Hui looked down at the black-blooded girl’s corpse. She laid there quietly, eyes shut. Aside from the garish slash at her neck and the bloodless tone of her skin, she seemed almost ready to sit up and take a breath. A pang of regret sparked through his heart, and his eyes drooped subtly.

It’s okay, Hui. You and Bai Xue released her. She couldn’t live on like that. Being that man’s puppet… was a fate worse than death.

He drew a breath. “I… want to… I don’t want to alter her body too much. But… if we could… could we minimize her femininity?”

“Minimize… oh! You want her to look like a man? Hmm… okay,” Fa Chuyou said. Her brows furrowed slightly, and then a knowing look sparked in her eyes. She nodded slowly, as if she’d suddenly understood something.

“Er… yes.” I want her to look like me! Hui coughed, not sure what Fa Chuyou had understood, but pressed on anyways. “Er, and… she had some ability to manipulate her blood before she died. I don’t know if we can revive that, but… this small cultivator would love if she could—”

Fa Chuyou nodded energetically. “Ah, understood, understood! I can’t revive a cultivator with all their techniques yet—that’s too high a technique for me!—but I can bring back one or two specific techniques, if everything aligns.” She reached out and touched the girl’s forehead, closing her eyes. Qi passed from her into the girl’s corpse. The girl’s limbs twitched, fingers clenching, and then she went still again.

“Hmm… yes… ah, lucky, lucky! Her black blood came from her refining her blood to its limit. To put it another way, that blood manipulation art is ingrained indelibly into her body itself. Even a beginner like you should be able to bring it out of the corpse!” Fa Chuyou said, excited. She turned to him, eyes glittering.

Hui cleared his throat. “Er… you want me to refine the corpse myself?”

She nodded. “If I refine it for you, it will be loyal to me first. I can transfer ownership to you, but there’s always a chance it can break its loyalty, and it will never attack me. Instead, if you refine it… it will be always loyal to you, unable to consider so much as harming a hair on your head, and protect you until its very destruction.”

Hui’s eyes widened. This—how could I refuse? It’s a perfect scenario! He bowed, cupping his hands at Fa Chuyou. Recognizing that she’d given up a position of power to inform him of that weakness, he bowed lower than usual, until his ponytail almost draped the ground. “Elder Sister, please let me refine this corpse myself. Thank you for this guidance.”

Laughing, Fa Chuyou smiled at him. “Of course, of course!” She glanced around, then ran into a corner and came out with another tiny crystal bottle. This one was full of black water that sloshed around translucently as she walked. Under her arm, she clasped a small, book-sized chest, about the size of a manual and twice as tall.

“This is water from the Yellow Springs River at the bottom of the Corpse Refining Valley. In here are precious materials and herbs that we can use to increase the success of our refining. Technically, all one needs is water from the Yellow Springs River to cultivate corpses, but the success increases with the more powerful materials one includes. Besides, particular ingredients can imbue particular qualities. Like that ghoul.” She pointed over her shoulder at a red ghoul hanging from a hook. Its skin was intact, but glowed with a reddish light, almost bloody. “I used a Bloodblossom Bud in its refining liquid, which imbued it with strength twice what a ghoul its stage should have.”

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“What an impressive, fierce glow,” Hui complimented her. If I saw that coming at me out of the darkness, I’d run!

She flinched. “I’m trying to minimize that. As with pill cultivation, the side effects of corpse cultivation can be… interesting.”

Ah. Hui nodded, understanding. This small cultivator has to be careful. If the corpse I’m cultivating turns bright red, it won’t be any use as a false body!

Noticing his hesitation, Fa Chuyou smiled. “Don’t worry. We won’t use anything too powerful for your first time. It’s best to stick to the basics.”

“Thank you,” Hui said, giving a quick bow.

She handed him the bottle. “Fill the coffin half-full with this. It should submerge most of the corpse, but leave her face above the water for now.”

Carefully, Hui accepted the bottle. He gave the dark, translucent water within a concerned glance. She said it’s bad for ghosts. If it touches me… no, no, I’m a soul. Or… but souls also are cleansed by the water of the Yellow Springs. This…

“Ah… these waters are related to the Yellow Springs, but they aren’t as powerful as the Springs themselves. If you’re inside the skin, you should be safe,” Fa Chuyou said encouragingly.

If she thinks I’m a ghost in a ghoul’s skin, and she says that, then I should be fine. Hui nodded and uncorked the bottle. The water rushed out all at once. He quickly twisted it back mostly upright, and the waterfall turned into a trickle. Snorting at himself, he tipped it between the two, the flow at a reasonable rate. Dark water splashed over the girl’s body, and the coffin filled.

Fa Chuyou caught his arm. “That’s enough.”

Hui capped the bottle and handed it back to her. She took it, then grabbed his arm again, giving it a squeeze. “Xie Hao… what do you put in that body of yours to make it so stiff and firm?”

Elder Sister, if Bai Xue heard you say that… “I’d… rather keep it secret,” Hui said honestly.

She stared at him another second, then, disappointed, Fa Chuyou nodded. She opened the small chest, revealing an array of plants, beast materials, and precious metals and gems. Every object emanated cultivation fluctuations, most of them between the first and second level, though one piece of silver about the size of his pinky nail emanated fluctuations of the third realm. “Corpse cultivation requires more finesse than pill cultivation. Pill cultivators only need to worry about how their pill is coming together; corpse cultivators have to ensure the corpse can absorb the fluctuations of the materials they use.”

She picked out a piece of dark amber, contemplating it casually. “There are catalysts and strengtheners, and materials that can add special effects… I’ll spare you the complex lecture for now. What you need to focus on, is the way the material resonates with the corpses. Corpses still have remnants of qi and cultivation techniques in them. If the materials combine poorly… you could end up with trash, and ruin your materials and corpse in one go.”

“What about mortal corpses?” Hui asked.

A wrinkle appeared between Fa Chuyou’s brows, and she pouted. “Mortal corpses are for useless corpse cultivators who would be better off as filthy pill cultivators! They’re worthless. Focus your energy on the true corpses of value, cultivator corpses!”

Hui bowed. “Elder Sister is so wise! Please forgive this small cultivator for making such a thoughtless mistake.”

Fa Chuyou harrumphed, nodding righteously. With a grand gesture, she invited Hui to examine the chest. “Examine the corpse and the chest. Choose the material that best fits both!”

She set the dark amber back in the chest conspicuously, setting it obviously apart from the others.

Hui cleared his throat and glanced aside, hiding a smile. Fa Chuyou… I understand. He lifted his hand, then paused. No, no. I should feel the corpse’s resonance first. Although I appreciate Elder Sister’s efforts to assist me, I also need to learn corpse refinement on my own if I want to have a pool of replacement bodies. Once I understand why that amber is the best choice for this corpse, then I’ll have a deeper comprehension of corpse refinement.

So thinking, Hui sat next to the coffin and began to meditate, extending his qi toward the corpse within.

An approving smile spread over Fa Chuyou’s face. She set the chest opposite Hui and moved off to work on a project of her own, leaving him to his studies.