Winters-Gaze clambered down to the floor with a ringing shriek. Yi Lian turned to the side to see his disciples all turned towards him, weapons drawn and an evil look on their faces.
Yi Lian smiled and spoke softly, "You're trying this again?"
The disciple who had attacked Winters-Gaze stepped forward, Immortal Binding rope in hand. "Well at least this time you won't go back crying to your royal idiot of a brother."
Yi Lian's expression darkened. He would never hurt someone from his Sect. Never, even if he reaches immortality will he ever lay a finger on someone of his Sect. It was just his morals, also because he grew up around most of them and partly because of the things that he had witnessed in the past.
Yi Lian had loved his brother, obviously.
Whilst Yi Lian sat in the private solitude of the Immortals Valley Top, his brother would make the effort to come and see him every day to tell him the tales of training with the other Sects, going on night hunts around The Island and his travels to the mainland. Yi Lian's favourite thing was to sit and listen to all of his brother's adventures while he could sit and listen quietly, working on his sword.
One evening Yi Lian went out after nightfall for a walk when he heard yelling behind the study hall. He snook between that and the library to take a look at what was happening. Little did he know that he would be walking out into his brothers best kept secret.
His usually formal brother who would be in the cleanest white and embroidered robes with an expensive hair pin and a professional smile, was now a different person of the night.
His hair was blown wild around his face, the robes were smeared with blood and dirt, even his hands were cut to pieces by throwing knives.
This person stood over a group of disciples as he beat and shouted at them. The same disciples he had spoken to at dinner, the same disciples he played card and dice games with.
That day Yi Lian's world views changed. To him his brother was all that was good however now he felt as these disciples did. Pain and confusion.
So he didn't push them off. He didn't berate them.
He stood and complied as they wrapped the rope tightly around his wrists and around the top of his legs. Something almost like a forbidden illustration Yi Lian had once found when cleaning away his brother's things. Except he wasn't nude… or a woman.
When they were done they pushed him into the cave opening and knocked him onto his knees. There was a moment where Yi Lian thought they might spit on him but they seemed fulfilled by his humiliation.
The disciples turned to leave to continue their hunt with this new satisfaction, when their leader decided to stay back.
"You guys go ahead. I'll see you in the next cave opening."
The group looked among themselves with a worried expression.
"Yi Chen, don't do anything to get you in too much trouble. We'll get punished if that bitch Yi Vian sees marks on him."
Yi Chen waved them off dismissively and gave a glare.
He spoke with a rasp, "I will meet you later."
They left. Leaving Yi Chen, quite a powerful and tall disciple, alone with the blood brother of his enemy.
Yi Chen was the son of a rich merchant, very troubled after losing his mother at a young age, so Yi Lian had always pitied him and let him get away with quite a lot.
Yi Lian closed his eyes and started some breathing exercises to steady his mind as his spiritual power stopped circulating due to the Immortal Binding Rope's powers setting in. Yi Chen didn't like that. He stormed over and got to eye level with him.
Whatever Yi Chen was about to do Yi Lian was mentally preparing himself for it. For a while he heard nothing.
Then he heard an angry breath that evolved into a heavy and ragged rage. From the darkness came a pain across his body.
Yi Chen had punched him across the jaw, pain rang out, the sheer force pushed him over into the floor and Yi Lian couldn't help but gasp and open his eyes. Yi Chen looked at him with bloodshot eyes, like a creature fighting for it's life. Both rage and adrenaline mixed to form this unstoppable and unrestrained animal before him.
Yi Lian finally realised that maybe his brother picked on Yi Chen specifically. He was strong, he could tell by experience… so it wouldn't be a stretch to think his brother maybe had suppressed Yi Chen in the past.
Yi Chen reached down and violently pulled Yi Lian up from his dazed state and struck him again in the jaw for a second time.
He shoved him to the floor, this time Yi Lian fell head first followed by a heavy thudding noise.
Yi Lian's head throbbed, his vision hazed.
This time Yi Chen rolled him over onto his back and sat with a knee against his stomach.
He panted, "It's not funny now is it? Imagine being fucking twelve! Twelve, and having to endure this everyday."
Yi Chen pulled down Yi Lian's robes to his chest.
"I bet this skin has never seen a scratch in it's life!"
Yi Lian was about to apologise, for his brother, for his mother, for the family that had left him to his Sect, but he was interrupted by a sudden mind numbing pain across his chest.
Yi Chen dug his fingernails into his skin, drawing blood to leave an animalistic, deep, gushing mark.
Yi Lian couldn't hold back his cries. He let out a long, choked groan but it just kept going and he couldn't hold back the shouting scream.
No one would hear them.
He had to fly his sword out so far. He had to let them follow him, but if this gave Yi Chen relief for his brother's actions, then so be it.