Now looking worried while the two ambled together. Biting his lips, Xu Hanyu was deeply thinking what’s going to happen next if their father hears that he’s back.
“Hm,” the young man hummed in agreement.
As the two of them walked further, another clan member entered the area, holding a pot of plant and saw him exclaim in surprise causing the plant to drop on the ground.
“X-Xu Hanyu!?”
…
In the study, Lord Xu and the three elders discussed their dire situation, papers strewn across the table.
"So, we can't use the route for months?" Lord Xu asked, reviewing the documents.
"Correct," Elder Xu Ting replied, "Without those ores, we can't produce quality weapons, and our business may fail."
"What should we do? You know Lord Xu, we can't let this happen…!" said Elder Xu Bai.
With a deep breath, Lord Xu closed his eyes for a moment, recalling a recent deal offered from Fu Clan. He thought that they might have to use this chance to avoid bankruptcy.
"... Three days ago, I met with the Fu Clan, and the Huo Clan was there as well,"
"The Fu Clan?" Elder Xu Jia frowned. "Didn’t they send us a letter just before you left?"
Lord Xu nodded. "That's right. That was the second letter they sent me. Trying to convince me to come to their tavern. They offered us a deal, but this deal involved the Huo Clan so I want your opinions."
The elders exchanged glances, confused.
"What’s the deal?" Elder Xu Jia asked.
As they waited for his next word, Lord Xu leaned back into his chair, then began to explain the deal that the Fu Clan was offering.
And it wasn’t long before Lord Xu finished explaining things to them.
After listening, Elder Xu Ting began, "We’d be under their control."
Lord Xu nodded.
"But can we trust them?" Elder Xu Jia added.
Elder Xu Bai shrugged, "It's risky, but we have no alternatives. We either accept it or face downfall."
Hearing his words, the two elders nodded in agreement. Considering their current situation, they could get bankrupt in a month.
“Lord Xu, let's just accept it..” said Elder Xu Jia.
"... Alright, I'll write to the Fu Clan today."
He quickly took a brush, wrote a letter and summoned a messenger. "Deliver this to the Fu Clan immediately."
“Understood.”
Just as the messenger left, a voice called out, "Lord Xu! Xu Lian is back with Xu Hanyu!"
Eventually, turning their heads towards the door.
"!!!"
“Xu Hanyu?!” Lord Xu repeated.
"Yes!"
"Let him in!" he commanded.
Entering the room, they saw Xu Lian and Xu Hanyu together looking very disheveled, bowing slightly, "Father… " she began.
Yet, Lord Xu’s eyes remained on the young man. It was obvious Xu Hanyu’s anxiety started to trigger under his father's fierce gaze, which radiated disappointment and anger.
Elder Xu Bai clicked his tongue, saying, "So, your son knows how to return, huh…?"
“Elders, and Lian’er leaves us for now…” said Lord Xu in command.
“But father—”
“I said leave for now, Lian’er!” With that, Elder Xu Ting took Xu Lian slowly back towards the door, saying, “Xu Lian, leave them to talk for now..”
Then with a slight nod, Xu Lian resigned and followed the elder’s word. She knew that Lord Xu was going to scold Xu Hanyu, but it might only worsen their father’s anger if she didn’t listen.
After that, the elders all left the room bringin Xu Lian with them, leaving Lord Xu and Xu Hanyu alone.
As the door shut, the room fell into silence.
Standing before Lord Xu, Xu Hanyu stiffened in his spot as he finally met his father's eyes.
"Father, I…" Yet looking at his tired and stressed appearance, the young man suddenly felt a guilt inside him.
"You've crossed the line this time again, Xu Hanyu!" Lord Xu’s voice crackled like thunder, "I told you not to leave the mansion! Do you realize the chaos you've caused? The fear I felt when I heard that you were gone! If you hadn't run off with your older sister, none of this would have happened!"
"Father, I didn't mean to—!" Xu Hanyu's voice trembled as he tried to contain his anger after hearing his father's first statements, "I just wanted to breathe! To feel like I'm more than just a prisoner in your shadow!"
"Breathing?! Do you understand the dangers outside? What if you hadn't come back? What if something happened to you? Do you think I could handle losing you?"
"So what then? Now that I'm here, it's obvious you didn't lose me. And are you saying that I just need to stay here while Xu Lian can venture outside? Is this how you protect me? By chaining me here, suffocating me with your control?"
"Now you know how to speak for yourself huh? Is that really what you think this is? So you really don't care if you die out there, do you? Do you even see yourself, Xu Hanyu? Look at that bruise!" He slammed his hand on the table, papers scattered and then he pointed to the bruises on Xu Hanyu's body, "What if that's not the end of it? What if something worse happens? What will you do then?"
"Even this bruise…?!” He then let out a small chuckle, "It's just a bruise but you act like I'm dying! You treat me like I'm fragile, a child that needs to be looked after! So it's really true that you think I'm nothing but a burden? Cursed. Weak. Incapable child like what others’ really see?"
"You—" Lord Xu pointed to him as he struggled to find the right words, but none came to counter that.
“Now what–?!”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
With a deep breath, Lord Xu spoke once more, "Han'er, you don't understand. I've never thought of you as cursed…!"
"Then why?!" Xu Hanyu's voice cracked again, "Why won't you let me at least step outside, just for once? What's so wrong with that?!"
Lord Xu flicked his hand dismissively and turned away, thinking Xu Hanyu would never listen to him again.
"Ha! I know you will never listen to me. You defied me twice, so there’s gonna be no thrice! From now on, you'll never leave this mansion again! I'll lock every door, every window, every exit. Do you hear me?” he demanded, “You will stay here, under my control, where you belong—!"
With those words that came out from his father’s mouth, it provocatively triggered the young man completely. It tightened like a chain in his throat. But he refused to let himself be bound.
"You can't do this to me, Father! I'm not a property! I'm not some caged beast for you to lock away!"
"Tch. You're a son of this clan, Xu Hanyu! Not some selfish child who thinks they can defy me and do as they please! You think you can just leave because you don't like my rules? Do you even understand why I've been so hard on you? And that is to protect you!" Lord Xu said, slowly moving closer and closer to him.
"I get it! I get it all too well. You think you're protecting me, but this isn't protection—it's a prison! Plus, I’ve never been selfish all my life, and I’ve been following all your damn rules! Because of that, you've suffocated me enough, and for what? To keep me safe from a world you're too scared to let me see? What's the point of your protection if it means I'll rot here, never knowing what's out there? You chain me here, as if I was a burden that will cause trouble outside of this damn place! I'm certain you see me as nothing more than the cursed child you can't fix—no matter how hard you try! You never even cared about my feelings as your son, not really. You only cared about keeping me locked away, a puppet to your own desires! And you're heartless!"
"You–!”
SLAP!
In a brief moment, Xu Hanyu’s eyes widened in surprise and his lips parted as soon as his face felt the numb hand of his father. He was stunned for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. A little trace of red mark on his face due to the sudden slap. Slowly touching it while turning his bitter gaze to Lord Xu.
“Now you think I'm heartless because of it?"
With that, Xu Hanyu’s voice then became almost like a whisper, "Ha…All I ever wanted was a single moment to feel alive, to see beyond these walls. To know what it means to be free. And you've never cared enough to give that to me,"
With a moment of silence, Lord Xu softened a bit realizing he had hurt Xu Hanyu without thinking. The dejected face of the young man made Lord Xu feel a guilt within his heart leaving him speechless.
"Han'er… I—" but before he could say more words, Xu Hanyu interrupted him.
"If I could cultivate, if I were strong enough… things wouldn't be like this. You wouldn't have to see me as that 'weak cursed child' that everyone sees… I guess that’s the part I’ve made mistakes… And maybe it's not just you who's trapped in a cage, Father.”
With those last words left on Xu Hanyu's lips, he slowly took a step backwards with his head hung low.
“Maybe it's both of us."
In a quick motion, he turned his back, avoiding the outstretched hands of his father and left the room quickly.
…
After leaving the study, Xu Hanyu stormed to the back of the Xu Clan's mansion, fists clenched, his breath ragged with frustration. Without hesitation, he swung his fist at the trunk of the tree.
Then another.
And another.
Each strike was fueled by the storm raging inside him, his knuckles crashing against the rough bark. The pain barely registered though his hands turned red, skin bruising with every blow, but he didn't stop.
"Always like this... always seen as nothing… You didn’t even bother to ask what had happened to my bruise, instead your first reaction was to scold me!"
Thud!
His fist struck again, harder. It barely moved with a little shake, but his vision blurred from the force behind each hit. Was this always what his father thought about me? Useless. Weak. A burden. Ha… Even him?
He clenched his jaw and leaned his forehead against the tree, picturing his father's strict gaze. His hands were a mess now—streaked with a little blood, trembling from the strain. But the pain in his chest was worse.
"I'll never be good enough for you, will I—!? If I weren’t a crippled, things wouldn't have been like this from the beginning right—?"
Xu Hanyu struggles to comprehend why, despite his simple desire to explore the outside for adventure and enjoyment, power remains the only currency that matters for his father!
“Ridiculous—!” He exclaimed once again, preparing for one last strike.
Thud!
Then suddenly–
"You little brat…! Stop punching the tree! You're disturbing my sleep!"
With that, he halted abruptly, his fist inches from the tree's rough surface. Panting and wide-eyed as he scanned the area in shock before slowly lowering his arm. Then slowly his gaze turned to the tree as if it had sprouted a mouth.
"What the heck...?" he whispered to himself, "Did that tree just talk?"
He took a cautious step forward away, it looked normal. There was nothing—just the rustling leaves making a sound and the chilly air hitting against his skin.
Then hit the tree again, this time with more force, questioning his own sanity.
Thud!
"Young man, stop being so stubborn!" the voice snapped again.
His muscles tightening as he took another step back while his eyes remained on the tree, "Who…?! Who are you?!"
Then another silence…
“Could it really be the tree? or I’m just hallucinating?” he wondered quietly.
Suddenly, "I'm not the tree, kid. But I really don’t like being treated like one," Xu Hanyu jumped in fright as he heard the voice rang out again.
The voice was almost like the voice of an elder.
"What in the world!"
Seeing Xu Hanyu’s reaction, the voice let out a chuckle—low, raspy, and almost playful, "Hah… such a slow-witted brat. I’m in your bracelet."
With a blinked, he slowly looked into his wrist, "...Bracelet?” Without thinking, he tore it off and threw it away.
"WHAT THE HECK?! A BRACELET CAN TALK?!"
Stumbled back, yet his eyes remained onto the discarded bracelet on the ground. This had to be a joke.
A hallucination.
But deep down, something told him… this was real.
A talking bracelet? That was absurd.
But why does the voice sound familiar…?
“Brat, how dare you throw away my little slumber?”
The confused Xu Hanyu couldn’t help but feel curious and yelled back, "Curse it, just who the hell is this creature?"
"Hahaha… You've forgotten me already..?"
"What do you mean 'already'?! I don't even know you..!"
Wait…
While thinking deeply and replaying the voice in his head once more, he was certain that he had heard this voice before, then a sudden flashback hit him.
‘You two were holding onto each other so tightly last night, even the cold couldn't reach you... Heh, and here you are, rubbing that sore spot. Are you sure she’s not leaving a mark on your heart too?’
With that, the flashback faded, his head jerked quickly towards the bracelet.
“It was you..?!"
"Yes, you're right. It's me.." Then a thin swirl of light mist emerged from the bracelet, making his breath hitch as an illusory image of an elder began to materialise in the air.
This wasn’t a normal scene.
The spirit was an elder with a gentle green eyebrow and a long beard. His mind was full of questions as soon as the elder showed up. To make it even stranger, he was entirely naked, and his chest had a unique, glowing green pattern that was oddly beautiful.
As the remaining twirling mist cleared, Xu Hanyu's eyes grew even wider, "Ah–! Ghost—?!”
He floated above the ground and his figure looked half-transparent.
"Hah... What a troublesome brat. First, you punch a tree like a madman, and now you throw me away like some cursed relic?"
Yet Xu Hanyu's eyes stayed tense, darting between the elder's ghostly figure and the bracelet on the ground.
“You—You came out of that?”
“Isn’t that too obvious for you?”
“Don’t play tricks with me. Tell me, who exactly are you?”
Suddenly, the elder formed a playful smirk on his face.
"I'm your mother."