Yu Di shoved the silver chain back into his robe. At the same time, he took out another firecracker. This one was a little different. He lit it with a thought, sparking a little Qi from his fingertips. Then he let it go.

  Yu Di couldn’t see the spark, even though he knew he lit it.

  Pop!

  The sound was almost soft, despite being a firecracker.

  The space lit up.

  This time, Yu Di clearly saw where the disembodied voice was coming from. The metal wall took human shape and crawled toward him. It reached out with its metal hands, holding onto Yu Di’s ankle.

  The metal person shielded its eyes with its free hand and didn’t let Yu Di go.

  Blinding it allowed Yu Di to see. How did its powers work?

  No time. Think later.

  Yu Di kicked at the metal hand, but it didn’t let go. He knew that the firecracker’s effects wouldn’t last much longer before he would be plunged back into darkness.

  Yu Di bit his lip. He only had his teleportation trump card, but maybe he didn’t have to use it.

  Yu Di flared his Qi to his full power. He focused everything only on his ankle.

  Whatever this spirit was, unless it was stronger than him at his full power, it should now be feeling the burn of a thousand suns.

  Two seconds passed by and it didn’t let go.

  “Such delicious Qi!” the gruff voice said. “Give me more!”

  Wait, was this monster feeding off him? Fine, if he wanted more, then he would give him a taste he would never forget.

  Yu Di pulled his Qi back and took out a gold knife from his spatial ring. The edge held the finest edge in the country, powered by extremely dense Qi. If the monster wanted Qi, let’s see him absorb this and choke on it.

  Yu Di slashed at the metal hand, shearing it right off at the wrist. Thank Buddha that worked because if it didn’t, he would have had to cut off his own ankle.

  Yu Di scrambled away as fast as he could, shoving his knife back into his spatial ring. The moment he escaped the space, the air felt cooler. It even smelled better. He hadn’t noticed how stale the air was in that space.

  He rubbed his ankle. A sliver of metal stuck to his skin.

  It was hot to the touch, yet his ankle didn’t feel anything. Was it absorbing his Qi?

  Yu Di pulled out a prybar from his storage space. He felt dizzy.

  That’s never happened before.

  As carefully as he could, he peeled the piece of metal off his ankle. The moment he did, he could hear a small breeze coming from the sect leader’s tunnel.

  Was he deaf just now?

  What was going on with that secret realm? It was too dangerous to be left alone. His greatest fear would be his daughter crawling in this space, trapped by that monster.

  Yu Di took out a special artifact from his spatial ring that allowed him to seal the space. He bit into his index finger and placed his blood on the seal. No one was getting in there unless they had a higher cultivation than him. When he broke his curse, he’d come back and deal with that monster and steal its secret.

  Unless it starved to death first.

  Yu Di took a deep breath and leaned against an adjacent wall.

  Curse Unlocked: 0.2%

  Yu Di could really go for a drink. And food. A lot of food.

  Whatever the hell that metal monster was didn’t just drain his Qi but his whole vitality somehow.

  Oh crap.

  Yu Di pulled out his jade tablet. It glowed green in the dark.

  Current Power: Realm 1, Stage 1, Level 3.5 (Qi condensation)

  Remaining Lifespan: 14 years, 4 months.

  Current Status: Cursed (4.4% lifted)

  Overall Power: Fourth Realm, End Stage, Peak level

  Yu Di lost two and a half years of his lifespan!

  He clutched his chest. The cold feeling of King Yama’s servants coming one step closer.

  Yu Di took out a small light artifact from his spatial ring. It pushed against the darkness, but it barely illuminated a few inches. The monster’s powers must still affect this space.

  Something pricked his shoe.

  Yu Di looked down to see the piece of monster metal inching toward him. He pulled out a pair of metal chopsticks and picked up the metal. It was too dark to see what was going on, but he definitely saw it wiggle.

  What kind of monster would create such a thing?

  Yu Di carefully placed it within a jar and placed both into his spatial ring. The jar would freeze it in time for a little while before he can find a safer place to dispose of it. He couldn’t allow Yu Lin to find it and play with it, even accidentally. Its ability to absorb Qi and grow itself was amazing, but if let loose it could destroy the empire.

  Although…

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  No, it was too dangerous. Yu Di wasn’t sure if he could handle the little piece he had.

  Yu Di felt lightheaded from the loss of Qi. For whatever reason, the monster inside could absorb the ambient Qi here outside its own realm.

  He unclasped his silver chain and activated it. With a thought, he could see within his own created world. Every high leveled Qi source he had found over the years called it home. The Qi streamed out for just a second.

  Now he felt nauseous. Just a whiff of the concentrated Qi threatened to overwhelm him.

  His body remembered the Qi and wanted it badly. It drew it in for a second and would have kept draining more, despite not having anywhere to store it.

  Yu Di couldn’t have that. It would have been an addiction worse than opium.

  He crawled away from the sealed room until he reached the sliding panel. Every inch he crawled, his light artifact grew brighter.

  Yu Di paused at the exit to the tunnel. He made sure to put everything away and nothing was hanging out. That one time he forgot to properly cover a bamboo stick he stuck in his pants, the sect sent not only their own disciples, but the imperial soldiers after him.

  Thank goodness he had his spatial ring now. All the stuff he carried on him would be impossible to hold on his body.

  Yu Di stuck his ear against the panels that led into the tunnel. He didn’t want Sect Leader Gu Zi discovering him there. When he heard nothing, he slid the panels up.

  The large door to Sect Leader Gu’s meeting hall opened.

  Yu Di scrambled to slide the panels closed. It didn't close all the way, but he didn't want to risk making a noise.

  “Thank you for meeting with us, Sect Leader Gu,” a woman’s voice said.

  “It was my pleasure. I am happy we were able to resolve our issues before it came to blows between our sects,” Sect Leader Gu said.

  “Then I will see you at the next summit meeting.”

  “Yes. Get home safely.”

  The Gu Zi's large door closed shut, making a final clang.

  “Sect leader, that was easier than I expected,” a man’s voice said.

  “That old fool is not stupid enough to risk our ire,” the woman said, her voice close to the panels. “He wouldn’t give us everything. But that doesn’t matter. This was a shopping trip to see what we can get before they disappear from this earth anyway.”

  “What do you mean, sect leader?”

  “We’re not the only sect to notice that the ‘Forgotten Spirit Sect’ has weakened greatly. The others are already conferring with each other on how to attack and divvy up the resources.”

  “Then why did we only take a few trinkets?”

  There was a soft smack.

  “Why risk our lives for little gain when we can get something for nothing? Despite what they gave us, we never promised to help them if they should get attacked. We only said we’d make sure that there would be justice.”

  “Sect leader, you’re a genius!”

  The voices trailed off.

  This was why Yu Di was against staying in this sect in the first place. He already knew that it was on its last legs when they had to resort to kidnapping to recruit. He hated the politics of a sect and has seen more of them break apart because of individual greed. This situation was worse as other sects eyed the "Forgotten Spirit Sect" like a fat pig to be divided up for New Years.

  Yu Di slid the panels open and peeked outside. There was no one in the tunnel. He stood up and felt his whole body groan and complain from the cramped space.

  Now he had to grab his daughter and Bai Feng to train them to the extreme before whoever comes to attack the sect. His death he could accept. His daughters?

  Never.

  Yu Di found Bai Feng meditating in her home when he finally made it back. His daughter followed suit. Both sat quietly with their legs crossed, bodies relaxed, and breaths processing the ambient Qi within the home.

  This gave Yu Di a little hope.

  “I apologize to Senior Bai for taking so long to come back,” Yu Di said.

  Bai Feng opened her eyes and nodded. She took a deep breath.

  Yu Lin popped open her eyes.

  “Baba!” She ran full speed at her father.

  Yu Di braced himself as the ball of energy that was his daughter rammed into his chest. Her infectious smile and laugh showed that she was no longer sick at all.

  Unlike him.

  “Baba, are you okay?” Yu Lin got down from his embrace.

  “No, I discovered something I shouldn’t have messed with.” Yu Di sat down on the mat in front of Bai Feng. He rubbed his raw ankle.

  “Oh no.” Yu Lin rubbed his ankle and then did the cutest thing in the world. She kissed it.

  “Aww, thank you little Lin.” Yu Di kissed the top of her head. “I’m okay now,

  "What did you find?" Bai Feng asked.

  “A secret realm in the tunnel leading to Sect Leader Gu’s meeting hall.”

  “You didn’t take me?” Yu Lin jumped onto Yu Di’s lap.

  Yu Di lifted Yu Lin before she did any major damage. Little kids didn’t know where they jumped sometimes and it pained him greatly. He wasn’t planning on having any more kids anyway.

  “Little Lin, I wanted to make sure it was safe,” Yu Di said. “You don’t want an ouchie right?”

  Little Lin smiled.

  “I don’t get ouchies anymore Baba.”

  Yu Di pinched his daughter on the upper arm.

  “Ouchie! Why did you pinch me?”

  “Yu Lin, always remember that there is no such thing as no ouchies. You will get hurt. The important thing is to learn from it so you don’t hurt the same way again. Do you understand?”

  Yu Lin nodded, her lips quivering on the verge of crying.

  “I’m sorry, little Lin. Come here.” Yu Di hugged his daughter to his chest where she cried.

  "I'm glad you made it back alive," Bai Feng said.

  “How long do you have before the duel?” Yu Di patted his daughter on the head.

  “Eight days.”

  “Where did all the time go?”

  “Between your sickness and exploration, you have lost a lot of time. Are you sure you’re well enough to do this?”

  Yu Di coughed, clearing out the phlegm still in his throat.

  “I don’t think it matters if I’m well enough. There was something else I discovered when I was in the secret crawlspace. Other sects are planning to attack this sect soon.”

  Bai Feng looked toward the floor. She twisted the hem of her purple tunic.

  “That’s not something new. We should be alright.”

  “No, it’s not just one sect. I heard that there are many other sects planning on attacking. I don’t think we can stay here anymore.”

  “We can’t go. I have to protect them.”

  “I can’t risk my daughter for a sect that I have no kind feelings for.”

  “But you’re a powerful cultivator. Even cursed, you probably have a vast wealth of treasures. You can save this sect with nothing but a trinket.”

  Yu Di regretted his decision to tell Bai Feng anything regarding his curse and his origins. Now he needed to consider what to do moving forward.

  More importantly, he had to consider whether to kill Bai Feng or not.

  Bai Feng flinched.

  “I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

  “Baba, why is auntie Bai apologizing?” Yu Lin asked.

  Yu Di fixed his face. Dark thoughts. He wasn’t that person anymore. Instead, he forced a smile for his daughter.

  “I think it’s just a misunderstanding,” Yu Di said. “She doesn’t have anything to apologize for.”

  “No, I do. I’m selfish,” Bai Feng said. “I wanted to abuse your power to save my sect. I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “Baba, can you save our sect?” Yu Lin asked.

  “Little Lin, this isn’t our sect,” Yu Di said.

  “Baba, it is! Auntie Bai and all the other aunties and uncles treat me very well. They give me candy and teach me so many things. They play with me. It’s more fun than when we were home with grandpa. It is my home.”

  “I can’t.” For the first time in Yu Di’s life, those words were true. He had never thought anything was impossible. Not even his curse. But saving this worthless sect with these worthless disciples?

  Impossible.

  Two moist hands squeezed Yu Di’s face. Yu Lin turned her father’s face toward hers.

  “You can. Save my home, Baba.”

  Looking at those big round eyes. Pleading. Innocent. Yu Di couldn’t say no to that.

  “Fine. Let’s save our sect.”

  Yu Lin smiled.

  Curse unlocked: 1% lifted.