The spirit world is broken and in desperate need of a restoration. True heroes and ancient beasts that once walked are now a thing of the past. Between the empty spaces of forgotten treasure halls there are whispers of one who has returned. One lege...
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"If you look over to your left, you can see through the crystal clear waters of the Heavenly River that there is a deep and very wide chasm running along the riverbed. We call this deposit of sediment the ocean treasury. Though most of the treasure that was once here is long gone."
Someone from the crowd asked the tour guide why it was called the ocean treasury when they were nowhere near the ocean.
The guide held up a finger as if they were expecting this question. "Astute observation, my good goose. The answer and the truth is that no one knows! What we do know is that the high dragon immortals were the ones who named most of these territories. I imagine that if anyone questioned them at the time, they were promptly roasted."
Sun Ritsu and Ham Song listened to the tour guide continue their description of the ocean treasury and the origins of the chasm. They had gone into some history lesson of the Great Sage commanding a large deposit of iron to shrink into something small and narrow enough to be lifted with one hand.
The tour guide's voice had faded into the background as Ham Song and Ritsu struck up a conversation of their own. The two spirits stood on the ferry's outer deck overlooking the shimmering, clear river current. They leaned against the railing while they speculated what Kawaii Village would be like. Ritsu mentioned that he had heard a rumor once that all the dog spirits that lived there got cosmetic surgery to make themselves resemble Pembroke Welsh Corgis.
Eventually, Ham Song gave a tired grunt and asked, "Lawful monkey, I just... I can't understand why you choose to keep Bodhi in your company when they have been nothing but unreliable and disrespectful."
Ritsu leaned back, holding the rail at arms length so that he could look down at where Ham Song sat by his ankles. The wind rustled his rough, dark waves. It flared out his sideburns into an asymmetrical silhouette.
After a long beat, Ritsu said, "Bodhi doesn't strike me as the type to disrespect someone without being prompted." The monkey turned his golden brown eyes back out at the water and squinted them against the glare. "Back when Bodhi was finding a paper space for us to stay, you called them it, even though you knew that was wrong."
Ham Song blew air out through his flared nostrils. "They tried to have me killed!"
Ritsu narrowed his eyes more before fixing them onto the pig. "Bodhi has an addiction, Ham Song. They can't help it."
"So what?"
Ritsu tilted his head. "What do you mean, so what? Bodhi fixed their mistake. They saved you yesterday and then last night, you attacked them for no reason."
Ham Song opened and shut his jaw several times. Then he abruptly shook his head, looking as if he was ready to dive into another protest.
Ritsu suddenly crouched before his porky companion and cradled his pink head between his hands.
