My heart leapt in my throat. A quiet, messy-haired boy around my age. Alex? Or Ren? But what would either of them be doing all the way out here?
Whoever it was, I knew he had to be the fifth warrior mentioned in Erlang Shen’s riddle.
Moli’s eyes met mine. Her expression was blank. The balloon of hope that had swelled in my chest quickly popped. If Ren were here, she would know. Wouldn’t she?
“If you really wish to enter the realms of Diyu to retrieve the Ruyi Jingu Bang—though I warn you, it’s a useless endeavor—I won’t stop you,” King Yama said. “But beware, warriors. Diyu may be emptier than usual during the Hungry Ghost Festival, but it is no less fearsome. Even I don’t know what you might face in these courts.”
“Can’t you give us a hint?” Ashley asked.
But King Yama had turned back to his line. The message was clear. From here on out, he’d give us no help.
“This way.” Moli waved us toward the left. “I’ll be your guide. I know the ins and outs of Diyu, all eighteen levels.”
“There are eighteen levels?” Ashley groaned.
“Yes, and they’re constantly shifting. My orientation tour lasted a whole month.”
Jordan’s face drained of color. “Great. We’re gonna be trapped here forever, guys. My great-grandkids will be trapped here!”
“Lead the way,” I told Moli quickly. The faster we were out of here, the better.
Just six months ago, Moli probably would’ve made a snarky retort rather than listen to me. But instead, she just nodded and began walking.
Relief flooded me. I almost wanted to tell Moli that being dead had done wonders for her personality. But I figured saying, “Hey, I like you better now that you’re dead!” might be a bit insensitive.
Together, the four of us headed out a side door of King Yama’s chambers. The great golden doors slammed behind us, and we tumbled out into a great forest filled with trees, lit by the moonlight and stars high above.
There was only one path ahead of us now: forward.
CHAPTER
16
“On the plus side,” Jordan said as we trekked through the darkness of the Underworld, “it’s the Hungry Ghost Festival. That means most of the evil ghosts have left Diyu to haunt Earth. So we probably won’t die miserable deaths down here … right, guys? Guys?”
I wanted to say yes, but truth was, I didn’t have a clue. Something told me that Diyu was dangerous through all the seasons and days of the year. Besides, my mind was preoccupied with what King Yama had said about other warriors—specifically, one other warrior who’d come down here.
Ren’s and my shaky telepathic connection had gone silent since I’d entered the Underworld. Was he doing well? Had he managed to escape the Dragon Kings or made any progress toward finding his mother?
“Earth to Faryn?” Moli waved in front of my face. “You heard what King Yama said just now, didn’t you? You think it means …?”
“That Ren is down here?” I finished. “Wouldn’t you know?”
“Probably,” Moli admitted, “but I’m just one spirit. I can’t sense everyone who enters or leaves Diyu. Why isn’t Ren with you guys, anyway? Did he get sick of looking at your face and take off?”
I frowned. “No. Ren had … important business to attend to with the Dragon Kings—like getting the heck away from them.”
“The Dragon Kings,” Moli mused. “They haven’t chosen a side yet, have they?”
“I think they have,” I said, gulping. “That’s why Ren is trying to get away from them.”
“Oh. In that case, we’d better hope King Yama was talking about Ren earlier,” Moli said. Even though she was doing her best to give off her usual cool, unconcerned attitude, I could tell that she was bothered by this bit of news. Losing the Dragon Kings to the Jade Emperor would be a massive blow to our manpower.
I realized I’d fallen way behind the others, including Moli, while I was lost in thought. Snap out of it. I caught up to the group just in time for Moli’s Great Things About Me speech.
“I’m Moli. I lived in the Jade Society with Faryn, and I taught her everything she knows. It’s thanks to me that we were able to complete the quest of the Lunar New Year.”
“That is false,” I said loudly. But the others gazed at Moli with wide-eyed, enraptured respect. Some things never changed.
“I’m Ashley, and this is Jordan. We’re from the New Order.” Ashley pointed to her brother, who frowned at her. “Yes, I speak for us both. Don’t talk to him unless you want to lose some brain cells.” Moli’s eyes flickered over to Jordan, and she arched an eyebrow and nodded.
“Hey,” protested Jordan.
“Feel free to ask me any questions about the Underworld,” Moli continued.
“I do have … one question.” Ashley hesitated. “One of our … friends died in battle earlier this year. Xiong Jinyu. Do you know where he might be?”
“Xiong Jinyu? That name doesn’t ring a bell.” Moli shook her head. “If he died in battle, he could be anywhere. If it was a particularly honorable death, he may even have already ascended to Heaven.”
“Oh. Okay.” Ashley’s shoulders slumped. Jordan patted her back. I tightened my grip around my sword—Jinyu’s sword. I couldn’t decide if I was disappointed or relieved that we probably wouldn’t run into him down here. If Jinyu saw me, the girl he’d died for, holding his sword—would he be pleased or angry?
We moved past the trees and into a garden pavilion filled with flowers of all different colors. A gentle breeze blew around us. In the garden, there was a small house and a clean river that looked nothing like the one we’d crossed on the Bridge of Helplessness.
“Where are we?” Jordan marveled at the sights around us.
“Some kind of garden.” Ashley bent down to pick up a white flower.
“Don’t touch that,” Moli snapped. Ashley froze, her finger millimeters from a petal. “Don’t you remember what King Yama said? This place is dangerous, especially right now, during the Hungry Ghost Festival. You never know what might be lurking—” Moli paused. “Did you hear that?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“Listen,” she insisted.
I strained my ears. After a moment of silence, I heard it—the rustling of leaves and then a crash as something large barreled through the garden.
Ashley screamed. Jordan let out a strangled cry and drew his sword. I drew mine, too, although my fingers shook.
Demons. A whole horde in the distance charged straight toward us. Something told me they weren’t rushing to welcome us to Diyu with a big group hug.
“Guards!” Moli roared, cupping her hands around her mouth to project her voice. “Guards, where are you? Come protect me!”
“And us!” Jordan squeaked.
“I thought the hungry ghosts were all headed up to Earth,” Ashley protested in a small, high-pitched voice. “Why are there still so many here?”
Moli shook her head. “After the demons failed to invade Earth during the Lunar New Year, many were killed and sent back down to the Underworld. What you’re seeing now is a group of them, um, reformulating. All at once.”