Back in his vertebra, Hui paused. In the distance, a few disciples flew off on their swords, racing away at top speed. He closed his eyes and focused his qi, listening in.

“…broke the barrier! He’s getting away!”

“Who is it in his arms? Jing Aimei?”

“Don’t be stupid. Jing Aimei doesn’t have purple hair!”

“Quickly, catch him before any of the elders have to move!”

Hui snorted. So Bai Xue really did up and leave. I’m not surprised. She’s always been a bit impetuous.

Shaking his head, he stepped into the vertebra. He sealed the entrance and settled into a meditation pose. Quietly, he reached out toward Zhubi. That sixth level technique… can I sense it inside the snake he swallowed?

Zhubi yawned and looked up at him. He nudged Hui’s fingertip with his nose, then settled back to sleep.

Hui sighed. Nothing. Not even a hint of a magical technique. It’s a good thing Zhubi is so cute. He pet Zhubi for a moment, then flicked his hand. The snake scale materialized in his hand. Pressing it to his forehead, he sent his mental energy inside and allowed himself to be immersed in the technique written on the scale.

A snake wriggled, shedding old, ragged skin. It hurried off, sliding away at top speed, new scales glittering in the sunlight.

He blinked. That… that’s all? Closing his eyes, he pressed the scale to his forehead again.

The same image. This time, however, Hui faintly sensed something behind the image. The sound of the wind in the background distilled into a droning voice. Hui furrowed his brows. I can’t understand the voice, but… if I keep listening, keep watching… I feel like I’ll understand!

Settling his breathing, he entered a meditative state, the snake scale pressed against his forehead. Over and over, he watched the image, letting the voice wash over him. The two beat into his mind, becoming almost a song.

Hui opened his eyes. He held out his hand and operated the technique, circulating his qi and repeating the voices’ chant in his head. The skin on his hand sloughed off, revealing a tough, burly hand. He furrowed his brows and repeated it again. Back to his normal hand, a second layer of skin on the floor.

Hui flexed his hand. He turned it over. Unlike my cruder skin shed technique, this doesn’t hurt afterward. My skin isn’t red or tender. Actually… it feels better than before.

His eyes widened. The snake! It slithered off with fresh scales. Then… can I use this technique to heal, too?

He drew Gu Tian’s sword and held out his hand. He hesitated, then clenched his teeth. Just a shallow cut. I have to know! If this is true, it can take my faking death to the next level! Sure, I have the technique of holding a pill in my mouth or suppressing it in my stomach, but it’ll be much more convenient if I can do it even when I don’t have pills, or when I’m in a situation where I can’t take a pill.

Decisively, Hui slit his palm. Blood welled up. He closed his eyes and operated the skin shed technique. The pain faded away. Opening his eyes, he flexed his hand. A pristine palm greeted him, no hint of blood or cut on his hand at all. Crimson colored the hand-skin that fluttered to the floor.

I used more qi to recover from the injury than I had to just shed my skin, but that’s a reasonable price to pay for regeneration of that level! I wonder how much it can handle? Can I regrow limbs?

Hui hesitated. Probably not at that level. But I think this technique can handle most flesh wounds. I’ll have to test it out more thoroughly… or, or, seek further enlightenment to understand! Yes, like Master would say, everything can be comprehended as long as one has a high enough comprehension! There’s no need to subject myself to more pain.

He sat back down and immersed himself in his studies again.

As he sat there, time passed. Day and night passed him by. Weeks, then months piled up. Hui swapped between meditating and drawing new talismans to replace the ones he’d burned in the inheritance realm, including two with the technique from Zhu Diyu. The others he redrew at the fourth realm, though some couldn’t be pushed any further. The fire talisman couldn’t be empowered beyond the third realm, nor could the wood talisman. Whenever a block came up in his meditation on the snake shed technique, he meditated on improving those, instead, but made no significant breakthroughs during the time.

At last, a knock sounded at Hui’s cave.

He opened his eyes and found a pouch sitting just inside his cave. A little note attached to the top read, From Hong Xue.

Hui furrowed his brows. When did he have the time to leave that? Shaking his head, he tucked the pouch into his robes. I hope it’s nothing too audacious. I didn’t ask him to steal anything, so hopefully it’s just some stray resources he didn’t have a use for.

The bag tucked away, Hui straightened his robes and adjusted his hair, fixing it after the time he’d spent in meditation. Somewhat tentative, he asked, “Yes?” I hope it’s not someone coming to challenge me for the vertebra. I’ll have to go down to Master Jing again…

“Xie Hao, it’s Gu Tian. I was sent to ask if you want to go to Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect.”

Gu Tian! The one with the wrong soul. The one connected to Yunxu, who might be a righteous cultivator. Hui stepped to the door and peeked out. Gu Tian smiled at him, his flute at his hip.

An awkward moment passed, the two of them smiling at each other.

Abruptly, Hui coughed. Realizing he still held the snake scale, he quickly sent it into his storage ring and nodded. Right. I’m not going to figure out anything by just staring at him. I’m not Master, after all. “Of course. I’m ready at any moment.”

Gu Tian nodded. He turned, leading the way. “We’re gathering down below. Once everyone arrives, we’ll all head out together.”

Hui followed. “Who else is going? And, ah… what kind of meeting is it? I… immersed myself in cultivation recently and haven’t paid much attention to the sect.” He laughed and scratched the back of his head.

“Oh? How much so? Did you hear about the ruckus with Hong Xue, then?” Gu Tian asked.

“Er… no. I missed that, as well,” Hui excused himself.

Gu Tian laughed. “He ran off with some captured righteous cultivator slave that caught his fancy, but raided the treasury on the way out! He ran all over the sect, chased by half of all of our disciples, I think. Most of what he took got returned—everything important, anyways. Still, there’s a few odds and ends that went missing.” He nodded down below.

Hui looked down. Master Jing’s ghoul platoon stood there as solidly as ever, but now, a good chunk of the ghouls were missing, obviously cut out from the larger formation.

He swallowed and touched the bag. Bai Xue, you wouldn’t….

She would! She would, dammit! I’m not opening this bag until I’m firmly back on righteous territory! No, Starbound territory!

But wait, if it’s what I’m thinking…

Ah! Bai Xue, why?

“As for Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect… well, you’ll see when we get there,” Gu Tian said mysteriously.

Hui glanced at Gu Tian. “Does Elder Brother know something we don’t?”

Gu Tian laughed and rubbed his hair, embarrassed. “There’s no need to call me Elder Brother. You’re fourth stage now, aren’t you?”

“But Elder Brother is the direct disciple of the Sect Master, no?” Hui asked, tilting his head. “I think I’m not being polite enough, honestly.”

Gu Tian shook his head. “There’s no need for that. I’m a disciple in name only. No one else treats me with respect, and I’m quite fine with being addressed informally.”

Hui shook his head. “Elder Brother, I wouldn’t dare impinge a senior cultivator such as yourself.”

Gu Tian looked at him for a moment, then snorted. “You’re an odd duck, aren’t you?”

A quiet quack sounded from Hui’s dantian.

“E…eh?” Gu Tian asked, gaping.

Hui coughed. “A bit of a cold, that’s all.”

“We cultivators… can’t get colds. And that didn’t sound like a cough…” Gu Tian said.

Of all people, Gu Tian can’t know about the ducks! He’s one of the few cultivators here who’s almost certainly seen me use the ducks in battle! Hui coughed again. “Must have been a hiccup.”

“Er… right,” Gu Tian said, frowning.

“Gu Tian, have you already been to the Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect?” Hui asked, abruptly changing the subject.

“Mmm, I have. Ah, although I say I’m a disciple in name only, there’s times when the Sect Master suddenly remembers me and drags me along places. I’m not sure if he’s trying to help or remind me of…” Gu Tian fell silent. He twisted his lips.

“Of…” Hui prompted.

“Oh, I’ve already told you, haven’t I? I was once a righteous sect’s disciple,” Gu Tian said, smiling.

“If you don’t mind me asking, senior… which sect?” Hui asked, tipping his head.

Gu Tian hesitated, then shook his head. “Starbound Sect. Back then, I had the surname Lan…”

“Oh?” Hui’s eyebrows shot up. Lan? So was he a disciple of Lan Taijian? Ah! That odd conversation between Master and the Sect Master back during the inter-sect tournament, about a disciple who’d gone wrong and sought the demonic path instead! Is that—could that be Gu Tian? Or should I say, Lan Tian?

Hmm, but that conversation made it sound like the stray disciple was a disciple of Sect Master Lan directly. Was Gu Tian that heaven-defying back in the day before his injury, that he could be the disciple of not one but two separate Sect Masters?

But wait, injury. Is it really an injury, or is that simply a quiet way to refer to the fact that his soul is in the wrong body? And, wait, how did his soul end up in this body? There’s the Blood Mist Valley spell formation that can swap souls, but that requires a third party, as far as I could tell. Maybe a higher realm cultivator could do it to themselves, but… no, that doesn’t feel right. If Gu Tian was that heaven-defying, I feel like he wouldn’t be stuck at the second realm after all these years.

And come to think of it, Li Xiang isn’t Lan Xiang. Lan Taijian’s disciples don’t take his surname, and Lan Taijian is Sect Master Lan’s blood-related son, so it’s not as if Sect Master Lan necessarily hands out his surname, either, unlike a certain Master of mine. Was there another Master Lan on Starbound Sect? It’s a common name, after all. Mmm… I’m still missing something.

Gu Tian waved his hand, dismissing Hui’s thoughts. “It was a long time ago. I’ve come to accept my fate. It’s better to live on than to lie dead in some cave somewhere, after all.”

Hui nodded firmly. “Indeed. Better to live than die, that’s the principle I live by.”

Gu Tian paused at that, then chuckled. “You are an odd duck.”

Hui coughed just as a second quack emanated from his dantian. Gu Tian frowned at him.

“Ah, a cold, a cold,” Hui excused himself, rubbing his abdomen. Hey! Quiet down in there!