Once the two spirits and the monk had found privacy in the shade of a wishing tree, Bodhi gestured to the colorful booths behind them.

"The new plan is the old plan. We're still Lucky. We'll simply win the games and sell the prizes."

Ritsu's eyes scanned the monk. "You said you bought an entire barrel of wine? Where did you put it?"

Bodhi snapped their fingers. "Ritsu, focus! That's not important right now. And besides," they sniffed, "I hid it."

Anari, who wanted to get as far as away from the monk as she could, latched one of her arms onto Ritsu's wrist and tugged him in the opposite direction.

"Let's go. We probably have until sundown before they eat your pig."

Moments later, she and the monkey were back in line at the strength game from before.

"You know that wooden staff prize is just a toy," Anari pointed out when they were about halfway through the line.

Ritsu's glamour flickered. "Seriously?" He chewed the corner of his lip. "Oh. I thought . . ."

<Great. You hurt the poor thing's ego. You might as well have stripped him of all his Luck.>

Anari hated to admit it, but the saboteur was right. They needed those other prizes. Though she didn't particularly care what happened to the pig, she didn't want his blood on her hands. And for some reason that was lost to her, he mattered a lot to Sun Ritsu.

The monkey stood with his head hung and his fists at his sides. He forced a chuckle. "Of course the prize is fake. Why wouldn't it be?"

Ritsu was next in line.

Anari thought fast. "Sun."

He lifted his chin in response. With her more feral set of limbs, she squared his shoulders so they were face to face. Then she seized him with her primary arms, embracing him in a way that left zero space between them. She closed her eyes and pressed her profile into his rough sideburns.

"For Luck. Ham Song is counting on you."

When she drew back, Ritsu looked more rooted than before. Only this time, a peachy band of color stretched from sideburn to sideburn. She tried to convince herself that the tingling sensation she felt came from the Luck passing from her body to his.

"Sweet immortal peaches, another ape?" The booth manager growled. "Look monkey king, I haven't got all day. You ready to test your strength or what?"

Ritsu held Anari's gaze for a beat longer before he finally turned to face the platform.

"I'm ready."

While the booth manager showed Ritsu how to test his strength against bending a densely engorged stalk of bamboo, Anari was questioning if her intervention would make any difference.

But then Ritsu stepped up, fitted his hands in the net contraction tied to the end of the stalk, took a breath, and with a single jerk . . .

"Sweet immortal peaches."

All the spirits swore in unison.

Whispers erupted from all sides.

"Did he just break it? It's broken, right?"

"I want my money back!"

"Typical monkey. Always gotta be the center of attention."

It was Anari's idea to stand outside of the entrance to the Garden of Immortal Peaches and sell all of their prizes to the children of the nobles on their way to the feast.

They were getting close to meeting their goal, but they still had a giant mound of peach plushies behind them. The stuffed peaches were stitched with twinkling eyes and dainty mouths, making them look positively irresistible.

The parents of the noble children were thrilled about the prospect of fulfilling the insistent demands of their offspring without having to descend to the level with the gaming booths and general admission.

Ritsu made sure to hide his staff behind the mound so no one would think it was for sale. Anari had been right. It was just a toy, but Ritsu wanted to keep it. He had won it fair and square.

"Did you see the look on that spirit's face when you wrecked his whole contraption?"

Ritsu lowered his eyes. "I didn't mean to. He told me to pull as hard as I could."

Anari nudged him in his side. "Guess I gave you a little too much Luck, huh?"

Ritsu smiled at her. At least she was impressed. Everyone else thought he was a freak of nature. Outside of the Immortal State, sun clones were usually not that remarkable.

Anari looked at the dwindling pile of toys behind them.

Correction, Dear Traveler. All that was left was a single peach pillow and the staff replica.

"We've got enough money to get into the Garden now." She picked up the toys and offered the stick to Ritsu. "Here's your staff."

Ritsu accepted the toy as if it were indeed the most sacred and ancient of all time.

Then the spider looked down at the pillow. "But what to do with this?"

Ritsu said matter of factly, "That one's for you."

Anari's glamour flickered. She hugged the peach to her chest. ". . . Thank you, Sun." Her eyes darted from side to side. "So, should we wait for the monk or just go inside?"

Ritsu set his sights on the glossy bamboo gate. "Let's go. The feast is in a few hours, and they still have to cook the food. So we don't have a lot of time."

One of Anari's glamoured arms connected with his. "Sun, what are you going to do if . . . if we're too late?"

Ritsu tore his eyes away from the gate. Any other spirit might find the sensation of her bristled claw unnerving, but he could tell by the gleam in her oversized pupils that she was concerned.

He placed his hand over hers. "Ham Song's still alive. I can feel it. We just have to hurry."

She nodded and tugged him towards the gate. The spirits guarding the entrance to the Garden reluctantly took their money and escorted them in.

"This way, please."

Once they were on the other side of the giant bamboo walls, the guards took them on a path that ran parallel to an inner wall. This one was made out of stone instead of bamboo. It was carved into a chunky latticework of abstract lotus flowers and cloud formations. Through the openings, Ritsu could easily see the great garden and the silky pastel gowns of the nobles.

"Um, sir? Aren't we supposed to be in there? With them?"

The guards snickered to each other. One of them looked over their shoulder and gave a falsely encouraging nod. "Don't worry, monkey. You'll get your chance to tour the garden. Just as soon as the nobles finish up their feasting. In the meantime, you two will have unlimited access to the Jade Pool. That's where we're going now."

"But –"

Anari, who apparently was still holding his hand, gave him a cautionary squeeze. Ritsu bit back his protest and glanced at her. She was not looking at him, but forward, with a serene smile on her regal face.

"The Jade Pool? How exciting," Anari said with a cadence that Ritsu had not heard before. "Can you tell us more about it?"

The guards exchanged puzzled looks before one of them began to explain, "Well, it's directly next to the Garden of Immortal Peaches. You'll be able to hear the live music for the nobles and smell the entrees of the feast."

"Delightful," Anari crooned.

Ritsu noted that the snideness had practically dissolved from the other guard's face as he eagerly added, "Oh! And the Jade Pool has trees with immortal peaches just like the garden. But they're disguised to look –" He stopped when the first guard gave him a conspicuous shove.

He quickly covered his coworker's blunder. "We have arrived. Enjoy the rest of the evening at the ethereal and pristine Jade Pool."

Anari gave another oddly formal indication of gratitude before they stepped inside of yet another grand enclosure.

Behold, Dear Traveler, exactly what the monkey and spider witnessed when they entered the Jade Pool:

Merely three feet wide, but the length of a mile

This pool has no circular edges, no deep basins

Rainbow koi in flight, constant light bouncing off their scales and onto the smooth tiled walls of their shallow domain

Bouncing back again in prismatic radiance

Creating living spotlights for the fruit trees overhead

They bend so low, nearly kissing the pool

So heavy with divine fruit.

A thousand years to ripen. Ten thousand more to deepen the sweetness.

The koi try, but even their prehistoric muscles

have no chance against unhinging these swollen divine gifts

Only a monkey god has the right

To pluck the the fruit and drink a nectar

Ten thousand years in the making

~

So, what did you think about that little poem, Dear Traveler? It's a reimagination based on the original translation. Not too shabby for a humble bard like myself, neh?

Er . . . I'm aware that it doesn't rhyme. Not all poems rhyme. In fact, the majority don't. I daresay that your exposure to this artform does not exceed beyond simple nursery rhymes.

You think you can come up with a better poetic description of the Jade Pool? Go on, be my guest, Dear Traveler.

Be my guest.