Chapter 404 Extra Chapter: Xiao Huan X Xiao Xu (Part 2) - Is the older brother the caged eagle?
The next day.
Xiao Huan woke up from his sleep and looked around at the furnishings in the room before realizing that he was no longer at the Xiao family home.
"It was just a dream..."
With a creaking sound, Qinghe entered carrying a bowl of hangover tea. "Oh, young master is awake!"
"Hmm." Xiao Huan rubbed his throbbing head, leaning against the bed. "What time is it?"
Qinghe handed her a bowl of hangover soup. "It's just past noon, why don't you lie down for a while longer?"
After drinking the soup, Xiao Huan waved his hand and chuckled, "No, I'm going out for a walk later. You can go down first."
After Qinghe left, Xiao Huan put on his clothes, went downstairs, ordered some food, and sat down.
"Hey, hey, something big has happened to the Xiao family, have you heard?"
"It's just that Xiao Huan has gone missing, right? With the Xiao family making such a big fuss, it's hard not to know!"
"No! It's the head of the Xiao family who's in trouble!"
"What?!" Upon hearing this, Xiao Huan jumped up and rushed to his side, anxiously asking, "What happened to him?!"
"Ah?" The pale-faced scholar was taken aback, and after sizing him up for a moment, he said, "Young master, who are you?"
Xiao Huan: "Stop talking nonsense and speak!"
"I heard that just yesterday, Xiao Xu seemed to have received news from his younger brother, so he rushed there with his men. Who knew it was a trap? He was caught off guard and fell into an ambush. It is said that he was seriously injured and is on the verge of death!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Huan felt a buzzing in his head, his face turned pale, and he mumbled something before turning around and running outside.
"No...no, my brother is so amazing, it must be fake!"
Xiao Huan kept talking all the way, but when he returned to the Xiao family after several twists and turns and saw the gloomy atmosphere in the mansion, his heart sank to the bottom.
"Young Master?!"
At this moment, a maid exclaimed excitedly, "Great! You're finally back!"
Xiao Huan's gaze lingered, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Has anything happened inside the manor?"
The maidservant before him burst into tears, knelt down with a thud, and cried out, "Master, he is seriously injured, I'm afraid..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Huan disregarded everything else and, as if possessed, ran towards Xiao Xu's bedroom.
As soon as he entered the hall, he saw the clan elders and physicians busy inside. The hall was filled with a strong smell of blood, which made him stop in his tracks in fear.
"You brat, you still know how to come back!" At this moment, the uncle in the hall was furious. Just as he was about to say something more, a weak voice came from behind the screen.
"Xiao Huan..."
Upon hearing Xiao Xu's voice, Xiao Huan, who was standing by the door, trembled, and his eyes instantly filled with tears. He slowly walked around the screen to look inside.
Xiao Xu's face was deathly pale, and blood was still seeping from the cotton cloth on his chest, soaking the gauze in no time.
"Brother!" Xiao Huan knelt down with a thud, sobbing beside the bed, "It's all my fault, I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry!!"
Xiao Xu said weakly, "You may all leave. I have something to say to Xiao Huan alone."
Everyone left the room, leaving only the two of them inside. Xiao Xu wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Don't cry, it hurts your brother's heart..."
Xiao Huan simply held his hand, shaking her head with teary eyes, "Brother, I was wrong! I'll never run away again, I'll be good!"
“Xiao Huan is right, it was your brother who shouldn’t have forced you…” Xiao Xu coughed a few times, lay down weakly and continued, “Go to the study next door and get the jade box from the bookshelf.”
"Hmm!" Xiao Huan wiped away his tears, got up and ran to the study next door. After searching around, he finally found the jade box on the shelf.
Perhaps because he was in a hurry to retrieve the box, he accidentally triggered a mechanism, and a secret room suddenly opened up in the bookshelf. The scene inside astonished Xiao Huan.
The room was filled with portraits, densely packed on the walls and some placed on the table... They were all of him!
Xiao Huan walked in curiously, casually unfurled an old scroll, and found that the portrait inside was also of him, who looked to be only about ten years old.
"This, this..." Then, as if he had gone mad, he unfolded several paintings one after another, and unsurprisingly, they were all of him.
His appearance from childhood to adulthood was all drawn stroke by stroke on the scroll...
Xiao Huan burst into tears, as if these portraits had awakened vague memories of his childhood.
"Big brother! Brother! Please pay attention to me!"
"Get lost!!" The young Xiao Xu limped along, completely ignoring the little tail behind him.
Young Xiao Huan looked disappointed, but still clung to him, softly asking, "Brother... why did Father beat you again?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xu paused, turned around, and shoved him to the ground. "Isn't it all because of you!"
"Waaah..." Xiao Huan burst into tears, feeling wronged and confused. Whether it was him or his other brothers, they all bullied him and hated him.
But he clearly didn't do anything.
Seemingly annoyed by his crying, the young Xiao Xu roared with a gloomy face, "Stop crying!"
"oh……"
Xiao Huan responded with hiccups, then sat down beside him and sobbed softly, "Brother, don't be sad. I'll talk to Father later and ask him not to hit you anymore."
“It’s no use.” The young man, Xiao Xu, sat down against a tree. “Because I want to leave…”
"Leave?" Xiao Huan asked. "Where does brother want to go?"
"Anywhere is fine, it's better than here."
Xiao Huan asked, puzzled, "But... isn't this my brother's house?"
"no."
Young Xiao Xu was silent for a moment, then looked up at the sky outside the courtyard. "I don't want to be kept like this... and end up as a sacrifice. I want to be a wandering knight, punishing evil and promoting good, living a carefree and leisurely life in the world."
Xiao Huan: "Wow, that sounds amazing! Why doesn't Daddy let my brother go?"
"Hmph!" Young Xiao Xu glared at him resentfully. "Father said that I cannot leave the Xiao family until you become the head of the family!"
"Hmm?" Xiao Huan blinked his big eyes, as if he had made up his mind. "Okay! Then Xiao Huan will definitely become the head of the family as soon as possible, so that brother can travel around the world!"
The coldness in the eyes of the little one before Xiao Xu faded, and he sighed helplessly, "Idiot, that will take a long time..."
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."
At this moment, Xiao Huan took out a bowl of soggy longevity noodles from the food box, handed it to him, and whispered, "I heard from the maid that today is my brother's birthday, so I asked the cook to make a bowl. Brother, please eat it quickly!"
Young Xiao Xu was somewhat stunned. He took the bowl of noodles, which was hard to describe, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.
"When my brother grows a year older, Xiao Huan also grows a year older, and time will fly by!"
The young Xiao Xu chuckled: "Okay, then from now on, Xiao Huan will have to accompany his brother on every birthday."
"Okay, it's a deal!"
...
"elder brother……"
He forgot.
And they've completely forgotten about it!
"elder brother!"
Clutching the jade box in his arms, Xiao Huan turned and ran towards Xiao Xu's bedchamber, overwhelmed by guilt that nearly suffocated him.
He felt like a canary trapped in the Xiao family's cage, unable to gain the freedom he desired.
He had resented and hated.
But he never imagined that the proud eagle would be willing to break its soaring wings and be imprisoned in a cage with him.
Xiao Huan ran as fast as he could, tears blurring his vision. He stumbled and knelt down beside the bed, sobbing, "Waaaaah, brother, I'm so sorry!"
"Alright, stop crying." Xiao Xu touched his cheek. "Why do you cry even more than when you were a child?"
Xiao Huan shook his head and choked up, "Brother, I will be obedient from now on. I... I will be the head of the family! And I will definitely spend all your birthdays with you from now on... Please don't leave me, okay?"
Xiao Xu's pale face froze for a moment, his heart filled with joy. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly spat out bright red blood, startling Xiao Huan, who hurriedly wiped it away.
"elder brother!!"
Xiao Xu shook his head after a moment of hesitation, gesturing for him to bring over the jade box. His face was pale and weak as he said, "Cough cough, inside is the seal of the Xiao family patriarch... and the Xiao family's cultivation manual. Please keep them safe... I've returned them to their rightful owner."
Xiao Huan: "Brother..."
"I was wrong before, brother. I shouldn't have treated you that way... After I die, you should manage the Xiao family business well, and then marry a gentle and virtuous woman..."
"I don't want... I only want my brother!" Xiao Huan sobbed uncontrollably, burying her face in his arms and wailing, "You promised to stay with me, you can't break your promise!"
"Brother, I'm a little tired..." After saying that, Xiao Xu, who was on the verge of death, closed his eyes. This scene terrified Xiao Huan, who was standing by the bed, and he screamed like a madman.
At this moment, the clan elder who had been waiting outside heard the noise and quickly led people in to help. He pulled Xiao Huan away from the side, saying, "Xiao Huan, calm down!"
But at that moment, he couldn't listen to anything else. He clung tightly to the person on the bed, refusing to let go no matter what.
After finally managing to pull them apart, they kept trying to squeeze back in, giving the doctors who were treating them a headache.
Suddenly.
A loud slap rang out, and Xiao Huan's head was turned to the side.
"You need to calm down because your brother is like this! Do you want to let him down?!"
“Uncle…” Xiao Huan was pulled aside by him. Seeing his distraught appearance, he sighed, took out a bottle of pills and handed it to the physician, “Give it to him.”
Xiao Huan asked in confusion, "Uncle, what is this?"
"A life-saving pill, and this kid got it for free." He glanced at Xiao Xu on the bed, turned around and slowly left the bedroom, muttering as he walked away, "I can't be bothered with it anymore, let the Xiao family do whatever they want."
really.
The elixir was incredibly effective; in just a short while, Xiao Xu, who had been on the verge of death, was miraculously saved, much to Xiao Huan's delight.
However, despite the miraculous effects of the elixir, Xiao Xu remained unconscious.
The Xiao family could not be without a leader for a day, so Xiao Huan followed the wishes of the clan and successfully inherited the position of family head. With the assistance of the clan elders, he patiently learned to handle affairs.
Time flies like an arrow. During the six months that Xiao Xu was in a coma, Xiao Huan gradually grew up, impressing many people in the clan and changing their opinion of him.
"Xiao Huan, are you going out?"
Xiao Huan, who was about to leave, stopped and turned around to bow. "Yes, Uncle, there are some matters to attend to at the market. Did you need me for something?"
"It's alright, you can go ahead."
"yes."
Looking at the man who had become much more mature and composed, a look of satisfaction appeared on his old face. He walked slowly into the hall with his hands behind his back, glanced at the person lying on the bed, and coughed lightly: "How long are you planning to keep up this act?"
Upon hearing this, the person who had been lying on the couch with his eyes closed suddenly opened them, sat up, and chuckled, "Uncle, what brings you here today?"
"Hmph, if you don't wake up soon, that kid might go crazy."
Xiao Xu chuckled, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Seeing that Xiao Xu was unharmed, he sighed deeply, "You're really ruthless to yourself, aren't you afraid of losing your life?"
“But I won the bet.” Xiao Huan not only returned home, but would never leave him again, so it was all worth it.
"Hmph, madman."
Xiao Xu: "Thank you for your kindness, Uncle. If it weren't for your pills, I'm afraid I would have already passed away."
"Don't overthink it. I just don't want Xiao Huan to be so discouraged that the Xiao family bloodline will end."
He turned his old face away with a haughty air and walked towards the door. "Since we're not going to pretend anymore, let's hold the Dual Cultivation Ceremony as soon as possible and try to preserve the Xiao family bloodline."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xu was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Yes."
After the figure left, a woman gracefully walked out from the corner. It was Qinghe, the girl from the brothel. She bowed to Xiao Xu on the bed and said, "Congratulations, young master, your wish has come true."
Xiao Xu glanced at her, then casually waved out a storage bag. "There are some treasures and spirit stones inside. Take this and leave the Central Region. Don't ever show your face again."
"I understand, I understand. Then this servant will take her leave."
"Hmm." Xiao Xu raised his hand and waved. Qinghe bowed and retreated happily. He leaned against the bed with a smile on his lips.
Xiao Huan never expected that the longevity lock he received that night had been marked during its forging, precisely to prevent such a situation, and it unexpectedly came in handy the very next day.
"Idiot, how could I let you get away again?"
That night.
Xiao Huan returned after a busy day and saw a familiar figure as soon as he entered the bedchamber. He paused, somewhat incredulous, "Brother..."
Hearing this, Xiao Xu, who was fiddling with the tableware, paused and turned to smile at him: "Are you hungry? Come and have your meal."
"Brother!" Xiao Huan was overjoyed. He ran over and buried his face in his arms, then began to sob. "You're finally awake!"
"Alright, stop crying." Xiao Xu wiped away his tears. "Sit down and have a meal with your brother."
"Mmm!" Xiao Huan smiled like a child, picked up the bowl and wolfed down his food. "Brother, you eat too!"
Xiao Xu just smiled and said, "You're already the head of the family, why are you still like this?"
………………
Hearing this, Xiao Xu shook his head, "No need, you're fine as you are, your brother likes it all."
Xiao Huan lowered his eyes and stirred the rice in his bowl, hesitating as if he wanted to say something, "Brother, I'm the head of the family now..."
Xiao Xu: "Hmm, so what?"
Xiao Huan looked up at him, and hesitated before asking, "Then... are you still willing to stay?"
Xiao Xu: What do you think?
What the heart desires, one finds sweetness in.
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