"Big cousin, how could you..."
Before Lin Yuan could finish, Liu Zhiguang almost roared, "Liu Zhiyang, just for a few taels of silver, you ruined your own brother’s future, don’t you think that’s too cruel? Are we even a family anymore?"
"Heh." Liu Zhiyang sneered, raising his hand to wipe a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, "Blood-related brothers should settle accounts clearly. Tit for tat is fair play."
"Good, ’blood-related brothers should settle accounts clearly,’ good!" Liu Zhiguang laughed at himself in derision, his eyes full of bloodshot, perhaps never having imagined that he would be treated this way by his own little brother. He pulled a purse from his bosom and hurled it towards Liu Zhiyang’s face, "Here, take it all! Take it and spend your days with the silver!"
The purse hit Liu Zhiyang’s face, but he didn’t even dodge. When it fell to the ground, he didn’t bend over to pick it up.
Lin Yuan bit her lip, all her fondness for this second cousin dissipated.
"None of you understand me, all of you prevent me from learning martial arts and force me to study instead. Study, study, that’s not what I want at all! You won’t let me do what I want to do, why don’t you understand? Why don’t you support me?" Liu Zhiguang clasped his head with both hands, howling with all his might, and had they not been at the entrance of the yard, far from the north room, his shouting might have attracted everyone in the house.
Liu Zhiyang, however, acted as if he had heard the most absurd joke, sneering derisively, "Understand? Support? Big brother, don’t you think it’s hypocritical to say such things? You repeatedly say you like martial arts, that you want to enlist and perform military service to serve the country, but what have you done? Our parents disagree and you don’t even dare to say ’no’; either you want me to speak for you, or you want cousin to do it. Bro, don’t you think you’re too idle? I see, you’re nowhere near as committed to martial arts or to achieving anything significant as you pretend. All talk and no action! I advise you to abandon this notion and either study diligently at the academy or help father farm back home!"
"Second cousin, how can you talk about big cousin like that, he..."
"Yuanyuan, don’t bother defending him. We’ve all misjudged him; he’s simply not cut out for martial arts. Look at any martial artist -- do they behave like him, keeping quiet like a shrinking turtle, too scared to speak his mind, too afraid to face his own parents? How will he face battalions of enemies and slay them if he can’t even face this?"
Liu Zhiyang’s eyes widened fiercely, and his words rendered Lin Yuan speechless. Truth be told, his words were indeed irrefutable.
Perhaps it was the relentless reprimanding from Liu Zhiyang that struck a nerve, but Liu Zhiguang’s demeanor turned stern; he clenched his fists tight, his voice sounded clear and forceful, "Yes, I’m just a shrinking turtle! I’ll show you how this shrinking turtle persuades our parents! I won’t ask anyone for help, I’ll do it myself!"
After speaking, Liu Zhiguang ran into the house under the watchful eyes of Lin Yuan and the others. They exchanged looks in surprise, even Liu Zhiyang’s eyes betrayed an unexpected glint.
To think he was so easily provoked?
As they wondered, suddenly there was a low sound from the room, tinged with a sobbing tone, indistinct but Lin Yuan could intermittently hear Liu Zhiguang’s voice slowly drifting out.
"Father, Mother, your son has a request... Since childhood, I never liked to study, but the moment I see the books about commanding troops, I can’t put them down... To achieve honor and glory for the Liu family name... I beg you to grant your son this wish."
Then there was a prolonged silence. Lin Yuan was getting anxious, wanting to go over and check, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, for she feared the outcome was as she expected -- even if her uncle agreed, her aunt likely would not. If the Imperial Court didn’t mandate it, who would be willing to let their son face heartless enemy soldiers on the battlefield?
"Second cousin, can big cousin really succeed?"
Lin Yuan turned back to find Liu Zhiyang pursing his lips, staring unwaveringly at the room’s door. She didn’t realize that his palms were sweaty.
"Whether he can succeed or not, at least he has taken this step instead of sneaking around reading military texts and seeking sparring partners."
Lin Yuan’s heart stirred, and her view of Liu Zhiyang shifted. It seemed that things were not as she had perceived them to be, and second cousin’s recent words appeared to have another purpose.