Master, This Poor Disciple Died Again Today

Returning to his body, Hui stowed the lotus seed under the floorboards and settled in to meditate the night away. He extended his divine sense as he meditated, keeping a close watch on his surroundings, but nothing strange occurred.

Night passed to dawn, and dawn to day. The villagers woke and began their routines. The children rushed around. The shopkeepers set up shop. The workers headed out to the fields.

Hui broke his meditation and stood. Zhang Ming sat on the cot, continuing to meditate, ignoring Hui. Hui cupped his hands to the man in greeting and walked off, neither expecting nor receiving a response.

Outside, the sun blared down. The hustle and bustle of the village surrounded Hui again. He smiled, warmed by the excitement of it all. It’s nice to be in this kind of ‘ordinary’ setting. It reminds me of back when I was in Starbound Sect. Ah—the good parts of Starbound Sect, anyways. Not the getting-bullied parts.

He walked the streets, no particular destination in mind. Hands tucked behind his back, he simply took it all in. This is a false day. What’s different from a normal day?

Nothing I can see, yet. But perhaps it’s simply my awareness that’s lacking.

I could go ask Zhang Ming. He seemed to know. But… Hui twisted his lips. I’m not sure Zhang Ming knows the truth, or if he just knows enough that he’s decided to give up. Even if he knows, he doesn’t seem excited to share. I’d rather not disturb Senior.

“Xiao Hui!”

Jie Xinlei ran up to Hui, beaming the same as yesterday. She tilted her head at him cutely. “Xiao Hui, good morning!”

“Good morning, Jie Xinlei,” Hui greeted her. He nodded. After what I heard last night, I want to be very clear about our relationship. At the end of the day, I’m not interested in picking up any more wives. My harem-searching days are over. Or, at the very least, I’d rather get my footing in the Immortal Realm before I search for romance! “Ah, Jie Xinlei, I don’t want you to make any mistakes. I’m not interested in you as a romantic partner.”

Her smile didn’t falter. “That’s okay. It will grow with time. That’s what Mother says.”

Hui’s heart shook. He kept smiling, but inside, he shivered. What a terrifying outlook. Jie Xinlei’s Mother, is this what you meant? For your daughter to be this instantly clingy and obsessive? We don’t even know each other yet, and she’s planning our honeymoon already!

“Jie Xinlei, I’ll have you know I’m a complete and utter coward,” Hui tried.

“Good, that’ll make it easy to win our fights.”

“I’m used to living alone.”

“Excellent, you’re self-sufficient! I won’t have to put too much into caring for you.”

“Although it was against my will, ultimately… ultimately, I abandoned both my wives and my children and shoved all the responsibility for raising my children onto my wives!” Hui tried. He panted, completely out of ideas. If this doesn’t do it…

Jie Xinlei froze, taken aback. A second later, that smile returned again, and Hui’s heart clenched at the sight of it. “That’s fine. It means you won’t interfere with my child-rearing decisions.”

Hui grabbed Jie Xinlei by the shoulders. She looked at him, tilting her head. “Is there a problem?”

“Jie Xinlei, treasure yourself,” Hui said seriously.

Jie Xinlei blinked. “Huh?”

Releasing her, he walked away, shaking his head. Why is she so adamant about falling for me, anyways? Would any man do?

… That’s probably it.

Er, Zhang Ming, I wonder… is that why he’s meditating on that cot? The only way to win is to not play! Zhang Ming, I suddenly understand you. Is there room on that cot for me? I think I’ll join you in dodging fair play!

Jie Xinlei chased after him. “Xiao Hui, wait! What about that chicken? Should I make chicken tonight?”

“No, I—I don’t want to give you false hope,” Hui said, raising a hand. If you make me chicken as some kind of betrothal dinner, what will I do then? I’m a little creeped out by your village, and a little creeped out by you, too! What if eating your chicken is equivalent to marrying you? I don’t need that kind of accidental karmic tie!

“False hope? It’s merely your welcoming meal! Xiao Hui, the chicken is entirely separate from you and me,” Jie Xinlei said, waving her hand.

“That is, er, I’m a cultivator. I don’t need to eat,” Hui quickly excused himself.

“You seemed excited about it yesterday,” she said, looking up at him cutely.

That was before I found out about this ‘fake day’ nonsense. And before you were this obsessive! Honestly, I still want to know what this fake day is before I commit to anything like chicken. “Er, I was tired,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “But I remembered today that I’m a virtuous, righteous, upright cultivator. The kind of straight-laced disciple who doesn’t eat, even when there’s delicious food right in front of him!”

“Disciple?” Jie Xinlei frowned.

“Er… well, yes,” Hui said, shrugging. Master is here, in the Immortal Realm. Doesn’t that make me a disciple again?

Jie Xinlei’s expression distorted. She opened her mouth to retort.

A murmur passed through the town. Jie Xinlei shivered. She looked up, along with all the other villagers in the town. Abruptly, all of them, adult, child, even animal, stopped moving, eyes locked on the sky.

“Jie Xinlei…?” Hui tried. He waved a hand in front of her face. Nothing.

Hui licked his lips. In a scenario like this… there’s obviously only one answer! Freezing just like rest of the villagers, he looked up. Casually, he swept his divine sense over Jie Xinlei. Isn’t breathing? No heartbeat? Even her qi is frozen? Well… easy enough! Hui froze his qi, suppressing all his bodily functions at the same time. His body almost slumped. Before it could, Hui changed his method of freezing his qi. Rather than stopping it from moving alone, he ran the crystallization technique on his qi itself, hardening it in place. Only the barest bit of qi remained un-crystallized, just enough to undo what he’d done. There. Now my body’s propped up, too!

All I have to do now is wait and see what they’re all freezing for.

Holding his breath, he gazed to the sky.