The skyship cut through the clouds in a silent glide, dipping low toward the outer districts of the capital. The wild, storm-ridden journey that had taken Feiyin to the edge of his limits had come to a close. Now, with Baiyu curled around his shoulders in a deep slumber and the air crisp with winter's breath, the young cultivator stood near the helm with Ruan and Qingling quietly tending to the ship's final course.
Feiyin spared a glance at the vessel's internal formations. Before docking, he gently slipped a few essence stones into the reservoirs from his own supply. The additional energy would mask the abnormal usage and make it seem like a long journey interrupted by rest periods instead of a near-continuous flight. Just another mission, nothing remarkable.
Once landed and the ship properly docked, the group disembarked without fanfare. Just three figures, one sleeping serpent, and tired but fulfilled eyes. Their feet moved instinctively toward the Red Lotus Mercenary headquarters, following streets that now felt familiar.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the vast capital, tension simmered with every footstep.
Cai Feng's expression was unreadable as his sharp eyes scanned the busy street. His saber hung at his side, untouched but always ready. Mei Liao walked beside him, her long hair drawn up beneath her cloak, face tight with fatigue and dread. In her arms rested a small child, less than two years old- Meimei, their daughter. The toddler giggled occasionally, unaware of the heavy weight pressing on every breath her mother took.
"Another day, another district," Mei Liao murmured, voice barely above a whisper.
Cai Feng didn't respond at first. His gaze swept over a plaza, noting the position of guards, the ebb and flow of people, the subtle signs that no one they sought had been here.
Mei Liao clutched Meimei a little closer.
"We've been through every major ward. We've checked the marketplaces, the palace towers, even the alchemist quarters. If he isn't here... what if we're too late? What if he left? What if-"
Cai Feng's large, callused hand found her shoulder. She met his eyes, and for a second, the warrior's façade cracked, letting through the grief of a father desperate to find his son.
"We'll find him," he said, more to himself than her. "We have to."
Behind them, robed figures moved in silence. Loyal men from Cai Feng's old and new militia unit-Sun Ke, Jiang, and a few others who had chosen to follow their commander when he declared his intent to find his boy. Hooded and unobtrusive, they looked like travelers or low-ranking cultivators, passing through the capital as so many others did.
As they turned down another road, hope growing fainter, far across the city, Feiyin paused in the middle of a step. His heart clenched- not in pain, but with the sudden sensation of something slipping away. A deep ache, like the moment before loss. His instincts screamed at him. He had long learned to trust those feelings, and now, with the deeper nature of his spiritual senses, he could not ignore it.
His brows knit in confusion and tension.
Qingling noticed first. "Feiyin? What's wrong?"
Ruan tilted her head slightly, concern in her quiet gaze. "You should rest. You've been pushing for days."
Feiyin smiled gently, though something trembled behind it. He lifted Baiyu from his shoulders and passed her to Qingling. She stirred slightly, but didn't wake.
"I will. I just... there's something I have to do. I'll join you soon."
Qingling looked at him, then nodded. "Don't be long."
Ruan whispered, "Be careful."
Feiyin turned from them, following the pull in his chest. He began to walk, slowly at first, his brows furrowed in concentration. His spiritual sense stretched outward- not in a wide, oppressive sweep, but like a quiet breeze brushing against the world.
Ever since forming his prismatic essence qi, his spiritual sense had changed. It no longer stood apart from the world but resonated with it, becoming elusive and natural, indistinct from the background, like a tree in a forest. Other cultivators he passed showed no reaction- they didn't feel him, because there was nothing to feel, just another piece of the world around them.
His oscillation sense layered atop it, mapping textures of sound and subtle vibrations through stone, wind, and life.
He roamed for a while, uncertain, until something flickered at the edge of that harmony- a ripple, a familiar warmth in the fabric of the capital. He stilled, heart pounding as the sensation crystallized in his mind. A presence he had nearly forgotten how much he needed.
He moved.
Not walked. Rushed.
With a burst of essence qi, his form blurred. He shot across alleys, over rooftops, his cloak billowing like wings of smoke. He leapt and soared, guided by the resonance in his soul. His spiritual sense honed in on a courtyard ahead, where a group of cultivators were gathered.
Cai Feng's instincts flared in the same moment, hearing a rapidly approaching disturbance. They had taken shelter in a quiet rented courtyard after another fruitless day of searching. While Cai Feng stood by the entrance reviewing their route for tomorrow, Mei Liao crouched beside Meimei, gently encouraging her to stack a few carved wooden forms into a little tower on the stone pavement. The toddler giggled and clapped, trying to balance them with a look of serious concentration, occasionally babbling a few words as she reached for another block. Mei Liao's smile was faint, forced, her anxious eyes flicking upward with every passing cultivator beyond the courtyard walls, her grip on Meimei's waist a shade too tight- clinging not only to her daughter, but to the fragile hope that still remained.
Suddenly, Cai Feng's body shifted subtly, his hand going to his saber as he stepped in front of Mei Liao and Meimei. He raised his voice, firm and sharp:
"Form up! Incoming cultivator at high speed!"
His men reacted instantly, forming a loose defensive arc.
And then the wind howled.
Dust exploded across the courtyard as Feiyin landed with a shockwave that cracked the nearby tiles. The tension in Cai Feng's body didn't ease- until the dust cleared, and a young man stood upright.
He was taller than before. Worn by trials and storms. But those eyes- those unmistakable eyes that were a perfect mix of his and Mei Liao's- remained as beautiful as the first day he held him in his arms.
Mei Liao didn't wait.
With a choked cry, she screamed, "Feiyin!" and rushed past Cai Feng, her arms encircling her son.
Feiyin stumbled slightly as she hit him with all the force of a mother's love, sobbing openly as her hands grasped his face, his shoulders, anything she could hold.
His own arms rose, uncertain, then wrapped around her. He trembled.
"Mom..."
Tears fell freely, his voice cracking under years of restraint.
Cai Feng was slower, stunned. His saber clanged to the ground as he rushed forward, pulling them both into his arms.
Feiyin couldn't speak. He just let the tears fall. So did his father.
Mei Liao sobbed into his chest, her fingers digging into his robes as if to make sure he was real. Then she leaned back slightly, cupping his face with trembling hands. Her eyes roamed over him, taking in the broader shoulders, the more defined jaw, the way he carried himself with gravity and strength.
"You've grown so much," she whispered, voice cracking with emotion, before pulling him into another fierce embrace. "My boy... my little Feiyin..."
Cai Feng clasped Feiyin's shoulder with firm pride, red-rimmed eyes fixed on his son, grinning even as his lips quivered. "You're almost as tall as me now. Almost."
Before Feiyin could respond, a gentle tug on his pants made him glance down. Meimei had crawled over and was tugging at his leg, her bright eyes wide with curiosity. She made a soft, cheerful noise, reaching up with chubby fingers toward his face.
Mei Liao gently stepped back and smiled , eyes red but glowing. "Feiyin. This is your little sister."
Feiyin blinked, stunned. Then slowly knelt, reaching out. Meimei giggled and clumsily patted his face.
A laugh- half sob, half joy- escaped his lips.
And then the others around them lowered their hoods.
Sun Ke stepped forward, eyes misty but proud. "Looks like you're still alive, Feiyin."
"Sun Ke... Jiang..." Feiyin looked at them all. "You came... all of you came..."
Jiang grunted. "Didn't think we'd leave one of ours behind, did you?"
More laughter, more tears. They embraced. Old bonds reforged by pain and love.
And then, above them, the storm that had loomed for days finally began to part. The heavy clouds, thick with winter's weight, slowly unraveled, revealing streaks of pale blue. From between their folds, rays of golden sunlight pierced through, cascading down into the courtyard in gentle shafts.
The light touched Feiyin's face, catching the specks of amethyst within the grey of his eyes, warmed Mei Liao's trembling hands as she held her son's face, and danced across Cai Feng's armor like blessings from the heavens themselves. Even little Meimei looked up, blinking at the sudden brightness, her hand still curled in Feiyin's robes.
It was warmth. It was hope.
And in that moment, the long road behind them vanished. There was only now. Only this.
Feiyin closed his eyes, letting the sunlight wash over him.
Home had found him again.
***
Author note: End of Book 2!
Here we are at the end of book 2, and what better way to conclude it than with the moment many of you (me included) were waiting for!
Now onward to book 3, with the clash against the Saint Spirit Sect in sight!