Hui crossed his arms, his lips twisted. He looked at the Prince.

“That’s… that’s really all, I swear. Please,” the Prince said, shaking his head.

Li Xiang glanced up. “He’s telling the truth.”

I wish he wasn’t. Hui sighed. These skills of his are… how to put it? Not the most impressive skills of all time.

He looked at the talismans in his hands, all of which he’d composed from seeing the Prince’s skills. Phoenix Escape Technique, Call the Wind and Rain, and Valorous Blow. Of the three, Phoenix Escape used a fire attack as a feint to flee, Call the Wind and Rain used karmic principles to call for backup, and Valorous Blow used all one’s strength to land a single blow… on a stationary, immobile target.

Hui shook his head. What a young-master-like set of moves. Phoenix Escape to escape when you’re backed into a corner by someone too strong, Call the Wind and Rain, well, that one doesn’t need any explanation, and then Valorous Blow… ha, ‘valorous!’ Truly, a great technique for young masters, to land the final blow on an enemy your underlings have already held down for you. What a collection. What a collection!

Hui sighed. On the other hand, at least I have some Immortal-level attacks now. They’re all Immortal-level trash attacks, but… well, it’s better than not having an Immortal-level technique. And the Phoenix Escape uniquely suits me, so perhaps meeting this Prince was karma. After all, I love escaping, and I’m aligned with phoenixes. I don’t know what I’m going to do with the other two, but I’m sure I’ll find a use for them. If nothing else, I’m good at improv!

He tucked the three talismans into his robes and smiled at Li Xiang. “I’m done with learning his techniques. Should we send him back to his people?”

She looked at the Prince. “You’re free to go.”

The Prince backed away. “You—you people will hear—”

Hui cleared his throat. “Your Eminence, I haven’t opened the barriers yet.”

Instantly, the Prince returned to smiling. “Excellent, I’m very pleased to have served you. Could I please be let free?”

“Since you asked nicely,” Hui said. He snapped his fingers. The barriers popped.

The Prince shot off like a bat out of hell, fleeing so fast he left afterimages behind him. Hui nodded at the other two. “Shall we do the same, before he fetches reinforcements?”

Li Xiang nodded.

Bai Xue grinned. “Or, you know, we could stay and put on a show…”

Hui narrowed his eyes at her.

She put her hands up. “A joke, merely a joke.”

Taking a moment to reorient himself to the resonance with his body, Hui took to the air once more, flying low through the forest to avoid catching the eyes of the other cultivators. Li Xiang and Bai Xue followed after him. They left the clearing behind them quickly, and the battlefield as well.

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In the distance, a set of ancient ruins rose up, perched on the side of a misty, dark mountains. To Hui’s surprise, he didn’t recognize them. He paused, thinking. These ruins weren’t in the garbage realm. Why not? Did he not want to throw all the problems in one place? That’s reasonable, but if that’s the case, why leave the White Tiger’s ruins in the Immortal Realm, instead of hiding them in a different garbage realm?

I’m getting bad vibes. Something’s wrong here.

He glanced over his shoulders. “Be careful. There’s something off about these ruins.”

Bai Xue nodded. She brandished her fans. To the opposite side, Li Xiang drew her sword.

They swooped in. Hui landed quietly. Ash swirled around his feet as he landed. Scorched stone laid in piles all around. The broken remnants of charred wood poked up here and there, long weathered to gray, most of the black soot faded and washed away. A signboard laid broken on the ground, its paint washed away, the carved letters half-burned. Hui stepped carefully around it, scanning the ruined sect. Burned to the ground. Someone wanted this place gone.

“Seems like the kind of place the Elusive Ghost would like,” Bai Xue commented.

“He doesn’t just haunt the one ruins?” Hui asked, curious.

Bai Xue shook her head. “He wanders. As far as we can tell, the Elusive Ghost remembers from loop to loop. He pops up in different ruins every time.”

“You’re fortunate he ended up in the ruins near the brothel this time,” Hui commented.

She shook her head. “The brothel can be moved. It’s actually an Immortal ship. The brothel opens wherever we park it.”

“Oh,” Hui said, startled.

“It’s famous in the Immortal Realm,” Li Xiang confirmed.

“Oh. Really?” A moment later, he shrugged to himself. No, actually, I’m not that surprised. Of course Bai Xue would open an Immortal-Realm famous brothel. What else?

“It’s annoying to have it built every time, but I’m used to it,” Bai Xue said, shrugging.

Hui stopped dead. The other two almost ran into him.

“What?” Bai Xue asked.

“How long do you spend in the Immortal Realm?” Hui asked.

Bai Xue shrugged. “Each loop is about fifty years? I don’t pay that much attention.”

“I woke up today!” Hui protested.

Bai Xue shrugged again. “I don’t make the rules. You’re not the only one that shows up late, in any case. Song Wei usually shows up about ten years in, but sometimes he’s there from the start, and sometimes he doesn’t show up at all. Sometimes I miss loops, too, though I didn’t know it until I started meeting other people who remembered the loops.”

Messy, huh. Typical of whatever’s wrong with the Heavens. Hui nodded. “I understand, Elder Sister.”

They strode through the center of the ruins. Hui led the way, walking toward the one building that still stood amid the burned down ruins. A simple stone building sat atop the peak. One story, with a conical roof, it was bizarre in its simpleness. Stone stairs set into the mountain wound their way up to the hut.

Ash dusted up around the trio’s feet as they climbed toward the hut. Hui stopped at the peak, looking at the hut. He took a deep breath. He looked over his shoulders, left, then right. Li Xiang, then Bai Xue. “This… is probably the end of this loop.”

“Mhm.”

“Catch you next time.”

Around his neck, Zhubi shifted, uncomfortable.

Hui turned back. “I made a lot of mistakes. I did the first time, and I did this time, too. Li Xiang, Zhubi, I’m still… I don’t think we’ve found the answer. But I won’t stop looking.”

Li Xiang nodded. Zhubi strained up on his neck, barely touching his jaw.

“Bai Xue… well…”

“We’ll see each other again. Unless you want to go say goodbye? I saw a nice thick stand of trees right over that way. Could fit three people, if you were really creative.” She flicked her eyes up and down his body suggestively.

“Er, next time, maybe next time,” Hui said, putting his hands up and backing away.

Bai Xue chuckled. “Yes, of course.”

He turned back around and faced the hut. Another deep breath. I’m going to feel really stupid if I’m working myself up for nothing. He swept his divine sense ahead of him, but sensed nothing.

“Come in already. I’ve waited long enough.”

A voice spoke quietly from the hut. Despite its quietude, it commanded infinite presence.

Hui trembled. He looked back one last time, then turned his eyes ahead and strode into the hut.