Chapter 156: a mother's love

As Alex touched the glowing glass, the same thing that happened to him the first time that he touched one, happened again. He froze and his pupils vanished.

"If Hussein is the favored grandson of the clan chief, why doesn't he just let his favorite be the heir? After all, Hussein was given birth to minutes after Hassan – just from different mothers. And Hassan, I heard that he doesn't want to be the chief in the future, he just wants to live a laid back life." A maid that was washing clothes close to a stream said to a companion of hers.

This conversation was the first thing that Alex heard as soon as he arrived in Hussein once again.

Hussein was not far from where those girls were, he was sitting behind a tree, so he could hear them but they couldn't tell that he was around.

'Eh? So they are half-brothers.' Alex mentioned.

"Shhh, Jamila. Do you want to get punished? If Hussein hears you saying anything bad about his brother he might not let you off the hook." The companion of the maid washing clothes by the stream looked around frantically.

"But he's not here," Jamila looked at her companion.

"You who has been away with the caravan since you were a little girl will not know that Hussein hears it all." Her friend mentioned in a hushed tone.

"It is exactly because of that reason that I want to know. I have been traveling with my father for years because of his ambitions as a merchant, all I know is trade and jokes that the people in the caravan told. Wouldn't it be better if you told me so that I wouldn't have to ask in a place where Hussein might be able to hear me?" Jamila insisted on knowing why Hussein couldn't be made the heir.

Jamila was a pretty girl with long black hair, her skin tone was more tanned than those in the village because of the journeys she went on with her father. She had lean, but defined muscles that showed that she was a hard worker. She had abs that would put some men to shame.

Jamila's companion looked around and sighed. "I'm only doing this because I don't want you to use your mouth and get yourself into trouble. The reason why the clan chief cannot give the chieftaincy to Hussein is because of a law that our forefathers set. The chieftaincy will be giving to the firstborn son of the ruling chief.

Although they were born on the same day, Hassan is still the oldest and by law, the heir to the chieftaincy position."

'Hmm, I understand that rule, but why force it on someone that has repeatedly rejected the position?' Alex wondered.

"Oh, I understand. But there's still something that's on my mind." Jamila uttered.

"By the gods, Jamila, curiosity kills." She sighed and looked around once again, trying to see if anyone was approaching them. "Go on, asked your question."

Jamila smiled. "Is there any reason why Hassan doesn't want to be the heir?"

-Gasp!

Jamila's companion gulped as she looked at Jamila with an expression of fear on her face. "Jamila, this is not something that you should ask anywhere. This is a sore spot and if poked you might get bitten."

"Are going to tell me, or do I have to go and ask someone else?" Jamila was tired of her companion's attitude. To her, there was no one around and the way they spoke was too low for anyone to eavesdrop on their conversation, or so she thought.

"I pity you, that's the only reason why I will tell you about this." She took in deep breaths as sweat started to form on her forehead.

"Years ago, when Hassan and Hussein were just boys, something tragic happened to them."

Jamila listened attentively as her curiosity had already gotten the best of her. To her dismay, her companion stopped there.

"Is that all? You are not going to tell me what the tragedy is?" Jamila asked in annoyance. "Fine, I'll ask someone else." She stood and started walking away.

"Wait, come back. I'll tell you, but it's going to be the last one that I answer." Her companion called her back.

Jamila came back smiling. She hurriedly sat down on a stool beside her companion.

"As I said before, Hassan and Hussein have different mothers. Years ago in the past, Hassan was different from what he is now. He was given the title of a nonpareil and also one of the most talented in his generation, cultivation wise. It was so easy for him to breakthrough ranks and realms while others struggled. When they were just 15 years of age, Hassan was already a mid-stage earth realm cultivator."

"What!? That strength at such a young age?" Jamila was stunned to hear this.

Hussein smiled when he heard this. He was proud of his elder brother's achievements.

'What!? I'm 16 and I'm still struggling to break through the nascent realm.' Alex was a bit jealous of Hassan.

"What about Hussein, what cultivation realm was he in at the age of 15?" Jamila asked.

"Hussein was just an early-stage nirvana realm cultivator."

'Just? Why do I feel like you're rubbing this in my face?' Alex felt insulted by her statement.

"So far behind his brother, is he also a nonpareil?" Jamila questioned.

"No, although no one but the clan's chief and his trusted aids knows their strengths or even the elements that they use, there were a lot of rumors and speculations. Hassan is a darkness elemental user and a sword nonpareil while Hussein is an earth elemental user and also a runemaster."

"Wow, Hassan really has these talents?"

"Yes, he does."

"Then why is it that Hussein is being shown more respect than Hassan? Isn't it part of our culture to respect the strong despite their age?"

"I'm getting to that part. While the gap between the talent and strength of the two brothers was wide, they had a very close relationship. Hassan will never eat if his brother hasn't eaten, if Hussein was sad then it was the same case with Hassan. They love and adore their selves, like true siblings. The only problem was the love of a mother." Jamila's companion shook her head as she sighed.

'This is the first I've heard, the love of a mother? Most of the people that I have heard talking about this say that it was the selfishness and greed of a mother. Why did she say love?' Hussein pondered as he listened to the girls' converse.

"The love of a mother?" Jamila was confused, she couldn't understand how the love of a mother caused a tragedy.

"It was already enough that Hassan was the heir to the chieftaincy right from birth, everything became unfair when Hussein was being compared to his elder brother. No one worked harder than Hussein during their younger days. Whatever was easy for Hassan to do was very difficult for Hussein to accomplish even though they were the same age.

Hussein got mocked and insulted by a lot of people to the extent that he almost committed suicide because someone told him that he was holding his brother back."

"Holding Hassan back? How?" Jamila asked.

"I told you that their relationship has always been rock solid. When Hassan found out that his brother was being mocked because of him despite his efforts and hard work. He chose to help his brother, Hassan slowed the speed at which he cultivated, and he used the excuse of not wanting to rush things. But everyone could tell that he was doing it for Hussein. He wanted his brother to catch up with him so that they could move together."

"Hassan was like that? The Hassan that I know?" Jamila exclaimed.

"Yes, who else am I talking about? Just because he plays around and likes being a player doesn't mean that he is worthless." Her companion frowned at her reaction.

She continued; "Hussein could tell that his brother was doing it for him and after facing the insults of others, he decided to take his life so that he could stop being a shackle to his brother.

When Hassan learned of this, he was so angry that he beat everyone that spoke, looked, and treated Hussein differently from him. Didn't matter who they were, their instructors, friends, classmates, even the maids that gossiped.

That incident grieved Hussein's mother to the point of depression. Her son was already destined to be under Hassan, she could live with that, but she couldn't live with the fact that her only child was being belittled by everyone just because his older brother was stronger than he was.

If Hassan was removed from the equation, Hussein would have been the most talented of their time, but even when the only person that was above him was his elder brother, he was still mocked by those weaker and stronger than he was."

Jamila's companion paused and looked around again, this time she took her time in checking her surroundings.

"Guess what Hussein's mother tried to do?" She whispered.

"What!? I can't guess." Jamila didn't have the patience to play the guessing game with her, she was being eaten by her curiosity.

"Hussein's mother tried to end Hassan's life." Her companion whispered again.

Jamila's jaw fell and she quickly used her hand to cover her mouth…