Sun Yunso looked at his restored arm and slowly moved it from one side to the other.
His expression was calm but underneath the surface, he was far from being one.
"You healed this?"
Anyu Feng nodded.
"I did."
Sun Yunso looked at him again.
"How?"
Anyu's smile faltered slightly.
"That's a rather complicated question.
"Then give me a complicated answer.
Anyu looked at him for a moment before sighing. Sun Yunso said nothing as his colorless eyes bore into Anyu. He would not be silenced, that he knew for a fact, so eventually, the truth would come out. Anyu Feng exhaled when he realized that Yunso would not be easily swayed.
"If you want to know, then fine, I'll tell you.
Sun Yunso said nothing as he watched Anyu.
"When we got to you at the Guo Estate hot spring, your arm was already severed. You know that much, at least. One of the people there managed to stop the bleeding already. In a way, that was helpful. It took away the immediate danger. But it also didn't help in the long run, unfortunately," Anyu Feng said, gesturing at Yunso's arm. "By the time we got to you, you had already lost too much blood, and your arm had been separated from your body for too long. Normally, I could have just healed and reattached the severed limb. But there was not enough blood left in your arm for me to properly reattach it."
Sun Yunso was looking at his arm again.
"So, you couldn't save it?"
"Exactly."
Anyu crossed his arms over his chest.
"Unfortunately, there was not much else I could do, so I had to recreate it from scratch."
Sun Yunso looked at his arm again, his expression unreadable.
"Recreate it?"
"From scratch.
Anyu raised his hand, counting on his fingers.
"Bones first, then the muscles, after that, the blood vessels, nerves, tendons, and finally the skin."
Sun Yunso stared at his arm again, and for the first time since waking up, his expression actually showed some surprise.
"You created an entirely new human arm...
"Yes.
"It must have taken a while to create, right?"
Anyu Feng chuckled
"Not really. It took a lot of Seidan, which drained me more than I expected, so much so that I actually couldn't stay conscious for the two hours after I finished."
Sun Yunso was silent for a moment, his fingers curling into a fist subconsciously. Yet, the man in front of him somehow managed to make it all happen from nothing.
"Uncle Anyu...
"Hm?
"How long have you been able to do that?"
Anyu Feng gave a small smile.
"For a while now."
"How long is 'a while'?"
Sun Yunso asked
Anyu looked out the window.
"When I first started learning healing, I wasn't very good at it," Anyu Feng replied with a small smile, "I could barely do anything to help people back then. All I could do was patch a few wounds here and there, cure some minor ailments, nothing special."
Sun Yunso listened silently.
"But I practiced a lot, and with every injury, I learned something new. With every failure, I learned what not to do. I learned the body and its intricacies, how the Seidan flowed through it and how to manipulate it to help people. Eventually, I realized something. Seijinism's teachings are not limited to what one can do naturally. Sometimes, it's all about determination and pushing one's limits to achieve one's goals."
Anyu Feng paused for a moment as Sun Yunso's expression remained the same. Then, he smiled again.
"I didn't always know what to do now. I had to learn, just like everyone else, you know? With enough practice, even the most seemingly impossible tasks can become second nature."
Sun Yunso looked at his arm again
"So, you are saying that your skills came from practice?
"Well you could say that, but also add a lot of studying as well." Anyu Feng replied as he shrugged, "Although I'd rather not make a habit of rebuilding people's limbs."
Sun Yunso looked at him.
"Why?"
Anyu Feng's expression became suddenly serious.
"Because I'd rather keep my Seidan inside my body than spend two hours unconscious on the floor.
Sun Yunso blinked in surprise, then, to Anyu's surprise, gave a small smile.
"Fair enough."
Sun Yunso's smile thinned as another idea sparked in his head. He was about to speak when his expression shifted.
"The others."
Anyu Feng raised an eyebrow at that.
"Others?
"The people I fought."
Anyu nodded.
"Ah. Them."
Sun Yunso straightened up
"What happened to them?"
"Lokei Yoshe and Huo Shuzoh are fine. Surprisingly, they recovered much faster than I anticipated.
"How long?"
"Three days."
Sun Yunso turned to stone.
"It's been three days?
"Yup."
Anyu crossed his arms.
"You have been out cold since the incident three days ago."
Sun Yunso glanced at his healed arm
Three days... it had happened only three days ago, he hadn't even realized that much time had passed since then
"And the others?"
Anyu's brows furrowed slightly
"There was another one who was injured as well."
"Who?"
"He told us that he hadn't participated in the fight but was the one who stopped your bleeding before I got there."
Sun Yunso's eyes narrowed.
"Stopped my bleeding?"
"Yup. I believe his name was..." Anyu trailed off, trying to recall the name. "Chu Runar."
Sun Yunso's eyes widened at that name.
"He was stabbed in the chest and somehow, managed to stand and walk back to us."
"How did he do it?" Sun Yunso asked.
"He did the same thing to himself like you. Some strange threads of his, if you could call them that. They acted like bandages, covering the wound."
"He's a Seijinist as well?
"That's what I'm assuming."
Sun Yunso fell silent for a while at that. Another Seijinist who wielded the same strange power and who managed to treat his injury. He thought of another name as well.
"And Gun Shenin?"
Anyu's expression became strange at the mention of that name.
"Gun Shenin?"
"Yes."
Anyu looked back at him.
"Are you referring to the green-eyed, with the weird hairstyle one?"
Sun Yunso nodded.
"That's him."
Anyu's expression became more pensive.
"...He disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"When we were tending to the others, we tried to take him with us as well but something happened. A female figure appeared beside him."
"Beside Shenin?"
Anyu gave a confirming nod.
"We barely had the time to process what had happened."
He grimaced slightly, recalling the memory.
The strange figure that had appeared being Mivi herself appeared beside the wounded Gun Shenin, looking down at him for a moment before clicking her tongue, saying,
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... What a shame. Even for being the second creation, you're still an eyesore, Zyrikyss. But that's exactly what makes me want your head even more."
Sun Yunso's eyes narrowed further at the words.
"Second creation and Zyrikyss, what kind of name is that?"
"That's what she called him, anyway before we could do anything, she took Gun Shenin with her and disappeared soon after."
"Disappeared?"
"Yup. Within seconds, in fact."
Anyu shook his head.
"We couldn't do anything to stop her. By the time we had gotten to where they were, there was already no one there."
Sun Yunso fell silent as he listened to what had happened. His gaze was locked on the floor.
"Did you see her face?"
"Not really. There was this cloth-like material covering most of her face."
He paused for a moment, thinking.
"But I remember her eyes."Her eyes?"
"Two different colors.
Anyu raised two fingers for emphasis.
"One green, one red.
Sun Yunso's expression became even more severe.
"Anything else?"
"Her voice... was undeniably a woman's."
There was a long pause as Sun Yunso stood there, silent
Second creation, that wasn't some random name anyone could have used. That woman knew Gun Shenin and more importantly, knew something about him that no one else did. She took him away deliberately.
Anyu Feng looked back at Sun Yunso
"That's all I know."
Sun Yunso looked up at the man.
"Thank you, Uncle Anyu."
Anyu Feng nodded.
"Just don't go chasing after him, okay?" Anyu Feng said.
"Sure, no worries about that."
....
The days passed and Sun Yunso was still in his recovery phase. He didn't do much but mostly stayed in bed and kept looking at his arm most of the time.
What made him a little anxious was that Anyu Feng stopped visiting for some reason. He wanted to go ask why, but he was pursued by Sa Wayong, who kept repeating the same thing over and over, saying that he was busy. That made him have even more questions than before
By "busy," what did he mean? Was he testing Huo Shuzoh and Lokei Yoshe? But that couldn't be the case, since he said with a straight face that they were surprisingly doing well and had recovered faster than expected
So busy—how was he busy? What was he busy with? How long could he be busy for?
Sun Yunso was still curious, as any child would be, even if he was a young adult pushing his twenties. He didn't want to add more fuel to the flame and let go of his curiosity for the moment. Yes, he did want to ask questions, but since he knew that Anyu Feng was a medical expert, maybe he was helping out at the medical center. That should explain the term "busy" in his context.
So with that, he went back to his bed and relaxed there for a moment, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. His mind suddenly drifted back to the four-way battle that he was involved in. For some reason, a feeling had entered his system during that time. Even though he was stone-cold and had a hard expression throughout the fight, that feeling he didn't understand slowly crept through until the last moment.
'What was that feeling? It felt so... strange,' Yunso thought.
He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep, but then opened them again because he was restless now. He couldn't sleep, not to mention it was bright as hell thanks to the sun outside. This made him wonder what time it could have been.
A few short sighs came out of his mouth. He was feeling slightly bored now, and it was understandable—as before Anyu Feng left, he had specifically been told not to do anything that would further damage his body. Sun Yunso wasn't a dumb person, of course; he would listen.
But for some reason, now he regretted it, as he had nothing to do now. And to add salt to the wound, Anyu Feng had taken his sword along with him—what a tease
Sun Yunso then suddenly changed his gaze to the window. The shining light of the sun blinded him. He got up and closed the curtain, as the light was actually burning his eye, and immediately went back to bed in the same position as before.
While he was on his bed, his mind drifted back to the days he spent with his master Su Qing—those normal days when he was taught how to master the art of using a sword, the stupid motivational speeches that made no sense, and him talking to the dragon painting as if it were a living entity.
A small but genuine smile slowly crept up, but then it disappeared.
'Master Su Qing, I'm sorry I couldn't get your revenge. I told myself that the Guo Family Wedding was the perfect chance for me to avenge you or at least the first part of the revenge would have been done but the Huo Clan leader didn't even attend his own son's wedding. I hope you forgive me, not only for failing you but also for walking the path of vengeance.'
Sun Yunso kept still for several seconds, his eyes closed. The memories of Su Qing surfaced before his eyes, silly incidents included. It all felt like a world away now.
He opened his eyes, revealing the same expressionless mask, only this time there was something different. The feeling of guilt that had clung to him before, had disappeared, although he was far from forgiving himself.
'At least I haven't failed yet'
His right hand tightened into a fist.
The head of the Huo clan was still alive, which meant his revenge was far from over.
Sun Yunso stared at the ceiling.
"I'll find him"
There was no hate, no desperation in his voice, only a cold certainty
"And when I do..." he paused, his right fingers flexing idly "I'll be sure not to make the same mistake twice"
A strange feeling washed over his rejuvenated right arm. Sun Yunso halted, his fingers opening, the odd sensation still present.
It was the same feeling that had plagued him during the fight.
Was it coming back? Was the thrill of battle slowly making his blood boil, or could it have been something else entirely?
Sun Yunso sat up straight and looked directly at the wall in front of him with a serious gaze. It looked like something fun was slowly about to approach, and he was going to be fully involved in it; a sly grin crept across his mouth.
….
Twenty Days Later.
A room that had been illuminated by a dozen red lanterns was silent, save for the occasional noise that could still be heard from outside. Ten figures sat around a round, tall table.
This was the Armada HQ.
It wasn't until someone finally approached the middle of the room, holding up a bound, sealed report, that anyone actually said something.
"Let us begin with this one."
The man placed the scroll on the table and opened it.
"The Guo Family Wedding. What was supposed to be a happy and joyous event when two great houses were supposed to unite, has taken a dark turn for the worse. It seems that it was around the middle of the celebration that an unknown figure infiltrated the Guo Estate. It was later revealed that the intruder was none, but Huo Shuzoh. Not long after, a part of the Guo Estate was destroyed. Buildings were reduced to rubble, several fires plagued the Guo Estate, and the flower garden was completely ruined."
He paused for a bit before continuing.
"The casualties were... Severe. Not only because many guests of the wedding were caught in the crossfire of the attack, as many were killed trying to escape from the Guo Estate. Not only that, but it seems that the Guo Family itself was caught in this disaster that took so much from them. And the Huo Family as well, seeing how they too had to evacuate the Guo Estate."
He looked up from the report.
"What was supposed to be a wedding of two great houses, ended up as a massacre. However..." He said as he flipped another page. "It seems that the Guo Estate's disaster isn't over yet.
From the report a picture was pulled out and placed on the table, the picture showing the ruined hot-spring.
"As it seems, the few people that witnessed the event, tell us that four Seijinists engaged each other in a fight shortly after, destroying even more parts of the Guo Estate."
Another picture was placed on the table, showing the complete ruin of the hot-spring.
"However, it seems that there is still something that puzzles us. Although the event that happened in the Guo Estate is already bad enough, as well as expensive, we don't know what sparked that infamous battle. What was the reason behind it?"
The room fell silent. The man opened the report.
"So to sum it up, The Guo Family Wedding is no longer just a marriage between two great houses. Not only because of the disaster that befell the Guo Estate, but also because it is now an event the Armada will investigate."
The man closed the document.
"That is all."
Silence filled the room as the other nine figures gave each other knowing looks, none of them willing to be first to speak. The man leaned back in his chair
"Since this incident will most likely end up involving the Armada, we'll need eye witnesses. And we'll need to find the three other Seijinists that fought Huo Shuzoh, the second son of the Huo Clan Head, Huo Yusaih."
The man cast a look around the table.
"So, does anyone have any ideas?"
There was a pause as a sound echoed throughout the room. All eyes were on him.
A young woman was casually sitting in her chair, sucking on a lollipop. Her pale face, surprisingly youthful. Her eyes were a light blue-gray color, framed by long lashes and barely visible winged eyeliner, her medium length hair was layered and a little frizzy.
Her hair was platinum white from her roots to most of her hair, then slowly fading into dark. She sucked on her lollipop and the man just stared at her. She finally seemed to notice that everyone was watching her.
"What?" She asked.
"You have something to say, perhaps?"
The woman gave him a smile.
"Suggestions?" She questioned as she slowly gestured towards the photos on the table. "Don't be ridiculous, they're right there."
The woman gestured towards the picture with all four warriors in it, the man looking at it and then back at her.
"...What are you talking about?"
She blinked her eyes at the picture, then to him, then back to the picture.
"Oh, I got off track."
No one said a word as the woman slowly moved her hand as if holding the reins of a phantom horse.
"Alright, alright." She said, "Hard left."
Her hand shot to the right suddenly.
"No, wait-" She reprimanded herself. "Right. Sorry."
The man gave her a strange look as she cleared her throat.
"Anyway, what I was saying was that we don't actually have to go looking for our eye witnesses. That's because three of the people we are looking for are actually right there in the pictures."
She tapped each picture and leaned back in her chair and took another lick of her lollipop.
"So, in other words... your suspects are actually hiding right in front of you."
The man slowly narrowed his eyes.
"For once, you actually made sense."
"I usually do, I just don't do it on purpose."
"...Fair."
The young woman smiled at the compliment, clearly pleased with herself.
"See? I knew I was useful."
She took another lick at the lollipop before continuing.
"Now all we have to do is find them. Although...given that they are Seijinists, it isn't going to be very easy. Hence why I say we send them."
The young woman's gaze fell on the man who gave the report earlier.
"Am I right, Song Yazhu?"
Song Yazhu said nothing as he stared at the edge of the report with his fingers. After a long pause, he spoke.
"An interesting idea. But there is one problem."
The young woman tilted her head at him.
"We don't have facial identification for the three Seijinists who fought in the battle, is that what you mean?"
Song Yazhu tapped the photo of Huo Shuzoh
"The only face we can accurately identify is Huo Shuzoh's."
Another man finally spoke. His jet-black hair, well-groomed.
"We could find them by the clothes they are wearing."
Song Yazhu turned his gaze on the speaker.
"We could but clothes are fairly easy to change. If they learn we are chasing after them, they are bound to change what they are wearing."
The black-haired man said nothing.
Song Yazhu continued.
"As soon as they do that, we lose whatever lead we have on them."
The young woman slowly put down the lollipop in her hands.
"So we are stuck?"
"Not entirely."
Song Yazhu closed the report shut.
"Our best option is to first find Huo Shuzoh. We know what he looks like, and unlike the other three Seijinists, we have enough information to track him down. More importantly...we already have a witness who can testify against him."
The young woman tilted her head as she looked at him, the lollipop resting between her fingers.
"A witness? Didn't you just say we needed witnesses but somehow you already found them, who could they be?"
Song Yazhu said nothing as he glanced at the large doors at the far end of the room.
"You will see."
He said simply. He raised his hand and gave a subtle motion. The doors slowly opened and a single individual stepped inside the room. The young woman immediately stopped chewing as she stared at the stranger with wide light blue-gray eyes.
Guo Yuxuan entered the room and made her way to the center before stopping several feet away from the table. She gave a polite bow.
"Thank you for allowing me inside your premises."
The young woman stared at her for a long moment before tilting her head again.
"Oh."
It suddenly dawned on her.
Song Yazhu leaned back in his chair.
"With her testimony, we will have enough information to find and apprehend Huo Shuzoh."
Guo Yuxuan raised her head slightly.
"And once we have him, we can question him regarding the whereabouts of the other three Seijinists. And as you suggested earlier, Na Nokang, we will send the others to pursue Huo Shuzoh. So please go give them the order."
The young woman gave a small nod.
"Good."
Song Yazhu's expression darkened.
"We must not underestimate him. After all, he is still a member of the Huo Clan."
He tapped the photo of Huo Shuzoh once more.
"And despite what happened to him, that name still carries weight."
Guo Yuxuan said nothing.
The young woman simply smiled behind her lollipop.
"So does that mean the hunt can begin?"
"Indeed, it begins." Song Yazhu said.
The meeting had reached its conclusion. Huo Shuzoh was now the Armada's first target.
....
Sun Yunso had spent enough time wasting in bed. He believed that it was beginning to get annoying.
Days had passed since the wedding massacre and although Yunso's body had recovered significantly, Anyu Feng's orders had not changed. To rest and not engage in any physical activity, lest he reopen the wounds.
Sun Yunso could hardly disagree with the orders, nevertheless, for once he chose to compromise. In his condition, he was allowed to at least take a walk. He exited the room in the medical center hallway, his moves being hushed as he walked down the corridor.
One step after another, his body slightly tense, although he didn't feel any discomfort.
It was not as if he had recovered fully from the massacre, but this would have to suffice.
'I should not let my body grow weak,' Sun Yunso thought to himself, unable to shake off the feeling of unease.
Even though his arms and legs slightly itched as he walked, nevertheless, looking around the medical center wasn't going to hurt. Sun Yunso continued to gaze through the windows and doors of the medical center, everything seemed quite calm and orderly, until the familiar voice reached his ears.
"I'm telling you, it's going to be a real pain."
Sun Yunso stopped dead in his tracks, recognizing the voice; it belonged to Lokei Yoshe. Slowly turning his head, he locked his sight on the half-opened door several meters away from him. Another voice replied to Lokei's words, belonging to Chu Runar.
"Are you sure about that?"
Sun Yunso's expression darkened at the familiar name. The last thing he expected was for these two individuals to be in the same room together. Curious, he began walking towards the doorway, trying to catch every word that came out from the opposite room.
Still, the conversation was not clear enough for him to understand what was happening. Reaching the doorway, Sun Yunso peeked inside, spotting Lokei sitting on one of the room's chairs, his staff leaning against the wall next to him.
Across him, sitting on the same type of chair was Chu Runar. The two were having what seemed to be an intense conversation. Sun Yunso could only make out every other word that came from their lips.
"We have to do something otherwise, he might regret it. Terribly so," said Lokei.
Sun Yunso remained near the doorway, trying not to intrude on their conversation. Not that he really wanted to, it wasn't like he was eavesdropping on purpose. At least, that is what he was telling himself as he kept his sight on the two men.
'What are they talking about?'
Lokei suddenly turned his head to look at Sun Yunso, causing the latter to freeze in place. The grin on Lokei's face widened as he looked straight at Sun Yunso.
"How long have you been standing there?"
Sun Yunso calmly walked into the room.
"Just got here."
Chu Runar looked at him as he walked into the room.
"Oh, hey Yunso."
Sun Yunso simply nodded at Chu Runar's greeting.
"Chu Runar."
Lokei leaned back on his chair.”
"Couldn't stay in bed, huh?"
"No," Yunso answered, looking from one man to the other. "What are you guys talking about?"
Lokei and Chu Runar exchanged a look, that single glance that told Yunso that something was definitely not right.
Lokei studied Sun Yunso for a moment.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
Sun Yunso nodded. Lokei Yoshe heaved a small sigh.
"If you really want to know, then here. Huo Shuzoh is gone."
Sun Yunso's face immediately changed.
"What?"
The words came out of nowhere and caught him off guard.
"...Apparently he disappeared this morning."
Sun Yunso stared at him.
"How?"
"We don't know."
Lokei shook his head.
"There was no sign of a struggle, no broken glass, nothing."
Chu Runar remained silent for a while, his face serious.
"Mr. Feng is the one who told us," Lokei added. "He came to us this morning to inform us that Shuzoh was gone. When he came to his room this morning, the bed was empty."
Sun Yunso was quiet for a moment, his mind racing. The man had been severely hurt and yet recovered so quickly and now suddenly gone.
"Did anyone see him leave?"
Lokei shook his head.
"No one."
"Then where did he go?" Sun Yunso asked.
"That's the question, isn't it?" Lokei replied, sinking back in his chair. "We have no idea where he went."
Something about this didn't seem right at all to him, but he decided to listen to what else Lokei had to say.
"But apparently we might have a lead." Sun Yunso raised an eyebrow. "A lead?"
Lokei nodded.
"Yes. Apparently Mr. Feng overheard some people who were around the estate during the wedding. They said that there was someone who came and intruded on the wedding. And apparently that someone was none other than Huo Shuzoh."
"Exactly."
Lokei crossed his arms over his chest, resting his forearms on his knees.
"From what they said, it seems like Shuzoh wasn't there to attend the wedding. He was actually there to kill someone."
"Who was it?" Asked Yunso.
"He wanted to kill his father, for some reason. But that's not all. I actually remember something that happened a few days ago, right after we were brought here. One night I was walking by his room when I heard him talking in his sleep. He kept saying something about taking revenge."
"Revenge?" Sun Yunso asked.
"Right. He kept asking his father what he did to him. He sounded so angry, but more than that he sounded like someone who had been holding on to that question for a long time. Maybe that's the reason he left. Maybe he left to take revenge on his father for what he did to him."
Chu Runar finally spoke up.
"So you're saying that he left to kill his father?"
"Yes," said Lokei. "That's what it seems like, doesn't it?"
Everything was making sense now. Shuzoh had left for a reason and it wasn't just because he wanted to be somewhere else. He had a destination and if what Lokei said was true, then that destination was his father.