Chapter 167

The room was a mess of motion. Red light bloomed at Chen Haoran’s feet. The Golden Child escaped from beneath the bed in a yellow blur. Phelps and Xie Jin threw themselves to tackle it bodily. A valiant but fruitless effort as the Golden Child dodged them effortlessly. Books and papers went flying across the room. Phelps’s muscles bulged and he grew to twice his size, shrieking mad. Xie Jin rolled to his feet in a mess of ink and paint ready to pounce. The Golden Child darted to the door.

Red Step of Good Fortune.

Chen Haoran appeared inside the door frame before it could escape. The Yellow Dragon spiraled from his back, covering the exit entirely and roaring with enough force to make the sound visible, shaking the room and whipping up the fallen books and papers. The Golden Child stopped in its tracks.

There was a pause. All parties halted.

Chen Haoran raised a finger and pointed at the Golden Child. “I found you,” he declared. “You’re it.”

Silence.

“Brother Chen what the fuck?” came Xie Jin’s confused whisper.

Phelps and the Golden Child seemed just as confused, tilting their heads at him simultaneously.

Chen Haoran ignored them and continued to stare down the Golden Child. “I found you,” he repeated. He pointed to himself. “I win.” He pointed at the Stainless Purity Lotus. “I’d like that back please.”

The Golden Child clutched the Lotus tighter and shook its head.

“Brother Chen I hope you know what you’re doing,” Xie Jin tightly said. He slowly circled around the Golden Child, poised to lunge into action at any moment.

“How about something new then,” Chen Haoran said. He reached into his storage bag and pretended to rummage in it. In reality, he was trying to figure out what he could possibly use from it. His gaze settled on the glowing pearl set above the desk.

Numinous Pearl

The Machu River had gifted him many things that proved to be invaluable to him that he just didn’t recognize at the time. The Yellow Dragon and the Bodhi Pear were the chief examples of it. Yet another thing it gave him was something called a Luminous Pearl. Chen Haoran didn’t know much about its purpose or its value. Still didn’t in fact. Xie Jin had expressed envy upon seeing it so it wasn’t valueless but it wasn’t something Chen Haoran knew what to do with either. The same held true when he upgraded it into a Numinous Pearl. What it did, what he could use it for. He didn’t know and much like many of his rewards of unknown value, he didn’t investigate its purpose for fear of someone getting an idea of what he possessed. Such is what happened with the Bodhi Pear. Such is what happened with the Pearl.

It’s pretty. That was Chen Haoran’s first thought when he saw it. The Numinous Pearl was a rich seafoam green. A large gem about the size and weight of a baseball and cool to the touch. The outer shell seemed to be lit up from within. Giving the impression the Pearl was filled with liquid.

As soon as it was revealed the color in the room shifted. As if a spotlight had turned over to bring all attention to the Numinous Pearl. Chen Haoran could feel the qi in the air be drawn over to the gem. Sparks flew as qi shattered across its surface into its composite energies. A riot of five-colored rainbows surrounded the Pearl like an aura before re-condensing into dew containing all five colors of the elements.

Chen Haoran held the Numinous Pearl out to the Golden Child. “Want to trade?” He bounced it in his hand. “It’s pretty to look at. And you can play with it.”

The Golden Child took a step forward, shoulders leaning forward, skull tilted, staring at the Pearl. Chen Haoran could practically imagine the expression of interest and curiosity it would have if flesh covered the bare bones of its face. The skeleton looked up and Chen Haoran felt they would have locked eyes at the moment. It took a step back and hugged the Stainless Purity Lotus towards itself.

“It’s alright,” Chen Haoran softly said. “Here.” He knelt and rolled the Numinous Pearl across the floor to the Golden Child. It made a pleasing sound as it rolled, smooth and rhythmic, like a glass marble in play.

It was about halfway across when the Golden Child lost its reservations. It dropped the Lotus and ran forward to scoop up the Numinous Pearl with both hands. A black shadow darted behind it faster than the eye could see and snatched the Stainless Purity Lotus. Chen Haoran tracked the Black Beetle Gu as it returned to Xie Jin and handed over the flower.

The stone in Chen Haoran’s heart lifted now that their only means of survival was safely in hand again. He looked at the Golden Child.

Now they had to make sure they kept it.

The Golden Child was rolling the Numinous Pearl between its hands. Sensing Chen Haoran’s gaze it looked up, and just as quickly looked back down, shrinking in upon itself.

Chen Haoran sighed, long and exhausted. He stepped away from the door.

The Golden Child disappeared in a yellow blur.

“Well that ended pretty well,” Chen Haoran said.

Phelps growled at the door and returned to his original size. Floating over to claim his place on Chen Haoran’s back.

“I’d have been more comfortable drinking from the Peachwine,” Xie Jin spat. Chen Haoran noticed that he was drenched in sweat. Had he really been that stressed out?

“We got the Lotus back at least,” Chen Haoran said.

Xie Jin sighed. “Until the monster decides to screw with us again.” He shot Chen Haoran a curious look. “What was that pearl you gave it anyway? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Chen Haoran shrugged. “I dunno.”

Xie Jin did a double take. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I know it’s called a Numinous Pearl but that’s about it,” Chen Haoran said, helpless. “I didn’t know what to do with it.”

Xie Jin stared at him. “Brother Chen that pearl was refining the five elements into a liquid.”

“Sounds valuable.”

“You-” Xie Jin made a strangled sound as he sought words to finish his sentence. He slumped his shoulders, evidently not finding any. “Gods and Ancestors I’m glad you’re rich.”

Chen Haoran patted his soldier. “Me too.”

Xie Jin’s expression became serious. “Are you sure it was wise to let the Golden Child leave?”

“I can’t beat it,” Chen Haoran honestly said. “I can maybe keep up with its speed but the Yellow Dragon is my main defense against Gu Magic and we saw how that matchup ended.”

Xie Jin nodded. “Okay. Time to run away then.”

Chen Haoran said nothing. He merely led the way back out of the camp headquarters. Right as they were about to exit the building he felt Phelps’s arms tense around his shoulders, basically confirming what he’d expected. Xie Jin was shocked into stillness as soon as he was out the door.

The Golden Child was waiting for them.

“Brother Chen we may fight on our hands,” whispered Xie Jin.

“We may not,” Chen Haoran said, pushing past him.

He approached the Golden Child, stopping only when he saw it scooting backward. He knelt to face it, though doing so didn’t even put him at eye level with it. It was really too small. It was still holding the Numinous Pearl in its small hands. The Golden Child clutched it close to its chest.

“Do you like it?” Chen Haoran gently asked.

No response.

“It’s called a Numinous Pearl you know,” Chen Haoran continued. “It’s like a Luminous Pearl but like, a hundred times better.”

Still nothing.

Phelps hissed at the Golden Child. Chen Haoran bumped him on the head. “Bad,” he scolded. “Go stand with Xie Jin.”

Phelps let out a whine but Chen Haoran was unmoved and shrugged him off. The sloth squealed in displeasure and retreated to Xie Jin in defeat, though not before shooting the Golden Child an ugly look.

“Sorry about him,” Chen Haoran apologized. “He’s just jealous of your new toy. Do you like pearls? You have a lot of pretty ones in your house.”

He could have been talking to a brick wall for all the reaction he got from the Golden Child. It made Chen Haoran appreciate just how exaggerated its body language was. Otherwise trying to divine any of its thoughts or feelings would be nigh impossible. Still, he persevered. These situations required a patient and even hand.

He pointed to himself and then to his friends. “I’m Chen Haoran. That’s Xie Jin and Phelps.”

“Don’t give it our names Brother Chen,” Xie Jin hissed too late.

“What’s your name?” Chen Haoran asked.

“They don’t have names.”

“Xie Jin shush.”

The Golden Child still wasn’t reacting. If Chen Haoran hadn’t seen its drawings he’d wonder if it understood anything he was saying at all.

“You know that pearl is a pretty good ball for playing catch,” Chen Haoran said. “Do you know catch? You throw a ball and the other person throws it back to you.” He snapped his fingers. “Xie Jin, throw me a rock.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“Just toss me a damn rock.”

Xie Jin made his feelings of the matter clear with native cursing that Chen Haoran filed away for personal use. Still, Xie Jin did as asked, kicking a rock into his hand and lobbing it to Chen Haoran.

He caught the rock without looking and showed it to the Golden Child. “See? Catch.” He tossed the rock back to Xie Jin. Then splayed his palm and pointed at it. “You throw it.”

“Brother Chen there’s not a Gu in this world that would willingly throw away its treasure,” Xie Jin said.

“A Gu wouldn’t,” Chen Haoran agreed.

It wasn’t just a Gu they were dealing with though. At least he didn’t think so. He saw it in the mess of knickknacks and curios in the headquarters. A story of objects used until the interest waned and the next took over. He saw it in the fort of blankets and pillows. He saw it in the pearl lights. In the drawings, carvings, and paintings. The clumsy spelling. The way it hid under the bed. How it let him hold its hand. Hell, it was in the damn name.

Golden Child.

The little skeleton crouched and with a swing from low to high threw the Numinous Pearl at him. Chen Haoran deftly caught it and smiled. Ignoring Xie Jin’s vocal confusion he gently tossed the pearl back underhanded to the Golden Child. It raised its hands high in the hair, standing on tip toes to give it just a little more height. Its physical abilities were more than enough to leap into the air and grab the pearl before anyone could react. Yet Chen Haoran watched it fumble with its catch, the pearl nearly slipping from its fingers before it tightly hugged the gem to its body. It raised the pearl above its head, spinning and jumping up and down. It made a sound like tinkling bells that Chen Haoran quickly realized must’ve been laughter.

They were dealing with a lonely child.

Chen Haoran chuckled but felt tight in his heart.

“We’ll be staying here for a bit,” he told Xie Jin.

“Absolutely not,” Xie Jin rejected. “Brother Chen I respect you but this is not a good idea. We just got the Lotus back.”

“We can’t avoid the Golden Child if it wants to follow us,” Chen Haoran pointed out. “And we can’t guarantee that we can always keep the Lotus safe from it. I would much rather deal with it here in its home than out there in the jungle. At the very least it won’t run off with the Lotus from here.”

“There’s a chance it will get bored and go off to do its own thing,” Xie Jin argued. “It’s a Gu. They don’t do long-term anything.”

Chen Haoran watched the spinning Golden Child. It finally stopped celebrating and threw the Numinous Pearl back to Chen Haoran. He tossed it back and the skeleton did its little celebration once more when it caught the pearl. Back and forth the pearl went. From man to skeleton. Adult to child. Simple tosses and clumsy catches and a child’s pure joy with each successful return. Back and forth and forth and back long enough that even in the timeless Green Hell they could tell it was going on for far too long.

Xie Jin went pale. Phelps howled. Chen Haoran smiled sadly.

The Golden Child was not going to leave them anytime soon.