"Mom!" Seiji cried, dropping his sword and rushing over to the body that had fallen to the ground. He took her in his arms, holding her tightly as Sora pushed himself up and stumbled over as well. The younger boy immediately checked her pulse.
"She's gone," Sora whispered after a few moments of silence. Anger was showing in his eyes, looking as if he was about to explode. "I should have listened to you. I should have helped her."
"She didn't want help," Seiji said softly, holding tightly onto her lifeless body. Seiji couldn't really process what had happened. His heart was racing in his chest, and he was honestly terrified the demon was still around. "I don't understand why she let him take her like that."
Sora shook his head, allowing his shoulders to fall. There didn't seem to be much of a conversation between the demon and their mother. Not even a fight took place. She just simply surrendered. This confused the boys more than anything.
"We… Need to hide," Seiji whispered, letting go of her and pushing himself up. "He might come back."
"B-but mom," Sora said, looking at him, trying to hold back tears.
Seiji took out a paper talisman and threw it to the ground where a large crater was then formed. "Bury her for now," he said.
"Seiji!" Sora cried out, a tone of offense lacing his voice. His anger seemed to be growing. "She's our mother! We can't just throw her in the ground! That's extremely disrespectful!"
"We'll give her a proper burial later, Sora," Seiji said, sternly. "Right now we need to go! I'm injured! I can't fight anyone off if they come after us!"
He was barely holding it together at that moment. His whole body was shaking from the pain the back injury gave him. He was about to take out his sword again just to use it as a crutch. On top of all that, he still felt extremely ill. If it weren't for all the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he probably would have already passed out. Sora seemed to understand this when he looked up and saw just how pale his brother's face actually was. His anger seemed to have dissipated as he nodded his head, turning away.
With a heavy heart, Sora lowered their mother's body into the crater. He used his own spiritual energy to cover her body with dirt, more tears streaming down his cheeks. He then walked over to Seiji, placing Seiji's arm around his own shoulders, and wrapping his arm around his waist. Seiji sighed and placed his arms around Sora's shoulders, his breathing getting heavier.
"Grab that sword," Seiji said, almost choking on his words. He nodded his head towards the sword the demon had dropped. He knew that they could figure out who the demon was if they had his sword. Sora nodded his head and picked it up, handing it over to Seiji. Seiji gripped tightly onto it, letting Sora lead the way.
The two of them made it out of the training field and made a beeline towards Seiji's car that was parked nearby. Sora helped Seiji into the backseat and took the keys from the older boy. Their home was in a very remote area, surrounded by tons of trees. Not many people knew that cultivation still existed. Some even believed it to be a myth. So families like the brothers' had to hide their cultivation from the outside world. At least that's what their mother had always told them.
"Find a place for us to stay and ditch the car," Seiji said, shifting so he wasn't hurting his back more. "Make sure there's no easy way for us to be tracked. No phones."
"We're going into hiding?" Sora asked, looking at Seiji with a frown.
"We have to. That was a demon, Sora. We don't know if they're coming for us," Seiji said, laying across the back seat and closing his eyes. "This is the cultivation world. We can never be too careful."
"Why would a demon track our phones?" Sora asked as he started the car. "Can't they just track our spiritual energy? Isn't that easier for them to find us?"
"Why would they not? It's the 21st century, Sora," Seiji asked, his voice almost a whisper as he felt himself drifting off to sleep. Sora didn't say anything else, allowing his brother to get some rest. He knew they had to get somewhere safe and his brother had to heal. He honestly didn't know how long it would take for Seiji to even get better.
Sora found an abandoned warehouse deep in the city of Chengdu. He knew hiding in plain sight would be the best hiding spot for them. And when he left to ditch the car, half of him wanted to run away. He didn't like being in his brother's shadow. He wanted to go back and help his mother. He wanted to learn how to train on his own and not be bossed around by Seiji.
At the same time, however, he knew he had to help Seiji. He was his brother, right? It was only right to help him out, right? Maybe help Seiji clean up his wound and make sure his was able to fend for himself. That was the smart thing to do, right? Maybe after that, he could run away late at night. Escape when there's time to escape. Escape when it was morally right to leave his brother.
If he left now, Seiji would probably die. And yet, Sora still had the urge to leave. Even after he parked the car. He sat in the dark car for a good hour, mulling things over. Finally, he made his way out of the car and walked towards the abandoned building. For now he would help Seiji. For now. He'll find his escape when it was time. He just had to fake it for just a little longer. He could deal with that. Probably.
----
Hours later, Seiji found himself in a dark room with bandages wrapped around him. He winced as he pushed himself into a sitting position, his whole body shaking in pain. He felt weak, probably worse than he felt before. It was as if a big truck hit him and then ran him over again.
Seiji's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he realized that they must be inside an abandoned home. After scanning the room, he spotted Sora asleep a few feet away from him, wrapped in blankets. Seiji gave a small smile, watching the younger boy sleep. He knew the boy must be exhausted. It's been a long day for sure.
"I wonder what time it is," Seiji muttered, closing his eyes and letting out a drawn out yawn. It had to be past midnight, but it was hard to tell when.
"Gege?" Sora breathed out, causing Seiji to open his eyes again and turn towards his brother. "You're awake?"
"Yeah," Seiji responded, before breaking out in a coughing fit. Sora jumped up and rushed over to him, checking to see if he was okay. "I'm fine," Seiji said, weakly. They both knew that was a lie.
"We need to get you to a hospital," Sora said, his voice seemingly tinted with worry.
"We can't, Sora," Seiji said, letting out a defeated sigh. "I'm not risking your life just because I'm sick."
"Shen Seiji!" Sora cried out, tears in his eyes. "Your life is more at risk! You need to get checked! You're burning up! You coughed up blood in the car! And you're extremely pale! Not to mention, your wound is super deep! It probably needs stitches! I'm not even equipped in medication!"
"I'll be okay. I just need rest," Seiji said, weakly. "Do you know how to transfer spiritual energy to someone else?"
Sora shook his head, causing his brother to let out a soft hum. He figured that was the case. He debated on teaching Sora how to do it, but quickly decided against it. Sora didn't have as much spiritual energy as he did anyway. He couldn't burden the younger boy with a task like that.
"Sora, do we have any food?" Seiji asked, trying to hold back a cough that came afterwards.
"Not yet," Sora said, giving up his battle in trying to get Seiji to the hospital. "I can go get some."
Seiji nodded his head in agreement, causing Sora to sigh and get up. He helped Seiji lay down, giving him some water as well. He then got up, covered his brother with a blanket, and then walked out the door.