Year 245 of Taiping, Reign of Empress Cao Ming Yung

Lei Jianyu was worried. His mother had been in the healer’s hut for several dozen incense times, and his fears weren’t helped by his mother’s pained screams. He tried to think happy thoughts, like his mother always told him too, but it was difficult with so many distractions.

Normally, he would be worried about his future. He was unusually advanced for his age, and with what money his parents could pull together, they sent him to primary school, a privilege typically reserved for those of noble lineage. He excelled in mathematics relative to his age, and was accelerated several years in his studies. As a result, his peers were looking to begin their journey on the path of cultivation whilst his own journey would not begin for several more years.

But instead, his mind was occupied by the horrid sounds emerging from the hut. If his parents hadn’t been so poor, they could have afforded the services of the reputable Jade Healing Pavilion, an impartial organization known across the Lin Yan Plane for their skill and finesse. Instead, his parents had put everything they had into Jianyu’s education.

The screaming abruptly stopped, causing Jianyu’s anxiety to spike. Why had the sounds stop? Did it mean that his mother’s ordeal was over? Or did it mean something worse had happened?

Before these anxious thoughts further distracted him, Jianyu heard a quiet cry emanating from somewhere inside of the hut. It was a baby’s cry, filled with the fear of being born into an unforgiving world, but it was also weak, terribly so. Soon, however, it was joined by a second cry, at first a single echoing sob, followed by quiet sniffles. What disturbed Jianyu, however, was that the cries reminded him of his father. He had only seen his father cry once before, after learning of the grisly fate of his family, slaughtered by the Western Savages in an unprecedented intrusion into the lands of the Hong Kingdom.

After an incense time of waiting, Lei Guo emerged from the tent, eyes swollen and red. He was a short man, a full head below the average height, but he was a good man with kind eyes. He had short black hair, barely covering his ears, and a round face, skin the color of dried bamboo. From his expression, the young Jianyu discerned something had gone horribly wrong.

Normally, Jianyu wouldn’t speak until addressed by his elders, but a question was burning in his throat, waiting to be asked. “Where is Mother?”

For a moment, Lei Guo didn’t answer, closing his eyes in an effort to collect himself. After composing himself, he replied. “Mother has taken the next step in the great cycle of Reincarnation.”

Despite his intelligence, the young Jianyu couldn’t understand what exactly this meant. Though the cycle of Reincarnation had been explained in his studies, he didn’t understand what it meant in practice. “Where is she, then? Can I see her?”

Lei Guo hadn’t the heart to answer his son, but the choice was taken from him as Healer Ma emerged from the hut. In the brief moment that the flap no longer covered the entrance, Jianyu spotted his mother, and defying any manners, ran to her side.

“Jianyu, wait! Don’t-,” uttered a despondent Lei Guo, trying to save his son from the pain of knowledge. But it was too late.

Upon reaching his mother, her brow covered in perspiration, Jianyu addressed her. “Mother, why are you pretending to be asleep? It’s not funny, wake up.” He grabbed her hand, shaking it in an effort to wake her. “Mother, I’m too old for games like this, you’re making me worry.”

A muttering Healer Ma caught up to the agile Jianyu and pried him away from his mother’s body. “Disobedient child, you will disturb your brother.” At first, Healer Ma’s stern tone caused him to start crying. After seeing the distress he was in, Ma Jie softened her expression and began to comfort him as he cried.

“Now now, everything will be ok. Zhao Biya has taken the next step in the cycle of Reincarnation.” Even though Healer Ma was not his mother, Jianyu was comforted by her presence. Her age had caused her appearance to grow even more nurturing and motherly, her once luscious black hair now various shades of gray.

After an incense time of crying, Jianyu’s sobs had faded to sniffles, and he had regained his composure sufficiently to converse once more. Pulling himself away from Healer Ma’s comforting arms, he noticed that his father had also re-entered the hut. His eyes were still red, but his face no longer sported the trails left by falling tears.

But what caught Jianyu’s eye was something he had previously disregarded, his attention entirely focused on his mother’s wellbeing. A bamboo cradle was placed in the corner of the room, worn and overused but miraculously still standing.

He began to walk towards the cradle, pausing just long enough to confirm he had permission from his father to do so. Lei Guo nodded slowly, a sad smile on his face. As he walked towards the cradle, every step felt like an eternity to Jianyu. His heart thundered in his chest, the only audible thing in the room.

Jianyu reached the cradle and peered inside to catch his first glimpse of his new brother. The baby had large brown eyes that reflected his own with skin like jade. His cheeks were an adorable shade of red, sharply contrasting his pale complexion. The first two fingers of his right hand were in his mouth, and he was wrapped in a white cloth. The child had pudgy arms and legs with no discernible bones, but this was not what captured Jianyu’s attention.

The baby didn’t cry and hardly moved a muscle, simply returning Jianyu’s unblinking stare. Countless questions ran through his head. Was this what he had looked like as a newborn? Would the child be like him? What would happen now? These questions were caused by his fear; his fear of the future and his fear for his family.

Breaking Jianyu’s train of thought, his father’s deep voice rang out. “His name is Zhaohui, and it will be your responsibility to protect him.”

Jianyu turned around to see Healer Ma nodding her head. “A fitting name, I think. His eyes contain a certain wisdom within.” Upon seeing his awestruck face, she smiled. “It seems you have come to the same conclusion I have.”

***

For Jianyu, this memory was now bittersweet. He had failed as a brother, allowing his brother to die for him. If he couldn’t even succeed as an elder brother, how could he be expected to ascend in the world of cultivation? What good was limitless talent and genius in the face of insurmountable odds? As his vision filled with tears, Jianyu was filled with self-hatred and despair. He began to sob, quietly at first, before his sniffles grew into wails that wracked his fragile mortal shell.

He laid like this for several moments before finding the will to go on. He had to avenge his brother. His unjust murder would not go unpunished. Had anyone seen him at that moment, they would have observed a hateful red glint in his eyes.

Pulling his attention back to the present, Jianyu saw that the wolf pups had finished their meal and were currently lying down, likely processing the potent Qi contained in the cores they had just consumed.

To his surprise, all that remained of the demon cores were piles of gray dust. This was what happened when a core was drained completely, and it was a sight Jianyu had seen countless times before. What surprised him, however, was the fact that the pups had single handedly consumed more Qi in one sitting than a typical Qi Condensation practitioner could hold in their dantian. Hopefully this is enough to sustain them for the time being, Jianyu thought to himself.

He himself was exhausted after dressing his kills. He barely managed to walk back to the barracks, or rather what remained of them. In his fatigue, he had forgotten that almost everything of significance in the sect had been either ransacked or burned to the ground. Finding an unusually intact bed, Jianyu immediately fell asleep, leaving any and all concerns for the following day. Conveniently for him, his blind eyes couldn’t see any light, and so he fell asleep as soon as he laid down.