Days passed. One after another, evenly progressing. In the mornings, Hui practiced with the other disciples; in the evenings, he studied the barrier in his room, mindful of the alarm layered over it, or explored the Palace, searching for a gap in the alarm ward. Occasionally, he broke off from training to check on the resentment demons, but aside from noting the fixed chain—evidence the barrier was kept up regularly—he made little progress on breaking their suppression.

Standing over them, he shook his head and ran his hands over his arms. The chilly yin infiltrated his body, slowly freezing him down to the bone. Even putting aside the alarm, the yin here is so intense. It’s harmful for a man to stay here for long. I don’t know that I could remain here long enough to break the barrier, what with the intensity of the yin.

Now, if I were a woman… I could probably handle the yin for longer.

Bai Xue appeared in his mind. “I could always teach you my clan’s technique…”

Hui shook his head. No, no. That’s no good at all!

But… well, if I think about it, I have my plant form. If I swap to that, then draw on the hermaphroditic nature of the lotus clones… I could at least get closer to female, and be more tolerant of the yin. Too much yin would freeze even the female version of me, but… at this rate, I’m going to freeze out before I even get a foundational understanding of the barrier. Having to spend so little time in this valley is truly a detriment to my studies of this suppression.

Hui put a hand on his chin, considering, then shrugged. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Let’s do it.

Taking a deep breath, he cycled into his plant form. Settling into a meditative pose atop the resentment demons, he reached out to the yin around him and began absorbing it, cycling it through his body. The yin took over, cooling his form… and morphing it. His face softened and his body changed subtly, and the yin suddenly no longer felt so cold.

Hui lifted his hands, turning them over. It doesn’t feel that much different. Nor do I look that different. Well… I am currently a child of… twelve-ish years? It makes the conversion less extreme, since my energy wouldn’t have converted into its outward form through puberty yet.

Importantly, I can handle the yin better now than I could before. Which means, more time to investigate the resentment demons’ barrier! Nodding to himself, Hui put his hand on the resentment demons’ chains.

“What an interesting little bug.”

Hui startled. He whirled, staring above him.

An ordinary-looking female cultivator sat atop her sword above him, one leg propped on the sword, the other dangling down, chin balanced in her palm. She wore simple, almost rough robes, her hair lazily tied in half a ponytail, though most of it escaped the binding and hung around her face and shoulders. Rather than being a beauty, she simply had an ordinary appearance, almost mortal in looks. If she’d been walking down the side of the road in a mortal village, Hui wouldn’t have looked twice.

But here… her ordinariness almost makes her stand out more! If extreme beauty such as Jizhi Zhimei’s is remarkable, then equally, maintaining such a normal appearance is equally remarkable. Hui quickly bowed, not sure how to greet her.

“You’re from the Southern Sect Conference, so I’d guess you were a member of the Bai Clan, but something about that technique… that wasn’t a natural part of your constitution, hmm? Instead, it’s something you developed on your own,” the woman guessed, tapping her fingers on her chin.

“Ah…” Hui hesitated, then nodded. “Yes.” There’s no point in lying. She saw me go through the whole process, likely. After all, I didn’t notice her until she spoke. Who knows how long she’s been there?

Which also means she saw me inspecting the barrier… Hui licked his lips nervously. He tensed, preparing to release his full cultivation strength. It’s too early to give up the ghost. I haven’t accomplished my goals yet. If I need to kill her to proceed, I have to!

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

In the midst of reaching for a weapon, Hui froze. Wait. I can’t sense her cultivation.

Fuck! I almost made a critical error! What’s gotten into me? I’ve spent far too long around the children, who pose no real threat to me. I need to remember there’s still plenty of cultivators who can crush me like the little bug I am!

She smiled at him. “Haa? You don’t want to struggle? But I like watching little bugs struggle.”

Standing up, Hui clasped his hands behind his back. “Sincerely, Elder Sister, is there any purpose to that, before Elder Sister’s might?”

“Then die quietly,” she said, raising her hand.

“Ah, ah, Elder Sister, wait.” Hui waved his hands and stepped forward.

“Hmm?” she asked.

“Are you going to kill this small bug for curiosity?” he asked.

“Is that what you call it?” The female cultivator titled her head.

Hui nodded. “What else do you call it? I’m experimenting, Elder Sister, experimenting and learning!”

“I suppose you are about the right age to start experimenting with your body,” she muttered to herself, nodding.

Hui coughed, half-choking. “No, no, not—not that part. I mean, I mean manipulating the barrier! I’m curious, that’s all! Just a curious disciple!”

“A curious hostage, that’s for certain.” The female cultivator’s form vanished, only to reappear inches from Hui. He jerked back, only to find himself no longer able to move. A hand gripped the back of his head and pulled it back, forcing him to meet her eyes. He stared into them.

A thousand colors shimmered in their depths, speeding around her pupils, tracing colored streaks through her irises. They danced and swirled like butterflies, the brightness of the colored light only driving home the pure darkness of the pupil contained within. Hui’s eyes went wide. His body relaxed against his desires, his mind going blank.

His qi stuttered. Without Hui absorbing yin, his own natural balance of yin and yang reasserted itself, and his gender shifted back. A moment later, the plant technique ended. Everything left his mind. Every technique ended. Only her eyes remained, spinning before him, colors tracing and whirling.

“So who are you?” she murmured, standing over him. “Hmm? They let us take you hostage instead of Li Weiqi and Bai Xingxue, but their talent wanes compared to yours. Are you truly no more than the grandson of the previous Sect Master?”

“I’m… no one,” Hui stuttered.

“There can be no lying nor deception before my gaze. Give in. Tell me the truth. Who are you?”

“I’m no one,” he whispered.

The colors intensified. “From the depths of your soul, tell me the truth. Who are you?”

“No one.”

She sighed. Her eyes shut, and her ordinary appearance returned. “This is getting me nowhere. You can’t actually believe you’re no one.”

Snapped back to reality, Hui stumbled back. He blinked rapidly. What… what was that? Some kind of hypnosis technique? He glanced at the female cultivator, then cleared his throat. “Respectfully, Elder Sister… I am no one. No one special, that is. Just an ordinary small bug.”

“Hmph.” She turned away.

“Elder Sister—what’s your name?” Hui asked.

“Tseng Caihong,” she said easily. Turning back, she regarded him again. “Shall I end your small bug life?”

“No, no, no need. It’s only curiosity, only curiosity,” Hui said, glancing at the resentment demons beneath him.

She snorted. “There’s no need to be curious. Those things are mindless beasts hellbent on destruction. You’re better off turning your attention to more fruitful studies.”

“Ah… I’m less curious about the beasts, and more about the suppression formation,” Hui admitted. He squatted on the chain and patted it, feeling the icy touch of its metal. “I’ve never seen something quite so complex.”

Tseng Caihong quirked a brow. “You are but a small bug.”

“Ah, ah, of course, of course. I have a great many things yet to see and discover in this world. But how could I neglect such a fascinating formation right before my very eyes?” Hui returned.

“Fascinating?” Tseng Caihong paused.

Hui nodded. I need to defend my small bug life… it’s time to go for broke! Maybe if she finds value in my investigation of the barrier, I’ll survive this encounter yet! “This alarm formation, for example. The intricacy of the interlacing… it’s incredible. I still haven’t figured out a way past. And the suppression, that draws strongly on the natural yin of this valley, using poison to suppress poison… an idea that’s elegant in its simplicity, yet surprisingly complex in its execution.”

“Fascinating indeed,” Tseng Caihong murmured, half to herself.

Hui grinned hopefully. So, I’ll be allowed to live?

She stood on the air, drawing her sword. It glimmered with seven-colored light, emitting a scintillating halo in the dark valley. “Truly, you know too much.”

“Elder Sister—!”

The sword carved through Hui’s flesh, separating his small body in half at the solar plexus. He fell backward, sprawled over the resentment demon. Blood soaked their white flesh.

“Hmm. I suppose we’ll need a new hostage,” Tseng Caihong wondered aloud. She swept her seven-colored sword, slashing the blood off.

Under Hui’s lifeless body, the resentment demon trembled.