~~~~

The Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan must always present a dignified image. He must be mighty, brilliant, and without peer. The slightest show of weakness will only invite vultures to gather around him.

“It is not fair!”

Feng Hao is not yet ready to be held up to that standard.

As much as he tries, Feng Hao is still very much a child, something that is on full display today as he angrily paces back and forth around the sparring room.

“Elder Brother... am I weak? Is that why this is happening?”

Feng Hao’s face is set on a mighty pout. Though they have yet to spar a single time, the child is already tired, his shoulders sagging inward and his head hung low.

“There are very few circumstances in which I would call Young Master weak,” Liu Jin answers, hands folded behind his back. “In fact, I dare say Young Master is stronger than over half the disciples in the Eternal Flame Clan.”

A conservative estimate, if anything. Even among Inner Disciples, those who surpass Feng Hao are not in the majority.

“Right? Right?” The young child raises his head and eagerly grasps Liu Jin’s words, pointing and nodding. “I am not weak! I do not need to be coddled! If one does not venture into the tiger’s den, one cannot snatch the tiger’s cub!”

“Tiger cubs are best left in their den, Young Master.”

However, Feng Hao is not listening anymore. He walks with new momentum, nervous energy infused into his every movement. Dozens of thoughts play out across his face with crystal clarity.

“Elder Brother!” His robes flutter as he suddenly turns on his heels. “Is there any way you can convince my mother against this?”

Liu Jin does not answer right away.

Instead, Liu Jin meets Feng Hao’s eagerness with silence and lets it drag on past the point of awkwardness. A cicada cries in the distance.

“Young Master,” he says once Feng Hao’s hopeful smile falters and dies, “just how much say do you think an Inner Disciple has over Lady Ling’s decisions?”

“Not much?”

“Not much,” Liu Jin agrees. “If Young Master’s pleas cannot move Lady Ling, how could this one's possibly do so?

Feng Hao looks down.

“Oh.”

“Besides, Young Master is making a mistake if he believes I disagree with Lady Ling’s orders.”

The look on Feng Hao’s face is perfectly betrayed.

“Elder Brother, why?”

Guilt worms inside Liu Jin, but logic wins out. Dangerous though Lady Ling may be, it is not fear that stops Liu Jin from speaking out against her. Far from it. Though Feng Hao is unhappy with his mother’s choice, Liu Jin cannot say he disagrees with Lady Ling.

But how to make Feng Hao understand that?

“Young Master,” Liu Jin begins. “The Eternal Flame Clan is undergoing an ordeal right now.”

“Because of my father and uncle?”

Liu Jin nods.

“Quite. It is still not yet certain which of them will become the next Patriarch.”

Though from Liu Jin’s perspective, it is Lord Feng Gui who holds the advantage. The introduction of the Internal Force may have caused a bit of stir, but it hadn’t managed to take away the impact of Lord Feng Shang’s recent losses. The Trial. The Medical Pavilion. The Crimson Cloud Tournament. Even the pill-making contest during the feast. In their own ways, all those events have helped tilt the balance.

The end, unfortunately, is not yet in sight.

“In that struggle, Young Master Feng Hao is undeniably crucial.”

Feng Hao is a testament to the power of Lord Feng Gui’s bloodline. A true prodigy child the likes of which even Xiao Nan cannot be compared to.

When Liu Jin first met him, Feng Hao had been in the Third Level of the Nascent Realm.

The Feng Hao that now stands before him has reached the Ninth Level of the Nascent Realm.

Most people never leave the Nascent Realm. Feng Hao will do so before seeing nine springs. No one can deny Feng Hao is Lord Feng Gui’s biggest asset.

Paradoxically, Feng Hao is also Lord Feng Gui’s biggest weakness.

“Young Master’s successes put Lord Feng Gui’s heart at ease. By the same token, if any harm were to befall Young Master, your father would be greatly distraught. Even in the Eternal Flame Clan, there are some who would try to use this against Lord Feng Gui. Lady Ling knows this, which is why she has asked you to remain here until everything is over.”

Until Lady Ling deems it safe, Feng Hao cannot take a single step outside the mansion.

Considering what Liu Jin has learned from Elder Xue, Lady Ling’s concerns are more than valid. An Inner Disciple of the Apothecary was attacked and almost killed. Feng Hao is a far more tempting target. For him to wander about, even with guards, is a risk too big for Lady Ling to take.

“But that’s not fair!”

Of course, Feng Hao does not see it that way.

Feng Hao is a child being punished through no fault of his own.

“Elder Brother says I’m strong, but doesn’t this just make it obvious how weak I am? How can I be strong if I only give my parents cause to worry?”

“There is a world of difference, Young Master, between being strong and being the strongest.”

Feng Hao looks away and kicks some imaginary dust on the floor.

“Is there really nothing Elder Brother can do?”

“I am also not the strongest.”

“Much stronger than me,” Feng Hao mutters. “They call me a prodigy, but Elder Brother has grown far more than I have.”

“That is not, strictly speaking, true.”

Liu Jin’s growth over the past few months is rooted in a foundation that stretches back many years. By contrast, Feng Hao grows and grows even as he builds his foundation as a cultivator. One could even argue his growth is too quick for his own good.

“It is also not important. Young Master, do you truly believe I could protect you from a Core Disciple?”

“Elder Brother couldn’t?” Feng Hao sounds genuinely surprised. “But Elder Brother is so strong! Much stronger than people in higher levels of cultivation!”

Liu Jin smiles. “I appreciate Young Master’s confidence in me, but please, do not value me so highly. I am strong, but so are many others. Core Disciples, in particular, are all gifted people with far more age and experience than I.”

Against someone like Xi Mou, who had been chosen to participate in the Crimson Cloud Tournament, Liu Jin wouldn’t last three moves, not even with his increased power. Perhaps not even one. To even think about something like that, Liu Jin would have to be in the True Realm, and even then, that may still be an optimistic estimate.

Feng Hao sighs and lets himself drop to the floor, cross-legged. “I don’t like things being like this, Elder Brother.”

“I imagine there is not a single person who likes how things are right now,” Liu Jin says, sitting down next to Feng Hao. It seems they will not spar today.

Feng Hao does not answer right away. He stays silent, his eyes staring at the wall.

“Can I tell you something, Elder Brother?”

“You can.”

“Sometimes, I wish mother and I were back in Sunny Spring City.”

“Is that where Young Master was born?”

Feng Hao nods.

“I think…” Feng Hao purses his lips and points south. “There! It is a few days away in that direction. Sunny Spring City is about as big as Ember City but much noisier. We had at least one celebration every month there. The New Year, the Day of the Doubtful One, the Festival of Dawn, the Remembrance of the First Bloom.”

A nostalgic smile appears on Feng Hao’s face.

“My mother and I never missed a single one. Even though we had guards, there was never anything to be afraid of. Everyone treated us with respect, but it wasn't the same as here. Here… it’s different here.”

“The people you are surrounded with now better understand the weight of your importance.”

“That doesn’t make me happy.”

“I would be worried if it did.”

“When mother told me we would be moving to the main branch, I was happy,” Feng Hao says. “I rarely saw my father before, and I thought being here would change that. I thought I’d meet all those family members I had only heard about! I thought we’d be a big family!”

Feng Hao’s Qi rises so quickly and so violently a sharp crack pierces the air.

“But that’s not what happened! That’s not what happened at all! I don’t see my father here any more than I did in Sunny Spring City. My freedom is restricted! The rest of my family is the danger everyone warns me about! Everyone respects me for being of the Feng Clan! Everyone says I am gifted! Everyone says my father is one of the strongest cultivators in the Empire! Yet that’s not enough to be at peace! It seems every single one of those things just brings me misery!”

Drop.

Drop.

Drop.

One after another, Feng Hao’s tears fall to the floor.

Liu Jin immediately wraps him in a hug.

“Why, Elder Brother?” He mumbles into Liu Jin’s chest as more tears fall. “Why are things like that? Is being the undisputed strongest so important? Is that the only way to be at peace?”

Many years ago, was it not Xiao Nan who told him strength is what ultimately decides everything? Is he now to impart the same lesson to a boy younger than he was back then?

Has that moment somehow arrived at his door already?

“Peace through strength,” Liu Jin muses. “The thought is not without merit, Young Master. The world is a dangerous place, and those without power are prey for those with it.”

That is a lesson Liu Jin learned the hard way in Eastern Port City. Whether he likes it or not, power is a requirement for peace. So long as people like Murong Bang exist, it is impossible for one to be at peace. There will always be people who can ruin everything in the span of a single night.

“Peace requires strength to be defended. However, it’s only that. Strength provides security. It creates the conditions to secure that which is already yours. Do not mistake it for the end goal. Please, Young Master, do not torment yourself. Your mother loves you. Do not turn a blind eye to it even if the situation is unfair. It is not your turn to think about being strong. It is not yet your turn to take that burden upon yourself.”

“Then whose?”

Liu Jin smiles sadly.

“It is ours. Your father, your mother, even myself. We will secure peace for you. This I promise you.”

~~~

It takes many more assurances than that to calm down Feng Hao. The boy seems embarrassed by his outburst by the end of it, quickly excusing himself and retiring back to his room while Liu Jin goes to pay his respects to Lady Ling.

“That was well said.”

Liu Jin bows his head to Lady Ling, unsurprised she had been listening.

“I only sought to ease Young Master’s burdens.”

“Nevertheless, you have my thanks. There are certain things children will not believe if they come from their parents. Unfortunately, my dear bright child has reached that age far too quickly.” Lady Ling’s fan moves to cover the lower half of her face. “How vexing.”

“I am sure Lady Ling has nothing to worry about.”

“Your lie is appreciated, as is the fact that you did not mention the duties Elder Xue has assigned to you. The last thing I need is my son trying to volunteer to help.”

“I would never allow Young Master to put himself into such a dangerous situation.”

“Neither would I, yet that would not stop him from trying. Best if he has no impetus to do so at all. I am already aware of the task entrusted to you by Elder Xue. In light of your services, I shall give you five of my men. Use them as you see fit.”

Five people that would surely report everything he does to Lady Ling. However, this operation should have nothing Liu Jin cares to hide from her, certainly not enough to turn down her aid, which is part of the reason why he came here.

“My lady is most kind.”

~~~

As soon as Liu steps out of Lady Ling’s mansion, a sharp cry pierces the skies. He looks up as a massive shadow passes over him, drawing two large circles around the mansion before landing on the front yard.

“Soaring Feather,” Liu Jin greets. “I had wondered why your new perch was so big.”

Soaring Feather does not chirp. Not anymore.

He has not yet reached its adult size, yet his body is already larger than a small elephant. His fluffy white feathers have fallen off and been replaced by beautiful black ones. His small feet have grown into massive talons that can easily tear through skin and bone. His beak is long, sharp, and overwhelmingly deadly.

“You have gotten fat.”

Scree!

“I joke,” Liu Jin says, smiling at the bird’s outrage. “You are very beautiful.”

Scree.

Liu Jin glances to his right. “Are you ready?”

Soaring Feather is not the only person who has been waiting for Liu Jin. Standing next to the guards, pale-faced and trembling, is the other person Liu Jin has recruited for this endeavor.

Pan Qiu.

~~~