Yu Di kept up with Vimala’s frantic running. There were a few twists and turns where he lost his footsteps, but with a little guided Qi, he corrected himself. The challenging thing was, he wasn’t sure where they were at this point.

  Vimala had taken many turns without looking for any landmarks. Her every step ran toward something while footsteps marched behind them in the echoing tunnels.

  “Do you know—”

  Vimala stopped and slammed her hand on his mouth. She shook her head. She kept running.

  A few more twists and turns that included a small dip deeper down into the earth, they arrived at a large room. This room smelled considerably better. There were large pipes that ran into the room coming from above.

  Vimala walked deeper into the room until she found a locked door. She reached into her tunic and pulled out a small key. She opened the lock and beckoned Yu Di to come.

  After Yu Di walked in, Vimala locked the door on the other side with two large planks barring the door. Just inside, a large waterfall crashed down below, deafening all sound inside.

  “Where are we?” Yu Di asked.

  “We’re home.” Vimala put the key away. She walked up to the edge before the waterfall and washed her hands. After she cupped the water in her hands and took a long drink.

  “The water’s safe,” Vimala said. “This is the flood room. The city’s engineers created this space to divert the White Jade River’s excess water here to prevent floods.”

  Yu Di peered up at the top of the waterfall. Sure enough, he could see part of the mountain.

  “So we’re isolated from most of the city then?” Yu Di asked.

  “Unless the rivers flood, we should be safe here,” Vimala said.

  This was the perfect opportunity. With Ying Fusu somewhere else and hostile men right outside the door, Vimala couldn’t escape. Fate wasn’t as cruel to him as he thought.

  “What’s with that face?” Vimala asked. “I don’t like that face.”

  “I think it’s time for you to tell me everything.” Yu Di took two steps toward Vimala. “You are hiding something. You must know more about this curse than you’ve told me so far. And this time, Ying Fusu isn’t here to save you.”

  Vimala flashed a wide smile, showing off her teeth. She looked like a she-wolf that had caught an unsuspecting prey.

  “You’re right, Ying Fusu isn’t here. He can’t see what I’m about to do.”

  “Oh? And what is that?” Yu Di took a step back.

  “I’m about to bring a Demigod to his knees.” Vimala reached into the waterfall and grabbed a white ceramic cup. It was shaped perfectly, crisp golden lines running down its side. She pulled out a metal star-shaped medallion from her tunic and put it into the cup.

  A brief flash of blinding white light that felt like a mother’s embrace filled the small room. It smelled like fresh dew after it rained. A powerful rush of Qi enveloped Yu Di. It forced him down on all fours.

  In that split second, Yu Di grasped the higher workings of the technique. It was a defensive technique, probably developed by the first Goddess of Miryana. It felt ancient. The technique, much like the Vimala, repulsed anyone that had ill intent upon either the Goddess herself, the city, or its inhabitants.

  Twenty years ago, if she used this on him, it would have sent him flying back to the Celestial Jade Empire with his butt on fire. It had enough power to incinerate him. Too bad Vimala used this relic too late.

  Yu Di knew he had no ill intent for anyone in the city. Yes, not even the Goddess that got him cursed. Although she did annoy him a little.

  That earned Yu Di a minor burn on his backside, but nothing serious.

  Vimala stood over Yu Di, small ceramic cup in hand glowing like a full moon in the sky. Her smile matched those rogue cultivators out for revenge.

  “I haven’t used this in years,” Vimala said. “It takes so long to recharge that I wasn’t sure if it had enough to take on a Demigod. Well, former Demigod.”

  Yu Di pretended to be struck by the defensive technique. It wouldn’t hurt to see where she was going with this. He didn’t have to worry about her even if she tried to kill him as she wanted earlier. He might not be a Demigod, but at Core Formation he might as well be a Demigod compared to her.

  “You have given me nightmares for the last twenty years,” Vimala said. “I feared you’d come back the moment you realized the Goddess disappeared and torch my city to the ground. When my priestesses started disappearing, I thought you were still in the city, murdering them. Every time I look at Ying Fusu or his men, they remind me of you, your eyes, your determination to burn my city for my secret. I know he loves me, or at least wants to bed me, but I can’t trust any of you people, especially not men.”

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  The door rattled on its hinges. Men shouted on the other side, banging on the very door.

  “Speaking of vile men, this item should have enough power to incapacitate them.” Vimala raised her ceramic cup up toward the door. “My only regret was using so much of it on you. It’ll probably knock out a handful before it runs out of power and then I’ll jump down the waterfall. I’ll swim back to the city if I have to. They will strip you bare and feed you to the giant rats down here.”

  Vimala kicked Yu Di to tip him over.

  Yu Di groaned. He had to sell the injury.

  “Those men out there are terrible,” Vimala said. “Probably the worst this city has to offer. They’ve done evil things to the poor people of Miryana. They once done some things to me, but I was lucky. Ying Fusu saved me. But you. You are the worst monster of them all.”

  Good thing Yu Di was on the floor, facing away from the woman. Otherwise she’d see how hard he was holding in his laughter. This woman thought that he was a monster? He was only in pursuit of knowledge on his path to becoming a true God. He never cared for mortal attachments like the people of a city.

  The revelation hit Yu Di like a tribulation lightning strike. His daughter made him realize other people matter. Twenty years ago, he came to this city looking for an answer. He didn’t care about them. Now, he realized he does.

  Ugh, stupid conscience and stupid Wong Chun. Why did she have to bring Yu Di a daughter to care for?

  The banging on the door stopped. An eerie green light pushed through the gaps in the door. In seconds, it turned into hard Qi and cut down the planks holding the door in place.

  Vimala turned her ceramic cup toward them.

  Five men burst through the door.

  Vimala waved her little cup and a white Qi flashed in front of her, knocking all five men down.

  Yu Di turned just enough to see the cup in action. The cup pulled Qi from the water and combined with her star medallion. From there, it shot a pulse at the intruders. With a little focus of his own Qi, he could see that the technique was ingenious. The cup allowed the user to pull Qi from any source to power the linked medallion.

  Yu Di wondered if he could borrow that cup and do the same thing with a few of the Qi artifacts he had within his storage ring. At the moment, they were all unpowered as he no longer had the requisite Qi. But he knew it wouldn’t work. He could tell right away that the two items were made from the same creator. They worked as a pair.

  Why the Goddess of Miryana would leave such a rare artifact in this waterfall was beyond Yu Di’s understanding. Or maybe Vimala had it with her during their fight? But if that was true, she could have used that to bring him to his knees before they even fought.

  Why didn’t she?

  Maybe the crazy-eyed woman standing in front of him was a kind and naive girl twenty years ago when they fought. It took twenty years of hard living to change her into someone who understands the real challenges of life.

  Whatever the case was, the ceramic cup was about to run out of energy.

  A strong, dense strand of black Qi ripped into the room. It held the essence of water, only further strengthened by the waterfall behind them. It wrapped around Vimala’s waist like a tiger’s paw. The weight pushed her down into the ground.

  Vimala focused her fire on the technique. But no matter how many times she hit it with the cup, nothing happened. It didn’t warp or dissipate. The black Qi only thickened until it pinned her arms to the ground.

  “No!” she yelled.

  “We finally caught you, little mouse,” a man’s voice called from outside of the room. He was shirtless, showing off his tanned scarred muscles. His every movement was deliberate like a tiger pacing its territory. A tangled beard framed his mouth.

  “Reis,” the surrounding men called out. They stood at attention in two lines as if welcoming a king.

  “What do we have here?” Reis asked. He peered down at Vimala with one eye closed as if looking really closely at merchandise. “It’s another one of those little Goddess priestesses. Didn’t expect to find another one after so long. The abbot will pay a lot for you.”

  “What about the other guy?” a follower asked.

  “Look through his pockets and throw him down the waterfall.”

  Yu Di closed his eyes and focused his Qi sight on Reis. He was at most at the same level as a Core Formation cultivator. The rest of his men were mortals. He could take him on, but it would probably be easier to allow them to throw him into the waterfall. There’s nothing they can take off him, anyway.

  Unless they try to cut off his fingers to reach his storage ring. But they wouldn’t do that for a seemingly worthless ring, would they? If they did, all he’d have to do is jump into the waterfall himself.

  As for Vimala, she can disappear for all Yu Di cared. She wanted to kill him ever since he teleported into Miryana. Now that he knew she was the Goddess he feared, he would have free rein to find the secret. Get that, regain his Demigod powers, and then fly back home to Yu Lin.

  Yu Di sighed. If only it were that easy.

  “How are you stopping my powers?” Vimala asked.

  Reis yanked the ceramic cup out of Vimala’s hand. The star-shaped medallion slipped out and clung to Vimala’s chest. He reached for it, but a bright flash of white hot Qi pushed him back.

  Yu Di recognized the Goddess’ Demigod powers from that pulse. The medallion was a work of art. How it could both protect its wearer and perform such feats as the earlier Qi technique astounded Yu Di. If he could get his hands on it, he might find another level of enlightenment from that alone. But he highly doubted she could let him study it.

  “Bah, stupid Goddess items,” Reis said.

  “You can’t take it from me,” Vimala said.

  “You are right little mouse, except for one small exception. We can if you’re dead.”

  Vimala tensed.

  That was a possibility for Yu Di. He wouldn’t deliberately go about harming Vimala. He’s not a monster. But if these people did it while he was unconscious or if by some other chance he happened upon her corpse, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Maybe he could learn enough to save the city. He’d be a hero.

  “Don’t you worry little mouse,” Reis said. “Abbot Lokenatha is paying a lot of gold for little Goddess priestesses. He doubles the bounty if you’re still alive.”

  “No!” Vimala shouted. “He’s going to kill me. He’s been killing the priestesses to drain our power.”

  Reis frowned.

  “You must have confused me with someone who cares.”

  “I’ll get you gold. More gold than what the Abbot can give you.” Vimala reached into her tunic. She pulled out a promissory note from the Celestial Jade Empire. “This is from Ying Fusu. He’s a very rich merchant and will pay anything for my release. He can double or triple whatever gold the Abbot offered you.”

  Reis plucked the paper as if he were afraid it would fly away.

  “Looks like we hit the jackpot, boys.”

  “So you’ll let me go?” Vimala tried to get up.

  Reis stomped her chest, pinning her to the ground.

  “No, little mouse. We’re not stupid enough to go against the Abbot. What we are going to do is hand you over, collect the gold from him, and then ransom you from this Ying Fusu. Get triple the gold.”

  Vimala coughed, struggling against Reis’s boot.

  “Yu Di, I know you’re not stunned anymore. Help me!”

  A strong black Qi technique wrapped around Yu Di, holding him in place.

  “Kill him,” Reis said.

  Yu Di groaned. Why did they always start with the killing?