"Big brother, big sister, are you two going out?"
When the pair of twins headed downstairs, a silver-haired little boy ran excitedly to intercept them. Seeing their little brother Feng Xingtong, Shayu's tense expression softened. He smiled and gently tapped his head, ruffling his cloud-like hair.
"Yes, we are going out to see someone and confirm things; it's an order from the old bag," Shayu replied.
"Wow..." Receiving a head pat, the little one's eyes sparkled with admiration. His chubby cheeks paled pink.
"Big brother, can I come along?" Xingtong asked, holding his clenched fists against his shoulder. With watery, cat-like eyes clearly begging.
He only smiled at him.
Feeling the upcoming positive response, the little one's smile grew wider.
"No..."
"Whaaaat?" The little one sulked like a kitten.
"Gonna cry? Haha!" The older siblings felt amused. Shayu ruffled his hair again and stopped teasing. "I can't take you, but I will think about it... maybe when you are able to control your spirit summoning arts."
"Really?" The little one's eyes brightened again.
"Of course. Have I ever lied to you?"
"Umm... No..." Xingtong replied, shaking his head.
"Then that's it! Watch the house while we are gone." Shayu stepped ahead and left, waving goodbye.
"Okay... Bye-bye, big brother, big sister!" The little one waved energetically until they could no longer be seen.
Outside the house... at the garage...
Standing beside the family car, Feng Shayan hopped onto the hood. She crossed her slender legs and lightly kicked the air in boredom.
"What are your plans? Should we head into his house first and do some scouting?"
"Let me think for a moment..."
He didn't say a word. Instead, he scanned his surroundings, confirming that no one was spying on them. He gently lifted his foot and tapped the ground silently. His eyes glowed pure white, indicating he had activated a Qimen Dunjia.
Shayu conducted a divination to figure out the best possible way to achieve his desired outcome. His reading from the inside lasted more than five minutes, but outside it appeared as only a fraction of a second.
Seeing him take a deep breath, Shayan jumped off the car and placed her palm on his forehead.
"Y-you activated the QimenDunjia again?"
"Yes..." Shayu replied, smiling bitterly.
"Haven't I warned you to restrict its usage? What if something happens?" she protested and began inspecting his body. Seeing no drastic changes, she felt relieved.
"Calm down... I didn't go through a big reading. I merely divined our fate," he reasoned.
But his sister wasn't convinced. Her concern wasn't baseless or paranoia. Just like ZhangChu-Lan, Shayu possessed one of the eight secret arts that started the Jianshin incident.
When his sister told him about her arranged marriage, he tried divining her fate and almost died in the process.
Returning home, Shayan witnessed him bathed in blood and on the verge of death. She panicked and was about to inform their father, but luckily he stopped her in time and explained the situation.
Inside the house, no one knew he could use FenghouQimen.
Even though she was upset about when he kept it a secret, she understood the risks and chose not to pry further in exchange for him not hiding anything from her from then on. Additionally, she demanded that he restrict its usage, not only for his safety but for the family as well. Many people seek the secret arts and will do anything to get their hands on them.
It took a while for him to convince her, but a little explanation was enough.
"Let's go to the cemetery now..." he said, about to open the driver's seat.
But Shayan held his wrist.
"I'm going to drive... You sit in the passenger seat."
Seeing her determined look, he reluctantly agreed.