Severing Time & Space

Wu Jian Vs. Wu Yong

“What happened to you, brother?” Wu Jian asked earnestly. “You were never like this before.”

“Shut up!” Wu Yong said in a grating, harsh voice. He slowly stood to his feet. HIs arms dangled like soggy buckwheat noodles as he leaned forward, his head tilted down. Only his glaring eyes were visible behind his messy fringe of hair. “Don’t talk like you know me. You don’t know the first thing about me!”

“Then why don’t you tell me?” Wu Jian suggested.

“Why? So you can gloat?! I don’t think so!”

Wu Jian wasn’t given enough time to tell Wu Yong that he would never gloat. His half-brother was already rushing forward. He closed the distance between them and began throwing punches at Wu Jian, all of them aimed at either his face or chest. Wu Jian slipped around several punches, redirected several more, and backed off.

“Why won’t you talk to me?” he asked in between dodging. “If you tell me what’s bothering you, maybe I can help.”

“You’re what’s bothering me!” Wu Yong roared. His face was red as he threw ineffectual attacks that Wu Jian dodged. Left. Right. Left. The air whooshed as Wu Yong’s punch ruffled his hair, all the while, Wu Jian’s half-brother shouted and screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. “I hate you! I hate everything about you! Even though I was always playing with her, always spending time with her, Wu Meiying only had eyes for you! She never looked my way! She didn’t even place me in her eyes! She was just nice because I was your half-brother!”

Wu Jian was stunned. “You mean… you hate me because Wu Meiying loves me and not you?”

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! I’ll make her love me! I’ll beat you to a pulp and prove to her that I’m better than you!”

Wu Jian was stunned. Truly stunned. He was of course aware that Wu Meiying was pretty to an abnormal degree. There wasn’t a single person in the Wu Clan who was prettier than her. Even her detractors were forced to admit the girl was a beauty beyond compare, and she would only grow more lovely as she grew older.

However, a lot of people were turned off by her odd nature and the things she said. He honestly thought he was the only person who loved her. It shocked him to realize that Wu Yong also loved Wu Meiying and hated Wu Jian because she only had feelings for him.

But now that he knew this, Wu Jian also couldn’t let it go. Wu Meiying was his. She loved him, he loved her, and he wouldn’t give her to anyone else. While he didn’t intend on hurting Wu Yong any more than necessary, he at least had to make it clear that Wu Meiying would never show interest in him.

That was why Wu Jian decided to end this match now.

Wu Yong threw another punch, this one aimed at his solar plexus, and Wu Jian stepped to the side, allowing the punch to pass him. He grabbed the offending limb before Wu Yong could retract it. Then he twisted his body, slid his feet across the stone ground, and used Wu Yong’s momentum to toss his half-brother over his shoulder.

Of course, they had all been trained to take a fall. Wu Yong rolled with the throw to lessen the impact. He landed on his hands and knees. However, the moment he looked up, all he saw was Wu Jian’s foot filling his vision. A loud c***k echoed across the testing ground as Wu Jian kicked Wu Yong so hard the other boy’s head snapped backward, his back arching before he hit the ground with a heavy thud. It was such a powerful attack the other boy’s eyes had rolled back in his head.

Wu Jian sighed as he stared into the dazed Wu Yong’s eyes. He looked over at Elder Wu Jinsu. The youngest elder blinked several times as if he couldn’t figure out what had happened, but then he saw Wu Jian looking at him, so he raised his hand.

“I declare this match over! The winner is—”

“No…”

The elder’s words were stopped mid-sentence when Wu Yong spoke up, pushing himself into a sitting position, then slowly standing to his feet. Wu Jian looked back in shock. He could have sworn his half-brother had been knocked unconscious, but there he was, standing. His legs were shaking, but he stood up nontheless. Gnashing his b****y teeth together, he pinched his thighs to stop them from shaking and looked up to glare at Wu Jian.

“I’m not done yet,” he declared.

Elder Wu Jinsu frowned, but he slowly backed off. “Very well. The fight will continue.”

“Why won’t you give up?” asked Wu Jian. “Do you want to prove that you’re better than me? Fine. You’re better than me. But if you think being better than me means you’ll be able to win Wu Meiying’s affection, then you’re trying to catch a fish in a tree.”

“Shut up! I will make her see me! I will make her love me!” As he screamed at Wu Jian, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a round, black pill. “And if I can’t make her fall in love with me, then I’ll just make her mine by force!”

“Wu Yong! What are you doing?! Do not take that pill! Stop now!” Elder Wu Jinsu shouted.

But it was already too late.

Wu Yong placed the pill into his mouth and swallowed it. The moment he did, veins began bulging along his neck, arms, legs, and his face turned a bright red. It was like all the blood inside of him was boiling and rushing to the surface. Even his eyes became bloodshot.

“This match is over! Wu Jian wins on account of Wu Yong using illegal pills during a fair match!” Elder Wu Jinsu declared as though to stop what was about to happen.

Wu Yong didn’t listen to the elder, or maybe he couldn’t even hear him. Perhaps his anger had deafened him to the words of others. With a furious roar, he burst forward with more speed than Wu Jian had seen before. He was too fast for Wu Jian to dodge. All he could do was block the other boy’s attack with his forearms, but that also proved to be a mistake. Pain exploded in his limbs. He could feel the bones in his arms breaking as Wu Yong broke through his guard and smashed a foot against his chest.

With a sharp cry, he flew backward and hit the ground hard. He tried to breathe, but found that something was wrong with his lungs. He couldn’t take in any air. His vision became blurry and black around the edges. As he began blacking out, several faces appeared around him, but he couldn’t make out who they were. Wu Jian found himself focusing on just one of them. The blurry figure’s mouth moved like it was talking, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Mei… ying…

Darkness overcame him.