Hui walked slowly through the mist, sliding a foot in front of him before he took a step. Mist pressed close all around, preventing him from seeing more than five feet in any direction. Even the ground was obscured by mist, as if he were walking in a gray cloud. That hole should be right in f...
2021-12-04 18:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostBai Fenfeng’s branch had none of the sheen of the main family’s campus. Tiles hung haphazardly from roofs. Weeds sprung up in the corners of yards and gardens. Paint cracked and peeled, none of the care of the main family’s campus given to appearance. The stark contrast left her branch look...
2021-12-04 18:14:25 +0000 UTC View PostSalt-and-pepper ponytail pulled tight, Erlan perched atop a normal-sized calligraphy brush, his foot nearly longer than the brush itself. He held Gu Tian by the back of his belt, dangling the boy between his thumb and forefinger like a piece of garbage. He chuckled and shook his head at the three...
2021-12-04 17:53:29 +0000 UTC View Post“That’s dust from a lotus-pill blossom!” Hui said. He reached for his fire talismans, then hesitated. I can’t control the output very well. I don’t want to hurt Li Xiang!
“Or dust from a lotus pill… either way, keep it away from you!” Xue agreed. She reached out her...
2021-11-29 01:34:34 +0000 UTC View PostLively, the town bustled around them. Li Xiang skipped ahead, hands behind her back, a smile on her face. Bai Xue, draped in a white overcoat, followed after, and Hui took the rear.
“Is it okay to go out without your entourage, Young Master?” Hui teased Xue.
“I’m not Young Mas...
2021-11-29 01:33:33 +0000 UTC View PostThe sun slowly rose. At last, daylight flooded over the horizon. Xue sat up and blinked, looking around. “Jingwen… huh? What happened?”
“Before that, elder sister, could you release me?” Hui requested.
Xue glanced down at Hui, wrapped in her arms. She released him and steppe...
2021-11-26 03:56:40 +0000 UTC View PostJingwen retreated at speed, breath catching, cheeks red not only from exertion. She rubbed her face and shook her head, trying to make them fade. Stop blushing! Stop it! You’re stronger than this!
Black shadows darted to her. Jingwen blinked, forcing her poker face back into plac...
2021-11-26 03:55:47 +0000 UTC View PostStars twinkled overhead. One table at a time, guests stood and wandered out, vanishing into the gardens or out into the clan proper. At last, exhausted, most of the tables empty, Hui staggered out into the cool of night. He glanced back. “Xue, come on!”
“Ah? You really want me to walk...
2021-11-26 03:55:07 +0000 UTC View PostBreaking from his meditation, Hui stood and stretched. He glanced at the sun outside, already dipping low. From what Xue told me, it should be time to head down to the feast.
He looked around the room. Austere and simple, it had little more than the bed and nothing he was used to, ...
2021-11-26 03:52:51 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone! Thanks for reading mtpddat. Hope you're still enjoying the crazy journey!
With all the holidays coming up, I want to do a fun bonus for everyone--a Q&A segment! If you have any burning questions about the story, the characters, my process, etc, please message them to...
2021-11-20 18:59:28 +0000 UTC View PostBack in Bai Xue’s quarters, she yawned and stretched. “I imagine Mother will throw a feast tonight, so shall I show you around the clan? If there’s anything in particular you want to see, I can accommodate that too.”
Hui thought to himself, then sat up, touching the complex talisman...
2021-11-20 18:58:53 +0000 UTC View PostSitting back, Bai Xue let out a second long sigh. Broken out of his thoughts, Hui looked over. She shook her head, tossed her white hair out of her face, then stood decisively. “I haven’t even gotten the tea, and I’ve already pushed all my troubles onto you. I’m a terrible host. Wait a mo...
2021-11-20 16:01:50 +0000 UTC View PostThey strode through the streets. Bai Xue led the way imperiously, white robes sweeping over the cobbled floor. Ordinary cultivators made way for her, ducking out of her way. A few even ducked into a short bow as she passed. She paid them no mind, eyes on the horizon.
“Er, Bai Xue, you wou...
2021-11-20 15:57:59 +0000 UTC View PostAround the corner, four cultivators in black-and-white robes stood over two women. One, the woman from the alley, stood against the wall, fenced in by a snarling tiger. The other, Li Xiang, stood indignantly upright, spine straight, head lifted, pinned in place by a sword against her jugular. She...
2021-11-20 15:54:31 +0000 UTC View PostIn the kitchen, the two men from the alley lazed against a cold stove. The woman scurried back, carrying the teapot. She set it atop a small fire, the only live heat in the room.
“Is it time?” the first man asked.
“They’re cultivators. The girl is somewhere near fourth stage, ...
2021-11-20 15:48:22 +0000 UTC View PostLi Xiang rushed into a dark alley. Hui chased after her, whirling around the corner.
Two men cornered a female cultivator. One held her up against the wall, while the other held his sword at her throat. The woman screamed again, struggling weakly against her captor.
“You! Stop right...
2021-11-20 15:42:54 +0000 UTC View PostBuildings rose around them. People shoved by in all directions, hurrying here and there. Hui stuck close to Li Xiang, somewhat concerned someone might try to take advantage of her, but no one paid them any attention.
A city! It’s nothing like the cities I’m used to, no gleaming stee...
2021-11-14 22:28:44 +0000 UTC View Post“It hasn’t been a hundred years. What are you doing out of forced seclusion already?” Li Xiang asked.
Hui stepped forward. “Master let me out.”
She frowned at Weiheng Wu.
“No one is allowed to punish my disciple except myself.”
Li Xiang tipped her head. “Th...
2021-11-14 22:27:58 +0000 UTC View PostFace wrinkled in intense concentration, Hui manipulated his qi. He guided it under his skin, separating the dead layers from his body. His skin stung, but by now, the pain barely phased him. Holding a line of qi down the front of his body, he pushed out. The qi sliced through his skin, cutting a ...
2021-11-13 14:24:31 +0000 UTC View PostThe Sect Master descended before Hui. Hui cowered, trying not to shiver. I can’t fake my death again. He’s already seen it once.
Shit! I need a better death faking technique!
Crossing his arms, the Sect Master looked down his nose at Hui. “Do you know what you...
2021-11-13 14:22:40 +0000 UTC View PostAt the bottom of the peak, Hui paused and looked back. He isn’t behind me? That old man… he’s definitely a high-ranking cultivator. I got the impression he could flick me to death. I thought I could put off my death by another few seconds, but it seems like… he’s letting me go?...
2021-11-13 14:21:26 +0000 UTC View PostHui crouched close over the pot, biting his lip. Hovering his hand over the pot, he sent a thread of qi inside. It’s getting a bit too warm on the left… I’ll let that side burn down, and feed the right! He scurried around the pot and bent low, snatching up a pipe to feed air into t...
2021-11-13 14:19:53 +0000 UTC View PostHui wandered along the gardens, searching. A few Jade Garden Peak disciples tended to their gardens, hunching over plants to feed them qi or carefully watering them. None of them gave Hui a second glance.
He moved confidently, enjoying his stroll. Ahead, a stand of tall, bright green shoots...
2021-11-13 14:18:54 +0000 UTC View PostHui darted up Starbound Peak, slipping through the trees as he followed the familiar path up the mountainside. At this time of day, plenty of disciples wandered around, but no one cast Hui a second glance.
He sprinted across the path and ducked around to the back door of the cafeteria, then...
2021-11-13 14:13:41 +0000 UTC View PostA river rushed through the forest, a hundred meters wide. White water rushed past jagged rocks. Mist sprayed into the air, forming rainbows low above the river.
For a dozen meters until the river, the forest gave way to a meadow. On the far side, an identical gap stretched before the forest...
2021-11-13 14:10:09 +0000 UTC View PostXue released him. He plopped to his hands and knees, only just catching himself before he hit the ground. She looked around, surveying the forest around them.
Climbing to his feet, Hui copied her, equally lost. Forest spread in all directions. Trees rose high around them, canopies reaching ...
2021-11-06 20:29:01 +0000 UTC View PostWalls of force snapped up around Xue and Hui. Hui held onto Xue for one more second, and then the walls expelled him, throwing him backward. Hui plunged toward the earth below.
“I said I’d make you my furnace, and I will!”
“You’re ours, now!”
“Teehee.”
Hui...
2021-11-06 20:27:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe triplets charged at him from the left and the right. Hui glanced at them. “Xue, defend me.”
Xue jumped up and lunged at the nearer triplet. The second one danced back. The first’s sword met Xue’s claws. A blast of fire burst through the air. Xue narrowly ducked it and diverted, ...
2021-11-06 19:52:04 +0000 UTC View PostXue leaped, straight up. The ceiling hurtled down at them. Hui braced, flattening himself over Xue’s shoulder as much as possible. Xue’s head smashed into the ceiling with a resounding crack. They hung there, dangling from the ceiling.
Hui grimaced, then cautiously peered up. <...
2021-11-06 19:39:38 +0000 UTC View PostA blast of air, stirring the ghoul skin’s hair. Xue rushed past him and pressed against the door, dragging Hui after him by the wrist. He shoved against it once, twice, then leaned on it, handsome face plastered to the door like a dog begging to go out.
It worked! Resisting...
2021-11-06 18:42:59 +0000 UTC View Post