Chapter 29: Brothers of Dark Ambition
In a vast room that reeked of aged wood and lacquer, faint incense from a nearby burner, and a trace of fresh tea leaves rising from the pot set on the low table, a young boy with black spiky hair sat on a gold and yellow silken cushion. He leaned his hand on the wooden armrest of the cushion, his eyes closed as in front of him, an exact copy of him but with grey hair rambled on with fury.
The boy with grey hair finally snapped and slammed the table in front of him.
"You’re not saying anything, brother!"
The black-haired boy sitting on the silken cushion opened his eyes, grey glow radiating coldly at his twin brother.
"Will you shut it and let me think?"
Bai Shen at that moment clamped his mouth shut and went mute, lowering his gaze against his twin brother’s domineering stare.
At that moment, silence reigned in the room, with only a gentle, paced tapping sound coming from Bai Shen’s twin brother, Hai Chen, as he drummed the wooden armrest of the cushion with his index finger.
He then stopped and leaned forward, his gaze sharpening with focus.
"Apparently, Bai Shen, not only have you underestimated our young brother, but even I have. Severing Denzel’s arm was certainly not what any of us could’ve expected from a fifteen-year-old. Even I keep asking myself if I’d be able to do something like that..."
Bai Shen swallowed, studying his brother carefully.
Hai Chen relaxed back on the chair and fixed his gaze upon Bai Shen, making him nearly shiver.
"You caused all of this... you always treat that fool like he’s your equal. And now, you’ve given a new pest an opportunity to exploit your weakness to announce his arrival."
He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"But don’t worry, there’s no need to rush it. I heard from Aleko that he’s going to the academy. We will be resuming soon. Let’s hope the poor bastard manages to squeeze in. We’ll have our chance once the academy resumes."
Hai Chen exhaled smoothly and picked up the small cup of tea on the table in front of him, peering into the deep brownish liquid thoughtfully.
’I don’t know what you did to fool father, but I will unearth all of it and make your life a living hell. You’ll wish you never crawled out of that forest.’
He took a satisfied sip, then set down the cup and looked at his brother.
"Stop looking like a wuss and stand properly."
Bai Shen hurriedly adjusted his posture.
"Y–yes, brother!"
He looked down for a moment, rubbing his hands together, then managed to peek into his brother’s eyes from a lower angle.
He hesitated.
"Will... will we avenge Denzel?"
Hai Chen shot him a withering glare, making him quickly drop his gaze.
"This is more about you than it is about Denzel!"
Hai Chen sprang up in rage and lunged toward his brother, seizing his shoulders and slamming him against the wall a few meters behind. The entire structure of the room trembled slightly.
"Wake up, Bai Shen! These people are not our equals! They’ll never be our friends! Not the bastard child that just returned! Not Denzel! The likes of us are never to have equals! Look around you—if you’re not careful, you will get devoured!"
Bai Shen trembled in his brother’s iron grip. As Hai Chen’s crushing hold softened, Bai Shen crumpled to the ground, trembling with a shattered countenance—like a child curled up in a corner, terrified of the dark and its horrors.
Watching Bai Shen like this, Hai Chen’s heart twisted painfully. He looked at his brother’s immense cowardice and feared greatly once again.
But he silently clenched his fist as he stared down at Bai Shen and turned away with a dark expression etched across his face.
***
Kage sat at his table on the floor pillow, his legs folded and a book in his hands. He slowly read through the pages with a cup of tea that smelled like roasted chestnuts.
He took a sip of the tea from time to time as he became lost in the pages of the book, even as he flipped them.
His surroundings were deathly silent. Even though the servants had returned, they moved around without a sound. They had served him breakfast earlier, and it was after breakfast that he was taking tea and reading the book.
From that time until now, it had been almost five hours, and Kage hadn’t moved a single inch of his body.
[The Sovereign Gods are starting to get worried on your behalf]
Kage gently flipped one more page as he focused on the words.
[The Wolf of the North observes you keenly]
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth says that you are strangely silent today after the ruckus you have caused]
Kage did not respond. He left the message hanging in the air until he was done with that page. Then he placed a finger on the page and lowered the book onto the table.
"What do you mean I am strangely silent? I am naturally a silent person. These last few days... have just been noisy."
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth looks at you with mild surprise, says you don’t come across as a silent person. At all!]
Kage scoffed.
"That is based on an assumption that because you all inhabit my soul and know that I have lived once, you all think you know me so well."
Kage looked down, lifted his book, and continued to read.
[The Wolf of the North asks if you are not going to cultivate your Qi essence]
Kage answered without looking away from the book.
"It’s pointless."
[The Wolf of the North laughs incredulously at you. He says you are beginning to awaken to your reality]
Kage sighed and lowered the book for a moment.
"Black Phoenix gave me a way out of my predicament. Which means that all I have to do now is prepare to ace the academy test. Which will be easier than walking."
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth asks how you can be so sure? He’s curious if you have ever been to this... academy...]
Kage’s attention finally drifted away from the book as he was forced to remember a particularly sore memory—one of someone who was a literal thorn in his side.
He smiled wickedly, though... because this time around, that person was going to be the reason why he would pass the academy’s entrance examination with flying colors.
Never in his past life would Kage have thought that such a fated meeting—one that had almost ruined his entire life—would be the reason why things were going to go his way this time around.