The immortal wriggled his now visible webbed feet. Upon closer inspection, he seemed to possess the strangest physique: not exactly a man, yet not exactly a fish.

A catfish, to be exact.

A pair of long whiskers, formed of glossy skin, sprouted from above the immortal's nearly nonexistent mouth, floating as if underwater.

"This is most unseemly," Bai Qingyue said with a smirk, crossing his arms as he raised his eyebrows condescendingly.

"Ah, so you do know how to smile!" the immortal harrumphed loudly, clearly annoyed, as he grabbed an empty bowl from the nearest food stall to cover his shame.

"Only when there is reason to."

"Ill-tempered, mannerless fox!" grumbled the immortal. "The answer to the riddle is 'an equal', you fool. Equal!"

"I tire of this," Bai Qingyue sighed dramatically. He suddenly turned on his heel and walked away.

"Wait!" the immortal cried out.

Bai Qingyue kept walking, clearly disinterested, sweeping his jet-black hair away from his face.

"Do you not wish to ask me anything about yourself?" the immortal queried, following closely behind.

"Leave me be." Bai Qingyue waved a hand at him, as if to shoo him off.

The fishlike immortal floated persistently at Bai Qingyue's side. He was cloaked once more, hiding his part-humanoid part-aquatic frame.

"Are you not curious about your past, Sovereign Lord? This old man has all the answers."

"What has happened in the past cannot be changed or reversed. I only look forward to the future."

"Ill-tempered fox, this old man is not your enemy," the immortal said, voice calm once more. He sounded almost solemn now. "I must only make certain everything falls into its proper place."

Bai Qingyue headed towards the stables, remaining tight-lipped as he did so.

"Hear ye, this old man be the sage your father seeks," declared the immortal.

At that, Bai Qingyue stilled, but as soon as he glanced sideways, the immortal disappeared entirely.

The Fox Lord's sharp eyes swept about the marketplace, but he found no sign of the Immortal Sage. His steps quickened in haste, following the Sage's lingering fishy stench.

Instead of finding him, however, the presence of another immortal halted his footsteps. He spotted Lang Ju, waiting at his intended destination: the stables.

"Welcome back, Sire." Grey fox Lang Ju, the senior servant of the Bai Clan's palace, shapeshifted into his handsome humanoid form and bowed deeply before Bai Qingyue.

"Dispense with the formalities," Bai Qingyue said dismissively, and then signaled for Lang Ju to rise.

"Thank you, My Lord." Lang Ju slowly raised his eyes to meet Bai Qingyue's. Although it was not an easy task to discern the Fox Lord's mindset, Lang Ju had known him since he was a young cub, and could immediately tell his Lord was agitated.

As to the reason for the current mood, though, Lang Ju was not certain.

"Is everything well, My Lord?" Lang Ju asked, concerned.

"Have you sensed the presence of another immortal in the vicinity?"

"No, Sire, not at all. I did witness your battle, though. It was most impressive, Sire."

"Hm." Bai Qingyue breathed in deeply, thoughts unfathomable to his servant.

Bai Qingyue, after making sure no one else was in sight, relinquished his disguise. The illusion of his wife's feminine grace melted away, and he reverted back to his own, more masculine appearance.

"What did you think of my performance?" Bai Qingyue inquired. He straightened his sleeves and tied his gossamer hair back loosely, as he often did whilst in the guise of Zhu Qingyue.

Lang Ju blinked, his expression quickly shifting to something more uncertain. It was rare for his Lord to ask for another's opinion, and so the senior servant was caught off-guard. The current sly look on the Fox Lord's chiseled countenance was a beautiful, if slightly unnerving sight for the senior servant.

Lang Ju had lived in the Bai Clan's palace all his life, and knew from experience he had to tread with caution with the Sovereign Lord. One wrong word, or a right word in the wrong place, could bode ill. Sometimes, it could even mean death.

He gulped, and bowed his head again. Receiving such a direct question from the Sovereign Lord was a heavy burden to bear, but was also a great compliment.

However…

Why was his Lord so sure of himself? His performance was absolutely awful!