Chi Cheng blinked multiple times to adjust his vision, but he couldn't rid himself of the blurriness. Drenched to the bone from the heavy downpour of rain that descended from the grey skies, he clawed onto the mud soil beneath him to get a better grip.
But his body was severely weakened, and he had no strength to drag his weight towards the trail of fresh blood that led from him to the body of a listless child that laid on his back.
Nevertheless, Chi Cheng was determined to reach for him, inching his wounded body slowly until he grabbed onto the child's blood-soaked clothes. The boy's red chestnut hair reminded him of his own, so young and full of potential.
Chi Cheng gritted his teeth, cursing his own shortcomings and inabilities as he rested his head on the child's chest. The forest around them rustled with the winds and rain, but Chi Cheng could only weep hopelessly.
There was no heartbeat from the boy.
"... brother… " He heard the faint calls in the distance, but he couldn't move his head to search for the voice.
"... brother… " The calls had gotten closer and Chi Cheng's consciousness had already begun to fade, his eyes closing from weariness.
"Brother, wake up!"
Chi Cheng's eyes snapped open warily, his body jerking up from the bed as he gasped, scrutinizing his surroundings to make heads or tails of where he was.
He clutched onto his head that throbbed from a brewing headache, sighing in relief to discover that he was safely within the confines of his assigned quarters in the Han Clan's estate.
'It's been so long since I had that dream…' He tried to recall the scenes in his dream, but the visions were hazy.
"Took you long enough." The voice he heard in his dream sounded again.
Chi Cheng looked up to find a somewhat angry younger male who was seated at the edge of his bed. He was dressed in the red and white hanfu robes of the Chi Clan with distinct features resembling Chi Cheng himself, except that his hair was a hazel brown shade and drawn into a ponytail.
"Weiran?" Chi Cheng hastily stumbled out of bed, reaching for the younger male and capturing him in a tight embrace.
"Agh brother," Chi Weiran fussed, his face being squished against his older brother's chest. "I didn't miss you one bit!" He averted his gaze, sullenly folding his arms until his brother released him.
"You've already arrived." Cupping his younger brother's face with his hands, Chi Cheng smiled fondly and the morbid events of his dream became a distant memory. "I didn't think you would make it in time. Have you completed your training?"
"I have. I arrived earlier this morning." Chi Weiran finally warmed up to his brother's touch and smirked proudly as he lifted his chin. "I've gotten taller than you now heh!"
"I almost didn't recognise your voice," Chi Cheng laughed heartily, seating himself beside Chi Weiran. "You sound much more mature now. I can't believe you've changed this much within a year."
Chi Weiran's excitement to meet his brother waned into concern when he sighted the bandage around Chi Cheng's neck. His face contorted with a mix of fury and surprise and then directed his gaze to meet directly with his brother's eyes.
"What happened to your neck?" Chi Weiran questioned, his voice deepening. His eyes then flickered to the visible marks around his brother's wrists, the ones left by Han Yijun's iron grip when he pinned Chi Cheng against the wall.
"I fell in the mountain pass," Chi Cheng lied. He was sent here for only one important purpose by their father and that was to oversee Chi Weiran's progress and ensure he would be comfortable within the Han clan's estate. "Xue Ling Ridge is difficult to travel through."
Chi Cheng was wary enough not to reveal anything about his disturbing encounter with Han Yijun or any details about the previous night's events. He was well aware that his younger brother possessed a malicious temper that was challenging to tame once it took control of him.
"You should be more careful." Chi Weiran breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you might have gotten into a fight with the guys from the other clans."
"Of course not," Chi Cheng said reassuringly, accompanied by a soft smile. "I was the first to arrive yesterday and didn't have the chance to meet with anyone else."
Chi Cheng's heart stung from the mention of 'fight'. Although it was no societal secret of his talentless nature in cultivation and his 'defective' meridians as they called it, he had hoped that Chi Weiran would have thought better of him.
But he could hardly lay blame on his younger brother when the taunts and fights instigated by the opposition were frequent. What else could he expect Chi Weiran to think or assume? Chi Cheng had become a regular victim of other sect disciples' negative remarks, but he had grown accustomed to it.
"We should go to the main hall," Chi Weiran quickly suggested, sensing that he might have touched the wrong nerve with his statement to his brother. "They're serving breakfast to all the juniors that just arrived and I heard that we'll have a meeting with the Grandmaster afterwards."
"Yes, let's do that," Chi Cheng agreed, moving off the bed to change into a more casual white and red training robe of his clan, gathering his hair into a ponytail.
Once ready to depart, Chi Cheng accompanied his younger brother to the disciple quarter's main hall. The space was filled with rows of long wooden tables and benches neatly aligned and filled with food dishes that spanned the length of each table.
'The Grandmaster is very generous…' Chi Cheng thought. 'I assumed he'd have us start the apprenticeship course immediately.'
There was slight murmuring and chattering when they entered the hall, a few disciples eying them warily or with evident disdain.
He noticed the presence of inner sect disciples who were seated at the farther end of the hall, dressed in black and blue training robes. The newly arrived juniors from other clans occupied the tables at the front of the hall, dressed in training robes of distinct colours of the clans they belonged to.
"Brother, where do you want to sit?" Chi Weiran asked, looking at his brother for an answer.
"Wherever is comfortable," Chi Cheng looked around and spotted a table in the middle part of the hall where no disciples were seated. "Should we go over there?"
"Hah! The Chi clan has the nerve to show their faces here," one of the other sect disciples sneered. He was seated at the table Chi Cheng brushed by, with one leg crossed over the other. "I wonder where their disciples get all that confidence from."
"Feng clan bastard…!" Chi Weiran clenched his fists, gritting his teeth as he took notice of the green and white colour robes worn by the disciple who insulted them.
"Don't," Chi Cheng grabbed his younger brother's arm, shaking his head in disapproval. "You promised father you wouldn't cause any trouble here."
The chattering around the hall ceased when the other disciples acknowledged the tension brewing in the air, and they all turned to curiously observe how the situation would unfold.
"Chi Weiran," the Feng clan disciple uttered his name mockingly, his lips curling upwards arrogantly. "Listen to your dear brother. You shouldn't get into fights you can't win."
Chi Weiran's last nerve twitched impatiently, and he doubted he would be able to keep his promise to his father and brother. He had already exhausted the scarce supply of patience he built for the duration of his training period.
"But then again you may have more potential than your older brother," the Feng disciple gestured to Chi Cheng. "He's better off learning tea ceremonies and music to entertain-"
Before the Feng disciple could complete his sentence, Chi Weiran had already broken free of his brother's hold. Forcing him out of his seat, Chi Weiran grabbed the Feng disciple by the collar, his eyes flaring dangerously wide with anger as he submitted to the temptations of his temper.
"You don't know anything about my brother!" Chi Weiran roared, his chest heaving with rage that he couldn't suppress.
Chi Cheng thought of pursuing his younger brother, hoping to prevent him from taking actions that would result in grave repercussions for both of them. But with concern and stress plaguing his mind, his vision blurred and he staggered backwards.
However, before he could lose his balance completely, Chi Cheng was braced against something firm that cushioned him from falling. Disorientated from the throbbing in his head, he felt an arm slip around his waist from behind, settling itself on his torso. And a hand that took hold of his left arm to steady him.
Chi Cheng turned his head, looking up to find the Grandmaster who watched him intensely. The icy blue in his eyes wavered like an orb of Qi that danced like flames. His expression didn't suggest whether he was enraged by the misconduct of the disciples or if he would pardon them.
"G… Grandmaster Han… " Chi Cheng's eyes widened in surprise, unable to break away from Han Xuelian's line of sight.
"Are you alright, Chi Cheng?"