We Are Family

Saint Cai'er merely stood there quietly, head lowered, not saying a word. It was as though all the strength had been drained from her body, making her seem especially small and pitiful.

"Xuanye, go..."

"Don't worry about me."

The more Cai'er spoke, the quieter her voice became. It no longer sounded like a person speaking, but more like the faint wail of a stray kitten.

But she knew.

Her "child," Long Xuanye, was different from her.

The Reincarnation Saintess had to undergo trials. She had to sacrifice herself for humanity.

Saint Cai'er did not understand—for humanity, she did not understand sacrifice.

But she had heard those words thousands upon thousands of times.

But Long Xuanye was different. He ought to live well. Just like her former self, he ought to have someone who cared for him, who protected him...

Saint Cai'er struggled to force out a faint smile.

"Xuanye, go."

"I... Mom will be fine."

She cried, though she did not even notice it herself. Tears simply slid down her cheeks and slowly fell.

Long Xuanye's heart was pierced.

He even overlooked Saint Cai'er's strange form of address.

Before this, Long Xuanye had felt that although Cai'er was young, she possessed extraordinary resilience.

When she stood beside him, she even gave him an inexplicable sense of warmth and security. Even Long Xuanye, a transmigrator with an adult mind, had been so thoroughly cared for by Cai'er that he was completely obedient.

But only at this moment did he truly realize it.

She was, in the end, just a child.

A little girl who had suffered setbacks since childhood, so much so that she was even a little shorter than girls her age in Odin Town.

Long Xuanye looked at her slender back and smiled.

He looked at the White-Robed Assassin and spoke calmly.

"Assassin's Sanctuary's full support in nurturing me?"

"I can feel your sincerity."

The white-robed figure let out a long breath.

Not bad. This kid had some brains.

It was just that, in this situation... he did not know what to say either.

The air in the cave fell into an eerily quiet stillness.

Cai'er did not speak either.

Yet all three of them could hear someone sobbing in hiccupping breaths.

But Long Xuanye shook his head again.

"Sorry, I refuse."

"I want to be with Cai'er."

"Wherever she goes, I go."

The moment Long Xuanye's words fell, the entire cave went silent.

Saint Cai'er's body trembled slightly.

She lifted her head and stared blankly at Long Xuanye.

As though she suspected she had misheard.

"Xuanye..."

"Wait... no."

"You should agree."

"Be good, okay..."

"This is wrong... Your talent should be properly nurtured."

Saint Cai'er clumsily played the role of a mother.

In truth, she did not know what talent was.

She only vaguely understood that it was some terrifying curse—once it latched onto you, it would bring unbearable pain.

Long Xuanye helplessly patted her head.

Cai'er stood where she was, feeling the warmth.

"It's okay."

"I know what I'm doing."

"Cai'er, not everything has to be the right choice."

Huh?

Mm?

The little girl stood frozen where she was.

She didn't quite understand.

How strange.

What was Long Xuanye doing...

He had made a wrong choice.

But how could that be allowed??

In Cai'er's memories, everyone had always made the "right" choice.

Father would say, "Cai'er, I'm sorry. For the glory of the family."

Mother would say, "Cai'er, forgive me. For the future of the Temple."

Grandfather, Grandmother, Brother, Sister... every one of them, when they abandoned her, would give her a high-sounding, utterly correct reason.

For humanity, for the greater good, for the happiness of more people.

They had all made the right choice.

Only he would not.

A scorching tear slipped from her eye and struck the dust-covered ground, kicking up a tiny puff of dust.

There had always been a voice in her heart asking: If it isn't right, does that mean it can't be done?

Now, she knew.

Even if it wasn't right, it could still be done.

After all, Long Xuanye would stand by her side.

The hand that had just let go once more tightly clasped Long Xuanye's palm, with such force that her knuckles turned slightly white.

Sshing—

With a soft sound, she drew a dagger glimmering with faint light from her sleeve and held it across her body.

"Why?"

The White-Robed Assassin's brows furrowed beneath his mask.

"Because we're family."

Saint Cai'er spoke.

The dagger reflected the girl's eyes.

A gray-black mist gradually clouded them, yet they were no longer lost.

Hearing this, Long Xuanye nodded softly.

Yes.

That was right.

Family.

That was what he thought.

The Saint Cai'er before him was no longer merely a symbol in that fanfiction novel from his previous life—a name, a heroine waiting to be saved.

She was just like him.

A poor wretch abandoned by the world, with nowhere to call home.

Since neither of them had anywhere left to go, then they would be each other's final refuge.

They were family.

Almost at the exact same moment, the same thought quietly took root in their hearts, though in two utterly different forms.

Saint Cai'er thought: He's mine, just like we agreed earlier! I'll be Long Xuanye's mother and protect him with everything I have.

Long Xuanye thought: After crossing over, I ran into a little unlucky girl suffering from the same fate as me.

Whether she's Saint Cai'er or not doesn't matter anymore.

What matters is that from now on, she's my little sister.

I have to protect her, even if it costs me my life.

"Family?"

The White-Robed Assassin's mouth twitched. His gaze shifted slightly toward the sky, and he felt a sting in the corners of his eyes. But it was quickly replaced by coldness in his heart.

"Naive."

"So you thought that just because you said no, I wouldn't be able to take her away?"

I was only giving you face, teasing you a little!

I told you to choose, and you actually chose??

Before his words had even faded, an incomparably terrifying aura erupted from his body!

The air throughout the cave seemed to freeze, heavy enough to suffocate. It was the pressure of an Eighth-tier expert, like mountains and seas crashing down upon the two of them!

Saint Cai'er's face turned pale, and even the hand gripping her dagger began to tremble.

And at that very moment.

Long Xuanye moved!

Without the slightest hesitation!

"Instantaneous Movement Steps!"

Gold and black light flashed across his body, and he transformed into an arrow loosed from the bow, ignoring the Mount Tai-like pressure bearing down on him as he charged straight at the White-Robed Assassin!

A flicker of surprise flashed through the White-Robed Assassin's eyes.

"Not bad. Your courage is commendable!"

He casually raised a hand, and a Short Blade condensed from Spiritual Power stabbed straight for Long Xuanye's heart.

Yet the scene of Long Xuanye dodging or blocking, which he had expected, never appeared.

Long Xuanye paid no heed at all to the Short Blade thrusting toward his vital point. Instead, his own fist, carrying a determination to press forward without turning back and wrapped in Chaos Power, smashed fiercely toward the other man's face.

Life for life!

Wound for wound!

The White-Robed Assassin's Pupils suddenly contracted.

Madman!

He had originally intended to force Long Xuanye back, but the other party did not even try to evade!!

With the force behind that young man's attack, if it landed, then he would probably be... completely unscathed, while Long Xuanye would undoubtedly die!