Lin Tian was the second eldest son of the Lin family. As the son of a legal wife, he resented Lin Hui for being the son of a mere mistress, and often spat at him and called him names such as "whoreson" and "bastard." "Freak" was quite new, but not above him.

Later on in the game, he would be cucked by his wife for Lin Hui and suffer a horrible death by bleeding out in the filth of poverty after Lin Hui took the family mantle. It was part of the reason why Liu Hong liked Lin Hui's character. He hated Lin Tian with as much vigor as a gamer with no life (which he was) and often made a point to absolutely trample on him in-game (which he enjoyed thoroughly.)

Seeing his face was like seeing an old friend. It also meant that whichever higher power that voice was, it gave him a life where he would have tons of fun in his favorite MMORPG game! Liu Hong beamed at him, and was not surprised when he was answered by a disgusted face.

"Do not look at me like that, fiend." Lin Tian spat, his eyes aflame with distaste, "You should have died in that pond. It is right that you shouldn't seek justice against my dear cousin, for living when you are not supposed to is a great sin." 

Pond? Liu Hong was silent. He never remembered such a thing in Lin Hui's storyline, but it had been a long time since he mained him. 

Ah, a pond! Lin Hui clashed with someone near a body of water, he remembered. Because of the heirloom being damaged. Liu Hong nodded to himself, but it seemed Lin Tian took it as him agreeing, because he scoffed in self-satisfaction afterwards. 

"I am glad you agree." Lin Tian sneered, "The patriarch is not pleased with my cousin because of this. Go and plead your sins outside the hall, so that all of us may be satisfied." 

Liu Hong opened his mouth to deny it, but Lin Tian turned away before he could resolve the misunderstanding. 

Striding across the room, he stopped at the open screen door, the already old and decrepit door cracking under his grip. "Who knows? If you repent enough, perhaps my cousin will forgive you. Then you will save yourself a beating. A strong enough gust of wind will injure you at your current state, so just think of what a whip will do." 

With those words, Lin Tian laughed hollowly at his own joke, and slammed the screen door shut. 

"..." Liu Hong deadpanned at the door as the sound of footsteps faded. It seemed as though Lin Tian was as edgy in real life as he was in-game. Liu Hong lay down on the bed and laughed to himself. 

He covered his eyes, making sure to express his delight. Good, this was really great! It was a life where he would have lots of fun. 

Hearing the sounds of contrived laughter emanating from the ominous room, Lin Hui shivered. 

What a scary person. What an eerily fey face! And those eyes.. 

Blue as larkspur. Blue as the glaciers they grow on. The sign of a life-threatening amount of water qi.

And Lin Hui was the one who had saved such a terrible thing. He didn't even know why he did it. He couldn't recall his thought process, and didn't even know that there was one. He cursed his naive virtue. To set his mind to save anyone who needed saving; he realized it was such a silly thing to promise. But then again, he never thought the child that was always walled inside the rundown detached wing would not be a bastard son like him, but a sinister existence instead. 

Lin Hui shivered in apprehension as he felt an unusual pull from the dilapidated room. It was sorcery; Lin Hui couldn't comprehend it being anything else. 

And now my second eldest brother hates me even more! Because I saved a.. a...

The screen door slammed open, and Lin Hui physically recoiled at the blinding shine of golden light. Lin Hui exhaled shakily, feeling his closed fists tremble at his sides. His feet seemed nailed to the ground at the sight of it, but he pulled them up with a tremendous amount of effort and scrambled to hide behind a bush. 

A Xuan. 

Lin Hui's fingertips grew numb as if ice pressed against them, and a chilling nervousness came over him. Please don't let it notice me, please don't. Ancestors, if ever you pitied an illegitimate like me, I'm begging you to not let it catch me. 

Liu Hong yawned as he opened the screen door. It was pretty cold, and though he didn't look thin, his body was very weak. Was Lin Hui this frail in-game? Liu Hong thought about it for a while, but gave up on doing so. He didn't think much of it, and it didn't matter either way. He was gonna train this body up. 

Liu Hong felt his clothes, still wet against his skin. He remembered the map of the Lin residence he had seen so often with no difficulty, and switfly set about to where the laundry rooms were. 

He ran his fingers along the stone walls, winding through the labyrinth-like paths of the residence with utmost certainty. 

Soon enough, however, he found himself lost. 

"Strange," Liu Hong muttered to himself. "I recall it was right here. Maybe I didn't remember it right? Or maybe I was staying at a different place than I thought." 

That couldn't be right. Liu Hong knew there was only one detached residence, and it belonged to Lin Hui. That was him.

Liu Hong sighed to himself. "Well, I can't be helped. I'll garner sympathy from Father if I look more pitiful anyway." He commented smugly to himself, before taking notice of the closest building. 

The study.. So if I take a right here, it'll be the main hall, Lin Hui thought, and went on his way. 

Lin Pengfei was the Patriarch's eighth son. He was in control of one of the most flourished branches of the Lin family, so the head seat at his own hall was what he deserved. 

Occassionally, there are times when he wished he could forfeit such a responsibility. When he was a child and dreamt of being a swordsmaster, when he fell in love with a peasant girl and could only take her son home, and now, when a child of his elder brother stumbled upon something that was always meant to be hidden. 

Seeing his niece knelt before him now, her face twisted defiantly, Lin Pengfei resisted the urge to sigh. Oh child, he thought, It is not your fault. It was never meant to be seen. You must be punished. 

Lin Pengfei was disgusted at himself. Punishing his own blood for something like that- but if the child had died there and then... 

Lin Pengfei shook his head at the thought. 2 more years, he thought. Just 2 more..

The double-doors burst open, interrupting his thoughts. Red wood, like cinnabar, slammed against the walls, resounding. The armrest Lin Pengfei put his hands on nearly cracked with his grip. His breath stopped in his throat.

The evening light cast a shadow on the hall's polished surface. Casting an outline of the boy, no, the thing. 

"I've come to greet Father and plead for my cousin, Lin Chinhua's sake!"