Ashley and her brother had to be part god—or part demon.
“No way,” Jordan mumbled. “No freaking way.”
Sun Wukong sighed and rubbed his head. “You mean you warriors didn’t know? Why do these demons and gods always have kids with mortals and never bother to explain it to their own children? I have to speak with the Bull Demon King and bring him an autographed copy of my Parenting 101 guidebook.”
“That’s just absurd!” Ashley said.
The Monkey King gave her an affronted look. “Absurd? I’ve become well versed in the art of parenting, girl. Living with young monkeys for thousands of years has taught me much about keeping the young and spirited under control.”
“I didn’t mean the part about your, um, Parenting 101 guidebook,” Ashley said hurriedly. “I—I mean, if we really were descended from the Bull Demon King, someone at the New Order would’ve known and told us.”
There was no time to unpack the mystery of Ashley and Jordan’s ancestry. The deadline for the quest drew nearer, and we hadn’t checked off a single item on our Stuff We Need to Save the World laundry list.
“This is exactly why we’re even more qualified to find the Ruyi Jingu Bang and bring it back to you, dà shèng,” I said with as much confidence as I could fake. I was getting really good at pretending I knew what I was talking about. “The son and daughter of the mighty Bull Demon King? These two are, like, perfect for the job.”
Jordan gaped at me.
Ashley hissed, “Stop talking now.”
Sun Wukong’s eyes flickered over the siblings, as though assessing how they stacked up in comparison to the Bull Demon King he knew. They must’ve passed his “Are These Kids Really the Long-Lost Descendants of a Demon King” test, because he nodded. “If you warriors really wish to send yourselves to an early doom, I won’t stop you.”
“We really don’t wish that,” Jordan said. I elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow!”
“Besides, you two especially might want to pay Diyu a visit.” Sun Wukong’s eyes were still trained on Ashley and Jordan. “Your father, and the other Demon Kings, often congregate there.”
Ashley’s and Jordan’s cheeks had turned an ashen color, but I could tell the appeal of speaking to the Bull Demon King, their father, outweighed the fear of venturing into Diyu.
I wanted to go there, too. Ye Ye’s message in Restorative Potions had told me I needed to find my ancestors and that they would give me an elixir to restore Ba’s memories. Diyu was definitely the place for that. “Highest heights and lowest depths”—the “lowest depth” in Erlang Shen’s riddle had to refer to the Underworld. Plus, there was still the mystery of those two other warriors on the quest, and it didn’t look like we’d find them on this mountain. “How exactly do we get to Diyu?”
Sun Wukong pointed at the compass in my hand. “That compass will show you the way. After you arrive at the entrance, tell the first person you meet that you were sent by Sun Wukong, the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven. That’ll guarantee you entrance.”
“We’ll return the Ruyi Jingu Bang to you,” I said. “You’ll see.”
The Monkey King didn’t respond. He returned to his throne and sat with his back to us, his body arranged into a meditation pose. I took that to mean we were dismissed.
“So,” said Jordan with a dazed expression, “does someone want to explain to me what just happened?”
“We have to go to Diyu.” Ashley tugged at the ends of her curly hair with her face scrunched up. “Do we even know where that is?”
“No, but I know how to find it.” I raised the compass.
“Oh, no,” Jordan said sourly. “It’s thanks to your compass that we got into this mess in the first place. Why did it bring us here?”
“We’re not in a mess,” I insisted. “It’s thanks to my compass that we unlocked part of the riddle. ‘An old ally will return from the brink of death.’ We’ll find the Ruyi Jingu Bang and use it to bring Sun Wukong back from the brink of death.”
“Doesn’t seem like he’s on the brink of death,” Jordan muttered. “The brink of a midlife crisis, maybe. Can gods have midlife crises? I’m not— Wait, where are you guys going?”
I hurried to catch up with Ashley, who was already heading back through the cave. The compass glowed and shuddered in my hand. The arrow spun around rapidly before settling to a stop just as I exited the waterfall.
Ashley threw the yuán onto the ground and yelled, “Faryn, the remote!”
I yanked it out of my pocket and clicked the button. The coin grew into a chariot, the two stone lions already pawing at the ground, as though itching to take flight once more.
“I know how to get to Diyu,” I shouted as we all piled into the chariot. I pointed down and to our right, where the arrow was directing us.
“As if I’ll listen to you,” Ashley snapped.
“Don’t you want to find our fathers?” I interjected.
That made Ashley fall silent. After a beat, her face scrunched up in confusion. “Wait. You said our fathers.”
Oh. Oops. “Um …”
“Your father is a demon, too?” Jordan gasped.
“No! Ba’s a warrior. He, um …” Well, there was no point hiding the truth from the siblings any longer, especially not if we could all help each other. We’d already come so far together. If we were going to successfully complete this quest, we had to trust each other. “Zhuang.”
“What about Zhuang?” Ashley asked.
“He’s my father. He left the Jade Society, and then he somehow lost his memories. Another reason we have to go to Diyu is—is to find my ancestors and get a memory-restoring elixir from them.”
Jordan and Ashley wore twin expressions of shock on their faces. Their sibling resemblance had never been stronger.
“Whoa,” said Jordan. “That’s wack.”
“So that’s why you wanted to go on this quest. You just want to restore your father’s memories,” Ashley accused, her eyes flashing with anger. “This is why I said we shouldn’t trust her, Jordan.”
“That’s not the only reason!” I protested. “Besides, don’t you want to find your father, too? We can help each other save the world and be reunited with our fathers. We can’t do either if we don’t trust each other.”
“What Faryn is saying makes a lot of sense, Ashley,” Jordan pointed out. I shot him a relieved smile.
“You always side with her. Are you her brother or mine?” Ashley grumbled. She didn’t look happy, but at least she wasn’t taking a swing at me. “Fine,” she said. “Do what you want. Just don’t get in my way.”
Without another complaint, Ashley urged the stone lions off the bridge and down toward the earth. Jordan folded his arms across his chest and looked over the side of the vehicle, making loud sighing noises every few minutes to remind us that he wasn’t happy with this plan.
My limbs ached. I knew I should get some rest, but sleep evaded me for a day and a half. Eventually, Jordan’s sighs turned into snores. I tried not to be envious or do anything petty, like kick him awake. I think I showed remarkable self-restraint by letting him stay asleep.