"After cleaning, Xiu-Shixiong just needs to wrap the bandages around the wounds." Yang Hu led Zhang Xiu through the otherwise easy, but complex way of bandaging a wound.
Zhang Xiu nodded, his tongue sticking out and his eyes narrowed as he wrapped the bandages carefully around the still slightly bleeding wounds.
Once the bandages were on Zhang Xiu's eyes sparkled with pride. His chest was warm and his smile bright.
'I did that! I did that! All by myself!' He internally celebrated. He was smiling so much that his cheeks puffed out slightly.
He held Yang Hu's hand in his and played with it. Turning it in different angles admiring his handiwork. Yang Hu had told him that as long as blood wasn't seeping through then he wrapped his hand right. He brought Yang Hu's hand closer to his face, his eyes squinting as he observed every part of the wrapping. Although the bandages weren't wrapped perfectly, there was no signs of blood seeping through.
"Xiu-Shixiong has a talent for healing." Yang Hu gently pried his hand away, a small smile gracing his lips.
Zhang Xiu shook his head, his hair flipping around as he did so. "No, no, no. I just followed your instructions."
"Yes, but Xiu-Shixiong wrapped my hand so well. Most disciples wouldn't be able to do what Xiu-Shixiong did with ease."
Zhang Xiu turned a beat red. He glanced down, his hands clenching his robes as he did so. He blinked, his eyelashes lowering as he spoke, "I-I-umm…" He pursed his lips, not knowing how to reply to such words.
His heart beat against his chest and his face was on fire. The words Yang Hu spoke were simple and kind, but for some reason it made Zhang Xiu embarrassed.
Yang Hu let out a cough. It was small and muffled by his sleeve, but still loud enough in the otherwise empty room for Zhang Xiu to hear. He furrowed his eyebrows, snapping out of his moment of embarrassment. He wondered for a moment why Yang Hu would be coughing.
'He only had a wound on his hand, right?' He glanced at the other. Yang Hu had turned around, making himself busy with something that Zhang Xiu could not see. Taking the chance, Zhang Xiu finally took a good look at Yang Hu.
The boy was skinny. The robes he wore did not sparkle and shine like his did. Instead small holes and stains covered the robes. Zhang Xiu frowned, even the robes he had woken up in looked better than what Yang Hu was wearing.
Yang Hu's hair was long and black. He had it tied up into a high ponytail, a style that most of the disciples he had seen, seem to have. Yet his hair was more disheveled and dirty. It hung low like twigs hiding his face whenever he moved a certain way. It did nothing though to hide the many bruises that lined his skin.
Zhang Xiu's gaze shifted from Yang Hu to the small room they were in. From the few things decorating the room, it was safe to assume that this was supposed to be a bedroom, but it didn't feel like a bedroom.
Once again Zhang Xiu couldn't help, but compare this small room to the one he had awakened in. Why was it so different? He couldn't put his thoughts and feelings together. The suffocating feeling from before shrouded him and he absentmindedly pulled into himself.
Yang Hu took notice, he turned, shuffling towards him with concerned eyes, "Xiu-Shixiong, what's wrong?" He reached out and gripped one of his hands, pulling it away from Zhang Xiu and towards Yang Hu.
Zhang Xiu shook his head. He wasn't sure how to talk about these…emotions. His eyes darted around the room once more, his mouth open and closing in great hesitancy, "Um, this…is Yang Hu's room?" He finally managed to let out.
Yang Hu's calm face shattered. His eyes lowered and his hair covered his face once more.
For a moment Zhang Xiu worried that he had said something wrong.
"Yes, this is this lowly one's room." Yang Hu said.
Zhang Xiu felt a sharp pang in his chest, both from the strange way Yang Hu addressed himself and from the realization that this was indeed his room.
"But," He glanced around, his eyes darting around the dark and dirty room, "But this can't be a…room?"
'Could it?'
The rooms Zhang Xiu had seen so far were only three. The room he had awakened in, the room connecting it and the strange room filled to the brim with bandages and weird liquids. He didn't think much of it, but each room he was introduced to was extravagant and beautiful in their own ways. The walls were decorated with small images of flowers and cranes, the floor was decorated with soft pillows and blankets. Even above him were beautiful lanterns and silks. He had been shocked by these details, but with how everyone around him was acting, he was convinced that rooms were supposed to be like that, spotless and full of beautiful things.
Could he have been wrong?
Yang Hu lifted his gaze, meeting Zhang Xiu's. His hand that was gripping onto Zhang Xiu tightened, squeezing a little harder than needed. Zhang Xiu winced at the slight discomfort that it brought, but otherwise stayed silent.
Yang Hu let out a hoarse laugh, "Xiu-shixiong only woke up a little while ago and hasn't seen the truth of this world."
Zhang Xiu tilted his head, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed into a small pout. He understood Yang Hu's words, but putting them together he was a bit lost on their meaning.
"The truth of this world?" He repeated like a child.
Yang Hu shot him a small smile and nodded. "Yes, the others…" he paused, "the ones you met when you woke up are the Elders of this Sect." He began to explain.
Zhang Xiu nodded his head, then froze half way through, "Elders?" His nose scrunched up. His mind was fuzzy as he thought about the word. It was familiar, Chen Mu had mentioned that word as well, but never explained it. For a moment it was like his mind was trying to connect the word to an image, but the moment it seemed to get close the image would distort and only leave a blank page.
Yang Hu gently touched between Zhang Xiu's eyes, massaging out the small wrinkles. "Don't worry, this one will explain everything."
Zhang Xiu touched where Yang Hu had touched and nodded.
"An elder is someone who is in charge of taking in the disciples and teaching them in the way of cultivation." Yang Hu glanced up at him. Zhang Xiu nodded enthusiastically, his full attention on Yang Hu.
"There are four Elders in this Sect and one Sect Leader. You might remember them, they were most likely with you when you woke up."
Zhang Xiu thought back to when he woke up and indeed there were five people in the room after the disciple had run away.
"Is Gege an Elder?" He asked.
"Gege?" Yang Hu paused for a second before letting out another small laugh as he threw his head back. Once he calmed down he wiped a few stray tears, "No, your gege is not an Elder, but the sect leader." Yang Hu sneered, but Zhang Xiu misunderstood the strange pronunciation as a way of correction.
Zhang Xiu's eyes light up. "Sect Leader! My Gege is so strong!"
Yang Hu laughed once more, "Yes, your gege is strong, but-" his eyes glanced away.
"But what?" Zhang Xiu tilted his head. His eyebrows furrowing once again. WAs something wrong with his Gege?
"But he is blind."
"Blind?" Zhang Xiu thought for a moment, "But he can see." He was sure of that. After all his Gege had been looking right at him, even gasping slightly when he gazed at his face.
Yang Hu shook his head, "He is not blind in the sense that he can not see, but in the sense that he won't see."
Zhang Xiu tilted his head even more.
"He is blind in the sense that he can't see what his outer disciples go through." He gestured to the decrepitated room around them. "He is blind in the sense that he won't even acknowledge that some of his disciples like to take out their anger on those lesser than them." He pulled up his sleeves showcasing the many bruises that littered his skin. "He is blind in the sense that he only sees what he wants to see. A perfect world, full of bright, shining and prestigious things."
Zhang Xiu frowned. "But Gege wouldn't…" His voice was barley above a whisper.
Yang Hu gently cupped Zhang Xiu's cheek, "Your gege, our Sect Leader, refuses to do anything for those like me." His gaze met Zhang Xiu's head on and Zhang Xiu let out an involuntary gasp.
Yang Hu's eyes had tears in them. He quickly leaned forward. His hands gently cupping Yang Hu's face like they did his before. He wiped at the tears, panicking as he spoke, "It's okay, it's okay. Don't cry, don't cry."
His words had an opposite effect as tears began to spill out of Yang Hu's eyes, drenching his fingers.
Zhang Xiu faltered at the sight and did the only thing he could think of, pull him into a hug.
Yang Hu tensed underneath his arms before going slack and burying his face into Zhang Xiu's robes.
"I-I don't mean to be born of lesser lineage." Yang Hu began to hiccup through gasps of breath. "I-I didn't think it would be a problem. I had so much potential, they told me I did." He glanced up at Zhang Xiu, his face a mess of tears and snot. "But, why-why would they do this to me and not him?"
Zhang Xiu pursed his lips, "Him?"
Yang Hu nodded, "My brother. They-they said we both had uncapped potential and that we would stay together as we trained, but-" He paused and buried his head back into Zhang Xiu's robes. "But when it came time for the elders to choose new disciples, they only took him."
Zhang Xiu's heart ached at Yang Hu's words. His arms that were gently wrapped around Yang Hu, moved to support his head and back. He gently patted the other on the back while his other hand began to comb through the dry and matted hair.
Yang Hu only took that as an okay to let out more. "I-I tried to be okay with it, but then they brought me here and left me without explaining anything." The grip on his robes tightened. "They didn't give me a dining pass or a cultivation manual. They just…left me."
Zhang Xiu didn't understand the word 'dining', but he assumed it must have something to do with food. "You-you haven't had any food?" The horrible suffocation gnawing at his chest grew in ten folds.
Yang Hu shook his head, "No, I have. I hunted some small creatures in the forest."
"Hunted? Forest?" Zhang Xiu didn't like the sound of those words.
"Don't worry, I know what creatures to avoid." Yang Hu's words did little to reassure him.
His arms tightened around the other. His mind was being torn in two. He began to question everything he saw, the beauty, the happiness, the laughing disciples. Was what he saw really the truth or was he only shown the good side while the rest was hidden behind a screen, forever to be lost just like he was. But his mind also kept going back to his Gege and the elders, the way they looked, the way they talked, the way they treated him.
His Gege had been so happy to see him. He couldn't fake that, at least he didn't think someone could. His eyes had been so clear and his voice sounded so happy and yet here he was learning that his Gege had ignored Yang Hu. Leaving him to suffer all on his own when he was still just a child.
An awful numbness invaded his chest. He bit his lip, refusing to let the tears spill.
He didn't know what to do.