Sunlight against closed eyelids. Drifting shadows. A faint cold breeze to offset the still heat of summer.

Hui opened his eyes. He laid under a wisteria tree. Trailing blossoms drifted low over his face, blue as the sky above.

This doesn’t seem that dangerous, he thought, sitting up. He sat atop a hill, looking down on a sect. The wisteria tree protected him from the day’s sun, releasing its fragrance on the breeze. As he sat up, the blossoms caught in his hair. Casually, he lifted his hand and freed them, unsnagging one of the trailing branches from where it tangled in long tresses.

Wait. Where's my ponytail?

Hui lifted his hands, then looked himself over. Large hands with stubby fingers and chubby palms, short limbs, red robes, oversized feet in black boots. This isn’t my body. But whose?

“—Wuya! Chen Wuya!” a boy shouted.

Hui jumped to his feet and looked around, startled. Where is that terrifying Senior? I almost forgot about him! And Gu Tian…

He patted his sleeve and found Gu Tian where he’d secreted the soul, still balled up and weak.

Phew. Gu Tian is safe. But…

A boy about ten years old appeared over the crest of the hill. White robes flapped as he ran, hair pulled back from his brows and tied in a crown, ribbons trailing behind. He caught sight of Hui and ran over, smiling. “Chen Wuya! There you are. Come on! We’re going to be late!”

Hui looked around. No one else laid under the wisteria tree. He pointed at himself. “Me?”

“Is there anyone else named Chen Wuya? Come on!” the boy said, gesturing.

Hui followed, not sure what else to do. He furrowed his brows thoughtfully, glancing at the white-robed boy’s back. Is this boy part of the illusion? But… even in Gu Tian’s illusion, there was no one but me and Chen Wuya. It was the same with Li Xiang. Except for us trapped souls, there hasn’t been a single living being in this realm, real or illusory.

The crows… are probably like my ducks. Beings Chen Wuya cultivated, rather than actual crows.

Then… if I had to guess who this boy is… wouldn’t he be…

“Fen Long?” Hui tried.

The boy turned back and beamed. “What is it?”

“Uh… nothing,” Hui said, waving his hand. This is the Fen Long Chen Wuya kept cursing? He doesn’t seem particularly dangerous to me.

Well… he’s just a child right now. I’m sure he eventually became a terrifying cultivator, but for now…

Wait. Chen Wuya and Fen Long are childhood friends? He glanced at Fen Long. Then… isn’t it possible that whoever it was Chen Wuya was trying to save with his spell array is in this illusion, too?

After all, this illusion is clearly special, if it holds another person than Chen Wuya.

Hui hesitated, then nodded to himself. I know I should break out of here, but… staying another few minutes couldn’t hurt. Maybe I can find some leverage on Chen Wuya to keep him from pecking me to death again.

“Er, Elder Brother, where are we going?” Hui asked, following after Fen Long.

Fen Long looked over his shoulder at him. “You don’t know?”

Should I? “I forgot. Could Elder Brother please remind this small cultivator?” Hui said.

Fen Long grinned, puffing up his chest. “Elder Brother? You’re so polite today, Chen Wuya. Okay, fine! Since you’re so polite, Elder Brother will tell you.”

I’m only a little polite, and Fen Long acts like this? I wonder what Chen Wuya was like as a kid. If it’s anything like he is as an adult… Hui shook his head.

Fen Long pointed down the hill at a red pagoda. “Today’s the day we select our treasured weapons! In a way, it decides our entire future. Aren’t you excited?”

Hui nodded. Internally, nervousness built in his heart. Uh-oh. Don’t tell me, is this… as if I was re-transmigrated into an otome game instead of a cultivation novel? If I make the wrong choice and he realizes I’m not Chen Wuya, will I get a game over? Or worse, if I choose wrongly, will it force me into a death spiral immediately?

No, no, Hui, don’t be ridiculous. It’s an illusion, just an illusion. Like the ancestral house. If I behave unexpectedly, it might break me out of this illusion. So… yes! That’s it. I’ll pick the least Chen Wuya-like weapon. Nothing red, nothing black, nothing with crows! Perfect.

But first…

Hui looked around them. “Elder Brother, where’s everyone else?”

“Eh? It’s just you and me, Chen Wuya. That’s all it’s ever been,” Fen Long said.

Huh? If it’s just an illusion playing out past events, then… is it that their sect really was just the two of them? Or… is it… Hui looked at Fen Long thoughtfully.

In any case, it seems like we’re alone in the illusion. I might as well break out.

“Come on, come on!” Fen Long insisted, tugging Hui’s sleeve. He hurried ahead, dragging Hui into the pagoda.

Hui followed Fen Long inside. They stepped into cool darkness, a welcome relief from the blazing summer sun. The pagoda was packed with treasures. Swords, spears, scrolls, blades and books of every description, mirrors, jades, even a shovel propped against the wall. And that was only the first level. The pagoda continued upward, each level equally packed with treasures. Above him, Hui sensed truly terrifying fluctuations from the treasures on the higher level, enough that without the pagoda’s shielding, his soul might have been blasted directly into pieces.

Hui looked around slowly, taking it all in. “Any weapon?”

“Any treasure at all. Go on! You choose first,” Fen Long insisted.

Hui stepped inside, hesitant. He looked around. All these treasures are wonderful, but… dammit. I can’t pick the same one Chen Wuya did. But which one would he pick?

A set of golden acupuncture needles caught his eye. Hui strayed toward them, curious. Xixing said I’m basically already using spiritual medicine techniques, right? Then, if I have some acupuncture needles, I should be able to manipulate other people’s qi with ease, instead of just my own.

That Chen Wuya… there’s no way he’d pick acupuncture needles, right? Hui reached for the needles.

Behind him, Fen Long smiled wide.

A hand closed over Hui’s eyes. He stumbled back, caught by the face. Grappling at the hand, he squirmed and managed to peer through the gaps in the fingers. Red robes flapped around him, and crows settled over the treasures, pecking lazily at them.

“Fen Long. Stop this farce. No matter how many times you make me come here, my answer remains the same.” Chen Wuya lifted his hand. A red-bladed sword Hui hadn’t even seen flew from the massed treasures and landed in his hand. He slashed out, and a vertical line appeared in the pagoda’s wall. Half of the pagoda fell away, crashing to the ground with a massive boom. Treasures rained down, shining in the dazzling sunlight.

Still holding Hui, Chen Wuya turned, pointing the red blade at Fen Long. The boy staggered back, eyes wide. “Now that you’ve revealed yourself, soul fragment, it’s time to die.”

A soul fragment! Like I thought. Fen Long… or rather, a part of him, is here, too!

Fen Long scoffed. He took a step back, transforming from a boy to a man. Dressed in blazing white, his hair tied in a crown, ribbons flying on the wind, he gestured, and a sword appeared in his hand. “As long as you stubbornly refuse to change your fate, you’ll never escape this realm.”

“Who are you to decide my fate should be changed? Even knowing where my path leads, I’d still try to save—”

“Enough!” Fen Long charged at Chen Wuya.

Chen Wuya met his blade and parried it easily. “A soul fragment versus a soul, which do you think wins?”

Fen Long jumped back. Chen Wuya chased him, dashing through the air. Hui trailed after him like a carp flag on the wind, unable to escape. He sighed quietly to himself and gave in to being dragged.

The two traded blows, but Fen Long couldn’t stand up to Chen Wuya’s strength. Swords flashed, and Fen Long staggered back. He stumbled, then fell, blood pouring down his robes and soaking into the earth. A clean line bisected his torso at a diagonal.

Chen Wuya harrumphed, slashing his sword to clean it. He sheathed it and shook his head. “Damned soul fragment. It can’t die in this realm. All I can do is put it back to sleep.”

The illusion split open along the line of the cut in Fen Long’s torso. Chen Wuya stepped through, still carrying Hui along. As they stepped back into the poppy field, Hui grew back to his usual size, and his legs dragged on the ground. Chen Wuya dropped him immediately.

Hui caught himself and climbed back to his feet. “Thank you for saving me, Senior.”

Chen Wuya harrumphed. He looked at Hui from the corner of his eyes. “Not feeling so clever now, hmm?”

“Senior! You said you weren’t reading my mind anymore!” Hui protested.

Chen Wuya turned and walked away, leaving Hui to follow after him. “Focus on finding that body of yours so we can get out of here. We don’t have time for diversions.”