The Jade Emperor was at Taiqing Palace beside the Peach Garden. According to the attendant immortal messenger, he was in an inner chamber tending the spirit egg.
Emperor Donghua stroked his beard and furrowed his brows. “Could the Jade Emperor mean to incubate this egg himself? No wonder he has refused all the immortals who petitioned him.”
As soon as the attendant announced that the Jade Emperor had granted them entry, Bihua Lingjun strode straight toward the inner chamber.
Emperor Donghua called after him, “Brother Bihua, slow down. It’s only a spirit egg. Whether the Jade Emperor incubates it or another immortal does, you’ll still be able to see the creature around Heaven once it hatches. There’s no need to be so fixated on it.”
Before he had finished speaking, Bihua Lingjun had already charged into the inner chamber.
Warm clouds swirled throughout the chamber, which seemed to have been specially arranged for the Wishful Egg. In the center stood an enormous immortal platform fashioned like a cradle, padded with thick quilts of brocaded clouds. Bihua Lingjun spotted the egg nestled in the quilt at once.
Its smooth shell was a pale blue-green, with a crystalline gleam of jade. The egg was plump and rounded, a little pointed at one end and a little rounder at the other; it still resembled a hen’s egg, only about one chi long. Bihua Lingjun reckoned that made it roughly the size of a dragon egg, so a chicken was unlikely to hatch. Even if it produced a bird, surely it would be a great peng or a phoenix.
Elio’s Notes: A chi (尺) is a traditional Chinese measure of length, roughly a foot. Its precise length has varied across periods.
Emperor Donghua entered behind him and respectfully paid his respects to the Jade Emperor.
Only then did Bihua Lingjun hastily bow and pay his respects as well.
The Jade Emperor had been standing by the cradle, gazing tenderly at the egg. He waved a hand, told them to dispense with formalities, and went right back to gazing at the Wishful Egg with loving eyes, gently stroking its shell back and forth.
Bihua Lingjun composed his expression and said with the utmost respect, “Jade Emperor, this humble immortal has come… has come to beg Your Majesty to grant me this spirit egg to incubate.”
The Jade Emperor’s hand paused on the shell. He turned toward Bihua Lingjun, who immediately felt a pair of chilly eyes sweep over him.
The Jade Emperor said expressionlessly, “Oh? From the Supreme Lord Lao to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, practically every immortal at court has come asking me to let him incubate this egg. And now, at last, you’ve come too. News certainly travels quickly among you. Donghua, did you tell him? You weren’t content with failing to get the egg for yourself, so you dragged another petitioner here?”
Emperor Donghua smiled apologetically. “Your Majesty, this humble immortal merely…”
Bihua Lingjun hurriedly interjected, “Your Majesty, Emperor Donghua only mentioned it inadvertently. I was curious and kept pressing him with questions. As soon as I heard, I rushed over without considering how rash I was being. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”
The Jade Emperor withdrew his hand from the egg and gently smoothed a crease in the cloud quilt wrapped around it. “Very well. I’ve long known of your weakness for rare beasts, and I expected your attachment to this egg would be stronger than that of the other immortals. Your rashness is understandable. It’s only that this spirit egg…”
Bihua Lingjun’s face tightened. The Jade Emperor lowered his gaze and placed his hand on the egg again, stroking it twice, slowly and affectionately. “I intend to incubate it myself. None of you are to set your sights on it again.”
Emperor Donghua discreetly turned aside and gave Bihua Lingjun a sympathetic look, the expression of one sufferer recognizing another, before heaving a sigh.
Within his sleeves, Bihua Lingjun clenched his hands. His expression abruptly grew solemn. “Your Majesty, for you to incubate the egg personally would perhaps be… somewhat inappropriate.”
The Jade Emperor frowned, his face growing a few degrees colder. “In what way inappropriate?”
Bihua Lingjun replied with scrupulous respect, “May this humble immortal dare to ask how the spirit egg must be incubated?”
The Jade Emperor answered slowly, “There is no special method. One must hold it close against the body from beginning to end, never letting it leave one’s person.”
Bihua Lingjun was secretly delighted, but his manner remained reverent. “Then may this humble immortal dare to ask how long it will take for the rare beast to emerge?”
“Several months, approximately,” said the Jade Emperor.
Bihua Lingjun was overjoyed, though he remained every bit as respectful. “Precisely. That is why I said it would be inappropriate. Heavenly affairs are numerous, and Your Majesty has a thousand matters demanding attention each day. Carrying this egg against your body to incubate it would surely be a burden.” He looked up at the Jade Emperor with earnest eyes, then hastily bowed his head again. “Furthermore, Your Majesty instructs the assembled immortals daily in Lingxiao Hall, while envoys are constantly coming and going throughout the Three Realms and to the Western Tathagata’s court. If Your Majesty were to carry a spirit egg in your arms, it might somewhat diminish the dignity of the imperial presence…” At the end of his speech, he bowed deeply once more, with every show of deference. “I have spoken candidly in counsel. I beseech Your Majesty to consider the matter carefully.”
The Jade Emperor’s expression was unreadable. Seemingly lost in thought, he hesitantly stroked the egg for a while before gradually stilling his hand. “You certainly have a persuasive tongue. You’ve managed to put some of my own concerns into words.” He withdrew his hand and cast Bihua Lingjun another glance. “For the sake of this egg, you’ve actually dared to speak so boldly. Yet even if I do not incubate it myself, there are plenty of other immortals who wish to do so. What reason could you give me to grant it to you instead of another?”
Bihua Lingjun replied respectfully, “What I said just now was naturally intended in part to secure the egg for myself, but most of it sprang from genuine concern for Your Majesty. If Your Majesty cannot personally incubate it, then among all the immortals in Heaven, none is more suitable than this humble immortal.” He lowered his respectfully clasped hands, lifted his head, and smiled. “Think, Your Majesty: who among the immortals at court knows more about raising rare beasts than I, Bihua Lingjun?”
The Jade Emperor’s eyes shifted. After a moment, he suddenly smiled. “Well spoken, Bihua. Very well, I grant this spirit egg to you to incubate.”
Wild with delight, Bihua Lingjun tucked the Wishful Egg, still wrapped in its brocade quilt, into his arms and rode the wind back to his residence.
He carefully settled the Wishful Egg on the bed, then burned incense and bathed.
Once the Star Lord of the Pleiades had returned to his station and Guanghan’s moonlight was bright, Bihua Lingjun loosened his inner robe and carefully lifted the Wishful Egg out of its quilt. He brought it before his chest and abdomen. The shell had the smooth feel of jade and was pleasantly warm.
He recalled the Jade Emperor’s parting instructions: “You must secure it against your chest and abdomen with magic and incubate it close to your body. Do not knock or bump it, and never let it leave you. Remember that, remember it well.”
Bihua Lingjun concentrated his mind and recited an immortal spell. Enveloped in a faint golden glow, the Wishful Egg fixed itself firmly to his abdomen. Through the shell, he almost seemed able to sense a tiny rare beast slowly taking shape and wriggling inside.
What sort of rare beast should he hatch?
Wet, jet-black eyes. Soft, downy fur. Four little paws…
Bihua Lingjun fastened his robes, stroked the egg beneath his clothes, and smiled in a haze of bliss.
“Immortal Donghua, what sort of extraordinary beast do you suppose Bihua Lingjun will hatch?”
“I don’t know. But Your Majesty may rest assured: Bihua Lingjun will surely hatch an exceptionally valuable rare beast.”
“Of course. Alas! It was hardly kind of us to deceive him like this, but we had no choice. That egg was transformed and nourished in a cold pool by yin-cold energy. Only the pure yang energy of a male immortal can hatch it. Of all the immortals in Heaven, I cannot think of another who would willingly spend every day wandering about the heavenly court with an egg strapped to his body. Alas, there truly was no one else for the task…”