the hands of the less experienced just because

they were born into certain families. Snakes weren't social creatures and usually hunted alone, but among the animals with

herd hierarchy that Zhen had met, such as wolves and horses, the leaders were stronger than the rest of their group.

Qing nudged him. "Hey, see that pot of soup? Did you know it's not made with the meat of swallows but with their nests ? Apparently the nests aren't just edible—they're an emperor's delicacy! I caught a couple of swallows when I was a snake, but I never once thought to eat their nests!"

"What about the other dishes?" Zhen asked.

"That's duck soup with yam. Next to it is wild herb salad with cauliflower. Cauliflower tastes disgusting, by the way. That

dish over there is made of deer tail—which, again, is not the first part of a deer I would've chosen to eat. Way too close

to the butthole, you know?"

Zhen cracked a smile. "Sounds like you missed out."

"I must say, humans have clever ways of preserving food," Qing said. "Madam Hua showed me the icehouses today. They're filled

with blocks of ice hewn from frozen creeks during winter, so they can store vegetables and fruits inside and serve them at

other times of the year. Salt keeps fish and meat from going bad, and seasoning different kinds of food with vinegar, honey,

or oil can make them last longer. Imagine snakes could do that—we wouldn't need to hibernate! Napping for months is such a

waste of time."

"What would we do in the winter?" Zhen asked, amused. "Catch falling snowflakes on our forked tongues? And then freeze to

death because we're cold-blooded?"

"Killjoy." Qing snapped her fingers. "I've been meaning to ask—when are you going to teach me transmutation? That'll surely

come in handy in the kitchen. I could transmute grains of rice into the dishes I'm supposed to prepare so I don't even have

to cook! They'll keep their form for long enough to be eaten, right?"

"I only managed to learn the skill after five years of cultivation, and at the beginning, the objects I transmuted lasted for barely a couple of minutes," Zhen replied. "You need to spend time cultivating to refine your internal energy into skills. And that involves being able to sit still for more than five minutes."

Qing huffed. "I can sit still for five minutes! Watch me." She made a show of sitting perfectly still and putting on a serene

expression. A short time passed before she started humming to herself. She caught Zhen hiding a grin and realized why. "Not

fair, that doesn't count!"

"I think you lasted two minutes," Zhen told her. "Good start, though."

They reclined on the roof, eating steamed buns stuffed with minced pumpkin and mutton that had been rejected by the chefs

because they were slightly misshapen. Madam Hua, one of the kitchen ladies who had taken Qing under her wing, had let her

have them.

"Guess what?" Zhen said. "I met a handsome boy at the stable today."

"Ooh." Qing perked up. "Tell me everything. I want details."

"His name is Xu, and he's one of the horse keepers in the Wuyue delegation. I met him while I was grooming the prince's horse,

which is supposed to be his job, but he didn't seem to mind. We talked, and he shared an apricot with me."

"That's all? Did he push you up against the wall and flick his tongue against yours?" Qing smirked. "Male vipers do that when

they're interested in mating with another snake. First they flick their tongues, then they vibrate their bodies—"

Zhen coughed and quickly cut in. "He was surprised the prince's horse, Zhaoye, was so friendly to me. The horse was standoffish at first, but he warmed to me when he found out I could speak his language."

"You can do that?"

"You'll be able to, in time," Zhen replied. "Spirit creatures like us can communicate with different kinds of animals."

"So did the horse share any gossip about the prince?" Qing asked.

"Not really. The funny thing was, while I was talking to Xu, Zhaoye was chortling to himself. After Xu left, I asked Zhaoye

what was so amusing, but he refused to tell me, like it was some kind of inside joke with his keeper." Zhen shrugged. "Anyway,

I told Xu that I know the forests outside Changle pretty well, and when he gets a day off, we can go riding together. And

guess what? He said ‘I would love to.'?"

Zhen was startled by his own desire to spend more time with the horse keeper from Wuyue. It went against not just his reserved

nature but his better judgment. He had warned Qing that they shouldn't draw attention to themselves while they were working

in the palace. Perhaps he had let his guard down because Xu, like him, was an outsider in Changle. There was something strikingly

familiar about the boy, like a face Zhen had seen in a dream...

"You know how to ride a horse?" Qing asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Zhen nodded. He had left the West Lake shortly after becoming a snake spirit, and he'd spent the past seven years learning everything about human life that he could. How to ride, how to kindle a fire, how to identify healing herbs and treat injuries, how to drink and hold his liquor... all the skills that he needed not just to survive but to pretend he belonged.

Qing brightened. "Then you can teach me to ride, and we'll buy two horses and get to Mount Emei sooner!"

"A horse costs about fifty bolts of silk," Zhen told her. He'd discovered that the old skins snakes naturally shed had medicinal

value and could be sold for money, so he saved up their skin sheds and sold them so they could feed themselves whenever they

transformed into humans.

Qing puffed out her cheeks. "Seriously, things were a lot simpler back in the forest."

That was true. There were times when Zhen got homesick, when the clarion call of the forest hummed in his heart—he would revert

to his natural form and return to the burrows and the dens where he had been meant to live out an ordinary snake's lifespan

of ten to fifteen years. But after a while, the woods would feel small, stifling, and he would find himself longing to venture

among humans again. Perhaps this was why animal spirits had to cultivate for a thousand years before gaining immortality—so

they would have the chance to immerse themselves in many lifetimes on this mortal world before ascending to the celestial

realm.

Qing nudged him.

"We've been here just a week and you've already met the first boy you want to flick your tongue at. Careful—soon you'll have so many trailing after you that you'll have to beat them off with your tail." She gave him a sidelong look. "When I talked about the mating rituals of male vipers, why did you seem so shy? Haven't you ever..."

For all that Zhen had learned about being human, there was one aspect that he had yet to experience. He had never been with

a mate, not as a snake or as a human.

"When I was an ordinary snake, I was more curious about exploring the world than finding a mate," he replied. "After I became

a spirit creature, I no longer went through the same cycles as other snakes. Things just felt... different."

Snakes didn't mate for life, but he envied creatures that did, like wolves and cranes. He didn't crave different partners.

He wished for only one who could find a place in his heart—and who held a place for him in his. Even as a human, his attraction

to other boys was always vague, remote. But when Xu gave him the fruit and their fingers touched... the unexpected rush

of warmth that went through him was entirely new and exhilarating.

Lively music drifted from the banquet hall below, bringing Zhen's attention back to the festivities. Qing peered through their

spyhole. "Hey, looks like some kind of performance is about to start."

Lanterns illuminated the four corners of a square stage that had been prepared for the evening's entertainment. At the table

to the prince's left, Governor Gao stood and bowed to the young royal.

"We are privileged to have the prince of Wuyue as our honored guest," Gao said. "We wish to present the prince with a personal attendant to serve him during his stay in Changle. We have selected eight of our most talented courtesans for the prince to choose from."

A murmur of interest rose from the court officials seated at other banquet tables as eight teenage courtesans—four girls and

four boys—dressed in different-colored costumes streamed onto the stage. The girls wore long, flowing skirts decorated with

sequins, and the boys donned embroidered capes with tassels. The courtesans took turns greeting the prince and introducing

themselves—the girls with a curtsy, the boys with a bow. A boy named Deng, in a teal outfit, his hair plaited as elaborately

as the girls', was especially attractive.

"The courtesans have prepared a special dance for the prince," Gao announced. "Please enjoy the performance."

The prince nodded. Zhen could still see only the back of his head.

Lamps in wall sconces were dimmed with black cloth, and musicians began playing pan flutes and reeds accompanied by an hourglass-shaped

drum and a zither. The courtesans danced, their long silk sleeves flaring and billowing as they swirled across the stage.

"He's going to pick one of the boys," Qing said.

Zhen raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you've somehow figured out the prince likes boys from all the way up here, because

I won't believe it."

"I don't know or care who he likes. But Madam Hua says if he picks a girl and she gets pregnant, he'll have to marry her, which will mess up whatever court business he's here for. So if he's smart, he'll pick a boy. He can have fun without consequences."

Zhen's mouth quirked. "What makes you think the prince intends to sleep with the one he chooses?"

Qing rolled her eyes. "Come on—a personal attendant to serve him during his stay? I'm sure the governor wasn't talking about

getting up in the middle of the night and giving the prince a nice... cup of oolong tea."

Zhen couldn't suppress a laugh. "Where did a young snake like you learn to talk like that?"

"The girls in the kitchen caught me up on how teenage boys are," Qing replied. "Pretty sure the last thing the prince of Wuyue

will be doing tonight is sleeping."

When the performance ended, everyone applauded. The courtesans stood in a row on the stage, their faces flushed with exertion

and excitement.

Gao spoke. "We now invite the prince to make his selection."

The clapping faded. Anticipation rippled across the hall as the prince of Wuyue stood, stepped onto the stage, and turned

around.

Zhen choked as if he'd just swallowed a whole egg. His hand caught Qing's wrist. "That's him."

"Yes, I know, that's the prince," Qing said impatiently. "I've got to say, he's way cuter than I—"

"No, I mean that's him ! The boy I met at the stable today!"

"Wait—what?" Qing's head snapped to him. " That's the boy you flirted and shared an apricot with? The prince ? Don't pull my tail!"

Zhen couldn't tear his gaze away from Xu's face. Dressed in a glorious yellow ceremonial robe, his presence calm and commanding,

his topknot secured with an ornate hairpin that probably cost more than a commoner earned in a year—he behaved nothing like

the boy with the rakish grin who had walked into the stable earlier that day.

"Thank you for the exceptional performance." The prince's eyes were bright and piercing as he regarded the eight courtesans.

"Changle's excellence in dance and music shall be something I will praise when I return to my father's court. As for the matter

of selecting an attendant—to tell the truth, I had already made up my mind before the performance. Now I'm even more convinced

I've made the right choice."

The courtesans exchanged eager glances. Deng, dressed in teal, seemed smug. Zhen guessed that the boy had interacted with

the prince before the banquet, and the prince's remark hinted that he was the obvious pick.

"We are gratified that one of them has won your approval," Gao said. "Please let us know whom you have selected."

A hush fell across the hall. The courtesans stood ramrod straight.

"The one I have chosen is not here," the prince said. "His name is Zhen."