Shadows of Care
At last, Yara had learned to call him brother, and ever since, those were the only words she spoke most often.
"Brother… brother… hungry, hungry.""Brother, sleep… sleep.""Brother, eat."
…
Sometimes, nightmares clawed at Yara in the dead of night, and she would cry out for her brother. Soren would immediately rise, quietly settling beside her, patting her small shoulders with careful hands, and humming a soft, haunting nursery rhyme he seemed to remember from nowhere.
These nights repeated several times, yet Soren never complained. Each time, he braved the dark chill, his body weary, his limbs stiff, humming the same gentle songs, coaxing Yara back to sleep.
Still, the endless care took its toll. Day by day, Soren's body thinned further, and his spirit seemed to fade, pale and drawn beneath his strikingly handsome features.
…
Outside the Crystal Lotus Mirror, the expressions of those watching slowly shifted. Yara's face softened, touched by the warmth of memories long buried. Though the earliest recollections were faint, seeing herself as a child under Soren's care awakened a flood of hidden emotions.
Back then, she had no cultivation, yet those days had been the warmest of her life. No matter the hour, her brother would always appear when she opened her eyes.
"But… why did you become like that?" she whispered to herself, voice trembling. "Did the Golden Bone… make your heart change so much?" The question pierced her own heart like a thousand icy needles, sharp and painful.
…
Years passed quickly.
Soren raised Yara with tireless devotion, and as she grew, life became slightly easier. Yet scarcity remained a constant companion. Many nights, they ate the last meal without knowing where the next would come from.
Whenever food ran short, Soren insisted Yara eat first. Only when her tiny body was full would he allow himself to eat—but often, there was nothing left. He drank only cold water, numbing the emptiness of his stomach.
Long-term nutritional deficiencies had made his frame slender, almost fragile. Once slightly taller than his peers and round-cheeked, he had grown thin while his contemporaries surpassed him. Even Yara, small though she once was, began to outgrow him in height.
"That boy was truly devoted to sister Yara," even Rose, who had long harbored deep hatred for the Supreme Lotus Emperor, found herself sighing quietly outside the Crystal Lotus Mirror.
Yet admiration did not erase resentment. Despite witnessing his warmth, the memories of cruelty later endured kept her heart unsoftened.
…
Finally, the day arrived when Soren brought Yara into the nearby mountains to gather herbs. In the past, he had resisted taking her, fearing she might be injured. But today, she had insisted, crying until he had no choice but to acquiesce.
Herbs were one of the many skills Soren had learned over the past two years. He would pick them from the mountains and sell them to the village stores, earning more than hunting could provide. Though his body was thin, it moved with agility honed by countless days of labor and vigilance.
Half a day's work yielded a basket brimming with herbs. He knew there were richer patches deeper within the forest, yet he feared the risk of bringing Yara along. For now, they would return home with what they had gathered.
Soren's face glistened with sweat, fatigue pulling at his slender frame, while Yara, oblivious, played happily nearby. Each glance at her innocent delight brought the faintest smile to his lips—small moments of warmth amidst hardship, fleeting and precious.
…
"Even the Supreme Lotus Emperor treated sister Yara well," observers outside the Crystal Lotus Mirror whispered, secretly glancing at her with a mixture of awe and curiosity.
But Yara's face turned pale, eyes wide as fragments of memory surfaced. She could barely speak: "This… this was when it happened…"
Inside the Crystal Lotus Mirror, the siblings trudged home, baskets heavy with herbs.
Suddenly, Yara's finger jabbed toward a cliffside. "Brother, what is that?" she asked.
Soren followed her gaze and saw it: a small, palm-sized mushroom clinging to the rock. His heart leapt. Ganoderma mushroom—rare, valuable, and enough to secure their survival for years.
He considered leaving it for later, returning alone to retrieve it. But fear of it being taken by others made him decide otherwise.
"Little sister, I'll go pick it. Stay here, I'll be back soon," he instructed gently.
Yara nodded obediently, trust shining in her icy-blue eyes.
Soren set down the heavy basket, his hands steady despite exhaustion, and began the careful climb toward the precious mushroom, the weight of survival pressing on every step.