“You know…” Xiahou Ren said with a humorless smile that barely concealed the roiling rage underneath, “I don’t think I like being manipulated.”

Sensing the simmering hostility in Xiahou Ren’s tone, Xu Fei physically recoiled and said in a faltering voice, “P-please, don’t hurt me. I-I really don’t know what you’re talking about. What could I possibly do to manipulate the mind of a cultivator?”

Xiahou Ren’s face twitched as he resisted the effects of Xu Fei’s power. With a slow cadence created by Ren’s purposeful mental resistance, he said, “If she really is an enemy who’s doing this intentionally, we can’t just let her leave. She’ll just come back with a Zhouji or a group of Lianqi in a few hours and attack us when our guard is down.”

“You’re sure this is your decision and not her power talking?” Shao intended for the question to be a joke, but the mental strain caused his sentence to be enunciated like a legitimate question.

“Pretty sure.” Ren’s mouth was upturned in an uncertain frown as he spoke.

“C-could you please just explain what you’re talking about?” Xu Fei asked diplomatically.

Xiahou Ren began to explain. “Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re projecting ki in such a way that manipulates people’s minds. I can feel the ki you’re projecting resonating with the ki in my body. Thinking about it, this ability is probably most effective on those who have a significant amount of condensed ki in their bodies but no control over that ki. Namely, high-level Lianqi. Resisting the effect is doable if you know it’s happening, but we were completely under the… effect’s… control until Yang Shao pointed it out.”

As he spoke, Ren pulled Xu Fei by the shoulder into the dilapidated old home. He spoke with the cadence and professional dispassion of a man who was trying to distract himself with the realm of the theoretical.

“Effect? What effect are you talking about?” Xu Fei asked as they all entered the kitchen.

“Gird your mind, Louis,” Xiahou Ren enunciated with absolute seriousness. “This woman’s allure is supernatural.”

Liu Mei and Louis were sitting at the dining table in the center of the kitchen. The two cultivators looked at Xu Fei in shock for a moment before their expressions hardened. Louis’s expression transformed to one of scholarly curiosity, and Liu Mei’s expression became one of worry.

“J'ai déjà entendu parler de ça.”

“Ren, please tell me you didn’t kidnap a cultivator from the Emei Sect.” Liu Mei said, glaring at Ren and Shao.

“Are you from the Emei Sect?” Xiahou Ren asked the frightened Xu Fei.

“What? No, I don’t think so.”

“There’s your answer.”

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“Hold on,” Xu Fei said, digging her heels into the ground. Clearly, Xiahou Ren could have forced her forward, but he didn’t because the process would probably have hurt her. “‘Supernatural allure?’ The ‘effect’ you’re talking about is physical attraction?”

Ren nodded. “Yes. We can all feel it. Even Liu Mei, I assume.”

“I assume it affects me differently than them, but yes. I can feel a kind of magnetic pull toward her,” Liu Mei muttered, clearly not wanting to engage with the situation.

“That…” Xu Fei sighed deeply, “explains everything. Do you mind if I explain my circumstances?”

Ren shrugged. “Sure. While she talks, Louis, could you draw a Circle of the Tail-Eating Serpent on the ground?”

Xu Fei began to speak. She told of an event two weeks before where, for a mere moment, she could feel the energy that passed through all things. She knew this energy ran through her body, the water, and even the air itself. The other three cultivators nodded in recognition, but Shao didn’t know what she was talking about. Ren mentioned that this must have been Xu Fei passing through the First Gate.

Soon after this strange experience, Xu Fei mentioned that the men she met on the street began looking at her more intensely, and this certainly wasn’t the end of her woes. Every time she passed a cultivator on the street, he would turn to her and either pledge his undying love or attempt to assault her. She had no choice but to flee from her father’s home when a battle between cultivators destroyed it and many of the neighbors’ homes. Her original home was a few li to the north of Zhoushan. When she fled, she made the mistake of fleeing to a place filled to the brim with the people she was running from.

Throughout the entirety of her explanation, Xu Fei struggled not to burst into tears. When she described the destruction of her family home, her eyes glistened and her cheeks turned red.

By the time she was done with the explanation, Louis had finished inscribing a wide circle on the wooden floor with chalk. As Shao expected, the circle resembled a long, curling snake that was eating its own tail.

Louis looked over to Xiahou Ren as if asking for confirmation. In response, Ren nodded his head with a knowing smile and said, “It’s working correctly. The ki is flowing as it should, and it’s not pooling anywhere.”

Ren looked over to Xu Fei and asked, “Could you stand in the center of that circle?”

“Ne marche pas sur la craie.”

“And don’t step on the chalk,” Ren finished with a smile.

“Okay,” Xu Fei said with uncertainty. She gingerly stepped into the center of the circle, making sure to step over the chalk, and turned back toward the four cultivators present. Almost immediately, Shao felt the pressure pushing against his skull release and he was able to focus without concerted effort.

Shao let out a sigh of relief and looked over at Xu Fei. A part of him expected, now that her ability was blocked by the Circle of the Tail-Eating Serpent, for her to suddenly look like an ugly crone to him. Instead, as Shao looked at Xu Fei clearly for the first time, he was once again struck by her beauty. The only difference was that, now, her appearance did not oppressively push upon Shao’s psyche like an engulfing wave. Xu Fei’s appearance reminded Shao of the many conversations he had with Chu Peijing, and this thought filled him with melancholy.

Xiahou Ren let out his own sigh of relief. “As long as you stand in the center of that circle, your ability will be suppressed. That should work temporarily while we try to find a more permanent solution.”

“You’re really going to help me?” Xu Fei asked with a wide smile.

“Sure, if the rest of you guys don’t mind.” Xiahou Ren looked to the other cultivators standing in the kitchen. Louis gave a thumbs-up, and the other two nodded in assent.

“As long as it doesn’t get in the way of the Rite of Initiation,” Liu Mei said with a shrug.

“I’m on board,” Shao said easily.

“Excellent. Welcome to the team, Xu Fei,” Xiahou Ren said, greeting the team’s newest member.