"I am sorry, mèimei," Anbai hugged her. "That scream... Your blood and all, I was shaken. I was frightened right out of my wits."

"It's alright, Jie, really," Caihong smiled, cradling Renshu in her arms. "It's quite natural that you were worried. I received the shock of my life too."

In the meanwhile, Renshu had sunken into a fitful sleep, occasionally shivering and clawing at her robes. He whimpered and murmured in his sleep, things they couldn't decipher, and groaned in pain.

"It does not even dawn yet," Anbai yawned, picking up the extra bandage that was left after tending to Caihong's wound. "Go to sleep."

"Not sleepy."

"Oi, don't get started now with your stubbornness. I'm in no mood to coax you. Sleep."

Caihong kept frowning in refusal.

"There there, be a good girl now, will you? I know that you haven't slept for almost the whole night. I'll tell Zhang Gege that you won't be practising tomorrow."

Just then, Caihong's mouth decided to betray her resolve, by opening up in a huge yawn.
"Oops."

Anbai grinned, giving her an I-told-you-so look, making her pout and stick her tongue out at her.

"Alright, alright, you win," She sighed, carefully settling Renshu down in the covers. She tried to get up to blow out the lamps but in vain. She instantly felt something grab her night robes and looked behind to realise that he hadn't let go of her clothes at all. Even now, he was twitching, and his fingers curled around the fabric, like the talons of a hawk.

"I'll put them out, you sleep," Anbai yawned, making her way towards the door.

Caihong yawned again, as she sat back down on the low seat, and tucked him in. She stroked his head tenderly and pried his fingers open. She kept sitting there, as a twinge of sorrow gnawed at her heart, at how sickly he looked. Her weariness soon dragged her off to a dreamless slumber, with her leaning against the bedpost.

******

The morning wasn't grey but painted by soothing lavender and brilliant amber. The colours merged into neon pink and peach. Spreading sunrise, pinkish glow, tinted clouds, the hues spread across the sky announcing the new day, oranges and reds painted across as if by a celestial hand. The air was very clear, and the long morning shadows distinct.

"Now the most important thing at hand is the interrogation of those rascals," Ruan Fai spoke, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Your Highness, they're likely to wake up by the end of this week. At least, that's what Second Mistress Ruan has informed me. She had drugged them as well," Zhang replied.

"One week, eh?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Is it that drug? The one that Caihong developed?"

Zhang was unsure of whether he should answer or not. After a moment of thought, he said, "I do not know, Your Highness."

"But the effect of that drug, as far as I know, lasts for three days... But one week? Umm-hmm..."
He started pacing around in the courtroom, sipping at his tea.
"Whatever it is, now's not the time to think about it. We need to plan out the session very carefully, so that one way or the other, they end up admitting their crime. Zhang, keep your men ready. We need to use this interval wisely."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Good morning, Sect Leader Ruan."

"Oh, Elder Lord Li, good morning, please, come in."

Li Liang entered the room, with a tight-lipped smile. His face was pale, and his eyes were slightly swollen, a clear indication of the tears he had shed last night. He accepted the tea offered to him and bowed.

"I'm sure you're already aware that the interrogation will be next week."

"Yes, I am. Your daughter told us so."

"I want you to be present there, Elder Lord. But of course-"

"I will be there, Sect Leader. They dared to harm my grandson. Please inform me as and when it will be done."

His fingers closed on his sword in a knuckle white grip. A furious, intense fire blazed up in his charcoal orbs.

Ruan Fai sat down on a chair, setting down a half-empty cup of steaming tea on the table, and rubbed his face.
"Zhang, you may leave now."

There were dark, troubling shadows beneath his eyes, and he massaged them in frustration.

"I'm so sorry, Sect Leader," Li Liang placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Please don't apologise, Elder Lord. It's me who should be apologising on account of the poor security of my kingdom."

'How many children have suffered like this?' 

"I never imagined. I don't even have the guts to look you in the face."

Both of them sat in silence for a while, watching the sun filter through the clouds, and feeling the gentle, soothing breeze kiss their skin and play with their hair.

'How many more tender lives have been and are being shattered like this, and I don't even get to know about it?'

"Though this is the first time you are attending our festival, our sects have been close allies for years," Ruan Fai said, breaking the silence. "I have always looked up to you, Elder Lord."

"There's no need for formalities, Sect Leader," Li Liang chuckled softly. "Is there something that's bothering you?"

"Oh, there are several issues that are working me up," the younger man chuckled without any humour. "If I have to start telling you, then I wouldn't know where to begin and where to end."

The older man kept his gaze on him, silently urging him to continue.

"There are mainly two things on my mind right now," Ruan Fai said. "First and foremost is the justice to be given to your grandson, Young Master Li, who is like my own son."

"And what's the other issue that's worrying you?"

"The other point is Caihong and her spiritual power."

"But, she seems perfectly fine to me, Sect Leader. Her spells don't backfire. I've witnessed it firsthand," Li Liang shook his head, puzzled. "Though it's marvellous as to how she casts such potent charms with such ease, that shouldn't worry you."

"Elder Lord, the fact that she creates such spells doesn't trouble me at all. It's something else."

"I don't understand, Sect Leader. Could you please elaborate?"

"Tell me something, Elder Lord. How do power controlling rings work?"

The older man was baffled at his question being answered by yet another question, that too a question, the answer to which was known by every cultivator in the realm.

"Well, power controlling rings or any such accessories are fashioned of the purest material. They're highly useful to all cultivators, especially to high-level spiritual masters, that is, those who have practised their magic with diligence, and those who were born with a strong core. Whenever there is an outburst of energy from the owner, the ring starts glowing, usually with the hue of the spiritual aura. It serves to limit the spiritual power being emanated, to prevent damage to the core, and consequently, the soul."

"You're unerring and precise, Elder Lord Li."

"But I still don't see what has any of this have anything to do with Second Mistress Ruan."

Ruan Fai sighed, "The ring on Caihong's left index finger is a power controlling ring, Elder Lord Li."

"Looks like my hunch was correct. I had already suspected so. But what-"

"The power controlling ring is on her left  index finger, Elder Lord."

"Yes, so what- Oh."

Li Liang halted midway as the realisation of what Ruan Fai had been so worried about finally hit him.

' " Second Mistress Ruan, are you left-handed, by any chance?"...

If a power controlling ring has been bestowed and placed on the left hand, it's pretty obvious that the owner would be using his left hand to transfer or use his spiritual strength. It's not that his right arm would be useless, of course, it has to be there for balance and equilibrium, but the cultivator would essentially be left-handed in everything he did.

... " No, not really." '

Caihong had never used her left hand throughout the evening.

Not while plucking the strings of the ruan, which was her spiritual instrument. Not to forget that she had used it to execute a spell to pinpoint accuracy.

Not while writing either.

To the contrary, she had used her right hand for all these all through, confidently, unflinchingly.

Li Liang's eyes widened to the extent that you could see the whites all around. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh."

Ruan Fai hummed softly, as he rubbed his face with both his hands. "Elder Lord, do you now realise why I am so worried about her, even though she has created and immaculately designed such powerful enchantments?"

Li Liang could only nod.

"You know what's even more unsettling, Elder Lord?" Ruan Fai heaved a heavy sigh.

"The power controlling ring hasn't glowed even once, ever since it had been bestowed upon her five years ago."