Welcome back, Brother

“Per your instructions, this will be your room for tonight.”

In the thick night, True Disciple Luo Yanming led Xiao Yu to a room, opened the door, lit a candle on the table, glanced around, then turned to Xiao Yu.

“Thanks,” Xiao Yu replied. He scanned the room—pretty good. Not bad at all, considering Li Yunshang arranged it.

From the style, this must be a True Disciple’s room.

Xiao Yu thought. He’d lived in Xuanling Sect for years. He knew their housing system well. Outer sect: 70–80 crammed in one room. Inner sect: 1–3 per room. True Disciples: one room each.

As Xiao Yu inspected the room, Luo Yanming turned, gave him a cold snort, and said:

“Listen up. My room is right next door. Behave yourself. Don’t try anything tonight. I don’t know what poison you fed Junior Sister Li, but let me warn you…”

He paused, raised two fingers to his sharp eyes, then flipped his hand toward Xiao Yu.

“I’ll be watching you. Always. Don’t pull any tricks. Just leave tomorrow morning. Oh—and what’s your name?”

Even I don’t know why Li Yunshang believed I’m Ye Feng’s brother, Xiao Yu thought with a bitter smile.

Name… right.

“My surname is Ye, given name Ba—Ba as in ‘dominance.’ Call me Xiao Ba if you want.” Seeing the serious man, Xiao Yu jokingly blurted out.

“Xiao Ba? Weird name. Xiao Ba… wait. No. You f***ing what?” Luo Yanming muttered, then suddenly realized. Eyes widened, he glared at Xiao Yu.

This brat’s disrespecting me!

“Alright, out you go. I’m going to sleep.” Before Luo Yanming could protest, Xiao Yu shoved him out and slammed the door.

Nice. A True Disciple’s room had far better sound insulation than Tie Mansion. To avoid disturbing cultivation, they’d even added a sound-dampening formation—besides the spirit-gathering array. Clearly, Senior Brother Luo was very worked up.

Speaking of soundproofing, Xiao Yu thought of Tie Yanran on Demon Gathering Island and sighed. That mess wasn’t resolved. When he returned, he might get thrown into Sword Prison again.

If Fan Hai and the others found out and treated him like Liu Shicheng—forcing martial arts training on him—he’d be surrounded by sweaty men. Not happening.

He needed to apologize. So Xiao Yu turned to the system: “System, you there? Got anything for breast enhancement?”

“……”

The system went silent. A support system for boosting a protagonist’s power—ask for pills, weapons, anything to grow stronger, fine. But breast enhancement? Did any protagonist defeat enemies by suffocating them with giant breasts?

After a long silence, the mechanical voice returned: “Available. Breast Enhancement Pill—100 points. Effect varies by individual.”

Seriously? Xiao Yu was surprised. He’d only asked as a joke. Then he remembered: “How many points do I have left?”

“Qiankun Earth-Dodging Talisman ×2, Concealment Talisman ×1, Military Shovel ×1. Cost: 200 + 200 + 50 = 450 points. Initial 500. Remaining: 50 points.”

50 points… not enough.

“How do I earn more?”

“Complete tasks or exchange spirit stones. 1 low-grade = 1 point. 10 mid-grade = 1 point. 10,000仙stone = 1 point.”

The exchange rate sucked. His hard-earned top-grade spirit stone was only worth 100 points.

So this talisman in his hand was worth one top-grade spirit stone?

Xiao Yu looked at the Qiankun Earth-Dodging Talisman in his palm. Suddenly, it felt hot.

“What about tasks?”

“Tasks require key story characters or events. None triggered yet.”

Fine.

But no way he’d do protagonist-related tasks. The system thought he was the protagonist.

Hah. Who’d want to be a protagonist? Not even a dog would take that job.

Xiao Yu opened the money pouch Sun Qian left. Must’ve gotten rich from the wealthy woman. Fifty-plus mid-grade spirit stones—more than the 20 from selling underwear.

Not bad. He could afford it.

Hopefully, by the time he returned, Tie Yanran’s anger would’ve cooled.

Thinking this, Xiao Yu opened the window, checked the night sky. Yeah… time to go.

Time to work. A bit early—some night-owl cultivators might still be awake—but Li Yunshang’s behavior today felt off. Unnatural. Better act now, not wait.

Xiao Yu used his soul-bound sword’s talent, shaped moonlight from the window into a mirror-like illusion of himself, placed it on the bed, and covered it with blankets. From a distance, it looked like he was sleeping.

Xiao Yu wiped non-existent sweat from his brow. Night was his domain—especially under a full moon.

After tidying the room, he opened the door and slipped out, vanishing into the moonlit night.

Moonlight shifted. A few drifting clouds blocked the clear moon, darkening the night. Minutes after Xiao Yu left—

In the thick darkness, a delicate figure approached the room carrying something. She knocked. No answer. So she pushed the door open and entered.

Rustle rustle~

Gentle night wind brushed his face. Xiao Yu’s agile figure darted between shadows, avoiding late-night couples strolling outside.

“They say a thief from the Thieving Sect disguised himself as our elder and got caught by the sect leader. Locked in prison now. If he escapes tonight, it’ll be dangerous. Junior Sister, walking alone at night worries me. Why not stay at my place tonight?”

“Stop scaring me, Senior Brother.”

“Junior Sister, be careful tonight. Xuanling Sect’s been unstable. Today, when I went to pay respects, some unknown person beat me up. The underwear I planned to burn for Senior Brother is gone.”

“What?! You lost the underwear? Then we’re breaking up.”

“What?! Junior Sister—wait, let me explain—Junior Sister…!”

“No!!!!”

****

After taking a detour, Xiao Yu returned to Ye Feng’s grave.

No words. He pulled out the shovel and started digging. In moments, a corner of the coffin appeared.

“System, is this close enough?” Xiao Yu paused, asking the system.

“Host, please wait. Analyzing… analyzing…” The system responded. Would take a while.

Analyzing… the secret was almost revealed. Who killed protagonist Ye Feng?

Could it be a great demon from the demon race? But the boundary wasn’t easy to cross. Human forces guarded it. Demons were suppressed—ranked below even zombies, hated by Heaven. Almost no Golden Core or higher demons in the Five Continents. Great demons? Impossible.

Hmm…

Could it really be those “evil cultivators from demonic sects” Li Yunshang mentioned?

Then the protagonist was even weaker than expected. Xiao Yu, without a protagonist’s luck, had fought his way through. Yet the real protagonist got killed by some unknown low-tier demonic sect members?

Hard to believe.

He stuck the shovel into the ground, too tired to think. The result would come soon. It couldn’t be suicide. Or Li Yunshang did it. Impossible.

He looked up at the moon, hidden behind black clouds, and muttered: “Dark night, strong wind—perfect time for grave-robbing.”

“Fits the scene,” he joked, chuckling at his own words.

Suddenly, a soft voice drifted from behind, carried by the night wind into his ears:

“Senior Brother… what are you doing here so late?”

“F***!”

Xiao Yu’s hair stood on end. He turned—Li Yunshang in white stood behind him, silent, staring.

Clouds parted. Pale moonlight fell on her—like a beautiful female ghost.

“J-Junior Sister, what are you doing here?”

Crap. Caught again.

“This is what I’d like to ask you. Why aren’t you in your room? What are you doing here?” Li Yunshang wore the same widow’s outfit. Her voice was soft, her bright eyes reflecting moonlight with a faint eerie glow.

Her gaze dropped to the coffin corner Xiao Yu had dug up. He panicked.

“N-Don’t misunderstand! I… I thought my hometown was far. If I left tomorrow morning, I might not arrive before dark. So I came to prepare—pack things up, make departure easier.”

Moonlight shifted, as if unwilling to witness what came next, hiding behind black clouds. Darkness returned.

Li Yunshang said nothing. Just stared. In the dim light, Xiao Yu couldn’t see her face. But that faint gaze felt like it pierced through his fake face, seeing his true self.

Xiao Yu’s mind snapped into focus. He noticed her calling him “Senior Brother”—and his own slip of the tongue. He quickly corrected: “I mean… Miss Li, why call me Senior Brother? I’m not my younger brother Ye Feng.”

“Is that so? But compared to the impostor in the coffin… I think you’re the real Senior Brother.”

She cupped her cheeks, dropping the act. A twisted, sickly smile curled her lips. Beneath her sunset-colored eyes, the hidden emotion finally exploded:

“Welcome back, Senior Brother. How was the outside world? This time, you won’t run away and leave me behind. Otherwise… I can’t promise what I might do next.”

At that moment, the system’s analysis came through:
“Host! Wounds on Ye Feng’s body were caused by a powerful artifact similar to a yajun dao (skirt-pressing blade). Residual spiritual energy traces confirm the killer… is the person standing before you—Li Yunshang.”

As the system’s mechanical voice faded, Xiao Yu stared at the girl smiling sweetly before him. His body froze. A bone-deep chill shot from his feet to his skull.