I unclenched my own fists and let my fingers relax.
Jordan took his sister’s place behind the lions, taking control of the reins. “Ah, well. Ashley is upset every time she wakes up anyway. More importantly … what’re we gonna do now that Ashley can’t navigate?”
I cast one more guilty look down at Ashley. “Don’t worry. I’ll do it.” I held up the glowing compass. The arrow pointed in the opposite direction of where we were headed. “According to Ye Ye’s compass, we have to make a U-turn.”
“No way,” Jordan protested. He stared at the compass like it was a giant slug he’d smashed underfoot. “You said your grandfather is a deity, right? But how do we know he’s trustworthy?”
“Ye Ye is a disciple studying under Wenshu,” I explained, narrowing my eyes. “He was one of the bravest Jade Society warriors.”
Jordan cringed.
“What?” I asked.
“You know … it’s just … everyone says the Jade Society warriors don’t train or even know how to fight demons anymore—”
“That’s not the point. We have a quest to complete and not a whole lot of time to do it. We’re already down on our manpower.” I pointed down at Ashley’s unconscious form.
Jordan frowned. “Yeah, but isn’t that kinda your fault?”
I acted like I hadn’t heard him. “So unless you have a better idea of how to get to our destination, we’d better follow this compass. Plus,” I added as I recalled Alex’s long-winded ramblings about ancient weapons that I used to tune out, “I know exactly where we need to go. ‘The weapon of greatest power.’ Isn’t that—the Monkey King’s staff? The Ruyi Jingu Bang?”
The Ruyi Jingu Bang, aka the Gold-Banded Cudgel. A red weapon with gold bands on either end that could grow as tall as Heaven itself or shrink to the size of a toothpick. The Ruyi Jingu Bang was said to be the most powerful weapon known to the gods. Thousands of years ago, Sun Wukong, otherwise known as the Monkey King, had stolen it from Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang was very similar to Fenghuang, I realized. If—when—the time came to have a showdown with my brother, I’d need a weapon to match Fenghuang. To convince Alex to join our side once more. Especially if the dream I’d had earlier was more than just a dream, Alex was much better off far, far away from the Jade Emperor.
“Ruyi Jingu Bang?” Jordan repeated, scratching his head. “I guess … that might make sense.”
“That’s gotta be it.” My voice grew louder as excitement and certainty swelled inside me. “We’ll need the Ruyi Jingu Bang to defeat those heavenly goons. We might even find those two other warriors who’re supposed to join us. Wherever the Monkey King—Sun Wukong—is, his Ruyi Jingu Bang can’t be far. According to the myths, Sun Wukong lives on Huā Guǒ Shān.” I’d seen the huge, greenery-covered mountain in picture books and textbooks. Had heard Ye Ye’s stories about this mystical mountain from a young age. “I’m sure the compass will show us the way there.”
As if agreeing with my words, the compass warmed in my palm.
A silence filled the chariot, which had slowed down to a snail’s pace under Jordan’s direction. Finally, Jordan sighed. “It’s not like I have a better idea. Tell me where to go.”
I moved to the front of the chariot with him. “Okay, so you’ll want to make a U-turn here— Whoa! Not that fast!”
We rode on and soon settled into a rhythm, with me giving directions and Jordan following them without complaint. After a few hours, Ashley was still out cold on the bench. She snored with a content look on her face, although that would probably change the moment she woke up and caught sight of the purple bruise that had welled up over her right eye.
“Is my sister still asleep?” Jordan asked anxiously after a while.
“Yeah. Wake up, sleepyhead.” I poked Ashley’s cheek. Her head slumped over to one side, a string of spittle hanging out her snoring mouth.
“You’ve gotta wake her up, Faryn! What if we run into demons here?”
“We’ll bait ’em with Ashley. Duh.”
“You have a really twisted sense of humor!” Jordan shouted.
“Kidding,” I said. “Obviously we’ll bait them with you.”
Jordan didn’t have a chance to retort before Ashley stirred. She rubbed her eyes. They popped wide open as she took in the sights around us.
“What happened?” Ashley scrambled to her feet, and then winced and clutched her head. “Why was I asleep?”
Jordan coughed. I pretended to be too fascinated by my nail beds to have heard the question.
“Why was I asleep?” Ashley repeated, louder and more firmly.
“You fell asleep—uh, completely on your own—and we … didn’t want to wake you,” I said. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter, and you should probably never think about it again!”
“Weirdo,” Ashley muttered, rolling her eyes at me. “Jordan, I’m driving now.”
Jordan offered no complaint, probably because he was exhausted from driving. Ashley and Jordan took turns driving the chariot. The sun rose and fell, rose and fell.
It was nighttime again, on the third day of the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the compass finally stopped glowing. By the light of the evening stars, I could see that we’d arrived at a huge, sweeping mountain covered in trees and wildlife. We were greeted by the sight of a massive waterfall that flowed white and blue and sparkled under the moonlight. It looked like it was made out of magic.
“I think we’re here,” I said. The guardian lions snorted and stamped their feet against the clouds, as though in agreement. “This is Huā Guǒ Shān.”
Huā Guǒ Shān, one of the settings for that video game Alex was obsessed with, Warfate. I’d heard so much about Huā Guǒ Shān. I’d even seen it on Journey to the West, Alex’s and my favorite cartoon show. Huā Guǒ Shān, or the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, was
