Chapter 31: Unlikely Allies

Chapter 31: Unlikely Allies

Hands pulled at his robes. Hui startled awake and swatted blindly, reaching for his sword before his eyes opened. His head banged against the wall, and pain burst out across his skull. The pain echoed inside his head, a hangover from the ghouls venom. Hui rubbed his head and cringed, wincing. Ow

Ah, sorry. I thought you were dead.

He opened his eyes.

The white-haired beauty straddled him, still holding his robes with one hand. Their faces nearly touched, red eyes gazing right into his, her full red lips hovering too close. Startled, Hui crawled away, only to bang his head on the wall again.

Ow, dammit, he muttered, rubbing his head.

The beauty laughed and let go, showing him her open hands as she backed away, giving him space. I didnt take anything.New novel chapters are published on

Eyes narrowed, Hui patted down his robes. Pills, talisman, swords gold. Quietly, he muttered, Zhubi? She take anything?

The snake bobbled against his neck, shaking its head.

Ah! How cute, the beauty said, smiling. Her peach-blossom eyes glittered, white eyelashes long and graceful. He stared, momentarily dumbstruck.

What what is a beauty like you doing here? Hui managed, finally putting his thoughts in order. He fixed his hems and sat up, but stopped there as his head pounded. Im not sure I can stand right now, and Im kind of afraid to find out. Best not to let her know how weak I am.

Same as you, taking shelter from the night. Little did I know Id find my fellow interloper in this cave! She laughed delicately, hiding her mouth with her hand.

Hui patted his chest and arm. Both had stopped bleeding. His qi had regenerated as well. Aside from the hangover from the poison and the recent bashing of his own head against the wall, hed recovered.

He leaned forward, then slowly climbed to his feet. His head wobbled, but he managed to hold his balance. A few years older than him, the white-haired beauty stood six inches taller than he did, tall even for a man and well taller than his fifteen-year-old self.

Already hit your growth spurt, huh, Hui grumbled silently.

He bowed. Xiao Hui greets elder sister.

Ah, haha, no need for such formality. We both broke in, after all. That puts us on equal footing as interlopers. She lifted him from his bow and smiled. Bai Xue. Call me Xue, fellow interloper.

Xue nodded.

Of course not! Thats demonic cultivation, Hui replied, insulted. Im not a demonic cultivator! Im just a little interested in human-skin masks and death qi, okay? This little Hui is on the path of righteousness!

Of course, of course. Xue smiled gently, almost mocking him.

He narrowed his eyes at her.

Abruptly, Xue shivered. She clutched an arm around herself and jerked away from Hui, other hand over her mouth. Her jaw quivered, almost in fear, but not quite.

What? Hui asked. He frowned at her, then checked his butt. Masters medicine wore off long ago, right? My stomach hasnt gurgled in a while

Nnothing. Ah, Im tired. Mind if I rest for the night? Xue asked, yawning exaggeratedly. She ducked her head slightly so her hair fell in her face, hiding her eyes.

Cultivators at your stage definitely dont need rest. Hui frowned at her, then shook his head. Everyone has their circumstances. Maybe she practices an odd style or got injured, like I did. As you please.

Wake me in the morning. She smiled at the floor, eyes still hidden, then raised her hood. He caught a glimpse of a talisman fluttering down from the roof of the hood, and then Xue turned away and curled up. Only her ankles poked out, bound by thick red silk rope. Her feet crossed over one another, delicate pale ankles and white slippers somehow unstained despite the dust outside.

Hui frowned at the rope. She cant run like that, can she? Can she even walk? Her legs are bound so tightly Is this part of her cultivation technique?

Xue shifted. Her long skirts flopped over her ankles, hiding them from view. The flame moth fluttered over to him, dimming its light to a low glow, and Xue fell into the shadows.

Shaking his head, Hui turned back to the pig-skin mask. He threaded his qi into it again, careful, wary of the delicate circuits in the masks spell.

Xixings qi welled up to meet his. Instinctively, Hui flinched away, but instead of assaulting his meridians, hers merely mingled with his. Right, right. She made this artifact, but its not like shes on the other side. She isnt going to attack me or anything.

Reassured, he continued his examination. Unlike the talisman, the qi hadn't been pushed in all at once, in the shape of a single technique. Instead, spells layered upon spells, each layer positioned so that all the layers together created one great formation. Spells for preserving the skin, for fitting it, for attaching to a face, for releasing a face, for moving along with the face and transmitting emotions, chewing, shifting, all layered and hammered into the material until the pig skin came alive. Pills, too, went into its creation. Hui felt the residue from where the skin had been bathed in pills for months until the pig skin grew its own qi circuits and could hold qi.

He touched the ghouls skin. I dont need to worry about that, do I? It was an undead cultivator. Its skin should already hold qi.

Pushing qi into the ghouls skin, he confirmed what he suspected: it held his qi, the same as the pig skin did after Xixings treatment.

Hui smiled. Perfect. Lets give this a try!