A longing in Yunmeng | Jiang Cheng |

Shooting Kites

         Laughter rang in Jiang Cheng's ear as he watched the kites flying in the clear blue sky. He stood on a little hill and at the foot was a group of young Yunmeng disciples.
             They were probably around seven to thirteen only, some of them flying kites while the others held a bow in their hands and a quiver slang around their chest.
              "Liu-di! Try to shoot the kites!" one of the kids cried out as the others agreed with him and cheered the so called 'Liu-di' on.
        "You can do it, Liu-di!"
      A small boy came out from the group, taking out an arrow from his quiver. With his small hands, he aimed the arrow at the fluttering kites.
                   Zoink.
           The arrow left the bow but never made it to the kite. He had not put in enough strength- but he still did better considering his age. The disappointment was clear on the child's face as others comforted him.
        Jiang Cheng, having silently standing there, remembered the time when he and Wei Ying would come down to this secluded hill to shoot down at the kites flown by their juniors.
          They have been shooting kites ever since they were young. Wei Wuxian was always better than him in everything they did, even shooting kites.
               He thought of how care-free his life was back then, eating his sister's lotus soup and playing under the sun- shooting kites and swimming in the pond.

       His mother, Madame Yu, would always give them a reprimanding by the time they got back to the residence if she had found out that they had been fooling around rather than practicing to enhance their cultivation. They never learnt their lesson anyway- they would do it again another time and Madame Yu would scold them again. It had always been like that.

        Now, he was too busy to even walk about like this, let alone playing. Another thing was, he also alone- too alone. He had no one close to him, other than his own nephew.
           Even then, Jin Ling could not always be there- he had his own life and sect. Wei Wuxian was also gone, only following wherever Lan Wanji went. His entire sect was nearly wiped out along with his parents....he was truly by himself.

          Jiang Cheng quietly descended to the small clearing where the kids were standing. When they saw him, they all saluted them with a "Sect Leader." He nodded to them and went to their sixth brother.

                 "Are you having trouble?" he asked the child, who in turn nodded solemnly. A light smile playing at the corners of Jiang Cheng's lips, he said, "Let this sect leader teach you then..."
             At that, Liu-di's face lit up and nodded enthusiastically. Jiang Cheng knelt down beside him and showed him the correct position to shoot an arrow. He remembered when his father, the former sect leader, had taught him how to shoot an arrow.

        "First, always aim at your target..." his father had told him.

                        Back then, he had never been able to shoot a kite down. Nevertheless, he practiced and practiced, until he could shoot down one, never giving up. On the other hand, Wei Wuxian was a natural at archery, always getting praised by the juniors. Jiang Cheng never showed it, but he had envied his adoptive brother ever since they were at a young age.

                    "Aim and then...shoot." he instructed as he help the child shoot his arrow, directly hitting the farthest kite that was flying in the sky. Everyone let out amazed noises and cheered for both Jiang Cheng and their liu-di.

          "Wow! Sect Leader is the best!" the young child cried out,bouncing on his two legs. At that statement, Jiang Cheng's heart leapt. Back then, everyone had said that Wei Wuxian was the best and even better than Jiang Cheng himself. He would not admit that it did hurt him a little. Now, he was in a place where someone was calling him the best.

                 "Boys..." Jiang Cheng heard the sound of a young girl call out. All the juniors looked up with doting eyes at this new-comer. "Jie!" the sixth brother called out, waving both his hands, "Sect Leader showed us how to shoot an arrow!"

          The girl give a small courtesy towards Jiang Cheng. "Ah...thank you so much, Sect Leader." she said in a soft and fairy-like voice. She reminded him of his own sister who always looked after the boys in their youthful days.

              "Boys, there are watermelons for you! They are very sweet." the young girl told them which made everyone leaped in joy. It was always good to eat some cool watermelons under the radiating heat of Yunmeng.

       They went up the hill to their sister, saying their farewell to Jiang Cheng. The sixth brother was the last to leave, thanking Jiang Cheng again for teaching him how to shoot an arrow, promising that he would practice to be like him someday. This really touched Jiang Cheng's heart.

         Once he was left alone, he started to think about the days he used to shoot down kites with Wei Wuxian again. The other would always show off, shooting down the farthest kite in order to gain admiration from their juniors.
              But those days came to an end almost too quickly. That day when they were just having fun, shooting down kites, the disciples from the Wen clan showed up, capturing their own sixth brother. That was the same day that they had attacked Lotus Pier, taking everything away from Jiang Cheng.
               He had blamed Wei Wuxian for his parents' death, never forgiving him. Now, he still blamed him but it was no longer harsh. He had been alone for too long, without anyone to open up to- his emotions welling up inside him like a bottle. After all, what's done cannot be undone...
The wind gently blew at Jiang Cheng's hair ribbon as he sat on the soft grass. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the peace to himself, humming a rhythm that his sister used to sing him to sleep when he had nightmares.

(Note : Liu-di means sixth brother)