A Sister’s Disguise and a Brother’s Heart

He Sugui looked up, unable to resist glaring at the young Immortal Master seated at the head of the table. However, his mother, who had always doted on him, immediately reached out and pressed his head down.

A bowl of steaming hot soup sat before him. He Sugui’s nose was almost submerged in the broth.

Just as panic seized him, his mother’s soft whisper reached his ear.

“Just for today, be smart. Sit properly and eat your meal.”

At that moment, He Suosi, dressed in female attire, was led in by Aunt Chen.

The child had originally not yet reached the age where his features clearly revealed his gender. With delicate features and a pair of large, sparkling eyes like luminous jewels set in a small face, complemented by long, curling eyelashes, he looked entirely like a girl in his current disguise.

There was no trace of a boy to be seen.

For a moment, He Sugui didn’t recognize He Suosi. It wasn’t until he saw Suo Yan across from him winking mischievously that he suddenly realized.

This “little sister” was, in fact, his detestable younger brother.

The initial astonishment immediately receded like a tide. He Sugui scrutinized him for a few more moments, hoping to find some flaw.

Yet he discovered that even the arrogant, self-satisfied, and conceited gaze that he had once found so irritating had vanished. Those eyes, like dark grapes, were now clear and bright.

At first glance, it seemed as though he was looking at you, yet he also appeared to be lost in thought, carrying a misty, endearing blankness.

It wasn’t just He Sugui; the adults also noticed He Suosi’s transformation. Knowing more of the inside story than He Sugui, they mused that perhaps being “poisoned into foolishness” had robbed him of his former cleverness but made him more pitiable.

Little did they know, this expression was entirely feigned by He Suosi. He felt he needed to project the image of someone who had become foolish, yet without allowing Yuan Zhigong to detect his act.

Thus, he carefully controlled his gaze and expression, adopting a bewildered demeanor. In this way, those who knew him wouldn’t suspect anything, while those who didn’t would simply think he was zoning out.

Yuan Zhigong, indeed, merely believed He Suosi was lost in thought. He even thoughtfully assumed that his “little sister” was nervous due to the large crowd.

He found such a sister endearing, and a faint smile graced his lips.

However, as he watched Aunt Chen lead He Suosi to a seat at the lower end of the table, his smile immediately faded.

He felt too embarrassed to ask that He Suosi be seated beside him, so he merely lowered his head and sulked.

Beside him sat the First Madam, who keenly sensed the young Immortal Master’s shift in mood but had no idea why. She piled large portions of fish and meat into Yuan Zhigong’s bowl, saying affectionately,

“This remote village offers little worth eating. I apologize for the inconvenience, Immortal Master.”

Yuan Zhigong remained silent, frowning at the dishes in his bowl.

He was accustomed to cleanliness and never ate food placed in his bowl by others.

Reluctantly considering that these were He Suosi’s family members, he refrained from making a scene. Instead, he pushed the bowl away, jumped directly from his chair, and walked outside.

The First Madam froze in shock.

After a long moment, her entire body began to tremble, and her chopsticks fell to the floor.

Profoundly frightened, she could only look tearfully toward the head of the household.

The family head was naturally even more bewildered. He simply assumed this troublesome woman had somehow offended the young Immortal Master.

Throwing down his chopsticks, he stood up.

Pointing to a maidservant, he ordered,

“Go see what’s wrong with the young Immortal Master.”

The maidservant complied and hurried away.

Seeing the master openly scolding the First Madam, no one else dared to speak. They all put down their chopsticks and lowered their heads, pretending to be ostriches.

The banquet ended unhappily.

When Aunt Chen led He Suosi away, he clutched his stomach, indicating that he hadn’t eaten enough.

Aunt Chen immediately shushed him.

“Bear with it. If you cause any trouble today, none of us will fare well.”

He Suosi understood.

Since he only needed to endure for a few days, he had no intention of courting disaster.

After returning to the courtyard, he went to his room and lay down to sleep.

However, he awoke in the middle of the night, hungry once more.

His stomach felt as though strong liquor had been poured into it, burning with a faint, sharp pain.

He Suosi tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep again, so he got up and drank a cup of water.

The moonlight, like flowing water, cast a pale glow across the window paper.

Tree shadows swayed like ghostly figures upon it, and everything around him seemed shrouded in a thin gray mist.

A sudden loneliness enveloped He Suosi.

After all, he was still human.

Though he considered himself someone who had weathered great storms, he still feared the insidious “soft knife” that cut at the heart.

When he had been trapped in the Guangyu Immortal Sect’s rear residence, he had known that as long as he escaped that compound, a familiar world awaited him outside. He could always find a way forward.

But now, what lay before him was truly a blank slate.

He might know how to write upon it, yet that only deepened his sense of solitude.

He wanted to return.

Even if returning meant facing the Yuan Zhigong of three thousand years later, the situation didn’t seem quite so terrible anymore.

He sighed, feeling his expectations steadily lowering.

To keep himself from sinking further into melancholy, He Suosi simply opened the door, intending to breathe some fresh air.

The moment he stepped into the moonlight, a beautiful youth turning gently in the night breeze entered his sight.

The youth seemed carved from ice and jade, with raven-black hair and white robes, rosy lips and pearly teeth. Beneath long curling eyelashes were eyes like autumn water—bright, lively, and captivating.

Such was the beauty that arrived beneath the moon.

Even more noteworthy was the fact that this beauty was carrying something in his arms.

“You… how are you here?”

“I… I saw that many people didn’t get enough to eat. Perhaps you’re hungry too.”

He Suosi was instantly delighted.

“Then, is that for me?”

Yuan Zhigong instinctively handed it over.

“Mm.”

He Suosi eagerly took the oil-paper package and opened it.

Inside was a glistening, perfectly roasted duck.

His eyes immediately lit up.

Without hesitation, he tore off a duck leg and bit into it.

The meat was still warm.

The reddish-brown skin was crisp and fragrant with the scent of fruitwood smoke, while the meat beneath was tender, juicy, and delicious.

He Suosi devoured half the duck ravenously, his fingers and lips covered in grease.

Only then did he realize how unseemly he must look.

Awkwardly, he held up the remains of the duck.

“Do you want some?”

He was truly just being polite.

The duck had been gnawed into a sorry state and was almost certainly covered in his saliva.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Zhigong actually reached out and tore off a piece of duck meat.

With jade-like fingers, he delicately held the morsel and slowly placed it between his lips.

He Suosi watched in astonishment, unable to detect even the slightest hint of disgust on Yuan Zhigong’s face.

He was utterly amazed.

‘We’ve only met two or three times. Could this actually be true love?’

In reality, Yuan Zhigong had experienced a fierce internal struggle.

He had indeed thought about the saliva.

But then he reasoned that his little sister clearly loved the roasted duck and was reluctantly sharing it with him.

If he refused, wouldn’t that hurt her feelings?

Driven by his desire to protect his little sister, Yuan Zhigong ate the duck meat without changing expression.

Afterward, he found it wasn’t so bad.

He nodded.

“The taste is acceptable.”

He Suosi looked up at him and saw him pull a handkerchief woven from ice silkworm silk from his sleeve.

Just as Yuan Zhigong was about to wipe his own hands, he suddenly remembered something.

He carefully examined He Suosi for a moment before handing over the handkerchief.

Unfortunately, He Suosi was still holding the roasted duck and had no free hand.

Tilting his head, he looked at Yuan Zhigong with innocent eyes and signaled with his gaze for Yuan Zhigong to wipe his mouth for him.

Yuan Zhigong immediately found himself in a dilemma.

After a long silence, he finally said softly,

“Little Sister, I actually have a strange condition. If I touch a woman, she will become gravely ill and die. Although Father says there won’t be a problem, I…”

His expression became troubled.

He Suosi, however, had no such concerns.

He simply leaned forward and rubbed his mouth against the handkerchief in Yuan Zhigong’s hand.

Then he smacked his lips.

“See? I’m fine.”

‘Besides, I’m not a girl anyway,’ he thought.

Yuan Zhigong was startled.

He immediately lowered his head and carefully examined He Suosi’s complexion.

Seeing that the other party remained rosy-cheeked and energetic, showing no signs of illness whatsoever, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he felt an inexplicable sense of excitement.

‘Father was right.’

‘This little sister really is the one destined for me.’

Naturally, He Suosi had no idea what Yuan Zhigong was thinking.

Feeling tired from standing, he simply sat down on the steps and continued gnawing on the remaining duck, occasionally letting out a satisfied burp.

When Yuan Zhigong saw him start burping, he said,

“If you’re full, don’t eat any more.”

He Suosi considered it for a moment.

Then he carefully wrapped up the remaining half.

“I’ll save it for Mother. She didn’t get enough to eat either.”

Yuan Zhigong paused.

Then he asked,

“Do you often not get enough to eat?”

He Suosi naturally wasn’t privy to such details, but he deeply felt that presenting a pitiful and lovable image would be extremely beneficial right now.

So he pursed his lips.

“Not really… It’s just that sometimes, by the time the food reaches us, it’s already cold. We don’t get much meat either. Mother dotes on me, so she eats even less…”

As he spoke, he lowered his head and scuffed the ground with his foot.

Dressed in pristine white undergarments, with loose hair framing his small fair face, his long eyelashes shaded his eyes, making him look helpless and forlorn.

Yuan Zhigong’s heart immediately softened.

“Don’t be sad. When you come to the Immortal Sect, I’ll prepare lots of delicious food for you. You can eat whatever you want.”

He became increasingly enthusiastic as he spoke.

“I’m telling you, Cloud Brocade Pheasant meat is a hundred times more delicious than roasted duck.”

He Suosi looked back in surprise.

“Really?”

Yuan Zhigong nodded.

“There are also many spiritual fruits and desserts. You could eat for a whole year without repeating the same thing twice.”

He Suosi’s eyes immediately lit up.

But after a moment, he frowned again.

“But if I leave, Mother still won’t have enough to eat.”

“Then… then bring your mother with you.”

The words escaped Yuan Zhigong before he could stop them.

After speaking, he immediately felt uncertain.

His father had only instructed him to bring He Suosi back.

As for everyone else, they should normally be brought to the sect later by designated personnel, and only those with cultivation talent would remain.

Yet seeing He Suosi’s delighted expression, Yuan Zhigong suddenly felt that agreeing to such a thing wasn’t a big deal at all.

Thus, amid He Suosi’s repeated “Really?” he solemnly nodded.

“Yes. When we leave tomorrow, just have your mother come with us.”

Early the next morning, Aunt Chen heated water and came to wake He Suosi.

First, she felt that He Suosi would soon be living under someone else’s roof and could no longer indulge in laziness.

Second, she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible while they were still together.

She pushed open the door.

Before she could even set down the washbasin, she saw two small bodies tangled together on the bed.

She was so startled that she immediately dropped the copper basin.

Children slept restlessly.

At that moment, He Suosi had one leg draped across Yuan Zhigong’s waist, while his entire head was buried against Yuan Zhigong’s chest.

Perhaps because of the weight pressing on him, Yuan Zhigong slept with a slight frown, though he had not awakened.

The clang of the copper basin startled them both awake.

They instantly sat upright and stared blankly at Aunt Chen.

Like two startled cubs, their eyes still carried traces of sleepiness and confusion, while their hair stuck up wildly in every direction.

Aunt Chen found the sight both amusing and alarming.

Picking up the basin, she asked,

“Young Immortal Master, how did you end up here?”

She glanced at He Suosi.

Aside from his messy hair, he appeared perfectly fine.

Though surprised by how close he and Yuan Zhigong had suddenly become, she also felt relieved.

He Suosi immediately sobered up.

Turning toward Yuan Zhigong, he vaguely remembered falling asleep from exhaustion.

Everything afterward was a blank.

Blinking innocently, he asked,

“Little Brother, why are you sleeping here?”

Yuan Zhigong looked equally bewildered.

After thinking for a moment, he recalled carrying He Suosi back to bed after the meal.

He himself had been exhausted and hungry.

He had only intended to rest briefly…

And then…

His face instantly turned red.

He had actually fallen asleep on his little sister’s bed.

Feeling that he had lost all masculine dignity—and deeply embarrassed by Aunt Chen’s presence—Yuan Zhigong leapt off the bed and fled like the wind.

Aunt Chen couldn’t understand what had happened.

She could only conclude that even young Immortal Masters were truly unfathomable.

She fetched another basin of water.

While He Suosi washed his face and hands, he casually said,

“Mother, little brother already agreed to bring you with us.”

He Suosi had assumed the matter was settled beyond question.

Unexpectedly, Aunt Chen smiled faintly and refused.

“Suosi, the young Immortal Master likes you now because he thinks you’re a girl. When you arrive at the Immortal Sect, don’t try to stand out. Just study the immortal arts diligently. Even if you fail, it’ll still be better than staying here.”

She gently stroked his head.

“As for Mother, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine…”

He Suosi immediately frowned and interrupted.

“Don’t overthink it. I’m telling you, in the future, I will definitely—”

Aunt Chen’s voice suddenly seemed to come from very far away.

The world itself seemed to peel away from him.

His vision gradually darkened.

His body felt as though some invisible force were pulling him backward.

He kept falling…

And falling…