"Brother! Brother, wake up!" A childish voice cried.
Feeling someone lightly shaking him, Yang Bin groggily opened his eyes. He felt like he just woke up from a dream, and his memories of it were rapidly receding. Confusion flashed across his face, as he momentarily forgot where he was. Then his memories rushed back. Yang Bin immediately sat up, startling the girl beside him.
"You finally woke up!" A girl, around the age of ten, said with pleasant surprise. She was beautiful and cute with shiny silver hair and large round eyes. A sunny smile decorated her doll-like face, which still had hints of baby fat. She would have looked like any normal adorable little girl if not for her eyes. Her eyes seem to be a mixture of colors that seemed to be changing: sometimes blue, sometimes indigo, and sometimes violet.
"Mengyao, I'm awake now." Yang Bin smiled at the girl.
About six years ago, Yang Bin was playing in the woods near his backyard, when he found her. Scared and confused, she looked pitiful and lost. Yang Bin tried talking to her, but she didn't respond and seemed to not understand him. Perhaps because of fear or loneliness, she didn't leave him either and clung onto him. Unsure of what to do, the five year old Yang Bin simply brought her to his parents.
When Yang Bin's parents saw their son bring home a random girl, they panicked. They questioned her, but to no avail. The girl would just stare at them blankly, when they tried to communicate with her. For the next couple days, they raised her, while asking their neighbors if they knew the little girl. No one in the village knew her origins, so in the end, Yang Bin's parents decided to adopt her. They named her Yang Mengyao, and from then on, Yang Bin had a sister. Perhaps because Yang Bin was the first person she saw, she became very close with him.
"Have you seen a pebble with red marks on it?" Yang Bin stood up and looked around.
"I haven't." Yang Mengyao shook her head and stood up as well. "But, why were you sleeping here?"
Noticing the dust in his hand, Yang Bin shook it off, while his brain thought of a way to escape this predicament. "Ahem, the sun felt extremely comfortable today, so I decided to take a nap here." Yang Bin quickly came up with a lie; forgetting the fact that his face wasn't in the best shape.
"Napping is fine, but how could you not wake up, when you are getting attacked." Yang Mengyao mumbled in a soft and barely audible voice.
Yang Bin froze. Right, my face is still bruised. How could I forget?
"Ahem! Ahem! Little girl, don't ask so many questions. Come let's go home." He coughed and started to walk.
"Ok…" Yang Mengyao frowned slightly and was not convinced. Nevertheless, she didn't ask any more questions and followed him. Then as if remembering something, her face lit up. "Brother, guess what happened today!"
"I don't know." Yang Bin replied in a dull tone, wanting to stop this conversation before it became about his mauled face again.
Yang Mengyao frowned at his passionless reply but then smiled again. "I reached rank three of body tempering!"
Upon hearing that, Yang Bin stumbled forward. "O- oh really?" Yang Bin looked back and did his best to force a smile.
"Of course." The smile on Yang Mengyao was radiant. Her glimmering eyes seemed to be asking for praise.
As if blinded by her shing visage, Yang Bin turned around to wipe the invisible tears that were starting to form. In his heart, he was crying in pain. Why! Why is life so cruel to me? Even my little sister is stronger than me! Do I really have no talent for cultivation?
"Eh? Brother, why do you not seem happy?" Yang Mengyao innocently asked.
"Nonsense, I am very happy for you!" Yang Bin spun around and spoke in a rush.
"Ah?" Yang Mengyao was stunned at his quick and forceful reply.
"Ahem. I mean, I am very proud of you. You have cultivated very diligently. Well done." Yang Bin quickly composed himself and spoke at comprehensible speeds.
"Hehe. I didn't practice. When I woke up today; I realized I broke through." Yang Mengyao's smile became even wider.
"A -ah. O -oh, I see." Yang Bin managed to stutter. He was speechless and appalled. Unable to bear the injustice any longer, he ran with invisible tears streaming down his face.
"Huh? Brother, wait for me!" Startled, Yang Mengyao chased after him. Being two ranks higher, she caught up in a matter of seconds.
"Brother, you're acting very strange today…"
No reply.
"Why aren't you talking?"
Still Yang Bin didn't reply and kept on running.
****
After a few minutes of running, the two finally reached home. The sun was setting and the smell of food wafted out from the windows. Yang Bin was trying to catch his breath, while Yang Mengyao was still smiling and excitedly fluttering around him.
Standing in front of the door, Yang Bin pondered if he should tell his parents about the dream he had after encountering the pebble. He decided against it.
They'll probably think I've gone crazy, and my dad might try to knock some sense into me. Yang Bin thought.
"Mom! Dad! We're home!" Yang Bin opened the door and shouted.
Although the interior was on the smaller side, it was tidy. Bookshelves decorated a wall, and plants in clay pots resting on top of them. On the other side were two long comfy couches. From the door way, Yang Bin could see the dining table, a wooden square table with seat on each side.
"Very good, I just finished making dinner." A woman that looked to be in her twenties replied with a smiling face. She looked vaguely like Yang Bin, long silky black hair and an oval-shaped face. Wearing a plain dress, she had a gentle yet elegant demeanor. This was Yang Bin's mother Li Jing. Seeing the bruises on Yang Bin's face, her smile became a frown. "Son, what happened to your face? Did you get into a fight again?"
"Mom, brother was attacked, while he was-" Yang Mengyao began to speak, but she was cut off by Yang Bin.
"It was just a little squabble." Yang Bin dismissed it with the most reassuring smile he could manage, while his hand covered Yang Mengyao's mouth. Fortunately, Yang Mengyao caught on and didn't say anything. She simply headed towards the table.
"Good. Without some pain, you won't be able to grow stronger." A man, who looked to be in his thirties, entered the living room. He looked like an older version of Yang Bin: chiseled face with a stern expression. Tall, sturdy, and powerful, this was Yang Bin's father, Yang Gang.
"Dad, even with pain, I'm not getting any stronger." Yang Bin bitterly complained.
"Then, you can only blame your incompetence." Came the reply, making Yang Bin even more depressed.
"Honey, that's enough. Our son just got beaten, can't you give him some encouragement?" Li Jing decided to step in after seeing Yang Bin gloominess.
Yang Gang's expression softened slightly and walked towards Yang Bin. He pat Yang Bin's shoulder and waved his hand. In his hands appeared a red flower. "Son, this is a 50-year fiery flower I found during my work. It's useless to me. Take it, it should help speed up your cultivation."
Yang Bin was stunned. After a moment, he became slightly emotional and accepted the flower. "Thank you dad. I promise I will not let you down!" Yang Bin vowed.
"Hm, just reach the ninth rank of body tempering before the Tian Lin academy entrance exam, and I'll be proud of you." Yang Gang turned around and casually replied.
The Tian Lin academy entrance exam was a yearly exam conducted by the The Tian Lin academy for new students. At the end of every year, Tian Lin academy gives out 120 entrance quotas to all surrounding tribes and clans for the next school year. Some places would receive more, others would receive less. The Yang Clan, where Yang Bin is in, only have five quotas, and only those 12 and below and over the fifth rank of body tempering are allowed to compete for it.
"Ninth rank is a little too much." Yang Bin frowned.
The academy entrance exam was only six months away. Moving up eight ranks in just six months was very difficult. With Yang Bin's current cultivation speed, it'll take several years to get there.
Sighing at his misfortune, he joined the others at the dinner table. Dinner was lively and went smoothly, as no one decided to talk about Yang Bin's face.
After dinner, Yang Bin excused himself and entered his room.
"Son, remember to rub some ointment on your face before you go to bed tonight." Li Jing reminded Yang Bin.
"No worries, I know mom." Yang Bin replied. After applying the salve, he decided to take a look at the techniques, before he consumed the fiery flower.
As he sat crossed legged on his bed, his brows creased in concentration. Although he had already entered his spirit world once, he wasn't able to easily do it again. Especially since during his first time, he was forcefully dragged in.
Sitting in a meditative position with eyes closed, Yang Bin tried to remember the feeling, but to no avail. Still Yang Bin didn't give up. It was his only hope in breaking his curse of being weak. The minutes passed, and he started to feel tired. Entering a state of relaxation, he finally succeeded.