Hui zoomed off, low to the ground. Rocks jutted up at him. Stray ceiling tiles from shattered roofs cut at his body, while he swerved narrowly around fallen wooden beams. Li Xiang glittered after him, a brilliant bauble attached to a fast-moving fly. I’ll fly low! Lose them!

“It’s headed your way, Xie Tiangong!”

“I see it!”

Warned by the shout, Hui swerved moments before a pair of fair hands clapped at the air where Li Xiang would have been a moment later. A second beautiful woman climbed out of the ruins, dressed in tattered clothes. She clicked her tongue and spat in a very unladylike fashion. “Nearly had it!”

“Let’s follow it. Maybe it’s going somewhere important!” Fa Longhua reasoned.

“Or it is something important,” Xie Tiangong said, grinning. “Catch it!”

Maybe it’s nothing important, and going nowhere! Did you consider that? Hui retorted silently. One of the girls pounced. He swerved, barely dodging to the left as her hands slapped down on the ground, only to find himself flying directly into the welcoming arms of the other girl. Hui’s eyes flew wide. He dropped to the floor, bolting between her legs.

The second girl shrieked and clasped her knees together. She whirled around, staring after Hui, then turned back to her fellow fairy maiden. “Xie Tiangong, did you see that? There’s a man on the end of it!”

“Are you sure? I only see the sword,” Xie Tiangong said, tilting her head.

“He’s very small!” she insisted, shaking her head.

The two girls gave each other a look, then fell apart in giggles.

Hui pursed his lips as he flew on. I know I’m a small bug, but even Bai Xue was satisfied, okay? There’s no need to look down on this small… very ordinarily perhaps a little larger than usual cultivator.

In the distance, a secondary pulse of magic flew forth, a ring of yin with the same seeking energy as the first pulse had possessed. Eyes wide, Hui put on an extra burst of speed, hurtling away from the ring. I don’t want them to find me! I don’t know what that Elusive Ghost is, but it’s not me. Leave me alone, Elder Siblings!

Darkness loomed ahead. A cave, formed from the enormous walls of a half-collapsed building. Hui whipped inside and uncompressed himself, quickly putting his earlier disguise back on. He stood at his full height and puffed his chest out, looking down at the entrance with an authoritative glare. Reaching out, he called Li Xiang to his hand and held her pinched between his finger and thumb, as if he’d just caught her.

“In there!” Fa Longhua whipped around the corner, Xie Tiangong on her heels. Fa Longhua caught sight of Hui and dug her heels in, stopping on a dime.

Xie Tiangong thumped into her from behind. “Fa Longhua, what…”

“Senior Jun Ke!” Fa Longhua shouted, reverence in her voice, though Hui got the sense she shouted it more as a warning to Xie Tiangong than a greeting. She quickly clasped her hands to him.

Startled, Xie Tiangong clasped her hands as well, bowing beside Fa Longhua. Her voice quavered. “My… my apologies, Senior Jun Ke!”

Hui blinked. I… I was just planning to act as if I’d caught the loot first. Apparently I’m an important person? The other two cultivators didn’t seem to care that much about this face.

Well, then again, cultivators are highly stratified. It could be that I’m the Heavens to these girls, but that couple are the Heavens to me. The Heavens beyond the Heavens, as it were.

Based on how they’re acting… should I try to be domineering?

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“Did you want this sword?” Hui asked, looking down on the girls.

Fa Longhua nodded, trembling. “Yes… yes, please, Senior Jun Ke.” She extended her hands hopefully. Beside her, Xie Tiangong delicately held out her hands as well.

Hui hesitated. Now I feel bad about not giving it to them. But… I can’t give them Li Xiang.

Stay strong, Hui. I’m being domineering! Domineering. I can do this!

Hui scoffed. “Ha! I caught it. It’s mine.”

Fa Longhua’s face fell. She pulled her hands back, clasping them again once more. “Of course, Senior.”

Behind her, Xie Tiangong’s expression turned vicious for a moment, only to be wiped away the next.

Hui’s stomach whirled. Ugh. Now I really feel bad about this. I need to end this act and get out of here, now. “I’ll let you go, this time. But in the future—”

Mid-sentence, he froze. Behind the girls, the couple from earlier walked in. Their eyes landed on him, and they instantly threw their hands out, strands of qi caught between them in an intricate formation. Hui bolted, but too slow. Threads of qi peeled off of the walls all around him, and closed in around him.

Hui quavered, then forced himself to stand his ground. I’m still Jun Ke. Domineering, domineering! They aren’t allowed to do this! He pulled himself to his full height and looked down on them with cold eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“No, let me ask you. What do you think you’re doing? Elusive Ghost.” A tall, attractive man in tattered clothes stepped out from behind the couple, wearing the same exact face as Hui.

Hui’s heart raced. The threads closed in around him. He threw his hand out. “The Elusive Ghost!”

Jun Ke laughed. “What a poor attempt. Ah, but I think I’ll take this.” He flicked his hand. Immense force far beyond Hui’s strength yanked Li Xiang from his hand.

“Give that back!” Hui shouted.

Jun Ke narrowed his eyes. Killing intent almost pierced into Hui’s heart. He stumbled, barely keeping his feet. He’s powerful! Crazy powerful. I can’t fight that.

Shit! Hui bolted, instantly trying to fly off with all his power. The second he made a move, the threads swirled around him, drawn to his motion. Like threads of cotton candy or candy floss to a paper cone.

The threads trapped him in space—or rather, trapped his abandoned, crystalized snakeskin. Hui flew out through a gap in the threads, flying deeper into the darkness. He glanced back once as he fled, his eyes locked on Li Xiang. I’m coming back for you. I won’t leave you behind.

“He’s escaping again! Catch him!” the female part of the couple demanded.

“Yes, Auntie Lilan!” the girls chorused.

Ah! I wonder. Is this the Beggars’ Sect? They usually wander the mortal realm, but… well, what stops a Beggars’ Sect from forming in the Immortal Realm, I suppose? Usually, there’s no mortals to mingle with, but there’s cities of mortal-like Immortals here, so why not a Beggar’s Sect?

The girls closed in on Hui, moving with practiced sync. Startled, Hui sped up again. Ahead of him, only darkness stretched. He dropped to the ground and tried to burrow into it, but an Immortal-level tile floor blocked his way. Hui wrinkled his nose, frustrated.

A loose tile ahead of him hung out of its binding. He grabbed it, twisting it out of the last of its footing, then paused, looking at the tile clasped in both his hands. Er, does this count as loot? It’s not the most impressive thing I’ve ever looted. Is it even worth a spirit stone?

“There!” One of the girls leaped at him.

He about-faced and shot around the girl’s leg. Zipping over the ground, he aimed for the exit, only to find the other three powerful cultivators waiting for him there. He whipped around again, only for the two girls to close in on him from behind.

Caught between the two, Hui whirled. Escape or darkness, risk the powerful cultivators or get chased into the corner by the girls. He turned, then back, then back again. Frozen in place, he trembled.

Ahhh! I have to go for it! He hurtled for the sky, flying up into the upper corner of the exitway. The couple threw their threads at him. Weaving between them with his small body and warding off the closer ones with fierce rot and death qi, he darted out into the world, clutching the tile to his chest.

They went to chase Hui, but Jun Ke lifted his hand. As if they were dogs, and Jun Ke had yanked their leashes, they stopped dead as Hui flew off into the distance. “Enough. He’s merely a bug. Not worth your time.”

“The Elusive Ghost—”

“Is not him. Did you not notice his aura? He’s a living Immortal. A low-realm one. What he was doing with such a fine sword is anyone’s guess.” Jun Ke looked at the sword in his hands, reverently turning it over, then sheathed it carefully at his hip. “A sword with its own Immortal-level Dao spirit and Dao heart…”

“It’s that valuable?” the man of the couple asked.

Auntie Lilan smacked him. “Uncle Ruilei, hush.”

Ignoring them, Jun Ke tipped his head. “Let’s return for tonight. Dawn comes soon.”

The couple turned, looking at the still-dark sky. They exchanged a glance.

Gold flashed in the distance. Abruptly, they nodded. Jun Ke turned, flying in the opposite direction, and the other four Immortals followed after him.

Far away, Hui jolted to a stop. Still hugging his tile, he turned back. Where are they going? With Li Xiang? I won’t let you!