Ignoring the discomfort coming from the teleportation, I knocked on the door. My youngest brother opened it, and although I am sure my homecoming wasn't expected, he was rather relatively calm. Nonetheless, he smiled and hugged me.

"What are our parents feeding you, you're almost as tall as I am now," I grinned and put my arm around his shoulder. We entered our home together after I left many years ago. Nothing much has changed, and the memories started surfacing in my head.

We entered the living room to find my parents sitting on the sofa while Richard was standing and looking outside from the window.

"Mother, Father," I greeted and hugged them. They aged a bit in those few years, and the white hairs were apparent on their heads now. I noticed that something had changed within them earlier, but now it was clear to me so I exclaimed, "You are cultivators now?!"

"Yes, Richard has helped us develop our magic, but it is not that fast," my father replied.

I looked at Richard and talked to him through our soul link, "Thank you, Richard. Just to be clear, this won't affect them badly, right?"

"Don't worry, Orion," he assured, "I am monitoring everything that's happening with them in case something happens."

"But why would you do that? Why would you help them cultivate?"

"You are going to have a long life, and it's not good for us if they die because of old age while we can prevent that. Besides, I gave them the choice, and they chose to cultivate."

I nodded and answered my family's questions about my experiences. I answered them patiently, although I left out the dangerous situations to not let them worry.

Suddenly, Pangu said, "Hey, Orio, are you not going to introduce me?"

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"Did we not agree that you are not to talk without my permission?"

"That's a cruel thing to do to me! Besides, Richy is here so we have nothing to worry about."

"Pangu, it seems that I will have to scatter your soul for good this time," Richard said in an annoyed tone. He does seem to hate being called that.

"Dear?" my mom suddenly interjected, "who was it that just talked?"

"My sword spirit, Mom," I replied and explained to them about Pangu and who he is.

"You have a talking sword, that's cool!" one of my brothers exclaimed.

"I am, indeed, cool," Pangu replied, not so modestly, causing me to roll my eyes.

The evening came and my family finally let me go and Richard sat down beside me. I took a deep breath and asked him, "So, what's the matter with the Grey Lotus?"

"What Emperor Sun told you explains it simply, you need not know about the other things now."

"If they have infiltrated all top forces and could be anyone, how am I supposed to know who to trust and who not to trust?"

"That is easy to answer, do not trust anyone."

"Not even Tulip?"

"Tulip is in the green. In fact, all of my disciples are clear except your Senior Brother Sun."

"Is that why you previously told us not to trust him?" Truthfully, I had already guessed this from the moment Emperor Sun told us about the cult.

"It had something to do with this matter, yes."

"And I don't suppose you will tell me how you are sure they aren't part of The Grey Lotus?" I raised an eyebrow.

Richard smiled and replied, "You are starting to understand me, Orion. To put your mind at ease, I have my ways."

"And why is Senior Brother Sun still under suspicion?"

He sighed and said, "To be truthful, I am ninety-nine percent sure that he is part of them. He is a good actor, Orion, a very good one. Until I am completely sure that he is no threat and no traitor, it is best that you and Tulip do not interact with him anymore.

"And before you ask, yes, I only allowed you near him before out of necessity. If I haven't made the mistake of entrusting him with the blade shards, you wouldn't even get to meet him until he is proven to be on our side."

Even though I didn't believe his act earlier today, Emperor Sun indeed presented himself as someone who is on the side of the Mansion of Night. "Can I do anything to help?"

Richard shook his head and smiled, "What you can do is focus on the task at hand, make Pangu complete again, and become a powerhouse that the Mansion can rely on. I have plans for the future, Orion, and I am counting on you to be part of them."