He frowned. He could recall the ant tattoo stamped on Juwaira by Laluri. The princess could be killed through that. The others might have had a similar tattoo as well.

He moved closer and whispered in Jubu's ear.

The prince scrunched his face a little before he stepped back.

The guards furrowed their brows. Jubu had been the one they were afraid to touch. He was one of the few that couldn't be taken down by a mere clap.

Did this intruder tell the prince something? They didn't hear a thing.

Abdin hadn't told the prince anything, it was a wordless whisper. He had merely moved his lips to distract them for a few seconds.

And he was lucky Jubu understood him and acted accordingly.

In those few seconds of distraction, the guards saw the glimmer of the sun pass before their eyes.

A giant stone puppet appeared in the air before them, opened its mouth, and swallowed them all.

Bone chewing sounds filled the air before it disappeared and everything returned to how it had been. The only difference was some nineteen or twenty missing people on the scene.

Abdin turned to the kids. "Follow me. Carry anyone that can't fly and leave behind the corpse."

"Who are you?" Asked a young girl who wasn't even eleven. "Why should we come with you?"

Abdin turned to look at her before moving toward the door without another word. It was alright, he wouldn't force them if they wanted to stay.

The kids hesitated but they ran fearfully after him when he was almost out of their sight.

At the exit, Abdin flew up and went east.

Most of them had attained the core formation stage even at such a young age, so they flew behind him. They kept looking back to see if they were being followed even after they were far away.

Jubu bore two girls on his back, which Abdin recalled being his sisters.

The group continued for a while before prince Nimu asked, "Where are we?"

"Enula," Abdin answered.

The prince stared at Abdin with furrowed brows before he nodded after a while.

"You don't remember coming here?" Abdin said.

The prince nodded. It confirmed Abdin's suspicion that they were brought into the empire through different means.

They journeyed on in silence as each of them contemplated the situation.

Juwaira seemed to have come to a decision. She moved closer to Abdin and asked about his name.

Abdin glanced at her, and for the first time in a while, he smiled. The young woman realized how close she had been to him, probably because they were flying or perhaps because she had felt safe with him.

But that didn't stop her from stepping back shamefacedly.

"I'm Ilu. Ilu Sanka."

The princess frowned. And Jubu only shook his head. Both of them were aware that there hadn't been any cultivator of Abdin's caliber on the entire continent named Ilu Sanka.

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Juwaira smiled a little and again asked, "Where are you taking us to?"

"We are headed to emperor Biyakin's palace. I have no clue how the royals do their things, so you're better off with him."

Prince Nimu was flying a few meters to the right but he was listening to every word said. He cut in, "Then it wasn't Jubu's father who sent you?"

"He's not from Biyakis." It was Jubu who replied this time.

Abdin halted mid-flight and turned to squint at Jubu. "Is it my tongue?"

Jubu nodded with a curious smile.

Abdin shook his head before he turned and continued with his flight. Even Juwaira had once said that. Despite all the efforts he had put into it, his dialect had not become exactly like that of the natives.

After some time, the walls of Bakur became visible. Juwaira moved closer to Abdin's ear, already forgetting the earlier incident.

"I shall be on my way if it is alright. I don't need to go see the Biyakis court."

Abdin narrowed his eyes. He turned to ask her why the haste, but the princess had already gained more altitude.

She flew south, apparently afraid they might stop her.

Jubu turned sharply to go after her, but Abdin raised his hand to stop him.

The prince frowned but didn't pursue. He opened his mouth to speak but eventually shut it.

Nimu laughed at that. "Fellow Daoist Sanka, I don't know if you are aware but that woman is called Juwaira. She is the soon-to-be wife of our brother Jubu. Don't be surprised to see him this scared. He is afraid something may happen to her."

Jubu glared at him and Nimu was forced to keep quiet.

Abdin hesitated, staring at the spot the princess had just left before turning toward the capital. The others also followed, but Jubu stayed behind for a moment before he eventually followed.

They arrived at the emperor's palace in an hour.

Abdin made his descent by the entrance near the guards.

The guards had been waving at them from a distance to come down. It was a law that no one flies in or around the Courts. Even the Royal children weren't exempted from this.

The guards ran towards them upon seeing prince Jubu and his sisters. The chief security guard searched the prince with his spiritual sense before kneeling before him.

The prince nodded and walked straightaway to the courtyard. The leading guard informed the butler right away.

Abdin watched from the side. He had succeeded in thwarting Silver Mask's plot to instigate war on the continent. All he had to do now was to wait four months to see his opponent's next move.

They were brought into the palace. The children were taken to the infirmary wing while Abdin was seated on a chair in the first half of the court, awaiting the emperor's arrival.

King Biyakin dismissed his aid and hurried over to Abdin.

He looked at Abdin with deep appreciation. "I would like to start by thanking you. The children have already said most of it. You have returned them safely and the entire Biyakis thank you for that. To think they were hiding this close..." He sighed.

The emperor's words and body language were in line with the state of things at the moment. He didn't look suspicious.

"Have you found anything new?" Abdin asked.

The first thing he did after coming to the palace was to brief the butler about everything. Investigations should have been far by now - even if no one had been caught, there would surely be information about the building that was used to keep the children. That would expose their connections in the city.

The emperor sighed. "Investigations are still ongoing. Nothing is certain yet."

It had been three hours now. They should have found something.

"Tell me," the emperor said. "How did you find them? I have sent my men but no one could find anything."

'Then maybe you should change your men.'

Abdin smiled and told the story he'd concocted earlier on. That he went to see his old friend in Enula and then came across a suspicious scene of several men ganging up on a woman.

It didn't seem right to him. So he followed them and found the hideout as a result.

The emperor furrowed his elegant brows in confusion. "Why do you bring them to me?"

Abdin gave him another smile before he replied, "Your majesty, everyone on this continent knows your son, prince Jubu. I recognized him at first glance. There's no better place to take them."

The emperor paused before he sighed and changed the subject.

He ordered a banquet for Abdin. A lady, who, Abdin believed to be the empress, came out with her maids to thank him.

She was gorgeous in every sense, but he didn't care. What attracted his attention was her pupils. Both pupils had tiny, almost imperceptible red dots. Something that made Abdin's heart pound wildly in his chest.

Did this mean the emperor's wife was from Nànata?

The emperor coughed to get Abdin's attention off the lady. "This is my wife, Shuba Biyakin."

Abdin stood and bowed his greetings before returning to his seat.

On her part, the empress was still staring at him and only stopped after a while to retreat inside the palace.

"Say your wish," said the emperor. It sounded like he was ready to do anything for Abdin. Maybe the man would have beaten his chest in pride were he not the emperor.