"Elder Brother, why does he call you senior brother? He's so much older than you!"
In the Mo Household's garden, Mo Xiaorong kept pestering Stoneborn. She knew her brother was remarkable; even their parents would come specially to ask his opinion on many things. Yet no matter how much she uncovered, he always seemed to have plenty of secrets left.
"He calls me senior brother because he's my junior brother, of course. That just means I became our master's disciple before he did."
"But he's so old!"
"Well, doesn't Mingzhou Academy have old students too? Plenty of people keep studying and taking examinations into old age. It's the same thing."
Mo Xiaorong frowned, certain her brother was fobbing her off.
"Then who's your master? A teacher at Mingzhou Academy? No, wait, Elder Brother, you never went to the Academy!"
"Heh heh heh, I may never have studied at Mingzhou Academy, but I'm certainly no worse than its students. And academies aren't the only places with teachers. All right, all right, go play. I'm going to lie down for a bit."
"No lying down! No sleeping! Play with me!"
The moment she heard her brother wanted to lie down, Mo Xiaorong started tugging at his clothes and shaking him. Yet despite her relentless interference, his breathing gradually grew even, and he slipped into peaceful sleep.
"Aaargh, I'm so mad! How can you fall asleep like that? You must be pretending!"
The little girl stamped her feet in frustration, but there was nothing she could do.
"You're bullying me! Just watch how I get you back!"
She simply lay down beside the pond. But the water was too far below the edge, and her arms and legs were too short. She could only brace one hand against the rim and reach down