Ocean Song flew through the air.
After settling things back at the sect, he knew that he would need to set off again on a great and grand journey! Or something like that; it was important to make every trip sound grand and imposing for when he tells stories upon his return.
In fact, he would probably return home in a few days.
His fellow sect members were making great progress in their cultivation! And they even had a new sect member now, taking some of the weight off Fellow Daoist Daedalus’s shoulders.
Senior Calypso was a proper spirit plant farmer; therefore, she could be entrusted to their amazing—somewhat nascent—spirit garden! Leaving Daedalus more time to focus on his cultivation and pursue his alchemy skills.
Ocean Song was sure that they would have their first elixirs and pills crafted soon! And once they could start doing drugs, it was just a matter of time before they all became immortal!
Alas, the job of a sect master was never done.
Daoist Medusa left the Sect to go find some acquaintances to speak with about forming alliances.
Ocean Song wasn’t exactly clear what the future threat was—if there was a threat—but he knew that there would certainly be a threat!
It may sound contradictory, but that was only for people not versed in the Dao of Narrative Cliches.
Ocean Song wasn't exactly sure what the coming tribulation would be. It could be an ancient evil awakening, an old monster emerging from seclusion, a young master seeking revenge, or perhaps a hidden realm opening ahead of schedule.
The details were unimportant.
The sacred texts were quite clear on one thing.
After a protagonist's life started going well, disaster was inevitable.
His many years reading the sacred texts let him understand the world in a way that those with lower cultivation just couldn’t understand.
With how well everything has been going for them, it was just a matter of time before everything was flipped upside down.
And it was doubly treacherous for the fact that he was a certified Jade Beauty. Everyone knows that the Jade Beauty suffers twice as much as a normal cultivator!
Thus, it was necessary that they prepare ahead of time. And finding allies was a good measure to take in preparation!
Of course, he wasn’t forgetting his own affairs.
That is, he wasn’t forgetting how he ran away from the Messenger God just the other day. He was able to hide away in the sect, but he knew it was a matter of time before he was caught up to.
Therefore, he decided to disguise himself.
He was now wearing a pair of glasses and a fake nose and mustache.
He looked nothing like his perfect jade-like sculpted figure. Now, he was clearly someone else, and no one would be able to tell the difference!
He normally wouldn’t risk being found out, living low for a while, but he needed to seek an expert’s advice on how to proceed.
Ocean Song flew across the skies without the slightest hesitation, completely confident in his disguise.
He was, of course, ignorant of the thick mists following him around, by hand of someone else, that were concealing his location.
Ocean Song only knew the vague destination that he was flying towards. He had asked Hecate, and she gave him the spot of where to find the great master, but other than that, he didn’t know what to expect.
That was until he saw the corpse of a large drakon crushing several dozen trees.
It was missing its head.
Monsters dissipated rather quickly, normally.
There were sometimes reasons why it took longer than normal. If a lot of monsters were killed all together, it took a bit for the ‘rules’ to catch up and cause them all to dissipate. Another reason is if it was a monster strong enough that its body persisted for a bit after its death.
Not far away, there were a few houses set up, recently constructed at that.
Despite being mostly wilderness, they were very well-crafted at first glance, like someone with a lot of skill had done it.
And at the center of this ‘village’, was the Drakon’s head from earlier, being used as a chair.
Ocean Song quickly landed on the ground before clasping his hands and bowling. “Junior Ocean Song greets Senior Hercules!”
Hercules was sunbathing, using the Drakon’s head as a comfortable recliner as he tilted his head up. “Oh hey, I was expecting you.”
Ocean Song blinked. “Senior was expecting me? Truly, your wisdom is profound to know I would be coming.”
“Not really.” He sat up properly, letting out a sigh as he rotated his arm, stretching it. “Just had a friend here earlier; he said you would be stopping by today for some reason.” Hercules jabbed a thumb behind him at the houses. “Helped with the houses. I’ve never been good at building things like he is.”
After a moment Hercules had a realization. “Oh right! He did tell me to say something. Uh…he said to return the car and send Ambriel home when you’re done playing? Or something like that.” He waved it off.
Ocean Song’s eyes widened because he was able to guess who Hercules was referring to when he said 'friend.'
A skilled carpenter friend who knew about the angel he had back at the Sect!? There was only one person he knew that fit that description!
However, Ocean Song was someone who went against the Heavens!. “The car is mine; I stole it fair and square!”
Hercules just shrugged. “You’re stronger than the last time we met, huh? I noticed it when you prayed to me, but yeah, I can really see it now.”
“Thank you for your earlier assistance, Senior.” Ocean Song, of course, didn’t forget how to be polite.
“Yeah, no problem.” Hercules said rather casually.
“If I may say, Senior. You appear more…peaceful?" Ocean Song tilted his head. “May I inquire as to how you ended up here?”
Hercules chuckled. “Honestly, I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time. When you left, I thought about a lot of what you said. I guess having someone lay it out in front of me was what I needed. I decided to give up my godhood and divorce my wife and leave.”
Ocean Song swallowed. "...I see.”
Hercules jumped off the Drakon’s head just as it began to dissipate properly. He patted Ocean Song on the shoulder. “I have you to thank for that.”
“I…am honored, Senior.”
He was more worried that he was going to be blamed, actually.
The former god let out a yawn. “I happened on the Hesperides, too. Did you know that old bat kicked them out of the Garden? They had no where to go, and a bunch of people were looking at them like prizes. And not to mention the monsters that wanted a bite. Figured I’d lend a hand.” He gestured to the houses.
Ocean Song looked over and saw a few of them peeking through the windows.
“Sorry, they’re a bit timid. They never left the Garden before. And the moment they get kicked out, they’re attacked and what-not.”
“It’s no problem, Senior. I understand.” He knew it must have been difficult for them and understood their struggles.
"I've just been traveling around and been keeping a watch over this place. Most bastards are smart enough to come over and cause trouble since I said they’re under my protection. But, well…you get a dumbass every now and then.”
Ocean Song nodded along.
He was still coming to terms with the fact that Hercules somehow rid himself of his own godhood and escaped the island he was forced on.
And it was technically his fault that this happened.
“By the way, why are you wearing that?” Hercules pointed to Ocean Song’s disguise.
“To hide myself.” He clasped his arms behind his back as he let his robes billow. “I have a mighty foe that’s trying to find me, but my expert disguise has allowed me to stay hidden.”
"...Who?"
“The Messenger God.”
Hercules opened his mouth to say something but stopped, staring at him. He looked at the plastic nose and glasses on his face. Then he looked at the rather thick mists that were acting like a shield around him.
"...Right." He decided not to say anything. “You were going to Greece to find your mom, from what I remember. How did that turn out?”
“She’s dead.” Ocean Song spoke. “The Calydonian Boar killed her. Thus, I sought revenge, as is proper for a cultivator. I challenged it, and we fought until I was about to slay it! Alas, my righteous vengeance was stolen by the Heavens. I then went to Heaven to petition for an apology for interfering in my revenge. Then I went on a tour of the Vatican and got myself a new car and a new hat.”
Hercules heard the words he spoke, but only a few of them made sense.
He just kept silent.
“Right.” He once more decided not to ask any questions. “There’s a reason you came to see me? Do you need help with something? I owe you a lot for the advice you gave me; it helped me get out of my funk. So if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
It was genuinely rare for Hercules to give such an open-ended offer of help like this. He was a former god, a Greek god; he was someone who knew the game. You had to be careful with favors and offers.
Yet, even so, he was sincerely offering such a large 'gift.'
“I seek your expertise, Senior! "Ocean Song said quickly. “I find myself seeking allies. I was wondering if you have heard any rumors lately that may be beneficial to me.”
Hercules blinked. “Allies? Well…. I don’t know anything about that. I’m not exactly on friendly terms with many people these days. Secluding myself away for thousands of years tends to have friendships disappear. I have been talking to Chiron, though; we’ve been catching up and…mending some bridges. I did hear something from him.”
“Oh?” Ocean Song perked up. “Please bestow upon me these heavenly secrets."
Hercules scratched his head. “It’s not really a secret. But apparently the barrier around the camp has been showing signs of failing. He said that some monsters were able to sneak inside and a few campers got hurt. After investigating, they found that the tree that’s powering the barrier had been poisoned or something like that.”
Ocean Song rubbed his chin as he digested this new information.
It was valuable information, and Ocean Song knew.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of tension around there. Chiron said that the dumbasses on the mountain were treating him weird because there was a rumor circulating. Apparently some idiots got it in their heads that since he’s the son of Kronos, he must be responsible.” Hercules shook his head.
“Senior, are you not concerned about saying that name?”
Hercules scoffed. “If he wants to come over and go a few rounds, let him.”
Ocean Song noted that Senior Hercules was in fact a scary motherfucker, and he didn’t want to get on his bad side.
“I thank you for the information, Senior. But I was looking for something else. I wished to find allies for mutual assistance, forming strategic alliances and ties with my sect. Do you perhaps know of any organizations or groups that would be open to such a thing?”
Hercules considered what he just said as he rubbed his chin. “I’ll be honest, I really don’t have many connections. Even as a god I wasn't exactly the sociable type. Heck, even after wandering around, I didn’t really interact with people that much. The only groups I know are the camp and, like, a few random people. Like, there’s a community of Dryads a few miles south of here that runs a car wash…."
Ocean Song’s eyes lit up. “That’s perfect, Senior! Thank you!”
"Uh…thanks?" Hercules blinked. “If that’s helpful…then great?”
Ocean Song bowed his head. “I will be off, Senior. Next time, I’ll bring some good drinks!”
Hercules smiled. “Yeah, I’ll hold you to that.”
Despite how weird he was, Hercules actually liked the strange Cyclops.
He would take weird and strange over scheming and arrogant any day of the week. It didn’t take much interacting with him to know that Ocean Song didn’t have a single conniving bone in his body.
What you saw was what you got.
For better or worse.
“Well, go have fun then.”
Ocean Song thanked him again and flew off in the direction that Hercules pointed him.
Of course, Hercules thought he was going for a completely different reason. As a newly single man, he did quite enjoy his interactions with the community of Dryads himself. As a proper 'senior,' what kind of man would he be if he didn’t give his junior a little bit of help?
Oddly, Hercules felt a chill down his spine, like someone was staring at him angrily.
@***@
Ocean Song flew across the sky again.
His immaculate disguise is keeping him hidden from any who may be after him.
Well, he hadn’t been stopped yet, but he knew if he was, they wouldn’t know it was him.
He didn’t look down on those who took more ‘mundane’ jobs. In this day and age, who didn’t have a source of income to live in the mortal world!?
The Sphinxes from before ran a gas station. Even the Lotus Eaters ran a casino to keep their coffers full.
And now, he heard about a community of dryads that ran a car wash? How was that any different? And if anything, it was a perfect opportunity!
He arrived in the city, hovering overhead. It wasn’t a particularly large city, not one that most people would recognize the name of if they were from another part of the country.
But that made it the perfect place to set up shop if you just want to keep your head down. That, and you wouldn’t step on any toes if you got into business here. Many monsters and other entities were rather territorial even if interests didn’t clash directly.
Ocean Song knew some secrets about this sort of thing.
In New York, there were plenty of entities that made a living, despite them sitting at the base of Mount Olympus.
Did the gods just turn a blind eye or leave them alone?
The answer was both yes and no.
There were unspoken rules; they made many offerings throughout the years to stay within the good graces of the landlords—the Gods.
After spreading out his divine sense, he arrived at the car wash with a flash.
And that’s when he saw it.
About a dozen different dryads—nymphs of a large variety, many seemingly from different origins.
They were all wearing bikinis or other swimwear.
One was on top of a car, covered in soap, using her large bosom to scrub it.
Another was behind over in front of the driver’s window as she slowly got her sponge soaked in a bucket.
A third was pressed up against the other window as she scrubbed down the side of the car.
The women were all beautiful beyond words. Each one of them had the ability to become a model or superstar with sheer looks alone in the mundane world. The car wash had a line going down the street as they all waited their turn.
Just their mere presence had the people reduced to a drooling mess.
For Ocean Song, he felt something he hadn’t felt before.
A resonance.
He found his fellow Jade Beauties! And they had progressed much further down this Dao than he had ever dreamed!
He knew what he must do and didn’t hesitate.
He dropped from the sky, landing in front of a Dryad that was handling the logistics, holding a clipboard in her hand as she accepted payments and took names.
The Dryad was startled by his sudden appearance.
“Greetings, Fellow Daoist. I come seeking enlightenment! I was captured by your grace and awed by your Dao. I wish to join with you to learn your ways!”
The Dryad could see that Ocean Song wasn’t human; that much was rather clear. And her instincts told her that he wasn’t hostile.
“You…..want a job?”
“Yes!” Ocean Song’s eyes sparkled from behind his magnificent disguise.
She evaluated him, looking him up and down. She noted his handsome face and good build. “How do you look in a speedo?”
@***@
A/N
Ocean Song finds fellow Jade Beauties to learn their ways.