Cho Yanshi's cooking filled the house with a steamy, slightly smokey aroma.
At the table, piles and piles of plates and bowls were everywhere, and Jin Huang was lost amidst them, still eating.
Hei Shisan carried away stack after stack of dishes, giving them to Shen Wuyou and Qin Shuyue, who were washing and drying them.
Lu Chen had fully opened the window and was sat on the windowsill, looking out as nighttime settled.
Strange insect-like noises filled the world, coming and going with the cool breeze.
Above, the starry sky was completely moonless, illuminated instead by cosmic clouds, brightly colored and flowing like a stream of water in the sky.
Lu Chen called it the 'Lake of Avalon,' which Jin Huang didn't hear because he wasn't paying attention.
When he finally finished his meal, he licked his lips and stretched.
"I knew I'd feel better after having a bit of food. Time to wash up. Where's the bathroom, Madame Cho?"
After getting directions from her, Jin Huang went to the bathroom and took a nice, long soak.
As he was doing that, Hei Shisan and Shen Wuyou were chatting on the landing at the front of the house.
Shen Wuyou's hands were open, the dice spinning as Hei Shisan looked closely at their movements.
They slowed after a short while, then stopped, still hovering above Shen Wuyou's palm.
Two sixes.
The confirmation that Jin Huang, by just waking up, directly affected the fate of all those present caused Shen Wuyou to be out of breath.
"So you were right, Wuyou," Hei Shisan chuckled, wiping his eyes as he looked up at the mystical Lake of Avalon in the night sky.
"Could it be related to the part of him that is a Paramount Dao?" Shen Wuyou soliliquized.
"Let's see what they think," Hei Shisan cocked his head in the direction of the house, and Shen Wuyou nodded.
Inside, Qin Shuyue was actually speaking to Lu Chen while Cho Yanshi was sitting having tea.
"I really hated seeing that," Qin Shuyue frowned, pouting slightly.
"Jin Huang was my first real friend at the Academy... and I'm his, too."
Lu Chen put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an apologetic and reassuring look.
"I get it. It's fine. Getting upset on behalf of your friend isn't something I can fault you for. Thank you, though, for being understanding. I'm sorry that that was the option I resorted to, but in the same situation I would do it again."
"Aiding and guiding the Supreme Immortal is the only thing King Yama asked of us before he perished."
Qin Shuyue wiped away the tears that were filling up her eyes and nodded, "I understand."
Cho Yanshi smiled warmly, looking every bit the image of a doting mother.
At the same time that Shen Wuyou and Hei Shisan entered, Jin Huang came bouncing down the stairs, his yellow hairs still wet.
He was topless, exposing his masculine torso, and the muscles that were slightly larger than they had been when he was just a farmboy.
His stone key necklacke was on full display, as was the glowing image of his Stamp of Approval, and his fish-hook-shaped birthmark.
His pearly white teeth emerged in a mischievous smile as he rubbed his hands together.
"Is dessert ready?"
Cho Yanshi giggled, waving her hand over the table and causing the appearance of various sweet treats.
Grinning greedily, Jin Huang found himself sitting at the table and indulging.
"I, um..." Shen Wuyou stepped forward, attracting an interested gaze from the others- Lu Chen especially.
"Wuyou here has made an important discover thanks to his alignment with the Dao of Gambling." Hei Shisan proudly announced.
Jin Huang turned, face full and messy with the residue of cakes and other sweets, "Aw, yeah, Wuyou!"
Shen Wuyou laughed sheepishly, his face paler further, "Well, it's still only an alignment in name. I won't really be tapped into the Gambling Dao until my Dao Integration."
Lu Chen guffawed, "Don't be modest, Wuyou. You're more tapped in than you realize. You made a bet with us that you knew you were going to win during Jin Huang's debut in the arena, did you not?"
Nodding and smiling wryly, Shen Wuyou said, "It's true. However, there's something that I've only recently discovered. A change in the way the probability rolls."
He looked at Jin Huang, who was smiling proudly much the same as Hei Shisan, but with a face full of desserts.
"Before Jin Huang woke," he opened his palm and willed the dice to roll.
Qin Shuyue and Lu Chen stepped closer.
"The dice refused to decide on a singular number- on a probable outcome. Then, once he woke up, they were able to make a decision," he paused for them to see the dice roll two sixes.
"Sixes are good, right?" Qin Shuyue asked, meanwhile Lu Chen fell into thought.
"Yes, they are indicative of the best possible outcome." Shen Wuyou explained.
Jin Huang laughed, "That's so great. Now I feel even more confident in my decision."
Paying his own words no mind, nor the faces of his friends in response to his words, Jin Huang continued stuffing his face.
"Decision?" Qin Shuyue posed the question as she leaned over to look him in the face.
"Mhm!" Jin Huang licked his lips.
"What decision is that?" Cho Yanshi asked.
"When did you make a decision?" Hei Shisan echoed the questioning tone.
"Almost as soon as I overheard you guys' conversation," he said matter-of-factly.
"I'm going to go exploring, and continue cultivating."
They all did their best to silence their unease, some more than others.
Lu Chen knocked one hand into the other, as though he had made a discovery.
"That explains it," he said.
"Huh?" Hei Shisan tilted his head, the others puzzled as well.
"The Dao of Gambling is the way of divining aspects of Fate and Destiny. I believe that, because Jin Huang is both a Paramount Dao and a living being, and also technically resides within the Fourth Realm..."
Lu Chen paused, eyes wide.
"He is the de facto Sovereign of the Fourth Realm, and somehow is capable of affecting the probabilities. It may just be possible for him to..."
Hei Shisan and Cho Yanshi gasped at almost the same time; Qin Shuyue and Shen Wuyou caught on a bit later.
Jin Huang was stuffing his face and completely oblivious.
"He might be able to affect the probability of the other Paramount Daos... making it easier for their paths to be rediscovered." Lu Chen was in awe.
"It's possible that Jin Huang can make it easier for the other Paramount Daos to be cultivated? How has this never been talked about before?" Hei Shisan grew excited.
"The Supreme Immortal was never really researched in the way King Yama did. Perhaps Heaven made its own divination, but they would never share that with others." Cho Yanshi explained.
"If this is true, then it might give us a better idea of how the Supreme Immortal is meant to change things in the Three Realms."
Lu Chen looked at her, their memories returning to a specific point in their lives.
Hei Shisan smacked Jin Huang on the back and laughed, "That's Number Fourteen for ya!"
Qin Shuyue gulped and Shen Wuyou stared at his dice, pondering.
"Well," Jin Huang swallowed, "whatever that means, it can't happen if I don't get out there, right? So let's go!"
Cho Yanshi reached into her robes and took out the Supreme Immortal Journal. She had borrowed it and read it until she reached the blank pages.
"Have you read the pages on how you're meant to cultivate in the Inner Core realm?"
Jin Huang paused, shaking his head slowly. "I will get right on that... as soon as I finish eating."
She shook her head with a narrow smile, "Don't bother, I'll read it for you."
The others gathered as Cho Yanshi opened up the pale leather book, turning to the relevant pages.
Well, well, well. You made to the Inner Core realm, huh? You must think you're hot shit, huh? Well can it, fuckwad! You're still a baby in the war! A total newbie, come crawling back to me to find out how to progress further.
What a loser! Hahahaha!
Jin Huang looked at them and cleared his throat. "It was a... um... past life. So... it wasn't me exactly."
Eyes rolled as Cho Yanshi continued.
Divine Vital Energy perfects the foundation, while Demonic Vital Energy boosts the gathering of energy, allowing the dantian's limits to be exceeded beyond normal limits.
However! What then? Inner Cores are the result of ceaseless, unyielding pressure, solidifying that energy and creating a powerful, condensed core.
How, then, can the Supreme Immortal Body acheive this?
Don't know, do you? Idiot! Hahahaha!
It's so simple!
All you have to do is....
Consume a universe!