Yu Di quickly picked up the tailor from his kneeling position. “We will have none of that. Is there a back room we can go to?”

  The tailor nodded, keeping her eyes on Vimala. He led the way into the back, filled with clothes of different sizes and styles. Long rolls of cloth stacked up like a mountain on all sides. A misplaced roll could cause an avalanche and bury everyone involved. This led to only a small space not stuffed with clothes.

  “I apologize, Goddess,” the tailor said. “I was packing away everything before you came. Let me make a space for you two and get you some refreshments.”

  Yu Di put an arm on the man. “That won’t be necessary. If you hold a true reverence for the Goddess, then you will listen to our request and let us be on our way.”

  “Yes, of course.” The tailor bowed his head. “How may I be of service?”

  “We need new clothing for her, preferably something that doesn’t—”

  “How did you know I am the Goddess?” Vimala asked.

  “Your voice and those eyes.” Like a child, the tailor sneaked a peek at Vimala. “You visited my neighborhood when I was young and we all heard you talk and sing. I would never forget it.”

  “You went around neighborhoods and sang?” Yu Di asked.

  “As a priestess, one of my duties was to connect with our communities so that we could better serve them,” Vimala said.

  “You mean assess them for any threats.” Yu Di understood all too well how his empire did things.

  Vimala nodded. “How can I protect them if I don’t know them?”

  Yu Di turned back to the tailor. “Get me something for the Goddess that won’t make her stand out. Give us at least five sets of clothes for her and be sure that they are sturdy. Then get me the same.”

  The tailor looked between the two, but mostly kept staring at the Goddess.

  “Why are you still standing there?” Yu Di asked.

  “I beg your forgiveness Goddess, but aren’t you going to ascend soon? Why would you need clothes?” The tailor asked. “It’s why you reappeared, right? When the city needs you the most, we all had faith you’d come back and save us.”

  “You are right,” Vimala said in a resonant voice. “It is time for me to come back but there are forces working against me that continue to delay me.”

  “The Menace of Miryana.”

  Vimala glanced at Yu Di.

  Yu Di rolled his eyes. “Yes, that’s exactly who is stopping the Goddess from ascending.”

  “That man has haunted our city for the last twenty years, killing our priestesses and making us weak. We can’t let him continue to get away with it.” The tailor grabbed Vimala’s hands. “Please smite him for all of Miryana so that we can finally go back to the peaceful days of the past.”

  Vimala pulled her hands away and stared right at Yu Di. “I will gladly smite him for what he’s done to me, but there is something to be said about forgiveness for those that seek it.”

  If Yu Di could have rolled his eyes harder, he would have . “Yes, yes, we all seek forgiveness for our past transgressions. We really should get going or else the Menace of Miryana might get angry and cause a bigger problem for us all. So, tailor, if you would please get us the clothes.”

  The tailor stood up straight, crossed his right arm across his chest, and bowed deeply. “Right away.” He disappeared into the stacks of clothes, pulling and throwing things around.

  “You might not want to talk anymore on this trip,” Yu Di said. “It seems the mask is not a good idea if it makes people recognize you as the Goddess. You can be my mute attendant. That could work.”

  Vimala picked up a bolt of cloth and smacked Yu Di over the head with it. “I will not be your servant girl. Didn’t you hear the tailor? He told me to smite you. Don’t tempt me.”

  Yu Di couldn’t help but smile. After all the life and death in the past few days, this was nice. He could pretend he was simply on a shopping trip with a friend and then soon, he would have to be on the run with said friend, hoping they’re not be caught and executed.

  It felt just like old times. Dense Qi cycled through his body once again, continually reforging the abuse he put his body through. He could feel and see everything so much more clearly now.

  The tailor came back with a set of light robes for Vimala. They were sand-colored wraps that would hide her figure. He also brought over a headscarf to cover her hair and face.

  Yu Di had to admit that the mask really evoked memories of the Goddess. It wasn’t the same mask or the same outfit she wore all those years ago, but the vibe she gave off was overwhelming. With the new clothes, she looked like any respectable middle-aged woman from Miryana.

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  Yu Di’s own set of clothes was similar. There was no way he’d ever take off his protective robes, so he made them akin to underclothes. The tailor who made his enchanted robes would cough up blood if he knew.

  The tailor wrapped sand-colored swaths of clothes over Yu Di, making him look more like a servant. Each strip of cloth was bound tight and pinned down. He didn’t have the luxury of flowing robes of the rich. It would have felt suffocating if he hadn’t reached the second realm. All he had to do was focus a little of his Qi to make himself comfortable.

  The glory of being an Immortal could not be overstated.

  “How much for all this?” Yu Di asked.

  “Nothing. I could take nothing from the Goddess.” The tailor was still goggling at Vimala, despite her changed appearance.

  “No, you must take payment,” Vimala said. “I know that all my people are struggling under this war. It’s only going to get worse.”

  The tailor hesitated.

  “If nothing else, take the money and use it to help others if you can.”

  “Yes, of course,” the tailor said. He turned to Yu Di with outstretched hands. “The clothes come out to eight more bars of that silver you gave me.”

  Yu Di forced himself not to frown. If the silly Goddess wanted to pay the man, then she should use her own money instead of his. Don’t be generous with other people’s money!

  Yu Di gritted his teeth before pulling out eight more bars of silver. He still had plenty of mortal wealth, but not on him. The nine bars he gave to this man murdered his stash. There was no way he would try to haggle either, not with the Goddess being so damned generous with his money for a good cause.

  Yu Di put all the clothes they purchased into his storage ring. He took a deep breath and turned away as Vimala continued talking with the tailor.

  It was fine. Yu Di was going to pay the man, anyway. If nothing else, he would ask the prince for money later on her behalf. He was taking care of his love for him.

  “We should get going before it becomes full dark,” Yu Di said.

  Vimala laughed at something the merchant said before nodding. It sounded like soft wind against wind chimes. She had never sounded like that before.

  The tailor bowed once more before heading back out to his storefront.

  Yu Di led Vimala out the door, both changed in appearance. “Where to now?”

  “I have a few places we could go, but the high priest’s men might figure it out since they know we’re connected to Ying Fusu.” Vimala looked up to the sky. “We could rest for a night at the temple. They take everyone, as long as we don’t plan on staying.”

  “We could find an inn,” Yu Di said.

  “Since the siege over a year ago, all the inns are full or shut down because of running out of food. It would be impossible to get a room.”

  Yu Di remembered staring at that large gathering of rich merchants when he first arrived. He didn’t have a better idea so he followed Vimala to the nearest temple.

  The temple was small. It had only one round arch at the front that didn’t hold the walls up. It looked more for show. The rest of the building was made of the usual brick in a very rectangular fashion. The only exception was that it was built apart from the other buildings, lending it small side alleyways that could fit at most a very skinny woman or stray cats.

  Inside the building, a large Goddess statue greeted them. Its former white facade grayed from dust. A priest stood in front of it, greeting the weary travelers as they entered. His eyebrows shot up when he saw the pair.

  “By the grace of the Goddess, good evening,” the priest said. “Are you two here to donate to our temple?” His smile became wide as if he saw a wounded prey walk right up to him.

  “We wish to stay the night,” Yu Di said.

  “Oh? That could easily be arranged. For our wealthier patrons, we offer individual rooms so that they can offer their prayers to the Goddess privately for a better reception.”

  Yu Di grimaced. Another ploy for money from his dwindling supply. He couldn’t afford it, not after buying all the clothes.

  “Yes, that’s what we’ll take,” Vimala said. “How much of a donation would you accept for one of these rooms?”

  The priest’s smile widened even further. “The Goddess is kind and only wishes to support all her faithful with whatever you can afford. Judging by your clothes, I’m sure you two can afford a great deal.”

  Vimala glanced at Yu Di.

  Yu Di held his tongue. For what would come out would be nothing short of venomous to this former Goddess. He saw a certain irony that he was about to donate to the Goddess with the avatar of the Goddess standing right next to him. He reached into his robes and pulled out two small bars of silver from his storage ring.

  “Would this suffice?” Yu Di asked.

  The priest’s smile diminished a little. “While that is a great sum, times have been rather difficult for our temple. The Goddess shines on us every day, but it’s never enough to feed the bellies of all that seek our shelter.”

  Yu Di clenched the bars of silver.

  The priest’s smile faltered before taking a step back. “I apologize if I have offended you. I meant no disrespect.” He bowed his head. “I’m certain that whichever inn you were a part of housed quite a few and they would be more than happy to find lodging here. With food prices the way they are and other amenities, we have no choice but to find—”

  Yu Di took out four more bars of silver and put them in the priest’s hand. “Will that suffice?”

  The priest’s eyes lit up. “Yes, that will do nicely. We’ll make sure that our honored guests have everything they need for their brief stay at our temple. As you know, we’re a very austere temple and can only provide you with basics.”

  Yu Di clenched his teeth. If this man spoke anymore, he would eviscerate him right now. Taking six bars of silver from him and having the gall to explain how they have nothing to give him was enough to break his patience. If he had known this was going to happen, he’d have taken the risk at an inn. If nothing else, he probably could have persuaded them to leave another way.

  His Qi was roiling underneath his skin.

  “We will take whatever you have with our thanks,” Vimala said. She put a hand on Yu Di’s arm. “My servant and I are desperate and wouldn’t want to inconvenience anyone.”

  The priest nodded once. “Yes, of course. I’ll find a steward to bring you to your room.” He practically ran away with Yu Di’s glare right at his back.

  “He’s gone. You can stop now,” Vimala said.

  “Stop what?” Yu Di said.

  “Whatever you’re doing. Something has changed about you. You were calmer before.”

  Yu Di took a deep breath. He noticed it too. He had always been even-tempered even when facing someone as annoying as Elder Li or Gu Zi. Not to mention the insanity that his daughter put him through for the past year.

  Ever since he broke through to the second realm, Yu Di has felt a sort of impatience. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was his growing desire to finally break the curse and become a Demigod once again. Or maybe he was truly done with bowing down to all these mortals and their whimsical natures.

  Yu Di smiled. Yes, that was it. It was the last one. Maybe with a few more weeks of cultivating, he could see how high his curse had allowed him to reach.

  “Okay, now you’re scaring me,” Vimala said.

  “Good.”