IPW Chapter 5: Brothers

 Sima Youyue’s return to the General’s Mansion immediately caused a stir. He had just recovered yesterday, yet after a brief outing today, he returned covered in injuries once again. 

“Oh heavens! Young Master, how did you get hurt again? Who did this to you? Let me see how serious it is!” The butler, Uncle Quan, spotted him in the courtyard and hurried over, his face filled with concern. 

Seeing the worry in his eyes, Sima Youyue smiled reassuringly. “Uncle Quan, I’m fine. It’s just a minor burn.” 

“A minor burn? This is a large wound!” Uncle Quan exclaimed, distressed. 

“It’s nothing serious. It doesn’t even hurt much. I’ll have the maids apply some medicine, and it will be good as new,” Sima Youyue comforted him. 

 Although people outside the manor constantly ridiculed him as useless, everyone within the General’s Mansion treated him with kindness and care. No one ever looked down on him—if anything, they cherished him even more because he couldn’t cultivate. His grandfather, his brothers, the butler, and even the household servants all doted on him. Unfortunately, his former self had never truly appreciated their love and repeatedly caused heartache for those who cared about him. 

“Alright, have the maids tend to your wounds first. I’ll inform the General and get you some high-quality medicine,” said Uncle Quan.

She had already used the best medicinal pills available in the General’s Mansion—what better medicine could there be? Though he thought this, he still nodded and returned to his courtyard. 

His residence had few servants. Aside from the two maids, Chun Jian and Yun Yue, whom he had heard speaking the day he first woke up, there were only two cooks. When they saw his injuries, both maids were startled but swiftly set about to treat his wounds. 

Their practiced movements spoke volumes—this body had endured far too many injuries in the past. 

After tending to his wounds, Chun Jian handed him a pill to swallow. However, it was only a low-grade medicinal pill, and since his injuries were caused by spiritual energy burns, the effects were negligible. 

A short while later, Sima Lie arrived. Upon seeing the large burn on Sima Youyue’s arm, his heart ached, and his expression darkened. “Why did you go out alone again?” 

“Grandfather…” Sima Youyue grasped Sima Lie’s sleeve with his right hand and gave it a gentle tug. “I only wanted to take a stroll, but I happened to run into the person who attacked me last time. So, I taught him a lesson—crippled his meridians and made him incapable of cultivating. Compared to him, my injuries are nothing. Truly, it’s not a big deal; I’ll be fine in a few days.” 

In his previous life, he had endured a variety of wounds from gunshot wounds to knife wounds so this was considered insignificant to him. At worst, it would leave a scar on his arm. 

Seeing that he no longer wept and wailed over injuries like in the past Sima Lie felt both comforted and relieved. This was how a young master of the General’s Mansion should be! He took out a porcelain bottle, poured out a pill, and handed it to her. “This is the medicine we exchanged with Master Shi previously. Take it.” 

“Grandfather, my injury isn’t serious. It will recover on its own. This pill is far too valuable—we should save it for an emergency,” Sima Youyue said while pushing his hand away. 

“Nonsense! That burn is severe—how can you say that it’s nothing? Our General’s Mansion is not so poor that we need to hesitate over a single pill. Be good and take it and your wound will heal instantly,” Sima Lie said firmly. 

Sima Youyue took the pill and placed it in his mouth. It was bitter, but his heart felt warm. 

In her past life, she had been an orphan taken in by the organization and was subjected to many ruthless training. But there no one had ever truly cared for her. She never expected that in this new life, she would experience the warmth of family—the feeling of being truly cherished. 

Grandfather, from now on, you will be my grandfather. She silently vowed in her heart. 

“Hahaha! Our fifth brother has grown up and now he even knows how to comfort Grandfather !” 

A cheerful voice rang from outside. Moments later, four young men strode in—Sima You Qi, Sima You Ming, Sima You Ran and Sima You Le—the other four young masters of the Sima family. 

The one who had spoken just now was the eldest, Sima You Qi. 

“Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, why are you all back together?” Sima Youyue asked in surprise. 

“We heard you were injured, so of course we had to come back and check on you. It just happened that we all came back together ” Sima Youqi said as he scrutinized him from head to toe. “Are you feeling any discomfort?” 

They had all been away from home, but upon hearing that he had suffered a serious injury, all of them rushed back immediately. 

Hearing his concern, Sima Youyue shook his head. “No, the pill that Grandfather gave me worked wonders—I don’t feel any pain at all now!”

“Grandfather, did you seek out an alchemist?” The second Brother, Sima You Ming, asked. 

“Yes. The medicinal pills we had at home were all of low grade, so I went to Master Shi and obtained two second-tier medical pills,” Sima Lie explained. 

“That man has been coveting our two-hundred-year-old ginseng for a long time. Grandfather, don’t tell me you used that to trade for the pills?” The eldest, Sima You Qi who managed the family’s finances, asked sharply. 

Sima Lie nodded. “When I went to see him, he claimed that second-tier pills were difficult to refine and very rare. He insisted that I trade the ginseng for them. I was too anxious at the time and agreed.” 

“A second-tier pill is worth about twenty gold coins, while a two-hundred-year-old ginseng is worth at least fifty gold coins. But if it means Fifth Brother can recover, then it is worth it,” Sima You Ran remarked, showing no concern for the valuable ginseng. 

“Yes, the ginseng is replaceable. As long as Fifth Brother is safe, that’s all that matters” Sima You Le agreed. 

Sitting on his bed, Sima Youyue gazed at the five figures surrounding him. Listening to them casually discuss the cost of medicinal pills and ginseng, he was overwhelmed by the depth of their love for his past self. 

In this continent, gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins were the primary forms of currency. One gold coin equalled one hundred silver coins, which equalled ten thousand copper coins*. The majority of the general public relied on copper and silver for daily transactions, while only the upper class typically used gold coins. 

Twenty gold coins were enough to sustain an ordinary family of five for an entire year. Yet, they didn’t hesitate to spend that much on his recovery. 

“Fifth Brother, who was it that attacked you? Tell us, we’ll go avenge you!” Sima You Le, who was still young and hot-tempered, immediately spoke up. 

The five young masters of the General’s Mansion were widely known. The eldest, Sima You Qi, was 29; the second, Sima You Ming, was 24; the third, Sima You Ran, was 22 and the fourth, Sima You Le, was 18. All of them were prodigies in Dongchen Kingdom. The eldest was already a ninth-level Spirit Master, the second and third were at the fifth level, and the fourth had just reached the first level which was a remarkable achievement for his age. 

Only the infamous fifth young master, Sima Youyue who was 14 had never awakened his spiritual energy. He couldn’t sense spiritual energy let alone cultivate, making him a complete outcast in this world of cultivation. 

Hearing Sima You Le’s words asking about the culprit for his injuries, the short-tempered second brother also stepped forward. “Fifth Brother, who was it? Tell us, and we’ll teach all of them a lesson!” 

 

 

 

*1 gold coin = 100 silver coins= 10,000 copper coins.