"Han'er."
First Elder Wu Zhen stepped through the archway with a smile that softened his stern face. His hair was silver, his back still straight as a spear.
Wu Han quickly recalled the details. This was his grandfather, the First Elder, second only to the clan head in authority. In recent years his influence had waned, thanks in part to the former Wu Han's useless reputation.
"You broke through to the Fourth Stage overnight. Good. Very good." He gripped Wu Han's shoulders, pride warming his eyes. "Your father and mother are still at River Market Town. When they return and hear this, your mother will scold me for not pushing you harder, then cry from joy."
Wu Han bowed, eyes lowered. "Grandfather, your guidance made it possible."
The old man laughed. "Empty praise suits politicians. Breakthroughs suit cultivators. Come, let us eat. I will have the steward set out a proper breakfast. This occasion deserves celebration."
Wu Zhen's delight was not exaggerated. Wu Han had been stuck at the Third Stage for nearly two years. Seeing him break through so suddenly put new vigor in the elder's step. Sadly, joy did not last long.
Boots struck stone outside the court. A blue-robed deacon from the Law Hall halted at the threshold and clasped his fists.
"First Elder, Young Master Wu Han. The Clan Head summons you to the tribunal. A matter of grave accusation."
Wu Zhen's smile vanished. "What accusation?"
The deacon hesitated. "It concerns the death of Wu Yaoshi."
Cold silence settled. The old man's qi flared, tiles creaking under the pressure. "You dare drag my grandson to a tribunal on such slander?"
The deacon bowed lower. "I am only the messenger. The Clan Head asks that both of you attend at once."
Wu Han touched his grandfather's sleeve. "Grandfather."
Wu Zhen looked at him. For an instant, pride was shadowed by fear. Wu Han saw it, weighed the shape of that love, and felt a brief warmth despite himself.
He let a gentle smile touch his lips. "I will go. If the clan requires an answer, I will give it."
Wu Zhen's jaw tightened. "I will stand beside you."
They crossed the covered walkways to the main hall. Tribunal banners hung beneath the rafters. Seven elders sat along the sides, incense coiling toward the beams. At the center dais sat Clan Head Wu Wei, broad-shouldered and severe, his qi like a coiled tiger.
Wu Han and Wu Zhen saluted. "Clan Head."
"Be seated," Wu Wei said. His gaze was knife sharp. "Bring in the accuser."
A woman stepped from the side hall, eyes red, hair in disarray. Wu Haoyu bowed to the dais, then pointed at Wu Han with trembling hands.
"Clan Head, elders, I found my son cold upon his bed this morning. Last night, the only person who returned with him was Wu Han. He killed my son."
Even in the midst of rage and grief, she held herself with proper address.
Murmurs rose. Several elders frowned. One snorted softly.
Wu Wei lifted a palm. "Wu Han. You returned to the estate last night. You were with Wu Yaoshi. Speak."
He may have appeared calm, but beneath that tone Wu Han heard unbridled anger. The clan head already blamed him, which, in truth, would not be wrong. Not that Wu Han would admit it.
He met Wu Wei's gaze without flinching. "I escorted him home after an ambush outside the city. He was alive when we parted. The gate sentries can confirm that he walked to his rooms under his own power. I went to my courtyard and did not see him again."
Wu Haoyu's face twisted. "He was poisoned then. Wu Han must have done it outside the walls."
Wu Han's voice stayed even. "If I planned to murder him, why would I escort him through our own gates in full view of the guards, then leave his corpse in his bed for you to find? Would a murderer arrange witnesses against himself?"
She faltered, then rallied. "Because you are arrogant."
First Elder Wu Zhen rose a half step, anger blazing. "Mind your tongue. Accusation requires proof. Where is your evidence?"
"Proof?" Wu Haoyu laughed, half sob and half rage. "His body rotted before dawn. Rot, within hours. What else causes that but evil arts? He must have died right after returning to his room."
Her words stirred the hall. Many elders exchanged looks. The sequence fit her story, and the case seemed obvious to them, which, of course, it was.
Wu Wei's eyes hardened. "If you have nothing further, I approve a soul search. If he is the culprit, he will be executed."
"Wu Wei, you dare?" Wu Zhen roared, and released his qi. Wu Wei answered in kind. Power crashed between them, the air growing heavy and hard to breathe.
Standing between the two tigers, Wu Han felt pressure lance through his veins. After all this time, he recognized it clearly. Fear.
Cultivators are troublesome. Still, this proceeds as planned.
Outwardly he looked stricken and solemn. "Please, stop."
His voice boomed through the hall, enhanced by his cultivation. The two elders stilled.
Wu Han spoke clearly. "Wu Yaoshi and I have quarreled in the past, but last night we fought side by side against assassins. I lost two men protecting your son, and now you accuse me of killing him."
"W… what?" Wu Wei and several elders exchanged confused glances. They all knew the two had been enemies since childhood.
"And you said it yourself," Wu Han continued, turning to the dais. "He died after we parted, correct?"
Silence followed.
"Which means someone killed him after he returned, under our roof. Instead of finding the culprit, you accuse me."
"Clan Head, what is the meaning of this?"
Wu Han's calm challenge made Wu Wei fall silent. Several elders stilled as well.
On the surface it sounded like a simple rebuttal, but those who knew the clan's history felt the deeper cut. For generations, the lines of Wu Wei and Wu Zhen had been rivals, each vying to seize control of the clan. Wu Wei tolerated the First Elder's branch only because their talent matched his own line. Balance kept them under one banner.
Wu Haoyu turned on Wu Zhen. "You protect him because he is your only grandson. I protect my son because he was my only child. Now he is dead, and you want your family to take the clan head's seat."
With her son, the designated heir, now gone, the path for Wu Han to rise as successor had opened. Wu Wei had already noticed Wu Han's sudden breakthrough to the Fourth Stage, and fear began to whisper of losing the clan head's lineage after so many generations.
He wanted Wu Han removed, but he could not simply kill him without risking revolt from other elders.
He had tried to use his son's death as a swift pretext to execute Wu Han on the spot, or at least cripple him with a soul-searching technique. He had expected the former spineless wastrel, not the youth who now stood and argued with calm strength.
The miscalculation began to backfire.
"Are we to execute our own kin on accusation alone? How far has our clan fallen?" Wu Han's voice held measured sorrow, and the rebuke landed squarely on Wu Wei, whose duty was the clan's honor and law.
Wu Wei's fist clenched. "Your argument has merit, but we still cannot rule you out until we find the culprit you claim exists. Until then, you will be confined to your courtyard."
"Nonsense," Wu Zhen said at once. "The clan tournament is in one week. Locking up my grandson will halt his progress."
"Do not worry, Grandfather," Wu Han said with a calm smile. "I believe our clan head is fair and just. He would not take advantage of the younger generation based on baseless claims, is that not so?"
Wu Wei ground his teeth, seething, then flicked his hand. A small brocade pouch, fragrant with flowers and herbs, flew toward Wu Han.
Seeing the pouch, Wu Haoyu cried out, "Dear, that was meant for our son!" Her last shred of composure broke.
Wu Wei's gaze stayed cold. "Take it as an apology. Remember this: if you are found guilty, death will be a gift compared to what I will do to you. The tribunal is over."
He rose and left the hall. Wu Haoyu stood trembling, eyes red with rage. She still believed with all her heart that Wu Han had killed her son.
"You… I will make you pay for this!" she spat, then turned and stormed away. The elders dispersed, leaving Wu Han alone with his grandfather.
"Han'er," Wu Zhen said, worry showing at last. His grandson had just broken through, yet now faced house arrest instead of spreading his wings. With the tournament so close, the intention was obvious. Wu Wei's plan was to drag Wu Han down with his son's death.
The youth tournament admitted only those under eighteen. This would be Wu Han's last year to enter and prove himself to the clan.
"Do not worry, Grandfather," Wu Han said, smiling. "I promise you, I will take everything from them!"