Chapter 3: CHAPTER 1: Part Three
Wei Huan patted his brother's head as his lips pressed into a thin line. Drawing in a deep breath, he crawled to the backyard. He went around his house and entered from the front.
He tried to keep his voice unwavering as he spoke, "Officer Yuan Li, I am sorry if I kept you waiting. I would have returned earlier if I knew you were going to visit my humble home."
Yuan Li spun his horse around. He looked genuinely surprised on seeing Wei Huan standing near the entrance. His eyes narrowed and he looked at him from top to bottom, "Where is your wayward brother? He didn't come with you?"
Wei Huan lowered his face to avoid looking at Yuan Li as he replied, "You know how Wei Lin Jiang is…. I had sent him on an errand but he hasn't returned yet."
Wei Huan was an honest and upright person. So, Lying made him deeply uncomfortable. His face flushed and his heart started hammering in his chest. His jaws clenched and his eyes closed shut for a moment. He had to do this to keep his brother from trouble.
"I didn't think you could be dishonest, Wei Huan," Yuan Li said as he drew his horse closer to him. He waved the flame stick in front of him for a moment. Then, without a warning, he threw it at the thatched roof of his house.
"No!" Wei Huan shouted as he ran towards the house. He picked up the pail of water kept in the courtyard and splashed it on the roof. But the hay had already caught fire. It spread rapidly with the wind and within moments the entire roof was on fire. The tongues of flames slashed in the wind with thick smoke.
Wei Lin Jiang's heart went numb when he saw this. He grabbed the iron rod kept behind the boxes. He was about to attack Yuan Li when his brother's words flashed in his mind, 'If you get out of here, you will see my dead face.'
With a disgruntled sigh, he dropped the rod and slumped to the ground again. Why did his brother have to say such a thing?
Wei Huan struggled to put out the fire alone. He ran to the well and rushed back two more pails of water. He splashed them on a section of the roof. The fire was doused momentarily but it flared again due to the wind.
After several repeated attempts, a sense of despair and hopelessness gripped him. The strength in his arms gave way and the pails dropped to the ground with a soft thud. The pain that had clutched his heart made its way out in the form of a piercing scream.
Wei Huan couldn't contain himself anymore. He glared at Yuan Li and snapped, "How could you do that, Officer Li! How could you set my house on fire for no reason?"
"No reason!" He snorted. "You must ask that to your bastard brother. He dared to talk nonsense in front of my superior." His voice rose several notches higher as he threatened, "You should be happy that I haven't killed him yet."
"I don't think my brother speaks nonsense. He did the right thing by reporting your misdeeds to your superior!" His words were cold and firm; his eyes that were usually wary were now ablaze with rebellion.
Wei Lin Jiang couldn't believe his ears. This was the first time his brother had supported him in front of Officer Li. His heart brimmed with emotions and he itched to go and stand by his brother. He gripped the edge of the box and leaned slightly to get a better view of his brother. If only Wei Huan hadn't asked him to stay hidden.
Yuan Li's eyes turned bloodshot and his face flushed, "How dare you Wei Huan! How dare you speak like that!" He pulled out the whip sticking out from his waistband and cracked it in the air, "If I don't discipline you now, I am afraid you will become just like your brother."
Wei Huan screamed in pain as the whip came in contact with his waist; wrapping around him like a snake. Wei clenched his teeth in an attempt to ignore the sting that was spreading all over his abdomen.
He grabbed the whip and struggled to free himself but it had wound around him very tightly. Yuan Li gave the whip a sharp tug. The rope unwound itself abruptly causing him to stagger. Wei Huan winced as he fell to his knees.
Before he could get up again, several strikes landed on his back in quick succession. His body drooped further and he barely managed to support himself on his elbows. His shoulders shook and his teeth chattered in as he attempted to hold in his screams. He didn't want Xiao Wei to come out of the hiding because of him.
When Yuan Li finally stopped beating him, his back was crisscrossed with long gashes. The fabric of his cloth had become soaked in blood.
Wei Lin Jiang couldn't bear it anymore. A kind of blind fury came over him. He grabbed the iron rod and walked out of his hiding place. "You Bastard! I am going to kill you!"
Yuan Li's face lit up with a victorious smile, "So, my guess was right. You were here…." He couldn't complete his sentence as Wei Lin Jiang struck him with the iron rod. With a bone-chilling scream, he fell off the horse. He never expected Wei Lin Jiang to attack him.
Xiao Wei rushed to his brother and helped him to his feet. Wei Huan coughed out a mouthful of blood as he gripped his brother's shoulder. The pain on his face was replaced with panic the moment he realized that Xiao Wei had revealed himself.
Gasping for breath, he spoke in a broken voice, "Why did you come out?"
"I had to, Wei Ge. How could I see him beat you up for no reason!"
Wei Huan gave him a slight push, "Go away! Run and never come back!"
Xiao Wei shook his head and said in a firm voice, "There is no way I would leave you alone!"
"How touching?" Li Yuan said as he walked towards them; there was a slight limp in his strides. "It would be such a shame to separate such loving brothers." He said as he pointed his sword at them. "I will show mercy and bury both of you together."
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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