Phoenix Ascending

Yin Yun silently agreed. The two men walked away from the room.

“How’s Jun Hao?” asked Nan Xun.

“The doctor said he would be fine,” responded Yin Yun. “However, a lot has happened. That’s why the boy is so insecure.“

Nan Xun understood. Jun Hao was young. Of course he’d be afraid after being kidnapped. He’d been keeping himself together until Jun Huang showed up. The sight of his big sister broke his control.

“That’s good,” said Nan Xun. “Crying is better than having his emotions bottled up.”

Yin Yun nodded without a word. They waited in each other’s silent company.

Eventually, Jun Huang came to her senses and stopped crying. She looked at the still sobbing Jun Hao, a little embarrassed. She didn’t know what to say.

Jun Hao looked up at her and asked like a kicked puppy, “Are you leaving again, big sister?”

He pouted. His face was still red from crying, and his eyes too. He looked pitiful, and his words were heartbreaking.

Jun Huang sighed and wiped his tears away. “You’ve heard how complicated the situation is,” she finally said. “I can’t take you with me. Wait here and be a good boy. I’m never going to abandon you. Don’t worry.”

Jun Hao clutched at her sleeve without a word. Jun Huang sighed again. “You’re a big boy now. You have to be brave. Stay here. I’ll have Yin Yun keep you company. Can you do that?”

“You promise to come back for me?” Jun Huang asked after a long pause, staring at Jun Huang.

Her eyes stung again. She took a deep breath and looked away, nodding and blinking away the tears. “I promise. You should rest some more.”

She placed Jun Hao on the bed. The boy hadn’t been sleeping well. With Jun Huang here, he immediately fell into a peaceful slumber.

Jun Huang watched him for a long time, letting the pain in her chest settle. She stood up. After another glance at Jun Hao, she sighed and walked out of the door.

Nan Xun exchanged a glance with Yin Yun and walked up to her.

“He’s asleep now,” said Jun Huang. “Take good care of him, Yin Yun. Nan Xun and I will return to the manor. It’s not safe for us to stay outside.”

Her eyes were still red, but she’d regained her composure. Nan Xun and Yin Yun therefore weren’t too concerned about her.

Yin Yun nodded and promised to take care of Jun Hao, telling her not to be worried. Nan Xun led her out of the house without a word.

They returned to the manor and back to Jun Huang’s room. She sat down on her bed, looking outside the window, deep in thought.

Nan Xun watched her quietly. He wanted to offer her comfort, but came up short when trying to find the right words.

Jun Huang turned to him. “You said you’d find a way to restore my memory. Any news on that front? When will I be able to recover?”

Nan Xun paused. “It’s not necessarily a good thing for you to get your memory back.”

“I’ve made up my mind,” she said, her eyes burning with fire. “I won’t blame you for whatever pain it’ll bring me. I don’t want to live in the dark anymore.”

Nan Xun sighed and nodded in understanding. “I’ll help you. However, that can’t be rushed. Give me some time.”

Nan Xun put his men to look for Oleg Cragfiend. His action was noticeable if one knew what to look for. Nan Jihan soon got wind of it. He had a cup of tea in his hand when he received the news. His fingers trembled and the cup dropped.

He shot to his feet and snapped at the eunuch, “Get Oleg Cragfiend!”

The eunuch nodded and hurried away. He soon came back with Oleg Cragfiend in tow. The poison master raised an eyebrow when he saw how pale Nan Jihan was. “What’s the emergency, Your Majesty?”

Nan Jihan silently handed the letter to Oleg Cragfiend, who frowned as he read it.

“She must have been in actual danger. Otherwise, why would Nan Xun put in so much effort to look for you?” Nan Jihan huffed out a bitter laugh. “The last time we saw him, he did seem urgent. And yet we turned him away… If something happens to Feng Baiyu, I… I’ll never forgive myself.”

Oleg Cragfiend didn’t immediately respond. He didn’t expect Jun Huang’s condition to get worse. There was an urgency to Nan Xun’s action… she must have been seriously ill.

The possibility made him lose all his calm. He rushed outside before anyone could react and packed his belongings. He ran into Nan Jihan’s personal eunuch as soon as he left the palace.

“His Majesty knows the journey to Eastern Wu won’t be an easy one,” said the eunuch. “A coach has been arranged for you. Please don’t turn him down. Miss Feng’s safety comes first.”

Oleg Cragfiend didn’t have any time to waste, so he accepted Nan Jihan’s offer and followed the eunuch to the coach. He immediately told the rider to depart.

Nan Jihan looked at Oleg Cragfiend from a distance, his expression unreadable.

“Have you given up on her, brother?” Nan Guyue asked, walking up to Nan Jihan and watching the departing coach.

Nan Jihan laughed ruefully. “What else am I going to do? Their bond is strong. We both know how much they care about each other. I used to think my life will be fulfilled as long as I can have her by my side, but after chasing her for so long, she must feel nothing but annoyance for me.”

He sighed, his eyes glinting with loneliness. “She’s willing to give up everything for Nan Xun. I have to be truly shameless to keep trying to break them apart. It’s better that I leave them be. I’m fine as long as she’s happy.”

“Do you really think so?” Nan Guyue looked at him, noting every change in his expression.

Nan Jihan tilted his head to look at his sister, his gaze so lifeless it made Nan Guyue shudder. But then he smiled. It was bitter, but there was a sense of release to it. “What if I still have feelings for her? She’s never going to pick me. If I let go and let them be happy, maybe…” His voice turned so faint the rest of his sentence almost got lost in the wind. “... maybe she’ll remember me as a good man.”

Oleg Cragfiend rushed to Eastern Wu without delay. He immediately sought Nan Xun out. Nan Xun was surprised to see the poison master. He’d been trying to find the old man for so long. Who knew the only thing it took to make him show up was to make him worry?

The plan wouldn’t have worked if the poison master didn’t care about Jun Huang so much.

“Let’s not waste our time talking,” Oleg Cragfiend said without ceremony. “Take me to Jun Huang.”

Nan Xun nodded. He’d made the necessary arrangements. He just needed the old man to work with him. After a brief discussion, they agreed on the plan.

At dusk the next day, Nan Xun had Oleg Cragfiend disguised as a produce vendor and took him to the Grand Chancellor’s manor as a servant. Oleg Cragfiend tensed up once he stepped into the foreign manor, while Nan Xun navigated through the premise with surprising ease.

The servants in Jun Huang’s residence had been dismissed earlier. Nan Xun took Oleg Cragfiend to her room without any difficulty.

When they entered, Jun Huang was sitting on her bed leisurely. Oleg Cragfiend frowned. This wasn’t what he expected.

It suddenly dawned on him that while Nan Xun had acted worried, he hadn’t said anything about Jun Huang’s condition. He was the one who assumed Jun Huang was seriously ill. Now that he finally knew the truth, he had no choice but to keep it to himself.

Jun Huang didn’t know what Nan Xun had done. She didn’t react at all when she saw her master.

Nan Xun explained briefly what had happened.

Oleg Cragfiend quietly took Jun Huang’s pulse. He nodded when he heard that Jun Huang wanted her memory back. “I know what to do. However, I hear you’ve taken medicine recently. What I’m going to give you can’t be mixed with other herbs. There may be clashing effects. Give me the residue of the medicine you’ve taken and let me check.”

Jun Huang happened to have it. She pointed at the bronze mirror, telling Nan Xun where the residue was hidden. Nan Xun retrieved it handed it to the poison master.

Oleg Cragfiend had a whiff with his eyes closed and nodded.