Author’s Note: Man, this is the first chapter since I left for the woods (though I lived on a small pulling boat — slept on oars man, 10/10 would recommend — for 12 days). I forgotten how these things go...though rambling is inherent to all of this. Not posting for 3 weeks really means I need to grind out chapters; my friend is so embarrassed that she forgot. Needed to review prior chapters and the outlines I planned before leaving to refresh myself — that’s why I didn’t upload for a week. Gonna be a slow transition back to civilization. Anyhow, I recommend listening to Exo’s Overdose on repeat while reading this if only for the thematic cohesion. And as always, thanks for reading.

Street vendors crowded the narrow cobblestone-laid path and a thick mist stank of herbs flooded the air. People stampeded over one another like bulls, each eager to snatch up the free samples.

Not all the samples were manufactured by the Black Pearl Sect. Many of the samples were of lesser pill manufacturers aligned to the sect — endorsed by the pill kingdom’s good name.

The pill festival took place in the middle region of the mountain: an equal distance from the base and from the apex. This arrangement allowed for regular mortals, such as merchants or landowners, to sample the health dan so crucial to longevity. At the same time, due to how prestigious the event is amongst the cultivating world, this arrangement allowed for cultivators to attend without ever really mingling with the lesser mortals. The arrangement also saved the Black Pearl Sect face, as

placing the festival at the base of the mountain would be insulting to the guests and much too

arrogant for the sect; placing the event at the very top would be too familiar for anyone’s liking.

Qiu’yue and the other children looked on the event with wide eyes. Though rather than

becoming golden-eyed at pills bright with every pigment and creamy with sweet scents, they drooled at the vendors selling candy and other food. Excited beating of the heart, a blush upon their cheeks, as the five orphans discovered toys and masks and games lined the streets as well. They all turned their eyes at Gai’zhi who simply laughed and handed each of them several copper coins.

“Don’t wander too far from each other,” Gai’zhi warned, leaned forward wagging his finger. However, before the last word left his lips, Cai was already gone, leaving only an afterimage — and even that left after a breath. Gai’zhi chuckled and scratched his head. He mused, “Guess even our little prince is a kid at heart. Well, I’ll be off for the local brothels. Take care not to get lost. And if you get into trouble, always aim for the crotch, chest, or head.”

And with no other words, Gai’zhi leapt into the air, with quick strides, disappeared into an old establishment stuffed with intoxicating perfumes. The twins held hands and sped off toward stalls dripped with oil, salt, and sugar. Senior Sha drooled at the swarm of stalls stocked to the brim, bustled and plump, with pills. Turning to Qiu’yue, Senior Sha smiled and the two rushed off into the congested beast that was the pill festival.

The two first stopped by the stalls offering little games and challenges, the standard distractions and occupations offered to children. Both of them found they were absolutely horrendous at Seven Pieces when not using qi. Qiu’yue did the best: having caught six of the smalls pebbles and thrown the last one — only for one pebble to slip from her palm as she caught the final piece. Due to how close Qiu’yue was to actually winning, the stall owner gave her a piece of candy regardless. Senior Sha and Qiu’yue also tried their luck at archery, riddles, and a poetry competition. Though Qiu’yue embarrassed herself at archery — the arrows nearly impaling the stall keeper — she proved her noble background with riddles and poetry.

The rest of the small change Gai’zhi gave them, they combined to buy one great steaming meat bun to share. Qiu’yue also shared the prizes she garnered from the other games, mostly hard candy.

Despite having ate full, Senior Sha felt an indescribable hunger as they passed the stalls. Though Gai’zhi warned them of the dangers of overdosing and the general instability of prototypes, Senior Sha devoured every dan and pill offered. Qiu’yue only accepted the more basic ones — some cosmetic for her skin, a few for her cultivation, and also pills to improve muscle elasticity. By the midway — or what the children assumed to be the midpoint — of the line of pill samples, Senior Sha had earned himself more experience in some 3 incenses worth of time compared to his entire life.

Of those pills, a few were of particular fascination. One dan, named Dragon’s Heart Tyrant, caused his entire face to swell and withered, almost becoming like red dragon scales — before a fiery sensation clawed up his throat to produce a burst of flames into the air. One other dan, the Beastial Soul Conquerer, filled him with uncontrollable speed. He shook constantly and was unable to be still for a greater part of an incense; the side-effect of fur covering his entire face did not help Qiu’yue’s attempts to stifle her laughter. A third dan, Celestial Lightning Soul, cloaked Senior Sha in lightning — yet the aftereffects of the dan was too harsh. Not only did the lightning scorch his body, he also suffered internal damage. Due to this incident, the stall owners gave him several healing pills in addition to the numerous free samples as an apology. And one pill which was especially unfathomable was a new line of medicinal pills offered by the Black Pearl Sect itself.

Not only did they not turn away the citizens wracked with clear dependence on pills, the sect disciples welcomed them warmly. Once ingested, those addled and mad citizens visibly calmed and regained a human nature to them. To normal people, the pills also had a profound effect: whether it was a coldness of the lungs, a chill of the bones, or even the simple itchiness of Senior Sha’s face after the Beastial Soul Conquerer dan wore off, the pill made it disappear. Most importantly, the pills tasted sweet.

Qiu’yue had to drag Senior Sha away from the stall. Onlookers did not know what embarrassment they felt. Was it embarrassment for the ugly dwarf’s lack of etiquette? Or was it the embarrassment of their own self at the sight of a young girl dragging an older boy who must weigh at least double her own weight.

However, those thoughts quickly reached consensus in a few short breaths. The pill festival was a massive event. Obviously, people needed to have shifts. As the exchange of shifts occurred for a few Black Pearl Sect disciples, Senior Sha moaned as if his water broke. And then, he threw up all over their feet.

This group of six was not pleased. Livid. Furious. Absolutely pissed. Qiu’yue quickly bowed her head and apologized. If it had ended there — well, this story would be quite boring, and our heroes much happier — but Senior Sha had ingested pill after pill like candy. His stomach had become a concoction of unknown properties. Though one was quickly displayed: stupidity of the highest kind, an almost-beautiful state of recklessness and ignorance.

Senior Sha got up and threw up onto the shoes of the Black Pearl Sect disciples once

more. Then, he flipped them off, farted with a pleased smile, and used the sleeve of one of the disciples to wipe his mouth. And then he turned to one of the disciples and remarked on how beautiful she was — especially her peaches. Then he turned to another of the disciples and cried at how hers resembled a cutting board. Finally, he sneered at the male disciples and remarked on their mothers and sisters.

At that point, a crowd had gathered. There was laughter. There was awkwardness. And there was a communal embarrassment of the highest kind for the clearly drug-drunk boy, even greater pity for Qiu’yue.

The group of six cultivators flared up with qi: two were at the consolidation stage, three were at the petrification stage, and one was at the fear-inspiring soul severance stage. The explosion of qi rushed out and knocked the spectators into the air. Crashed against the stalls,they all coughed up blood, but smiled nonetheless from the numerous drug samples. However, the stall owners were not smiling and crowded around the Black Pearl Sect disciples, ruddy-faced — allowing Qiu’yue to

quickly grab Senior Sha and dash away further into the festival.

Roaring, the six cultivators sent most of the stall owners flying into the air with a single strike. The few owners who possessed some cultivating strength took two blows. There was nothing left of them except for a mangled pile of crushed flesh. Then, they gave chase. The four men stampeded through the crowd like rhinoceroses, causing the ground to quake. The two women took to the sky, scaling up the mass of buildings and leaping across the maroon roofs like fairies.

Sensing the terrible vibrations of the rampaging men behind her, Qiu’yue similarly took to the top of the buildings. She dashed into an alley and wall-jumped, though she forgot the addition of Senior Sha in her hands, leaving him battered and bruised — knocking him out. Qiu’yue realized this fact once she landed on top of the roof, almost slipping off from the unstable clay shingles. She laughed nervously when she felt two masses of qi approach from behind.

Qiu’yue looked back and closed her eyes with a defeated smile. The beautiful woman was at the consolidation stage; the ugly woman was at the soul severance stage. Both were flushed and gripped swords in their hands.

“Stupid Senior Brother Sha,” Qiu’yue muttered and placed him down carefully. With a snap of her fingers, Quiet Thoughts shot forward from her hair and grew to her full size. Spinning, Qiu’yue sent the silver blade shooting forward, leaving a sharp, bright sound hung in the air. Within a few breaths, Qiu’yue began to laugh. The others were right; those who dope often held a fatal weakness.

At first, Qiu’yue frowned as the fight was in the favor of the two Black Pearl Sect women. The young girl felt as if she was a single raindrop clashing against a torrent. Her Quiet Thoughts moved with intent, but was unable to penetrate through the quick and strong receives of her two opponents. Instead, in three exchanges, Qiu’yue had to wield Quiet Thoughts in her own hand and assume a defensive posture. Yet the girl held a firm belief in victory.

The two cultivators were absolute amateurs. Neither of them moved with any deliberate intent.

There were many chances for a pincer attack or to simply overwhelm Qiu’yue, but the two amateurs did not see those chances. Neither did the two use any martial arts — perhaps they never learned any, or perhaps they believed they did not need to. In addition, despite their overwhelming strength, they used their qi haphazardly. Qiu’yue felt sick from the abundance of their qi.

There was no need for that. Such a continued abundance use of qi served little purpose. The shock value of this voluminous qi already vanished. To put such force into their entire body left their bodies stilted. Even for external school users, typically, they would reserve the use of all their qi as a sort of finisher — one punch, one kill. And before that, those external users would concentrate qi into a specific part of their bodies for greater effect with each and every blow. Simply put, the two women wasted their qi. In particular, the soul severance cultivator. If the ugly woman simply concentrated her qi, even if Qiu’yue blocked with her sword, the sheer shock would still tear apart the young girl’s arm. But she did not.

It was as if the ugly woman was handed the world’s most powerful sword. Sure, she could cut down a mountain without effort, and even an army. But in a fight, she was akin to a child holding a knife — a danger to herself, and of no danger to an adult.

As Qiu’yue moved backwards, she kicked the shingles underneath to buy herself more time. To dodge, these two amateurs continued to use their qi at full force, causing the shingles beneath them to loosen — making them exert even more effort to stabilize their assault.

Still, each block felt as if defending against a falling mountain, causing Qiu’yue’s right arm to jolt in dangerous angles. The spinning of her body inherent to her style reduced much of the shock. In addition, the powerful metal from which Quiet Thoughts was crafted protected her own frail body even more from the shock. Though, only the adrenaline rush of death kept the girl going despite the increasing stretching pain of her tendons and joints in her right arm. And only the sheer experience of her time in the Tomb of Scorched Ice kept her from death’s grip.

Whereas the opponents hoarded extreme qi and force, Qiu’yue retaliated with deliberate strikes. She used everything she learned in her months of learning. The diversion of force with her blade. The simultaneous use of both hands. The sheer bliss of witnessing the enemies’ surprise when a kick was throw in. Everything that she learned, she used — becoming a fantastical whirlwind to be reckoned with.

Despite the harsh pressure, Qiu’yue slowly came out on top. The young girl even felt exhilaration burn through her veins as her mind dipped into a blank haze.

While exchanging blows, Qiu’yue blocked one of the strikes with her own palm out of necessity. Without the reduction provided by her sword, she felt the full strength of the consolidation stage. Her entire arm rippled and exploded and the young girl cried, face contorted. The assault became stronger. The ugly woman pursued death with an eager fervor as foam bubbled up her mouth.

Soon, the ugly woman began to pant. Her veins popped against her pockmarked skin and blood oozed out her eyes. Halting to catch her breath, the ugly woman gave Qiu’yue her chance. Launching forward, a blossom of piercing jabs and slices bloomed in front of the ugly woman. The ugly woman was able to block the first wave, but not the second, third, or fourth. The front of her torso quickly became a mesh of thick blood, wiry flesh, and white bone.

“Beautiful,” Qiu’yue remarked and stepped forward in a daze.

“Stop it, you monster!” The beautiful woman screamed with tears, her shrill voice oscillating like the temperament of the seas. She looked at the ugly woman and shuddered. “You monster! We’re higher cultivation than you! Higher cultivation!”

Qiu’yue tilted her head and replied, “You guys are weak.”

The beautiful woman narrowed her eyes, knuckles white as snow, and screamed, “I’m not weak! I’m strong, definitely strong. I’m not your slave to trample over!”

With a look not befit a child, Qiu’yue regarded the woman in front of her with no emotions. Neither contempt nor a victor’s joy; it was as if the woman in front of her was so weak that she was undeserving of even Qiu’yue’s emotions. That petrified the beautiful woman.

The beautiful woman felt an unnerving, monstrous aura flow from the girl — seep from her like encroaching shadows. Despite being new to the cultivation world, the beautiful woman had felt killing intent before. Some choked her throat like miasma; others chilled her bones; few jabbed deep into the underside of her nails until it pierced her heart; most stifled her nose some, and never for long. None felt as primal as the young girl’s. It felt ancient — maddening so. The thick aura exuded a strength far beyond those of star cultivators, even matching — no, deserving — of a divine arrogance. Crippled by complete fear, the beautiful woman became unable to breathe or concentrate qi.

Dashed across the clay shingles as if she was an arrow, Qiu’yue swooped under the beautiful woman’s blade and pierced through her throat with a single strike. Retrieving her blade, she shook it clean of blood before changing Quiet Thoughts back into a hair ornament.

Qiu’yue walked over to the ugly woman and knelt beside her carcass. Yet as she placed her right hand over the dead woman’s chest, she recoiled. The girl looked at her fingers frayed and bloodied.

Frowning slightly, she turned her attention to the beautiful woman’s body instead.

The young girl placed her hand over the beautiful woman’s chest, eyes a faint golden glow. Qiu’yue’s battered arm — originally a scrap fray of torn flesh — quickly wove itself back together, becoming whole again, though faint stretch scars remained. Her right hand healed as well. However, before anything of impact occured, Senior Sha woke with a groan. Jolted from her daze, the girl coughed up a great deal of blood, leaving her more pale than before. Still, she wiped the blood from her lips and smiled, almost as if she did not register the events of the last few minutes. Qiu’yue skipped over to Senior Sha. Then she launched into a lecture with her pout reminiscent of peaches, using words borrowed from Gai’zhi and Cai — which of course quickly degenerated into a mess of a speech as the child got her words confused, leaving Sha to correct her with stifled laughter.

The two’s moment were broken when the two felt the ground absolutely tremble in fear. The fighting had attracted the attention of the other four cultivators.

Senior Sha knelt with head bowed, “Qiu’yue, I’m so sorry I got you dragged into this mess. I’m such a useless senior brother, aren’t I?”

Qiu’yue nodded with a pout, “Yep.”

Senior Sha looked up with slight exasperation, “Isn’t this the part where you comfort me instead!”

“Nope,” Qiu’yue responded with a giggled. Then she gestured to the two dead women with a frown, “I had to kill again, Senior Sha. I killed a human being.”

The girl tilted her head down and muttered, “And I didn’t feel anything wrong with it.”

“O-of course you didn’t! They were trying to kill you, so of course you had to kill them,” Senior Sha explained with flustered hands. “Uh, it’s the law of the cultivating world. Don’t worry about it...except we have to, since we killed their disciples in their own home…Even if they’re only outer sect disciples, we basically slapped the sect master’s face in his own home...”

“Senior Sha, I realized you’re actually a really gloomy person,” Qiu’yue remarked.

“Blame my face,” Senior Sha retorted with a humph. Then, his face took on an uncomfortable expression. “If we kill the rest of them, they probably won’t chase it back to us. After all, we’re only condensation stage cultivators.”

“Do you think the other four practices the Black Pearl Sect’s martial art?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Senior Sha replied with slight hesitation. “If the woman over there is soul severance stage and doesn’t know martial arts, maybe the rest don’t either.”

Qiu’yue nodded, but then frowned. She told Senior Sha of her exhaustion. At the very most, she was able to summon Quiet Thoughts for but a single breath. A dizziness swelled in her head, evident of her pale complexion, and she worried she would only hinder if she joined the fray directly.

The older boy nodded grimly, almost a fitting expression for his natural unnatural face.

Senior Sha moved over to the two dead women. He said his Buddhist prayers and closed the two women’s eyes. He also apologized to them as individuals. Then, he took one of the woman’s blade and handed the other to Qiu’yue. As he was doing so, he noticed the branding on the beautiful woman’s neck. The character boldly read “Slave”.

A great sorrow seized Senior Sha’s heart. He lamented his indulgence of pills. Such a beautiful fairy, dead! She who was a slave, now a cultivator donned with a gold necklace and happy, was killed by him. The young boy stopped his weeping and slid off the roof and just before impact, he dove deep underground with his blade.

Even with experienced martial artists, assassins posed great danger to them. There was a piercing mental exhaustion associated with those dwelled in the shadows. To constantly be on guard quickly becomes tiring exertion and a chain upon living. To not be on guard was to ask for death. There lied the dilemma of the hunted — after all, until one reached the apex of the petrification stage, or some particular martial arts, one still retained a body of a human when not bolstered by qi.

Thus it was of no surprise to Senior Sha when he successfully shorn the tendons of the lone consolidation cultivator. It was a rather difficult task to imbue one’s tendons with qi — and a quaint thought in the first place to do so. The anguish cries of the fallen drew his brothers’ attention. Yet, before anyone caught a glimpse of Senior Sha, he already dove back under the ground.

A gush of blood bursted through the fallen consolidation cultivator’s mouth. Eyes rolled back, the young man died at the tender age of twelve. Senior Sha simply impaled the young man’s stomach directly underneath his body.

Faced with an opponent seen, one often possessed hope in spite of circumstances, dire or pleasing. Faced against a shadow, one often degenerated into disorder.

“Xuan Gui Guarding Pearl!” One of the petrification cultivators shouted. Instantly all three of the remaining Black Pearl Sect disciples’ skin turned black as iron as muscles bulged grotesque. Then the cultivator shouted, “Kun Formation!”

Cautiously and quickly, the three placed each other’s backs against one another. They raised their palms up like massive shields in front of them. And the three waited.

And thus laid the dilemma of the hunter. A successful assassination consisted of two paths: to cull the weak and throw the strong in disarray, or to slay the strong in one strike and feast upon the meek. A drawn out skirmish — this war of attrition — did not fit Senior Sha’s strengths. Nor did it fit Qiu’yue even if she was at full strength.

These trio of men knew what they were doing — though what weakness and side-effects of pills possessed was unrevealed. Perhaps the trio suffered bone deterioration and was unable to move quickly — though that was often irrelevant for someone whose purpose was to be a bulwark. Or perhaps these three will never surpass their limits and remain merely at the petrification stage — a harsh detriment but of no impact currently. And perhaps, the three will run out of qi and stamina quickly, similar to the ugly woman. That possibility existed but was unlikely. Senior Sha noticed the three had synchronized their breaths and motion. These three were no amateurs!

“Na, should we simply run and report it to sect master?” One of them asked.

“Ne, you idiot! If we go report this embarrassment to sect master, we will die! We’re only outer sect

disciples — people with no future.”

The third cultivator growled, “Na is right. Besides, these brats are only condensation cultivators. Didi died because she was inexperienced; Nuna died because she was an idiot who took too many pills and didn’t stabilize the rapid growth — leading to her health issues! Besides, we actually know martial arts.”

“Ni is right. As soon as we see them, we just punch them with full force. Until then we can simply defend against whatever shit they send our way!”

Qiu’yue looked on from above with worry, crouched over, she waited for Senior Sha’s signal. It was do or die. There was no running. If the two ran, they will simply be hunted down by the entire sect. It all depended on Senior Sha’s execution of the plan.

The earth, still as autumn, rippled with anxious energy. The three cultivators remained attentive as oaks against winter wind. Qiu’yue watched from above, her eyes gone dark and fierce.

Unknowingly, all five players breathed in unison, thought in unison; but they did not act in unison.

Bursting from the center of their formation, earth scattering like crows, Senior Sha’s loan sword sliced across their legs. Rather than breaking their legs, their legs broke the young boy’s blade — snapped in half. Grasped by surprise, their formation broke as each of them tried to pummel the ugly dwarf into a rice cake. Before the three cultivators could, Senior Sha already dove back into the ground. And before the three could reinstate their formation, Senior Sha popped up like a ghost once more, throwing dirt at their faces.

Naturally, the response would be to cough the dirt out and wipe their eyes. Senior Sha smiled in anticipation. He quickly pulled the pill samples he got from the festival and threw them all into each of the cultivator’s mouth. Then he signalled Qiu’yue to attack before diving back into the earth, but perhaps Qiu'yue did not even need to do that.

Instantly, the pills showed their effects. Even when Senior Sha ingested the pills one at a time, the effects took a toll on his body. When mixed together, the effects became an abomination upon the human body and mind!

Perhaps due to the mixture of the different pills, the effects blossomed quickly like wildflowers. The sudden shock of lightning and fire from the inside burned their internal organs, causing their defenses and concentration to weaken drastically. However, rather than simply breathing fire and sheltering a cloak of lightning inside them, stranger things took place. The flames rushed out of the cultivators’ eyes — most likely a mutated effect caused by the Celestial Lightning Soul pill. And the lightning took on some properties of the Dragon’s Heart Tyrant pill as well, shooting forward and injuring those nearby.

The most interesting mutation of the pills lied in the Beastial Soul Conquerer pill. Originally, it simply made one overflow with speed and fur. Combined with the other two pills, rather than being a moderately useful pill, it became poison. The rapid contractions of muscles caused their tendons to tear. These contractions extended to their internal organs and within a breath of taking in the pills, their major organs ruptured. Combined with the trio’s extensive history of doping, the aftershock numbed the tiniest blood.

Blood simply spilled out from the dead three as they collapsed onto the dirty alleyway street, charred to a crisp. Qiu’yue hopped down from her perch. Senior Sha greeted her with a grim victory smile. They did it. They killed all six of their pursuers.

A slow clapping came from above. The pair of children looked up and felt their chests tighten — crushed, even. Floating down from the rooftop was a beautiful fairy. Possessed of flawless skin, her complexion was that of a toned warrior. Yet, despite its dark hue, the tan only served to enhance the raw beauty of her fierce eyes. Of her tight and thin, red lips. Of the majestic disposition suited of royalty.

The beautiful fairy wore the Black Pearl Sect uniform, similar to the ones worn by the dead around Qiu’yue and Senior Sha. However, the color arrangement was inversed. She was an inner sect disciple! And a disciple at the peak of soul severance.

“What a wonderful performance,” she said, halting her approach. No smile donned her face — only a thin scowl. “Even I would have a hard time living through that concoction if I was not prepared. Ingenious even — to improvise such an execution. Guarding the internal organs is tricky, but to guard it so suddenly — only death remains for them. But the most clever of the concoction was our own sect’s Rainbow Calming dan. Not only did it stifle their reaction time — but they did not even realize their own deaths until it was too late. Absolutely brilliant!”

Qiu’yue and Senior Sha gulped. They wanted to move. They needed to move. Absolutely needed to run away before they die. But they were unable to. Whereas the ugly woman also was at the soul severance stage, she did not know how to use qi effectively.

The beautiful woman in front of them concentrated the impact of her qi like sunlight, piercing through their very hearts with killing intent. And the woman always kept her qi circulating, so as to always oppress the children one way or another. With every step that she took, the pressure increased — as did the volumes of blood coughed up by Qiu’yue and Senior Sha.

The woman stopped in front of the kneeling children. Children unable to bear her pressure. She stepped on Senior Sha’s back and grinded it with her heel.

“Tell me, you ugly little dwarf, were you the one who killed Nuna?” She asked. “Were you the one who pierced her throat — who took her sweet life away?”

Senior Sha felt a deep throbbing in his heart. He became unable to respond, frozen by fear. All he did was cough up blood and nothing else. The strength difference was too heavy.

“N-no! I killed her,” Qiu’yue coughed, sweat pouring down her face. Chest heaving, she pushed herself off from the ground and stood up, leaning on Quiet Thoughts. “I killed her. So let my senior brother go.”

Eyes narrowed, the beautiful woman kicked Senior Sha. An explosion bursted and Senior Sha shot out the alley into the open streets. Blood guzzled from his throat. Surely, his internal organs had

been rearranged.

“Senior Brother!” Qiu’yue cried, head turned away from the beautiful woman. That was a mistake.