Sister

Foul stench, filth, and disorder.

The beggars by the roadside looked enviously at the passersby.

Jiang Yuan frowned slightly, lowered his head to glance at a pile of dog shit that had been trampled flat beside him, and quickened his pace.

He turned into the streets and alleys, then passed through several more lanes full of yellow dust and garbage.

Jiang Yuan looked somewhat uncertainly at the row of single-story houses before him.

Where was his home in this life?

What now? I can't find my own home. Urgent, waiting online.

Jiang Yuan tilted his head slightly and spotted several swaggering thugs approaching from afar. The thugs suddenly stopped outside one of the single-story houses and began pounding arrogantly on the door.

There seemed to be someone inside, but they did not dare come out. Only faint sobbing could be heard.

Jiang Yuan raised a brow. From Li Juan, that senior sister, he had indirectly gleaned that he lived somewhere in this area, but he did not know the exact location.

And now, the commoners living in this row of houses should all be his neighbors.

These thugs were this brazen?

Perfect. He could save someone and ask where his own house was while he was at it.

"Little sister, hahaha, open the door and let your big brothers in. We know your family's situation. Follow me, and I guarantee you won't go hungry."

One of the thugs rubbed his head and spoke in an arrogant tone. He pressed himself against the door, seeming to want to peek inside.

The surrounding thugs burst into laughter as well.

Meanwhile, anyone nearby who saw these men hurried away without a word, showing no intention of meddling.

One thug felt someone pat his shoulder.

He turned around in confusion, only to see a skinny youth. His puzzlement vanished, and he laughed loudly. "Look who's here. Isn't this our great martial artist, Brother Xiaotian?"

"Oh? Li Xiaotian? Idiot, you should call him Brother-in-Law!"

"Hahaha, hello, Brother-in-Law!"

The thugs seemed to know Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan raised a brow.

Good. It seemed he no longer needed to look for his home.

Jiang Yuan showed no anger at all. Pointing at the somewhat battered door, he asked, "My little sister is inside?"

"What? You've forgotten your own little sister so quickly? Then I'll take your sister away," the thug said with a roguish air.

Jiang Yuan unconsciously flexed his fingers, his face calm as he said, "Very good."

"What's wrong? You still think you're a probationary disciple of the Golden Saber Sect?" As he spoke, the thug reached out to pat Jiang Yuan's cheek.

The next instant, a fierce gust swept forth. Jiang Yuan's hand formed into a spear, stabbing fiercely upward from below at the thug's throat and jaw.

The move was incomparably fast, and the upward attack came from a blind angle. Before the thug could react, he was struck hard, staggering backward and falling to the ground, clutching his neck with a pained expression.

Seeing Jiang Yuan make his move, the surrounding thugs all turned vicious. Just as they were about to spit out threats, they saw Jiang Yuan's figure flash before them.

Their vision went black, and they collapsed to the ground.

Jiang Yuan swept the last thug off his feet with a low kick, then stomped fiercely on his chest. The thug's eyes bulged wide.

Jiang Yuan panted lightly.

His body was simply too weak. If he had a saber, he would not have needed to struggle so much. Unfortunately, all his sabers were at the Golden Saber Sect. He had no saber on him.

He glanced at the thugs lying around him and spat out a single word.

"Scram!" As he spoke, Jiang Yuan's killing intent erupted, and everyone felt as if mountains of corpses had risen behind him.

Ignoring their pain, they fled in terror, scrambling and crawling away.

Jiang Yuan's breathing gradually steadied. He gently knocked on the door.

His tone inexplicably softened as he said, "It's me, Li Xiaotian."

The moment Jiang Yuan finished speaking, the door opened, and a petite figure flew from inside into his arms.

Jiang Yuan held the girl in his arms in slight astonishment, his hand unconsciously reaching up to stroke her somewhat dry, yellowed hair.

"Big brother..." the girl murmured softly, her voice tinged with tears.

A little sister?

This brand-new experience did not make Jiang Yuan feel the slightest discomfort. Instead, he naturally set his sister down from his arms, took her small hand, and walked into the house.

His body in this life was about the same age as in reality—sixteen.

His little sister looked to be only twelve or thirteen.

But his family circumstances in this life did not seem very good. Both he and his sister were frail, not only because of congenital reasons, but also due to malnutrition acquired later in life.

Jiang Yuan frowned as he surveyed the extremely simple home.

Only... his sister and him? There were no parents in this life?

Although Jiang Yuan had learned some things from Li Juan, it had all been through indirect probing. He still did not know much about the circumstances of this life.

Jiang Yuan crouched slightly, wiped the tears from his sister's face, and gave her a gentle smile as warm as sunlight. "Your brother hit his head a few days ago and forgot some things. Can you tell me about them? For example, my sect, and those street thugs..."

No sooner had Jiang Yuan finished speaking than tears welled up in his sister's eyes again. Her voice trembled with sobs as she said, "Brother, have you forgotten Ke'er?"

Jiang Yuan was somewhat helpless. It took him quite a while to soothe his sister before he learned some details about this life from her.

His name was Li Xiaotian, and his sister's was Li Ke. Their parents were both dead. Their mother had died in childbirth when she gave birth to Li Ke. She had already damaged her health giving birth to Li Xiaotian, and when she gave birth to Li Ke, she had not managed to hold on.

Their father, meanwhile, had been trampled to death two years ago, when the White Lotus Sect had caused unrest in the city.

All they had left was a single-story house and a small amount of property.

Li Xiaotian had become the pillar holding up the entire household at the age of fourteen. Using the knowledge his father had taught him, he found work copying books outside.

After saving for a full year, he sold off the books his father had left behind. Together with what remained of his father's property, he finally scraped together the tuition fees and passed the Golden Saber Sect's entry test.

He had entered the Golden Saber Sect and become a probationary disciple.

A force like the Golden Saber Sect, one that possessed martial artists, naturally became Li Xiaotian's shield. Ever since he had joined the Golden Saber Sect, the nearby street thugs and gang members had not dared trouble the brother and sister again.

But for some reason, news had spread today that Li Xiaotian was going to be expelled from the Golden Saber Sect due to his poor talent. That was what had led to the street thugs showing up at their door.

Li Ke had learned this from what those thugs said while knocking on the door. Jiang Yuan frowned once more. Those thugs were so brazen—did the government and City Yamen not care?

They seemed to have coveted Li Ke for a long time. Though she was young, her features were lovely, the very mold of a future beauty. Jiang Yuan, on the other hand, was different—it seemed Heaven had bestowed every bit of good looks upon his younger sister, then forgotten all about her brother.

Before, they had their father. Later, they had the Golden Saber Sect's protection, so the thugs had not dared come near. But now, things were different.

Then a term emerged from Li Ke's lips that made Jiang Yuan's eyelids twitch.

The Xuan Shang... Dynasty...