Chapter 67: Senior Brother Deserves It
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the simple infirmary. Outside, only birdsong accompanied the quiet. Inside, an incense burner in the corner emitted a golden glow, its fragrant smoke designed to aid sleep. Ye Anping and Pei Lianxue had formed a habit during their harsh training in their youth: any slightest disturbance would wake him from his sleep. However, yesterday, not only had he burned calming incense, but the medicinal herbs in his dosage also seemed to contain sleep-inducing properties. Consequently, he had slept exceptionally soundly, even having a rare dream.
In the dream, he wore red robes and led Xiyue into the main hall, performing the three bows before his parents to become husband and wife. Xiyue caressed his face, promising to wait for him in the wedding chamber. Turning, he saw his grown-up junior sister below the altar, weeping tears of joy as she congratulated her senior brother and his sister-in-law. After paying respects to the guests, he entered the wedding chamber, excitedly lifting Xiyue’s red veil. To his surprise, Feng Yu Die’s face was underneath the veil. He immediately pulled the veil back down and withdrew from the chamber, a sense of anticlimax washing over him. At this point, he woke up.
“Hoo—” Ye Anping let out a soft sigh, his heart a mixture of emotions, unsure if the dream was sweet or a nightmare. Just then, the door creaked open, and two young apothecary boys pushed in a wooden cart. “Young Master Ye, it’s time to change your dressing!” Ye Anping paused slightly, a memory of a small plot point in a game surfacing. He replied as politely as possible, “Thank you, young gentlemen, for coming so early. I hope I haven’t troubled you?” “Young Master Ye is too kind. This is what we are supposed to do.” One of the boys grinned, motioning to the other, “You go help Young Master Ye sit up, I’ll change his bandages.” Seeing their expressions, Ye Anping felt he had passed a test and breathed a sigh of relief. The two boys efficiently removed Ye Anping’s old bandages and gently wiped away the remaining ointment with hot water and a cloth. It was at this moment that two light knocks sounded from outside the door. Ye Anping, assuming it was Bai Yuexin arriving with breakfast, said, “Please come in!” “Ah… Senior Brother, I’ve come to see you…” Pei Lianxue pushed the door open with a smile. Upon seeing Ye Anping’s upper body bare as the two boys tended to him, she gasped sharply. Just as Xiao Yunluo, who was behind her, prepared to greet him, Pei Lianxue turned and pushed her aside, then shut the door with her foot. Xiao Yunluo looked bewildered. “Lianxue, what’s wrong?” “Senior Brother is changing his dressing. We’ll wait outside for a moment.” Hearing this, Xiao Yunluo couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle, thinking, *Lianxue is so protective of her own.* She then waited outside with Pei Lianxue. Inside, the two apothecary boys seemed to have spotted Xiao Yunluo, their eyes lighting up with a hint of pleasant surprise. They looked at Ye Anping and asked, “Young Master Ye, is that young lady close to you?” “Ah… yes, she is my junior sister, here for the sect selection as my companion reader.” The apothecary boy rewrapped his bandages and said, “It’s rare to see the young miss so close to anyone. She used to be a loner. We heard the sect assigned her many maids, but she sent them all away.” “Is that so…” Ye Anping didn’t need the apothecary boys to tell him. Yet, hearing their words, a sense of melancholy began to stir within him. In the game, after Feng Yu Die and Xiao Yunluo became friends, Si Xuanji had proactively approached Feng Yu Die. Si Xuanji’s primary objective was to understand Feng Yu Die’s temperament and Dao heart, to see if she could entrust her daughter, Xiao Yunluo, to her. Si Xuanji’s wish was for Feng Yu Die to help Xiao Yunluo grow, to be like an older sister to her, protecting her while also allowing Xiao Yunluo to face setbacks and tribulations, becoming a strong and independent young woman. Unfortunately, Feng Yu Die’s personality led her to misunderstand the entrustment as a mere “offering,” which was a different matter entirely. In the subsequent main storyline, Feng Yu Die and Xiao Yunluo almost mutually supported each other. As mentioned before, Ye Anping didn’t harbor grand ambitions; he clearly defined his role as a ‘cannon fodder.’ His sole hope was to lead his junior sister, climb as high as possible on the path of immortality to a safe position, then go to Hantian Kingdom to marry Xiyue and return to the Hundred Lotus Sect to live a peaceful life. However, if his junior sister’s relationship with Xiao Yunluo reached a certain level, Si Xuanji might approach them and entrust Xiao Yunluo to his junior sister. His junior sister’s temperament and Dao heart were beyond reproach. But in that case, his junior sister would truly become a “fake protagonist,” facing a future fraught with danger and peril. Thinking of this, Ye Anping’s brows furrowed. This was his oversight—before his junior sister entered the Xuan Xing Sect, he had truly not anticipated that she would become friends with Xiao Yunluo. Xiao Yunluo’s early personality was extremely arrogant, and her actions were incredibly wild, much like a wild “tigress.” His junior sister, on the other hand, was a “rabbit.” Could a tiger and a rabbit truly become friends? However, judging from the current situation, Xiao Yunluo seemed to have been “tamed” from a “tigress” into a “kitten” by his junior sister. A “kitten” and a “rabbit” seemed to be quite compatible… Ye Anping pinched the bridge of his nose, pondering for a moment. An idea suddenly struck him. —Should he forcibly separate them? Rationally speaking, forcibly breaking their bond would undoubtedly lead to the least trouble in the future, and it was the correct course of action. But… If he considered it emotionally, forcefully separating them would surely hurt his junior sister’s heart. He had been very strict with his junior sister when they were children, but he had never truly hurt her feelings. Now, his junior sister had found a true friend, and he was genuinely happy for her. Moreover, Xiao Yunluo was indeed a perfect candidate for a friend. Apart from this option, another path he considered was to increase Xiao Yunluo’s favorability towards Feng Yu Die to surpass her favorability towards his junior sister. This way, Si Xuanji could be drawn to Feng Yu Die, and the plot could return to its intended course. However, Feng Yu Die’s personality… Ye Anping felt that even if he acted as her strategist and put in great effort, at best, he could only prevent Xiao Yunluo’s favorability towards her from decreasing further. Favorability was, in essence, a matter of distribution. A person’s total favorability was limited; if one person occupied more, another would have less. It was like how “children with strict fathers are often more afraid of their mothers.” Perhaps in the later stages, Feng Yu Die might have a chance, but the current Feng Yu Die? How could she compare to his junior sister, whom Ye Anping had painstakingly cultivated for over a decade? Ye Anping felt: This whole situation was Ye Anping’s fault – Who allowed Ye Anping to raise his junior sister so well! —Ye Anping, you deserve it!
