Remember who you belong to (Between a rock and a hard place 1)

Chapter 7

The first days in the Cloud Recesses were not all that bad according to Jiang Cheng. He had been put in the same room with Wei Ying so there were no troubles in that department. Also, the Gusu Lan sect's rules about discretion and basically minding their own business helped when he wanted to spend time with his brother. Once they put up a silencing talisman, no one would even think of bothering them, no matter what they were doing, as far as it was not after the curfew.

However, there were also downs to this arrangement. While he could pass every waking minute by Wei Ying's side, he could not keep him on a tight leash as he had done all those years in the Lotus Pier. He had tried in the beginning, chaining Wei Ying to his side, but whenever he got a little bit more forceful, the disciples and more importantly the elders started giving him worried glances and some of them even came forward to ask if everything was alright.

And the worst part was that he felt like he was slowly but surely losing control over his brother. There was only so much he could do for it to not leave marks and Wei Ying would not be incapacitated the day after. It was not enough, not in the long run. Back in Lotus Pier, he had used a spicy mixture of pain, comfort and threats to keep Wei Ying glued to his side. Here however, the threats were not much help since he could only threaten his brother to have him send back to Lotus Pier if he misbehaved too much, but that would be very counterproductive since in this way, Jiang Cheng would not be able to keep him at his side at all.

All in all, Jiang Cheng felt suffocated and somewhat helpless here. And the worst thing was that Wei Ying apparently caught up on it as well and was taking liberties as soon as Jiang Cheng's arm was not holding him back by force.

He would join other guest disciples in games or academic discussions. He would go around the Cloud Recesses, exploring and spending time alone in the back hills where he knew Jiang Cheng always had a hard time finding him – the Yunmeng Jiang sect heir even suspected that he was ignoring his calls when he was searching for him, what a daring thing to do! And he would also spend more and more time with his new friend Nie Huisang.

Jiang Cheng truly felt like he was losing his ground. And he did not like it. He did not want Wei Ying to be around so many other people. He did not want them to see how good and talented his brother was and possibly take him away from Jiang Cheng's grasp. He was not sure if he would ever be able to accept not having his brother by his side anymore. Life would surely lose all its glamour and excitement if his loved one, his ever obedient puppet, would not be there for him anymore.

That was why Jiang Cheng scowled a little bit more with each passing day. That was why he became increasingly angrier each time Wei Ying left his side even for a second. And more importantly, he became more and more jealous with every word or every glance his brother had accorded to anyone else but Jiang Cheng.

It was not helping that people were naturally flocking around Wei Ying due to his sunny personality which was now resurfacing after Jiang Cheng had successfully managed to basically extinguish it in Lotus Pier. There at least, the disciples knew better than to approach Wei Ying. And his brother was obediently following his instructions in fear of encountering any dogs while going into town or taking a stroll in the Yunmeng Jiang sect compounds by himself – Jiang Cheng made sure of that – or because Yu Ziyuan's presence over him and her frequent punishments kept him in line.

None of those things would work here however. First, any pets including dogs were forbidden in the Cloud Recesses; and it was not like Jiang Cheng could take Wei Ying to Caiyi town to have him scared out of his mind and clutching onto him for dear life several times a day; it was way to far. Also, the threat of Yu Ziyuan could only hold that much power here, so far away from her. Jiang Cheng could only threaten his brother that a punishment would be waiting for him once they would return to Lotus Pier; but it was so far in the future that Wei Ying would not take him too seriously anymore. Lan Qiren's punishments were also not a good option, they would only limit the time they could spend together.

All in all, Jiang Cheng had been on edge for quite some time already. His patience with his brother was only hanging on a very thin thread and there was no telling when it would snap altogether.

And of course it did in the end. It was not even two weeks into their stay in the Cloud Recesses that Wei Ying started acting even weirder than usual. He would go to great lengths to avoid Jiang Cheng and none of the punishments that the Yunmeng Jiang sect heir tried to force onto him would stop him. It did not matter if he whipped his brother unconscious, if he let him kneel for a whole night, if he beat him until his whole body was black and blue or if he slapped his bottom so many times that he was not able to sit down properly the next day. Nothing worked.

In the end, Jiang Cheng resolved himself to another method. Since Wei Ying would not admit where he had been going or who he had been meeting with, the Yunmeng Jiang sect heir would just have to not let him meet anyone at all. For Jiang Cheng was sure that his brother was seeing someone as he often came back with a strange odour on his skin. It was not Wei Ying's smell, that, Jiang Cheng knew for a fact. He had spent enough nights holding his brother close to him to know.

So, when Wei Ying came back from wherever he had been that afternoon, Jiang Cheng was sitting on his bed, waiting for him. Wei Ying opened the door and his smile immediately fell when he saw Jiang Cheng frowning at him. It seemed that his dump brother had only now realized that Jiang Cheng was done with him this time.

Sheepishly, he lowered his head and tugged it between his shoulders while whispering apologetically: "Little Brother, please do not be mad at me. I had to copy rules in the Library Pavilion again today..."

Jiang Cheng scoffed and interrupted his brother, his voice closer to a snarl than anything else: "Big Brother, do not lie to me! I have been to the Library Pavilion earlier this afternoon and you were not there." He relished in the sight of Wei Ying becoming even smaller and starting to tremble slightly. He stood up and went to his brother. Wei Ying fell to his knees and Jiang Cheng was now towering over him menacingly.

"So? Where have you been?"

Wei Ying was stuttering, stumbling over his every word: "You are right... I have been in the back mountains. Do you know that there are rabbits there? And I have fell asleep after playing with them." He raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Cheng. He was pleading now and his hands were coming in front of his body as if he wanted to grab at Jiang Cheng's robes but did not dare to. "Little Brother, please forgive me, I will not do it again."

Wei Ying flinched and his eyes grew wide with horror when Jiang Cheng reached out his hand. Something roared in satisfaction in his chest as he patted his brother's hair.

"I see. I believe you; do not worry, it is alright." Wei Ying's eyes shone with relief and hope and Jiang Cheng smirked in turn. He simply loved to see the hope being crushed and the smile being wiped off his brother's face. "But..." Yes, there it was, the moment he had been waiting for. Wei Ying stilled completely and looked at him with suspicion and fear in his eyes now, he was hurt. Such a truly delightful expression. "You have disobeyed me. And you know what that mean, do you not, Big Brother?"

Wei Ying looked positively crushed when he whispered, his voice sad and trembling: "I understand, Little Brother. Please punish me as you see fit."

Jiang Cheng did not need any other encouragement. He took the rope he had prepared in advance and hogtied Wei Ying with it. Now his brother looked like an animal which was waiting to be slaughtered while still making puppy eyes at Jiang Cheng. The final touch was adding a gag and he was all set. Jiang Cheng made it a point to look disappointed in him when he unceremoniously shoved Wei Ying under his own bed, out of sight of anyone who would dare to come inside uninvited.

Now he would know where his brother was at all times. And he had already prepared what he would tell Lan Qiren too. Wei Ying was sick and would need a few days to feel better. No, there was no need to go to infirmary for something this minor, he could just rest in his room. And yes, he would come back to the lectures in a couple of days, completely recovered by then.