Five familiar mountains rose up before Hui. Towering to the heavens, they stood in a loose circle, Jade Garden Peak and Butterfly Pavilion Peak, Starbound Peak, Cauldron Peak, and his Master’s peak, Unrivaled Under Heavens Peak. A familiar aura exuded from the mountains, warm and familiar. Hui drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, circulating the qi through his passages. It feels good to be home!

Ahead of him and Weiheng Wu, the other disciples descended toward the peaks in streaks of light. Lan Taijian split off from the others and hurtled toward Sect Master Lan’s residence at the top of Starbound Peak, while the others settled around Starbound Peak.

Weiheng Wu headed toward his peak, but halfway there, he stopped abruptly and turned toward Starbound Peak. Expressionlessly, he circled toward the ground.

“Master?” Hui asked, cocking his head.

“I’ve been summoned by the Sect Master. Do as you wish.”

Hui hesitated. “Should I… come along?”

“No,” Weiheng Wu said unhesitatingly.

Master is wise! After all, he’s probably been called to explain what happened at the Mysterious Heavenly Forest Sect. I’d only muddy the waters if I went along! Best to leave the complicated stuff to Master. Hui hopped off the sword and gave Weiheng Wu a quick salute. Weiheng Wu flew into the clouds, robes fluttering.

Rising from his salute, Hui looked around him. Subconsciously, he started to circulate his snakeskin technique. Starbound Peak… I wonder if I should change my appearance? They aren’t particularly fond of me here.

Ah! But before that…!

Humming a little tune to himself, Hui paused, swapping out of his blue robes into his generic white Starbound Sect robes. This way, no one should recognize me at a glance. He leaped into the forest and ran down a familiar wooded path. He only used his bodily strength to do so, restraining himself to the point that his feet still landed here and there among the gnarled roots twisting over the path, as they always had since he was young. At last, the back of a wooden building appeared. Hui scurried up the short flight of stairs to the back door and knocked quietly.

Almost as soon as his knuckles made contact with the door, it slammed open. Sis Mei appeared in the gap, backlit by the cooking fires, her eyes wide. “Xiao Hui, is that you?”

“Sis Mei! It’s me,” Hui replied, smiling at her.

She gathered him up in a bear hug and held on tight. “I missed you! Where on earth did you go? People were starting to say you’d died… do you know how worried your sis was?”

“I’m sorry,” Hui said, hugging her back.

For a few seconds, they stood there, but then Sis Mei took a deep breath and shoved Hui away from her. She looked him up and down disapprovingly, then pinched his cheeks. “You!”

“Sis—sis Mei!” Hui protested.

She pointed at his stomach, then grabbed his hand and pulled up the sleeve to reveal his forearm, tutting disapprovingly the whole time. “Look at how skinny you are! Barely any meat on your bones. You’ll never make any progress in your cultivation like this. Let your Sis Mei feed you something good.”

“Ah, I… recently broke through into the fourth realm,” Hui said sheepishly.

“Fourth realm! It’s a wonder you survived the breakthrough, as malnourished as you are. Hold on. I’ll get the good ingredients this time, whip up something to nourish that feeble figure of yours,” Sis Mei promised, bustling into the kitchen.

Hui laughed. The warmth from the kitchen fire beat against his face, pouring through the open door, but moreso, the warmth of Sis Mei warmed him from the inside out. He sat down on the back step to wait while she cooked, dozing off slightly. Although cultivators didn’t need sleep or food, there was something about Sis Mei that always made him feel mortal again, in a good way. Rather than cultivate or practice or contemplate any great concept of the universe, he sat quietly on the back step and toyed with a piece of grass.

In that moment, everything else faded away. He rolled the piece of grass over in his hand, unfurled it, plucked at the cut end, and twisted it up, hands moving on their own. If I stood up now and walked out into the forest… I wonder, would I find a sect, or would I find a simple village, and all this a dream?

“Food’s up!” Sis Mei called cheerily.

Hui stood. The moment passed, and the illusion faded away. He smiled and accepted the platter Sis Mei offered him. “Many thanks, Sis Mei.”

“No need, no need. The only thanks I need is an empty plate!” Sis Mei harrumphed, plucking at his cheeks again. “An empty plate, and healthy, fat cheeks!”

Laughing, Hui nodded. “I’ll do my best!”

“If you’re still hungry, I’ll get you seconds. Goodness, how long has it been since you stopped by? I was starting to wonder if you forgot about me,” Sis Mei said, shaking her head.

“Sis Mei! I’d never forget you,” Hui said. He sat back down on the back step, putting the bowl in his lap.

“Ah? Then stop by! Is it that hard to come to the dining room? I remember when you were little, and you wouldn’t miss a single day…” She sighed in reminiscence.

“I don’t need to eat anymore,” Hui explained, shaking his head.

“Don’t need to eat? Does that mean you can’t eat?” Sis Mei asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“No, of course not!”

“Was someone stopping you from coming?” she asked indignantly.

Hui hesitated. Er… kind of? Not keeping me from Sis Mei in particular, but…

Vengeance flashed in Sis Mei’s eyes at his hesitation. “Who? Say the name, and they won’t dare to step foot in the dining hall ever again.”

Hui shook his head. I don’t need to get Sis Mei involved in that mess. “No man, and no mountain, could keep me from coming to eat your food!”

Sis Mei nodded. “Then stop by!”

Hui smiled and nodded. “Of course, of course!”

He took a bite of the food, and warmth flooded his body alongside a surge of qi and spiritual energy, as if he’d swallowed a medicinal pill instead of food. A few hidden injuries he hadn’t noticed deep inside himself began to heal, and his somewhat low qi stores began to restore themselves. Hui’s eyes widened. He took another bite, and the feeling only grew stronger. He looked up at Sis Mei, startled. I remember her food having qi in it, but not this much!

She nodded down at him, smiling. “You’re fourth stage now, right? A growing boy needs good food.”

“Thank you, Sis Mei,” Hui said earnestly, from the bottom of his heart.

“Finish off that plate!” Sis Mei replied with a grin. From inside the kitchen, someone called her, and she turned and sighed, then nodded back at him. “Eat it all up now, understand? If you need anything else, knock on the back door, and I’ll be out in a moment.”

Hui nodded obediently. Sitting on the back step, he ate slowly, savoring the flavor. Although he didn’t have many chances to eat anymore, and little reason to, there was nothing keeping him from enjoying the food. He swallowed, closing his eyes in bliss. I’ve really missed Sis Mei’s cooking. No matter how many barriers stand between me and Sis Mei’s cooking, I’ll break them down, without fail!