Volume One, Chapter 10: When Clouds Dim and the Moon Grows Dark (Part Two)

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Yu Wenchengdu hurriedly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the sword. Yuwen Chenglong, however, was not so fortunate. Having trapped himself in his own snare and lost his balance, he pitched straight toward the ground.

Seeing this, Yu Wenchengdu’s heart tightened. He rushed forward and caught Yuwen Chenglong, taking the fall himself while leaving his younger brother completely unharmed.

“Are you all right?” Yu Wenchengdu asked anxiously before he even had time to rise.

Yuwen Chenglong opened his mouth, just about to answer, when a voice came from the entrance of the small courtyard.

“Chengdu, Father is home.”

It was Yuwen Huaji.

The moment Yuwen Chenglong heard the voice, he burst into tears.

“Father…”

Muttering the word over and over, he dropped his sword and ran toward Yuwen Huaji.

The sword lay right beside Yu Wenchengdu…

Anyone witnessing that scene would have drawn the wrong conclusion, especially with Yuwen Chenglong’s miserable sobs added to it. Yuwen Huaji frowned and demanded, “What were you two doing just now? Did you bully your younger brother? I told you to learn martial arts, not to come home and throw your weight around!”

All the gentleness in his voice had vanished, leaving only stern reprimand.

Yu Wenchengdu frowned, his little mouth turning into a slight pout, and said frankly, “I didn’t. I didn’t bully my brother.”

Only then did Yuwen Huaji turn his gaze toward his younger son. While comforting him, he asked what had happened.

Yuwen Chenglong’s sobs grew louder. He cast a sideways glance at Yu Wenchengdu, then raised his head to meet his father’s questioning eyes and said softly, “He tried to stab me with the sword, but I couldn’t get away…”

With such a pitiful expression, anyone would have believed him.

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Huaji’s face grew even more severe. Already exhausted from his labors, he now felt anger surging in his chest. Without another word, he stepped forward and slapped Yu Wenchengdu across the face.

“Apologize to your brother at once!” Yuwen Huaji roared.

“I didn’t try to stab him!” Though his eyes were brimming with tears, Yu Wenchengdu endured his grievance and the burning pain in his cheek, loudly and firmly explaining himself to his father.

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Yet Yuwen Huaji refused to believe him. “Your brother is so young. Would he lie? Hurry up and apologize!”

“I’m not lying either. I didn’t stab him!” Yu Wenchengdu’s gaze remained resolute.

Father and son stood locked in opposition, while Yuwen Chenglong’s crying grew louder and louder. The noise gave Yuwen Huaji such a headache that, in a fit of impatience, he picked up the sword and placed it in his younger son’s hands.

“Stab him back the way he stabbed you. Remember this: never let anyone bully you. And you, Yuwen Chengdu—if you don’t let your brother do it, I’ll make sure you remember this lesson!”

Yuwen Huaji feared that his eldest son had truly learned bad habits outside and developed a tendency to bully his younger brother. He wanted to correct him immediately. Yet he neither investigated the truth nor considered whether his method was excessively cruel. He simply chose the easiest and most brutal approach, believing only one side of the story.

Holding the sword, Yuwen Chenglong’s hand trembled involuntarily. He hesitated for a long time and did not dare step forward, while Yu Wenchengdu made no attempt to dodge.

Yuwen Huaji watched from the side. After a while, when neither of them moved, he let out a deep sigh, wearing the expression of a man bitterly disappointed in his children. He prepared to leave, ordering Yu Wenchengdu to kneel in punishment for two hours and telling Yuwen Chenglong to come outside as well.

Whatever his words might have suggested, he had only been making a show of it. He merely wished to issue a warning. In the end, he could not bear to see Yu Wenchengdu injured, much less allow the brothers to turn against each other. Thus, the matter was allowed to pass.

Out of sight, out of mind, he soon left the small courtyard.

But the instant Yuwen Huaji was gone, Yuwen Chenglong immediately advanced with the sword. Before Yu Wenchengdu could recover, he slashed heavily across his forearm.

Blood poured from the wound in an instant.

Chengdu truly had not imagined that his younger brother would distort the truth, still less that he would treat him this way afterward.

For a long while, Yu Wenchengdu stood frozen, unable to comprehend what had happened. Only after Yuwen Chenglong left the courtyard with a smug look on his face did he allow the tears to slide from his eyes.

For years, he had lived like this. Even so, he still cared for his younger brother and remained filial toward his father. Yet no one in the household ever considered his feelings. It was almost as if they did not regard him as family at all.

Yu Wenchengdu stood alone in the courtyard, with no thought of tending to the wound on his arm. His tears flowed harder and harder. He did not want anyone to see him in such a vulnerable state. Clenching his teeth, he tried to force the tears back, but he failed.

At last, he broke into a run and fled the residence.

He ran onto the bustling streets, not caring where he went. At that moment, he could not remain in the residence. The oppression and pain were suffocating him.

Though still so young, he had already endured countless hardships and swallowed innumerable grievances. He was unlike an ordinary child; instead, he had grown sensible and solemn, almost like an adult. When he was in pain, he never complained to anyone. He simply swallowed all his suffering alone.

He did not know how long he had run. Only when his legs had grown weak and darkness had fallen did he finally slow to a stop. Drawing deep, ragged breaths, he collapsed onto the ground.

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Blood still stained his arm, but he could no longer feel the pain. He casually wrapped the wound with his sleeve and continued walking.

He was often injured while practicing martial arts, and a wound like this was nothing. But the injury to his heart was far more serious, and far more difficult to heal, than any physical wound.

He walked slowly onward. The New Year had only just passed, and the streets were still bustling. Yet night fell early, and he soon found himself unable to recognize the way. In the end, he sat alone on a small hill in the distance. A river flowed below, while far away, brightly lit streets bustled with life.

Sniffling, he hugged his knees and sat motionless.

Though the distant streets blazed with lights, darkness surrounded him on every side. Yu Wenchengdu even began to wonder whether he would be able to find his way home—or whether anyone at the residence would come looking for him at all.

…

“Hello!”

Just as Yu Wenchengdu was sunk deep in melancholy, a clear, sweet voice interrupted his thoughts. He slowly turned around.

A pretty little girl stood behind him. Her features were delicate and her clothing luxurious. With a pair of large, curious eyes, she gazed at him.

Feeling uncomfortable under her scrutiny, Yu Wenchengdu quickly rose to his feet.

“Hello,” he replied, somewhat at a loss.

“Why are you sitting here all by yourself?”

Yang Xiangning looked the little boy in pale golden clothing up and down. He carried himself with graceful poise and possessed an extraordinary, heroic air. He did not seem like an ordinary child.

The question made Yu Wenchengdu feel a little embarrassed. He scratched his head and answered, “It’s nothing. I’m just sitting here admiring the scenery.”

“You’re lying.” Yang Xiangning was very clever and saw through him at once. “I’m not that easy to fool.”

Left with no choice, Yu Wenchengdu told her everything that had happened, from beginning to end.

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