The sun beamed down. Brilliant blue blazed away, reflecting the sun’s light into Hui’s unprotected eyes. Hui resisted the urge to blink, even as his eyes grew itchy. I’m a cultivator. I don’t need to blink! Those are mere mortal limitations!

Damn, I want to blink, though. Itchy, itchy, itchy!

He waited. Frozen, staring at the sky, he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The hell are we standing around for? I have no problem with committing to the bit or playing dead for an extended period, but seriously, this is taking a long time! Why are we all standing around? Can someone explain? If I understand why we’re doing this, at least it won’t be annoying!

No, no. Don’t get impatient, Hui. They’re freezing for a reason. Trust in playing dead! Survival comes first. Especially in this large, dangerous new realm, survival comes first! I can put up with a little impatience if it means saving my small life.

A hum sounded in the distance, steadily growing louder. Bright gold light began to spread across the sky, more brilliant than the sun. A golden eye slid slowly across the sky, wide-open, gazing down on the village. Gold light so bright it seared away all details beamed down on them, leaving pitch-dark shadows beneath the villagers, casting the rest of the world in sheer white-gold. The hum blared in Hui’s ears, washing out all sound.

Intense pressure slammed onto Hui’s shoulders. If not for his crystallized qi, his body would have crumpled. Even then, he fought against the weight, barely remaining upright. Holy shit! Holy shit, that’s heavy! I’m going to die! Wait, I’m already playing dead. If I wasn’t playing dead, I’d die!

That eye is no joke. That thing… it’s definitely related to the gold arm. The pressure feels almost identical. Besides, how many beings at that powerscale are there?

Hui shivered internally as a terrible thought came to him. Gazing up at the eye, he barely resisted the urge to lick his lips. …Not many, right? There can’t be many. Please tell me there aren’t many.

In any case, I think I’ve found my adversary. The only question is… has my adversary found me? Did I suppress myself enough? Casually, Hui adjusted his qi signature, adapting what little remained uncrystallized to match the fluctuations of the man beside him. Undoubtedly, that being has seen my qi signature before. But maybe it didn’t notice me? Maybe it won’t notice me. I’m in the middle of a busy village. A needle in a veritable haystack.

Wait, let me rephrase that. Don’t notice me! Please don’t notice me, senpai!

…Anyways. All I can do now is stand here and wait. If that eye sees me, I’m powerless to escape. I have to believe. Trust in my death-faking. It’s taken me this far. Surely it can take me just a little further—!

The light faded. The hum quieted. Passing through the sky, the eye moved on.

Sweat dripped down Hui’s back. Relief flooded him, and at the same time, doubt crept in. Did it see me and choose to move on? Did it truly not see me? A being that powerful… I haven’t even come up with new death faking techniques.

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Maybe my death-faking plus needle in a haystack situation is what saved me. The combination of the two. It couldn’t easily see me, and on top of that, I disguised myself just enough to pass a casual examination.

And yet, I can’t be comfortable like this. I need a way to evade that being’s gaze for certain. But what?

All around Hui, the townspeople abruptly jumped back to life. Uncrystallizing his qi, Hui joined them, walking casually away as if he hadn’t seen anything just now.

Fake days. That terrifying eye, a false sun watching over them. What’s going on here? Why are they doing any of this? If the eye is in control, why does it want the Immortals living like mortals?

I hoped this freezing thing might give me answers, but all it’s given me is more questions. How frustrating. Hui shook his head.

“Xiao Hui!”

He froze, looking over his shoulder. That’s right. I was talking to Jie Xinlei. He smiled and bowed to her. “Elder Sister?”

“I’m going to make you my signature chicken today. You can eat it or not, but I’ll make it! Once you smell it, you’ll totally change your mind. I know it!” Jie Xinlei proclaimed, putting her hands on her hips and grinning at him.

Hui opened his mouth, then shut it. She wants to do this on her own. This is her pride. Who am I to refuse it? If she wants to make chicken, then let her make chicken. Whether I eat it or not, it’s more for her than for me, and there’s no need to harm her because I’m being suspicious.

He nodded and clasped his hands to Jie Xinlei. “Then Elder Sister, I’ll leave it to you.”

She beamed. “Wonderful! Just you wait!” Pointing her finger at Hui, she ran off, vanishing into the crowd.

I wonder if she’s so insistent because today is a ‘fake day?’ What is a fake day?

He sighed. Too many questions. Without a way to answer them, he wandered on.

For the rest of the day, Hui marked out the boundaries of the village. From the river where he’d met Jie Xinlei doing the laundry, to a forest on the far side, from the fencepost down the path into town to a bridge on the way out of it. As long as he stayed within the boundaries, he could move freely. However, at the edges, a firm, invisible wall of force prevented him from leaving.

Pausing at a distant portion of the barrier, Hui tried using death qi on the barrier. The barrier decayed, but only partially, and immediately healed the next instant. Furrowing his brows, he tried rot qi, the void technique, everything he could think of short of overloading the barrier or attempting to override it from within. Nothing worked. No matter what he tried, the barrier simply healed back to full a moment later. Powerful energy emanated from the barrier each time, almost familiar.

Hui put a hand on his chin, troubled. I’m really trapped here, then. I could probably figure out how to destroy the barrier if I sunk some time into it, but how long? Days? Months? Years? There’s some strange power on the barrier, something I don’t fully comprehend. I’ll need to understand that first, and to understand that, I’ll need time.

How often does that golden eye sweep this village? How many times will I have to fake death in order to accomplish that? Not that I have any problem with continuing to play dead, but the problem is that I don’t know what that eye is looking for. I got lucky last time and it didn’t notice me, but is that because I played dead properly, or simply a coincidence of being a needle in a haystack, and getting overlooked?

Nodding to himself, Hui slapped his fist into his hand. In times like these, there’s only one thing to do. Continue observing! Gather more data! Once I have sufficient data, then I can act! The first mistake many small cultivators like myself make is acting without enough data. It’s easy to mistake a protagonist for a face-slapping villain if one doesn’t observe carefully! Instead, through the power of observation, I’ll make sure I fully comprehend this situation before I act!

Nodding to himself, Hui turned around and walked back toward the village. I’m certainly not just waiting for dinner. I’m suspicious of that chicken, not hungry for it.

Immortal-level chicken… it must be delicious, though.

Not—not that I’m thinking about it! No, no. Escape. I’m thinking only of escape, and of the mystery of the false day!

I wonder how juicy Immortal chicken is… And she was so confident in her cooking… Hui swallowed his drool, wiping his mouth.