Beep!
Beep!
The silent corridor was flooded by the beeping of a hospital machine in the distance — at the end of the corridor, ambient light projected to the outside, illuminating the dark hall.
Opposite the room was a large glass window that gave full vision into the room itself, and behind the glass stood Tiang and Qingye.
Inside the room — strapped to machines for breathing — was Lian'er, who had been asleep for the past four and a half days.
"When do you think she's going to wake up?" Qingye asked, breaking the silence, his eyes solemnly staring at his younger sister.
Tiang sighed. "To be honest?…" He closed his eyes briefly and opened them to look at Lian'er's resting face. "I don't know. The doctors said there's nothing wrong with her or her core, her Neuro-Qi levels are stable, and she can breathe on her own, but her brain seems to be unresponsive."
Qingye understood what his father was talking about — he cast a glance at the man and could see the toll everything had taken on him. Wrinkles were starting to appear on his face; his family was separated in a single night, his youngest cast out of Heaven's Feel, and his third eldest lay before him. If that wasn't bad enough, the elders were fixated on the guardian scripture more than anything else.
Qingye truly pitied the current state his father was in.
He placed a hand on his father's shoulder. "Why not go get some rest, Father? I'll watch over Lian while you're gone."
Tiang nodded and offered a small thanks before leaving the Sect hospital, leaving Qingye to watch over Lian'er.
"Dearest sister, why do you always cause trouble for us?" Qingye mused to himself, unaware of the elder who had stepped into the visitation room until the elder cleared his throat.
Qingye quickly spun around and looked at Juin, who stood behind him, one hand caressing the strands of hair on his chin.
Qingye quickly gave a slight bow. "Elder Juin, what brings you here?"
"Qingye, my boy." Juin chuckled and circled around Qingye to watch the room where Lian'er was sleeping. Juin went quiet, still rubbing his beard with his jewelry-covered hand. "It is quite a shame. I heard what happened, and I'm deeply hurt that she would end up in this situation."
*Haha, that little wench got what she deserved.* Deep inside, Juin was squealing with joy — the meddling children of Tiang were both incapacitated; this was his golden moment. Heaven had answered him!
Qingye, oblivious to the jubilation Juin was experiencing, nodded and stood by Juin's side. "It's quite a shame indeed, but according to Father, she is stable… I only wish she would overlook her infatuation with Yuanchen, because she's going to hurt herself more."
Juin chuckled yet again. "How very sound! Your reasoning and deduction skills have always been on the mark."
"You flatter me, Elder."
"Enough about that. There is something I wanted to tell you." Juin's demeanor altered in a blink, and the warmth he had established when he arrived vanished. Behind him, the cold room felt as frigid as steel in winter, and Qingye took note.
"And that would be?" Qingye asked — his stomach sinking slightly at the gut feeling he had.
Juin turned around and stretched out his hands, a crafty smile hidden beneath his beard. "Join hands with me. We all know Tiang is an incompetent leader. He can't make the tough choices. Join me and we shall thrive! The Sect shall be ours to rule"
Qingye's eyes widened, his hands curling into fists as his lips creased downward and his teeth ground against one another. "You are despicable. How dare you say that?"
Juin's eyes darkened at the look on Qingye's face — he lowered his hands and sighed. "Such a pity that one as talented as you couldn't see the amazing prospect in front of him. I thought you were more reasonable, unlike your two siblings, but you are like them after all. No matter…" Juin's hand twitched and his palm gathered Neuro-Qi, which he swung at Qingye.
Qingye proved nimble on his feet as he dodged to the side, avoiding the highly compressed Neuro-Qi shaped in the resemblance of a blade. He reached out his hand and called upon the burning inferno produced by his internal temperature, only for a rough hand to catch his. The ring on Juin's finger glowed, releasing energy that suppressed the awakening flames.
Juin grinned. "It's easy to counter you. This item surely has wonderful benefits."
Qingye tried to pull his hand away — but the force behind Juin's hold shocked him. Seeing the futility of retreating, he threw a punch at Juin, which was countered by a hand that made the punch bounce cleanly aside.
Juin's eyes glowed as he looked into Qingye's eyes. "It's futile. I'm stronger than you, and I came prepared. If you won't help me willingly, then unwillingly you will."
Qingye blinked as he saw the flashing screens in red informing him of his current predicament. He channeled more Neuro-Qi to his membrane in an attempt to fight against the compulsion taking over, but he couldn't — Qingye's vision slowly faded to black until nothing remained.
Seeing the distant gaze Qingye now had, Juin smiled. The compulsion was a success — that man had not lied to him about the forbidden technique that allowed one into the mind of those he desired. He released Qingye's hand and chuckled slightly at his standing puppet.
"Soon this Sect — no, this world — will belong to me."
---
Qingye walked into his home and the maids greeted him as usual, but he did not greet them back — he walked to his father's study and knocked on the door. Tiang called out from the other end, giving permission for Qingye to enter, and the latter did.
He stood at the center of the room and stared at his father, who was sitting at his chair.
"I hope I didn't trouble you earlier," Tiang said — his eyes stared at Qingye, and for some reason he couldn't shake the odd feeling brewing in his gut.
Qingye nodded, his demeanor appearing as if he were programmed… And indeed he was, for after he nodded, he hurled at his father's direction a small sphere of flames, which quickly consumed the oxygen in the room and became a roaring amalgamation of fire that exploded violently, sending splinters of wood everywhere and blowing up the office in the process.
Tiang flew from the smoke and landed a couple of feet away from Qingye, his robes burned by the attack, and he removed them.
"Qingye, what's the meaning of this?" Tiang asked.
He did not receive an answer but a flying kick aimed at his face — Tiang blocked the kick with his gauntlets and was pushed back by the force. The attacks showed him that he needed to take Qingye seriously or his life was forfeit. Given the severity of the explosion, Tiang knew he would need to fight with all he had.
A pang of pain shot through his heart.
His family was crumbling, and his stoicism was the root cause.
Ignoring the pressing feeling, Tiang lowered his hands and took a deep breath. The air started to scream in pain as Neuro-Qi exploded from the pores of Tiang's skin, creating a column of radiating energy around him. The energy shrank and shrank until it separated itself into two, forming Buddhist hands behind Tiang.
"Come at me, whoever you are possessing my son."