Sitting in Bai Xue’s bedroom, Hui finished the last touches of a talisman. He added it to a stack, then handed the stack to Bai Xue. “Here. This should disguise you as anyone. If you get separated from me and you need to change disguises or tear off the snakeskin to heal yourself, you can use these talismans to re-disguise yourself afterward.”

Bai Xue draped herself over his shoulders from behind. White hair tickled Hui’s cheek and spooled down his shoulder. She hummed right in his ear, in a way that sent sparks down his spine, though he didn’t show it. “Why don’t you paint it on my skin? I think it would look beautiful, dancing down my stomach…”

“I could, but fundamentally, the snakeskin technique is a disposable technique. One-use-only. I’d only be able to put one talisman on your skin, but with these, you have a hundred talismans,” Hui said, pushing the talismans at her.

Bai Xue hummed again. She rolled off him and sprawled on the bed, chest bared to the ceiling. Glancing at him, she ran a hand down the pale skin of her stomach. “Right here. What do you say? We could take our time…”

Hui clicked his tongue. “Bai Xue, how much energy do you need?”

“Well, I’ll be going under disguise for a while. I won’t get to fill up for a long time,” she said, pouting.

Hui crossed his arms and looked down at her. “Will that really stop you?”

Bai Xue kept pouting for a few moments, but couldn’t hold it. Her pout transformed into a grin. “Xiao Hui knows me too well.”

Hui sighed, shaking his head. Smiling back, he ruffled her hair. “Yes, yes. It’s a matter of your cultivation, after all. Fundamentally, pure yin spirit roots are considered wastes and only good for furnaces, so I understand that you need to go to extraordinary lengths for your cultivation.”

“Mmm. That’s why I married you. You’re so understanding, pretty Hui,” Bai Xue murmured, rolling onto her side once more.

“Handsome Hui,” Hui corrected her.

Bai Xue grinned at him and said nothing.

Ah, well, it’s not as if it’s an insult or anything, and Bai Xue has an interesting relationship with gendered compliments in the first place. I’ll take pretty over ‘ugly trash’ any day of the week.

“Should we tell Li Xiang?” Hui asked. I wouldn’t ask at all, but with her truthsense and truth obligation, if someone asks her where I’ve gone, she’ll be compelled to tell the truth. If I don’t tell her, she can truthfully say she doesn’t know.

But on the other hand, it would be cruel not to tell her. Especially after the fall of Starbound Sect and my apparent death there… and then my actual death, and… He took a deep breath. He looked Bai Xue in the eye. “I want to tell Li Xiang.”

Bai Xue nodded. “I was going to suggest it, in any case. She knows when to keep her mouth shut, and she’ll figure out the truth one way or another.”

“The children…” Hui frowned.

“We’ll tell them we’re going on an important trip. That’s all the more they need to know, anyways,” Bai Xue said, shrugging.

Hui nodded. “I agree. I’m sad I can’t spend more time with them, but…”

“Mmm. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I was raised by my nanny, mostly, and I turned out fine,” Bai Xue said, grinning.

Hui looked at her. I’m not sure I want Bai Xingxue to end up like Bai Xue, though…

Bai Xue raised an eyebrow at him. “You know Bai Xingxue has inherited the Bai Clan bloodline, right? Like me, my little sibling, and our mother. They’ll have to learn the bedroom arts sooner or later.”

“Not… not yet, though?” Hui tried, cringing. I know, but… they’re so young…

Bai Xue frowned at him. After a moment, she burst out laughing. “You fool. How long do you think it took before my mother taught me the bedroom arts? How old do you think I was?”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Hui rubbed his head. “Er, eighteen, at least…?” I hope? I pray? It is a xianxia world with a different sense of age and morality. It’s possible that she started younger… ahh, I don’t want to imagine it, I hope not, I hope not!

“Fifty,” Bai Xue said.

“Eh?” Hui asked, startled. Fif…did she say ‘fifty?’

“I was fifty. It’s true that we benefit greatly from absorbing other cultivator’s yin and yang energies, but in terms of our qi gathering and foundation, the Bai Clan technique isn’t that different from any other clan’s technique. It’s only once you hit third stage that the Bai Clan technique diverges from ordinary cultivation techniques, and even then, my mother waited until I had a firm grasp of my cultivation and foundation before teaching me.” She waved a hand. “I think she would have waited longer, but I was a bit of a… shall we say, natural talent?”

Hui snorted. “I can imagine.” A bit of tension unwound in his shoulders, though he didn’t let it show. That is a relief, though. Bai Xingxue can be an ordinary child, an ordinary adult, even. Only once they’re old enough to know exactly what they want will they have to choose whether to walk the Bai Clan’s path or not.

And, after all, they’re my child, too. I’m sure they can figure out their own path, if they look for it! I might not have much talent, but I do have some small talent for comprehension. Hopefully that transferred to my children!

Bai Xue wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged herself close to him, hiding her face in his robes, then sighed and sat up. “I should get dressed.”

“Yes,” Hui agreed.

Bai Xue chuckled. “As if you weren’t enjoying the view.”

“Mmm. It is a bit distracting, though,” Hui admitted.

The door slammed open. Li Xiang stomped in. “You two abandoned the conference?”

Caught naked, Bai Xue grinned. “We had important business to discuss.”

Li Xiang nodded. “What was it?”

She—she believed that? When we’re obviously in bed together and Bai Xue is— Hui rubbed his forehead, laughing quietly to himself. That’s right. Truthsense. It is the truth, after all. We were discussing important business. It just so happened that we discussed important business after… er, a number of pleasurable actions that violate all morality and decency laws, but… it’s still true!

In no particular rush, Bai Xue stood and began dressing. Trying to ignore her, Hui nodded at Li Xiang. “Li Xiang, close the door?”

Li Xiang nodded. The door shut.

Hui drew a barrier on the air. A gold orb surrounded him, Li Xiang, and Bai Xue, blocking sound from escaping. “I… was thinking. The Eight Tiers Palace won’t stay quiet if they know they failed to kidnap our children. But what if they didn’t fail?”

Li Xiang’s brows furrowed. Firmly, she shook her head. “No.”

“Elder Sister, hear me out. I’m not suggesting sending our children to the Eight Tiers Palace, not at all, of course not! Instead… what if I took the place of our children? Er, one of our children. What if I entered the Eight Tiers Palace in their place?”

“You’re too large,” Li Xiang replied bluntly.

“Don’t I know it,” Bai Xue muttered.

Hui blushed. “Bai Xue, please. No, no. I can change my body size. Thanks to the phoenix fire technique, I can alter my body to any age in my life.”

“Oh?” Bai Xue asked, looking up sharply, half-dressed. “You didn’t mention that earlier.”

Hui pushed her away. “Get dressed already. Yes, yes. I can take the place of our children. I can take on their appearance, and thanks to my death-faking skills, I can even fake their qi signature. Eight Tiers Palace will never know the difference.”

“And you think this will stop them from harassing us for a time,” Li Xiang said.

Hui spread his hands. “They will think they have a hostage, which is what they want. I’ll take Li Weiqi’s place, since it would be difficult for me to fake the Bai Clan’s cultivation technique and unique bloodline. Bai Xue will act as my escort for long enough to bring me to the sect, then vanish… I’ll use death faking to hide her away, and she can escape back to the Southern Sect Conference.”

“Your life will be at risk,” Li Xiang stated.

“Not at all, not at all, Elder Sister! Would I suggest a plan that puts my life at risk? Me? No, no, no. I’ll appear to be a second- or third-realm cultivator. I’ll be their hostage. They won’t want to put me in danger if they want to keep a hostage. And if they do try to kill me, what are the chances they’ll successfully hit me with an attack powerful enough to break through my death faking techniques and oneshot me, especially when I appear to be a low-realm cultivator.”

Li Xiang glanced at Bai Xue.

Bai Xue spread her hands. “Would Hui suggest risking his little life? I don’t think so. He’s confident, Li Xiang.”

“Mmm. I could tell he was telling the truth, after all.” Li Xiang thought for a moment, then nodded. “I agree. Who will take your place while you’re gone?”

Ah… that’s right. I should have not appeared at the sect conference! Then no one would know I’m alive. Mmm. Too late for that. Too bad! I could’ve faked my death a little while longer. Hui put a hand to his chin, his brows furrowed. But… how do I convincingly fake my death again, after I so recently returned to life?

Bai Xue coughed. “Shall we talk to Song Wei?”

Oh. Oooooh. OH. I don’t need to fake my death at all, when Song Wei has… has those… er, awfully convenient lotus clones. Yep. Let’s not think too deeply about them. Hui licked his lips. He nodded. “I believe Song Wei has it covered, yes.”

Li Xiang nodded. “Then it appears we’ve come to a consensus.” Turning, she walked off.

“Leaving so soon, beauty?” Bai Xue murmured seductively, leaning forward to tie her belt in a way that coincidentally showed off her cleavage down the front of her robes.

Li Xiang paused. She looked over her shoulder. “Yes.” With that, she walked off.

Bai Xue stared at her back as she passed through the gold barrier and vanished. Once she was out of sight, she laughed and shook her head. “Ha! That’s Li Xiang, after all.”