The emperor shares with Fengyu his concern for his warriors' welfare as well as his frustration that Yanlang doesn't realize how foolish his rebellion is. He sends out instructions for all the traveling pairs to return for rest and encouragement before receiving their new team assignments. In Chijoukai, the five fighters enter a town and come across a pair of Lower Army soldiers, Toudou and An, who say they can't go back yet. It turns out that they had met up with the emperor's heir, Huzhi, who wasn't ready to leave, and they felt honor bound to stay with her. Plus, the town they're in is a gathering place for the rebels, so they wanted to clean the place up.

Huzhi is overjoyed to meet Lifang, since she was like a sister to his mother. When he hears that her energy levels are low and the pair accompanying her weren't able to transfer with her, he offers to do so himself. (He doesn't notice Tuoren's expression.) She's moved to tears by the warmth and strength of his ki, understanding how much Reishia must have loved him. He tells her that the emperor must be as worried about her as she had been when his mother left without letting her know where. She knows, but she has a particular rebel she wants to capture first, for personal reasons. She promises that if she doesn't find the person in this town, she'll go back.

Later, Lifang shows effects of having given away too much energy, so Tuoren supplies him with some. He warns Lifang not to overdo it, and also adds that he should avoid touching people directly, because the rebels can steal energy through contact. They bump into An, who had watched the whole exchange. She tries to speak to Tuoren, but she can't spit out what she wants to say. She invites them both to a restaurant, and though she was really hoping to spend time with Tuoren, he takes off on his own, sulky and upset. An has been in love with Tuoren for quite a while, yet she can't bring herself to confess it.

She tries to find out from Lifang why the two became partners, but he can't explain it in a way that she's able to accept. She doesn't like the fact that Tuoren has changed since she last knew him. Lifang is glad to encounter someone else who cares about Tuoren, but she's annoyed at him and thinks he's nothing but a nuisance. Lifang is a little hurt, and he sinks back into wondering whether he's any use without magic. Xionglin attempts to cheer him up, saying that his ability to transfer energy with anyone is a huge talent--even the emperor himself can only exchange with Fengyu (and, theoretically, Lifang).

Tuoren is still sulking when Lifang arrives at the inn. Lifang asks what's wrong, protesting that he won't know how to make up for it if he doesn't know what he did to make Tuoren angry. Finally Tuoren demands to know if he exchanged energy with Long earlier, and when he admits it, Tuoren explodes. To him, Lifang's ability means that he could be partners with anyone and it wouldn't make a difference. Tuoren feels like he's just one of many people that Lifang is nice to and helps out, rather than being special. Inside he's not sure why he's so angry. He has the sense that he's felt the same way before, but he can't remember. When he shouts that Lifang doesn't need him, it suddenly hits him that his powers are starting to go wild.

Fortunately, Xionglin and Hulei catch him in time and suppress his magic. While he sleeps, Huzhi comes to their room and explains what had caused his first attack. When Tuoren had come to the palace at the age of thirteen, he never spoke to anyone. Fengyu took him under his wing and helped him grow up. However, when Tuoren seemed mature enough to take care of himself, Fengyu gave him more independence as a way of showing his confidence, and Tuoren interpreted it as being ignored. Then one day, after giving Tuoren some energy, Fengyu collapsed in exhaustion, his body so drained that he couldn't accept power from anyone. It turned out that he was giving energy to many of the soldiers because the emperor was temporarily full and he felt he could spare it. Feeling doubly betrayed, since his father was the one who caused the whole mess to begin with, Tuoren lost control. Out of his mind with hatred for Yanlang, he headed straight for the rebels, wiping out anyone who got near him. It took the emperor and royal guard to stop him. Tuoren didn't recover his strength for an entire month.

An demands to know what Lifang did to make Tuoren angry. Huzhi figures it out right away and instructs him not to give power to anyone but Tuoren anymore. (Then she drags An back to their inn so she won't interfere.) Xionglin spells it out for Lifang that Tuoren was jealous. He advises Lifang to make sure he lets Tuoren know how special he is--going overboard if necessary--until Tuoren has more confidence.

A commotion outside the inn draws Lifang to investigate. Tuoren wakes up to find him gone and follows after, meeting up with Xionglin and Hulei emerging from the bath. They thought it was just his tendency to rescue people, but Tuoren panics. Lifang is led into a rebel trap and surrounded.

End Volume 5