Within the secluded medical halls of the Xueyan Huo Sect, silence reigned.
Outside, the sun was bright, the air gentle and fragrant, yet none of that warmth reached the hearts gathered inside. On the beds lay Mo Yan and Yu Sui, their breathing faint, their souls uncertain. Physicians of the sect moved carefully around them, their fingers tracing meridians, their senses probing for even the faintest spark of spirit...seeking, trembling, wondering if the souls still clung to their bodies.
Lao Duan sat bowed in grief, his face pale as ash. Like a branch heavy with blossoms collapsing into a river's depth, so too had his spirit drowned in sorrow. Su Nian and Duie remained by his side, offering words of comfort, though their own hearts trembled at the sight of the unconscious pair.
Wuzu was gone.
And Yu Sui's crown...the divine circlet that always returned to his hair once its duty was fulfilled...remained missing. Time passed endlessly, but neither crown nor Wuzu appeared. A dreadful thought clawed into every heart: had the sealing of Black Heaven taken Yu Sui's cursed soul and Wuzu with it? None dared voice the fear, yet it weighed upon them all like chains of iron.
Meanwhile, duty pressed forward. Yin Fengxian and Su Ri Zhen bid farewell to their father, Master Ren Zhou, and Lady Mei Ying, who would accompany Lady Duan Shou back to the Langshan Sect. For they carried with them a prisoner who could not be ignored...Azhai Rong.
Bound tightly, his wrists tied to the saddle, Azhai Rong was placed upon a horse at the center of a thirty-rider formation. The convoy rode swiftly, passing through Xuemo Sect's borderlands, then across the bustling markets of the Fuzi Xion Clan, Linyan Clan, Meilan Clan, and Yanlog Clan. The display was deliberate: the true criminal had been captured, and all were made to witness it. No longer could suspicion fall upon Mo Yan or Yu Sui.
Crowds parted in awe and silence as their eyes fell upon Lady Duan Shou, radiant and solemn, leading the prisoner forth.
Far away, within the Hei Lin San Sect, a miracle unfolded.
The sect's elders, though still recovering, had begun to walk again, but their gazes...along with the entire sect's....were drawn skyward.
Above the heavens, divine radiance spilled like rivers of gold. Twin phoenixes soared, their cries resonating with music that pierced the soul. No longer blackened by curse, their forms blazed in true majesty...he very image foretold in the Golden Scripture.
Lady Guso Hun, frail and leaning upon a maidservant's arm, emerged from her chambers. Following the crowd's gaze, she saw the phoenixes wheeling through the azure sky. Slowly, she approached Master Lee Wen, her voice soft with wonder.
"Master Lee Wen… those sacred twin phoenixes… whose are they?"
Lee Wen turned to her, and for the first time, his expression was both sunlight and rain.....radiant with joy, yet trembling with tears. His lips curved into a smile, even as grief and relief mingled in his heart.
With solemn reverence, he bowed his head and spoke:
"Lady Guso Hun… those sacred phoenixes belong to none other than His Majesty, Yu Sui. They sing not of sorrow, but of joy...his joy."
The word joy struck Lady Guso Hun deeper than any explanation. She needed no further answer; the phoenixes themselves had spoken. Behind her, other parents emerged slowly, their bodies frail yet their spirits alight with the fragrance of unseen blossoms.
And just as the crowd's breaths stilled, the twin phoenixes gave a soaring cry, their golden forms sweeping above countless heads. Children chased after their brilliance, waving their arms in laughter, their voices rising in delight.
From the skies, the phoenixes began their journey...passing first over Fuzi Xion Clan, then Linyan Clan, Meilan Clan, Yanlog Clan...each land bathed in their divine glow.
At last, their wings carried them down upon the sacred grounds of the Daoren Academy.