Before Master Chang Shi could speak to defend truth,
the session was abruptly dismissed by none other than the chief elder himself.....Master Kinji Yo.
The same man whose words stung like poison but were always dipped in honey.
He dismissed the meeting and quietly walked away.
Without another glance, he walked out of the grand library, his robes trailing like shadows in his wake.
But he left behind a storm of emotions: eyes burning with rage, hearts seething with helplessness, and parents trembling in grief.
Master Chang Shi slowly rose from his seat.
He walked towards the corner where the parents stood, bowed deeply, and paid his respect with solemn dignity.
Behind him followed Master Zu Gushion.
He too bent in reverence, and in that silence, a powerful unity was born....
A silent understanding that their side, their truth, would stand together.
Then Master Zu Gushion summoned his spiritual beast.....a white crow.
As it soared into the air and landed before Lady Guso Hun.....Fui Lon's mother.....it carried a small scroll in its beak.
It dropped it gently into her hands... and disappeared into the night.
The dismissed assembly slowly began to dissolve into scattered footsteps.
The once-crowded library was now hollow and echoing.
Lady Guso Hun, trembling, opened the scroll with tear-stained fingers.....
and what she read made her gasp:
"Forgive us, Lady Guso Hun.
We do not know where Fui Lon is.
But we do know… he practiced dark magic.
Please do not be afraid.
Tonight, come to the Su Tao Jue Temple.....and bring the others with you."
She collapsed to the ground.
The other parents rushed to her side and held her steady.
They asked her what was written, and she told them everything.
Each one, broken in their own way, gave her quiet assurance that they would come with her.
But fear gripped every heart.
Their souls soaked in sorrow, like wool wrung dry by grief.
Their children were missing.....and no wound cuts deeper than that.
---
Night fell.
The moon glowed like silver fire in the sky.
Its reflection danced upon the sacred river.
Petals and leaves floated like little boats across the water's surface.
The cool wind swayed the trees gently, whispering verses of an ancient, forgotten poem.
In front of the Su Tao Jue Temple, shadows cloaked in black waited in silence.
Behind them, two more figures approached.....
side by side, stride for stride.
It was Master Chang Shi and Master Zu Gushion.
They unveiled their cloaks.
And the others.....parents of Fui Lon, Wang Gung, Ming Heng, and Zhi Yao...did the same.
They all bowed in respect.
And together, they stepped inside the temple.
The air inside was heavy....like truth hiding behind a veil.
Master Chang Shi was the first to act.
He summoned his spiritual beast.....an owl, wise and ageless.
It fluttered onto a tall branch and closed its eyes in deep concentration.
At the master's command, the owl released a glowing spell.....
A protective barrier, round and clear like a great shimmering bubble,
sealed the entire temple in silence.
No word would leave, no whisper would enter.
And then the spell vanished from sight, cloaking itself in invisibility.
Within that invisible dome, a forbidden conversation was about to unfold…