Junior Edina, unaware that Aunt Li Mei was gradually piecing together her trail, had her focus elsewhere. At that moment, her focus was absorbed by a letter she had just received from Sect Leader Khang of the Eternal Will Sect. The contents were startling—an account of a peculiar and unforeseen discovery at Hin Lake.
According to the letter, Sect Leader Khang’s disciples had uncovered strange bones submerged beneath the waters of Hin Lake. The bones were unlike anything they had seen before, with jagged horns and broken wings. The eerie description bore a striking resemblance to the accounts of demons that Senior Edina had once mentioned. Such a discovery would certainly pique her interest, and Junior Edina was certain this was something Senior Edina would want to investigate personally. With that thought in mind, she carefully folded the letter and placed it inside a small, ornate drawer built into her desk. The drawer was secured with an intricate lock, one she had installed herself, ensuring that only she could access it.
Turning her attention back to the letter she had been drafting, Edina reread her carefully chosen words. It was a letter to grandfather Liang Feng, She needed his approval to have Chuang Chi officially designated as the figurehead of her faction. Now that Chuang Chi had accepted her offer, all that remained was her grandfather's approval. Once granted, it would pave the way for her to openly compete for the sect leader’s position when Grandfather Liang formally announces his retirement in four days—on Lin's birthday.
Edina's eyes narrowed in thought as she considered the timing of it all. Four days was not much time, but once her grandfather gave his approval, her action would be well-positioned to secure a fighting chance against Aunt Li Mei’s faction.
Satisfied with the wording, she placed the letter to the side, waiting for the wax to cool on the seal. The room was quiet, save for the gentle rustle of paper and the faint crackle of the candle beside her. Her heart, however, was racing. Everything was falling into place, yet a nagging sense of unease lingered.
Just as she was about to rise from her desk, the faint sound of hurried footsteps echoed outside her door. Moments later, the sliding door burst open, revealing Lian Hua, her personal maid. The young woman’s face was pale with worry, and her breath came in short, anxious bursts.
"Y-Young Mistress," Lian Hua stammered, her voice trembling with urgency, "at... at the main gate—Young Master Lu Shun has returned!"
Edina’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of her cousin. “Brother Shun is back?” she exclaimed, pushing her chair aside as she shot to her feet with the help of her cane. “Take me to him, now!”
Fifteen minutes later, Shun Mansion, Blazing Dawn Sect,
Junior Edina found herself standing in the somber confines of Lu Shun’s private quarters. The room was shrouded in a heavy, mournful atmosphere, as though the very walls absorbed the grief that lingered in the air.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the bed in the center of the room, where Lu Shun lay unconscious. His once-strong and lively form was now still and fragile, his complexion pale under the soft lamplight. Beside the bed sat Aunt Qin, her face wet with tears, clutching Lu Shun’s hand as though willing him to wake with sheer force of emotion. Uncle Lu Mingfei, normally a pillar of strength and resilience, stood by her side in a daze, his eyes hollow as they stared at his son’s motionless body. It was as though time itself had stopped for him, his mind unable to process the harsh reality before him.
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In the far corner of the room stood Aunt Li Mei and Uncle Han, their expressions stark contrasts of one another. While Uncle Han’s face was drawn with quiet sorrow, Aunt Li Mei’s features were tight with fury, her fists clenched at her sides. Rage flickered in her eyes like the fire of a storm barely contained, her anger perhaps directed at whoever—or whatever—had brought her nephew to this state.
By the far wall, Grandfather Liang Feng stood in deep conversation with two physicians—one, a well-known healer from Mount Hua who had traveled with Lu Shun, and the other, Master Gubk, the chief physician of the Blazing Dawn Sect. Their hushed tones conveyed the gravity of the situation, though Edina couldn’t make out the details of their discussion from where she sat.
Her chest tightened with sorrow as she took in the scene, her gaze finally settling on the figure of an elderly woman standing behind Aunt Qin. It took Edina a moment to recognize her, but the regal bearing and silver-streaked hair sparked a memory. The old woman was Chen Feng Ling, Lu Shun’s grandmother and the wife of Elder Yang of Mount Hua. It appeared she had personally escorted her grandson back to the Blazing Dawn Sect, unwilling to leave his side even for a moment. It had been years since Edina last saw her, but Chen Feng Ling’s presence was unmistakable, and the weight of her concern for Lu Shun was palpable.
After finishing his quiet conversation with Grandfather Liang Feng and the Mount Hua physician, Master Gubk stepped forward, his expression calm but serious. His eyes turned to Aunt Qin, who was still sitting by Lu Shun's bedside, her tear-streaked face filled with a fragile hope. In a measured tone, he spoke, "Mistress Qin, the situation is not as dire as it may appear. The physicians at Mount Hua are among the best when it comes to handling injuries caused by demonic sect techniques. They did an exceptional job stabilizing Young Master Lu Shun and pulling him back from the brink of danger."
He paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in before continuing. "However," he said, his voice turning graver, "the healing process has drained nearly all of Young Master Lu Shun’s Qi, leaving him in a deep coma. The real issue is that his body isn’t replenishing its Qi as it naturally should. Something is hindering that process, slowing it down significantly. As things stand, we can only sustain him by feeding him high-grade Qi pills to keep him stable and alive. But this is only a temporary solution."
Before Gubk could explain further, Aunt Li Mei’s temper, already strained to its limits, finally exploded. Her voice filled the room with anger and frustration. "So you're telling me my nephew is stuck in a coma indefinitely?" she snapped, her eyes flashing with fury. "Mount Hua is supposed to be the best at dealing with demonic sect attacks! And yet my nephew lies here like this—because of an attack that happened under their watch!"
Her words stung like the crack of a whip, and the tension in the room thickened. All eyes turned to the Mount Hua physician, who had been silently observing the scene. His face remained calm, though there was a subtle flicker of unease behind his composed expression. He took a step forward, bowing slightly before addressing Aunt Li Mei with a voice that, though respectful, carried the weight of years of wisdom.
"Mistress Li Mei," he began, "you are correct. Mount Hua is renowned for our expertise in dealing with demonic Qi-related injuries. However, the technique used in this particular attack is far more advanced and insidious than anything we've encountered before. It’s new, something that even our most experienced healers struggled to fully understand. We exhausted every method at our disposal to stabilize Young Master Lu Shun."
The physician’s gaze flickered to Lu Shun’s unconscious form before continuing, his tone gentler now. "At this point, the only way for him to recover and wake is for his body to naturally replenish its Qi. Unfortunately, that could take years, perhaps even decades. His Qi is being replenished too slowly, as though something is actively preventing it from flowing at its natural pace. There is another option," he added, his voice hesitant. "We could seek out the Heavenly Doctor. They are the only one who might have the knowledge and skill to reverse this condition more swiftly."
A tense silence filled the room as the gravity of the situation settled in. Aunt Li Mei clenched her fists, her fury barely contained, while Aunt Qin let out a quiet sob, her hope dimming at the physician’s words. Uncle Mingfei remained silent, his face unreadable, but the weight of his grief was evident in the sag of his shoulders. Even Grandfather Liang Feng, known for his composure, seemed troubled, his brows furrowed in deep thought.