Fukun Xueyuan

  By the time Han Wuang Shi reached the academy, night had fallen completely. The surroundings were draped in shadows, but Wuang Shi moved toward the main gates like a serene apparition bathed in the blue moonlight. His face was a mask of stillness devoid of emotion, devoid of fatigue.

  As he approached the grand entrance, he found Grandmaster Kang Jue still standing guard. Upon seeing Wuang Shi returning alone, the Grandmaster unsheathed his sword with a metallic ring, his voice booming like thunder:

  "Halt right there, Han Wuang Shi!"

  Wuang Shi stopped instantly. He lowered his gaze and bowed with profound respect. As he extended his hands in salutation, the Grandmaster’s eyes fell upon his wrist. The red silk band was gone. For a fleeting second, a flicker of pride crossed the elder's face, yet his blade remained leveled at the youth.

  "Han Wuang Shi, you know the laws,"

  the Grandmaster spoke, his tone slightly more tempered.

  "Until the punishment is complete, you cannot enter without Gu Zong. You must bring him back."

  Wuang Shi kept his eyes averted, offering no rebuttal in word or gesture. He bowed once more in silent acceptance and turned to depart. But at that moment, Jun Wan came rushing out, accompanied by Zhuang Hue. She called out to him from within the gates:

  "Prince Han Wuang Shi! Please, wait!"

  Wuang Shi paused and turned. He saw Jun Wan looking at him, her expression a mix of exhaustion and desperation. She knew that since the first watch of the night was beginning, she was forbidden from stepping outside. Wuang Shi saw the raw anxiety in her eyes. Without a word, Jun Wan threw a Jade Token toward him a relic that had belonged to her mother.

  Wuang Shi caught the token mid-air. In the center of the jade was the intricate carving of a White Fish. After inspecting it, he looked back at Jun Wan. Her face held a subtle, silent cue an unspoken instruction that Wuang Shi understood instantly. He knew exactly for whom this token was intended. Wuang Shi bowed deeply to Jun Wan and silently vanished into the night.

  High above in a rear corridor of the academy, Han Lao Fang stood watching the entire exchange. His face was a void no anger, no farewell, only an immense emptiness. As Jun Wan turned to head back to her quarters, her eyes met Lao Fang’s distant gaze. The moment she turned away, he too disappeared into the darkness.

  Later, during the fifth watch of the night, Jun Wan emerged from her room only to find Han Lao Fang standing in the same spot. She initially tried to ignore him, but after a moment's hesitation, she walked toward him. Seeing her approach, Lao Fang turned to leave, but Jun Wan’s voice stopped him.

  "Prince Han Lao Fang."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Lao Fang froze but did not turn back. He remained still in the silence, the cold wind whipping around them. Jun Wan stood behind him and bowed with full formality.

  "Prince... I apologize on behalf of Gu Zong. Please, forgive us. Zao is not a bad person at heart; he simply does not know how to express himself."

  Lao Fang turned slowly. His voice, usually harsh and dry, had softened into a gentle, mournful cadence.

  "Please, stop. You have no need to apologize. In fact, everyone here knows exactly who should be asking for forgiveness."

  He glanced toward a vacant guest chamber the very room where Han Juan Hao had recently stayed. Jun Wan followed his gaze and understood. A heavy silence fell between them, broken only by the whistling wind. As Jun Wan turned to leave, Lao Fang’s voice rose again, quiet yet grave.

  "It is we who should apologize to you for what happened to your parents, not the other way around. Everyone knows what you are owed, what you deserve... but no one has the courage to say it. Not even I. But Princess Jun Wan, I and every soul within these walls know that your parents were innocent, and so is Gu Zong. My hollow apology cannot restore what was stolen from you, but if you can... please forgive me."

  Lao Fang walked away without waiting for a reply. Jun Wan did not turn back; her eyes had filled with tears, and her fists were clenched tight. She carried the heavy weight of his words back with her into the night.

  While emotional weight hung over the academy, a different kind of shadow was moving through the corridors of the Zishi Temple.

  Night had fully claimed the sky, yet Gu Zong’s chamber was empty. The bed was pristine, as if untouched. The door sat slightly ajar. Gu Zong was gone.

  Peering from behind a wooden pillar in a corridor, Gu Zong scanned every corner with narrowed eyes. "Perfect," he whispered to himself. "No one is around. Now is the time to run."

  He stepped out and, with a precise, powerful leap, landed on the roof of his chamber. He looked out at the dense forest surrounding the temple. The trees stood like silent sentinels. A smug grin spread across his face.

  "Now," he muttered arrogantly to the forest, "I just have to find that ice-statue, Han Wuang Shi, and get rid of this mess."

  But as he prepared to leap down to the ground, a rope suddenly snared his ankle. Startled, Gu Zong looked down to see a tether tightened around his leg the other end was held firmly by Grandmaster Shung Gong.

  "A valiant effort, Young Master," a soft, feminine voice spoke beside him.

  Gu Zong spun around to find Yan Yu standing right there on the roof. Before he could react, the Grandmaster yanked the rope from below. Gu Zong slammed face-first onto the roof tiles.

  In that split second before being pulled down, his eyes caught sight of a distant figure sitting beneath a tree in the woods. His eyes widened, but before he could process the image, the Grandmaster hauled him off the roof. Gu Zong went tumbling down, landing face-first in the courtyard below.

  He wasn't seriously hurt, but his pride was wounded. He scrambled up, scowling at Grandmaster Shung, and barked with fake bravado:

  "What is this insolence?! Let me go! Who are you to stop me?"

  Grandmaster Shung merely raised two fingers, which began to glow with a menacing red light.

  "Who do you think you are, giving me magical threats?!" Gu Zong yelled.

  But before the words could even leave his mouth, Gu Zong found himself instantly and inexplicably back inside his chamber. He finished his sentence to the empty air:

  "...You don't know who I am! I am a student of Fukun Xueyuan, and my arrival there is"

  He stopped abruptly, his jaw dropping as he realized he was standing in the center of the ancient room he had just tried to escape. He was stunned. How had he moved from the courtyard to his room in a single heartbeat?

  A few moments later, Gu Zong sat at his table, dejected and confused. But then, the memory of what he saw on the roof flashed through his mind. He remembered the figure in white sitting beneath the tree in the distance.

  His eyes widened slightly as he whispered to himself:

  "Was that... was that Han Wuang Shi?"