The bird swooped down, flying through a massive open gate at the front of the palace. Its massive wingspan didn’t come close to touching the edges of the gates, the gates easily wide enough to fit an ordinary house through. Hui hummed to himself, barely resisting the urge to throw his arms out and play planes like he did as a kid. There’s something about flying on a giant bird that hits different. When you fly on a sword, you’re moving so fast that you basically have to create a qi barrier around your face to keep your eyes and, well, face intact. The bird, though, is flying at the speed of a giant bird. You can feel the wind in your hair if you like.

The female cultivator guiding the bird looked over her shoulder at Hui and frowned. It’s too bad I have to keep my beautiful bird, Da Niao, slow so this child doesn’t fall off. Da Niao can fly faster than any cultivator at her level, but I don’t know that this ‘emissary’ of ours is skilled enough to shield himself from the wind. Why did our Tier Master choose him as emissary, anyways? An unaffiliated child… perhaps because he’s unaffiliated?

She looked over her shoulder again, taking Hui in. He looks familiar… vaguely familiar. Oh! Wait. He’s that disciple with high potential that caught everyone’s eye with his flashy arrival. Ah. I see. Someone as flashy as him probably has Tseng Caihong’s gaze. If he’s friendly with the Palace Master, then naturally, he’s the right choice. Tseng Caihong isn’t too fond of us beast cultivators, so I understand picking an outsider, too.

Unaware of the mental turmoil going on in front of him, Hui opened his eyes to find the female cultivator gazing at him. Self-consciously, he lifted his arms to cover his chest and turned half-away. Elder Sister, I only practiced beauty techniques for one day. Elder Sister! I’m a child! Stop gazing at me! No matter how beautiful I am, you have to keep piloting the bird, okay?

The female cultivator met his eyes and saw the rebuke in them. She scoffed. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” With that, she turned back around.

Hui relaxed slightly, shaking his head at the female cultivator’s back. The Dao of Beauty is dangerous, dangerous indeed! Who could have foreseen that I’d go from a mediocre-but-slightly-handsome man to so attractive my driver forgets to watch the road in one session of beauty cultivation? It’s a good thing I snuck out of the Fourth Tier. I would’ve become an irresistible distraction in no time, when what I really want is to quietly die and get forgotten! Yes, yes. The more quietly I die, the faster I can sneak away.

Imagine if I die while using the beauty techniques. They might put me in a glass case and preserve me for all time, or something ridiculous like that. I’d be stuck playing dead until the sect fell!

Ahead of him, the female cultivator’s skin crawled. She rubbed the back of her neck. Is someone speaking ill of me? I wonder who?

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The bird swooped around the edge of Eight Tiers Palace. Beneath them, the tributary sects and clans spread out, beautiful splotches of color full of ornate palaces, pavilions, and ponds. A few passing cultivators swept close, coming by on their swords to get a better look at the beast cultivator and Hui, but when they saw neither of them were Tier Masters or high-ranking Eight Tiers Palace cultivators, they flew away again.

The female cultivator sniffed. “Bunch of rats, nesting near a storehouse in hope of a bit of grain.”

“Ah, that’s right. I never learned Elder Sister’s name,” Hui said, tucking his legs under him and sitting upright.

She glanced over her shoulder. “Call me Jian Jile. You’re Gui Hui, no?”

“That’s correct. It seems my reputation precedes me,” Hui said. He ducked his head humbly to hide his faintly terrified expression. Don’t tell me. Is Elder Sister an obsessed stalker fan? Is that why she knew my name? Oh no!

No, no, wait. She might have been enchanted by me once we got on her bird, but in the First Tier, she was ready to attack me. It took her some time to be enchanted. She must have simply recognized my face.

I did make a big stir when I first arrived. I can’t be too surprised when people know my name.

He lifted his head to find Jian Jile facing forward again. “You’d better do your best at talking with Tseng Caihong. She doesn’t like us beast cultivators.”

“No?” Hui asked. I already have my own understandings about this, but what does Jian Jile think? After all, she’s been living in the beast tier. She knows far more than I do about why the beast tier is the lowest tier in the palace.

Jian Jile shook her head. “She likes picking up pets, but she doesn’t like taking care of them. Once the shine wears off, she abandons them. We beast cultivators in the First Tier got tired of taking care of the pets she threw away and protested, telling her to take beast cultivation seriously. After all, it’s the beast’s future she’s playing with.

“She ignored us and cut off communications entirely, but not before stealing the Sacred Beast from the Tier Master. Naturally, the Tier Master is terrified for the safety of the cub, even if she isn’t letting it show on her face. And now, rumor is Tseng Caihong has found a new pet…”

Hui stiffened. And a monster like that has Zhubi? Oh no!

He seemed happy at first, but it must be because he was still in the honeymoon phase. Who knows if she’s abandoned him by now?

To think, this was an ongoing problem! To escalate to the point of stealing a Sacred Beast because you were rebuked for abandoning pets! To lack the introspection to realize that you’re the problem! Tseng Caihong is too terrifying, too terrifying!

Ah, well, I can’t get too worked up. I imagine she had multiple reasons for taking the Sacred Beast, including that the beast cultivators were acting uppity. Naturally, a low-ranking cultivator like Jian Jile wouldn’t have the full picture.

Still, this doesn’t bode well for Zhubi. I need him back at my side, as soon as possible. He tightened his grip on the bird’s feathers. Maybe I can negotiate to get Zhubi back early as part of the negotiations for the tiger cub.

Though, on the other hand, Zhubi is a wild animal—or was. He used to survive in the wild on his own. Even without any help from anyone, he should be able to survive.

Probably. I hope so, anyways. Hui took a deep breath and set his eyes upon the Eighth Tier. Zhubi, I’m coming for you. Wait for me.