The Choi twins sulked all the way home from the matches. They had barely scored enough to make it to the next round of qualifiers while their nemesis Go Me Yan could go straight to the junior finals. They also nursed bruises from the scuffle at the scoreboard and were determined to hunt down the country boy who had taken up with the Go brothers. Their elder brother had promised to deal with the boy he claimed had gotten the better of them before the pattern sets were called. They trusted he would have more information to share.

Feng-lu and Feng-xia stopped in their tracks when the saw their brother kneeling in their father's den. One glance told them they shared in his trouble so they also took up penitent positions.

"Let's begin again now all the culprits have arrived." Their uncle's voice dripped with venom.

"Suk-jong claims you had some trouble while you were waiting in the alleyway for your class to start," their father prompted.

"A lot of the younger boys were milling around and not respecting their elders." Feng-lu started his tale then his brother picked up the thread.

"We were just clearing a path, and that little Go boy, what is his name?"

"Me Yan"

"Right, so Go Me Yan comes over to tell us not be pushing, which we weren't, so we decided to show him what pushing would look like."

The twins nodded in unison and then Feng-xia continued. "Then this weird sort of whirlwind came up behind us and pretty much flattened us into the wall."

"We were covered in dirty and really had to rush to get cleaned up enough to join the class for the set." Feng-lu was tempted to add this probably threw him off but knew how little his elders tolerated any sort of excuse.

Suk-jong did not hold back. "I saw what happened. That country boy pulled up a twister. I swear it. His did something with his chi. The dirty little winds did not hit anyone else. I could see how it threw the twins off their set so decided to return the favor."

"So, you admit to throwing an energy ball? Right next to the prince's practice court?" Their father's face turned red.

"It was just a little trip up. Nobody else even noticed." Suk-jong didn't understand what the big fuss was about.

"What was the outcome of this prank of yours?" Their father asked after a long minute.

"He went out of sequence and got disqualified." Feng-lu could not help sounding a bit smug.

His uncle, who also happened to be a judge at the competition, provided more information. "Yes. Park Junseo of Ilidan was marked down for using a fifth dan form in a third dan set." He looked at each boy in turn. 

Feng-lu and Feng-xia blushed because they had barely made it to the third dan in time for the competition. Suk-jong's was more surprised. Even with senior classes he was still working toward his fourth dan. He wanted to question his uncle but was silenced with a look.

"The training master from the Sun Temple reported what he deemed to be serious interference so the match points were restored. Just not the points for a nearly perfect set pattern. Park Junseo can go to the next round if he so chooses. He has also been invited to train at the Sun Temple."

"But they never let outsiders train with them," Suk-jong whispered.

"Yes, well it is most likely the best way for the Temple to continue their investigations. They want to establish what the boy's training level should be since his registered crystals would normally put him in a senior rank. They also have devices to read trace energy they will use to go over the grounds tonight."

All three boys hung their heads at their Uncle's statement. He continued in an even more serious tone, "I don't need to tell you how unhappy the Crown Prince will be with anyone interfering with the matches."

"This means that Park Junseo will be even more qualified for the next round and you are all on your way to the countryside until the investigation wraps up." Their father took in his boy's pleading looks and added, "We have no way to influence the outcome of the inquiry now it is with the Sun Temple."

This was sobering news for a family accustomed to exercising influence through their associations with the current Crown Prince and a rapidly growing level of wealth.

While the boys went to pack their elders compared what they had learned throughout the day. So far there did not seem to be any direct links between the Park boy and the Go brothers. They dismissed Headmaster as a fusty classic's scholar running a mid-tier school. His nephew had special privileges at the palace because of an association with the son of a northern lord. They agreed this might be enough of a thread to pull for a misdirection if it was needed.