All around him, the hive buzzed with life. Staring at his clawed hands, Qiu Xuanwu screamed internally. “I already gave you one life. How many more must you take? How long must I suffer before you’re satisfied?”

After a breath, he sighed and lowered his claws. “It must be until I’m purified. But how many lives will that take?”

Quietly, he drummed his claws on the ground. Given how much demonic qi I cultivated… being able to reach the level of an evil deity in defiance of heavens, one who was able to overturn the heavens single-handedly at that… The drumming grew faster, his claws tapping over one another. His antennae twitched as he grew agitated. Assuming I earn as much good karma as I did in my first life, assuming I give in completely and hand myself over to the cycle of rebirth, holding nothing back, and earnestly try to purify myself…

His claws slowed. His antennae drooped. He bowed his head.

The other bees scurried around him. Some attended to the other young bees, while others fed honey into cells. One crawled up and checked on him, tapping his face with its antennae. He stood completely still, tiny body trembling.

Bursting out, he threw back his head and roared, “I’ll be stuck reincarnating as bugs forever!”

The bee checking on him toppled backward, startled.

Frustrated, he whirled his wings and took to the air. “Give in, your granny! This grandmaster has never once bowed his head. Not when I was a mere mortal, fighting to cultivate my strength! Not when I ascended to Heaven, and not when I was cast down, and had to crawl my way through the underworld!

“No! I refuse! Purification, don’t talk to me about purification! I’ll cultivate demonic qi again and ascend to immortality that way. Who cares if that nanny Kai Bailong doesn’t agree? He can’t stop me. He’s just a mortal, the same as me.”

The bee who’d checked on him took to the air behind him. It drifted along, wiggling back and forth in an inquisitive sort of way.

“Are you Kai Bailong? Well… who cares. You can’t talk, so you can’t nag me. Follow along if you want, but there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” He zoomed off, rushing through the hive. Dodging other bee and clefts of honeycomb, he darted out into the sunlight.

A thick forest spread around them. Tangled branches, laden with vines and brambles, left the floor in perpetual twilight, loam laying thick over the ground. The forest twisted off in every direction, no sign of the border.

Heavy demonic aura hung on the air, the demonic qi almost palpable. Eyes wide with excitement, Qiu Xuanwu breathed in, circulating the qi into his body. Even if I’m a bee, I’ll still—!

The qi rushed back out of his body as he breathed out. Not a single strand remained.

“Eh?” Panicked, he focused and drew more strongly on the qi.

It flowed into him, then flowed away.

The second bee tumbled up to him. It hovered above him, a quizzical air to its hovering.

“Shut up! Go away!” he snapped. It can’t be. Am I… unable to cultivate? Is this a curse Kai Bailong cast on me?

That seal. The magic the heroes cast. It can’t be…

Unable to close his eyes, he focused inward. Looking past his body, he turned his attention to his soul.

At first, he saw nothing. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned in closer.

Deep in his soul, something glimmered. He focused and made out a gold seal dormant inside his soul, bound to the deepest parts of him.

He breathed in qi, but before he could properly circulate it, the seal lit up with scintillating golden light. The light dissipated the gathering qi and purified it. The demonic qi turned to ordinary qi and circulated around his soul before it rushed back out. Where the ordinary qi passed, the corruption of his soul faded infinitesimally. Infinitesimally, but still, it faded all the same. Qui Xuanwu’s eyes widened.

“It is! That damn seal. That damn Kai Bailong! Not only do you seal my ability to cultivate, but you make it so that if I try to cultivate, I purify myself instead? Disgusting. Despicable! Bullying this deity, you dare?”

Fluttering his wings, he floated in midair. His claws tapped again, counting on the air. Any seal can be broken. If I abandon gathering good karma through the cycle of reincarnation, and instead focus on breaking that seal so I can cultivate to greatness once more, then… it should only take…

His claws slowed. Internally, he pulled a sour face. “Kai Bailong, get out here! Show your face! How dare you, to the great me, you, you…”

A thousand lives. A thousand lives, to break one seal? You must be joking! Curse you, Kai Bailong, a thousand curses! Curse your mother, curse your sister, curse your grandmother! Frustrated, he wriggled around in midair. From deep within him, a silent scream welled up. All he could do was drone louder.

The other bee floated close to him, concerned but emanating a reassuring air.

“Leave already!” He lunged at the other bee and slammed into it.

The other bee fell back, hurt. Reassurance turned to confusion. The other bee tilted its head at him and did a confused dance.

“Shut up. I don’t care. Go away,” he grumbled, flying off deeper into the forest. Zooming along on a straight line, he blasted through the trees.

The other bee hurried after him, struggling to keep up.

Grumbling under his breath, he paid no attention to where he flew. Trees offered luscious flowers, thick with heady scents. Little blossoms pushed out of the undergrowth, bobbing for the splotches of sunlight that reached the floor.

The bee following him drifted from side to side, tempted by the flowers. It shook its head, refusing temptation, and continued to follow Qiu Xuanwu.

Sunlight blazed down, splintering over his eyes. Momentarily blinded, he blundered through the air.

His tiny body thumped into something huge. He tumbled backward through the air. Stunned, he forgot to flutter his wings for a second and plunged toward the earth.

The other bee darted after him. It buzzed loudly, as if calling out to him.

“Eh? What was that?”

A human voice startled Qiu Xuanwu out of his stun. The ground rushed up at him, blades of grass as tall as trees, weeds swaying in the breeze. He flapped his wings again and pulled out of his fall seconds before he struck the ground. Backing up, he gazed up at the human. “That voice… don’t tell me… Zui Jiu?”

The scent of liquor swayed on the breeze, lofting from an open gourd that loomed high above him. A coarse, calloused hand clutched the gourd, fingernails short and blunt. Tan skin vanished into a blue robe. The robe covered a hearty, muscular figure, small breasts further deaccented by the male-styled robes. High overhead, a sharp chin and rounded eyes gazed blearily around. With a sigh, the woman raised the gourd again, leaning back against a tree.

“Nothing, as usual. Who cares if Qiu Xuanwu favored these woods? Who cares if there’s demonic beasts? Let the mortals handle it. Sift a few more martial deities from the chaff. We could use them, after that Qiu Xuanwu.”

She wiped her lips and huffed out, closing her eyes. “How’s a martial deity supposed to purify a forest, anyways? Should’ve sent a forest deity, agriculture, harvest…”

Flying backward, Qiu Xuanwu scowled. “Zui Jiu, my friend. They sent you down here because we were friends, didn’t they? Even though I sealed you with the rest, I never…”

He shook his head. “It’s too late for regrets. I did what I had to. My only true regret is that I failed.”

“Chen Wuya,” a gentle voice murmured in his ear.

The bee flinched. He shifted his antennae and looked around. “Who…?”

The other bee hovered close, concerned.

A pat on his cheek. Brought fully back to the current day, Chen Wuya startled awake and sat up off someone’s shoulder. “Huh?”

“You fell asleep,” Fen Long explained, rolling his shoulders out.

“O-oh,” he murmured, still lost in the past. Zui Jiu…

“If you’re that tired, do you want to get up and head to bed?” Fen Long asked, speaking as he would to a younger brother.

“I’m fine. I’m awake,” Chen Wuya insisted, wiping his eyes.

Zhao Gouren chuckled. “No need to force yourself, young hero. Boys need their rest. Head into the wagon, and let this adult handle first watch.” Putting his hands on his knees, he stood.

Stubborn, Chen Wuya stared into the fire for another few moments. All at once, he huffed out and pushed himself upright. “I’ll take my leave.”

Chuckling, Fen Long poked the fire with a stick. “Good night.”

Half in the wagon, Chen Wuya glanced back. Fen Long cut a solitary shadow against the fading fire. He narrowed his eyes at the young man’s back. Is he…? But then, Jing Fengge…

He shook his head and stepped into the wagon. I’ll know soon enough.