Chapter 624 – Brothers (1/2)
Chapter 624 – Brothers
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
At this time, half of Zhou Tong's shoulder and an arm had been cut off by Chen Changsheng's blade, and he was even blind in one eye. If he was a dog, he was certainly a stray one.
Xue Xingchuan creased his brow, replying, ”Just calm your mind and focus on recovering.”
Zhou Tong continued to ignore his advice. With great effort, he turned his neck to look at the entrance of the hall. Seeing the chair, he knew that Xue Xingchuan had been keeping watch from that place, and he fell silent for a very long time.
Then he asked, ”Did the Empress come?”
The many stars in the night sky were bright and the starlight spilling onto the ground outside the hall was like water, peaceful and quiet.
After a pause, Xue Xingchuan said, ”You know as well, the situation in the capital tonight is rather tense. The Empress must focus on the movements of the Li Palace.”
”Is that so?” Zhou Tong squinted his eyes like an old dog, the pain from his left eye causing him to crease his brow. His voice also trembled as he spoke, ”Then…did the Empress say anything?”
This time, Xue Xingchuan was quiet for a very long time, not answering the question.
Zhou Tong perked up the corner of his lip, revealing an ugly and even somewhat horrifying smile, looking at him and saying, ”You see, I truly am like a dog. Even when I'm about to die, the master won't care too much.”
Xue Xingchuan remained silent for a few moments before saying, ”When we were young, I said to you that you didn't need to live this way.”
He was clearly heavily injured, yet Zhou Tong somehow managed to draw up the energy to bitterly say, ”If I wasn't this way, could I be like you then?”
Xue Xingchuan fell silent once more.
”From the moment we came out of the womb, I couldn't surpass you. When you were born, you were no less than eight catties and eight taels. And me? I didn't even weight five catties. That's fine, and in any case, the family was poor, so no matter what, that's how I would be raised, but the main wife of the Xue clan couldn't give birth to a son, so she wanted to secretly take one to raise and found our family…if it were me, I would also choose a white fatty like you and not a thin monkey like me.”
Zhou Tong continued, ”Later on, the main wife of the Xue clan gave birth and decided to pass the clan to her own son. Afraid that you would complain, she secretly told you of this matter before dying. I admit that at the time, you treated Father and Mother well, treated me even better. You brought me together with you to school and to study, but you never thought, for what reason should I pretend to be your attendant when together with you?”
Xue Xingchuan replied, ”In front of other people, there was nothing I could do, but in the house, I always treated you as a brother.”
Zhou Tong mocked, ”But that's just when nobody was around. In front of others, I could only watch as you and Xue He showed each other the love and respect only brothers could. You tell me, what should I have felt?”
Xue Xingchuan fell silent, no longer speaking.
”I was born with an inherent weakness so that I couldn't even keep up with you in cultivation talent. If I hadn't entered the Department for Purging Officials and encountered that old ghost in the prison who taught me the Great Crimson Gown secret technique, and then also raided so many mansions to plunder techniques, how could I have possibly cultivated to my current level? How could I have caught up to you?”
Zhou Tong expressionlessly stared at the roof of the hall and continued, ”But there is a problem with the Great Crimson Gown secret technique and my later cultivation was too messy, so I have no hope of taking that next step for the rest of this life while you are walking towards that place, step by step. I just don't understand; we're both twins, so why is there is such a big difference in our fortunes?”
”After many years, when I met you in the capital once more, I didn't expect for you to have already entered the Department for Purging Officials…but even at that point, if you began to change, it still wouldn't have been too late.”
”Not too late to do what? If I did not give my life to the Empress, if I did not kill for the Empress, I would lose the Empress's favor and be killed by those people.”
”Be at ease, the Empress will make arrangements for you,” Xue Xingchuan comforted.
But within the depths of his heart, not even he believed those words.
Just then, the sound of footsteps could be heard outside the hall. It was not the Divine Empress, but a medical official delivering medicine.
After undergoing a careful inspection, the medical official carefully brought to the bed a wooden tray with a bowl of medicinal soup on it.
From the moment those footsteps could be heard, Zhou Tong had kept his eye upon this medical official, his sole eye shining with a peculiarly harsh light. Xue Xingchuan knew what he was thinking, what sort of disappointment, even despair, he was feeling, yet he was powerless to soothe him. He took the bowl of medicinal broth from the medical official and used the other hand to prop Zhou Tong up, preparing to feed him the soup.
Zhou Tong gazed at the black medicinal broth within the bowl, sensed the sacred Qi and medicinal fragrances within, and the look on his face suddenly became rather strange.
”What's wrong?” Xue Xingchuan asked.
Zhou Tong's voice trembled with an indescribable fear. ”I…am not at ease.”
”There's no need for that.” Xue Xingchuan knew what he was worried about, saying seriously to him, ”The Empress is not that sort of person.”
”I've done more for the Empress than the rest of you added together, and so I know the Empress better than the rest of you. In any case, I am not at ease.”
Zhou Tong's voice grew sharper, but because he was somewhat lacking in breath due to his injuries, his voice was also like a broken bellows, gasping and wheezing.
At the moment, he looked just like a stubborn child who, because he didn't like bitter medicines, turned his face away and tightly shut his mouth, refusing to drink the medicine even if he was beaten to death.
Xue Xingchuan looked at Zhou Tong, remembering how many years ago in their old home, he also refused to eat medicine in the same way, and he couldn't help but reveal a smile of nostalgia on his face.
Once these matters in the capital were concluded, he would have someone send Zhou Tong back to their old home to retire. He believed that besides the Empress, himself, and Xue He, no one would imagine that Zhou Tong would be there.
As Xue Xingchuan thought of these things, he raised up the bowl of medicine and took a sip, saying, ”You see, there's nothing wrong with the medicine, and it's not bitter either.”
Many years ago, when he was coaxing Zhou Tong into drinking medicine, he had done the same, drinking the medicine for him first.
Seeing this scene, Zhou Tong suddenly began to cry, sounds of weeping coming from his throat.
Xue Xingchuan was also somewhat moved.
After crying, Zhou Tong felt even more exhausted, but he had also greatly relaxed.