Hui closed his eyes for a moment, reaching out through his network to the nearby lotus clones. An image welled up in his eyes from one of the lotus beasts. A beautiful rock-lined still pond, surrounded by bamboo on one side and a neat garden on the other. A smattering of lotus beast lotuses already clustered in the corner, out of season but idyllic nonetheless. Hui nodded and turned his feet toward the pool, following the lotus beast’s directions. Thank goodness I have so many beasts around. I haven’t had enough time to fully explore the peak. I probably could’ve found a lake, but now I definitely have one.

Leading them out at the lake, Hui gestured shortly, summoning a few lotuses by the side of the pond for them to sit on. The lotuses matured quickly, petals falling away to reveal the lotus pod beneath. Hui let the lotus pods dry, becoming elegant if somewhat strange stools for his guests to sit on.

Liu Guang settled down. His glow illuminated the sky and ground, bright as day. With a quiet sigh, he reined it in, going from the morning sun to a low-burning firefly. Like that, he barely disrupted the night’s darkness.

Ah, good. I had no idea how moon-viewing was going to work with a portable sun at our side, Hui thought, nodding to himself. Although I knew he could rein in his glow, I didn’t know he could rein it in this much. Is that how he snuck up on me…?

He summoned another cup and passed them around, moving around to fill everyone’s cups. Carefully, Hui put a small portion in his own cup. I don’t want to drink it. I still have to go investigate Jin Xian’s location. Let Gui Yutong and Liu Guang enjoy the night. As soon as they get drunk, I’m off to—

Another beam of light shot down from the sky. Hui resisted the urge to sigh. He turned and gave a smile to the new arrival.

Bai Jingwen stepped down in the center of the pond, lotuses blooming beneath her feet. She strode to the edge slowly, her dark eyes locked on Gui Yutong.

Ah, right. You can’t have Gui Yutong without Bai Jingwen, Hui thought, sighing. He summoned another cup. “Elder Sister, you as well…?”

“Another of our new peak lords? Did the two of you know each other?” Liu Guang asked, gesturing at Bai Jingwen.

Hui’s eyes locked onto the cup in Liu Guang’s hand. Come on. Drink already…

Wait, wait. He asked… hmm. Do we know each—no, no. Obviously we know each other. Bai Jingwen and myself, the Healer, are clearly acquainted. Gui Yutong can vouch to that. Better to own up to it, and see what happens!

Hui nodded. “Bai Jingwen and I are acquainted. She came by while Gui Yutong was—”

Gui Yutong coughed. “—wandering the outside world, looking for talented cultivators.”

Hmm, you don’t want Liu Guang to know about your creepy half-brother? Understood, understood. I wouldn’t want to let anyone know about him, either. Hui nodded. “So you see, Senior, all three of us happen to know one another.”

Bai Jingwen reached the edge of the water. She sat down on the same pod as Gui Yutong and leaned her head against Gui Yutong’s shoulder.

So open? In public! Ahhh, Elder Sisters…

Wait, but if Gui Delun finds out about this… isn’t this trouble for me and Gui Yutong? Hui shot Gui Yutong a look.

Gui Yutong looked back at him, satisfied. A beat later, her eyes widened as well. She gently pushed Bai Jingwen off her shoulder and sat up straight.

Bai Jingwen scooted closer, sticking like glue, and put her head on Gui Yutong’s shoulder again.

Liu Guang frowned. “Look, there…”

“Ah? Senior, there’s no trouble. The Bai clan—” Hui started.

“Do they hate moon-viewings?” Liu Guang asked, half a laugh in his voice.

Hui blinked. “Huh?”

Liu Guang pointed at the pond. “Here I am, enjoying the moon and good liquor, and someone’s gone and ruined the moon’s reflection!”

Hui turned. A line of lotuses bloomed down the center of the pond where Bai Jingwen had descended. The water lapped against the lotuses, completely breaking the reflection of the moon in the still water.

“Ah! Please, allow me, Senior,” Hui said. He reached toward the lotuses, preparing to call out the ducks.

A second before he did, he froze. Wait, wait. The ducks are death qi. Rogue might be banking on no one recognizing the ‘ghost spirit beasts’ as actual death qi, but… well, I’ll be quite frank, he might also have a heart demon. Besides, Liu Guang is an actual life qi cultivator—a life qi expert! If anyone could recognize the death qi ducks, it’s him!

He hesitated another few moments, then flicked his wrist in a self-important way and let out a quiet whistle instead. A half-dozen lotus clones crawled out from the forest and slunk silently into the water. In a few moments, the freshly-grown lotuses vanished, yanked under the water and out of sight.

Phew. There we go! Ah, there’s always more than one solution to everything. Hui nodded to himself, smiling.

As the stillness returned to the pond, Liu Guang relaxed, leaning back on the chair. Hui quickly added a stem behind him to act as a chairback as he leaned back. The last thing I want is to startle him awake! Go on, relax. Fall asleep, so I can go check on Jin Xian!

Liu Guang nodded. “This is what I’m talking about. The moon, the reflection… fine alcohol and fine company.”

“Indeed.” Hui pretend-sipped from his cup. The alcohol lapped at his lips, and they instantly went cold and numb. He resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose and instead smiled as he lowered the glass.

Liu Guang took a deep draft of the liquor and sighed out, eyes on the sky. “You know, this reminds me of when I was young…”

“Ah, yes?” Hui asked. Get drunk and fall asleep already. I really don’t care.

Liu Guang hummed. “Ah, yes… when I was young, and the stars were bright…”

Sharp claws dug into Hui’s head. He jolted, startled, then forced himself not to move. Senior Chen Wuya? You, too?

“I can smell that alcohol anywhere. Come on, hand it over,” Chen Wuya demanded, slapping Hui’s head impatiently with his feet. “Hmm, I can’t believe you broke out my good friend’s alcohol without me.”

Hui glanced at his cup, then filled it up and passed it upward to the crow on his head. The cup knocked against his head as Chen Wuya pinned it in place with his claw, and he heard tell-tale gulping from above.

Giggling caught his ear from the side. “Oh, stop!” Gui Yutong murmured, half-laughing.

Hui began to glance, but quickly looked away again. Oh dear. That’s a bit too spicy for this small cultivator. Er… you know, I’m starting to think it may have been a mistake to allow the two exhibitionist—ahem, excitable lovers to join my drinking party…

Chen Wuya snorted, craning his neck to watch. “Ha! A drink and a show.”

“Senior, please,” Hui complained.

“What? They’re over there fluttering all over one another. What am I supposed to do, not watch? If they didn’t want to be watched, they wouldn’t do it in public,” Chen Wuya reasoned.

Hui sighed. I don’t know what I expected. At the end of the day, Senior is a demonic cultivator, after all. I can’t exactly expect him to have high moral standards.

Although… I mean, Gui Yutong is supposed to be my lover. And what Senior said is remarkably reasonable…

Hui shook his head. No, no. Stay focused, Hui! I need to stay clear-headed and calm-minded. I don’t know what it’ll take to find Jin Xian, but I’m almost certain being horny won’t help!

He glanced to his left. Liu Guang continued to recount his childhood to thin air, gesturing and smiling happily to himself. Senior’s drunk, but he hasn’t passed out yet. Come on… Hui moved to Liu Guang’s side and poured him another glass. “How fascinating, Senior.”

“Oh yes! You see, she was the most beautiful of all, an immortal descended from the heavens. I dared not touch her, in fear I’d sully her, but ah, to look upon her again, to see her form…” He sighed deeply and took a sip. “You know, I think those were the happiest moments of my life… though as happy as they were fleeting.”

“Ah? It sounds like Senior was in love,” Hui said gently, raising the bottle to fill his cup again. Drink, drink. Drink and fall asleep!

“In love? Infatuated, for certain,” Liu Guang said. He lifted his eyes and gazed at the moon. “To tell the truth, I’ve been chasing after her ever since. All this cultivation, all this climbing… but all I want is to find her again. To ascend to the immortal realm and meet her.”

“Was she truly an Immortal?” Hui asked, tilting his head. From what I remember about Immortals descending to this realm… it’s no joke! It isn’t as if some female immortal would descend just to play jokes on a kid.

Liu Guang waved his hand. “Who knows? Maybe she’s long dead. But one way or another, once I ascend, I’ll be able to find her once more. Even if it’s her reincarnation, or a soul fragment in the depths of the Yellow Springs, I’d still… like to meet her once more.”

His hand drooped, halfway to his mouth. His eyes fluttered shut. The glow dimmed to a pale light, barely enough to see. Hui waved his hand in front of Liu Guang’s face, but the man didn’t react.

Phew. He’s out. He turned away, looking up at the distant peak Liu Guang had stopped him from entering. Now… to find Jin Xian!