The elders rose early, as usual, but the morning felt different. News spread fast that Lord Xu had returned earlier than expected.

  "Lord Xu, you're back!" Xu Jia began.

  “Where is Xu Hanyu–!?”

  “We were busy getting ready for the banquet. We can’t oversee everything, especially when your son makes reckless choices on his own," said Elder Xu Bai, vexed.

  Lord Xu could not help but frown. He was sensible to see that he shouldn't blame the elders because Xu Hanyu is likewise a stubborn child, as he was years before when he was caught with Xu Lian. Plus, getting angry at them is foolish because it will only make the situation worse.

  “Xu Lian told us that he got lost in the market, so we looked for him last night, but we couldn’t find any trace of him," Elder Xu Ting added.

  “Where is she now?”

  “She’s in her room, resting. I don’t know what happened but she seems very drained out. Do you want to talk to her?”

  “I see… I’ll talk to her later. Get me a man to come with me, we will be searching outside the city...!” Lord Xu commanded quickly to turn back but as Lord Xu was about to turn, Elder Xu Ting called out to him, looking very hesitant, “Lord Xu—one more thing.”

  “What is it?” He stopped and looked up to him.

  “There’s an issue with our clan’s armory.”

  “We’ll talk about that later. Find Xu Hanyu first—!”

  …

  Chan Chan opened her eyes, panicking as she realized she was tangled with Xu Hanyu. Her heart raced. What is happening?

  An arm wrapped around her.

  He’s holding me?

  Heat filled her face as she pressed against his chest, but his grip was firm.

  How bold!

  But looking at him, his beauty was undeniable, even with this ugly mark on his arm. How could someone like you carry something so unpleasant?

  Without thinking, her fingers slowly reached for his face, looking closely at it. Just as her fingertips touched his skin, Xu Hanyu's eyes slowly opened.

  Their eyes met.

  For a moment, there was growing silence between them.

  While they were still locked in one another's gazes, Chan Chan also noticed that he had captivating eyes looking like a deep galactic blue combined with bright purple, reminiscent of a distant nebula.

  With his face remained lost from sleep, later his eyes expanded as he became aware of their position. Their bodies were so close together, and their arms were wrapped around each other, that warmth began to rise for some reason.

  Her lips parted, mind blank.

  Then—

  Wham!

  Xu Hanyu gasped in pain as he doubled over, clutching his struck manhood.

  “Aaah—!” he cried in agony, forming a contorted face.

  Chan Chan sat up, eyes wide with shock, hands flying to her mouth.

  What did I just do…?

  Xu Hanyu groaned, as breathlessness began, “What the hell—? Why did you kick me?!”

  Chan Chan jumped, flustered. “How dare you touch me–!?” she shot back, slowly moving up. “Don’t you dare take advantage of me–!”

  With that, Xu Hanyu’s brow furrowed. “Take advantage of you?! What are you talking about?! We—” He winced as another wave of pain hit.

  “Didn’t you hold onto me too?” he accused back with a deep exhale, though still in pain. “And you even kicked me in the—!”

  Now, Chan Chan stiffened. “Ha! Me?!” She scoffed as she crossed her arms.

  “Yes. Didn’t you?”

  She opened her mouth once again to respond, but no words came out suddenly, “… Never mind!”

  Xu Hanyu then thought: Ha… you admit now?

  “Get up, I need you to leave–!”

  Now groaning, Xu Hanyu is still rubbing his sore spot. “That fast?”

  “Yes. So leave!”

  “Fine, fine..” with no choice, the young man dragged himself up. Slightly staggering as he takes a few steps away towards the wall rock.

  The pain lingered, but something else troubled Xu Hanyu—an unfamiliar feeling. He had woken up with Chan Chan in his arms, their bodies instinctively seeking warmth. Despite his attempts to ignore it, her presence stayed with him.

  He glanced at Chan Chan, who sat rigidly with her eyes closed, who’s now in deep meditation.

  For a moment, he was zoned out as he looked at her. Then suddenly, a strange voice suddenly whispered in his mind.

  ‘You two were holding onto each other so tightly last night, even the cold couldn't reach you... Heh, and here you are, rubbing that sore spot. Are you sure she’s not leaving a mark on your heart too?’

  A voice…

  Weird.

  It was as if someone had whispered right in his ear. But there was no other person in there.

  What the hell was that? Who—who said that? He thought as he looked frantically around, but the surrounding was eerily quiet. No sign of another person.

  “Who..who’s there…!?” He muttered quietly.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “Ahh…n-nothing…” he stammered, quickly looking away. I’m probably just hallucinating.

  With that, she just returned back to her business.

  But the playful voice still echoed in Xu Hanyu's mind, leaving him in wonder. Noticing his strange behavior, Chan Chan peaked with one eye open. What was going on with him?

  With a simple shrug, Xu Hanyu leaned to the wall rock, trying to relax himself. It seemed like days had passed since he fell, and no one had come to locate him.

  By now, they should have realized that he was missing. Thinking about his sister Xu Lian, she might have been back at the mansion and hope she’s doing alright. He was also certain their father had realized he had escaped.

  In a few moments, he decided to take a quick nap but not long after, he sensed a dramatic shift in the air. As if someone had taken off with a loud whoosh woke him. Opening his eyes and blinking twice only to find the figure of Chan Chan is gone.

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  Did she leave me here—?!

  Xu Hanyu quickly jumped up and shouted as panic hit him hard, "HEY! Where are you?! You can’t just leave me here!” His voice echoed up the cliff. “Chan Chan!”

  Then a scoff nearby. "Tch."

  He tried to look up further but found no one there. “Hey—! Chan Chan, is this how you thank me for saving you?!”

  Then he thought: How ungrateful, after I saved her two times, she's just gonna leave me here?

  Not far off, Chan Chan clenched her fists. Why does he keep making me feel guilty? With that, she took a deep breath and huffed as she gracefully descended in front of him.

  Xu Hanyu frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me you could float up there?”

  Chan Chan crossed her arms, “Hmph. You didn’t ask…? Plus, I wasn't flying, I'm using a talisman," showing a small talisman paper with an intricate design.

  “Um well, I guess it’s my fault? But at least don’t leave me alone here.”

  With that, a silence wrapped them up once more before she walked near him.

  “Stay still,” she said, slowly reaching for his shoulders.

  "What are you doing, wait?"

  “I’m carrying you back up. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

  He blinked, taken aback. “Not a chance.”

  “Hmph. Then don’t make this hard.”

  Without waiting for his response, she gently held him up towards the cliff with the gust of wind that lifted them off the ground.

  When they reached a narrow ledge near the top. Chan Chan landed softly, setting him down gently before stepping back. With that, she turned around saying, “I have to leave now.”

  "Oh.. Thank you and take care, " he replied awkwardly.

  With those last words, Chan Chan paused but didn’t reply, walking away while the young man watched her figure disappear in the wilderness.

  Just as he stood there, he sighed, looking up at the sky. "Time to go home… but how?"

  …

  It’s been days since Xu Hanyu’s disappearance and the Lantern Festival is almost approaching, yet they remain clueless about Xu Hanyu’s whereabouts. With day and night non-stop searching for him, it was already exhausting.

  And the next day, they still continued to search for him again. But Lord Xu and the clan members still returned home without finding him. Their faces showed exhaustion—eyes dull, shoulders slumped, and their steps were slow.

  It was also obvious, there's a frustration simmered beneath Lord Xu's fatigue.

  But what else could they do? They were all left wondering what had happened to Xu Hanyu.

  "Have you found him yet?" Lord Xu asked the clan member in front of him.

  "W-we’ve searched everywhere, Lord Xu. But no trace of him." With that, Lord Xu sighed in distress.

  Nearby, Xu Liao and Xu Jie whispered into each other, watching the scene.

  “Can you believe they still haven’t found that useless kid?” Xu Jie scoffed.

  With a grin, Xu Liao replied, “It’s been four days since he disappeared, ” clicking his tongue along with a smirk, “He’s probably dead by now.”

  Meanwhile at the scene, Elder Xu Ting, who looked very concerned about Lord Xu’s health, suggested, "Xu Dan, maybe you should rest. We’ll inform you when we find him."

  “It’s alright… Let’s go to my study first, I also need to talk to the three of you about the issue regarding our business you were talking about.”

  “Oh, understood..”

  …

  Through the underbrush, Xu Hanyu stumbled with his face first into the dirt with a loud thud, bruises covered in leaves and twigs.

  "Great, this is just perfect…" he whispered, groaning.

  After a moment of half-hearted cursing, he slowly moved his fingers and felt something solid beneath him. A stone? His eyes shot open. "Stone? Wait—what's this?" His thoughts perked up. "Could it be... a path?"

  With effort, he pushed himself up, wiping the leaves off his face. As his vision cleared, "A path?! Oh my— finally found it!”

  Relief washed over him as he staggered to his feet. "Finally! I can get back to Tai Hua City!"

  With that he started down the path, but soon grew tired and bent over to catch his breath. Just then, he heard a rumble and saw an old man pulling a wooden cart. The man, unfazed by the journey, looked calm despite his weathered face and scarred neck.

  And he approached the old man, inquiring, "Excuse me, sir…! Do you know where Tai Hua City is?"

  The old man replied, "Just straight ahead," while pointing in the direction ahead.

  "Are you going there as well?"

  The old man nodded.

  "Could you give me a ride? I could really use the help."

  Pausing, the old man examined Xu Hanyu slowly, his eyes stopped on the unusual mark on Xu Hanyu's left arm, "You?"

  "Yes…" Xu Hanyu replied eagerly.

  "Alright, get in the cart."

  "Thank you, sir…!"

  He quickly climbed into the cart, surrounded by goods, and noticed the old man's surprising strength as he pulled it along.

  While travelling, Xu Hanyu felt relaxed as if his worries had faded. The warmth of the sun and the sound of rustling leaves reminded him of that breathtaking view at Tai Hua Mountain.

  He then closed his eyes and rested.

  Suddenly, the old man spoke as if he was conveying something but wasn't talking to him, “The candles flicker, but the night has only just begun.”

  Hearing those words, Xu Hanyu felt a strange feeling inside, like the words kept echoing in his mind despite not understanding it fully.

  The candles flicker, but the night has only just begun.

  But he shrugged it off, focusing on the steady rocking of the cart beneath him. The cart creaked along, steady as ever.

  A few minutes later, the old man announced, "We're here. Tai Hua City."

  Xu Hanyu opened his eyes, finding himself in a busy street crowded with people. He jumped off the cart and bowed. "Thank you so much!"

  "No problem," the old man replied, turning to leave.

  Realizing he might get lost, Xu Hanyu called out, "Wait, sir! I hope I'm not bothering but do you know where the Xu Clan's mansion is?"

  The old man paused, "Is that your destination?"

  "Um... yes..." Xu Hanyu's hopeful expression prompted the old man to sigh and shake his head, "I guess I can take you there... I'm headed that way anyway."

  With a blinked of surprise, "Really?"

  The old man nodded.

  "Thank you, sir!" Quickly, he climbed back onto the cart.

  …

  Finally arriving at the tall door of the Xu Clan's mansion, he jumped off and stretched. Bowing deeply once again, saying, "Thank you very much!"

  The old man nodded and gruffly replied, "Go on," before driving away.

  With a deep breath, Xu Hanyu approached the familiar Xu Clan mansion. As he walked through the halls, he overheard a conversation from the clan members who were just about to leave the area.

  "Lord Xu came back early, but still no sign of Xu Hanyu. Where could he be?"

  "Right. Have you heard that Xu Lian got punished as well. She's been kneeling at the training ground for days now."

  Anxiety surged in Xu Hanyu's chest as soon as he heard about her sister's punishment and his father's return.

  Now, there was barely any one as the two disappeared in the distance. Until he saw a familiar figure with a bandage on her hands, Xu Lian!

  “Sis!”

  Xu Lian then turned her head, “Hanyu’er?!”

  That instant, the two of them quickly approach each other.

  “Sis! Are you alright? What happened to your hand? I heard your father punished you?”

  Looking worried, she quickly pinched Xu Hanyu’s face and shoulders filled with dirt causing him to flinch, while saying, “You little brat, I should be asking you. Are you alright? Plus, where did you even go, Hanyu'er?”

  “Well… Um, we fell off a cliff but luckily we survived.”

  “Cliff?! Let me check, are you hurt? No broken bones right?” With a frantic check up.

  “Sis, I said I’m alright..”

  “Phew… I’m glad you’re fine, but what about the girl?”

  “She was doing fine after days of healing herself, and she was the one who took us out down the cliff. Then we went into our path.”

  “I see…”

  “By the way, where are you heading sis?”

  “I..I was going to talk with my father, and tell him the truth…”

  “Truth?”

  “Hm, I didn’t tell him and the elders that I lost you to Tai Hua Mountain and about the girl…because I’m scared that they’re gonna blame you for the trouble we had been into…”

  “I see, but you don’t have to do that.”

  “No, I don’t want that to happen. So it’s better if we keep this to ourselves. At least now you’re here, we should also go and talk to father..”