Eldest Brother, It's Been Hard on You! (4)

Unexpectedly, the Eldest Young Master soon found himself another guest. Unfortunate for the newcomer, Wei Chang Feng was trapped in a daze as he stared out of the dark pavilion in effort of finding the young girl who had spoken those startling words.

Who would be left for you to protect? If he enacted on his beliefs to the end, who would be alive to witness and partake in his achieved goal?

For the first time since a long time ago, the cold youth found himself in a dilemma. Since the day he had begun the arduous path of cultivation and sworn that oath, Wei Chang Feng now stared at an indomitable brick wall barring his consciousness.

The wall of bricks was remarkably fragile in appearance compared to the sights that the youth had seen. It was nothing more than a haphazard stack of roughly cut clay bricks, something easily demolished by a cultivator of such prowess as Wei Chang Feng, yet it stood strong regardless of his efforts.

He could not break it down, nor could he skirt around its barrier to bypass the wall. All the youth could do was to stare at the wall in utter hopelessness, waiting for the structure to crumble on its own.

When he strengthened his resolve, the fortification of the mental barrier rose in response. When plagued by doubts, the structure weakened by a margin, but refused to vanish or disintegrate regardless of his efforts.

The cold youth… couldn't help but mire in perplexed thoughts.

Since he had assimilated the first breath of nature into his bloodstream, igniting his journey as a cultivator, Wei Chang Feng had pledged to himself before his master. His soul was the witness to such claim, the youth having gone to the extent of initiating a blood-swearing oath to bind himself to his decree.

To protect his family and halt incoming calamities, he would enact all methods. Regardless of the ethical or moral questions, the youth vowed to execute all viable possibilities to eradicate any hope for disaster.

If he had to kill his siblings like he had attempted to assassinate An Fei numerous times, Wei Chang Feng could retain a clear conscience with the rationale of preventing a calamity for the Wei Family.

Servants were without question.

His father, Wei Xuan, and mother, Sheng Miaolan, Wei Chang Feng… was not certain. Nevertheless, the youth swore not to hinder himself from the necessary tasks burdening his soul.

…only, after such means, who would enjoy the dreamlike scenario he had envisioned at the start?

Would he himself be alive to even witness or propel such method's conclusion?

He… did not know.

He did not know what his callous dream would result in.

Startlingly, he neither wished to know or mention such a case again. Each attempt by the cold youth in questioning his resolve caused a glacial chill to strike through his core, making the youth feel like his blood was frozen, thawed, then forcefully thawed once again.

The wall of fragile bricks was no weaker than the strongest defensive treasure in existence and was akin to a thorn stabbed in his heart, directing a painful throb with each pulse. However, Wei Chang Feng discovered that if he didn't question his resolve or his oath, the indomitable wall served little impediment.

Regardless, it was downright irritating with the pulse of pain-

"Elder Brother!"

The sharp cry broke past Wei Chang Feng's thoughts and snapped him back to reality. Blinking his eyes twice, the cold youth found a worried young man waving a palm in his face, the mouth moving in indecipherable patterns as the cry repeated over and over.

"Elder Brother! Elder Brother, are you alright?"

"I'm perfectly fine," the cold youth snapped back, his voice indifferent and curt.

"I'm awake, what advice does Second Little Brother desire?"

"Then everything's fine," Wei Chang Luo released a relieved sigh, before sitting down next to the Eldest Young Master.

"You didn't respond for several moments. I thought the lack of food and water addled your conscience…"

"...are you looking for a beating?"

"No! Eldest Brother is perfectly healthy, not addled in the head at all!" the young man shrieked, leaping away in fright. After a few moments, the Second Young Master slowly sat down once more, turning to face Wei Chang Feng with a solemn expression on his countenance.

"Elder Brother, why did you do that?"

The Eldest Young Master frowned at the ambiguous question, his mind preoccupied by the words uttered by the departing young girl. Fortunately, before Wei Chang Feng could reply, the Second Young Master had already opened his mouth to speak.

"Father and Mother are truly disappointed with you," Wei Chang Luo listlessly complained.

"Well, Mother is the one disappointed. Father is trying his best to suppress his anger and not vent it out on you."

"After all, those maidservants were well talented and he didn't invest a small amount in training servants to take care of Fourth Little Sister. Not to mention, Fourth Little Sister's been going through rough times, and that's stressing Father out like no tomorrow. Each time I see him with mother, it's as if he's been placed on the death row!"

"…Fourth Little Sister's has been through rough times?" Wei Chang Feng raised an eyebrow in surprise, his calm expression broken at the sudden statement.

"Though we are born from different mothers, you can't treat Fourth Little Sister like that," the Second Young Master sighed.

"Didn't you know? Fourth Little Sister is quite literally the pearl in Father's heart. Not to mention, that lass has just woken up and gone through a miserable time."

"Watching that lass lapse between comas and vomit blood from consuming medicinal herbs beneficial to the body, Father's complexion is as if he's gone through eleven levels of hell, if not all eighteen. Since the Imperial Court's closed since the beginning of winter, Father is either watching over Fourth Little Sister at the study, or holing himself in a small room researching with whatever tomes or books he brings in."

Wei Chang Luo bitterly sighed as he looked at the now darkened sky, his hazel irises searching for the glimpse of starlight within the emptiness. Having discovered a tiny pinprick of light amongst the bleak and dark night, the young man's eyes brightened as he excitedly spoke to the cold youth besides him.

"Eldest Brother, did you know that the Pagoda of Sun and Moon had an unexpected opening this year?" the young man rambled, waving his hand before the Eldest Young Master's countenance in jubilation.

"I actually got to enter the sacred ground at the prime of my time! Not to mention that I sneaked a killing from those scholars, hehe."

"The Pagoda of Sun and Moon opened within a year since the last time?"

Wei Chang Luo asked in a sharp voice, the youth's eyes narrowed in shock and suspicion. Towards the nodding of the Second Young Master, the youth could not help but become suspicious and wary.

What was the Ascended Emperor thinking? Or had the mysterious man utilized the Taiyi sect to dispatch a message to Great Yong?

Whilst Wei Chang Luo was blissfully conveying his various successes in his newly acquired martial arts techniques and cultivation manual and how he was on the verge of breaking into the realm of Spirit Building, the Eldest Young Master was trapped in his memories. A plethora of thoughts clashed in his consciousness, conjecturing and counter-conjecturing regarding the mysterious person's intentions and future actions.

A mysterious man oppressing the Taiyi Sect. Abnormal actions employed by the Ascended Emperor of Great Yong.

What was going to happen to the jianghu, the cultivation world, and the empires of the Shattered Star Continent?

Was the Wei Family… involved in this mess?

"-by the way, Eldest Brother, have you seen Fourth Little Sister's appearance yet?" the young man suddenly gave a sheepish smile obscured in the darkness.

"Father never let me see the lass' appearance, what a cheapskate father!"

"Hm?" The Eldest Young Master of Wei froze for a moment, before a rare smile broke across his frigid countenance.

"Fourth Little Sister is indeed beautiful as a fairy, surpassing even those at Taiyi Sect. Her future husband would truly be blessed, ah."

"Then that's good. My Fourth Younger Sister can't be ugly by the slightest, that would be a complete shame, ah."

Wei Chang Luo blurted, weaving his fingers into a complicated net to rest his head on. The young man reclined on the wooden ground for several moments, muttering to himself.

"Fourth Little Sister can't lose out compared to Third Little Sister or Fifth Little Sister if Father's that desperate to hide her appearance," the young man mused.

"So, Elder Brother isn't wrong – Hey! What did you just say right now!? Say that again, you saw Fourth Little Sister's appearance!?"

Jumping to his feet akin to a startled hare fleeing for his life, the Second Young Master glared at the Eldest Young Master of Wei with harrowed eyes. Confused regarding the young man's unusual reaction, Wei Chang Feng solemnly nodded his head.

It was unknown how Wei Chang Luo managed to spot such a gesture within the suppressive darkness.

The young man subsequently exploded into an unjustified fury, his spiritual essence radiating from his body in copious quantities. Clenching his fingers into tight fists, he glared at the Eldest Young Master with resentment, lunging out with a dazzling scarlet light encompassing his right fist.

"F*ck, you always have to take everything and leave me with scraps! Eldest Brother, why did you have to be the first this time as well!?"

Needless to say, the result was remarkably predictable, and did not bode well for the agitated Second Young Master of Wei.

Smashed into a pulp for such foolish action, as history constantly revealed time and time again.