Ying Lin burst into Hui’s gardens alongside Tang Fei, beaming bright. “Master! I’m here.”

“Good, good. And Tang Fei? Wonderful,” Hui said, nodding.

Tang Fei regarded him suspiciously. “Have you heard of me?”

“Er… that is, yes,” Hui said. I don’t have time to explain everything. I only have time to accomplish what I called her here to do! “Tang Fei, I can heal your hand.”

Tang Fei blinked. She put a hand over the prosthetic. “Even when they replaced my hand, they couldn’t make it move. My hand is dead, Senior.”

“Mhm, I know. Tang Fei, despite all that, I can not only give you motion in your hand again, but also regrow your lost limb. Are you interested?” Hui asked.

She frowned. “Xing Huang said he could only heal my hand… or my mind, not both.”

“That’s Xing Huang. I’m Xie Hao, miracle healer. If I say I can do it, I can,” Hui said. Ugh. I don’t really have this much confidence, but I don’t have any time for hesitation or politeness! I have to get directly to the meat of it, or not at all. We’re about to attack the sect. Tang Fei has been valuable to us, and I truly doubt she would take Gui Delun’s side. I think I’ve figured out how to heal her, so why wouldn’t I?

It was the meeting with Shen Aiguo and Liu Guang’s disciples that started me thinking, and once I began to think about it, I couldn’t stop. I think—I must be right. Or at least… there’s nothing to lose! Let’s give it a try!

Tang Fei furrowed her brows. She gave him an uncertain look, but after a second, she nodded. “Heal me.”

Hui nodded back, beaming. “Ying Lin, you’re higher realm than me, now, right?”

“Eh? Me? Master, I—I’m still fifth stage!” Ying Lin said, startled.

Hui crossed his arms. “Ying Lin, I’m not stupid. It’s been nine months. You’re probably on the verge of eighth stage by now, right? If not ninth.”

Ying Lin bit her lip. “I… I… might be… a little higher realm than Master, now.”

“Good, good. I called Liu Guang over a few minutes ago. He should be here any minute now,” Hui said. He nodded at her. “You know what to do.”

Tang Fei stiffened. She backed away. “No!”

“Tang Fei, have faith. Oh—if you’re uncomfortable, there’s a nice dark closet in the corner that’s good for hiding in. I’ve even put a few wards on it that’ll probably hold up for at least ten seconds under Liu Guang’s most powerful attacks. But don’t go too far. You need to be here when he comes,” Hui said, nodding.

“Wh… what?” Tang Fei asked, looking at Ying Lin for answers.

Ying Lin leaned conspiratorially toward Tang Fei. “Master’s a real coward. If he says it’ll stand up to Liu Guang’s attacks, it probably will!”

“No, I mean… you—you’re going to hand me over to Liu Guang!” Tang Fei accused him.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I dislike Liu Guang as much as the next rational human being,” Hui said, crossing his arms.

Gold light flashed across the sky. The man himself appeared, aura roiling around him from anger.

Tang Fei backed away. Ying Lin put a comforting arm on her shoulder. “It’s okay. Master won’t hurt you. And he won’t let Liu Guang hurt you, either.”

“What is this?” Liu Guang asked, lowering his voice. A fierce gold glow burned in the sky, and Liu Guang descended toward them. He narrowed his eyes at Hui. “Why don’t you go on?”

“Oh, I will. But first—Ying Lin! Restrain this man!” Hui shouted, throwing his hand out.

Ying Lin burst up from the ground and hurtled at Liu Guang. “Yes!”

“This disciple, your head is far too big!” Liu Guang shouted back. He waved his hand. A huge gold scalpel darted at Ying Lin.

Ying Lin ignored it, letting it pierce through her—or so it appeared. In the next second, a crack shot down the length of the gold scalpel, and it shattered into a thousand strands of gold. Liu Guang recoiled, but before he could escape or launch another move, Ying Lin grabbed him by the shoulder. An overwhelming, fiercely oppressive aura filled the room, and Liu Guang stiffened, immobilized.

“What… what realm…” Liu Guang stuttered, his eyes wide.

“Master! I have him,” Ying Lin reported cheerily. She flew to Hui’s side, carrying Lui Guang casually in one hand.

Tang Fei stared, wide-eyed. She looked at the immobile Liu Guang, then at Ying Lin. She slowly backed away again, but this time from Ying Lin, not Hui.

“Good, very good,” Hui said. He looked at Liu Guang, and this time, his eyes blazed right through the man, seeing his threads without having to step out of his body. If I’m right, then…

Gold threads coursed through every inch of Liu Guang’s body. Thick, thin, long and short, even different shades of gold, they packed so tightly inside him that there was no room for anything else. The gold glow he usually gave off grew even brighter, so that Hui had to lift his sleeve and peer through it, or else go blind. Ha! I knew it. He was not only blackening the disciples’ threads… but stealing them, and binding them into his own body! Righteous cultivation, my foot. This is overtly demonic cultivation. Tearing apart disciples’ bodies for their inherit resources and destroying their fate to forward your own cultivation and prolong your life… those are the basics of demonic cultivation, and exactly what this Liu Guang has been doing!

“Tang Fei, come here. I’m only going to have a moment to do this,” Hui said. He reached out and grabbed Liu Guang’s threads.

Liu Guang trembled. His face turned hideous. He struggled against Ying Lin’s grasp, to no avail. “You won’t get away with this. Gui Delun will—”

“Soon, I’m going to do a lot worse to Gui Delun than merely attacking you,” Hui said evenly. He looked at Tang Fei. “Elder Sister, you decide. I can fix your hand, or you can run, but I can’t fix your hand while you run.”

Tang Fei took a deep breath. She stepped forward, still ever-so-slightly out of Hui’s reach. “First, I need to confirm something. Xiao Hui?”

Hui stiffened. He laughed. “I—I don’t know… what Elder Sister…”

Ying Lin shook her head. “Master, you’re about to attack, right? There’s no point denying it now.”

“Ah, that’s true, that’s true. It was only on reflex. Yes, yes, that’s me, Elder Sister,” Hui said.

Tang Fei nodded slowly. “Then, the man who saved me…”

Hui coughed, interrupting her. “To be precise, Elder Sister, neither of us are Xiao Hui. We’re both clones of his. Clones… with a bit of his soul. In essence, we are pieces of Xiao Hui.”

She blinked. Her brows furrowed, as thoughts flashed through her head. At last, she offered her hand. “Please. And… it might be far too late, but… I apologize.”

“For what, Elder Sister?” Hui asked, lifting a hand to hers.

“For… for my unsightly behavior in attacking Li Xiang in that arena, after battle had finished. It was my mistake. I should have refused, even if it was Master’s orders.”

Hui nodded. “And I apologize for at the time, permanently removing your hand. I didn’t know what I was doing. I moved on reflex to save Li Xiang, but I didn’t know the consequences of my actions.”

Liu Guang steamed between them, caught helplessly in Ying Lin’s grasp. “You—you—I knew it! I knew you were that criminal! Don’t think you’ll get away with this. With any of this! I—”

“Oh, that’s right.” Hui stomped. All around the room, barrier talismans lit up. He turned back to Liu Guang with a smile. “Go on, Senior. Please, go ahead and scream all you like! It’s fine, it’s fine. Even if you scream with all your might, the barrier will absorb it all!”

Liu Guang grit his teeth. He turned his head and bit a bead at the neck of his outfit. The bead shattered, revealing the shimmering light of a spell… which quickly fell apart, unable to sustain itself.

“Ah, I’ve stagnated your cultivation. You can’t exercise qi right now,” Ying Lin informed him cheerfully.

Are these people demons? How can they smile in this situation? Liu Guang wondered, gnashing his teeth in frustration.

“Then, Tang Fei?” Hui asked, gesturing for her to step closer.

She did so, raising her ruined hand.

Hui removed the prosthetic and placed his fingers on the stump. Sending life qi inside, he coaxed the hand to grow, to form bones and muscles, tendons and skin. As the hand formed, he reached out with his other hand and grabbed a handful of threads from Liu Guang’s body. Yanking them free, he released them momentarily to sever them with a blade of death qi.

Liu Guang screamed in horror, feeling something leave him. “No! Give them back!”

“I’m afraid not, Senior,” Hui said, ignoring Liu Guang once again to focus on Tang Fei. His hands darted back and forth as he sewed the threads together, winding them into the end of her arm. The hard part is that there isn’t something to tie the other ends of the threads to. They end at her fingertips. Looking at the quickly-decaying threads, Hui bit his lip.

Well… why not give them something to tie to? Hui drew on the threads, lengthening them. So thickly were the threads packed in Liu Guang’s body that they had shrunk a bit, the way clothes shrink in the wash, and with a little force, he drew them back to length. Folding them in on themselves, he tied the other ends back to her wrist, as well, leaving the threads doubled-over in her hand.

He looked at Tang Fei. “Can you move?”

She flexed her fingers, turned her hand over, and flexed her fingers again. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she nodded. “Yes!”

That’s good. That’s what a disciple should say! Hui smiled and nodded at her. “Good, good.”

Liu Guang growled, enraged. “You won’t get away with this. When you release me—”

“Release you? Senior, what kind of fool do you think I am?” Hui asked, shaking his head.

“Then, you mean to kill me?” Liu Guang snarled.

“No, no. Senior, haven’t you come up with a solution for this? A cold storage of sorts,” Hui said cheerfully. “Ah, it perfectly preserves bodies, too. And aren’t you nothing but a vast storehouse of those golden threads?”

Liu Guang’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “You have no idea how to manipulate that realm. You don’t even have the first comprehension—”

Hui coughed. “Senior, are you familiar with Fen Long?”

“Our Patriarch? What kind of question is that? Naturally,” Liu Guang said, taken aback.

“Ah… yes. I’ve shattered three… no, four of his realms now, as easily as flipping over my hand. Are you really so confident that I can’t also shatter your realm?” Hui asked, tipping his head at Liu Guang.

Liu Guang’s jaw dropped. He stared. After a second, he shook his head. “Bl-bluffing. You’re bluffing!”

Hui sighed. He looked at Ying Lin and shook his head. “Elder Sister, have I ever bluffed?”

“Yes!” Ying Lin said, nodding vigorously.

“Ah, well, that’s true. But have I ever bluffed that my abilities are greater than they are?” Hui asked.

“Not usually,” Ying Lin said.

Hui nodded. “Exactly. Senior, even Fen Long has acknowledged my skill with realms. So… what secret does your realm hold, that I would be unable to unravel it?”

Liu Guang’s mouth moved, but nothing came out.

“Or could it be that there’s no secret at all… but your realm is a malformed realm, an accident that formed when you were studying realms, that you decided was beneficial to you?” Hui mused aloud, watching Liu Guang from the corner of his eye.

Liu Guang’s face reddened. “You know nothing!”

“Oh, so it is. Well, I figured as much. I’ve run into a few realms that collapse and freeze, but none that do it as incidentally as yours,” Hui said, nodding. “In any case, I expect that it’ll only take me a few hours to break your realm and claim it as my own. Do you want to bet against me, Senior?”

“You—”

“I suppose it’s not truly a choice. My apologies for presenting it falsely, Senior. You must bet against me, Senior, because here I come. Ying Lin, hold him steady,” Hui said, reaching out toward Liu Guang.

“Stop! Stop this moment!” Liu Guang shouted. “You trash! You insect! You dare lay your hands upon this Senior? I’ll—”

Ying Lin’s hands blurred as she pushed a few acupoints. Liu Guang’s mouth continued to move, but nothing came out. “There we go. He should stay silent now, Master!”

“Mmm. Ying Lin, Tang Fei, if it takes me too long to claim his realm… keep yourselves safe, first and foremost,” Hui ordered, raising his hands to Liu Guang.

Tang Fei nodded. A strange expression flashed over her face for a moment, almost guilt, but in the next second, she suppressed it.

Huh? Oh, well. Ying Lin is high enough realm to handle whatever Tang Fei wants to do. With a wave, Hui sent his qi into Liu Guang, searching out his storage array. He keeps it on his body. He must, if he sends new cultivators to it all the time. I just have to… find it!

--

Hui’s body stilled. His eyes shut, and he settled into a meditative pose, hands hovering over Liu Guang.

Ying Lin looked at Tang Fei. “There’s something you want to do, right?”

Tang Fei bit her lip. “I just… I don’t know if I can survive it. He wouldn’t… he wouldn’t want me to die, right after he healed me, but… but to not repay him for this, I—”

Ying Lin laughed. “You’re very cute, Tang Fei!”

“Eh?” Tang Fei asked, startled.

“Master doesn’t care if you repay him or not. He’s not that kind of person. As long as you don’t hold it against him and seek vengeance, he’s quite happy,” Ying Lin explained.

“But… but…” Tang Fei shook her head. She scowled, then stomped her foot cutely. Balling her hands into fists, she shook her head again, but this time, with an adorable expression on her face. “But! I can’t allow it! This adorable Tang Fei’er, who dares to assume she’d seek vengeance on those who helped her? No! I won’t allow it! I have to repay him.”

Ying Lin clapped her hands. “Master will be very happy to hear that.”

Tang Fei leaped into the air. “He might not hear it. I might not survive this, but I can’t go without repaying him. Ying Lin, if I don’t return, express my gratitude to Xiao Hui.”

“No. You’ll express it yourself,” Ying Lin declared, staring directly at Tang Fei.

Midair, Tang Fei paused. She hesitated a long beat, then nodded. “That’s right. I’ll be back. No one can keep this cuteness down for long!”

With that, she sped off, rapidly vanishing toward the top of the peak.

Ying Lin watched her go. As Tang Fei vanished, her usual smile faded, and a serious expression emerged. She pressed her lips together. “Tang Fei, may you succeed and return safely.”

Her eyes turned upward, where a faint flash of lightning burst through the otherwise clear sky. She licked her lips.

“Master… please hurry. I can’t hold on much longer.”