Hui flew through the air. A tree loomed wide in his vision. He ducked back into the lotus seed and closed the lid over himself. The seed hit the tree with a distinctive thunk, and a white figure went tumbling out.

Hui righted himself in midair and looked back at the girl indignantly. “Ying Lin, how rude! Don’t you know manners?”

Ying Lin’s eyes went wide. Already-round eyes in a round face became almost coin-shaped when she stared. When her jaw dropped, her entire face became a series of circles. She put a hand over her mouth and backed away. “You… you know my name?”

Hui blinked at her. You’ve been calling yourself Ying Lin for a while, am I supposed to be deaf?

Ying Lin gasped. “It can’t be… are you…”

Oh shit! I forgot I wasn’t trying to reveal myself! Of all times to let down my guard, why now?

“…a fairy?” Ying Lin finished, amazed.

Your dad’s a fairy, your grandfather’s a fairy, your entire paternal line is fairies! Do I look like a fairy to you? I’m a red blooded… green-blooded young man! Not fairy-like at all!

Hui shook his head. “I’m… a…”

“A spirit?” Ying Lin asked. She approached warily, but couldn’t resist drawing closer despite her fear.

“A… that’s it! A spirit. A lotus spirit.”

“A lotus fairy?” Ying Lin said, tilting her head.

“Spirit!” Hui insisted. You said it yourself, why go back to fairy?

“But you’re so pretty… I thought spirits were hideous. Only fairies are beautiful.”

Hui frowned. “Do you mean… ghosts, maybe? Ghosts are hideous. Spirits and fairies are both beautiful.”

Ying Lin’s face turned into a series of circles again. She bowed apologetically. “Please forgive me, lotus fairy!”

Hui took a deep breath. It’s okay. It’s okay. Who cares if this girl thinks I’m a fairy? It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter at all. It’s not like she’s Xixing, or Sis Mei, or Li Xiang, or… well, Bai Xue wouldn’t care.

He turned to go, but Ying Lin jumped out in front of him, hands held out. “Wait!”

Hui looked at her.

“I freed you from that seed pod. Don’t you… don’t you feel grateful?” she asked, tilting her head.

What? Does she expect me to give her something? Hui looked at her for another few seconds, then sighed deeply. “I don’t have much, Elder Sister, but if I can…”

Wait, what am I giving in to her for? She didn’t help me at all! She’s only caused problems! Hui shook his head at himself and turned to go.

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“Wait! Quickly, hide!” Ying Lin grabbed onto him and stuffed him back in her sack. Moving quickly, she stuffed the sack into her belt and straightened up.

“…” I’m a fifth-stage cultivator. Why am I being treated like a stag beetle? Hui looked at the sack and considered breaking through it, then shook his head She hid me for a reason. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that it never hurts to hide or play dead! My main body is still contemplating the solution to the spell formation, so it won’t matter if I spend a few minutes in this mortal’s seed bag.

Besides, I know almost nothing about mortal life in this world. If I want to blend in, I should study mortals for a bit, instead of taking a shot in the dark at being a normal mortal. Hui nodded to himself. In the bottom of the bag, he settled into a lotus pose and circulated his qi inside his body while extending his mental energy out to watch the world outside the sack.

“Ying Lin! There you are. I told you to be back by lunch with peeled lotus seeds! Do you know what time it is?” An older woman ran up to Ying Lin and grabbed her arm, yanking her roughly back toward the town.

“Aunty Wen…”

“Shut it! The young lady will have your head over this. Only a few days to go before he arrives and you still dare to act up?”

“I wasn’t acting up! The lake didn’t have enough ripe seeds, so I thought the pond might…”

“Since when has the pond grown lotuses? You dim child! Ah… hurry back, hurry back. Did you at least collect lotus seeds?”

Ying Lin hesitated. She tensed. “I… I told you, there weren’t many ripe seeds…”

Aunty Wen tutted. “Oh, Young Miss Fu Liyu is going to have your head, she’ll have it this time for sure.”

“Aunty Wen… please, give me a few more minutes. I can find—”

“It’s already been a few more hours, child! How long is the Young Miss supposed to wait for lotus seeds? Forget an after-breakfast snack, they’ll be her dinner at this rate!”

Ying Lin glanced at her pouch. Quietly, she whispered, “Lotus fairy, will you give me more lotus seeds?”

“What are you mumbling about, girl? If you have time to speak, walk faster!” Aunty Wen insisted.

Ha? You want me to… get you more seeds? You’d waste a fifth-stage cultivator’s might on…

No, no, Hui, don’t get all cocky because you gained a level! Even mortals can be terrifying. Respect, respect!

Besides, a simple task like this is the best possible option. This way, I can get out of playing the lotus fairy immediately!

Ptui, I mean… lotus spirit!

He looked at the lotus pods jostling in the sack and put his hands on his hips. Alright. So… how do I make more lotus seeds?

Obviously life qi, but… if I use life qi, it’ll grow an entire lotus plant in here, and… that’s a lot. Can I use the life qi to shape the plant as it grows? Hui put a hand on his chin. His eyes lit up. Ah! Death qi! Use life qi to grow and shape, and death qi to trim anything I don’t want! Perfect, perfect.

Hui closed his eyes and reached out. With his left hand, he channeled death qi, and with his right hand, he drew out life qi. He put his right hand on the nearest lotus pod and fed life qi into it. Immediately, the seeds inside swelled with life. A green sprout pushed through the shell.

Don’t grow a stalk, immediately grow a flower! Hui guided the qi into the sprout, shaping it closely with his thoughts. The sprouts trembled, then turned bulbous, swelling into fat buds. Seeds grew inside them. One of them pushed leaves from its stalk, but Hui’s left hand darted out and killed the leaves with a blast of death qi. The lotus buds blossomed into flowers, then wilted. Hui carefully circulated his death qi around the pods to dry them out.

He repeated the operation a few times, then looked around him at the sack bulging with lotus pods and nodded in satisfaction. I think I did a good job! That seems like enough lotus seeds. Mmm, too bad they weren’t clones… well, it would have cost much more qi to grow clones or spiritual lotus seeds than it cost to simply speed the growth of mortal plants. This much qi is negligible, but if I created that many clones that quickly… No, I don’t think I could, not without Mount Mu!

Aunty Wen frowned. “Ying Lin… Did your pouch…”

“Eh? Huh? It was always full…” Ying Lin said, laughing nervously.