Hours passed.
The three masters sat in silence on the grass, unable to tear their eyes away from the threads.
No one dared speak of what it could mean-not yet.
---
Fuzi Xion Clan
The scene shifted to a vast, ancient library-scrolls and tomes piled high like towers.
The three clan leaders gathered there, sitting beneath oil lamps, their eyes red from hours of reading.
Dust covered the long-forgotten volumes spread open on the floor.
Nothing.
Not one book mentioned a dual spiritual bond formed after the summoning ritual.
Master Kin Lishuan slammed a scroll shut in frustration.
"There are over two hundred books on ancestral binding, but not a single one refers to this."
Master Chui Yong flipped through a yellowed volume of bloodline seals.
"What if this isn't just a spirit bond? What if it's… something older? Something cursed?"
Master Fung Shu Ri said nothing. His eyes remained fixed on one old book -untouched, unopened.
It was a sealed volume, bound in black thread, resting deep inside a shelf marked: "Forbidden - Not to Be Read."
The Name Burned into Ash
Inside the grand library of the Fuzi Xion Clan, silence hung heavy in the air, broken only by the occasional sound of rustling scrolls and the creak of old wooden chairs.
Master Fung Shu Ri sat hunched forward, clutching his forehead, the burden of uncertainty growing heavier by the second.
"What now...?" he muttered.
"What is this spell? I don't believe we can continue the competition like this.
Not until we understand the nature of this bond…"
Master Kin Lishuan nodded gravely, arms folded.
"You're right. We cannot gamble with the lives of these boys without knowing the full truth. This bond...it's unlike anything I've seen. We must tread carefully."
Master Chui Yong, who had been quietly turning pages in a yellowed scroll, suddenly looked up.
"What if… we ask for help?"
"What if we go to Lady Qinji?"
A spark lit in their eyes..like a long-forgotten name suddenly pulled from the dust of memory.
Master Fung Shu Ri's head shot up.
"Of course…! Why didn't you say this earlier?!"
Excitement surged through the room. But it was quickly followed by hesitation.
"But to leave the clan grounds… and travel such a distance… now, of all times?"