Three months passed in relative peace. Hui worked hard in the forge, making one prototype after another. Slowly, they took shape, looking less like metal rods and more like swords.

Still, this isn’t exactly regulation grade. The mixing of the ore… Hui lifted the sword-shaped object and slapped it on the floor. The metal shattered.

Right. I’m still figuring it out. Practice makes perfect, though! Tossing aside his latest failure, Hui wandered into the supply room.

The entire room shone. From edge to edge, even the smallest scrap of ore had been snatched up, the entire place wiped out so thoroughly that it glistened. Hui stared. Have we been robbed?

Familiar footsteps sounded behind him. Hong Lu walked up beside Hui and shook his head. “Damn. I was hoping I could find some dust, at least, but it looks like we’ve used up even that.”

“Eh?” Hui asked.

Hong Lu looked down on Hui, cocking an eyebrow. A small part of Hui scowled, irked to be looked down on by a taller disciple. “Master won’t guide us, and we’re all novices. We fail often, and the failures can’t be reused. Although we can sell some of our products to the lowest-realm cultivators, it’s…”

He sighed, gazing at the empty room. “We can’t make enough spirit stones to keep buying materials. If only Master would teach us…”

Damn you, Hong Lu. I understand, but did you have to say it in such an obnoxious way? This Young Master cannon fodder, are you dying for a face slapping? Hui sighed as well, shaking his head at himself. No, no. Down, heart-demon. Down. It’s only natural. A peak full of novices with no serious guidance… it isn’t surprising that we’re eating through ores. The only surprising thing is that the single dump of supplies lasted this long.

Hui looked at the room again, then thumped Hong Lu on the back. “Don’t worry. Master will—”

“You’ll finally teach us?” Hong Lu asked skeptically.

Hui thumped him again, harder. “—will find more supplies!”

Hong Lu sighed. “When are you going to teach us, Master? You know… some of the disciples are starting to wonder if you’re a Master at all.”

Hui narrowed his eyes at Hong Lu. “So?”

“Huh?” Hong Lu asked.

“So what? You’re my disciples because my friend Xie Hao healed you and transferred that debt to me. What do I care if you don’t feel like you’re my disciples?” Hui returned, crossing his arms. Ha! It feels so good to be on the other side of this equation. Finally, I’m the one holding the debts!

Taken aback, Hong Lu frowned. “But Master, you—”

“I’m in the middle of breaking through a bottleneck in my forging cultivation, don’t you know? Where’s your respect for your seniors, huh? At such a delicate time, you shouldn’t bother me! Would you bother another Peak Lord, or is it just because you don’t respect me?” Hui asked.

“I… of course… I re… respect…” Hong Lu coughed, barely able to spit out the words.

Hui waved his hand. “Ah, it’s fine if you don’t respect me. You’re still obligated to be my disciple!” He patted Hong Lu on the back again. “You know, it’s fine to be domineering, but there’s a limit to it. Master might seem like the type that’s easy to bully, and it’s true, I am, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let pesky disciples like you get away with it.”

“Pesky disciples—! I’ll have you know that I’m the Young Master of the—”

Hui let him rant, watching him with dead eyes. You know, it’s really quite tiresome to listen to this in real life. Ah… that face is looking more slappable by the minute.

Ha, Sectgoer, that heart demon is really active today, huh? Healer asked, laughing.

Shut it. You don’t even know my troubles. You have cute, obedient little female disciples and your brainless lotus clones, and I have a peak full of unruly children who don’t respect me. It’s totally different, Sectgoer grumbled.

I thought you wanted disciples? Peak Lord asked innocently.

I want the upsides of disciples, but that doesn’t mean I want to deal with their bullshit! Sectgoer raged, frustrated.

Ah, too bad Rogue isn’t here. I feel like he’d really enjoy teasing you right now, Peak Lord said.

Healer rolled his eyes. You mean, good thing he isn’t. It’s been so peaceful since he left.

Hong Lu stopped abruptly. “Are you even listening?”

“Eh? Of course not,” Hui said with a straight face.

“You—” Hong Lu raised his hand.

Hui raised his eyebrows. “This unruly child, do you want to test me?”

“My cultivation has settled now that my leg isn’t injured. We’re both fifth stage. You don’t scare me,” Hong Lu said, laughing. Still, he didn’t drop his hand.

“Ah, ah. How ungrateful. This Hong Lu, forgetting his debts and daring to attack his Master, what a troublesome child,” Hui mocked, rolling his eyes.

“Call me a child one more time,” Hong Lu said, glaring at Hui.

“Hong Lu… Do you know what one of my skills is?” Hui asked, tilting his head. He poked Hong Lu in the chest. “I’m very, very good at picking people apart with my words. I’ve incited heart demons in at least two… well, certainly more cultivators than that. Hong Lu, if you really want, I can incite your heart demon, too.”

Hong Lu stepped back. “How—”

Hui grinned. Haha, jackpot! In any case, it’s not surprising. A Young Master like this, who lost his standing and power due to an injury beyond his control and then fell from grace, dragging his whole sect down with him… how could you not have a heart demon, in this world where people’s minds are so fragile? “How did I know? Ha! A wounded leg doesn’t make your cultivation sway like that. Third to fifth realm… no, it’s almost as if there’s someone else inside you. A heart demon that can steal your strength and cultivation… how powerful it must be. Hong Lu, it’s fine to not respect your Master. But do you also… not respect your heart demon?”

Hong Lu backed away. He lowered his hand. Teeth gritted, he spat, “You haven’t won. I still don’t respect you.”

“Yes, yes. Go back and be a good forge monkey. Work hard and make Master lots of spirit stones,” Hui said, waving his hand dismissively.

Hong Lu grimaced. “You—! So this is all a trick!”

Hui looked up at Hong Lu with innocent eyes. “A trick? Hong Lu… but I didn’t charge you anything to heal you, did I—did my friend, Xie Hao? In this world, is it considered ‘a trick’ to use labor to recoup losses?”

Hong Lu opened his mouth, then closed it. His face burned, and a vein throbbed in his forehead.

“Look at you, look at you! That heart demon of yours is going to grow stronger, isn’t it? Go on, get back to work. Better to work hard than to worry about troublesome things like this,” Hui said, nodding. He pushed Hong Lu out the door of his forge, then slammed it behind him. Phew. Young Masters and black lotuses, I really won the lottery, didn’t I?

No, wait. Think about it, Hui. Those disciples… their wounds weren’t absolutely incurable. Well—some of them were, without death qi manipulation… but many of them would simply be costly for a life qi cultivator to cure. The disciples who landed on Clouded Pavilion… they wouldn’t be the cream of the crop! They’d be the troublesome ones, the ones whose masters didn’t consider it worth their while to spend that much to heal.

Sure, most of them are perfectly fine people. In fact, they’re probably simply ordinary cultivators who didn’t have outstanding talent—people who aren’t Ying Lin, to summarize it. They didn’t have problematic personalities, but lacking an outstanding talent… their master simply didn’t consider it worthwhile to cure them.

It’s sad, but backing and luck… can both be considered as part of one’s karma!

On the other hand, those who do have outstanding talent… those like Hong Lu and Song Wei… well, their master decided to abandon them anyways, and not pay the hefty price to heal them. In those cases… isn’t it quite likely that they were abandoned because of their shitty personalities?

Ah, well, at the end of the day, I can’t be sure. After all, in the moment, I thought Hong Lu would have been incurable without death qi manipulation. It isn’t sure that his master abandoned him, and in his case, his clan certainly didn’t. Though they could have been a poor clan and therefore unable to pay the price… perhaps his injury truly was incurable, barring the use of death qi manipulation. Maybe it’s simply that I took in a great many disciples without personally vetting them, so naturally, there’s some bad apples in the bunch.

One way or another… Master is tired! Ugh. Should I go read some manuals again…?

No, no. I know what’ll fix it. Hui straightened up and walked out of his forge. He glanced left and right to ensure Hong Lu had cleared out, then raised his hands to his mouth. “Tang Fei!”

“Master called?” Tang Fei asked. Although there was still a coldness in her eyes, the kind of coldness that could never leave them entirely, her voice had a slight playful lilt to it, and her cheeks were rosy. Similarly, she wore cute robes in a bright pink.

She’s coming back… the adorable Tang Fei I first met. Hui nodded at her. “Tang Fei, we’re out of materials. Could I trouble you to find us more?”

Tang Fei’s expression instantly went blank. She saluted Hui. “Of course, Master.”

Hui blinked. “Ah… no. I’ll… find another way.” If it troubles her that much…

“No. I want to do this. Allow me my petty revenge,” Tang Fei said. The coldness in her eyes turned her voice icy, her entire body now rigid and coiled tight. A faint thread of killing intent burned in her gaze, not directed at Hui, but at someone far beyond him.

I see. Then… “Er, Elder Sister, if it wouldn’t be too troublesome, could I—”

“No.”

I didn’t even ask yet! Elder Sister…

Tang Fei shook her head. “I pretend as if I’m not awake when I visit that man’s peak. If I were to bring anyone with me…”

Ah. I see. Hui nodded, then reached into his pocket. “Still, it’s quite dangerous for you to go alone. I don’t want you to get trapped again.” He handed her a small jade tablet, carved into a lotus.

“Master?” Tang Fei asked, blinking.

He held up another one identical to the one she held. “I’ve had our jade-carver work on creating these. Put your qi into both, and they should synchronize. If you’re in danger, the jades will dim, and… if the spell we created works properly, I should be able to use this jade to follow your qi signature back to you.”

Tang Fei nodded. “Thank you, Master.” She took the other tablet as well and poured a little of her qi into both, then handed one back to Hui.

Hui accepted it with a smile. “Go. And be careful.”

“Of course,” Tang Fei said, nodding.

“And…”

She turned back, cocking a brow.

Hui swallowed. No. I have to say it. “And don’t be reckless. Soon… it may be more than petty revenge…”

Tang Fei flashed him a vicious smile. “Yes. I’m waiting.”