The door to Yoon-Min's bedroom slid open as he entered. Faint steam was radiating from his slightly reddish body, while droplets of water slid down his slender frame to fall onto the ground with a 'plop-plop'.
Besides the towel that covered his head, the only piece of clothing on him was the ones in his hand, which belonged to Ah Mieu.
While rubbing his damp shoulder-length hair, Yoon-Min looked at the clothes in his hands before carelessly tossing them to the side. When the maids came to clean his room this week, he would ask them to incinerate them.
Yoon-Min's feet moved, and they left a trail of wet footprints on the ground while carrying him towards the walk-in closet at the back of the room.
Before entering the closet, a thought from him caused the Internal Qi in his dantian to circulate in his meridians before gushing out of his pores, which quickly evaporated the droplets of water on his body.
His steps didn't pause as he familiarly flung his towel onto an upright clothes hanger by the entrance, before moving towards the section of his closet that had his underwear, which were small strips of loincloths connected at the ends by a thin string.
After picking out a random one and wearing it, he skillfully tied the loose string and secured it around his waist. He then picked out pants that were tight at the legs and loose as they went up to the thighs. Based on this design alone, one could tell it was made for Martial Artists for easier mobility.
Yoon-Min didn't bother looking for a shirt and instead went to the back of his closet, where a few of his old clothes were, to pick out a set for Ah Mieu.
As he rifled through them, he tried to recall Ah Mieu's body build to make sure these clothes fit him. However, Yoon-Min quickly realized this new younger brother of his was a bit too small.
Even after searching for a minute or two, all the clothes either had sleeves that were too long or pants that had a waist that was too wide.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Yoon-Min complained.
"What has this brat been eating to still be this short? At his age, I already had muscles ten times as big as his!"
After complaining, Yoon-Min decided to just pick out the smallest pants and shirt he could find. At most, the sleeves could be folded, while a string could be tied around the waist to tighten it.
Thinking this, Yoon-Min found an old shirt, and after placing it flat on the ground, he condensed a sharp blue Sword Qi on the tip of his finger and began cutting out a simple cloth belt.
After that was done, he grabbed everything before hurriedly leaving the closet and exiting the room.
Turning left, he walked along the corridor and reached another room that was a few meters away from his. The door to the room was open, so he calmly entered.
The room was no different from Yoon-Min's room, only a bit smaller.
In the middle of the room, Ah Mieu was silently standing there with a towel wrapped around his waist, while another precariously hung on his head, almost about to fall off.
When Yoon-Min entered, he showed no reaction.
"Hey, you brat. Why are you just standing there without drying off?"
Yoon-Min said, annoyed as he approached. He threw the clothes in his hands on a chair nearby before stepping in front of Ah Mieu and fixed the towel on his head before rubbing his damp hair.
However, after a few rubs, Yoon-Min finally realized Ah Mieu's odd behavior. He just stood there silently, and his wet hair that was slick back revealed that his eyes were glazed over. It seems Ah Mieu didn't even notice someone was in front of him.
Yoon-Min's brows furrowed slightly. He subtly felt that Ah Mieu's current state was not just odd, but extremely peculiar.
"Hey? Are you okay?"
Yoon-Min shook Ah Mieu's shoulder, and thankfully, this seemed to wake him up.
Ah Mieu blinked his eyes, the daze in his eyes instantly vanishing. He looked up at Yoon-Min, who was almost two heads taller than him, finally realizing his presence.
"Oh, you're back."
Ah Mieu said faintly, seeming to still be recovering from whatever state he was just in.
Yoon-Min's brows furrowed even deeper as he stared down at Ah Mieu.
"What's wrong with you? Your state just now was very strange. It was as if..."
Yoon-Min hesitated for a moment, looking for the right words, before finally saying.
"...It was as if your soul had left your body."
"Hm. Is that how it looks to others?"
Ah Mieu said, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face. However, seeing that Ah Mieu hadn't answered his question, Yoon-Min showed an annoyed expression.
Ah Mieu saw this and hurriedly said.
"I'm fine, it's just a condition I was born with. However, it has gotten better since last year. Actually, this is the first time in nearly a year since I've fallen asleep."
"Fall asleep?"
Yoon-Min showed a confused expression.
Ah Mieu nodded and explained.
"Yeah, to me, it feels like I've fallen into a deep sleep from which I can't extricate myself. It was especially bad when I was younger."
"How bad?"
Ah Mieu didn't immediately answer Yoon-Min's question but remained silent.
Yoo-Min saw this, and he seemed to realize something, so he said.
"If it's something you don't want to talk about, then there's no need to force yourself."
Ah Mieu looked up at Yoon-Min, who was looking down at him with a worried look on his face. It seemed he himself didn't realize he was wearing such an expression.
Ah Mieu felt a warm sensation in his heart, and he couldn't help but recall his brother. Only his brother had ever looked at him with such an expression, and it was such an expression that saved him a year ago, when he was about to lose himself.
A smile unconsciously appeared on Ah Mieu's lips as he said.
"I don't mind telling Big Brother Yoon-Min. The longest period I was asleep for was from when I was a few months old to when I was thirteen. After that, I sporadically fell asleep and awoke until I turned fourteen, where it completely stopped. Well, it happened just now."
Yoon-Min silently listened as Ah Mieu calmly spoke those words; however, he himself was anything but calm internally. Especially after he recalled his grandfather's words about Ah Mieu's time in the Nine Desires Pavilion.
"Those Nine Desires Pavilion bastards deserve to die. Even beasts aren't so vicious."
Yoon-Min said through gritted teeth, while his fist unconsciously clenched tightly.
Ah Mieu smiled at his reaction before saying.
"You don't have to hate the Nine Desires Pavilion that much for my sake, Brother Yoon-Min. After all, except for a few unpleasant memories, my time there was quite good."
"Huh?"
Yoon-Min became stunned, and he stared at Ah Mieu with a bewildered expression on his face.
Ah Mieu couldn't help but let out a chuckle upon seeing his expression before saying in a playful tone.
"Brother Yoon-Min, my Divine Constitution grants me a few peculiar abilities. One such ability is that I'm able to sense if one still has their yang or their Yin essence. From what I can sense, Brother Yoon-Min has still not taken that step into adulthood."
Upon hearing that, Yoon-Min instantly felt a mix of embarrassment and anger rush to his head.
"You... You stinky brat! Do you think being taken advantage of by those people in the Nine Desires Pavilion counts?! In my eyes, you're still just a little brat that hasn't even grown a single hair yet!"
After saying that, Yoon-Min reached out to pull the towel from Ah Mieu's waist, but Ah Mieu managed to react in time and clutch onto the towel just as it was about to be ripped away from him.
An intense flush spread across Ah Mieu's face, dyeing his cheeks, ears, and even his neck bright red. However, despite the precarious situation, Ah Mieu feigned calmness and said with a laugh.
"Heh-heh, Brother Yoon-Min, there's no need to be jealous! Even though I've seen Young Masters as young as you already married with several children in the Inner Circle, everyone is different. Perhaps you're not confident in yourself. After all, size is not everything. Experience is also important!"
"You... You..."
Yoon-Min stared at Ah Mieu with wide eyes, completely speechless with anger. He finally realized that when it comes to arguing, he was far too inferior to this little brat in front of him.
However, why bother arguing with a brat?
"You stinky brat! How dare you speak to your Big Brother like that?!"
With one vicious tug from Yoon-Min, the towel in Ah Mieu's hand was ripped away from him.
After tossing the towel to the side, Yoon-Min stepped towards Ah Mieu, his face twisted into a ferocious expression.
A man can be killed but insulting their manhood was an unforgivable sin!
Ah Mieu's face turned slightly ashen upon seeing Yoon-Min's expression, and he realized he might have truly angered this new older brother of his.
"I... I... Brother Yoon-Min, perhaps I've said too much..."
Before Ah Mieu even finished his sentence, he had already turned to rush towards the exit, the towel on his head falling off. However, with only one step, Yoon-Min's figure vanished and then reappeared in front of him.
Suddenly, Ah Mieu felt weightless, and his vision quickly shifted as he was picked up by Yoon-Min before being slung over his shoulder.
Instantly, a wave of shame washed over Ah Mieu, but before he could react, the sound of a hand hitting flesh echoed out, followed by a burning sensation on his smooth, pale right butt cheek.
Ah Mieu's eyes widened in disbelief, and for a moment, he wondered if he had fallen asleep again. However, before this idea could take root in his mind, another sound of a hand hitting skin echoed out before a burning sensation was felt, this time on his left butt cheek. Two bright red palm print could be clearly seen on his small butt. The contrast they made against his pale skin was quite shocking to look at.
"Stinky brat, how is it? Have you repented yet?"
Yoon-Min's arrogant voice sounded in Ah Mieu's ears, causing him to finally be awoken from his stupor and reacted. However, intense shame and anger had rushed to his head, which momentarily caused him to lose his mind and start cursing at Yoon-Min.
But rather than getting angry at Ah Mieu's curses, Yoon-Min sneered and ruthlessly brought his hand down once again. His second round of slaps caused two bright red palm prints to overlap with the first ones.
But things didn't stop there. For a time, the only sound that could be heard in this room was the sound of a child being beaten, interspersed with sharp and piercing curses from said child.