The path wound into the earth, spiraling slowly downward. The deeper they grew, the thicker the yin became. Ice coated the floor, and formidable icicles descended from the cave’s roof. More than once, Hui had to put his arms out to the narrow walls of the passage to catch himself before he fell over.

Though actually, if I fell, it would be kind of fun, wouldn’t it? It’d be a spiral slippy side! Like a water slide, but colder. If only I had some kind of sled to sit on, this would be fantastic.

At last, the floor leveled out and the walls receded. Breath clouding on the air, Hui stepped out into an ice cave. Icicles dripped slowly from the ceiling. Carved out sections of ice gave the walls a strange texture, while more snow-like segments almost glowed in blue and white. The phoenix fire lit the thinner, transparent ice in brilliant reds, yellows, and blues, the ice reflecting its vibrant color.

“Whoa,” Tian Mo whispered.

Underfoot, an elegant courtyard greeted them, complete with sitting table, chairs, and a pond with colorful carp, but thick ice coated all of it. What had once been a formidable garden full of medicinal herbs stood, still upright and as brilliantly green as ever, under a chunk of ice a meter thick. The tops of the chairs barely poked over the surface, and the same with the table, its teacups and teapot only covered in a delicate layer of ice, thin enough a single touch might melt it away.

Deeper within, carved into the stone beneath the ice, the entrance to a palatial immortal cave beckoned them. Meimei forged ahead, beelining for it.

“Meimei, wait. Is this… does this belong to someone?” Hui asked. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck. He looked around, frowning. This doesn’t feel right. Something’s wrong.

“I don’t know. I’ve never gotten enough time to get much deeper in,” Meimei confessed. She paused, looking around her. “But if it belongs to someone, why have they left it all covered in ice like this?”

Hui paused. She’s right. It’s likely an abandoned immortal cave, it’s true. They’re common enough, and Meimei has enough protagonist energy to have found one on her own. Still, why am I so uncomfortable if that’s all it is?

All this yin… all this ice. Was someone assassinated in their own immortal cave? And if it is… isn’t it likely we’ll find all kinds of leftover traps and weapons in here? I need to be on guard, if nothing else.

“Meimei, come back. Let’s all move together,” Hui suggested, gesturing her over.

In the doorway, Meimei looked back. “I’m not coming back. You hurry on over!”

Behind her, a dark, frostbitten hand appeared.

“Meimei!” Hui shouted. He raced to her side, grabbing for her.

Meimei jolted. She looked down, then ran for him, reaching out toward Hui.

The hand closed around Meimei’s waist, easily large enough to wrap around her body from shoulder to waist. It yanked her inside the cave and into the darkness, and both the hand and Meimei vanished.

“Shit!” Hui snapped. He reached the door a moment later. With a gesture, he split the phoenix fire into two, leaving one behind, while another flew deeper into the cave. Hui glanced over his shoulder. “Stay near the flames. I’ll be back!”

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With that, Hui vanished into the darkness, the ball of flame the only light around him.

“Gui Hui!” Tian Mo shouted. He ran to the door, but paused there, just out of reach of any frostbitten hands. Standing on his tiptoes, he leaned as far as he could, craning his head inside the cave.

“What happened?” one of the other disciples asked.

Tian Mo shrugged. He backed away from the door, brushing his hands off. “He’s higher realm than all of us. If he can’t handle it, none of us can.”

The disciples all fell silent. They looked at each other, sharing a sobering look.

Tian Mo paused. He gave a nervous grin. “Perhaps I should go check and make sure the door’s shut, up at the entrance? Anyone else want to take a look?”

One of the other disciples raised her hand. “Is Zhang Zhisho alive?”

Turning slowly, Tian Mo took in their instructor, lying silently on the floating board. He looked at the other disciples. “Anyone have any, uh, medicinal pills?”

--

Hui ran through the palace, the phoenix fire floating over his head as he ran. Frozen rooms stood all around him, their contents iced over and frozen in place. “Meimei!”

“This way!” Meimei shouted.

Hui sped up, speeding through the palace. Dark yin closed in behind him and clouded his vision ahead of him. Meimei shouted in pain, and he hurtled to the left, following her. Damn, this immortal cave is enormous! Even Jizhi Zhimei’s palace can’t compare! Though I guess Jizhi Zhimei has to work within the confines of the Eight Tiers Palace, so naturally, her palace would be a little smaller.

The sounds of Meimei faded. “Meimei!” he shouted again.

“Over here!” Meimei called.

Hui followed after her. “I’m coming!”

“Gui Hui, where do you think we’re going?” Meimei asked.

“I don’t know. You’re the one getting kidnapped,” Hui returned.

“Ah, yeah. Well, I was scared at first, but now it’s kind of normal,” Meimei said. “The hand isn’t hurting me.”

“Oh. That’s good,” Hui replied.

“Do you think this counts as good fortune?” Meimei wondered.

Hui shrugged at the darkness. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I guess we’re going to find out together,” Meimei said. She paused. “I’m glad you’re coming with me. I’d be scared if I was alone.”

“Oh. That’s good.” Am I just chasing after someone else’s good fortune? Was this meant to be a fortuitous encounter for Meimei, and I just tagged along meaninglessly?

Hui considered, then shrugged and continued following her. Good fortune for one is good fortune for two! I’m not Tian Mo! I’m not going to give up just because the good fortune belongs to someone else. I understand I’m not the protagonist, but I’m willing to pick up the scraps! Scraps are wonderful! Scraps can propel you to a whole new realm! As long as you’re there and have the will to pick things up from the ground, you can make a good meal from scraps!

“Gui Hui, are you still there?”

“I’m here.”

“Mmm, that’s good.”

“Yes, that’s good.”

“Gui Hui, I wouldn’t kill you.”

“That’s very good.”

“The others don’t understand. It wasn’t like I wanted to kill my Master.”

“Oh?”

A pause. “Well, I did. But I had to.”

Is this it? Is she confessing her motivation? Excellent! I can use this to avoid her hatred when she becomes a villainess later! “Is that so?”

“She was jealous of my talent. She started teaching me incorrectly. If I didn’t kill her, I would have had a qi deviation.”

“Oh.” You killed your Master for that?

Okay, no, that’s fair. Qi deviations can kill. I should know. And even if they don’t kill, incorrect cultivation can cut off your path to the next stage, let alone Immortality. For someone at Meimei’s stage, getting taught incorrectly is indeed a murderable offense, even if I don’t agree with killing in general.

…Huh. I wonder if I should have been more troubled by my Master’s absence when it came to teaching…

“So as long as you don’t do that, I won’t have a problem with you,” Meimei concluded.

“Oh,” Hui replied, not sure how to feel.

“Ah! It’s stopping. You’ll catch up in a moment!” Meimei assured him.

“Right behind you,” Hui called out.

Light shone out ahead of him, light not emitted by the phoenix flame over his head. Hui waved his hand, dismissing it, and stepped inside.

He drew to a slow halt, eyes widening. “No way…”