Having finally found a little companion, yet unable to have him by his side often, Yun Heng still felt somewhat downhearted.
The little one sat alone by the desk; even his usual favorite immortal fruits and Hundred-Flower Nectar now held no appeal for him.
"Sigh~" The carefree little prince of the Celestial Realm had actually learned to sigh.
Qi Luo, who was attending to him nearby, asked, "What's wrong, Your Highness? Are you unhappy?"
Yun Heng spoke with an air of seriousness, "I have something on my mind."
Qi Luo covered her mouth and laughed at him, "You're so young, yet you already have worries?"
"I miss Ling'er. I wonder if he misses me too."
Qi Luo comforted him, "Don't worry, Your Highness. You treated the seventh prince of the Dragon Palace with genuine sincerity; he must miss you too."
Yun Heng was half-convinced, half-doubtful, "How do you know?"
Qi Luo channeled her magical power and gently brushed it over his head. The little one immediately sneezed, "Ah-choo~~"
Qi Luo handed him a handkerchief, "See? Mortals say that sneezing means someone is thinking of you. It must be that the seventh prince of the Dragon Palace is also thinking of our little prince of the Heavenly Court."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Oh."
"…"
Qi Luo patted his head, "Your Highness still looks unhappy. Why is that?"
Yun Heng turned to glance at the Jade Emperor and said pitifully, "All the mounts I like already have owners. I like Ling'er, but he's too young to leave the Dragon Palace."
"It's alright," Qi Luo patiently coaxed him, "In the future, Your Highness will meet many more little companions."
"But, but…" Hearing her words of comfort, Yun Heng felt even more aggrieved, "I secretly followed Father Emperor out, and I got nothing. I didn't even get to eat any mung bean cake, and I got scolded twice. Wuwu~~"
As he spoke, sorrow welled up in him, and he began to sob softly.
Hearing the crying, the Jade Emperor looked up and saw him wiping his tears. He put down the memorial in his hand and beckoned to the little one, "Heng'er, come to Father Emperor."
Wiping his tears, Yun Heng walked behind the imperial desk. The Jade Emperor picked up his son and placed him on his lap, then waved to Qi Luo, signaling her to withdraw.
Yun Heng lowered his head and saw an open memorial still lying on the desk. He asked, "Father Emperor, aren't you handling celestial duties anymore?"
The Jade Emperor tossed the memorial aside, "Let Celestial Master Zhang handle them. Father Emperor will spend the day with you today, alright?"
Ever since leaving the Dragon Palace without being able to bring the little dragon cub back to the Heavenly Court, Yun Heng's spirits had been somewhat low. Now that Father Emperor had set aside his celestial duties to accompany him, he finally cheered up. He wrapped his arms around the Jade Emperor's neck and wiped his tears on his Immortal Robe, "Alright!"
"Heng'er," the Jade Emperor asked him, "What did you say you wanted to eat earlier?"
"Eat mung bean cake," Yun Heng gestured with his hands, "Green, round, and so fragrant."
The Jade Emperor asked again, "Have you eaten it before?"
"No, I snatched a piece from Da Bai's mouth, but Cousin wouldn't let me eat it."
"Da Bai?"
"That's Xiaotian Quan."
The Jade Emperor understood—it must have happened on Yun Heng's third birthday.
It was getting late, and drowsiness washed over the little one. He leaned against his father's chest and rubbed his eyes, "Sister Weaver also told me about many delicious foods: cloud slice cake, lotus puff pastry, osmanthus cake…"
"And the white, soft, cloud-like glutinous rice balls. Take a bite, and they're filled with sesame filling, so fragrant and sweet…"
As he spoke, the little one's eyes had already closed, drool trickling from the corner of his mouth down to his chin. The old father had just finished wiping away his tears and now had to wipe away his drool.
By the time Yun Heng woke from his sleep, it was already the next morning. Qiluo helped him dress and tied up his hair crown. The little one suddenly sniffed the air: "What is that? It smells so good!"
Qiluo finished hanging his jade ornaments and sachets: "Your Highness, go take a look."
Yun Heng ran to the table, climbed onto the stool on his hands and knees, and peered over the edge.
Several glazed plates were arranged on the table, but they didn’t contain the immortal fruits he was familiar with. He looked around, his gaze settling on one of the plates: "Green and round—I remember this smell, it's mung bean cake!"
"Exactly, Your Highness, look at the others."
He then looked at the plate beside it, where several plump, white glutinous rice balls were neatly arranged. The little one poked one with his finger: "Like clouds, white and soft—these are glutinous rice balls!"
"This one is shaped like a lotus flower, and this one smells of osmanthus!"
"Wonderful! These are all the snacks I wanted!" The little one raised his arms excitedly, nearly losing his balance and tumbling off the stool.
Just then, the Jade Emperor entered from outside. Quick as lightning, he caught his son and pulled him into his arms: "Careful, don’t fall!"
"Father Emperor, did you conjure these with magic art?"
"Things conjured by magic art can’t be eaten." The Jade Emperor pinched his nose. "I sent an Immortal Child to prepare these for you early this morning."
The little one swallowed eagerly: "Are these all for me?"
"Of course!" The Jade Emperor looked at him fondly. "Whatever Heng’er wants, Father Emperor will give you."
With the long-awaited snacks right before him, the little one hesitated: "But they say Immortals can’t eat mortal food and can only absorb the essence of the sun and moon."
The Jade Emperor patiently explained to his son: "Those you see in the Heavenly Court are no ordinary Immortals. Abstaining from grains is one of their abilities, and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon aids their spiritual practice."
Yun Heng asked again: "If I eat snacks, can I still practice?"
"Not exactly. Those who follow the Dao seek purity and simplicity—how can they always be thinking about food?"
Yun Heng grabbed a piece of mung bean cake and stuffed it into his mouth: "I don’t want to practice, and I don’t want purity and simplicity. I just want snacks. Sweet and delicious."
As he spoke, he grabbed a glutinous rice ball and took a big bite: "Wow, is this sesame filling? So fragrant!"
The Jade Emperor scolded him sternly: "Nonsense! All Immortals must practice, and so must you. When we return, I will find you a master."
"I only want snacks, not spiritual practice."
"No!"
The little one grabbed another piece of osmanthus cake: "Father Emperor just said you’d give me whatever I want. I want delicious food, not spiritual practice."
"…"
The little one’s quick thinking had trapped his old father in his own words.
Though the Jade Emperor ruled over the three realms, he couldn’t control his son’s thoughts. He shook his head helplessly: "If a Dao cultivator could taste even a single immortal fruit, their cultivation would greatly increase, yet you prefer these mortal foods."
"What’s so good about immortal fruits? I’m tired of them."
After eating and drinking his fill, the little one turned his attention to another question: "Father Emperor, where are we going now?"
"To Lingshan."
But Yun Heng said, "I don’t want to go to Lingshan."
This rather surprised the Jade Emperor: "Oh? There's actually a place you don't want to go."
"I want to return to the Heavenly Court."
The Jade Emperor patiently coaxed him: "We'll return to the Heavenly Court after visiting Lingshan."
"I don't want to go to Lingshan, I want to return to the Heavenly Court."
The Jade Emperor put on a stern face, attempting to establish a bit of authority in front of his son: "No mischief allowed!"
The little one said pitifully: "But… I miss Mother."
Yun Heng had sneaked out with the Jade Emperor with the sole purpose of tasting mortal pastries. Now that he had played enough and eaten the treats, he began to miss his dear mother.
The Jade Emperor had no way to handle this son and could only divert his attention: "Do you know what's at Lingshan?"
"What?"
"There are Bodhisattvas, and all Bodhisattvas have mounts. Don't you want to see them?"
Yun Heng asked: "Can we bring them back to the Heavenly Court?"
"Probably not."
"Then I don't want to see them."
"…"
Failing to take the little dragon cub back had already left Yun Heng disheartened; now no mount could attract him.
Suddenly, the Jade Emperor remembered someone and said: "Kong Xuan is also at Lingshan."
Yun Heng had heard this name before, and his eyes immediately lit up: "The Peacock Great King?"
"Exactly!" the Jade Emperor said deliberately, "That very Kong Xuan whom even your cousin couldn't defeat, and who even took away Xiaotian Quan—now the Peacock Great King."
"I don't believe it, my cousin is so powerful!"
The Jade Emperor continued: "Not only could Yang Jian not defeat him, but Li Jing and his three sons, Lei Zhenzi, Huang Tianhua… none of them could defeat him. Except…"
At this point, the Jade Emperor hesitated. Yun Heng tilted his head: "Except who?"
The Jade Emperor shook his head, brushing it off: "No one."
But Yun Heng tightened his grip on his golden bow and silver pellets: "I don't believe it! My cousin is so powerful, he couldn't possibly lose to a peacock!"
"I'm not returning to the Heavenly Court, I'm going to Lingshan to fight the peacock!"
The Jade Emperor thought to himself, although the Peacock King practices at Lingshan, he remains aloof from worldly affairs and rarely appears. Where would you even find a peacock to fight?
Soon, they arrived at the final destination of this Tour of the Three Realms—Lingshan in the Western Heaven.
Along the way, Yun Heng kept reminiscing about those pastries. His favorite was the glutinous rice ball; just thinking about it made him swallow his saliva. He tugged at the Hun Tian Ling, swaying it left and right: "Brother Nezha, I still want to eat glutinous rice balls."
Nezha pinched his cheek: "I think you look like a glutinous rice ball."
Tathagata led his two disciples, four Bodhisattvas, and a host of Arhats to welcome them.
Yun Heng observed them curiously; these Immortals of the Western Sect dressed quite differently from the Immortals he had seen before.
He examined each person carefully, starting with Tathagata at the front. The world says the Buddha is compassionate, solemn, and dignified in appearance. But in the eyes of this little Immortal Yun Heng, it was a different sight.
According to the little one's aesthetic, the Buddha's appearance was not the type he wished to get close to. But he found it interesting, especially the round, bead-like things on the other's head, which reminded him of the glutinous rice balls he had eaten earlier—the sesame filling inside.
The little one tugged at Nezha's Hun Tian Ling: "Brother Nezha, his hair looks delicious."
"Shh!" Nezha raised a finger to his lips and whispered, "Those are called 'flesh topknots,' a symbol of Tathagata's perfected spiritual practice."
Yun Heng then looked at the two figures beside Tathagata. One had a sorrowful expression, evoking pity at a glance, while the other was a lively and spirited youth. That youth also looked at him and gave him a playful smile.
"Nezha, who are they?"
"Kasyapa and Ananda, the two disciples of the Buddha."
Yun Heng asked again, "And the ones behind them?"
"The four Bodhisattvas: Avalokitesvara, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Ksitigarbha."
"Oh!" The little one nodded. "Strange…"
Nezha chuckled, "What's strange?"
"I don't know."
"…"
Yun Heng was a perceptive child. Though he couldn't articulate what was strange, he could keenly sense the subtle attitude these Immortals held toward his Father Emperor. Unlike the reverence shown by Immortals from other places, their respect carried an indescribable nuance that Yun Heng couldn't quite put into words.
He scanned everyone present, having asked about all he could, yet none were the one he was looking for. The little one grew somewhat anxious, and his voice unconsciously rose a bit louder: "Which one is the Peacock Great King?"
Over there, the Jade Emperor, accompanied by Tathagata and the others, was heading into Leiyin Temple when he suddenly heard someone inquire about the Peacock Great King. They all turned to look.