“Er, right now? Elder Sister, Gu Tian is…” Hui smiled gently and nodded after the forgotten Gu Tian.

“Oh, right!” She looked at Hui, then glanced reluctantly over her shoulder at the cave Gu Tian had disappeared into. Chewing her lip, she hesitated, then nodded. “You go ahead to my corpse-cultivation circle. I’ll be right there. Be careful not to wake anyone up, but if you do, be friendly, okay?”

Smiling one last time, she turned and ran after Gu Tian.

Hui watched her go, then gathered up the black-blooded girl’s corpse, turned, and headed toward the area she’d caught him in earlier, when he followed her as a soul. As he approached, he softened his footsteps and moved even more quietly than usual, afraid to disturb a single patch of soil. Hui raised an arm to his neck to pet Zhubi, but the hand fell awkwardly short. Sensing his intentions, Zhubi coiled down his arm toward his palm, so Hui could stroke his head. Wake anyone up? This small cultivator wouldn’t dare! Fa Chuyou, your ghouls are far too terrifying for this fake ghoul! Friends, elders, please don’t exert yourself to wake up for this small cultivator. I don’t deserve the honor, truly!

The same twisted bodies stood, hung from hooks, and laid around the sealed-off area Fa Chuyou used for ghoul cultivation. One laid face-down, submerged in the coffin-vat she’d refined his ghoul skin in previously, skin flayed off most of its body. Bare muscle glistened under the dim sunlight, red as rubies. Hui licked his lips. Don’t tell me, was Fa Chuyou inspired after she saw my ghoul-skin? I’m so sorry, elder.

The flayed ghoul twitched. It gripped the edge of the vat and sat up, slowly, lifting its face out of the thick, crimson liquid. Turning toward Hui, it stared, skin hanging loosely off its facial muscles. Red liquid ran in gloopy streams over the top of and under its loose skin, horrifying to behold. Hui squeaked and jumped backward, instantly flicking a talisman in his hand. I can handle ordinary ghouls, but these freakish things? Too much, too much! Fa Chuyou, this small ghoul needs you! Hurry back!

The ghoul groaned and sunk back into the liquid, ignoring him.

Hui breathed a sigh of relief, hiding the talisman in his robes again. He pet Zhubi, slowly pacing around the area, almost afraid to breathe. Most of the ghouls remained still, but a few looked up or reached for him as he passed by. Some clawed. One lunged, jaws wide, caught at the last second by a sturdy chain. Hui dodged away, escaping by a hair’s breadth. As the ghoul’s teeth clacked shut, another grabbed at the back of his robes, yanking him toward a set of sharp fangs. Twisting, he broke free, then ran for the entrance. The second ghoul chased him, unbound. Unlike the other ghouls, no rot marred this ghoul, nor had anything visibly been added to it. Long white hair flew on the wind after it, a match to its ragged white robes. Sharp claws skittered over his shoulders. He turned and dove over the invisible line delineating the border of Fa Chuyou’s area.

Turning, Hui laughed. “Not today, Elder Brother. Forgive this small ghoul for using the barrier against you, but you—eh?”

The ghoul stepped over the invisible line, unhindered. It looked at him and smiled, silently.

Hui backed away slowly, eyes wide. Er… Fa Chuyou! Help! I don’t want to destroy one of your ghouls!

Before that… can I? He furrowed his brows and reached out toward the ghoul, trying to sense its cultivation level.

I can’t! It’s far above my level! Only one thing for it. Hui glanced around, then took a deep breath and flopped over, playing dead.

The rogue ghoul paused. Its cloudy eyes furrowed, confused. It took a step toward Hui, then another, until it was nearly on top of him. It crouched and nudged him.

Hui gave no response, completely limp. He circulated only a bare breath of death qi, enough to exude an aura of death, but not enough to power a ghoul. It’ll take more than that to break through my fake death!

Tilting its head, the ghoul leaned down and sniffed. At last, it stood once more and walked off, wandering into the distance.

Only once the ghoul’s form faded into the valley did Hui stand back up, brushing down his robes. He stared after it, curious. Long white hair swayed after it. Ragged white robes brushed against the ground, blackened at the bottoms. A single jade ring adorned their belt at the waist, two long, white tassels dangling down beside it. Bare feet padded along, almost jade-pale except where the mud darkened their soles. Aside from utterly pale skin and clouded eyes, the ghoul looked as it had in life, handsome and heroic. Now, though, that heroic face stared ahead blankly, lost, as if it searched for something it could never find.

“Xie Hao, I’m back!”

Fa Chuyou jumped in front of him, breaking his gaze.

Hui startled, then smiled. “Hello, Elder Sister.”

She tipped her head and turned, looking where he had. “Eh, did something happen?”

“Er, Elder Sister, I, er, might have accidentally let one of your ghouls out…” He pointed, but mid-point, faltered. Where the ghoul had been, now nothing stood. There weren’t even footprints, as if it had never passed through at all.

“Huh? Which one?” Fa Chuyou asked, concerned. She bounded into her barrier and poked around, checking the ghouls over one by one with all the love and concern of a mother duck. The ghouls grumbled at her touch, but didn’t snarl or bite the way they had for Hui.

Eh, is that how it is? Hui scowled at the ghouls behind Fa Chuyou’s back.

She turned, and he immediately hid the scowl behind a polite smile. “No one’s missing. Are you sure?”

Hui nodded. “The ghoul was tall, and very pale… er, handsome, dressed in white, long white hair…?”

Fa Chuyou’s eyes widened. “It can’t be. Xie Hao, you saw Ruined Calamity?”

“Ru…ruined Calamity?” Hui asked. That senior has such a horrifying name? I really picked the right choice!

Fa Chuyou nodded. “He’s been here longer than the Sect Leader, even, a ghoul of unimaginably high realm! Some say he’s the source of all death qi in the Corpse Refining Valley. Others say… he’s the very first ghoul refined by our sect. He was refined by our founding ancestor himself, and counts as not an elder, not a Dao Protector, but an ancient Dao Reserve of the Black Asp Sect, one of the ultimate weapons of our sect! To survive an encounter with him unharmed is… incredibly good luck! Or… Xie Hao, what kind of heaven-defying ghoul-handling abilities do you have?”

Hui coughed, glancing aside. “I, er… this small cultivator simply got lucky, Elder Sister.”

She grabbed his hands, eyes sparkling. “Ruined Calamity’s passing has blessed our corpse refinement session! Hurry, let’s get to work. If we’re lucky, we may be able to harness some of his primal death qi!”

Hui nodded. He drew out the black-blooded girl’s body again, catching it before it could fall. Fa Chuyou led the way into the cultivation area. With a wave of her hand, she drew the crimson liquid out of the coffin and collected it into a tiny bottle. The half-flayed ghoul groaned, but when she gave it a look, it climbed out of the coffin without any further complaint.

“Place her here!” she said, patting the coffin.

Hui obliged, peering curiously at the tiny bottle. There must have been gallons of corpse-cultivation fluid in that coffin. How could they all fit in there? “Elder Sister, is that…?”

She beamed. “A bottle of holding, or an endless bottle, whichever you like! It can only hold one liquid at a time, but it can hold any amount of it. It’s very convenient for corpse cultivation… unlike pill cultivation, you need lots and lots of liquid for corpse cultivation.”

“I see,” Hui said, putting his hand on his chin.

Fa Chuyou laughed. Businesslike, she straightened and looked him in the eye. As she stood at about shoulder-height on him, the gesture came off cutely. She tilted her head and put a finger on her cheek. “So? What do you want to do with this corpse?”