“Zhuang,” called the master of the New Order.
My father turned around and stood up slowly with his eyes closed. When they opened, they met everyone’s eyes one by one—everyone’s except mine. I tried not to let that get to me.
I stood there, unsure what to do next. Xiong placed his hand on my back and gave me a gentle push forward. Aware of the many pairs of eyes on me, I took one step forward, then another and another.
Ba’s eyes finally met mine when I stood right in front of him.
Raising the vial toward my father, I said, “Please drink this.”
“What is it?”
“Um …” Well, I couldn’t tell my father it was a memory-restoring elixir. That’d probably make him run for the hills. “It’s, uh, a tonic for your … muscles.” In a moment of inspiration, I added, “The gods gave this to me as a gift for completing their quest.”
Ba stepped away, eyes wide. “Then you should use it, Faryn.”
“I already had some,” I lied. “Trust me, you’ll feel better once you’ve taken this tonic.”
Ba gave me a small, appreciative smile. “Thank you, child.” He took the vial from my hands, raised it to his lips, and tilted it back. The purple liquid poured out of the vial, and with three big gulps, it all disappeared down Ba’s throat.
“Ah.” My father sighed once he’d swallowed the last gulp. He shook his head and gave us a thoughtful look. My heart hammered in my chest. The silence seemed to grow louder with each passing moment. “Powerful tonic. I do feel stronger, and—”
Ba gasped and lurched down to the ground.
“Ba!” I cried without thinking at the same time others shouted, “What’s happening?”
I bent down and placed a hand on my father’s back. His body was racked with shivers. But after a few moments, the shivers passed.
“Ba?” I said uncertainly.
My father straightened. My arm slid off his back and returned to my side. I found myself face-to-face with Ba, and for the first time in years and years, we were looking at each other—really looking.
“F-Falun?” Ba whispered.
My throat closed up. I nodded. Something wet splashed down my nose and cheeks. Tears.
Then Ba leaned forward and wrapped me in the biggest, tightest hug I’d ever received in my life. I could barely breathe, but I didn’t even mind.
“I’m … back,” my father said in a choked voice. “I’m—I’m late. So very late, nǚ ér.” Daughter.
“Ba,” I gasped.
We hugged, the warmth of the embrace saying all the words that we couldn’t speak. After a while, someone cleared their throat. I blinked back tears and looked up. Several warriors had pulled out tissues and were wiping away their own tears. Even Xiong’s eyes were redder and brighter than usual.
Reluctantly, I pulled away from Ba’s embrace. My father helped me to my feet, and we stood side by side as the master of the New Order gathered everyone’s attention on himself once more.
“Now that the warriors have returned successfully from their quest, I have good news and bad news,” Xiong announced in a firm voice. “The bad news is, as you may have noticed, Nezha, Guanyin, and Erlang Shen are no longer with us.”
Anger flared anew in my chest at the mention of Erlang Shen’s name.
“Erlang Shen joined the Jade Emperor’s army,” I said. “No—he was always part of it. He was a traitor all along.”
I expected this news to shock Xiong and the others, but they exchanged heavy expressions that told me they already knew. Even Ba didn’t seem surprised.
“Yes, I’m afraid we didn’t discover the true nature of his intentions until it was too late,” Xiong said. “One of our warriors stumbled across the traitorous god as he was confiding in one of his allies in secret. Erlang Shen fled the New Order, but he’d already collected enough information from us to do quite some damage, I’m afraid.” Xiong shook his head. “As for Nezha and Guanyin, they left to do reconnaissance and convince some other gods to join our side.”
While we’d been gone, it seemed as though the New Order had been through a lot, too.
“And the good news?” Ren asked.
“All hope is not lost,” Xiong said, a grim smile on his face. “We received a crane from Nezha and Guanyin earlier today. One of the most powerful goddesses, Nüwa, will join our fight.”
Cheers rose from the monkeys. We had the mother goddess of the Earth on our side. Maybe there was hope after all.
As the warriors chatted among themselves, my father turned to me with a smile stretching across his face. I couldn’t help but smile back. My heart hadn’t felt so light in years.
“Nǚ ér,” he said slowly, as though relishing each syllable. “Daughter. Falun. Won’t you give your father another hug?”
I threw my arms around the warrior I thought I’d lost forever. My father. Ba. Maybe if I hugged him long and hard enough, it would make up for all the hugs we’d missed over the years.
For the moment, nothing else mattered—not the war, not Alex’s stubbornness, not Erlang Shen’s betrayal. Nothing mattered but the fact that here, at long last, in Ba’s arms, I was safe. I was home.
My father pulled back and held me at arm’s length, examining me from head to foot with a tearful expression in his eyes. “I’m so proud of you, Falun. We have quite some catching up to do, don’t we?”
“Yes. Yes we do.” I blurted out, “Nai Nai said my mother—or her spirit—is trapped in Diyu. With a Demon King.”
Ba’s eyes widened, and horror dawned on his face. “That won’t do. The first thing we’ll do after this is pray to Ye Ye for help,” my father said. “Now, then. About your brother. He … he’s turned over to the other side, hasn’t he?”
“Yes, but … not completely.”
Alex had helped me complete the memory elixir for Ba’s sake, after all. He wasn’t beyond saving. He only wanted to find his own blood-related family and do what he thought was right.
Alex was still the brother I’d grown up with for twelve years. Just as Jordan and Ashley had always fought for each other, I now had to fight for Alex. Even if he tried to kill me in the process. Or I tried to kill him. After all, what are siblings for?
Besides, I didn’t have to do any of this on my own. I had Ba’s help this time.
“How are we going to save Alex and my mother? And the world?” I hoped my father still had all the answers, like he did when I was younger.
Ba smiled at me—a warm, intelligent smile, with a familiar hint of mischief. “Don’t worry, nǚ ér. We’ll make a plan.”
DEMONS AND DEITIES THROUGH THE DYNASTIES
A Glossary
Hello! Author speaking. As I said in the last book, I drew the following definitions and interpretations of Chinese mythology below from my own research and experience, including the stories I learned growing up. Most of it comes from the classical Chinese text Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en and the guidebook Chinese Mythology A to Z by Jeremy Roberts. There are other versions of Chinese folklore out there, so this is not by any means a comprehensive guide. But I do hope it will teach you a little bit about the mythology that appears in The Fallen Hero—and make you want to do your own research to learn more!