The Legend of the Underwater Palace and the Sea Dragon Prince

8. The sea dragon ascends to the skies, a meaningful conversation

The prince just kept swimming around, looking at him silently, making Hua Cheng afraid of having offended him: was it a taboo among demons to reveal their real bodies, did he go too far as to ask that? But His Highness' golden eyes seemed to be smiling, gentle as usual, and he had an air of amusement around him.

Tilting his head, he said casually, "I don't want to scare San Lang off".

Hua Cheng hurriedly replied, "I could never get scared of Gege, no matter how he looks – "

Still swimming around him, the crown prince had a soft smile on his face, as if it didn't matter what Hua Cheng said, he wouldn't believe it. Hua Cheng was about to argue some more – not about seeing the sea dragon body really – when the prince started going faster and faster, getting to a point of Hua Cheng not really seeing him, just a pearly flash around him and –

His sea dragon body! Hua Cheng didn't know if the he turned into a dragon so fast he couldn't see, or if it was so slow he didn't notice... A fierce-looking beast the colour of pearls, its scales as big as a man's hand, smooth and shiny, a long waving tail, sharp talons, long horns – only its eyes were the crown prince's gentle eyes. True to his word, Hua Cheng didn't get scared at all.

"Gege, you're so beautiful", he couldn't help but say, as the sea dragon kept swimming around him gently, showing himself in full detail, and laughing in delight.

Hua Cheng just stood floating in the water, mesmerized, as if never having enough of looking at the prince's demonic body. He asked, stretching out a tentative hand, "Can I... can I touch you?"

The dragon swam closer, coiling itself around him, and Hua Cheng felt the smoothness of its scales, their glazed texture, that colour so deep and shimmery – and the way he touched the sea dragon... suddenly, the prince's human body flashed through his mind, white as jade, and he immediately retracted his hands in embarrassment, with a strained smile.

"You're beautiful", he repeated, then laughed, "Why would Gege's sea dragon body scare me?"

"Do you want to", the crown prince asked in a teasing tone, "Do you want to ride me?"

Hua Cheng's breath hitched, "Gege?", then scolded himself mentally: what was he thinking!

The sea dragon passed by smoothly, and Hua Cheng twisted his body to mount it, holding onto its horns. It swam gently, going around in big circles like floating clouds and flowing water; then, it started to swim faster, closing in the circle, and before Hua Cheng could challenge him, he heard, "Hold on tight!"

With a deafening splash, they shot out of the water, flying high in a bright blue sky!

Hua Cheng was naturally terrified, and held onto the horns till his knuckles were white, that sudden strong wind making his teeth chatter, almost freezing him to death. Up they went, and soon Hua Cheng saw himself flying above the clouds, and with a soft sun shining on them and reflecting on the dragon's body, he didn't feel cold anymore.

He even laughed, feeling more relaxed, "I didn't know you could fly too! You're a sea – "

"All dragons can ascend to the skies, even the sea dragons!", the prince replied, laughing as usual.

He returned to his human body, with his magic making both of them to stand among a sea of clouds, as if they were on a heavenly beach, and Hua Cheng couldn't help but sigh, looking at the misty skies all around him. He didn't worry either: Gege wouldn't let him fall to his death!

He shot him a glance, and the prince's golden eyes were fixed on the whiteness ahead.

"Beautiful, isn't it?", he said dreamily, "Sometimes I just come here to be alone..."

He said it in a soft voice, with a hint of helplessness, even sadness; what happened, where did that laughing prince go? Hua Cheng regarded himself as a ruthless, evil and selfish man, but for some reason, he felt a tightness on his chest: in that moment, in spite of himself, all he wanted was to give him hope.

Being caught off-guard, he laughed casually and commented, "Gege, what's the matter? If gods block, kill the gods; if buddhas block, kill the buddhas. A powerful demon such as yourself – "

"I'm waiting for something, and feel a never ending restlessness", the prince replied in a low voice.

As He Xuan had said before, Hua Cheng wasn't one to daydream: he had to fend for himself since very young, when he was pressed into piracy. Being down to earth was a survival trait, as being a pirate was kill or be killed. Long gone were the days before that, when he could sit on a beach and look at the night skies by himself, wondering about life and death.

"Aren't all living creatures?", Hua Cheng blurted out, "Waiting for something, something they either love or dread? Sometimes you just wish it so hard you convince yourself it's coming, it must be coming, and you wait for it. Then when it doesn't... In my own experience just wishing isn't enough, you must make it happen, by any means possible".

He sucked in a breath: did he said too much, did he reveal his true colours?

"Or, waiting for death, which will come sooner or later", he concluded with a shrug.

The prince listened silently, but Hua Cheng couldn't tell if he was paying attention; then, seeming to wake up from a long, open-eyed slumber, he gave Hua Cheng a long look and smiled, somewhat shy.

"You're right, I'm a highly cultivated demon, and a mighty one: my body may of course be destroyed, but my soul doesn't automatically go into the cycle of death and rebirth", he paused, then, turning into a sea dragon again, said, "Let's go back".

Hua Cheng jumped back on him and held onto his horns, all the while trying to comprehend it: for what he just said, the Crown Prince of XianLe, Xie Lian, was truly immortal, or, not joining the cycle of death and rebirth, unborn and deathless. One reaches this estate by means of non-attachment, so what could he be waiting for?

Suddenly, the prince told him to brace himself, and they plunged back into the deep sea.

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