The twins looked at their older brother uneasily. There were many things that were known, but unspoken between the brothers. While their Father was uniquely a spirit of the mountain while also being the very mountains themselves, that was not so for his sons, not even Shan Hui.

They depended on the mountains pure energy, as if it were a kind of second life essence they needed to survive. Jin couldn't leave for fear of causing the mountains to collapse, they'd never left for fear of committing accidental suicide.

“Lu Shao.”

Shan Hui turned to the youngest son, who’d been quietly listening with wide eyes.

“Yes Big Bro?”

“Take Ye and go talk to the human guests over there. They seem like they want to approach us to ask questions but are afraid.”

Shan Hui gave a nod towards the Master Musician and his group. Currently they were casting nervous looks at Jin and his sons and whispering among themselves.

“But I want to help save Mommy!”

“And who do you think are, ordering me to go with him!” Ye added in outrage.

“Lu Shao, if you really want to help save Mother, than talk to the Master Musician. They don’t have ill intentions, but the timing of this can’t be coincidental. Perhaps someone used them to get to us. Finding out will be helpful. And Ye, do you think you can leave the mountains? No? Than watch Lu Shao and help him interrogate the adults. Or do you plan on leaving him alone?”

“That— well—” Ye grumbled and then slumped his shoulders in defeat. Looking at Lu Shao he said, “Come on kid. Even if I don’t like it, your Elder Brother is right. Perhaps they know something. We can’t fight, so let’s do this at least.”

“But— but—!” Lu Shao gripped his clothes, lips trembling in frustration.

“I know. I feel the same.” Ye hopped up on the child’s head and patted it. “Arguing won’t bring MeiMei back any quicker though, will it?”

Hearing this, Lu Shao lowered his head in defeat. “Alright, I’ll go.”

When the smallest of their group had left, Shan Hui looked at his Father and Brothers with narrowed eyes. He didn’t want Lu Shao involved with what they were about to do.

“I have an idea.”

“Out with it.”

Jin was frustrated by all the talking and lack of action.

“This thread is a bit of you, right?”

“Yes.”

“And even though it’s out of your territory, you can still pass power through it, correct?”

“…yes.” Then Jin added. “But not much.”

“Right. The attachment is weak because it’s bound to something... not you. What if the attachment was stronger?”

“What are you getting at?”

Shan Hui then reached his hand to his face and dug out his right eye.

“Gods!” “Hells!” Both twins cried out in horrified unison.

But other than his eyeball missing from his socket, Shan Hui looked totally fine. There was no blood. Not on him, not on the eye he was holding. He held up his eye, and to the twins amazement, it was still glowing gold and looking right at them.

“Wh-what..?” Shi Ji fumbled around dumbfounded.

“I have a strong attachment to this eye.” Shan Hui commented as if he hadn’t just done something extraordinary. “Just now I demonstrated that our spiritual powers keep our physical bodies alive. Notice that my eye is acting as though it were still in it’s socket. To do such a thing is no small feat and requires a strong energy connection to function.”

Yan Li’s face stiffened as the eye turned to stare directly at him.

“If I leave it here,” Shan Hui continued nonchalantly, “I should still have access to the mountain’s power.”

Jin looked at the eye hesitantly. “That.. That might work.”

Shan Hui handed the eye to Jin.

“I’ll test it to make sure.”

Before anyone could object, Shan Hui had flown away. They could all instantly sense when he’d left the mountain’s territory. They looked at the eyeball sitting in Jin’s palm.

The eyeball looked back at them. It’s gold iris still glowed.

“It’s still glowing so it must mean he’s alive… right?” Yan Li finally spoke up.

The eyeball jumped in Jin’s hand as if in agreement.

Yan Li shuddered, completely grossed out.

The eye continued hopping and rolling about for a few minutes, it’s glow sometimes getting stronger and sometimes weaker. Yan Li was so disgusted that he turned around so his back was to it.

“Oh, he’s coming back.” Shi Ji tilted his head. Even before they saw his figure in the sky, they could sense his return.

“Well?” Jin asked Shan Hui when he returned.

“It works, though I am weaker.”

“How much weaker?”

Shan Hui smiled a smile filled with ill intent.

“Not enough to stop me from thrashing our kidnappers.”

Jin gave the same malicious smile back.

“Good, good!”

“Now then, little brothers.” Shan Hui turned to the twins.

Yan Li took a step back while Shi Ji flinched.

“You’re not going to take our eyeballs too are you?!” Yan Li took another step back when Shan Hui took a step forward.

“I don’t know, do you have a strong connection to them?”

“They’re our eyes, of course we do!”

“Then I’ll take one from each of you.”

“Are you insane?! We’re not like you!”

“The base is the same, so it should work. And to save Mother your eye is a small sacrifice.”

“Gah!” Yan Li made a run for it. Shan Hui sprinted forward and instantly pinned him down to the ground. Of the four siblings, Yan Li and Shan Hui argued the most. When one could get a step up on the other, they did so without the slightest remorse.

“Now, now, it only hurts a little bit at the beginning. I promise to be fast.”

“Getaway getaway getaway getaway getaway!”

While Yan Li was desperately trying to dodge his brother's hand, Shi Ji had walked up to Jin. His face was very pale.

“I.. I’m not brave enough to do it myself.” He spoke in a small voice while looking down, ashamed of himself. “If you.. Could do it for me…”

Jin put a hand on Shi Ji’s shoulder and gripped it firmly. When his hand came up to the boy’s left eye, he could feel Shi Ji begin to shiver uncontrollably.

“Son.”

“What?”

“Look at me.”

Shi Ji looked up and in that moment Jin’s fingers came down. He was extremely fast, so much so that Shi Ji only felt a momentary piercing pain, a popping sensation, and then his vision was disoriented. He covered his left eye, where it should be, and groaned.

He was seeing things from two directions. One was the regular way, and the other was staring at himself, as if in third person, from his father’s hand. It was extremely confusing and throwing his equilibrium off something fierce.

Shi Ji wondered how Shan Hui tolerated this uncomfortable, almost painful, feeling. It must just be the difference in raw power between them. His Older Brother was always like that. He never seemed bothered by anything, unless it was related to Mother.

“C-cover it up, please.” Shi Ji pleaded quietly, bile rising in his throat as a wave of nauseousness hit him.

Jin nodded and tucked the blue eye away in the folds of his shirt. The moment everything went black for his left eye, Shi Ji felt instantly better. He stood up straight just in time to see Yan Li barfing on the ground while Shan Hui was holding his younger brother’s blue eye up triumphantly.

Jin walked over and took the eyeball from Shan Hui, tucking it away.

“Do you think the three of you will be enough?” Jin asked.

“Even if we aren't, who else could you send?”

Jin could only grimace at the truth of Shan Hui’s comment. This fact was another failure on his part. He’d been complacent and arrogant in his own power.

Never again.

“Father, we will bring Mother back or we won’t come back at all. I am confident we can find her with this.” Shan Hui pointed at Jin’s spirit thread. "Have faith in us. We will succeed."

Jin reached out and grabbed Shan Hui by the shoulders.

“You must make sure everyone comes back alive.”

“Of course.”

“Shan Hui.”

“Hm?”

“The kidnappers must be brought back alive.”

“Tch.”

“They are mine, understand? They are mine.” His grip became painful and his eyes were like molten gold pouring out in waves. “No one hurts Mei and gets away with it. I will make them suffer for what they have done. So bring them to me alive.”

“Fine.” Shan Hui scowled. He’d wanted to be the one to do the crushing. Then his eye brightened. “You don’t mind if they're roughed up a bit though, right?”

Jin let go of Shan Hui’s shoulders and shrugged. “As long as they’re alive and can talk, I don’t really care what you do to them.”

Shan Hui cupped his hands and bowed. “Then this son will take his leave. Be at peace, Father. This son promises he won’t disappoint.”

——

At a distance, Lu Shao had been talking to the Master Musician Shen Zhou.

“…Young Master, d-did that young man over there just pull out someone’s eyeball..?” The elderly man asked in faint disbelief.

Lu Shao and Ye both glanced over. Shan Hui was currently holding an eyeball high in triumphant. Ye slapped his forehead while Lu Shao panicked.

“No.” The little boy boldly lied, even as Yan Li began barfing. “They… they’re just upset because of what happened to Mommy.”

The Master Musician frowned. He might be old, but he still had remarkably good eyesight.

“I don’t accept students who lie.” The old man said firmly, looking down at Lu Shao.

The little boy’s shoulders slumped. “…yes sir.”

“So, did that fellow there just pluck out someone’s eye?”

“Yes.” Lu Shao quickly added: “But I’m sure they’re fine! My Brothers are really strong!”

“…is such violence common in your family?”

“Oh no, Master Shen! We are very peaceful! Except Old— Father and Brother Shan Hui. They fight all the time. But the rest of us are good boys!”

Teacher Shen looked extremely skeptical.

“Mommy says all her children are special and strong.” Lu Shao tried again. “Even with only one eye, we won’t be bothered by it! I swear I’m not lying sir!”

Even if that was true, thought the Master Musician, that was besides the point.