Halfway through the meal, the lights in the room dimmed, save a single pure white beam shining from the heavens on the highest table in the house. A silvery shower of snow rained from the heavens as Bai Bing, Matriarch of the Bai clan, descended to her rightful spot, treading on air as simply as though it were firm ground. Wrapped in a pure white sheet in her arms, a tiny infant slept peacefully, its hair white as the falling snow.

A hush fell over the cultivators. All eyes followed the sight of mother and child.

“Oh, another in the bloodline, how lucky,” the Golden Merchant whispered to Hui.

“A baby girl, too,” Hui said, then bit his tongue at realizing how meaningless his words were.

The Golden Merchant chuckled. “Few know this, but babies who inherit the Bai clan bloodline are born white-haired regardless of gender. Only later, in early toddlerhood, do their male halves develop black hair.”

“Huh,” Hui muttered. He took another bite of his food.

Bai Bing settled into her spot, then gazed around the room. She gave a small smile and a nod, and the lighting returned to normal. Bai clan cultivators rushed from the corners with the main course and a fruit-scented spirit wine.

As his food was set before him, Hui’s server’s hand met his. A small, hard object exchanged hands. Hui retreated his hand under the table and inspected the object with his qi.

To his delight, a space at least as large as the interior of his old sedan opened before him. At last, a spatial ring!

Not just a space, either, but a space already halfway full of items. A quick scan revealed a gracious number of spirit stones and some items suited for talisman-writing: paper slips, cinnabar ink, spiritual brushes. A note and a few drawn talismans laid in a corner, awaiting a closer examination. A few miscellaneous items had been added as well, including extra robes and other sundries. Nothing exciting, but enough to support him for a good while.

Hui smiled. Even if they can’t publicly recognize me, it’s fine, as long as I get rewarded! It’ll be sad to watch all these spirit stones vanish, but on the other hand, I can’t wait to see the Sect Master’s face when I put a hefty dent in…

Sect Master’s face…

He glanced at Weiheng Wu. Right, what are we going to do about that? I’d assume Master has a plan, but I’m worried that Master’s plan is to simply crush everyone with his pressure. That works for most people, but I’m not sure it works for the Sect Master, and even if it does, it doesn’t work for this small cultivator once Master absconds back to seclusion again!

Hui cleared his throat. “Master, er, maybe we should prolong our stay in the Bai clan?” As long as we’re here, Sect Master can’t throw me back into forced seclusion! And if I stay here for long enough, maybe I can make up all the debt I owe. Maybe then Sect Master will be appeased enough not to throw me in forced seclusion!

Weiheng Wu shook his head shortly. “We’ve already wasted enough time. It’s time we return to the sect.”

“But Master, there’s so much to do in Twin Elemental City, we’ve barely scratched the surface!”

Weiheng Wu shook his head. Hui opened his mouth, only to close it again. The argument was already over.

Alright. No luck. So… what if I… er, that’s right, I’ve got a copy of Fatty right here! One blood qi copy and ninety-nine death qi copies, in fact, for a hundred total! If I just show him…

…but they all vanished when I broke into the next realm. Besides, there’s no guarantee the Sect Master will be appeased by the sight of a pseudo-illusory ghost-and-death-slash-blood-qi rendition of his beloved duck. In fact, it’s probably best that I keep the whole death-qi-duck thing to myself, if and when they do come back. Someone might mistake it for demonic cultivation, which would be a real shame. This small cultivator is a pure and upright cultivator of the righteous path, after all!

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Hui let out a sigh. He poked at the spatial ring again. Oh well. If I get locked in forced seclusion for the next ninety-seven years, at least this time I have enough life span to survive it as a third stage cultivator, and I have some materials to study while I’m in seclusion.

Around his neck, Zhubi coiled slowly, shifting his body uncomfortably.

“What is it, boy?” Hui asked quietly.

Zhubi let out a quiet hiss and settled down again, a miserable air about him.

Hui frowned, concerned. Is it the lotus pill? Is it bothering Zhubi? I should get someone a little more knowledgeable about spirit beasts than Master to take a second look at him. Ah! Not that I doubt Master’s knowledge or expertise, of course, but it would make me feel better if a specialist took a closer look at exactly what’s going on with Zhubi.

Mmhmm, whether I get locked into seclusion or not, I’ll fight the Sect Master himself to make sure Zhubi is okay first.

As the dinner wound down, Weiheng Wu stood abruptly. He nodded at Hui and declared, “It’s time to go.”

“Eh? Already?” Hui asked, stuffing another few bites into his mouth and tossing back a cup of spirit wine. He stood, brushing down his robes.

“Immediately. There is no time to waste,” Weiheng Wu replied.

If Master’s this insistent, there’s probably a reason. Hui nodded and followed him out into the night. Bai Xue gave him a short wave, which Hui returned by cupping his hands. I’d say a more thorough goodbye, but…

Outside, Weiheng Wu mounted his sword, and Hui hopped on behind, used to it by now. “Master, is there a reason for this rush?”

“You’ll understand soon,” Weiheng Wu replied.

Hui nodded.

The sword swooped into the sky. Weiheng Wu rode in silence, and Hui returned the favor, occasionally peeking at Zhubi. After his twisting earlier, the snake slept quietly around his neck with no sign of his previous distress.

“Hui,” Weiheng Wu said suddenly.

“Master?” Hui replied.

“Your progression is satisfactory, but it could be more rapid. I only took three years to progress to the fourth stage, myself. From there, taking time is understandable; one must comprehend the Dao and prepare their own path, and thus being thorough in one’s search is essential. However, the elementary stages should be overcome immediately. Once we finish our next objectives, devote yourself to cultivation and ascend to the fourth stage.”

“Three… three years?” Hui stuttered. I spent longer in the second stage!

Weiheng Wu nodded. “Indeed. I hoped your forced seclusion might have accelerated your progress, but It seems that you are better stimulated by field work, as I suspected. The Sect Master should not interfere in my disciples’ cultivation, as only a peerless master such as myself can best calculate your needs.”

Mentioning the Sect Master and calling yourself peerless in the same sentence? Ah, yes, it’s Master, after all! Hui cleared his throat. “Next objectives?” he probed.

Weiheng Wu stared ahead.

I guess that means I’ll find out when I get there. After a moment of thought, he glanced at Weiheng Wu again. “Er, Master, I don’t mean to pry, but from my understanding, a cultivator stops aging at the third stage. If you ascended in three years, shouldn’t you be… er, thirteen? In appearance, I mean.”

“Do you doubt me?” Weiheng Wu asked.

“Not at all! Not at all. It is the furthest thing from my mind,” Hui replied honestly. “I was more curious if you used an aging technique, or had some other secret.”

Weiheng Wu gave a small nod. “A cultivator’s natural age progression does halt when they reach the third stage, yes. However, you can will your age to progress, either at a natural or accelerated rate, or even will your age to regress.”

“Ah. Forgive me for not knowing this common knowledge,” Hui apologized humbly.

“For reasons beyond even my comprehension, this is not common knowledge. I suspect that other cultivators have not attempted to alter their age of appearance, or have somehow failed in the attempt,” Weiheng Wu replied.

Eh? Then, doesn’t that suggest that Master created an age-alteration technique, rather than it being something third-stage cultivators can alter at will? Age-alteration… wait, that’s incredibly useful for playing dead! If I play dead by rapidly accelerating my age, I can mimic withering or life-force-draining techniques! Alternatively, if I suddenly make myself younger after playing dead, I can slip out of chains and bindings and, additionally, vanish into crowds more easily. It’s the same as having a permanent, immediate disguise that no one can take away from me!

Hui glanced at Weiheng Wu. “Master, is it possible… could you impart some of your knowledge of age-alteration to this small disciple?”

“It is simplicity itself to comprehend the mysteries of aging. A moment’s devoted meditation should be more than enough.”

“This small disciple is not as gifted in the arts of comprehension as you are, Master. Surely you could bear to impart this small disciple with a morsel of your knowledge?” Hui pushed.

Weiheng Wu glanced over his shoulder at Hui. “Perhaps a few decades of seclusion to work on your comprehension would do you well, after all…”

Hui paled. No! I still have the debt to pay off, and I hate that cave! I want to stay outside and play in the sunlight! “No need, Master, no need! This small disciple will work hard on comprehension!”

Satisfied, Weiheng Wu gave him an approving nod. “We’ve almost returned. Prepare yourself.”

“Prepare myself for what?” Hui asked, peering around Weiheng Wu’s shoulder.