They descended to the forest floor. The other Starbound Sect cultivators stared around in slack-jawed amazement. Hui took it in quietly, used to the trees, until he abruptly realized he shouldn’t know about the trees. He stared around in amazement as well. “Wow, what big trees! I’ve never seen trees this big before!”

“That’s not true,” Li Xiang rebuffed him.

“Ah… no, that’s not true. I’ve seen these trees before. Back when we were up in the air, that is,” Hui corrected himself. And many times before that, but this small cultivator doesn’t need to share that!

Li Xiang nodded. She looked at him, tipping her head. “What were you up to, in all your time away from the sect?”

Hui tapped a finger on his chin. I can’t admit that I spent a lot of time in a demonic sect. Li Xiang might not mind, once I explain myself fully, but if Lan Taijian hears it, I’ll be kicked out of the sect before I can open my mouth! I can’t lie to Li Xiang, so… “Er… I discovered some new techniques and practiced a lot of cultivation.”

“New techniques? I can’t wait to see them in action. Xiao Hui, we should spar sometime, now that we’re both the same realm,” Li Xiang proposed.

Hui immediately bowed. “Elder Sister, I couldn’t possibly stand up to your might!” Me, spar a true sword cultivator? A sword cultivator cultivating a powerful secret sword art, at that? I’m a small talisman cultivator who wants to survive! Don’t make me face such a terrifying foe!

“Are you sure? I’m sure you’re a powerful cultivator in your own right,” Li Xiang said, looking him up and down.

“I still can’t fly on a sword, Elder Sister. I’ve barely consolidated my realm. I can’t be compared to your might,” Hui said, bowing again.

Li Xiang smiled and shook her head. “You’re underestimating yourself, Xiao Hui.”

I don’t think I am! Hui shook his head insistently.

The cultivator leading them along paused. His face twisted in alarm, and he jumped back. “Watch out! The ancient tablet, it’s cracked!”

Hui stood on his tiptoes, curious.

Ahead of them, the black tablet laid cracked clearly in two. Where earlier, Mount Mu’s tantrum had put a fracture down its center, now it split apart by a meter. Black qi swirled in between the cracks. Faces pressed up against the surface, swirling and vanishing with bizzare regularity. From among the faces, Hui caught a glimpse of Ding Bo’s, twisted with despair.

“They’re—breaking free!” the man screamed.

Starbound Sect cultivators jumped forward. Lan Taijian scoffed and put a hand on his sword. Li Xiang pushed Hui behind her and drew her sword.

Hui’s eyes darted to the man. No one else watched him, too busy staring at the dark qi, but under Hui’s watchful eyes, the man subtly made an incantation hand sign behind his back.

The faces pounded up against the break in the tablet. As they rushed it, the barrier suddenly popped, and black wraiths rushed out of the gap. They charged at the Starbound Sect cultivators, but limply, almost lazily. One or two directly dissipated as soon as they broke through the barrier, unable to bear the slightest breeze. A particularly hazy wraith stepped into sunlight and turned directly into ash.

Starbound Sect cultivators leaped forward. Hui started to stir, but then stopped. It doesn’t matter. Life qi would be overkill, when sunlight can kill them.

Ding Bo lurched along, his eyes as lifeless as the rest. At the sight of him, Hui twitched. I don’t like him… but Ding Lao isn’t a bad person, and he seems to like Ding Bo. Besides, I feel like Ding Bo knows more about this than anyone wants him to know. He waved his fingers, subtly beckoning Ding Bo to his side. At the same time, he drew out the red gem. It was built to capture souls—it can hold one more! Using a strand of death qi, he lead Ding Bo toward the red gem, then captured him in its depths.

The red gem’s original owner, now trapped with one of Hui’s life qi songbirds in a corner of the gem, shouted as Hui’s mind made contact. “Hey! Let this senior out already! If you don’t, you’ll regret it! I have powers beyond your imagination—”

“Senior, I’ve brought a junior for you so you won’t get lonely. I hope the two of you get along,” Hui replied innocently with his mental voice. He peeked into the gem. The red soul with the melted face scowled, trying to dart by the songbird. It trilled and hopped to the side, tilting its head.

Hui nodded. Still trapped by the songbird. All is well.

The red soul looked up and met his eyes. Immediately, it howled, “You—”

Ding Bo obediently slipped into the gem, and Hui stored it away, once again cutting off the red gem’s soul’s voice. He hummed to himself, pleased with his acquisition. “Rest up and get stronger, Ding Bo. I have lots of questions for you.”

In a few seconds, the Starbound Sect cultivators slayed the wraiths. In the end, Lan Taijian stood down and even held back Li Xiang, to allow the weakest members of the group to gain practical experience. The last of the wraiths dissipated on the sunshine with a hiss, almost smiling as its soul released from the prison of the tablet.

Lan Taijian waved a hand casually, brushing the ash away. “Were you so concerned about a few pitiful wraiths?”

The cultivator stared with bug-eyes. His lips moved, but no words came out. At last, he coughed and smiled. “Ah, how lucky! Because it’s midday, they… must be weakened! I’m so glad no one was hurt. Come along, come along.”

Sure you are. Hui narrowed his eyes at the man’s back and shook his head.

Liv Xiang's head popped up. She squinted at their guide.

Hui put a hand on her arm and shook his head. I know he's lying. Now it's not the time to point it out!

Li Xiang hesitated a moment longer, then met his eyes and nodded.

The man led them through the forest floor. Hui smirked quietly, slightly amused. No one in Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect walks along the floor. This should be obvious to anyone. Even Lan Taijian. He cast a look at the swordsman, but Lan Taijian walked along with a neutral expression, making no note of the goings-on. Hui raised an eyebrow. Maybe he doesn’t care. Or he’s confident that he can take care of anything they throw at him.

No, that’s… a good point. Lan Taijian and Sect Master Lan are surely aware of Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect’s ill intentions. After all, they chased them out after the mess at the tournament arc. I suspect Lan Taijian came expecting a trap, and is fully prepared to escape along with the entire group if things become dangerous. Did the four sects of the Southern Sect Conference… perhaps… come to test out if Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect is truly betraying the conference? Then… they likely came prepared for traps, and ready to battle if things go awry!

Hui surreptitiously glanced around him. All the cultivators around Lan Taijian were at least at the third level, and most were at the fourth stage. All carried swords at their hips and walked with the powerful gait of sword cultivators. None had the strangely-colored hair of pill cultivators, or the dirt-stained clothes and scent of vegetation Jade Garden Peak disciples bore, nor did any of the female cultivators flaunt the mystique and unique, incense-heavy scent of Butterfly Pavilion.

Ah, I see! They’re all from Starbound Peak! Aside from me, but then, I wasn’t chosen to be here. Indeed, this can be considered a battle-ready group! I bet they’d have higher-realm cultivators, as well, but it would be suspicious if they sent more than one Peak Lord to a peaceful meeting of sects.

Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect… to continue to go against the Southern Sect Conference in this situation means either they consider themselves hopelessly backed into a corner with no way out after their failure at the tournament, or that they have such a irreconcilable grudge with the Southern Sect Conference that they consider the alliance already over.

No, it has to be the second! After all… why attack during the tournament, unless they have some kind of terrible grudge?

But… what? What grudge do they hold?

Laughing, their guide gestured them on. “I hear you have some plant cultivators among your number?”

Lan Taijian inclined his head.

What plant cultivators? Look around you, Senior guide! Which one of these battle-hardened sword cultivators could claim to have ever touched a plant? Point them out to me, and I’ll show you a liar!

“Wonderful, wonderful. Our garden patch is up ahead, if you’d like to take a small detour?” the guide offered.

Lan Taijian inclined his head again.

Hui crossed his arms. Let’s go to the garden patch, why don’t we?

Although, I do wonder. If I hadn’t sabotaged all their traps… what would they say? Or… maybe the plan was to launch the first attack with the wraiths, and from there, the other traps simply would catch us unawares as we fled through the forest?

That makes sense. The garden patch is dangerous enough to close off a sector of the forest, and the lotus’ dust will spread in all directions, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that way.

A pulse of familiar qi nearby caught Hui’s attention as Jin Xian drew close. He glanced around, then stopped himself. If the others find Jin Xian… this small cultivator is in big trouble!

He narrowed his eyes toward Jin Xian and reached out to her with his mental energy. Jin Xian paused, then nodded. She leaped off in the opposite direction and vanished into the forest again.

Li Xiang looked up. She furrowed her brows.

Eh? Did Li Xiang see? Hui swallowed, suddenly nervous. “Elder Sister, did you see something?”

“I… thought I saw you,” Li Xiang murmured. She frowned, then shook her head. “It must have been someone who looks like you.”

“It must have,” Hui agreed, nodding. Someone who looks like me, because I cultivated her corpse to look more like me, then put her in a snakeskin with my appearance. Ah, but I am telling the truth! It must be someone who looks like me, because I know she looks like me!

“The garden patch!” the guide announced, gesturing ahead of him.