Love Concurs Destiny

The Reveal ~ 1

Xie Yun shows Liying his fighting style, the real training starts now.

Xie Yun shows Liying his fighting style, the real training starts now.
The fight starts
The morning after the ‘visit’, Liying is woken up quite unceremoniously and told to get ready.

“Geee....can I just—”
She stopped short in her struggle through the yawn as she saw her brother standing there in those robes. Blinking once, she rubbed her eyes to remove anything that might obscure her vision or show her a hallucination, but no.

Nothing changed. Her brother remained standing in front of her, wearing those unfamiliar black robes and sporting a serious look on his face.
In fact, it was more than robes. Xie Yun had braces on, and his hair was pulled back with a plain back hairpin in a high ponytail. His waist had three pouches, and was that a sheath anchor Liying saw?

Her brother was standing ready for a fight.

Xie Liying had never seen her brother in a fighting gear, the sight was.....mesmerising.

“Go wash your face and get ready. We have a long day ahead.”

Without wasting a breath, Liying ran back inside, rushing through the morning routine. Her whole being was vibrating with nervous energy, wondering what would happen. Was Xie ge finally going to train her? Did he have something to show her? Or was it something else? Getting ready in record time, Liying ran outside to find Xie Yun standing there with his eyes closed.
Before Liying could speak, Xie Yun raised his hand, speaking without opening his eyes.
“We will start with a few easy stretches, warm up your body, and then move to jumps and stealth training. With every level you pass and each day you complete your training without falling, you get a question answered. If you fail, we are going away. Got it?”
What? Did she hear correctly?
It seemed like this was what Liying had dreaded in the past. They were training.
The goal? A tough one. But the alternative of it was potential death. In cold blood. Liying would choose a tough training with her brother over that any day.
“Yes ge!”
And so they start.

The sun rises with their blades and sets with its shade.
Meanwhile, Liying is also ready to set down after a whole day of intense training. The sun has set already and so has her soul. She cannot feel a muscle in her body, talk about intense. Though her brother doesn’t seem to be fairing well either, but at least he is standing, so that counts, probably.

Dinner is the end point of Liying’s patience, or you could say, curiosity. Even Xie Yun’s spicy egg broth couldn’t numb her mind enough to stop her from asking the question which had been brewing in her mind since morning.
“Ge..”
“....”
“Gege...”
Xie Yun's hands stopped spooning the broth but his eyes didn’t move from his bowl. Liying waited, knowing an impatience won’t give her the answers she wanted.

“Finish it while it’s hot.”
“But—”
Seeing her brother continue to eat with such calmness irked her. But his silence irked Liying more.

Now is not the time to question.

Days passed with the Xie siblings continuing to wake with the first rays of sun while monsoon came and went away with the strokes of their swords, leaving autumn knocking onto their doors.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest:
An eagle's angry cry resonated in the air while a man frowned at the sight. The bird came to rest on her human’s arm, a scroll held tight in her claws.
Ah.
It’s time, probably.
.
.
.
.
“You say that now, but how shall I weigh your words?”
“I-I—I promise Chong da! I promise!”
“Hmm....you promise?”
“YES! Yes, I do! Please....I beg you Chong da.....”
Tears, useless in the face of death, trickled down the man’s wrinkled features. Ji Chong was not moved.
He had given the man ample chances to make up for his mistake, but the rat didn’t. So it was only fair that the man met his end, Ji Chong was at least being kind.
“No..uh..huhuhah..no da ge! Please give me a chance, just one. I will show my loyalty, I will-I’ll prove myself, I swear on my life! Hahuhh... You will never hear about another snitch again, don’t.  Don’t. Don’t kill me–don’t, please forgive me this once—da ge–da—”
Ji Chong leaned in the man’s face, a picture of thunderous calm.
“Zhong Ba, you know this community has its rules. I stand by my words till you stand with yours. You also know I do not take kindly to betrayals.”
“But—” Ji Chong silenced the man with a raise of his hand.
“There are no buts here, Zhong Ba. Consider this as my last gift to you. You know the royalty would love to tickle you.”
The sharp words subdued the man, numbing his whole self. Every person in the community knew what running away meant, what a capture conveyed.
Zhong Ba knew this. His murmured apologies and sobs told as much.