Zhu Lian's POV
The flowers sprout and wither, the seasons come and go. Brief, graceful yet short-lived. Why did it turn out like this, where did we go wrong?
I, Zhu Lian, the young mistress of the Crimson Cloud manor, was born within one month of a boy whose mother was my mother's closest friend and maid. Unfortunately, she died giving birth to him, so out of pity and grief, she decided to raise him as her own.
I, my elder brother of two years, Zhu Feng, and that boy, De Ming were once as close as the leaves on the same branch, we were inseparable. Everywhere we went, we had each other.
I look back on these memories fondly, thinking of what could have been if a rift hadn't grown between us
If only the flowers bloomed forever
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When De Ming and I were eight years old, we were deemed old enough to start learning the ways of martial arts. My mother took us to the training grounds where Zhu Feng had been personally taught by our family's head steward, Elder Hu for the past two years.
At the time, the wide and bare space of the training ground, lined with roughed up dummies and targets intimidated me, I remember vividly that I clutched onto my mother's legs every step of the way, I was afraid of the incoming pain of training, afraid of being tired and sore, I was a child shyer and more timid than any other
Thankfully, he was there for me
As I was quivering on my feet, the young De Ming reached out his soft hands at me, showing a brave smile to calm my nerves
" C'mon, Lian! You can't become a great martial artist by just standing there! Let's go"
His smile was as bright as the sun, his pure and kind gesture touched my heart. I took hold of his hands, they were shaking profusely, I giggled realising that he was more scared than I was, yet his courage pulled him through, a ray of sunshine that painted my early days with laughter and warmth
Together, we approached where Feng was, he turned, giggling cheekily, and waved us to come sit with him
"Lian! Ming! Over here!"
We sat down as Elder Hu began his lesson for the day. He was showing us the basic movements and footwork of a basic martial art. Zhu Feng had been in the process of learning these basics for two years in order to build his physique and the foundation for his future techniques
Elder Hu explained the technique's core concepts and even demonstrated it to us, his fluid movement was like nothing that I'd ever seen, graceful yet fierce.
His demonstration left a deep impression. After I turned to De Ming sitting next to me, his eyes were sparkling with excitement, I could even hear his thumping heart, ready to jump out of his chest at a moment's notice.
It was clear that his eyes were glued to Elder Hu intently the whole time, those adorable black marbles glinting with a strange obsession behind all the excitement.
For a moment it was as if I started down at the abyss, endless, threatening to swallow me whole
I quickly looked away as I turned my attention back to Elder Hu's voice
"Young master Feng, I believe it would be great for you to show them your progress " Elder Hu said in a soft yet stern voice, urging his student to show his siblings what he had accomplished
Zhu Feng, who was close to dozing off from hearing this lesson for the tenth time already, sat up straight, his eyes brightened as he stood up in one quick motion
" Of course! What this close, Lian! Ming!" The young Zhu Feng declared as he began to show us what Elder Hu taught him. It was unmistakable that he knew the basics by heart, and though his movements were sloppy in some places, it was a perfectly fine rendition of the footwork
De Ming and I clapped loudly as we looked at him with admiration
Then it was our turn
I went first, I stood up timidly and went forward, recalling all that I could remember before sloppily retracing the steps. What I performed could barely be called a walk, let alone footwork, it was my first attempt so it was expected.
The disappointment I felt wasn't lessened in spite of the fact
De Ming and Zhu Feng clapped for me anyway, encouraging me all the way until I sat back down
" Alright! That was great Lian! I guess it's my turn then!"
The young De Ming, filled to the brim with excitement, hopped up and strode forward to face us, shining a mischievous smile at us before he closed his eyes
If I had known what this led to, I would have stopped at nothing to intervene
De Ming stood still, still as a rock for at least two minutes, his hair swayed in the wind as he planted his feet
We tried to urge him but it seemed that none of our words reached him, his concentration was absolute
And then he opened his eyes, his childish beady eyes coupled with his pitch-black pupils were dilating, like portals into the nether realm, obsessive and boundless
We flinched at the sight of the sudden aura of danger he was alluding, he proceeded to move fluidly, copying Elder Hu's movements from earlier almost to a tea, only tripping up slightly here and there. He didn't blink the whole time, it was like he was another person
He completed the movements and stopped, his eyes returning to the usual childish and brazen feel, he waved at us and chuckled innocently
"How was that? Did I do well?"
He talked excitedly as if he didn't just do something groundbreaking, that level of mimicry was terrifying to witness
Elder Hu fell silent as I saw Zhu Feng's face paled
Looking back, it was only understandable, Even I was devastated at how different our first attempts were
I even can't begin to imagine how Feng felt when the culmination of his two years of hard work was instantly outshone by De Ming's first try at the technique, for the first time in my life, I saw in my brother despaired face, and then a violent jealousy emerged, swallowing his usually gentle face whole
I didn't even know that my kind brother could even show such vile expressions, that incident fundamentally changed him
He left the training grounds right after, not uttering a single word, he didn't even look in De Ming's direction
As for me, although De Ming's talent shocked me, I still clapped for him and cheered him on
I didn't want to treat him differently, he's still precious to me after all, no matter how talented he is
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After the incident, Zhu Feng's attitude towards De Ming shifted, the benevolent elder brother was nowhere to be found, only a jealousy-ridden and spiteful young master who enjoys bullying a poor and helpless servant boy
Even with my mother's intervention, Zhu Feng didn't let De Ming relax for even a second
Furthermore, because of Zhu Feng's constant complaints and nagging, the patriarch, my father ordered Elder Hu not to teach De Ming martial arts anymore, and any attempts to sneakily participate by De Ming were thwarted by the spiteful Zhu Feng
After my mother passed, without her protection, Zhu Feng's bullying became worse and worse, slowly reducing the bright, heroic, and courageous child De Ming was into a timid, insecure servant boy, an obedient punching bag of his
I tried my best, but ultimately couldn't stop Zhu Feng, he was the rightful heir of our household, and I couldn't defy him. I could only ask Elder Hu to stop him whenever he goes too far and help treat De Ming after He's done beating him up
I was fed up, this has been going on for far too long, with no end in sight
Out of frustration, frustration with my own inability to protect him and frustration with De Ming's timid nature, which pushed him to endure this injustice
I said what I shouldn't have… and I hurt him deeply
I'm sorry Ming, I can't face you anymore, not like this
So I'll leave and go far away, with my family's invitation to the martial arts expo, I'll join a sect, grow stronger, gain status
Then, and only then
I will return to save you from Zhu Feng, so please De Ming, wait for me…
I won't let you bear this burden alone anymore