We returned to the shack instantly, leaving behind the corpses of the monsters in the clearing. I sat down in my chair and sighed. Natsuki leaned into the darkness of the wall and thought, as she always did.

Finally, she spoke.

"Chunxue, take off your clothes."

"Huh?!" Holding my robes tight, I pushed my chair away from Natsuki. "What?! Why?!"

"I need to examine what is going on inside your nucleus. It's important for us to know whether you have actually formed an Einstein-Rosen core or not, even if you can't use it."

"But—but, can't you just see it while my clothes are still on?!" I sputtered.

She sighed. "If you had any internal mana, then I'd be able to see it, but as is, the ambient mana in your clothes is getting in the way. I could, alternatively, put my hand inside your nucleus and feel around for it, but I think that would be far less comfortable for you."

She was right. We needed to know what the deal with that tribulation was. And this was... the only way.

My face burning red, I pulled aside the various layers of my upper robes, and then pulled up the last layer, so only my stomach was exposed.

"This should be good enough, right?"

"Yes."

She leaned down in front of me and brought her head close to my stomach, so her twisting horns prodded into my belly.

"It's cold..." I whispered.

"Blood only flows through the horn core, which, for horns as aged as mine, does not extend even halfway down the full horn length. Since blood is what governs the bodily heat of endotherms— the form of which I am currently taking— it follows that the ends of my horns, formed of only keratin, would be cold," she said, and her breath was strangely ticklish against my skin, so I had to hold my breath and tighten my abdomen to avoid shuddering. Natsuki paused. A few moments later she turned her head slightly, her horns arcing along my flesh, and continued, "In fact, it turns out that it is possible to saw off the ends of horns quite painlessly, because they contain no nerves. This is not true for apparently similar constructs such as elephant tusks, of which the main body is composed of dentin, which is innervated. In parallel, it is only the keratinous structures— including not only horns but even hair and claws— that are capable of regrowth."

I tried to make some sense of what she was saying, but amidst all the unfamiliar words, I could only puzzle out an assertion that elephant tusks don't regrow. I always thought that elephant tusks grew back, though I had in fact never seen an elephant. Supposedly, though, there were elephants in the western provinces, in the lands once controlled by the Wang family.

In another kinder world, I would have simply asked Wujiu about her experiences in the west. But that was not the world I lived in. After all... she was the one who had killed me. That relation... could never be mended.

—"Okay, I'm done," Natsuki finally sighed, before stepping back.

Hiding my face from her, I quickly pulled my robes back on.

"So, uh... what did you see?"

"There is, in fact, an ER core within your nucleus, but it is empty, and my mana cannot flow through it. In other words, it is useless, and furthermore, it is basically impossible to see since nothing flows through it."

"Okay," I said, and I was too embarrassed to say anything more.

"...Are you planning to do anything else today?"

"I, uh..."

—There was a knock at the door.

"Bai Chunxue, I bring you a message from the sect elders. If you are present, open the door and receive it, otherwise I will nail it to your door."

I froze. Had they found out that I was the one who had undergone the tribulation?! Were they going to— kill me?!

Natsuki tapped me on the shoulder. "Go take it," she whispered.

I exhaled and stood. "Give me a moment," I called out. I walked over to the door and opened it, and there I saw a servant carrying a scroll bearing the seal of the Phantom Orchid Sect. I took it, then told him, "I have received the message," and finally I closed the door.

I brought the scroll to my desk and unfurled it. I read its contents. First I winced, and then I realized that, in fact, this message was really not that bad after all. In fact, perhaps you could even call it opportune.

"It says that... I will be dueling Long Guoqiang in order to bring a resolution to the issue of the nine deaths, and all three related parties— the Long family, the Bai family, and the sect— have consented."

I felt the blood pumping in my veins. It was time for me to kill Long Guoqiang! Long Guoqiang, my mortal enemy, the one behind the crimes of Jiang Hanfeng and Chen Mantian alike! I would kill him, and if my revenge had to end there, if that had to be the end of my life, I would not regret it!

"Keep in mind that after this duel, everyone will know your strength," Natsuki said sternly. "If there is anything you wish to do while you are still considered powerless, then do it now."

I shook my head.

"It's better for everyone to think I have power. That way, nobody will harass me anymore. I think I can do it now. I have the confidence to show this strength publicly..." my voice faded to a whisper. "...thanks to you."

She wrapped her arms around me from behind.

"Good. It is better that you do not get hurt."

----------------------------------------

A few days passed, which I spent at home with Natsuki, meditating on the murder I was about to commit.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

And then, one bright Tuesday morning, it was time for the duel.

The duel was to be held in an arena on the outskirts of Kangtian City, and though I did not have a ride, I also did not care for appearances anymore.

"Let's go," I said, and Natsuki put her hand to my forehead, and I was there, mixed in the crowd outside the arena, and she was in my shadow.

—"Isn't Bai Chunxue an outer sect disciple? How is he even going to get here?"

"On his feet?"

"Wouldn't it take at least twenty hours to walk from the sect to here?"

"Maybe he'll skip out."

"If he does that, the Bai family really will just cut off his head."

"Hey!" I shouted, enhancing my voice with Natsuki's qi, so that it carried halfway through the arena. "How am I supposed to get to the arena if you fuckers all block the way?!"

Everyone's gaze turned to me, and they instinctively opened a path to the center of the arena.

"Holy shit, Bai Chunxue, you're actually here?!"

"Aren't you scared of dying?!"

"Long Guoqiang is only a hair's breadth away from Core Formation, you know! You don't need to do this!"

"Yo, I feel bad for you, but seriously!"

"Hmph!" I scoffed and walked past them, into the arena proper, where I saw Professor Jibeidi and Canyue arguing quite loudly.

"Bai Canyue! I demand that you stop this duel!" Professor Jibeidi cried out with her fist raised.

"Doctor," Canyue sneered, "this is a matter between the Long family and the Bai family. You have no right to step in. Are you trying to make us lose face by stopping this duel?"

"This isn't about face!" Professor Jibeidi shouted. "This is about Chunxue's life!"

"That bastard's life is the property of the Bai family! What we do with it is our decision!" Canyue stabbed her finger into Professor Jibeidi's sternum and hissed, "Unless you bring the Administrator of Dong Commandery or the Emperor of all Wei here, you cannot stop this duel. Understand?"

Canyue walked off, and Jibeidi, seeing me, dashed over to my side.

"You don't have to do this!" she cried out. "I'll find a way to stop this duel, alright? So—"

"Professor." I held her by the sleeve. "Don't worry about me. I won't lose."

She raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean? You're going to... beat Long Guoqiang? How?"

"Trust me and watch."

I smiled a simple and pure smile. If there was one person I was grateful for, it was, no doubt, Professor Jibeidi. I don't know if I would have made it this long without her. But, I now had power. I could defend myself. And I would.

She grimaced, but ultimately nodded. "If you say so."

And then, holding her hand to her forehead, she went to the viewer's box reserved for public officials, where I also saw Magistrate Sima Rui sitting, her fan covering half her expression.

Guoqiang entered the arena on the other side and, almost immediately, sneered at me.

"Bai Chunxue, you bastard. Nobody's been able to find you for the past two weeks, so we'd all thought you went and got yourself offed somewhere in the mountains."

I nodded. "My apologies if my absence has caused you worry."

He shook his head, confused, but said nothing more.

—Now that both fighters had appeared, the crowd began chattering even more.

"The notice said that a Martial Master cultivator is dueling a civilian, is that true?"

"Yeah, isn't it utterly shameless?"

"And both families agreed to it?"

"I'd be so ashamed if my brother went around challenging civilians to duels. Actually, I'm pretty sure it's illegal according to the imperial regulations."

Fury ran across Guoqiang's face. "You fucking onlookers, you know nothing!" he shouted. "Bai Chunxue has killed nine of my people. We confirmed their deaths through their life-thread seals, which have all been undone. If I do not kill this bastard today, how could I possibly live with myself?!"

The crowd laughed with ridicule.

"How is Bai Chunxue of all people going to do that? Didn't Chen Mantian die? She was an inner sect member, you know?"

"You really are blockheaded, Long Guoqiang. Haven't you thought it might be someone else?"

"Yeah, like Wang Wujiu, who literally said she wouldn't come out of secluded cultivation until you die."

"Be silent!"

A voice resounded through the arena, far more authoritative than Guoqiang's. Instinctively, everyone closed their mouths.

A figure stepped out of the Long family's area, regally arrayed in black robes adorned with crimson gems carved into the shapes of dragon heads.

I had seen her a few times before, many years ago, wandering seemingly aimlessly around the sect grounds, with nothing but despair and anger on her face when she was alone, and nothing but impenetrable composure when her guards were with her.

"I am Long Bailian, the nominal heir of the Long family," she stated calmly, though her voice carried like a howling wind. "You ask for evidence, and I shall provide it thus. One of our elders is an expert at tracking life-threads. We forced him out of secluded cultivation and gave him nine torn life-threads to identify."

I wondered if I would kill her.

Bailian pulled a scroll from her robes, and let it unfurl in front of the crowd. "Here are the results of his analysis. Jiang Hanfeng, dead on the morning he went missing, roughly thirty minutes before Bai Chunxue was seen at the Central Theatre. At this time he was at the vegetable patch on the academy outskirts where he could only have interacted with Bai Chunxue. Seven others, dead the same evening. At this time, all seven were at the same vegetable patch, as First Brother Guoqiang had dispatched them to investigate Jiang Hanfeng's disappearance. The only other person who passes through here in the evening is Bai Chunxue, and we have witness reports identifying him alone passing through here at this time. And finally, Chen Mantian, my brother's closest advisor. She was with the other seven at the vegetable patch, and our elder has informed us that though her life-thread was ruptured at this time, it was not fully torn. We suspect she may yet be alive."

No, I don't think so. I had a grudge against Long Guoqiang, but not the entire Long family.

Bailian closed the scroll and stuffed it back into her robes. "Witnesses have identified that at the relevant times, they only saw Bai Chunxue and the aforementioned people pass through the area around the vegetable patch. At first, we suspected someone else, but witnesses did not recall seeing that person anywhere near the scene of the crime, and that person has an unquestionable alibi for eight out of nine of the cases."

Natsuki— was whom they had suspected. Ah, if only they knew that she walked not upon the dirt but rather through the shadows!

"We have come to an agreement with the Bai family that this duel is the most amicable method of resolving this dispute. We will not raise any further complaints against the Bai family regarding this matter after this duel. Naturally, it shall be a duel to the death, but in the interest of interest, we shall not permit the use of weapons."

Canyue stepped into the arena and announced:

"As heir of the Bai family, I, Bai Canyue, declare that the Bai family concurs."

She disappeared back into the crowd.

Elder Ouyang from the sect stepped into the arena and announced:

"Representing the Phantom Orchid Sect, I, Ouyang Di, declare that the Sect concurs."

She disappeared back into the crowd.

Bailian bowed deeply, then returned to the crowd of cultivators from the Long family, though she sat on an elevated seat that made her visible to everyone in the arena.

"We shall begin as soon as the participants are ready. If there are any questions or objections, raise them now, or forever hold your peace."

"I have a question," I shouted, and everyone in the arena looked to me.