Hui cast his eyes aside. “I, er, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Senior.”

Gu Tian frowned at Hui. “Xie Hao, what’s going on? You know the crows’ leader? Tell them to stop eating my plants.”

“Silence,” Chen Wuya snapped, eyes blazing. Gu Tian stumbled back, hands clasped to his mouth.

Hui jumped up in front of Gu Tian. “There’s no need to hurt him, Senior!”

“I didn’t hurt him. He’s only quieted for a bit,” Chen Wuya sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Hui. “So? When you transferred…”

Just tell the madman what he wants to know. He’s far too powerful for me to fight. Maybe if Master were here… His hand dropped to the jade, only to find nothing. Hui bit his lip. It’s a physical object, after all. I left it behind on my body, wherever that is!

Chen Wuya cocked an eyebrow at him. “My patience wanes.”

“I don’t know exactly, Senior. I’ve heard… fifty thousand,” Hui said quietly. Intense guilt welled up inside him. Does that make the Midnight Massacre my fault? But… it’s not like I asked to get transmigrated. I didn’t activate the spell.

“Fifty thousand? What a low-quality soul you must have. That spell should have cost at least a million mortal souls. Either that, or the one who activated it had some small comprehension of how to properly finish the work I’d done…” Chen Wuya mused, tipping his head.

“Senior, I’ve told you what you wanted to know. Could Senior please point the way out of this trap? We small cultivators were pulled in by accident, so we—”

“Ah, that’s because your souls were meddled with. Anyone with a swapped soul would end up in this realm. Or, I should say… anyone whose soul has the signature of my magic on it. If I knew the way out, don’t you think I would have left long ago?” Chen Wuya asked, crossing his arms and frowning at Hui.

Hui froze. He bowed deeper. “This small cultivator didn’t think! Please accept my apologies for my thoughtless words, Senior!”

“Calm down. There’s no need for such formalities,” Chen Wuya said. He sat down cross-legged and patted the ground beside him. “Come, let’s talk for a time, before your soul burns out. I haven’t had anyone to speak to for centuries.”

Hui shook his head. “Senior, small cultivator appreciates your invitation, but I have someone I need to find. Maybe Senior has seen her? A sword cultivator named Li Xiang.”

Chen Wuya clicked his tongue. “A female sword cultivator? I’ve seen one. She’s a rabid dog. Stay away from her, unless you want to meet your end faster than you already will.”

A rabid dog? That doesn’t sound like Li Xiang. What happened to her? Was she hurt? Did this strange Senior molest her, or something? Hui’s heart clenched, but he forced himself to smile. “Please, Senior. Even if she’s a rabid dog, point the way.”

Chen Wuya gave him a disgusted look. “Molest her? What do you take me as?”

Senior! Did you learn Master’s thought-reading technique, too? “Er, Senior, please forgive this small cultivator’s disrespectful thoughts, I’m merely a pathetic weakling who hasn’t yet cultivated his mental energy…”

“Ah? Hasn’t cultivated his mental energy, but you can defend your mind with such a skillful barrier? Do you mock me, Xiao Hui?” Chen Wuya asked, narrowing his eyes.

Hui dropped into a kowtow. “Forgive this small cultivator! My sins are truly too great, but I hope beneficent Senior’s boundless mercy is enough to overlook my error.”

Chen Wuya sighed, tapping his fingers on the hilt at his hip. “If you weren’t the first conversation I’d had in centuries, you would be dead by now.”

Hui kowtowed silently, bumping his head on the ground.

Gu Tian reached down and grabbed Hui by the shoulders, preventing him from striking his forehead on the ground again. “Xie Hao, treat the soil with respect.”

Is the soil more worthy of respect than me? Hui thought, sighing internally.

Chen Wuya met his eye and laughed, just once.

Ah, hey! Don’t read my thoughts and laugh at them, dammit! Ahem! I mean… many thanks for the laugh, Senior. This small cultivator is unworthy!

He looked at Gu Tian. Is this what he was like, back before he was put in his current body? He was much more decisive back then. Decisive, and determined. He was only a plant cultivator then, before he got kidnapped by a demonic sect and exposed to all the horrors that entails, living as what amounts to their servant for years… this sunny Gu Tian ended up crushed by the fate lying in wait for him.

Whoever entangles themselves with Lan Yunxu… nothing good comes of them.

Hui grabbed Gu Tian by the wrist. “Come with me, Elder Brother. There’s something important to show you.”

Gu Tian frowned at him. “We have to plant—”

“They can wait, Elder Brother. Come with me. We can come back and plant them when we’re done, it’ll only take a moment. Senior is going to take us somewhere interesting,” Hui said, casting a polite smile at Chen Wuya.

Chen Wuya harrumphed. “You’ll owe me.”

Hui hesitated. He trembled, lips pressed tight together. Owe, owe, always owe! Can’t I be out of debt for a moment?

“So?” Chen Wuya asked. He stood, arms crossed. The wind sprung up. The red robe caught the wind and flapped behind him like a pair of massive red wings.

I can’t leave Li Xiang in danger. Hui grit his teeth and nodded. “Fine!”

Chen Wuya laughed. He took a step forward, dissolving into a thousand crows, which wheeled up into the sky, joining the rest of the flock. They flew off, speeding into the gray sky.

Dragging Gu Tian by the arm, Hui followed the crows.

They walked through the field. Abruptly, Hui stepped down, and found himself stepping off a platform and back into the field. He looked around, startled. Back out into the overworld, out of the illusion.

He turned.

Gu Tian hung behind him, little more than a shadow. His legs were transparent from the hips down, and invisible from the knees. A blurry, indistinct face stared into the middle distance. He moved numbly, stiff and empty.

“Gu Tian?” Hui tried.

Gu Tian shifted to face him, barely reacting.

We can’t take too long. Without the illusion to support him, Gu Tian won’t survive much longer.

The crows swirled ahead, then stopped and turned back. They settled on the ground, rustling their wings restlessly. Hui shook his head and followed after them again.

They walked across the empty expanse, dried poppies rustling in the low wind. Time passed. It was impossible to say for how long they walked. The dull sun overhead never moved. The wind never stopped. Hui walked on, endlessly, following the crows. Gu Tian drifted silently after him.

A low hill appeared in the distance. A woman with a blurry face stood in front of it, holding a sword. Hui drew a breath. It’s that woman. The one who was holding Li Xiang’s sword.

The crows reformed into Chen Wuya. He nodded at Li Xiang. “Is that the woman you’re looking for?”

“Li Xiang,” Hui whispered, stepping forward. Louder, he tried, “Are you Li Xiang?”

The sword leaped out of the woman’s hand and swirled around her threateningly. The woman made a hand sign. Qi gathered in her hand, gaining strength.

“Li Xiang! It’s you, isn’t it?” Hui shouted again. He stood still, gathering his own energy. Instead of preparing to attack, though, he readied himself to flee.

The sword flew at Hui. He leaped backward, throwing his hands out in front of him. He started to summon death qi, then stopped. Wait! What if this is Li Xiang? I can’t destroy her sword. What if it’s part of her?

No, wait. Remember what I saw. That one time, when I saw the soul inside her body, and the female expert inside her sword! Does that mean…

Hui stopped. The sword hurtled at his neck, razor sharp. “Li Xiang, it’s me, Hui!”