Chapter 12: With Friends Like These

Chapter 12: With Friends Like These

Walking around the pill furnace, Hui nodded to himself. He crouched down and peered under it, lifted the lid and poked around inside. Massive and built of wrought iron, it sat empty, a dark space inside. Hui kicked it. Metal rang, resonating like a bell. The furnace didnt budge.

Hui stood up again and nodded again, crossing his arms. Yep. Thats a furnace.

Master! Forget the pill manual. Your poor disciple doesnt know how to turn the furnace on! Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

Hui turned. In the distance, smoke rose over Cauldron Peak.

I bet they have all sorts of instruction manuals over there. But argh, I cant leave the peak!

He shook his head. Nothing for it. I guess my only option is to mess around!

So saying, he tidied the packages with pill materials into his hut. For a moment more, he stood there, stymied, then jumped to. Grabbing his extra robes, he brought them down to the edge of a nearby stream and washed them. Hui hung them up in the trees at the edge of his clearing and paused, looking around. That's all my chores. What time is it?

He looked up. The sun blazed down from high overhead, still far from the horizon. Damn. What am I supposed to do? I can't leave the peak, chores are done... What next? I don't have a job. There's no debt collectors to avoid, trying to snatch me up and kidnap me somewhere. And I don't have to eat, either, so I don't need to cook or fetch food.

Hui frowned to himself, lost. Until now, hed been busily attending outer sect exercises every day, afraid of proving unable to cultivate, diligently hurrying up Starbound Peak for dinner, then heading straight up his master's peak to sleep. Now that he could cultivate Hui tapped a finger against his chin. I guess I could cultivate more.

Mmm Ill do that tomorrow. Today, why don't I explore?

He wandered down the mountain, taking it easy. Sunlight played over the path ahead of him. Leaves swayed overhead, softly whispering against one another. Tiny creatures scuttled around in the branches and undergrowth, little flashes of white and brown fur before they vanished. A family of rabbits, largest one with a strange gem set in its forehead, paused and looked at him. He tipped his head to get a better look, and they turned tail and vanished into the undergrowth.

He caught a stray leaf off a tree and folded it into a leaf whistle, playing it quietly to himself as he walked. A gentle breeze tugged at his hair and robes, just cool enough. He closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying the day.

A sunny clearing opened to the right. Wildflowers and long grass swayed with the breeze, flowers' heavy heads bobbing. Hui loped over and plopped down in the fluffy grass. Bees and butterflies floated around him, attending to the wildflowers. Sun warmed his skin. He closed his eyes and knitted his fingers under his head.

Something wriggled in the grass near his head. He turned slightly to get a better look.

A strange snake stared back at him. Big round eyes, a silly upturned nose, brown-and-black-patterned scales on its back and a creamy underbelly, it looked as surprised as he felt. Their eyes met. Hui stiffened, bracing to leap away from a bite.

The snake rolled over belly-up and went still, tongue sticking out.

Eh? Hui sat up. He reached out and picked up the snake. Its body is cold. I dont feel any qi. Did it just die, right in front of me? He turned the snake over to get a better look at its pattern.

The snake twisted in his hands and went belly-up again.

Playing dead, huh? Hui asked, laughing. He flipped the snake over again. It twisted in his hands and turned over, as if insisting it was dead. This time, it flapped its mouth open and stuck its tongue out further.

You cant fool me! I know you arent dead! Hui announced.

Trying not to panic, Hui fell backward and laid flat on the grass. Its a spirit beast! Playing dead like you would against a mortal bear wont work here! I have to convince it Im not worth eating!

Around his neck, Zhubi went limp. Hui probed the snake with his qi, monitoring it as it died. Qi rushed through Zhubis passageways, then slower, slower, slower. All the qi at once, not any one passage. Its passages widened, reducing the pressure on the qi to nothing, and it stagnated. At the same time, something released into its bloodstream.

Ah! What is that? I need it!

For now, he copied the snakes circulation. Instead of clamping down, I need to widen my qi passages! Its just like water pipes. If theres no pressure to circulate the qi, it wont move!

His qi slowed, then stagnated. So, too, did his heart and his breathing, both slowing to nearly a stop. His vision clouded, and his limbs grew leaden once more. An awful ache consumed his body. Hui resisted the urge to tense. Ugh, it feels awful!

Bear it! It hurts less than getting mauled to death!

The spirit bear nudged him with its nose. Despite his inability to move, he felt it snuffle, felt the heat and humidity of its breath. It put its nose under him and flipped him over. Hui flopped over, lifeless.

Again, his vision started to fade to black. Slower than the first time, but all the same, it faded. Simultaneously, the ache in his passages grew stronger. His qi passages trembled, wanting to contract. The qi burned where it sat. I cant maintain this technique forever. If the bear doesnt leave soon

The bear put its mouth around his arm and bit, lightly.

Thats enough! Hui bolted upright and punched the bear in the nose.

Startled, the bear jumped back. It looked at him, more surprised than anything.

Ha! Im back from the dead! Take that! Hui jumped up. His qi rushed twice as fast as it had before, as if to make up for the stillness. Energy boiled through his veins. He grimaced at the bear, clawing his hands at it. Hey, hey! You were going to eat me, right? Eat me!

The bear backed away, then turned tail and ran. Hui jumped after it, baring his teeth. Yeah, you better run!

Qi poured into him, filling the gap in his dantian and then some. Hui staggered and caught himself against a tree. He struggled to draw breath, fighting against his raging qi. A manic energy urged him to chase the bear down and cut it apart. Curling his fist into the tree, Hui tensed his body and held himself back. I cant beat that bear. Its just my qi running wild.

His qi passages began to break down, leaking qi into his body. It burned into his muscles like acid. His organs quivered. He coughed and spat blood. Wiping his mouth, he frowned and focused on his qi.

Calm! Calm down! Stop absorbing!

No use. Qi swirled wildly into his body, engorging his passages and pushing at the walls of his dantian. His system strained, on the verge of exploding. A vicious pain tore through him, a thousand claws biting into him from his passages, a million teeth chewing at his dantian.

Trembling, he turned to the snake around his neck. Zhubi, this is a real problematic technique you have.

Zhubi reared back and sunk its fangs into his neck.

Oh hey, Hui managed. He sagged down the tree. I thought we were friends