Brother and Sister

Huang Huai was about to speak when suddenly cheers erupted from ahead. Hundreds of people shouted in unison. On the long street ahead, a carriage slowly approached. Seated on the carriage was a figure who wasn't particularly tall. The person was young, with well-defined features, still carrying a hint of childishness. They had their hair tied up in a topknot and wore robes embroidered with mountain and river patterns, signifying their identity as a disciple of the Great River Sect.

Flanked by Peng family servants, Peng Sanlang, Peng Yu, with a stern face, tried his best to maintain his expression. However, everyone, including Huang Huai, could see Peng Yu's suppressed joy and pride.

Having fought his way through so many people to barely survive and be accepted into the Great River Sect, his future was now bright. Faced with such a life-changing opportunity, it was no wonder he, a mere youth with an unsettled mind, felt this way. Anyone else present would likely not have handled it much better than Peng Yu.

A group of Peng family servants led the way, chests puffed out, faces filled with pride. Their demeanor suggested one might think they were the ones who had joined the Great River Sect.

The elder at the head of the group was none other than the Peng family's steward, Peng Zhan. At this moment, Peng Zhan's face was wreathed in smiles, and he loudly announced to the surroundings, "My young master has been favored by a High God of the Great River Sect and was fortunate enough to be accepted into their fold. This is a momentous occasion for our Peng family. Today, our Peng family patriarch is overjoyed and is generously scattering money for all to share in the joy."

As he spoke, behind the carriage, Peng family servants carried several baskets filled with copper coins. The servants walked along, energetically scattering the copper coins in all directions.

Behind the carriage, a dense crowd of commoners, their faces filled with delight, followed closely, scrambling to snatch the copper coins tossed by the Peng family.

As the Peng family's procession drew nearer, the emotions of those around Huang Huai visibly heightened. Their gazes were fixed on the baskets filled with copper coins, clearly indicating their readiness to grab the money.

However, Huang Huai's expression shifted slightly. Instead of joining the surging crowd, he took advantage of the moment before the throng fully engulfed them, pushing and shoving against the flow of people to escape the crowd.

Panting, Huang Huai hid in a deserted corner, feeling the pain from various parts of his body. He looked up again at the dense mass of people crowding together, clamoring for the copper coins thrown by the Peng family, and couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.

Fortunately, he had reacted quickly. If he had hesitated any longer, he might have been swept up by the crowd and become part of the money-grabbing horde.

Just seeing the strong, burly men grimacing and throwing punches at those around them due to the crush, he knew that with his physique, if he had truly been caught in the crowd, he might very well have been trampled to death.

Huang Huai gasped for air, his face a picture of relief. At that moment, a voice with a hint of childishness sounded in his ear, "Huh? Why aren't you going to scramble for money with everyone else?"

Huang Huai's heart tightened. There was no one here just a moment ago, and he hadn't noticed anyone approaching. Following the sound, he saw that someone had indeed appeared beside him silently.

To be precise, it was a young boy, appearing to be about eleven or twelve years old. He wore a light blue robe, a jade belt around his waist, and a pure gold longevity lock around his neck. His face was as fair as jade, and his deep, dark eyes were looking at him with a hint of curiosity.

This young boy clearly wasn't from an ordinary family. Huang Huai looked up and glanced around. He saw a carriage parked by the roadside, exuding a rustic luxury. The carriage's presence by the roadside indicated it was likely avoiding the chaotic crowd, just like him.

Several servants stood guard by the carriage. From a distance, he saw that the lowered curtain was slightly lifted, and a pair of eyes as clear as water were looking in his direction.

To be precise, the owner of those eyes, whose exquisite half-face was visible through the curtain, wasn't looking at him but at the young boy beside him.

The owner of those eyes seemed to sense Huang Huai's gaze and met his eyes. Huang Huai felt that the other person's gaze was as clear and cold as water, devoid of any emotion.

The young boy standing beside Huang Huai, not receiving a reply, followed Huang Huai's gaze. His eyes darted around, and then he said to Huang Huai, "That's my sister. Isn't she beautiful...?"

Huang Huai withdrew his gaze. After all, only her eyes and less than half of her face were visible, so he couldn't truly tell if the owner of those eyes was beautiful.

The next moment, the boy let out a yelp of pain, rubbing his forehead with one hand while making a pained face towards the carriage, complaining aggrievedly, "Sister, you hit my head with a pearl again."

A clear, cold voice came, "Stop fooling around, or go back inside the carriage!"

"Why are you so fierce? I can't do this, I can't do that, you're always bossing me around..."

Huang Huai watched as the boy held a pearl in one hand, rubbed his reddened forehead with the other, and muttered softly, slightly turning his back to the carriage.

Seeing this, Huang Huai could somewhat discern the general temperaments of the siblings: the younger brother was likely lively and unrestrained, while the elder sister had a cool and detached disposition. Of course, he was more secretly astonished. The distance between them was at least several dozen feet, yet the other party's voice sounded as if it were right beside his ear. Casually flicking a pearl to hit the boy's forehead clearly indicated that the person possessed extraordinary power and was a cultivator.

Wasn't it said that embarking on the path of cultivation was incredibly difficult? Yet, he had only been out for a short while before encountering Peng Yu, who had joined the Great River Sect, and this pair of clearly extraordinary siblings.

In the meantime, the Peng family's procession had arrived. Huang Huai instinctively retreated as he looked at the noisy crowd, and he also tugged at the young boy's sleeve, saying, "Little brother, quickly get out of the way. Be careful not to get swept up by the crowd."

Although the young boy was lively, he wasn't a mischievous brat. Hearing this, he also took a step back, and then looked at Huang Huai again, saying, "These people are all scrambling for money. Why aren't you?"

The clamor drowned out everything else, but the boy's voice was loud enough for Huang Huai to hear clearly. Seeing the boy's curious expression, Huang Huai shouted loudly, "Why should I go and scramble for it?"

The boy blinked and looked at the gradually receding crowd, instinctively saying, "But everyone else is doing it?"

Huang Huai smiled and said, "Since everyone else is doing it, why aren't you?"

The boy was stunned by Huang Huai's words for a moment, then he seemed to realize something and clapped his hands, exclaiming, "Right, right! I wasn't scrambling either!"

Saying this, the boy's eyes sparkled as he handed the pearl in his hand to Huang Huai, saying, "You're an interesting person. I'll give you this pearl!"

As the boy's hand touched Huang Huai's, he seemed to touch something. His eyes darted, and he looked at Huang Huai's wrist. A hint of surprise appeared in his lowered gaze.

However, this was all fleeting. The strange look in the boy's eyes quickly returned to normal.

As he turned to leave, the boy paused and said to Huang Huai, "My name is Ji Yang. What's yours? I'll look for you to play with sometime!"