Severing Time & Space

Wu Jian Vs. Wu Yong Part II

"I declare this match over! The winner is—"

"No..."

The elder's words were stopped mid-sentence when Wu Yong spoke up, pushing himself into a sitting position, then slowly standing to his feet. Wu Jian looked back in shock. He could have sworn his half-brother had been knocked unconscious, but there he was, standing. His legs were shaking, but he stood up nontheless. Gnashing his bloody teeth together, he pinched his thighs to stop them from shaking and looked up to glare at Wu Jian.

"I'm not done yet," he declared.

Elder Wu Jinsu frowned, but he slowly backed off. "Very well. The fight will continue."

"Why won't you give up?" asked Wu Jian. "Do you want to prove that you're better than me? Fine. You're better than me. But if you think being better than me means you'll be able to win Wu Meiying's affection, then you're trying to catch a fish in a tree."

"Shut up! I will make her see me! I will make her love me!" As he screamed at Wu Jian, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a round, black pill. "And if I can't make her fall in love with me, then I'll just make her mine by force!"

"Wu Yong! What are you doing?! Do not take that pill! Stop now!" Elder Wu Jinsu shouted.

But it was already too late.

Wu Yong placed the pill into his mouth and swallowed it. The moment he did, veins began bulging along his neck, arms, legs, and his face turned a bright red. It was like all the blood inside of him was boiling and rushing to the surface. Even his eyes became bloodshot.

"This match is over! Wu Jian wins on account of Wu Yong using illegal pills during a fair match!" Elder Wu Jinsu declared as though to stop what was about to happen.

Wu Yong didn't listen to the elder, or maybe he couldn't even hear him. Perhaps his anger had deafened him to the words of others. With a furious roar, he burst forward with more speed than Wu Jian had seen before. He was too fast for Wu Jian to dodge. All he could do was block the other boy's attack with his forearms, but that also proved to be a mistake. Pain exploded in his limbs. He could feel the bones in his arms breaking as Wu Yong broke through his guard and smashed a foot against his chest.

With a sharp cry, he flew backward and hit the ground hard. He tried to breathe, but found that something was wrong with his lungs. He couldn't take in any air. His vision became blurry and black around the edges. As he began blacking out, several faces appeared around him, but he couldn't make out who they were. Wu Jian found himself focusing on just one of them. The blurry figure's mouth moved like it was talking, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

Mei... ying...

Darkness overcame him.

***

Wu Jian awoke with a sharp gasp. He looked wildly around for a moment, but then settled down when he realized where he was. The sturdy ceiling overhead and familiar shoji screen door of the hospital wing was one he recognized thanks to the many times he had come here. Calming down, he tried to recall what happened after his fight against Wu Yong, but he couldn't.

"I see you are finally awake," a voice said.

He would have jumped if he wasn't so tired. Turning his head, he blinked several times at the woman whose cold face never seemed to change.

"Aunt Taohua..."

The person sitting on the chair was Wu Taohua. Her hair was currently let down instead of tied into a bun. It was much longer than he thought it would be. Each strand looked black, but it became a brownish color when the light hit it, proving that it wasn't pure black like Wu Meiying's hair. Somehow, this hairstyle gave her a much softer appearance than normal. She looked almost kind.