A day and a night passed, and Hui at last forced himself to his feet. His body remained in disarray, but compared to how it had been, it was a massive improvement. I can’t sit around here for too long. Han Qin might lock on to me, or All Heavens Sect might come investigate. The risk isn’t huge, but it’s non-zero, so I’d better move on.

Ji Taiyu walked over and handed Hui a few pill bottles. “Take these. I removed them from Song Weilai’s cave. They’re too high-level for me.”

Hui bowed. “Thank you, Senior.”

“Don’t call me Senior,” Ji Taiyu snorted. He shook his head at Hui. “I won’t report you, but I shouldn’t travel with you any longer either. Bao Huli and I will go our own ways.”

“Ji Taiyu, you know that Bao Huli is—” Hui started.

Ji Taiyu raised his hand. “When she wants to tell me, she will. Until then… I’ll believe in her.”

Hui hesitated another moment, but then shut his mouth and scanned Ji Taiyu’s qi instead. Healthy. No serious deficiencies. If Bao Huli is eating his essence, she’s only nibbling. This… I can accept this as satisfactory. Besides, Ji Taiyu himself has agreed, so who am I to step in? He nodded. “Then, I wish you two happiness.”

“Happiness—it’s too early for that!” Ji Taiyu said, flustered.

“Master,” Bao Huli called, with a soft, lingering tone.

Shivers spread up Hui’s spine. He scowled at Ji Taiyu. She’s calling you like that, and you say it’s too early? Ah, get your happiness out of this lone dog’s face! Will you not be happy until I start crying? I’ll cry, okay! I will!

Ji Taiyu turned toward her, but stopped. He glanced back at Hui. “You mentioned… you’re looking for someone?”

Hui nodded. “A female cultivator with a strong sense of righteousness. She can tell truth from lies, and… she used to wear a pink enamel pin in her hair.”

“A pink pin… I don’t know about the pin part, but there is a female cultivator with a strong sense of righteousness out to the west. She’s rounded up all the rogue cultivators in the area and formed a band of vigilantes that protect the weak and stand up for justice. I can’t say she’s your friend, but it’s worth taking a look,” Ji Taiyu said.

That sounds like Li Xiang! If it isn’t, Li Xiang has probably at least contacted her. I have to take a look! Hui bowed deeply. “Thank you, Senior.”

Ji Taiyu helped him up immediately. “Don’t, don’t. You’ll make me worry about those internal wounds of yours.”

“For teaching my disciple, and taking us under your wing… I’m truly grateful. Even if I deceived you, I want you to understand that,” Hui said.

“Mmm. Meeting you, I’m wondering if maybe righteousness isn’t so simple,” Ji Taiyu mused. He glanced at Jin Xian again.

Having eaten her fill, Jin Xian stood in the shadows, scrupulously licking her claws clean. She glanced up at Ji Taiyu’s look and met his eyes. Fascinated, she stared. Dark eyes glittered. A little bit of drool dripped down her chin.

Hui coughed. “Er, never mind her, Senior.”

Ji Taiyu nodded. He turned and walked away, head held high. Standing in the shadows, Bao Huli waited for him, a twisted smile on her face as she stared at Hui and Ying Lin. As Ji Taiyu approached, her expression softened, and she moved out of the shade to stand at his side. The two walked off into the forest.

Hui watched them go, then yawned and waved his hand, calling back Moonlight Cutter from wherever it had fallen. The peerless sword flew to his side, trailing bits of grass and mud.

Mounting it, he held his hand out to Ying Lin. “Let’s head west, and see if we can meet up with Li Xiang.”

“I feel a little bad for your sword, Master,” Ying Lin commented, dusting a bit of dirt off its hilt before she climbed aboard.

“Eh? Why?” Hui asked.

On Ying Lin’s hip, Gu Tian regarded him silently. How many times have you used me in battle? And that’s a true weapon, a fantastic sword with no equal at its level. Do you think it’s happy being used as a hip decoration and shuttle?

Ying Lin stared at him, then shook her head. “If Master doesn’t understand, then there’s no use explaining it.”

Hui glanced down at Moonlight Cutter, then shrugged. I’m using it properly, aren’t I? I even used it against Song Weilai! Sure, I didn’t hold it in my hand, but—but not all cultivators are skilled with the sword, okay?

“Jin Xian!” he called.

The jiangshi paused. She looked at Hui and hesitated, considering.

“Jin Xian, come on. I let you eat your fill. I let you fight. There will be more fighting if you come with me,” Hui enticed her.

Still considering, Jin Xian tipped her head.

It’s really concerning how I can’t fully control her anymore. To be fair, I could never control Fang Hua, her other half, but now I can’t control the jiangshi, either?

Speaking of which, what happened to Fang Hua? She hasn’t emerged from Jin Xian for a while. Did she… did she fail? Is she no longer among us?

Hui swallowed, then shook his head. She took a gamble. Even surviving this long in an undead body is unusual. If she never appears again, it wouldn’t be a surprise.

Instead of continuing to beckon his wayward jiangshi, he turned to Zhubi instead and offered his hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Zhubi looked up at him with big dark eyes, then extended his little hand and grabbed Hui’s. Hui lifted him into the sword, intending to carry him along with Ying Lin, but before he could set Zhubi down, the boy grabbed onto his arm with all four limbs. Like a strange kind of monkey, he crawled up Hui’s arm and sat at his neck, reminiscent of a little kid riding their parent’s shoulders at a festival. As if that wasn’t odd enough, he did the whole thing in elegant white robes and shining, long white hair that draped the ground, and neither did his expressionless face change once. Although his entire body issued an icy demeanor, he grabbed Hui’s head and leaned forward with all the eagerness of a small child. To call it strange would be an understatement.

“Er, Zhubi, you can always transform back,” Hui suggested.

Zhubi shook his head, bouncing in place.

Hui snorted. Seems like he’s excited to try new things, now that he’s unlocked his human form. Oh well, I’ll just have to put up with it. It’s not like he’s that much heavier to the fifth-stage me, after all.

Behind Hui, Ying Lin spat hair out of her mouth. Master’s ponytail was bad enough, but now I have to get blasted with Zhubi’s floor-length hair, too? “Master, could I ride in front…?”

“Ah? Oh. Sure,” Hui allowed, hovering the sword low over the ground so Ying Lin could swap places. He cast one last glance at Jin Xian and started to fly off.

Jin Xian darted over and leaped at Hui. He gestured, calling her back into the node, all the while shaking his head at the jiangshi. You really could’ve come over at any time you wanted. Why wait until the last minute?

With that, the three of them flew off to the west.

Li Xiang, wait for me!