Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor: Chapters 12–18

by Xiran Jay Zhao
Possessed by the two-thousand-year-old spirit of the First Emperor Ying Zheng, twelve-year-old Zack must travel from Maine to China to save both his mom and the mortal realm.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–11, Chapters 12–18, Chapters 19–25
40 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. rife
    excessively abundant
    “This area is so rife with legend magic that certain spirits can gather the ambient qi in the environment and take form without a mortal host.”
  2. ambient
    completely enveloping
    “This area is so rife with legend magic that certain spirits can gather the ambient qi in the environment and take form without a mortal host.”
  3. swathe
    wrap in or as if in strips of cloth
    Though, instead of a single tail swathed in scales, they had two soft limbs covered in short iridescent hairs.
  4. offset
    compensate for or counterbalance
    Tang Taizong shuffled left and right to offset how the boat was swaying.
  5. iridescent
    varying in color when seen in different lights
    "Half your life decisions were terrible and unnecessary!” Wu Zetian chided, face lit from below by the mermaids’ iridescent glow.
  6. megalomaniac
    a pathological egotist
    “I created this country. Where’s my holiday?”
    “You might’ve had one if you weren’t a megalomaniac who terrorized everyone you met and made oil lamps out of innocent mermaids!”
  7. confidant
    someone to whom private matters are told
    You know what people did when he died? His closest confidants immediately betrayed his last will by hiding his death and faking an execution order for his oldest son, so they could make his youngest son a puppet emperor!
  8. adorned
    decorated or dressed up to be more beautiful or distinct
    He looked kind of like Li Bai, except his robe had a crossover collar instead of a round collar, and his topknot was less messy, adorned by a tall headpiece like a wide antenna.
  9. bout
    a period of indeterminate length marked by some condition
    Before Zack could ask if the poem was really as overdramatic as he was understanding it, a bout of dizziness slammed into him, so intense that he crumpled down and lost control of the seawater.
  10. roiling
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    Zack’s stomach churned and lurched like the roiling waves.
  11. helm
    steering mechanism for a vessel
    With Wu Zetian busy at the helm, mermaids crawled aboard, their weight sinking the boat lower and lower.
  12. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    One swing of his sword cleaves the drifting clouds; all lords and nobles come west to bow!
  13. integral
    existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
    “You can’t discuss me without also discussing the bad parts. They’re as integral to my legend as my accomplishments.”
  14. insolence
    an offensive disrespectful impudent act
    “Insolence!" shouted the figure on the throne, his low voice booming through the chamber. “How dare you tell me how to run my empire? I shall have you sent to the Northern Wilds!”
  15. innate
    inborn or existing naturally
    Kid, you underestimate yourself. The mere fact that you rejected my attempt to bind to you proves you have an innate willpower that rivals mine.
  16. wager
    stake on the outcome of an issue
    I wagered everything I had for a chance to end the Warring States for good.
  17. languish
    experience prolonged suffering in an unpleasant situation or place
    Fear still trembled through Zack, but between languishing here and doing nothing or making an effort to get out sooner and save his mom and the rest of China, the choice was obvious.
  18. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    One was a hunchbacked man with ratty clothes and disheveled hair, leaning against a metal crutch.
  19. swindle
    deprive of by deceit
    “Xu Fu!” he roared with all the rage he imagined a tyrant would have after reuniting with a con artist who’d swindled him.
  20. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    Zack’s head spun with the nuances he had to balance.
  21. sully
    make dirty or spotty
    “Never know when that tyrant in you is gonna pop out and do something terrible. This place was supposed to be the one place he couldn’t sully.”
  22. drawl
    a slow speech pattern with prolonged vowels
    “Must you be paranoid to this degree?” he spoke in a low drawl, lifting his cuffed wrists.
  23. altruistic
    showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others
    He did well, right? The immortals shouldn’t deny his and the emperors’ request. They had perfectly good, altruistic reasoning.
  24. collusion
    agreement on a secret plot
    The how of getting to the Dragon Palace required an encore from Li Bai, who’d sat out the trial due to his collusion.
  25. manifest
    reveal its presence or make an appearance
    With their new access to the islands’ magic through the pills they’d swallowed, they helped manifest his poem into existence.
  26. covert
    secret or hidden
    "We’re riding inside?” Zack said. "Like Pinocchio?”
    "There’s no better covert magical submarine,” Wu Zetian quipped.
  27. leeway
    a permissible difference
    Worst-case scenario, the pills will wear off sooner. But we’ve got plenty of leeway. There’s no way we’ll take that long to get the seal.
  28. motif
    a design that consists of recurring shapes or colors
    Intricate motifs were carved into every surface of the crystal buildings, like murals of corals, crustaceans, fish, and other sea creatures, as beautiful as ice sculptures.
  29. undulate
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
    Pale lines like the water reflections in a cave undulated on the chamber’s crystal walls.
  30. inherently
    in an essential manner
    I don’t think there’s anything inherently good about them or inherently bad about you.
  31. abscond
    run away, often taking something or somebody along
    She means for them to abscond to the surface to evade our water powers.
  32. grovel
    show submission or fear
    Countless images flashed behind his eyes. Qin Shi Huang being offered the legendary Héshìbì jade by a king groveling on the ground. Qin Shi Huang’s most trusted minister writing the inscription to make it China’s official imperial seal.
  33. dowager
    a dignified and high-status older woman
    An empress dowager threw it to the ground in a fit of helpless rage, chipping its corner, as a usurper surrounded her chambers and demanded her surrender after they had deposed the child emperor.
  34. brethren
    people who are members of the same social or cultural group
    The immortals shrank away, arms flying up to guard one another. Some looked over their shoulders. In the distance, a glowing flock of their backup brethren closed in on clouds.
  35. edict
    a legally binding command or decision
    Before them, an imperial messenger guarded by soldiers unrolled a scroll of silk and read out an edict.
    "By the command of His Majesty, Prince Fusu and General Meng Tian—you are to take your own lives for your acts of treason!”
  36. tender
    hurting
    “Is that why I’m hurting all over?” Zack grazed the tender patches on the back of his head.
  37. loess
    a fine accumulation of clay and silt deposited by the wind
    "We’re basically in the desert,” Simon said. "The Loess Plateau. It’s all yellow dirt. They’ve done a lot of greenery restoration lately, but there’s only so much you can do.”
  38. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    Zack rubbed his arms gingerly.
  39. counterintuitive
    contrary to what common sense would suggest
    After wolfing down the noodles, Zack couldn’t help but turn his phone on. It was counterintuitive to the charging, but he had to check if his mom’s body was still fine in the hospital.
  40. gist
    the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work
    He tapped on an article about Nezha. The gist he got was that Nezha was a Daoist protection deity who’d evolved from Hindu and Persian myths.
Created on Tue Feb 20 11:46:13 EST 2024 (updated Wed Feb 21 08:21:19 EST 2024)

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