32.i Beef Pan-fried, Side of Lemon Lime

I bet the last you heard, Sun Ritsu was semi-dressed in his Radiant State, balancing on the peak of a rollercoaster with the Golden-Hooped Rod of Compliance at his command. I think Duza might have said something to the effect of, the staff was the width of a bus. No disrespect to my fellow bard, however this, Dear Traveler, is a common exaggeration of the monkey king’s staff.

While it is technically true that the width of the Compliant Rod is legendary, the staff generally prefers to be measured in terms of rice bowls. Don’t ask me why this is. I’m just a messenger.

So anyway, back to the story.

We have Sun Ritsu, charged with the immortal-laced peach soft drink and balancing atop the zenith of a rollercoaster. With one hand behind his back, he gripped the Compliant Rod, which in its true black and gold form, carried the weight of around three full grown pandas and the thickness of four large rice bowls. As far as its length goes, my good comrade Duza did not exaggerate. The staff easily overshot the height of the theme park rides.

Could you imagine, Dear Traveler, what this looked like from afar? In any event, you must because there was somebody – another spirit – who was watching in the distance. In fact, he was a scout. One that had been on duty in a watchtower hidden in the hills surrounding Kawaii Village for the better half of fifty seasons.

This scout had been put there, Dear Traveler, by a very powerful spirit. You might have heard of him before.

Sun Bai.

Yes, that Sun Bai. Anari’s employer and head of Next Dimension, Inc. An organization that we know very little about. All we do know at this point is that Next Dimension hosted the feast in the Garden of Immortal Peaches and they backed the same construction project behind the collapsed bridge at the docks near the Heavenly River.

It would also appear that Anari, the Spider, was not privy to the knowledge of either of these connections. Not at first. You see, this is rather disorientating for Anari, who has a long and complicated relationship with Sun Bai, but ultimately does not see him as a shady business owner.

Strange stuff, Dear Traveler. Strange stuff.

Anyway, the moment this scout saw the revival of a legendary artifact fabled in the lore of the Heavenly River, he contacted Sun Bai immediately…

The pepper spirit thought he was imagining things when he heard the air crack with a soft explosion of spirit energy somewhere off in the distance. He wouldn’t have looked up from his dirty magazine had it not been for the faint smell of peach soda pop. The pepper licked his lips and blinked at the strange fizzy taste crackling in waves over his tongue.

Finally, he looked up and peered out through the panoramic window of the watchtower. A thick cloud of orange smoke cuddled the peaks of the rides in the rundown theme park northwest of downtown Kawaii Village.

When the smoke cleared, the pepper spirit swore under his breath and scrambled for the telephone.

“Put me through to Bai,” the scout demanded as soon as someone answered the line. “He’s going to want to see this.”