The Winds Rise Again

Several days passed, and life in the courtyard remained as peaceful as ever. Morning sunlight filtered through the cassia leaves, carrying a faint fragrance. Ryan sat on a stone bench, the wound near his shoulder already scabbed over. His mother carefully changed the dressing every day, and the pain gradually faded. Though it had not fully healed, it no longer tore open. For once, he set aside his blade and quietly watched the scene in the courtyard.

His little sister Yue'er ran about the courtyard with a wooden sword, shouting a slogan she had made up herself. "Monsters, go away, go away! My brother is the strongest!" Her movements were clumsy but earnest. Whenever she fell, she simply patted her knees and raised her wooden sword again to charge onward. Ryan could not help but smile. Every time she fell, he had to resist helping her up, because she always insisted on standing on her own.

"Yue'er is even more stubborn than her brother." Smiling, their mother stepped lightly out from beneath the porch, carrying a steaming bowl of porridge. She carefully placed it on the stone table as though it were some precious treasure.

Ryan silently watched his mother, warmth rising in his heart. He slowly reached out and accepted the hot porridge, feeling the heat through the bowl. When he lowered his head and took a small sip, the steam rushed down his throat in a scalding burst, yet it also filled his chest with warmth.

His mother stood quietly beside him, watching Ryan with tenderness in her eyes. She said softly, "You were the same as a child. Whenever you fell, you never cried. You would climb back up yourself, brush the dust from your clothes, and keep playing."

Ryan listened quietly without arguing. He knew she