Hui gazed at the sky for a bit, then shrugged to himself. I guess… she has other things to do on the peak? But what? What could be more important than the exploding furnace?

…That admittedly has been exploding for over a century, so… I guess I get it.

But still, what could be more important than this? The barrier? She isn’t examining it anymore, that I can see. What else?

Well, there’s always one way to find out. Time to take a walk on Senior’s peak with the excuse of finding Senior! Humming, he took off into the air, looking around as he flew. The peak laid in ruins below, but nothing in particular stood out to him. It doesn’t even look worth looting… I mean, carefully picking through for potential clues. Whatever happened when Senior evacuated her peak, they took everything with them.

He raised a hand to his chin as he flew along, thinking. Still, nothing came to mind. At last, he glanced directly up.

It’s always good to get a lay of the land. From up there, I might see something I couldn’t see down here.

Hui swooped up toward the peak. The air turned cold, except for where boiling-hot steam rushed off the top of the furnace. Hui frowned slightly. Come to think of it, where’s all the steam coming from? I’ve cooked before. There’s only so long you can boil a pot before all the water’s gone. Is that furnace boiling a stream, or something?

Ah, well. Cultivation mysteries and all. There could be a water spell, a water-elemental herb, a water treasure… anything inside that pot!

Up high, he descended to hover slightly above the peak. Cold wind howled around him, whipping his robes and hair into a mess. He peered down, searching for the bright color of Zhang Minyan’s robes.

The oversized furnace stood out from above, flames roaring against the carved-out side of the peak. Steam rushed by, blown on the breeze. The ruins of the peak’s buildings clustered mostly on the front side of the peak, rocks tumbling down from where they’d collapsed over the years. The back side stood empty, nothing but trees and wildlife. No people moved. No sign of Zhang Minyan anywhere, neither hide nor hair.

“Are we playing hide and seek? Senior, you aren’t really ten, are you?” Hui asked loudly.

Silence responded. Hui furrowed his brows. Senior didn’t really leave me here alone on the peak after she went on about having to watch the furnace, did she…?

Ah! Wait, hold on. I showed up, and she left. Did she… did she ditch me to watch the furnace myself? I’ve showed up, and she’s running off to do all the things she couldn’t, while I’m left holding the furnace, all alone! I’ve been fooled!

But I don’t care if All-Heavens’ Inner Peaks get demolished. Her plan has backfired! Hui crossed his arms. Loudly, he cleared his throat. “Senior, I’m a busy cultivator. I’ve got things to do! I’m going to leave now!”

The wind blew. A light spray of snowflakes curled on the breeze.

She still isn’t coming out…? Oh well, her loss. Hui turned to go.

Down below, the entire mountain shuddered. A light appeared at its tip for a moment, and then it went quiet again.

Hui blinked. What on earth? This isn’t the furnace. This is something else.

His robes bulged at the chest, and then a feathery head burst free of his collar. Wriggling out, Chen Wuya spread his wings and flapped to Hui’s shoulder.

Hui blinked at him. “Senior, I thought you were working with Ying Lin…?”

“Do you think you’re the only one with a clone art?” Chen Wuya harrumphed, stomping on his shoulder.

“Ah! My apologies, Senior. Naturally, Senior can do anything a pitiful cultivator like myself can,” Hui said, nodding to himself.

“I didn’t go that far,” Chen Wuya muttered. He adjusted his wings and glanced around. “Where’s that Fen Long?”

“Eh?” Hui asked.

“I thought I sensed his energy, but I don’t see him anywhere,” Chen Wuya said. He hopped up onto Hui’s head to get a better vantage point and tilted his head, confused. “Was I mistaken?”

“Eh, Senior, could it be…? The mountain just glowed and shook,” Hui said.

Chen Wuya blinked at Hui. “What’s that got to do with Fen Long?”

“The mountain shook, and then you sensed Fen Long. Isn’t it possible… that Fen Long is, is, buried in this mountain?” Hui asked.

Leaping into the air, Chen Wuya stomped down on Hui’s head. “Don’t go killing off Fen Long. I’ll be the one to do that.”

“No, no, Senior, I meant… not that he’s dead and buried, but, but, I meant, maybe there’s a hidden realm inside this mountain,” Hui said. It would explain where Zhang Minyan went. And even… it might explain why she allowed herself to be trapped here! Maybe it isn’t an act. Maybe… maybe the furnace is a direct threat to the Patriarch himself!

“Hmph. Well, get to it, then!” Chen Wuya replied haughtily, settling in on Hui’s head.

Hui paused. He looked up at Chen Wuya.

“What?” Chen Wuya asked, looking at him.

“Senior… far be it from this small cultivator to doubt Senior’s wisdom or question Senior’s motives, but—”

“Out with it,” Chen Wuya demanded, peeved.

Hui swallowed. He looked up at Chen Wuya nervously. “You… won’t immediately attack Fen Long as soon as you see him, will you?”

Chen Wuya stared at Hui. Hui looked back, cowering a little.

With a harrumph, Chen Wuya stomped on Hui’s head. “How foolish do you think I am? No, I’m not going to attack a sect’s patriarch in his sect.”

“Oh. Thank goodness,” Hui sighed, relieved.

“Not in my crow form, anyways. I don’t have any power,” Chen Wuya complained crossly. “Now, if I had my usual power…”

“Senior!” Hui cried.

“Hmph. If I had my power, I wouldn’t have to attack. Fen Long would attack me first,” Chen Wuya stated, settling down once more.

“Huh? But he won’t if Senior… that is, if you lack your power?” Hui asked, tilting his head.

Fluffing his feathers, Chen Wuya grumbled under his breath, “He considers himself a gentleman.”

“Oh, that’s right. You founded a demonic sect, and Fen Long founded a righteous sect,” Hui said, slapping his fist into his hand. They ended up swapped, but Starbound Sect started as a demonic sect, and All-Heavens… well, according to most people, it’s a righteous sect, but…

Chen Wuya rolled his eyes. “Founded a demonic sect, nothing. I founded a sect. It’s other people who—”

“Who called it demonic, yes, yes, I know,” Hui said, nodding.

“At least he can learn some things, even if he’s useless at sword arts,” Chen Wuya murmured to himself.

Ignoring Chen Wuya, Hui descended, gently touching down on the mountain’s peak. It glowed somewhere around here. At a guess, the glow is the entrance to the secret realm where Fen Long is sealed. But… hmm. How to get in…?

He knelt and touched the peak, sending a pulse of qi from his palm. Rock descended into the peak, all the way to the bedrock below. Hui’s brows furrowed. He isn’t inside the peak? Then…

Wait. Obviously, it’s a space laid over the peak. Like any hidden realm, it isn’t physically where it should be… well, I suppose hidden realms can be. But this one… I bet it’s a separate space, with an opening somewhere up here.

Not in the peak, then, but… over it. He stood and reached out to where he’d seen the light, tentatively sending a pulse of qi into the air.

The mountain trembled again. A thin line appeared in the air where the glow had been. Hui’s eyes widened.

“Hmm… seems you were right,” Chen Wuya murmured, peering at the light. “That’s Fen Long’s signature, for sure.”

Hui grinned. The light of the gap reflected on his face, growing brighter as he fed qi into it. “At last, let’s go meet Senior Fen Long!”

The light burst out suddenly, blindingly bright. Spatial energy wrapped around Hui. His body twisted. The spatial energy wrapped him into a noodle, and he whirled away, yanked into the hidden realm.

Zhang Minyan stepped out from behind a nearby tree and shook her head. “Calling me a ten-year-old… does he realize how many centuries this old woman has lived?”

A moment later, she sighed. Sitting beside the peak, she put a hand on the stone and looked down, as though she could see into the space. “Perhaps things can begin to move again, now, at long last. What do you think, old friend?”