16.2

"You are right. Not only do I disagree with our human methods of discipline, I also disagree with many things about us humans. But we do not get to choose our surnames. We can only follow our fathers. Although, I don't even know what mine looked like anymore..."

"Your father's surname does not suit you." Ji Yunhe grew curious.

"Then what do you think is the right surname for me?"

"You should have the surname Wind."

"Feng Yunhe?" Ji Yunhe smacked her lips for a moment.

"It sounds terrible. Why?"

("Feng" is the spoken sound for the word wind, also the word crazy)

"You should be as free and unrestrained as the wind."

The flirtatious smile on Ji Yunhe's face gradually faded away. She did not expect the greatest desire hidden deep inside her heart over the years would be bluntly called out by a jiaoren that she had barely met.

Ji Yunhe was silent for a bit, then said, "Oh you… " She slowly reached toward him with a retracted finger and a half smile on her face. He remained still and did not dodge her. Pop! Without holding back, she flicked him loud and clear in the center of his beautiful forehead.

"Can't tell if you have great wisdom hiding under a simple facade, or if you are just a simple simple simpleton!"

The jiaoren took the flick without a blink, but he was a bit confused.

"It's fine if you do not like this name. But why do you hit me?" Ji Yunhe stood up, stretched lazily and mumbled, "Beating is kissing and scolding is loving, that is the rule among us humans."

The jiaoren furrowed his brows, a rare sight. "Humans are so strange." Ji Yunhe waved her hand and turned away again.

"You get a good soak, I'll go see if there's a way out of this formation." Ji Yunhe left the cabin. This Ten Square Formation took away her spiritual power and suppressed the jiaoren's demonic energy, so logically there should not be any magic here. And magic was the source of all transformations. But this strange little piece of paradise…

It proved that even though the jade phoenix could not use magic to escape, she was able to use magic to craft things. The location of this crater must be somehow channeling a bit of the energy flow from outside… though not much.

If there was power, then there was a way out. The jade phoenix could not escape because the seal was in perfect condition. But now that it had been broken once already by Li Shu, a demon master and a big-tailed fish together would surely be able to break it again.

Just needed to find the source of the flow of energy. Ji Yunhe convinced herself. But she searched the crater again and again, pulling up almost every root of grass, and still could not find the source. She felt disheartened.

This place had no day and night, just a faint golden light all the time. But judging by the level of physical fatigue, Ji Yunhe deduced that she had been rummaging for over twenty-four hours.

There was nothing to be found. Although they were now isolated from the outside world, she was still very concerned about the situation out there. Whether the jade phoenix was still fighting the demon masters, or if Snow March had been safely taken away. If their fight was over and the Demon Valley reestablished order, she and the jiaoren would not end well even if they were to escape this Ten Square Formation.

They would never get another chance to leave, and if Lin Canglan found out she had stolen the antidotes… It spelled death for her.

Ji Yunhe returned to the cabin exhausted. She intended to say hi to the jiaoren then rest for a bit, but when she got to the pool, he was nowhere to be found.

She stood on the shore and called out several times, "Big-tailed fish!" She did not get a response. Had that fish found his own exit and ran away? From this pool of water?

Ji Yunhe pulled her head together, got down on all fours and peeked beneath the surface. The pool was crystal clear but bottomless, she could see nothing but a pitch black abyss down below. The lotus flowers seemed to only grow on the surface with no roots or stems. Ji Yunhe strained to see into the darkness when she suddenly saw a glimmer.

In a blink, the huge lotus shaped fish tail stirred the abyss and the jiaoren appeared, his body swimming through the water like a dragon. He came up quickly, but was gentle when breaking the surface. His face slowly emerged from the crystal clear pool like a water god, and stopped inches away from Ji Yunhe.

She stared into his eyes, a bit spellbound.

"Hey, big-tailed fish, I do not know your name yet."

The jiaoren's eyes were clear and pure like always, with no signs of disturbance even this close to her face.

"My name, in your language, is Changyi." Changyi…

("Chang" translates as everlasting, and "yi" is the Chinese character associated with any state of mind such as thoughts, memories, expectations, beliefs, emotions...etc.)

This name was like the sigh when Ji Yunhe first saw him in the water. She felt like he too should forever sway that big tail of his leisurely in the sea, happy and free. Ji Yunhe believed from the bottom of her heart that he should regain his freedom.

No longer because of sympathy, but because only the ocean, which could accommodate a thousand mountains and rivers, was worthy of him.