took off the mask, and studied it over and over; after a moment he put it back on the back of his head. "I have grown old." His face suddenly became clear, so that Shen Mu could see it plainly: the brow deeply furrowed, the wrinkles between his brows carved into three deep vertical lines. From his face, no trace remained of the Heavenly Venerable You who had once blasted fish; all that could be seen were the marks the years had left. "Heavenly Venerable Shen, it has been a long time. I have grown old, and am no longer suited to wearing a mask like this; a million years have passed, and yet you are still young." A flicker of feeling stirred in his old eyes, but he hid it again at once. Shen Mu bowed. "Thank you for your care all these years." The old Yin Courier shook his head. "I did not recognize you at first. It was only when the willow-leaf seal appeared between your brows that I thought it might be you. But your willow leaf is not shaped like his. Later, when the Lord of Heaven's seal appeared, I could be certain — yet I could not interfere with you. Had I interfered, you might not have been you." Shen Mu nodded. Obscure as his words were, Shen Mu understood. "Heavenly Venerable Shen, let us go and see Heavenly Venerable Yu." After they had recognized each other, he was in fact less familiar than before, seeming to have become once more the eccentric Heavenly Venerable You of old. His face calm, he said, "For this day I have waited a million years." Shen Mu fell silent. A million years, keeping faith with a single promise — who could do it? He had done it: from a proud son of heaven revered by all, from the green youth Heavenly Venerable You with a boundless future, to the grim, unsmiling old Yin Courier whom all feared at sight. In a million years too much had happened, and there was no one to tell it to; he could only speak to himself. And so the old Yin Couriers grew more and more numerous. Each Yin Courier carried his burdens, yet no Yin Courier could open his heart to another. Shen Mu looked at the Lord of Earth drawing nearer: towering, immeasurably vast, standing in the darkness, his two horns so great and so long they could not be measured. He said suddenly, "You came this time to take back the Lord of Earth's horn. Now you return empty-handed — how will you explain it?" The old Yin Courier's face went calm again. "I was blocked, held up, and could not complete the task. So, by custom, it goes on your account." Shen Mu's face darkened; he snorted. "I have plenty of chamber pots to wear as hats anyway." The old Yin Courier nodded. "Many." Shen Mu said, "How did you become a Yin Courier of Youdu, and how did you become the Lord of Youdu?" The old Yin Courier spoke as though telling of something that had nothing to do with him. "After you left, I carried the coffin to Youdu and went to see the Lord of Earth. He said Lan Yutian's body could be kept here, but I must serve him. So I stayed. Because staying here, I could keep watch over my elder brother and see my mother — only then could I feel that I was still alive." Shen Mu was stunned. The paper boat came to the Lord of Earth's Horn, flying past ruined continent after ruined continent, and before long they arrived at last at the mansion of the Benevolent Sage King of Heavenly Parity. "The Lord of Earth is good. In truth he is very like me — we are both withdrawn." The old Yin Courier, rarely, said a great deal. "But I fare a little better than he does. He has only me to talk to, while I have many selves, and my mother, and my elder brother, who lies in his coffin and listens to me talk." Shen Mu rose, jumped from the boat, and set foot on solid ground. "Today, Heavenly Venerable Yu can come back to life." The old Yin Courier moored the paper boat and led him into the mansion. The first time Shen Mu had come here, he had only waited in the great hall for the Lord of Earth's judgment; this time the old Yin Courier brought him to the rear courtyard. In the rear courtyard was a middle-aged woman, her face bearing the hue of illness, laboriously carrying a bucket of water wreathed in blue flame to water the flowers of the other shore in the garden. The other-shore flowers bloomed, their color surpassing fire, like blossoms of many-colored flame opening throughout the garden. "Mother." The old Yin Courier, rarely, smiled. He went up and helped the woman lift the bucket. "Why don't you rest and nurse your health? Doing heavy work again. Just leave this to me." The woman wiped her forehead and smiled. "One must find something to do. And who is this young man?" She looked at Shen Mu, and he saw at once that the woman had no physical body, only a frail soul; the bucket and the water must have had no weight at all, which was why she could lift them. "My friend." The old Yin Courier smiled. "He has come to visit us, and my elder brother." The woman said joyfully, "You have so few friends, and no one ever comes to see you or to ask you out to play. It is rare to have a friend come — I'll go make a few dishes! You two talk first; I'll have them ready soon." And she hurried off to busy herself again. Shen Mu bowed. "Thank you, Aunt." The old Yin Courier invited Shen Mu to sit in the inner room. Shen Mu looked around: poor as a washed-out bowl. "Why not catch some demons to look after your mother? Or have the primal spirits of the dead help. With your standing, countless ghosts would be glad to lend a hand." The old Yin Courier shook his head. "Mother does not like demons, nor does she like the dead. The Lord of Earth is good; once I agreed to his terms, he reunited mother and son and let us live here together." After a while the woman brought up several small dishes she had made, though the dishes were illusory, food for ghosts alone, with no taste at all. Shen Mu rose and thanked her, inviting her to sit; the woman shook her head and smiled. "I'll watch you eat." Shen Mu sat down again and ate as though it were sweetmeat, finding it delicious, praising it without end. The woman was delighted, and when they had eaten their fill she cleared the bowls and chopsticks and went to wash them. "Thank you," said the old Yin Courier. "It was only right," said Shen Mu. "You are in fact a very good person." The old Yin Courier rose and walked toward the rear hall. "My elder brother is here too; the Lord of Earth shields his body with his own power. Not long ago I sensed a change in the great Dao of heaven and earth — Lady Tianyin has revived — and I knew that this day was not far off." Shen Mu followed him, his heart surging, and at last he saw the coffin he had forged from Buddha-essence and crimson chromium! From within the coffin came the beating of Heavenly Venerable Yu's heart!