"Are you toying with me?"
Nezha waited three breaths before his patience ran out. He pinched the clam shell, pressing his fingertip against the seam, and applied force, prying the shell open bit by bit to reveal the pale pink flesh and a pair of panicked black eyes.
Without hesitation, his fingers slipped inside. Having been nurtured with pearl powder for days on end, the Clam Spirit's flesh was tender and lustrous, as if it would melt at the slightest touch. A cool, damp sensation spread across his fingertip as he probed deeper. "Soft, isn't it?"
Nezha had never known restraint—he acted entirely on whim and fancy. Having been duped by a little Clam Spirit, fed and pampered in return, his anger had yet to cool. He pressed deeper still, his neatly trimmed nails scraping against the smooth interior of the shell, drawing a thin, reedy cry from the Clam Spirit: "Third Prince Nezha… w-wrong… it's wrong…"
"L-let… let go… Great Lord… Great Deity…"
With death looming, Shuanglian was forced to make a sound, begging the god of slaughter for mercy. The words came out broken and halting, like a child just learning to speak.
"Keep playing dumb, why don't you." Nezha found the voice pleasant to the ear, not bad to listen to—so his burning fingers only played harder, forcing out more sounds. "You tricked me?"
Shuanglian was on the verge of tears: "S-sorry… I'm sorry…"
Hearing the timbre, Nezha noted it was a female Clam Spirit, but he was no man to cherish beauty.
—Nezha was fiery by nature, his killing aura piercing the heavens. At seven, he had flayed the Dragon Prince and ripped out his sinews; after taking his own life and being reborn, he had drawn his blade against his own father. His rank was supremely high, and he killed as he pleased—he didn't even care about the lives of gods, so why would he show mercy to a little Clam Spirit?
The shadows of the courtyard trees fell across Nezha's face, the shadow at the bridge of his nose deep, his pupils crimson, the handsome lines of his face sharp and dangerous. She said no—so he did it anyway, reaching in with both hands, forcing the little Clam Spirit to open her shell wider.
"Pretty voice. Say a few more words for me." Three fingers had now slipped inside the clam shell. His fingers were long, calloused from years of martial practice—rough and scorching hot, stroking until the Clam Spirit wept openly.
Tears that weren't stored water streamed down onto Nezha's hand as Shuanglian sobbed: "I… Third Prince Nezha's… hand is so hot… ah!"
The Clam Spirit was so scalded that she gave up all her life-preserving water, and only then did Nezha withdraw his hand with lingering reluctance. The clam shell closed limply, trembling faintly.
Nezha picked up a Spirit Fruit: "Hiding so deep?"
The Clam Spirit lay trembling for a while, then slowly crawled into his palm, her tentacles nibbling at the fruit in small bites. Shuanglian had spoken too many words today, cried too much, and her voice was hoarse: "Afraid the Third Prince would be angry…"
"If you're really afraid of me, how dare you trick me?"
She said nothing more, quietly pressing against the edge of his palm, eating the fruit in tiny, careful bites.
Nezha felt thoroughly pleased, his red robes stained with demon blood. The Universe-Overturning Silk coiled—the Clam Spirit's tentacles hadn't been holding the fruit steady, and Shuanglian watched helplessly as it tumbled to the ground.
The next moment, it fell into the pool. The waters of the Celestial Pool in the heavenly court were a great tonic. Shuanglian's shell opened and closed as she darted joyfully through the water. There were lotus flowers and leaves in the pool too, and smelling the lotus fragrance, her stomach growled.
During the pearl-nurturing period, a Clam Spirit's appetite was astonishing. She hadn't eaten her fill.
On the other side, Nezha untied the Universe-Overturning Silk and the Universe Ring, stripped off his red robes and trousers, and stepped naked into the pool. He leaned against the pool wall, squinting with contentment.
Nezha closed his eyes to rest, while Shuanglian swam back and forth in the water, nibbling at lotus stems—but they were too tough to bite through, so she could only swim on in disappointment. Following the lotus fragrance, she drifted closer and closer, until she was swimming right beside Nezha.
Shuanglian's small black eyes stole glances at him. Nezha's long black hair spilled over his shoulders, his upper body bare above the pool water—a lean waist, taut muscle, a build somewhere between youth and manhood, compact and sinewy.
Nezha knew she was watching. He didn't call it out, didn't bother with it, keeping his eyes closed.
What Shuanglian didn't know was that ever since a pearl had grown inside her flesh, she had no resistance to the scent of lotus—the sight of lotus flowers made her drool. And seeing Nezha, who was born of the lotus, her stomach twisted with hunger.
So hungry… really, so hungry.
She watched Nezha for a long time, and when she saw he wasn't angry, she grew bold, opening her shell and swimming back and forth beside the hand Nezha had let dangle into the Celestial Pool.
Her tentacles brushed his fingertip, her shell swayed, and Shuanglian swam away, carving ripples through the water.
Nezha opened his eyes: "Come here."
Shuanglian swayed her shell, drifting slowly back to his hand. Her shell opened, and her tentacles wound around Nezha's index finger. Nezha let her be—the tentacles had little strength, less than the water's own force.
His index finger slipped into the clam shell, pressing down with neither too much nor too little force: "You like the water that much? Where do you live?"
"I like it." The shell trembled, but the tentacles wrapped around his finger didn't let go. "…The East Sea, in the coral thickets by the shore."
The East Sea was no peaceful place; the little Clam Spirit had been scared into timidity, no wonder she was so timid. Nezha's fingertip pressed deeper, and Shuanglian could only cling tighter to his finger with her tentacles, the water she'd just stored bubbling out in streams: "Third Prince… gently…"
Nezha didn't listen, pressing in again and again before pulling back. Until she was utterly spent, and he withdrew his hand. Shuanglian, dizzy and reeling, swayed her shell and swam away.
She drifted beneath the lotus flowers, her tentacles catching a fallen petal and nibbling at it in small bites. She gnawed a notch into the petal, then curled her tentacles around it to grind it down, swallowing bit by bit.
Nezha watched for a long while. After finishing one petal, she swam to another side and nibbled a second, sometimes cradling a petal against the soft flesh of her shell, as if breathing in its scent.
"You dare eat my lotus?" Nezha spoke suddenly.
The tentacles holding the lotus petal dropped it with a plop. Shuanglian was dumbfounded—they wouldn't even let it eat lotus flowers?
"Fragrant…" it had been explaining when caught, "I'm hungry, the lotus flower smells as good as Third Prince…"
Nezha held it up before his eyes: "I'm made of lotus. Eating that won't satisfy you—want to eat me instead?"
Shuanglian was so frightened it spat out a mouthful of water: "N-no!"
Nezha took the half-gnawed lotus petal from its shell and tossed it into the water. Seeing the Clam Spirit's pitiful little black eyes, he plucked a fully bloomed lotus flower: "Eat?"
"…" Shuanglian's shell opened and closed, nodding.
Nezha withheld it: "Is it tasty?"
"Very tasty."
"Then from now on, whenever I feed you, you open your shell obediently. Eating lotus flowers or not letting me touch you—which do you choose?"
Shuanglian's drifting tentacles retracted, and its shell closed shut. After a long pause, it finally said: "…I'll eat the lotus flowers."
Nezha tossed the flower to it. Shuanglian happily dove into the water, clutching it and gnawing away.
It hadn't been eating long when the pool water suddenly shook, the ground trembling and mountains quaking. A young immortal attendant came rushing frantically to the edge of the Celestial Pool, stumbling: "Nezha Third Prince… Third Prince…"
"That mortal world has a furry monkey who stole the East Sea's Ocean-Stabilizing Needle, shaking the Heavenly Court with it, then seized the Underworld's Book of Life and Death. The Heavenly Army has fought all the way to the Southern Heaven Gate—the Jade Emperor requests that you go and suppress him!"
Shuanglian had eaten its fill, its soft flesh swelling. It touched the tiny pearl-shaped thing deep inside itself, and its shell snapped open with a clatter.
Something from Journey to the West is happening?!
A day in heaven is a year on earth, so this matter could not be delayed. Nezha emerged from the water and donned his robes, while Shuanglian soaked in the Celestial Pool with pleading eyes, its little black orbs filled with earnest entreaty.
Nezha scooped it out of the water, wiped it on his clothes, and wrapped it in the Universe-Overturning Silk to take along.
The Heavenly Court was solemn, wreathed in immortal mist, resplendent in gold. The assembled immortals stood in formation, and Nezha was among their ranks.
The red tassels at Nezha's cheeks swayed as he stepped out of the formation with Li Jing. Shuanglian, nestled in the Universe-Overturning Silk, heard the Jade Emperor on his throne confer upon Nezha the title "Great God of the Three Altars and Seas," commanding him to set out immediately on a punitive expedition.
In the original Journey to the West, Sun Wukong had been appointed Protector of the Horses. After learning he had been slighted by Heaven, Sun Wukong fought his way out of the Southern Heaven Gate, and the Jade Emperor sent Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li and Nezha to suppress him.
Nezha and Heavenly King Li Jing led the heavenly troops on the expedition. Before they even reached Flower-Fruit Mountain, they could see from afar the banner reading "Great Sage Equal to Heaven."
The vanguard Giant Spirit God returned in defeat, and Nezha leaped forth toward Flower-Fruit Mountain. Shuanglian, inside the Universe-Overturning Silk, was tossed about by the wind, its tentacles clinging tightly to the silk.
When the wind settled, eyes peeked out from the clam shell. Nezha was hovering before the Water Curtain Cave, coming face to face with Sun Wukong, who was just rallying his troops back into the cave.
Shuanglian was both terrified and eager to see the Great Sage. Its shell opened, little black eyes stubbornly peeking out. Nezha cast a casual glance at the Clam Spirit, and the Universe-Overturning Silk tightened, hiding Shuanglian from view. All it could hear was Sun Wukong trading barbs with Heavenly King Li.
A melee was about to erupt. Heavenly King Li summoned his pagoda, and Sun Wukong smashed down with his staff, sending waves of energy rolling across Flower-Fruit Mountain, knocking the heavenly soldiers and generals every which way.
Heavenly King Li was no match for him. In the heat of battle, he swung his blade at Sun Wukong, but Nezha manifested the Demon-Slaying Sword and swept the blade back toward Li Jing.
Clang! Sword met blade, and Nezha caught the strike steadily: "Allow your son to take the field and test the monkey's mettle."
Li Jing saw his son draw his sword and casually deflect his blade. He was so startled that cold sweat broke out, but he nodded in assent, turned, and retrieved his pagoda, holding it steady in his palm.
Sun Wukong saw that he was now facing a handsome young lad with a fair, jade-like countenance, and grinned at Nezha: "That Heavenly King's kid? Still wet behind the ears—Old Sun won't fight you. Go tell the Jade Emperor that if he gives me the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven, I'll submit!"
"I am Nezha, the Third Prince of Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li. Whether my skills match the title 'Equal to Heaven'—we'll only know after we fight." Nezha's form flickered, and the heavenly soldiers and generals saw only a streak of crimson light. Sun Wukong transformed into a beam of light as well, and the two clashed in a tangled melee—red robes and golden armor interweaving, with only the clash of weapons echoing from afar.
Heavenly King Li and the heavenly troops craned their necks to watch. The two fought until the earth shook and mountains quaked, drifting farther and farther away.
Nezha cut down demons like mowing grass, while Sun Wukong's Ruyi Golden Hooped Rod spun with effortless ease. Two titans met, and after dozens of rounds, neither could gain the upper hand. [Note]
Sun Wukong said: "Little prince, why bring a Clam Spirit along? Don't tell me you don't take Old Sun seriously?"
Nezha: "No."
Sun Wukong: "Where'd you get it? Since when did the Heavenly Court have a Clam Spirit?"
Nezha: "Found it at the East Sea Dragon Palace when I was making waves."
Sun Wukong: "Well then! I pulled out the East Sea Dragon King's Ocean-Stabilizing Needle, and he dragged his whole family to the Heavenly Court to file a complaint against me. That old fellow can't take a loss!"
The two found themselves of like mind, and the real fight turned into a fake one. Shuanglian, carried along by the Universe-Overturning Silk, entered the Water Curtain Cave with Nezha. Nezha swept his gaze across—the cave was laid out with immortal wine and fine delicacies, with the six demon kings of the mountain drinking and making merry.
Sun Wukong called for the little monkeys to bring a platter of fresh peaches. Nezha lifted his robes and sat cross-legged on the ground, then fished the Clam Spirit out of the Universe-Overturning Silk and set it on the stone table.
He tore the peach flesh into small pieces. Shuanglian caught the fragrance, and its shell cracked open a sliver—black eyes glancing fearfully at Nezha, then at Sun Wukong, before its tentacles finally reached out to take the peach flesh from Nezha's hand.
Sun Wukong watched from the side, occasionally teasing it, while Shuanglian simply buried its head and ate.
The cave was full of demons, and the Bull Demon King and the other six cave demon kings who were sworn brothers with Sun Wukong were all grotesque in appearance. When they poked their heads out to look, Shuanglian's tentacles retracted with a whoosh. Sun Wukong laughed at the sight and said, "The Clam Spirit is truly timid!"
Nezha took his leave, and Sun Wukong walked out of the Water Curtain Cave with him. Li Tianwang had been waiting anxiously, and when he saw Nezha staggering back, he was shocked and asked, "Nezha, you couldn't even defeat him?"
Nezha looked ashamed and said, "That demon monkey has immense powers. I am no match for him. If the Jade Emperor grants him the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven, he will submit."
Li Tianwang's face alternated between pale and green as he pondered. Meanwhile, on the Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong led his six brothers and said gleefully, "I've obtained the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Why don't you all claim titles as Great Sages too?"
As Li Tianwang listened to these absurd words, both he and the heavenly soldiers felt utterly humiliated. The Bull Demon King below spoke up first, "Then I want to be the Great Sage Who Levels Heaven!"
"I want to be the Great Sage Who Covers the Seas!"
"I am the Great Sage Who Confounds Heaven!" [Note]
"…"
Li Tianwang was furious beyond measure, but with Nezha wounded, no one could match Sun Wukong. He could only swallow his anger and refrain from exploding on the spot. Li Tianwang looked at his third son standing beside him, seeking advice from this inscrutable child.
But Nezha no longer looked as disheveled as before. He lowered his eyes, focusing intently on the pinkish-white clam shell in his palm.
The shell gleamed in the sunlight, its dark, shiny eyes curiously staring at the crowd of demon kings, its tentacles swaying contentedly amid the clamor.
"You want one too?" Nezha said, tapping the top of the shell with his index finger. "How about I go ask the Jade Emperor to grant you the title of Great Sage Who Paddles the Waters?"