At the bottom of the peak, Hui paused and looked back. He isn’t behind me? That old man… he’s definitely a high-ranking cultivator. I got the impression he could flick me to death. I thought I could put off my death by another few seconds, but it seems like… he’s letting me go?

He hesitated another few seconds, then shrugged and walked on. I guess… he wasn’t willing to kill me over the duck? He didn’t want to look stupid in front of the whole sect, chasing a little Foundation-Building disciple over a duck? What’d he call it anyways? ‘Fatty?’ Ah! Don’t call a duck Fatty unless you want to eat it, okay? People will get confused!

He was delicious, though. My thanks to elder for preparing such a fine fat duck.

So thinking, he wandered toward Cauldron Peak. I only gave Xixing those ingredients a few days ago. She won’t have pills yet, but… well, I should probably learn how to use my pill furnace to make pills at some point.

A white streak jolted through the sky above him. Hui glanced up, startled. Silver flashed. Blade-first, a sword plunged for his head.

Eyes wide, Hui dove to the side at the last second. The blade struck deep into the earth and stood upright, quivering.

“There you are!” a voice shouted from above him.

Hui stared up. Li Xiang dropped toward him, likewise head-first. Startled, Hui held out his hands to catch her.

She twisted in midair to avoid him and landed, perched on tiptoe atop her sword. “Ah, good job, Daodao. I knew I could count on you to spot him.”

Daodao? Isn’t that… sword-sword? Sword-path, maybe? Hui glanced at the sword, somewhat concerned with Li Xiang’s naming sense.

Li Xiang jabbed a finger at him. Hui jolted, surprised. “You! Did you steal the precious herbs from Jade Garden Peak?”

“S—stole? Elder sister, there’s been a great misunderstanding. I paid for those herbs in good faith. Your true thief is whoever took my payment!” Hui protested.

“You think Golden Pure Heavenly Leeks are worth a single gold each?” Li Xiang asked.

“What? Those sickly-looking leeks? I thought I was doing the gardener a favor, pruning them away! And the satsuma, that poor tree, it barely produced any fruit, but it still bowed over, too weak to hold them up. I was doing it a favor!” Hui protested. Quietly, sweat broke out down his back. Shit, were those actually powerful, expensive herbs? I guess that explains why they tasted so good! Ah, damn, if I knew they were powerful herbs, I would have given them to Xixing, not wasted them on my amateur cooking—I mean, I wouldn’t have picked them! Er… please let this small disciple run to the administrative sector, I promise I’ll pay as soon as I get back!

Li Xiang tipped her head. “You really didn’t know.”

“I really didn’t,” Hui assured her. He reached into his robes and drew out the remaining gold. “This… is it enough?”

From behind him, someone gasped. “Weiheng Hui is trying to bribe Li Xiang! He must be the thief!”

“Wait, wait, I wasn’t—” Hui whipped around and found a white-robed cultivator staring at him, sword prominent on his hip. The cultivator’s eyes darted to his hands. He glanced down to find himself still holding out the gold. Guiltily, he retracted the money and stuffed it in his robes. “I wasn’t doing that!”

The cultivator’s eyes widened. “He’s hiding the evidence!”

“You found the thief? Where is he?”

“That Weiheng Hui, I knew he was no good!”

“Makes you wonder how much of those other rumors are true…”

“No no, really, I wasn’t!” Hui said, putting his hands up.

A mob of cultivators in Jade Garden Peak’s worn and shortened robes marched toward him. Some hefted pitchforks or spades, others sickles, others yet hand claws.

“Li Xiang caught the thief! Get him!”

“Punishment!”

“Gut the thief!”

“Take his hands!”

“Look, take the gold! I’ll get as much as you want!” Hui said, setting the bag on the ground before them.

The leader, a female cultivator with a deadly-sharp sickle, glanced down at the bag, then kicked it over. Gold coins spilled over the cobbles. She twisted her lips. “Our precious herbs are worth this little to you?”

“Elder sister, please, let me explain,” Hui said, bowing low.

“It really is a misunderstanding,” Li Xiang chimed in.

Elder Sister Li Xiang! No wonder you’re everyone’s idol! Hui praised her silently.

The female cultivator glanced at Li Xiang, then shook her head. “Li Xiang, you’re too pure. A snake like this can twist his words and tell no lies while speaking no truth. We can’t trust his word.”

“Can you trust my gold?” Hui asked, backing away.

“Gold? You think our precious herbs are worth mere gold?” She spat, disgusted. “That might be good for low-level goods, but for high level goods, we need spirit stones! Spirit stones, and nothing less! Weiheng Hui, are you prepared to pay twenty thousand spirit stones?”

“T-twenty thousand?” Please excuse this small disciple, he didn’t know there were two currencies! Do I have a single spirit stone, let alone twenty thousand?

“And that’s for the Golden Pure Heavenly Leeks. Each ten-thousand-year satsuma is worth fifty thousand spirit stones. How many did you take, hmm?”

Hui wilted. No, not again! I don’t want to be in debt again! Please spare me, Elder Sister! Licking his lips, he glanced to the side. “O…one?”

“Two,” a deep voice thundered from above.

Hui shuddered in pain. He stared up and found the old man from before, fury in his eyes. I’m sorry, senior! If you’re going to harm this poor disciple over your ducks, can’t you at least put a sign up? I didn’t know they were your beloved pets, okay!

All around him, the disciples dropped to their knees. Even Li Xiang dismounted her sword to drop into a deep bow. Hui glanced around, startled to find himself suddenly standing tallest. He, too, dropped to his knees, not wanting to stand out.

“Sect Master!” the female Jade Garden Peak disciple greeted the old man.

Sect Master? True fear stirred deep in Hui’s gut. He swallowed, nervous. Master, many apologies, but this poor disciple won’t live to see another day.

At least the duck was delicious.

The Sect Master descended before Hui. Hui cowered, trying not to shiver. I can’t fake my death again. He’s already seen it once.

Shit! I need a better death faking technique!

Crossing his arms, the Sect Master looked down his nose at Hui. “Do you know what you’ve done wrong?”

“Th—this small disciple repents, and accepts whatever punishment Sect Master decides!” Hui replied, throwing himself prostrate on the floor.

“Forced seclusion for a hundred years!”

Hui bowed lower, pressing his forehead against the ground. A hundred years? I hope I’ve hit the stage where I stop aging… No, I hope I’ve hit a stage where my life lasts long enough!

“And repay what you owe Jade Garden Peak and myself!”

True horror coursed through Hui’s veins. “Honorable Sect Master, h…how could this small disciple… possibly…”

“That’s a million spirit stones!” the Sect Master declared.

“One million, one hundred and twenty thousand!” one of the Jade Garden disciples chimed in.

“One million, one hundred and twenty thousand,” the Sect Master agreed.

That duck wasn’t worth a million spirit stones! It was an ordinary duck! Delicious, but very ordinary! You duck-loving Sect Master, don’t tell me, are those ducks extra special to you? Do you have a duck fetish? Hui raged in his heart.

Externally, he bowed lower. Anything to keep my poor little life. “I hear and obey!”

“Duck… fetish?” the Sect Master murmured to himself. A vein in his forehead twitched.

Hui’s eyes widened. Don’t tell me, can Sect Master hear my thoughts? Apologies, apologies, apologies—

“Enough!” The Sect Master flicked his hand. A translucent golden hand lifted Hui by the collar. Dangling, Hui let his arms and legs hang loosely. The sect fell away below him.

If I use my clothes-destroying technique now, then I could—

Break away from this hand, fall a hundred feet, and humiliate myself in front of the entire sect, only to get caught by the Sect Master again? No, no. Best to take my punishment this time. Besides, seclusion isn’t a terrible thing. Master seems to like it. Every expert enters it at some point, right?

The debt though—!