Liu Guang looked around the palace, folding his hands behind him. “Yes, I suppose this is yours, now that you and Gui Yutong are wed.”

“Ah, no. Small cultivator misspoke. This is Gui Yutong’s. My palace is in the rear,” Hui clarified.

“Are you hated?” Liu Guang asked, laughter in his eyes.

“No, no, not at all. In fact, I consider it a mercy,” Hui said.

“A mercy?” Liu Guang asked, confused.

Hui nodded. “Otherwise, I’d be subject to certain vigorous exercises every night.” Gui Yutong and Bai Jingwen haven’t let a single thing slow them down! Sometimes I wonder how Gui Delun hasn’t noticed… but then, Gui Yutong’s palace does have a pretty good barrier on it. Especially her bedroom.

…actually, that’s a good question. Can Gui Delun see into Gui Yutong’s palace? Or… could he? Until a certain point, that…

Cultivators’ children have no privacy, huh? Man. The teenage years must be rough. Hui shook his head. No wonder they spend so much time preaching about abstinence and sexual purity… with the adults’ enhanced senses, every batch of disciples must be an absolute shitshow once they all hit the teen years together.

Hui pressed his lips together. Anyways, that’s enough thinking about that.

Liu Guang frowned at Hui. Is he complaining that he’s having too much fun with his wife? He waved his hand. “This is not what I came here to discuss.”

“No, naturally not. I’d be more concerned if you had,” Hui said honestly. The last thing I want to do is discuss my sex life with Liu Guang.

“Instead, I came to discuss… that night, and what happened between us,” Liu Guang said.

“Senior, may I formally request that you use concise and clear language?” Hui returned.

“You know what I mean,” Liu Guang said, frowning.

Hui nodded. “That might be, but everyone else…”

“I traced your qi to that peak, but no further. What did you do inside?” Liu Guang insisted, ignoring Hui.

I guess you can’t win them all. Hui shook his head. “I have no idea what Senior is talking about.”

“You don’t?” Liu Guang said, his voice dipping dangerously.

Hui sat back. He crossed his arms. “Are you threatening Gui Delun’s son-in-law? Inner Peak Lord Gui Delun’s son-in-law? Does your boss know that you’re here, threatening me?”

“Amusing that you would bring up Gui Delun. I might take my concerns to him next, if you aren’t careful,” Liu Guang said.

Hui laughed. “Go ahead. Do you think I don’t know? I’m under his supervision. Why else would I be here if you hadn’t already told him?”

“Oh…? Do you think that’s why you’re here?” Liu Guang said, putting a hand on his chin.

“Is it not?” Hui asked, pretending to be taken aback. Come on. Tell me! What else do you suspect?

“You know, that arm you left with Gui Delun… it was awful similar to something I’d seen before,” Liu Guang said, his eyes narrowing. Hui could only tell because the glow from his eyes lessened somewhat.

“Is it? Senior, you must know… I found that technique in a library. Anyone could have found it ahead of me,” Hui immediately bluffed. He gave Liu Guang a concerned expression, but not too worried, as someone whose hand had been caught in a cookie jar, but not the cookie jar.

“Hmm… I wonder. Why immediately deny it?” Liu Guang asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Or something like that. The light danced on the far wall, in any case.

“Deny what? Senior, I use that technique. But the way Senior said it, obviously, Senior thinks the technique is proof of some terrible crime. A crime… that anyone with this technique could have perpetrated,” Hui guessed, intentionally wrong. Ha! See, Senior? I’m assuming that the technique was used to do evil, when we both know it wasn’t. Pick up on my wrong hint! Get mislead!

Liu Guang frowned, putting a hand on his chin. Sarcastically, he asked, “How many people do you think know this technique? Is it widely known?”

“Senior! Please! Are you claiming that this small cultivator is the only one who knows a clone technique?” Hui asked, shaking his head.

“Clone technique?” Liu Guang asked, his turn to be taken aback.

Hui blinked. He nodded. “This… it’s a clone technique. I explained it to Gui Delun clearly on the day he took my arm. I use the technique to clone my arm and use it as a prosthetic, after I lost my original arm in battle.”

Liu Guang frowned. He waved his hand. “Whatever you call it, whether it’s used for cloning or healing… this technique is used by All-Heavens’ enemy. A vile cultivator known as Weiheng Hui. He comes from a demonic sect All-Heavens purged, but survived by hideous trickery.”

Hui widened his eyes. “He sounds like a villain indeed! But Senior, must I stop using this technique merely because that villain uses it? I need the technique to replace my lost arm.”

“Am I really meant to believe that of all the cultivators in the world—”

Hui cut him off. “Senior Liu Guang, how many cultivators know the Lightning Palm? Innumerable. It isn’t so unreasonable that two people can share the same technique. It’s quite unfortunate that I and this villain both know my clone technique, but I can’t stop other cultivators from learning the same technique I learned. It isn’t my fault if they use the technique for villainous purposes.”

Did Senior really think I’d quietly admit it if he confronted me? What kind of madman would own up to his deeds in front of his enemy? No chance!

Liu Guang stood. “I’ll catch your tail. Watch yourself.”

“As Senior wishes, but I have no tail to catch,” Hui said earnestly, smiling. In the end, he’s a healer, not an interrogator or strategist. I can’t expect him to be an expert at wrangling truths out of people.

Standing, Hui showed him out of the palace. At the door, he bowed to Liu Guang. “Thank you for being so cautious. I know you’re only doing this out of concern for Gui Yutong. But Senior, I ensure you, I am fully committed to caring for her.”

“This isn’t…” Liu Guang scoffed. He flicked his sleeve and whirled off, ignoring Hui.

Not good. They’re close. We don’t have much more time before they figure us out. Or me out, but… this small cultivator has no faith in my ability to keep my lips sealed if Senior decides to torture me before I die! Hui took a deep breath. Whatever Rogue’s doing, he better finish it up soon. I can only bluff for so long.

A timid knock from across the palace caught his ear. Hui waved his hand, sending one of the lotus beasts to take a peek.

Shen Aiguo stuck close to the wall, peering up at the lotus beast. She swallowed. “Is what he said true?”

Just nod, Hui told the lotus beast.

It nodded vigorously, black seed eyes glittering.

“Then… what should I do?” she asked. “I don’t want to leave everyone in danger, but… Lao Ning, he won’t listen to me. Even if I believe you…”

Hui closed his eyes. When he opened them, he did it as the lotus beast. “Elder Sister… as you are, you have no future. What Liu Guang has already done cannot be undone. You can continue to cultivate for a while, but your future has been cut off. If you don’t die soon, you will probably hit a bottleneck you can never break through.”

“There’s nothing I can do?” she whispered, her face crumpling.

Hui took a deep breath. “Elder Sister, how flexible is your mind?”

“Eh?” Shen Aiguo said.

“As you are now, you’re halfway to becoming a death cultivator. As a death cultivator, you can continue to live and cultivate, though your path will become twice as difficult. Still, you will continue to exist, and your cultivation will not be cut off,” Hui explained.

Shen Aiguo drew back. “I don’t want to become something that has to kill to live! I’d rather die!”

“You don’t have to kill to survive as a death cultivator. There are other ways. Elder Sister, if you don’t give up hope, you still have a long life ahead of you. Even fruitful cultivation and immortal ascension are still within your grasp,” Hui said patiently.

Shen Aiguo shook her head. She continued to draw away.

“Please, take all the time you need to process it. But if you make up your mind, come to me. Whatever you decide… I can help you,” he said. Whether you wish to die, hope against hope as a cultivator with ruined threads, or become a death cultivator… even if they’re enemies, I don’t… I can’t give up on the people right in front of me.

After all, they’re victims of the same people that hurt me. In a way, we’re kin. Maybe it’s a mistake, but I can’t help but make it.

Shen Aiguo nodded once. She opened her mouth, but then shut it and whirled, running off into the distance.

Hui watched her go until she was out of sight, then closed his eyes. He opened them again in his own body. Exhausted, he rubbed his face.

I’m so tired. I want this to end. If only it could be over already, and I could close my eyes and rest…

He let out a slow sigh. Soon. Soon, it will all be over. And then…