Ghouls wandered around them, groaning and muttering. Fa Chuyou wandered between them, occasionally pausing to tweak something. Distinctly uncomfortable, Yi Ping shied away every time one wandered near.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bai Xue peered at the ghouls, poking at their faces and turning his head to get a better look at Fa Chuyou’s embellishments. He nodded a few times, looking the ghouls up and down as if he stood in a fine robes store rather than in the midst of a bunch of undead.

Hui snorted. Which one is the righteous cultivator, and which one is the demonic cultivator?

Xixing sat in a corner, exhausted. He settled down beside Xixing. She eyed him warily, half a glimmer of trust in her eyes. “You…?”

“I’m not here to hurt you, Elder Sister. I only want enlightenment on pill cultivation.” Hui stretched out his hand to her. Zhubi uncurled from his arm and peeked his head out of the bottom of Hui’s sleeve for a single moment.

Recognition, then certainty flashed through Xixing’s eyes. “Took you long enough,” she muttered under her breath. “Ah, to think, I finally venture out from the sect to find a few rare plants, only to get immediately captured by demonic cultivators. How ludicrous.”

“I understand. This small ghoul was wandering the mortal realm when I was suddenly snatched up,” Hui replied.

“It seems as though we have similar tales to tell,” Xixing sighed.

Hui chuckled. “Indeed.”

Xixing stretched, glancing aside at Yi Ping. She stood, and he half-stepped forward, wary. Hui stood as well, pretending not to notice Yi Ping. “Over here, Elder Sister, if you would?”

Xixing inclined her head and followed him. He led her to the coffin and pointed inside expectantly.

“Corpse refinement? What kind of demonic art…” She narrowed her eyes at Hui.

Hui laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “Elder Sister, it is a demonic sect, no?”

Xixing’s eyes got no less narrow. “And? What do you want from me?”

“This corpse requires materials to refine. The technique… ah, my understanding of pill cultivation is limited, but Elder Sister, is it not similar? As with pills, I need materials of a higher purity to cultivate her to a higher level. I hoped Elder Sister would possess the knowledge of where to find such materials.”

“Couldn’t you ask your corpse-cultivating friend over there?” Xixing grumbled.

Hui laughed again. “Er, Elder Sister, she already gave me the first level materials. This small cultivator couldn’t possibly ask for more than that.” Xixing, don’t tell me to get into debt with a demonic cultivator! I don’t want to owe her any more than she’s willing to freely offer me!

Xixing gave him a flat look. “Why not?”

“I—” Hui bit his lip and glanced down. How am I supposed to explain my past life to her? “I just can’t!”

“Stop acting like a lovesick kid and go ask her,” Xixing huffed, sitting back.

“I’m not lovesick,” Hui grumbled under his breath.

“Who’s a lovesick little kid?” Bai Xue asked, crouching beside Hui.

Hui jumped and threw himself backward. Xixing laughed, and Bai Xue snorted. Hui stared at Bai Xue. “You—but, Yi Ping…?”

Bai Xue glanced over his shoulder. Yi Ping had backed himself into a corner, and was surrounded on all sides by ghouls. He backed away slowly, eyes darting all around.

Hui squinted. Wait, aren’t those the ghouls Bai Xue was playing around with? Did he… somehow trick the ghouls into surrounding Yi Ping?

Bai Xue smirked. “Taken care of. So who’s this friend of hers? She’s like us, I take it?”

Hui glanced over his shoulder to be sure, but Fa Chuyou continued to bustle around in the background, dealing with her ghouls. “She’s an elder from my sect, a pill cultivator.”

“He is…?” Xixing asked, looking at Bai Xue.

“Currently Hong Xue, but truly Bai Xue, heir of Bai Clan,” Bai Xue introduced himself, tucking a lock of red hair behind his ear.

Xixing narrowed her eyes. “That sketchy clan full of cheap cultivators?”

“Cheap cultivators? Ah, is someone jealous?” Bai Xue replied, snorting.

Xixing shook her head. She sat up, adopting the airs of an elder. “Hui, this man here is dangerous. Don’t let your guard down. He—”

Hui waved his hand. “Can turn into a girl and is obsessed with dual cultivation. I know. Xixing, what happened?”

“You… know?” Xixing said. She gave Hui a second look, reassessing him.

“We’ve even dual-cultivated before,” Bai Xue said, resting a warm hand on Hui’s shoulder.

“Shu-shut up! Not really. Kind of. It was just… we swapped energy,” Hui said, blushing.

Xixing snorted. “Too late to act coy about that. Didn’t you dual-cultivate with half the sect?”

“I…” Hui grimaced. I did send my ducks and songbirds out, and, and technically we swapped energy, but—but it was an emergency!

“Hui! You don’t say,” Bai Xue said, earnestly impressed.

“It wasn’t like that!” Hui said.

Xixing chuckled, eyeing Bai Xue up. “You know, I’ve never met a Bai Clan cultivator in the flesh before. I like you more than I thought I would.”

“Mmm, likewise, I didn’t know Hui had such elegant friends,” Bai Xue replied, smiling.

“Xixing, please. How did you get captured?” Hui interjected, desperately trying to bring the conversation back around.

“I already told you. Made a mistake while out gathering materials. Those idiots… their boss, the one with the weird cultivation base, has some kind of cultivation injury. He suspected a pill can heal it, but there’s no good pill cultivators in Black Asp Sect, so they kidnapped me. A pill can heal it, and I can make the pill, but I don’t want to. They kidnapped me, dammit. If you want pills, pay for them!” Xixing snarled, lifting her lips in disgust.

She glanced at Hui and nodded. “As for your materials… if you’re going to be a blushing bride, too afraid to ask that pretty woman for more, I can help you find materials. I’ll have to find materials for the idiots over there, anyways. As much as I want to be paid, I’ll have to worry about that after I make the pill. They’ve got a blade at my neck right now.”

“They do?” Hui asked, concerned. Just what I was afraid of!

Xixing nodded. She ducked her head and parted her hair, revealing the nape of her neck. Bai Xue’s eyes glimmered, and he licked his lips.

Hui narrowed his eyes at Bai Xue. Bai Xue ignored him.

Black marks squirmed in a loose circle on the back of her neck. Every few seconds, they congealed, forming the shape of the character for 3. “A curse.”

Holding out his hand, Hui summoned a small black duck and pointed it at the curse. The duck lunged forward and nibbled at the curse. It resisted the duck’s influence, but the duck narrowed its eyes and let out a low grumble. Hui’s death dantian began to swirl without his urging it as other ducks clambered toward the curse mark.

Dismissing the duck, he quickly settled into a lotus pose and circulated his dantian, calming the ducks. A few seconds passed, and then he opened his eyes. “I… can almost certainly break your curse!”

Xixing let her hair fall and lifted her head. “You can?”

Bai Xue patted Hui’s shoulder. “He lifted my curse. He’s an expert curse-lifter!”

“I have my… techniques,” Hui said, nodding.

Taken aback, Xixing gave Hui another look, taking him in as if for the first time. She considered for a few moments, then nodded. “What are you looking for?”

“Er, gold wires and drops of dark amber,” Hui said.

Xixing gave him a look. “Right, but what are they called?”

“C…called?” Hui asked. No, wait. In cultivation novels, there’s no such thing as an ordinary plant or material! Everything has an outrageous name. Three Silvers Black Grass, or Phoenix Heart Amber, something like that. I… didn’t think to ask Fa Chuyou! I don’t know! Despair crawled over his face. He shot a glance at Fa Chuyou, then sighed. “Let me go ask Elder Sister.”

As he walked away, Xixing turned to Bai Xue. “Does he call everyone Elder Sister?”

“He even calls me Elder Sister half the time, no matter what I look like,” Bai Xue replied.

Hui walked up to Fa Chuyou. He stood behind her, waiting. She dug into a corpse, blood splattering all around her, yet somehow avoiding her dress. After a few moments, she sat up and turned to him, smiling. She held her hands up in front of her. Blood stained them nearly to the elbows, startlingly red. “Yes?”

Hui stared, taken aback. After a second, he blinked and quickly bowed. It’s rude to stare! “Elder Sister, the materials I used earlier… what were their names?”

“Oh? You mean the gold-vein wire and the black mist pine sap?” she asked, tipping her head.

“Yes, those. Thank you.” He cupped his hands and bowed again.

Fa Chuyou smiled. “You want more, no? I can take you to find more. Bring the pill cultivator along, too. She ought to be able to distinguish the refinery concentration of the materials better than you or I. It’s not dissimilar to medicinal concentration for pills.”

Hui nodded. “Thank you, Elder Sister!”

“Of course.” She leaned in. “We should try to distract Hong Xue while we can and leave him behind. That man is no good. He hits on every woman who looks his way!”

Er… and man, Hui added mentally. He glanced at Fa Chuyou. “I thought all the female cultivators found him attractive.”

“Him? No. He’s too…” Fa Chuyou gestured vaguely, her brows furrowed. “Perfect.”

“Eh?” Hui asked, then realized: Right! Fa Chuyou likes ghouls! Bai Xue… is alive, so of course she isn’t interested.

And he isn’t interested in her, either! Should I tell her, or… no, I think it’s best if we leave this alone. Nodding to himself, Hui drifted along in Fa Chuyou’s wake.

“You. Pill cultivator,” Fa Chuyou stated.

Xixing looked up. Voice dripping sarcasm, she asked, “Could I help senior?”

Before Fa Chuyou could say anything else, Hui stepped in front of her and smiled politely. “Ah, Elder Sister, er, senior and I are going to gather materials for ghoul refinement. Would you honor us with your presence?”

Xixing snorted. She climbed to her feet. “Sure.”

Fa Chuyou frowned disapprovingly. “She’s a hostage, and worse, a pill cultivator. You don’t need to treat her with such respect.”

“Er, my apologies, Elder Sister. It’s in my nature…” Hui explained, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly.

“That’s certain,” Bai Xue said, amused. He stood as well, brushing down his robes.

“You’re coming?” Fa Chuyou asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Am I not welcome?” Bai Xue said.

Hui gave Fa Chuyou a pleading glance.

“If the hostage goes, I go,” Yi Ping declared. He stepped forward, flinched around the ghouls, and stood beside the girls.

Fa Chuyou narrowed her eyes, then sighed. “It’s no secret. But it may not be as exciting as you’re expecting.”

“Fine by me,” Bai Xue said evenly.

“I’m only here to watch the hostage,” Yi Ping added.

Sighing, Fa Chuyou flicked her sleeve. A shuttle the length of a pinky finger flew out and grew into a platform five meters long, flat on top and oblong in shape. She stepped atop it and gestured for the others to join her. “To the mines.”

The shuttle lifted off, speeding into the sky.