That same night, as the lanterns of Peonies Castle flickered against the velvet sky, Mushu’s phone buzzed with an unknown number. He stared at the screen, hesitation tightening his chest. His thumb hovered, uncertain. Finally, he pressed accept.
“Hello, who is calling?”
A voice, trembling yet familiar, broke through the static.
“Brother? Is this... Borthe Mushu?”
Mushu’s heart skipped. His breath caught.
The voice cracked with relief.
“It’s really you! Big brother, I’m glad you didn’t change your number!”
Mushu’s throat tightened, emotion surging.
“I never changed my number because I was afraid you wouldn’t find me. Where are you? How is Father?”
There was silence. A pause heavy enough to crush the air. Mushu’s grip on his phone tightened, knuckles whitening. He could feel something terrible pressing at the edges of the conversation.
“Um... Big Brother. Father...”
Mushu’s pulse hammered. His chest constricted.
“Big brother... Father passed away a week ago. He didn’t want me to call you. He said... There was no need to disturb you.”
Sisu’s voice broke, emotion spilling through the line.
Mushu’s heart trembled violently. Though his stepfather was not bound to him by blood, he had brought happiness to his mother, given them stability, and treated Mushu with kindness his birth father never had. Mushu respected him deeply — so deeply that he called him Father without hesitation.
His voice cracked, raw with grief.
“Then... where are you? I’m in Shanghai. Come find me. I will make time to pay respect to Father.”
Sisu sniffled, trying to steady himself.
“Okay, I’ll come find you. Please send me your address. Dad left some items he wanted me to hand over to you.”
Mushu swallowed hard, forcing strength into his words.
“Alright. I’ll send you my address. Let me know when you arrive — I’ll pick you up myself.”
“I understand, Big Brother. See you soon.”
The line went dead. Silence pressed against Mushu’s ears, heavier than any sound.
Mushu lowered the phone slowly, his hand trembling. He typed out the address of Peonies Castle, his fingers stiff, each keystroke echoing like a drumbeat of finality.
When the message was sent, he opened his gallery. His thumb scrolled until it stopped on an old photo: his mother, radiant with joy, standing beside his stepfather, Sisu, and himself. Her smile glowed like sunlight, her eyes alive with happiness.
Mushu’s vision blurred. A single tear slipped down his cheek, tracing the line of his jaw. He whispered into the quiet room, his voice fragile yet resolute:
“Mom... Father is now with you. I hope you’re happier now.”
The photo shimmered faintly in the glow of his phone screen, as if the past itself was reaching out to comfort him. Mushu pressed the phone to his chest, his body trembling with grief, yet his heart filled with determination. He would honor his stepfather’s memory. He would protect Sisu. And he would carry forward the legacy of the man he called Father.
The Gathering After Confinement
The morning after the celebration, the great hall of Peonies Castle was filled with solemn faces. Ling Li, finally out of her one-month confinement, sat at the head of the table. Her aura was calm yet commanding, her eyes sharp as blades.
“We only have a month left before the Family Competition,” she said, her voice carrying a weight that pressed against every heart in the room. “Are you all confident to participate?”
Her words hung in the air like a challenge. Silence followed. No one dared answer immediately, for they all understood the gravity of the question.
Shun’s Painful Breakthroughs
It was Shun who broke the silence, his voice trembling yet resolute.
“Auntie... within this month, I had a breakthrough twice. But may I ask — why is it that every time I break through, I feel like dying from pain?”
His hands clenched tightly, knuckles pale. He recalled the agony: his body breaking and recombining, his soul whipped by raging fire, his meridians torn and stitched back together by an invisible hand wielding a thread and needle. The process was slow, excruciating, and each time he felt as though death itself hovered over him.
Even remembering it now sent shivers down his spine, cold sweat breaking across his brow.