Su Vaen left his outpost and rode off to Misty Grove, a peaceful town of calm streets and modest stone dwellings.
He stopped along the way to bid a few words with another sentinel, Su Wen, whose wrinkled brow bespoke the weight of responsibility.
"I'm returning to Misty Grove," Su Vaen said succinctly. "Watch the outpost until I return."
Liu Wen agreed in a rush. "Safe journey, Vaen. We'll stand firm."
He walked into town, moving rapidly through narrow streets until he arrived at the home of Zhen Jian, a good and successful servant of his late mother.
Zhen Jian, a middle-aged man with stern features and a serious face, stood in the doorway.
"Master,Su" Zhen Jian began, speaking quietly and even, "I have some important news."
They packed a small sitting room, it's simple furniture bucking the gravity of the conversation.
Zhen Jian's gaze bucked with sorrow as he continued. "One of our most capable subordinates—someone who was very close to your mother—lost the one he cherished. His children were lost, and then we found their bodies drifting in the River of Sorrows.".
Su Vaen's heart ached as he was informed. He closed his eyes momentarily before speaking in a soft voice.
"I regret this tragedy. Kindly convey my sympathy to their father. It is a terrible burden to bear such loss."
The smile faded from Zhen Jian's face as he recalled facts.
"I wretched fellow am useless. I assured him the help would be coming, yet we are contractually obligated to secrecy and to tradition. You know how we keep our endeavor hidden. Only our immediate succession knows what its purpose is, and they don't tell everyone about it for public disclosure."
Su Vaen bent forward, his tone rough and level.
"Tell me what you have witnessed, Jian. There is more there than seems to be."
Zhen Jian paused before continuing.
"When we found the dead bodies by the river, something was off. Their wounds were not what a wild beast would leave behind. There were burns and clean slices—warnings that someone experimented with their vessels in an attempt to master a taboo art. It appears these wounds were made by those who attempted to experiment with taboo techniques."
A scowl darkened Su Vaen's countenance.
Zhen Jian continued, his tone tinged with sorrow.
"I've interrogated a few of them, but none will talk to me for free. That operation is classified, and only those involved directly can be told its details. This is a blight on our heritage, and I suspect it's just the tip of the iceberg."
Su Vaen's thought was still on the child, though his own mind seethed with bitter anger and pain and helplessness.
"Though I am blind. I will see what I can do."
Zhen Jian nodded. "Don't take things only on yourself, young master. You can't make things right by yourself."
Outside, town noise had been silenced—a gentle thrum of daily existence that cast a harsh contrast to the ominous news.
Su Vaen stood up and went outside into the cool air, his mind made up on what was to come.
His duty, now burdened even further by the secrets, was inescapable.
The bribery and secret tests among their people jeopardized the integrity of their family's honor.
As he rose to leave, Zhen Jian grabbed his shoulder tightly.
"Your dedication to the Su Clan will be remembered by all who remember the past. May you discover strength to let us understand and, if we must, fix that which is broken."
Su Vaen's expression was impassive.
"I will do what needs doing," he whispered. "We owe those harmed."
Then, at that moment, Su Vaen's determination hardened.
The terror of the missing children, the evident sign of experimentation emblazoned on their bodies, and Zhen Jian's tear-filled eyes all served to shatter his faith in the clan way.
Their legacy was being sullied by this project—so clandestine, so lethal.
With one final bow to Zhen Jian, Su Vaen departed, leaving with him the somber room and tense faces.
His mind buzzed with schemes and unexpressed oaths.
The secret would be laid bare, and if that didn't suffice, the corruption purged—irrespective of the price for betraying the very clan whose defense he'd been safeguarding all these years.
Outside in Misty Grove, the weight of the news rested on his shoulders like a heavy cloak.
Strolling along the streets, his senses were heightened and his mind focused.
The next meeting with the grieving father would be important. It would be a chance to learn more, to confirm his suspicions, and perhaps, to discover a way to stop the tide of bad experiments that had besmirched his family's history.
For now, however, Su Vaen was still the silence-swathed forgotten young man. A man of heavy silences and few words, whose unspoken determination would within a matter of a few more months would decide the destiny of the Su Clan and eventually his own.