“First brother, fourth brother,” Xuelei greeted them.

Li and Dao looked up at Xuelei. Li smiled in greeting whilst Dao waved a hand absent-mindedly. He was deep in concentration, staring at a Chinese chessboard.

Xuelei sat down, he had reached home at dawn and had immediately gone to report. The Master had interrogated him on the details whilst the Mistress seemed only intent on scrutinising him.

In the end, the Master was satisfied. His report had coincided with information from several sources confirming the death of young master Tian and the turmoil it had thrown the family into.

“So who is winning?”

“Shhh little brother, I am on the verge of cornering his King,” Dao said, nodding to himself, stroking his beardless chin thoughtfully.

Li laughed easily, “That means he is losing.”

Dao growled. “Shut up.”

Xuelei glanced at the game in progress, only a few chess pieces were left on both sides. “I will tell you how to win if you let me off sabre practice with you this afternoon.”

Dao perked up, ”Okay! It’s a deal! If I win, he has to do my chores for a whole week.” He jabbed a finger at Li.

Li narrowed his eyes at Xuelei. “Don’t you dare help him, Xue…I’m warning you!”

“Move your knight in between your Rook and King. If he takes it with his Rook or Bishop, he will weaken his position. His King will be vulnerable to attacks from your Cannon and incoming soldiers.”

“Huh? I don’t get it, that will only sacrifice my knight…Ohh!” Dao smirked in sudden understanding and moved the piece. He jumped from his seat and pranced around. “I got you now Li! You are going down!”

“Xue!! How could you? I was winning!”

It was Li’s turn to frown at the board. Dao was all smiles as he beamed at Xuelei.

“Hah! You came back just in time.”

“You ruined all my plans. I had him. Just for that you will have sword practice with me this afternoon.”

“What? No-ooo. C’mon Li, I just got back.”

“Well you should have thought of that before you poked your nose into other people’s business.”

Xuelei looked pleadingly at Dao, who shrugged at his brother. The youth’s shoulders slumped, the corners of his mouth turning down.

“It’s not fair, I never win.”

Dao grinned at Xuelei’s glum expression, ”You’ll get used to it.”

-----------

The two brothers stood facing each other in fighting stance. The eldest and the youngest, hands on the hilts of their swords, alert for the slightest move.

Dao leaned against the wall watching his brothers with amused interest. The sparring practice would be good for Li who was recovering from a shoulder injury. It was also an excuse to further Xuelei’s training with the sword. The boy was fast, but he had to fine tune his techniques. Li was the best swordsman among them, Xuelei was in for a tough session.

Suddenly Xuelei pulled his sword and lunged at Li. The older man dodged but did not unsheath his weapon. The boy turned, side-stepping into the spot where Li was just standing. He swung the weapon in a wide arc as he jumped at Li. He was rewarded with a loud chink as Li was forced to draw his sword to block the fierce attack.

Nice! Dao thought. Xuelei had forced Li’s hand so early. He was definitely getting better.

Li did not waste time, he turned throwing his sword’s sheathe at Xuelei, who barely managed to dodge in time. It clattered noisily to the ground. They both turned and glared at each other.

Dao grinned. Now the fight would start in earnest. The lunged at each other, swords clashing loudly. They turned, flipped, attacked and blocked. The only sounds heard on the practice grounds were of the two swords clashing, grunting and heavy breathing. Railings, chairs and tables were used as stepping stones as the two fighters jumped to attack and parry. It almost looked like they were dancing.

Xuelei had improved, Dao was pleased to note. Usually he wouldn’t have lasted ten minutes against Li. His technique and footwork was better, balance and strategy could still use a little work though. However, his speed and the way he was optimising on his opportunities made Dao’s smile widen. The boy was good and getting better, he was giving Li an unexpected workout.

Li was recovering but the Xuelei had just returned from a mission and was tired. The odds were evened out, more or less.

“Xuelei!”

He turned at his name and was promptly hit on his shoulder. He fell hard onto the ground with a grunt, his sword clattering away from him. Before he could make a move, the tip of Li’s gleaming sword was at his throat. Xuelei froze.

Li smiled broadly and lifted an eyebrow. “Yield?”

Xuelei’s lips thinned as his eyes darted to his fallen weapon.

“Don’t even think about it.” Li pressed the tip of his sword against Xuelei’s exposed throat.

“Okay, I yield.” He turned to glare at the cause of his downfall.

Mei Ling stood beside Dao, hands covering her mouth. “Oh! I’m sorry Xue, I didn’t mean to make you lose.”

“Not bad little brother. At least you lasted longer than the last time,” Dao drawled.

Li extended a hand to help his brother up and clapped Xuelei on his back. “Never let anything distract you in a fight. It could mean your life. Not bad. You have improved a lot.”

Xuelei nodded understanding then made a face. “I could have lasted longer, maybe even beaten you.”

“Dream on little brother, that will take a lot more practicing on your part.”

Mei Ling smiled and linked hands with Li and Xuelei. “You are both good, and so is Dao.”

“Why are you here?” Dao asked. She turned pointedly to Xuelei who returned her gaze.

“Where’s my present?” They all chorused together before she could open her mouth and burst into laughter.

“C’mon.” Xuelei beckoned at them. “Follow me, it’s in the kitchen.”

Mei’s eyes widened. “What is it?”

“I’ve got some honey combs, enough for all.”

“Honey? I love honey!!”