Tang Fei’er looked at Hui, then at her fist, then at Hui again. Suddenly, her eyes glittered. Nodding to herself, she backed away. “So I suppose that’s all there is to Starbound Sect! All-Heavens Sect is simply too powerful for anyone from Starbound Sect to stand up to them at all!”

Hui scoffed silently. Elder Sister, you truly think too highly of this small cultivator. Tell anyone from Starbound Sect that you beat Weiheng Hui. They’ll laugh in your face! Beating me isn’t a blow to the pride of the sect; the opposite! If you couldn’t beat me, it would be All-Heavens Sect that had no face left!

Tang Fei’er glanced at him a few more times as she backed away. “Hmm, it’s too bad Starbound Sect is so pitiful and weak. It seems I’ve truly underestimated the sect.”

I’m sure those would be fighting words for most Starbound Sect disciples, but this small disciple has always been pitiful and weak! Your words mean nothing!

She sighed deeply. “Oh well, I suppose I have to go fight Li Xiang instead…”

Please! It’s what I’ve been telling you this whole time! Li Xiang is much more powerful than this small cultivator. She’s more worthy of facing you in a fight than me!

Tang Fei’er glanced at Hui. “Surely no true man would let a weak woman step in for him…?”

Hmph! Equality of the sexes! This small cultivator has the courage to let any number of women step in for him! Bai Xue, Li Xiang, Bai Jingwen and the lotus beast, Jin Xian and Fang Hua, the list goes on! If I were to claim to be the second most willing to see women as my equals on the field of battle, who could claim to be first?

“Or could it be… it’s too shameful for you to face a small girl like me? I’ll warn you, I’ve destroyed men dozens of times your size!”

Elder Sister, where are you finding men dozens of times my size? Please keep those men to yourself.

In any case, shame doesn’t come into play at all! This cultivator is utterly without shame. I’ve severed shame and moved past it! Only a true cultivator can claim to be truly shameless. It’s something to aspire to, not something to look down upon!

Tang Fei’er knelt, then reached out and grabbed his hair. She tilted his face back and forth, frowning. Almost gently, she slapped his cheeks one after another, striking up a rhythm. “Are you really this weak?”

Naturally! I’m no one special!

Well… actually, I… I probably could exchange a few blows with you. But this small cultivator doesn’t like pain or fighting! Why would I fight pointlessly? It’s better than having you spar me. After all… what if I win? My cowardly—ahem! My playing-dead instinct tells me that you won’t be satisfied until you win! So take your win and go!

At last, tired of her harassment, Tang Fei’er stood. She put her hands on her hips and frowned at Hui. “This isn’t over, Weiheng Hui! There’s no way someone with your pace of cultivation could be so weak. I’ll be back!”

Hui laid there silently. Tang Fei’er ran away. Ten seconds passed. Twenty.

Tang Fei’er stepped out from behind the hut. “Huh. Maybe he really is dead?”

You can’t fool me! I sensed your qi from all the way over here! Learn to suppress your qi, then come back and try to trick me!

Sighing, Tang Fei’er cast one last glance at Hui, then descended the mountain. Hui waited, tracking her qi. Only when she stepped out of Unrivaled Under Heaven Peak’s barrier and out of his sensing range did he sit up. He sighed, pulling at his robes. I got blood on my robes again, dammit. Tang Fei’er, there’s no need for violence. You and I have no grudge!

Hui released his crystallization technique, then swapped into the plant technique and simultaneously stepped out of the snake skin, shedding the external injuries with the skin and healing the internal injuries with the plant technique. Hui stretched. Feels good.

He glanced around the peak, then sighed. “I can’t stay here anymore. That Tang Fei’er is too dangerous. There’s no way someone that persistent will give up so easily. She’ll be back, no doubt. Luckily, I’ve already restocked my talismans! I could cultivate more life qi, but then again, Mount Mu isn’t going anywhere. It’s time to do a few errands around the sect. After all, if I’m on the move and in disguise, it’ll be harder for that dangerous woman to find me.”

Hui stepped forward, activating the snakeskin technique. A heroic, handsome man with a ponytail, scholarly green robes, and a yellow fan replaced Hui. A high collar hid Zhubi from sight. Hui flourished the fan, then snapped it shut in his hand. Interesting. I can use this technique to make small props, too! Wonderful, wonderful.

Tapping the fan in his palm, he strode down the mountain. “Who should I visit first?”

Zhubi shifted around his neck, settling into a more comfortable position. Hui raised his eyebrows. I haven’t been to Xixing yet, and there’s still the matter of Zhubi sleeping all the time to consider. Obviously, my first stop should be… Xixing!

Besides, Sis Mei and Li Xiang both live on Starbound Peak. A battle maniac like that Tang Fei’er would absolutely love Starbound Peak, swarming with sword cultivators as it is! And she said she was going to fight Li Xiang, too. If I want to avoid Tang Fei’er, I’ll have to stay away from Starbound Peak for a while! …Or at least ensure I’m well-disguised enough she can’t recognize me.

Hui reached the bottom of the peak and paused for a moment, still a few feet within the boundaries of Unrivaled Under Heavens Peak’s barriers. Down below, a group of male and female cultivators carried a load of laundry past, unaware of Hui, hidden in the forest above. Quietly, he smiled to himself, reminiscing.

If it hadn’t been for the laundry that day, Li Xiang and I may have never crossed paths. To think, my life was changed forever by a load of laundry…

Chatting happily, the group of cultivators vanished into the distance, never aware of Hui. Hui waited until they were long gone to descend the mountain, not wanting to interrupt their afternoon. Silent as a ghost, he glided over the crossroads and stepped toward Cauldron Peak.