Hui skipped down the peak, in a good mood. I haven’t made my talismans yet, but I’ve made progress on comprehending life qi, and that counts for something.

Back up Starbound Peak. He ignored the bustling cultivators and the stalls set up in the main square of Starbound Peak, instead making a beeline for the dining hall. At this hour, the hall bustled, the cultivators lucky enough to score a seat inside chatting and making merry. Hui glanced at the front door, then ducked around the back. Quietly, he knocked at the back door. “Sis Mei.”

The door flew open. Sis Mei grabbed Hui and hugged him to her plentiful bosom. “Hui! I was so scared. You aren’t hurt, are you?” She pulled away and inspected him, patting off his robes.

“No, no, I’m fine,” Hui said, smiling. He adjusted his robes and looked at her expectantly.

She shook her head at him. “You’re here for food this time, right? Sit, sit. Let me bring you some food before you starve!”

Sis Mei ducked into the kitchen and came out a second later with a bowl of congee topped with a generous portion of chicken. Hui took it happily and sat down on the back stair, gulping it up.

Quietly, Sis Mei stood over him, reminiscing. Golden light spilled over the hunched figure, coloring his blue robes and dark ponytail. For a moment, he looked smaller, bony and young, nervy, big eyes darting like a rabbit’s, white robes slightly dirty and ragged from use.

“This brings me back. I remember when you were just a little kid, hunched on that back stair… your shoulders were so narrow back then, and you had this… air to you. Like you expected the whole world to stomp on you.”

“Eh?” Hui asked, looking up.

“You don’t look like that anymore. Now you’re a strong, proud disciple of Starbound Sect!” Sis Mei declared, clapping him on the shoulder.

Hui shook and almost fell over. The bowl slipped, congee sloshing. Eyes wide, Hui caught the bowl. With a deft flip of the wrist, he flicked the sloshing congee back into the bowl. Sighing with relief, he shook his head at Sis Mei. “What if I’d dropped some food?”

“Now that hasn’t changed,” Sis Mei chuckled. She tweaked his nose and backed up, leaning against the door. “Before long, you’re going to surpass this Sis Mei.”

Hui blinked. “I… I couldn’t. It’s a coincidence, a coincidence!”

She waved a hand. “Just remember your Sis Mei when you’re standing atop the world.”

Numbly, Hui stared. He blinked again, then laughed. “Of course!”

A shout rang out from inside the kitchen. Sis Mei turned, then shook her head. “I have to go. Leave your bowl on the step. I’ll collect it later.”

Hui nodded obediently.

The door swung shut behind her, cutting off his slice of light. Hui looked after Sis Mei, a gentle light in his eyes. “How could I forget you, Sis Mei? You’re the only one who’s always believed in me. Even if I stand atop the cultivation world and overturn the heavens, I’ll always remember you.”

At last, Hui let out a sigh and set the empty bowl aside. Wiping his lips, he stood. Alright. Now that I’ve eaten, it’s time to get back to cultivation. I need to finish making those talismans.

Hui tucked his hands behind him and wandered down Starbound Peak, taking his time. He glanced upward, still paranoid about a white blur coming down from the heavens to kick him off the peak. Nothing. Aside from the distant shapes of high-tier disciples and visitors flashing overhead, no one charged for him. As expected, Lan Taijian isn’t going to cause a ruckus while we have guests over. How nice, how nice! I should come visit a few more times while he’s busy. Hui smiled to himself.

Though, come to think of it, Lan Taijian has never come to kick me out, even when it’s just Starbound Peak disciples, unless I do something to attract attention first. Hmm… I guess Peak Lords have more important things to do than kick insignificant cultivators out of their peaks.

The clash of swords caught his ear. Hui turned, curious.

In one of the training arenas just outside the main square, a pile of white- and blue- robed disciples laid in crumpled disarray. Groans and sighs rang out.

Hui blinked, startled. What caused this destruction? I should be out of here before they come after this little Hui!

Two cultivators clashed atop the arena, so fast they were little more than flashes of light. They separated, darting apart.

On the far side of the arena, Ding Bo scowled. He brandished his wooden sword, pointing it at his opponent. The strange light glimmered over the surface of the sword. “I refuse to accept the outcome of the tournament. That was not a true match.”

“You lost. That’s the truth,” Li Xiang replied flatly.

Hui whirled, eyes wide.

Opposite Ding Bo, Li Xiang stood. Her sword glittered in the moonlight. Her long hair swayed, pink enamel pin glinting. Back in her white robes, back straight, she looked like an immortal descended from the heavens.

“I refuse to leave until I face someone who can give me a match that satisfies me,” Ding Bo replied. He rushed at Li Xiang again.

Hui drifted closer. Casually, he suppressed his qi, lowering his presence. Did our match aggravate Ding Bo that much? I thought I fought well… though I suppose I didn’t give him much of a sword fight, and he’s a sword cultivator.

Ah, this small cultivator… I’m just too much of a genius! I thought I failed, but no, I’m rending hearts left and right!

Li Xiang darted at Ding Bo. Sword cries emanated from both of their blades. They clashed in a flash of brilliant light. Too fast for Hui’s eyes, they exchanged more than a dozen blows, then parted, darting apart again.

Ding Bo furrowed his brows and pulled his sword back. He struck a stance, gathering his qi.

Wait, I recognize that stance! Hui’s eyes went wide. He let go of his qi, operating his movement technique at full speed, and burst out into the square, arms out.

“Hui!” Li Xiang gasped.

Ding Bo rushed forth. A dozen light blows burst over Hui’s body. He clenched his teeth. This—this technique! It’s definitely the one he used to plant the qi seeds on me!

Ding Bo drew back. He frowned. “Don’t interfere in my fight. Haven’t you done enough?”

Eh? Nothing’s happening. There’s no plants growing on me. “My apologies, senior, but…” Mid-sentence, Hui probed his qi passages. There’s got to be—it has to be, right? I didn’t make a mistake?

Tiny dots of light glimmered in his passages, right where Ding Bo had struck. Unlike before, they laid dormant, waiting. This time, the seeds glowed with life qi, the golden aura overflowing their tiny shells.

Hui narrowed his eyes. “—but, it seems you’ve infected me with qi seeds?”

One of the cultivators lying in the pile sat up. A Jade Garden Peak cultivator, dirt stained their robes at the knees and sat encrusted under their nails. They frowned at Hui. “Qi seeds are extinct. They feed on the qi and flesh in a cultivator’s body and can spread at a touch, truly a demonic plant. A demonic ancestor cultivated them centuries ago, but the plant was exterminated after the fall of his sect centuries ago, back when the righteous sects were in prominence.”

“Didn’t you see, in the tournament—” Hui started, then fell silent. Wait. They grew under my robes. No one saw them, and Ding Bo spoke softly. With the bustle of battle, no one heard. The Sect Masters might have, if they were paying attention, but… well, they weren’t paying attention. And if Master heard, he wouldn’t have stepped in anyways. He twisted his lips, annoyed.

Ding Bo flicked his sword. He looked down at Hui haughtily. “Step out of the way. Let me fight my fill outside of the arena. You have no right to interfere with this match.”

Ignoring him, Hui put a hand on his chin. I’ve got the seeds in my body. If I activate them—

Eh. How do I activate them? Last time, I couldn’t stop them from growing. Why aren’t they growing this time?

Hui frowned. He circled around one of the seeds and pushed qi at it. Nothing happened.

“Hui, what happened?” Li Xiang asked, stepping closer.

“Give me a moment, elder sister,” Hui requested.

Li Xiang nodded.

“Remove him. Our fight proceeds. Or are you afraid?”

Barely giving Ding Bo a glance, Li Xiang stepped back, sheathing her sword. “I want to hear what Hui has to say.”

After a second, Hui’s eyes lit up. He circulated a strand of life qi up to the seed, then around it, stimulating the life qi with all his might. The life qi hummed, throwing off brilliant rays of golden light. Come on, come on!

A thin layer of qi coated the seed, keeping the life qi contained. Under the swirling life qi, the qi quaked. The life qi inside the seed quivered, fighting against the coat of qi. It resonated with Hui’s life qi, humming the same note. The humming intensified, growing louder. The internal life qi threw off a ray of golden light, then burst out. In the space of a breath, roots grew, sinking into Hui’s qi passages. A plant surged through Hui’s passages and dug through his skin.

As soon as it poked through his flesh, Hui killed his qi circulation, stopping the plant from growing further. A demonic plant is no joke! And people call this small cultivator a demonic cultivator? I would never be so devious! How horrid, no wonder they were destroyed!

Grimacing, Hui pulled the neck of his robes down, revealing his shoulder. A leafy plant, its leaves a dark blue, bloomed from his skin. “There! Is that enough proof?”

Ding Bo’s lip quivered. He shook his head. “That proves nothing. You could have been infected anywhere.”

“With a long-thought-exterminated plant?” the Jade Garden Peak cultivator asked. Biting his lip, he put a hand to his chest. “That move… he used it on me, too. Am I infected?”

All around him, other cultivators sat up, fear in their eyes.

“Is there a cure?”

“What can we do?”

“Is there any way to tell?”

“This is a load of nonsense! Stop trying to scare us.”

“This man is a liar, everyone knows it. We can’t trust him!”

Li Xiang frowned. “He isn’t lying.”

The Starbound Peak cultivators quieted at that, but the Azure Fang cultivators kept whining, their disharmonious voices droning on Hui’s ears.

Hui scowled. He quickly killed the plant with a tendril of death qi, then circulated his life and death qis to the seeds. Drawing the life qi out of the seeds, he quickly snatched up the death qi with his own, the technique now familiar. The plant eroded and fell off him. A portion of the life qi vanished, healing the wound, but most of it returned to his dantian, swirling into a gold ball.

Holding back the ducks, he coughed and spat up a mouthful of bad blood. Mixed in, a half-dozen black seeds stood out grimly.

The Jade Garden Peak cultivator climbed to his feet and stepped over. At the sight of the seeds, his face turned grim. “There’s no doubt. These are qi seeds. Ding Bo… can you explain yourself?”