Hao couldn’t tell what Taoyi was thinking. Not the whole lot, but like before, he failed to hide half his expressions; it seemed his tongue fumbled when it wasn’t stuck to the bottom of a boot.

  His step forward was a big move. It might have been crossing a line, one that would cost him more than a few words of warning.

  Taoyi flinched; it wasn’t just a flinch. The movement looked subtle, instant, but it blocked any chance of Hao moving his foot forward anymore.

  “Of course I trust the peak,” It came out as a strained croak.

  The words came with a brush of sour wind that struck Hao; the foot he reached shot backwards as if he kicked a wall.

  Taoyi continued, “It’s you b- a young disciple, at such a young age, haste can lead to poor decisions.” He composed himself, lost it, and took another deep breath. “I don’t distrust you, but I will treat you like a business partner.”

  His wide face beamed with light, mostly greasy reflections. Really proud of his response this time, he must have thought it perfect for his forehead to crease like it were three more sets of lips to smile.

  It felt like they had stared at each other for hours. Hao bet Taoyi could have cleared off a hundred plates in that time for them to reach this point.

  Hao closed his eyes for a moment. He had to do some mental preparations; there was more than one way to force Taoyi to choke up something, but he despised the idea of exposing just a single thing he had in the Spirit-Holding bag to the man again.

  The perfect thing came to mind. Hardly a treasure, but something that was found mainly on top of the Fifth Peak: the blue petals of the flower.

  “Can you, little friend, prove your endeavor?” Taoyi asked again, his voice splitting to Hao.

  “Ah!” Hao lifted his head, eyes opening like an epiphany hit him, “Of course, Senior, it must be joking, of course you don’t distrust the Fifth Peak.”

  He reached up his sleeve, disguising his actions for something more mundane; “As for me, Senior, I don’t wish to deceive anyone. I simply hope to relieve the knots in my heart and bring home Meiqi, as I’ve earned it by your own words.”

  With that, Hao held out the petals. Blue as the sky, soft and delicate like the down feathers of a seabird, nearly lustrous as if a crystalline powder was scattered upon its surface.

  Taoyi flinched at the words and sight. His neck stretched up and lost two folds, chins disappearing as his fingers bit down into the sweat of his palms. Poor tells that should have long been trained out.

  Hao remembers Senior Brother Guan’s words: ‘Cultivation is as much about the heart as it is strength.’

  Taoyi echoed something similar yesterday when their deal was made. Today, his words were stuck in his throat until he grumbled, coughed them up, “Indeed…”

  “That is a flower from the Fifth Peak, but, but you find them in other parts of the Sect, or some like to flavor their wine with it.”

  He nodded his head, looking down at Hao’s hand; it seemed he did everything in his power to look up into his eyes, perhaps the whites had turned to a pool of shame or the pupils and abyss of shamelessness.

  Hao found the face quite entertaining. Not many people could make such an affirmative head nod while looking down and frowning; those shameless words must have been at least a little bit bitter.

  Hao chuckled, “Senior is right,” He let out a loud hum, pretending to think while he remembered the first thing Meiqi taught him about Pao Taoyi: ‘he likes to keep what is his, and take what isn’t yet.’

  “Ah, Senior. You must know Senior Brother Guan, the Fifth Elder’s disciple.” He said, bringing his hands up to his face.

  If Hao had a mirror, he would be impressed by his own acting.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  If a snake could lift its tail, sprout legs, and run, it would wear the same face as Taoyi in that instant, his tongue out of his mouth to speak, teeth pressed down to keep it still.

  “Yesh… he is the Fifth Elder’s First disciple.”

  Hao nodded, “Do you know what kind of Cultivator he is?”

  “He is well known and well regarded, a little reclusive but responsible. Respected by many, hated by none, he has talent to surpass his master but prefers to pursue his passion for Physical Cultivation.” Taoyi’s expression swapped to one of nervous interest, his head nearly lowering to match Hao’s height. One eye squinted with a twitch.

  “This is a gift I got from Senior Brother Guan himself. Surely this will serve as proof.” Hao took out the book that Guan gave him. If the man were to rob him, the last thing he would touch was something gifted by a disciple of an Elder.

  “Senior Taoyi, you must know that no matter how many missions off the mountain I take, it would take more than a few months to save up and buy something like this.”

  Hao felt his body starting to creak. Being so animated while his insides were twisted and bruises fresh was a brutal process; it felt like residual vibrations from Ciyue’s attack were still rattling him.

  “That…” Taoyi pulled his attention, his fingers twisting into a claw, ready to jump out and grab it from Hao’s cinched-down hands.

  Go on, try to pry it from my fingers, Hao smiled up at him.

  Taoyi could afford this book, Hao knew it for a fact, but it would cost a small fortune; the cost of the library tower for a day was harsh enough. But he had insights from someone like Guan, multiplying its value, and it was there in front of him, in the hands of the weak. If he were to purchase it, it would put a dent in his lavish lifestyle.

  With a snap, Hao tucked the book into his sleeve, and it vanished.

  Taoyi cleared his throat, “Young Friend. You surprised me. That kind of thing…” he stuttered, trying to find a but.

  No little friend anymore, but young, Hao took note of that, another tell. He waited, giving Taoyi a chance to think of something while he thought of something himself.

  If the book wouldn’t do it, he had other things. The pill he received from Que, but to him, other than helping Meiqi and Zhengqi, that pill was the most important thing. It was weak compared to the other he received back during his months as a servant digging out spirit stones and living off toxic food pills that wore down his will.

  Still, it was another panacea Que called it; even if its scent was fainter than the one he received from Elder Ya, that strange old man, he could study it, or save it. Since he took the first one, they were always in the back of his mind; they could save his father, or if it was too late for that, at least get rid of his mother’s scars.

  There were other things too, and his body was wearing thinner than his patience.

  Hao let out a concealed sigh, and air escaped his nose. He slid his foot back, letting one of the many holding bags roll down his sleeve along with a few things that would make any man on this mountain stand tall on their toes.

  Taoyi was about to say more when he bit down on his tongue.

  Hao leaned over, stepping back onto the evenly cut grass of Taoyi’s courtyard, and he picked up everything that fell out, the bottle he cared most about, letting it glint its nearly transparent, faint blue before he nabbed it.

  The second thing he grabbed was the Second Elder’s token and a Second-Rank beast core; all of them went right into the holding bag that fell to the ground. Once it was up his sleeve, all back to the Spirit-Holding bag.

  Now Taoyi was speechless, doubts gone, fears rekindled. At least Hao hoped as he stood ready to explain himself while letting his anger turn his face red, which he used to feign being embarrassed.

  “Senior… Sorry, you saw something rather embarrassing. I’m still new to using a holding bag. I must have let my excitement get the best of me when I reached the book.”

  Taoyi’s face went vacant. A serene pond that desperately hid hungry teeth.

  “Young Friend. You don’t have to worry about that, you don’t have true Spiritual Sense yet, it’s understandable, impressive even, most artifacts and treasures are hard to control without it.” His voice was suddenly high with praise, “Even now I still struggle with that task; only the strong souls like the Elders are capable of seamless control.”

  Hao’s skin crawled as a hand came out and touched his shoulder. Taoyi smiled, his grin stretching out, wanting to reach his ears.

  “Junior Hao, in truth, I did not need to suspect you. I was just playing and giving a lesson, but it was bad of me,” He laughed.

  Hao forced up his own laughter. Matching the best he could, as Taoyi reached out a hand and tapped a few times on the frame of the door.

  The house shook down to its foundations. Vibrations went through the courtyard, ending when the servant Hao saw before came stomping down a set of stairs over Taoyi’s left shoulder.

  Hao watched as the servant approached. That’s weird. Why is he looking at me like that? With every step closer the servant took, he got paler, until his skin matched his spotless white robe. His eyes were blown wide as he twitched his fingers, hiding them by wrapping them as he bowed to Taoyi.

  Still, Hao saw them for a second. One of his fists had a set of knuckles swollen and red.