When the familiar shape of Starbound Sect appeared on the horizon, Hui jumped off the shuttle. “Thank you, Song Wei. I’ll take it from here!”

Song Wei nodded. He turned around and flew back, leaving Hui alone.

Hui took a deep breath, then used the snakeskin disguise technique on himself. I don’t necessarily want Starbound Sect to know I’m back. For one thing, I’m not. I can only return here momentarily. For another… if Sect Master Lan is bullying my children, I don’t want to scare him into making it look good for the moment of my visit! I’d rather sneak in and discover the truth myself.

If Sect Master Lan has dared to harm a hair on my children’s head… Hui pressed his lips together, narrowing his eyes at the top of Starbound Peak. I won’t hold back, Senior.

Hui checked his disguise quickly. He wore the face of a disciple he vaguely remembered from his childhood days in the lowest echelons of Starbound Sect, and for robes, his usual blue were replaced by the white of an ordinary lower-realm disciple. He took a moment to settle his breath, then adjusted his cultivation, stifling it to the extent that he appeared as a mid-fourth-realm cultivator, instead of peak fifth realm. This way, I don’t have to worry about giving myself away by flying, but I also won’t cause the hubbub of a fifth-realm cultivator visiting a small sect like this one. So decided, he strode toward the peaks.

The familiarity of it almost stifled him. The mysterious mountains, the hard-striving sword cultivators running by, full of the excitement of youth, the pillar of multicolored smoke wafting off the heights of Cauldron Peak. He tucked his hands behind him and strode slowly, taking it all in. This feels like home. And I think… it always will. Quietly passing by, no one paying me any particular mind, wearing a disguise… yes, this is my home.

And yet… if I revealed my true power, everyone would bow and scrape. I’d have to worry about Sect Master Lan’s attention, and formally greet the Peak Lords as fellow cultivators… no, no. I don’t want that at all.

He turned his eyes toward his Master’s peak, the peak that had briefly belonged to him, Unrivaled Peak. Dense vegetation grew over it, and the path he’d ran up and down every day as a child faded into invisibility, swallowed by the forest. He shook his head. Has no one visited my peak? After I put so much effort into…

Wait. Can anyone get through Master’s barrier? Was all my effort in vain from the start?

Hui lifted his hand and touched the barrier. It melted away before him, as welcoming as ever. He pressed his lips together. Yep, Master’s barrier is still here. Aw, man. No one saw that grave I built, or the intricate inheritance zone maze… I’ll have to do something about that!

Not that I had much to give away that anyone would want, especially since I’m keeping my best techniques secret, as I intend to return from the grave, but… still! It’s an inheritance zone! It’s fun. Everyone likes those!

Hui shook his head. Don’t get distracted. I’m not here to sweep my own grave. My children. Where are they?

He closed his eyes, extending his senses out, searching for a qi signature similar to his own. Their blood should resonate with mine. Children… where are you?

Back down the mountain, at the bottom where entrants to the sect trained, he felt a faint familiarity. Hui perked up. Ah! Of course. They’re in the training grounds! That makes sense. They would be young disciples, just the same as every other young disciple. They’d have to learn how to cultivate from scratch, like everyone else.

I’m glad they aren’t getting special treatment. I would hate if my children turned out to be brats, or worse, lazy, arrogant Young Masters! Bai Xue turned out… mostly okay as a Young Master, but that isn’t a sure thing for every Young Master.

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Ah, but it’s still possible that they’re getting negative ‘special treatment.’ It’s too early to feel relieved yet!

Flying down to the bottom of the mountain, Hui alighted a distance from the resonance, not wanting to startle his children. I’ll approach them quietly. After all, I’m dead, and I can’t be with them all the time, no matter what. I don’t want to give them false hope. He tucked his hands behind him and assumed a generic scholarly aura, wandering down the mountain at a reasonable pace.

“Psst, hey. Do you see that sucker?” a childish voice whispered, loud to Hui’s fifth-stage ears.

A second childish voice whispered, “I see him. Ready?”

“Ready!”

A white-haired girl of about ten stumbled out into the road ahead of Hui, her clothes patched, dirt covering her hands and face. She sniffed theatrically, hiding her face with her sleeves. “Ah… boo hoo!”

Hui looked at her, not sure how to take this. This child is…?

A strong resonance welled up inside him. From around the sleeves appeared a delicate face, utterly beautiful, and yet somewhat familiar. His eyes widened. Bai Xue’s cheekbones… my eyes… and that white hair! This… she’s Bai Xingxue, isn’t she?

He walked over, offering her his hand. “Elder… ahem. Are you hurt, Junior Sister?”

Bushes shook. From behind Bai Xingxue, a boy with long, unruly black hair leaped out. He lifted his hand and flicked something at Hui. A few pebble-like objects bounced harmlessly off his robes. “Back off! How dare you hurt Bai Xingxue? Do you know who her mother is? You’re seeking death!”

Bemused, Hui blinked at his boy, not sure whether to laugh or cry. That face… he’s my splitting image! There’s a bit of sternness about his brow from Li Xiang, and his nose is her cute nose, but…ah, he’s definitely my son!

He reached out a hand and casually snatched one of the pebbles out of the air. A black-and-white flat, round tile sat in the palm of his hand.

Weiqi tiles? I didn’t even know this world had Go! How strange, to encounter Othello after all this time. Reversi, indeed, what a bold choice!

Ahem. Jokes about the game having a thousand names aside, why is he pelting me with board game tiles…?

A drop of sweat appeared on the boy’s forehead. He bit his lip, but kept ferociously firing off tiles. “You monster! How will you ever repay us? Ah, if only you had a few spirit stones, then I might be able to overlook this!”

Bai Xingxue peeked over her sleeve at the other boy. “Li Weiqi, what’s happening?” she hissed, loud enough for Hui to hear.

“I don’t know. He might be a hidden expert…!” Li Weiqi returned.

Surnamed Li. He’s my son, for certain, Hui thought, looking kindly at the ruffian.

Ah. Ah! Are you using Weiqi tiles because you’re named Weiqi? But uh, why did Li Xiang name you after a board game?

Er, wait. Let’s break this name down. Wei, well, that could come from Weiheng. Given Li Xiang’s straightforward nature, it’s a good choice of character for her son. Not only does it honor me, but it also means ‘great.’ Straightforwardly wishing for her son to be great, that’s Li Xiang for you!

As for qi… well, ‘great spiritual energy’ is a reasonable thing to wish for your son. But eh, Li Xiang, did you not know of the existence of Weiqi in this world, too? Or were you simply too straightforward to consider alternate meanings of the characters you chose?

He turned over the tile in his hand, inspecting it more closely. There’s already some qi imbued into this tile. My son has already entered the Qi Gathering stage. I’m so proud! He’s doing so much better than me!

Sweat ran down Li Weiqi’s face. He swallowed, but kept up his fierce demeanor. “Ha! You can take a blow or two. You think you’re so great? But you’re still stuck here at the foot of the mountain at your age. Just wait! In no time, we’ll reach your strength, and we’ll be back to avenge your evil—”

Oh… right. I am at the foot of the mountain. Hui fell backward. “Ahhh! It hurts!” He struck the ground and went limp, playing dead.

Bai Xingxue straightened up. Li Weiqi lowered his hand. The two of them looked at one another.

“Is he dead?” Bai Xingxue asked nervously.

“N-no. He shouldn’t be! He took so many blows without flinching…” Li Weiqi said, uncertain. He crept over. A tiny hand felt Hui’s pulse.

Li Weiqi swallowed. He went pale.

“You hit him so many times! Li Weiqi, you’re a murderer!” Bai Xingxue accused him, backing away.

“No! Look, you’re involved in this too! You can’t put it all on me,” Li Weiqi argued.

“Shut up! It was your idea to scam people, anyways. It’s your fault!”

“What? No, it wasn’t! You’re the one who thought of it. Besides, you’re the Elder Sister! You’re the one to blame!”

“Only at times like this do you admit I’m your elder,” Bai Xingxue complained.

“Eh, well… should we run?” Li Weiqi asked.

The two of them looked at Hui’s unmoving body. They nodded at one another.

“I saw nothing,” Bai Xingxue said.

“And I did nothing!” Li Weiqi agreed. He waved his hand, and the tiles flew back to a little bag on his hip.

With that, the two of them ran off, vanishing down the mountain.