The siblings shared a sad, uneasy smile.
“You’re sure about staying behind like this?” Jinyu asked.
“I’m sure, blockhead. Plus, this gives us plenty of time to catch up.” She shot him a small, rare smile.
Jinyu’s expression twisted in disgust. He shuddered. “What’s that thing you’re doing with your face? It’s creeping me out.”
Ashley stopped smiling immediately and stomped on Jinyu’s foot. He howled and hobbled away from her, cursing. Once Ashley was through with the Underworld, there would be nothing left of the place, not even King Yama’s boxers.
“Time is running out,” Nai Nai said. “Have you decided for certain who will stay behind, warriors?”
Ashley stepped forward again. “Me. I’ll stay behind. But,” she added, whirling around, “I expect you guys to get me out of here soon. If you don’t …” She cracked her knuckles and smiled sweetly. “Every Hungry Ghost Festival, I’ll turn your lives upside down and make sure you never find peace.”
“We’ll rescue you if it’s the last thing we ever do,” I reassured her. There was nothing more terrifying than a threat from Ashley, not even a war between gods and demons.
Ashley huffed but then surprised me with the barest of smiles. “Thanks, Faryn. And Ren. You know—you guys aren’t so bad.”
“Uh, thanks?” said Ren. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“You’re a pretty good fighter,” I admitted. “I’ve learned a lot just by watching you.”
Ashley blinked, then flashed the smallest of smiles. “Really? You’re good, too.”
“And what about me? Am I chopped liver?” Jordan protested, the hurt evident in his pained expression. “Me, your own brother?”
Ashley grinned and slugged Jordan lightly on the shoulder. Her smile wobbled. “Take care of yourself, chopped liver. Don’t fail the quest. You still owe me a hundred bucks and a bag of White Rabbit candies, remember?”
Jordan let out a strangled sound that was halfway between a sob and a howl. He grabbed his sister and yanked her into a hug.
“We’ll come get you as soon as we can, okay?”
“Gross,” was Ashley’s muffled reply, though she hugged her brother back just as tightly.
Watching them say their goodbyes reminded me of Alex, and I missed my little brother all over again. I had to find and save him from himself.
At last, Ashley forced herself out of Jordan’s stranglehold. She stepped back and stood up tall, but trembles racked her body.
Nai Nai grasped Ashley’s hands in both of hers and led her toward the Ruyi Jingu Bang, until they were standing right beside the glow. My grandmother closed her eyes and began chanting what sounded like a sutra, her voice too low and the words too quick for me to catch.
“It’s working!” Ren shouted.
The air around Ashley and Nai Nai had turned gold. The ground beneath their feet crackled with golden energy. Soon, the golden light enveloped them and grew so bright that I was forced to avert my eyes.
“Ashley,” Jinyu gasped.
“Ashley!” I heard Jordan yell, a desperate scream that sounded like it had been torn from his throat.
I looked back. Where the Ruyi Jingu Bang had been, Ashley now hovered in the air, her curly hair splayed all around her head, arms and legs spread out. Her body shuddered violently and then stilled. She hung in midair, still emanating that golden light.
“What has my sister done?” Jordan dropped to his hands and knees. Ren and the spirits surrounded him, murmuring words of comfort.
“Don’t worry. This is what’s supposed to happen,” Jinyu said in a trembling, high-pitched voice that reassured no one. “I think. Um, actually, I lied. I’ve never seen anything like this happen before.”
“Her mortal body has frozen,” Cixi murmured. She floated around Ashley, examining her like a scientist would a particularly interesting specimen. “Do not fret, warriors. In a matter of hours, Ashley’s spirit will separate from her body and join us in Diyu. As long as her mortal body is tethered here, her spirit can’t be harmed, and she’ll be able to return to it.”
Something clattered to the ground beside Ashley—a small red and gold object the size of a hairpin. For a moment, I thought it was Fenghuang.
“The Ruyi Jingu Bang,” Nai Nai said softly. When I just continued standing there like a ninny, she urged, “Go on. Take it. The exchange is complete, and you now hold the power to wield the mighty weapon, Falun.”
I bent over and picked up the Ruyi Jingu Bang. This time, the tiny staff felt lighter than a feather.
The legendary Ruyi Jingu Bang, the most famous and powerful weapon in all of Chinese mythology, literally sat in the palm of my hand. I wondered what Alex would say about this. He’d probably freak out, since he’d chosen it as his weapon in that dumb video game he loved, Warfate.
I squeezed my hand into a fist over the Ruyi Jingu Bang. I had a horrible feeling that when my brother and I met again, it wouldn’t be the heartwarming reunion that I wanted.
“Remember, Falun,” Nai Nai whispered, “if you want to restore your friend to the human world, you must bring the Ruyi Jingu Bang back.”
I nodded. Come back to Diyu. Find the Last Glance to Home Tower. Switch Ashley out for the Ruyi Jingu Bang. Three steps. Three simple, easy steps.
Meng Po would be a headache to worry about, but that was a problem to deal with later. First, I had to return the Ruyi Jingu Bang to Sun Wukong. And then stop a bunch of gods from waging war on all the humans.
“Good luck.” Jinyu nodded at me. “My sword is with you. As long as you have it, we’ll be connected. I’ll be there in spirit, helping you.”
The air around Jinyu shimmered with heat—at the same moment my sword handle grew warm beneath my fingertips. And then I understood. “You … It’s you! You’ve been guiding me this whole time. You’ve been helping me in battle.”
“We’re connected through my sword, and the bond is especially strong during the Hungry Ghost Festival,” Jinyu explained. “That means my strength is your strength.”
“But … why? I thought you’d … hate me.”
“Hate you?” Jinyu repeated, confused.
“For … you know. Being the reason that you …” I didn’t finish the sentence. I didn’t need to.
Jinyu shook his head, a soft, sad smile on his ghostly face. “No, Faryn. Never. What happened to me that day was my own decision. You shouldn’t blame yourself for the choice I made.”
Hearing Jinyu’s words, I felt a huge weight lift off my chest. “Thank you,” I said.
“If you want to thank me, go back out there and save the world. That’ll be more than enough.”
Cool. All I had to do in return was save the world. Easy peasy. “How do we get out of here?” I asked Nai Nai.
My grandmother opened up her arms and gestured toward me. “You hold the way home in your hands.”
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I held the way home in my hands …
I looked down at the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and it clicked. In the legends, Sun Wukong’s magical staff could do pretty much whatever he asked. Sometimes he would just twirl it in the air, sit back, and watch it slay the demons for him. If the Ruyi Jingu Bang now recognized me as its owner, too, then the answer to getting home was obvious.