"Ah! Right, I completely forgot!" Yuanshi and Tongtian's voices rang out from inside the pagoda, as though they had just awakened from a dream.
Xuanxiao gently shook the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda in his hand, feeling both amused and helpless. "Why did you stop arguing? I was actually enjoying the show."
"Hmph, weren't you going to tell us who you are? Hurry up and talk!" Yuanshi's arrogant voice rang out again.
"Fine, fine, I'll tell you. But don't get scared when you hear it." Xuanxiao deliberately exaggerated his tone.
The moment he finished speaking, Xuanxiao himself froze for a moment. "Huh? How did I become so childish too? This really isn't like me. Are these two little fellows poisonous? They can actually influence a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal like me."
Xuanxiao absolutely refused to admit that he was a little childish himself.
He cleared his throat, worked hard to adjust his mindset, and said solemnly, "Listen well, you three little fellows. My Dao title is Xuanxiao. I'm the younger brother of your Father God, Pangu—in other words, your Second Uncle."
The moment they heard Xuanxiao's words, the inside of the pagoda fell silent.
A moment later, a burst of laughter erupted. "Hahahaha! Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I told you I wasn't stupid! The fool outside is the real idiot! He actually says he's our Father God's younger brother, our Second Uncle. Isn't he treating us like fools?"
Tongtian's tone was filled with mockery.
"Tongtian, shut up already." Yuanshi hurriedly interrupted him.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you really believe he's our Second Uncle?" Tongtian asked in confusion, his words still dripping with mockery.
"You really are a complete idiot." Tongtian continued to jeer at him relentlessly.
Tongtian's mouth is practically coated in poison. I have reason to suspect that during the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, he was attacked by his two elder brothers and the Two Sages of the West precisely because of that mouth of his. Xuanxiao listened to Tongtian's taunts with a speechless expression. An urge to teach the boy a lesson surged in his heart, and he soon put it into action.
Xuanxiao reached out and grabbed inside the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda. He pulled out a tiny transparent figure, pinched between two fingers.
The figure looked like a young man. At that moment, he was struggling desperately atop Xuanxiao's fingers. Needless to say, this was Tongtian, whose mouth had just gotten him into trouble.
Even so, Tongtian still refused to stop. "Don't think that having a higher cultivation means you can make me submit! I'm Father God's son. There's no way I'll acknowledge a criminal as my uncle, so give up already!" Tongtian wore a stubborn expression of defiance, as though he would rather die than yield.
"Oh... Is that so? Looks like Second Uncle will have to teach you what 'an uncle's love' means." As he spoke, Xuanxiao lightly flicked his finger.
Smack! It landed squarely on Tongtian's buttocks.
"Ah!" Tongtian let out a shriek.
"Damn it, you actually hit my butt! Once I'm born, I'll definitely settle the score with you!" Even though Tongtian was grimacing in pain, his mouth remained as hard as ever.
"Then let's see how long you can hold out." Hearing Tongtian's threat, Xuanxiao not only failed to get angry, but instead wore an even brighter smile.
Immediately afterward, rhythmic smack, smack sounds rang out through the space.
Inside the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, Yuanshi cautiously looked toward Laozi.
"Eldest Brother, are we really not going to do anything about that idiot Tongtian? What if he gets beaten into a cripple? And could that man outside really be our Second Uncle?"
Laozi cast Yuanshi a sideways glance. "What? You can't bear to see Third Brother get beaten?"
Yuanshi's expression instantly stiffened, and he hurriedly retorted, "How could that be? I'd be delighted to see him get beaten! I just think it isn't quite right to let an outsider bully him like this. After all, he's our brother too. If he ends up like this, won't it make us look bad?"
Laozi secretly found this amusing. If I believed that, then I'd be the real fool.
He, Yuanshi, and Tongtian had been together since birth. He knew that, as the eldest brother, he usually held Yuanshi and Tongtian to strict standards, which was why they respected him so deeply.
But when it came to closeness, Yuanshi and Tongtian were clearly more intimate with each other.
At that moment, it was obvious that Yuanshi was worried about Tongtian. It was just that his arrogant personality made it impossible for him to say anything openly caring.
Xuanxiao naturally heard Laozi and Yuanshi's conversation inside the pagoda as well.
"Aren't Yuanshi and Tongtian supposed to have a bad relationship?"
From what I can see, they're actually very close.
This Yuanshi, going by what I remember, is completely a brother complex.
Maybe the reason he and Tongtian argued the moment they met wasn't merely that their Great Daos were opposed. It was very possible that, as a brother complex, he felt that the Interception Sect had 'stolen' his beloved little brother.
While silently complaining to himself, Xuanxiao's hand never stopped. He continued rhythmically smacking Tongtian's buttocks.
"Don't worry. The Daoist outside really should be our Second Uncle."
"I vaguely remember Father God once mentioning that he had a younger brother."
"And when he revealed his identity just now, the Heavenly Dao showed no reaction at all."
"Didn't you sense it? There's a very familiar aura about him, one that's extremely similar to Father God's."
"All the signs indicate that he wasn't lying."
"Second Uncle probably only wants to teach Third Brother a lesson. He won't really hurt him."
Laozi patiently explained this while looking at Yuanshi, whose face showed concern despite his stubborn denial.
"That's good. That's good." After hearing Laozi's explanation, Yuanshi finally relaxed the heart he had been holding taut.
And he still claims he wasn't worried. What a hopelessly arrogant man. Laozi and Xuanxiao had the same thought at the same time.
Of course, Laozi did not know the term arrogant tsundere, though the meaning was more or less the same.
"Still, we really do have a Second Uncle? Why don't I have the slightest impression of him in my memories?" Yuanshi still found it difficult to accept the sudden appearance of an elder above him.
"I only have a vague impression as well, but I imagine this matter can't be false." Laozi gently shook his head.
"Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! Senior, you're magnanimous, so please spare me!" By then, Tongtian's buttocks had nearly been beaten raw by Xuanxiao. He no longer looked anything like the arrogant figure he had been earlier.
Although he was still only an embryo, he had truly experienced the world's "viciousness" and society's "cruelty."
Xuanxiao was slightly taken aback when he heard Tongtian beg for mercy. "Are you begging for mercy?"
Hearing Xuanxiao's question, Tongtian hurriedly shouted back, "So what if I am?" Although he was begging for mercy, his tone remained stiff and unyielding. Anyone who didn't know the situation might have thought Xuanxiao was the one begging.
"All right. I'll let you off this once." Xuanxiao had no intention of making things too difficult for Tongtian. After all, the little fellow could not even be considered officially "born" yet. As the brothers' Second Uncle, he was a kind, reasonable, and "perfectly good Second Uncle."
When Tongtian heard that Xuanxiao was finally willing to let him go, delight immediately appeared on his face.
He had truly been beaten into submission by Xuanxiao, and this position was simply too humiliating.
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