Before he flew off, Hui dropped down onto Unrivaled Under Heavens Peak, opening the way for Bai Xue. Bai Xue followed at a short distance. Despite her nervousness, she kept herself composed. The only hint to her agitation was a slight narrowing of her eyes, and a small shake in her hands. Hui offered her his hand. She took it, latching on like it was her only hope for survival.

“Zhubi!” he called.

A long pause followed. Nothing emerged from the forest. Not a boy in white nor a small white snake.

Hui’s stomach twisted. My children… I’m scared about them, but ultimately, Eight Tiers Palace should keep them as mere hostages, mostly unharmed. Hostage-taking was their goal, not murder. Zhubi, on the other hand… they might have killed a small snake like him without a second thought. “Zhubi!”

The bushes shifted. A pitiful hiss echoed out.

Hui darted over. Zhubi laid on a warm stone. A deep gash opened on his side, bones peeking through. Dark blood stained his white scales, discolored and unhealthy. At the sight of Hui, he lifted his head and flicked his tongue just once, then flopped back onto the stone again.

Carefully, Hui picked him up. Zhubi flinched in pain, and Hui grimaced alongside him. “I’m sorry. Please bear it.”

“Zhubi… they hurt Zhubi? Then, our children…” Bai Xue said, nervous.

“No, no. Our children were taken as hostages. Zhubi… you were hurt protecting them, no?” Hui asked.

Zhubi nodded his head.

Hui hovered his hand over the cut, circulating life qi into the wound. Zhubi shifted, uncomfortable. A strange qi lurked deep in the wound, a poison-tinted qi. Scowling, Hui chased it out with death qi, burning the death qi with fire qi before it could wound Zhubi, then continued to heal Zhubi with life qi.

“What exactly happened?” Bai Xue asked.

Zhubi lifted his tail, then flopped back in Hui’s hands, exhausted. The wound closed, and as it did, so did Zhubi’s eyes. He fell into a kind of trance-sleep, somewhere between sleep and meditation.

Hui looked at Bai Xue, expression grim. “They poisoned him. A poison that could affect even Zhubi, himself a poisonous snake. He had to use all his cultivation to survive the poison… He’ll need to recover his cultivation before he can wake up.”

“Then how will we know…” Bai Xue grit her teeth. She shook her head. “I know Zhubi did his best. It’s so frustrating to have no leads on our children.”

Gently, Hui wound Zhubi around his neck. As the snake settled into his usual place, Hui carefully emanated a tiny amount of life qi, using his own energy to help Zhubi recover his qi. “I have a lead. And… I have an idea on how to find the kidnapper.”

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“How?” Bai Xue asked.

“Let’s head to All-Heavens Sect. I need to see Song Wei,” Hui declared.

“Song Wei? That black lotus? Why?” Bai Xue asked.

Hui stared at her. “He’s blackened?”

“When was he not blackened? He only acts white and innocent around you,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s a tyrant to everyone else, an absolute menace!”

Ah. Well. Hui licked his lips. A moment later, he smiled. “But he’ll behave well if I’m there, so it’s all fine!”

“Is it,” Bai Xue grumbled.

Hui nodded. He set off, flying into the air. “In any case, I heard there’s a teleport formation between Starbound Sect and All-Heavens. Do you know where it is?”

“The Sect Master’s Palace,” Bai Xue replied without hesitation.

Hui jolted to a halt. “The… Sect Master…”

“Oh—that’s right. He tried to kill you a few times, right? Li Xiang told me. I suppose you would—”

“Not only that! Worse, I still owe him a debt!” Hui said. The last boss, the Sect Master is the last boss! I owe him a debt, he’s tried to kill me, he’s done everything this small cultivator fears most! He’s the last person I want to see! Plus, many cultivators have tried to kill this small cultivator. The Sect Master is the only one to whom I owe a debt!

Bai Xue looked at him. She raised an eyebrow.

“But, but, in the face of our children’s kidnapping, what’s… what’s a small debt,” Hui said weakly. He turned toward the Sect Master’s Palace and took a deep breath. I can do this. You can do this, Hui!

He paused, then looked at Bai Xue. "Wait, you remembered Li Xiang?"

"I--" Bai Xue frowned. She glanced up. "Is it your Master's barrier, perhaps?"

"Hmm," Hui murmured. Master is impressive. I'd believe it! He squared his shoulders with some effort. "Let's... let's go!"

Smiling a little despite her anxiety, Bai Xue patted his hand. “That’s right. We’ll go together.”

“Yes,” Hui said, nodding. Let’s get this over with. All at once.

They flew over to the Sect Master’s Palace. The journey only took a few seconds, and they floated there, in front of the ornate palace. It looked small and dingy now, after everything Hui had seen. The paint was bright, the gilt glittered, but at the end of the day, an ordinary palace stood in front of them, barely large enough to see from the bottom of the mountain. When I compare it to Bai Xue’s manor, or All-Heavens, or the Eight Tiers Palace… it’s nothing at all.

He closed his eyes, then lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

The doors flew open. The Sect Master stared out, eyes wild. “You! Back from the dead? But I honored your name. I didn’t suppress your—your, inheritance… your…” At a loss for the word, he waved his hand. “I did nothing against Li Xiang. There’s no need to haunt me!”

So he can’t remember my children, either, but he can remember Li Xiang, Hui noted. I wonder if the technique that's removing my children from everyone's memory is cast more weakly against Li Xiang? Or maybe her higher realm causes it to weaken, so those who know her better remember her more... hmm. He cleared his throat.

“Ah, Senior, I am back from the dead, but literally, literally. In the terms of reincarnation… no, that’s not quite right. Oh, yes—more like I broke out of the Underworld than returned from the dead. In any case, I’m alive this time. Er, and Senior, could I trouble Senior to use your teleportation formation?” Hui asked, cupping hands to Sect Master Lan with all seriousness.

The Sect Master stared. He turned to Bai Xue.

Bai Xue shrugged. “If it were me in his shoes, I would have sent you flying long ago.”

“The teleportation formation is just around the corner. In the courtyard,” Sect Master Lan said, pointing.

Hui bowed. “Many thanks, Senior!” He kicked off and flew toward it, followed closely by Bai Xue.

Sect Master Lan wiped some sweat from his forehead. Seventh Stage? When did he reach that level of cultivation? Was he faking death for ten whole years, until he reached some sort of breakthrough? What a horrifying existence! The quicker I can encourage him to leave, the better!