As he stepped toward Cauldron Peak, a cold snort rang out. A wave of power emanated from that snort and washed over Hui. At his cultivation level, that wave washed over Hui harmlessly, unable to shift a hair on his head. He looked around, confused more than anything.

“Excuse me, Junior Brother. Were you planning to enter Cauldron Peak?”

A trio of cultivators stepped out of Cauldron Peak’s forest. Two, burly to the extreme, wore short robes with the arms ripped off to expose rippling muscle. The third, a slender woman, looked at him with a thin, untrustworthy face. She gave a small smile.

“You could wait here for days to see if anyone from Cauldron Peak passed by, then enter the peak with them… or you could purchase a command medallion from me.” She opened her hand to reveal a small jade medallion with a single magical symbol carved into its center.

The two burly men flanking her flexed their arms and scowled, looming over Hui. One released emanations at the third stage, and the other, the fourth. Hui backed away, eyes flickering between them, and let out a dry cough. “Er, Elder Sister, I… already have a command medallion.”

It’s easier to explain things away with command medallions than to explain I’m Weiheng Hui in disguise! After all, then I’ll have to explain why I’m in disguise. Worse, people will know what my disguise looks like, which ruins the whole point of the disguise! Untrustworthy folks like these who’re out to make a quick buck will surely spread the rumor of what my disguise looks like as soon as I turn my back!

The thin-faced woman waved her hand dismissively. “Junior Brother, if anyone other than myself sold you a command medallion, I must regretfully inform you that you have purchased a counterfeit! Only I sell legitimate medallions, sanctioned by the Cauldron Lord herself.”

Hui coughed again. “Elder Sister, why don’t you let me test out the barrier and find out for myself?”

The woman’s eyes flickered. She hesitated, then laughed, stepping forward, and put a friendly hand on Hui’s shoulder. “Junior Brother, there’s no need to humiliate yourself. Buy a command medallion, and you’ll be able to pass peacefully. They’re only a few hundred spirit stones. What’s more important, you, or your… pride?”

Behind her, the two burly men cracked their knuckles and grinned ferociously.

Elder Sister, this small cultivator has no pride… but why do I feel like you’re going to attack this poor cultivator if I don’t pay up? A few hundred spirit stones… what kind of moneybags do you think I am? I’m deep in debt. I can’t afford that! Hui took a deep breath and glanced around. He put a hand to Zhubi, then looked at the woman. “Elder Sister, will you not let me pass?”

“As soon as you purchase a command medallion. Only a thousand spirit stones,” she said with a smile.

A thousand? What happened to ‘a few hundred?’ Hui sighed and shook his head. He drew a talisman from his sleeve and ignited it in the blink of an eye.

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“Eh? What are you doing?” the woman asked, wary. The two burly men stepped forward threateningly.

“Nothing, nothing, Elder Sister! I was merely performing a divination, that’s all. See, I’m in fact a very destitute cultivator without a single spirit stone to my name. I wanted to divine where I could find a thousand spirit stones on short order,” Hui said, laughing and scratching the back of his head.

“Destitute? You’re broke, but you come to Cauldron Peak? Don’t make me laugh,” the woman said, narrowing her eyes. She stepped forward, waving her hand to cast a magic technique. A dozen bolts of red light shot from her hand and hammered into Hui.

The image of Hui wavered, then dissipated. The burly men and the thin-faced women both gaped.

“Excuse me, Elder Sister. I’ll go ahead now,” Hui said from behind her, bowing. He chuckled internally. Killing my qi and using an illusion talisman—what a great idea! They didn’t sense anything was wrong. Of course, an expert above my level could have identified my trick instantly, but a few fools at or below my level? Easy pickings.

The woman’s face twisted in anger. She threw her arm forward. “Get him!”

The two burly cultivators charged. In the blink of an eye, they were upon Hui. They slammed their fists down on him, faces twisted in rage.

Their fists smashed into the barrier. It glittered with light and repulsed their attacks, reflecting them back on the burly cultivators.

Hui raised his fan to his mouth and smiled behind it. “Elder Brothers, could it be that your command medallion is the counterfeit? Oh my, oh my, what a surprise! If the Cauldron Lord hears that you three were tossing her name around like that…”

“Shut up! Get back here!” the woman shouted, charging at him. Unlike the two male cultivators, she passed directly through the barrier and reached out to grab his robes.

Her hand passed through him. He dissipated, another illusion.

Hui’s chuckle echoed from all around her, seemingly coming from every direction and no direction all at once. “Oh, so you did have a real command medallion. How wonderful, how wonderful. Hmm, I wonder if the Cauldron Lord will allow you to keep it, once she hears how you’re extorting your fellow cultivators…?”

The woman whipped around. “Shut up! Come out and fight, you coward!”

“How many times do I have to say it? Come up with better insults,” Hui sighed.

At that, the woman stiffened. Her face turned strange, and she suddenly backed away off Cauldron Peak. The two burly cultivators looked at her, but she said nothing, instead stomping away.

Only when she was far away from Cauldron Peak did she turn and look at them. “Do you know who that was?”

The burly cultivators shook their heads.

“He might act like a coward, but he’s powerful enough to kill us with one hand. He forced one of our fellow cultivators to have a qi deviation with his words alone, reached fourth stage in less than twenty years, and he has the most powerful Master of all the peaks. He has a spirit beast pet that can cause qi poisoning and a fearsome ability that allows him to unleash and control raw qi of a mysterious origin that even the seniors couldn't identify outside of his body in the shape of birds. No one in our sect has ever made him fight seriously, because no one in our generation has the right to stand on equal footing with him. That’s Weiheng Hui! Never, never, never mess with him!”

“But… isn’t he a weak coward whose only skill is playing dead?” one of the brutes asked, scratching his head.

The thin-faced woman glared at him. “Those rumors only started after he left the sect. Starbound Peak may have a grudge against him, but I don’t! Leave me far away from anything to do with that monster!” Shaking her head, she stalked off.

Hui frowned after her, too far away to hear her words. Was she really that insulted that she couldn’t come up with better insults? What a high-strung woman.

Shaking his head, he continued up Cauldron Peak.