Aunt

“So… where am I sleeping tonight?”

Xun Xue tilted her head, her blue eyes curiously scanning the few simple thatched cottages before them.

Lu Qiancha pointed to her own cottage and said, “There.

That one’s yours.

I’ll be cultivating outside tonight, so I won’t be sleeping.”

“No staying up all night.”

Xun Xue pouted, her arm circling quite naturally behind Lu Qiancha’s waist—and precisely wrapping around the supposedly invisible tail, kneading it gently.

“Let’s sleep together tonight~”

Lu Qiancha quickly twisted her hips to free her tail from Xun Xue’s demonic clutches, then rolled her eyes.

“If my master and junior sister find out, there’s no telling what kind of trouble it’ll cause.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

Xun Xue straightened up, full of righteous confidence.

“You are my daughter.
It’s only natural for a daughter to sleep in the same bed as her mother!”

The corner of Lu Qiancha’s mouth twitched, and she couldn’t be bothered to put up a pointless struggle.

She raised a hand and slapped a meditation cushion out from her storage pouch, then sat down cross-legged in a meditative posture—a silent protest.

“Hmph…”

Seeing this, Xun Xue’s pout deepened, and she sighed mournfully, “My daughter’s all grown up… she’s starting to dislike her mother…”

Just then—creak!

The wooden door of the adjacent cottage was flung open!

“Senior Brother!”

Accompanied by a clear, joyful cry, a slender figure wrapped in a thin sheet burst out.

It was Gan Tang.

Her long, wet hair was still dripping, and her skin, veiled in mist, glowed with a pearly luster in the moonlight.

The thin sheet was loosely draped around her, outlining the graceful curves of her youthful figure.

It was obvious she had just finished bathing.

“Senior Brother, you’re finally back!
You scared me to death!
Why were you gone for so long?
Are you hurt?!”

The words tumbled out as Gan Tang’s eyes quickly scanned Lu Qiancha.

Then, throwing caution to the wind, she opened her arms and flew towards her.

Lu Qiancha’s first instinct was to dodge, but when her eyes met those slightly reddened rims filled with worry and grievance, her heart softened.

In the end, she didn’t move, allowing her damp and fragrant junior sister to crash solidly into her arms.

“Bad Senior Brother!
Stinky Senior Brother!
You were gone for so long!
I thought… I thought you…”

Gan Tang’s tearful accusations exploded next to Lu Qiancha’s ear, her body still trembling slightly.

But the expected wail never came—because a small, warm, and firm paw had landed reassuringly on the top of her head.

“Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I?”

Lu Qiancha’s voice was low and gentle, a soft smile playing on her lips.

“You’re a big girl now, you can’t be crying at the drop of a hat.”

“Hmph! Who’s crying!”

Two crimson clouds bloomed on Gan Tang’s cheeks as she abruptly turned her face away.

“It’s… it’s just that a certain someone who breaks their promises and makes people worry is too despicable!
Simply unforgivable!”

Watching his junior sister’s familiar dramatic act, Lu Qiancha didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, a hint of doting affection flashing in her eyes.

“Alright, alright, it’s my fault.
Then… how about we go to the mountain city next door tomorrow, and I’ll buy you your favorite osmanthus crisps from Ruyi Pavilion, okay?”

“No way!
You think you can just placate me with a little snack?”
Gan Tang shook her head like a rattle drum.

“Then what compensation do you want?
I promise I’ll get it for you.”

Lu Qiancha chuckled, her tone indulgent, as if she had returned to the days when Gan Tang had just arrived on the mountain, following her around like a little shadow, chanting—”Senior Brother, Senior Brother, will you buy me osmanthus crisps, please.”

“Hmph, hmph…”

Gan Tang’s eyes darted about, a cunning, “victory-is-in-sight” smile spreading across her face as she enunciated each word, “I want—to hug Senior Brother’s tail!
And sleep!
All!
Night!
Long—!”

“…”

The air instantly froze.

‘This is a far cry from when she first arrived on the mountain,’ Lu Qiancha thought, feeling a vein throb on her forehead.

Recalling the tragic fate of her tail over the past few days, she couldn’t help but press a hand to her forehead, her voice filled with weariness, “Can I refuse?”

“I unilaterally reject Senior Brother’s rejection.”

Gan Tang immediately tightened her arms, hugging her even more snugly, her chin lifted in pride.

“Oh my, my, little girl,” a melodious female voice, tinged with a natural smile, drifted over.

Xun Xue was watching Gan Tang with a playful gaze.

“Forcing someone to do something they don’t want to… that’s not very ladylike, is it?”

Only then did the foolish junior sister notice that a strange woman was standing next to her senior brother!

“Who are you?”

Gan Tang’s gaze fell upon Xun Xue—the woman’s voluptuous, perfectly proportioned figure made her instinctively look down at her own slightly less-developed frame, and a tiny flame called jealousy inexplicably sparked in her heart.

“My name is Xun Xue.”

Xun Xue smiled harmlessly, but her arm wrapped possessively around Lu Qiancha’s shoulder, pulling her closer into her embrace.

“Me?
I’m Little Qiancha’s mo~st intimate family member~”

Little Qiancha?

Family?

The combination of these words was like a bomb going off in Gan Tang’s head!

“Waaah—!!!
Senior Brother—!!”

An earth-shattering wail erupted instantly!

“It’s only been a month!
And you… you’ve been stolen away by some bad woman from the outside?!
Don’t you want me anymore—?!”

Gan Tang cried so hard she could barely breathe, as if she had just witnessed the sky falling.

“??!!”

‘Stolen away?
Bad woman?!’

Lu Qiancha’s mind went blank, shocked by her junior sister’s bizarre train of thought.

‘What on earth does this little sister of mine keep in that head of hers?!’

Xun Xue’s brow furrowed tightly, clearly displeased with the title “bad woman.”

“Little sister, you’d better be responsible for your words.
Bad woman?
I think you’re the rude little brat here.”

Seeing that a collision was imminent, Lu Qiancha felt her head swell to the size of a bushel basket.

She quickly shouted, “Stop!

Both of you, stop arguing!”

She first gave Xun Xue a reassuring nod, then turned to the tear-streaked Gan Tang and said helplessly, “Get back inside first.
I’ll explain everything to you slowly.”

Her tone left no room for argument.

Gan Tang pouted and wiped her face messily with her sleeve, smearing away most of the tears she had just squeezed out.

Then, with a wary and aggrieved expression, she followed closely behind the two into the thatched cottage.

The moment the wooden door of the cottage closed, it shut out the outside world.

Facing Gan Tang, there was no longer any need for pretense.

Lu Qiancha took the initiative and dropped the Myriad Phantoms Mirage Art.

With a twist of light, the handsome youth Lu Qiancha disappeared, replaced by the blue-haired loli—Lu Qiancha.

“Gan Tang, let me introduce you.
This is Xun Xue.
The essence blood in my body was a gift from her.”

Lu Qiancha paused, met Xun Xue’s expectant gaze, and sighed, resigning herself to her fate as she said, “You could also say she’s my… mother.”

“Mhm.”

Xun Xue’s eyes immediately curved in satisfaction, her chin lifting slightly.

“!!”

Hearing this, Gan Tang’s brain short-circuited as if a wire had been crossed.

By the candlelight inside, she now noticed that Xun Xue and Lu Qiancha’s true form actually bore a seven or eight-tenths resemblance.

In the silence, the candle flame crackled.

The next second, like a released spring, Gan Tang shot forward and bowed a full ninety degrees to Xun Xue!

“Honorable Auntie—!”

Her voice was loud enough to tear the roof off!

“Please—!
Betroth your daughter to me!
My feelings for Senior Brother are absolutely true!!”

A deathly silence fell over the room.

It was as if a visible tic pulsed on Lu Qiancha’s head.

Without a second thought, she shot out a claw and smacked the back of Gan Tang’s boldly raised hand!

“Ouch!”

Gan Tang cried out in pain, nearly jumping as she clutched her hand.

“Gan Tang!”

Lu Qiancha practically roared, her face a mixture of shame, exasperation, and a faint, imperceptible blush.

“What in the world is wrong with you tonight?!
If you keep spouting nonsense, do you believe I’ll toss you in the lake to clear your head?!”

“Hmph~”

Gan Tang pulled back her swatted hand, blowing pitifully on the three faint claw marks that had appeared on it, not forgetting to complain, “Stinky Senior Brother… I was just making a joke to lighten the mood… you didn’t have to be so rough…”

Then, she seamlessly changed the subject, grumbling, “Look, look!
Your claws are so sharp, you should go trim them!
You poked me, and it really hurts!”

Lu Qiancha: “…”