Chapter Text
Zhuzhi-lang is starting to believe he’s been cursed. What other reason could there be for him to constantly arrive at a place just moments after Immortal Master Shen has vacated the area? But he is nothing if not tenacious. No matter how many times such misfortune befalls him, he will do his utmost to catch the elusive human.
He owes a great debt to Immortal Master Shen and absolutely must find him before Tianlang-jun’s plan to merge the realms comes to fruition. Which is why Zhuzhi-lang finds himself traipsing through the borderlands with a talkative little demon at his side. Apparently this Six Balls and his friends recently had a run-in with a man who bears striking resemblance to Immortal Master Shen, give or take a few odd clumps of facial hair.
“—and then he slapped himself!” Six Balls gestures animatedly. “It was the darndest thing. Just laughing and then smack! Badly frightened me and the boys.” He shivers. “Humans are scary.”
Zhuzhi-lang gives a slight nod. Humans are indeed terrifying creatures. Best avoided or killed on sight. Immortal Master Shen is an outlier, of course. Though it’s understandable that demons with low cultivation would be intimidated by him.
“How long ago was this?” Zhuzhi-lang can’t afford to dawdle. He’s well aware that he’s running on borrowed time.
“Ahh probably about half a day? Maybe less?”
“And did he say where he was headed?”
“He asked me about the rift so probably there. But more importantly, and do forgive me for not having asked for your name before now, how many balls do you weigh?”
Zhuzhi-lang blinks. He has never considered such a question before. “This one will have to defer to your judgment.”
“Hm.” Six Balls cups his chin, giving Zhuzhi-lang a solid once-over. “I’d wager at least ten. Possibly more, I’m not an expert. My pa could tell you for sure.”
“Well. Thank you for the estimate, then.” Zhuzhi-lang takes a slight step back. He’s not fond of others looking too closely at him. “And many thanks for the informa—”
“Gosh, you’re a handsome fella. You know what? Twelve balls.”
Zhuzhi-lang clears his throat, unable to tell if he’s being teased. His cheeks feel slightly warm. Very strange. He must leave this place. Now.
He immediately turns on his heel and heads off towards the rift in the boundary between realms.
“Eh? Where are you going?” Six Balls trails after him. The other demon’s legs are much shorter and it takes time to catch up. “Was it something I said? Look I can’t go higher than twelve balls, okay, I won’t set aside my integrity.”
“Any amount of balls is fine,” Zhuzhi-lang says genuinely. Why is he still following me?! “This one merely must be going.”
“Then do you want a trinket for the road?” Six Balls digs into one of the pouches at his waist and pulls out a single dangly green earring. “I normally sell things like this for a lot of gold but I like you. I’ll sell for half price.”
Zhuzhi-lang glances down at the earring. It’s only one half of a pair and kind of dinged up, but Six Balls smiles expectantly as he holds it up. He has a nice smile, big and crooked.
Somewhat helplessly, Zhuzhi-lang smiles back. “All right. How much?”