After Su Lan left, Su Yang stared curiously at the gift box in his hands.
She had specifically told him to open it after she was gone.
That alone should have made him suspicious.
Unfortunately, curiosity won.
"What could she have bought me?"
Su Yang slowly lifted the lid.
PUFF!
A cloud of black ink exploded directly into his face.
Su Yang froze.
His entire face was covered in black ink. Even the front of his clean robes had not been spared.
For several breaths, the room was completely silent.
Then—
"Su Lan!"
His angry roar echoed through the house.
From somewhere down the corridor came muffled laughter.
Su Yang's expression darkened.
"Damn that girl…"
He wiped the ink from his eyes.
He had spent thousands of spirit stones buying her a protective bracelet, and this was how she repaid him?
A box full of ink?
"I'll remember this."
Despite his words, the corners of his lips twitched upward.
Some things never changed.
Su Yang cleaned himself before returning to his bed.
His gaze unconsciously shifted toward his storage ring.
Inside rested the Yin-Yang Qi Stones.
His expression immediately became serious.
Five million inferior-grade spirit stones.
More importantly, the Dragon and Tiger Martial Spirits had reacted intensely to them.
Su Yang desperately wanted to take them out and begin refining them.
But he restrained himself.
"Not yet."
The Millennial Earth Core Lotus had taught him an important lesson.
Powerful treasures could not be consumed recklessly.
He had swallowed the lotus expecting several hours of cultivation and had ended up petrified for three days.
The Yin-Yang Qi Stones were even more mysterious.
Until he understood why his martial spirits resonated with them, he would not take unnecessary risks.
Su Yang closed his eyes.
He circulated his cultivation technique and gradually entered a meditative state.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Yang'er!"
Su Yang opened his eyes.
"Sister?"
"Get up!"
"Why?"
The door suddenly opened.
Su Lan entered and grabbed his arm.
"Come with me."
"Where?"
"The fair."
Su Yang blinked.
"What fair?"
Su Lan stopped.
She stared at him as though he had just asked the most ridiculous question imaginable.
"You don't know?"
"No."
"Our town is holding its annual fair today!"
Su Yang stared blankly.
"How was I supposed to know?"
Su Lan sighed dramatically.
"You spend all your time cultivating and disappearing into forests. Come."
Before Su Yang could protest, she dragged him outside.
The normally peaceful town had transformed.
Colourful banners hung between buildings.
Red lanterns decorated the streets.
Merchants shouted enthusiastically from crowded stalls while performers entertained groups of excited spectators.
Children ran around carrying sweets and wooden toys.
Musicians played lively melodies.
There were martial performances, acrobats, storytellers, dancing groups, food competitions, and even small arenas where younger cultivators could demonstrate their skills.
Su Yang looked around in surprise.
"When did they prepare all this?"
"You really don't pay attention to anything, do you?" Su Lan asked.
Apparently not.
Then Su Yang suddenly stopped walking.
Ahead of them stood a familiar figure.
Yi Luwei.
She was not wearing her usual cultivation robes.
Instead, she wore an elegant light-blue dress decorated with delicate silver embroidery. Her long hair had been carefully arranged, with a simple ornamental pin holding part of it in place.
Su Yang stared.
For some reason, he had never realized just how beautiful she was.
Or perhaps he had simply never looked at her this way before.
Yi Luwei seemed to sense his gaze.
She turned.
Their eyes met.
Su Yang remained motionless.
Yi Luwei's cheeks slowly reddened.
Then—
SMACK!
"Ow!"
Su Yang grabbed the back of his head.
Su Lan glared at him.
"Stop staring."
"I wasn't staring."
"You nearly walked into that stall."
Su Yang looked ahead.
There was indeed a stall directly in his path.
He coughed awkwardly.
Yi Luwei approached them.
"Elder Sister Su Lan."
"Luwei'er!"
The two girls embraced.
Then Yi Luwei looked toward Su Yang.
Her cheeks became slightly pink again.
"Brother Su Yang."
"Luwei'er."
He smiled.
"You look beautiful today."
Yi Luwei's blush deepened.
"T-Thank you."
Behind them, Su Lan slowly raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
The three entered the fair together.
For the next several hours, they wandered from one attraction to another.
They watched sword performances.
Martial demonstrations.
Acrobats leaping through flaming hoops.
A cultivator manipulating several flying daggers simultaneously.
They sampled different foods and visited merchant stalls selling everything from jewellery to low-level cultivation resources.
For once, Su Yang allowed himself to forget about revenge.
The Imperial Family.
The Dragon-Tiger inheritance.
Cultivation.
All of it temporarily disappeared.
He was simply enjoying himself.
Unfortunately for Su Lan, her younger brother appeared to have forgotten that she existed.
"Luwei'er, look at this."
Su Yang stopped beside a jewellery stall.
He picked up a delicate bracelet.
"This would suit you."
Yi Luwei smiled.
"It's pretty."
"I'll buy it."
"You don't have to—"
"I want to."
A few stalls later—
"Luwei'er, do you like this hair ornament?"
"Brother Su Yang, you've already bought me something."
"And?"
Another gift.
Then another.
Su Lan followed behind them carrying a bag of snacks she had purchased for herself.
Her expression became increasingly dark.
Finally, she could no longer tolerate it.
"Yang'er."
Su Yang turned.
"What?"
Su Lan pointed toward herself.
"Do you remember who I am?"
Su Yang looked confused.
"My sister?"
"Good. I thought you'd forgotten."
Yi Luwei covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Su Yang finally understood.
"I already bought you the Moonveil Guardian Bracelet yesterday!"
"That was yesterday."
Su Yang stared at her.
Su Lan stared back.
Yi Luwei finally burst into laughter.
Their peaceful outing continued until they approached another crowded section of the fair.
"Well, well…"
A mocking voice suddenly sounded behind them.
"If it isn't our famous trash."
Su Yang stopped.
His expression immediately became indifferent.
He knew that voice.
He turned.
A young man stood behind them with several companions.
Hao Ran.
One of the people who had bullied Su Yang repeatedly over the years.
Hao Ran looked him up and down.
"I heard an interesting rumour."
Su Yang remained silent.
"They said you punched Fu Yancheng."
Hao Ran laughed.
"I didn't believe it. But everyone keeps repeating the same ridiculous story."
His companions laughed with him.
Su Lan's expression darkened.
Yi Luwei's smile disappeared.
"Hao Ran—"
Su Yang raised his hand.
"Sister."
Su Lan looked at him.
"Leave him to me."
Yi Luwei frowned.
"Brother Su Yang…"
"I'll handle it."
The confidence in his voice made both girls pause.
Hao Ran laughed.
"You'll handle me?"
He stepped forward.
"You've grown arrogant after getting lucky once."
Su Yang calmly studied him.
In the past, whenever Hao Ran approached him, Su Lan or Yi Luwei would step forward.
This time—
Su Yang stepped in front of them.
That simple action caused Yi Luwei's expression to change.
Su Yang circulated his Qi.
He did not activate his body-tempering technique.
There was no need.
Instead, he remembered the movement manual he had studied.
Azure Dragon and Tiger Chasing the Heavens.
He had yet to properly practice it.
Perhaps this was an opportunity.
Su Yang shifted his weight.
Azure Dragon Chasing the Waters.
Hao Ran charged.
His fist flew toward Su Yang.
Su Yang moved.
For a moment, his body seemed to flow sideways.
Hao Ran's fist passed harmlessly beside his face.
"What?"
Before Hao Ran could react—
Su Yang's movement changed.
Fluidity disappeared.
Explosive acceleration replaced it.
Tiger Chasing the Wind!
Su Yang appeared directly beside him.
His palm moved.
PA!
The slap echoed throughout the street.
Hao Ran's head violently snapped sideways.
CRACK!
The sound of breaking bone immediately followed.
The surrounding crowd fell silent.
Hao Ran stumbled several steps.
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He touched his swollen cheek in disbelief.
"You…"
Su Yang looked at his own hand.
Too much strength.
He had attempted to restrain himself, but combining his transformed physique with the explosive acceleration of Tiger Chasing the Wind had amplified the strike far beyond his expectations.
Hao Ran's humiliation overwhelmed his caution.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
He charged again.
Su Yang's eyes became cold.
This time, he stepped forward.
His body blurred.
Bang!
His foot struck Hao Ran's abdomen.
"UGH!"
Hao Ran flew backward and crashed onto the ground.
Su Yang did not pursue him.
He looked down at his former bully.
"If you want to mock me, do it from a distance."
His voice became colder.
"But if you put your hands on me again, don't expect me to stand there and take it."
Su Yang turned.
"Sister. Luwei'er. Let's go."
Su Lan looked at Hao Ran lying on the ground.
Then at Su Yang.
A proud smile slowly appeared on her face.
"Coming."
Yi Luwei, however, remained silent.
She stared at Su Yang's back.
For years, she and Su Lan had always been the ones standing between him and danger.
Whenever someone mocked him—
They defended him.
Whenever someone bullied him—
They fought for him.
She had grown so accustomed to protecting Su Yang that she had never imagined the day when he would step in front of her instead.
But today—
He had.
Yi Luwei looked down at her hands.
Then toward Su Yang again.
Her feelings were complicated.
Part of her was relieved.
Part of her was proud.
And strangely…
A tiny part of her felt lost.
The boy who had once needed her protection was disappearing.
In his place was someone stronger.
Someone more confident.
Someone capable of standing on his own.
"Luwei'er!"
Su Yang's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
She looked up.
He and Su Lan were waiting ahead.
"Are you coming?"
Yi Luwei smiled.
"Yes!"
She hurried after them.
As she caught up, she found herself stealing another glance at Su Yang.
Her heart beat slightly faster.
Perhaps she had been wrong.
Perhaps Su Yang becoming stronger did not mean he no longer needed her in his life.
It simply meant—
From now on, they could walk beside each other.