Black Pot looked at him in confusion. "Woof?"
"Right, I'm done being a true king!"
Chen Shi stripped off the brocade robe he wore, tossed it aside, and laughed. "Everyone says being emperor is great, but I see no fun in it. It's far less joyful than being free in Huangpo Village. Whoever wants to do this dangerous job can have it, because I'm done!"
Black Pot barked excitedly. "Woof, woof."
"Right! None of us are doing it! I think your gig as dog king is meaningless, and my gig as true king is no fun either. We're both quitting!"
Chen Shi counted on his fingers. "The boat can only seat eight people. You and your mother, my dad and mom, my grandpa, and Created Being Xiao Wu. My brother Li Tianqing has to come along, and Yang Bi needs to get on the boat too. The Daoist heritage of the Western Ox Continent depends on those two. Then there's Xiaoduan, who can't die in the Western Ox Continent, and Granny Sha, Uncle Green Goat, Uncle Hu, Uncle A Zhuo, Uncle Du..."
The more he spoke, the softer his voice grew. His ten fingers had long since been counted, yet he still hadn't finished.
Chen Shi clenched his fists. Empress Houtu had said this boat could only send eight people to the Earthly Immortal Realm. The empress's golden words meant eight people, exactly eight, and never any more.
"Why can there only be eight people?"
Chen Shi felt somewhat saddened, lowering his head. "I also wanted Xuan Shan to get on the boat, and Granny Zhuang, and Zhuge Jian, Yutian City, Hu Feifei, Zhu Xiu..."
He hung his head, drinking gloomy wine.
Black Pot clinked its wine cup against his. Man and dog raised their heads, draining the fiery wine