five warriors must search the highest heights and lowest depths,
and when darkness reaches its greatest hour,
an old ally will return from the brink of death.”
I knew poetry was supposed to be vague and stuff, but that really didn’t give us much to go on. Highest heights? Lowest depths? Were we talking about places or Ashley’s mood swings?
And who were those other two warriors who were supposed to accompany us?
“What does that mean?” I blurted. “You sure you can’t give us even a hint?” It was almost as if Erlang Shen had given us this confusing shī because he wanted our quest to be a miserable failure. If he and the other gods wanted us to succeed, why not be more helpful? I squinted at Erlang Shen. Or could it be … that the riddle was just to slow us down?
Nezha turned on me, purple flames dancing in his eyes. I froze. He seemed more serious than the Nezha from the Lunar New Year. I guess he really did mean business. “There are ancient laws that guard the issuance of quests, warrior.”
“Laws you wouldn’t understand,” Erlang Shen added in a cold, harsh voice. “If we gods give even a hint, as you say, the magic of the quests will break, and there will be no hope left for us all. Humanity will be wiped out, Earth will be plunged into utter darkness—”
Okay. Next time I had a dumb question, I’d just keep my mouth shut.
“Be warned, you only have two weeks to complete the quest,” said Erlang Shen. “The gates of Diyu will open at sundown, and spirits and demons will flood the Earth. As you know, the other gods will stop at no cost—even the near extinction of the human race—to rid the Earth of demons once and for all.”
I could feel the others shuddering beside me.
“You may rise now, warriors,” Guanyin said gently.
The sound of shoes scraping against the floor filled the temple as we stood. The three gods hovered before us, outlined in glows that were brighter than before. Outside the doors came the faint but unmistakable sound of lions roaring.
Wait. Lions?
“Your chariot awaits you,” said Erlang Shen with a nod. His lips peeled back, flashing his teeth. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was smiling. “Go forth and fulfill this quest. The fate of the world is in your hands now.”
“No pressure,” added Nezha.
“We believe in you, warriors,” Guanyin chimed in warmly.
Even Guanyin’s reassurance didn’t make me feel better. Ashley and Jordan exchanged nervous looks. Taking a deep breath, I turned around.
Xiong and another Elder opened the great red doors. The warriors stood around the temple in a circle. Xiong stepped into the center and raised something small into the air, which glinted bronze in the sunlight—a yuán, or a Chinese coin. In his other hand, he raised a remote control and clicked a button. A flash of light surrounded him, causing the warriors to gasp.
When the light faded, a huge green and gold chariot stood before us. This time, it wasn’t pulled by horses but two familiar-looking white lions.
“Wicked,” Jordan breathed.
“That chariot is charmed to be invisible to all but the warriors,” Guanyin explained.
I looked to the left and right of the temple doors. As I’d suspected, the two stone lions who’d guarded the temple were gone. The gods had brought them to life to pull our chariot on this quest.
I let out a deep sigh of relief.
“What is it?” asked Jordan.
“I don’t have a strange and inconvenient habit of talking to inanimate objects after all,” I said with a grin.
Jordan looked at me as if I were a stone lion come to life.
Every last member of the New Order, from the oldest of the Elders to the youngest of children, surrounded the chariot. As we descended the stairs, they began clapping, although some only brought their hands together once or twice before dropping them. My eyes zeroed in on one face in the crowd—Ba’s. When he saw me, he smiled and gave a polite wave. I did my best to return the smile but found the ache in my chest made it too difficult.
“Is this what it’s like to be a celebrity?” Jordan shouted.
“More like sacrificial lambs,” said Ashley cheerfully. “Kidding, brother,” she clarified when Jordan threw her a horrified look. Ashley just made a beeline for the chariot, ignoring the crowd.
“Warriors,” said Xiong. “We are placing the hopes of the New Order on your shoulders.” He pressed the chariot’s remote control into my limp palm and then leaned in toward my ear.
“Remember what I said,” he whispered. “You are the one to lead the quest.”
I nodded, tucking the remote control into my pocket. Xiong moved away, and I caught Ashley’s eye. Her face had turned bright red. I’d be lying if I said Ashley’s fuming didn’t bring me some satisfaction. Just a little.
“Three cheers for the warriors!” shouted Xiong, walking toward the crowd.
Firecrackers exploded above our heads, showering the sky with light. A wave of nostalgia swept over me as I thought back to the quest of the Lunar New Year, when Alex and I had looked up into a similar fireworks-filled night sky, but on the other side of the country in San Francisco.
Now I had none of my old friends by my side. The thought dampened my spirits, bringing me back to earth—although not literally.
Jordan blew kisses toward the crowd.
“Okay, stop. Now you’re just being embarrassing,” Ashley groaned. She dragged Jordan into the chariot after her.
“Hey, Faryn,” she shouted. “You coming or what?”
“Uh … yeah.” I paused, casting one more look around at the warriors. I thought I spotted Ren’s face in the crowd. But that was just wishful thinking. Ren was far, far away. He was finding his family, his place.
I had to find my place still.
“Jià!” yelled Ashley, and the lions began moving forward. “Guess we’ll see you later, Faryn!”
I jogged to catch up with the chariot and swung my legs over the side. Jordan helped me in, and I took the spot next to him on the back bench, right in front of our backpacks of snacks. I stuffed Restorative Potions into one.
“What’s that?” Jordan asked.
“Uh … just some light reading,” I mumbled. I hadn’t told either sibling that the warrior they knew as Zhuang was actually my father, who’d lost his memories. I’d trusted only Ren with that information.
Jordan gave me a funny look but then shrugged. Ashley stood while pulling the reins right behind the lions, of course.
I ripped open a Choco Pie package. Might as well cram as much energy into my system as I could before the life-or-death danger really kicked in.
The chariot jolted as the lions took flight.
“WAAAAA-HOOOO!” Ashley screamed. “Now this is what I’m talking about!”
“Oh gods,” groaned Jordan. “I think I’m gonna puke.”
“Not on me!” Ashley screeched. “I swear I’ll throw you off this chariot!”
“Both of you, shut up,” I grumbled after polishing off my Choco Pie.
“How are you eating at this moment?” Jordan demanded.
My ears popped as we climbed into the sky, which was streaked with pink and red. The sun had just dipped below the horizon. I glanced back to see Nezha wink at me and Guanyin flash a small, secretive smile. Erlang Shen gave me his signature glare but nodded. The gods’ acknowledgment brought me a small surge of strength. Or maybe that was the sugar rush.