Revelations

The new disciples registered for their corresponding class of choice. Despite the sad feelings they have, Jingyi joined the Wind Elemental Class. He can't fully accept that his brother left him without discussing anything. He felt as pathetic as his elder brother. Hong'yu and Jianyu wanted to comfort Jingyi but couldn't think of any method. They also can't chat casually due to their cold war. Jianyu let out a deep sigh and put his name on the list for the Wind Elemental Class. When he left the registration hall, Hong'yu wrote his name in the same class as Jianyu.

Hong'yu always wanted to talk to Jianyu, like in the old days, but he didn't have the guts since Jianyu hated him a lot. All he can do is support him in the shadows as his best friend. Hong'yu was about to leave the hall when Jianyu stopped at the door.

"Why do you keep on following me?" Jianyu said annoyingly.

"Oh, what a coincidence! I happen to pass by here, but it's none of your business."

"Are you trying to be close to Yi'en? You have some ulterior motives when befriending someone, just like you did back then."

"Enough! Let's discuss this somewhere if you don't want them to know your true identity."

Hong'yu had enough of Jianyu's hatred. He needs to sort things out with him before it's too late. They went to Hong'yu's room and activated a soundproof barrier around it. Jianyu was just standing beside the tea table and not saying anything.

"Haoran, listen to every word I'm going to tell you."

Hong'yu explained to him what really happened during the war between their empires. Emperor Wang Jin, Hong'yu's father, was already aware of their friendship. But the greedy Emperor Zhao Huifen of the Meilin Empire wanted to conquer the Dongmei Empire to increase his power and be feared by his enemies, so he initiated a war. Prince Wang Laoshi was worried about his best friend, Prince Zhao Haoran. Two days before they reached the capital of Dongmei, Laoshi sent a message to Haoran through the messenger pigeon that they must meet at the riverbank beside the empire's borders to play their favorite game. But this is just a façade. Laoshi begged the help of his father to protect his only friend. Emperor Jin ordered his son to meet his friend at the said location, and they would hold him hostage until Emperor Huifen signed the peace treaty. He promised Laoshi they would confine him in the cold palace and serve him with care, just like he wanted.

Everything went as planned, but he did not expect Haoran to hate him because he misunderstood the situation. Haoran has shared his awful experience with his father. Emperor Huifen was not paying attention to him despite being the eldest son. His mother, the late Empress of the Meilin Empire, has always been weak and got sick quickly after Haoran was born. Emperor Huifen has blamed Haoran ever since. Despite this, Haoran's mother loves him and constantly reminds him to bear with his father's temperament. The late Empress was seven months pregnant with her second child during the war. His mother can't convince Emperor Jin to cease the bloody battle, as he worries about him and their children. Some rumors also spread that the greedy Emperor Huifen planned to send his son to the battlefield. Haoran messaged Laoshi about his situation through their messenger pigeon, making Laoshi worry about him.

After the two emperors signed the peace treaty, Laoshi heard that Prince Haoran was escorted back to the Meilin Empire and declared the Crowned Prince, which served as his reward for being the symbol of peace between the two empires. The late Empress also requested this to ensure that Prince Haoran would have a bright future. Emperor Jin also hailed Laoshi as the Crown Prince of their empire because he gave him the idea of how to stop the war. This news reached Haoran's ears, so he sent a message through the pigeon congratulating him on getting what he wanted. After the grand celebration, Prince Laoshi never heard about his friend again. Since he misunderstood the situation, Laoshi decided to go with the flow and act like a mean guy.

Hearing everything Hong'yu said, Jianyu's eyes began to tear up, and he lost his balance. Fortunately, Hong'yu caught him and let Jianyu sit down. Jianyu looked at Hong'yu while gripping his arms.

"A-Are those all true?" Jianyu asked in a muffled voice. Hong'yu responded with a nod, and Jianyu stood up and hugged him tightly. "Why did you just tell me now? I'm so sorry. I doubted you all this time. I'm such a fool, Laoshi." Hong'yu also hugged him and patted his back as he cried his grief out.

"I'm sorry too, Haoran. I don't dare to tell you. But I always knew you were still the same Haoran back then."

"It's been a decade since I hugged you like this. And you grew a lot. You're already bigger than me," Jianyu blurted out to ease his sadness. Hong'yu wiped away Jianyu's tears.

"We promised to protect each other like brothers, right? And what do you mean I'm bigger than you? Look at your chest. It's so big that I'm having difficulty hugging you." They both laughed happily, and after chatting about the times they were away from each other, they also planned on how to comfort Jingyi.

Hyunhei's condition got a lot better the following morning. He carefully sat on the bed and stretched his arms to relieve his joints. He noticed that he had a lot of bandages wrapped around his body, so he removed them. The bondages had hints of blood on them, but no wounds were underneath. A medicinal broth was beside his bed, and a note was next to it. The note is from his master telling him to finish the medicine he made so he can start his cultivation training. It also states that the cleaning was done, and he doesn't need to pick up the herbs for the medicines and cooking. After drinking the bitter broth, he got up and changed into clean clothes beside the bed.

Hyunhei searched for his senior in every room in the main house but could not find him. He went to the porch behind the main house and found Lijie reading some books while enjoying his morning tea. There were also mooncakes on the table. He ran towards his senior and greeted him.

"Senior! Senior! I'm fully recovered! My fever is gone, and my wounds are completely healed!" Lijie put his tea and book on the table and looked at his disciple. He tried to hide his relieved expression and checked his disciple's body. The wounds vanished without leaving any scars. Hyunhei was also good as new. Based on his medical knowledge, those afflicted with the wild flora's poison will be bedridden for several days, and the vine wounds will stay fresh until the poison is rid of the patient's body. Seeing the complete opposite of Hyunhei's current condition, he pondered momentarily. He checked Hyunhei's spiritual essence last night to see if it was affected by his illness. It was unstable and fiery, and he could not diagnose it properly. He rechecked his spiritual essence, and to his surprise, it glowed vividly and emitted a strong yin aura, which means his essence got better than what Sect Leader Huo told him through the message he got.

"You're a weird one," Lijie murmured. Hyunhei stood there innocently craving the mooncakes. Lijie invited him to have breakfast together so they could proceed with the training.

Hyunhei enjoyed the mooncakes while admiring the simple scenery inside the manor. The lotus flowers bloomed as the sunlight reached their petals. Koi fish swam happily in the crystal-clear pond. Bamboo trees sway gracefully with the wind, and the birds exchange their melodious chirps. As he was about to taste the freshly brewed green tea, Hyunhei caught Lijie staring at him.

"Senior, is something wrong with my face?" With this, Lijie looked in the other direction and finished another cup of tea to avoid the awkward situation. Hyunhei was confused by his senior's unpredictable attitude and reactions.

"Ahem. Who is Rushi?" Lijie asked to change the topic. Hyunhei seemed troubled and nervous.

"S-Senior, why are you asking such irrelevant things suddenly?" Hyunhei saw the last piece of mooncake and intended to grab it, but Lijie caught his hand and wouldn't let go of it.

"Tell me. Who is Rushi? You kept calling me Rushi last night. Who is that man?"

Hyunhei cannot reveal his past with Rushi, let alone his identity. He tried his very best to recall the events last night. All he can remember is the pain and the uneasy feeling. After a few tries, an embarrassing memory popped into his mind. He decided to make an alibi to get out of the situation.

"I-I just saw the name Rushi somewhere. I'm telling you the truth!" It is undeniable that Hyunhei's lying. Lijie can feel the sudden change in Hyunhei's pulse rate even though he's just holding his wrist.

"You're lying. It's so obvious." Lijie's having difficulty maintaining his grip on Hyunhei's wrists because of his constant struggle to escape.

"Fine! I'll tell you. Senior, let go of me first. Please." Lijie initially seemed hesitant, but he did just as his disciple wished. But the moment he let go of Hyunhei's hand, his student ran away from the porch as fast as he could.

"This little brat!" Lijie did not expect the mischievous behavior of his student. But he won't forget what happened last night. Hyunhei kept calling him Rushi and begged him not to leave. He was so shocked when he heard the name Rushi. It is his previous identity that he wants to forget because of the many regrets he had in his past life. He cannot tell how this lad learned his name, so he took the chance to ask him, but he failed. The ray of hope won't fade when you're determined enough, Lijie thought.