Han Zhennan's head still throbbed from the barrage of revelations his father had unloaded onto him—inheritance, the clan's hidden past, the looming war, and worst of all… marriage. Marriage! At nineteen! He rubbed his temples as he muttered to himself, "Of all things, Father, you could've told me about my destiny, about the inheritance, about death waiting at the Far Lands—but no, you had to shove wives into it too…"
Shaking his head, he finally decided. "I can't talk about the inheritance with anyone," he thought, "but the marriage… at least that I can unload on Zhenhai. He'll mock me, sure, but who else can I tell? He's the only one I can actually call a brother."
---
The next day, he found Lu Zhenhai by the training grounds, shooting arrows with lazy enthusiasm—if "enthusiasm" could even apply to Lu Zhenhai. Seeing Zhennan approach, Zhenhai smirked.
"You look like someone just stuffed spirit stones down your throat and told you not to choke. What's wrong?"
Zhennan exhaled and sat down, motioning for his friend to join him. "Zhenhai, I need to tell you something. But before I do, you have to promise me two things."
"Go on," Lu Zhenhai said, wiping sweat off his brow with a ragged sleeve.
"First, don't make this your amusement. And second, don't tell anyone."
Zhenhai's grin stretched wider. "The second thing I can do. The first? My brother, that's impossible—it's in my blood. My mother once said if I don't make fun of someone at least five times a day, I'll stop breathing."
Zhennan groaned. "I knew it."
"Hey, hey," Zhenhai said, patting his back with mock sincerity. "But you're my brother. Even if I laugh, I'll laugh with love."
"That makes it worse," Zhennan muttered.
Still, he trusted no one more. So he drew in a breath and began. "Alright, so here's what happened…"
He told Zhenhai everything—his father's talk about his father's demand that he had to… get married soon for some reason.
Zhenhai's eyes went wide, then slowly narrowed with glee. His lips twitched. Then he burst out laughing so hard he nearly fell backward.
"HAH! HAHAHA! You—you're getting married! Oh heavens, I knew you'd surprise me one day, but this—this is beyond my dreams!"
Zhennan shoved him, face red. "Shut up! It's not funny!"
"Oh no, it's hilarious," Zhenhai wheezed, clutching his stomach. He leaned over, patting Zhennan's back mockingly. "My poor brother… shackled by chains of love before he's even grown whiskers on his chin. Tell me, do you even know how to touch a woman?"
Zhennan's face darkened. "What kind of stupid question is that?! You think I live in a cave? Of course I know!"
Zhenhai raised a brow, lips twitching. "Oh? Then enlighten me, master of women. How do you even hold a woman's hand? Do you grab it like you're shaking an elder's palm, or like you're about to snap her wrist?"
"Idiot! Obviously, I—" Zhennan cut himself off, realizing he was about to step into a trap. He crossed his arms instead. "I told you, I know."
Zhenhai's grin turned wicked. "You see, what you must do is—"
"I SAID I know!" Zhennan snapped.
"Will you shut up, already?!" Zhenhai barked back, smacking his shoulder. "What I'm about to describe is something you should be begging me for! This is sacred knowledge, handed down from generations of—well, my imagination, but still!"
Zhennan snorted. "Sacred knowledge? The only woman who's ever loved you is your mother."
A vein bulged on Zhenhai's forehead. He jabbed a finger at Zhennan. "The hell did you just say, you simpleton?! At least my mother loves me—who's the only woman you ever talked to? That barking goat Xue Lian? I wouldn't even call her a woman, more like a feral beast in disguise! And He Ruying—pfft, she probably thinks babies fall from the sky!"
Zhennan burst out laughing. "Oh, please! Like you know anything about women. You? You probably thinkthe same things and you're no less of a feral beast then xue lian!"
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Zhenhai roared, lunging to put him in a headlock.
"Get off me, you dog!" Zhennan grunted, wrestling free. They tumbled across the grass, both laughing now, their mock argument echoing through the training grounds.
Finally, both collapsed side by side, panting. Zhenhai smirked. "Married , huh? Guess you're growing up faster than me after all. Just don't forget, when you have little brats running around calling you 'father,' I'll be the one teaching them how to curse properly."
Zhennan groaned, covering his face. "go to hell lu…"
The two young men lay stretched out on the grass, the sky above them painted with slow-moving clouds. Their breaths were still a little uneven from laughing and wrestling earlier, but now silence lingered, a quieter kind of peace settling between them.
Zhenhai turned his head slightly, glancing at his friend. "So… you really are going to get married?"
Zhennan exhaled, closing his eyes. "Seems like it. Not because I want to, but because my father decided it's what I must do. What about you? Has your father said anything about that for you?"
Zhenhai gave a half-shrug, staring at the clouds. "Not really. I think he's content for now—mostly because I'm here taking care of half his work while he tends to other matters. Keeps him satisfied enough."
Zhennan nodded quietly. After a moment, he asked, "How's your family? Your mother and sister—they're doing well?"
Zhenhai's lips quirked in a small smile. "Yeah, they're fine. Actually, my mother told me to invite you over for dinner later. Guess I forgot about it until now."
Zhennan gave a faint chuckle. "I'll hold you to that."
But then another thought struck him, one that made his expression soften. "What about your younger brother? Did he recover any?"
The question drew a long pause out of Zhenhai. He sighed, the smile fading from his face. "No… in fact, he's worse. Ever since he turned thirteen, the pain and sickness have only grown sharper. To be honest, I don't think Father cares enough to spend the fortune it would take to heal him. He already has me and my sister as heirs—children worth investing in. Heng… well…" He trailed off, then continued, voice quieter. "He's a bastard child. Born outside of marriage. Bastards don't get much in our clan. And since his talent isn't extraordinary, Father has no reason to make an exception for him."
Zhennan frowned, turning his head fully toward his friend. "Have you tried talking to your father about it?"
"I did," Zhenhai said flatly. "I told him he should at least consider it. Even suggested that helping Heng could improve his reputation among the clans. But he dismissed me. Said Heng's illness would require a fortune that even our clan can't spare—for a child with no future in cultivation. And you know what? He's right, in a way. This world doesn't care about fairness. Something you can't control—your birth, your talent—it decides your entire worth. One child is born a diamond, the other a pebble. Same mother, same blood… but their paths are worlds apart."
Zhennan lay silent, his chest heavy. He understood the bitterness in his friend's tone, and he agreed with it. This world was cruel.
"So he just stays in bed all the time?" Zhennan asked softly.
Zhenhai's expression eased slightly. "No. He only sleeps there. The rest of the time… I see him cultivating, training, fighting against his own body. He's relentless. I think that's what the heavens gave him instead of talent or health—stubbornness. But even so, with his rank one talent…" He let out a humorless laugh. "He's barely at the low stage of rank one. His cultivation is flawed, his body weak. Father says it won't be long before he loses even that—before he can't cultivate at all. And after that… if the disease worsens, it might even take his life."
The small smile Zhenhai had worn when speaking of his brother's perseverance faded completely. He turned his gaze back to the sky, voice quiet and almost bitter. "To be honest, I've seen slaves walking with brighter futures than his. Slaves, Zhennan."
Zhennan didn't answer right away. He knew Zhenhai and Lu Heng weren't close brothers—not in the way he and Zhenhai were—but still, it was blood. He could feel how heavy it was for his friend to say these words, to admit that helplessness.
Zhennan shifted slightly, resting his arms behind his head. After a long silence, he finally murmured, "It's cruel. Too cruel. But he's lucky to at least have you watching him. Even if you can't change anything… it matters."
Zhenhai closed his eyes, lips pressing together in a thin line. He didn't reply, but the faintest flicker of gratitude showed on his face before it disappeared into the quiet.