Chapter 21: The Eldest Brother’s Wrist Slitting
This chapter is translated and available on bcatranslation.
Lu Chao Chao was nestled comfortably on the back of her third brother, Lu Yuan Xiao, as he skillfully maneuvered through the less frequented pathways of their expansive family mansion. They were deliberately avoiding the watchful eyes of the household staff. As they neared the mansion’s inner gate, Lu Chao Chao suddenly shifted her position.
“Chao Chao, please stay still. I don’t want you to fall,” Lu Yuan Xiao implored, his voice tinged with concern that she might lose her balance due to her sudden movement.
Yet, Lu Chao Chao seemed preoccupied, her nose twitching as if she caught a scent.
“Ah…” she murmured, her gaze drawn towards the garden to their right.
This part of the estate, known for its privacy and minimal patrol, was the most secluded area of the Marquis Zhongyong’s property.
Noticing the direction of his sister’s attention, Lu Yuan Xiao grew tense and lowered his voice, “This is Mingde Yard. It belongs to our eldest brother.”
He went on to explain that after enduring a great misfortune, their brother had chosen this yard as a place of solitude to recuperate, even going as far as dismissing all his servants, which accounted for the yard’s current state of neglect.
Lu Yuan Xiao, who was born after these events, knew only fragments of their brother’s once celebrated stature.
“This yard is virtually off-limits. Our brother becomes exceedingly distressed if disturbed. Our parents tread lightly around him, and our grandmother has explicitly forbidden us from speaking of him since his accident. The rumors paint him as both physically and mentally scarred,” Lu Yuan Xiao shared, his voice a blend of reverence and fear sparked by the whispered tales.
However, Lu Chao Chao, appearing increasingly anxious, pointed towards the gate of Mingde Yard.
[We must check on our brother immediately; there’s a scent of blood in the air!] Her expression conveyed profound concern as she motioned towards the gate.
The original narrative only alluded to the tragic undertones in the lives of the Lu siblings without delving deeply into their profound sorrow. Only through experiencing these moments can one fully grasp their despair.
Despite his reservations, Lu Yuan Xiao trusted his sister’s instincts. Overcoming his apprehensions, he approached the entrance of Mingde Yard. The gate was shut, and their knocking met with no response.
“It’s futile. Our brother has secluded himself, keeping only his personal attendant,” Lu Yuan Xiao remarked, a sense of hopelessness evident as they stood before the silent gate.
The area was deserted, as servants only visited to maintain the courtyard at night.
Lu Chao Chao felt an overwhelming sadness, realizing their brother had chosen a life of isolation, severing ties with the outside world.
She pointed to a small gap beneath the wall, causing Lu Yuan Xiao to express shock. “Crawl through a small dog hole? That’s beneath our dignity. It’s one thing to face death honorably, but to suggest a scholar should demean himself by crawling through such an opening is preposterous!”
Yet, Lu Yuan Xiao soon found himself reluctantly squeezing through the gap, grumbling, “Since when do scholars demean themselves like this? Perhaps I’ll rename it; from tomorrow, this shall be known as ‘the scholar’s entrance.'”
Once through, dusty and entangled in weeds, Lu Yuan Xiao assisted his sister. “You’re too slow,” he remarked affectionately, lifting her and hastening deeper into the courtyard.
They encountered a scene of profound neglect, illustrating the extent of their once-respected brother’s fall from grace, now a topic best left unspoken.
Following Lu Chao Chao’s lead, Lu Yuan Xiao hastened to the left, urgency and the stifling heat causing his brow to bead with sweat.
As they drew nearer, the scent of blood intensified, validating even Lu Yuan Xiao’s skepticism of his sister’s acute senses. How could Chao Chao have detected this from such a distance? Driven by dread and desperation, he burst through the door, confronted by a ghastly stench of blood.
The room they entered was transformed into a tableau of despair.
“Big Brother!!” he exclaimed, discovering the source of the blood—a motionless figure on the bed, blood pooling onto the floor and tracing the path to where Lu Yuan Xiao now stood, his footsteps marking a bloody trail.
Panic seized him, his heart pounding as he clutched Lu Chao Chao tighter with fear.
Their eldest brother lay there, his eyes shut, an eerie calm surrounding him as blood steadily dripped from his wrist to the floor.
“Big Brother, he’s… he’s taken his own life!” Lu Yuan Xiao stammered, barely standing, his voice a mixture of sorrow and disbelief.
“Big Brother, Big Brother… wuwuwu, Mother! Father! Someone, please come help!” The air was thick with desperation as he called out, his voice heavy with profound sorrow from witnessing such a tragic event—an experience far too cruel for someone so young. As he reached out to touch his brother, he recoiled from the icy coldness of his skin, a chilling confirmation that sent shivers down his spine and a harsh dose of reality crashing down: his brother was indeed dead.
Meanwhile, Lu Chao Chao, despite her tender years, was equally disturbed by the devastating scene. The young man lying before her on the bed possessed an ethereal beauty, resembling a celestial being fallen from the heavens, his appearance so sublime it seemed better suited for a canvas than the harsh truths of life. However, his expression bore a resolute acceptance of death, casting a shadow over the radiance of his now lifeless form. It was as if his spirit had been utterly shattered by a tremendous and unbearable downfall.
[Idiot, grab a handkerchief and cover the wrist!] Lu Chao Chao’s thoughts broke the silence, urging immediate action.
Shaking with tears, Lu Yuan Xiao hurriedly positioned her on the bed, attempting to stem the flow of blood with a handkerchief.
[Big Brother, don’t leave us. How will we manage without you? Big brother, I’m so frightened… Mama, please return quickly, wuwuwu…] Her voice trembled as she wrapped his wrist with the handkerchief, her small hands moving with both fear and urgency.
“Damn it, where’s the servant?” Lu Yuan Xiao cried out, his voice laden with frustration and overwhelming emotion.
Their mother had anticipated the possibility of such a tragedy and had assigned a servant to accompany their brother, but now, that precaution seemed pointless.
In his hand, he clutched a blood-stained piece of porcelain, a mute testament to his despair.
“Big Brother, you cannot die… if you are gone, who will protect Mother and us?” Lu Yuan Xiao’s plea was fraught with desperation, clinging to the life that seemed to be slipping away from them.
In a moment of quick thinking, Lu Chao Chao tried to bite her own finger to draw blood, only to realize she lacked the teeth necessary for such an action. With no other option, she pressed her finger against the sharp porcelain, grimacing as it sliced her skin. A drop of blood emerged, glimmering with golden specks.
She carefully let the blood fall into her brother’s mouth, ensuring not a single precious drop was wasted. Her blood was no ordinary blood; it was akin to a miraculous elixir.
As her blood entered his system, a brilliant golden light burst forth into the sky, signaling an explosion of life. Flowers blossomed instantaneously, transforming the cityscape and drawing people to their knees in awe.
Signs of life began to manifest in their brother’s complexion, indicating a turn towards recovery.
Lu Chao Chao, with a touch of innocence, wiped her saliva on him, then pulled back her hand, leaving no trace of her actions.
“Wuwu, Big Brother, if you left us, who would stand up for Mother? With Father’s mistress, Mother will surely be heartbroken,” Lu Yuan Xiao wept, his emotions raw with both fear and sorrow, his face streaked with tears.
In that moment, their eldest brother, Lu Yan Shu, slowly opened his eyes, the first sounds he heard being the worried voices of his siblings.
Seeing her elder brother slowly come back to consciousness, Lu Chao Chao couldn’t resist a small, playful smile. [Now that you’ve tasted my blood, not even the King of Hell would dare to take you away, hehe… He’d have to ensure you’re safely back with us.] This proud and relieved declaration, however, went unnoticed by Lu Yuan Xiao, who was too caught up in his own surging emotions to catch her quiet triumph.
Originally, Lu Yan Shu’s attempted suicide was disrupted not by the efforts of his siblings but by the timely arrival of a doctor. Unfortunately, this intervention left him with even more severe injuries than before.
Lu Yuan Xiao continued to weep, his tears reflecting the depth of his fear and the relief he felt at this pivotal moment.
Lu Yan Shu, meanwhile, noticed an unusual taste in his mouth—a taste of blood that was refreshingly unlike the typical metallic flavor, reminiscent instead of fresh grass after rain, suggesting vitality and life.
Despite the despair that had previously engulfed him, where he felt life draining from his being, there was now a shift. He became aware of a faint stir within his wrist—the very spot he had sought to end his life from moments earlier.
A comforting warmth began to flow throughout his body, extending from his head down to his toes, reviving sensations in areas that had been devoid of feeling for an extended period. Intriguingly, the numbness in his legs gradually shifted to a mild itchiness, signaling the restoration of both blood circulation and nerve function.
His wrist, the very place that had borne immense pain and had been chosen as the instrument of his intended demise, now felt strangely devoid of pain, almost as if the wound itself was refusing to fulfill its intended fatal role.