Chapter 35: From the Frying Pan

Chapter 35: From the Frying Pan

Hui rubbed a hand over his face. Taking a deep breath, he centered himself, forcing the panic out. He glanced at the door. It remained sealed, Xues spell still holding. Trapped in a room with a fourth-stage cultivator whos about to turn into a fourth-stage ghoul Master, of all the ways this poor disciple could die in this secret realm, I didnt expect to go like this.

What do I have? I still remember how to create the wind talisman dammit, but I wasted the fire talisman! And wind isnt effective on undead cultivators. Theres the complex talisman He reached under his robes and touched it. No, I dont know what it does. Unless I have nothing else, I dont want to resort to that.

Something cold and rubbery brushed against his wrist. Hui glanced down.

The ghoul skin stared back at him, mouth a slack O without any bones to hold it.

His eyes widened. I almost forgot!

Xiao Hui, Im truly sorry. Ill restrain the curse as long as I can, but I dont know what your odds of survival are. If you dont make it, I pledge to repay your sect or clan for your death, Xue vowed.

You cant afford me, Hui replied.

Ehhuh? Xue asked.

Hui glanced at him. Ive deceived you as well. My real my daoist name is Weiheng Hui. Im the only inheriting disciple of Starbound Sects Weiheng Wu.

Bai Xues eyes widened. That Weiheng Wu? The unparalleled, once-in-a-thousand-generations Weiheng Wu?

Hui nodded.

Fuck, Xue muttered.

Which is why I wont die. He grabbed the ghoul skin and pulled at the mouth.

II thought you failed to forge that, Xue said, startled.

I did. Hui fed qi into it and stretched the mouth wide, then stepped through.

Then

I failed to forge it, but I comprehended most of the spell circuits in the pig-skin mask. As long as Im wearing it, in contact with it, I can power the spells from the inside. Its not efficient, but it should allow me to disguise myself as an undead.

For a second, Xue smiled, hopeful, but then the hope fled. It it wont work. Im not very conscious as an undead, but I I know I can see qi. Ill see your qi, your life force, and attack you anyways.

Thats where the gamble comes in, Hui said, pulling the skin up over his waist. It felt strange, not unlike putting on a full-body latex glove, or a particularly thin, tight wetsuit.

The gamble? Xue asked.

Hui nodded, trying to hide his shaking hands by pulling the skin up further. Im going to study your death qi and replicate it.

Xue shook his head. Inin one night, thats

I knew it! It was death qi I saw! Probably built into the curse. Or the source of the curses power? I dont know much about death qi yet, but if it works the same way as ordinary qi, either is possible.

No, come on! Hui pushed qi at the strand.

Qi reached out from his dantian, and the two reconnected. His qi stopped fading, but the strand connected to his dantian again, firmly rooted in the source of his qi.

Come on. Theres got to be a way to connect it without connecting it. Like like a cell phone. Wireless data, right?

He cut off a piece of his qi again. This time, he hovered the cut end of the thread near the qi. The piece fluttered, then went still and faded. Bright blue darkened to royal blue, to navy, energy dissipating.

Frustrated, Hui furrowed his brows and focused, reaching out more intently while holding his qi back from touching. Something? Anything? Its not like cultivators have to touch their swords to call them out! Dont tell me theyre all manually reaching them with their qi? Thatd take way too long! No way!

Little more than a smudge of deep blue in the darkness, his qi suddenly brightened just a hair, from deep blue to navy.

Huis eyes lit up. There!

Xues grip on his wrist grew painful. Claws bit at the undeads skin he wore, pushing indents into his skin beneath. Hu Hui

Almost! Hui replied. He drew the second strand further away from the piece. More than an inch, and his head pounded, separated qi shriveling in response. Okay. Okay. I cant go very far. But I can do this!

Hui, I cant Xue murmured.

You can! Hui snapped back.

Rough motions jolted him back. He slammed into the wall. His head hit hard, the blow muffled by the undeads scalp. Xue leaned his forehead against Huis shoulder. I want, want meat

Damn, why couldnt he still be in yin form? I wouldnt mind so much if she took a little nibble! Hold on, hold on, alright? A little longer!

Hui dove back inside. Moving quickly, he separated a piece of his qi from the main stream. Manipulating the piece and the probe together, he reached out toward the smoke bleeding off Xues yang energy.

Hungrily, the smoke jumped to his piece of qi. It devoured the qi, almost desperate.

Before the qi fully extinguished, Hui fed it more energy from a distance. The smoke wavered, searching. He snatched the main probe away. The smoke fell back, but the qi faded at the same time.

No, no. Hui inched his probe closer, feeding the piece of qi again. On its last legs, the smoke puffed back into existence. He drew the probe back, toward himself, trailing the smoke after. From Xue, across into himself, then toward his dantian.

Careful. Careful, now. All his mental energy focused on the task except for the scrap maintaining his skins spells, Hui drew out more of his qi. Like the first piece, he cut it off, then quickly pushed it toward the first separated piece. Fed by the additional qi, the smoke grew stronger and billowed more thickly. He guided it around his dantian, masking his qi and life energy with a thin film of the smoke.

Did it work? Breaking out of his intense focus, Hui drew a sharp breath and looked around. Xue leaned against him, still gripping onto his wrist.

Firmly, Hui pushed Xue away from him.

White skin, wound through with blue veins. White eyes. A gaping mouth, dripping thick strands of saliva. Ragged clumps of hair hung in uneven strands, already falling forward into his face.

Xues eyes flashed. He dashed at Hui.

Hui froze, eyes wide. Oh shit!