Abruptly, Wu Fanyun coughed up blood. He put a hand to his mouth to catch most of it, but some splattered over Gui Yutong’s robes. Eyes wide, he began to climb off the stone bed to clean her robes.

Hui grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him back down. “Who just coughed up blood due to aggravating their internal injuries? Good patients should lie there quietly and wait to heal!”

“But… but Gui Yutong’s robes…” Wu Fanyun said, visibly fighting down another bout of coughing.

Hui glared at him. “If you’re going to try to refuse my healing, at least don’t go out of your way to reinjure yourself. Lie there quietly! Be a good patient!”

The lotus beast hopped over and stood at the other side of Wu Fanyun’s bed, reaching out to also hold him down.

Gui Yutong smiled at Wu Fanyun. “Rest up, little brother. My robes are the least of our worries. Please, focus on your own health first.”

“If… if sister says so,” Wu Fanyun muttered. Immediately, he stopped struggling. He cast his eyes aside, and a blush spread over his face, more obvious for how pale his cheeks were.

Dammit, can you quit this disgusting incest drama? Hui complained. He shook his head. Even in my first life, I avoided incest works, so how come I can’t dodge this one now?

Ah, come to think of it, didn’t Bai Xue and Bai Jingwen’s drama qualify as incest drama? True, they were second cousins or something, and it’s more reasonable in the eyes of this world… but dammit! Why? Has the god of incest cursed me?

Gui Yutong glanced at Hui. “Senior Xie Hao, would it be possible for me to borrow one of your rooms for a short time?”

“Naturally, naturally.” Hui experimentally released Wu Fanyun. When the man didn’t jump up, he nodded at the small lotus beast and left.

The lotus beast clacked its teeth and moved over to the door. Wu Fanyun propped himself half up, staring after Gui Yutong. It ignored him, staring into infinity instead. He bit his lip, then slid a leg over the edge. “After all, leaving Sister with a strange man…”

The lotus beast clacked its teeth again, the sound sharper in the empty room. Its black seed eyes locked onto Wu Fanyun’s leg.

Wu Fanyun retracted his leg and swallowed. “I’d… best rest up, so I can watch over Sister again!”

The lotus beast relaxed again.

Around the corner and out of sight from Wu Fanyun, Gui Yutong sighed. She pulled her robes out from her body to better inspect the bloodstains, only to sigh again. “These were my favorite robes…”

“Does Elder Sister not know the robe-cleaning technique?” Hui asked.

Gui Yutong shook her head. “I was told to only focus on battle techniques, and not waste my time on such rubbish. Could it be, does Senior Xie Hao know the technique?”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Hui said, nodding. He reached out his hand and put it on Gui Yutong’s shoulder.

Uh, hold up. Did we ever learn the technique properly…? Rogue questioned, a hand on his chin.

Too late. Hui activated the technique. Qi burst out of his hand and circulated over Gui Yutong’s body. Her robes fluttered, and a warm power flowed over her skin. Surprised, she let out a little cry.

In the next moment, her robes burst into shreds. She stood there completely naked, bits of robes drifting down all around her. Confused, she blinked, then held up her hands. A few scraps of cloth drifted down, settling into her palms.

I think we did, but Healer certainly didn’t use the right one, Sectgoer laughed.

“Uh, er, this, this never happens, it must be, because I’m so tired, my hand slipped, I didn’t intentionally—I would never, not to Elder Sister… please forgive me!” Hui stammered, whirling away and cowering down, arms thrown over his head.

Peak Lord snorted. Time to learn that… what did Master call it? The hand-dexterity-improving robe-un-shredding technique?

Pretty sure that’s not what Master called it. I think he just called it dexterity comprehension, or something ludicrous, Sectgoer replied.

Sewing. The word we’re looking for is sewing, Rogue added, chuckling under his breath.

Gui Yutong sighed again. She flicked her hand, and another set of robes materialized from her storage item and instantly clothed her. “Ah, that’s alright. They were ruined already.”

Eh? Elder Sister isn’t going to punish me? Hui glanced up from his defensive curl, but Gui Yutong stood there casually, no intent to commit violence in her eyes. He straightened back up, giving his robes a quick pat-down as if nothing had happened. “Elder Sister is most gracious.”

She laughed lightly and moved in close, hugging his arm. Standing on her tiptoes, she whispered in his ear, “You know, if you want to see… Elder Sister will show you tonight?”

Lovers to enemies! Go for it, Healer! Rogue shouted.

Don’t you mean enemies to lovers? And in any case, does she count as our enemy? She doesn’t seem to like Gui Delun any more than we do, Sectgoer reasoned.

Peak Lord coughed. We already have Li Xiang and Bai Xue. Do we really need to add another woman to our tangled love life?

Tangled love life? What tangled love life! This is the heat of a stallion novel protagonist’s harem! We’ve done it, boys! We’ve done it at last! Rogue cheered, excited.

Healer shook his head. Gui Yutong has ulterior motives, ulterior motives! She’s doing this to get me in trouble with Wu Fanyun, and, and given who her father is—if he finds out, what do you think he’d do to us?

Eh, who cares? Strike a mental blow to Gui Delun by sleeping with his daughter! Rogue replied.

How do the words ‘human stick’ sound to you? What about ‘eunuch?’ Healer argued.

Er, I… am somewhat in favor of bedding her, Sectgoer said.

See? Even the heart-demon agrees. It’s a bad idea, Rogue, a bad idea! Healer replied.

Rogue clicked his tongue. You damn coward. Come on. She’s willing. Why not?

Why not? Why not! There’s a thousand reasons why not, and one of them is the man lying in the sick bay about a thousand feet behind me, okay! Healer snapped, tired. He sighed.

“Eh? Am I not to your liking?” Gui Yutong asked.

“No, no, Elder Sister, very much to my liking… er, not that I saw anything,” Hui mumbled, turning his head away.

Gui Yutong smiled. “Oh?”

“I was sighing at myself, at myself. I’m so tired tonight, I don’t know…” Hui said, pushing his hair back.

Putting it off? Excellent, put it off until tomorrow. I’ll be there to take her in your stead! Rogue replied.

She laughed lightly. “You’re so gentle. I didn’t expect the great and mysterious healer to be such a cow… quiet man.”

Eh. She almost said coward! She almost said coward, didn’t she? Peak Lord said. He shook his head. I’m with Healer. She has ulterior motives. If she thinks of us as a coward, there’s no way she actually wants to sleep with us!

Well, of course she thinks of us as cowards after that demurral. What kind of man turns down a beauty like her? Don’t worry, though. I’ll show her how good a coward can be tomorrow night! Rogue replied.

Hui coughed into his hand. He smiled at Gui Yutong. “I have overnight chambers for guests, Elder Sister. Would you like to see one?”

“Of course, of course.” She smiled back, but the smile seemed a bit different this time.

Hui led her to the guest chambers. An empty white room with a stone bed awaited them. The only difference between the patient’s rooms and the guest chambers was who slept in them at the time. Well, I didn’t want to waste money on pointless decorations, and besides, I have to keep this space clean if I’m going to treat people in it. Plain white makes it all easier.

Gui Yutong glanced around the chamber, her brows furrowed and lip twisted in slight confusion. After a moment, she forced herself to smile. “Ah, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome,” Hui replied. Don’t give me that. You’re staying here for free, for free! Can you really complain about the accommodations, huh?

He pointed at the wall. “If you tap this panel, a barrier formation will activate. It’s a good way to keep out unwanted guests.” Like your brother.

Gui Yutong nodded. “I understand. Then, good night.” She shut the door in Hui’s face.

Hui rolled his eyes. Flirty one second, then cold the next. Is she that pissed off that I didn’t want to sleep with her?

Eh, well, I mean… it could be her pride. Perhaps she took it as her not being attractive enough for us, Peak Lord suggested.

Hardly! We’re the ones who aren’t good enough for her, Healer replied, shaking his head.

That might be, but she clearly doesn’t see it that way. Don’t worry. I’m on my way to fix it, Rogue replied.

Hui sighed and turned away. Rogue has got to be the messiest of all the clones, our heart-demon-infected Sectgoer included.

Hey! What does that mean?

Tired, Hui strode the halls of his complex. Four halls extended out from a central hub, all white, all identical to one another. The patients’ wing, the guest wing, his wing, and a storage space. Several of their larger treasures sat in the storage space, though most of the day-to-day use treasures were sent back to the storage ring, which First held on to. In this rare moment of quiet, Hui strode to the central hub, then took a turn, leaving the building to enter the courtyard.

The courtyard stretched from the building to the back wall, a huge yard enclosed by a white wall. A willow tree drooped long boughs into the water, which was absolutely choked with lotuses. A few lotus beasts cavorted around the water and the lakeside, giggling and chasing one another. Hui sat down on a stone bench to watch them, his eyes gazing into infinity.

We’re so close, but with every step we take, it seems we also lose something. Another clone. Another piece of ourselves.

When this is all done, what will be left of ‘Hui?’

I’m merely a clone. We all are, except for First. And First… First gives up himself to create us. With every new clone born, more of First is whittled away. More of ‘Hui’ is diluted. And when we die, as we’ve been dying, wholly and absolutely, that piece of Hui is lost forever.

Even if we manage to win this, who will be said to have won? Hui? Or…

He sighed, closing his eyes. I’m tired. I should rest, not sit here and think gloomy thoughts. He gathered his robes and began to rise.

A streak of pure white shot through the sky. Something splashed down in his pond. All the lotus beasts stopped and stared, their black seed eyes wide, mouths gaping to show their black teeth.

Hui jumped to his feet, instantly on guard. He threw his hand out, summoning Moonlight Cutter. “Who are you? Show yourself!” A guard? A member of the Gui family, come to fetch Gui Yutong? A piece of that Immortal who sensed what I did to his energy and came to finish the job?

He glanced down, then inched to the right. Let’s not play dead in the mud at the lakeshore. Over here, on the stone path… yes, that’s better.

A pale body uncurled from the center of the lake, almost blossoming as it stood. Black eyes turned to Hui, set in a familiar face. A single braid swayed down the back of an exquisite body, so excessively perfect that it almost hurt to look at, all pure whites and palest pinks, tinged at the very tips with a faint green. A near-transparent lotus petal robe wrapped her body, only concealing enough to make her yet more tempting.

Hui swallowed. “Welcome back, Elder Sister.”

Fifth-realm aura rippling the surface of the lake, her bare foot hovering a hair’s breadth over the water’s surface, Bai Jingwen smiled back at him.