The annual Gong banquet buzzes with activity as sect leaders and family members mingle throughout the hall. I straighten my robes, adjusting the jade pendant at my waist while maintaining the composed demeanor expected of me. yuanZhi materialized at my side earlier, his presence a quiet comfort despite our recent distance following Lang-Didi's memorial.

"Gege," he murmurs, fingers fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket—a nervous habit I haven't seen in years.

Before I can respond, I'm approached by Elder Zhang from the neighboring sect, requiring my attention. I nod to YuanZhi apologetically, stepping away to conduct the necessary greetings and political exchanges that keep our alliances strong. When I glance back moments later, YuanZhi has vanished into the crowd.

I spot him again near the eastern pillar, shoulders tense as though bracing against an invisible force. Following his gaze, my breath catches—Yang XiaoJu stands before him, the woman who helped raise me and Lang-Didi, now married to an allied clan leader. She extends a hand toward YuanZhi's face, the same gesture she once used to tuck Lang-Didi's hair behind his ear.

YuanZhi's entire body goes rigid. Before I can intervene, he shoves her hand away with a sharp, guttural cry that cuts through the banquet noise.

"GET AWAY!"

Gasps echo through the hall as all eyes turn toward us. Yang XiaoJu stumbles backward, her expression a mixture of shock and injured innocence. YuanZhi's chest heaves with ragged breaths, his eyes blazing with a mixture of fear and fury I've never seen directed at another person.

I stride forward, my voice sharp with automatic authority before I've even processed the situation fully.

"Gong YuanZhi!"

He flinches at my tone, his face paling as he realizes the attention he's drawn. Without another word, he turns and flees from the hall, leaving behind a wake of whispered speculation and judging stares.

Yang XiaoJu composedly brushes at her sleeve, giving me a tremulous smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

"He's just... grown so much," she says softly. "I barely recognized him."

I nod distractedly, already turning toward the door YuanZhi escaped through. Something is terribly wrong—this isn't mere rudeness from a spoiled younger brother. That was the reaction of someone truly terrified.

I find him in the clinic, surrounded by spilled vials and herbs. He doesn't look up as I enter, his hands trembling as he clutches a mortar and pestle so tightly his knuckles whiten.

"YuanZhi, what happened back there?" I demand, my voice still tight with the remnants of my anger—but now uncertainty creeps in as I take in his shattered composure.

He freezes at my question, then slowly raises his tear-streaked face to meet my gaze. The vulnerability in his eyes stops my heart cold.

"If... If I tell you, will you believe me?" he whispers, his voice breaking. "You wouldn't, not when it comes to her."

The weight of his words hangs heavy in the air between us. Whatever he's about to reveal threatens to unravel everything I thought I knew.