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The Great White Planet sat at the table. He held a cup of steaming tea between his hands. A consummate host, Ji-Hyun.
On some level I expected him. My wizard headmaster needed to come and explain to me what on god’s green earth had happened. “So you’re going around showing yourself to humans now?” I said.
The old man shrugged. “Does it matter? I see you’ve opened your circle as well.” He tilted his head at Yunie.
“She gets the biggest pass in the history of all passes,” I said. “You ought to make her an honorary goddess for what she’s done.”
“I wouldn’t say no,” Yunie said.
The Great White Planet smiled wanly and patted the empty seat across from him like he owned it. “Come, sit.”
There was space enough for three. I felt a sense of balance, flanked by Quentin and Yunie. Maybe the three of us should have teamed up from the beginning. I wished the Universe had picked a different way to tell me so.
“Guan Yu and I managed to find our way back to Heaven,” the Great White Planet said. “Once Xing Tian was neutralized, we could travel freely once more.”
“The Jade Emperor beat you there, though,” I said.
“He did. We arrived to see the King of Heaven sitting firmly on his throne once again. By then he knew Guanyin had succeeded. He’d already circulated the ‘official’ story of what happened.”
He paused, knowing this was a possible blowup moment for me. But I hadn’t the energy. “What is the official story?” I asked.
“It’s very close to the truth. As soon as the Jade Emperor detected the menace of Xing Tian, he heroically went off on his own to face down the existential threat. Concerned for the rest of our safety, he told no one where he went. After the blunders of lesser gods woke the monster, the kind and noble Goddess of Mercy sacrificed herself to make up for her error. He would have gladly held off Xing Tian himself until the end of existence, but fate had other plans.”
The Great White Planet waited to see if I would have my outburst at that last part. When he saw that I was calm, he continued.
“The Jade Emperor, in his benevolence, understands why the Mandate Challenge was called,” he said, his monotone betraying his disgust. “But seeing as how the crisis is over and he, the incumbent ruler of Heaven, is still around, the window to consider new rulership has closed. In a further display of generosity, he forgives the court of Heaven for its treasonous actions, as well as the individuals more directly involved.”
With that, the saga was over. The Jade Emperor had gotten everything he wanted. It had been his journey the whole time, and the rest of us amounted to only a bump in the road. “Did you tell the rest of the gods what really happened?”
“I tried to. But my word is worth less than dirt now. I bungled the most important task in millennia by trying to replace my boss while he was legitimately combating the end times, remember? Guan Yu raised his voice as well, but no one listened. Or maybe they believed us and didn’t care. The Jade Emperor’s consolidated his power too well.”
The Great White Planet fiddled with his teacup but didn’t drink. “Guan Yu left the court of Heaven to go on a personal voyage. He no longer wanted to have anything to do with such corruption. As for me, I was thanked for my service and forcibly retired for making these statements. Lei Gong or Zhenyuan or another one of the Jade Emperor’s henchmen will take over my job. I’m lucky that I wasn’t sentenced to Hell, honestly.”
They were good eggs, the general and the inspector. Guan Yu’s honor and the Great White Planet’s integrity showed me there was some decency among the people high above us. Just not enough to make any meaningful difference whatsoever.
“Nezha?” I said. “Erlang Shen?”
“Nezha’s loss was mourned—a young god struck down before his prime.” The Great White Planet’s voice quavered. “As for Erlang Shen, what of him? He was a traitor, and his presence in the Mandate Challenge was a foolish experiment with an outcome that should have been expected. He couldn’t contain his rage, and the Jade Emperor killed him in self-defense. What else needs to be said?”
The hurt in his eyes told me that he needed to say much, much more about his former prize student. The Great White Planet condensed the volumes into a few pithy lines of advice.
“You remind me very much of Erlang Shen,” he said to me. “A youth who saw too far into the future and was blinded by the possible. I’m warning you now. Don’t go down his path. Stay focused on what’s in front of you.”
It was advice that might have kept Guanyin alive. “Was Erlang Shen a good contender to replace the Jade Emperor, before he lost his third eye and started to plot against Heaven?” I asked. “You’ve been the grade-keeper for so long. You must know.”
The old god aged another hundred years in front of me.
“He was flawless,” the Great White Planet said, his voice hoarse. “Before the Jade Emperor took away his eye, he would have developed into the perfect ruler of Heaven.”
I disagreed with him about who would have made the perfect ruler. But then, everyone was biased toward their favorites.
The Great White Planet stood up. He seemed shorter than I remembered. I hadn’t meant to cause him pain. “I should go,” he said. “Would you like to know what your final score as the Divine Guardian of California was?”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I feel like there are other things that matter more than grades.”
He nodded as if I’d passed the last category of his test, the part that wasn’t scored with a number. “There certainly are, Shouhushen.”
The inspector of the gods left like a normal person. Through the door and down the steps, back to Heaven or wherever his retirement led him. I wished him well.
