"Uncle Jiang!" cried Jin Ling as he stood up.

"You know how to call me now! Why did you run away?". Behind him, the barking of "Fairy" could be heard. The spirit dog ran into the temple.

My love instinctively hid behind me. As he ran past us, I held out my arm to protect my soul mate! Knowing his past and his relationship with dogs, I had to be his shield.

Jin Ling ordered his dog to attack SuShe.

Good boy! For once he had a good idea!

Brother looked at us, he didn't seem to understand why my love was hiding behind my arm!

"Fairy pounced on SuShe and began chasing him out of the temple.

Once the dog was out, my love let go of my arm, which he was holding on to with all his might!

When the guards of the Jin clan attacked Jiang Cheng, he put them out of action with a Zidian blow!

Seeing Jin GuangYao approaching, Brother tried to warn Jiang Cheng "

"Jiang Clan Chief, watch the music!" shouted Brother.

Jin GuangYao took out his Qin and started to play chords. Jiang Cheng prepared himself for the battle combining Zidian and his sword. After throwing several chords at Jiang Cheng, he threw his sword at Jin GuangYao. He barely avoided it and the sword went into a column of the temple.

I suddenly realized that Jin GuangYao had used the Lan Clan's "murder rope"! I doubted that Brother had taught it to him; he must have taken advantage of his 16 years with him to spy on our private training and learn it in secret. Unless he was using one of the scores from the Book of Torment! In any case, the result was the same!

"Jiang Clan Chief, how did you find this place? By following Jin Ling? Or "Fairy? And to think that I was the one who gave him that dog!".

Wei Ying leaned towards me.

"He talks the same way as Xue Yang!"

You were right, they were both as cruel as each other and... intelligent which made them all the more dangerous!

Jiang Cheng took a quick look at us, which did not escape Jin GuangYao. He took advantage of it. He felt the annoyance of the Jiang Clan's leader towards his elder brother, just as I did! Knowing him, he was going to take advantage of this weakness to take advantage of his opponent. When he asked him what he was trying to avoid; Jiang Cheng sent Zidian flying in his direction trashing a candelabra in the process!

"Did you really follow A-Ling when you came here?"

"Who else could I have followed?" shouted Jiang Cheng. Brother intervened.

"Jiang Clan Chief, don't answer him, he's a manipulator. Once you start talking to him, your attention is diverted and emotions are stimulated!"

"Second Brother you know me well!" The gaze that Jin GuangYao cast on Brother was icy cold... almost as cold as mine!"

Jin GuangYao decided to attack Wei Ying next when he saw that his brother had not come for him and that he was nothing. My love didn't let himself be taken in by his maneuver, answering that it wasn't from today and that he was used to it.

The Chief Patriarch focused on Jiang Cheng again, implying that it must be hard to be his elder brother!

"Chief of the Jin Clan, isn't it even harder to be your older brother?" replied Jiang Cheng.

I wondered if he was talking about Jin ZiXuan or my brother?

"Jiang Clan Chief, I heard that you ran around with the sword of the Yiling Patriarch. Asking anyone you meet to try to take it out of its scabbard!"

At these words, my love turned to me. I was afraid of the questions he would ask me. I had hidden from him the events that had really happened at the lotus pier!

"My sword? Didn't I give Siubian to Wen Ning? I'm sure I didn't see him holding it today... How did it end up in Jiang Cheng's hands? Why did he ask the others to try to get it out of its sheath? Did he try it himself? "

I had to calm him down. I could feel his fear that his brother had found out what he had done for him. I think I also understood why he hadn't told him. Just look at Jiang Cheng's behavior!

"Calm down!"

Jin GuangYao had continued his disruptive little speech.

"I heard that no one could draw the sword but you managed to do it! That's strange, ever since it sealed itself, only the Patriarch of Yiling could pull it out of its scabbard!"

I stared at my love. He had understood! His brother knew!

Jiang Cheng let his anger explode and threw Zidian at the chief patriarch. He avoided it by jumping over the temple altar.

"I remember that at one time young Master Wei would go anywhere without his sword, finding various excuses to explain it. I thought that was strange. What do you think?

"What do you mean?"

"Chief of Jiang Clan, You rebuilt the lotus pier alone, so young, you deserve admiration! But I remember that in the past you couldn't surpass your elder brother... May I ask you how this happened? Did you take an elixir for your golden core?"

Jiang Cheng was completely confused, he didn't see that Jin GuangYao had drawn his sword and was throwing himself at him. It was Jin Ling who made him come to his senses by shouting his name. He narrowly avoided the point of the sword and drew his own with difficulty.

It was clear that the state of mind in which Jin GuangYao had put him, diminished his abilities. He was hit several times by his opponent.

I don't know why the Chief Patriarch launched an attack on us. Was it to test Jiang Cheng or did he sense that I had recovered my spiritual energy? My hand instinctively went to Bichen, ready to pull it out of its sheath to protect us! But Jiang Cheng's sword came in the way! Jin GuangYao took the opportunity to strike a blow that immobilized him. Jin Ling rushed to his uncle when he saw that he was injured.

Jiang Cheng pushed him away and got into a meditation position to start the healing process with his spiritual energy.

The barking of "Fairy" announced the return of SuShe. Jin Ling shouted to his dog to run away.

Wei Ying could not take his eyes off his brother. He could see him enduring the pain without being able to do anything for him!

A shout went out from behind the statue.

"Clan Chief we found him!" With a big smile, Jin GuangYao rushed to the back of the temple.

Minutes passed. My love looked at me.

"Did you know?"

"Mnn" I nodded.

"When did Wen Ning tell him?

"When you were unconscious."

"Is that how we left Lotus Pier? I told him many times never to talk about it."

"Not to talk about what? You're so generous, you don't hold a grudge against those who resent you or betray you! Do I have to get down on my knees to thank you?" interjected Jiang Cheng.

"I never wanted you to thank me!"

"Of course! You have a noble heart, not like me! No wonder when my father was alive, he said that the one who understood the principles of the Jiang Clan best was you! You had everything, talent, cultivation, intelligence and temperament. What about me?

I could feel the jealousy that Jiang Cheng had always held towards my love. In his father's eyes, the personification of their clan didn't even have the blood flowing in his veins! He had also discovered that if he had become so strong, it was because the same brother he envied had made the supreme sacrifice of his golden core for him! Once again Wei Wuxian had shown that he was more of a Jiang than he was by "achieving the impossible".

"Chief of the Jiang Clan, calm down, if you talk your wounds will reopen" Brother said.

"Why Wei Wuxian, we have given you so much, even our lives. Wei Wuxian who broke his promise and betrayed the Jiang clan? You said that I would be the Chief of the Jiang Clan and that you would be my right hand man and stand by my side forever! Who said that?...who promised it? The clan chief had tears in his eyes!

I think I finally understood Jiang Cheng, beyond his sibling jealousy, there was this feeling of abandonment from his older brother! I knew how he felt. Didn't I have the same feelings when I thought my brother had betrayed me?

"What did you do for us? You preferred to protect those strangers from the Wen clan! What did they do to make you choose them and abandon your own clan? What was stopping you from telling me? You didn't tell me anything! Did you think I was a fool?" Jiang Cheng dragged himself to his brother.

"Wei Wuxian, you owe so much to the Jiang Clan, I should hate you, should I? Why do I feel like an idiot all these years? Who am I? Am I your shadow? I should hate you! Why, why didn't you tell me?" the tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Because I didn't want to see you like this!" the two brothers looked each other in the eyes.

"You promised that I would be the leader of the clan and that you would be my right hand man. That's what you said.

"Forgive me! I didn't keep my promise.

"At this point, I don't care about your excuses. I'm not that weak! ... Apologize to me!"

"Don't apologize, this is the debt I owed to the Jiang Clan"

My love moved closer to his brother and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I knew you couldn't forget, but it's in the past. It belongs to another life.

You wiped away your little brother's tears. As always you were protective of him. 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)