Chapter Nineteen: The Clown!

Phoenix cried out in alarm, “Tang Fei, what are you doing?” As she spoke, the Phoenix Whip on her wrist appeared automatically in her palm. At the slightest misstep from Tang Fei, she would lash out. This time, however, she had not activated the whip’s lightsaber mode; it was just an ordinary whip. It wouldn’t kill, only drive someone back. If she used it as she had against those members of the Flame Shrine before, Tang Fei’s head would have been severed from his body. Though she was startled and bewildered by Tang Fei’s actions, she had never truly considered killing him.

In their time together, Tang Fei had left a deep impression on her. She found it hard to define what kind of person he was, but she was certain he was not a bad man. Of course, if he actually took off his pants, that would be another matter entirely.

“Acid rain…” Tang Fei, in the midst of undressing, saw the whip in Phoenix’s hand and felt a twinge of anxiety; he paused and explained, “Some acid rain landed on me… It’s corroding my skin…”

Phoenix hesitated, torn between protecting his dignity by letting him continue undressing or safeguarding her own reputation by making him stop. Meanwhile, Tang Fei swiftly stripped off his jeans. Fortunately, he was still wearing long underwear beneath.

This man still wears long underwear? On Nova, the young nobles would laugh at such a thing.

After removing his pants, Tang Fei rummaged over his thigh, then glanced down at his groin. Good, both brothers were intact. But his back burned with pain—clearly, the acid rain had eaten through his shirt and was now damaging his skin.

Quickly, Tang Fei dug a small cloth pouch from his belt, which held fresh snakeskin leaves. He took a handful, chewed them thoroughly, and spat the resulting juice into his palm. Turning to Phoenix, he said, “Could you help me apply this? I can’t reach that spot.”

Phoenix stared wide-eyed at the sticky liquid in his hand, pupils dilated, at a complete loss for what to do. Did he mean… for her to take that stuff and smear it on his back? Healing others should not be hampered by such trivialities, but she simply couldn’t bring herself to touch that mass of medicine.

“Hurry up!” Tang Fei urged. “If we don’t apply it soon, the acid will eat deeper and the injury will get worse…”

“Isn’t there another way?” Phoenix blushed furiously. She knew she should help him, after all, Tang Fei had once helped her apply medicine, but the sticky juice, freshly spat out of his mouth, made her balk. “Does it only work if you chew it? What if I… chewed it for you?”

Tang Fei was taken aback, realizing then that some things did not require his own direct involvement. He handed her the pouch. “Of course, you can chew it too…”

Looking at the greenish liquid in his own hand, he felt a bit disgusted himself. Not wanting Phoenix to think he was foolish, he slapped it onto his unharmed calf. “Turns out, that spot got hit by acid rain too. I can take care of this myself.”

Phoenix accepted the pouch without further hesitation, stuffed some leaves into her mouth, chewed until they were pulpy, then spat the medicine into her palm. She mimicked Tang Fei, pressing it against the burn on his back.

Smack!

Her soft palm met the skin of his back, and though the sticky liquid lay between them, both felt a peculiar sensation. For Phoenix, it was the first time she had done something like this; she had never tended anyone’s wounds, nor ever been so intimately close to a young man. If this were discovered, it would cause an uproar across the Empire, perhaps even all of Nova. As for the young man, he would likely vanish without a trace…

Having spat out what she chewed and pressed it onto a man’s solid back—this feeling… It was almost as if she had kissed Tang Fei’s back.

Her father had told her, before great events, stay calm. The harsh realities of life had made her mature early, cultivating a stoic facade. But now, her heart raced with nervous excitement. Her cheeks burned as though a great fire blazed before her.

Tang Fei, too, was unsettled. He had expected to just chew some snakeskin leaves and slap them on—the kind of thing he’d done countless times for himself and others. But when Phoenix did it for him, he realized the sensation was entirely different. He felt tense, every muscle taut, nerves even more so. He felt bashful, a nameless, inexplicable emotion welling up inside—something he’d never experienced before, leaving him at a loss for words. He was thinking, doubting, and growing.

“Is that all?” Phoenix’s voice came from behind, calm yet graceful—a tone she used with strangers, to steady her emotions and maintain a sense of security. “Anywhere else need medicine?”

“Yes,” Tang Fei replied.

“Where?”

“My butt.”

“Tang Fei…”

“Alright, alright, just kidding.” Tang Fei stretched and grinned. “No more discomfort. Thank you, Miss Phoenix, for saving my life.”

Phoenix let out a relieved sigh. She had genuinely thought his butt needed treatment.

“What’s this life-saving talk? The medicine was yours, the recipe you taught me… I just pressed it on.” Phoenix was unwilling to take credit. Looking at his lean, muscular frame, she said, “Even if I hadn’t helped, you weren’t in mortal danger.”

“Acid rain rarely kills, but when it corrodes the flesh, it’s certainly unpleasant.” Tang Fei replied. He picked up his clothes and dressed piece by piece.

Phoenix turned away, feeling the whole scene was odd. It reminded her of those racy films she’d watched with her girlfriends—the heroine, half-covered in bed after the act, while the hero dressed beside her… How similar.

Tang Fei walked to the cave mouth and peered outside. “The rain’s stopped. Let’s head back. The rain on Old Earth comes and goes quickly…”

“Alright.” Phoenix stood, grabbing her two buckets.

Tang Fei glanced at her, picked up his two buckets, and led the way out.

After leaving the cave, Tang Fei walked ahead with Phoenix following as before. Tang Fei was still a refugee from Old Earth, and Phoenix still the honored guest from Nova. Nothing had changed, and yet somehow, something had.

—

Whoosh!

A black star saucer appeared at light speed atop Hate Mountain. The hatch opened and a group of men and women, of various ages and appearances, emerged.

A young man with a ratlike face, pockmarked as if he’d taken a shotgun blast at close range, yet sporting a rakish ponytail at the back of his head, stood at the cliff’s edge. The wind whipped the white suit jacket around him as he surveyed the area. “So this is Hate Mountain?”

“Yes. According to the escape pod’s flight path, she should have come to this place called Hate Mountain,” replied a burly elder behind him.

The old man wore a black traditional suit, his muscles bulging—clearly a seasoned fighter.

“How interesting,” the ponytailed man remarked. “The noble star-bright moon, fallen in a place even birds won’t shit. I wonder what those folks on Nova would think if they knew?”

“They will not know,” the elder said gravely. If they did, they would die.

“A fallen phoenix is worse than a chicken,” sneered a voluptuous woman in red leather, draping half her ample bosom over the ponytailed man’s arm. Her hand slipped under his white shirt, caressing his chest. A small emerald snake lay coiled on her shoulder, flicking its tongue at the man as if guarding its sacred relic.

“That’s not certain,” the man replied, offering his finger to the snake. The snake bit down, sucking his blood greedily. He showed no pain, only closed his eyes in rapture and groaned, “Chickens are everywhere, but a phoenix is hard to find. Heaven and earth, there’s only one. Once I catch this little phoenix, I’ll have a taste of her first.”

The seductive woman, far from offended by his insult, only grew more excited. “Wonderful, I want in too. I’d like to see if a lofty phoenix is any different from ordinary women when it comes to that.”

“I’ll grant your wish,” the man promised.

“Don’t get distracted,” snapped a man wrapped head-to-toe in black, a black demon mask covering his face.

“Oh, someone’s unhappy in our team…” The ponytailed man turned and strolled toward the masked figure. “Look at you. We’re paid to do dirty work—either someone dies, or we do. What’s the point of hiding your face?”

“If you kill, no one sees your face. If you’re killed, what does it matter if they do?” He looked at the woman on his arm. “Do you think it’s possible he’s even uglier than me? Like a devil?”

“Yes, he must be uglier—like a devil, like a toothless mad dog…”

They both laughed and fell into a feverish kiss.

Clang!

The masked man drew his sword, while the kissing man raised a uniquely styled, antique-looking double-barreled pistol.

“Jester… Wraith, what are you two doing?” the burly elder called out. “Don’t forget, we’re here on a mission. Any mishap, and none of us will leave alive…”

“Fine, fine, since Mr. Mountain says so, I’ll let you live.” Jester put his pistol away and resumed kissing the woman, more passionately than ever, as if intent on staging a carnal spectacle right there on the earth.

Wraith snorted and sheathed his sword.

“Let’s divide the work,” Mr. Mountain said in a deep voice. “The Hate Mountain settlement is large—we’ll have to search village by village. Jester, you and Serpent Lady take the east. Wraith and Gale, take the west…”

“The rest, follow me into the forest to search for the escape pod. Once we find it, we’ll have a good idea of her location. After all, if she wants to wait for rescue, she has no choice but to stay near the pod…”

“Yes, sir,” the group replied.

“Remember, no matter who finds a clue, don’t act alone. Use the communicator to notify everyone, and wait until we’re all assembled to make a move.”

“Why? Isn’t that a hassle? What if she gets away while we’re waiting?” Jester complained. He wanted to taste his phoenix soup before the others arrived.

Mr. Mountain shot him a warning look. “Because we need everything flawless—no traces left behind.”

“Don’t worry,” Jester waved dismissively. “Even if I leave traces on her, I’ll clean them up. No one will trace us.”

“No,” Mr. Mountain refused sternly. “We must handle it ourselves, witness it with our own eyes, to ensure there are no future troubles.”

His expression grew grave. “Otherwise, we’ll never have peace. We can never return to Nova. Nowhere in heaven or earth will we find sanctuary.”