Hui narrowed his eyes right back at Bai Xue. “I’m not undressing, Elder Sister.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

He drew his robes apart just enough to bare his neck, then tilted his head. Shiny red feathers glimmered in the firelight. “I’m currently the Vermillion Bird.”

Jun Ke startled. “What? The Vermillion Bird?” He looked around at Li Xiang, Bai Xue, and Song Wei, all of whom simply nodded. He stared. “Is that not startling?”

Bai Xue glanced at him. “Once you get to know Xiao Hui, very little startles you anymore.”

“It’s true,” Li Xiang confirmed flatly.

Song Wei spread his hands. “Master is magnificent, the pinnacle of all cultivators. Naturally, he can become something like the lowly Vermillion Bird.”

“Er, I’m not magnificent, not magnificent at all,” Hui said awkwardly, quickly closing his robes again.

Jun Ke looked at Hui, then turned back to Bai Xue.

She snorted and waved a hand. “Our Xiao Hui has a few eccentricities in the head. You can disregard him.”

“His mental cultivation is weak?” Jun Ke asked.

“To the contrary. It’s too strong,” Bai Xue complained.

“No, no,” Hui said, shaking his head, but he couldn’t bring himself to continue. It’s just an outright lie at that point. There’s humble, and then there’s disregarding the truth. As a reasonable and balanced human being, I stop at being humble, without outright disregarding reality!

Jun Ke squinted at Hui. He’s someone who’s so powerful that it’s considered natural for him to absorb the strength of a cardinal beast, and he likewise has powerful mental cultivation? Why does he act like a cringing servant boy?

Hui cleared his throat. “In any case, I couldn’t help but notice that the Golden Immortal has dispersed the four cardinal beasts, save the Azure Dragon. If he’s dispersed the beasts, could it be that he fears bringing them back together?”

Bai Xue pursed her lips. Jun Ke hummed. Li Xiang yawned, barely covering her mouth in time.

“It’s worth a try,” Song Wei said firmly.

That reaction… is there something wrong with my suggestion? I’ll have to ask Bai Xue later.

“I’m not opposed, no,” Bai Xue said, putting whatever hesitation she’d had aside. “In the time we have, though?”

“We have Jun Ke and his disciples. With that kind of manpower, we can make a decent dent in searching the Immortal Realm. If we fail this round, we can easily pick up and try again next time,” Hui reasoned.

“Does it supersede finding the Elusive Ghost?” Jun Ke asked Bai Xue, ignoring Hui. I don’t know how to handle that Xiao Hui figure, so I’ll just pretend he isn’t there. That’s probably safer than acknowledging him.

Hui glanced at Jun Ke. Excellent. Elder Brother already understands my place. Yes, yes. Go ahead and ignore me!

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Bai Xue paused for a second, thinking, then nodded. “This loop, let’s put our all into finding the cardinal beasts. If we fail, we carry that knowledge forward into the next loop and try again. I’m willing to invest at least two loops into this attempt.”

Only two loops? Hui frowned. A second later, he shook his head. Bai Xue has only been awake for five loops. That’s almost half again the time she’s relived. It’s a big investment. Given that we don’t know how long time will keep looping, it’s a significant choice to make.

I can always continue going on my own.

Around Hui’s neck, Zhubi adjusted uncomfortably. His coils burned into Hui’s skin, fever-hot.

Hui touched his side comfortingly. “Can you hang on, Zhubi?”

Zhubi hissed, touching his nose to Hui’s jaw in reassurance.

And that’s the other thing. Zhubi is currently in a dangerous state. I don’t know about Li Xiang, but I imagine she’s likely similar. I need a solution for both of them. One that isn’t merely giving in to the heavens, nor completely rejecting them, either.

“If we have the Vermillion Bird and the Azure Dragon, then we’re only missing the Black Dragon-Turtle and the White Tiger,” Jun Ke deduced.

Right. And they don’t know about Zhubi. But… I’m not sure I want them to know. After all, I don’t think Zhubi really wants to be the Black Dragon-Turtle. It’s more something he was locked into. Whatever he wants to be, I’ll support him. But that does mean that if he doesn’t want to be the Black Dragon-Turtle, I need to have something lined up. So if they can find an alternative to Zhubi, I’ll happily accept it.

Hui cleared his throat. “I’ll see if I can find the White Tiger.”

“I go with Hui,” Li Xiang stated, crossing her arms firmly.

“Myself as well. Then, Song Wei, Jun Ke, we’ll leave the Black Warrior to you,” Bai Xue said.

Hui stiffened. He looked at Bai Xue. “What was that?”

“Eh? Do you want to bring them along? I don’t mind. More the merr—”

“No, no. That last thing.”

“Black Warrior…?”

Hui twisted his lips, sinking into thought. He gently touched Zhubi’s side, stroking his soft scales. That’s right. It’s an alternative reading to the final beast’s name. Black Warrior. Doesn’t that imply, though, that there’s an alternate option to Zhubi? Or maybe, better put, an alternate option for Zhubi.

He shook his head. Thoughts for later. Nodding to Li Xiang and Bai Xue, he turned to go. They fell in beside him, naturally following after his lead.

“This way, there’s a door to the outside from this chamber,” Bai Xue explained, nudging Hui toward the side.

“Ah, of course,” Hui said, turning his purposeless stride toward the direction she pointed.

To the side, Jun Ke squinted deeper at Hui. What on earth is going on? He acts like a servant, but that Bai Xue falls in behind him? The Bai Xue? There truly are heavens beyond heavens…

The door opened to sunlight. Jun Ke flew off, as if he couldn’t leave fast enough. As he flew, he lifted his fingers to his mouth and whistled. Other cultivators rushed to his side from across the grounds, some of them shedding their finery to reveal rags beneath. The lot of them gathered together in the sky for a moment, listening to Jun Ke’s directions, then split apart, flying off in all directions.

“So, where do we start?” Bai Xue asked, clapping her hands together.

“A moment, Elder Sister,” Hui murmured. He closed his eyes and reached out to the Vermillion Bird. It’s a cardinal beast. Maybe it can sense the other beasts.

A spark of fire appeared in his heart, like phoenix fire, and yet, not. It simmered with a gentle heat. He let out a breath, and almost snuffed it out, but a moment later, it leaped back to life.

It’s like a gentler phoenix fire, he thought, watching it from a distance. Maybe… a proto-phoenix fire. I don’t know if I can use it to fake death or not, but it’s always a good thing to have variety. Ha, even if they completely snuff my phoenix fire, I’ve got a backup flame!

Paying close attention to the heat it let off, he amplified it, sending it out into the world. Almost instantly, a pulse of water responded. Eh? That quickly?

Around Hui’s neck, Zhubi reared up, startled. He looked around.

Oh. My bad, Elder Brother. I should’ve figured that would happen. Hui pet Zhubi, comforting him.

Still, it confirms that I’m on the right track. He resonated with the fire’s heat again. Heat flew off of him, spreading through the world. Time stretched. He waited, holding his breath.

After a short eternity, something responded. A quiet, metallic ping.

Hui opened his eyes. “This way!”

Bai Xue mounted her fan, Li Xiang hopped on her sword, and Hui flew off, leading the way.