“What happened to you, brother?” Wu Jian asked earnestly. “You were never like this before.”

“Shut up!” Wu Yong said in a grating, harsh voice. He slowly stood to his feet. HIs arms dangled like soggy buckwheat noodles as he leaned forward, his head tilted down. Only his glaring eyes were visible behind his messy fringe of hair. “Don’t talk like you know me. You don’t know the first thing about me!”

“Then why don’t you tell me?” Wu Jian suggested.

“Why? So you can gloat?! I don’t think so!”

Wu Jian wasn’t given enough time to tell Wu Yong that he would never gloat. His half-brother was already rushing forward. He closed the distance between them and began throwing punches at Wu Jian, all of them aimed at either his face or chest. Wu Jian slipped around several punches, redirected several more, and backed off.

“Why won’t you talk to me?” he asked in between dodging. “If you tell me what’s bothering you, maybe I can help.”

“You’re what’s bothering me!” Wu Yong roared. His face was red as he threw ineffectual attacks that Wu Jian dodged. Left. Right. Left. The air whooshed as Wu Yong’s punch ruffled his hair, all the while, Wu Jian’s half-brother shouted and screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. “I hate you! I hate everything about you! Even though I was always playing with her, always spending time with her, Wu Meiying only had eyes for you! She never looked my way! She didn’t even place me in her eyes! She was just nice because I was your half-brother!”

Wu Jian was stunned. “You mean… you hate me because Wu Meiying loves me and not you?”

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! I’ll make her love me! I’ll beat you to a pulp and prove to her that I’m better than you!”

Wu Jian was stunned. Truly stunned. He was of course aware that Wu Meiying was pretty to an abnormal degree. There wasn’t a single person in the Wu Clan who was prettier than her. Even her detractors were forced to admit the girl was a beauty beyond compare, and she would only grow more lovely as she grew older.

However, a lot of people were turned off by her odd nature and the things she said. He honestly thought he was the only person who loved her. It shocked him to realize that Wu Yong also loved Wu Meiying and hated Wu Jian because she only had feelings for him.

But now that he knew this, Wu Jian also couldn’t let it go. Wu Meiying was his. She loved him, he loved her, and he wouldn’t give her to anyone else. While he didn’t intend on hurting Wu Yong any more than necessary, he at least had to make it clear that Wu Meiying would never show interest in him.

That was why Wu Jian decided to end this match now.

Wu Yong threw another punch, this one aimed at his solar plexus, and Wu Jian stepped to the side, allowing the punch to pass him. He grabbed the offending limb before Wu Yong could retract it. Then he twisted his body, slid his feet across the stone ground, and used Wu Yong’s momentum to toss his half-brother over his shoulder.

Of course, they had all been trained to take a fall. Wu Yong rolled with the throw to lessen the impact. He landed on his hands and knees. However, the moment he looked up, all he saw was Wu Jian’s foot filling his vision. A loud crack echoed across the testing ground as Wu Jian kicked Wu Yong so hard the other boy’s head snapped backward, his back arching before he hit the ground with a heavy thud. It was such a powerful attack the other boy’s eyes had rolled back in his head.

Wu Jian sighed as he stared into the dazed Wu Yong’s eyes. He looked over at Elder Wu Jinsu. The youngest elder blinked several times as if he couldn’t figure out what had happened, but then he saw Wu Jian looking at him, so he raised his hand.

“I declare this match over! The winner is—”

“No…”

The elder’s words were stopped mid-sentence when Wu Yong spoke up, pushing himself into a sitting position, then slowly standing to his feet. Wu Jian looked back in shock. He could have sworn his half-brother had been knocked unconscious, but there he was, standing. His legs were shaking, but he stood up nontheless. Gnashing his bloody teeth together, he pinched his thighs to stop them from shaking and looked up to glare at Wu Jian.

“I’m not done yet,” he declared.

Elder Wu Jinsu frowned, but he slowly backed off. “Very well. The fight will continue.”

“Why won’t you give up?” asked Wu Jian. “Do you want to prove that you’re better than me? Fine. You’re better than me. But if you think being better than me means you’ll be able to win Wu Meiying’s affection, then you’re trying to catch a fish in a tree.”

“Shut up! I will make her see me! I will make her love me!” As he screamed at Wu Jian, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a round, black pill. “And if I can’t make her fall in love with me, then I’ll just make her mine by force!”

“Wu Yong! What are you doing?! Do not take that pill! Stop now!” Elder Wu Jinsu shouted.

But it was already too late.

Wu Yong placed the pill into his mouth and swallowed it. The moment he did, veins began bulging along his neck, arms, legs, and his face turned a bright red. It was like all the blood inside of him was boiling and rushing to the surface. Even his eyes became bloodshot.

“This match is over! Wu Jian wins on account of Wu Yong using illegal pills during a fair match!” Elder Wu Jinsu declared as though to stop what was about to happen.

Wu Yong didn’t listen to the elder, or maybe he couldn’t even hear him. Perhaps his anger had deafened him to the words of others. With a furious roar, he burst forward with more speed than Wu Jian had seen before. He was too fast for Wu Jian to dodge. All he could do was block the other boy’s attack with his forearms, but that also proved to be a mistake. Pain exploded in his limbs. He could feel the bones in his arms breaking as Wu Yong broke through his guard and smashed a foot against his chest.

With a sharp cry, he flew backward and hit the ground hard. He tried to breathe, but found that something was wrong with his lungs. He couldn’t take in any air. His vision became blurry and black around the edges. As he began blacking out, several faces appeared around him, but he couldn’t make out who they were. Wu Jian found himself focusing on just one of them. The blurry figure’s mouth moved like it was talking, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Mei… ying…

Darkness overcame him.

***

Wu Jian awoke with a sharp gasp. He looked wildly around for a moment, but then settled down when he realized where he was. The sturdy ceiling overhead and familiar shoji screen door of the hospital wing was one he recognized thanks to the many times he had come here. Calming down, he tried to recall what happened after his fight against Wu Yong, but he couldn’t.

“I see you are finally awake,” a voice said.

He would have jumped if he wasn’t so tired. Turning his head, he blinked several times at the woman whose cold face never seemed to change.

“Aunt Taohua…”

The person sitting on the chair was Wu Taohua. Her hair was currently let down instead of tied into a bun. It was much longer than he thought it would be. Each strand looked black, but it became a brownish color when the light hit it, proving that it wasn’t pure black like Wu Meiying’s hair. Somehow, this hairstyle gave her a much softer appearance than normal. She looked almost kind.

Wu Taohua stood up, pushed the chair had been sitting in back, then lowered herself to the floor. She prostrated herself. Wu Jian was so surprised that he could do nothing but stare.

“I owe you a great apology. My son has disgraced himself before you. I was… unaware of what he was doing to you, and I assumed you were just being childish and weak. I never imagined my son would let his jealousy of you get the better of him like this.”

Wu Jian stared silently for a moment, then tried to sit up—only to discover that he couldn’t move because something was clinging to him. He looked down and found a cute face surrounded by black hair. It was, of course, Wu Meiying, fast asleep as she hugged his waist.

“She has not left your side since you were brought here,” Wu Taohua said when she raised her head. “Wu Yōushì and the elders tried to remove her, but she was adamant about remaining by your side. That girl is… quite the spitfire. She reminds me of Àiliàn in that way.”

“Yeah. Once she decides to do something, nothing can stop her,” Wu Jian said with a smile. He removed Wu Meiying’s arms from around him, then slowly sat up, wincing only a little at the pain in his chest. His entire torso was wrapped in bandages.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Wu Yong took a pill during your duel that increased his strength many times over. That’s how he was able to break your guard and injure you to this extent—your forearms and ribs are broken by the way, so you shouldn’t move too much. Once we realized what was happening, Elder Jinsu moved to subdue Wu Yong while the rest of us came down to help. We carried you to the hospital and Wu Yong was confined. You have been unconscious for an entire day.”

“Which means the tournament is over,” he mused.

But Wu Taohua shook her head. “The tournament never happened.”

“Oh. I see. Sorry. It seems that is my fault.”

“No. The fault lies with my son, not you.” Wu Taohua, for the first time since he had known her, wore an anguished expression. “I never imagined my son would take a pill like that. I don’t even know where he got it, and we cannot question him now either.”

“Why? Did something happen?” asked Wu Jian.

Wu Taohua gave him a bitter smile. “Alchemy pills that increase a person’s strength like that come with a cost. It increased his strength at the cost of destroying his muscles. Right now, he is in the room across from you. Wu Shaolin is doing everything he can to save my son… but it does not look good.”

“I’m—”

“Do not apologize.” Wu Taohua held up a hand to stop him. “I will be disgraced if you do. I am the one who is here to apologize for my son’s reprehensible behavior.”

Wu Jian was still in shock as he tried to think of what he should say. He had always believed this woman hated him. She always treated him coldly and acted like he was beneath her notice. She only taught him alongside her son because Father commanded her to, but it was always obvious she did so reluctantly.

Scratching his head, he finally said, “About that pill… I think the one who gave it to him was Wu Fei.”

Wu Taohua’s body shook and her eyes went wide. “Are you certain of this?”

Wu Jian nodded. “Just before the battle, Wu Fei was talking to Wu Yong about something. I couldn’t hear what he said. However, I think he was telling Wu Yong to use that pill if it seemed like he would lose.” He paused, then gave a self-deprecating smile. “But I have no proof.”

“No. That is enough.” Wu Taohua went silent for a moment, then spoke in a soft voice. “Wu Fei is Elder Wu Wei’s grandson. He was originally going to become the head of the Wu Clan, but my husband, your father, defeated him in single combat and was named head instead. It is possible that he is attempting to pave the way for his son to take over by eliminating you and Wu Yong in one fell swoop.”

There were laws about who could and couldn’t become clan head. A branch family member was unable to vie for the position no matter how strong they were. Wu Hong was a great example of that. However, the son or grandson of an elder could be elevated to the position if they proved themselves stronger than the current heir. That was how Wu Jian’s father became the clan head.

“You should be wary of Wu Fei from now on,” Wu Taohua said after another moment.

“I understand. Thank you for the warning,” Wu Jian said.

Wu Taohua nodded, stood up, and bid him goodbye.

“If you ever need my help for something, please let me know. I will do everything I can to help you, to make up for my failure to properly educate my son,” Wu Taohua said before leaving.

Wu Jian, now left alone, idly stroked Wu Meiying’s hair as he thought about what had happened. He had always been worrying about Wu Yong, always fearing his older half-brother and not the other boy’s two lackeys, but now it looked like Wu Yong was just a puppet, and the true puppet master was actually Wu Fei’s grandfather. He would need to be more careful from now on.

This situation seems a lot more complicated than I first thought. What is Wu Wei planning? What does he hope to gain by doing this?

Wu Jian didn’t understand. Perhaps he was just too young.

“Jian…” Wu Meiying mumbled softly under her breath. Wu Jian smiled, though her next words wiped the smile right off his face. “You stink. Take a bath.”

Wu Jian grumbled to himself. It wasn’t his fault he smelled so bad. He hadn’t been able to take a bath since the strength test. With a sigh, he continued to stroke the sleeping Wu Meiying’s hair.