Yu Di materialized just outside Bai Feng’s home. However it was Yu Lin that was holding the necklace. She sat upon the large rock outside, with her eyes closed, focused on cultivating.

  Yu Di watched with pride. In a few more years, she would reach the second realm. He had no doubt about that. She would ascend and be strong enough to survive almost anything.

  And she was only four!

  “Baba, I can feel you staring,” Yu Lin muttered. She opened her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I—”

  Yu Lin jumped into his arms.

  “I missed you Baba. You were gone for so long. Auntie Bai gave me the chain because I couldn’t sleep. I hope you’re not mad.”

  Yu Lin offered the chain back to her father.

  “No, you keep it,” Yu Di said. “I’ll show you how to use it in the future.”

  “But it’s too long.” Yu Lin held it out with both her hands.

  “It’s not if you loop it together.” Yu Di looped it twice over her neck.

  “It’s heavy.” Yu Lin fingered the jade hanging on it.

  “It is, but it’s also a treasure of immeasurable value. Never show it to anyone.”

  Yu Lin nodded.

  “Now where is Elder Bai?” Yu Di looked into the house.

  “No, auntie Bai went out. She said she was going to gather as many people as she can.”

  “Oh, that’s good. Do you know when she’ll be back?”

  Yu Lin shrugged.

  That was to be expected. How would a four year old know everything?

  “Well, what did you do for the last ten days while I was inside the chain?”

  “Auntie Bai taught me how to use a staff. Want to see?” Yu Lin took out a small staff from her storage ring.

  “Of course.”

  For the next hour or so, Yu Lin demonstrated a simple staff skill. She was very uncoordinated and hit herself multiple times, but she kept going.

  Yu Di wanted to correct her, but didn’t. He told himself that she was trying her hardest and that over correcting her would discourage her. At least that’s what Bai Feng told him.

  So he sat back and watched the show. He could picture his daughter as an adult, flying along rooftops with her staff. He could see his daughter going around helping people like the Immortals from legends.

  Yu Di felt a pang in his chest. The deep sadness in knowing he probably won’t be alive to see this if he can’t break his curse. Also a little guilt.

  With all his power and strength, he used it for his own gain, causing chaos everywhere he went.

  Yu Lin finished her dance with her staff.

  Yu Di clapped.

  “That was great. You learned all that in ten days?”

  Yu Lin put the staff down and smiled wide. She nodded.

  “That’s great.” Yu Di looked up at the sky. “I think it’s time to eat something. What do you think?”

  “Come with me Baba.” Yu Lin pulled her father by the hand into the home.

  A large feast lay in front of them. There were whole chickens, ducks, and fish. All manner of vegetables and rice surrounded the meat. The food was kept warm over a large steamer that vented the smoke out a nearby window.

  The smells wrapped around Yu Di and Yu Lin like a warm blanket, welcoming them home.

  “This can’t all be for us,” Yu Di said. “Not to mention, I only recently paid off her debt with the sect’s general store. I doubt he would be willing to sell all this to her so easily.”

  Yu Lin sat down by the long table.

  “I don’t know. Auntie Bai said that she wanted to celebrate.”

  Yu Di looked outside. He heard a loud commotion coming toward the home. It surprised him at first, but he realized that with his new levels in strength his hearing improved tenfold. He hadn’t realized how much he missed this feeling.

  With some concentration, he could count the footsteps coming toward them. There were at least fifteen people.

  Sure enough, a group of people walked through Bai Feng’s courtyard. They were led by Fu Homei. The inner sect disciple’s purple tunic made her standout among the mostly gray behind her. There were two disciples wearing the outer sect tunics.

  “They’re back,” Yu Lin said. She ran out of the house toward Fu Homei.

  To Yu Di’s surprise, the young woman hugged his daughter as if they were good friends. Fu Homei even picked up his daughter and carried her over.

  The Qi contract was working and deepening their connection. At least Yu Di didn’t have to worry about that much.

  The entire group of people came into Bai Feng’s home. Each of them greeted Yu Di with cupped hands and a simple bow except Fu Homei. Yu Di had to greet her with cupped hands.

  “Welcome, Senior Fu,” Yu Di said. “Where is Elder Bai?”

  Fu Homei snorted.

  “Your precious Elder Bai is doing as you asked. She’s recruiting everyone who would listen. This must be your Qi contract’s doing.”

  “You wound me, Senior Fu. I only want what's best for the sect.”

  “Whatever. Having you for a father is Yu Lin’s tragedy.” Fu Homei sat down at the long table with the food.

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  Yu Di wanted to argue that, but he couldn’t. He really wasn’t much of a father at this point. What kind of father endangers their kid by enlisting them into a cultivator’s sect?

  It wasn’t long before Yu Di heard more footsteps outside. This time, Bai Feng came back with Cui Ying.

  "Greetings, Head Servant Cui Ying," Yu Di said. He cupped his hands and bowed.

  Cui Ying flinched.

  "Are you alright?"

  "No, he's not," Bai Feng said. "He was randomly chosen two days ago to join the festival. He had been hiding in the servants' quarters."

  "Another entrant died?" Yu Di asked.

  Bai Feng nodded.

  "I don't want to go," Cui Ying said. "I don't want to die."

  "You won't as long as you listen to Elder Bai's instructions," Yu Di said.

  Cui Ying's eyes widened as he looked between Yu Di and Bai Feng.

  "Please, you have to help me." Cui Ying grabbed Bai Feng's hands.

  "We will try our best." Yu Di pulled Cui Ying away from Bai Feng who was looking more stressed than ever. "Elder Bai, I believe there are a lot of people waiting for you inside. I'll take care of him."

  "I don't want to die." Cui Ying sat down on the grass.

  "Do you trust me?"

  "What does that have to do with anything? We're both going to die. You're not much stronger than me."

  Yu Di knew what was going through this man's mind. Being thrown into this festival was as good as being sacrificed to the gods. Yet here he was and Yu Di had an idea for this head servant. He would be the key to everyone's survival once inside.

  "I know that you never wanted to be here. Neither did I. And I know that you would rather hide underneath a rock for the rest of your life than go into that festival. However, we have been chosen and our deaths have all been but assured. We're too weak. But do you want to be seen as a hero or a coward for what remains of your life?"

  Cui Ying shook his head.

  "This was a mistake. I'd rather join Elder Li's faction. They have more people. Strong people. Yeah. Staying here is as good as dying."

  Cui Ying got up and walked away.

  "I'm sure Elder Li will treat you well, just as he always has. Just remember, who do you think will do the hiding: you or Elder Li?"

  Cui Ying stopped. He glared at Yu Di with more fear than hatred and continued walking.

  Hopefully the man would come around. Yu Di had plans for him. A coward was always useful on the battlefield.

  Yu Di stepped inside Bai Feng's home to see all the servants gorging themselves on the feast. Bai Feng sat with them this time, not cooking. She just watched as they tore into the food and drink.

  “Welcome home, Elder Bai.” Yu Di cupped his hands and bowed.

  “You’ve grown much stronger in the last ten days,” Bai Feng said.

  “Hah, I’ve been trying to suppress it so no one realizes. But I guess it’s hard to hide from someone you’ve lived with for so long.”

  “Then this is another reason to celebrate. Come, you must be famished.”

  Yu Di sat down beside Bai Feng. He picked up a bowl and grabbed a few pieces of roast pork. This was made to perfection with a fine roast and sweetness to it.

  “Before we eat, I wanted to thank you all for your trust in me,” Bai Feng said. She raised a small cup of rice wine. “I hope that we can all make it out of the festival safely. Gan bei!”

  Everyone raised their cup of wine, then shouted “Gan bei!”

  The group ate everything in front of them with relish. The servants never had any meal this good.

  Yu Lin was the ultimate beggar. She’d go around to every one of them asking for this or for that, despite having a ton of food for herself. She even begged a drumstick off her father.

  The feast lasted a good two hours with everyone enjoying everything down to the last bite.

  Yu Di in particular loved the roast duck. Its crunchy skin dipped in soy sauce could compete with the roast pork. Everything was served with all you can eat, white fluffy rice kept in a large barrel.

  “Time for business,” Yu Di said once everyone had finished and the dishes were cleared.

  A hush settled down onto everyone in the room as they all looked at Bai Feng. She looked morose, but she nodded her head.

  “You all chose to follow me because of my strength,” Bai Feng said. “But strength means nothing without strategy. While Yu Di seems like a mere servant, he has wisdom and strategy beyond everyone here. So please, listen to him.”

  Everyone nodded, except for Fu Homei who crossed her arms.

  Yu Di took out the jade tablet Elder Yen gave him. He tapped it once, revealing all the names that were selected for the festival.

  “We currently have exactly one hundred names on here and from what I can see, we have most of the servants that were chosen. That makes us the weakest.” Yu Di tapped five names from the floating names. “These are our Elders in the festival. This means that there are five factions within this festival all acting independently. None of the other Elders wanted to work with us.”

  “That’s how all competitions are,” Fu Homei said. “It’s about honor, something you don’t understand. Fighting in groups is what the Imperial government does. Not us.”

  “They’ve stayed in power over cultivators for thousands of years. They know what they’re doing. We’re going to follow them.” Yu Di took out the transmission jades. “To do that, we are going to need to learn how to use these.”

  “Only weaklings like you need those,” Fu Homei said.

  “I’m sure the esteemed Senior Fu knows that most of us are weaklings in this group. Yet as a cohesive unit, we can be stronger than the sum of its parts.”

  Fu Homei snorted.

  Yu Di sighed.

  “Look Senior Fu, do you want to survive or not?”

  “I will survive. None in those weaker sects can match my strength. I will cut through them all like tofu.”

  “That’s only if they fight you one on one. I’m sure with a group like this, we could take you down.”

  Fu Homei glared at everyone.

  “I dare you.”

  “Fine, let’s do a simple demonstration then.” Yu Di got up and led all the people outside of Bai Feng’s home.

  Yu Lin climbed on top of the rock.

  “Let’s make this a simple test,” Yu Di said. “Elder Bai, do you have a long rope?”

  Bai Feng reached into her storage ring and pulled out a long brown rope. She tossed it onto the ground.

  Yu Di tied a simple flag at the center and straightened it out.

  “Now, I’m sure one on one, you can beat anyone here in strength if you use your Qi to pull. However, can you beat all of us at the same time?”

  “None of you weaklings would even come close.”

  “You heard her. She called you all weaklings. Let’s prove her wrong.”

  The servants in gray tunics all lined up in the back while the two in blue tunics lined up in the front.

  “Aren’t you going to participate?” Fu Homei grabbed one end from Yu Di. “I wouldn’t want you to say it was unfair when I beat you.”

  Yu Di took a step back after he felt the rope tighten.

  “No, I’m more of a strategist than a fighter.” He looked at the other disciples. “But I assure you, I will fight when the time comes.”

  “Then shall we begin? I have better things to do.” Fu Homei tugged a little harder on the rope.

  “One moment.” Yu Di walked up to the two in blue. “Okay, she’s one woman. If you combine your strength, you will win. Got it?”

  All of them nodded.

  “Now, the trick is simple. Who here has rowed a dragon boat?”

  Two servants in gray raised their hands.

  “You two, come up here.”

  Yu Di put them at the end of the line.

  “Here’s the deal. You two in the front will have to use all your Qi right at the start to stabilize the rope. Then, the two in the front will start calling the rhythm for pulling. It’s the same as in the boat races.”

  “But they had drums,” someone interrupted.

  “Fine, I’ll beat the drum for you,” Yu Di said.

  “Have you beaten drums before?”

  “I’ve seen enough dragon boat races.”

  “What happens if I win this little contest of strength?” Fu Homei asked. “I don’t want to do this for nothing, even if it will prove how weak you all are.”

  “If you win, then you can join any other group, no questions asked.”

  “Sounds good to me. I wouldn’t want to die under your leadership.”

  “If we win, you will have to follow my lead no matter what I ask you.” Yu Di locked eyes with the girl. “I mean anything I ask.”

  Fu Homei smirked.

  “Whatever you say.”

  Yu Di smiled. He loved it when his opponents agreed to do whatever he said. Now he just needs to make sure this group of loose sand can pull it together long enough for him to win. Because failure would mean everyone’s death.