17 Sworn brothers
Elder Huo looked at the clock and frowned. Ying Yue has been closeted in the lab since that morning. It was late in the night, and she had yet to return. He knew she was looking into something for him, but he has accepted his fate, and wished she did not run herself ragged.
" Has she had anything to eat?" Elder Huo asked Uncle Yin.
" Yes Elder. Young Master went by the labs and made sure she had dinner. She skipped lunch though." Explained Uncle Yin.
Elder Huo waved at him, to take a seat.
" Just sit already. Are we still at an age for you to keep up this act?" He grumbled at his best friend and sworn brother.
Uncle Yin sighed, sat down and kneaded his knees a little.
" We have grown old haven't we." Elder Huo asked Uncle Yin.
" Why don't you speak about yourself? I am ten years younger than you." Uncle Yin muttered, but one could see that the rowdiness of his younger days is taking its toll on his body.
Elder Huo looked knowingly at Yin.
" We have come a long way from those days haven't we?" Elder Huo looked wistful.
Uncle Yin agreed as he leaned back in the sofa.
" Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been if you had not picked me up from the side of the road." Reminisced Uncle Yin.
" You would have become a Mob leader." Elder Huo joked.
Uncle Yin snorted, but did not disagree.
" You should have told Young Miss the truth about her mother. The actual reason why you did not agree to their marriage." Uncle Yin told him after a short silence. It was not the first time Elder Huo's decisions were questioned by Uncle Yin, but this was the first time he sounded angry about it.
Elder Huo just sighed.
" It would have broken her heart more. I would rather her be angry at me, than find about the truth. I need you to promise me that she never finds out." His normally majestic voice broke a little at the end. He was getting tired too often these days. The doctor wanted him to get chemotherapy soon. He had rebelled against the idea. He did not want his granddaughter to ever see him that way. He would rather die in an honourable and dignified way. He was not young, and he was ready to meet his beloved wife.
Uncle Yin scowled at his friend, but as always gave in to his demand.
" Young Miss would definitely not let you be. She would force the treatment on you." He warned Elder Huo.
Elder Huo knew it was the truth, but he knew of ways to subdue his granddaughter.
" The truth will always bleed into the light for even the darkness cannot hold her." Uncle Yin out of the blue recited his Mistress's favourite line form a poem.
Elder Huo just rolled his eyes, knowing what the other was doing. Sometimes, it just sucked to have someone by their side who remembered everything.
" How is the party coming along?" He diverted the topic.
A short silence followed.
" Lady Huo is doing a good job. I have triple checked all the single men on the list for the party. None of them have any red flags." But one could hear the dissatisfaction in his voice.
" Then why are you looking like you drank a bottle of vinegar?" Elder Huo joked.
"Because none of them are good enough for our Young Miss. They are good in business and have had good education, but none of them have the courage or the tact to handle our Young Miss. They would never try to understand the brilliance of her mind or the beauty of her spirit." He rambled passionately.
Elder Huo looked at Uncle Yin and laughed a little.
" I know. Do not worry. She takes after me a lot. She will never settle for someone she doesn't feel is not her equal." He bragged.
" Then why did you include it as one of the conditions?" He asked a little confused.
" To lure out a demon." He said with an evil glint in his eyes.
