The group of three stood in a formation. Yet there was a space between them, Hao didn’t think it was coincidental that there was a two-arms length or an arm and sword length away from each other. Two of them had the robes matched, and those robes matched Hao’s. The only difference was that their blue Drifting Stream Robes were in one piece, whereas Hao, were in a few pieces put back together, the white stitches were obvious enough even in the dark.

  The third, or first, if they stood in order, wore a cloak of white. The light blue shawl on top of her cloak seemed pointless, as it covered her shoulders and nothing else. If it did, Hao would have appreciated it as she leaned forward towards him. Even after all the torture that Meiqi and Zhengqi put him through, he found it hard not to blush.

  Hao did an alright job, inspecting each, his eyes flashing from foot to hand to weapon to neck. Where his eyes ended was the chest of the woman in front. Which, in his defense, was on display. He clenched his fist and pinched his palms. He kept himself as calm as he could be, on his face at least, no blush, no arrogance, and no subservient tilt of his head. His eyes pulled hard on the man and woman in the back. Both of them had that air of Cultivator arrogance about them, their noses high enough to paint a mural on the cave ceiling.

  Hao didn’t recognize them; they were from the same Sect, but the only people in the sect he had spoken to were five people in the Sect. Except for the Elders. And despite their arrogance, they weren’t in any way connected to the Elders, even by extension of Mo Bangcai. Hao had that face memorized.

  He looked away from them and back at the woman in front. Hao subtly shook his hands, feeling a tingle in his fingertips and toes.

  She was the only one not holding her weapon. Still, without a doubt, she was the most intense of the three. Her lips pursed and pushed forward as she stared Hao up and down. One eyebrow raised as she finished the route. Face to foot, wandering in a few places that made him feel naked.

  Hao looked at her lips, her eyes, and back at her chest. He took a step forward and looked down at her. If she stopped looking down, so would he. It made his throat clear. “What are you…” There was a slight distortion, the cave seemed to get smaller. He stopped himself from speaking as much as the woman in front of him did.

  The woman in the white cloak and shawl must have taken his grunt for dissatisfaction. The other two as well, though they were far more jumpy. Hands gripped blades, Hao wasn’t sure why; they certainly looked at him with fear or admiration, but they held nothing but disdain. He could guess the man’s reason was looking at the woman’s breast more than Hao’s.

  Though Hao got a better look and a quick silence with her sudden bow. The way she looked at him was closer to the way the snake looked, but her actions showed her intentions otherwise.

  “This, Martial Brother, does not need to worry. We are not here to fight each other, but rather, find our way through the trial.” Her voice was softer than before, smooth and seamless. The voice any man would want to wake to.

  Hao stared down until the shawl fell down, wrapping the wing necklace and the bosom like snowy mountains all the same. Though there was one other thing he noticed, buttons poking the front of his shirt. This time, he did pull his head away, going redder than a wolf crab in spring.

  She continued, her face down, not seeing the face Hao made as he thought of salt-drenched, sun-dried mudflats. Something to distract him from thoughts he wasn’t quite used to, but doubtless enjoyed in a manner. Did she have to bow?

  “It’s just that we are gathering. We heard noise from every which way, it was only a chance that this is the way we chose, little brother. You are the first we’ve seen since we three have met. You may…”

  The man jumped in, his step forward, kicked up dirt. “Senior Sister Yao, there is no need to worry about this one.” His voice contained a sneer, but his lips, eyes, or nose never shifted.

  Behind him, the woman was quick to follow, standing directly behind the man’s back. “Senior Sister, I am sure you saw the mockery too, before the gateway was open to the Secret Realm. He even made a fool of himself before we even landed. He can hardly stay on his two feet.” She spat the last word of every statement. Any spittle that came out, luckily, landed on the man’s back.

  The woman stood quickly, her shawl falling back around her shoulders. Hao didn’t look at her breast this time, her face made his blood freeze. But he must have been mistaken. There was a calm and serene smirk on her lips. Almost like she heard nothing. Her eyes passed over Hao, as if he were just another stone in the cave. That strange feeling was fleeting, as he felt comforted by her smile, her eyes watery and shining, crystal blue, looking right into his. He gulped, ignoring the fact that the smile did not touch her eyes.

  “Junior Brother Lang, Junior Brother Bao, if you knew this little brother, why didn’t you say? You could have introduced me.”

  Hao didn’t know how that soft voice could make the two Cultivators shiver. Then that disconcerting feeling passed over him until she looked back and nothing was wrong again. She was quite dainty despite the tone in which she spoke, not to mention the attitude that made her stand so tall.

  Hao was about to speak, but the moment his lips parted, the smell of blood filled his nose. It didn’t come from them or the cave, but from his throat. A sudden itch crawled on his neck.

  The man spoke, the one presumably named Lang unless he preferred being called Junior Sister. “We’ve never met before, Senior Sister, only seen him.” He flashed a look that could only be described as cold at the back of the one called Yao, but his face was back to normal in a flash.

  “Truly? The Drifting Stream is as strange as people say it is.” She said, for a moment, the croaking of an aunt with a pointed finger was standing across from Hao. But she was so spry, youthful.

  Hao looked directly at her, but watched the other two in the back from his peripheral vision. It was easy to see more than he was supposed to with a light source, like a spirit stone held in front of his face. Why is this damn light so bright, though? Strands of light shot from it. He had to strain, not to squint.

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  The two behind her flashed a desire to kill again. But it was muted again so fast it was hard to believe it was ever there. The woman in the back, not exactly ugly, willowy, almost spider-like in her limbs, reaches out a hand. She pulled tight on the man’s sleeve, which made his eye twitch. He looked tense, a little sad even.

  “If… Senior Sister Yao thinks we should pull dead weight…”

  “Surely he is not so fragile that you have to be meek about him. Come now, little brother, tell us your name.”

  Hao kept his facial expression in check, though if he was red, it was no longer because of this woman’s figure. The three of them were talking over him. Nothing he was entirely new to. But they acted as if they were sect elders, while they eyed each other with lust and distrust.

  He thought the Snake’s eyes from before were cold. But at least the beast leapt at him with its intentions on display. Those two in the back seemed to be counting the ways they could kill someone in their sleep. While this woman, Yao, in front of him, talked down to everyone with her intentions lost to even herself, it seemed.

  “The Seniors can call me Hao if they wish.” If they were seniors, he didn’t trust his sensory skills, on the range of the pillar back there. Not at all, really; it was not for him. Brute force was his method, but I doubt it would work here. The woman, Yao, was too relaxed. It would feel wrong to kill fellow disciples for no reason, without them at least pulling their swords on him. If he could just turn them down politely, all would be fine.

  Just as he was about to open his mouth again, he felt his waist start sinking, but his vision was steady. Hao kept his face as still as stone. Don’t tell me I’ve been poisoned. That SNAKE, why right now, was it the blood? He got some of the snake’s blood in his mouth, but he wondered if it might have also been the liquid that was sprayed from its tail. Either way, it didn’t matter. Ha, I killed you, yet you may just be the end of me, anyway. This secret realm…

  Hao tried to act normal, he couldn’t feel his feet or fingers anymore, but he took a step to the side, and scratched his head. With a slight nod. He was about to admit his worry, his excuse for not joining them.

  “What do you think, Junior Sister Bao? Be honest, is there a worry about his strength?” The woman jumped to the side and asked. The click of the wing necklace was silent, yet it echoed loudly in the cave. Hao watched a shadow of her movement, one before and three after, each a copy of her. “You have a talent for identifying rank.”

  The voice of the spindly woman echoed in his head as well, but her words gave him a little hope: “He is fifth rank, Senior Yao.”

  Hao wasn’t sure if she was lying on purpose or if something else was blocking her sensory skills.

  “Senior Sister,” Yao mumbled under her breath, correcting the thinner woman, before letting out a long puff of air. “I want to bring him either way. He is… company.” She gave Hao another look. The snake that saw him as food had more compassion. Each stitch on his robe was followed by her eye.

  Yao continued, turning every which way, her necklace and sword shaking. “To last this long in the Secret Realm, he must be rather lucky. Perhaps I will steal some of that standing near you, little brother.” The one called Yao stepped forward.

  In Hao’s eyes, she thought she was going to walk right through him. She was too close, far too close. Her breath was covering his entire face, or was that the mountain draft>

  “It’s well known you can’t underestimate a man by his Cultivation, they all keep countless secrets. Never trust them, Junior Sister Bao.”

  That Lang fellow cleared his throat, but it sounded like a thunderclap. “Do you really think we should take him forward? If we believe him, this direction is a dead end. There was the sound of fighting the other way. That’s why we took the chance to come here, but would a fifth rank be of any help? Why not send him back?” The man looked at Hao, but his eyes were moving so fast. Or did he not have any pupils at all?”

  Yes, exactly, please leave.

  Lang continued, the corners of his lips curling. “He didn’t even mention whatever this is.”

  The man stalked past Hao, who was frozen like a statue. Each step was a wolf's prance. His finger flicked his sword handle in beat with his footsteps. He was beyond Hao’s field of view before his steps stopped. The silence of the group made it obvious where he stood. The black pillar, swallowing light, the only notable feature in the cave.

  Just leave. “Don’t touch it,” Hao said, his voice was so coarse it surprised him. He sealed his lips as fast as he could, feeling a belch on the back of his tongue.

  Ignoring Hao, Lang touched it anyway, leaping back ten feet when he did. The one to speak was not him but the one called Yao, who seemed to be screaming right into Hao’s face. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, no, it was just a little hot to the touch. Senior Sister should avoid it. You too, Bao.” The man gave another look to Hao.

  Why are you just looking? Leave.

  “Hm? There was a lot of noise down here too, it just didn’t sound like fighting, so we came, but I refuse to think it’s worthless to check down that way or bring this little brother, he had made it this far.”

  Hao took a huge gasp of air. He felt like a statue, his lungs barely working. Yet these three were still here, debating whether to drag him to a fight further into the trial. A few words escaped him: “Could you leave?”

  All three turned to Hao in confusion, and he regretted instantly opening his mouth. His stomach heaved, but nothing came out. He had to force his joints to bend; it felt like trying to flex bone. He was entirely locked up, but he got his eyes closed and his legs crossed on the ground. While the three stood around him, Hao began gathering that dark blood-red Qi in his stomach. World Energy skimmed his body, pulling black spots from his blood.

  The three of them talked around him, but he put them out of his mind. Cultivation, being able to respond if one touched him, was better than passing out on the ground. He would rather suffer the poison and let it pass than get stabbed in his sleep.

  After what seemed a few hours, perhaps a while longer. He heard their voices still there. “What did you find?”

  “This Junior Brother was telling the truth. There isn’t anything back there, just more tunnels until I reach a dead end. What about Yao? Why isn’t she back?”

  “She came and went. According to her, there is a big group ahead fighting a Demonic Beast with a shell. Yao said we will make our way there and join them. This Little Brother, that old woman called him,” she scoffed. “Is still insisting on bringing him.”

  “We’ll see. The two of us will be the ones to get to the end of this trial. There is no one who deserves it more than us.”

  Hao closed his ears, sinking back into his meditation, ignoring any other noises they made.