35. I Have Friends in Holy Spaces #2
“Who knows?!” Mr. Liu threw up his hands, seemingly as confounded by the whole sequence of events as they were, “one minute, you’re a dragon in heaven, living it up!
Then, you and a few of your friends decide to bring water to the humans on earth, and the heavenly court is so pissed about it, that they turn you all into pretty green stones as punishment!
Then, some farmer named Pien Ho plucks you out of a river and presents you to the Kings of Chu, and after a few hundred more years your brain comes back to you and you’re wondering…
‘why the hell am I stuck as a glorified stamp when I could go be seeing the world!’,”
“So you just decided to shapeshift into a human and walk away?” Dustin asked, kinda hoping the answer was more profound than that.
“Basically,” Mr. Liu said, leaning against one of the many tables overflowing with antique clutter, “I’ve spent all this time trying to avoid getting wrapped up in this drama of emperors and dynasties, only for the drama to find me instead.
The last thing I need is the Jade Emperor deciding to punish me again, just for trying to help,”
“Well unfortunately, help is exactly what we need,” Dustin stepped forward, briefly wondering if he should bow or kowtow or something, before ultimately deciding against it, “according to Sima Yao, you’re the key to stopping all this,”
Mr. Liu sighed heavily, his gaze firmly on the ground.
“Symbolism holds power, in every realm. The power that you bestow something, in turn gives it power over you. Qin Shi Huang decided that I was the symbol of true, heavenly authority. His divine right to rule. But in so doing, he gave me supreme authority over him,”
Bailey immediately perked up, rushing over to the old man’s side and tugging at his sleeve with the energy of an excited puppy.
“So you can like, command him out of existence or something?!”
“It wouldn’t be as simple as that,” Mr. Liu said, giggling at her eagerness, “his will is incredibly strong. He would certainly need to be worn down before even a power such as mine would have an effect on him,”
“But if we could do it, hypothetically, you’d be able to stop him for good?” Chloe asked, the hope and desperation dancing on the edge of her tone.
“I could… but you all don’t understand. We are playing against forces beyond us all,” weariness lined Mr. Liu’s voice like well-worn shoes, “if something goes wrong, we could all end up as stones in a river, or something even worse,”
Dustin grit his teeth, his gut twisting as anger tore through it.
“Listen… I understand that what the Jade Emperor did to you was cruel. He punished Sima Yao too; forcing him to guard the rings in the Palace of Radiant Clouds for thousands of years until it was time to face Qin Shi Huang again. If there’s one constant, it’s that he seems to hate outside intervention…
but what choice do we really have here? Are we just supposed to let Qin Shi Huang take over the entire world, kill as many people as he wants?
I’m not calling you a coward Ruanyu, but I am challenging you to think beyond your own safety, and ask yourself what’s truly best for the world.
You risked everything to bring humans water once, I can’t accept that you’ll sit this one out just because it might end badly for you,”
Mr. Liu didn’t say anything for a moment that stretched on forever. Outside, thunder still boomed, wind still howled, lightning lit up the windows.
Finally, the old man rose his head and met Dustin’s gaze.
“To think that little kid who would stand on the corner with his twin and gawk at my shop, would be the one to talk some sense into these old bones one day,” he stood to his full height, the wrinkles in his skin smoothing out and the hue of his complexion subtly shifting from light brown to pale green, “you’ve reminded me of exactly who I am.
What all of this is even about. Whatever becomes of us today, let us be remembered as those who defied heaven, and gave ourselves away for the good of the earth,”
Dustin and the others had to shield their eyes from the brilliant green light that overcame the shop.
The moment it died down, Dustin peeked through his fingers to see a small jade stamp on the ground where Mr. Liu had been standing.
His voice filled the air for just a moment, light and breathy, like a whisper on the breeze.
“When the moment arrives, you will know it. True leaders always do,”
Dustin kneeled down and picked up the Heirloom Seal, stowing it safely in his jacket pocket just as his phone started ringing.
“Yo bro! We got the word out! WFRK will be broadcasting the emergency alert any second now!” Chris’s voice cut through the reverent silence like a knife, “any luck finding our seal thingy? Is it like the SeaWorld kind of seal? Cuz James thinks so but I think your boyfriend might be fucking dumb,”
Dustin chuckled in equal parts amusement and exasperation.
“No it’s not that kind of seal, but yes we got it. Let’s regroup. Let’s meet up at Taco King to plan our next…” as Dustin stepped outside, he nearly dropped his phone. Overhead, the swirling mass of black clouds was still surging with lightning, but now there was something else…
He thought for a second that he might be completely losing his shit, but a further glance revealed that he was in fact, unfortunately, completely sane.
Descending slowly from the clouds, was the unmistakable silhouette of the Palace of Radiant Clouds.
Qin Shi Huang wasn’t just breaking his way into the mortal realm…
He was bringing his new throne with him.
“… oh FUCK,”