Hao wasn’t going to be awkward about it even if he was under the deadly glare of a man who could kill him with a slap.

  His feelings about joining the Sect were complex. At the end, even if almost everyone and everything wanted to kill him, being part of the Sect allowed him to achieve his initial goal.

  The whole reason he left the island. His expectations for the land, the boring, bald life of a Water Temple monk he thought awaited him, were turned to a journey towards Immortality and Beasts beyond imagination.

  In the end, he appreciated landing here, if not by choice.

  Hao knew words of thanks would not suffice, face, a show of wealth, all these little intricacies he had to dance around. Que didn’t push Hao forward for no reason.

  A gift… But what kind of resources does she not have, with that bald madman as her master, up here on this lofty mountain above the clouds?

  It didn’t take long for him to find the answer. This peak had beast cores, pills, and manuals, everything he could imagine, but there were a few things one had to crawl in the mud to find.

  Day-Night Amethyst.

  Hao took out a good-sized one, his mind popping in and out of the Spirit-Holding bag. He disguised the bag by reaching up his sleeve to grab it.

  Most people wouldn’t be able to see it. Only the light that bounced from it. An intricate dance of opposing colors, Yin and Yang.

  The glow was bright even with the sun so intense up here where clouds dreamed of reaching.

  Hao held the stone out for her. “I wanted to thank you, Senior Sister, for bringing me to the Sect.” He said, looking up, not realizing how close he was standing.

  The Amethyst lifted from his hand, floating as he lowered himself into a bow. Did she do that?

  It seemed like a lot; she could have just reached out and grabbed it. They were just a step away.

  Hao cupped his hands now that they were free. With a small step back, he lowered himself into a brief half-bow.

  When he came back up, Zu’s face was red. It might have just been the luster of the stone, up here on the mountain peak, in the light; it appeared a stunning blue. Not its usual purple.

  Exclamations echoed around them. The surrounding crowd made one clap of their hands, and no more; their hands covered their mouths.

  Is it such a shock? Hao wondered, watching as the woman called Zu stowed away the stone, preparing for her own bow.

  “Tch.” Ciyue clicked his tongue.

  Hao didn’t have to guess if the man was displeased; he made it known in every sound and gesture. Each made Hao’s lungs jump. He could see it on the faces of others around, too.

  Just a second of Ciyue’s aura, his pressure, made everyone around the arena slide a foot back.

  “Cheap things, did you manage to steal a handful?” Ciyue asked, his arms crossed and head held high. The ancient man must have felt mighty, harassing a Junior not even ten percent of his age.

  Que held ground for Hao, “Daoist Ciyue, always going too far!”

  Hao appreciated it, but he wanted to slap Ciyue’s face himself. Both of them went silent as Hao turned. Pretending to reach down his sleeve.

  When he held them out, both Seniors went quiet. Their expressions were the complete opposite. Only those who didn’t take a step back could see, just the four of them.

  “For Senior Sister, I managed to steal two handfuls,” Hao said.

  In both his hands, he held a few Amethysts, none as large as the first, but they shone just the same, brilliant, almost blinding.

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  This time, she picked them up with her fingers. Long, slender, and as cold as they were pale, but there was something else he was focused on.

  Hao got a hint of the Qi that flowed through her. He didn’t do anything, just felt it as her fingernails scraped his wrists. It was beyond World Energy. A Spiritual Qi that grew as World Energy was shed, a more potent energy that granted flight, control, and a longer life.

  “Enough!” Ciyue shouted, sending the peak into silence.

  Zu took a step back, “Junior Brother. I have to get back to practicing.” That step took her out of the center of the arena for the first time in a while, from what Hao could tell by the dust that gathered in the shape of her shoe.

  She wasn’t back for long. Taking that step forward, face-to-face with Hao again.

  Hao nodded and took a step back instead. The single word From Ciyue was like a punch beyond anything he had ever felt; his body barely held together, but he kept all that hidden, only shifting his eyes as his ribs moved back in place. His outward demeanor didn’t change. His steadily paced steps brought him to the side of the arena, beside Senior Brother Que.

  Ciyue’s eyes never left him. A face of stone locked in an endless stare.

  Que draped his arm over Hao’s shoulder. “Sorry, Junior Brother, I thought people on this peak would have something resembling shame.”

  His words were subtle, but easily heard by everyone. A ploy he seemed to like. They walked together close to the path, Que pulling Hao along whenever his feet stuttered.

  “Junior Brother, you brought a pleasant sight to the Peak. That young lady only ever showed a stone face, like her masters. You must have left a good impression to make her blush.” Que teased, tapping lightly on Hao’s chest.

  His words reached Ciyue this time, and other than Hao, Ciyue alone, as they walked beyond the bald Senior and towards the edge of the path they led down the mountain.

  *

  Hao watched the clouds below them. They approached the further down the path they got, the thicker and colder the air got.

  The place between the clouds and the peak. It seemed special, a place far from everyone else. Those above went back to their duties, those who practiced went back to it as if it all never happened.

  There was a strange comfort in that.

  Que slowed his step at the cloud’s edge. “Sorry, Junior Brother, it seems I have caused you trouble,” he spoke slowly, his head lowering.

  Hao’s face had been getting paler. Every sound Daoist Ciyue had made struck him since he started with the click of his tongue; it only got worse as he stood there before Zu Wairen. The hits didn’t stop until Que put an arm around Hao’s shoulder.

  It was getting hard to hide.

  Hao laughed off Que’s words; he could hold it in a little longer, they were nearly at the banner where Lower and Upper Peaks separated.

  “Senior, you don’t have to worry. I was just surprised, is all,” Hao lied, for his own sake and for Que’s. Que was smart, but if his temper was more than just an act, he would confront Ciyue, and that wasn’t a favorable match.

  Que scoffed, “Junior Brother. You are less surprised than I am. Ciyue doesn’t usually get involved in anything, but he is getting more and more attached to his Disciple. She hardly gets a chance to speak to others… I thought… Well, either way, I didn’t think he would attack beyond harsh words.”

  There was genuine red on his face as his head lowered. “You don’t have to worry about any of this. I will talk to Master about it.”

  Hao stepped away from Que as they touched down on the ground. “Senior Brother, thanks for showing me around. It was my first time on one of the Upper Peaks. It was a boon in many ways.”

  Que shook his head. “You’re far kinder than I first imagined,” he laughed, bringing his head back up, the suspicious glances he was giving Hao nearly gone. “Still, Junior Brother, you brought something new to the peak. Young Lady Zu barely smiles, yet everyone on the peak saw her blush; it mesmerized them for a second.”

  Hao wondered if it was really a blush; it could have easily been anger, laughter, or embarrassment.

  She may have been known as the perfect disciple up here. Her stellar practice and near-perfect control drew the eyes of even those who were stronger than her. But Hao remembered that day. The awful control she had back then made the carriage jostle around like they were on top of a giant fish with a hook in its mouth. Not to mention the show he had to put on to save his own skin.

  Hao let those thoughts fade. “Senior Brother saw something embarrassing… I hope not many people learn about my possessions,” he said, thinking of his display of the Amethysts.

  “The people on the peak are tight-lipped. Some might not even know what those amethysts are, other than that they shine.” Que pushed Hao forward towards the edge where clouds met land. “I’m sure you have a good story to tell.”

  “Oh, but you should be careful showing off wealth if you want it to be secret, even if you want to gain some face, or slap someone else’s face,” Que laughed.

  With his laugh, he cupped his hands, suddenly lowering into a bow. He came back up with a last suspicious glance.

  Hao turned back fully, returning the gesture without hesitation or prudence, not even measuring the depth. It was rare to find such a person, yet on this peak, he found two. The Fifth Elder’s disciples, strong and wise, a sky’s worth of power separated them and Hao, yet they bowed in kindness instead of spitting where he walked.

  “Thank you again, Senior, and the rest of the Peak for your hospitality,” Hao said.

  But Que was gone when he straightened his back.

  Alone again, Hao looked out across the clouds, seeing their tops like a large porcelain plate with a thousand imperfections. He took a step and sank into the sky.