Now that I'm motivated to catch the scoundrel who set me up, I pull the treasure chest from my mystical satchel and lay out the maps. I sweep them all up and toss them back inside. One of these maps will show his location. Come on, trusty satchel, lead me to him.
I pull out a map and unfurl it. A red X flares up. Yes, he's active.
I point to the glowing X. "Long Yan, this should be the criminal's current location. He's resurfaced. My gut says we'll find his pop-up exchange store here."
He studies the map, his finger resting on his chin, then nods. "I know where that is. Follow me." He transforms into a ruby beam of light and shoots off. I quickly toss the treasure chest back into my satchel and fly after him.
We weave through the celestial highway to a secluded area where a floating pop-up exchange store drifts like a forgotten lantern. Long Yan shifts back into his human guise, fiery wings spreading wide to keep him afloat as I hop onto the roof. He lands near the front door and gently knocks on the window.
It snaps open. A merchant with thick glasses and grey hair tied up in a bun pokes his head out. "Can I help you? Oh! Master Long Yan. To what do I owe this honour?"
"I've found a rare item I'd like to exchange with you, if you don't mind."
"Sure thing. I'm happy to appraise it."
"It won't fit through the window. Would it be okay if you open the door?"
The merchant eyes him suspiciously, his hand gripping the bottom of the window.
"Oh, if you're not interested..." Long Yan gestures lazily over his shoulder. "I'll just go find someone else. Shame, though. I am certain this would fetch a fortune." He casually turns away.
Click. The door opens.
Perfect. I drop from the roof, grab the merchant by the collar, and yank his grey hair. His glasses clatter to the floor—along with a fake skin mask.
The shocked merchant screams, "Demon! Get off me!" He scrambles to fix the mask, but Long Yan clicks his fingers and it catches fire. The scoundrel frantically rips it off and hurls it aside before it touches his skin.
Now that's the face from the wanted poster the Crown Prince gave us.
"Ling Yue, you were spot on, it is him after all. Good catch. Would you be okay detaining him while I collect evidence?"
An air tendril wraps around the criminal. I hold on to the end. "It will be my pleasure."
Long Yan plucks a metal box from his sleeve. He opens it, and the whole store gets sucked inside. "The Crown Prince should be happy with this." He closes the lid and slips the box back into his sleeve.
"Before we take him back, I would like to introduce him to 'law' and 'order'. Maybe let's go back to the mountain where I was attacked by your admirer. You know, so I can really let loose, without all those prying eyes on me."
The criminal starts to tremble, and before he can open his mouth to call for help, I gag him with a water tendril. His screams become gurgles in the water.
I drag the criminal across the celestial highway, Long Yan following as a crimson streak. We land at the serene mountain waterfall, mist swirling in the breeze. I plant the scoundrel on the ground. His feet stay stuck as he wobbles upright.
"Meet Law," I say, flexing my right bicep. I hook his neck and slam him down with a satisfying thud.
I yank him back up like a scarecrow. "Now here comes Order." My left bicep smacks him across the face, and he crumples.
"Ling Yue, remember—you can't kill him. It's still considered murder," Long Yan calls out.
"Fine. I'll go easy on him. Only because you asked nicely." An air tendril coils around the scoundrel, lifting him off the ground. It floats him to a nearby tree, looping around a thick branch where he hangs upside down like a caught chicken.
"This is so you can't say I didn't warn you. I'm gonna punch you for every single shooting star you exchanged with me. You landed me in prison, you dirty scoundrel."
I crack my knuckles, neck, and roll my shoulders. "Don't worry. My air tendril should take enough of the impact. You'll survive. But you will still feel it and probably get some internal bleeding."
"Wait, please—have mercy on me!" the scoundrel gurgled, gagged by the water tendril.
I punch him in the gut, the legs—pretty much everywhere but the face—relentlessly. One hit for each exchanged star. There were countless. Sweat trickles down my cheek. I wipe it off with the back of my hand. Ah. That was cathartic.
The bruised and dangling merchant groans in agony.
"OK, I feel much better now. As per your request, he is still alive. Now we can take him back to the Crown Prince."
Long Yan nods, his expression priceless, before transforming back into a ruby beam of light that shoots off ahead. The air tendril wrapped around the scoundrel tightens as I drag him behind me, soaring after my supervisor through the celestial highway.
We both land in front of the Crown Prince's chamber. The red beam shifts back into Long Yan's human guise, scorching the ground as I land with a resounding crack, my captive bouncing and groaning.
We burst into the royal chamber. The Crown Prince and Long Fei are drinking tea while playing Go.
"You know, you should knock before entering," says the royal.
"It looks like they've caught the culprit, Your Highness," says Long Fei, eyeing the bruised and battered captive, then shooting me a suspicious glance.
"Master, I found him like this," I say, avoiding his stern gaze. He glances at his brother. Long Yan gives a wry smile and shrugs.
Long Fei clears his throat, giving me a knowing look. "Your Majesty, since Ling Yue managed to catch the culprit barely alive, would you be rewarding her for her... efforts?"
The Crown Prince sets down his jade teacup and leans forward, inspecting the disheveled scoundrel suspended in my air tendril.
"Well done," he says with a satisfied nod. "This will make quite an example for the others. Although I must admit, I'm surprised you recognized him in that sorry state." He exchanges a grin with Long Fei.
With a flick of his wrist, my water tendril dissolves, and copper chains materialize, binding the scoundrel. "Guards, take this criminal away!"
Two royal guards step forward and drag the unconscious immortal out.
Long Yan hands over the metal box containing the confiscated pop-up store. The Crown Prince closes his eyes as divine energy ripples through him, his hair billowing in the surge of power.
Moments later, the aura settles as he opens his eyes. "Excellent. This box holds concrete evidence. I'll inspect it thoroughly once we have open space to re-materialize the store."
"Your Highness, about my reward," I interject. "How about you just erase my debt ledger and we'll call it even?"
The Crown Prince tilts his head. "Ling Yue, I was going to offer you formal training to become a Guardian of the Celestial Realm. Catching our most wanted criminal shows you have potential."
"No thanks. Just clear the debt and we'll part as friends."
"You're not even going to think about it?"
"I just did. It's a hell no."
The dragon brothers cough, stifling their laughter, while the Crown Prince covers his face, chuckling. "You're right. What was I thinking? Consider your debt cleared. I'll inform the council you've declined their generous offer."
I turn to Long Fei, a grin spreading across my face. "You hear that, Master? My debt's gone! Now, can you take me back to the Ocean Realm before I accidentally make a mountain disappear or break an expensive vintage bottle of wine?"
This entire saga, all because of the damage from my drunken rampage.