Lu Xubo returned, but this time, five sword lights followed him in almost every color of the rainbow. He burst through her window in a flurry of flower petals. Five others materialized behind him, three women and two men. Aside from Lu Xubo, none of the other five created flower petals as they arrived.

Flower petals danced across Li Xiang’s table. Her lip twitched. She reached out and plucked them up, piling them in a corner.

“Are we finally making our move against Chen Xigui?” one of the girls asked. She wore purple robes and a beguiling expression.

“I’ve been waiting,” a hot-headed female cultivator in orange added, clenching her fist.

“But first, we kill his beloved to prevent him from regaining his strength,” a slender snake-faced man in green added, raising thin brows.

“Kill his beloved? What kind of savage do you think our Li Xiang is?” Lu Xubo argued, throwing his hand out. As he got worked up, flower petals began to materialize around him.

Li Xiang’s brow twitched.

“Er, everyone, please,” Hui tried.

The cultivators turned to Hui, some of them staring openly as if they’d only just noticed him.

“Who is this?” a burly man in red asked, glaring at Hui with open aggression.

A woman in indigo nodded. “Indeed. I wish to know who this eyesore—ahem, fellow cultivator in our dear Li Xiang’s house is.”

“A friend,” Li Xiang said stiffly.

“A friend?” Lu Xubo instantly relaxed.

The girl in purple shook her head. “Lu Xubo, how many of us does Li Xiang call ‘friend?’ He’s still a threat.”

Lu Xubo stiffened again. Gravely, he nodded. “You’re right.”

“I… everyone, please. Disregard this small cultivator. I’m no one worth concerning yourself with,” Hui said, waving his hands.

“Is he a new comrade?” the cultivator in green asked sinisterly.

“Yes,” Li Xiang said.

“Then we should give him a Daoist name,” the girl in indigo declared. She nodded at Hui. “Aside from Lu Xubo, the lout, the rest of us have adopted Daoist names to hide our names, to prevent Chen Xigui from targeting our families or sects. I’m Indigo Mountain. Over there are Purple Butterfly, Red Tiger, Green Flute, and Orange Flame. You wear blue, so you can be… Blue Dog.”

“Er… I’d prefer… if I must be called something, then call me Blue, er… Blue… Talisman,” Hui said. Ugh, I’d rather use an ordinary name. This whole mess… somehow feels so cringey.

“Blue Talisman it is,” Indigo Mountain declared.

“Though I’m fine if you use my name,” Hui said.

“Which is?” Purple Butterfly prompted, giving him a suspicious look.

Hui opened his mouth, then hesitated. Do I use my real name, Xiao—er, that is, Weiheng Hui? But that name is wanted, and has money on its head. True, they haven’t turned in Li Xiang, but Li Xiang’s charisma is indescribable. I can’t compare to her. Even if they’d die rather than turn in Li Xiang, I can’t rely on them having the same attitude toward me.

Then, do I use a fake name? But, ultimately… what’s the difference between that and going by a Daoist name? It might be a bit less embarrassing, but is that worth the effort? I…

“…Call me Blue Talisman,” Hui decided at last, nodding.

Orange Flame rolled her eyes. “As if we care so much about your name.”

Li Xiang sat up, straightening her back. Instantly, the room fell silent. “He and I will go to meet his beloved. There’s something we need to ascertain before we strike. In the meantime, the rest of you prepare to attack Chen Xigui. The time is nearly upon us. In the moments before he returns to his previous form, he ought to be at his weakest, and that shall be when we strike.”

“Wouldn’t he most expect an attack in that moment?” Purple Butterfly pointed out, frowning.

Li Xiang nodded, her unchanging expression revealing that she didn’t care.

Ah… this is when Li Xiang’s straightforwardness works against her. After all, she’d simply strive straight ahead, taking the clearest steps to victory. If there’s more opposition, then so be it. She’ll carve her way straight through. It’s simply the way she is.

However, in this case… Hui cleared his throat and stepped forward. “If I may, Elder Sisters, Elder Brothers…”

“When did we become your elder siblings?” Green Flute asked, putting a slim hand on his narrow chin.

Ignoring him, Hui continued. “…we do not wish to inflict unnecessary suffering upon innocents. It’s quite possible that Chen Xigui’s beloved knows nothing about this situation, and simply wanted to heal her own sickness. Thus, if she is innocent, we ought to allow her to heal Chen Xigui, and attack in the moment he’s healed.”

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“Then what’s the point in waiting for him to be at his weakest? Why wait all this time?” Purple Butterfly asked, frustrated.

Hui shook his head. “What I propose is a twofold plan. If his beloved knows of his crimes and still choses to stand by his side, then we use her arrival to sneak in and attack him when he’s weakest.”

“How cowardly,” Red Tiger rumbled.

“Yes, as we originally planned,” Purple Butterfly said, nodding.

“If she does not know and is revolted by the idea of standing by him, then we still use her to sneak in, but we attack the moment she finishes healing him, and by extension, herself,” Hui proposed.

“By then, he’ll be too strong for us to handle!” Orange Flame protested, crossing her arms.

“Will he heal immediately?” Hui asked, shrugging. It’s possible, but not necessarily true. In fact, it’s quite likely he’ll need some time to circulate his qi and resettle his cultivation, rather than instantly healing. “Besides… I’m myself quite skilled in the arts of internal healing and… other things. I might be able to alter the healing process to only assist the woman without also assisting Chen Xigui.”

“Really?” Indigo Mountain asked skeptically.

Green Flute’s eyes narrowed. “What… other things?”

Hui swallowed. Probably best not to mention that I’m studying death and life qi, as well as soul arrays and soul manipulation around these elder siblings. They might get the wrong idea and assume I’m a demonic cultivator. “This… it isn’t necessary to say.”

“Isn’t necessary to say? Li Xiang, this suspicious man, is what he says true?” Lu Xubo asked, his eyes flashing as if he’d just used a trump card.

Hui suppressed a laugh. Of everyone here, I know of Li Xiang’s lie detection abilities the best! Putting aside the fact that she ought to vouch for me, it truly isn’t necessary for me to say it. It’s a true statement, a true statement!

Li Xiang tossed her hair. “If Weiheng Hui says it isn’t necessary, then it isn’t necessary.”

“Right, righ—” Hui froze. Wait, hold on. She—did she just…

The multicolored squad took a step back.

“The Weiheng Hui?” Green Flute murmured.

Indigo Mountain blinked, stunned.

Red Tiger laughed. “It can’t be. Weiheng Hui is a monster who singlehandedly took on Gui Delun when he was two stages that lord’s inferior and survived. He’s a man who repeatedly deceived some of All-Heavens’ most senior disciples and fought them to the brink of death. He commands undying plant monsters, savage scaled beasts, and vicious undead, all of them terrifyingly powerful, at least fifth stage. This man…”

“Ah! He must be another who shares Weiheng Hui’s name,” Orange Flame said, nodding.

Lu Xubo jumped in front of Li Xiang. “Li Xiang! This man is dangerous! Weiheng Hui… He’s known to massacre hundreds with a flip of his hand!”

When did any of that happen? The rumors are growing more exaggerated by the day. Hui coughed and raised a hand, shaking his head. “I’m no one special, no one worth noting. If you must, though, I prefer Xiao Hui.”

Indigo Mountain came back to herself. She stepped forward, raising her hands. “Wait, wait. There’s a simple test. It’s said that Weiheng Hui’s cultivation is slightly off, and makes a strange sound whenever ducks are mentioned.”

Hui coughed the second she mentioned ducks, but a quack still sounded out, just loud enough to be heard.

The six-color squad stared at him.

Putting his hands up, Hui backed away. “Please… this small cultivator is no one, no one.”

“Weiheng Hui,” Li Xiang said shortly.

“Yes!” Hui said, standing upright.

“Weiheng Hui is my sectmate, one of the few to survive our sect’s extermination. If you trust me to hate All-Heavens Sect, then you can equally trust him to share that hatred. Beyond that, is it not valuable to partner with the strong?” Li Xiang reasoned.

“This… but he’s a monster, willing to do anything to accomplish his goals. I hear he nearly wiped out a small sect some time ago, and no one even knows why,” Orange Flame pointed out.

“Destroy—I didn’t destroy any sects!” Hui protested, choking on his words. These rumors… truly, too much!

“Master, the Fu Clan,” Ying Lin reminded him gently.

“Okay, okay, I—but that was for a worthy cause. And really, Fu Renyi’s the one who destroyed it, him and Bai Xue. I helped, that’s all,” Hui said.

“I hear he works with mysterious and dangerous arts,” Green Flute murmured, pinching his chin.

“Those are merely labels people apply to things they dislike,” Hui replied, waving his hand.

“He admits it,” Green Flute said.

“What about that innocent spirit beast trader? I heard Weiheng Hui fed her to his pet ghoul,” Lu Xubo said.

“Innocent! Ha,” Hui laughed. Hmm, how’d they find out about that? One of her roughs must have escaped. I suppose I did pass out for a bit. I’ll have to keep my eyes open.

“Master didn’t feed Song Weilai to his jiangshi!” Ying Lin protested.

“Ying Lin, shh,” Hui said. Jiangshi are more powerful than ghouls. It would’ve been better to leave it as a ghoul in their heads!

Pouting, Ying Lin crossed her arms. Under her breath, she muttered, “A few of her goons, though…”

The six-color squad stared.

“Look, look, it’s—Jin Xian is a problem, yes, I acknowledge that. I only use her on those who really deserve to be eaten,” Hui said, waving his hand.

“Jin Xian?” Indigo Mountain asked.

“She… never mind,” Hui said. “In any case, everything has been blown out of proportion. The Fu Clan was actively devouring young girls’ life force, and even killing their own cultivators—Fu Renyi had become demonic, and needed to be put down. Song Weilai stole my spirit beast and kidnapped Bao Huli… that is, the lover of a friend of mine. Was I supposed to watch her walk away? As for the rest… it’s all less impressive than it sounds.”

The six-color squad murmured amongst themselves. At last, Red Tiger let out a frustrated roar and pushed the others aside. “None of this matters. Do you hate All-Heavens Sect?”

Hui nodded.

“Will you fight alongside us to take down Chen Xigui?”

“Yes.”

Red Tiger threw up his hands. “Then what are we still talking for? Have none of us ever done things that might be questionable to others? Have none of us ever acted willfully according to our own sense of righteousness? It’s simply that the stories of this Weiheng Hui are exaggerated, because he’s drawn the ire of All-Heavens Sect.”

“Elder Brother is correct,” Hui said, nodding.

“What of the rumor that he cannot die?” Green Flute whispered, barely loud enough to be heard.

“Untrue, absolutely untrue!” Hui insisted, shaking his head emphatically.

“Yeah, that’s right. If anyone’s going to die, it’s definitely Master!” Ying Lin agreed, nodding.

Hui kept shaking his head, pressing his lips together in concern. What a dangerous rumor! Compared to the other rumors, this is the most dangerous of all! I absolutely have to disguise my true identity from now on, or else this small cultivator’s body will definitely be tortured far more often in the future! I don’t like pain, I absolutely do not! If I want to continue to fake-die in peace, then I must absolutely disguise myself!

Green Flute’s eyes squinted as he smiled, and yet Hui felt no warmth from the smile. “Hmm… I wonder if it’s true?”

I just said it isn’t! Stop listening to rumors, Elder Brother! Hui cried silently. He rubbed his neck, suddenly feeling exposed, somehow.