Accumulated Doubts
1041 Words
Jin was seated at the vast table in the royal dining room, savoring his hearty breakfast; he had always been the biggest eater of the three.
Yun, after paying his respects at his mother's grave and returning to the dining room, chuckled quietly – apparently, his brother always ate as if he were a battalion. He couldn't help but laugh as he saw that plate filled with freshly steamed meat-filled buns, still steaming.
The sight of the large bowl of vegetable soup and the morning tea that he always enjoyed was familiar as well.
"Brother, take it easy; I don't see anyone here trying to steal your food," Yun commented, laughing, and sat down beside Jin to observe everything his brother was doing.
Jin turned to him, his brow furrowed, and responded with a series of words that were meant to be, but they came out jumbled.
Besides that, he took big bites, accompanied by a loud chewing noise that made Yun lose his appetite just by seeing and hearing it.
The younger Qing brother woke up and stopped judging his brother's tastes and manners. It was then that hunger attacked him, causing his stomach to growl loudly. Jin turned to him again and almost spat out his bite from the laughter that this famished noise induced.
"Don't judge me, Jin. I haven't eaten well in who knows how long," Yun huffed, as the servants immediately offered him everything his eyes could desire.
Yun grabbed a couple of meat-filled buns, a serving of cheesecake, and asked for a warm soy milk.
"Is that all? You're going to stay hungry, Yun," Jin replied. "You're much thinner than usual; you should eat better."
"Believe me, I'll try little by little. My stomach hasn't been too welcoming of food, as I realized when I was in the hospital," Yun emphasized and took a nibble of one of the buns on his plate.
While Yun began eating, Jin had already finished his entire breakfast. When he was done, he turned to look at his brother, who was chewing slowly and seemed lost in thought.
"What's bothering you, huh?" Jin patted his brother's shoulder. "I suppose what happened out there must have been chaotic."
Yun swallowed and nodded, then turned to Jin with a touch of nostalgia.
"Yes, Jin. I never thought life out there was so hard," he said solemnly, looking down. "They stole everything I had, well, almost everything. I encountered the girl that, I think you've already seen, and the village she came from. They were very kind to me."
"Hmm," Jin mumbled, trying to analyze what Yun had going on with that girl.
Yun looked at his brother with uncertainty and a hint of annoyance.
"Why are you reacting like this?" Yun drummed his fingers on the table, not avoiding Jin's gaze.
Jin looked up, feigning innocence.
"I'm not saying anything," Jin shrugged with a sly smile.
"I know you, brother. You're thinking the worst about my relationship with... Wu, aren't you? You can't fool me," Yun said, with a challenging look.
"So her last name is Wu..." Jin cleared his throat. "But, why are you getting upset, Yun? I haven't even made any comments, but now that you mention it... You'd better tell me why you've brought her with you."
At that moment, Yun swallowed hard and lifted his cup to take a sip of tea.
"She was there when those thugs attacked me to steal my carriage," he said, then furrowed his brow.
Jin seemed not to blink as he was so focused on listening.
"She fought with me, but those vermin fled. Wu shot a few of them with her arrows, but it was all in vain," Yun continued as he sipped more of his tea.
"So, that lady is an archer and knows combat, or something of the sort," Jin added with intrigue.
Yun nodded and pushed his bangs away from his face, trying not to reveal how much talking about her made him nervous. However, this didn't stop him from continuing to tell his brother everything he could remember from the moment he began to climb Mount Yumai in search of the monument. He recounted the hunger, the cold, the unrelenting doubt, and how Siu had followed him insistently, which led him to be unable to escape the terrible fate they had both experienced, filled with chaos and the deaths of several people, including her parents. He then explained how these beings assumed human form, regardless of whether they were known to their victims or not, in order to approach them silently.
"I'm so sorry for you, as well as for that girl and her parents," Jin shook his head and took a bun from Yun's plate since he had only eaten one. "But what I wonder is, why us? I'm sure those creatures were specifically targeting the Qing family."
"I believe that too. Our battles must have a connection, as the armors protected all three of us, and the tattoos also appeared in the same place. I have a feeling that this is far from over, and that's what scares me," Yun said. He finished his tea in one gulp and set the cup on the table with a little force.
"We need to find out what connects us to these beasts. They must want something from us, and if we don't know what it is, that will be our weakness, brother," Jin commented as he chewed the last bite.
"We should now go and check our family's lineage books; there might be clues to what's happening, Jin," Yun clasped his hands together and expressed his gratitude for the food, then got up.
"I agree, so when Shun wakes up, we can fill her in on everything we know," Jin also thanked for the food, and upon standing, he joined Yun as they headed to the extensive library. It was going to be a long day of thorough research.
The two brothers walked from the dining hall to the main hall, but they were startled to find the medical team waiting for them once they had finished their meal.
The entire medical team bowed, except for the girl who had just woken from her long convalescence.
- Writer
