Jin Shu and his group waited in a shadowed side alley, somewhere in the bustli of Fa Hou City. The faint hum of the streets beyond did little to soothe his growing impatience.

  “How much longer do we o wait?” Jin Shu asked, tapping his foot against the uone pavement. Though they'd only been there for fifteen minutes, it felt like ay to him.

  It wasn’t that he was naturally impatient—at least, that’s what he told himself. But with a clue about his missing mother so tantalizingly close, sitting idle grated on him more than he cared to admit.

  Biyu pced a calming hand on his arm, her voice soft yet firm. “Calm down. Everything is going to be fine. Master is strohan you realize.”

  He sighed, letting his foot fall still. “I know… I just ’t stand waiting when we’re this close.”

  From his other side, Sun Li leaned in, curiosity shining in her bright eyes. “What’s the retionship between you two?” she asked suddenly, breaking the temosphere.

  Biyu chuckled lightly, an almost mischievous glint in her eyes. “Didn’t we already say? I’m his wife.”

  Sun Li frowned, crossing her arms. “No, you’re not.”

  Biyu raised a brow, feigning offense. “And how would you know?”

  Sun Li smirked, clearly enjoying the banter. “If Shu-gege got married, Aunt Mei’er would have made it the gra event the empire had ever seen. Everyone would know.”

  Biyu tapped her thoughtfully, then nodded. “Hmm… You’ve got a point there. Alright, I’ll tell you, but you must keep it a secret.”

  Sun Li’s i sharpened. She leaned in eagerly. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

  Clearihroat, Biyu adopted a spiratorial tone. “No one else knows this yet, but… I am…” She paused dramatically, l her voice. “His… secret lover!”

  The words left Sun Li so stunned she stumbled forward, caught off guard by the absurdity. Jin Shu sighed, catg her by the colr before she fell ft on her face.

  “Why do you always grab my colr?” Sun Li grumbled as she dangled from his hand. “’t you let me fall into your chest like a proper damsel?”

  “No,” Jin Shu replied ftly, setting her ba her feet. “You’re not a damsel.”

  Sun Li pouted while Biyu stifled a ugh, the tension in the alley fading momentarily into a lighter mood.

  Shortly after, movement at the far end of the alleyway caught Jin Shu's attentioensed instinctively, his hand twitg toward his on. However, his posture rexed when he saw the small figure stepping cautiously into view. The figure wore a hooded robe, but their small stature left little doubt—they were a child.

  “Oh, it’s them!” Sun Li excimed softly from beside Jin Shu.

  “That’s the demon cult traitor?” Jin Shu asked, his brow furrowing.

  Sun Li nodded silently.

  “But… it’s a child.”

  “So what if I’m a child?!” a sharp, high-pitched voice shot back.

  The small figure threw back their hood, revealing a boy no older than nine or ten. His dark hair fell messily around a pale face still rounded with baby fat. He gred up at Jin Shu, his small frame bristling with indignation.

  The boy jabbed a fi him. “You got a problem with me being a kid?”

  Jin Shu snorted in amusement. “Not at all.”

  The boy’s eyes flicked to the two women standing beside Jin Shu, his gaze sharp and appraising. “Are you the fifth prince I’m supposed to meet?” he asked bluntly.

  Before Jin Shu could ahe boy tinued, “Well, you’ve got your women with you, so I guess you must be.”

  Jin Shu raised an eyebrow, exging an amused gh Biyu and Sun Li. “What about these two makes you think I’m a prince?”

  “Obviously,” the boy said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms, “only a prince would have two beautiful women following him around.” He nodded, as though this logic was indisputable.

  Sun Li and Biyu chuckled softly, but Jin Shu couldn’t resist ughing ht. He poio Sun Li, his toeasing. “Well, you might be disappoio know that she’s the fifth prince.”

  The boy froze, staring at Sun Li with a bnk expression befiving Jin Shu a deadpan look. “I’m young, not stupid.” He pointed emphatically at Sun Li. “No prince could be that beautiful. She’s obviously a woman!”

  Sun Li burst into ughter, while Biyu smirked. Jin Shu, suppressing a grin, folded his arms. “Fair enough. But she is still the fifth prince,” he said with a casual shrug.

  The boy’s pale face turned red with anger. “Why are you bullying me?!”

  “No one’s bullying you, kid,” Jin Shu replied seriously, his toeady.

  Tears began welling in the boy’s eyes. “You are bullying me! You’re all the same—nobody cares about meee!!” he wailed, his voice crag. “The only one who was o me was Big Sister Mei’er!”

  The boy colpsed onto the ground, sitting with his legs sprawled out as he sobbed into his hands.

  Jin Shu froze for a moment, his expression sharpening at the mention of that name. He crouched down quickly and grabbed the boy’s hands, pulling them away from his tear-streaked face. “What name did you just say?” he demanded, his voice low and intense.

  The boy only cried harder.

  Jin Shu’s grip on the boy’s wrists tightened unsciously. “Say it again!” he barked, his eyes burning with urgency.

  “Aaah! You’re hurting meee!” the boy screamed, his cries eg through the alleyway and drawing curious gnces from passersby.

  Before things could escate further, Sun Li and Biyu rushed in. Biyu pulled Jin Shu back, while Sun Li crouched beside the boy, gently patting his back to calm him down.

  “Jin Shu, calm down!” Biyu said firmly, holding him in pce as he struggled against her grip.

  Sun Li’s soothing voice cut through the tension. “It’s okay, you’re safe now,” she murmured to the boy, who hiccupped through his sobs.

  Biyu turo Jin Shu, her tone sharp. “Look at what you’ve doo him!” She poi the boy’s wrists, where red marks had formed from Jin Shu’s grip.

  Jin Shu g the boy’s wrists and immediately took a step back, guilt fshing across his face. “I-I didn’t mean to…” He paused, his expression darkening. “But he said my mother’s name. You heard it too, didn’t you?”

  Biyu nodded, her toler now. “I did. But all he said was ‘Mei’er.’ We don’t know for sure if he’s talking about your mother or if his sister simply shares the same name.”

  Jin Shu’s hands ched into fists, but he forced himself to exhale deeply, calming the storm within. “You’re right,” he said through gritted teeth. “But we o find out.”

  Jin Shu stepped around Biyu and approached the boy again. The sobbing had subsided somewhat, thanks to Sun Li’s soothing words, but the moment Jin Shu crouched before him, the boy’s cries grew louder.

  Jin Shu reached for the boy’s wrists, and the boy jerked bastinctively. Jin Shu was quicker, gently taking hold of his small hands. The boy fli first, but his tense expression eased as Jin Shu’s fingers began to work. With a practiced touch, Jin Shu applied a massage teique that quickly reduced the swelling in the boy’s wrists.

  From Jin Shu’s shoulder, Yiirred, finally waking from the otion. The little tiger cub yawned and stretched, drawing the boy’s attention. His tearful eyes locked on the cub, wide with fasation.

  Notig the boy’s gaze, Jin Shu gently lifted Yin’er off his shoulder and pced her into the boy’s trembling hands. The cub blinked up at him curiously before letting out a soft purr as the boy began to pet her. Slowly, the boy’s sobbing stopped, repced by tentative strokes of the tiger’s fur.

  “What’s your name, kid?” Jin Shu asked after a moment of silence.

  The boy looked up, his eyes red and cheeks still streaked with tears. “Mo Bai,” he whispered softly.

  “Mo as in the Demon Cult’s Mo?” Biyu asked sharply, stepping forward.

  Jin Shu g her, frowning. “What do you mean by the Demon Cult’s ‘Mo’?”

  Biyu’s expression darkened. “The word Mo in their name means demon or devil. It’s a title they take pride in. Only those in the cult’s higher echelon—or heirs to the cult leader—carry it in their name.”

  Jin Shu turned back to the boy. “So, Mo Bai… were you raised by the Demon Cult?”

  The boy flinched but didn’t answer, his grip tightening slightly on Yin’er.

  his reas, Jin Shu realized Mo Bai wasn’t likely to answer directly. Still, it didn’t matter—there was only one question he needed answered.

  “Mo Bai,” Jin Shu began softly, careful not to scare the child again, though his heart pounded in anticipation. “Is your sister’s name also Mo?”

  Mo Bai shook his head silently.

  Jin Shu let out a shaky breath, his ightening like a vice. “Then… is her name Sun Mei’er?”

  The boy’s head jerked up, his eyes wide. “You know Big Sister Mei’er?!”

  Jin Shu’s heart nearly stopped at the firmation. Relief surged through him, and for a moment, he stood there, stuhen he burst into ughter, tears prig his eyes as the weight of uainty finally lifted.

  “Of course I know her! She’s my mother!” Jin Shu said, his voice thick with emotion. “Where did you see her?”

  Mo Bai blinked, fused. “Big Sister Mei’er is an empress?”

  “What? No.” Jin Shu shook his head with a sigh. “Though she is the emperor’s sister.”

  Mo Bai tilted his head. “Then how is she the mother of the fifth prince?”

  “I’m not the fifth prince,” Jin Shu muttered, rubbing his temples. “Look, you just tell me where you saw her st? Please?”

  Mo Bai hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “I saw her in the southern region’s Demon Mountains.”

  Jin Shu frowned. “What are the Demon Mountains?”

  Biyu stepped in to expin. “The Demon Mountains separate the southern region from the western aern regions. It’s a dangerous area filled with spirit beasts.”

  Mo Bai nodded again. “I was with some of the young disciples from the cult and the instructors. Big Sister Mei’er crossed the mountains and saved us from a spirit beast.”

  Sun Li, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke up. “Why are you so worried about Aunt Mei’er?”

  Jin Shu looked at her, briefly startled by the question. “I lost tact with her for a while. I was worried something might’ve happened.”

  “Oh.” Sun Li tilted her head. “Why didn’t you just ask me?”

  “Why would I ask you?” Jin Shu said, narrowing his eyes.

  Sun Li blihen poio Mo Bai like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Because she’s the one who seo get him.”

  Jin Shu stared at her, his eyes widening in disbelief. “What?! Really?”

  Sun Li nodded. “Yeah. She sent a message through a Thousand Mile Talisman. She said to send someoo retrieve a kid from the Demon Cult, so Father sent me.”

  “How long ago was that?” Jin Shu asked, a hopeful edge in his voice.

  Sun Li scratched the back of her head, her brow furrowing in thought. “Um… about a week ago, I think?” she replied hesitantly.

  Jin Shu turo Mo Bai, his foarrowing. “And when did you see her st?”

  The boy hesitated, gng down at Yin’er in his hands before answering. “After she saved me, I didn’t want to go back to the cult. So, I asked her to take me with her. But instead, she held my hand, and the hing I knew, eared here. That was about a week ago.”

  “That must have been Master’s unique Spirit—Phoenix Wings,” Biyu interjected, her voice thoughtful. “She teleport over long distances, but she only use it once every few days. If that’s the case, she might have returo the sect by now.”

  Mo Bai shook his head quickly. “No, Big Sister Mei’er told me she was going back to the southern region. I asked her where she was going before she left me here, and that’s what she said.”

  “Then we’ll look for her there,” Jin Shu decred hastily, his determination bzing.

  “No, we won’t,” Biyu said firmly, shaking her head. “Do you have any idea how vast the Demon Mountains are? They stretch for thousands of kilometers, and there’s no guarantee she’s still there.”

  Jin Shu opened his mouth tue but quickly closed it, the weight of her logiking in. He sighed, his shoulders rexing slightly. “You’re right. Searg blindly would be pointless.” He paused, sidering. “We’ll check the sect first. She may have already finished her business in the southern region aurned.”