Fourth Prince - It Was Then That Renjie Realized

It was then that Renjie realized Snowblind Tigress was also right there.

"Second Consort Chen!" he said. "Did you bring my future wife here to share in the moment of my great scientific achievement?"

"I'll just say 'yes,'" said Snowblind Tigress.

Other than Renjie, all the expedition members got down on the ground. It wasn't just rank that moved them. Consort Chen was the second most dangerous person in the world. If Renjie wasn't mistaken, his bubble-bottomed Bon Bao was making the same kind of face he made right after a good bath toy hit exactly the right spot.

"Iba Algi tells me your Bon Bao would be honored if I killed him," said Snowblind Tigress.

Bon Bao said nothing. His face said everything.

"Don't stand too close to him," said Renjie. "He's experiencing…."

"To my knowledge," said Snowblind Tigress. "I've never had that effect on anyone before."

"That's because they usually die too quickly," said Iba Algi.

"That makes sense," said Snowblind Tigress.

She wandered off. Iba Algi swatted Bon Bao on his muscular rump and called him a bad boy. As Consort Chen walked around the chamber, everyone on the floor remained where they were and rotated their prostrated bodies to keep pointing in her direction. Renjie tried to pull a few people back up to standing, including his Bon Bao, but they refused. Renjie massaged the muscle hunk's temples in order to relieve stress.

"I've seen similar spaces," said Snowblind Tigress. "They were all full of ice. Princess?"

"That's me!" said Iba Algi.

"According to the legends of my clan," said Snowblind Tigress, "there is a mountain in the frozen northern sea. Inside that mountain is a room like this – completely filled with ice. According to this legend, the Asamati Basileus once ruled from inside that ice. I've never had occasion to think about asking you this before. Is she still there?"

This question so excited the Minister of Antiquities, he rotated to face Iba Algi.

"Hmmm," said Iba Algi. "Gosakumonoh Tuyan'natar, the Asamati Basileus, appears in the chamber you describe on every Winter Solstice. She returns to Hell at the start of Spring. In Hell, she serves as the devil Black Feather Ghost. I don't recommend seeking an audience with her in either location. She is very mercurial."

"Noted," said Snowblind Tigress.

Convinced he could see the ghost called Nin, Renjie reached out and tickled the little girl. The fact that she could be tickled by a person in the mundane world astonished Nin so much, it took her a moment to start squealing. It was harder for Renjie to tickle Harlecuin Sols. He was more difficult to see. But it was getting easier – and so Renjie tickled him too.

"The little ghosts are here?" asked Bon Bao.

"Of course," said Renjie. "Future Wife?"

"Future Husband?" asked Iba Algi.

"Did you bring Snowblind Tigress here so she would think of asking you that question?"

"No," said Iba Algi. "Snowblind Tigress brought me here so that I could give you a hint."

Renjie stopped massaging his bubble-bottomed Bon Bao and jumped around.

"A hint?" he asked. "Really? Oh, come on everyone. Stand up, already!"

Everyone stood up.

"What's the hint?" asked Renjie.

"Which of these four exits should you take?" asked Iba Algi.

"Little Princess?" asked Bon Bao.

"Bubble Bottom?" asked Iba Algi.

"If this is the level we were supposed to reach," said Bon Bao, "why didn't you point us at the big door at the bottom instead of the little hole at the top?"

"There are two reasons," said Iba Algi. "Reason One: you learned things up there."

The Minister of Antiquities roared with approval.

"Yes!" he said. "We learned a lot!"

"Reason Two," said Iba Algi. "I didn't know about the door at the bottom."

"You know the Asamati Basileus appears inside a mountain no mortal can reach every Winter," said Bon Bao, "but you didn't know about the door at the bottom?"

"I didn't know about the Asamati Basileus either until Consort Chen asked," said Iba Algi. "I'm only a little girl. I can't keep track of everything that's happening in the whole world all the time."

"I think," said Renjie, "that your hint is a trick question."

Iba Algi clapped.

"My future husband is both cute and smart!" she said.

"You're wrong, Iba Algi," said Nin. "He's incredibly cute."

"Incredibly cute!" agreed Iba Algi. "But what's the trick?"

Her face became comically menacing.

"The trick," said Renjie, "is something like 'we should take all of them' because there's a secret mechanism in each corridor that has to be turned at exactly the same time."

"Oh, that's very good!" said Iba Algi.

"I think so too!" said Harlecuin Sols.

"Taking all of them is a good guess," agreed Nin. "But I think it's something else."

"What do you think it is?" asked Renjie.

"I think…," said Nin.

"There's a hidden door," said the Minister of Antiquities.

"Oh shoot!" said Nin. "I wanted to say that."

"He can't hear you, Nin," explained Renjie, "and didn't know you were trying to answer."

The Minister of Antiquities fell back down onto the floor and apologized. Renjie pulled him back up. There was no need for anyone to get down onto a wet floor. All the Minister needed to do was tell Nin he was sorry. Which he did. Again.

"Is 'hidden door' the right answer?" asked Renjie.

"Well…," said Iba Algi. "Yes! But can you find it?"

Her face became comically menacing again.

"I know where it isn't," said Bon Bao.

"That's a start," agreed Iba Algi. "Where isn't it?"

Bon Bao walked over to the western side of the room. Because the Cut was not much further to the west, it wouldn't make sense for a hidden door to be in that section. Iba Algi agreed the door was not to the west. A search began. Hard as he tried, Renjie couldn't spot the faintest seam or discontinuity in the rock.

"I think it's here," said the one called Whisps. "But I can't say why."

"Are you just guessing?" asked Iba Algi.

"It isn't exactly a guess," said Whisps. "The wall is wrong."

The Minister of Antiquities laid a palm on the wall. After a while, he pulled his hand back.

"The wall is wrong," he agreed. "But I can't say why, either."

Nin tried to go through the rock and bounced off it.

"Oh my gosh!" she said. "This rock is like the rock in the giant telescope!"

"That's right, Nin!" said Iba Algi.

"The rock in a giant telescope?" asked Renjie, in part for everyone else's benefit.

"Uh-huh!" said Nin. "Iba Algi took us to see a giant telescope! It was the top of a mountain. It was up so high there wasn't any air. Except there was a lot of wind. Which doesn't make much sense. But we climbed down a few miles and ended up in the control room where I had to make a bunch of ghost wires so that Madame Misone could bonk the spectres on the head and then a bunch of friends showed up and we pointed the telescope at Hell instead of Heaven!"