While Feng Ming was busy dealing with the person, Hanhuai Jun was quickly getting changed when a disciple knocked on his door and delivered an outfit to him. In return, he gave the disciple another outfit to take away. Once he was finished getting dressed, he headed to the banquet hall.
As everyone settled into their seats, Hanhuai Jun, with a warm smile, extended his welcome to the opening banquet for the hunt.
"Welcome, everyone. It is a pleasure to have you all attend the debut hunt for all our young cultivators. I hope your journey here was smooth and peaceful. Please make yourselves comfortable, and enjoy your meals."
Everyone toasted each other and began to mingle. As the guests were enjoying themselves, Long Yuzhe asked.
"Sect Leader Feng, I heard that Jingfeng Jun has returned from his travels. How come he isn't here at the banquet?"
The hall went silent for a moment before Hanhuai Jun smiled and responded.
"I asked Zhiyu to help me with some errands. So he isn't able to join us today. I'm sure he will be able to join us tomorrow."
"Is that so?" Long Yuzhe asked sarcastically.
Hanhuai Jun only smiled. Suddenly, another person spoke up and asked.
"Feng xiong, I heard some commotion going on earlier. Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is alright, Yu xiong. The young disciples returned from an exorcism and had some things they needed to take care of."
"I see. The young disciples are fully grown. They can even handle exorcisms on their own now. You must be proud," Sect Leader Yu responded.
"Indeed, I am."
After the banquet, everyone returned to their rooms to rest for the next day's hunt. However, Hanhuai Jun did not return to his Eternal Flames pavilion. Instead, he headed to the Autumn pavilion, where Feng Zhiyu was waiting.
"Xiong zhang."
"Feng Ming."
Hanhuai Jun followed Feng Zhiyu into his bed chamber and looked at the person sleeping peacefully.
"Is this the person that Huiyi was talking about?" Hanhuai Jun asked.
Feng Zhiyu nodded his head.
"Huiyi said that this person is known as a madman. However, his actions often contradict the rumors. It seems as though, at times, he has moments of clarity where he becomes a totally different person from his usual self."
Studying the person, both brothers could not tell who this person was.
"Feng Ming, are you sure it was the Crane's Amulet you found?"
Feng Zhiyu nodded his head. It was true that the Crane's Amulet was destroyed 15 years ago, but who knew what could have happened during the chaos then? Casting a spell on the person, Hanhuai Jun could not sense anything unusual. With such a weak spiritual core, it was impossible for the person to command the Crane's Amulet. Yet a question lingered in his mind. How can someone with low cultivation powers handle the Crane's Amulet when even elite cultivators cannot?
"Did you see how this person handled the amulet?"
"No, I didn't. Xiong zhang, what's wrong?"
"I don't know. I have never met this person, yet there is something familiar about them, but I cannot figure out what it is," Hanhuai Jun replied.
Looking back at the person, then back to his brother, Feng Ming asked.
"Are you..."
Hanhuai Jun did not respond; he simply kept his eyes on the person, yet those eyes also seemed lost in a sea of memories.
Before leaving, Hanhuai Jun pulled out a guqin and left it on the desk.
"Xiong zhang, what are you-"
"I simply do not feel like carrying it with me today. Would you please take care of it for me?"
"Of course," Feng Zhiyu responded.
Hanhuai Jun smiled, and just before he stepped out of the room, he said.
"Feng Ming, you're being too formal again."
On his way back, Hanhuai Jun walked to one of the empty guest houses. However, he did not go inside. He just stood outside the gate and gazed at the place.
The next morning, the person woke up to the sound of knocking and someone calling out to them. Slowly opening their eyes, they realized that they were still tied up. Unable to move, they responded and said.
"Can someone come in and help me?!"
It took a few minutes, but someone finally responded and said.
"Xia gongzi, we can't come in. Is everything alright?"
"What do you mean you can't come in? How am I supposed to get up?"
Suddenly, another voice shouted.
"Come on, we don't have time for this!"
"I really can't get up!" -the person shouted back- "If you don't believe me, come in and see what your Jingfeng Jun did!"
Silence enveloped the boys again, and without a choice the person had to try and roll themselves out of the bed.
THUD!
"Xia gongzi, are you alright?"
"Huiyi, why are you asking if he is alright? It's Jingfeng Jun we should be worried about."
Unrolling from the blanket, the person realized the rope had been undone. Dusting themselves, they then opened the door. Feng Huiyi held a tray of food with Feng Chunlei next to him, glaring at the person.
"What are you glaring at me for? I really didn't do anything to your precious Jingfeng Jun," the person said as they grabbed a steamed bun off the tray.
As they ate, they noticed that Feng Huiyi had become quiet yet looked like he had something to say. Curious, they asked.
"Huiyi, is something the matter?"
Slowly looking up, he said.
"Xia gongzi, I'm sorry, but your horse ran away."
"Huh?"
"It's not our fault. Your horse took off on its own. We couldn't catch it in time," Feng Chunlei quickly explained.
At a loss of words, the person took a second before they managed to ask.
"How on earth did you guys lose a horse? Did you guys not tie him up or put him in the stables?"
"We did, but he took off when we let him out to graze. We didn't realize it until it was too late," Feng Huiyi explained.
Rubbing their head, the person could only sigh. Without their horse, how can they go to Jinshan? Unexpectedly, as they were thinking of a way to get another horse, they felt a sharp pain in their chest. Clutching their chest and holding the door frame for support, they did their best not to pass out right then and there. Noticing that the person was not doing well, Feng Huiyi wanted to ask them what was wrong, but before they got a chance, they heard the sound of the bells signaling that something had happened in the summoning room.
"Huiyi, what's going on?" Feng Chunlei asked.
"I don't know, but something must have happened in the Lingshi."
"Quick, let's go there now!"
Upon hearing about the summoning room, the person quickly asked.
"What is going on?"
The pain was getting worse by the minute. It felt like someone was trying to rip their soul out of the body. The person held onto the door even tighter, praying that they wouldn't die before completing the revenge for Xia Luli.
"Xia gongzi, are you alright?" -Feng Huiyi asked as he supported the person- "It seems like something happened in the summoning room. We need to go there and check it out. You best go back in for some rest, and we will get a doctor for you."
The person shook their head, as they had a strong feeling that whatever was happening in the summoning room was related to their pain. As they were steading themselves, they saw a guqin out of the corner of their eye. Quickly, they picked it up and told Feng Huiyi and Feng Chunlei to lead the way. When they arrived at the room, a group of disciples were trying to pry the door open. However, no matter how hard they tried, it would not open. A spell on the door prevented it from being opened if something went wrong during a summoning ritual.
After a good night's rest and some food, the person had enough spiritual power to conjure up more talismans. Quickly drawing one, they cast it onto the door. When the door opened, they quickly entered, leaving the others behind.
Inside the room, the elders and disciples had all passed out. The only person still sitting was Feng Zhiyu. Although a trail of blood ran from his mouth, he continued to play the guqin. In the center of the room was a cloud of black smoke. Looking past the smoke, the person could see an ice-blue stone shaped like a pair of cranes crossing paths during flight.
Crane's Amulet?! So, this is why those petals faded. My creation was the murderer.
Panic rose in their bodies, but they quickly sat at one of the empty desks and started playing the guqin.
Instead of playing the same tune as Feng Zhiyu's, the person played another song. One that would put the Crane's Amulet into a deep slumber until summoned. Although it would have been easier to bind the Crane's Amulet to their soul for absolute control, it would easily expose them to the Feng clan. It took a while to counter Feng Zhiyu's summon, but the person was successful. The pain in the person's body gradually subsided as the Crane's Amulet fell to the ground. As they stood up to leave, a wave of dizziness washed over them, and they started to lose consciousness. Falling to the floor, the person had a realization as the guqin came into view.
"This is my Xiao Yue."
The moment they hit the floor, the door opened, and the disciples rushed in. Feng Chunlei quickly went over to Feng Zhiyu to see how he was as Feng Huiyi rushed over to the person. Shaking their shoulder, he called out to them.
"Xia gongzi? Xia gongzi? Are you alright?"
Feng Zhiyu and the others quickly came over to check on the person. Kneeling by their side, Feng Zhiyu checked their pulse and said.
"Huiyi, go get a physician to come to the Autumn pavilion. Chunlei, make sure that everyone else gets checked out as well."
Feng Huiyi and Feng Chunlei quickly left, and the other disciples started to help the others who were injured. Meanwhile, Feng Zhiyu picked up the person and returned to his room. Placing the person down on his bed, Feng Zhiyu pulled a blanket over them as he waited for the physician to come.
Not long after, Feng Huiyi, the physician, and Hanhuai Jun showed up at Feng Zhiyu's room. Feng Zhiyu greeted his brother as the person was being checked on.
"What happened?" Hanhuai Jun asked.
"As we were doing the summoning this morning, the amulet had a strong reaction, causing everyone to pass out. The person then came in and played a tune. Soon after, the amulet calmed down, but they also lost consciousness."
Looking back at the desk, Hanhuai Jun saw that the guqin was gone. Turning back to his brother, Feng Zhiyu nodded his head. Just then, the physician stood up and said.
"Sect Leader, Jingfeng Jun, Xia gongzi is okay. He is just malnourished and tired. He will be fine after taking some medicine and getting enough rest."
The two brothers nodded, and the physician excused himself to go prepare the medicine.
"Feng Ming, let's transfer him to one of the guest houses. It will be easier for the others to take care of him. You know the young disciples are afraid of stepping into your room."
"Okay."
Hanhuai Jun then turned to Feng Huiyi, who was still waiting outside the door and told him to prepare one of the empty guest houses for the person.