Windborne Twin

二

A soft breeze flowed inside the room as the light shone through a window, birds chirping at the window sill. Shen Yuan rolled over in his sleep and found himself resting on a nice bed, slowly opening his eyes and straining from the sun's glare. By this time, all of his senses had returned, and the aroma of vanilla filled his nostrils, providing a soothing feeling to his mind. He didn't bother to sit up, instead of turning his head left and right to assess his surroundings and gain a better understanding of his location. The bamboo door creaked open as a man of such grace and beauty entered, carrying a tray of congee and hot tea.

Since the incident a few days ago, when he, Shen Jiu, discovered the grapevine ball and opened it to see a face he had long forgotten, finally receiving all the lost emotions he once had flooded into his body, the Immortal Alliance Conference has been postponed in the middle of the disciples hunting and grouping. Even though he ordered that the Conference be postponed, those who were uninformed of the situation were left perplexed and with no clues as to why this was happening.

This behavior, as well as the decision taken by Shen Jiu, only contributed to ruining his already tarnished reputation further. He is confident that the other Peak Lords will not let him off the hook, and he is fully aware of this. Shen Jiu understands his rights and wrongs completely... And it seemed self-evident that this was the proper course of action... Of course, the others might continue the Immortal Alliance Conference without him, but because of his pride and arrogance, he wouldn't dare to let anyone have the victorious moment. He couldn't care less if it meant the other Peak Lords continued to smear his name... This was not the first time he had been humiliated in this manner.

Walking inside that room and seeing a face he hadn't seen in a long time gave him a nostalgic sense of the past... Yes, it was them two against the world back then. They had each other when they didn't have anybody else to rely on. Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan were brothers in arms.

Shen Jiu had been thinking to himself, How is my brother still alive? How did he...make it? He couldn't recollect all the facts of that particular incident, but he did recall that Qiu Haitang, the girl he and his brother adored and had developed a sibling-like bond with, blamed him for not just her family's death, but also his own brother's death. His Qi Deviation was one of the reasons he couldn't recall that period.

Those crushing words, which he can still hear tearing through him like fabric, haunt him to this day.

"You devil of a villain!" exclaims Qiu Haitang in his mind. "Was it enough to destroy my entire family?! You included A-Yuan in your heinous murder! What a heartless person you are!!"

The heat of the roaring flame in front of him blazed, ashes flew into the air, and yells of people in anguish reverberated in his ears, abhor sentences and scorn words after abhor phrases. Shen Jiu's eyes remained expressionless on that day. He lost all worldly feelings and connections as if his entire universe had just collapsed in front of him. It wasn't because of what he did to the Qiu family... rather, it was because of the thoughts and statements that suggested he murdered his own flesh and blood. He honestly believed what others afterward stated about him: that he was a murderer. A villain.

A scumbag villain.

No matter where he goes, no matter how hard he tries to forget the past, someone will always remind him of what he's done. Others will remind him of who he is and force him to recall what he has done. He would remain clean on the outside, but never on the inside, no matter how many times he washed his hands in the river, pond, or even bath to wash away the dirt of his past... This has shaped who he is now. Shen Jiu's history followed him about, sowing suspicion and animosity among his fellow martial brothers and sisters. He'd never be able to form the same bonds with them as he had with Shen Yuan... He tries, he tries desperately... but his attempts were futile, and all they see is the worst in him. This caused them to misunderstand their situation, spreading inaccurate information about him, and also baseless allegations, making Shen Jiu feel like a cornered animal and without any options but to lash out and fight off the offending predators.