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 ditation and stood. Zhang Ming sat on the cot, continuing to ditate, ignoring Hui. Hui cupped his hands to the man in greeting, then froze. His brows furrowed.
Why does this feel familiar?
He walked outside. The villagers bustled around, just the sa as ever. He tucked his hands behind his back and wandered down the street. This is a false day. Whats different than
I already thought that. I know I already thought that.
Right? Im pretty sure.
No, Im completely sure! I thought this already. I recognize my own thoughts.
Jie Xinlei ran toward him, raising her hand, the sa bright smile on her face. Xiao Hui!
Hui watched her co, his expression impassive. He tilted his head half a degree in acknowledgent. Elder Sister.
Im going to make you my signature chicken today. You can eat it or not, but Ill make it! Once you sll it, youll totally change your mind. I know it! Jie Xinlei proclaid, putting her hands on her hips and grinning at him.
He looked at her, then smiled and nodded. As you wish.
Putting the conversation on autopilot, Hui thought at full power. I want to ask is this a false day?, but my finely honed death-faking skills tell : no! Absolutely not! Giving myself away so early? No, no, no! This false day, this tiloop, its simply too dangerous. I cant fight it, and I dont know who or what is triggering it, but the re fact that I cant even resist the loop ans that whoever, or whatever, is triggering it is infinitely more powerful than . I cant fight it! And the fact that I cant fight it, ans that I shouldnt even think about letting people within the loop know that Im aware of the loop.
I bet the loop only encompasses the village. Ahhh, unlucky, so unlucky! How terrible that I had to walk into this village by coincidence.
Hmm, but on the other hand, the eye failed to locate , and its not as if the village itself poses an imdiate threat to . For all I know, all the other settlents in the Immortal Realm are even more dangerous than the village!
Plus, if this is a ti loop, then that powerI properly identified it last night. Its the power of ti! Thank goodness Chen Wuya had study it back in that secret realm. Otherwise, I might never have realized what was happening!
I wonder if thats how I broke out? Recognizing the power of ti ans that my mories arent completely overwritten, and I realize when Im looping? Hmm. I should try probing Zhang Ming, see if I can get information out of him without revealing too much about myself. Sothing to try.
Still beaming, Jie Xinlei ran off. Hui watched her go, lancholy settling over his heart. At least shes happy, but to be stuck in a ti loop forever, never able to get to know anyone, reliving the sa day over and over ah. No wonder she was so desperate to form a relationship with as quickly as possible. If days are only real, or in other words, not loops, very rarely, then she knew she wouldnt be able to stay with and get to know slowly. She knew the only option was to beco romantic imdiately, or else shed never have the chance.
And I denied her that chance.
Hui pressed his lips together, uncomfortable, then sighed. There simply isnt a good option. I dont want to add any more wives to the harem, nor would it be fair to add her without Bai Xue and Li Xiangs consent. On top of that, Im personally uninterested in her. Shes a nice girl, yes, but Im simply not interested. It would be equally unfair to pretend to be romantically interested in her for her sake, without any true interest on my side. Thats not love, nor kindness. It's pity. Cruelty.
He looked up. At a guess, the ti loop is delineated by the barrier. In that case, if I go to the barriers edge, I might be able to comprehend more of the Dao of Ti. Ultimately, if I want to break out, I need to comprehend ti. By comprehending ti, I can escape the barrier and free myself from the ti loop.
Right. All I need is to comprehend ti. That simple concept that even Chen Wuya indicated was difficult to comprehend. That even Immortals struggle to understand.
Hui sighed. He shook his head. Yeah. Easy.
He wandered off toward the barrier. Tucking himself quietly away in the forest, where the barrier cut through the woods, he sat down and entered the lotus pose. Quietly, he looked around. Okay. No one around. I dont rember too many people heading into the woods, but hey! Upside of a ti loop, I can learn exactly what everyones habits are, and avoid them if I need to. If Im interrupted today, Ill go find sowhere else to sit, until Im left alone.
Alright. First, I need to gather so ti. As long as I have so power of ti within , I can study it anywhere, at any ti, for as long as I like.
He closed his eyes and extended his divine sense around him. The barrier wavered to his side, composed of such dense energy that his divine sense couldnt penetrate it. The power of ti clung to the barrier, faint traces of its power remaining on the barriers energy. Hui focused on that energy, calling it to himself. The power resisted his call, strange and nebulous.
His brows furrowed. He reached out and forcibly grabbed it, surrounding the power with his qi. The power of ti wavered, then vanished. When he retracted his qi to himself, nothing remained of ti.
Hui reached out with life qi, death qi, rot qi, even phoenix fire, but nothing grasped it. Nothing held it. Ti refused to be grasped.
Co on! Why cant I reach it? Whats different with ti? I can gather any other kind of qi. Why cant I grab any ti? Hui sent the birds forth, hoping one of them would grasp it. A songbird, a black and a red duck, a phoenix, and even a penguin flew toward the power of ti.
They fluttered around it. The songbird plucked at it. The duck flew a lap, then returned to Hui. The phoenix simply flew up and back, totally ignoring the power of ti. The penguin wobbled around, barely able to reach the power of ti before it fell back to Hui.
No good, huh? Hui put a hand on his chin, thinking hard. What am I doing wrong? Surely theres a way to grasp ti.
He shrugged to himself. Eh, whatever. Im stuck in a ti loop. Ive got infinite ti to figure it out!
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