Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Sound Transmission Jade Slip did not light up again.

…It had already been half an hour.

His sister, the most timid and clingy person he knew, hadn’t sent a single new voice message.

Pei Jinzhuo furrowed his brows slightly.

For some reason, it felt strange.

Usually, Pei Yunmiao’s messages would have come flooding in like a rising tide.

The jade slip would flash from time to time.

Even without opening them, he knew they would be filled with her usual incessant chatter.

“Brother, I bought the limited edition new sword tassel from Cheng Jade Pavilion-it was worth waiting in line at the shop entrance since dawn!”

“It’s a shimmering silver-white that matches your Suxue Sword perfectly. I’ve already put it at home.”

“Ugh, I have to go up the mountain to find herbs again today. Senior Brother Ying Nian said I’m the only one who hasn’t finished the alchemy assignment…”

“Don’t worry, I brought a whole bag of Thunderfire Talismans this time, and my Fire Control Technique has improved a lot. I can definitely beat those stupid young minor demons.”

“If I still can’t beat them…”

“Hehe.”

“Then I’ll just have to call you to give them another beating for me! ovo”

And he hadn’t replied to a single one.

Hearing that last sentence, he only felt a sense of weary helplessness.

She was always so lighthearted and careless.

Relying on his protection.

Becoming more and more unscrupulous.

But he couldn’t just revolve around her forever, could he?

It was fine when they were younger, depending on each other for survival, caring only for one another.

But now the Three Realms were in turmoil with demons and monsters causing chaos. He bore heavy responsibilities and had countless lives to save-

How could he keep looking after her while she ran around causing trouble?

Ying Nian was right; he couldn’t keep spoiling her like this.

It was good for her to suffer a little.

Only through pain would she learn fear.

And once she was afraid, she would stop running around every day.

After finishing off the last high-level beast demon in Yuanshui Town.

Pei Jinzhuo expressionlessly withdrew Suxue.

Sitting beside a mountain of corpses, his eyes were cold and numb.

Villagers soon crowded around him, weeping with gratitude.

Each of them babbled about thanking the immortal for saving them, saying his great kindness was beyond repayment…

When he first heard such words, they truly made him happy and warmed his heart.

But now.

He had heard them too many times.

His heart no longer felt even a ripple of emotion.

He didn’t even bother to respond.

Anyway, once they finished their self-indulgent thanking, they would happily return home with their families.

Pei Jinzhuo closed his eyes indifferently, wanting only to rest in silence for a while.

It wasn’t until the crowd had dispersed and the surroundings returned to silence that he opened his eyes again.

The sun had already set, and curls of cooking smoke rose from the town.

Only a small girl remained, kneeling before him and kowtowing.

As if afraid to disturb him, she carefully pushed forward a bowl of hot porridge.

Bowing low, she whispered her thanks:

“Thank you, Immortal, for saving my brother!”

“It’s thanks to your timely arrival, otherwise he would have been bitten to death by the beast.”

“My brother and I don’t have anything valuable. We can only offer you this bowl of fresh mushroom and meat porridge.”

“My brother made it himself. It’s very delicious…”

He didn’t make a sound, only looking down with indifferent eyes.

He watched as the little girl earnestly kowtowed three more times.

Hearing her brother waving and calling out, she hurriedly wiped her tears and ran back.

Her small figure lunged forward and threw itself into her brother’s arms.

Light and joyful.

At that moment, Pei Jinzhuo suddenly thought of Pei Yunmiao.

Every time he returned home from a mission, no matter how late, she would always be waiting at the door with wide, expectant eyes.

She would also do this-suddenly lunging forward to hug him.

Her thin, slightly trembling body would cling tightly to him while her muffled, aggrieved voice sounded in his ear:

“Brother, you’re back so late and you didn’t even send me a message.”

“I was home alone letting my imagination run wild, worrying if you’d lost the fight or if something happened…”

At that point, she would suddenly fall silent and spit twice to ward off bad luck.

With a cautious expression, she’d say: “Ignore that, ignore that. Look at the nonsense I’m talking.”

“How could my brother ever lose a fight?”

She would look up at him.

Her eyes would be full of bright, starry pride:

“My brother is the most powerful cultivator in the whole world!”

But when she saw the deep, bone-exposing wounds on his shoulders or back, her smile would instantly freeze on her face.

While applying medicine for him, she would cry like a coward:

“Brother, since you picked me up and brought me home, you have to look after me for a lifetime.”

“Not a day, an hour, or a moment less!”

“So you’re absolutely not allowed to sneak off and die. At the very least, you can’t die earlier than me…”

Yes.

His sister was just like that, unable to leave his side for a single moment.

Pei Jinzhuo let out an unconscious, low chuckle.

The setting sun hung low in the sky. He stood up briskly and performed a hand seal to mount his sword.

Time to go home.

It was getting dark.

If he returned late, his sister would start nagging him again.

The porridge was placed into his Storage Ring, and Suxue pierced through the air.

That silver-white sword tassel followed beside it like a shadow.

The sword and the tassel.

Him and Yunmiao.

They would never be separated.

As he neared the house, Pei Jinzhuo saw that familiar, thin figure from a distance.

She was covering her face with both hands, her body trembling rhythmically.

Sigh.

She was waiting for him while crying again.

Sigh.

And her clothes were all dirty-

She must have suffered a setback at the demon cave and fled back in a sorry state.

She would surely complain to him about her grievances later.

“Miaomiao.”

Standing behind her, he called out softly.

Seeing her back instantly stiffen, he couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile.

He leisurely counted down in his heart.

Three, two, one…

-Brother!

“Senior Brother!”

She lunged forward as expected, hugging him tightly.

But when he saw the face covered in tears, Pei Jinzhuo froze.

His habitually indifferent features rarely showed a hint of bewilderment.

It wasn’t his sister.

It was his newly joined Junior Sister, Cen Yongmiao.

She looked up at him, crying as she spoke:

“Senior Brother, I’m sorry.”

“I was useless. I couldn’t save your sister.”

Cen Yongmiao couldn’t stop sobbing.

Though her words were stumbling, the meaning was very clear.

She said.

Yunmiao had accidentally entered the demon cave and was caught by a Ghost Fiend.

She wanted to save her but was no match for the opponent and fainted at the cave entrance.

In her stupor, she saw that Evil Ghost had already bitten into Yunmiao’s neck.

Skinned alive, eaten whole.

Yunmiao was dead.

…His sister was dead?