The morning sun slipped through the bamboo lattices of the academy dormitory, casting slender lines of gold across the floor. Han Yue sat in quiet stillness, her delicate fingers brushing against the jade hairpin resting on her desk. Its cold touch steadied her breath, reminding her of the image she was expected to uphold—elegant, composed, and worthy of the Han Clan's name.
Yet behind the serene mask was a heart that trembled.
From childhood, she had always looked up to her elder brother, Han Li. In her earliest memories, it was his figure that shielded her from taunts, his voice that soothed her fears. To Han Yue, he had been unshakable, a silent mountain whose strength needed no words. She once believed that no obstacle could stand against him.
But that belief had been shattered.
When the results of their Awakening were announced, she had stood among the crowd, her heart swelling with anticipation. Surely, her brother would astonish them all. Surely, the elders would gasp, and the clan would nod with pride.
Instead… whispers spread like wildfire.
"E-rank?"
"The Han Clan's eldest son, an E-rank?"
"What shame…"
Han Yue's hands had gone cold that day. She had searched for Han Li's eyes, but he stood apart, calm as if the world's scorn were nothing more than a passing breeze. She couldn't understand it. Why wasn't he angry? Why didn't he fight back?
Since then, the academy had become both haven and battlefield. As a B-rank cultivator, Han Yue received admiration and courtesy wherever she went. Her peers sought her company, and instructors praised her aptitude. Yet, beneath the flattering smiles and hollow respect, she could hear the veiled mockery aimed at her brother.
"Han Li the failure."
"The sister shines, the brother shames."
Each word was a needle pressed into her chest. She clenched her jaw, enduring the weight of expectation, never once allowing her poise to falter. But when she was alone, she would think of the quiet distance growing between them. He no longer reached for her hand in the crowd, no longer lingered by her side as he once did when they were children.
Han Yue missed it—the warmth of that silent protection. And yet, perhaps it was she who now needed to protect him.
The academy's spirit creature selection had only deepened her confusion. She had watched him move with a calm surety, his eyes sharp, as if weighing the creatures with knowledge beyond his years. He had chosen the moonlit wolf without hesitation. For a brief moment, she had glimpsed a flicker of the brother she remembered—not weak, not frail, but deliberate and unyielding.
Why, then, does he continue to hide?
That night, as lantern light painted soft halos on the academy walls, Han Yue knelt by her desk and closed her eyes. For the first time, she prayed—not to the moon, nor to the ancestors, but to the faint memory of the brother who had once carried her on his back.
"Brother," she whispered, voice trembling yet firm, "if the world dares to call you weak, then let me carry their scorn with you. I will not abandon you, no matter what truth lies beneath."
A subtle clarity blossomed within her heart. She could no longer be the little sister who only admired from afar. She would grow stronger, not for the clan's praise, but for the bond she refused to let crumble.
The academy might see an E-rank failure and a B-rank beauty. But in her eyes, Han Li was still the brother who once shielded her from the world. And she would not allow him to stand alone.
---
Later that evening, seeking calm after her resolve, Han Yue left the dormitory and wandered along the stone path winding through the academy's bamboo grove. Fireflies flickered faintly in the dusk, their light weaving like quiet lanterns in the dark.
It was there that she encountered a fellow student, a tall boy clad in green robes embroidered with his clan's crest. His lips curled in a knowing smirk as he stepped into her path.
"Han Yue," he greeted, voice smooth but mocking. "Such brilliance from you is no surprise. A B-rank—graceful, talented, admired. Truly worthy of the Han name." His eyes narrowed. "But your brother… Han Li, isn't it? An E-rank? Tell me, how does it feel to shine while dragging such a shadow behind you?"
Han Yue's chest tightened, but she lifted her chin. "Han Li is not weak. He carries himself with more strength than you could ever understand."
The boy chuckled. "Strength? You call silence and failure strength? Perhaps you only say so because he is your brother. But the academy will not be merciful. An E-rank is an E-rank—no matter how you dress it with words."
Her hand trembled at her side, nails digging into her palm. She wanted to shout, to strike, to silence him. But the words caught in her throat, choked by the weight of doubt pressing in from all directions. At last, she stepped past him, her voice low but firm.
"You know nothing of him."
She did not wait for his reply. Her heart pounded as she quickened her steps, leaving the bamboo grove behind. The mocking smile still burned in her mind, but so too did her brother's calm, unreadable gaze.
By the time she reached the courtyard, her resolve had shifted into urgency. She could no longer bear the whispers or her own unanswered questions.
She needed to see Han Li. To demand the truth.
And so, her steps carried her toward her brother's quarters, determination flaring in her chest like a quiet flame.
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