A hand pressed against his shoulder. The pressure on his body fell away. Having long abandoned his technique, Hui leaped back to life. His qi bounced back to normal, and then some. Qi rushed into him, flying from all corners into his dantian. His passages ached, heat blasting into him, more energy than he could handle scouring his system. Squeezing his eyes shut, he curled up, overwhelmed by the rush of qi. Too much! I can’t, I can’t—

“Don’t fight it. Let it in, circulate it, and guide it out,” a familiar voice ordered.

Hui blinked, startled. “M—master?”

Weiheng Wu stared down at him. He nodded once, then turned to the door.

In his moment of distraction, Hui’s dantian swelled to almost bursting. Hui turned his attention inward and followed his master’s teachings. Circulate it! Guide it back out! The wild qi ravaged his passageways, but with guidance, it followed the flow of his qi. He quickly sat up and assumed a meditation pose, chasing the wild qi through, then out of his body. The pressure on his body lessened, and his dantian settled down, no longer on the verge of erupting.

Through the whole process, Weiheng Wu maintained his grip on Hui’s shoulder, shielding him from the librarian’s pressure.

“I thought I told you what the consequences were, if you ever stepped foot on my peak again,” Lan Taijian said softly. He stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the sun. A hand rested on the hilt of his sword.

“I came to rescue my disciple,” Weiheng Wu replied simply.

“Master! He provoked us! He attacked us! He—to Li Xiang, he…” Crawling toward Lan Taijian, Chang Bolin reached out for the hem of Lan Taijian’s robes, tears streaming down his face.

Disgusted, Lan Tiajian flipped his hem out of Chang Bolin’s reach. “Compose yourself.”

Weiheng Wu cast a glance at Hui. “Attack you? My disciple would never do that.”

Warmth swelled in Hui’s heart. Master!

“Because he’s a coward,” Weiheng Wu finished.

The warmth fled. Master…

Lan Taijian narrowed his eyes at the pair of them. “I don’t care if he initiated this or not. He’s trespassing on my peak yet again, stealing my resources yet again and causing trouble while he’s at it. Is it your disciple’s right to gobble up my peak’s resources? Our fine food, our reserves of qi?”

It’s not like I wanted to practice here! I got attacked by your Chang Bolin, and things happened, all right? Don’t blame this poor little disciple for saving his own life! Hui protested in his heart.

Weiheng Wu gazed back at him, unmoved. “Are we not all members of the Starbound Sect?”

“Then, can my disciples trample over your peak and suck up all your qi reserves?” Lan Taijian replied.

“No,” Weiheng Wu said simply.

“So why is it that your disciple can—”

Weiheng Wu cut him off. “Without my permission, none of them could draw a single drop of qi from my peak.”

“You—how weak do you think we are?” Lan Taijian growled. His sword-hand trembled, fingers curling around his hilt.

“Weaker than me. Even if all of you were to come at me together, you wouldn’t land a scratch on my skin.”

Master, this provocation… how prideful can you be? Hui moaned internally.

“You!” Lan Taijian stepped over the threshold.

Instantly, he crumpled. The same as his disciples, he laid on the floor, flattened by the pressure.

“Peak Lord Taijian! My—my apologies, but… you know Absolute Authority cannot distinguish between friend and foe! This technique uses the pressure of the manuals stored in this building, and—they only recognize myself!” the librarian shouted despairingly, face pale where he stood behind the desk.

Lan Taijian’s face twisted. “Cancel it! Cancel the skill!”

The librarian shook his head pitifully. “It—it takes time, I’m sorry!”

Weiheng Wu turned to Hui. “Are you stable enough to move?”

Hui let out a breath, expending extra qi along with it. Although qi still flowed into him, it no longer rushed at a rate faster than he could handle through circulation. “I… I think so.”

He started to stand. His head ached, his vision cut to black, and he fell. Oh, right, blood loss! None of the wounds were fatal, but I’m still wounded!

Weiheng Wu caught him and helped him upright. He swung Hui’s arm over his shoulder and took on his weight. Hui leaned against him, knees too weak to hold his weight. His blood soaked into Weiheng Wu’s robes.

“S-sorry,” Hui muttered.

“Don’t apologize,” Weiheng Wu replied.

“Your robes…” Hui bit his lip. Ah, it’s fine. He can use qi to clean them, didn’t he say so himself?

Giving the prone Lan Taijian no second glance, Weiheng Wu strode over him and out of the library. Hui cast him an apologetic glance as he stumbled over him, unable to control his steps properly.

Murder in his eyes, Lan Taijian glared back. “How dare you, a mere Foundation-Building disciple, look at me with pity!”

Ah—that wasn’t it— Hui sighed to himself. I suppose I can consider my relationship with Lan Taijian well and truly ruined.

He looked up at Weiheng Wu beside him. His master’s eyes fixed on the horizon, clear and pure. My master… he really is a monster, isn’t he? Even Lan Taijian couldn’t stand up against the library’s pressure, but my master didn’t even flinch.

Could it be… that he isn’t prideful at all, but all this time, he’s simply… telling the truth?

Master... even if it's the truth, there are some things that shouldn't be stated!

Weiheng Wu glanced at Hui. “You ought not provoke others carelessly. Steer clear of Starbound Peak in the future.”

Thank you for the warning, pot, this kettle needed your help! Master, please teach me the art of provocation, this small disciple isn’t nearly as skilled as you!

He bit back his words and smiled instead. “Master’s advice is wise.”

“Mm. Only when you are stronger can you speak without fear. Always keep those words in your heart.”

Master, you do realize your 'speaking without fear' causes problems for little me, right? You might be stronger, but this poor disciple…

Hui nodded again. “Disciple heeds Master’s teachings.”

Reaching into his robes, Weiheng Wu passed over a pill bottle. “Take these. One ought to close your wounds. It’s a small healing pill, only effective until the third stage. I never had the chance to use them.”

Ah, who cares? As long as Master is here, I have nothing to fear. Delighted, Hui accepted the glass bottle.

The tiny bottle held about a dozen pills. About the size of BB pellets and a brilliant red, they let off an iron aroma. He popped one in his mouth and swallowed. Immediately, warmth welled up in his stomach and filled up his body. His wounds began to close, from the deepest to the shallowest, burning as they did.

Hui smiled earnestly. “Thank you, Master!”

Weiheng Wu nodded. His sword unsheathed itself, and he stepped onto it, taking Hui with him. The ground suddenly vanished from under Hui’s feet. He kicked, startled, then grabbed onto Weiheng Wu as they gracefully ascended into the sky. Warn me, please! I might weigh nothing to you, but I still weigh a lot to me, okay? I want to know when I’m leaving the ground behind!

“Hold on. I’m accelerating.”

“Huh?”

Before he had a chance to say another word, the sword blasted through the sky. Wind burst in Hui’s face and slid through the gaps in his robes, chilly against his body. He caught his breath and squeezed his eyes half-shut, reminded of that first night again, all those years ago. This time, though, he managed to suck small breaths against the force of acceleration pressing down on him.

Ah, I need to hurry up and cultivate to the point I can fly on a sword. Getting dragged along by Master all the time is ruining my image.