Blood River

23. Group Hunt: Part Ten

Chapter 22 has been heavily edited and meanings have been added to it as well, so check it out if interested

Enjoy~

...

Lan Wangji stepped into the clearing, his guqin still vibrating with the last note. His expression was as unreadable as ever, but there was a heaviness in the air around him - a silent judgment that weighed down on his two sons.

Sizhui, his heart racing, immediately dropped to one knee from exhaustion, head bowed low. Jingyi, still recovering from the fall, mirrored the gesture more slowly, the guilt already gnawing at him.

"I told you we could've handled it," Jingyi whispered, but the defeat in his voice was undeniable.

"You called for help," Wangji said softly, having heard the younger boy's accusative words. It wasn't an accusation - it was a simple statement of fact. And that made it all the worse for the two boys kneeling from defeat and exhaustion.

Sizhui's heart sank. Of course, his father had expected better. He had failed for the second time this week - first against someone ranked below him, and than after a low-grade beast..

Jingyi, sensing the tension between them, shifted uncomfortably. He had always struggled with Lan Wangji's presence. It wasn't that he didn't respect the man - far from it. But there was something about being in his shadow that made Jingyi feel like he was always falling short, no matter how hard he tried.

"You're injured," Wangji said, glancing at Sizhui, his voice softened slightly, though he didn't comment further on it. For some reason his words sounded more like a reminder than a reprimand to the boy, but he refused to take it as such - continuing to shame himself.

Wangji turned his gaze to the immobilized rhino hybrid, still caught in the web of his guqin's still vibrating sound, desptue him not even olaying the instrument.

After a pause, the older man spoke again, without looking back, "We'll take it down together", and without another word, he moved towards the beast in a quick pace, his sword gleaming as it cut through the cold air of the frozen night.

Sizhui and Jingyi scrambled to their feet, their earlier hesitation and fatigue seemingly gone as they aimed to proving their prowess to their father.

They watched in awe as their father effortlessly weaved through the creature's attacks, his movements so precise, so controlled, it felt as though he wasn't fighting at all - merely guiding the battle towards its inevitable conclusion, where he won without a single sweat.

But instead of feeling inspired, Sizhui felt something else.

Shame.

How could he ever hope to be worthy of the Lan Sect's expectations when his father was this perfect?

How could he live up to being the hier they wanted when Lan Wangji was the standard set for all the disciples?

As the rhino hybrid charged at them, its horn poised to strike, Wangji's expression remained calm, almost detached. He struck a chord on his guqin, and a wave of energy rippled through the air, pushing the creature back effortlessly. Sizhui felt a surge of power from the resonance, igniting a flicker of determination within him.

"Let's go, Jingyi!" he urged, getting into position with mingleng held tighy in his hands, albeit unsteadily. "We can do this!"

Jingyi nodded, heart pounding. The rhythm of Wangji's guqin pulsed in their veins, urging them on to keep fighting, to not give up.

Together, they stepped forward, drawing their weapons - Sizhui wielded his slender silver sword, while Jingyi held his own, Féngyú in a fight stance as well.