Li Xiang raised her hand and pointed.

Far in the distance stood another village, but so far that Hui couldn’t make out any of the details. He squinted, focusing on the village. Li Xiang, what do you mean by ‘here?’ It’s way over there! Say ‘here’ when we get there, okay?

I overlooked it at first, but now it seems so obvious. Could this be some sort of illusory realm, one that distracts the eye?

The longer he looked, the clearer the village became, until it grew so clear he could make out the stitching on the villagers’ clothing. Hui frowned. It almost feels like I’m there, in the village—

The sound of laughter sounded in his ear. He startled and jumped back. His back struck the wall of one of the village huts. A group of men pushed past him, joking amongst themselves. Beside him, Ying Lin looked around, equally startled as amazed.

“An illusory array,” Li Xiang explained, before Hui could ask. “Or perhaps a spatial maze. I can’t fully comprehend the principles of this place. However, if we took another step into the field, we would have found ourselves lost eternally in an endless field, forever unable to reach its edge.”

Hui shivered, running his hands up his arms. We were that close to death? And worse, the kind of death that even faking my death won’t work against! Li Xiang, say something sooner! This small cultivator doesn’t want to die a dog’s death, trapped in some kind of spatial array!

“Whoa…” Ying Lin breathed. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes sparkling.

Hui frowned. Ying Lin! Don’t take an interest in such dangerous things. Your Master is going to die of fright if you start learning inescapable traps like that.

No, no. Let Ying Lin find her own path. Even if it’s such horrifying constructs, I have to support her!

Hui swept his mental energy through the village, checking if these villagers were constructs as well. Unlike the figures earlier, the people walking around the village exuded faint pressure. Likewise, they wore fine robes and carried the weapons and ornaments of cultivators. Although some of the houses, especially those around him, were simple huts, others were ornate, over-the-top complexes, palaces, or even immortal caves shimmering with qi, each with their own flavor and style. It made the village a bit of a hodgepodge, but then, it was a village of rogue cultivators, bound together for a moment. He let out a breath. It seems that this is truly an ordinary cultivator village, rather than another village full of constructs.

As he peered around, he sensed the cultivation of most of them. The strongest two reached the fifth stage like himself, while the weakest had only just stepped onto their paths. Most of the cultivators were at third or fourth stage, and there was only one figure whose cultivation he couldn’t sense at all. He narrowed his attention toward that figure, only to find his perception blurring as he grew closer. Frowning, Hui strengthened the push of his mental energy. The image grew slightly clearer, but not by much. He focused again, intending to put the entirety of his mental energy into the push.

A cool hand caught his arm. Hui looked up, drawn out of his reverie.

Li Xiang shook her head. “She wishes to be left in peace.”

Hui nodded, understanding. He retracted his mental energy.

A second later, his eyes widened. Ah! What was I doing? Peeping at someone whose cultivation outweighs mine? I might as well have been poking a dragon’s invert scale, or pulling a tiger’s tail! Why didn’t I take the hint when my perception blurred? It’s not like it happened on accident, Hui! Truly, I’ve been negligent lately, and less paranoid, when I should always be paranoid around this dangerous world.

It’s all the fault of this heart-demon, this damn heart-demon!

Li Xiang led the way through the village. As they passed, the other cultivators turned and greeted Li Xiang. A few peered at Hui and Ying Lin curiously, but no one spoke up and greeted them or asked after them.

“How did you find them?” Hui asked.

“They found me,” Li Xiang said.

Hui waited silently for her to explain.

She nodded at the passing cultivators. “Father killed by All-Heavens. Chen Xigui had her daughter killed. Lost her business when All-Heavens took over the pill market. Hates All-Heaven Sect, but he doesn’t say why. Everyone here has a grudge against All-Heavens.

“When I appeared here, teleported into this wasteland… I didn’t know what to do, but I couldn’t let injustice stand. I helped. Eventually, people began to know me as someone who opposed All-Heavens Sect, and they began to gather.”

Hui tilted his head. “You say you only fought injustice?”

Li Xiang snorted. “To fight injustice is to fight All-Heavens. The two are the same.”

I can’t disagree, Hui thought. He cleared his throat. “Then, Chen Xigui?”

“The worst,” Li Xiang said. “He’s trash. He kidnaps women, and the ones he can’t kidnap, he kills.”

Hui’s mind went back to the dark hallway, and the strange, silent turn off its side. All the traps along the way. The strange pressure. He swallowed. “The ones he kidnaps?”

Li Xiang’s expression twisted. She turned away.

Fuck. I should’ve killed the piece of shit while I had a chance. Hui stared at the ground, disappointed in himself.

“Even All-Heavens Sect had to take notice. They aren’t invulnerable. If he targets the wrong women, bites something he can’t chew… someone like Bai Xue, for example, he could cause more trouble than All-Heavens Sect wants to dig him out of. That’s why they’re investigating him.” Li Xiang said. “It’s a small mercy that his body is like that now. It’s slowed him down. But for the centuries until the last few years, he’s been causing trouble endlessly in the area. He’s a well-hated figure.”

“What about his beloved?” Hui asked.

Li Xiang snorted. “He’ll do anything to get what he wants. Kidnap, kill. That scum…”

She took a deep breath. “I hear she’s come willingly. I don’t know if that’s true. If it is… it’s not as if the news of Chen Xigui gets far from the city. He keeps it quiet. One way or another, whether she’s a victim, an unknowing innocent, or will soon become an accomplice, she’s the key to releasing Chen Xigui upon the city again. We can’t allow her to heal him. Nor can Chen Xigui be allowed to live.

“For nearly as long as I’ve been here, I’ve been plotting out a way to kill him and end his injustice once and for all. He’s a slippery man, and he rarely leaves his city, especially not now that his body has grown weak. However, I’m growing closer all the time. I have nearly enough men to take on his city openly, now, hidden away in this secret realm. Soon… soon, it will all be over.”

Hui nodded. Li Xiang is still Li Xiang, wherever we go. She’s still the same as ever. Straightforward and focused on justice, on resolving the problems she sees before her. He took a deep breath. “I think… we need to find this woman that can heal him, before she finds Chen Xigui. I’ve heard she also has an illness, the invert of Chen Xigui’s. If we kill Chen Xigui before they meet, we will also be killing this woman.”

Li Xiang hesitated. After a moment, she nodded. “You’re right. It isn’t just to allow her to die for Chen Xigui’s crimes. Unless she’s a knowing accomplice.”

“If that’s the case, so be it. But If not, we should allow them to heal each other, then kill Chen Xigui the moment she’s healed,” Hui suggested.

“Which means the first order of business is to find this woman and speak with her,” Li Xiang said.

Hui nodded. “You should send some of your men.” After all, you have all these fellow cultivators! We might as well take a rest.

Li Xiang shook her head. “I need to go myself. I must discern the truth.”

Ah… yes. I should’ve expected it. In any case, she’s correct. If Li Xiang isn’t there, it’s very possible we’ll be fed lies, Hui thought, nodding.

A thought came to him, and he looked at Li Xiang. “The senior in the heart of this place… is she—”

Li Xiang shook her head. “Although she hates All-Heaven Sect, she will not be our ally. She has seen enough of blood, death, and war. She does not wish to leave this place, and I respect her wishes. It is enough that she allows us to stay here.”

Hui nodded. It was too much to hope for that this reclusive senior might destroy Chen Xigui for us. After all, if she wished to, she would have already attacked.

Hmm… come to think of it, this is the second eccentric senior I’ve encountered who’s hiding in a secret realm. Rather than not wanting to go out, I wonder if she’s the same as Chen Wuya, locked away by Fen Long? Ha, it’d be funny if Fen Long turned out to be an ancient eccentric cultivator with a hobby of locking people in secret—

A bolt of lightning struck Hui from sunny skies. He stumbled backward and collapsed, playing dead on instinct. Ying Lin caught him, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. “Master!”

Li Xiang frowned, slightly confused. “Did you think something impolite toward the senior who’s allowing us to stay here? She doesn’t often exercise her strength.”

Hui came back to life. He felt the top of his head, where a gaping wound split his head nearly in two. Soot streaked his forehead and twisted down his body. He circulated his life qi, and the wounds slowly healed. Senior! If I had an ordinary body, I’d be dead right now!

Wait, does that mean… my guess was right—

Thunder rumbled overhead.

“No, no, no, Senior, this small cultivator understands! Or rather, I don’t understand. I haven’t realized anything. Nothing at all!” Hui shouted, cowering. Wary of further punishment, he pushed away from Ying Lin, afraid she’d get caught up in it on accident. The senior seems to be calculating her blows not to kill me, but if Ying Lin gets caught up by accident, a fifth-realm level attack will kill her!

“Hui, don’t lie to the senior,” Li Xiang scolded him.

A second bolt of lightning seared through Hui. A chunk of his chest exploded and blasted over the ground, splattering soft green mush everywhere. He fell to his knees, unable to hold himself upright. He looked up at Li Xiang with pleading eyes. “Li Xiang, please… it’s enough, this is enough punishment…”

Ah, I wanted to ask Senior if she knew Chen Wuya—ah, I really want to ask it now! But more than that, I don’t want to get struck by lightning. Endure, Hui, endure! Later, once she’s in a better mood, I can try again. Yes, yes. Let’s strive to be good cultivators who don’t get punished by lightning, everyone!