“What do you mean grave danger?” Lu Na asked. “And how do you know about the hairpin?”

Hen Li let go of Lu Na’s arm.

“Amituofo, let the sins pass. I’m sorry about that outburst, but your phoenix hairpin has been calling out since I saw you in the jail. For a higher stage summoner like me, it’s as bright as the sun. And if others have seen it, they will recognize it as a powerful artifact. And if I’m not wrong, your father hired another summoner sect. If their elders or sect leader have come here, then they’ve seen it, too. You must get out before they come back.”

“That’s going to be hard to do. I’m trapped here,” Lu Na said. “But it won’t help whoever comes to take it, anyway. I can’t get it to work.”

“Might I look at it?”

It couldn’t hurt. Besides, there was not much Lu Na or anyone in the Lu compound can do against such a powerful summoner. If he wanted to kill her and flee with it, he could with a thought despite how weak he looked.

Lu Na took it out of her chest pocket and unwrapped it.

Hen Li didn’t touch it but his eyes roamed all over.

“It’s not broken. It’s only drained of spirit energy.”

“But I tried putting in all kinds of spirit energy. I even saved a lot with my null metal and tried to attach it. Nothing happened.”

“It needs a specific type of energy that only a few summoners have. However, I can sense that energy already in your home. It’s in a room at the center of your compound. The spirit energy is strong and ancient, but it’s fading.”

Lu Na thought for a moment. The only people there were her father, her second mother, and brothers. None of them had anything resembling strength on that level. Unless…

“Can it be my brother? He told me he received my mother’s spirit energy that saved him.”

Hen Li closed his eyes and nodded.

“Amituofo. That’s probably it. If you find your brother and borrow some of that energy, it will be enough to get it working again. I would go with you, but I am too tired right now. Come find me tomorrow and we can go together.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lu Na said. She got up to leave.

“And Young Miss Lu, I’m glad to see that your attitude hasn’t left you entirely. You seemed rather stiff since the last time I saw you.”

“My attitude never left. It’s just better at hiding. You rest. I’ll find you tomorrow.”

Lu Na walked back with the bodyguard to her own room. Once there, she ordered a servant to serve the best vegetarian food for Hen Li and to have someone provide him anything he needed. Afterwards, she locked herself inside.

“What do you think spirit?” Lu Na asked.

“I think my heart is hurting. Such a brawny monk turned into that. I hope he can recover soon,” her spirit said.

“No, you foolish spirit. What do you think about what he said of the hairpin? Do you think all it needs is a little energy from my brother and it should work again?”

“Yes, but there’s a risk. It might take all the spirit energy that is currently keeping your brother alive.”

Lu Na paused over a candle she had just lit. That is true. If she were to borrow something like that from her brother, might it kill him instead? It would be like if she borrowed the flame from the candle. But what if there was a way for her to only take a little?

She set to work right away with modifying one of her earlier inventions. It was the one she made after her visit with Uncle Chen. If the invention only took a little bit of spirit energy from her target, then it shouldn’t hurt her brother. She could store it in one of her new null metal batteries. And if a little is all she needed, then it would be enough to get her hairpin working.

But what if she failed? What if it didn’t work and it killed her brother? Would she be able to live with that for the rest of her life?

No, her brother was too precious to her. Yes, her mother was important, but even her spirit believed that saving her brother was more important than finding whatever she left behind.

Lu Na knew that her mother was suffering with no way out. If she didn’t help her, she would die as well. Would this minor risk not be worth it to save her as well?

“Maybe you should ask someone else. My answer is out of my own personal greed. My pact with your mother only goes so far and if you live the rest of your life without incident, I would be fine with that.” Lu Na could almost sense the anxiety coming from her spirit, despite what she said. Lately she’s been better able to determine her spirit’s mood.

“One of these days, you and I are going to have to discuss what this pact is,” Lu Na said.

“That’s only between your mother and I. If you see her, you can ask her. But it doesn’t look like that will happen now.”

“I’m going to figure out another way to do it. I know that—”

A knock came at the door.

“Young Miss Lu, it’s one of Sun Ren’s bodyguards. My Young Miss inviting you over for dinner again tonight in her courtyard.”

That’s right. Lu Na could get Sun Ren’s opinion. Her strategic thinking and training would be better than her own muddling thoughts.

Lu Na left the room and followed her bodyguard. It amazed her that despite the coming twilight, their red tunics still showed very well. It was almost as if they made them specifically to attract attention.

Sun Ren was sitting at the small table in her courtyard. She looked different. She had on a long, light red dress decorated with black butterflies throughout. There was a blood red bow on her head and an assortment of butterflies throughout her hair. On her back, there was another enormous bow that made it look like wings. The only thing she kept from her usual outfit was a sword belted on her side. She looked like a fairy from heaven.

“Wow.” The word escaped Lu Na before she could stop herself. She curtsied. “Young Miss Sun, you look amazing today. What’s the occasion?”

Sun Ren smiled and got up. She walked over and grabbed Lu Na by the hands.

“No special occasion. I just thought that it’s been a while since the incident with Wintersweet and I hadn’t taken a break. Even my Sifu would admonish me sometimes for that so I thought I’d relax a little today and enjoy myself.”

“Oh, that’s a relief. I thought your father was home and that you would leave me already,” Lu Na said.

Stolen novel; please report.

Sun Ren’s smile dropped.

“It seems our Young Miss Lu has gotten more observant. But yes, my father is almost home. That means I’m going to leave soon.”

They sat down together at the table and bodyguards brought in trays of food for them.

“Then that’s good news. You’re finally going home and you’ll see your family again,” Lu Na said. She bit her lower lip. “We all have to go home, eventually.”

Sun Ren poured herself and Lu Na a cup of wine.

“Yes, and this time spent with you has been memorable.”

“Close to death, you mean?” Lu Na took a sip of the wine. It was very bitter and strong.

Sun Ren laughed.

“Yes, that too. But I didn’t forget. When I get home, I will request that my father officially recruit you as part of the Sun household so that you can develop all your inventions in peace. I doubt your father would object to that.”

“If it lets me get out of their hair. Before all that, I have a more pressing question for you. Hen Li, the monk we helped, told me that there is a way to get my hairpin working again. But it might kill my brother.”

Sun Ren put down her cup of wine.

“So I need your help to decide what to do,” Lu Na continued. “My mother’s spirit entered my brother and saved his life. From what I can tell, it’s still healing him. If I take this spirit energy from him, it might kill him instead. I don’t think I can do that.”

“I’m sensing there’s a but. You always have a solution to everything,” Sun Ren said.

“Remember the ward I made to absorb the bad spirit energy from your body? Well, if I used that to absorb some of my mother’s spirit energy, I could use it to take only a little bit to fix the hairpin. It shouldn’t hurt my brother.”

Sun Ren picked up her chopsticks. She stared at the food and put the chopsticks back down.

“I think we should do it. If it means we might solve this issue and save your mother, it would be worth it.”

“And find whatever secret your mother left for you. It would no doubt also increase the Sun family power within this region, even if it means the death of both your brother and mother.” This was the first time Lu Na’s spirit was so hostile toward Sun Ren.

“Besides that, Hen Li told me that there might be many summoner sects coming here looking for the hairpin.”

“They’re already here. But they won’t do anything, not while my father and his army are here. Not only that, they don’t have a clue where it is yet, as it requires their strongest summoners to sense it.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Do you think my brother has been wasting away his time at the brothel? His spy network is everywhere in Jianye. He would know if a fly looked different.”

Lu Na remembered her brother, Sun Bofu. At first cool and aloof, like so many Young Masters she’s seen before, but at the drop of a pin he became a tiger ready to pounce on his next meal. When Lu Na first met him, she thought she was his next meal.

Sun Ren took Lu Na’s hand in hers.

“Look, I understand that you’re worried about your brother and worried about everything. But if you don’t do this, then everyone is going to be looking for you on your doorstep every day. And as much as I want to stay with you forever, there will come a day when I have to leave you. I can’t protect you anymore after that.”

“Oh, she’s good,” Lu Na’s spirit said. “And while I hate to say it, she’s right. I don’t want to risk your brother’s life, but if we don’t find your mother, they will keep coming. But I still don’t trust Sun Ren or her family.”

Lu Na was confused. Why wouldn’t she trust the woman that saved her life? Was there more to her spirit’s words? Her mother’s words echoed in her mind to not trust her spirit, either. This was getting complicated.

“Okay, let’s go see my brother.”

With Sun Ren requesting an audience with Lu Fengxian, nobody stopped Lu Na. Sun Ren received many admiring looks as she walked through the Lu compound. Both servants and maids stopped to admire her new outfit. It was like watching a butterfly flying from its cocoon for the first time.

Lu Na liked the outfit compared to Sun Ren’s usual serious demeanor. She didn’t care to wear something so beautiful herself, but she would have considered something to match. Maybe in the future.

Lu Fengxian was sitting up when they saw him. They took off some bandages and covered him with a long robe. He looked almost human except for the fading bruises on his face. It had been a few weeks already, but those always took the longest to go away.

“Young Miss Sun and Na Na,” Lu Fengxian greeted with his head bowed. “I apologize for not getting up.”

“There’s no need for that,” Sun Ren said. She got on her knees, cupped her hands, and bowed her head low. “In fact, it should be I who thanks you for saving my junior sisters. I heard that it was because of your sacrifice that allowed them to leave unscathed that night many weeks ago. Otherwise, I would loathe to think about what those Wintersweet dogs would do to them.”

“Young Miss Sun, please get up,” Lu Fengxian said. “I was only doing my job.”

Lu Na reached down and helped Sun Ren up. The kneeling surprised her. She’d never seen a Young Miss of any family ever display gratitude toward others, let alone the daughter of the Marquis. Sun Ren was way above them. It would give her father, Lu Tien, a heart attack if he saw Young Miss Sun kneel in front of Lu Fengxian.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Lu Fengxian asked. He clenched his fists and his body was shaking.

“Young Master Lu, please allow one of your servants to lay you back down. You don’t have to sit up for me,” Sun Ren said.

Lu Fengxian closed his eyes and took a deep breath before nodding.

“Someone get in here to help my brother,” Lu Na called out the door.

Head servant Cui Yi himself came in.

“How can I serve, Young Miss?”

“Please help lay my brother back down.”

“Right away.” Cui Yi made sure to slowly lower Lu Fengxian back down onto the bed. He moved his bandaged limbs carefully and placed a pillow underneath his neck. “Is there anything else?”

“No,” Lu Na said.

Cui Yi walked up to Lu Na, his face full of concern, and whispered, “Please don’t move him again. His body can’t take it.”

“Of course. I would never hurt my brother.”

Cui Yi nodded and left.

Lu Fengxian took a deep breath.

“Young Master Lu, please don’t bother with politeness or protocol around me,” Sun Ren said.

“Okay, because I don’t think I could do it anymore anyway,” Lu Fengxian said. “So, how can I help you?”

“Actually, I need your help, brother,” Lu Na said.

“What is it? You know you can ask me for anything.”

Lu Na took Lu Fengxian’s hand into hers. It was scary to see her big brother like this, so injured and so weak. Would it be worth risking his life to save their mother? Would it be work risking his life to find whatever it is their mother wanted?

“Na Na, you’re not talking. You’re in your own head again aren’t you? Or are you talking with your spirit?” Lu Fengxian said.

“No, for once she’s quiet. I just wasn’t sure if I should ask you for the very thing that’s healing you.”

“I can’t believe my little warrior is in this state,” her spirit said.

“Just tell me Na Na. Otherwise father is going to be upset with you for disturbing my rest,” Lu Fengxian said. “Let me decide whether or not I want to help you.”

“We’d like to borrow a bit of the phoenix spirit energy mother gave you,” Lu Na said.

“What? That’s it? Of course, you can take whatever you want. I’m feeling better already. I don’t think I need it anymore.”

“But we are worried it might kill you.”

“I’m stronger than that. Even if you took it all, I’m sure I’ll be fine. But why do you need it, anyway? Are you trying to make a new invention?”

“No. It’s to power the hairpin mother gave me. After the fight in the Wintersweet compound, it lost all its power to heal you. And now I can’t get it to work. If I can’t do that, then I can’t find mother.”

Lu Fengxian closed his eyes, grimacing in pain.

“Woah Na Na, that’s too much to drop on me. I know I told you that mother came to me afterwards, but what is this with a fight in the Wintersweet compound?”

Lu Na told her brother about fighting the Wintersweet Ancestor using the phoenix spirit within the hairpin. She also told him about what her mother said about finding the item she left so many years ago for.

“Oh, that’s why she left us?” Lu Fengxian opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. “That makes sense. Mother would go off from time to time, looking for things. It would frustrate father. But she always came back, eventually.”

“So brother, I leave the decision up to you. Do you want me to take the energy and find her or not?”

“Take it. From what you told me, if you don’t take it and find this item, then the Wintersweet Sect will be back. Or worse, other summoner sects will come. One of my brothers from the yamen has told me of the increased activity in the city from these summoners. He had to break up a fight between them the other day. But promise me one thing.”

“Anything brother.”

“Even if you don’t find mother, come back no matter what. I can’t lose my sister as well.”

“Of course, brother.”