Sect Master Lan materialized out of the light. He stood atop his sword, hands clasped behind his back. He frowned at the four captured cultivators, Hui and Li Xiang, and Lan Taijian. “What happened here?”

“Sect Master Lan! Weiheng Hui was eating your ducks again! I caught him red-handed, and he attacked me out of nowhere!” Wang Zhong shouted before anyone could speak.

Lan Taijian stood back, allowing them to speak for themselves.

“Untrue. Wang Zhong and his friends ate your ducks. We saw him,” Hui said.

Li Xiang nodded, standing behind Hui.

Sect Master Lan frowned at Wang Zhong, then at Hui. He rubbed his chin. “Weiheng Hui, if you have eaten my ducks again, I will no longer be able to tolerate your existence in my sect.”

Pressure weighed down on Hui’s shoulders. Rather than fight it, he bent into a bow. Hui nodded. “I understand, Senior! This small cultivator has been warned. I know better than to touch your precious ducks, now!”

“Wang Zhong… as someone who was supposedly protecting my ducks, if you in fact killed them and ate them, I…” Sect Master Lan narrowed his eyes.

Wang Zhong shook his head. “I never would. Never, Sect Master!”

“There is a simple way to resolve this,” Sect Master Lan said evenly, gesturing.

Mid-gesture, something rustled in the woods. Everyone, including the Sect Master, froze and turned.

The members of the Duck Protection Society stumbled out of the woods, looking around with wide eyes. Li Qian turned to Hui. “Xie Hao, what’s this?”

Hui rubbed the back of his head and smiled. “Er… this small cultivator stumbled upon the criminals, Elder Brother!”

“The—Wang Zhong? But he’s—” Li Qian said, startled. He stared, then turned and caught sight of Li Xiang, and his eyes widened further. “Li Xiang? Xie Hao—you really did know her!”

Hui laughed lightly, awkward.

The girl with glowing blue eyes from the Duck Protection Society lunged forward and covered Li Qian’s mouth. Glancing upward, she hissed, “The Sect Master’s here! And Peak Lord Lan!”

Sect Master Lan’s brows furrowed. He looked at Wang Zhong. “I thought you were undertaking your guard duties alone. But here you have not only three friends, but another group of juniors?”

Wang Zhong shivered. “Respectfully, Sect Master Lan, this forest is a large place! I needed assistance.”

“Hmm.” Sect Master Lan turned away. He continued his gesture.

Li Qian scooted toward Hui, escaping from the blue-eyed girl’s grasp. “Junior Brother, how do you know Li Xiang?”

“Er, it’s a long story?” Hui tried, laughing.

Li Xiang’s eyes flashed. “Junior Brother? Know your place.”

“Eh? What do you mean?” Li Qian asked. He glanced at Hui and frowned. “Huh? I can’t sense his cultivation anymore…”

“Li Xiang, it’s fine, it’s fine,” Hui said, waving his hand. I don’t need them to know the truth. It’s fine if they think I’m a lower-tier cultivator.

“This is Weiheng Hui, a fourth-realm cultivator and inheriting disciple. What right do you have to call him Junior Brother?” Li Xiang asked.

Ah… right. Li Xiang is obsessed with truth, after all! Hui sighed internally.

Li Qian stumbled back. He stared. “Weiheng… Hui?”

“We set the fox to guard the henhouse,” the blue-eyed girl murmured.

The other disciples stared at Hui, disbelieving.

“Untrue. Hui did not eat these ducks,” Li Xiang said.

Sect Master Lan finished his gesture, and a wave of power spread out. “This spell will reveal how many ducks each respective person has eaten. The remains of the duck’s soul will appear beside them, revealing the truth!”

A sense of deadly crisis emanated from Hui. He instantly sent a pulse of qi skyward, hoping against hope it would summon his Master.

A single pink duck emerged from Hui. It blinked, startled, then turned to Hui as if demanding an explanation.

Hui let out a relieved sigh. Fatty only counts for one. Good!

Sect Master Lan’s eyes narrowed.

Hui coughed. “Er, bygones are bygones, after all.”

Wang Zhong trembled. His face turned red, and veins stood out on his forehead. A breath passed, and he could hold it in no more. The soul of a duck burst out from his stomach.

“One to one. A tie,” Lan Taijian remarked.

Another duck popped out of Wang Zhong, then another. Slowly, five ducks lined up. Ducks materialized out of the third-realm cultivators lying on the ground, until twenty ghostly ducks stood in the clearing.

Sect Master Lan’s expression turned stormy. Wang Zhong trembled, face pure white.

Something stirred inside Hui. A powerful force of expulsion drew at his death qi. Hui frowned and repressed it, forcing it down. The force fought back, swirling inside him. Slowly, it slipped out of his control.

“Wang Zhong,” Sect Master Lan declared viciously, turning toward the shaking disciple.

Wang Zhong prostrated himself before Sect Master Lan. “Please forgive me! This disciple has done wrong. I—”

Hui burped. Something rose up in his throat. He put a hand over his mouth and forced down the ducks. No! Not now. Hold on!

Sect Master Lan turned toward Hui. He raised an eyebrow and gestured again.

The expulsion force grew more powerful. Hui shuddered, clasping his hands over his mouth. At last, he could hold on no more. A black duck burst out of his mouth.

Sect Master Lan blinked. He frowned at Hui.

“I… I can explain,” Hui said weakly, distracted by forcing down the ducks.

Sect Master Lan gestured again.

Hui stumbled a step, desperately holding back, but the flood gates broke. Ducks poured out of him, one after another. Five, ten, fifteen, until fifty ducks stood alongside the pink duck, lined up into a neat regiment. They stood there, quietly ruffling their wings and arranging their feathers, unconcerned with the goings-on.

Sect Master Lan’s face turned red. He took a step toward Hui, furious.

Hui raised his hands. “Sect Master, please! I didn’t eat these ducks. I, I—they’re—”

“Yes?” Sect Master Lan asked.

Hui grit his teeth. Time to go for broke! “When I ate Fatty, I felt intensely remorseful. After a great number of twists and turns, I cultivated his soul as a powerful technique as a way to apologize for my mistakes. Ultimately, I gained the power to unleash multiple copies of Fatty! I thought to present his soul to you, Sect Master, as a gift, but the, the timing wasn't right…”

In any case, I did feel apologetic, and it was a small part of my intentions to apologize by cultivating Fatty... if a very small part. As for presenting the soul, I did think about it a few times, especially around the tournament, but... things never worked out. And certainly, just now, before I spoke, I thought about it! It's hard to say the timing's right to present Fatty to him now, isn't it?

Sect Master Lan’s face reddened even further. “You cultivated Fatty’s soul? You captured it and held it inside yourself? You went so far to desecrate my beloved pet?”

“I—Sect Master, it’s, it’s not like that—” Hui stumbled, not sure what to say.

Sect Master Lan pointed at Hui, his hand trembling. “You!”

Hui threw himself on the ground. “Apologies, Sect Master! Please accept this humble disciple’s apologies. I never meant to insult you, nor desecrate Fatty! I did what I did with the noblest of intentions!” The noblest of intentions, also known as keeping this small cultivator alive!

Li Xiang stood in front of Hui. “Sect Master Lan, what he’s saying… he believes it to be true.”

Sect Master Lan hesitated. His anger faded half a note. He frowned. “Even so, he—”

“Remember what you came to decide. Not whether Disciple Hui deserves punishment, but whether Wang Zhong or Weiheng Hui is guilty in the eating of your ducks.”

Sect Master Lan took a deep breath. He glared at Hui for another beat, then turned to Wang Zhong.

“Sect Master, please. Let me explain,” Wang Zhong said.

Waving his hand, Sect Master Lan silenced Wang Zhong and simultaneously freed and awakened him and his three friends. Wang Zhong climbed to his feet, staring up at Sect Master Lan with devotion in his eyes. The other three stared around them, confused.

“The four of you have committed great crimes against me, your Sect Master. Not only killing and eating many of my beloved pets, but also directly ignoring my orders and wishes. Your actions are tantamount to betraying the entire sect!”

Wang Zhong’s face fell. His three compatriots backed away. They tried to speak, but no voices emerged from their throats.

“As punishment… all four of you are banished henceforth. Go, and consider yourselves lucky that I did not simply exterminate you!” Sect Master Lan flicked his sleeve. The four of them were gathered up by a wind and lifted off into the distance.

Hui breathed out. Sect Master Lan believed me for once! Thank goodness I brought Li Xiang!

Sect Master Lan turned toward him, his face stony. “And as for you…”

Hui swallowed. He prostrated himself again, not daring to look up. Master! Where are you?