"It was four days before you left for the Trial of Solutide and... Did Lord Feng not remind you of it?"
"No. No, he didn't." Lei brought a hand to his chin. "I suppose he's planning on doing so later."
"I see..." Sun stood while holding his hands together, somewhat awkwardly.
The younger brother did not deal well with silence. Lei was simply busy thinking, but Sun felt the need to say something.
"On the other hand, I'm sure the Master will be there!" His tone was a lot more upbeat than before. "He must be busy now, but he won't miss your engagement ceremony, I'm sure of it!"
"When was the last time that you saw him?"
Sun was taken aback by the question, and it showed.
The question really stung.
"Not... Since he left for the Immortal Realm." The answer was the same for both of them, so it definitely hurt being forced to say that.
"Yeah." Lei nodded before turning away. "How old are you again?"
"Fourteen, older brother. Still five years your junior." Sun smiled. He didn't get to talk to his older brother often. Or rather, his older brother didn't talk to him often.
"Mm." Lei started walking away. "I want you at my table later."
"I-I'll be there!"
A slightly blushing Sun sat back at his desk.
'So that makes me 19, huh? Fourteen... I totally thought he was 12 or something.'
Lei walked back to his room, which, thinking back, is much larger than Sun's.
"So tired..." He whispered as his body fell onto the bed. "So tired... But I can't sleep."
His gaze moved from the ceiling to the walls, from the walls to the bookcases, from the bookcases to the desk, and from the desk to the bed he was lying on.
'It's bugging me...' His fingertips tapped the bed repeatedly as his arms hung by his sides.
After a minute or so, he stood back up.
"Can't sleep before I figure it out."
Zhao Laohu walked towards the desk and peeked through the window beyond it.
'He left and never came back, huh? Must have been at least a couple of years judging by Sun's expression. Long enough has passed that he has sort of forgotten about it. Many die during this Trial, but Zhao's father didn't come to check on him. He didn't care, even though there was the possibility of Zhao dying... Which he did.'
Lei took a seat and reached for one of the books he had placed on the desk.
He flipped a couple of pages and reached for the brush once he had found a page that was mostly empty.
"Nineteen and fourteen... For a weasel like Ui Feng to sneak in, the Master must have been gone for a long time. He's too weak to be a Personal Instructor. No redeeming qualities really. Drinking buddy... And like a father to him? An uncle, I guess? Sun also calls him -Lord Feng-, but having a brother... I suppose he's too weak to be in charge. Ui Feng was in charge while Zhao was gone, but he also tried to cozy up to the younger brother during that time? Or was it Zhao who forced him to call Ui Feng -Lord-?" Lei whispered as he scribbled on the empty pages. "The Master... They don't even call him -Father-, huh? Tsk. What's really bugging me is..."
He scratched his head, and his hand descended to his tired neck.
'Zhao is engaged, huh? I guess I am too. Sun didn't mention her name, so that's a drag. I'm sure Ui Feng will talk about it later though. Why... Didn't he though? A fiancée... If Zhao had a girlfriend that he now planned on marrying...? I can understand her not waiting for him there, since there was the possibility of them finding a corpse but... Not even here? Or is it a chastity thing? The Master will be there... Why? He didn't come when death was part of the equation, so why would marriage matter to him? Tsk... Playing someone's fiancé will be too tough. Especially if they've known each other for a while. Known each other for a while... Oh, I see. That's what's bugging me.'
Lei brought his left hand to his chin, covering his mouth, while writing with his right.
"Four days before he left... Why would you get engaged only to leave and risk your life, Zhao? Or did the girl force it on you? Knowing that death was a possibility, she wanted to make it official...? Which one came before? No, actually..." His hand twitched. "Which one was forced?"
Suddenly, it seemed to fit.
"There's no girlfriend, is there? That's why Ui Feng didn't talk about her. Nor did Sun. At the very least, they would have told a guy who risked death that the woman he loves was worried about him or that she was waiting for him... They didn't. Then Zhao doesn't know who he's marrying?"
Lei let out a sigh of satisfaction. It wasn't bugging him anymore.
"It's an arranged marriage, isn't it? Sun said that the Master will be there. Then the Master arranged it for some reason... And Zhao rebelled by taking on the Trial of Solitude four days later? Fits too well for this not to be the case."
He chuckled, and the tiredness grew stronger.
"The Hero will hijack my engagement ceremony then?" Lei pushed himself up using the desk.
It was time to sleep.
But just as he turned towards the bed, the corner of his eye noticed something.
One of the Disciples on the training court was standing with his knees slightly bent.
With both fists pulled back and his eyes closed, he remained unmoving.
"That's..."
Covering his fists, it shone faintly.
"That Aura... Is that what Qi is?"
[Correct.]
The Young Master's lips curled upwards.
'A lot of it was just bootlicking but...' He fell onto the bed head first.
How do you like this life and world, Zhao Laohu?-
'So much to think about, so much to do. And this Qi thing added on top of it all...' Lei thought with a smile. 'I really I'm grateful to her, in a way.'
He fell asleep minutes later.