Zhang Feng was the elder brother, in a way. Zhang Jian was the younger brother, in a way. Although the two of them looked like children, there was practically nothing that supported that idea.
For the two of them had Transmigrated across worlds, being reborn as members of the Lan Tian clan.
"You see those two boys over, there? The taller one is Zhang Feng, they say he did not cry once since he was born." Zhang Feng had longer hair than the boys around him, he was tall for his age as well. He had eyes that looked across the edge of the world, you could tell he was daydreaming just by being there next to him.
The servants usually gossiped about the rising stars in the clan, who showed talent at an early age and what-not. Before realizing they had work to do, they would make bets on who would have better cultivation talent.
"Ah, who could not recognize the rascal?" "Is that Zhang Jian? The boy who beats the other children with a smile?" "What kind of monster is he?!"
The unhinged younger brother, Zhang Jian, even though he was a grown adult in his past life. He still relished in the fact that "no matter how many children I beat, they will still chalk it up to 'being rowdy'"
Zhang Jian's face almost always had a smile on it, a charming one at that. He had hair that grew out fairly, and jade eyes that looked as deep as the ocean. Although he was shorter than his brother, he was a lot more lively, for better and for worse.
"Brother Feng, lets go home, it seems no one wants to play today. Such a shame." Zhang Jian said with a sneer wide across his face.
"This is your fault younger brother. Why did you beat those boys anyway?" Zhang Feng stood up-right, his hair blowing in the wind like curtains hung out to dry. Zhang Jian squatted on the ground like a thug from his previous life.
"They do not know how to respect the mortal servants, yet had they been born into a life of slavery, they would have to beg in silence for the tiniest amount of decency. I do not need pitiful peers, they might as well give me their money and leave."
In this world there exists two types of humans, the Mortals and the Spirit Masters. Compared to the life of a mortal, even the lowest ranked Spirit Master can live a relatively cushy lifestyle.
"Where is it that you find these words, it dumbfounds me the extensive vocabulary you have at such a young age." Zhang Feng had guessed a long time ago that his brother was also a man from earth, but his extreme behavior had him nearly conclude that Zhang Jian was just an insane child.
"Lets just go home brother. Otherwise Mother will wonder what we were doing if there is nobody out." Zhang Jian's smile had faded, he concluded that beating children will not teach them respect but only fear and hate that can form in their hearts.
The Zhang brothers walked home, the sweet wind blew away the fragile combing that their hairs had, the smell of fresh cut grass tingled Jian's nose, almost making him sneeze. It was by pure coincidence, that as soon as they arrived home, it began to rain lightly.
"Elder Brother, I am bored, care for a game of Go?" Zhang Jian offered almost as soon as they stepped onto the hard wooden floor.
The cozy cool feeling of this mansion, used to put Zhang Feng to sleep just by being there. The servants used to joke around, saying that Feng was "at peace with the world"
"You always ask me this question." "Well, I am always bored."
Zhang Feng was a fierce and calculated player, Zhang Jian was an unserious joker, there was no rhyme or reasoning in his moves. Everything that he did, he did simply to do it.
And yet, if Zhang Feng made the slightest mistake, Zhang Jian would ultimately take the game. This kept Zhang Feng unnerved and on his toes the entire time.
But this time would end in Zhang Jian's loss, had they spent some energy playing outside earlier, maybe Zhang Feng could have slipped up in the match, but he did not.
"Brother Jian, why is it that you enjoy Go so much? when you keep losing?" Zhang Feng used to play Go in his previous life, he got pretty competitive about it too, but he gave up on Go.
He did not enjoy seeing a man who would play the game simply for small fun moments, rather than the bigger picture.
"Elder brother, do you know how people justify killing?" Zhang Jian looked like he was deep in thought for that question. "What does that have to do with anything?" Zhang Feng did not like it whenever his brother would go off on some philosophical tangent, yet he would humor him anyways.
"When a man dies and the blood is on your hands, what do you think is the natural response of people? 'I needed to do it' 'there was no other way' 'He was going to hurt me first.' People need to justify an action, almost always by giving out these stupid reasons every time. Do we eat food to satiate our hunger? or do we eat to enjoy food?"
Zhang Feng did not think about the question, he almost immediately blurted out his answer "We eat to satiate our hunger no?" He could see Zhang Jian's face scream out in superiority, he almost instantly regretted boosting his brothers ego.
"Wrong, we eat to enjoy. Otherwise everything that we eat would just barely be edible and lukewarm with little to no taste or flavor. You see, it is not the means that justify the end, in fact it is never about the end. There should be means for the sake of means. When you eat, relish in it, when you kill, do not reason with yourself or anyone else."
To Zhang Jian, nothing in his previous life really captivated him that much apart from fiction. He would read books, watch shows and movies, just about any medium that told stories was something of his interest.
It was through these stories had he understood people, eventually, he dedicated himself to understand "why" people did anything, and the thought process that people had doing anything at all.
Zhang Jian knows that doing tasks everyday, no matter how interesting it may be, can become cumbersome and monotonous, if people lose sight of why they did it in the first place.
He knew that Zhang Feng had some kind of mental block that prevented him from enjoying even a simple game with his younger brother.
Zhang Feng soaked in the words that his brother spouted, clearly thinking about it. "What does this have to do with Go?" Zhang Jian had an understanding look on his face, one that indicated that he has had this conversation before, maybe with different people.
"Should you play only to win, you will lose sight of why you play the game in the first place. Otherwise we might as well pick up sticks off the ground in a competitive manner should we want to simply 'win' a game. Brother Feng, why did you start playing Go?"
The two brothers sat on the ground, a small table with the Go set on top. The room provided enough warmth through the rain, which gave the perfect smell for the afternoon. As Zhang Jian waved his hand around during his explanation, Zhang Feng felt a deep philosophical resonance.
Zhang Feng in this life, had learnt Go at a very young age. But that was because of his previous life's learning. In his past life, it was something that mesmerized him in his teenage years.
Watching videos on the internet of competitive players, it made him want to understand, to learn. This enjoyment of learning, of playing, was something beautiful. But it is as fragile as it is beautiful. Somewhere along the way, he lost that original spark, and without his "ends" he could no longer justify the "means"
Zhang Jian explained this concept of enjoyment in a simpler manner, or at least he tried to. Zhang Feng realized that his brother, a rascal and a menace, had a mind which could understand the heart perfectly.
Zhang Feng got up and bowed to his brother "I have underestimated your knowledge, thank you for showing me where I lost myself." Zhang Jian laughed. "What are you going on about, lets have another match before dinner." and they both laughed, "what are we even doing?" they both laughed at the ridiculousness of their situations in their hearts.
These two enjoyed the little time that they had, before their duties returned to them. The future could only hold suffering for those without the luck, and that would reach them eventually.
Till then, Go was a fun pastime.