Grand Display

When it was time to part, faint expressions of worry appeared on the faces of the two siblings. Han Fang said, "Alright then. You two take care," and turning to Han Qi, he added, "Sister, let's go."

"Hmm."

Han Qi, the older of the two siblings, kept glancing at their father as if reluctant to leave. Yet without lingering, she moved to her brother's side, and together they headed toward the door.

Under the watchful gazes of the two family leaders, the siblings were just about to step out of the room when Han Qi suddenly stopped and turned around, as though she had remembered something. "Ah! Where's our elder brother? Let's see him before we go!"

"That's right, we should see our brother too." Without much surprise at his sister's sudden motion, Han Fang turned calmly as well.

"Your brother has already left for the town's lord manor. You won't get a chance to see him now," replied the Han family leader with a sigh.

"What?!"

Both siblings exclaimed in shock, unable to hide their surprise at the response.

Unable to control himself, Han Fang burst out, "But what if things go badly? How can we leave without seeing our brother?"

"That's right. Han Fang is making sense for once. What happens if we're forced to leave for the city without getting to see him?" Han Qi spoke in a panicked tone, agreeing with her brother.

"Calm down! Calm down!" The Han family leader gestured with both hands to quiet the two young siblings. Rubbing his eyes, he added in a confident tone, "We will win. You're worrying about unnecessary things. The reason we made this plan for you two was for the worst-case scenario."

"But..." Han Fang wasn't satisfied with his father's answer, but thinking it would be pointless to argue further, he decided to drop the subject.

Han Qi, in a similar manner, looked at her father and the Lee family leader with a displeased expression, as if thinking, "There's nothing to be done."

Seeing the obvious discontent on the young siblings' faces, the Lee family leader interjected, "In any case, there's no changing it now, is there? Besides, we're going to win. You young ones shouldn't worry about trivial matters. Go to the Lu family house and treat it as a night of fun. By morning, everything will be over." His voice brimmed with confidence.

The Han family leader, noting the lingering hesitation in the two, urged, "Go on, go on. We're out of time. Head over to your friends already."

The two young siblings turned their backs with unhappy expressions and left the room. Before long, they disappeared from sight. As the young ones departed, the Lee family leader turned to Han and said, "Brother Han, let's head toward the Wu family without delay."

Staring absently at the door, Han snapped out of his daze at Lee's words. "Alright, Brother Lee. We'd better hurry. If we're late, they might send reinforcements to the town's lord manor. We need to prevent that."

"Hmm. Exactly."

The Han family leader, along with Lee, who was already standing, headed toward the door and then walked to a certain place within the Lee family's house.

A few minutes later, the two family leaders left through the main door accompanied by 50–60 mounted men in armor. The sight they left behind was deeply impressive to the servants and guards who remained at the house.

"This... This!" one of the guards stammered fearfully, pointing at the departing group.

"Why is everyone wearing armor? Are they going to war?" another guard, clueless about the events, murmured in shock.

"What's the point of wearing armor when they can't summon shadows?" A young servant, not far from the main door, muttered in a puzzled yet calm tone, as if asking the question to his fellow servant.

The other young servant standing beside him whispered, "Idiot! That's the point. What if they're heading to a battle where shadows can be summoned?"

"This... This! Watch your mouth! Do you have any idea what might happen if you bring bad luck?" The first servant whispered fearfully as he looked around.

"Don't worry. I'm not bringing bad luck—it's just a small guess," the second servant replied, smirking faintly as he motioned for calm.

While the guards and servants speculated among themselves, the news of the family leaders leaving with a grand display of armored men spread quickly throughout the house.

Meanwhile, in one of the gazebos near the residential quarters, some of the Lee family's younger ones were sitting and chatting over tea.

"Brother, when will we head over to the Lu family's house?" Lee Fei Fei, a 13- or 14-year-old girl with shoulder-length curly hair and a sweet, doll-like face, asked her older brother Lee Zi.

"It's already midnight. Let's sit for a bit longer, then we'll head out. Relax," Lee Zi replied with a smile.

As the two silently sipped their tea, a cheerful voice called out from a distance, "Oh! We've finally found you, Brother Lee!" Turning toward the source of the voice, they saw the approaching figures and stood up in surprise.

"Brother Han, Sister Han Qi, what are you doing here?" Lee Zi asked, astonished.

Stopping near the gazebo, Han Fang responded energetically, "Don't ask, Brother Lee. We wanted to see our brother and father before leaving but only got to see Father. We thought we'd join you on the way, so we came here."

"How are you two? Fei Fei, it's been so long since we last met. You've become even prettier," Han Qi said, smiling at Lee Fei Fei while removing the cloth bag from her back and sitting down beside her.

Fei Fei blushed slightly at Han Qi's comment. Meanwhile, Han Fang followed suit, putting his cloth bag on the table as he sat beside Lee Zi. Taking a deep breath, he said, "We were looking for you at the front, not thinking you'd be in the back, and finally found you."

Leaning slightly toward Han Fang, Lee Fei Fei said, "It's good you came. We were getting bored."

"Fei Fei, how are you? It's been a while since we last saw each other at the academy, hasn't it?" Han Fang asked, wiping the sweat off his forehead with a smile.

"Brother Han Fang, I'm good. Thank you," the young girl replied with a sweet smile.

"So, what's the plan now? Father and Uncle Lee left a while ago with men headed for the Wu family's house," Han Fang said, pouring himself some tea from the kettle on the small fire.

"What?! Already?"

"Are we late if we leave now?"

The Lee siblings exclaimed simultaneously in surprise. Han Fang, taking a sip of tea, replied, "They were supposed to send word, but I guess they forgot. Luckily, we overheard some servants gossiping on the way here. They left with about 50–60 armored men in a grand display." Setting his tea down and leaning back in his chair, he added, "I think there's still time. Let's wait until the tea gets cold."

"..."